#aren’t we all lucky to have such a funny mod

[listenupcupcakes]

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT MY FAE ARSEHOLE!?

LET ME TELL YOU THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY FACE!!!

THE PAPER BAG I'M WEARING RIGHT NOW KEEPS MY SKIN SOFT AT NIGHT, YOU BLOODY TWIT!!!!!!

-🚬

I THOUGHT PAPER BAGS WERE THE BRITISH MILITARY’S UNIFORM.

I SAID NOTHING ABOUT YOUR FACE I JUST POINTED OUT THAT YOU WERE BRITISH

AND YOU LOOK LIKE YOU ARE BRITISH.

[mod-kyoko]

Hi there! Saw that the requests were open and here I am😂😂 can I please request for kokichi, nagito, kiibo and rantaro with an s/o who has heterochromia (basically a person with condition in which their iris are of two different colors). S/o is really insecure about it and covers one of their eyes with their bangs all the time. But one day they decide to clip up their bangs and show both of their eyes. I don't really know but I find people with heterochromia really interesting and wanted to see how the reaction of my favorite characters would be😂😂

heya, mod kyoko here! thank you for the request :) your headcanons are down below ⇩⇩⇩

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rantaro, nagito, kokichi, and kiibo with an s/o who has heterochromia

you've never shown rantaro your right eye before

you told him you had heterochromia, but out of respect he never asked to see it

you always had side bangs covering your brown eye

as far as most knew, both of your eyes were blue

secretly, kaede had been helping you regain confidence so you wouldn't have to hide it anymore

one day, you were sitting in front of the mirror with kaede and decided it was finally time

while she was giving you words of encouragement, you clipped your bangs back and sighed at your reflection

it was that moment when rantaro entered the room

you let out a gasp and instinctively went to pull the clip to let your bangs fall back in front of your eye

kaede nervously glanced back and forth between you two

"wait! s/o," a look of regret immediately washed over his face as he rushed towards you

your lip began to tremble as you glared down at your hands

"s/o," he grabbed your face with his hands so you would meet his gaze

kaede gave a small smile, before leaving the room to give you some space

rantaro delicately lifted your bangs and moved them out of the way, slightly gasping when he saw your eyes

"they are... so beautiful," he breathed, staring into them as if they were something he had lost that he finally found

you blush, breaking eye contact to pull him in for a hug

the two of you share a warm embrace that calms your nerves enough for you to realize that maybe having heterochromia isn't so weird

because of this moment, you were able to clip back your bangs to face the rest of your friends that day

like rantaro, nagito was aware of your heterochromia

he just never asked about it

one day you decided to be a little courageous and step outside your comfort zone

you clipped your bangs back, showing off your two-toned eyes, and then left your cottage

the first person you saw just happened to be nagito

"s/o! good morni-" he stopped in his tracks, mouth falling open at the sight of you

with a smile, you walked over to him, trying to keep your nerves at bay

"hey," you greeted him sheepishly

"hey," he breathed, still staring into your eyes

finally, he snapped out of his dazed state, and a look of fear struck his face

"s/o! how rude of me, a person like me shouldn't be staring at a person like you like that, i don't have the right-"

you cut him off mid-sentence by going in for a hug, knowing that if you didn't he would have rambled on forever

once he seemed to calm down, he met your eyes again

"s/o, you probably don't want to hear this from me, but your eyes are really pretty," he mumbled nervously, looking away again

a toothy grin graced your lips as you grabbed his face in your hands

"i really appreciate that, nagito," after placing a kiss on his cheek, he seemed to go back to his relaxed self

hand in hand, the two of you walked towards the hotel restaurant to get some breakfast

nagito made sure to shower you with compliments on your eyes all the time after that

he would often find himself getting lost in them too, so appreciative that you would even show scum like him your most beautiful trait

we all know kokichi doesn't know when to shut up

usually

one morning he found you sitting in front of your mirror in the process of clipping your bangs back, and saw your eyes

he didn't know you had heterochromia, you never told him

when you noticed his presence, you dropped the hair clip in surprise, your bangs falling back in front of your eyes

"what was that about?" he stomped over to you, shoving himself in your face

"kokichi get away-" you tried to dodge his grabby hands but failed

it didn't take long for him to successfully pull your bangs back, revealing your eyes

"haha! that's so weird!" he laughed, staring into them

you grit your teeth as embarrassment flooded you

"get out," you mumbled

he didn't comply, so you repeated yourself louder

"get. out!" you yelled, standing up from your seat

you wanted to put distance between you and him since he deeply ticked you off

he looked genuinely remorseful after that

"wait what?" he asked, trying to take a step towards you

"kokichi, jesus, why would you say something like that?" you continue yelling, making gestures with your hands

his lip starts to tremble

"i didn't mean it, s/o, i was just joking, please don't yell at me," he began shedding his famous crocodile tears, earning an eyeroll from you

"don't you even do that with me, i can see through it"

....

his tears suddenly vanished

you angrily sat on your bed with a loud sigh, resting your head in your hands

not knowing what else to do, he tenderly sat next to you

"i may have faked the tears, but i really do feel bad for what i said, s/o" he frowns, reaching out to grab your hand

you let him

"ouma, you really hurt my feelings. my heterochromia isn't something i show just anyone, i'm actually really insecure about it."

his frown deepened as he climbed onto you for a hug

"i'm really sorry. they do look very cool though, you know." he says

you give him a smile, hugging him tightly

"thanks, ouma."

after that debacle, you decided to take one small step at a time, with kokichi by your side helping you

any time someone insulted your eyes or even looked at them weirdly, he would start screeching at them

you thought it was very funny to watch those people get scared away

boy are you so lucky to have a partner who would stand up for you like that

kiibo doesn't really know how to "read the air"

so when the day came that you finally gained the confidence to show him your multicolored eyes, the first thing he said was:

"wow, s/o, what's wrong with your eyes?!"

very loudly

so loudly in fact that people started whispering

cue the silent treatment

with tears in your eyes and your cheeks painted red, you stormed out of the room and to your dorm

kiibo decided to follow you (good choice, kiibo)

once he found you he was in a very confused and remorseful state

"s/o, what's wrong? did i do something wrong?"

"yes! yes, you did. i had finally become confident enough to trust you with my biggest insecurity and you asked me what is wrong with them?" you yelled, covering your eyes with your hands

without saying anything, kiibo walked over towards you, and sat next to you on your bed

"i uh, i'm sorry, s/o. it's... hard for me to read the situation, i thought there was actually something wrong with you, please forgive me"

with a deep breath, you met his eyes

a few seconds of silence passed by before you began explaining to him your condition

once he understood, he felt even more remorseful for what he said earlier

"well... if it helps... i think they're really pretty" he tried to smile, but the regret was too heavy

after noticing how hard he was beating himself up over it, you decided to forgive him

"it's okay, love. you didn't mean any harm," you lean onto him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders, and he is finally able to smile

after that, you decided to clip your hair back for the rest of the day

kiibo was with you as you walked out of your room, giving you words of encouragement as you went to go find your friends

♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧♤♧

that concludes your headcanons! i hope they aren't too long, i really got into a groove when writing these. thanks again for the request!

have a great day!

-mod kyoko <3

[autumnslance]

About Plagiarism

I left a long, planned essay on Twitter tonight. I will copy the meat of it here for y’all, as recently a friend was copied (a rarer ship in the fandom, so very noticeable by the writer and their regular beta reader) and it seems we need a Talk, kids. Links and screenshots and my rambling underway.

------

Apparently we need to discuss what is and isn’t plagiarism. Especially in FanFic where we're interacting with the same characters, settings, ideas. Let’s start with the dictionary and continue the thread from there (I like the word origin/history personally):

Definition of plagiarize

transitive verb  : to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source

intransitive verb : to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

The Kidnapping Roots of Plagiarize

If schools wish to impress upon their students how serious an offense plagiarism is, they might start with an explanation of the word’s history. Plagiarize (and plagiarism) comes from the Latin plagiarius “kidnapper.” This word, derived from the Latin plaga (“a net used by hunters to catch game”), extended its meaning in Latin to include a person who stole the words, rather than the children, of another. When plagiarius first entered English in the form plagiary, it kept its original reference to kidnapping, a sense that is now quite obsolete.

“Ideas” is fuzzy in the Merriam-Webster definition. There are story archetypes that exist in many forms. Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth/Hero's Journey outlines many famous stories. And it's popular to say that “Avatar” is “Dances with Wolves” is “Pocahontas” is “The Last Samurai” etc.

But note how while those films have similar plotlines--”Military Guy falls for Native woman, learns to appreciate her Culture, stands up to Evil Bosses”--none of them execute those ideas in the same way. Sully’s story is different from Dunbar’s not just cuz one’s a Science Fiction epic and the other a Western. Disney's “Pocahontas” Very Loosely takes history and uses the same story beats. The Last Samurai uses the Meiji era Westernization. Same ideas, different executions, even beyond settings.

None of these are plagiarizing each other though the ideas are similar. They’re told in their own ways, own language; both in the genres they belong to (Western, Pseudo-History, SciFi, Animated) and how characters interact with each other and settings. Original dialogues (variable quality).

We also see this in books as similar novel plots get published in waves so we end up with bunches of post-apocalypse teen revolutionaries or various vampires or lots of young wizard stories all at once. Sometimes ideas just happen like this; multiple discovery, simultaneous invention, concurrent inspiration, cognitive emergence are all phrases I’ve seen for it. So it happens in original content as well, and legality gets fuzzy (Also why you don't send authors your fanfic ideas).

In existing properties, this gets trickier but even “Elementary”’s Holmes and Watson are nothing like the BBC’s “Sherlock” characters. Who are nothing like other versions of the Detective and his Doctor pal over the decades in various media properties.

FanFic's in a similar position where like Sherlock Holmes we play with the same characters, setting, and storyarcs but give our own spin to them. People can and will have similar ideas about plots. Trick is to use your own words. Take the characters and make the story your own.

I have a good example courtesy of @raelly-writing​. We both ship Wolcred. We both wrote soft post-Paglth’an scenes with Thancred and our WoLs. Both features the couples helping each other undress, examining injuries, bathing, bantering. My fic was written soon after 5.5 part 1 came out. Dara’s is much more recent. Yet at no point reading hers did I feel she was copying my words. The PoVs differ. Our characters focus on different things. Mine has a mini-arc concerning the Nutkin.

The links for comparison’s sake (and maybe leave kudos/comments if so inclined please and thanks). Note while the scenes are very similar no phrases are written in the same way. Mine: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25417882/chapters/76059467 Dara’s: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26067565/chapters/81832915

Dara and I both hang out in certain Discords and I know conversations about Thancred and WoL caring for each other post-battle has come up in those channels and we've both participated. It’s a stock FanFic scene to boot. Cuz it's soft and feels warm and snuggly.

I HAVE been copied before, back in WoW. My case is pretty clear cut so here are the images of my old RP Haven profile (1st, old RP website) and the plagiarist’s RSP (2nd, an in game mod to share descriptions and basic info). 

This was a decade ago on Shadow Council and I think the character deleted so any Availa’s in WoW now aren’t the same person. I left the names to point out what changed. Just the names and a word or 2 to make sense for the class changes as well. Otherwise lifted directly from my RP profile.

The funny part is how the person got caught. Literally walked into our weekly RP Guild meeting that I was running and asked to join. Folks noticed right away the similar backstory; after all there may have been more Outland-born Azerothians. My initial excitement at a character I could weave into our story turned to gut-twisting rage and grief as I recognized my own exact words though. Words I’d carefully crafted and constantly iterated on to improve over time (before and after this incident, until the site died).

When caught they tried to claim their significant other had leveled the character for them and made up the backstory based on Skyrim. If you know WoW’s Outland story and Skyrim’s plot you know how ridiculous that is. Also tried to lie about other drama I knew about thanks to roommate's characters but hey. I had to be blunt that I’d shared the info with Haven mods and other guild officers Alliance and Horde. That we would not “laugh about this” one day though lucky this was “just” RP not original or academic work. Cuz if it'd been monetized or academic I would've raked them through the coals.

I felt violated. Hurt. Had anxiety attacks. They took MY WORDS and tried to claim them as theirs. Have another character born in Outland trained by Draenei; Awesome! Our characters have an instant connect in similarities and differences of that experience. Don’t steal my characters wholesale!

Then the audacity of trying to come into my guild as if no one would notice. ShC wasn’t a large server by then, still active but not nearly Wyrmrest Accord or Moon Guard big. My character was well known due to my writing and RP. Speaking of how easy it is to get caught in specific spaces...A case of a self-published novelist getting noticed for plagiarizing fanfic was discovered recently (explicit erotica examples through the thread).

One way they got noticed was how much content they put out in only a year, lifted from fandom. The examples in Kokom’s threads show how the material was altered but still recognizable. In some cases, just the names are changed as in my experience. In other passages more has changed but you can still see the bones of the original fic poking through in the descriptions and character interactions, even with adjustments made.

Similar ideas happen. Similar plots exist. Same 'ships with friends are fun! In FanFic we’re working with the same material. It’s possible to write a similar scene differently. To make that scene and characters your own. All we’re asking is not to copy others' words. Others' characters. Others' specific phrases and descriptions used to bring those words, those characters, to life. Use your own. In the end you’ll be happier.

I get wanting to have what the perceived “popular people” have. I get seeing concepts others succeed with and wanting some of that too. We all get a bit jealous now and then for various reasons. Sometimes we don't even realize it, consciously. But do it in your own way. Maybe check to see if you’re getting a bit too close to the “inspiration” you admired, maybe reread often. Don’t hurt your fellow creatives. If you do and get caught don’t try to double down. Have the grace to be abashed at least and work to do better. Eventually you WILL get caught. All it takes is once to throw all else you've done into question. Ao3 doesn’t take kindly to plagiarists. Nor do a lot of fan communities focused on writing and RP. Getting back that trust is hard. The internet doesn’t forget easily, for good or ill.

[saikagerights]

Lay Me Down to Rest - Entry for Day of MirSan 2021

Hello there! And welcome to my first Inuyasha fanfiction, as apart of the @dayofmirsan event. 

I initially was planning to be an observer of the event, but sudden inspiration struck at 1am during my nightly routine of falling asleep to Inuyasha. Rewatching the Monkey Sprite episode is interesting for many reasons. For one, there was an unhealthy amount of filler added into the anime adaptation of this story-line, which gave hit-or-miss comedy. But the most important thing is that Miroku and Sango are mostly unaccounted for in this story-line, which gives shippers like me an opportunity to write some “off-screen development” for them. And though the anime does give us an idea, I’m afraid that Miroku’s indifference and frustrated edge in the scene feels a bit off, so I decided to add a bit of a bit of context. Consider this a bit of a fusion between the anime in manga, though the scene is based off of the anime. Also I was very liberal with my use of English/Japanese dub terminology. I watched the anime in English, but switched over to the manga to replace the Final Act, so it’s a bit inconsistent. 

