#even though it would take a lot of work

[thatpyroblogs]

I really love this idea. I also have way too many thoughts on it so I'm going to put them under a readmore.

I can see Athena winning by convincing Paris by making a great case that just taking Helen won't end well for him. But if he picks her, she will give him a great war general who can help him obtain Helen without worry of repercussion. Her argument is convincing enough for him to pick her.

Personally, I also like the idea that Athena would erase Odysseus's memories when she takes him to Troy. Don't have to worry about your new war general trying to escape if he thinks he's willingly came to your city (without Penelope, Telemachus or his parents there isn't much incentive to stay the ruler of a tiny island when you can be a famous general of a great city instead). Plus Athena makes the mistake of thinking Penelope won't be able to amass the help she would need to get Odysseus back.

Paris uses Odysseus to help him work towards the thing he really wants, Helen. Thus Odysseus would begin take out the suitors who swore the oath and would come to Menelaus's aid if they were to kidnap Helen. Just imagine spymaster Odysseus plotting the assassinations of Menelaus's potential allies to slowly but surely get Paris closer to his goal of taking Helen as his wife.

Penelope would learn of her husband's fate through a vision from Hera (who would act to Penelope as Athena acted for Odysseus in the Iliad). I'd imagine Hera would not only be unhappy about Athena winning, but also because she tore apart a happy marriage. Hera would encourage Penelope to go to Agamemnon and Menelaus to gather support and warn them of what Paris was plotting. Hera might even work some divine magic in order to convince the brothers that what Penelope says is true.

The tricky part for this story that still needs hashing out is figuring out what allies are still alive and which of those alive would be easily convinced to join the war effort. The ties of some of the suitors to the Argonauts might be a good option to explore there. I've been using this map to kind of plot out who would most likely be dead by who is the closest to Troy and thus the easiest to kill off first. Though rumors of suitors dying off could be a way that some of the other suitors are convinced to join the fight against Troy.

After figuring out who is alive for the fight would also help determine what bits of the original story might still happen (albeit with changes given Penelope might encounter issues Odysseus did not). I'm thinking Penelope might go the route of disguising herself as a man, with the help of Hera, so that she can fight on the front lines. Agamemnon and Menelaus would know the truth.

Another change I can see happening is Diomedes, and thus by extension his comrades like Sthenelus and Euryalus, starting out as helping the Trojans, because Athena tells him to and I could also see Athena neglecting to mention that Paris has been having Odysseus take out suitors. Once Diomedes figures out that Athena has messed with Odysseus's head, and that Paris is having suitors killed off, I can see him switching sides and becoming an ally for Penelope. This would give her an ally who has access to the inside of Troy.

There's also great potential for Odysseus to have moments where he thinks something is wrong with his memories. Imagine him watching Hector and Andromache just being a loving couple and feeling like he's missing something important. Imagine the birth of Astyanax and Odysseus once again feeling like he should be remembering something important.

This is again just what came to my mind when you suggested Athena winning that apple. I'd really like to write this story, but I also know it would take ages to write out and man that whole war bit is going to require a lot of reading, rereading, and notetaking/marking of my copy of the Iliad.

Odysseus of Troy au

A friend of mine misspoke and said ‘Odysseus of Troy’ instead of ‘Ithaca’. 

And thus, this au was born:

What if Paris had chosen Athena in the Goddess’s beauty contest to receive her offer of wisdom and battle tactics?

Instead of giving these qualities to him directly she has him kidnap Odysseus as an advisor.

Who would go:

Penelope would organise for the forces of Ithaca to travel to Troy under Eurylochus to retrieve her husband. I also imagine that Agamemnon and Menelaus would bring some forces as a favour to Penelope (they have family connections to her through Clytemnestra and Helen). Achilles and the myrmidons might still show up for glory, despite not having personal stakes. Overall there are way fewer people going to Troy as Odysseus is not Helen. 

