#for example via chat :3

[circeyoru]

Agajajkalobesbsj love the 2 part for unwanted soul but will we have part 3 for it ? Like meeting the other guys and them reactions when they found the reader is Alastor soul owner ?

Haha. Good question. There could be a part 3 about meeting the others. But I doubt they'll be learning that Reader has Alastor's soul. Despite everything, the canon stuff did all happen, namely Alastor threatening Husk when he said Alastor was also on a leash.

Here's the kicker. Alastor saw the word 'leash' as an insult to his love and devotion for Reader, hence why he's mad and snapped at Husk. What 'you don't know/understand anything about me' type of play here.

Another point is Alastor might see the fact as his soul not being his to own as a weakness to you, like he's not strong enough when we all know he is. It's others' reaction that he doesn't like. An example is someone reacting negatively to Alastor's soul not being his or like how Husk phases it as 'leash' just doesn't have a nice ring to it.

So that's why Alastor wouldn't let others know. Plus it's a secret only for the two of you, yeah?

Now for Reader. Reader definitely wouldn't announce to people that they have an Overlord's soul to push around, especially when that Overlord is Alastor. Even more so when Alastor is that possessive and obsessive toward Reader. Red flags as far as the eye can see. This Reader, Page Demon, loves simplistic and telling people about owning Alastor's soul is just an invitation to trouble from all directions. Reader here collects knowledge and information, so Reader is also well aware of what this information can bring.

Briefly, here's your scenes in the pilot and Season 1:

Pilot: You watched the advertisement of Charlie's hotel and send Alastor over to the hotel. (behind the scenes: Alastor settled in and contacted you via the radio and you two chatted for a while) Episode 1: (near the end) You saw the news that the exterminations are happening again in 6 months and questioned Alastor what happened, to which he told you it happened after Charlie went to the meeting in place of Lucifer Episode 2: You contacted Lucifer and asked if he knew about the exterminations, he had no idea. When you returned home, the radio and TV was playing Alastor and Vox's little spat. Afterwards, Alastor contacted you to brag and you listened while reading Episode 3: Alastor told you Carmilla's secret that she killed an angel. You allowed Alastor to see you this one time as a form of 'reward' Episode 4: Alastor comes over and you two enjoy your time together. While you also try to figure out how angels can be killed Episode 5: Lucifer comes over to complain to you about Alastor and Charlie's over-reliance on Alastor, but he leaves just as Alastor starts to contact you through the radio. Alastor gets pissy about Husk using the word 'leash' to describe his relationship with you while you said there's nothing going on. Alastor whines even more that you can't watch your newest show Episode 6: Alastor tells you the extermination will target the hotel first and asks what you want to do. Your order's the same: keep the hotel up and running, aid in the princess' wishes Episode 7: Rosie nearly reveals you to Charlie but shut up about it when Alastor shook his head before Charlie can see. (behind the scenes: Rosie asks about you and Alastor happily says that he's working on the romantic relationship, Rosie gives more advice) Episode 8: You basically showed up to show the battle take place, but ended up joinning. Read part 2

Note: I think that's all. Any questions?

{Unwanted Soul} = Requested

[Yandere!Alastor x Owner of his Soul!Reader] Part 1 — Poll — Part 2

Masterlist

[yridenergyridenergy]

The wholesome-ish friendship between Shinya and Kyo

Their latest playful Q&A in Haiiro no Ginka vol. 100 has prompted me to compile examples of this weird but overall wholesome relationship that Kyo and Shinya have and which is not obvious at first.

Situation #1

In October 2017, Kyo gifted Shinya with a custom white version of a MadaraNingen one-piece. As far as I remember, that article of clothing was not available for purchase in white at all, to the public. And of course, we all know that Shinya prefers to wear white.

Situation #2

I think that in response to Shinya sharing a video of him briefly playing with the minicars that were sold as tour goods in This Way to Self-Destruction, Kyo posted a story on Instagram of him revving up a bunch of mini-cars and persistently making them hit his phone propped up on a counter and displaying a picture of Shinya. At age 43. To which Shinya made an Instagram post vaguely hinting that: "Good children should not play with the mini-cars to hit someone's picture!"

