#creating a pinned post since I don't have one and I figured that I should

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

I enjoy critical media analysis and script doctoring, but those are largely frowned upon in the miraculous fandom, so I made this side blog! That way I could rant to my heart's content while allowing people to avoid my commentary if they so chose. Asks are welcome, but do note that this is, loosely speaking, a writing salt, character sugar blog. I legitimately like almost every main character in the show and will defend them as being perfectly fine at their core. In my opinion, all of the issues come from the writing, not the concept, which is why I actively write and read fanfiction for miraculous. It's got too much potential for me to turn my back on it just because I find canon dead in the water. (Yes you can read my stuff, I just ask that you message me for a link for the reasons laid out here. There are simply too many people who get mad at those who say negative things about the show for me to feel comfortable giving a public link right now.)

A couple of key posts from this blog if you're looking for where to start: my general thoughts on Marinette, on Alya, on Chloe, on Lila, on Gabriel's redemption, on the sentikid plot, and my square shipping preferences if you're curious. The "season four was nonsense" rant is also a pretty good gauge of if you're going to enjoy it here. I try to use the tag "[Charater Name] Deserves Better" when a post gives some real focus to a character and how the narrative failed to do them justice, so that's a good thing to look for, too. Welcome to the blog!

Note, asks are welcome and will be answered! But it may take a while before you see them on the blog. I often write pretty long posts, so I make liberal use of the queue to avoid flooding your dash with lectures. I also won't respond to anything that's clearly calling out another member of the fandom. General asks inspired by the fandom are fine, but no "X said Y, what do you think about that?" "What do you think about Y?" is fine. I'm also very hesitant to blame any single person for the show's flaws unless there's hard evidence that said person is fully responsible for the flaw. That's just not how I operate. I even use "writers" as a catch-all term meant to encompass everyone who was involved in the creative process.

[mothman-etd]

hello 👋🏼

first loving the twiyor 😌

second I have a tech question I was hoping you might be able and willing to answer: are the 'we send you a link to your email to log in instead of using your password' actually more secure or are businesses just being mean to me personally?

hope your day is kind 😊

Ok so Authentication (going to call it auth going forward) is a very large topic and there is some baseline info I want to convey before answering you question.

First, auth breaks down into 3 methods. Confirming what someone knows, confirming what someone has, confirming what someone is.

What you know: this is the traditional password method, do you remember your password you made for us? Do you remember your username? great you can get in if you know those. Stealing these creds is very straight forward, you either guess until you are right or you steal them from where someone has them stored/written down. This is why you should NEVER store your password in a browser and use a password manager instead. I would rather see people write passwords on post-it notes then store them in Google Chrome or Edge. Seriously, it is incredibly easy to steal passwords from Chrome.

What you have: have ever been asked to put an MFA pin into a phone app? that's this method, they are putting predictable generated numbers on your phone that you can then turn around and use to prove you are in physical possession of your phone. This is much more difficult to steal and usually requires physically accessing a phone or infecting it in some fashion to steal the generation algorithm. PS: If a site uses a text message instead of an app to send a pin that is less secure because SIM duplicating is easier then both the above methods for theft (i dont know the details on how to sim dup but I know no good security team takes sms pins seriously)

What you are: This is stuff like Apple's face id, windows hello, finger scan. Anything that is unique to your physical body that can be scanned to confirm who you are. This is either incredibly difficult or super easy to break depending on how the program is written. for example Face ID had an issue where it could not differentiate between particular ethnicities, also someone (the police) can just hold your phone up to force the unlock. This is usually a good method to use in conjunction with one of the others to make Auth more difficult.

So which one is better? Well each one has its pros and cons which means the most secure method is using more then one. This is called Multi Factor Authentication or MFA for short.

So lets go back to your question, is getting a login link more secure then say remembering a password. Well how secure is access to your email? if your email just requires a username and password to get into, then it is the same security level.

If you have your email setup with MFA where you need to password and pin into it then it is probably more secure then some random sites username password pair.

Also we need to ask questions about the links themselves, do you get the same link each time or is a new one created each request? How are they generated? how long until a link expires? is the link email sent via TLS? Which version of TLS? How are they stored or Are they stored? Is link generation predictable, if I had enough info could i just make my own links for any user?

Honestly I think the biggest benefit of this auth method happens on the website side and less the end user side. This requires less development to create, also they do not need to figure out how to store and keep your passwords, and if they get hacked there are no passwords to be stolen since they literally don't use them. Having passwords stolen is when law enforcement needs to get involved (Law enforcement needs to be contacted in the event any Personally Identifiable Information or PII is stolen). So if they do not use passwords that is one less PII they have in their possession.

Overall passwords are shit and anyone trying to make an effort to not use passwords or to not allow just passwords is at least making an effort to have a better security posture. But if it is actually more secure really depends, passwordless is new territory for a lot of people so its going to have growing pains.

hopefully this answers your question! if you want more clarification let me know.

Oh and Spy Family is life

[secrets-and-streetlights]

Getting Clues from Hunter the Parenting Chapter 4.1

(Vampire Superpowers, Exploding Elderly, etc. )

Before this post gets wildly off topic, the Orge Poppenang team has been putting out SO MUCH good shit. It includes MAGE STUFF and you should WATCH IT.

Also don't read this before watching 4.1 or you'll SUDDENLY EXPLODE.

I've listened to the audio log a few times now and thought it'd be useful to take notes and figure out what powers could have be used by the chapter house murderer. From the pinned comment (pictured below) on the video we know that the powers discussed will be relevant to the mystery.

There is no way that all powers will be relevant unless Caine is there, but I plan on re-watching all chapter house stuff with these notes in mind.

Disciplines and Powers

The majority of the Hunter Huddle's discussion is about Disciplines. For this post I'm assuming that Dr. Waters is right in her assumption that the Ghoul is actually a true Vampire. She could be wrong, especially since there was a discussion of Draughts in ep 3.7.

However, this post is already long enough so lets just assume she is right for now.

So, episode 4.1 mentions a lot of Disciplines. Potence, Dominate, Obfuscate, and Blood Sorcery get their own Topic sections. Protean and Presence are mentioned offhand but I won't focus on them as they didn't get the Topic treatment.

I will try to list out all specific Powers mentioned, using V5 sources only. Note that some powers can be found from multiple sources (For example, Chimerstry is found in both the Companion book and Player's Guide). I will list its most recent printing.

Powers will also be listed in the order they were brought up in the Hunter Huddle. If you think I got a power wrong or have your own ideas let me know!

Potence

"Juggling Dumpsters, innit?" - Prowess (VtM Core, p. 264)

"Or ripping someone apart.." - Lethal Body (VtM Core, p. 264)

"..leap into the air, yes?" - Soaring Leap (VtM Core p. 264)

"..to create ripples in concrete" - Earthshock (VtM Core p. 265)

"..people go breakshit berserk" - Spark of Rage (VtM Core p. 265)

"..make any part.. as violent as their fist" - Subtle Hammer (Players Guide p. 79)

"..to make their finger snaps with the force of a bullet train." - Unsure. Possibly Flick from v20?

"Halt the flow of a raging river" - I'm stumped with this one. Big-D makes several allusions to Koldunic Sorcery (elemental sorcery), but then it wouldn't be included in the Potence Topic.

Dominate

"..issued simple commands.." - Compel (VtM Core p. 256)

"puppeteer entire crowds.." - Mass Manipulation (VtM Core p. 257)

"bury suggestions so deep it erases a host's personality" - Implant Suggestion (Players Guide p. 74)

"hey, Markus, kys" - Terminal Decree (VtM Core p. 257)

"..suggestion buried in our psyche.." - Submerged Directive (VtM Core p. 257)

Obfuscate

"turn invisible" - Various. Looking for specific powers.

"Couldn't see him on security cams" - Ghost in the Machine (VtM Core p.262)

"Impose a false-self" - Mask of a Thousand Faces (VtM Core p. 262)

"sounds can be silenced" - Silence of Death (VtM Core p. 261)

"conversations cloaked" - probably Cloak the Gathering (VtM Core p. 263) as its two Nosferatu talking in the example image.

"daredevils.. specialize in ..illusions" - Chimerstry (Players Guide, p. 76) as it is associated with Ravnos

"Obfuscate reality itself" - Dementation (VtM Core, p. 256) as it is associated with Malkavians

"staying completely still" - Cloak of Shadows (VtM Core p. 261)

Blood Sorcery + Rituals

"laser heat vision" (mentioned during Obfuscate Topic) - Some form of Koldunic Sorcery (Blood Sigils p. 61)

"Extract it from a range" - Theft of Vitae (VtM Core p. 274)

"gain unnatural insights from it (blood)" - A Taste for Blood (VtM Core p. 273)

"utilize it (blood) as a weapon" - Various. Probably Baal's Caress (VtM Core p. 274)

"cauldron of blood" - Cauldron of Blood (VtM Core p. 274)

"vitae-tainted flora" - Coax the Garden (Ritual, Cults of the Blood Gods p. 55) or Viscera Garden (Ritual, Blood Sigils p. 65)

"Hexes, curses" - too broad to assign specific rituals to

Paths

D also talks about Paths a bit. These are a V20 thing that I'm not as knowledgeable on. I'm not going to consider them for any theory crafting cause, to quote the Houdini-killer himself, "Thaumaturgy is too vast to be useful!"

Now that we've gone over the powers, we can begin to speculate what clan the Vampire could be. There is some talk of vampires learning Disciplines from each other, but D makes a point to say its unlikely. For now I'm going to assume that the Vampire hasn't learned any Disciplines outside of their natural 3.

Clans

I've outlined the Clans that have overlap between the four Topic Disciplines. I'm ignoring Disciplines gained from Predator Types and clans with only one Topic Discipline for my own sanity.