I’ve been observing this fandom from afar ever since I started getting into Inuyasha back in December, and though I wanted to try and engage with it, it seemed very daunting given this fandom’s age and organization. But I’m very grateful that I was given the chance to participate in this event, and lucky that inspiration struck me at the right time. I’ve really been looking forward to seeing the works that come out of this event, and I hope you enjoy my contribution. 

And thanks for the mods for allowing me to share my work with you fellow fans

InuYasha and it’s properties are owned by creator Rumiko Takahashi and Sunrise 

Read on AO3

Sango tailed the monk as he led their investigation. The villagers they had asked so far had no knowledge of the wicked demon, only of the pestering monkeys that were ravaging their fields. Her companion simply nodded, thanking them for their time and promising that the Inugami would save their village. They soon found themselves at the outskirts of the village on an empty patch of land outside the forest, save for one tall tree. Sango found his behavior during their search to be strange, especially as he now paused at the tree, leaving his Shakujo leaning against its trunk.

Was he just as stumped as she was? Would this reprieve be a chance for them to rethink their approach? 

“Why have we stopped here, Miroku?” She questioned. “Aren’t we supposed to search for Naraku’s whereabouts?”

Her befuddlement heightened as he laid his body to rest in the grass underneath the shade of the tree with a sigh, both hands pillowing his head. His intentions then became clear at the sight of his eyelids slipping shut.

“How might we do that when we have neither Inuyasha’s nose or Kagome’s detection?” His tone reflected his relaxed poise. “I merely said that so that Inuyasha would be more inclined to help those villagers.”

Her head tilted downward towards the monk’s resting face. “I understand wanting to help, but do you honestly think that Inuyasha dealing with those monkeys will get us any closer to finding him?

“Not particularly.” He punctuated the off-handed remark with a yawn, overstating his disinterest. “But enough of that... Why don’t you join me here?”

She stood awestruck at his bold request. He lays there while their friends were helping this poor village and now he asks her to do the same? If Inuyahsa were to find out, he’d surely have more pressing things to worry about than the food security of the village. 

“I don’t think it would be wise, considering your flippant lies.”

The man remained still, no sign of concern disrupting his posture. 

“If you changed back into your battle attire before our return, they’d never suspect a thing.” He ignored her statement, a peaceful smile casually appearing on his face. She instantly recognized this move. He was fully convinced he would get his way, the sleazy crook. “Besides, I’m sure sleep has been as kind to you as it has been to me as of late.”

Although it was usually hard to detect amongst his manner of speaking, the monk’s sarcasm was not missed by the slayer. She knew very well that Naraku’s sudden disappearance had their whole group on edge, including herself. And while sleep had become its own battle, the desperate investigations of their enemy have left her distracted from everything else. Sleep meant the rest needed to fight again, but it also meant time alone with one’s most intimate thoughts. What always plagued her mind nowadays were things she’d rather not willingly engage. Finding Naraku should be her biggest concern now, but she indulged her companion despite what she would consider was her better judgement.

The monk had a particular talent for steering her away from rationality.

“Knowing your pervy ways, I’m sure you’d try and sneak a peek at me”

The monk could’ve never noticed the sneer on her face behind his still-closed eyes. The same smile was plastered on his face as well, despite her accusation. He really did enjoy giving her grief, didn’t he...

“Trust me, my dear. I have no intention of moving from this spot for a while. Or at least until Inuyasha comes for my head.”

 “Then I guess you wouldn’t mind if I left Kilala here to guard this spot until I returned.”

He chuckled at that. “I don’t mind at all. I’m sure she’d love to watch me lie here, right Kilala?”  

Sango looked to the nekomata, who merely chuffed in response. She was wary of Kilala’s strange trust in the monk at times, but she was sure that the demon would keep an eye on him in case he tried something funny. 

Miroku took this as the perfect time to reveal his indigo eyes to her. 

 “Please, my intentions are more honorable than what they seem, believe me.”

There it was, that gentle voice of his used to convince her of his authenticity. The same breathy tones that sent her heart racing and her stomach in somersaults. She knew Miroku was confident in his charms, but she also liked to think that he was fully aware of this game they played. She only came to grips with it recently, but there was something going on. 

They’d fight, they’d talk it through, and just when she thought he would try to make a move, that damn hand of his would find the wrong place to caress. Or it would be when she found herself grieving once more, and he could comfort her with his words alone. How did he always know what to say that made everything clear and could heal every fiber of her being, but also had a hand that never failed to do the exact opposite? He was a truly frustrating man, but he was the only one she ever considered more than just that. 

But did he really know? That was a puzzle Sango couldn’t solve. It wasn’t as if anything meaningful resulted from these escapades. Afterwards, they would act as if nothing happened, and he would return to his typical flirtatious ways with any woman that entered his line of sight. So Sango liked to think that Miroku fully knew that he was toying with her feelings. That way it made it easier to lower her expectations and resent them despite Kagome’s not-so-subtle prodding. 

When she became abruptly aware that her eyes had been locked on him for too long, she made her hasty retreat, hoping he didn’t catch her bright red flush in the shade of the tree. 

“This man will be the death of me,” she softly cursed herself as soon as she knew she left his earshot. 

_______________________________________________________________

Upon her return to their little “spot,” she was greeted by an alert Miroku. His body was now fully upright and turned towards her approaching form. 

“You’ve accepted my invitation, I see”

“I thought you were trying to sleep”

“I still am, but I’d figured it would help if I got a quick glimpse of your beauty before-hand.”

She rolled her eyes at his shameless attempt. “You really are troublesome, you know that?”

“You wound me, dear Sango!” He unceremoniously flopped back into his previous position, his left hand patting the spot next to him. “You are free to lie beside me if you wish.” 

Without the need for consideration, she silently opted to sit against Kilala’s curled form, stretching her legs in front of her. He managed to convince her to relax alongside him, but she had no intention of allowing herself to get too comfortable around him in the likely case the monk’s wandering hands wandered once more. He sighed audibly at her decision, but allowed his eyes to close again without any further word. He could act like a child all he wanted, but she would not budge. 

She watched the man for a while, observing his state of rest. She could tell as much that he hadn’t fallen asleep just yet by all of his idle noises and the way he kept trying to steal a glance in her direction. 

“Can’t sleep?”

She hadn’t even tried to close her eyes just yet, as she was still trying to grasp their current situation. Why was he so insistent on sleeping if he was just going to try and stare at her the entire afternoon? Why did he lie to Inuyasha in the first place if this was how they would spend their time? With all these questions moving around in her head, she might as well ask for the most basic of them.

“Miroku? Why do you lie and steal as casually as you do? I always thought that monks were pure-hearted.”

“What a wonderful question!” He exclaimed. With such enthusiasm, she was almost afraid of the answer she would soon receive from him. “I’ve been traveling on my own for so long, and it’s quite difficult to acquire wealth in such unfortunate times. I wish to give aid to those in need, but I also believe that it never hurts to help yourself as well.” He settled for an even tone and let his eyes slip open once more. 

 “And you are right, It is true that holy-people such as myself are meant to be free of sin. But,  I was born tainted by the hole that resides in my hand.” His voice tapered off at his pause, the newfound silence growing thick with each passing moment. His sound returned to him, soft and low, as if it were only meant for his ears alone. 

“It doesn’t matter how much I devote myself to my faith to any idol or deity. My curse is hell-bent on deciding my fate....”

But we are trying to stop Naraku! To free you from the Kazaana. You can always change your path after that! She immediately contested, perhaps a little too loudly, but she didn’t care. How dare he speak so little of himself and avoid her gaze as he did it?! She refused to accept his belittling statements. 

“It is very hard for me to see a future for myself at this time, I’m afraid…” He brought his head up to look at her. A flash of fear ran through his eyes before he looked down once more. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t speak like that.”

He’s afraid…

And he had every right to be. 

“Please don’t apologize.”

He never showed it in front of their group, but behind that calm and smooth exterior remained a man trembling under the weight of his own mortality. He was a man after all, and men were never to show what made them most vulnerable. But with how much he gives to help others, it feels unfair for him to just allow himself to suffer inside as he did.

 If they understood each other as well as he liked to claim, then she knew he hated the restless feeling they had knowing nothing of where their wicked nemesis resided, surely plotting something to exploit the fears he caused within their hearts. Knowing that her poor brother remained in that demon’s grasp sickened her to her core, and sitting around with no leads made it hard to lay dormant as they did now. 

“I get it. I am just as frustrated as you… About Kohaku-”

“-You don’t need to go any further” He  interrupted her thoughts, I didn’t mean to remind you of your pain like that.”

 “Miroku-” 

 “-Please,” he sharply cut in once more, hoarseness settling into his throat. He must’ve noticed it as well, as he cleared his throat soon after. “let’s just try to find rest while we still can.” 

He squeezed his eyes shut, clearly trying to force unconsciousness upon himself. Sango relented, trying to relax her body, idly stroking Kilala as she watched the man slowly succumb to rest. It was surreal to see him struggle like this when it seemed like meditation was second nature to him. She decided on trying for sleep once his breathing evened out and all the remaining tension left his face. 

________________________________________________________________

Miroku wasn’t sure how long he had been asleep, but he could tell from the shadows before him had grown considerably when his eyes peered open. He turned his head to see Sango now curled up against Kilala, her face all but buried in her demon companion’s fur. He slowly rose to his feet, slightly stretching as he made an intake of his surroundings. It looked as if the sun would soon begin it’s retreat from the sky. The monk knew the rest was necessary, but he definitely didn’t look forward to another predictively sleepless night. 

One more glance at Sango’s sleeping form was enough to convince him to approach her, neglecting his Shakujo to silence his movements. He knew, probably better than anybody, of the threat imposed by the slayer’s attuned senses. He also knew the danger of being caught if she awoke to his gawking. Unfortunately it was a risk he was willing for one small fleeting moment to stare at her.

What an idiot he had been for making her sympathize with his life. Even worse that it reminded her of her own grief. He was happy to indulge her curiosity, but when he looked up at her, he turned cowardly at what he saw. It wasn’t fear, or sadness over his grim fate. It was the very same fire that lit behind her eyes in battle. 

She was prepared to fight for him, it seemed…

He dare not think that she would go any farther for that. He was not worth her death. In fact, nothing was worth her death. The honor of her clan was at stake, and her life was essential in carrying on their legacy. One measly itinerant monk with a fated death should be worthless in her eyes, even if he wanted nothing more than to keep her alive.

Even if he wanted more than anything to see a future with her.

He turned away from her, returning to his spot in a now seated position. The monk had half a mind to wake the woman, but decided against it. Every waking moment for her was its own battle, after all. She needed all the rest she could get. And he’d gladly wait for her until that battle resumed, and fight with her at every step.

And if dying for her now meant he could spend the next life by her side, then he would welcome death with open arms. 

“I hope this woman is the death of me,” he softly wished before all else melted away to his own meditation.

______________________________________________________________

Yeah I realized I took some liberties here with how Miroku and Sango’s relationship was at this point. This episode takes place after the Temptress of the Mist and Demon-Head castle, but far behind Mt. Hakurei, so what was going on with them hadn’t really become a “pattern” just yet. And Miroku had just comforted her in her grieving state for the first time right before that. Sango wasn’t deep enough to say he was her reason for living, so that’s why I kept her on the fence and didn’t have her feel too disappointed, because that’s what came after Mt Hakurei. 

I’m a sucker for long winded perspective changes, especially here with all the parallels I draw between them. Some of my best lines were written here, especially the ending line. My GOD. I swear, I wrote that and everything made sense. I said “yes” over and over again, it was so good.

Also can you tell whose voice I’m talking about when describing Miroku’s? The answer is Koji Tsujitani. I always knew about Tsujitani’s delivery that makes Miroku sound truly “fake” but I noticed rather recently how he would add so much breath, especially in serious scenes. On the other hand, Kirby Morrow played the character down and deep in his throat, which isn’t bad when talking about his overall performance, but I decided to favor Tsujitani’s performance in this instance. 

(I’m a classically trained singer and a music education major, so I’m a nut for analyzing voice acting. I have respect for both of these men may they rest in peace.)

Thanks again for the opportunity, and I hope to write more for this series. 

-Saikage

[secretshinigami]

Title: Zombie Note Author: @izaori For: @llawlietofficial Pairings/Characters: Light Yagami, Ryuk, L, Matsuda, mentions of other characters Rating/Warnings: Teen, nongraphic violence, potentially unsettling descriptions of zombies (the effects of death on the human body are interesting, right? Now make that corpse jiggle) Prompt: Light didn’t read the fine print on the death note and now everyone he killed using it has turned into a zombie Author’s notes: Interesting idea! I wanted to explore Japanese folklore in either the fanart you requested or fanfic but I quickly discovered that these ideas are popular because they are specifically western. That being said, I tried to incorporate a couple cultural things since Death Note is so Japanese culture heavy, and I figured it would make sense if something like a “zombie note” happened would have something related, too. Then I got wrapped up in the details… I hope you like reading. It’s much more than 750 words. Thanks for the fun idea! It was a great last prompt to go out on! I wanted to do the fanart but it just wasn’t coming out right. Bonus sketch at the bottom based on those requests, though. Mods feel free to ditch that if you want just the fanfic.

—————————–

There’s a saying that life doesn’t always go as planned. Light Yagami, top student in the country and owner of a death note, knows this very well. He’s quickly learned that sometimes death doesn’t go as planned, either.

With someone more average, less motivated, maybe even scared and cowardly, there could have been minimal damage. An incident or two at most, enough to be written off as something silly like someone eating bath salts. Unfortunately for Light, and for people around the world, the young man had written names of hundreds if not thousands of criminals in the span of a week, along with scheduling many more to die that he cannot reverse. Death cannot be erased.

News of the first revival popped up in Japan, of course. Light had tried to space out the deaths enough that authorities could keep up with the stream of dead bodies, but there was bound to be a build up at first as society gets adjusted to a new, less crime ridden world. In a morgue somewhere, apparently one of the first criminals he had killed as a test subject got up from the table. The previously dead man scared the undertaker out of his mind, reaching out for him, clearly wanting to take a bite–!

It really was a stroke of luck that the undertaker had already sewn the corpse’s mouth shut using wire. After getting a quick yet confused grasp on the situation, the undertaker took the nearby fire extinguisher and made the corpse still once more.

News got out fast across the world. Dead bodies coming back to life. Unfortunately, not many people were nearly as lucky as the undertaker. Those killed by the zombies were turned into zombies themselves so long as they were salvageable. The very smallest relief is that the zombies seemed to ignore small children.

Light paces around his room, death note on his desk, untouched. It was obvious to him from the first occurrence but even the news is broadcasting what everyone is thinking now. Kira has created zombies. Any of the praise he had previously is gone, replaced with fear and disgust. Only a select few loons are absurd enough to support someone turning criminals into zombies! A few minutes pass, and Ryuk laughs, breaking the tense silence.

“This is funny to you, Ryuk?” Light asks, tone sharp. He stops in his tracks, glare icy.

Ryuk stares at him, unblinking. Can a shinigami even blink? “Very,” Ryuk states, “since I thought you read all the rules.”

