#but i'm not totally sure of how they'd fit into the plot or what my explanation for their being there would even be

[sunnysunsins]

Since recently everything here has been taken over by dipshits who lack media literacy, i will come back here to say - RWBY is a good show. It is good. It has good story and good writing and good characters. Does it have stumbles and limitations? Of course, like everything else ever created. Is it the real reason yall are dedicating your lives to religiously following and picking apart every detail to find something, anything, to hate on and make it your whole personality? Nah.

Yall are just pissy your hc wasn't canon. And i'm only half-joking.

Yall are just stuck in the expectation of "cute girls in school fighting monsters and baddies", which it hasn't been for almost a decade. Let Beacon fucking die already, it was the most boring part of the story anyway. If you like it so much, watch.. idk, high guardian spice. Or maybe my hero academia, it has godawful writing too with your favorite Adam-like and Ironwood-like archetypes you adore so much.

And if you didn't click off already in hissy rage, and want to challenge me on the writing point:

Yall are complaining about pacing, characterization lacking, skipped development, insert some other reason, how "show went to shit after volume 3". Well, newsflash, look back at volume 1. REALLY look at it, without your nostalgia boner.

How, in what actually can fit into 3.5 full-length episodes, it skips a whole semester with only a few moments shown in like 3-8 minutes. Notice how Ruby and Pyrrha interacted like 2 times in 3 volumes total. Ruby and Penny? Yeah, they barely interacted too. Ren hasn't talked to rwby girls at all aside from ensemble scenes.

Too many characters in later volumes? Honey, 1-3 had SO many pointless grunts and you ate them up. The whole Vytal festival was filled with them.

Can you tell me the plot of volume 2 from the top of your head? Yeah, me neither. If i think maybe i can remember there was a mecha fight, a dance and a train, but beyond that what was the point of that entire volume again?

Your favorite, pedestalled, volume 3, most of which is fighty-fighty filler and the only stuff you actually remember when jizzing your pants about it is last 3 episodes.

Most character interactions and development happened after Beacon arc. Most actual plot and bigger story happened after it too. Yall are stuck circlejerking to *filler*, setup, which only purpose was to show the status quo to later destroy it and start to show the real picture.

Do you know why v4 and 5 feel so empty and missing something? Sure, juggling multiple plots gave it's pacing issues too, but it felt empty because there were no side characters to fill out the world and make it feel alive. V5 cast was so tiny it felt like nobody interacted at all. Because there were none of those "extras" yall hate on so much. The extras make the world feel real. Which is why Atlas feels alive when Mistral wasn't.

The most complaints about later volumes are chucked down to lack of media literacy and nuanced reading of situations and characters. Translated for your easier understanding: the writing was too nuanced for your "cute girls go fighty fighty brrr" brain to comprehend. Sometimes things require you to put the situation into character perspectives. Sometimes their decisions are made under stress + personality + influence of events and interactions. But i guess yall don't want to think, yall just want to watch "girl go brrr killy killy monster"

I can continue writing down all these other points, but i'm hungry and should get up so i won't. Bottom text: RWBY is a good show with good story and good writing and good characters. It has struggles and fumbles like every other piece of media. But for some reason, because it's indie, it's held to a much higher standard and everyone feels entitled to pick apart every detail of it to make themselves feel justified for feeling sad over their dead headcanons, even though they'd never do the same picking for big production popular series with much *much* worse writing than even the worst of RWBY's fumbles.

If you made it this far and are a member of rwde, congratulations, you still have a reasonable bone or few. Most others i guess clicked off at first point and blocked me after sending me some kinda death threat, idk, i haven't posted this yet after all.

So yeah, feel free to leave your takes and death threats below, i'll happily discuss further later

[yoinkschief]

I remember watching this one movie called Us by Jordan Peele

What if the eddsworld lads were dropped in this universe lol

It's actually so funny that you ask that cause I just finished watching that movie after my friends recommended it to me !!!

The easy answer would be haha Spares ! And they just kill them all ofc, but I think thinking about it in the setting of Us is the best way to go about this,,,

To me I immediately go to character 1-to-1s, like who would be which character in the movie, yk ?

I think Edd would be Adelaide, I mean cause duh main characters, but also they just,,,, I dunno something about them fits, I think it's cause to me they both have that same instinct of wanting to protect everyone themselves but also holding all responsibility on their shoulders and not letting anyone else feel that weight if that makes sense (This is just a personal HC for Edd, but I think Adelaide might genuinely feel this way, at least in some regard, seeing as she hadn't told Gabe about her fears with Santa Cruz's beach until the movie, which sure could be for plot reasons but I don't see why she wouldn't have told him way sooner since they've been to the beach house before if it wasn't because she was scared to let him hear that cause he'd think she's crazy, yk, keeping all the "burden" to herself)

I think Tom would be Gabe, because I mean fucking look at them, goofy ass dads the both of them I mean it's perfect it fits something something TomEdd propaganda

Matt would be Zora in an odd sense,, I dunno him and Tord's character placements are a little flimsy to be fair,,, honestly I have Tord as Jason cause he's a little shit who loves fire

Also I'm mostly doing this because I would LOVE to see Eduardo and Jon as Kitty and Josh,,, I think Kitty would be Eduardo and Josh would be Jon, and I know a lot of people aren't going to agree with that but I see it with the times Kitty turns to Adelaide and is just like "I think about killing him sometimes" like as a joke obviously cause haha ball and chain, but also mostly because of the scene where Kitty's on the balcony and telling Josh to go and look outside since she heard something

and there's another reason why but it's cruel and would have minor spoilers for the movie

As for who's Becca and Lindsey I don't care I hate them bitches Mark can be both he's blonde enough for it

BUTTT thinking about this in a more "The boys but their next shenanigan is Us" it changes a bit

(WARNING: SPOILERS BEYOND THIS)

Leaning more into that whole "haha, Spares!" moment but mostly just for Bing and Larry cause they totally fucking would be the type to create soulless copies like that I mean they already fucking did and I will never forgive them from throwing Scribble Tom in the reject room he deserves to be free

But also imo if we're going down this route I think it would be better to have Tord as Adelaide with the whole leaving and coming back bit he did, I think it would be a great way to incorporate the twist if ykwim I don't wanna outright spoil anything yk but I think that would be the extent of like the one-to-one comparisons with the main cast versus eddsworld casting since everyone else has pretty different personalities

But they wouldn't hesitate to not give a damn and just kill every doppelganger they came across, I think the neighbors would still get killed but they'd show up in the next eddisode like nothing happened, and I think Edd would know about the whole twist at the end,,, kinda like how some people speculate Jason does :ppp

[sunflowerandstrawberryspice]

Songs the Ninjago Fandom is Sleeping on.

So I have like a bunch of songs and animatic ideas for the Ninjago fandom to do what they please with, cause chronic hand pain makes long projects like animatics kinda hard so instead I'm throwing them out to yall! (Song-artist)

SOPILERS FOR LITERALLY EVERYHTING RELATING TO NINJAGO (This includes Dragons rising, the spinjitzu brothers books and the Garmadon comics)

Also please remember this is for fun so be nice.