Banu Haqim: Blood Sorcery, Celerity, Obfuscate Lasombra: Dominate, Oblivion, Potence Malkavian: Auspex, Dominate, Obfuscate Nosferatu: Animalism, Obfuscate, Potence Tremere: Auspex, Blood Sorcery, Dominate

Now for theory territory. What clan is likely to be in there? I've listed my thoughts from most to least suspicious.

1.) Malkavian - I suspect Malkavian the most mostly because it fits into my "Spit is a Fera and killed Fatigue under duress" theory. They would also assumedly have Obfuscate (my theory for how Occam got choked out) and Dominate. Also the Dementation art was cool.

2.) Tremere - With Tremere being a dominate power in the area and being (almost) name dropped in 4.1, yeah there is a good chance there is a vampire wizard running around blowing up the elderly. Possibly Kevin's replacement?

3.) Lasombra - I don't think its likely, but D has talked about fighting Lasombra throughout the whole series. Could be foreshadowing. HtP takes place in 2007 I think, so a bit before the Lasombra officially joined the Ivory Tower.

4.) Banu Haqim - As cool as it'd be, I think there are too many Tremere in power for a Banu Haqim to be working for the Camarilla (assuming the Vampire is actually working for them). Same as Lasombra as I'm pretty sure the clan wasn't officially part of the Ivory Tower yet.

5.) Nosferatu - I love the stinky rat people. However, we just had a Nos big bad (Pytor) so I doubt we'd have another one. It'd be awesome if I was wrong.

6.) Honorable Mention to Ravnos for being referenced directly.

So yeah those are my initial notes and thoughts that'd be useful for rewatching previous chapters. I don't know how to properly end a post so uh. RRAAHH GO WATCH NORFOLK WIZARD GAME TOO

[wistfulnightingale]

The Chess Moves Theory Set -- Why Chess & Magic? (A Final 15 MetaTheory)

The Final Episode of Good Omens S2 is full of moments that caught our attention. We cried, we rewatched in disbelief, and some of us generated speculation and theories. Yet it remained difficult to find a solid "other" explanation for everything that occurred. Maybe it really was an incredibly painful breakup. The Ineffable Divorce.

Speculation about any one of the key moments, looked at individually, leave gaps and questions and uncertainties. But together, they might propose a different picture. I think it's a piece by piece jigsaw puzzle, or the sequences in a Regency Era dance, or --- A complex game of chess.

Over many months, I've put together a set of 8 scenes/theories, Eight Chess Moves that, together, might prove that what we saw wasn't all there was. Some might seem exciting, some might seem bonkers. Personally, I think there's reasons (or sometimes even proof) for each of them, or I wouldn't propose them to you. I've listed and linked each one below. I hope you'll at least enjoy them!

Now, I'm not a skilled chess player, not at all. But The Metatron is. He's a Chess Master (at manipulation), and Our Ineffables have had to quickly develop their skills, anticipating moves and creating counter moves. Hopefully they are skilled enough to shift the board and win this deadly game.

Like Fell the Marvelous Magician, flicking the envelope after the incriminating photo has been tucked away, magic and Misdirection are also used. Misdirection means that the magician is not "hiding" the trick -- they convince you to start looking for the trick after it's already happened. Magicians Penn and Teller are quoted as saying, "The strongest lie is the lie that the audience tells itself."

This Masterclass article on What Is Misdirection in Magic tells exactly how it's done:

Social Cues -- Look where they look, not where we should look

Multitasking/Split Focus -- Distractions

Patter -- Rapid talking & questions (Lookin' at you, Nina!)

Emotional Manipulation -- Yeah, that Crowley moment with Nina

Time Misdirection -- It already happens before we know to look

Convincers -- Someone validates that everything's normal

Repetition -- We get used to seeing something, and don't question it anymore

I'll be refering to most of these in the theory breakdowns, since they're a huge part of how a lot of this managed to sneak under our radar.

The Eight Chess Moves Theory Set:

1 - The Metatron Misdirection

2 - The Metatron's Second Coming

3 - Ineffables in Check

4 - A Hefty Jigger of Death

5 - Nothing Lasts Forever

6 - The Circle Kiss Theory

7 - The Nightingale DID Sing

8 - Aziraphale's Jubilant Smile (NOT the crazy elevator grin)

Also: The Metatron Misdirection New Note (Is it a Shell Game of White-Haired Men?)

(Please go to @wistfulnightingale for my pinned post if these aren't linked up here! My Apologies! I've been scurrying to get it all linked)

No single chess move on the board wins a match. It is the series of moves, each decision, each part of the strategy, that leads to the victory. For nearly a year and a half, the fandom has been analyzing various scenes that raised questions in our minds. We get closest to figuring it out, I believe, if we look at all those mysterious moments together. None of my theories is convincing if it stands alone. However, as a SET, each leading to the next, they might make a more compelling case for the moves and countermoves that were happening in S2.

The opening credits sequence has a lot of clues about Magic in it (like rabbits Everywhere!!), letting us know that Magic is gonna be important in S2, as detailed in @sendarya 's YouTube video:

Good Omens Title Sequence, EASTER EGGS and hidden clues uncovered!

Interestingly, I think we've actually also been told to look for a chess metaphor, just as we were given clues to look for Magic Tricks. There are chess pieces and a chess board visible behind Crowley (next to the fateful grandfather clock!) in much of the end of E6. And earlier, in E3 when Jimbriel is swatting at the fly and demonstrating gravity, we are given a very clear shot of the book "My Best Games of Chess."

That same book is also featured several times in the 1946 Powell and Pressburger movie "Stairway to Heaven," as @sendarya noticed. (The multiple connections of chess and "Stairway to Heaaven" with S2 is wonderfully explained in another YouTube video by @sendarya ,

Good Omens Love or Law, which is stronger?

I highly recommend checking it out!) The movie poster on the left for "Stairway to Heaven" is seen twice in Good Omens S2, in the opening credit sequence (seen below) and in Maggie's record shop.

The poster on the right also shows the movie's U.K. release name, "A Matter of Life and Death." As fun and fluffy as Good Omens S2 began, the reference to this other title becomes too fitting for our Ineffables by the final episode.

The Chess book and the repeated presence of the movie poster certainly seem to mean Something. The video by @sendarya is what inspired me to look at all the mysteriously odd moments of S2 as related parts of a Chess Game, "A Matter of Life and Death" between the Metatron and Our Ineffables. Each moment looked at alone just leads to more questions. Together, they might start to make sense.

I hope you enjoy all of the parts of my Chess Match Theory Set. (I've been neurotically pondering and examining and rewriting this stuff for months!) Hopefully, these ideas are still consistent with Terry Pratchett's ideas for where these two characters who began as one will end up. I'm hopeful that I'm onto something here, but I also hope (tentatively believe?) that the plot they suggest still fits with the Rescued 90, the Finale of our Ineffable Adventures. And, if I'm mistaken, at least it gives us something to talk about in the meantime!

Thanks for coming with me on this crazy ride!

To Our World!

[creamyshotamilk]

Anticonfessions (previously antiproshipconfessions) lore is insane. One time a proshipper asked the "Proship culture is.." blog at what point RPF has limits. (note: they didn't mean RPF as in random people, they meant with public figures) They talked about how they create political satire RPF and how they feel guilty about it.

"Proship culture is.." replied saying they don't care abt it but don't think real minors should be involved.

Guess what? Antis, along with anticonfessions, started spreading misinformation, saying they support real life incest. And now they are trying mass report them.

Sorry for the yap, but I had to spread awareness about this shit. This is stupid. I felt the need to spread awareness about it, bc I always stand up for shit like this. I wanted to help other proshippers, I don't want them to get harassed by that anti kid.

I mean, yeah. That does sound exactly like something an anti/that specific dumbass anti would do

I'll be honest, I'm sorta just done with dealing with anticonfessions and their dumbass friends. They clearly get a rise out of being stupid. Like genuinely, they revel in being stupid and it's honestly kinda sad but there's just not much to be done about people being stupid. It's honestly best to just block them and ignore them

Also be sure to also block their main @/hexaround too (their main is literally on their blog so I don't feel bad about posting it) and I would also recommend blocking their mutuals (they have a list of their mutuals on their main blog in the pinned post) since those dumbasses are ride or die. You deal with one dumbass and suddenly you're dealing with 10 of them 🙄

[conconpasta]

Hi.

It's a total mess here, and this blog is kind of non-existent, so I think I should try everything again. I'm not really sure what to do with this blog, though, since it's tied to my main account, and I don't really want to tie my "new beginning" to Kukumbek Potapovich (that's not my real name), and maybe it's even for the worse, but I want to organize things, that is, even if I have 7 blogs, I want there to be order. I realized a long time ago that few people are interested in an artist specifically as an "artist", so maybe I should create different blogs for different fandoms. To put it mildly, I'm not very eager to share personal things (wasps, maybe even headcanons, etc.), so... Why not.

A separate blog for reblogs, a separate blog for hk, a separate one for sp, a separate one for purosek, etc.

I am incredibly grateful to those who read this post. So far I haven't quite figured out what and how to do, so I will add links to "new" blogs on certain topics only after some time (they will be in the pinned post). Maybe even tomorrow, to be honest, I have completely lost the desire.

And one more thing. I know that I repeat the same thing over and over again, but I will still say it again. I really appreciate people who are genuinely interested in me. This means a lot to me, since I sometimes feel like almost nothing. (NO MATTER HOW DEAD-INSIDE THIS SOUNDS GOD😭 PLEASE TAKE ME SERIOUSLY).😺

Please forgive the "outbursts", I'll just say, just in case, that in fact I'm a terribly nervous person.

It's hard for me to pretend to be an Englishman right now, so I just used a translator. I'm sorry if there are semantic errors somewhere.

