#don't forget to put up a stats page!

[backmarkerr]

Fic Writer Interview 📝

tagged by @brawngp2009 ! Thank you, it was fun!

Heads up, I'll be keeping this to my F1 writing only! --

How many works do you have on AO3? 7 😎 What's your total word count? The ao3 stats page tells me it’s 30 302. My writing programme tells me there's 20k more in wips but that includes notes and stuff that aren’t really fic writing What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Isn't the stats page so great? Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! I don’t always see them right away, but I like to say thank you to each person who takes the time to let me know they read and enjoyed something I wrote :) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending? I’m not sure... I don't really have any fic that ends angstily, but I guess the closest would be either Winter Pitstop or Head in the clouds? They’re more ambiguous than angsty, though… What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending? I’d say Eyes on the prize has the happiest ending out of the current finished ones. Do you write crossovers? I don't write actual crossovers, but I love crossover AUs! I tend to draw them more than write them, though. Have you ever received hate on a fic? No. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Hell yeah!!! I only started writing smut "properly" in the past couple of years, it can be very challenging but that makes it extra rewarding when it's done. As for what kind, just m/m so far. I’d like to diversify it one day, but who knows... Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not a full fic, but lets just say there's a reason I no longer share WIP snippets. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not to my knowledge. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but honestly all my fics are so rooted in what Ghost and I come up with together that she might as well be a co-writer. What's your all-time favourite ship? Simi. I was definitely not planning on being so incredibly compelled by a ship of two older retired blond drivers, but here we are. The lore is incredible and I learn something new every day, the parallels are out of this world, the reason a megapost is so hard to write is because there is truly SO much. But also their love is so refreshing! Most of my fandom life was spent stuck in ships that were doomed from the start/impossible so Simi is really freeing for me. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will? I sure hope I’ll finish all of them! What are your writing strengths? Not to toot my own horn, but I think I’m pretty good at “show, don’t tell” in a way that the reader can put the dots together without me spelling it out for them. For example, I think I make it pretty obvious that Seb and Kimi love each other, even if they don't say it and the word "love" itself barely shows up in my writing. What are your writing weaknesses? Grammar and punctuation, especially in regards to dialogue. English isn’t my first language and I learned writing in a different style, so it can be pretty difficult. Also prepositions like on/in/at are a nightmare. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? Like everything else, it depends on how it’s done. I’ve seen fics where it’s used really well in the context and heightens the experience, and others where it’s just unnecessary. Personally, I’d have to be really sure that the language is correct before I used it, and really sure that it fits the situation in the fic. What was the first fandom you wrote for? As far as you’re concerned, F1 is my first fandom ;) What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to? Honestly I’m just here for Simi. No other F1 pairing inspires me to write. What's your favourite fic you've written? You never forget your first, right? Winter Pitstop is still my personal favourite. Maybe it will lose that spot once I finally write and post the sequels I planned last year.

-- I'm not sure who has been tagged already, so i tag @racingghost and whoever else sees this!

[tojiscrack]

i can’t wait for the day the liar, liar fic gets so big and i can say i’ve been here SINCE THE LEVI FIC YOU STARTED because your fics are genuinely unlike any other fic i’ve ever read before.

you have me falling in love with even the OC’S, i usually hate oc’s. i can’t really name many fics off the top of my head that i actually liked reading bc as you said in your ‘about me’, i too have a particular way i imagine characters so when i read fics and see them completely different or acting (in my view) ‘cringe’, i immediately get off it. you’ll notice my reblogs are only your posts because i never reblog anything unless it is PERFECT, and my standards are HIGHH so the fact that you’ve managed to get me to reblog your posts is crazy to me. i love you and ur writing sm.

i’m WAITING for the day ‘liar, liar’ gets as big as say ‘7 minutes in heaven’ for example, (the chokehold that fic had on the aot fandom was CRAZY). and not to be… idk, rude(?), but i think your fic is WAYYYY better (and the plot hasn’t even STARTED yet). i’m gonna need people making tiktoks about ‘liar, liar’ STAT so i can have people to talk to about this other than my friend 😭

liar, liar masterlist here:

girl i've BEEN knowing u since the levi fic, which i believe began in august of 2022, so we've known each other for a good two years now, is that not WILD?? (that, and the fact that since august 2022, i've only released 7 chapters of soano, oops-)

'ur fics are genuinely unlike any other fic i've ever read before' -- wishing i was typing this on my phone instead of my laptop rn cuz i can't spam emojis expressing how flattered i feel with this section right here :(((( i'm so pleased u like my works (plural, 'cause despite ur username, and past username, being dedicated to levi and eren, you're out here supporting my jjk megumi fic too).

HELP I DIDN'T THINK ANYONE WOULD READ MY 'ABOUT ME' POST LMAOO. it was just put up there 'cause i needed to get that done and after putting it off for so long, i finally made it lolll. i stalk ur page every once in a while, so i'm well aware of your reposts being just my fics, and not to be big-headed about it, but i'd get so internally cocky just seeing that HAHAHA.

BUT, i was silent about it till now (YOU mentioned it first, nawt me, so i can happily respond this way without being seen as arrogant -- huzzah!). and idk how else to show i appreciate ur support and comments SM (that's including ur blazes which, ik i've spammed ur dm's already but seriously, i can't thank you enough for, it's like another function of tipping which is super SUPER cool of u).

'i’m waiting for the day liar, liar gets as big as say 7 mins' -- aww STOPPPP. i'd love for my stories to have a hold over the jjk fandom, but idk, if we're being real, i feel like the gojo (unreleased) story i have planned will reach more ppl seeing as it features THE satoru gojo (my princess who also happens to be THE princess of anime). but liar liar seems to be growing every day (thanks to YOUR blazes, which again, u really don't have to do ml). if it does ever reach a wider audience, i'll remember you for sure. i'll remember a handful others who are og's too, but you were my first EVER reader ALTOGETHER and i PROMISE you i won't forget that <3

[readingoals]

My 2025 Reading Journal set up!

This is the second year I'm fitting into this particular notebook, so all my multi-year trackers are still in use. So these are all the single year spreads. I've gone for a very pinky/purpley fairy sort of theme this time because I had a lot of cute die cuts and stickers.

Just like last year I'll put some info about each one under the cut. And stay tuned for my January pages!

Quote/Title Page - This year's quote came from the A Song of Ice and Fire books! I'm intending to get back to my re-read of the series so it seemed fitting.

Goals - Last year I managed to read 45 books (5 more than I'd hoped to) so I'm trying to match that this year. I've also set myself 5 other goals to focus on. Completing this years Read Christie challenge, reading more books than I purchase, reading 5 non-fiction (I did 3 last year so this feels do-able), Joining at least one read-a-thon, and reading from 10 decades (though 10 is what I did last year so I might change this to read from each decade on my stats graph? we'll see)

Read Christie/Bingo - This left page is for me to keep track of the prompts and what I choose to read for each month of the Read Christie Challenge. This year's challenge is all about different careers featured in her books! On the right we have a bingo board I made featuring 24 books that are on my backlist which I'd love to get to this year. Obviously I would love to black out the board but a bingo or two is what I'm aiming for.

Buzzword-A-Thon - This year Kayla (Booksandlala on youtube) has 2 challenges - the regular one about titles and one about what's on book covers. I participated in the challenge last year but not actively, I was just curious to see how many I could get (I only missed 3!) so I'll probably be tackling both of this years similarly.