Survivors Guilt- Coma Cinema: Okay oaky so hear me out: eldest child angst. This could work for both Garmadon and Kai, because both of them are just SUCH older siblings in more than just the literal way you know? Like I think it fits especially with Garmadon because it's about feeling like you're a bad person and how it might fuck up someone else life in the process. To me I think it fits, cause like to me it's so clear Garmadon is the elder sibling TM and Wu is the stressed out younger sibling golden child. Lyrics: "And I don't care and I don't know why maybe I'm no good inside" the way this totally works for how Garmadon tries to act like he doesn't care in Spinjitzu Brothers but is like constantly stressed about whether or not he's a good person.

Seven Nation Army- The White Stripes: I don't have like any major reasons for this song other than it being SUPER Wyldfyre/Kai core lol (at least in the early seasons before he mellowed out a bit), like the song is literally someone sing about how they feel like how they could take on armies if necessary so take that as you will!

Viper- Derivakat: For starters I didn't know this was a Minecraft song until I went to look up the lyrics buuuuuuut oh well mine now! Could definitely be used for either the Great Devourer or the Serpentine, but I think it be cool if someone used the song for the Great Devourer and the venoms effect on Garmadon and how it really kinda fucked up his life. I think it'd just be neat. Lyrics: "Run, run, run as fast as you can out of the fire and into my hand" (Could def be used for Garmadon and the Great Devourer or Pythor and Lloyd) "Abandon your pride cause you've dug your own grave" and "Getting all up in your head make you lose your mind again" (Again would work pretty great for Garmadon or season one Lloyd and Pythor)

The Well- The Crane Wives: Now this song is perfect for season 6 Jay in my opinion since it's got some wish related lyrics which work well for the Nadakan plot, plus people getting "dragged down" could be the other ninja getting absorbed into the sword. I'm not to big on this season or Jay but even I can tell this song works WELL for him (get it well? I'll see myself out). Lyrics: "Like spare coins, poised on the tip of my tongue I make a wish and hold my breath" This could not only be the making wishes part but also Jay getting "spare coins" aka his bio fathers money and house after he dies, "I'm the well they're gonna drag you down" again this could be used for the ninja being dragged into the sword "All the words I couldn't say to you" His pinning over Nya obviously. And lastly "I taste blood I'm sick of swallowing stones" Could be his trauma after Nadakan is defeated or when he was beat up in the fight thing.

Viva La Vida (But epic)- Reinaeiry (I just like this version best but any works): Could totally work for Lloyd post merge, him being lonely in this new world and forced to be a hero in the shadows. Y'all could also probably do something with the FSM but like I'm not exactly sure what. This one's a little more for the vibes tbh.

Parasite- Set It Off: When I tell yall this is great for Harumi and Lloyd, like it'd work so well as a song for her trying to manipulate and twist his mind. The name says it all it's literally telling someone they'd wished they'd never been born and that they don't help society, sound like anyone familiar? Also if y'all just want a song for like a villain arch for Lloyd this would also probably work tbh. Lyrics: "Leeching off my pain never satisfied" Totally could work for Harumi being mean and manipulative or Lloyd getting angry and being honest with her. "Strike a nerve or wreck a home hoping you get a response" This could totally be used literally cause of Harumi's whole... you know dead parent situation.

Matilda- Harry Styles: I know I know what you're saying, Harry Styles? But I promise this song is actually wonderful. This could work RIDICOULOUSLY well for Sora. The song is a lot about how you can go on to live a life and you don't have to include your bioparents or family in it if you don't want to which is SO Sora. Like I feel like all the lyrics work well for how Imperium and her parents drained her and I just love it! Then second you could also view this as kind of a Cole song. I know the fandom is kind of split on whether or not him and his father really make up and I'm gonna be honest I don't really think they do. Unlike Jay, Zane, Lloyd as well as Kai and Nya to an extent (once they get their parents back) all at least interact with their parents and clearly have somewhat of a relationship with them (Kai and Nya less so but they have the excuse of being adults by the time they get their parents back). Cole on the other hand doesn't really have the same thing, like he has the episode where he makes up with his father but after that Lou doesn't really have many other major appearances so I think they're on good terms but not that close ya know? Idk just my opinion lol. Unrelated but the song is honestly so eldest daughter-core and I just wanted to mention that.

Uhhhh that's all for now, let me know if y'all just want me to compile all this into a playlist to listen to cause I totally will. Any who just want to restate this is all my opinion and I love this show <3

Hope y'all have a great day/night PEACE OUT.

[lusthurts]

sebastian and blaine for the character asks <3

ahhh hi bestie im so excited to yap about these two <333

sebastian smythe

how I feel about this character

Sebastian is the love of my life <3 I'm obsessed with writing this character and reading this character and consuming any and all content related to this character.

I have sooooo many head canons about him, and the way I feel about him/his backstory/his personality has evolved a ton over the years, even since I've been writing about him. He has that snark and edge that I love to a character with a clearly very interesting past that we have complete creative liberties to explore. it's so fun and I love him !

all the people I ship romantically with this character

BLAINE! seblaine is of course my otp, and no ship will ever come close to them for me in terms of the extreme brain rot obsession I have because of them - I love that they sort of balance each other out and have this undeniable chemistry that's pretty monumental for both of them and leaves a lot of room for us to explore

I don't think anything will ever come close to them for me, and I fully cannot bring myself to get behind kurtbastian no matter how much I love enemies to lovers as a trope (though when my mutuals write kurtbastian I still try to read it lol)

I did enjoy writing jeff x sebastian in how bright we burn (totally snuck up on me on accident - he needed to be with one of the other warblers for plot reasons and I picked Jeff because they're always in shots together in canon) but that's not something I think I'd ever be super into on like,, a bigger scale - I love it as a platonic ship though

my non-romantic otp for this character

honestly, the warblers as a whole - I really like the idea of Sebastian not really fitting in anywhere/never feeling at home anywhere before dalton and being very reluctant to get close with them at first which resulted in him coming on a little strong/trying to take control rather than trying to develop meaningful friendships, but then by the end he's found he really cares about them and wants them to succeed and finally feels like he's found a home and core group of friends

OH and i ADORE his friendship with cooper in the I'll be there for you series - their dynamic together is fantastic and I think probably the best written friendship for Sebastian that I've ever read

my unpopular opinion about this character

I'm not sure if this is unpopular or not, but I do really like that he's an imperfect person who clearly has a lot of growing up to do. He acts like an asshole and he is one kind of a lot of the time, but even the things he does maliciously aren't meant to be that harmful, and there's clearly a complicated person beneath the surface. I love slutty Sebastian and snarky Sebastian and bullying/blackmail/assault Sebastian so so much

I also don't like the idea of him being "soft" or immediately comfortable in a relationship with blaine just because he's the person he's meant to be with - a lot of my head canons about him revolve around him having a kind of unhealthy relationship with love/relationships, and I don't think it's realistic that they'd just immediately be in a happy relationship. I love fluff as much as the next person, but I definitely don't think their problems end when they get together.

one thing I wish would happen/had happened with this character in canon

obviously seblaine - even if they'd just given us a little bit behind the scenes (what were those phone calls and texts??? they were clearly good friends!!)