[compassionatereminders]

So I'm wondering if you have any advice for this kind of situation I've been kinda stuck in.... so I'm autistic (so is my partner) and I don't have the best communication skills or hearing. I've been working on it, and I often use apps or DBT skills. It is very hard to misunderstand templates to get info across to people in my life because otherwise, I struggle. A lot. So, my partner and I have a lot of communication issues due to that, and we downloaded a communication app made for partners with all kinds of quizzes and prompts as well as ways to mark significant events in our relationship. It was my suggestion and we've both loved it a lot so far because it really does help usually, but lately we've been having relationship issues due to his mindset that every emotion I feel towards him due to his actions is debatable enough to argue with me about and then he'll mansplain effective communication to me, it's like his new favorite thing, so yesterday he sent me a prompt about expressing our emotions (that tbh I knew was going to bring up issues) that was meant to help us both express ourselves more clearly and give us time to think about what we're going to say since we can't see each other's answers before we submit our own. His was short and mostly pertained to our financial struggles, his career, and how our dog's misbehavior has been making everything difficult lately. Mine, however, was so much more in-depth and displayed a lot of emotions (not aggressively from my standpoint) that discussed all of the issues I've had lately (mainly that due to how hard our situation is currently, my ADHD has been sending curveball after curveball to my ability to function and because I'm depressed about how much I have to do, I've also been dissociating with no ways that have worked to stop it so far. Especially since he keeps on adding more tasks to my list of things to do while all he does is work, eat, sleep, and do maybe one chore a week (which upsets him a lot to do because that's apparently my job even though he wants me to also get employment on top of doing all of the housework and taking care of the animals and myself). Also, the fact that he yells at me for little mistakes all the time, which only makes me create more mistakes and continues the cycle of yelling and messing up...) I sent it last night right before bed, hoping to get through to him, but it really didn't. Instead, he sent me an itemized list with a screenshot that highlighted every single part of my vent that he either didn't agree with or thought was invalid and decided to debate me on my feelings. Now I should mention that I don't have an easy way to live elsewhere (and I've debated doing that for a bit just to get some space and figure things out for myself and see if things improve), but I'm wondering (just to get a consensus) what kind of advice you'd give me? Like maybe resources or something potentially?

I don't write or collect resources as stated in my pinned post, but it honestly sounds like your partner is deliberately utilizing "therapy speech" as a tool to manipulate and dismiss you, which is the opposite of "effective communication" and not constructive at all. It sounds like he's manipulating and gaslighting you into feeling like you can't and shouldn't voice your concerns, and that's both worrying, toxic and not at all constructive - no matter how much fancy terminology he learns

[willows-unnamed-rpg]

Week 2

Overview and thoughts

I decided I want to try to make one post a week with progress on my project, so I figured I should be more transparent on what these posts should look like and some more insight into what I am working towards.

Each post should be up on Monday to highlight what I been working on for this system/game. I intended to release a playtest of the system that will be open to the public. I currently have only myself on the project so progress will be slow but once I have some sort of Alpha test or something I'm comfortable having people run with I'll post a link to a pdf and host it in a pinned post. I know that this will require a lot and my goal is to have a simple adventure module to test out along with some handfuls of additional monsters to play with if you don't want a module. This is ambitious but I need to shoot for the moon

Beginning on the System - TTRPG stuff to be used for my game

I mentioned briefly in last week's post that I wanted to do a point buy based system and I figured I should go into some depth about what I currently have so far.

I like the idea of loosely placing abilities/features into one of three categories based on traditional MMO style features: Tank, Damage, and Support (I am going to change these names, they are not final). I also want some semblance of balance, so trees or pathways make sense, invest more into something and it gets better. I also want things to overlap so it's more a Venn Diagram and less a defined category. I was also thinking to split based on archetypes but that would be limiting I think. I would want my favorite archetypes to work (spell sword, life as a resource) along with other traditional (fighter, ranger) and non traditional styles (using magical objects rather than magic itself, specific weapon oriented builds).

I also think the point buy idea should help with encounter balance since encounters of specified difficulties will be using a specific amount of points and a Game Master can make encounters based on those points (kinda like armies in war games like Warhammer)

The fear here is that the point buy system will lead a player down a rabbit hole of poor build optimization or choice paralysis. I feel poor build optimization can be solved with allowing players to rebuild their character somewhat with a narrative beat (or in game mechanic for when I bring it over to the rpg but a system like that is common across RPGs so it's not a design flaw imo). The choice paralysis is. I think I need to guide players to cool endcap abilities or features along with features that require investing in multiple areas, like let's say applying poisons in combat without taking up turn resources is an investment in some kind of rogue aligned tree and an alchemy based tree. I think I am finding both Pathfinder and Fallout: New Vegas as inspiration for Horizontal Progression.

Now onto what I have so far for Character Creation. I think I am going to be giving the player about 50 total points they can use for creating a character but are required to use 20 for statistics (I am going to be running with D&D/Pathfinder stats) and 10 for Saving Throws as a minimum. I think players should be able to spend more on these if they would like but it would limit how much depth they get at level one. A player's "Heritage" will either cost points, give points, or be point neutral since if one Heritage gives more benefits or Horizontal potential I think it should cost a player and if a Heritage is very flavorful but punishing, the player should be able to try to use their points to help circumvent these issues or play into their strengths.

My issue I see with this could lead into ridiculous brews since how wide the system is. But that also might not be an actual issue. I need to nail down my specific demographic since this is an indie project and won't have wide appeal, I should find a niche and stick to it rather than trying to take on the juggernauts.

Some notes about my research into non-western piracy

I have begun my initial dive into non Caribbean Piracy and I have found some areas of interest I need to dig into, like the Chen Zuyi, a pirate from the 1400 to 1407 and the Wokou. Forgive me for spelling anything wrong as I am so far working off of Wikipedia as a help to find some primary sources.

Chen Zuyi seems like a very interesting character with little info in the West (unsurprisingly). He seemed to rule over Palembang which I happen to know where that is due to EU4 and my love for naval/trade gameplay as I have played the nation of Palembang and I knew they had an event to reform into a pirate republic. So it's really cool to actually learn a bit about this. I need to find some more primary sources about this man but it seems a bit hard with how little there is in English.

The Wokou were pirates who raided Korea and China from the 13th century to 17th. Again similar to Palembang, in EU4 you can play the Daimyo of So on Tsushima and reform into a Pirate Republic with an event referencing the Wokou, so I knew there was something in this region but that was it going into my initial research. Wikipedia has alot more info on this group but it seems to a bit controversial to claim that The Wokou are all Japanese, when there is evidence to point that the early Wokou were from several different ethnic groups where people whole lived on the fringes of society. Which makes me want to draw parallels to pirates during the golden age of piracy but I need to do more research.

Recommended Reading for this week

I noticed that the whole book Elusive Pirates, Pervasive Smugglers: Violence and Clandestine Trades in the Greater China Seas show up during my reading about the Wokou so I am going to try to read that this week off of some kinda of online library or archive (or get it from my local library's inter library loan)

Previous Post

[danggirlronpa]

Hey mind telling me what the story behind Kiyo’s sister is? I’m kind of clueless and only heard one story of the whole thing😅

This got decently long, so I've put it under a cut. I'll add it to the FAQ tomorrow as well, since it's come up a few times!

I will also request that this post not be reblogged to hate blogs or blogs specifically dedicated to "bad" or "disliked" content. As someone who has been harassed as a result of content being circulated in those circles, it makes me very panicked and anxious to see my work on similar blogs. If you do so, I will need to block you for my own mental stability.

In V3 chapter three, Korekiyo admits to mass murder and takes on the guise of his sister to do so. As a result of being nearly beaten to death at one point, Korekiyo created a tulpa of his dead sister (who we'll call by her popular fan name, Miyadera, from here on). He believed Miyadera wanted him to murder 100 girls, and claimed that they were once lovers.

In general, fans seem to take Korekiyo's claims at face value. Which is...weird, considering how obviously the whole thing is a "mentally ill delusional sexually deviant serial killer" trope played completely straight. And that his worldview includes things like "I should kill people so my dead sister has friends." But let's set that aside, and say that, for the sake of explaining the popular fandom viewpoint, Korekiyo is a reliable narrator.

So in chapter 3, when he is on the brink of being cornered, Korekiyo begins to switch between his own identity and the identity of his sister's tulpa. These are the only potential looks we have into Miyadera's personality. To give you the gist, here are all of the quotes while Korekiyo takes on his sister's guise that are listed on the Wiki.

(Please note that the "Apologize" is directed at another student who challenges Korekiyo.)

I'm going to be honest. I have reread this a LOT trying to figure out what everyone else is apparently seeing here that I am not. At worst, this reads to me as a slightly stern etiquette teacher. But the popular fandom perception is that this dialogue implies that Miyadera was manipulating and abusing Korekiyo. I could not honestly tell you WHY people believe this, but they do.

And people ran with that. They ran with that so hard. Every sin Korekiyo commits is pinned down as being Miyadera's fault, and Korekiyo is absolved of his crimes as a result of being an abuse victim. It's similar to the effect you often see in the way people discuss Junko and Mukuro, except that Mukuro does not invoke nearly as much sympathy on a larger level, even though Junko's mockery and subsequent murder of her sister are explicit canon.

Now, to be clear: I don't buy into this. I think this is an extremely generous reading of Korekiyo's character, and that it removed his agency and the horror of his crimes to make him more sympathetic (particularly for shipping purposes - if you glance through the Miyadera tag, you see a LOT of Korekiyo/Rantaro fics with Miyadera as the evil abuser Rantaro must rescue Korekiyo from). I also think that people give too much credit to the canonicity of Miyadera's "possession" when it isn't clear, even in the universe of the game itself, whether Miyadera is actually a tulpa or if it's an identity that resulted from Korekiyo's trauma, like Syo/Jack.

But on its own, I don't care about it THAT much. People have headcanons I disagree with all the time. I don't really like a lot of people's thoughts about Nagito's backstory, either, but I don't think about it very often, and I certainly don't care enough to get mad about it. The problem is...

People are very, VERY violent about Miyadera.

I'm going to ask you to reread the quotes from Miyadera as a reminder of literally everything we know about her personality. And then I'll ask you to read this post.