Books Read - Three pages for me to record every books I read, when I started and finished it, and what the star rating is at the end.

Year at a Glance - I've been doing this I think since I first started making reading journals. I keep track of what days I read, what days I write, and what days I finish a book on. They're don't necessarily end up 100% accurate (sometimes I forget to fill things in and then have to backtrack and try to work it out as best I can) but I like having a general sort of idea of what I did during the year. Also they just look pretty at the end when they're more coloured in.

Statistics - These go over a couple of pages. The first is my publication date graph. My shelves are organised in loose publication order (like I keep all the books published in the 2010s together but in alphabetical author order rather than exact year order) so it's fun to see how many things I read from each area of my bookshelf. Then there are graphs for the genres I read (mystery has been my most read for a few years now), where I aquire the books, and what I rate them.

Book of the Year - This page is a little different to what I've done in the past. Previously I've done a bracket between the best read from each month, however I have a couple of problems with that method so this year I decided to change it up and switch to a matrix which I saw Jess (JashiiCorrin on youtube) do. At the end of the year I'm going to take my 12 favourite reads and compare each book to the other 11 and then add up who won the most head to heads. This should give me a more accurate idea of what my top books were and the order they go in. I'm going to include their covers on the left hand page just cause I think it looks nice.

[claire-starsword]

The Guardiana Magic School Run -Part 18

Certainly it must be obnoxious that I keep bringing up the novel wherever I go, but consider: 1) i waited years to read that thing so i don't care; 2) translating 300+ pages for free is hella work so i get to brag; and 3) we are literally on Rudo lol i can't stop looking at everything differently now. I know this dog now. I love this dog. She's my friend.

Back to the run, we're still on the spirit of treasure hunts!

After a very fun and not at all garbage puzzle involving unclear map boundaries, we get Musashi, who is not valid for this magic user run. Yes, the guy is invisible and making words pop out of thin air, but he's NOT magical. He's just built different. You would understand if you had studied the blade like him.

We then get Lyle, who is also not for this run. Very sad. But at least they'll kindly donate their weapons to support our magic school. It's not much, but it's the thought tha-

MUSASHI WHAT THE HELL

ARE YOU MADE OF MONEY MAN

so uh, wow! that's something i'd never learn in a regular playthrough. Since it's a unique weapon it goes to the deals section for double the price. The deals section is very clogged right now so I guess we'll soon learn if new deals still pop up or if we're done with it. Not like the useless swords there were helping anyway.

On the topic of weapons, we also get a Holy Staff like I promised last time. I could promote Khris right now, giving up on an early Aura, to use this. Her attack is currently pretty ok (28), so a boost would likely put her in the 30+ with attackers like Max and Arthur. That's wild to think about. But am I going to use her like this with her squishy defense? In the chapter where Golems and Dullahans start to appear? I'm not sure. The next battle is also forest and she doesn't have great movement in that. But we'll be surrounded by spawns, so she might make a difference in wiping out some enemy in that chaos.

I'm pretty afraid of the next battle, so that's what I'm going for. At the end of the day she has four levels to go until Aura and I hate this kind of grinding very much lol

Say hello to Vicar Khris! Boy I hate the stat loss so much. And yet, upon equipping the Holy Staff, she now has the greatest attack in the party. Dog that mauls you for your sins. I'm losing it.

And we're not done with upgrades! First of all I forgot to equip the Soulbuster on Max, but don't worry, it still doesn't make him stronger than Khris.

Arthur on the other hand jumps above the Khris bar thanks to the Chrome Lance. The unpromoted Lowe and mages cannot use the Guard Staff for now, which is a bit of a loss for Lowe, but the girls on the other hand should just be blasting things with magic anyway. Tao might be our greatest weapon against the Golems.

Narsha meanwhile gets the Holy Mace, which is not only more powerful but also capable of Heal 3. Unfortunately I did forbid using weapon effects on my rules, didn't I? Uh oh. Still a nice upgrade, and I didn't have any idea on when to promote Narsha, so let's do it.

Establishing herself once more as the deuteragonist of this thing, Saint Narsha is now as strong as Max, but with a few more points in defense, which is great.

I am still afraid however, so I don't think the upgrades will end here.

I do sit atop a sizable collection of stat boosting items. That I always forget to use in casual play. I would like to not mess my challenge run doing that. The only characters were missing by now are Alef and Torasu, neither of which will need Power Wine, for example. I would also hope they won't need five whole defense potion.

But do I know how to distribute this in an smart and efficient way? Hell no. I do hate seeing Max without defense though, so one potion goes for him, taking him over 20. I do chicken out on using the rest of them though, because I don't think they'll make enough of an impact on characters that are still on the 14-17 range, especially when they don't have enough HP to survive two hits even if their defense was raised.

What I do end up with is using a couple Life Loaves on Narsha. Her defense is now on par with Max yet she has way less HP, so I'm hoping the +3 here helps.

I also end up facing this bizarreness here where the game does not update her current HP? Hoping she doesn't enter battle like this. I can't even use Medical Herbs outside of battle to fix it now.

I also decide to use the Power Wines on Max and Narsha, I'm really betting on them as the frontlines here. So congrats Max, now you're on par with dog girl. Only took a lot of effort.

I also give Anri a Quick Chicken in hopes she'll get more chance to hit the enemies before they hit her.

After all these very insecure decisions, I'm now turning my game off and on again because the Narsha thing bothers me.

:/ it does not fix it

Had to enter this screen and retreat, this is honestly some garbage code.

Anyway, let's finally get to the battle. The clear bonus is just money. Thanks to Musashi's patronage I'm not worried about that. Also no way in hell I'm rushing this battle.

I don't know why I haven't mentioned yet, but Domingo should be the star of this battle. The game even knows it, giving him some extra dialogue here. He has the best defense in the team, floating movement to ignore the forests and mountains, and magic damage against the enemies with high defense.

Arthur is currently the other tank of the team, but being a centaur he won't be moving well in this terrain.

He's at least enthusiastic enough to be the first one to move, but not like there's many threats in this start.

Also I'm just learning that Attack 3 uses 40 MP so, uh. Don't expect to ever see this thing used lol

Very unsure of what to do with Narsha as usual. I might try setting positions to catch Max, Arthur, Hanzou and herself in an Attack 2. I could boost the mages' damage instead but I'm unsure if that will be impactful enough on level 2 spells, and Tao's Blaze 2 is not in a deep need of help. Besides, MP eventually ends, while attack boosts are forever.

After a boring turn 2 we are finally ready to beat these things up. They're doing nothing to Arthur.

No point in wasting Domingo's MP with these weak enemies though. Arthur, Max and Hanzou wipe them out in a single hit each.

It takes me several turns because Khris is slow and has little movement, but I include her in the Attack plan.

In the next turn, I could use a Boost 1 on someone to finish Narsha's MP, but I feel like saving it for Aura in case I need healing.

I seem to have attracted the Artilleries' attention, but not triggered the spawns yet, which annoys me. I don't want those things to catch me off guard.