The gods’ favour:

Assuming the Trojans refuse to hand Odysseus over in diplomatic talks, they go to war. 

Athena favours the Trojans in this version. Hera favours the Greeks. Aphrodite really wants Paris dead so generally supports the Greek warriors but she doesn’t hate all the Trojans and still protects her son Aeneas. The other Gods fill pretty much the same roles.

Odysseus’ experience:

In this version of the Iliad, Odysseus would make several escape attempts throughout the story but would be thwarted by Athena and the Trojans. 

Odysseus would also be uncooperative in supplying the Trojans with strategies. They consider just handing him over but fear going against Athena’s will and losing her favour. There would be an interaction between Odysseus and Athena similar to the moment in book 3 when Aphrodite threatens Helen.

The war’s end:

The war would probably end diplomatically as ,after a time, it becomes increasingly pointless for all involved. Odysseus would be of no use to the Trojans while being uncooperative. Priam, feeling guilty about keeping a father from his wife and son, would decide to return him. Paris would put up less of a fuss about losing a prisoner than a bride.

Athena out of spite at the outcome would guide some Greeks into Troy to steal some prizes. It would not be a full scale sacking of Troy due to having fewer troops, but it would satisfy them to be happy to return home. 

If anyone has any ideas they’d like to add I’d love to see them

[mossy-paws]

these fuckass robots that I hate /aff (Ultrakill x PHIGHTING!)

the girls are PHIGHTING! again

[gideonisms]

As always wishing there was a socially acceptable way to simply say "I'm about to get weird and act strange for a little while and it will look unsettling from the outside but I promise it doesn't hurt anything and I'll be back to normal later" or "it is going to take me so long to complete this minor task that doesn't really affect anyone else, but I promise it will get done eventually, all is well" or even "the way I am doing this will seem counterintuitive to you but trust me that there's a good reason"

[puppyeared]

learning abt friendship decay and "not reaching out to your friends for months at a time unprompted is not neurotypical behaviour" has me feeling a certain way

[canisalbus]

I just recently started following you so i don't have the full lore of your murderous gay religiously traumatized doggos, BUT, from my understanding, they are Italian and i don't know what part of Italy they are from, yet i can't help headcanoning Vasco as Tuscan, while Machete is probably from some part of Veneto. And as an Italian who has heard Tuscans and Veneto dialet, well it's an hilarious mental image.

Vasco is indeed Tuscan, Florentine to be specific. He comes from a wealthy and influential noble family that has lived in Florence for centuries. He's proud of his roots, and it's usually easy for strangers to tell where he's from. He's a resonably successful politician and has worked as an ambassador and representative of Florence on numerous occasions.

Machete is originally Sicilian (ironically about as far from Veneto as possible), although he was taken to mainland at young age and has lived in several places since then, before ending up in Rome. The way I see it, he exhibits very little local color, his demeanor and (even though Italian hadn't become a standardized language yet) way of speaking are formal, neutral and scarcely give away any hints about his personal history, at least in the 16th century canon.

[tomurakii]

Look Kristen is a kid so its understandable and Ally is great and I'm sure has a plan for this. But Kristen should not be a cleric lol. I hope that after the wizard synogue incident Cassandra takes the Archfey deal to keep herself safe and Kristen loses her powers because honestly based on her RP that girl has NO wisdom. She has NEGATIVE wisdom. If you don't like the gods currently on offer but can't take responsibility for keeping a new one alive (because you're a kid) then you should just respec. Pick a charisma-based spellcaster class that doesn't require a bunch of work like the Int classes or responsibility like the Wis classes. Give up your soul to Fig (or just give it back to newly-Archfey Cassandra) for Warlock spells idk.

[havenesc]

I am having a blast reading through your rancher Jason au (and the horsegirl one too!) LOVE the slightly spooky resurrected Jason, it's so fun!