This...is, in fact, despite all odds, the predominate opinion on Miyadera. If you go into her character tags, there are an endless number of posts like these, daydreaming about doing violence on her person, murdering her, torturing her, etc.

As a Grandparent (25, the age of spinsterhood), this sets off some alarm bells. This is how people used to treat female characters who got in the way of their favorite ships, like Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. Now, that is popularly understood to have been a result of misogyny. It is horrifying to see that it has survived.

Fantasizing about committing excessive violence against a woman...is misogyny. Making up crimes a woman did not canonically commit as an excuse to justify fantasizing about violence against her is misogyny. It is one thing to dislike a character based on headcanons. It is a totally separate matter to participate in and encourage this level of vitrol solely to make a male character more sympathetic.

To clarify: I do not think that misogyny is the sole reason for this interpretation. By nature, Danganronpa appeals to teenagers, who tend to fall into this type of fandom-wide trap more easily. But it is, in fact, more concerning to normalize this sort of thought process among teens and young people. And so I am very defensive of Miyadera's actual character as a result.

[plantsarepeopletoo]

Only Friends Episode 8 music part 1/2

Save Me

Here we go, still doing this, even though I did take a break after episode 12.

Quick recap, music is used in three different ways:

Just background music (Background) - It’s important and creates an atmosphere, like using Disco Frog for Mew and Cheum’s chat at the bar. These I will not use unless I see a theme or something important later.

Playing with Music (Playful) - It’s like body language, the music will pause, start up, move along faster or slower. It's intentionally moving with what is happening on screen.

Verbal/Vocal - Music that is telling us things. It could be songs that have names that seem important or have lyrics that may or may not be in the show. If there are lyrics I will include them, but will specify if they are in OF, and where they start and stop.

Master List here, in my pinned post. These will be long and split into parts, mostly because of lyrics and Music players.

[1/4]

Song: Brings back the feeling by Daniel Gunnarsson Scene: Mew and Ray dance at bar Type: Vocal

Lyrics in show:

I'm turning back time Just to see it all again When I know if I'm alright, ooh It's not easy to find What I'm lookin' for in the end I just wanna know what I'm about It goes up then turns back down We're all lookin' for the moment when Getting used to not knowing when or how All the pieces fall in line, oh I keep searching for signs of my dreams back then And I don't know how to stop 'cause It brings back them feelings That I can reach the top now Even if I don't know how It brings back them feelings That even if it all goes down In the end I'll be alright It brings back them feelings It brings back them feelings This violet sky I have seen it before It turns truth into lies, oh But I won't back down Imma stay on this road I gotta know what I'm about

Starts playing as we see Ray and Mew dancing in the bar. They’re turning back time to see if maybe they should have tried to make it work. Though again, you can’t force love, and Mew is also trying to feel something other than pain and heartache. Ray can’t let this go, this is what he wanted for two years, isn’t it?

This violet sky I have seen it before It turns truth into lies, oh But I won't back down Imma stay on this road I gotta know what I'm about

During this song both Ray and Mew are searching for the feelings they once had. For Mew, he is trying to replicate how Top made him feel, surely it can’t be that different with Ray, Ray who has stood by him all this time? While Ray is trying to get back his feelings for Mew, but he already has begun to let go of those feelings while sitting in a bathtub staring at the poor boy shirt. Both of them are trying to feel what they think they should. Yet it doesn’t feel right, Mew doesn’t feel anything and Ray can’t figure out where Mew is supposed to fit in his world. Ray then leaves Mew and the uncertainty to go searching for his true heart.

Lets go back to EP1 for a second:

Song: Cry My Heart Out by Suffer City Scene: EP1 Ray and Sand outside the bar Type: Vocal

No lyrics in show:

Smoking rooms Wherever you are It’s just about closing time Didn’t we Just wanna go Putting the world on the line Help me go back Nobody waits I just wanna cry My heart out This one last time Misery Is taking me home Ever since the day you left Didn’t we Almost find out What this life was all about Just help me go back Cuz nobody waits Days floating by It all feels the same I just wanna cry My heart out This one last time Didn’t we Just wanna go And put the world on the line Help me go back Nobody waits Days floating by It all feels the same I just wanna cry My heart out This one last time One last time

This song is from Episode 1, but there are parallels between the scene with Sand and Ray outside YOLO in Ep1 and Ep8. In Ep1, Ray asks for a lighter, and is refused because Sand was mad about Ray accusing him of stealing. Ray retorts, “Why are you upset, you’re sulking like we’re boyfies.” Ray grabs Sand’s arm to stop him from going, and sincerely apologies again. The song starts as Sand lights Ray’s cigarette.

Episode 1, Cry my heart out

Episode 8

In contrast, the EP8 scene has a different song, but Cry out My Heart seems to reflect where Sand and Ray’s relationship is in Ep8. Visually it’s similar to EP1, but the camera is pointed towards the bar, and Ray is in front of the no drinks sign. Sand’s wearing the same coat, but with a shirt that says “war” under it. Ray has traded his loud shirt for one that looks like the one Sand picked out for him. The marks of their relationship are on them. Ray stands there awkwardly holding Sand’s lighter. In Ep8, Sand looks like he’s been crying, or at least, is about to cry. Ray’s with Mew, and everything that has brought them to this point seems to “be a waste of time.” 

Just help me go back Cuz nobody waits Days floating by It all feels the same I just wanna cry My heart out This one last time

When Ray grabs Sand to keep him from leaving, Sand says “Let me go, already” Sand wants to cry one last time and move on. He knows he wouldn’t be able to be around Ray and “just be friends.” 

And now back to EP8:

Song: Hollywood nights by Courses Scene: Ep8 Sand and Ray talk outside bar Type: Vocal

Lyrics in show:

Livin’ on the far side of town Sharing the dream with anyone She’s made it through heaven She’s made it through hell It’s just another story to tell Have you ever felt You’re missing the dream Have you ever wished your life Was like the movie on the screen Filled with heartbreaks and fights Through Hollywood nights Makin’ up a bar queen On the phone

Lyrics continue, not in the show:

In the great big boulevard The place she belongs It’s just another story she tells Have you ever felt You’re missing the dream Have you ever wished your life Was like the movie on the screen Filled with heartbreaks and fights Through Hollywood nights

Back in episode 8, the song starts as Ray comes out to see Sand outside the bar and asks for a lighter. Ray attempts to talk to Sand and like nothing is wrong, trying to bridge the gap between them. Sand’s feeling like he’s going through hell, broken, but unable to fully tell Ray to back off. He tries to scold Ray, but Ray brushes it off quickly.

From cry my heart out, the song from Ep1:

Misery Is taking me home Ever since the day you left Didn’t we Almost find out What this life was all about

And here, from Hollywood Nights:

She’s made it through heaven She’s made it through hell It’s just another story to tell

They’ve both gone through heaven and hell, their relationship might as well be just a story, a thing of the past. They almost had it all figured out, but as Sand says, it all seems like a waste of time.

Song: Vast lands by Enigmatic Scene: Sand talks about Mew Type: Vocal

Plays as Ray says he feels happy when he's with Sand, Sand says Ray will be happy with Mew. Ray asks if they can still be friends, Sand says he has no reason to be friends. "This whole relations ship is a waste of time."

Vast Lands and a crushing sadness, trapped and paralyzed by Ray. After Ray grabs Sand's arm to stop him from leaving, Sand asks him to physically and metaphorically to “let me go.”

Song: Ray of Hope by Magnus Ringblom Scene: Yo and Plug break up Type: Vocal, Background

Last time this was played was in EP2, when Mew comes to see Ray by the hostel’s pool and they talk about Mew and his feelings towards Top. It was the beginning of Ray letting go of the hope he had for Mew. Here, In EP8, Sand and Ray follow Yo’s voice and find Yo and Plug arguing, Plug wants to move in with Yo, to take their relationship seriously. But it’s made Yo step back, She isn’t ready to move forward, she’s been hurt too many times in the past. Sand and Ray are both in the same situation, they both are scared. “If you think nobody in this world wants to get serious with you, then you better stay alone.”

Or, it could be that Mew in Ep2 was brave, ready to try to follow his feelings, without the experience to be cautious. Yo has been hurt many times before Plug, and is now too scared to move forward. And as a result, Yo is losing what she has.

Song: Twisted Metal by Jon Bjork Scene: Top sees Ray giving Mew cigarettes Type: Background

Song starts as Top sees Ray giving Mew cigarettes and decides to try to talk to Mew. It might feel like a knife twisting into Top’s side seeing Mew be self destructive. Song is used again later with Boston and Nick, who are also in pain.

Song: Is This Serenity by Ambientalism Scene: Top confronts Mew in the bathroom Type: Vocal

The transition from twisted metal to Serenity seems to reflect Top’s change of tactics with Mew, he stops focusing on his own pain and focuses on Mew. Top asks if Ray is what Mew really wants, if Mew being with Ray is making him happy. Has Mew found serenity in his relationship with Ray?

[2/4]

Song: Move ไปไหน (Unmovable) by BRIGHT VACHIRAWIT Scene: Sand practicing a song in the school's music room Type: Vocal

Lyrics Sand sings:

Where could I move on to, my heart is set on you How many times I try to move forward…

Full Lyrics(translated):

I don’t know how long it has been since the time stopped in my heart I don’t know what I should do to make it restart I know that I should forget but my brain persists to remember Although I know what I should do but I’m just not able to Move on That’s what everybody’s telling me Move on I’ve heard it all before Simple words that are so difficult Where could I move on to, my heart is set on you How many times I try to move forward, I end up going backward I’ve tried to move on but no matter how hard I try I move in circles because my heart can’t be moved even a little I’ll keep on moving on I know I have to keep going, life has many more things to offer But forgetting someone may not be as simple as you’d imagine To get you off my mind is not the same as just hitting delete I need some time for the wound to heal a bit

Sand’s trying to move on, but can’t. He’s stuck, running in circles. Sand’s playing is unsteady, and maybe is practicing this song for the first time. He stumbles over the line “How many times I..” as Ray walks in. How can he move on when Ray is here, asking for help. He doesn’t know how to play the song or how to forget Ray. So a circle is all he has until their relationship gives him a way to move forward.