LIKE THIS YOU KNOW

EXACTLY LIKE THIS

Welcome to hell! The Master Mages have Freeze 2, which is pretty dicey to take on when there's many of them and we're gathered like this. The golems and worms should have a lot of attack, and Domingo and Arthur are my only tanks, so I can't exactly surround everyone else. At least I think the golems can't reach anyone yet since I tried to stay on the bottom, and their movement is not great. The worms should have less defense than the golems. Maybe we can defeat them before the golems arrive! Optimism!

You can already feel the centaur pain with Arthur not even being able to cover Tao here.

But he can one hit a guy in forest land effect.

Also, look! He finally fits this playthrough! Baby's first spell! Will we be using it instead of 20+ chrome lance damage? I don't think so.

Domingo also can't cover Tao, so clearly I screwed up bad. Maybe he'll distract the other worms though.

Max one hit kills a worm, but Hanzou fails tragically at this mage. He gets a level up with +4 attack to ensure it won't happen again.

I hit image limit as expected so, to be continued in a reblog, see i told you this one was more exciting than the last

[theofficersacademy]

Happy July! After a couple of high-energy event months, let's catch up on threads and relax. Stay tuned for our annual anniversary event coming up in August!

Housekeeping

Current Month in TOA: Pegasus Moon (February)

New mission board tasks are available! You can find the whole collection here. Remember that at least one unaffiliated muse is required to complete certain prompts.

A big shoutout to Ree, Rai, and N for their work in the Summer Arena, as well as a huge thank you to our volunteer Scorekeepers, without whose invaluable help the arena could not continue on as it has!

Don't forget to claim your arena prizes if you haven't already! You can find more information on our closing post. Arena channels will also be closed on July 7th at 11:59PM EST.

Please don’t forget to leave feedback on our [feedback poll] for this month. Tell us about your arena experience!

Event Incoming!

We will be holding our annual anniversary event next month! More information will be available later this month.

What to expect: Lore events in TOA are month-long events that typically split participants into multiple groups, each playing through a story campaign led by one of the mods. We place a high emphasis on making progress week-by-week, so these are our most energy-intensive events and require some commitment on your parts. Please keep this in mind if you decide to sign up. This August may see things shaken up a little, but narrative remains the main focus. As always, make sure that your stats page is up to date.

Keep in mind that you still need to keep up with your activity during August, whether or not your muses are participating.

Other

July Mun Birthdays: Nic (14th), Leo (22nd), Heckles (24th)

July Muse Birthdays: Caspar (1st), Harken (7th), Balthus (9th), Kris (M) (15th), Claude (24th), Forsyth (26th), Yunaka (28th)

First-year mun anniversaries this month: Kuja (17th)

Second-year mun anniversaries this month: Ashera (10th), Rosie (11th)

Third-year mun anniversaries this month: Tiff (8th), Dewa (18th)

First-year muse anniversaries this month: Quan (6th), Harken (8th), Alcryst (30th)

Second-year muse anniversaries this month: Pelleas (14th)

Third-year muse anniversaries this month: Micaiah (4th), Katarina (15th), Deirdre (17th)

Muses who have been in the group for a solid year will also be granted an Academy Brooch to put in their inventory. It doesn’t do anything. It just lets others know your character has been around the block. These characters are also granted a new opportunity to change houses if they wish to do so.

- The House Leaders

[mdhwrites]

So with your wonderful analyses on shows, how do you think Sunset Shimmer's story (redemption from evil mean bully to an empathetic hero) on Equestria Girls' spin off was? Is it every bit as good as what fans hype it up to be?

I... can't wholly comment. Not because I'm entirely unfamiliar with what you're talking about, I watched the first three Equestria Girls movies... But I also watched them over half a decade ago when they came out. I haven't watched literally any My Little Pony since midway through season... 6? Whenever Starlight joined the cast.

I can remember some of my strong feelings about certain aspects of it, partially because the bronalysis community was part of why I ended up joining the fandom as a whole and began fanfic writing so MLP was when I was first cutting my teeth on analysis but weirdly enough... I never really questioned Sunset's redemption arc, even back then.

Part of it is because they're movies, not a show. Redemption arcs get a little weird with that because the structure and pacing of such things is a lot odder. What I will say is that I do agree that it's not bad. People don't just forget what Sunset did but kind of crucially to keep those movies enjoyable, they never just tell you to think the end of the first movie was pointless. People are genuinely giving Sunset a second chance, even if maybe with a bit of trepidation, she's actively worried about reverting some but you can also see that same fire, drive and passion that led to how she was before. I think Equestria Girls, from what my memory says, was actually REALLY important for this because Sunset is a bit too demure in Rainbow Rocks, a bit too purely nice, but the third movie makes it clear that it was a defense response. The old Sunset isn't 100% gone, she's just figuring out how to balance it all.

Which I mean... All of that is a billion times better than "I will murder every timeline of existence" Starlight Glimmer being redeemed simply because she lost a single friend when she was young. No I don't care that the show is called "FRIENDSHIP is Magic", Starlight is still arguably the most destructive, spiteful villains I ever saw in that show and brushing it under the rug was not okay with me, let alone with the fact that the MANIPULATOR uses MIND CONTROL within half a season of being redeemed!

*siiiiiiiiiiigh* But again, take anything I say about MLP with a grain of salt. It has been two and a half years since I last logged into Fimfiction, mostly to delete some of the few stories I wasn't willing to condone keeping up, and I still have no plans to return. Not with how I left.

Oh, but because I feel like it, just some stats from Fimfiction because it was still like five years of my life: I published over a million words worth of material over the course of 205 stories.

I made over 1300 blogs so if you thought me being a windbag was new, NOPE!

And I have over 1,500 followers on it, placing me... A HUNDRED FIFTIETH ON THE SITE!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN!?

I won't link it though because, well, I have been wanting to put that part of me away for a long time now. Not just the poor quality work of my old days but the type of person I was. I joined the Brony fandom at 17 after all and while hitting rock bottom during college while being a part of it helped make me into a better person, I had to go pretty low to get there first. As such, linking it feels like condoning that old person, even if I'm not about to hide it.

Isn't that what redemption and growth is about after all? Recognizing you did wrong in the past and trying to do better? And I know for me, I'm still trying to constantly learn how I can do better. Maybe it's even part of why redemption arcs mean so much to me and why I hadn't considered Sunset's in the past. I wasn't in the middle of my own by then.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[bacchus90-toybox]

Kelvin, S/M. BD Metallic Blue.

Frosty.

Quick review -- I wish I had plenty of nice things to say about Kelvin.

I mean, look at him, isn't he the cutest? He's not imposing like most BD models, which is mainly why I got him. He's about the size of what I consider a good plug. You know, the sort of thing you cram up your butthole while you go grocery shopping, video gaming, or other menial activities. The plating on this thing is gorgeous, and the glans on him... to die for. I love the insertion down to however many plates I could take, but that's all the good I have to say.

Of course, as with all reviews, YMMV. Had to throw that disclaimer! For what I hoped I got him for (you know, that one toy you stuff yourself full with and kind of forget you have it in, and then you move a certain way and you're reminded it's very much still inside...), I can't really say I'm impressed. It won't stay in. Knotting him is not possible, at least with my butthole, especially when there's no wiggle room past the girth before the base. My frustration had be resorting to furiously fucking my butthole with the plated shaft (loved it), but concluded with me attempting a difficult stuffing a Fenrir. This was unsuccessful for a whole different reason. Tucker was able to save the day, somehow, especially with the way my bathroom floor was a mess with all the lube and my cramping hand.