“None of the rules say anything about zombies!”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Light.” Ryuk floats over, snickering to himself, and flips open the death note. He points to a seemingly blank page on the back. Upon closer inspection, in a different more similarly colored ink, there is a rule that clearly states that humans written in the death note by another human that have died will come back as zombies after 72 hours from their time of death, provided their body is intact enough to be reanimated. Not only that, but a second rule states that these reanimated humans are able to do the same to other humans with the same restrictions.

Light can’t help but gawk at the hard to notice rules. He had been so careful to read over the rules before, but had missed this. Shameful trickery. Ryuk laughs again, watching the gears turn in Light’s head. These people are already dead, the death note can’t kill them again. Even if it could, they’d simply be zombies another time over.

~

Meanwhile, government officials that had already been pointing fingers about conspiracies on the deaths of criminals across the globe are now making much more serious accusations. This has now escalated from planned death to some kind of biowarfare, involving what is assumed to be a state of not actual death followed by this zombified state. There are arguments, with some people insisting that these are genuine zombies, not flukes. These people would be right.

L sits in solitude, listening through his computer to the chaos in Interpol. This Kira person, was this their intention all along? It’s not the feeling L had first gotten from them, but it had also only been a week since the Kira murders started. For all he knew, Kira could have planned this from the beginning. L feels rather confident that this was not, in fact, Kira’s goal, for if he was Kira and wanted to bring around the death of many people to become zombies, he wouldn’t have picked criminals. There would have been some overlap with criminals for sure, but just criminals? Not a chance.

Watari brings in L over the conference call, and L lays down the law. To prevent as much further tragedy as possible, no more reporting crime as much as possible. In fact, try to keep everything on paper. On the possibility that these aren’t genuine zombies, a cure for this zombified state should be researched. Furthermore, the finger pointing needs to stop. No country would have willingly inflicted this upon themselves along with the rest of the world. It goes on similarly with L heading to Japan.

~

Just how many criminals did Light already sentence to death? Pages upon pages, names and names, all over the world criminals continue to die. All over the world, corpses begin to reanimate. In more fortunate, more savvy places, people have already begun cremating all the corpses to circumvent the problem. It’s hard for a zombie to happen if it’s a pile of ash. Some places, however, are already under total lockdown. Mass zombie infestations turning people left and right.

Light pours over ideas, drilling Ryuk for answers, but Ryuk doesn’t give. He laughs, giving vague responses and going on about how interesting humans can be in a crisis. Light has had to completely halt his plans in cleansing the earth of criminals. By the sound of it, he won’t be able to continue his plans at all. The death note was just a farce, a false hope. Something designed to be dangled in front of his face like bait that he took like a starving fish.

“If I’m the one who created these zombies, shouldn’t I be able to control them? Since I’m able to control the actions of people before their death, to an extent.”

“No,” Ryuk laughs, “You can’t control a thing. This isn’t about you, Light. The power isn’t yours. You’re just using it.”

Of course. To a shinigami, to Ryuk, this is all just a funny game. Light feels burned by something he didn’t fully understand the scope of to begin with. It truly wasn’t his power, but he felt it was given to him with purpose. Bestowed upon him by some divine intervention because he is able to sway fate with a written name.

~

Zombies. Walking the streets, drudging, semi-intelligent despite being functionally brain dead. Varying degrees of rotted bodies. It’s funny and unfortunate, really, because one would think that a lockdown because of an actual zombie outbreak would mean people would stay inside as much as possible. That’s not the case.

“The government can’t take away my freedom!”

“The zombies are misunderstood!”

“There are no zombies!”

An actual zombie apocalypse could be in the works and there are people denying the existence of the zombies. Some people believe the zombies are real but straight up don’t care whatsoever. Then there are the people who think of the zombies in almost an animalistic sense, thinking that since they were once human they shouldn’t be killed again even though they are actively trying to eat at and therefore turn more humans.

It’s impressive. It makes Light want to double down and get rid of criminals more, give people a reason to think more clearly, but the more he tries to create that ideal world the more damage he’ll do.

L’s solution is simple, after an autopsy. Or vivisection, depending on how one would argue the inspection. The zombies are just animated corpses. It isn’t a disease. It isn’t a mass case of doctors and undertakers around the world collectively thinking all these bodies are corpses. Something impossibly otherworldly must be happening right here, right now. A force beyond their mortal comprehension is making these corpses come back.

“Kill them again,” L says bluntly, “Destroy them. If it’s a zombie, it’s already dead.”

“Ryuzaki, what about their families! Surely they wouldn’t want their loved ones being destroyed!” Somebody argues with L, of course. “What would you do if Watari became a zombie?!”

L puts a finger on his lip, dragging it down. His eyes go to the ceiling. “Unfortunately, I’d have to kill Watari. If the situation was reversed, he would need to do the same. Regardless, there is no saving them. The zombies exist only to destroy, so we must destroy them.”

Watari doesn’t respond, but what L said is true. He doesn’t want to think about it since he considers L to be his son, but if something were to happen that led L to become a zombie, he would want to be the one to put L down. He’d be much more upset if someone else did it.

~

Gun shots. Bats. Sledgehammers. People running over zombies with their cars. Some people have taken this as an excuse to let out their violent urges. Light sees this on the news and feels his blood boil. Something he wanted to prevent, senseless violence, has sprung up even more because of this damned note. Telling Ryuk to take it back is pointless. The damage is done. What would happen, though, if Light held onto it without using it? Would Ryuk kill him?

Light glares at the shinigami. “You said I was the first human you’ve seen write this many names so fast. That implies other humans have had a death note. Wouldn’t somebody have noticed a zombie before?”

“Who knows?” Ryuk floats over to the window, looking out at the abnormally empty street. “Maybe it’s been forgotten.”

There’s nothing Light can do to reverse the chaos, nothing he can do to end it. Fine, then. The worst have the worst have already been written, many other well-known and otherwise publicly known criminals have already been written. More zombies are bound to appear, but this is it. On a regular piece of notebook paper, Light writes himself a note explaining the situation, knowing he won’t necessarily believe it when he reads it.

“The death note is worthless to me now. If this is its purpose, I don’t want it. Take it back!”

“I’ve had a lot more fun than I expected already.” Ryuk laughs, grabbing the death note away from Light. “Too bad. I wanted to eat more of your apples. They’re so… juicy.”

“Leave already.”

~

Having excellent marksmanship, Matsuda is part of the force assigned to patrol. It’s not his favorite thing in the world, in fact, he’s a little scared of the zombies. Too bad for him his skills are simply too much to pass up on in a time like this. He’s got not just one, but two guns locked and loaded, ready to go. It’s unusual for him to have even one on him most of the time, but the circumstances are grim.

Think on the bright side, Matsuda. According to sources around the world, the only new zombies popping up are ones being turned by already existing zombies, which are dwindling. He’s already taken down a couple. It’s unnerving. Most of them look almost like they could be okay if they put on a little weight, got a little color. Initially, Matsuda was surprised that rigor mortis let them move at all, but was quickly informed by an irritated Aizawa that at most rigor mortis lasts up to 84 hours. Then Matsuda felt grossed out by the idea that the zombies might be overly squishy. That idea was quickly stamped out, as the zombies are probably not squishy at all due to dehydration. Would they even really have blood? Probably, right? The one he shot had some blood.

What disturbed Matsuda even more was that when he went to check the body, taking hold of the hand, the skin came clean off like a glove. Admittedly, it made him sick. None of the sighted zombies have looked particularly bloated, though, which is a positive for him. Matsuda wasn’t sure what he would do if they smelled any worse than this.

Smelled. Can they smell? Matsuda was lost in thought, wondering how the zombies managed to find their way around, when he was interrupted by his earpiece.

“Focus, Matsuda.”

“Sorry, Ryuzaki!”

He taps something on a device that lets a cleanup team know the location of the zombie before moving along, wondering again about a zombie’s senses. Depending on how they died, their eyes might be all dried up, so surely, they couldn’t rely on vision. Maybe hearing is the way to go unless they died already deaf. Then Matsuda remembered that these zombies aren’t actually a result of an ailment. Not the original ones at least. The ones turned after the fact were declared uncurable as well, and Matsuda had his doubts, but the human body can only take so much decay before it’s irreversible.

Another shot rings out. Matsuda means business.

~

Light sits at the dinner table with his family, discussing the zombie topic. Light now has no memories of ever having owned or used the death note, and his brain has filled in the gaps for him. His dad insists that they all continue to remain in lockdown, that he can make the runs himself if they absolutely need anything from the market. Light encourages his dad and offers assistance. Why wouldn’t he?

Sayu and Sahicko have a brief argument that ends with Soichiro telling Sayu to respect her mother. Light smiles. For some reason, he was beginning to miss this.

~

By the time the zombies are cleared up, L is unsatisfied. He was never able to pinpoint who or what exactly caused this out break. Many people try to tell him it was a freak accident, but he knows better. Even if it was an accident, it was no accident. L wanted to know so badly who the face behind the operation was. He clenches his fist and bangs it on the table.

“Kira…” Yes, whoever Kira was, if they’re still out there, might have been killed by their own creation. What a twist of fate. L decides for his own sanity that Kira is still alive, but he doesn’t press the subject. How could he? Kira is seemingly no longer active, and the zombie situation has been solved. If something like this ever happens again, L will be ready to track down and find Kira.

~

[prismarine-blocks]

modpacks we've played

doubles as a handy list for ourselves and for our followers that want to check out modpacks

(not intended to be listed from most to least favorite but it accidentally ended up that way so uhh oops)

stoneblock / sb2

general thoughts: second one is much more polished and better. definitely good for multiple people to work on at once as a team. random rewards are actually useful and can give you good stuff early on!

thoughts on mods: thaumcraft is useless but is actually pretty cool if you choose to get into it. draconic is *chef's kiss* so fucking sexy, along with tinkers construct. resource chickens are GREAT. fluid cows need some polishing and take a stupid amount of wheat and time to get places with. anything past draconic (project E and so on) terrifies me so we haven't done much with it

thermal expansion is GREAT, the little machines make the best noises (esp. the pulverizer. ahhhh). flux networks is also great and i love the interface! ae2 is a pain but arguably fun to work with. i don't use immersive engineering for much tbh but it's good for making cloches :3

other mods are also useful but these are the ones i know off the top of my head by name

tips:

start chickens early on! they are great for getting loads of resources in the beginning of the game- most resources can be obtained through chickens. also, you can stack up to 16 chickens and breed them up to 10/10/10 in stats- if you do that, they'll give you 3 of their item about every second ago

yes, chicken boxes (nesting & breeding) are affected by the acceleration wand. NO they are NOT affected by imaginary time blocks. sorry lads

DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT CURSED EARTH UNLESS YOU ARE READY. enclose that shit in obsidian and have water buckets ready to turn it off in case something goes wrong. also, a little goes a very, very long way

have at least one cloche for wheat. you'll need both the seeds and the wheat itself (if you have too much wheat and not enough seeds, you can get one seed from 2 wheat in your crafting panel)

don't worry about the inventory crafting extension. it's cool and all but if you're anything like me you'll either forget you have it or hate it because it doesn't use the same interface as crafting tables/stations

the ME system (computer) is super time consuming to build but also extremely fucking useful. do yourself a favor and build that before any mob farms. your storage space will thank you

don't forget to add in optifine if you like to use it, and also be sure to slap this mod (not the rewritten version! that one may not work) in there so you can grow top tier inferium + nether star seeds in the cloches. note that you CAN'T grow neutronium in there, sorry :(

challenge ideas:

actually use thaumcraft lol

don't use the mining dimension. for this you'll need to do a LOT of hammering and sieving- luckily there are autohammers/sieves just for this! :)

---

skyfactory 4

general thoughts: hehe skyblock

really though, fun pack! great for working on as a team. in fact i'd honestly recommend it

thoughts on mods: sky orchards is time consuming but it's a nice way to gather resources! haven't used resource hogs at all, honestly not sure if they're necessary. tinkers is here and i LOVE the porcelain smeltery. very compact, very cute. can't remember a lot of other mods right now but the pack is generally pretty nice™

tips:

you can't smelt cobble in the porcelain smeltery to get seared stone, so try to use petrified resin blocks instead

get hopping bonsais asap! also remember that they need to be on a chest to deposit their contents

slab chests aren't really worth it. slab furnaces and tables though..... Slightly more worth it. i still wouldn't really recommend them except for the achievement tbh

if you don't want a super horizontal base, build up! you have a LOT of room to build upwards, and you have the ability to climb walls (jump, shift + w, then tap shift while holding w to get to the top)

if you're in a snowy biome, put something above your smeltery. snow will break it if it starts building up layers on the inside

slime boots are your best friend! great for if you accidentally fall off. easiest way to get them is building a smeltery and then standing in it for the congealed blood

nether portals don't work, don't spend time on making one! check out the cakes instead (just make sure you aren't making xl food mod ones)

---

compact claustrophobia

general thoughts: literal actual hell in a cube. fun! not the best for multiple people to work on as a team; there are certain places where the quest trees kinda bottleneck and it's difficult for people to work on the same thing. don't recommend if playing in tight spaces actually affects your claustrophobia

and yes. the fart sounds stop being funny after a while. like the second time tbh

thoughts on mods: i don't know most of the mods in here by name- or at least, ones that aren't also in sb2- so i can't give much in specifics. that said, whatever gives you the thermoelectric generators is great and really useful for power. also the autoclickers are 👌

tips:

do yourself a favor and grind for more tiny compact machines. you'll need some later and you'll also want to use them for extra space

autoclickers + vacuumulator + hopper and chest setup works Great, def recommend. also as a note, try to avoid standing in front of autoclickers that are left clicking- they DO hurt you

save your poop and work on getting a farm asap. you can use it as fuel that smelts up to 32 items if you just mix it with wheat

(i haven't played this as much as sb2 so unfortunately i don't have much to say)

challenge idea: only use one room of each size at a time. this is going to be nearly impossible given the size of a lot of machines, but trust me, it's (probably) possible

---

sevtech ages

general thoughts: bullshit. not in a fun way. it's really just complex for the sake of being complex tbfh. you want a challenge that's actually just hours upon hours of suffering? congrats here you go

the only thing that makes this better than rlcraft is the fact that it has an actual quest/achievement line and doesn't absolutely hate its players

thoughts on mods: the only cool one is whatever you build the totem pole and do dances for, that's it. maybe the dark forest place too bc it looks cool even if it IS a pain in the ass as well. tombstones are kinda useful too tbh

tips:

don't play this

if you still want to play this, don't

really though: the saw is useful

the watermill is arguably better than the windmill

try to set your base somewhere close to an ocean or river biome; those are the only places with unlimited water until you get aqueducts

get an autoclicker for grinding stuff with the lever. trust me your fingers will thank you

backpacks will be your new best friends. embrace this

getting through each age takes a LOT of time. don't feel bad for taking breaks

challenge ideas: honestly the game is hard enough on its own, i can't really think of anything that would make stuff harder... outside of maybe smth like "only do things manually, don't use horsepower" or whatever, which is just plain mean at this point

---

rlcraft

general thoughts: don't

thoughts on mods: just don't

tips:

love yourself

do not play this

don't even think about it

i know it's all haha fun youtube right now

but please don't do this to yourself

challenge idea: don't touch this ever

actually serious thoughts: super overrated. incredibly frustrating. another pack that isn't challenging so much as just fucking horrible. it's mean! it hates you! you'll eventually hate it too! i've sunk so much time into this and honestly? it's just not worth it. it really just isn't. nothing you do will ever please the gods of rlcraft and if you're lucky you'll build a nice sexy base that will be gone the next time you die because the game decided your bed wasn't valid :)

if you want an actual challenge, play compact claustrophobia. play packs that limit you in terms of space or resource gathering. don't play packs like this that are only hard because they spawn big fuckoff dragons that burn everything all the time constantly, or that respawn you fuck knows where bc somehow your bed unloaded or """got obstructed""", or that have mobs that will literally go through walls just to commit murder. oh and half the time you can't even sleep because it just randomly spawns a mob that can kill you!! just don't do it, man. your time and energy are worth more than that

[skaiatemple]

December 23rd is the Festival of Rage!