Song: Lords of the land by Xavy Rusan Scene: Sand and Ray in the music room Type: Vocal

Last time this played was when Nick dragged Boston into Sand’s apartment in Ep5. Boston had decided to stay with Nick, and it gave Nick confidence that their relationship was moving. Here it starts tentatively, quietly as Ray asks why Sand won’t respond to his messages. It pauses while Ray lists the options he has for community service, and starts again as he leans forward, giving Sand puppy eyes. “Wanna go with me?” Sand pauses for a moment before saying “No, I wasn’t part of your crime.” It’s not a hard no, so Ray gains more confidence, and touches Sands shoulder, poking him in the knee, pleading.

Song: If and When Eric Feinberg Scene: Sand and Ray in the music room Type: Vocal

It’s a light, happy song that starts as Ray leans forward, telling Sand that “I will tell those kids that you are the hottest singer at our University.” The camera switches and we see Ray hanging off the guitar, staring at Sand. “If and When” Sand’s defenses crumble. If and when is an interesting phrase of potential, hinting at repairing their relationship.

Song: Out of the woods by Gavin Luke Scene: Cheum and Top talk about Mew Type: Playful

Top says that he’s worried about Mew changing, and the song starts after Cheum yells at Top, “who’s fault is that?” and sits down. She knows that Ray and Mew are not good for each other, and agrees with Top. Piano chords play behind Cheum as they talk, Top is finally out of the woods and finding his way back to Mew.

Song: Look at me closely by Blue Topaz Scene: Nick and Dan talk about internship Type: Vocal

Last time this song was used was in episode 2, when Top asks Mew if he can stay over after putting together the table. Here, it plays after Nick says he doesn’t have a boyfriend. It seems like Dan is asking Nick to consider him as a possible boyfriend, to consider him. With the reflection of Nick in the laptop screen, we’ve got two versions of Nick. The one Dan wants to see, and the real Nick. During the interview, Nick seems to be the person we assume he is at first, all sweetness and flirty, bright eyed like the poster above him. He wants the job, and Dan is flirting with him, at this moment, it’s a win for Nick.

Continue to EP8 part 2

Master List

Thank you @rocketturtle4!

[selamat-linting]

There are millions of things that were once considered supernatural that have since been proven as scientific reality. Platypuses, for one.

At some point "I don't believe in the supernatural" becomes "Science has already discovered everything there is to be discovered".

Which is factually incorrect.

One could argue that space aliens are supernatural. They are also incredibly likely to exist, somewhere out in the infinite expanse.

You don't just believe that magic isn't real, you also believe that if something is real it cannot be magical.

In a world where children's laughter exists?

How silly of you.

maybe you should understand the context of what im writing first asshole. in my country, we have faith healers, people who say they can fix a stroke with a massage, people who believe the stars align someone's career and personality, people who claim they can double money with some chants and help from djinns, people who put graveyard soil on their competitors' shop. people who ate convince thousands of severely ill people to stop chemo treatments to drink prayer water. people who collect gemstones and call it magic then sell it to a high price for desperate people down on their luck. and sooo many grifters saying they could speak to the dead. that is the "magic" im talking about. where in the world did i refer to magic as a metaphorical descriptor for something beautiful?

"magic" in my life, is a code for grifters, people using the naivety, desperation, and grief of others to drain them of money, giving them false hope, or worse. you have no idea how many cases of parents that were misled by local witch doctors saying their kids arent actually dead forever in the woods, theyre just taken to the realm of invisible beings and will come back someday. or mentally ill people and neurodivergent kids literally tortured in an effort to exorcise ghosts and bad spirits. spiritual gurus sexually harrassing vulnerable women for cleansing/ritual purposes, or faith healers and mediums who realized they cant keep up the lie anymore so they started killing and raping their clients. do you want me to send you a fucking of all that news stories that happen in my country? my country doesnt need more magical thinking, we need scientific and secular education, and a conscious effort to get rid of those superstitions or else we'll be stuck praying to various entities and magic items instead of actively revolting and working together to make a better country.

also where the fuck did i say science has already discovered everything? im saying im a skeptic, that means i believe everything has a scientific explanation, but that doesnt mean science have already figured everything out nor that its free of criticism. i dont doubt i will die with the knowledge that we only know so little about the universe we might as well call ourselves cavemen.

also where the fuck did i bring up aliens you freak?

forgive me for assuming but, let me guess : you skim read my personal post and instantly paint me as a stuffy skeptic bro who adheres to reason and hates whimsy despite barely knowing me or my life. youre shadowboxing over someone you created in your head but youre convinced youre fighting me. well i may be wrong so i apologize beforehand

but anyway, i hope youre just a stranger who never reads this reply. if youre not, then you really should have read my pinned post before deciding to follow my blog or be my mutual. i already write it down there that im critical to any form of magical thinking and supernatural bullshit. leave my fucking blog if you cant handle it.

but no matter who you are, i hope you got scammed by a faith healer and had a botched suicide attempt after realizing youve fucked up your entire recovery process and lost all of your money and potential. or yknow what, cut the middle man. just kill yourself tonight. youre into magic right? you believe in those signs of the universe and lucky numbers stuff? cmiiw but if its true i hope you know that this is a sign from the universe to kill yourself.

[starlightkun]

hello! do you perhaps have any tips/advice for those starting their first writing blog?

my tips r mostly gonna b mindset/writing tips rather than like "hacking the tumblr algorithm" type stuff so if that's what ur into then read on:

first up, let's get the few "notes/numbers" tips i can give u out of the way:

from what i can tell, most readers read from the tags rather than their dashboard, so pay attention to what tags people actually use for fics (throwing your tags in the general tags for groups/idols generally isn't as helpful for getting people to actually READ them than putting them in the actual fic tags bc people go into the general tags more for visual content [pictures/gifs] or updates from my experience. when people want to read fic, they go into those fic tags)

this is just a courtesy thing: please tag your stuff correctly! if your fic is, for example, a reader x taeyong fic, only use taeyong, nct, nct 127, or nct u-derivative tags, do not use any other unit (wayv, dream) or any other member tags, even if those other units or members are mentioned or have substantial roles! (a proper love triangle is different, u can include both legs of the love triangle). i assure you, if you spam tag, and put your stuff in places it doesn't belong (god forbid in completely unrelated fandoms or groups), the people who went in those tags looking for content actually about that thing, are just going to be annoyed at best, and pissed off and block u at worst so they don't have to see ur work in their tags ever again. some ppl use the block button very liberally (as is their right. spam tagging fics is annoying as hell)

also, try to keep up with what tags readers are actually going in to read. i've been reading & writing fic for 10+ years now, and have seen the evolution of language in fandom and around fic writing, primarily on tumblr and i've had to uh, keep up with the times to make sure my fics were following wherever the readers were. this shouldn't be hard if you're an active reader yourself but it was something that caught me off-guard when i realized we stopped using "imagine" at some point (dont even get me started on the change from lemon to smut)

post formatting! figure out how you want to format your actual fics on tumblr and stick with it! (trust me....it's exhausting changing ur formatting across dozens of posts.............. but if u rlly hate it after a while just commit and change it lol);; take inspo (dont just copy and paste bc that's tacky) from some of ur favorite writers, figure out what u like to see in a fic (heading text of the title, picture header, indentation, small text, word count, genre tags, content warnings, pairing info, preview, summary, dividers, etc.), and decide what u want to include in urs!

finally for this part: THERE IS NO TUMBLR ALGORITHM. EVERYONE CURATES THEIR OWN DASHBOARD EXPERIENCE AND ITS BEAUTIFUL AND MORE PEOPLE NEED TO PUT IN THE EFFORT TO DO THAT AND FOLLOW THE WRITERS THAT THEY ENJOY READING IN THE TAGS SO THEY CAN KEEP UP WITH THEM AND CONTINUE TO LIKE AND INTERACT AND ACTUALLY GROW AND DEVELOP A CONNECTION AND COMMUNITY

and now my more "mindset/writing" tips:

this is literally in my pinned: i write for fun and for free. i write things that i like, and because i enjoy doing it, and i post them on the internet for free. it is not my job, and coming online should not be stressing me out. and i've been able to keep that up for a year now since my comeback after an unexpected hiatus, and it's honestly been one of my best years of writing as an author.

i think that figuring out a way to write in a way that's sustainable and fun for you is the most important part. people will stick around if you can find that. i've been able to create a community around my works no matter what fandom i was in, for 10 years, and that includes 10 years ago when i was literally like 12, 13, 14 years old writing things that 12, 13, 14 year olds write. and i do think it's because i was always having fun, and interacting with the people who stuck around. and when i stopped having fun, i was done. nct has officially been the longest fandom i've written in, even discounting my year hiatus, which is crazy to think about btw

when you get someone who follows and interacts and is a recurring reader/reblogger/asker/commenter, i'm sure u will already be like '!!!!!' bc that's what my brain does anyway, but make them feel welcome. don't just focus on the tags and the numbers and the notes. what really makes me feel good at the end of the day is seeing the same few people come back and talking to them and knowing that they like my stuff so much they wanna read more. to me, the tags are a means to an end. the tags are a way to hopefully get a few more people like that to find my blog and follow and stick around for more in the future.

small blog org tip: make your blog easy to navigate for people who are checking it out for the first time from finding a fic in the tag or from someone else rbing it or smth! i always link my masterlist at the end of every fic, it's in my pinned and description, and i just try to make it very easy for people to find more fics of mine if they want to :)

i think that compared to other social medias, you'll find that it's slow but steady growth on tumblr (or at least, that's been my experience), but as long as you're writing what you like, it'll make the rocky start feel a little less rocky (i know it sucks when ur not getting any notes. i know. i promise. it's like bringing a cake to a party and nobody eats it. but sometimes u just have to have a piece of ur own cake and go home and bake another one bc u like baking and hope maybe next time everyone will see it)

and just remember that this is your blog! post stuff you like! don't be afraid to let people see the personality of the person posting all these fics that they're reading. most people like knowing that kind of stuff, even outside of stuff like ur bias or fave unit or wtv. i make all my unhinged posts (which, admittedly, have ended up costing me some followers but if u can't handle me at my unhinged perfume jungwoo posts then u don't deserve me at my buzzer beater sungchan) and post pictures of bread and complain abt work or whatever in addition to all my stuff about my wips and then the final fics. i think treating ur blog like an actual blog does a lot to make it feel like there's a real person behind the acct

[deadnamedblog]

How many fics have you worked on since January? 92

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? A threesome

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.) One Piece ! (92/93)

How many fandoms did you write for this year? 2

What ships captured your heart? Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law and Fushichou Marco | Phoenix Marco/Portgas D. Ace

What characters captured your heart? Law and Ace

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year? Those mentionned above (started in november for Lulaw but still)

What fic meant the most to you to write? The Letter F (https://archiveofourown.org/works/54041533) Because I love Lawlu.