And before anyone thinks if I didn't try hard enough, I can guarantee I surely did... I tried everything from standing, sitting, bent over, sideways, upside-down, inside-out, topsy-turvy. Okay, maybe not all of them, but still, I'd like to think I put in some really good effort. Nope. My butthole wasn't going to suck the toy up and cling to the non-existing spot between the knot and the base.

As an active thrusting fucker, he's amazing. But I'd recommend getting one size larger. That gives you more shaft to work on. I mean the small gives about 5" per the BD stats page, but I find that that's a decent amount of dick to work with. I wish he'd have been longer in Small, too, but then again I don't really always need a giant monster cock (questionable) to please my butthole with.

Final rating: C+ D for knotting, A- for thrusting. It all averages out.

Pros: I admire the head swell, and love the textures. Like, a fucking lot.

Cons: The impossible knot. Not for me. Please, no knot jokes. I kind of want to chop him up in places to make possible knotting, but also I must be mad to do that to such a beautiful toy.

Or you know, it might be that my butthole's in the wrong here and it's a me problem.

P.S. I know this review meant to be short, sorry. Will I try it again? Yes, but with a different set of expectations. I'll fuck my butthole actively thinking this is a thrusting toy.

P.P.S. "Hey, Bacch, I thought you said you're more into soft toys?" Yes, but my butthole sometimes wants a bit more of an intense experience. I have a S/S Kelvin with a CT, and that I have yet to try... Maybe one of these days, I'll get the chance to bounce on him for hours.

[waitingforwinterwinds]

A Clash of Kings - 44 TYRION X (pages 573-586)

Tyrion goes to visit Shae only to receive a visit from Varys who updates Tyrion on the recent change in management at Storm's End, and Tyrion tries to get Shae a new job at the castle kicthens despite her protests, so Varys suggests a better position.

-

"Lord Varys has come to see you," Shae announced. The begging brother blinked at her, astonished. Tyrion laughed. "To be sure. How is it you knew him when I did not?" She shrugged. "It's still him. Only dressed different." "A different look, a different smell, a different way of walking," said Tyrion. "Most men would be deceived." "And most women, maybe. But not whores. A whore learns to see the man, not his garb, or she turns up dead in an alley."

This is both really cool, class stat bonus, and really... hmm what would be the word? "sex workers are in danger from their customers so they need to read people better than the best spies to not be brutally killed as well as immediately know if a random person on the street is a danger to them because their status in society is very low so even if a serial killer starts targeting them specifically no one, not even the law, is likely to do anything about it" is there a specific word for "it's cool that she has this skill but the reason she needs it is terrifying"

(also, ngl, for a second I forgot how her story ends and thought "oh I hope Varys doesn't kill her for that")

"The Red Keep has sufficient cooks. Butchers and bakers too. You'd need to pose as a scullion." "A pot girl," she said, "in scratchy brown roughspun. Is that how m'lord wants to see me?"

roughspun = 🥛

He slapped her. Not hard, but hard enough. "Damn you," he said. "Damn you. Never mock me. Not you." For a moment, Shae did not speak. The only sound was the cricket, chirping, chirping. "Beg pardon, m'lord," she said at last, in a heavy wodden voice. "I never meant to be impudent."

*bops Tyrion with the steel chair* We do not slap our partners or employees!

Although now I wonder if this moment, -this reminder for Shae specifically that she is first and foremost his employee, not his partner, not his equal- had anything to do with her choices later. Because in the moments leading up to this, and the specific way she reacts, I'm starting to get the vibe that Shae was experiencing the same thing that Tyrion was, forgetting that this is a paid relationship and viewing it as an authentic partnership, an honest relationship outside of money and contract.

... wow Varys, that much sexual harrasment and assault goes on in the kitchens and no one does anything about it even though you know? *hefts the steel chair thoughtfully* hmmmmm...

Varys: *drops tragic backstory* "- Was it a god, a demon, some conjurer's trick? I could not tell you, and I know all the tricks. All I can say for certainty is that he called it and it answered, and since that day I have hated magic and all those who practice it. If Lord Stannis is one such, i mean to see him dead."

... I... have questions on what does and doesn't count as magic in his eyes and how much magic he's willing to put up with given that he is team Dany. Y'all know Dany right? Mother of Dragons, restorer of magic (if Quaithe is to be believed)?

"Don't you see the jest, Lord Varys? (...) Storm's end has fallen and Stannis is coming with fire and steel and the gods alone know what dark powers, and the good folk don't have Jaime to protect them, nor Robert nor Renly nor Rhaegar nor their precious Knight of Flowers. Only me, the one they hate. (...) The dwarf, the evil counselor, the twisted little monkey demon. I'm all that stands between them and chaos."

... Tyrion Lannister, City Defender!

CHaOs iS a LAdDeR

[keepmovingforwcrd]

— LEWIS FRY is a 23 year old HUMAN , based on LEWIS from MEET THE ROBINSONS ; he is an ENGINEERING TA with NO POWERS and he uses HE/HIM pronouns !

STATS.

FULL NAME : lewis fry.

DATE OF BIRTH : september 9th, 2000.

HOMETOWN : unknown.

ZODIAC : virgo sun, taurus moon, capricorn rising.

SEXUALITY : bisexual.

EDUCATION : college graduate.

OCCUPATION : engineering teacher's assistant.

LANGUAGES : english, french, spanish.

PHYSICAL.

HEIGHT : 6'1.

HAIR : short, messy, dark blond/light brown.

EYES : green-blue.

TATTOOS : n/a.

MARKINGS : n/a.

FAMILY.

MOTHER : unknown.

FATHER : unknown.

SIBLINGS : unknown.

PETS : n/a.

PERSONALITY.

POSITIVE TRAITS : intelligent, kind-hearted, passionate, inventive, faithful.

NEGATIVE TRAITS : nostalgic, obsessive, hasty, improvident, discouraged.

FEARS : spiders, never being loved.

LIKES : when his inventions work, weird and interesting people, knock-knock jokes, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, feeling accepted, good ramen, green, sweater vests, mismatched socks, radios and cds over streaming music, a good sized workspace, coming up with fun ideas.

DISLIKES : failure, rejection, contacts, being doubted ( though he often doubts himself ), waiting, when his food gets cold because he forgets to eat while working on a project, people that can't keep promises.

HOBBIES : honestly . . . mostly just engineering.

AESTHETICS : messy desktops, senseless sticky notes all over the mirror, half-assed doodles on notebook pages, lamp light spilling over stacks of paper, big round glasses, colorful band-aids with cartoon characters, brown and green plaid, uncombed hair and excited eyes, talking too fast for anyone to understand, explaining ideas no one asked about, giving up on projects and yourself the first time they don't work out, staring at your reflection and wondering why no one will love you, staticky radio channels, doordash at 2 am.

ABOUT.

lewis is smart, but what he makes up for in wisdom, he can be lacking in emotional intelligence. sometimes he has trouble seeing or understanding the way others feel, and he has a bad habit of putting his foot in his mouth. social situations are definitely not his strong suit. he's better at being a friend behind a screen where he can overthink all of his words. most times, he feels he is too much. some people are not enough, but he is too much — for any couple to want to bring him home, for his mother to love him, for people to befriend him and not grow tired of his constant inventing and social awkwardness. in a way, he thinks he's okay with that, he has come to terms with it and he will not water himself down for anyone . . . but it would be nice to be loved for once, as he is. he does often feel like there is something missing, a piece of him, and he believes it is probably his birth mother ; but that is only because he's forgotten his adoptive family. if he had them, he would feel no reason to keep searching.