If you follow as a practitioner of Pop Culture Paganism, a user of Homestuck inspired Chaos Magic, or just want to use your favorite series to inspire you throughout the year, Skaia Temple is your resource center!

Whether you want to just celebrate it on the day, use it as a date for empowered energy, integrate it into your more mundane celebrations, or just appreciate your favorite characters and concepts this month, we have suggestions for whatever path you want to take with us!

Read below the cut for a condensed idea & resource list for this month of Rage!

Aspect Centered Celebrate the Aspect in all its glory if you’re all about on celebrating the Festivals for exactly what they represent: The Aspect and all the traits associated with it.

“Often the Rage-bound prefer anarchy to any of the alternate forms of civilization, which they believe to be riddled with lies and foolishness and obedient masses. They are bringers of confusion and doubt, and they can be frustratingly difficult to convince otherwise when they have attached themselves to an idea.”

This Guide has been the most difficult and also the funnest to write.

Rage is about BEING A N G R Y

Rage is about destruction of what in untrue and unfit for your life! It is revolution and difficult truths and tearing away any facade you’re no longer content with seeing!! Void was about letting go and Rage is about seeing what dumb shit is left and GOING FUCKING HAM ABOUT IT!!!!

Don’t like something? YELL ABOUT IT!!! KICK IT OUT OF YOUR LIFE!! TELL PEOPLE WHAT YOU REALLY THINK AND DESTABILIZE WHATEVER SYSTEM IS KEEPING YOU FROM BEING THE BEST VERSION OF YOU MY WICKED SIBLINGS FUCK Y E A H ! ! ! !

If you like, want to do that, of course. It’s healthy but don’t cause ruckus if you don’t feel safe doing so ofc….

This month if for GOING APESHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Magical Inspiration If you want to use Homestuck concepts more abstractly and need some ideas for what brands of magic would work best for the season, if you have an Aspect or character-themed spell, feel free to send it in so it can be added to this section!

HEX A MOTHERFUCKER. MAKE YOURSELF SOME JINX BAGS TO THROW AT A BITCH TRYING TO HARSHEN YOUR DAY. LEARN SOME LATIN AND SMASH THAT SHIT TOGETHER AND WHISPER IT TO SOME FILTHY KARENS FACE AND WATCH HER CLUTCH HER PEARLS AND RUN TO HER LITTLE INSTITUTIONALIZED CHURCH HOUSE OF L I E S. TELL A SANTA FUCK YOU THIS MONTH. BANISH ALL THEM FALSEHOODS THAT ARE TRYING TO DROWN OUT YOUR GLOW MY TUMBLESTUCKED FAMILY!!!!

Or if you’re more passive just like, cleanse yourself of negative energies. But like- maybe yell while you do it! I swear it’s healthy for you.

HERE is a totally lit analysis of the Rage Aspect to help jiggle your braincells and HERE is a motherfuckin fabulous art project

Integration Route For people in the broom closet who are too timid or anxious to celebrate the Festivals openly- you can always integrate the Aspects traits to fit in with the more common trends and holidays of the month. Not even Hussie is is Homestuck God, no one will mind!

It’s time for Christmas time and Yule! A celebration of all the hope and joy we have even in the coldest of months, all about how no matter how dire the situation is, we can still be lucky enough to find some togetherness and salvation in this time.

OR MAYBE YOU THINK GOD IS A LIL HYPOCRITICAL BITCH AND YOU DON’T G I V E  A  S H I T ABOUT ALL THIS FAKE WHITE CHRISTIAN NUCLEAR FAMILY BULLHUEY. I BET YOU’RE DREADING SEEING YOUR RACIST UNCLE THIS YEAR AREN’T YOU DON’T L I E. YOU DON’T DESERVE THAT SHIT! YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO PRETEND THAT THIS COMMERCIAL ASSHATTERY IS WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN, AND YOU CERTAINLY SHOULDN’T MOTHERFUCKING BE QUIET ABOUT IT! IF YOUR FAMILY LOVES YOU FOR YOU THEY’RE GONNA SAY “FUCK YEAH MY PSYCHEDELIC PAGAN BLOODKIN YOU LIVE YOUR TRUTH I SUPPORT YOU BECAUSE THATS WHAT PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOU DO”!!!!

Or maybe you’re fine with all the festivities and have a loving community you can spend time with! In which case you can also just violently, without shame flaunt how much you love this personal truth of yours. The point is to let your truest emotions bleed, because that’s what’s healthy!!!! Happy Holidays.

Fandom Driven For if you’re not all about spirituality or routine and just want to enjoy going all-out with a beloved story & characters, you can honor the ones of this month by driving full-throttle on the fandom bandwagon.

Rage is the Aspect reserved for the Makaras! Very special boys they are. Whether you find their actions just, misunderstood, or just comically silly. They’re not all bad- even if by that we mean that they’re kinda funny when they’re being all hyper and homicidal. Some people see some guys who’ve been manipulated and taken advantage of at a time where they were most delicate, and some even moreso that their actions could still have meant some of the greatest good for the situation! Or maybe you’re an anxious Terezi kin whose finally on the last gogdamn Aspect guide and your feelings about Gamzee and the Makaras as a whole are very complicated but you also admire an aspect all about anarchy and vicious revolution! And also you’re trying to meet an aesthetically pleasing word-count! Anyway stan respectively the Makaras are funny but not like Great hahaha clown men.

Draw fic, write art- I mean- ENJOY THE MAKARAS! Whatever they mean to you. Even if they mean bad things to you- but don’t like, release your Rage on real people. That’s not what I meant with all the hyper capslock. Please value real peoples experiences and opinions over therapeutic internet shouting. I fucked up. I was so close to not going on an interpretation policing tirade in any of the Guides please DON’T BE WEIRD HAPPY RAGE SEASON IN THE NEW YEAR TAKE THE BROKEN PIECES AND FIND NEW HOPE WITHIN THEM FUCK YEAH…………………… HOMESTUCK

We hope you got some ideas for activities you can do with your friends or otherwise use to inspire and better yourself this month. Everyone plays the game of life differently, and everyone's beliefs are their own. Celebrate yourself as you see fit, and Thanks for Playing with Us.

~Mod Bee

[unibrowzz]

Mod (finally) reviews all 67 winners of the Eurovision Song Contest Part VI: The 00s

So I gave the 2000s a lot of shit back when I was rewatching them, mainly because the contests became much longer now with the introductions of so many more participants that semi finals had to be introduced, and also because the song quality nosedived. With the televote now in full control of who won, all you really needed to do to get a good result was either send somebody well known in your geographical area, and/or send something weird that would stand out amongst 40+ participants.

This is where the illusion of “bloc voting” came from.

So song, quality for the most part, was compromised in favour of either sending an attention-grabbing vote trap or just somebody famous. But that’s enough about the contests overall, how’s about them winners?

2000- Fly on the Wings of Love

Country: Denmark

Artist: Olsen Brothers

Language: English

Thoughts: I wonder how it feels to wait nearly 40 years to win again only to win as a complete surprise with a song 100/1 in the odds. Must be weird. My feelings towards this song are… kinda mixed. It sounds like the kind of song you swear you’ve heard before over a million times, be it in advertisements, on the radio, being played by buskers or bored guitar kids at parties. But at the same time it feels so completely different compared to other winners and, Hell, even other Eurovision songs at the time. It’s a very striking and recognisable song when talking about Eurovision music, sure. It’s very chill, and relaxed, and the singer has a bizarre voice which somehow sounds heavily autotuned even when he’s performing live.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Not really

If no, what is? Sweden- Roger Pontare- “When Spirits are Calling my Name”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 46th

2001- Everybody

Country: Estonia

Artist: Tanel Padar & Dave Benton

Language: English

Thoughts: And this folks, is what you call a guilty pleasure. I avoided this song for a while because I just knew it was objectively terrible. I knew this barely qualified as a song, that most of it was just two mismatched dudes shouting at each other over a disco track, that the lyrics aren’t that great at all… Et cetera. And yet, trashy as it is, I still really like this song. I don’t really know why, maybe it’s my barely-hidden desire to be an obnoxious contrarian, maybe it’s because the chorus has some fairly decent lyrics (especially for an eastern European entry), maybe it’s because it’s catchy… Or maybe because it’s fun, I dunno.

Is this my personal winner for this year? 2001 really sucked tbh

If no, what is? Honestly yeah, this song shreds

Personal ranking (out of 67):  13th

2002: I Wanna

Country: Latvia

Artist: Marie N (Or, Maria Naumova)

Language: English (I think…?)

Thoughts: You want a song which hasn’t aged well? Well here you go.  I’m sure this song was MUCH more bearable back in 2002, but listening to it now is just... What on Earth is she even saying?? I don’t think I’ve heard a song with such garbled lyrics before. On my first listen, I couldn’t even distinguish what language this song was in, and when I finally realised it was in English… good Lord, the lyrics are complete nonsense. And the rhyming? It’s non-existent. The funny thing is Marie herself speaks really good English, so why this song sounds like it was run through Google Translate five times and sung by someone who only started learning English 5 minutes ago is beyond me. But enough about the terrible singing, lyrics and butchery of the English language, does this song have anything else going for it? Not really. I’d put this song into the same category as “Diva”, in that it’s trying desperately to be the next big disco track of its decade, but it just never reaches the crescendo it sets out to achieve. It just drunkenly fumbles around until it ends. What a graceful entry.

Is this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what is? United Kingdom- Jessica Garlick- "Come Back"

Personal ranking (out of 67):  59th

2003- Every Way that I Can

Country: Turkey

Artist: Sertab Erener

Language: English

Thoughts: Ah yes, the original ethnopop winner. I’m still not 100% sure what ethnopop is, but I’m guessing it’s just slang for the kind of music you’d hear in a gay bar whilst on your holidays. Not that I would know. This is yet another winner where it took me a good few listens to properly enjoy it since I thought the lyrics were a bit… bad. But unlike those other songs, I got into this one way back in (checks playlist) 2014, and I still haven’t managed to fall out of love with it, so to speak. I still really like this song, I’d go as far as to say it’s in my top ten favourite winners in fact. A statement which still hasn’t changed after I watched the 2003 contest recently in July of 2020, so hooray for that. And ethnopop isn’t really a genre I tend to gravitate towards, but I think what makes this song stand out to me at least is how heavy it is. This is a very slow song when you look at its BPM, and the beat just pounds loud and clear all throughout it. It’s not as obnoxious or in-your-face as other songs of its genre, it’s its own thing and that’s what makes it a cut above the rest for me.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Yes

If no, what is? N/A

Personal ranking (out of 67):  5th

2004- Wild Dances

Country: Ukraine

Artist: Ruslana

Language: English

Thoughts: Ah yes, the superior Ukrainian winner. This song is kind of similar to the one above, in that just like “Every Way that I Can” this is a big, stampy dance number, only this time with the distinction that the lyrics were written in 30 seconds rather than a few minutes. It doesn't get lazier than this folks. But I'm willing to forgive lazy lyrics if the song can distract me from them, and thankfully this song can. Plus it’s not like this song needs good lyrics anyway, I get the feeling the focus is more on the beat and instrumental more than anything. And luckily I’m a sucker for that.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Yes

If no, what is? N/A

Personal ranking (out of 67):  7th

2005- My Number One

Country: Greece

Artist: Helena Paparizou

Language: English

Thoughts: I’ll give you “My Number One crawled so Fuego could run”, more like My Number One won so Fuego could pull up the rear in second place behind a song full of chicken noises. But I’m getting ahead of myself. This song I feel is the one which really popularised that… certain brand of Eurovision song. The female-led, east Meditteranean origin, “Yas queen slay” brand of Eurovision song. Yanno. The true gay bar song. Which is, as I said earlier, not really a genre I like nor care for. Do I like this song? Eh. Kinda. I can’t really bring myself to hate it, since I have some good memories associated with it, but... … Well, I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to it, put it that way. It feels kind of aggressive, and not in a way I’m all that comfortable with. The way she snarls that she’ll “get vicious” if her love isn’t reciprocated especially doesn’t sit right with me. Like I don’t want to be a That Guy™ who says people would get offended if a man sang that line, but it still puts me off a bit.

Is this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what is? Hungary- NOX- “Forogj, Viláj!”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 36th

2006- Hard Rock Hallelujah

Country: Finland

Artist: Lordi

Language: English

Thoughts: My mother always asks me “how did this win?” And I always tell her, “Well it’s been nearly 15 years since it won and you still remember it, so clearly it left an impact on people.” So, obviously, this is a gimmicky entry; without the giant monster costumes I highly doubt this would’ve even qualified, let alone won with what was then a record-breaking score. After all, rock/metal songs don’t tend to fare well at this contest. Even with the drunk European public in full control of the vote, most of them are lucky to even make it onto the left side of the scoreboard, and getting into the top ten? Forget it. It's too niche of a genre for it to have broad appeal, especially given how a lot of viewers (in my experience at least) DO tend to be older and more conservative, shall we say.  Now, I'm not an expert on rock or metal myself, so I can't really say whether this is a good representation of the genre or whether this is what outsiders THINK it's like, but even to my untrained ear this does sound very tongue-in-cheek. Like I don’t want to go so far as to say this is a parody of metal music, but it definitely doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously. The song, I mean. Apparently the band is very serious about their monster aesthetic; but I digress. That said, I do have a soft spot for whatever sub-genre of metal this is, so I don’t mind this one in the slightest. 

Is this my personal winner for this year? This or Croatia

If no, what is? Croatia- Séverina- “Moja Stikla”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 30th

2007: Molitva

Country: Serbia

Artist: Marija Serifovic

Language: Serbian (Translation: “Prayer”)

Thoughts: Ah, this one takes me back. This was one of the first Eurovision songs I remember truly falling in love with way back in 2013. I must’ve been about 16 or 17 at the time, heavily into dark, edgy music, and this song was just pure heaven for me. Ticked all the right boxes. It’s dark, it’s brooding, it’s sultry, the vocals are stellar, the lyrics are incredible; like, I wanted the title of this song tattooed on my wrist, I loved it so damn much, I just wanted to declare to the world that I loved this song. But that was then, how do I feel about it today? Obviously not the same, tastes evolve over time and after a while I wasn’t so easily suckered into this song’s spell like I used to be. But at the same time, I can’t deny that this is a fantastic song across the board, and one I still like despite it being my edgy favourite from back when my taste in music was terrible. Plus this is also the best-sung song of the 2000s, but that’s like being the tallest person in a room full of toddlers.