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on? Crying Uncle (https://archiveofourown.org/works/54127631) Because I had so worried about X Drake and Law.

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing? the Doctor Calls series (https://archiveofourown.org/series/4280062) I'm really proud of it.

What fic was the most difficult to write? Bound (wo)man (https://archiveofourown.org/works/53480695) Smut is difficult

What fic was the easiest to write? The Captain's What? https://archiveofourown.org/works/55001728 I think it is the fastest to word number I wrote this year.

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year? Shortest : Haikus (https://archiveofourown.org/works/52929220) I'm particularly proud of that one 月の前 麦藁の君 驚異敵だ Longest : The Strange Crew (https://archiveofourown.org/works/52352077)

What were your go-to writing songs? Various One Piece musics, some opera.

What was the hardest fic to title? Gimbul! (https://archiveofourown.org/works/56098783) I had to research about Black Speach just for it.

What's your favorite title of the year? I II II L (https://archiveofourown.org/works/57590155)

Share your favorite opening line Enel does not fully master his Devil Fruit's capacities, despite, or perhaps because of its strong potential. Grounded (https://archiveofourown.org/works/60669058)

Share your favorite ending line "Ho!" Bentham said happily, reaching up for a kiss. "You should have said you wanted to fuck that Marine. He is a good one." Impelled Down (https://archiveofourown.org/works/54826384)

Share your favorite piece of dialogue Buggy : This is a dreamt occasion ! Sink that ship ! Crocodile : I'd rather not. Mihawk : My son is on that ship.

Crocodile : Mine is too. Buggy to Mihawk : Your son ? Mihawk : Well, my disciple, same thing.

Mihawk and Crocodile, eye boggling, looking at Crocodile : Your son ?!!! Crocodile Outtakes (https://archiveofourown.org/works/56276320)

Share your funniest line Other than the previous ones, maybe : "Whao!" Ace exclaims, applauding. "O-Jouzu*!!" *上手 : How skillful ! A Pirate's Best Friend (https://archiveofourown.org/works/59805388)

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story? I think the biggest surprise of the year was the fateful chapter 1121 reread, just after I wrote The Shadow Realm (https://archiveofourown.org/works/57701920). (see my pinned post) It inspired all the following Ace stories.

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand? Hmm, I write sometimes by hand on paper, mainly in Notepad++ and with Bloc-notes on occasion. I use google doc for spell checks. (and don't trust every suggestion)

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year? Figuring out the translation problem in chapter 909 for Otouto (https://archiveofourown.org/works/59046169)

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic? I post it, reread it if I have time.

How did you recharge between fics? Listen to music, read other writer's fics.

Did you create fanworks other than fic? I did some fanart this year : For A Child's Room (https://archiveofourown.org/works/54382996) https://64.media.tumblr.com/b04a3c737530661284aa2ce802be6f15/c04952902a33453f-b6/s2048x3072/1f3c3a4ef52b0d273b920c70772f8da30898cdd3.jpg For Otouto (https://archiveofourown.org/works/59046169) https://64.media.tumblr.com/a0df6dd70a91f649054fb39b0d22ea90/f3cf531f06bdc6a7-f6/s500x750/0f7ba4b76ebcb41446afbb05a3e210cfee55cee3.jpg For The Shadow Realm (https://archiveofourown.org/works/57701920). https://64.media.tumblr.com/74d2d8632a413e89a7f2227ad28169c0/310d57378b72a986-f2/s540x810/c3d3d85e78d7b0161a5280705116469ae334daf5.jpg

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!) 2 ! : I did fics for https://archiveofourown.org/collections/OnePieceCrackShipWar and for the Heart Pirates Week 2024 (https://archiveofourown.org/series/4080253)

If this were an awards show, who would you thank? I would like to thank Oda-sensei for giving me hope and joy again. I would like to thank all the readers who left me comments or kudos. And thank all the other writers and fans who helped inspire me.

What's left on your to-do list for 2024? My fic ideas' list has over 250 bullet points, so maybe write one more thing this year? Either "Bad idea" Marco/Ace smut, or something of the Crack idea that Shakuyaku is Roger, or one more chapter of the Voice of All Thingy(https://archiveofourown.org/works/56192299) or We'll be stretching it!(https://archiveofourown.org/works/53198641)

What would you like to write next year? Plenty more! Some of them already on the list, and why not many more new things!

A slightly revised version of last year's questions! Two ways to play: Reblog and have your followers send you numbers, or answer the whole list!

How many fics have you worked on since January?

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year?

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.)

How many fandoms did you write for this year?

What ships captured your heart?

What characters captured your heart?

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships this year?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

What fic was the most difficult to write?

What fic was the easiest to write?

What were your shortest and longest fics posted this year?

What were your go-to writing songs?

What was the hardest fic to title?

What's your favorite title of the year?

Share your favorite opening line

Share your favorite ending line

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Share your funniest line

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

How did you recharge between fics?

Did you create fanworks other than fic?

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

What's left on your to-do list for 2024?

What would you like to write next year?

[toiletology]

How to play the game part 2

The F typo means FLAG but it can also mean a lot of other things like fact, false, fly, (flies tend to land on things that you should pay attention to) fish, etc.

JESUS was a fisherman and God came into being by separating DARK into LIGHT or ONE into TWO. In sacred geometry this is called the VESICA PISCIS or the VESSEL OF THE FISH or the JESUS FISH!

The middle overlap area can be viewed as the top part of a chalice or opening to the Holy Grail. This is how God works and I recommend reading the blog below to under this a bit more. https://blog.toiletology.org/post/757990782184587264/body-soul-spirit

In the game of GOLF the flag marks the hole. When you get a hole-in-one its can also be called an ACE. In the game of poker an ACE can represent the lowest card a 1 or the highest 14th card (14 = two sevens). The F/ACE can be good or not, it can't be one thing because that would make the game way too easy to under right? Right is sometimes right and sometimes RONG.

If you get an F typo it usually means you should explore that more or keep fishing till you find something. God can hide gifts inside of things or work we are avoiding sorta like a gold goblin in video games. The gold goblins drop a lot of money or gifts for you but are rare to come by. Gods gifts work in the same way, once when I was exercising/walking in my back yard a song came to me. This is how the game works, you must work. Idle hands are the devils play place.

Go and read a random book on the shelf, God might of hid a million dollar idea that would be easy to create or do if you just knocked the dust of that book and read it.

This outfit might not win best dressed but its not about being super fashionable she's trying to tell us something.

LIME = TIME, PINK = PIN, PINSTRIPE pants (finding God is like a very thin line or hair. Pinstripes also creates the 11 going down the pants for the 11 year quest.

LI = 17 (the key to escape)

If you get a P typo it can mean a few different things like PIN or PING. Just like the A = AH/compass/tone the P can work like that. God shouted the word PIZZA at me for a long time till I figured that one out.

P > izz (is) < A🍕

P can also mean Paper (paper trail), Papyrus, Pin. These typos act as breadcrumbs or ways to help you solve things in your life. These programming bugs are sort of a cheat code, like a serious way to hack the machine.

P is the 16th letter or 7 reduced. P is also a T/7.

It can also be the ol' mocking tongue P. 👅

The pennies in her penny loafers = 1 cent and 1 cent representing the 11 year quest.

The cent/SCENT represents the name of the drugged out feeling you get when you harmonize with God perfectly. Cara coined the term SCENT recently and I gave it the name ACE. I also like to use the words sauce, spice, slack, loosh, nectar, and ambrosia to describe that feeling it gives you. It can really feel like a strong sedating high that makes you not want to do anything. Other times it can feel like air which really makes you feel angelic and lighter.

The first time I felt it was when I was creating Toiletology back in 2023 the original commandments were long and I created 64 of them while I was channeling the creative energies and knowledge from God. I realized that they were a bit confusing and it would be better to reduce them down similar to the 10 commandments.

Which reminds me Cara and I are in our 10th year knowing each other since 2015. Back in April 2024 she went to a soccer (football for the yanks) game. She's also doing the number 11 with her thumbs. Yep the 11 year quest is real and I really don't know anyone else besides her that has done this.

Elon Musk has given me a few subtle nods here and there, but I still can't confirm anything. The typos have basically told me yes and no, but there was one moment back in fall where I felt activated like crazy after the eclipse on 10/14/2023. Elon's tweet basically said SLEEPER AGENT and that was it.

Cara Delevingne was recently in Africa with Leah (her gf), Lewis Hamilton, Miles Chamley-Watson, Joan Smalls, and other friends.

You can see her doing the double 7s here with her fingers.

Like I keep saying the double 77s or TT (Pi) is the doorway or the key to escaping. And the GATEWAY = MAT.