Kyo's Instagram Story "The proper way to use mini-cars" video

Shinya's translated response

Situation #3

In late 2022-early 2023, Shinya publicly celebrated his bandmates' birthdays via emojis on Twitter, and Kyo was the only one to respond, in kind.

Situation #4

Kyo posted a cryptic picture of Shinya's video meeting with Mana in an Instagram Story and he has mentioned on Twitter at least once that he was watching Shinya Channel (the making of the FaFa onigiri).

In the same vein, Shinya took his failed attempt at needle-felting a pink bunny in March 2022 and turned it into a miniature hammer-wielding bunny in October 2022, in response to sukekiyo unveiling their Mosaic Shoujo PV which featured Kyo in the killer bunny suit.

Situation #5

This very old video of Kyo teasing Shinya by pinching the side of his dress, Shinya reacting by pushing Kyo a bit and Kyo falling into a robot dance in response.

Situation #6

The coffee maker. In one of the live talks held during the COVID-19 pandemic at concert venues, Shinya mentioned having a coffee maker which was of no use to him, and Kyo expressed interest in taking it from him. Later, in the Galacaa livestream talk between the two, it was revealed that Shinya had promised to give Kyo his coffee maker, but he never pulled through on that offer. Kyo, sporting a doodled face to hide his own, insistently questioned Shinya on this unreliability when the topic was brought up by fans in the comments. Shinya kind of struggled but ended up explaning that the coffee maker was really useless because of a defect, that it would not have been an appropriate gift anymore. But he forgot to update Kyo about it after he tried to contact the manufacturer. Kyo replied like: "Oh, alright then."

At some point, Kyo took the matter to Twitter, confronting Shinya about it with their respective member photos to illustrate the dialogue, and Shinya replied the same way.

Situation #7

In that same livestream, Shinya is so used to Kyo's bullshit by now that he completely ignores Kyo's doodle face sheet and casually leans forward to look past him and at the interviewer, sat on Kyo's right. After a while of this, the interviewer points out to Shinya that Kyo is insistently staring at him with this disturbing face, which is when Shinya becomes startled and nervously laughs upon realizing that, also making Kyo chuckle.

Situation #8

More often than others, Shinya and Kyo are documented chatting on the chairs backstage while they wait for everyone to be ready to start the show. Maybe there's something to be said of how they are the two members of the band to leave the stage the quickest, while Kaoru, Toshiya and Die stay for a while to throw picks.

Situation #9

Miscellaneous pictures of the two:

Situation #10

Apparently it was Shinya's earbuds that Kyo used to play with the cat (also Shinya's?) in this famous old video.

Situation #11

Other interactions on Twitter include commentary regarding the song battles that fans were voting on via that same website, during live broadcasts from their manager Fujieda on Galacaa. Kyo and Shinya were the only two members reacting to the songs that were pulled out of the box, Kyo sometimes replying to Shinya's own tweets wondering what he meant or outright questioning his preference.

Another interaction consisted in Kyo copying Shinya's tweets regarding the release of their Phalaris album and twisting Shinya's cute comments into hellish versions.

Situation #12

Probably a bunch of elusive comments throughout the years, but here's an example of something that Shinya said about Kyo in a magazine interview.

Situation #13

In Haiiro no Ginka vol. 100, the members were asked to send each other member five questions. Some chose to personalize them based on what they actually wanted to ask of the others, while a couple decided to send the same questions to all, but members were not told who the questions came from. Kyo picked up on that anonymous part of the game and when answering Shinya's set of questions, he ended each of his short answers with a second sentence that can either just be the Kansai dialect for: "Aren't you Shinya!", or in other dialects, translates more to: "Shinya, you bastard!" hahah. From what I saw, nobody else hinted at who they thought the questions came from in their answers. In reverse, Kyo took up two of his five alloted questions for Shinya with the simple statement: "You don't know you're dead yet!", a quote from Fist of the North Star which is highly intimidating as it hints that someone has defeated the character so easily and lightning-fast that they are a dead man standing, their body having trouble catching up with the reality that they were slaughtered. Shinya, in response to that repeated tease, stubbornly replies in his polite and formal Japanese that: "No, I'm not dead." Their Q&A with the other members were not nearly that quirky.