I wish he'd been around more after season 3 - I realize because of real life reasons this was impossible, and he probably would've been back quite a bit if it wasn't for the flash, but I would've loved to see him develop friendships and plots and sing more songs and maybe have a relationship or two

blaine anderson

how I feel about this character

he's one of my first favorite glee characters and one of the main reasons I still love this show

I think I relate to him more than I relate to any of the other characters in the show - he has that passionate, overachiever, ruthless drive for success thing that Rachel has but he's also clearly very anxious about things and experiences depression and has some attachment issues, and I think all that makes him a much more complicated character than he's given credit for

all the people I ship romantically with this character

Sebastian ofc - see above lol

I used to be a huge blam fan - I haven't read or written them in a long time but I still think this is probably my second favorite blaine ship - they have a lot of chemistry together with a lot of fantastic scenes and development in season 4 specifically, and I think this would've been a cool path to go down during their senior year in the post-kurt/mercedes era

I also used to love klaine (prior to realizing how toxic that relationship was lol) - they were def cute in season 2, and they were probably one of the first queer ships I saw on tv that I felt that attached too. I think if handled better in the later seasons they could've been great, and I think if they're written well they can be a lovely ship - I played blaine in a glee rpg during covid (dark times lmao) and I found writing klaine with a person who really cared for writing Kurt's character well to be super fun

my non-romantic otp for this character

definitely sam & tina! blamtina is my favorite trio in the show, and I think their friendship felt very realistic and well-developed, especially for something that really only existed to that extent for one season

a close second would be rachel - I think blaine and rachel definitely get each other in a way the other new directions don't really, and I enjoy their dynamic a lot, especially in the beginning of season 6

oh and the warblers. he referred to that group as a brotherhood and then just,, left ? makes it hard to believe they were as close as he said, but I also will die on the hill that he must've had strong relationships with those guys if they got him from how he must've felt post Sadie Hawkins to the guy that was confidently singing the lead at every performance

my unpopular opinion about this character

while I do think he was occasionally too whiny and treated as a caricature in the later seasons, I also think a lot of that was the natural progression of his character given the circumstances he was dealing with. I think it's very natural for insecurities to come up when you go from where he was at in season 2 (star/lead vocalist of the warblers, admired and beloved by his peers, confidently helping Kurt through the bullying and trauma of McKinley) to season 3 (ignored/disregarded by ND's leaders like finn, only getting the occasional line or two in performances, treated almost exclusively as Kurt's boyfriend)

he was more interesting in seasons 2 & 4 when he was single than he was at any point during his relationship with kurt

one thing I wish had happened with this character in canon

seblaine !

or honestly getting to see him in any romantic relationship with someone other than Kurt (karofsky doesn't count lol we all collectively pretend that didn't happen)

why do we know like nothing about his life !! he's one of the major characters in the show (second in solos only to Rachel I think?) and yet all we get are a few one off and very concerning lines about his dad??? then his mom randomly shows up at the wedding??? and cooper's there but only for an episode and then never brought up again??? girl what I need to know his lore

[lavender-lotion]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

How many works do you have on ao3?

868, which is bonkers???

What's your total ao3 word count?

2,445,126 words! I'm aiming for 5mil within the next decade haha

What fandoms do you write for?

CURRENTLY I am (only) writing teen wolf fic! it's so strange to be back where I started, but it's also been really nice coming back to all these familiar characters

Top five fics by kudos:

1. (baby) maybe that matters more - Steter, 40k

2. The Perceptions of You and I - Seter, 5k

3. With You, I Belong - Stalion, 59k

4. Mates and Marriage Proposals - Steter, 15k

5. Breathing You In - Steter, 29k

... should I just call myself a steter writer at this point?

Do you respond to comments?

yes!! all the time. literally nothing brings me as much joy as comments do

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I reaaaaally don't write a lot of angst, but one of the unhappiest fics I've ever written is probably this one?

And Now? - Stetopher, 300 words

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

there actually isn't one fic I would say that fits this? I primarily write schmoop, so a lot of my fic would count as having very happy endings! p

Do you get hate on fics?

oooooooh yeah babes. I've gotten some mean comments lol

Do you write smut?

yes! not a favourite thing of mine, but I do write it here and there. I recently wrote a fic w/ smut that I really really liked it!

keep me warm in the cradle of your skin - Sterekira, 7k

Craziest crossover:

ooooh this is actually SUCH an easy answer for me! it's 100% this one teen wolf/x-men cross over (possibly my only one?) where Logan (wolverine) knew the sheriff from the way when they'd been lovers and he goes to find him, and stiles is a lil jean grey esque character. I think about this thing allllll the time, too. I freaking love it.

what-ifs (don’t fuckin’ matter to no one) - Logan (X-Men)/Sheriff Stilinski, 2k

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I have actually! I only know of one for sure, and it was a stackson fic that someone had reposted to ao3? im so glad I found it (I think someone sent it to me?) and I was able to report it and get it taken down!

Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! I love it, it's such a crazy labour of love. if you wanna translate my work, just send me a link so I can see it!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

me & @flightinflame co-wrote an almando series where we wrote the same fic from different pov's which was a suuuuuper super fun experience! I've started a few other co-writes, but unfortunately they've never taken off and gone anywhere :(

there's nothing i wouldn't do to make you feel my love - Almando, 27k

All time favourite ship?

nope. nope nope nope I don't knowwwwwww

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

oh!! this is marked completed on ao3 now because honestly, I'm never going to finish it, but I love love love the premise of this one and I always wished I had finished it

Love Thy Family - Stilinskicest, 12k

What are your writing strengths?

this is soooo tricky lol I hate talking about myself. I would say probably dialogue! I also really like how I write romance, specifically getting together works, and I think I do a good job at nailing down the feelings that go along with them!

What are your writing weaknesses?

settings. actions. plot. I hate plot!

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I used to use a looooot more than I do now, and I would use google translate. it's never GREAT, so I mostly avoid it now. I'll translate like, a single sentence every now and again, but I don't do a lot with it anymore.

as for how I feel about it as a reader - as long as I can figure out what's going on from context clues, I really don't mind it!

First fandom you wrote in?

Percy Jackson & the Olympians!

To Long For Lust - Percico, 3k

Favorite fic you've written?

this is sooooo hard and so unfair and so difficultimpossiblehorrible to answer. if I had to pick one, gun to my head, it would currently be poly fic. it's the longest, plotiest, most developed thing I've ever written, and if nothing else, it's shown me that I can write things I've never imagined being able to write! once im done act 4, I wanna print it out lol

lift our faces, together, towards the glistening - Stisaackson, 159k

@lucky-bishop @mirrorthoughts @thotpuppy @like-lazarus @rosieposiepuddingnpie @kordyceps @whimsicalmeerkat

[negative-speedforce]

OC Fandom Asks! For Kayla and Siv please

1, 3, 7, 10, 15, 19, and 29?

1: Was your OC influenced or inspired by any particular fictional character(s) when you made them?

Kayla is loosely based on the ORIGINAL-original version of Siv, the one from 14-year-old me's DC/Marvel/Percy Jackson/Star Wars crossover. I had some really cool concepts for the later chapters of that one, and I decided to recycle them into a whole new character.

Siv is quite literally the product of a dream I had when I was 13, but overall, while I mostly base my characters' stories and personalities off their playlists, her personality has been influenced by a whole lot of characters. They were influenced by Cassandra from Tangled: The Series, Natasha Romanoff, Reva from Kenobi, Adrien from Miraculous, and a whole lot of other characters from fandoms I've been into over the 7+ years I've had them.