HEADCANONS.

lewis hates contacts, he gets freaked out at the idea of sticking his finger in his eye so despite the lack of them in gifs, he is always wearing glasses. ( plus, he thinks it really helps sell the nerdy aesthetic. )

when it comes to food, he often hyper-fixates on meals and snacks, eating them until he burns himself out. right now, he's particularly obsessed with ramen . . . and buttered toast with marmite . . . and raspberry tarts.

he dresses much older than he is, grandpa sweaters and vests . . . but he often opts for strange patterns and colors so he doesn't necessarily look professional.

lewis doesn't drink much, and when he does he usually opts for something simple like a bottle of beer. he's a light weight, and he's a giggly, tipsy, silly drunk.

lewis leaves sticky notes everywhere. most of them don't make sense with lack of context, sometimes sketches, sometimes random words. many of them he completely forgets the purpose of when they're written down, but he never throws them away . . . just in case.

he listens to a lot of 2000s-2010s music ; rob thomas, timbaland, u2. he's not sure what his favorite genre of music is, but those feel comforting to him, songs that used to play as a kid on the radio while he was working on random engineering ideas, the background music of his best ( and worst ) memories.

EXTRA.

biography.

pinterest.

playlist.

[letherightonein]

@odiabonecessario

"I'm a firm believer that the manosphere is mainly popular because it's one of the few places where our struggles are acknowledged and even though its solutions aren't that much specific towards men ("go read books", "go take courses", "go to the gym" and all this stuff) it's the best we have"

I try to empathize with it and see from what place you come from, but I don't get it, tbh. In the best case, you are conflating MRA with the manosphere, in the worst...you are kinda biased(?

Manosphere started 20 years ago with pick up artists, men who teach other men how to get laid more. The main figures of that time, Rollo Tomassi, Roisy and Roosh V wrote in favor of things like pressuring women for sex, duluth model of domestic violence as a healthy way to have a relationship with women, and in Roosh V case, that it was a good idea to follow a drunk woman to her home and rape her.

Then MRA put its finger there, the pinnacle of involvement was with Cassie Jaye documentary "The RedPill". She received money from the redpill subreddit and -not lying, I was there- it dragged more people into the redpill and to figures like Tomassi and Paul Elam. Nowadays MRAs want to forget about Elam because of his page Register-Her and takes like that women shouldn't vote and that Belfort was right, but he did make MRA popular and international to begin with. Up to date I don't know what MRA have done for men, and Elam admitted to pocket all the money he got from men.

With PUA growing, incel communities and blackpill (MGTOW) communities grew too. And I don't think I should explain broadly how those are linked to actual murderers.

The core idea of the manosphere is that women are hypergamous, they have a destructive nature that will end civilization and create a larger and larger group of lonely antisocial men that will lead to an uprising against women. None of that is real, and is not a thing.

Manosphere created a non-problem with a non-solution. What makes it attractive is that its idea is marketable for a lot of groups, even feminists. They say "technology is causing loneliness", and all the proto luddites fall in the moral panic against dating apps. They say "women are causing low birthrates" and tradcons join to the moral panic against women's freedom of choice. On and on, and adding the male driven algorithms and the spicy stats that don't hold reality but make you viral in any social media.

In short, and talking to someone who cares about men: the world heard the manosphere instead of male victims and decided that the only crisis men are allowed to have is one that doesn't exist.

Men are listening to and giving their money to XYZ manosphere grifter instead of donating five dollars to movember or joining a club to mentor boys.

Thank u for tagging me @volo-thereforeiam

Some men expecting women/feminists to be the ones to advocate for "men's mental health" is so crazy to me because THEY'RE the reason mens' mental health is so awful😭 men are literally each others worst enemies yet for some reason we have to be the ones to advocate for them

[opalescentorchidaceae]

Fic Writer Tag Game

tagged by @autisticwriterblog! (technically it was my tv blog that was tagged, hopefully it's cool that I'm answering it here instead)

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

17, plus one that I published anonymously. Apparently those don't count towards the total even though they still show up on the stats page.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

120,644. That's honestly a lot more than I thought it would be!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Well, the fandoms listed on my stats page are:

Guardians of the Galaxy (Comics)

Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (Video Game)

Nova (Comics)

Our Flag Means Death (TV)

Right now I'm not really interested in writing for any of those, although I have been thinking about replaying the GOTG game and that might get me back into writing for it. I've also been drafting a few fics for Skyrim, so I might be able to add that soon.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

#1: The Rise and Fall of Rocket Raccoon and the Dumbass from Earth, my first fic and also by far my longest.

#2 and #3: I'd Rather Sleep Alone and I'd Rather Sleep on the Floor, respectively, a two-part series (that was supposed to be a trilogy oops).

#4: Night Moves, my first attempt at writing smut. I've been too afraid to go back and read it since I first put it up lol.

#5: An Improper Little Seductress, my most recent fic and the only OFMD fic in the top five.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Sometimes. I always try to find something more to say than just "thanks," but if I can't then I'll usually end up forgetting about it and never replying. I do love getting comments though, so I'm trying to be better about that.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I generally don't do angsty endings, but the one exception to that is Sometimes Love Is Not Enough, the anonymous fic I mentioned earlier.

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

I love a disgustingly saccharine ending so it's hard to choose, but I guess I'd go with The Rise and Fall of Rocket Raccoon and the Dumbass from Earth.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

No; I was expecting it on Sometimes Love Is Not Enough, which is why I put it up anonymously, but all the comments on it have been positive.

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

I tried it once and it wasn't really for me. I will still occasionally write sex scenes, but they always end up being more comedic than erotic.

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

I guess technically I have a few GOTG (movies) / GOTG (2021 video game) crossovers, in that I'm just kind of picking and choosing bits of setting and characterization from each and mashing them together, but I've never done a proper crossover between two completely different canons.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I've never actually checked any other sites to see, but I really doubt it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, although I would be totally open to it if anyone wanted to.

13: Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

No, and I don't think I ever could. I'm both an incredibly slow writer and a total control freak so I would be such a nightmare to work with lol.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

That's tough; my first ship was roquill (Rocket Raccoon/Peter Quill, from GOTG), the ship I've felt the most passionate about was cjizzy (Calico Jack/Izzy Hands, from OFMD), and I don't really have a ship I'm that into at the moment.

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

I don't have any; once I've committed to writing a fic I will drag myself kicking and screaming until I'm done with it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue for sure. I like to think I do a good job portraying what characters would say and how they would say it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Action scenes are really tough for me; if I'm not careful I tend to fall into just writing "character A did x, then y. Character B did z" over and over again, which isn't very interesting. I also struggle with describing the setting of a scene, so I guess it's just narration in general that I'm not great at.

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

I have one single word in Spanish in Billy, and that took all my vague memories of high school Spanish, a dictionary, an online translator, and a few language-learner forum posts to make sure it was the right word in that context. And I'm absolutely not going to go to all that effort for anything longer than one word lol.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Guardians of the Galaxy (the movies, I didn't get into the comics until later).