Is this my personal winner for this year? Yes

If no, what is? N/A

Personal Ranking (out of 67): 3rd

2008: Believe

Country: Russia

Artist: Dima Bilan

Language: English

Thoughts: Ah yes. The song that finally made Terry Wogan quit after 30 years of “commentating”. The song that proved to the people of the UK once and for all that the contest was rigged to favour certain countries and that countries in western Europe would never win again. Was it worth it? Not really, but I’m not complaining.  Now, I don't like Wogan's commentary at all, but really? This song? This is the straw that broke the camel’s back? This song isn’t bad per se, it’s just… Very underwhelming. And outdated. Like I can smell the 2000s off this one and it smells like Lynx body spray and hair gel. It's stuck in that awkward phase where it's too old to be cool, but not old enough to be retro, and it’s forever doomed to be a product of its time. It’s just an average, generic, “I have a dream and I can achieve it” pseudo-ballad; nothing outstanding or special. The performance feels very stale and formulaic too. The only way to describe it is it’s what I imagine an American person would THINK a winning Eurovision song would be like based on what they get told by their European pen pals. Dated music, hot Russian men, over the top presentation, like this just reeks of what outsiders (or British people, for that matter) think Eurovision is made of. On a different note, mediocre and dated as this song may be, I can still kinda see how it won (and no, it has nothing to do with Russia’s international relationships). Dima himself is a very… unique performer; one who performs with the questionable energy of an overexcitable children’s YouTuber, and his dramatic and exaggerated movements make this whole performance a bit of a blast to watch. But that doesn’t really save how painfully bland the song is.

Is this my personal winner for this year? No

If no, what is? Latvia- Pirates- "Wolves of the Sea"

Personal ranking (out of 67): 48th

2009: Fairytale

Country: Norway

Artist: Alexander Rybak

Language: English

Thoughts: I’m not going to lie, my feelings towards this song are incredibly mixed. There’s a lot of appeal here, with wild violin solos, swooping vocals and a pounding beat, as well as a very singalongable chorus; like, this is a good, solid song. But… something here just doesn’t gel with me. This, to me, is one of those “good by default” songs that’s a solid ‘A’ across the board, but something’s just… missing for me. There’s not enough here for me to go out of my way to download and listen to this on a regular basis. It's in the same boat as “Waterloo” in that I don't dislike it, because it’s still a good song, but I can't say I like it either, because it’s such a default "best Eurovision song”, so I can’t sincerely say I like it. Am I making sense? Probably not. But basically my thoughts are “it’s good, but it’s not my kind of good.”

Is this my personal winner for this year? Ehhhhhh

If no, what is? Germany- Alex Swings, Oscar Sings- “Miss Kiss Kiss Bang”

Personal ranking (out of 67): 29th

[thesharondefenseleague]

Ok I'm not going to deny that Sharon could have used alot more limelight and she didn't get as much focus in the movies as the Avengers characters. It was a cap movie but Disney when making these movies always had the thing in the back of their mind that these characters are avengers and these characters will become Avengers we gonna do alot with them. So they get more love while non Avenger characters and characters not getting their own spin-off don't. Even if it's a Captain America movie and it makes more sense that Team Cap would be the focus.

So Bucky T'Challa, Peter Wanda etc get more time to shine than Sharon.

And since we didn't get as much of a chance to know her in WS this was the chance to flesh her out and they made poor use out of that opportunity favoring other characters over her.

But

What you do get from Sharon gets down played by the fandom. Like the example of her giving Steve the heads up about closing in on Bucky. Or later on when he's being interrogated and they just all waiting stressed and she just clicks on the button allowing them to see the interrogation. They don't even have to ask. And then when things go south she immediately tells Steve his location. And of course her bringing them all their equipment before the big fight .

So i wouldn't say she just constantly isn't given relevance to that extent. And the fandom still diminished her importantance.

But the anon was more focused on how the writers and directors screwed Sharon over and focusing more on that .

So I will say they do because of what general audiences and also fandom seem to latch on to in these movies. And for the most part that's the big action sequences. It's a superhero movie obviously that's what people are hyping over the most. Sure fandom is also here analyzing Buckys breathing techniques in his non action scene. But he got to have that really cool action sequence. Winter Soldier doesn't have the most screentime in that movie. But he's so important every time he's on scene and alot of that time he's doing cool actiony plot stuff.

The kinda thing that fans would find really cool and then if they are the obsessive kind, obsess about everything else with that character.

That's kinda what you need that moment of cool badassery that makes you stand out from the rest to make the audience hyped. It doesn't have to be in a punchy punch way all the time either. Shuri in Black Panther does it with the cool shit she makes sure he has the action sequence too but you probably would have thought she was cool before that point. Fury has a similar effect by faking his death in WS which isn't an action sequence but a moment of cool. Natasha too does it by out smarting Loki in Avengers to find out his plan and then just gets sooo many moments that would be cool in WS.

Sharon gets 1 in WS the "depends on where you are standing" line. But her role is still pretty minimal.

But in CW I don't think she has a single moment like that and since she's not very well known by the audience and she could use that to be more drawn to her. But they don't get that.

I can't say the writers didn't know better and they thought understated would work. I know they knew better because they pulled it off with Peter and T'Challa in that movie. Peter they did it with a cameo pretty much.

They just did not care about doing it for Sharon. And while I do think the last anon cutting the fandom too much slack I do agree the creators should be called out more. Especially since it's clear they know better and can do better since they do better in the same movie with other characters.

I agree with you 100%.

Screenwriting may allow you to throw in as many characters as you want, but if you can’t balance out your main and minor-but-still-major characters that you insist on having and people have to get more out of them by buying the comics just to know who these people even are after several of your movies have done this to them (it’s not just Sharon who fits this, TBH Sam and even to an extent Bucky too) because you’re too busy saying LOOK WE GOT PETER HAHAHA SONY, then you’re a bad fucking writer.

It’s also because these movies don’t give a shit about developing characters in the slightest, and this covers all of them, and this is why characters like Sharon get left behind. They aren’t writing cohesive full-fleshed stories. They’re writing maybe fifty or so movie moments that’ll make audiences go OMG or LOL and then putting loose pieces of string between them to say they all connect, then barely giving two fucks about the rest of what’s happening. It’s the reason no one talks about how great the script is, and the only reason these movies get so far is because of the cast being that charming. And this isn’t just this movie, every Marvel movie has this problem, especially the ones that want to create funny moments for audiences, and if any of the films have a proper balance to them, it’s Thor 3 because the director/writer is a comedic artist. BP also succeeds because Coogler isn’t trying to make funny moments left and right, he wanted to tell a story, and it’s why it’s miles ahead of every other film in this franchise. But he also knew to tell it, everyone had to have a story and a purpose, and that is severely lacking in most other MCU films, especially the Cap ones, where his three major supporting characters, especially Sharon, getting getting shafted for characters who aren’t even fucking Cap characters like Natasha, or Wanda, or T’Challa, or Tony who already had three movies of his own but gets to play second fiddle in a movie that just shouldn’t have been allowed. And we’re lucky that in a month, we’re getting a show where the three major Cap characters are finally getting some genuine development, 7-10 years after being introduced to this franchise, because it’s being done by someone who cares about storytelling over funny joke or hard punch.

~Mod R

[colony22graphics]

            ❝Shine on,                  diamond.❞

◆ member since: nov. 22, 2013 ◆ longest character: alexander donovan ◆

@alexander-donovan, Well, here we go. 

Rory, there's no way on earth I could possibly describe what you've done for this community. Aside from making it all in the first place, constructing the post-apocalyptic sandbox we all hold so dear, you also pay attention to how it's executed---from basic principles of operation and how we ought to respect each other as players, down to the smallest, weirdest headcanon. It matters to you---which I think is probably the best way to summarize your energy and wisdom, the Rory-ness of it all: 

Things matter. People matter. Caring matters. 

In a world where we're pretty damn used to moving from one diversion to the next at a moment's notice, you make something that's absolutely set apart by saying, resolutely and passionately, that what we do here really matters.

And you're right, to think that. If you need any further proof that you---Rory---matter, you can look at me writing this damn letter (and swearing every three sentences, sorry). But you in your extremely Ro way, said hey, six years fucking matters, and so do all the people we play with, so let’s get mushy on the main and tell them. And I can tell you to your face you're right and this was a stellar idea because... I do that now. Because of your influence, I'm a better person, one who does actually try and tell people what I think. 

You challenge people to care, and to translate their caring into something others can recognize, and reciprocate. You’re never afraid to point out the importance of saying things and leaving a meaningful mark, becoming an active part of our community instead of staying in our own heads (as introverts on the internet are prone to doing).

You're also a hell of a writer, which is inspirational in itself, and I can’t leave that out of it. Your dedication to your characters, to their motivations and struggles, shines through in every post you make, and you don't let fear or insecurity take root or stop you from doing what you love. You know it's not about achieving perfection, but about collaboration and growth. The way we write is an exercise in discipline and embracing the joys of language, it's not meant to be fine art (though a lot of the stuff you come up with off the cuff blurs the line between the two on a regular basis.) It's really very rude how talented you are. 

I won't talk too much more about you and me personally because you already know it pretty well, but I will mention that when I offered to help out with tech stuff, you don't even know how impossible being a full mod felt for me, at the time. I'd just come out of some rough experiences and was ready to never do that again. But over the years, you gave me steps that I could take only when I felt comfortable, and let me accept only the responsibility that I thought I could manage (though you always told me you knew I was more than capable of handling it). In a very real way, with your patience and understanding, you gave me back my confidence, and my willingness to be vulnerable. That's something I won't ever forget.  

You have my respect and my friendship, always.

And dear lord, if Tumblr has managed not to self-destruct in the next five or ten years, I really hope we're still around doing this shit. No place I'd rather be.

Love you, Ro.

<3 Lottie.

(Oh, by the way, I took the liberty of adding something else, under the cut. I knew that I would never be able to cover everything, and that I’d run out of words, so I turned to others to fill in the gaps and maybe it’ll help convey it all a little more properly. Many thanks to everyone.)  ❤

         —-     Happy Colony 6th Anniversary      —-

     RO, YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE GIFT. I’m incredibly grateful all those years ago I saw that Bones bio and decided to join this crazy little family because that is exactly what you have created with the Colony: You have made a family. You have always been a pleasure to write with, a hard-working and careful admin, and now this second go-round I'm happy to call you a good friend. I wanted to mirror your sentiment on my anniversary post, it is amazing how time rewards our patience with this second meeting! I owe you a very real debt because thanks to this group when a friend let me down whilst I was on a different goddamn continent, thanks to you, I found Cassie there to help me out! The group is an extension of you: thoughtful, kind, emotional, and funny as hell.                                                                                                             - Nicola

     Rory, your dedication to the Colony (and previously Belvedere) astounds me every day. Writing with you is an absolute joy, thank you for all that you do for us!!                                                                                                             - Cassie

     RO HOLY COW!! It's insane to think of being part of something so wonderful for so long, I can't imagine how proud you must be to call this place home. I absolutely love writing with every character I've gotten to interact with, you approach your characters and this RPG with such a passion, it's always made getting to be part of it all the more special to me! To many years to come!                                                                                                              - Molly

     The things I admire most about you are your kindness, your compassion, your understanding and the way you always make the best of a situation. You've been nothing but welcoming and kind to me since I've had the privilege of joining this insanely talented and incredible group, and every day I am in awe of the love and care and detail you pour into the rpg. You have been so supportive over these past few months, every day I consider myself insanely lucky to have met you. I adore you and I'm so happy for you that you've come so far in your own personal journey, you truly do deserve all the happiness in the world.                                                                                                             - Lou

     Ro, you’re an absolutely wonderful mod and person. I’ve never met a more dedicated and creative mod in all my years on this website. You’re an astounding writer and creator who leaves me wanting to be better. You’re a wonderful person to write with and an even better friend. I love you and all the work you do for everyone in this group. Thank you for creating this fantastic place and starting this wonderful family.                                                                                                              - Lee

     Thanks for always being so open and welcoming! It's been such a blast writing with you.                                                                                                             - Ren

     Your commitment to this game and its players is absolutely next level, and it shines through in literally everything you do for us. I haven’t felt so at home and so comfortable in an RP in such a long time, possibly ever, and I know so much of that has to do with the amazing environment (both IC and OOC) you’ve spent such a long time painstakingly and lovingly cultivating. This RP wouldn't be the incredible space it is without such an incredible and dedicated team of mods. I hope you know how much I appreciate all you do, and how much I flippin' love ya!                                                                                                              - Alex

     Rory, you're a perfect admin and an amazing friend! You've always made me feel so welcome here, from day one, and my heart feels warm and fuzzy when I think of you. I utterly adore all your characters and your writing is just brilliant, it's always so much fun to brainstorm and write and plot with you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!                                                                                                              - Ellie

     When an rp has a lifespan of not just a year or two, but SIX FREAKIN YEARS, you must look to your leader. Ships don’t sail without a captain, and you have been the most loyal, loving, and adventurous captain to your crew. Congratulations on this amazing accomplishment, love. xoxo.                                                                                                              - Amy

     Rory, I just wanted to thank you for how welcome you've made me feel since I joined the group. It takes a special person to be an admin (dedicated, patient, and just a little bit weird), and the six years you've been running this group is a testament to how well you do it. You've got incredible creativity and passion, and I know I'm not the only one that feels so lucky to write with you in this world you've built. Congratulations on six years! Here's to many more.                                                                                                             - Nick

     RORUUUUU. I literally have no idea where my life would be now if I'd never met you. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you inspire me to be braver and stronger and more self-loving. Thank you for being my friend even after all these years.                                                                                                             - Mika

I don’t think I can concisely put into words how much you mean to me, but I’ll try: we first met in 2012 and through all these years you’ve continually inspired me with your talent and hard work. You’re more than just an incredible friend, you’re an ICONIC leader that has the determination and talent to keep this group running for six amazing years (with the help of your equally talented and wonderful co-mod, naturally, wink wonk). The Colony is a family to me, and I think to all of us, even before it’s a writing group. It couldn’t be what it is today without someone as tirelessly understanding and creative at its helm. You’re an absolute gift, you’ve been there for me through thick and thin, and I’m grateful every day that I get to call you a friend.                                                                                                             - Maddie

     Ro, you have been so kind and amazing since day one! You have this astonishing energy and a kindness that honestly makes the colony feel like another home. You’re such a phenomenal writer, and have made this rp a community like no other. I can’t quite put into words how much I appreciate you, and how much effort you put into everything you do. You’re so talented and I feel incredibly lucky to say I’m a part of this community. Thank you for being you. xxx.                                                                                                             - El

     The Colony has been a living, breathing world in which to create, and the key piece - creativity - is embedded in your DNA. You aren't just an enthusiastic mod. In some aspects you are the Col. I know you want everyone to feel included and allowed to be inspired by the writing of others rather than hemmed in by rules and egos so many other groups have. Thank you for throwing all your characters at me when one of mine has some wild scheme. I've said before your writing is cinematic in its expression and it always challenges me to want to (try to) write on a higher level. I'm grateful to have you as a sounding board when I get stuck in the mud of my own self-doubt with writing. Thank you for just being a friend as well and letting me ramble too. It is impossible to sum up this wildest of rides out of all my writing adventures so, much love, as always. xx.                                                                                                             - Cat

[ortegatrash]

All Things Must Come to an End

Chargestep. M!Ortega, ambigious Sidestep.