And Jason in your art looks so youthful, especially without the white streak🥺🥺 The resemblance to baby Robin Jay is just. ouugh. He's even smiling and laughing!! Imagine the emotional crisis Bruce would go through if he finds a photo of him like that.

Since I'm a city person who knows nothing about ranching: what are some of the things they have to do? does Jason have a favorite or most despised task?

WAHHHH thank you!! I imagine Jason has like. You know the light reflection in animals' eyes when you shine a flashlight in the difference? He probably gets shot at at least once by his well-meaning colleagues if he has to step out for something at night and they're also out there. God help him.

I think DC's biggest drawback on Jason (art-wise) is making him look like he's 35 with a mortgage and the IRS knocking on his door -- I know that's not old, but half the heartbreaking thing about Jason is that he's like. Nineteen. He's so young. At oldest he's like 24. He shouldn't be swimming in that soft baby fat, but he should still be youthful. Thank you anon I absolutely have a scene planned where Bruce sees his smiling happy photos and god he can't even remember when he saw those expressions on Jason's face it hurts

FULL DISCLAIMER, I only worked somewhat on a ranching operation as a small kid running the cattle chutes and only because the cowboys thought it was funny that I had to use my whole body weight to lift the chute divider. I worked on a horse ranch in Texas for most of my life (and still do on weekends) but that's not the same as a north rural Montana ranching! I have been doing a lot of research to compensate so I'm not just flying by the seat of my anecdotal evidence pants.

They have a lot of tasks -- there's no such thing as a comprehensive list, as ranching changes what needs doing by the season, the week, the day, but there's all sorts of things.

Tagging calves' ears, branding, vaccinating, sorting (weaning). Cows get moved from pasture to pasture depending on how the pasture is looking to keep it growing. Fencelines have to be checked and mended, lest the cows get in with another rancher's herd. Hay needs to be grown and cut and baled -- some of it to keep for the winter months, some of it to sell to other ranchers. Sometimes other ranchers need help with chores, so you go over there to assist for the day. Sometimes cattle get lost between moving from point A to point B, and you have to go into the bush to recover the cattle. Sometimes you have a bull that tears down a fence and he's a mean sonofabitch and it takes three people on horseback alternating between dragging him forward and running away from him to get him back where he belongs.

Horses need care too. Feeding, bringing up from the pasture, maintenance. Some horses need to be broke to ride, and then it's very common to ride the young, spooky (term for flighty) inexperienced horses out for menial task days like moving stock or checking fences, so they become dependable ranch stock like the older ones when it comes time to do real work like sorting or handling cattle up close for branding/doctoring. Some days you don't work with the cows at all, your tractor for moving hay is down and it's up to you to figure out how to fix it.

I'd say Jason's favorite task is probably moving cows. It's a long ass day, guaranteed to be 10-12 hours, but it's somewhat uncomplicated -- this would be the time where most of the hands start fucking around with each other and making a lot of jokes and daring each other to do real dumb shit that makes McLaren yell at them.

He likes it a lot less when it's bringing cows out of the foothills with a lot of thick brush, but it's still a good day's work.

His least favorite is breaking ice in water troughs in the rough winter. That shit sucks. I don't care who you are. Despite having a mallet, his hands always get wet, and there's always the risk of being caught out in a sudden snowstorm depending on the pasture.

[sysig]

Moving out of concept art and into what’s Actually Done! Showcased here are a couple expressions for both pets so far with their dialogue balloons - mostly pulled from NPC references, but I did get a screenshot of my pet in-game using it in reply, not just in Kinzchat! So cute <3

They’re both introducing themselves here with the names I’ve given them, but I really wanted the process to be as Webkinz-like as possible, with a few extras :)

Which started with being able to pick pet pronouns! Thinking about it now, Webkinz doesn’t ask for player pronouns, does it? :0 But I wanted that to be an option too! It was...something of a process to go from one set of adjustable pronouns to three, especially as I haven’t played with any Ghosts that give you the option to assign both the character(s)’ and player’s pronouns! I had to give it a fair bit of thought of what to check against and how to not have them interfere with or overwrite each other (which did happen early on lol), but I got it! Only took a couple hours of frustrated-sleepily hammering away haha