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Probably REAL GHOST ENCOUNTER (NOT CLICKBAIT). Writing is usually torture for me, like I'm taking a pickaxe to my skull to mine the words out of my brain one by one, but this one just flowed right out of me. I was so inspired that I wrote the whole thing over the span of one evening, and I think that ease comes across in the final product.

[modifyeddigital11]

Local Electrician SEO Tips to Grow Your Business

Local search is becoming more and more important to service-based firms that operate in specific geographic regions every year. Google has seen a 350-fold increase in searches since 2009 for "local" and "near me."

In combination with voice search, this results in 97% of consumers looking for local companies online. People no longer browse through the Yellow Pages; instead, they turn to search engines like Google, and the only way for an electrician to be found is by using local SEO.

If your local electrician Search Engine Optimization approach for electricians is out-of-date, you're missing out on a ton of business. This article explains the basics of local SEO for electricians and offers some advice on how to rank on Google "local pack" (more on it later).

7 Local SEO Tips for Electricians Guaranteed to Work

You can optimize a lot of things to boost electrician local SEO stats. Let's concentrate on the six most vital elements to keep things straightforward.

1. Set Up a Google My Business Electrician Account

Without creating a free Google My Business account, you cannot use electricity local SEO marketing. Your company name, location, and category are the only information you must supply. Google produces a Business Profile for the given location once it has verified your account. Then, you may customize the Business Profile and read customer reviews. Upload only photos and data that are pertinent. Your electrician SEO will be better, you'll be more helpful to Google, and your local ranking will improve the more information you provide.

In that you may broadcast news, events, discounts, and product releases, Google My Business (GMB) profiles are comparable to social networking sites.

For your profile's "Updates" section, be sure to often submit informative updates in your GMB dashboard. Additionally, you should make use of your profile's FAQ area. Take a look at the FAQs of your rivals and incorporate them into your own. They will probably ask the same questions of your company if prospective consumers are asking same questions of your rivals. Monitoring your Q&A section is as vital. In many cases, queries are blatantly intended to be sales leads. Unanswered questions might cost you that consumer if you are not paying attention.

How to Set Up a Google My Business Account

In the words of Google: Use these simple actions for electrician Search Engine Optimization to "turn people who find you on Search & Maps into new customers."

Register for a Google My Business account. You may maintain and improve your business profile with the help of this free account's dashboard. If you don't already have one, you must first sign up for a Gmail account. Also, it's free.

Check Your Company. You must then confirm your business. This calls for Google to provide you a verification code, which can be sent via phone call, postcard addressed to your place of business, or email. You can confirm your address after receiving the code. Your company currently has a Google My Business Page!

Put the finishing touches on. Google will have more information about your company and its ranking in local electrician Search Engine Optimization services for electricians as you submit additional facts. Include the following information in addition to your category, operating hours, phone number, and website link:

add images. A logo and cover photo should be uploaded. To showcase your business, you may use up to 10 images. If you run a shoe shop, for instance, you should submit your top-selling models.

Reviews.  Among the local SEO ranking factors are Google reviews. Encourage clients to submit reviews, and don't forget to reply to all of them—even the unfavorable ones. This demonstrates your credibility and dedication to Google and your consumers.

Posts. You can publish information on your profile about future events or pertinent blog posts. Before Google prompts you to update them, these posts typically exist for a week.

2. Build a Mobile-Friendly Website for Electricians

Nearly 50% of users only conduct internet searches on mobile devices. Consequently, a website's mobile friendliness is a need. Making your website user-friendly for all platforms, including computers, tablets, and smartphones, is a component of website SEO.

Typically, a seasoned SEO company will provide this with technical support. In order to maintain visitor interest and boost conversion rates, you need ensure that your website loads rapidly (preferably in under two seconds).

3. Create More Local Electrician Content

Giving potential clients the information they love or find useful helps them get to know your business and eventually contact when they need your electrical services. This is what local content is all about.

Rich local content helps you rank better for less competitive local keywords and supports your local SEO marketing initiatives for electrical contractors. This undercuts your rivals who are already ranking for competitive, high-volume keywords that are nearly hard to surpass.

Your marketing approach should also include producing local SEO content for electricians that appeals to users in a certain region. For instance, you might write a blog post with energy-saving advice for Chicagoans during the winter.

Optimize your electrician content for local keywords

Local clients should find your web photos, videos, and marketing materials appealing as well. For instance, if you know from keyword research that local clients look for "24/7 electrician," you may incorporate this keyword in your web content to ensure that you appear highly in local search results with electrician Search Engine Optimization.

The results of extensive keyword research will provide crucial details for expanding your business online. You may use this information to inform your local SEO strategy for electrician Search Engine Optimization in order to improve your website's Google ranks and traffic.

4. Build Electrician Brand Authority via Links

A backlink is a link from another website to yours. When Google scans your website and notices that other websites link to yours, it interprets this as a good indicator that you are trustworthy.

One of the trickiest SEO strategies for electricians is getting high-quality backlinks because you have less influence over them. You can attempt to get links naturally by producing high-quality content or by contacting online magazines and websites and asking them to connect to your site.

A reliable digital marketing company can assist you in creating a PR plan that increases online interaction and results in high-quality connections from reliable internet resources.

5. Make Use of Local Directories for Electricians

Getting your electrical company's name, address, and phone number posted in as many business directories as you can is the process of gathering citations.

By doing this, you're demonstrating to search engines like Google and Bing that your company is a reliable and legitimate source of internet data.

Local electrician Search Engine Optimization is improved by citation strategy implementation. Online directories that are widely used include Facebook, Yelp, and Angie's List, among others.

6. Get More Positive Reviews to Rank Higher in Local Searches for Electricians

Your website's "authority" will increase in proportion to the number of 5-star reviews you obtain. Google measures your electrical company's quality using reviews, often known as social proof.

On Google search, companies with a lot of positive reviews do better.

A firm with multiple 4-star ratings, for instance, will rank better than one with just a 5-star one. Volume and rating are therefore important.

All reviews, whether favorable or unfavorable, should be addressed. As long as it's done properly, any action is fine!

Having a review plan in place is also advised, such as asking for evaluations by email or WhatsApp when a project is finished.

Hire Electrician SEO Services for Local Contractors

Although you could apply local SEO for electricians on your own and improve your website and company listing in local search results, it would be more practical to employ professionals to do it for you. There are no fast cuts to success with local SEO, despite the fact that it is free.

So why spend money on local electrician Search Engine Optimization? We'll improve your electrical company's web exposure, assist in positioning it higher than the neighborhood rivals, draw more customers, and raise revenue. Our local SEO for the electrical industry increases the likelihood that new customers will find your company. To learn more, get in touch with Modifyed Digital.

[chroniclesofdenzar]

Do you feel the hair standing up on the back of your neck? DID THAT SHEET JUST MOVE ON ITS OWN?!

Phew! Was just the cat... BUT don't get too comfortable because it's that spooktacular time of year again! Halloween is rapidly approaching and this year brings with it an abundance of... EVIL MONSTERS AND COOL COSTUMES!

Please log in now until October 31st to participate in this year's Halloween event!

The Pumpkin Patch and Jack's Patch are once again being invaded by throngs of evil monsters and need your swords, staves, daggers, bows, axes, bludgeoning-devices, and trained beasts to aid in pushing back the invasion of undead!