Warnings: Major character death, dying of old age.

"He's in ER, we moved him this morning."

"...Thank you," you tell the nurse. You already knew that, but it's not like she could have known. She's just trying to help you, she's seen enough of you over the years and she thinks it's terribly sweet that you visit every day you can.

She pauses for a second and then adds, more kindly, "He's been asking after you, you know. I'd go quickly if I were you."

Your throat feels too tight to speak, but you give a stiff nod at her before hurrying over.

The thing about being modded is that although the artificial parts can be cycled in and out and replaced when they wear down, the body is not quite as lucky. After a while even the healthiest and most cared for of bodies will break down.

Ricardo was never one to keep out of harm's way, flinging himself into its path. That's how he ended up getting modded after all - that's how they got their hands into him. How even now his spine bears trademarks and expensive sponsorships that have long since been withdrawn.

"Hey ol-" You cut yourself off and quickly stumble to cover it up with a cough and "...Hey." Neither of you quite wince at your slip up. Because it's true, isn't it?

He's getting old.

You see him wincing when it rains and his knees act up. You see the way his smile seems more distant, lost, when the painkillers aren't doing quite enough. All those years of abusing them for the pain have given him an inhumanly high tolerance to the point they barely do anything anymore. You're the one who has to hold his hand and pretend it's just because he's so needy for your affection and not because he has trouble standing up anymore.

His smiles have never quite disappeared, but the burning fire that used to be his spirit has dwindled down into a warm smolder. Embers of a memory of happier times. The fingers interlocking yours are gnarled and calloused, worn with the history of a life lived to the fullest.

Those fingers squeeze yours now.

"...You know you don't have to pretend for my sake," he tells you, quiet. "Call me old man if you want."

It's funny how life turns things around on you. "You're not that old..." you protest weakly, looking away from those knowing eyes. Still so warm. So affectionate, crows feet crinkling up at the corners and laughter lines painting themselves as his smiles gently at you.

A little huff. "Yes, yes I am," he tells you. "It's okay, you know."

You...you are not tearing up. You are not tearing up at this idiot who you've had so little time with, had so many years together robbed from you by life (and 'death'). You are not tearing up because even eternity would not be enough for you, you who selfishly want to keep him by your side forever.

His salt-and-pepper stubble is scratchy against your face as he kisses you. You shut your eyes tightly, trying to will the tears away. Hoping that if you shut your eyes everything will be like you were younger again. Wasn't it just yesterday you were both young and foolish and in love?

Now you are old and foolish and in love.

"You promised me you wouldn't leave again," you whisper, and you absolutely despise how fragile you sound. Despise how fragile he looks, how pale and paper-thin his skin is. Despise how much you love this stupid, brilliant man and how you don't know what to do with yourself without him.

"I did, didn't I?" A weak chuckle.

"You're such a liar," you tell him, trying and failing to keep your voice steady. You are not weeping. This is not fair.

"I am, aren't I?" The way he smiles so fondly at you is just cruel. "It seems like I'm just leaving broken promises all over the place."

No. No, don't tell me…

He shuts his eyes, breath unsteady. "Lo siento, mi amor. I don't think I have much more time…"

"No, Ricardo, don't be such an idiot!" You're probably crushing his hand right now but you can't help it. "Don't say such things when they're not true, we still have to see the grand canyon and visit the old hero museum again, and, and…" You're sniffing and crying too much to be making much sense.

He very gently tries to wriggle his gingers out of your iron clasp with only the barest wince. "I'm sure the others wouldn't mind taking a holiday…"

You capture his traitorous fingers again, suddenly afraid you might not have another chance. This time you make sure to loosen your grasp. "But I want you," you tell him, voice trembling. "I only want you, we can go when you'get better again and, and, and then we can go together like you promised…"

Ricardo's eyes are unfocused, looking at you and yet seemingly looking beyond you. "You know I can't, not anymore." At your silence he lets his eyes sharpen again and reaches up to cradle your face. "Hey. It's okay. You will be okay. I always knew this day would come, I just thought I'd die doing something stupid and dangerous instead of with someone I love after having live a long full life." His smile is a little pained, but accepting. Trying to be strong.

For you.

It takes monumental willpower to keep your mental shields strong, you can't break down, not now, not here. You don't need to re-enact a Heartbreak event.  "You...why do you have to be such an idiot!" you cry out, because you always knew he would break your heart. "Doing this to me…"

The kiss he gives you is all too short. Full of love and apologies and you kiss back with all the strength you can, trying to convey everything he means to you in one small little action.

It will never be enough.

It will never be enough when he passes away in your arms and breaks your heart for the final time.

[cynthiaandsamus]

Game Blondes Crystal Clear Nuzlocke Part 2: A Shining Chance!

“Hey I’m blonde!”

“…I’m also blonde.”

“AND WE’RE THE GAME BLONDES!!”

(Game Blondes Logo by @game-overture)

“Welcome back! So last time on Game Blondes we started our freeroam Crystal Clear Nuzlocke, our rat died in our first battle but we got a lot of other pokemon to replace it, fought a dude with a Shiny Ponyta and made our way halfway across Johto to fuck around. Now we’re gonna go check out Goldenrod since the dude with the Ponyta mentioned it and see if we can start nailing down some badges.”

“Okay so just a note about this game, seems like the trainer battles scale to your badges but the wild pokemon stay around the level they would be… considering the Hoothoot and Psyduck you caught last episode were in the early teens and you still have zero badges.” Cynthia pondered.

“So technically I could just run into a field way down the line and catch something super powerful and ram through the whole game?”

“Well theoretically, as long as you could manage to catch it and manage to live with yourself for cheesing the game that represents my life’s work and career.”

“…fine, fine. Spoilsport…” Samus huffed. “Anyway, I’m making my way down from Ecruteak to Goldenrod, getting a few levels on Danny that Gastly from this guy with four Voltorbs that can’t even touch him. Gonna see if we can find that restaurant the DOOM guy mentioned and if not I’ll see if I can get a gym badge or something. Got a few levels on everyone from all the trainers on this route and got the TM for Rollout, that’s a fun move.”

“You won’t think so later…” Cynthia snickered.

“Well we’re in Goldenrod… shit this is Whitney’s town!?”

“Yup, welcome to Rolloutville, population you.”

“Should we save this gym for last for the memes? I mean that’d be an epic final battle.”

“I’m game, anything to put off going against that crazy cow lady…” Samus grumbled as she searched the town. “Well the train’s here so I can get to Saffron and Kanto, it’d be funny if I got Sabrina for my first badge, bet it’d piss her off to get beaten by a level 10 Gastly.” She chuckled.

“I wouldn’t tease Sabrina too much, she can beat you up without touching you…”

“I’ll hold off on it for now if only because I already have a lot to explore that I’m skipping over and Saffron is ridiculously big. At least I got a bike to travel it a bit faster. Oh and an Eevee sitting on a table, lemme take that…”

“Hang on, lemme see that Eevee real quick…” Cynthia took the controls with a grin.

-10 Minutes Later-

“HOLY SHIT IT’S SHINY! How’d you do that!?” Samus gasped.

“Weren’t you paying attention to the tutorial? Shockslayer said Gift pokemon have a higher shiny rate and the game saves before you pick them up for soft resetting, so if you get a good rhymn down you can reset a lot real quick and get a shiny.”

“That is so cool! I love you Cynthia! I got a White Eevee!”

“This counts as part of your birthday present, I’m not helping you any further.”

“Fine fine.” Samus grinned, absolutely giddy with the white fluffball. “I’m gonna name you… Norman. Cause you’re Normal-type and a smart little white fluffball and we’ve been watching The Promised Neverland lately.”

“Hopefully that’s not an omen for this Nuzlocke…”

“Ah shit is this accidentally in bad taste?” Samus winced. “Well time to go Underground and explore some more of the shops and punch some of these trainers in the throat.”

“…no wonder the Pokemon League denied your application to become a trainer.”

“Well I got a coin case and it looks like this guy is blocking the path to the other hallway so I’ll leave him alone for now, I’ve been warned that some of these guys have huge teams that can wipe me out…”

“Yeah, I read there’s a level 100 Magikarp somewhere in Kanto’s early game, so be on the lookout for steamrollers…”

“Well since I got the Coin Case might as well check out the game corner…”

“Holy crap you can just buy a Master Ball if you have enough coins! And a Lucky Egg too! I definitely don’t have enough time for that but that’s really cool!”

“And you can get some pretty cool pokemon too… too bad you already have Eevee so you can’t get any more pokemon for this town…”

“That’s fine, I’m very content with my Shiny Eevee, lemme get some coins though…”

(Mun Note: Due to Standards and Practices we are not allowed to show Samus gambling in case you’re in a country that hates it)

-One Gambling Montage Later-

 “Well I doubled my coins and officially hate gambling, so  let’s go check out the Department store, I’m sure there’s some cool stuff there, only got that, the Radio Tower and the gym left so almost time to be on our way.”

“Yay! Shopping spree!”

“Oh sweet, here’s the Tradeback NPC, he can evolve my guys, I’ll have to keep that in mind when I get an Upgrade for Porygon.”

“Well there it is, you just need more money…”

“Well I’ll save up and come back, I’ll let Polly stay as she is for now, can’t have my baby growing up too fast. We don’t even have a single badge yet.”

“Damn that’s right, we’ve just been derping around for an episode and a half…”

“Well we found a bunch of TMs at the shop here, keep those in mind, damn I really am broke…  Just gonna stock up on balls, check the radio tower and get out of here before Whitney crushes me for dawdling in her town…”

“Oh wow, an Event Move Tutor, you can learn all those weird moves they give out at events, give it a try and get your pokemon some broken moves~” Cynthia giggled.

“Well Polly learned Barrier, Norman learned Growth and Hooters learned Night Shade, so that’s all cool.” Samus grinned. “Got me some custom pokemon~ Making my way up the tower got a point for the Password radio game thing,  got a Sunny Day TM and a Pink Bow, that’s perfect for Polly, now she can feel even more like a girl and power up her Normal-type moves.”

“Your Trans Porygon is really cute.”

“Give the Amulet Coin Polly was holding to Norman now and at the top of the tower is this CHAOS guy who says he’s the new director of the station and wants to battle… here goes nothing I guess.”

“He… just has a level four Delibird… that’s not very intimidating for a custom trainer for this mod.”

“You have literally no badges and have been picking up pokemon left and right, feel like you’re a bit OP for this early in the game…” Cynthia sighed.

“Well he has a Cleffa too and I got some good money from it, guess that was worth it.  And I got a Nugget, so guess that was just a money pitstop. Well that’s it for Goldenrod, couldn’t find the restaurant but time to go to the next route and catch a new pokemon…”

-A bunch of pokemon Samus has already caught later-

“Oh wow a Ditto! And right next to the Daycare too! Guess I know what this guy was there for…” Cynthia chuckled.

“FUCK it took like all my balls but I got it… why did I want this thing again?”

“Breeding?”

“Breeding!? This is a children’s game I’m not gonna make my monsters have sex, what kind of sick fucks are you trainers?”

“Well you have it now so that’s good.”

“I’ll name it “Brothel” …for obvious reasons. I really need to get some badges so these trainers stop having level like six pokemon.”

“Then pick a gym already.”

“Fine, next town we go to I’ll fight the gym there. Just getting through this forest and catching this Oddish (nicknamed Oddball).  Got the Headbutt TM so I can punch trees like this is Minecraft.”

“Ahhh a Dark Souls reference last time and Minecraft now, soon we’ll be a regular mainstream Let’s Play streamer.”

“Awww man, Bulbasaur pops up here! We could’ve caught the mun if they showed up first!”

(Sad Bulbamun noises)

“This girl says Kurt knows about the Forest Guardian, so better head into town to see what that’s about… oh neat, I don’t have to wait to get Apricorn balls, this guy in Kurt’s house sells them for money.”

“And Kurt passed you off onto Professor Oak about the Forest Guardian thing… sounds like a fetch quest to me…” Cynthia sighed.

“Might as well squash some bugs for my first gym, I mean Bugs seem like a fitting start to me.”

“I mean Bug-types aren’t the most powerful but Bugsy does the best with what he can…”

“Alright Hooters, you’re a bird, you’re in charge of the bug squishing duty.”

“Well he’s got a Scyther at least, that’s cool, but he’s still no match for Hooters!”

“Wow that was quick, you and your boob-themed owl are unstoppable.”

“Well he did poison Hooters and get her down a bit, so if I’m not careful she could faint on the way back to the gym, but I did get my first badge so hopefully stuff gets more challenging from here~ One badge down, seven to go.”

“Fifteen.”

“…what?”

“Crystal Clear has both Kanto and Johto gyms in it, there are sixteen badges, you have fifteen left.”

“…well shit, I better get cracking…”

“Looks like you got a call from the Pokemon League too, they say if you’re in Johto to visit Sprout Tower to get something cool, a “FLASHy” reward… subtle and to go pay your respects in Ilex Forest, that’s probably to do with the sidequest we stumbled on earlier.”

“Well I’m starting to move up in the world, they gotta start recognizing me! Well might as well go down to this Slowpoke Well and catch something. Ooooh there’s breakable rocks here, I’ll teach Dudette Rock Smash and break one to see if I find something cool~

“OH FUCKLE, A SHUCKLE!”

“CRAP! I killed it, it gave me an Encore so I couldn’t get out of the loop… ugh, oh well, guess there’s no use crying over spilled Shuckle. Guess that’s all I can do in the Well without Strength for now… Might as well work my way back up to Violet Town and go to Sprout Tower like the League said, even if I don’t want to go in order, getting that reward would probably be good and get me some more pokemon along the way.”

“Well you killed that Zubat too, so no new pokemon on this route either.”

“WHY DOES EVERYTHING I TOUCH DIE!?”

“At least you caught that Whooper (named Whoop) in Union Cave.”

“Well Whoop de doo. A few battles later and I’m back in Violet City. I didn’t wanna do these gyms in order but I guess doing Flying-types second would be fine since I’m here anyway and have the pokemon for it…I need to get more badges to increase trainer levels so I’m not too OP right away.”

“Dudette, you’re in charge, kill these birds with one stone.”

“Well you’re the same level so I guess you’re not too overleveled, you just have a serious type advantage.” Cynthia sighed.

“Well took down his Pidgey but damn, wasn’t expecting Pidgeotto to have Mud Slap, Dudette’s in the red and her accuracy has gone to shit, better switch out. Do your best Poly! Alright! Two Psybeams and Pidgeotto is down~”

“Another badge and another call from the Pokemon League.”