3: What genre would your OC do badly in but it would be hilarious or interesting to watch?

Kayla would absolutely SUCK in a rom-com. First of all, she aroace-spec, second of all, she does not know how to talk to girls- at all. It would low-key be pretty funny to watch her fumble around like that.

Siv would loathe being in a Regency period drama. All those rules and restrictions for how you have to be- she wouldn't be able to stand it. She'd probably end up going apeshit and destroying the castle.

7: If your OC had to cosplay as a fictional character, who would they choose?

Kayla normally isn't the cosplaying type, but I think she'd have a lot of fun dressed up as Sam from Totally Spies.

Siv would probably dress up as some kind of creature from Star Trek. I'm not sure what, but they'd pull it off really well nonetheless.

10: How would your OC do in the last book/movie/tv show/game/etc. you read/watched/played?

Oooh I watched Birds of Prey yesterday with my Grandma (it is her favorite movie) so this will be fun-

Kayla absolutely slays. She's got that vaguely morally gray component to her character that means that she'll probably get along with most of the main cast. Though Harley's personality would probably give her a headache.

I'm actually planning an arc where Siv has to team up with Harley and the Birds of Prey for... plot reasons! I feel like she'd get along best with Dinah and Helena for obvious reasons, but ngl I'm mostly planning this arc because I have the idea of Siv snapping at Harley and telling her to shut up/stop being annoying/etc, and Harley goes all psychiatrist on her.

15: How well would your OC do in a standard slasher movie?

Kayla, being a secret agent, would fare pretty well. Her skills in recognizing patterns and taking down supervillains would be invaluable in a slasher film.

Siv, if they weren't the slasher themself, would definitely make it to the end, and probably end up slashing the slasher.

19: If your OC was in Star Trek’s Starfleet, what would be their role/position? Or, if that doesn’t really fit your OC: why would they get kicked out of Starfleet?

Kayla, being a biomedical engineer in real life, would probably be either the chief medical officer or an engineer in Starfleet.

Siv would get thrown out of Starfleet for starting too many fights and overwhelming her ship's medical supplies with all the injuries she's caused.

29: Gun to their head, what is your OC’s fursona?

I don't even know if Kayla really knows what a fursona is, but if she had to chose, I think she'd go with some kind of bird. Like maybe a blue jay or some other kind of corvid?

Siv isn't a furry, but she made up a fursona as a joke with her friends in high school. It's a lynx that wields a giant battle axe.

[that-house]

hi james! I'm currently putting together the first d&d campaign I'll be dming for, and I was hoping for some advice. Specifically, I'd like to know how much you'd suggest preparing in advance (is there a minimum amount of preparation that helps things run smoothly? is there a level of detail/specificity where it starts hindering your ability to improvise, or just isn't useful? I'm sure this varies some based on personal preference and style but I'd still like to hear your thoughts) but any other advice/suggestions/recommendations would also be much appreciated <3

well, part of it depends on the sort of game you're looking to run. i've run two major high-effort D&D campaigns, and they were both very different structurally.

the first game was very plot-driven, with the players getting missions from the crown. my players were pretty new, and it had been a while since I'd DM'd, so i wanted to do something simple to hold their hands through the introductory period. for that one, i spent a whiiile nailing down what sorta stuff would be happening and what the world was like and all that. i think my main campaign doc wound up being around 90 pages by the time the game went on indefinite hiatus around level 10

for my current game, i wanted to run a proper sandbox campaign, which is a bit more of an undertaking. i started by nailing down a bunch of broad setting details: continents, countries, gods, metaphysics, some major historical events. once i had a broad view of Everything, i focused in on the stuff immediately at hand.

i knew they'd be starting off in the Eviscaran Empire, so i filled out an excessive amount of information about its governing structure, demographics, economy, etc.

once i had that framework, the amount of prep i did trailed off RAPIDLY over time. for the first bits of the game, i was writing soooo much for every location and NPC. i haven't put anything down on paper in like three sessions

my number one tip is to prep NPCs in advance but like. not actually

here's how i do NPC prep:

i have a table full of Name, Race, Appearance, and Personality, with blank spots for Location, Profession, and Notes

when i need an NPC, i grab the next empty spot on the table, come up with the sort of person who fits both the appearance/personality and the job i'm putting them in, and play 'em

it's like a little game! the order in which the players do things effects what the NPCs are gonna be like! rugged, suspicious Vin Muvak wound up as a shady ex-con flower seller (fun contrast), and masked, efficient Immaq Qaim ended up being a crime boss (perfect fit)

but yeah here's an example of my session notes

i do take more in-depth notes for like. dungeon crawls and stuff, but a solid 50% of what happens in a given session is totally pulled out of my ass. i just go with what feels right

"oh the wizard wants to investigate this mirror? sure would be funny if it had a Power Word Kill trap"

one of my players asked me what would have happened if they'd sealed the eternally-tortured princess of the summer fey into a spear and then fed that to the paladin's weapon-eating sword and i said "50% chance it frees her from her torment, 50% chance it lets her loose in the material plane" "you'd flip a coin?" "no i would just pick in the moment based on what felt more narratively satisfying"

part of running a sandbox game is just playing fast and loose with prep. it's impossible to predict everything that's going to happen so i just trust myself to come up with solid stuff on the fly. i looooove getting to spitball treatises on magic and history whenever someone reads a book or casts identify or makes a history/religion/arcana check :)

[coffinsister]

Eeee so I can't pick a favorite between Ashley and Andrew but when I was playing it I definitely saw Ashley as sorta yandere vibes? Like yknow with the girl dying in the box was the primary example, Andrew going along with it too was like 👀 because why would he go along with killing someone unless he was either The Biggest Doormat (which i definitely understand seeing the creator's notes) or he was also vaguely yandere but not acknowledging it. There's a lot of toxicity between them obviously and a lot of trauma (not sure where from aside from whole being locked in the apartment for Hecc knows how long and maybe neglectful parents) but they seem to be reading the same book but they're not the same page if that makes sense. Andrew probably also has some Older Sibling syndrome going on there because he cares about Ashley if reluctantly sometimes and takes responsibility for things, while Ashley makes sense as the younger sibling (as an older sister myself it at least was recognizable with how Andrew was telling Ashley she had to realize what they'd done at the end of the chapter) and with the whole demon thing it made me wonder what the talisman will show Ashley or if there will be more complicated horror with the two of them encountering more cultists or if their parents had something to do with the issue because I definitely agree on the whole sus mom thing

All in all I love how the game gives us enough information to see kind of where it could go but doesn't spoil the plot and the Coffin part of the title definitely gave me 4th wall thoughts similar to Homestuck. The apartment/demon occult based horror is similar to Sally Face too so it just took the gremlins and made me super interested in the story. If i ever write anything i'll definitely send it to you!! I work as a writer off of tumblr for a larp company currently though so my brain is a bit fried but I love this game a lot and it was super interesting to see what was going on in the story 👀

Thank you !!! Don't overheat your brain anymore than necessary to survive in the techno capitalist hellscape singularity we are currently in but if you do find the time to write anything that would be amazing :D

And now to answer everything else:

I love both siblings for their own reasons I really do but I fell in love with Andrew the moment I saw him because brocon tendencies defeat all sorts of common sense immediately for me