This event is open to players of all levels as these enemies scale with you! So jump on in and do your part to push the evil out of Jack's Patch no matter what your level is!

To celebrate our Halloween event, we are offering a bunch of incentives for donations with all proceeds going to fund the sustainability of our game for this year and many years to come.

All contributors of any amount will unlock timed global stat bonuses for THE ENTIRE SERVER. All players will benefit from your donations!

Donations of $5, $10, $20, $30, $50, $100, $500, and $1,000 will receive special rewards through the end of our Halloween event on October 31st.

FOLLOWING THE EVENT there will be a random drawing to determine the winners for the Halloween Raffle Tickets to determine who will win 500, 1500, and 2500 Chrono!

$5: 5 Pumpkin Stalks, 1 Candy, 1 Potion of Energy Restoration

$10: 10,000 crowne, 5 Candy, 1 Bag of Glyphs, 1 One of Us, 1 All World Buffs - 1 Hour

$20: 1 H A L L O W E E N, 10 Halloween Raffle Tickets, 1 Draught of Enlightenment, 1 30 days Membership

$30: 1 Halloween Haunted Chest, 2 H A L L O W E E N, 10 Candy, 2 Summit of Chaos

$50: 1 Equipment Voucher - Halloween (DONATION EXCLUSIVE), to be exchanged at the Artificer's Exchange in Cajar for your choice of: Spider Bite (a single-hand axe on the cutting edge of Halloween Weapon Technology, surely worth dual-wielding given the chance), Hallowed Scythe (taken directly from Death himself), OR the Widowmaker (a powerful bow sure to put down your enemies), 5 Bag of Glyphs, 1 Draught of Enlightenment, 4 Potion of Energy Restoration

$100: 1 Dark Hallowed Spirit Costume (DONATION EXCLUSIVE with 5x Pumpkin Stalk multiplier), 1 Cajarian Star, 2 Glyph of the Champion, 50 Candy

$200: 1 Huge Treasure Chest, 1 Halloween Fantasy Chest, 100 Halloween Raffle Tickets, 3 Glyph of the Champion

$500: 25 Bag of Glyphs, 1000000 crowne, Activate ALL world buffs for EVERYONE for 24 hours AND Class Skill Artifact giving +1 to the class skill OF YOUR CHOICE (choice made upon donation)!

$1000: You paid for months of server time! You will be mentioned by name in the next update AND get to help design a costume, weapon, and set of armor for November's Thanksgiving event which you will also receive for free!

These rewards STACK, so if you donate $50, you get the $5, $10, $20, $30, AND $50 reward all at once, INCLUDING the regular bonus rewards noted on the Donate Now page!

Our goal is to keep Chronicles of Denzar online, and we can only do it with the support of players like you!

P.S. Don't forget to click on the Halloween banner and JOIN a team to see WHO CAN SLAY MORE UNDEAD!

[aparticularbandit]

I agree with your general critique of fourth wall breaking meta-narratives. (I love them to pieces, but can definitely see how characters being written to angst about how they're being written can be...not fulfilling because they're still being written to do that and not truly able to do it themselves the way the narrative wants the reader/player/viewer to believe.)

But if I may offer an alternative explanation re: Monika (not even addressing the console releases, which add an extra level of meta-narrative that I think explain why Monika doesn't have a route but not in a satisfactory way for your critique, I think - and besides, the original game should stand alone without the expanded content the console releases gave it - but that is not the point):

I tend to think that Monika isn't good enough at coding - or doesn't have enough time to get good at it - to make her own route. If she comes to realize over the course of the game that she's in a game and then gains access to the files and code - she has a few days, at most, to get to a level of coding where she can not only write her own route but also get the game to implement it.

Which, yes, Monika does have the initial code, so if she can read it correctly, then she should be able to change and adapt it to get it to do what she wants. But just from my own very limited experience making minor modifications to tumblr pages (and/or themes), it can take hours to try and figure out what I'm doing and how to get the new code to do what I want/need it to do - and then come to find out that no, actually, the code will expressly not do the thing I wanted it to do, even though it should do the thing I told it to do - and sometimes even just copy-pasting the code in runs into issues because there's something screwy in the code already that I have to try and finagle and fix - and then a lot of times I give up and find an easier theme/page because I do not have the coding knowledge to make it function.

Monika starts with playing with the things she has easy access to play with - changing levels in Sayori's character stats and, when she can't get Sayori to function properly, deleting her out entirely (like I do with code I just don't like - only it's easier because Monika can just delete her file). She adds in the buttons to give the player an option to choose her, and if she's following the code correctly, they should function, but they don't function like they do with everyone else, which means she's still doing something wrong, and she can't figure out what that is, which just leads to the code breaking further.

And every time the game gets completely deleted and brought back, Monika forgets all of it and starts from scratch.

That said, I also think Monika very much does have a route (the console releases do not support this, but I'm not talking about those, so!), because you're right! A character like Monika has no reason to not have a route!

Except that a lot of dating sims have a character who is only unlockable after the player has successfully romanced all of the other characters. A character who frequently fits the leadership role related to the other characters that Monika fills.

And I think the game, to an extent, supports this because Monika in her very limited attempts at coding and trying to change the game to get the player onto a route with her as the romancable character, in my opinion, never actually adds anything new to the code, just...breaks it and moves things around or deletes huge chunks of it. But when she has the player locked in the school alone with her and the player is supposed to write a poem for her, there's a chibi Monika to get excited over the not-words chosen the same way that Yuri or Natsuki or Sayori does - and Monika should in no way have the coding skill to put her there, and even if she did, I'm not sure she would have the artistic skill to make a chibi her in the same style as the other three and upload it into the game's code.

So she has to be pulling it from somewhere, which means there must be a chibi of her in the game's files already, which means she has to have a route, she just can't find it or get the player onto it.

(I also think it supports this in that to get the "Good End" of the game, you still have to successfully romance all three girls before Sayori gets deleted, which is what convinces Monika that you actually love them and the Literature Club and etc. But that's less...straight-forward? To me?)

Anyway. Monika thoughts. Which can be ignored. And I apologize if my rambling on this one in particular is. at all a nuisance. I just. have a lot of Monika thoughts.

Something I've mentioned before: I'm not really a fan of the whole fourth-wall breaking meta-awareness thing as a serious plot point. Like, I don't hate when characters break the fourth wall. I think you can get some hilarious gags and bits out of it. But the more it interweaves into the story, the more I start to have problems with it.

I thought I'd take a moment to delve a bit more into that.

Like a lot of people, I discovered Doki Doki Literature Club through word-of-mouth. I heard a lot of people gushing about it. "There's this dating sim that suddenly turns into, like, Silent Hill psychological horror!" And naturally, I had to go check that shit out. That sounds wild.

And it was. The game lived up to its hype, and Monika was every bit the charming yet dangerous menace that I'd heard her to be. At least, at the time. I played the game to its end and I felt satisfied.

But.

More and more, as years pass, I find myself thinking back on Monika. Because the more I try to understand her character, the more the gaps in her complexity become apparent.

Monika's character motivation is that she became aware of her function in a Dating Sim. As the head of the titular Literature Club that serves as the basis for the dating sim, she hosts all of the events, but is not available as a romance option herself.