Situation #14

At his SERAPH birthday concert in 2023, Shinya said that his three treasures in life are:

DIR EN GREY

SERAPH

sukekiyo

Situation #15

Kyo replying to Shinya's post featuring a very old picture of Kyo (which was however respectfully hidden by Phalarisu-kun) by pulling out the oldest/youngest postcards of Shinya he could find, also commenting to paraphrase Shinya: "Postcards that probably no one has anymore." His own postcard depicting him peeks from underneath.

Shinya replied to that with: "I tried to look for it but couldn't find it 🥺"

Situation #16

On Twitter, Shinya posted a photo with other artists which he explained as: "Yesterday, we had a birthday celebration for everyone born in February and March 🎂 Happy birthday everyone 🎉🎉🎉"

To which Kyo directly replied: "I wasn't invited." (born February 16th)

And Shinya responded with: "The DIR EN GREY guys are a bit mean 🥺"

Kyo never replied to that.

Situation #17

Going to combine two things considering how long ago they were.

Shinya and Kyo were the first members of Dir en grey to meet, and the day right after I posted this compilation happened to be the 28th anniversary of when they first performed together.

There's also an anecdote that, way back then, no one in the band knew how to contact Kyo because none of them had his phone number, but eventually Shinya just casually revealed that he had it all along and said: "Oh I'll just call him"

Situation #18

Shinya and Kyo are the only members who are clearly dog lovers in the band, while Die and Toshiya are part of the cat team. Shinya used to have a dog (chihuahua?) and Kyo now has Pun-cha. Shinya recently wore a sweater with a dog on it.

Situation #19

In a tweet that Kyo has since deleted, he wrote that if there was one grudge he still held, it was that he never appeared on the cover of a Rockin'f magazine. Shinya also wasn't featured, so he added that while he doesn't have a grudge against them, he has declined interviews and comments for a certain magazine after that.

Situation #20

During their European tour 2024, Kyo and Shinya embarked in a playful spat on Twitter, seemingly out of boredom while traveling on the tour bus. It was funny the way it culminated in both of them forcing the other to subscribe to their fan clubs to find out more. On Kyo's side at least, I didn't see anything related to that on kyo-online for real hah.

Situation #21

Shinya took the time to snap a picture of Petit Brabançon playing on the Yunika Vision screens while he was out solving a game, then posting that on Twitter and promoting Petit Brabancon. " I heard Kyo sing while solving a mystery in Shinjuku"

He also made numerous mentions of the Petit Brabancon posters around Gorilla Hall in his video touring that venue:

... Did I miss any? And there will undoubtedly be more to come!

Thank you very much to shinyaburashka, mementoboni, lamenty45 and degtau for your help!

[laora-ryn]

fr3-d1, [error noises], and Alice Dyer

So this may have been done before idk, I don't keep up with the online fandom too much! But I went through episode by episode looking for Freddy interactions, and despite what everyone in-show says, there aren't a ton of crashes/errors so far? However, there is a bunch of weird, unexplained instances of Freddy, et al acting independently!

Alice calls this out specifically in episode 21; on five separate occasions (episodes 1, 9, 14, 19, and 21), Chester reads an incident about or mentioning the Magnus Institute to Sam. The only time a TMI statement is read in a different configuration than this Chester-Sam combo, is when Chester reads the doppelganger case to Celia.

On a slightly separate note, as far as I can tell, the error beeps have actually only ever happened in Alice's presence, despite her and Colin's insistence that it's super buggy and crashes often:

2 jmj errors, in episode 3 and episode 17

one example of Freddy reacting to something Alice says out of nowhere in episode 5

Freddy also crashes Alice's computer when Sam asks her about TMI in episode 19, forcing her to suddenly have time to chat

This…feels like a little more than a coincidence, to me?

At this point, I'm less wondering "why is Chester so interested in Sam" - that's either relatively straightforward (look into TMI, save Jon and Martin from a terrible fate), or some plot twist I can't imagine that's way different from that!