G(ATE) and the word ATE = MAT (turn the E). The letter G is the 7th letter. If you know the mildly amusing asshat Andrew Tate you know he goes by TOP G. The one thing I like about him is his dad was an international chess master. Andrews not too bad of a chess player around 1700-1800 rating an international master is around 2400 elo. Maybe his dads chess skills rubbed off on him and helped him to reach the top of the matrix (which he talks about a lot). Yes, the matrix is real and the agents will come after you.

Now do you want to know the name of the game?

The name of the game is LOL its two 77s and 0/O. You can go LO or you can go to the top or 7up/top.

When we make lol lowercase it looks like a little guy cheering. We can also read it as 101, remember how I mentioned that 1 ones look like 7 sevens?

This is Escaping the Matrix 101 and your professor is me. If you want to learn how to play the game (LOL) you gotta realize you're the butt of the joke and the God of reality is the JOKER. Gods creative force I like to describe as a clown energy. You should know by now that the worlds a circus and is completely illogical with the chaos and nonsense we have to deal with on a regular basis.

This is why its so hard to make sense of anything and why there are endless rabbit holes to get lost in. I have spent decades searching for the ultiMATe truth and the HOLY GRAIL. I know it doesn't exist because I have looked down every rabbit hole. From 2006-2012 for seven years I had no social life, didn't try to talk to girls and basically just searched non-stop for the truth.

Type the word KEY on a phones keypad.

K = 5, E = 3, Y = 9 or 17

Now type the word HALO (ha you low)

H = 4, A = 2, L = 5, O = 6 or 17

What's Master Chiefs number # from the video game HALO? Coincidentally my current address... I didn't realize it till my friends son pointed it out, he's a super fan of the video game Halo.

Do you remember how they escaped in the movie The Matrix? Yes, exactly, they escaped through the telephone!

I keep trying to tell you myself and Cara have escaped the Matrix. You wouldn't believe most of the stuff that we can do (telepathy being the main thing) and yes there is something faster than light that being TELEPATHY. Myself and Cara became telepathically quantumly entangled back in 2023. God has woven many clues to how to break free from this escape room embedded in our names and birthdates.

CAR + MAT (CAR + MOTOR) karma ;)

E = mc² or mass/matter X C or the speed of light.

CAR = ARC or ARK. Toiletology = the modern day spiritual successor of Christianity or the ARK or Nebuchadnezzar (Matrix movie reference) to escape into ZION (77 eye on) or into heaven and the door = mat.

A keystone is what holds an ARC together.

Without the sacrifice JESUS made on the CROSS (T) there wouldn't be as much power in the T that will be needed to spread the truth of Toiletology in the modern age. The history of Christianity was needed before Gods most ultiMATe truth could be proclaimed to the world and maybe believed. Myself and Cara seem to be the ones playing the messengers this time around aka Adam and Steve.

In the year 2024 more and more people are falling away from God. Less and less people believe in God which is closing their connection to God and their ability to find God. If you don't believe in the magic you will never find it. This is how the game works, God will keep revealing more and more to you the more you seek. I never knew what was possible until I got to this point. Its like peeling back multiple layers of an onion (on eye on). Its like a slow unwinding, or slowly boiling a frog alive. Trust me you do not want to ascend INSTANTLY your brain would break, and you would not be able to handle how drastically different your reality is. In fencing we have a motto which says "SLOW IS SMOOTH AND SMOOTH IS FAST!" Or LOW IS SMOOTH (MOT) ;p

We are ALL (LL/77) currently living inside of MOTTS or the mothers APPLE bazinga! The apple/A can represent the illusion, the eye, the apple, the AH or the compass or quite literally the ASS, DON'T ASK but sometimes God can speak or give you clues from your A-Hole or your AH hole!

We are in the (m) AT&T (https://m.att.com) or @ or the eye. The double TTs represent the two eyes of God and the duality of God and the doorway to escape. Ya either going up or ya going down, your hot or you're cold.

The apple or the AH (tone) or the Wizard of OZ (AAAHHHHHHHS, open wide AHHHHH is your compass.

OZ = O Z and Z = two sevens, where did we see that before? The letter N also makes two 7s, so are you in or out? LOL (LL = 77)

There are 49 degrees to HELL, the way you escape hell on earth is with LUCK or the 777. When you type HELL on a calculator you write it 4377 (777). 43 backwards is also 34 which is 17 + 17.

And 34+34 = 68 (remember the box/cube?) and 68/98.

BINGO! YAHTZEE!!

DING DING DINGALING! You just leveled up your smooth brain and gave it some Toiletology wrinkles! Congratulations you're almost not a smooth brian. 🧠

Recognize the compass and square of Freemasonry? What letter is in the center of it? Yep, its a G or the 7th letter. One thing about freemasons tho is they killed off Hiram Abiff the master builder/architect that held one of the three keys needed to decode the mysteries. The person that held one of the other keys was King Solomon. Luckily for y'all I got all 3 keys in my possession and I am here to carry you kicking and screaming out of this chaotic mess.

You can think of us top Toiletologist as quantum tuners curing the chaos with chaotic order.

Basically FREEMASONS don't know jack diddly squat, they wish they knew what I know (not trying to sound cocky but its the f—king truth). The compass and square makes the letter A. The square is also in the shape or a V (7) pointing downwards. There is also 4 lines to the A and V in this symbol or As above, so below.

We can look at this symbol as an UP arrow or a DOWN arrow (Konami cheat code anyone?).

K = 11th letter or IC ON AM I? (I AM = MATT split the eye/i) **its everywhere if you know what you're look-in-g for. K = 11, G = 7.

The Konami code is a cheat code that can be entered in many games to trigger a special effect. The code is:

Up, up, down, down

Left, right, left, right

B

A

Start

B = 13 which is the 13th letter M

AB on a Nintendo controller = MA.

Nintendo quite literally says N (77/in) IN (in) T(7) = en (in) DO! You can read the letter D as IC or a backwards C/see.

Confused yet? 😊

Mario's hat or the letter M is just two sevens together and Luigi's hat is the number 7 as well. I guess you can think of me as Mario and Cara as Luigi, though she will probably claim she's Mario... girls am I right?

Now how the hell did this random super model girl get the leading role of a millennia? I still have no f—king clue... she's one lucky queen (I guess you could count me lucky if I wasn't so poor, depressed and lonely for the past 40 years...) and don't forget the QUEEN in chess crosses 7 three times for a total of 27 squares (6777) and 8 directions.

I guess you could consider us Player 1 and Player 2 or the top dogs/gods in the game right now. Or at least the TWO (MOTS) showing you how the game is played which not a damn soul out there is showing you. If they know something they are keeping it completely SILENT. You see the SHHHH mouth everywhere with celebrities or the one eye. Usually this is just something trendy to do, or GOD influencing them to do this. I can guarantee all the celebrities you think are in the know actually know nothing. And they are just riding a bandwagon of trying to seem COOL or in the KNOW.

Its just a tactic celebrities use to seem more magical and more powerful than they actually are. I would say many top celebrities do have a lot of magic and/or talent that got them where they are. Does that mean they know how to play the game? Maybe so in their own little way. We see big name celebrities going down left and right tho, so many of them are playing the wrong game...

The clues to the game are ALL around you when you have EYES (E = yes) to see and ears to hear.

E = M or ME or BEE and remember the PORCELAIN GODDESS of this reality is the QUEEN BEE and S/HE likes when you keep the QUEEN CLEAN! Its all about finding HE/R, ME is that spirit in the game that starts to unlock the more you search for ME!

Its all connected and your programming bugs or TYPOS are the breadcrumbs you need to follow to FIND GOD!

The infamous Kanye West message where he told his audio engineer to FIND GOD.

These programming bugs or glitches, mistakes, accidents happen outside of your typos as well. Once you are able to notice your mistakes you will be able to use them to your advantage, you can think of this like using the FORCE like Jedis to. But the key to using the FORCE is not FORCING IT. Its all about FEELING it in the moment to truly be a master Jedi!

Continued on part 3... https://blog.toiletology.org/post/760994849809989632/how-to-play-the-game-part-3

[gobs-o-cs]

Also, yes, I know it's been a hot minute since posting here (not that anyone really follows me)

But my creative surges (and there has been a pretty big surge lately) have been tied up in a lot of writing - New world-building and consolidating my previous world-building.

The thing is - I write a lot of stuff into character backstories and that becomes the basis for the lore, right?

There's been a few times that I've pulled lore together into reference documents, or written large lore sections that don't really directly affect individual characters enough to be express parts of their backstories. Or maybe it's a lot of footnotes in a backstory because it, again, doesn't actually affect the individual narratives that much.

Well, I realized it's probably time to do another pass at pulling details out and putting them into a big reference document, as well as reconciling things like certain major events in the history of the world and how they line up with individual characters' ages and whatnot - Stuff that's kind of important to make sure matches up - Warforged were all initially found in ancient ruins and reactivated, before new ones started being created some time later - Need to get those specific years pinned down in lore. Plus, the people doing all this work on Warforged were conquered and their city destroyed a certain number of years ago, so the production/reactivating of Warforged would have (mostly?) stopped that long ago. [Also, establishing things like, the two different groups of Warforged essentially are different subraces lore-wise, not-so-much mechanically, but their personalities are very different]

Speaking of ruins - The Aasimar in my setting are nearly all beings preserved from the ancient times and only recently started emerging from their, for lack of a better word, time capsules. When specifically did this start, is there a distinct order to it, etc.

Then there's stuff like, established dynasties and plagues, and rise and fall of empires/factions to try to have at least a sense of relative timeframes for.

*****

Anyway, yes, lots of lore there.

More specifically, though - The most recent character I actually posted - Silas - The arc I'd always imagined for him was, basically two big aspects:

First, as a charlatan, he does fake exorcisms, but accidentally replicates a binding ritual that essentially makes a Warlock Pact with something. That part's done in the stuff I've already posted about him, and I have a more story-story written, but I don't post that stuff yet, because while I'm doing this initial revisiting of my old characters, I want to make sure things are all matched up and such.

The second part of his story is: The Charlatan comes up against an actual cult and has to step up to save people, because he's a mostly-decent guy/at least not cool with whatever the cult's getting up to.