Yeah Ashley totally fits into the yandere archetype except she's more real I would say and she's definitely more western than full on anime like

I say she's more real because she's actually shown to struggle a lot with socialization and with her parents and just seems to be rejected by the world around her because of her personality instead of just being a random girl who somehow exists with that behavior and it's okay

Yeah I actually don't really understand Andrew's motivations for going along with stuff all that deeply I always feel like there's something I'm missing with him but mostly I just see it as well he genuinely really cares for his sister and doesn't want to see her in distress and he's super codependent as well and cannot lose and he's a pushover too and finds it easier to go along and blame her for everything instead of standing up to her and risk losing her and then having to confront himself

As Ashley did say she's the only person he can be real with so he can't stand to lose her

I also totally think he's yandere on his own right like maybe yandere wouldn't be the right term for him because he definitely doesn't present himself at first as more approachable like Ashley does but he's still super overprotective of her

Like straight up one of the like 7 times the Rage sprite is used twice are just for the time where Ashley makes the comment about getting pregnant from their neighbor

So yeah they are both yanderes for each other and we love that for them

Personally I see the trauma from them steming from yeah killing that girl that's definitely not something you can just walk off but also from their parents seeming to be very detached and neglectful of them and also from Ashley specifically I see her as somebody who's never managed to have a long lasting relationship of any type with anybody other than Andrew

She expresses that just who she is and her personality makes people turn away from her and that over so much time and starting up from so young can really mess a person up

And then she starts isolating Andrew too and they wind up becoming dependant on each other and no matter what forcing one person to carry the weight that a whole entire social circle should is always going to end up turning toxic ah~ which is what I so love about them I'm just a natural sucker for toxic siblings dynamics

Actually your perspective saying that Ashley fits as a little sister is really interesting to me because I am a little sister I can't really understand how older siblings look at their younger siblings but I can see a lot of how me and my older sister are like in just how they banter and stuff

Like that bit where Andrew is like nope you go get the batteries It was like a Deja Vu for me swear to God

I definitely think the whole prophetic dreams stuff is gonna play a big role in the full game and I'm really looking forwards to the horror potential of it all

I also really enjoy the idea of Ashley being super paranoic all the time about everything she dreams because what if she interprets it wrong what if she doesn't see the right thing what if it ends up getting Andrew hurt and as much as he doesn't want him to be able to live on without her that stems from the fact that she definitely cannot live on without him

One thing I really enjoy about dystopian stories is that they tell you just enough they make you feel like the world was already here before you and you are just watching it at the moment and this game does that so well

I know nothing about Homestuck but everyday I learn something new about it as it seems

And sorry, as you can probably tell, I can talk a whole lot about my special interests jejeje (☍﹏⁰).

[spidercrusadersworld]

I guess we have plot line now, WHO ELSE IS READY FOR MORE

summary: Maya moves in with the Parker's, but feels like leaving the bus, would be leaving Jade. trauma resurfaces, and tears are cried.

tagging @i-put-the-wit-in-dimwit

After a week of being with the Parker's, I know that I want to stay, but I'm not sure if i'm ready to leave. for the past week I've been sleeping in the spare bedroom. It's walls are a pale shade of blue and the bed is made with plain, flat colors. the mixture of grays, and off-whites made to please every guest that will enter. it's far from the cluttered, colorful bus that I had called home for all those years.

The question of "are you okay?" derails my train of thought. The unexpected noise makes me jump. I look over at the open doorway and Peter is there looking concerned.

"Sorry!" He says quickly "I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that!".

"oh it's totally fine!" I ensure him "I'm just not used to having other people around, that's all!" I tell him. the last thing I want to do is to be a bother to anyone. not after they'd been so kind to me.

"Well that explains the aimless wondering and inaudible muttering." he says. "I walked past and in the corner of my eyes I saw you staring at the wall!".

I realize that I am indeed in the middle of the room aimlessly pacing around.

"So, are you okay? Is the room not working out for you?".

"NO!" I blurt out a little louder than I should have. "I mean no!" I repeat myself more calmly "The room is great! It's just, different from what I'm used to back... well I guess not back home. this technically is home now, but..." I feel like I'm talking to much, why am I complaining? God I'm so ungrateful-

"You're not being Ungrateful kid!" Peter blurts out. "Hell last night when I said good night you responded with 'I'm sorry'!".

"Oh." I respond nervously. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did" peter says chuckling. "So what I'm getting from this is you like more of a hotel guest than a household member, am I correct?"

I nod quietly.

"So why don't you go bring your stuff here? I'm sure that would make it feel more homey!" He says cheerfully.

Then it all clicks.

"That's it!" I say ,"that"s exactly it!" For a second I feel myself about to run up and hug him, but I stop myself, and desperately pray he didn't notice.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After collecting boxes, bins, and other helpful tools. I step through the portal and take in the familiar sent of the forest. The sage bushes, the royal blue pine needles, the cozy smell of the mist. I didn't realize how much I missed it until now. The city smells of cigarettes and street food and whatever else the citizens of New York bring around the city, so to be back here calms my soul.

Suddenly I realize why I have trouble sleeping too. A calm, isolated forest and the busy streets of New York are definitely two drastically different environments. And, well, blasting car horns are not what I would exactly call relaxing or soothing noises to drift asleep to.

I put all the clutter in boxes, and fold up the bedding, that I haven't used in months.

one of the last things I pack up are my clothes. the fashion in Peters universe, is, well different. for one, it's weird for men to wear dresses there. In my universe, Earth #1252008 It's normal for tailors to regularly make custom tailored dress for anyone. I look at the dresses in my very spacious, but hidden, out of the way closet. I haven't worn any of them since she... since the accident.

I haven't had the need to, plus, they probably don't fit anymore. after I got bit, i got a huge growth spurt and got a much more muscular build. i couldn't wear half of my wardrobe. next to my old dresses is my suit, I haven't worn it since I proposed, here in these same woods.

I look out the window, that shows her... memorial. I realize now how strange it'll be not seeing it first thing every morning. sometimes, when I wake up and open my eyes for the first time that day, for a split second, I can see her standing by mine. and then before you can blink, shes gone.

"She's gone". I say to myself, "stay focused".

something forces me to leave the formal wear here. I take whatever is left in the closet and close it firmly. To distract myself I take the decor off the walls. the last things I want to take. their mostly from shows I would force jade to watch with me. She-ra, The Owl house, and hours worth of movies with convoluted, over extended universes. after they are all taken down, I look at the empty walls, and the bare bus.

it feels wrong.

why does It feel wrong?

then a thought hits me. What If I forget all of this? what happens when our home becomes nothing but an empty abandoned bus?

What if I, by doing this, I lose her all over again. what we did. what I couldn't protect.

I look around the bus and I realize, that there's still most of the things inside. all of which are covered in thick layers of dust.

their Jades.

as I look at all her things, the memories attached to them come flooding back to me. the things that made her laugh, cry, happy, mad.

It's to much.

my breath gets hitched in my throat, tears come cascading down without warning. I run out of the bus away from the memories. she was here. she laughed here. she loved here. she cried here. those things meant something to her. and they still wait to mean something again. I back away from the bus until I bump into something behind me.

I turn around to see her name etched into a stone.

If I do this, does that mean that I leave her again, I leave behind the husk of our life, collecting dust on a shelf?