Now, after doing all this reading, I'm a little more interested in what Freddy, or Chester, or whatever overlap exists between them, has against Alice!!

Under the cut is a summary of all the autonomous actions as of episode 21, grouped by the apparent source and sorted by date:

Definitively Chester:

Episode 9, 8 March: Chester starts reading the cursed dice statement on his own, without Sam interacting with his computer

Episode 17, 4 Apr: Chester reads a universe-hopping statement to Celia

Episode 21, 12 Apr: Alice intercepts a Magnus Institute incident report on Sam's terminal, being read out by Chester. Freddy makes several disapproving beeps when she deletes it

Definitively Jon:

Episode 7, 12 Feb: Sam receives an email from a "John" with an internal email address, with Gerry's name and address

Freddy, otherwise unspecified:

Episode 3, 22 Jan: Alice receives a jmj error on her computer, which Colin troubleshoots. Freddy sasses back at them both via error beeps

Episode 5, 5 Feb: Alice: "what the hell is wrong with everyone today?" OIAR computer, not having been touched or interacted with: [error noise]

Episode 17, 4 Apr: Alice receives a jmj error on her computer, which Gwen troubleshoots. Freddy emits error beeps often, but not as snarkily as it did in episode 3 imo

Episode 19, 11 Apr: Sam asks Alice to talk with him about the Magnus Institute. Immediately, Alice's computer throws an error, like it wants her to stop working and talk with Sam

"Someone," "the system":

Episode 4, 29 Jan: "the system" sends Alice a notification that Sam searched for "Magnus" and "protocol"

Episode 4, 29 Jan: Gwen receives an email from an unknown source showing Lena trying to kill Klaus. She apparently receives this multiple times before she confronts Lena in episode 7 (approx. 2 weeks)

Episode 20, 12 Apr: Sam has received an email from a garbled email address he can't reply to, with a ton of attachments from 1999 regarding the Magnus institute, Starkwall, and William Price (the Response Dept head)

Colin's extracurricular activities, just for completion's sake:

Episode 1, 9 Jan: Colin sneaks back into the office after shift to find a computer running, which he verbally threatens before shutting off

Episode 7, 12 Feb: Colin attacks Sam for bringing a phone into his office; he is put on mental health leave

Episode 10, 9 Mar: Colin sneaks back into the office to dig into the computers some more. He is disappointed that Alice is out, because he wants her opinion on something

[blakbonnet]

AUTHOR OF THE WEEK: @clairegregoryau 💕

Everytime the topic of fandom kindness and community comes up, of helping each other out and fostering a quiet corner where people can be themselves, most people in our little fandom think of Claire. She's written over a million words of OFMD fic and read even more, and you can always see so so many recs over on her twitter. Incredible good vibes, and an author who truly lives to lift other authors up. She also does SO SO much for fic authors over on the OFMD Fic Club server <3 And she was incredibly kind and shared her entire writing process with me:

What's your writing process like? Do you start with the beginning or the end? Do you write in order or as the scenes come to you?

I’m a huge advance planner, which is a process that has developed for me over more than 25 years of writing original fiction. I’ll get whacked with a story idea, then I’ll sit down and set out the central kernel of that idea, and where it needs to start, where it needs to end, and what the turning points need to be to get there.

A lot of the time I use a three-act structure, largely because Jenkins has talked about OFMD using that structure (one example here). So that makes it easy for me to hold to the canon beats when I’m writing AU stories, or to mirror them in canon-era stories, which is also something I try to do most of the time. With long experience (and now 1.7 million words of OFMD fic written (!)), I find this part of the process really easy. I’ll usually do that plotting by hand-writing out my notes, because it really fires up a different part of your brain.

Because I am such an advance planner, I do tend to write in a completely linear way from start to finish (I also pretty commonly post my long-fics as I write- each chapter goes up as soon as it’s finished and has a final editing pass). Punching through it in a linear way, knowing the ending that I’m working towards and being enthusiastic to get there, really keeps me motivated.