“This time a warning about not watering wiggling trees, so you can probably get the watering can from that girl we saw in Goldenrod, plus a message about getting Cut from the Charcoal guy in Azalea Town and a note that Professor Elm is very generous so we should probably go back to him too.”

“Okay so we’re doing pretty good for this little neck of Johto, lemme make a list real quick of our goals.

1.       Go up Sprout Tower and get the reward

2.       Go back to Professor Elm and get a reward

3.       Get Cut from the Charcoal dude

4.       Squirt Trees

5.       Talk to Professor Oak about Ilex Forest shit

6.       ???

7.       Profit

“Sounds about right to me, looks like we have a lot to do… NEXT TIME ON GAME BLONDES!”

Samus’s Journey So Far:

(Color-coding the path by episode for now, may or may not continue to do this depending on if it’s a pain in the ass when it starts getting bigger)

Samus’s Current Team:

[wwd-discordserver]

It’s day two of our ★ WWD Advent Calendar! ★ 

Today’s post features work from two of our members - click below the cut to find out who they are and what they’ve created!

The first work of the day is an art piece by @sketchysprix for the prompt “KFC”:

The second work is a piece from @hollyandvice for the prompt “ugly holiday sweater”, which can be read below.

“This is a terrible idea.”

Izuku knows the grin on his face must be nearly maniacal. “This is a great idea.”

“No, this is a fucking terrible idea. Who put you up to this, Kirishima?”

Izuku pretends to look appalled. Katsuki sees right through him. “I can’t believe you think I would do something like this for someone else’s satisfaction and not purely for my own.”

Kacchan’s glare goes eve darker. “What the fuck, Deku. I’m not wearing that damn thing.”

“You can wear this one instead, if you want,” he says, holding up the Hero Deku ugly holiday sweater beside the Hero Kacchan ugly sweater he’d offered Kacchan.

Kacchan’s eyes flash. “Yeah? You for real?”

Izuku hesitates. He’d bought them assuming Kacchan would rather wear his own merch. If they switch–

Kacchan seems to see the moment of weakness. He pounces on it. “Yeah, let’s do that, then. You wear mine, and I’ll wear yours.”

Izuku swallows. Then, emboldened by the victorious smirk on Kacchan’s lips, he gives in. “Fine,” he says, chucking the Deku sweater at him. “Fine. We do it your way.”

Kacchan’s smug look falters, and Izuku feels the victory like a brief warmth in his chest. Kacchan straightens at whatever look is on Izuku’s face. “Deal.”

Izuku smiles. Victory will be his in this. Nishiyama’s going down.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Damn. You really got him to wear an ugly sweater?”

Izuku grins victoriously at the secretary. “You’re damn right I did. Pay up.”

She sighs, shaking her head as she hands over two thousand yen. “You’re a miracle worker.”

“Damn right I am.”

She laughs. “Looks like you miracle isn’t happy with you, though.”

“What?” Izuku turns to follow her gaze and sees Kacchan making his way over to them in all the green, red, and black glory of his sweater. “Oh.”

“You bet on me, shitty Deku?”

Izuku shrugs, knowing better than to try to argue with him when he’s right. “Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“You’re damn right it’s a problem, Deku! What the fuck?”

“It was the theme. I could hardly let our coworkers down when I had a chance to get you to follow the theme, now could I?”

“That’s not the same as betting on me!”

Izuku shrugs, unashamed. “Maybe not. But it’s what I did. Can you blame me?”

“Yes!”

“What, like you wouldn’t have done the same thing in my position given enough incentive.”

Kacchan opens his mouth to argue, but shuts it after a moment, clearly at a loss. “Yeah, well. Whatever. It was still a shitty move, Deku.”

Izuku nods. “Maybe so. But if I promise to take you out for dinner with the money, will you forgive me?”

Kacchan tilts his head to the side, something thoughtful in his eyes. “You askin’ me out, Deku?”

Izuku can’t control the flush that floods his cheeks, and knows Kacchan sees it from the way his eyes go wide with something like surprise. Izku looks away, unable to ignore the heat in his belly. “Can I be?”

Kacchan swears. “Fuck, of course you can, Deku. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting on you to get your head out of your ass and ask?”

Izuku looks up, heart in his throat. “You mean it?”

“‘Course I do. I know it wouldn’t have been my place to say anything, not after the shit I pulled when we were kids, but I thought…  I thought that if you wanted it, you might be the brave one again and ask me.”

Izuku swallows, looking up at Katsuki with heat in his chest. “Then consider this me asking.”

Kacchan’s grin is sharp and bright. “That’s not asking.”

Izuku rolls his eyes, willing to give Kacchan this if it means he gets to have Kacchan the way he’s wanted him for so long. “Can I take you out on a date, Bakugou Katsuki-san?” he asks, giving a low bow.

Kacchan’s eyes go wide. He recovers himself quickly enough, stepping on Deku’s foot in retaliation. “Yes, fine, whatever, just stand up. Everyone’s looking at you funny.”

Izuku laughs, straightening up. “Oh, and one more thing.”

Kacchan looks wary. “What?”

Izuku holds a hand out. “Can I have this dance?”

Kacchan doesn’t hesitate. He reaches out, taking Izuku’s hand. “You’re damn lucky I like you, jackass.”

Izuku laughs, high and bright. This is their relationship, this is who they’ve always been, and he isn’t about to start complaining now.

“By the way,” Kacchan asks as they dance. “How the hell does that sweater fit you so well? Min’s hanging over my wrists like I’m five years old again.

Izuku laughs. "What can I say, I’m a miracle worker.”

Kacchan frowns. “There’s no way.”

“No, really!” Izuku says, feeling the sly grin on his lips.

“Uh huh. And who helped you pull off this miracle?”

“The clerk at the local hero goods store.”

“You traded mine in for one your size?”

“Yup.” Izuku knows popping the p might have been a bit much, but it’s worth it for the look on Kacchan’s face.

“You’re a pain in the ass, you know that?”

Izuku’s grin widens. He leans in close, not entirely sure where the audacity hits him from. “I can be a pleasure in the ass too, if you want me to be.”

Kacchan snorts. “Okay, that was bad.”

“Yeah,” Izuku agrees, “I know. But I couldn’t very well leave low fruit like that hanging, now could I?”

“No, I guess not.” Kacchan shakes his head. “You’ve changed, you know that?”

“How so? In a bad way?”

Kacchan tilts his head to the side. “What do you think?”

Izuku looks down, contemplating. “I think I like myself a lot more than I used to. I think I’m physically stronger and faster than I used to be. But I think who I am hasn’t really changed at all, and those are the parts of me that are the most important. So, no. I don’t think it’s in a bad way.”

Kacchan hums. “You’re definitely a lot more gutsy than you used to be. And, I have to say, your confidence is damn sexy.” Izuku blushes. “But you’re right. The core of you, the parts of you that make you my best friend and the most important person in my life? Those things haven’t changed. In fact, they just shine brighter than ever. You’re brilliant, Deku, and I hope that the core of you never changes.”

Izuku looks away, overwhelmed by the honesty and warmth in Kacchan’s words. He tries to find the words, tries and fails three times before he finally chokes out two words, insufficient, but all that he can offer. “Thank you.”

Kacchan leans in, pulling Izuku close. “Anytime, dumbass. Any time.”

Thank you both for submitting and participating today! Before I wrap up today’s post, I want to take a moment to clarify a couple of things.

First, submissions are welcome at ANY TIME from December 1st to December 24th. If life was busy and you weren’t able to get something into us before the 1st, don’t panic, you can still participate! We are accepting all submissions and every work we receive will end up on the calendar at some point!

Second, I want to remind everyone of the creation guidelines for things that you would like to submit - please note that all posted content should be SFW:

Art: chibis, doodles, lineart (without guidelines), and sketches as well as anything that you feel inspired to color or shade, all are welcome!

Fics: we encourage fic writers to aim for ~500 words, but anything beyond that is also welcome! If you are doing a freeform work, there is no word count suggestion.

Other Media: AMVs, cosplay photos, graphics/edits, original music, etc. is all welcome for submission!

For those of you that aren’t members of our server and of this event - you can be! Check out this post and send off a DM to any of the mods, who will be happy to provide you with a link to join our server.

See you tomorrow with the next round of works!

- Mod Rito

[dramallamadingdang]

Replies! :)

These go back a ways, but it doesn’t include every single reply I’ve received over the last....three weeks?...or so. I just don’t have that much time right now, but I want to do some replies. So, if you’re not included here, please don’t feel left out. I love receiving comments, and I appreciate it when people take the time to leave them. :) I’m going to do a couple replies, that have longer answers, separately, but these are the “shorter” ones. :)

Anyway, these are for @princesspiratecat, @twofingerswhiskey, @lilleputtu, @penig, @esotheria-sims, @tamtam-go92, @i-mi, @hugelunatic, and @immerso-sims.

princesspiratecat replied to your photoset “Fishin’ pond. It has too-blue water at the moment, but that’ll be...”

Why and how is that water so blue?

The “why” is because I finally installed Dreadpirate’s shader fixes to de-blue snow at night. :) For those to work, the terrain shader -- which includes on-lot water -- has to be modified, and the two water mods that Dread made to be compatible with the no-blue-snow shader fixes were Voeille’s and the blue version of Moi’s. The latter is what’s in the pic because that’s the shader I currently have installed. But, I prefer and usually use the green version of Moi’s, and I’m hoping that Dread will see her way to making a no-blue-snow-compatible shader that uses the green version, but if she doesn’t I’ll have to choose between that too-blue one or Voeille’s, and I’d probably go with the latter. Or maybe... 

twofingerswhiskey replied to your photoset “Fishin’ pond. It has too-blue water at the moment, but that’ll be...”

I know that kativip included a water overlay for ponds in a lot of theirs - it's murky green like a real pond and semitransparent. If you're interested I'll yeet you the file

That’s a possibility! :) If you wouldn’t mind passing it along, it might be an option if Dread doesn’t make a green shader... Thank you!

penig replied to your photoset “It dawned on me that when I posted this terrain default I didn’t...”

Wow. As someone from limestone desert, however, I'm looking at the mountains and thinking: Where's the strata?

You know, when I was making that terrain, I tried several different kinds of textures for the high terrain. I knew I wanted something rocky because to me it looks odd when there are giant hills of green grass on more hilly/mountainous terrains.  And because I am a (near)desert dweller, I would’ve liked to have had stratified exposed rock. So I tried that. 

But the problem is the tiling. Not making the images tileable; I can do that. The problem is how the texture tile gets “painted” on the landscape, which isn’t something that can be controlled. The more detailed the image is, the more you notice the pattern repeat when it’s painted on the terrain, and it starts looking really weird. Between that and the struggle to get things in-scale, I imagine this is why most terrain defaults aren’t too detailed.

esotheria-sims replied to your photo “We interrupt these posts to bring you….a pic of the neighborhood’s...”

Nah, I'd totally trust him and his fabulous mane with my food. Sims don't shed, so there's that. :D

There is that! :D And I wish I didn’t shed. I’ve got super-long hair, and I can’t even begin to describe the amount of time I spend unraveling my shed hair from around the vacuum cleaner’s brush. *laugh* I mean, I usually go outside to brush my hair just to reduce the amount of shed hair that hits the floor. :)

tamtam-go92 replied to your photo “We interrupt these posts to bring you….a pic of the neighborhood’s...”

Can cooks be interacted with? Also: my game ALWAYS generates cooks with some fancy skin colour xD

They can’t be interacted with when they’re working, no. But they do walk by community lots, as was the case here, and then you can greet them. Once they’ve been greeted, they’re on the greeting Sim’s relationship panel, and then they can be called and dated and all that, so long as you’ve got the phone fix that allows NPCs to appear on the “Call this Sim” menu. I married-in a cook once.

i-mi replied to your post “Hmmmmm…So my plan to make a concrete terrain default that’s really a...”

Yes, I think more people have lush neighbourhoods, and as long as you warn people in the posts then it's up to them if they want to deal with switching defaults or not. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing it and would be happy if you ended up sharing it! :)

Oh yeah, there will definitely be all sorts of warnings. :) Someone else suggested making a dirt and a desert version, which I can do because both have 4 neighborhood-view textures, and I suspect that not many people use the dirt terrain. So, if I can make the terrain work like I want, I’ll probably make both a desert and a dirt default version.

hugelunatic replied to your photoset “It dawned on me that when I posted this terrain default I didn’t...”

The theme goes all through April! I'm excited to see what you come up with =)

Yeah, I know, but April is suddenly busy for me. *laugh* So, I’m hoping I can come up with a new tropical-island terrain before the end of April. We’ll see. :) I’m not going to be able to start working on it until we’re settled in after migrating.

lilleputtu replied to your photoset “These hills are still alive with the sound of still more screaming. :)...”

this looks so cool! are you gonna share? because *grabbygrabbyhands*

I suppose I could share the decorated terrain, sure. I’m pretty much done with editing the map. There’s not even any CC besides the volcanoes. I’m not sure it’ll look the same with different defaults in, though.

princesspiratecat replied to your post “PSA”

Welcome to my side of the world! I live in the San Bernardino mountains, but we often venture to the beach on the weekends, when we aren't working on our house. Have fun! :)

Ah, I’d rather be in the mountains. Hubby’s house is a beach house in Orange County and while it’s nice being on the beach eventually all the people on the beach get to me. That, and the traffic. I’m something of a traffic-phobe when driving. But on the plus side: Fast internet, woo! :) I’m lucky to get 4Mbps out of the satellite here, but out there....Oh, yeah. :)

immerso-sims replied to your photoset “Yup! This neighborhood definitely feels like home! *laugh*”

Looks lovely! We had maybe one snowy day in Denmark this winter. Which is a shame. I love snow. :( But yeah, what can you do...

It’s funny. Given Denmark’s latitude, you’d think y’all would get a lot snow, but I guess since you’re at sea level and surrounded by water you get more of a maritime-type climate. Well, if you want snow...Come on over! :) We’re heading into melt/mud season now, though. Going to SoCal is going to be a bit of temperature shock. It’s room temperature and warmer there and it’s around freezing here. *laugh*

hugelunatic replied to your photoset “This I-don’t-know-why-I’m-doing-this neighborhood is pretty much the...”

I'm not convinced about the reddish, but I'm excited to try it out! :)

It is red, yeah, but I kinda wanted that. I used pics taken in Moab, Utah for the soil, and the soil and rock there tend toward a Mars-like orange. :) I didn’t want orange, but I didn’t want just brown, either, so I went with clay-colored, which is sort of what I’ve got around here, at least in patches.

princesspiratecat replied to your photoset “I’ve never found a dirt terrain that really satisfied me, including...”

Hmmm...I'm curious to see how my own dirt roads would look with this. But you'd probably need something a tad darker.