I look at the pictures on her grave. we look so young and happy. she deserved to see another day, to survive, to live.

But she didn't.

I did.

but I never lived after that, I survived.

is this my chance to live again?

I look up from her name, and i see her, in the bus.

she nods to me.

and I live.

[crackinthecup]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @elevenelvenswords - thank you so much, friend <3 (and apologies for taking forever to get round to this!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

49 in total.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

456,188 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Silmarillion. I have dabbled in Star Wars and Dark Souls too, plus a D.Gray-man fic I wrote for a friend purely based on what she told me about the characters as I've never read the manga or watched the anime.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My top one is Yield to the Moment, which is completely fair enough as it's a beast of a fic and by far the longest multi-chapter I've ever written. The next two are Strange New World and A bond once called fealty, part of my Swords series looking at Melkor and Mairon post-Dagor Dagorath. Then we've got The Metal Cage which is pure PWP (chastity play/CBT) and I am very glad people are having fun with it. And fifth is A quiet sort of introspection, a Melkor-centric character study also set in the Swords 'verse.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yep! I think it's only fair to reply to people if they've taken the time to share their thoughts about something I've written. Plus it can turn into a really fun thinking space to play around with ideas about characters!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ohhh I have to think about this one. I don't know if I tend to write particularly angsty endings? Maybe High and Higher? Which is a Fallen Banners ficlet set in Gondolin after Maeglin's return from Angband where he feels like he doesn't quite fit into his life anymore.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Yield to the Moment, probably! The wedding felt like a happy culmination of all the work they'd been putting into themselves and each other.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

It's happened a few times, yeah. But generally people seem to take a "ship and let ship" stance to fandom.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Quite a lot of smut haha. Honestly I'd describe my particular brand of smut as a thinly veiled excuse for a psychological study of the characters.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haven't written any crossovers yet.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, thankfully.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A couple, yeah, back in 2015-ish when I first started writing for the Silm fandom. Sadly I took down all those old fics at a time when my mental health wasn't amazing (wish I hadn't), and I'm not sure if the translations still exist anywhere.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

YTTM started out as a co-written project.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Will have to go with Angbang here. They just seem to speak to a deep deep part of my psyche.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I've got a very rough WIP about Mairon bonding with Tar-Míriel in Númenor that I don't feel super engaged with anymore.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Characterisation, I hope! I've always been drawn to writing as a way to explore what makes characters tick, why they do the things they do. I also really enjoy coming up with fun ways to describe things.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything can always be improved, I suppose! At the moment I think I'm mindful that I find it difficult sometimes to end fics in ways that feel punchy or memorable.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Totally on board with it when used thoughtfully as a plot device or a way to add depth to characters.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh goodness, I think it was Harry Potter back when I was 13 or 14. Those fics will not be seeing the light of day haha.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Hmm I don't actually like reading my own stuff very much. It's a bit of a struggle to switch off the perfectionism. That said, YTTM has a special place in my heart. It took a lot of time, a lot of thought, and sometimes a lot of effort, and while I'm not 100% happy with it, I am glad that I got it over the finish line and that I had a chance to tell a story I really wanted to tell.

[groenendaelfic]

I love the idea of Wille also coming from a dual-language home. Not sure how much he'd be encouraged to speak the other language, because on one hand, being a princeof Sweden, is expected him to be encouraged to speak Swedish more, but on the other, bilingualism from birth is not something they'd throw away, because knowing multiple languages is also important as a prince. I like the idea of Erik not being super interested in speaking whatever other language their father speaks, but Wille loving it and bonding with his father over it (kinda like Sara/Simon with Spanish).

I like that idea as well, and it makes a lot of sense.

Erik would still be able to understand and speak the other language, simply for being at least partially raised with it (Ludvig speaks it to them in private and maybe a nanny?) and also chances are high it'd be a Germanic language and thus easy for him to learn and remember*, but he wouldn't really care, because he has his Crown Prince duties and other things to focus on, and really why would he?

Wille however craves to belong, to not just be the spare, but to have a home and be loved, a place where he can be himself, and while another language doesn't necessarily provide that, it can still serve as an escape, a see, there's this part of me which doesn't belong to Sweden, I am not just the spare and I think that could have given him strength, especially because while Ludvig is extremely passive from what we've seen (or simply knows his place and duties), he also cares and I'm sure there were many a times when Erik was taken aside by Kristina, be it for appearances or audiences or whatever, and it was just Ludvig and Wille in Drottningholm (not that I think he or Kristina did much parenting themselves or were very hands-on parents).

This also fits my personal headcanon that while Kristina prefers to stay at the Royal Palace right in the center of things and next to Parliament House, Ludvig likes to stay in Drottningholm Palace which is surrounded by gardens and nature and still only a quick drive away in case he is needed. I totally see him and a young Wille bonding there, although they might have drifted appart once Wille got older.

*one of those or Spanish (which I exclude because we would have heard about that in canon for sure), Italian (which I consider unlikely), or Greek (an idea I'm quite fond of and currently playing with as well for future alawhea plot reasons).

[fungi-maestro]

What do you think of the 2005 Question mini? I understand it's a bit controversial among the Question die-hards.

I definitely have mixed feelings, which I think I'll put under a read more bc this got longer than expected.... Whoops.

Okay. So. I think it's valuable in the sense that it kinda sets up how Vic is often written post-2005 (hyperviolent & mystical), and I think it dips back into the Ditko-era "be totally convinced what you are doing is right, even if you're burying people alive in cement with a backhoe" mentality, which can be kind of fascinating in combination with the magic stuff.

At the same time, though, I wouldn't consider it "in character" exactly. It's one of those oddball runs. I guess it's closest to The Deaths of Vic Sage in terms of content and character choices (which, depending on how you feel about that, you may or may not like), and isn't what I would consider to be a "here, this is a cool DC character. Check it out!" kind of story. Like. Can you imagine giving someone the 2005 run and saying "yeah this guy has an amazing inner battle and I think he's totally fascinating as a study of how morals can twist as you experience more and more grey situations". I think I would get some strange looks.

That all being said, I think there's a certain point where it gets kind of hysterical watching Vic Sage, high out of his mind, run around Metropolis seeing ghosts. There is something fun about that. The Question has always been a character that played with reality and what could be considered "objective truths", so drugs are nothing new. It's cool to see how an extremely subjective view can influence what a person does in a situation where the answer might not be black and white (although to be totally honest, I think he overreacts severely in the 2005 run.... But I'll get to that in a minute.)

One thing that I'm totally sure about on the story is the plot point about Vic and Lois going to journalism school together and having some kind of tension. Unlike Lois, though, I don't think the poems Vic wrote were about her. I honestly think they were about him. They're almost entirely about finding the hidden side of someone, and seeing secrets that they don't want others to see. They don't read as someone publishing poetry about their crush, they read as self exploration through poetry. I think Vic's shame about Lois thinking they were about her shouldn't have been an unrequited love thing, and I definitely don't think it should have influenced Vic's decision making to the point that he decides that killing willy nilly is totally justified, especially if you think about other times he's killed for love (like in the first Question Quarterly). It wasn't the kind of reaction you would expect from him given the situation. I do think it was an interesting detail, though, regardless of the romance issues. Not even going to get into what Superman might have thought about hearing that poetry and then running out to find the writer reenacting Bob the Builder with gore.