Infatuation with the player and frustration with the game's design for not giving her a romance route of her own ultimate drives Monika to increasingly desperate lengths. She frantically manipulates the game code in an attempt to force the player to interact with her instead of with the other girls - With horrific consequences for the other girls.

On the surface, it's a really cool idea for a complex meta-villain driven to madness by comprehension of her role as a fictional character.

But the more I think about it? Like.

Okay. Walk with me to this pier.

Monika's sole motivation is that she was pissed off about being excluded from the dating sim's romance routes. So. Here's a question.

Why was she excluded from the romance routes? Why, in a dating sim, would the beautiful, confident, and highly intelligent leader of the girl squad not be considered a viable romance option? Who would actually make a character like Monika and not give her a route?

The answer, of course, is that Monika doesn't have a route because the game needs her not to have one, for the sake of her villainous motivation. That's it. That is the only reason she isn't romanceable: So that she can be driven to madness by not being romanceable.

Her reaction to discovering that she's fictional is similarly suspect. The problem is that she doesn't have a route. And once she obtains the ability to reprogram the game, rather than writing a route for herself, she... starts messing with the other characters' files to try and coerce the player into picking her at selection screens where she is not an option? That's pretty bonkers, Monika.

It doesn't really achieve her goal to do that at all. Because, of course, she can't be allowed to achieve her goal. She can't be allowed to make choices that might actually work. We need her to be the villain of the game. So she can't be allowed, within the constraints of her writing, to do things that might actually get her what she wants.

Are you starting to see the problem here?

Monika's fourth-wall awareness doesn't give her more agency in the story; It actually gives her less. Because she is, like every other character, still a slave to the writer's pen. But the illusion of freedom forces her to engage directly with the creative choices driving the words from her mouth, rather than sheltering under the narrative's pretense of free will. It exposes her directly to questionable creative decisions that could normally be ignored.

She is still just as much of a stick figure as Sayori, Yuri, and Natsuki. But because the game pretends that she makes choices, it lays the bare the choices that were nonetheless made for her, never giving her a chance to actually grasp for what she wants - And then ultimately punishing her for the decisions she didn't make.

This is how every character is, when you get down to brass tacks. But the fourth-wall serves as insulation between audience and creator, so that we can buy into the illusion that there are real people onscreen making real choices. But once you break that fourth wall? It becomes that much harder to take the character at face value, and to overlook the puppet strings holding them up.

And this ultimately makes the character shallower, not deeper. Monika, ultimately, did nothing wrong because Monika did nothing. She is a villain solely because she was created to be a villain; With the puppet strings so thoroughly exposed, she is capable of no more complex characterization than that.

[barbwritesstuff]

(spoilers below for people who haven't done the haunted route)

barb lemme tell you. i went into this game not knowing about the ghost route. though i had done a bunch of playthroughs with mcs of variable levels of suspicion/aggression/pack protectiveness (and was really enjoying myself!), for some reason i had never bothered selecting to kill the stray. this time around i decided to make a very cold mc, with a soft spot only for vicky, and wanted to see who would prevent carrie from dying if i agreed with vicky about killing her.

barb. i was. i was just. i think i actually gasped out loud. i knew i chose to let carrie die but somehow i wasn't expecting her to actually? die???? 🤡 i was sitting there like 😱😱😱.........👁️👄👁️ for a full five minutes after it happened. played forward a few pages waiting to see if somehow she wasn't actually dead bc vampire stuff idk and i kept checking the stats page without her relationship bar showing up and the whole time my brain was just static like ?*??? ??*!??**!?!! !?*??

i ended up accidentally triggering the haunted route since i stuck with vicky and when the bathroom scene happened i literally dropped my phone and clapped my hands to my cheeks like some little cartoon girl. i'm about to go replay that route with like five different characters now but holy shit, i was absolutely not expecting that. 0% prepared. like it changes! the story! so drastically?!?!? yeah it's still the same GENERAL thing but i felt like i had unexpectedly gotten warped into some alternate reality. damn. anyway, just wanted to express my appreciation for this story and your writing and all these lovely characters you created, and thought you deserved be pleased about your secret little route scaring the shit outta me for a minute there. you've put an incredible amount of work and care into blood moon, and it really shines through -- i replay from the beginning with most of the updates and remembering all the little details about the characters as i play feels like coming home to a nice cup of tea and a cozy blanket after a long day. thank you for sharing your work with us here. and don't forget to look after yourself with the same amount of care you put into your writing! 💜

Thank you so much, anon! I am so glad you enjoyed the ghost route. No one messaged me about it for months and I remember thinking a) no one is playing that route, or b) no one likes it, so it's really cool to see people discovering and enjoying it now.

Carrie was never really much good at being a werewolf, or a vampire.

But she's damn good at being a ghost.

[theofficersacademy]

We’re officially one month into 2024! With that, our first event of the year has come to an end.

Housekeeping

Current Month in TOA: Horsebow Moon

Our mission board this month is for the Blue Lions house! Please refer to this post for a list of new tasks. Don't forget that you'll need a Blue Lions affiliated character in order to participate in any of the main mission tasks.

Information regarding how to claim your Apollyon Ouranos grand prizes can be found in this post [here].

While you're at it, don’t forget to leave feedback on our [feedback form] about your thoughts on the event (or otherwise)!

However, when submitting feedback on behalf of another person, please be sure that the other person wants you to submit feedback. Lately, when we've reached out to individuals that feedback allegedly affects, we have been told that there isn't a problem or that they're handling it themselves. For the record, we want our members to handle problems themselves first, and then call on the mods to enforce boundaries.

We would also like to remind everyone to read and reread both our server rules & official rules, especially if you haven't freshened up on them lately. We've received some feedback lately about behavior which may not fall under the umbrella of accepted community etiquette, but does not actually constitute breaking rules. This etiquette should not be referred to as a formal rule, and so there should be no expectation on the mod team to enforce it. There are no "hidden" rules. This is not to be confused with setting reasonable boundaries and having those boundaries encroached on. That in itself constitutes the breaking of a rule, and you should approach a mod about it.

Last month, we announced that we will begin requiring that everyone link skill point trackers to their stats pages. We will begin enforcing this rule on March 1st, so don't delay. This is ONLY to track skill points and will not replace your regular stats page. If you would like to use a template, we have several listed on our app page. You may also make your own, as long as it breaks down how many skill points you have and where you got them. If you need help figuring out your skill points, please reach out to Mod Rai.

Other

February Mun Birthdays: Oro (3rd), Mar (9th), Ari (15th), Kuja (18th), Squids (24th), Neku (24th)

February Muse Birthdays: F!Mark (1st), Nephenee (1st), Hilda (3rd), Leif (3rd), Python (5th), Kent (13th), Freyja (14th), Sain (14th), Alm (19th), Felix (20th), Knoll (22nd), Nyna (22nd), Celica (23rd), Nel (24th)

First-year mun anniversaries this month: Tcheschire (16th), Aria (26th)

Second-year mun anniversaries this month: Vergil (10th)

Fourth-year mun anniversaries this month: Ren (20th)

First-year muse anniversaries this month: Raven (16th)

Muses who have been in the group for a solid year will also be granted an Academy Brooch to put in their inventory. It doesn’t do anything. It just lets others know your character has been around the block. These characters are also granted a new opportunity to change houses if they wish to do so.

- The House Leaders