These screenshots were taken pretty much back-to-back - the only thing changed here is what shell is being used, and shell-checking has come in soooo clutch here ahh, thank goodness ♥ Many and big thank-yous again to @cherryistired​​ for helping me troubleshoot menu shell-switching! Exactly what I needed, am very grateful :D

My original concept sketch of this process was perhaps a little overconfident in what I could accomplish for my first time playing in code lol; I have seen custom pronoun-setting though! And I think I probably could do that, but multiple pronouns... Again, I think I could, but... The name of the game was limiting my scope (lol) to see how many Different things I could implement in short order, so I’ll gladly take my three sets of pronouns and pet names vs. player name and go haha

It’s also a bit funny to look back on this little Diamond - I really haven’t drawn her much! Kind of loosely following Webkinz’ style, her face looks especially silly I think haha

I’ve also got my main menu balloon looking rather fabulous imo ✨ Technically there’s two - More and Back - and most of the features are Very Much in the Coming Soon To A Ghost Near You phase lol, but they’re all {bracketed} up to be filled in as I get their assets made :D There’s still a few placeholder pieces here and there - especially since I haven’t gotten to inter-Ghost communication just yet. Everything in its own time!

I ended up having a lot-a lot of fun with naming and renaming, I went a little silly with Just How Many reactions the pets could have to their names haha

They’ll refuse to be named after any of the Hosts directly, and they’ll give you a side-eye if the name is Close To but not Quite a match haha

The mischievous expression has gotten an awful lot of use already! Although I’ll probably change the “Nu-uh!” expression to something else once I have an alternative that fits better - I need that gradient-to-mad expression set so bad!

And although they won’t accept NPC names, you can name yourself after a Host, and they’ll react! :D There really is so much flexibility for Easter Eggs like this ahh, it’s fun!

All told, I ended up playing the most in Bootend, Menu, Nameteach (hgh), and String, although I’m realizing now that maybe a lot of the stuff I put in String belongs in Word...? It’s all been OnFunctions anyhow, and it’s organized in a way that makes sense to me but is perhaps not as intended lol - nothing says I can’t go back in and move some stuff around, as long as it continues to function properly haha. I’ve kept my error log neat and tidy!! As many times as I’ve broken something, I’ve fixed it thereafter! :D It’s a very satisfying process ♪

[icewindandboringhorror]

boy in silly sitting positions compilation

[britneyshakespeare]

I think everyone wants to own a complete works of Shakespeare and I want to get everyone a complete works of Shakespeare that is right for them

[plasma-studios]

my hot take is that good representation means diverse representation. including rep that would be deemed shitty

[cuteniaarts]

Hey 🗑️🔥 gang (@katkastrofa @rokurookajima @shadelorde)…

Heard you guys like feral women 😏😏😏

[transmasc-rose]

Amy/Rory I Saw the TV Glow au:

Amy as Maddy/Tara, who ran away and never came home, who talks about things that can't be real (the TV show, the TARDIS, a world where they're strong, a world where they're something better).

Rory as Owen/Isabel, meek and yet loyal and yet terrified of his best friend and what she means. And what she says. And what she shows him.

Doctor Who, the TARDIS, the Doctor, all wrapped up into the role of the Pink Opaque, the TV show from their youth, and something Amy grasps onto and never let's go. Something Rory abandons for a normal life.

And yet.

[amidnightqueery]

I don't hate my job or anything, but man, being a float educator is so fucking thankless

[volivolition]

prepping for my Bonus Days. i love tutorial agent lmao

[spyres]

if we do get scorbunny as the fire starter in plza like people are predicting i really hope that the starters get regional variants again instead of megas otherwise it's going to fuck with my bunny family backstory