I think that my favorite thing about the run was seeing Vic literally walk in two worlds. You get the social aspect of him not fitting in with his peers while also being seperate entirely from heroes (although I wish they'd shown this more), while also literally having a split in the art to show how divided his thinking is. It's a cool way to showcase how the character is a little different from the version of him in, say, Mysterious Suspense, where a black and white character is literally portrayed in black and white (which, while maybe not an intentional choice, I believe has artistic merit for who the character is and what he embodied). Plus, I think the parts where you see how he sees the world (at least, how he sees it while on powerful psychedelics) are really visually interesting. I <3 bright colors.

Overall, I think it's okay. It's a weird one, and it belongs in the ranks with Frank Miller's Batman comic, PAX, TDOVS, Trinity of Sin, that one 9/11 thing that I don't remember the name of, but I think it's worth a read if you already have a solid understanding of the character and want to see an interesting portrayal. If we rank the 80s run as a 10/10 and PAX as a 1/10, I would put 2005 at a solid 6.

[incesthemes]

final thoughts: supernatural season 7

holy shit i finally did it. "it only took you a week" it felt like 5 years okay. i'm not good at watching shows.

anyway. overall i'm gonna say i liked season 7 more than i liked season 6, but the bad episodes were imo much worse than s6's bad episodes, at least from what i can remember.

season 6 was overall really disjointed and clumsily handled, and i just watched it 2 weeks ago and i can barely remember what happened in it now that i'm trying to. wow. season 7 was a lot more coherent and didn't try to cram 3 different miniplots into one season. i appreciate the effort honestly.

that said, some of the episodes really were. not good. and some of the ways they used to resolve conflicts and move on were bizarre and contrived (i'm absolutely talking about cas "taking" sam's crazy for himself. genuinely what the fuck was that). the filler episodes felt dropped in without any regard to the context of the rest of the season (why did the "sam gets legally married" episode happen immediately after the one where they're #2 on the fbi's most wanted list? that doesn't make any amount of sense) and a lot of the episodes were honestly just boring.

and i don't know why, but this season specifically had a lot of issues with pacing. too many episodes had way too much buildup only for a "quick fix" to be presented in the last 5-10 minutes. a handful of episodes like that can be fine, especially when you need the time to build up the overarching plot of the season, but this was like... nearly every episode. 30 minutes of nearly unrelated drama followed by "here's your deus ex machina! finish the episode so we can go home already." it just came off as unskilled writing to me. i know episodic storytelling has to tie each episode up with a nice bow, but there's only so many times you can throw a simple deus ex machina-like solution to the characters and not expect me to find it contrived.

now i do like the leviathans though. or at least the concept of them. i wasn't overly invested in their plot (though honestly? i kinda like dick roman. he's annoying enough for me to appreciate) but the idea of them is really interesting. you can see this conglomeration of several different monsters within the species, so they fit well within the context they've been given. primordial monsters that came before all the others? well of course they'd have traits of those who came after them. it's like evolution: the later-born monsters became more specialized to their environment i guess. the worldbuilding there is intriguing enough for me.

i'm sick as a dog so i'm having trouble coming up with other thoughts. i really liked meg's involvement in the season; i thought her role throughout was well-placed and well-developed. the weird romance subplot between her and cas is, well, weird, but i don't dislike it either. i'm a sucker for demon/angel dynamics, even if the angel is totally crazy. but every time they hint at it i keep thinking about the destiel love confession and start laughing.

crowley was kinda weird and boring this season tbh. very disappointing as a crowley fan. the ghost bobby plot was kinda interesting, but i'm not 100% sure how i feel about it. kevin tran is a loser and i'm a big fan of losers. i think the show tried a little too hard with charlie, but i don't dislike her. she's no becky though smh. my taste in fictional characters is bad and charlie is too good, i guess.

well anyway, dean and cas are in purgatory now and sam is a soggy sad boy as usual, so with that i'm going to take another break from this wretched show and watch something good, the haunting of bly manor :) i really want to get through mike flanagan's entire compendium of work because hoooooly shit he is a great idk. do you call him a filmmaker even though it's miniseries. idk the terminology. whatever

[kitkatt0430]

So, given that you like to tackle time travel in fics (especially when canon just makes no effort with it at all) I have to ask - what do you think of the 'official' Zelda timeline? Do you think it makes sense or do you think three timelines is too much? Did you have theories about the game order before the 'official' confirmation or was it something you hadn't given much thought to beyond the fact it split in two after OOT?

So I love watching Zelda theory videos on YouTube. They are so much fun. A lot of post-BoTW and pre-ToTK videos were speculating on the Zonai being important in ToTK - Zonai spirals were discussed by a number of theorists - and it was really fun to see they were vindicated when ToTK came out and the Zonai wound up being central to the game's plot.

I also have a lot of half-thought-out plots for various Zelda games, putting them into a single timeline that ignores the timeline splits, with a focus on how remembering their past lives affects Link and Zelda as the timeline progresses - they'd have a kinda QPR esque relationship and also two other characters would be reincarnating along with them. One of whom they're trying very hard to rescue. and I don't want to say more in case one day I actually manage to truly start writing that series.

Though I've also got a fic idea that would explore OoT starting with Link choosing to save his Shadow and discovering the Shadow was actually a person who'd been kidnapped and cursed by Ganon. It would have three endings in a nod to the split timelines of OoT.

But I really only started coming up with these ideas after the official timeline was released. I didn't really consider the games fitting into a single coherent timeline before that. Or, you know, a single coherent timeline with three branches after a certain point.

Admittedly, I'm not really sure how that third timeline is really supposed to work concerning it's origin. It doesn't have a specific origin, unlike the split between the Adult/Child timelines, the downfall timeline where Link dies is just... word of god type info, really. The only way I can think of it making sense is if it was an unintended consequence of Zelda creating the child timeline when she sent Link back in time. Whoops, downfall timeline becomes all her fault. (It does amuse me that the game over death screen is canon.)

So I do think the official Zelda timeline is a fun idea. I also don't really think it should be taken too seriously, certainly not at the expense of enjoying the games on their own terms. The first several games weren't initially created with the idea of continuity between them and while it eventually grew into the series - I loved starting the Wind Waker and seeing all the references to OoT as it's backstory and the implication that Link from Twilight Princes was OoT Link's descendant - I don't really think it totally works. There's a lot of discrepancies between games, even those intended from the start to be part of the Sacred Timelines of Zelda.

I also like the idea that maybe the games are meant to be retellings of legends. Or the same legend retold differently over time, distorting the further it gets from the origin. Which, admittedly, doesn't totally work either since some of the games are deliberately intended to be sequels to previous games, but then again new legends are often born from old ones. And it's not really meant to be a serious theory anyway.

Mostly, though, I don't really give the official timeline a lot of thought. I didn't really care all that much where BoTW would fall in the timeline when it was released, though I was curious about where it'd get officially placed since it seemed to work for any branch, or all of them if there was some kind of temporal collapse where the three timelines merged back into one. But most of my interest in the timeline(s) lies in seeing what theories other people will come up with or considering if I want it to impact my fanfic ideas or not.