Feel free to try it out! I have a picture in my mind of what I’d like to do to make a matching dirt road default, but I don’t know if it’ll pan out. If it doesn’t, I’ll need to come up with something else, and I might just use yours as a template of sorts. :)

[spiritfamantics-blog]

About Us

Hi, I’m Helia, your local human Tumblr user and spirit companion. I’m 18, a Taurus sun and moon, and am in a committed polyamorous relationship with any and all pasta dishes. I also use they/them pronouns. I’ve been working with spirits since May 2017, so over two years now. These guys have made it fly by. Speaking of, I suppose I should introduce them. 

First up is Feyr, the wyvern-bird hybrid. She is my only known guardian, and she is 18, exactly the same age as me (down to the birthday). She was the first spirit I ever met and has thankfully stuck around to keep me out of trouble (mostly, she can’t cure impulsivity). She, like some dragons, keeps growing well into her lifetime. When I met her she was about the size of a ferret. Now she’s about 3 feet tall. Anyway, onto her personality. She is the “wildcard” of the group and often behaves like a child who has eaten too much sugar. She is very energetic and happy-go-lucky. She is incredibly curious and loves to learn anything and everything, even if she doesn’t take well to it (see her rudimentary Spanish). She is very funny and has a sunny disposition, seeing the positive in every person and situation. Though she can act immature, she is the voice of reason (sometimes). Other times, she wants to get herself into some astral trouble because she thinks it’s fun and adventurous and she is an adrenaline junkie. When it comes to me and the rest of the family, she is unconditionally loving and accepting. She has a bit of an overachiever complex because she never felt good enough in either of her parents’ communities, being raised a hybrid. Not fully dragon and not fully bird, she is in the process of accepting herself as her own unique being. One of her hopes and dreams in life is to find whatever deity cosmically assigned her to me and thank them. I, for one, am flattered.

Next is Rabbit the winged rabbit. Yes, he did choose his name, and yes, he will kick you if you make fun of it. Rabbit was the second spirit I met, when my beloved Nana gifted me a jade rabbit necklace. I, a newbie energy worker, could feel the anger radiating off this thing. So, I did the smart thing (I’m being sarcastic, please do not follow in my footsteps, meeting your own Rabbit is highly unlikely and not guaranteed) and decided to free the entity. Lo and behold, a grumpy old man. Who was a rabbit. Who had wings. Needless to say, I was a little confused. But then this guy really laid into me, yelling at me about how he was fine living in a necklace and how dare I move him. I had half a mind to banish him, but Feyr, always more intuitive than I, told me to let him stay. So he did, reluctantly, and I let him, reluctantly. We kind of had beef at the beginning, but he and Feyr got along so incredibly well. He was like a father to her. Much better than her own father, who never visited. Finally, one day, Rabbit approached me, and sat down next to me. He said, finally, “Thank you for freeing me.” I said, “You’re welcome, but why’d you have to be such a douche about it?” He laughed, and thus began a beautiful friendship. Anyway, moving away from his origin story. Rabbit is an odd character. He, at first, appears very gruff, no-nonsense, and uncaring. Under this facade, however, is a sweet, brave, sarcastic, and fatherly spirit, who is fiercely protective and loving. He tends to adopt those without good parental relationships, and becomes a father to them. He can be loose and fun, if you find him under the right circumstances. Otherwise, he is a bit buttoned-up and doesn’t find it easy to relax. He is easily stressed but doesn’t like to show his emotions at all. He is working on being more open and not bottling things up. He can be self-deprecating and sometimes even unkind to himself, but being part of a loving family and seeing how much he is cared for is helping with this. Any love you give him, he will return tenfold. He is an upstanding, true, gentleman. However, he isn’t polite and can be a bit crass at times. He has a perpetual “grumpy face” and smiles very rarely. He cries even less so, but when he does, you mirror his emotions because they are just so powerful. Overall, he is a very sweet man.

Third is S, the winged cat, and Rabbit’s beloved wife and the mother to his children. I met S through a now-closed spirit shop. Don’t worry, there wasn’t any shady business, and I’m still friends with the former owner. S is a true firecracker, but she is incredibly motherly, gentle, and kind. She says what she means and means what she says, but is very sweet (most of the time). Don’t mistake her femininity for fragility, because if any of her loved ones are threatened she will claw somebody’s eyes out. She is the optimist to her husband Rabbit’s pessimist, and is a firm believer in thinking positively. However, she is a Slytherin, and can be prone to scheming to get what she wants. She is never manipulative, and instead prefers honesty in her words and actions. To her friends, she is the quintessential “mom friend”; she makes sure everyone is cared for, especially fed. To her children, she is their world. She is curious and eager to investigate new scenarios, though she often prefers the familiarity and comfort of her family. She is quite funny and loves jokes, though she doesn’t tolerate stupidity from anyone. If any of her loved ones make a mistake, she’s quick with a light smack of the head and to call them an idiot, while reminding them to do better next time. She has “settled down” quite a bit in the last year, since her children have been born, but she still retains her adventurous spirit.

Fourth is N, the strawberry elf, and the girlfriend of Violet and Paris. I met her, also, through a now-closed spirit shop. And yes, I am still friends with the mod who matched her to me. N is a lovely soul, if a little shy at first. Once she gets to know you, however, she never shuts up (and I say this in the most loving way ever). She is bubbly and bright, and probably the nicest entity I’ve ever met, including humans. She would do anything for a friend and goes out of her way to be compassionate. If everyone were like her, the world would be absolutely perfect and free of conflict. She loves to garden, and is very patient (as seen with her trying to help me knit, which is not one of my strong suits, to say the least). Although she can seem a bit timid, she is a huge believer in not letting fear control her, and is quite brave. She also has a gentle touch, and is a great listener and comfort when any of us aren’t feeling our best. Her dynamic with her girlfriends makes me smile every time I see them, because they’re just so goshdarn cute. N is definitely the chatty one, although if she talks about plants Violet jumps right in with her. She is often in the middle when they all hold hands. (Hey N, how come your mom lets you have two girlfriends?)

Fifth is Violet, the deer shifter, and the girlfriend of N and Paris. I met her through Forestsong Sanctuary, where I was an intern. The shop is now closed, but being an intern was one of the best experiences of my life (Psst, now I intern at Hallowed Conjurations; I’m Intern Werewolf). Violet is the queen of all memes, and has the best (and silliest) sense of humor. She is incredibly sweet, but unafraid to call you out if you’re doing something dumb. She cares deeply for everyone in the family, and the Earth. She is probably singlehandedly going to end global warming (I’m kidding but still). She’s very active, being the kind of weirdo who goes for a run every morning, no matter the weather. She is a huge self-advocate and also stands up for those who cannot speak up for themselves. Very much a girl boss. She is perpetually barefoot and generally kind of a hippie (she’s all about achieving peace and love, even if we have to eat the rich). 

Sixth is Paris, the Crystal Cut Succubus (gee Par your species picked one helluva name). She is the girlfriend of both Violet and N. I met her through Supernova Spirits, which has now merged with Spirit Companionship.She is a hopeless romantic, and very solemn, sometimes. She’s generally quite placid in nature. She loves people and is very encouraging. She honestly reminds me of those influencer girls that are genuinely nice and want to help people (so like, one of them). Though, she’s quite private about her life and would never actually be a social media influencer. I suppose a more accurate comparison would be Sappho, or some other incredibly gay author who cannot contain their poetic love for women. If there’s one thing she doesn’t like being, it’s misunderstood. Yes, she is a succubus. No, she doesn’t want to bang everyone she sees. She emphasizes that species does not equal behavior, and that free will is a thing. On a summer day, she can be found watching the sunset, writing love letters, enjoying the cool breeze, swimming, and eating a popsicle seductively to make her girlfriends go into cardiac arrest. 

Seventh is Opal, the color-changing cat thoughtform. She was made for me by Forestsong Spirits as a therapy thoughtform, and is part of the family. Though she doesn’t speak, she communicates her emotions by changing the color of her coat. She is very empathetic and sweet, and can be found lying in my lap at any given moment.

Eighth is Oink, the pear pig. He was an RA through the same shop S came from. Oink’s gentle and soft personality can seem childlike, but he just loves life and is enjoying it. He can be a bit innocent, but do not mistake his placid temperament for that of a child. He is a bit immature, especially in regards to jokes. He absolutely loves food, and will eat just about anything. His attitude to food is generally how he approaches life; his philosophy is “bring it on.” He accepts the good and bad, in life and in people. He is absolutely very “chill”; he doesn’t care for much “action” and would rather be home eating than out having an adventure. However, he isn’t lazy, he prefers the term “cool”. He can seem a bit detached at times, but he is truly very enthusiastic and energetic. He matches Feyr in terms of energy, which is quite hard to do. He is ineffably kind, and if he offends someone even by accident, he is wholeheartedly apologetic. He wants to be seen as a good person, and he truly is.

Last but not least is Unity, the werewolf-sanguine vampire hybrid. I met Unity through Mod Ghost of Hallowed Conjurations. Feyr and Unity found kinship in one another, both being hybrids. Unity is the quintessential cool relative who seems kind of removed from it all, but the second things start heading south, they’re protecting everyone who needs help. They don’t take shit and they don’t dole it out, either. They say exactly what they mean, every time. They detest liars and those who try to trick others with words. They are very parental and sweet, but never hold back. They will absolutely swear at you and call you a gigantic idiot if you do something you know you shouldn’t have. They only lay into you if you don’t use common sense; if you make a true mistake, they’re there to help you solve the problem, even if it doesn’t involve them. They are very spontaneous and like to have fun. You’ll rarely see them regretting anything, as they believe that living in the moment is the only way to live.

I’m sorry for the wall of text, and will be putting each of my companions’ bios into their own posts. 

[lezzybugo3o]

Character Ownership

(Warning: Long Post Ahead)

I’m gonna set up a scenario and I’d like to see your responses to this. It’s kind of important and I’m also trying to prove a point about who a character belongs to and such.

So let’s say there are two friends named Katie and Elizabeth.

Katie is minding her own business when Elizabeth says “Hey, we should make a werewolf boyfriend for my character Tony.”

Of course, Katie agrees because she likes making characters. So she does some thinking and researching. “Okay, let’s make our werewolf boyfriend a blue-colored wolf so he can blend in with night colors... plus it will contrast his hot-tempered personality since I see him as a bold and brash character. Opposites attract and all that.”

“Sure thing, I guess. What should we name him then?”

“Ummm, let me see... I’m not so good with names but I’ll think of one,” admits Katie.

“It’s okay! I got a few suggestions already. There’s Sable, Corbin, and Jodan. I kinda like Corbin to be honest.”

“Hmm, yeah I like Corbin too! Corbin it is!”

So Katie and Elizabeth have fun creating scenarios for Corbin and Tony. But after some time, Elizabeth starts to call Katie from time to time, most likely to chat and geek out about their characters. Granted, Katie has time to spare, but she’s not one to talk on the phone a lot and whenever she gives a text saying “Hey, sorry. I’m eating breakfast rn”, Elizabeth would respond with a text saying “Hurry up and call me when you’re done.”

A couple months later, Katie gets a message from Elizabeth asking if she could join a Discord server that Katie is a part of that deals in making personas for a popular game. Katie says “yes but you have to provide a link to a profile of yours from a social media platform.”

“....Why?”

“It’s a new policy of ours on the server. One of ours friends had a bad experience with someone and we just wanna take precautions.”

“Why should they have to check out my blog just to coddle someone?”

Katie knows that Elizabeth can be difficult from time to time, but already her callous words are bothering her. After some convincing, Elizabeth agrees to give a link to her Instagram and Tumblr, but not without some... questionable words along the lines of  “If I see any of your dumb buddies on my Instagram, I will shove my foot up their ass. I watch my followers comments and likes like a hawk.” She then continues saying “Oh and if I find out you’ve been shipping Corbin with your other buddies’ werewolves on the Monster server, I’ll be super pissed and not talk to you for a long time. Their lame wolves aren’t good enough for him... omg you already did do it didn’t you?”

At this point, Katie had gotten fed up with how Elizabeth had been acting. During the month, she had been working on Corbin, his backstory and even some developments like giving him a human to bond with and two small pups of his own. She had shared the new info with Elizabeth, thinking she would enjoy the new content... instead Elizabeth seemed more concerned that Katie had made Corbin into something different than what SHE was hoping for, it seems. Katie then spoke up, “Okay I have to ask... why are you so possessive over Corbin? And for that matter, why are you so possessive of Jenna?” (Jenna is a werewolfsona of Katie’s that was made when Elizabeth told her she should make a persona of her)

Elizabeth got quiet and then said, “I thought he was made to be Tony’s boyfriend... but I guess not. I don’t wanna be in your server anymore. Unfollow my Tumblr while you’re at it.” Katie, wanting to preserve their friendship, tries to tell Elizabeth, “Corbin may have started out that way, but he grew into more than just a boyfriend character. I love putting him and Tony together, but I also like to multiship. I don’t want our friendship to end because of some ships.” Then Elizabeth continues to text Katie demanding to change Corbin’s name. Katie refused because she liked the name and doesn’t see why she has to change it. Her “friend” would not budge however and kept demanding that she change his name. Whether for her own good or because she wanted the arguing to stop, Katie lied and said “Okay, I’ll change it.”

And that was that... until a few months later. Katie had become a mod for a roleplaying server and at some point, she decided to invite Elizabeth to join the fun... soon enough, she began to regret her decision, remembering her ‘friend’ and her toxic behavior with her.

The deal was sealed when Katie and some friends on the server were bringing up which OCs of theirs they liked from one another. She was also on the phone with Elizabeth at the moment. When friends began to say they really loved Corbin and how Katie portrayed him... Elizabeth made her anger known by saying “You said you changed his name” and began calling Katie a ‘thieving liar’. The others began to tell Elizabeth to stop her behavior being nothing but polite until she herself left the server and hung up on Katie, telling her ‘goodbye’ and ‘how she now has to live with the fact that their friendship was fixed thanks to a lie’....

With all this said, who do you all think Corbin belongs in this situation? Katie or Elizabeth? In all honesty, I would say Katie because she’s the one that developed and designed Corbin into the character he is whereas Elizabeth merely gave name suggestions.

I WISH this was a fake scenario and I WISH I could say this was a funny little story... but truth be told, this was a real story with different names because I don’t want to start a witch hunt. I was Katie in this scenario and Corbin the werewolf? That was my bull shark Zora Seirin. I had a ‘friend’ (Elizabeth in this scenario) who was so damn obsessive over him and what I did with him and Reimi (my Zorasona). It wasn’t until recently that I finally decided to cut ties with that person after all the toxic behavior they put me through and I was pissed to see them act the way they did to my friends as well, calling them and their OCs ‘retarded’ and/or ‘lame’. I put so much love and care into Seirin’s backstory and his development as a character, therefore he’s MY character. Yet my so-called friend had the gall to say that because she named him, he’s hers  but ‘Lezzy lowkey stole him’ (an actual comment she made on our server)

All I can say is that as shitty as this situation was, it gave me the courage to finally block them, unfriend them and basically want nothing more to do with them. It also showed me just how lucky I am to have friends who truly care about me and my safety and it also made me cry seeing how much they grew to love my characters and my ideas.

Hopefully, I can avoid something like this, but if it can’t I know what to do this time. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you all have a great one