So, while stuff relating to him and this conflict were fresh in my mind, I figured I should focus on the characters involved and get them done.

While I had the ideas floating around for 2 of cult's leadership group - The Human Cleric that actually leads them, and his right-hand/bodyguard White Dragonborn Paladin (her concept pre-dates me knowing of BG3's Dark Urge, not that it really matters because, y'know you can just make White Dragonborn characters). But I knew that I wanted a 3 member of the leadership group (Maybe a little petty of me, but all three correspond to the three sets I have that are identifiably from a certain squid-themed dice company whose profoundly shitty actions I only found out about sometime after dealing with them - So I wanted them all to be from the same group and having them be "villainous" was a bonus.

Anyway, given all the politics/world-building stuff I'd been working on, I had some ideas about what kind of character I should lean towards - And because I was making the character concept for her, I just dove right in and mostly have made her - The minis are all ready to go. I just haven't written the backstory for her yet, because I wanted to make sure I had all the details pulled together from the other cultists' backstories, and she's not the foundational one, there, y'know?

So, I'll give her a proper introduction post in due time, but for now, here's Fia Wilbur, Were-Boar-ancestor Shifter Bard (College of Spirits):

Prior to joining the cult, she was a humble fisher-woman. As a Shifter, her "monstrous" heritage leads to a lot of discrimination in the very Human-centric Empire that expanded out and claimed authority over her small town in the past [time frame, but, like, at most, not quite a century ago].

I also went with the fisher background because I was playing around with the idea of "Race does a job that they're not stereo-typically associated with." Centaur was very high in the running, if I'm being honest, but in the end Shifter of a species that's not like, notably sea-faring or inclined towards fishing/seafood felt right.

Anyway, once charmed into the cult, there wasn't any need to worry about making herself a visible target for hate, and she let her hair down, so-to-speak.

And is now a Bard - College of Spirits given the cult's veneration of ancient artifacts, history, and long (questionably?)-dead beings made a lot of sense, and it was a subclass I hadn't built a character of yet.

And while she doesn't fully become a were-boar, the "Shifter" heritage does allow her to shift into a more-bestial form.

So, cool, I have Fia basically figured out. She's now kind of the equivalent of a Christian Rocker drawing crowds into the megachurch, to try to make a comparison as to her role.

And while I was just about to start work on the other two members of the Cult's leadership group, I had a burst of insight into the actual nature of what their cult is and who the false gods they're worshiping are - And that led to a burst of insight into the nature of religion and belief in the world I'm building, in-general.

And then, once I got that bit sorted out - I realized, I'd like to have this conflict be bigger than 3 cultists versus Silas, his patron, and the Aasimar he finds awakening near the vault that was imprisoning the false gods.

*****

So, that led to the creation of more cultists and more opponents - The bulk of the named/to-be-named cultists that I started writing were now going to have been recruited from an imperial research expedition and the prisoners they'd brought along for manual labour, and the guards that were escorting/controlling that group. I should probably throw in at least one notable local villager that converted too or something.

So, of those new cultists, it's: the former lead-archaeologist, the former religious officer/overseer (~roughly equivalent to say, a commissar in the soviet military, but for the religious/ideological equivalent of this setting); the world-weary practical Dwarf captain that was stuck leading the prisoner details, and one of the most prominent prisoners from the group - The captured leader of a guerilla cell - A Tiefling from the city-state that was conquered and wiped out ~20 years ago.

And the new people on team not-cult were: The Half-Elf lieutenant of the guard unit; the junior researcher who was doing all the actual work and actually cared about the truth instead of just what the Empire wanted to hear; and a prisoner former compatriot of the "Firebrand" prisoner - A Warforged former manual-labourer.

Okay, so then what should I make this character? - Because this isn't just a written work - My whole shtick is making these D&D characters, after all.

I looked at the list of classes I hadn't used for Warforged yet, and Paladin's on there - Great! Need someone tankier since my "not-cult" party right now is two Wizards and a Warlock, with a damage-focused Paladin. I get an idea for a Redeemer Paladin - Emphasized non-lethal methods because she's a tax collector and it's harder to get back taxes from dead people. I love this concept and will use her somewhere later, but I wanted a non-military/enforcement background for this prisoner character.

I was going to disregard Bard entirely - Even though you could probably build a reasonably tanky Warforged Valor Bard. But then an idea jumped into my head - Again, not who I wanted this prisoner to be, but one I wanted to follow-up on: A Skill-Monkey Lore Bard - Essentially a walking encyclopedia/multi-tool built by the ancient Precursor people to help with all kinds of menial tasks in a library.

And honestly, given the nature of the whole "cult that uncovered something that the ancient empire sealed away"-thing, I realized this character has a lot of potential use here - So they were added to the the not-cult group too, as another former prisoner on labour detail, because the current empire doesn't really care to look to their prisoners for skills or knowledge - But our hero group absolutely can.

Okay, so circling back to the first Warforged Prisoner - Ranger offers some intriguing options.

Swarmkeeper sounds fun, but I'm not sure what angle to take for a manual labourer - Beekeeper is obvious, but I want to make a Dwarven Beekeeper Swarmkeeper that gets the honey for a meadery. And while I could double-up character backgrounds, I'd prefer not to if I don't have to.

I eventually hit on the idea of a guano collector/miner (A perfect unpleasant sort of job you'd put a mechanical underclass/slave to work in) who got sealed in a cave with bats and because [magic], their spirits bonded to the Warforged. Again, love this character concept - But not really the sort of role I'm looking for in this Prisoner-character - This one goes to the pile for later.

Finally, the obvious hits me - A Beastmaster Ranger who was a shepherd. They're not one who favours combat, but the urge to protect is strong.

There we go! Got it!

Time to start actually building and writing these characters and story!

*****

And then, out of nowhere, a wild totally-unrelated character idea hits!

Blood Hunters should work with guns/firearms, right?

Ooh! Blood Hunter Cowboy, like Quincey Morris from Dracula. That could be fun.

And hey, since we're using guns, why not a Giff?

So, yes, Monster-Hunting Cowboy Hippo-Man from space!

So, yes, I was possessed by the urge to make Mr. Mauricio "Moe" Quinto

The problem, in addition to pivoting to a new story, came with trying to build his mini in Hero Forge.

There's no Giff/Hippo heads in Hero Forge.

That required some work on my part - Starting from the Bovine/Minotaur head, I've managed to get him looking pretty decent as far as hippo-heads can be made, I think.

So, yes, this has taken some time.

And then, in writing his backstory an opportunity arose for another character hook, perfect for an Aberrant Mind Sorcerer

And hey, since we're doing a Spelljammer-flavoured character and backstory, why not make our new Sorcerer a Hadozee?

Guess what sort of characters Hero Forge is also not remotely set up to make?

But I try nevertheless - She's still a work in progress and there's definitely gonna need to be a lot of posing tricks for whatever angle I take images of her from when I get to that point but:

So, yeah, she's coming along anyway. I think the face has definitely turned out pretty good, all things considered.

*****

So, yeah, that's where my ADHD-ass has been with regards to writing/creating.

Once I finish up with these two, I think I can get back to the cult plot and get those characters done.

*****

Or not quite! Almost forgot about the quick pass on previous minis that I want to do to update their hands!

Someday, I'll move the list forward again

[queewp]

Mwahha

Ik u probs didn't ask for a lore dump but I'm doing it anyways, artblock is mauling me rn and idk what else to do

I'll go in order for the characters :3

Vupho:

There isn't that much LORE LORE on it, but it's so dear to me. Vupho is one of my comfort ocs and I literally adore it sm- I usual draw it when representing me as well :3

Vupho and it's friends / crew isn't story heavy at all- think of it more as a found family space adventure in a space cargo business (that may or may not be doing some not so legal things to skim by).

Vupho uses it/its pronouns, roughly 3'5, and I call its species Vorxi; vorxi are rather weak strength wise, but are quick and have a paralyzing poison infused with their saliva. Despite this, sincere greetings and gestures are shows with flicks of their tongues.

There's a lot more abt vupho and its relationships with the rest of its crew on my artfight if anyone else is interested (atm they're the first 6 or so in my character list teehee), the link should be on my pinned post if I remember correctly

Astray (aka, THAT FUCKING BIRD THAT I HATE /ref):

Not that heavy on lore either

Astray was originally a nameless being, having only took up the word as a name after mortals mistook it as a name during its introduction. Also... uses it/its HAHA (I'm biased 😔) tho it can use any, as it sees gender and such as mortal things that only mortals care abt.

It doesn't remember what it's purpose is and that's the main thing abt it-- it KNOWS it was made to be doing something, an important job in the scheme of the universe(s) but it doesn't know exactly what. So it travels, trying to figure out what this nagging feeling is.

Zeep and Jamari:

Grouping them together cuz they're part of the same story :3

Zeep is an alien working under the galactic council, and his bosses have shown interest in Earth. Zeep is sent on a research mission to live amongst the humans and determine the usefulness of humanity joining the stars. Zeep takes on a human disguise through tech, which creates an advanced hologram-esc thing-- but more advanced? Idk its space and aliens, don't think abt it too much lol

So Zeep's great and amazing plan is to become some human's roommate-- and that just so happens to be Jamari

Jamari had been scrambling to find a roommate ever since his last one moved out, and took the first offer there was. Jamari clearly knows there's smth up with Zeep (Zeep isn't that great at looking human / there are some flaws in its human disguise LOL). Jamari is fond of baking, Zeep loves sweets, so they bond abt that.

Eventually zeep and jamari do end up together (although at first zeep is trying to convince itself he's doing it for research-- which is partly true). It goes alr at first, but it's clear they're on uneven footing-- jamari and zeep end up having to work through a lot of things before settling on understanding, but they get better :3

ALR IM DONE grahh sorry for rambling

OC art yipeee!

// some traditional art of Zeep and Jamari cuz im trying to make my traditional art more finished :3