[whistl-stahp]

ok i think this might actually be my favorite 8000 i read yet... (spoilers inbound)

like i'm a bit biased obvi given i love robots and ESPECIALLY aiad. and im also biased because alex's story has been NINE YEARS in the making and it's come out so so slowly. a lot of the articles that use her don't bring up her internal conflict with her feeling trapped. that omission isn't a bad thing, she acts as a good character to bring in when you need general computer stuff, but it just means i've been deficient of deep alex content and honestly thought for a while that her plot line was never gonna get resolved. but i just needed to learn to never lose hope!!

the nod to limited memory had me really happy. it's very clear the author did their aiad homework. i was surprised that none of the hello world bots were mentioned but i was not sure how they'd fit in, and looking at the comments the author felt the same way, so i cant complain

this article really captures alexandra's drive to help others and her reluctance to help herself, both of which are compounded by her being an ai. in original aiad it highlights how she's bound by duty in a really unique way that a human wouldn't be; she was programmed to follow the foundation, she was created by the foundation, it is hardwired into her identity to help the foundation. but despite it all she still wants to be free. and she isn't brave enough to run away, because that would be choosing to throw away her entire purpose. but she is still so determined to be the kindest person she can be with what she has. i love this articles blend of that, where her drive to help humanity is intertwined with her duty to the foundation. she sees her entire existence as helping humanity, like, thats what she was build to do, she cant just turn against the foundation!! but she has people there to tell her that it's ok to want to be free, and she can still be kind to people when she leaves her duty behind.

she will still be kind. her kindness has never been shaken and this article shows that even at the extreme she is still at her core kind and will always be so.

it also shows a side of her i wouldn't have thought of, where she feels like people don't really care about her. some of that probably stems from the foundation moving forward and creating new and more advanced ai, but the main reason here is a result of alex's memory module failing and how she literally can't function anymore. she thinks she's useless, unable to complete her mission, and should be left behind. but her unrelenting kindness to everyone comes back around and crom and lurk are there to help her <3 and they value her <3

but the ending is really interesting slash confusing to me.. it had a "and it was all a dream" feel but also kinda wasnt? and alex still isn tfree? shes still working for the foundation just with more self-confidence? unless the end was supposed to be her telling lurk goodbye and then leaving forever... but i didnt see that if so.

i guess the "more self confidence" isnt giving her much credit i mean the article literally says 'ya shes not fake shes straight up a person.' but i dont know where the ending led... im just confused. was this the resolution of her story or not? but OK I LIKED IT A LOT OK. the prose and css mixed together was something id never have expected on an aiad article, or an scp article at all! it was awesome! it creates such strong emotion its literally my favorite 8kcon entry!!!

also shoutout to it being totally mobile compatible. the screen jittered a bit but it was flawless outside of that which was surprising bc css heavy scps usually break on phones

IIUUGH AND RHE ENDING BEING A CALL BACK TO NULL TERMINATING STRING... ok im done now. [/end]

FICTIONAL AI.... I LOVE U SO MUUUCH...

[darkmagickingdom]

Since I haven’t said anything about it yet, these are all of the “Fairies” featured in this AU (currently anyway, as new movies come out I might add more, or I might add other characters from other movies that aren’t necessarily magic but still have authority over the villains)

(Under a read more cause it got  l o n g)

Persephone - “The Goddess of Spring” (1934) Considered in this AU the OG Fairy and the one effectively in charge of the effort to rehabilitate the villains, working off of her success with her universe’s version of Hades (helpfully referred to officially by his Roman name, Pluto. Of course, that means he gets confused with a dog now...). As for why her Hades was completely different from the one from “Hercules”...uh...alternate universes? There apparently *was* a Persephone in the “Hercules” universe too, but they’re completely separate entities. In fact this version is not very close to her mythological inspiration if you really look into that. I’d wager the one from Hercules is closer, but probably not by much.

The Blue Fairy - “Pinocchio” (1940) Some of the villains have tried cozying up to her in the hopes of getting a wish granted. She’s pretty strict with her requirement of “being a good person” beforehand, though, so none have succeeded. Make no mistake, Blue takes absolutely no shit from anyone.

Yen Sid - “Fantasia” (1940) The most serious of the involved magic-users. He’s mainly responsible for the barrier keeping the villains from leaving, but also played a prominent role in sealing Chernabog away. Sometimes he hangs out with Merlin.

The Fairy Godmother - “Cinderella” (1950) One of the Fairies that interacts often with the villains. She typically keeps up a light-hearted attitude, but is known to mess with the villains who pick a fight with her. Nothing too serious, but they might find themselves temporarily transfigured into some sort of animal or object after an utterance of her signature incantation of “Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo”.

Tinker Bell - “Peter Pan” (1953) Another of the Fairies that interacts often with the villains. She often messes with the villains if she thinks they need to be taught a lesson. She’s particularly got a grudge against Hook, for well, obvious reasons. She actually sort of gets along with Maleficent, though. Guess mischievous fairies have to stick together.

Flora, Fauna, & Merryweather - “Sleeping Beauty” (1959) Not quite as powerful as some of their allies, stronger villains sometimes attempt to intimidate them. Merryweather, however, is always stands up in defiance to these attempts, and sometimes has to be held back by her allies before she can retaliate. Merryweather in particular keeps a close eye on Maleficent and despite the power imbalance between them, will fearlessly confront her even without the support of Flora and Fauna. 

Merlin - “The Sword in the Stone” (1963) When not keeping an eye on the villains (especially Madam Mim), this jolly old time-traveling wizard can be found hanging out with Yen Sid and the Genie. 

King Eidilleg & Doli - “The Black Cauldron” (1985) Not often seen around the estate. Neither are particularly fond of the Horned King, but Doli is much more direct with it. Upon the Horned King’s arrival at the estate, Doli went into something of a tirade against him, even startling him for a moment. 

The Enchantress - “Beauty and the Beast” (1991) Also rarely seen around the estate. She’s feared by some, particularly those who know her for her harsh punishments.

The Genie - “Aladdin” (1992) Ever a thorn in Jafar’s side. When not having fun with his job, he passes the time by hanging out with Merlin and Mushu.

Mushu - “Mulan” (1998) Currently the bane of Shan Yu’s existence. Seriously, at least Mulan had the courtesy to not crack jokes at his expense while trying to kill him. He’s collectively called “dishonor” on all of the villains in the estate more than once, but none of them seem to take this seriously. He mostly hangs out with the Genie, and sometimes, Tinker Bell.

The Spring Sprite - “Fantasia 2000″ (2000) Responsible for tending to all of the plant life around the estate, as well as sometimes helping out with the villains’ pets and horses. She’s quiet, but friendly and curious, though she flees when frightened. For the most part she stays away from the villains when she can, but I’m thinking she’ll go on to befriend some of the ones who don’t try to frighten her off, probably the ones which are animals themselves.

Mama Odie - “The Princess and the Frog” (2009) A key player in the effort to lead the villains down the path of redemption. She gets right to the point of what holds each of them back, and has seemingly no fear of their numerous threats. Frankly, she’s powerful enough to send anything they can throw at her right on back. She’s particularly persistent with Facilier, who it definitely seems as though has some sort of past connection with her. Like the rest, unfortunately, he’s stubborn and refuses to change. Nevertheless, her talks have an effect on the villains. She really seems to know how to get down to the center of what troubles them and causes them to act the way they do. She actually gets along best with Kronk and Silver, and can sometimes be found cooking with them!