I do all of my writing in 30-minute sprints at the OFMD Fic Club Discord, where we’ve built a lovely and LOUDLY enthusiastic writing community that anyone is welcome to hop into 24/7. For those who find the constant chat a bit overwhelming, we also have a Quiet Focus Sprints channel. Again via long practice, I’m a very fast writer, but that’s accelerated a lot more over the last couple of years, paradoxically because I couldn’t write the way I used to anymore.

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that includes some fun brain impacts at times, and it’s really hit my working memory especially. I used to be able to hold all the strands of a complicated story together in my head as I wrote, but now I can’t do that as easily. So that’s why the outline is important for me, so I never lose track of the idea- I’ll also do a quick outline at the start of each chapter I’m writing that notes what needs to happen, and then I’ll write in what I call layers, getting down whatever I can first, and then doing sweeps back through it to add internals, narrative detail, sensory details and so on. I make a LOT of notes and square brackets as I go to remind myself of things to look at later.

I also use a plot matrix [Twitter thread, Example Matrix] that you may have seen floating around- I mostly use it to keep track of plot details that have already happened within a story, so that I can check it out at a glance, but I will sometimes plan certain elements in advance (as in the case of Tree Change, which covered 87 of the 93 Kinktober prompts last year across 12 carefully planned chapters). There’s always space when I’m writing for the characters to surprise me within that plot framework- as a final plotting thing, once I’m at the halfway mark I’ll often plot backwards from the planned end to make sure that I’m on course, and to see what I need to adjust.

Favourite trope or headcanon you like to explore while writing?

I really like to dig into the friends-to-lovers trope that sits at the heart of the show. The Ed and Stede relationship reminds me immensely of my own- like Rhys and Taika as friends, we’ve been yes-anding each other for over 25 years (all of my least hinged fic ideas come from bouncing thoughts back and forth with my husband), and it’s been a steady mix of constant silliness, curiosity, and care. We’re best friends first and that’s one of my favourite things about Ed and Stede, that they are, too.

What I really love about it is the vulnerability of these two people who’ve been hurt so much by others in the past, who’ve never been fully appreciated for all the things that they are, and in each other they find the one absolutely perfect person who just gets them, and it makes all the difference. It’s always fun to play with that and variations on it in fics, and it’s usually the beating heart of my stories.

Whose voice is easier to write - Ed or Stede? Why?

I want to say that I find them both equally easy depending on the story. Ed as a character speaks very much the way I think- he has that ADHD buzz, the high swear level, and a very AoNZ turn of phrase that’s also very familiar to Australians (like me). Writing Ed is like turning the inside of my head out and it always flows easily.

But I have always said that I see myself in both characters in equal parts, so I find Stede pretty easy to write as well. I feel like I pretty solidly understand him as a person, with his history of rejection and his commitment to trying anyway, and trying to be kind, and letting himself be fascinated by things, from piracy to books to moths to Ed (that one’s not hard).

Your personal favourite thing you've written that you'd like more people to read

This is a near-impossible question with 69 OFMD fics up on AO3 😅 I really do love them all, and I have a lot of smaller one-shots that haven’t been read as much, but overall I’m incredibly lucky with readership and so so grateful for everyone who enjoys my work.

But my recent Reverse Bang fic The Broken Lines is hugely important to me and I think it’s probably one of the best things I’ve ever written anywhere. It’s set in the aftermath of the First World War (my professional zone of expertise), and features a Stede who’s lost his voice, his memory, and as far as he knows, his Ed. He gradually remembers what happened with the help of the crew and another Ed, who appears in his mirror from 1719, searching for his own Stede. It was a beautiful collaboration with artist Gerlinde to begin with, but I also got to work with one of my longest-term writing friends Jill @followedmystar as my beta, and then with Boy, who made a truly transcendent podfic that I can’t yell about enough.

What is the one word that you think you use a lot?

I think the word I have to zap more than any other is “actually”, and there are still a million of them in there when I’m done. The main reason is that to stick close to canon voice, I try to incorporate a lot of the less iconic/ more ordinary turns of phrase that the characters use a lot in their speech (I’ve watched every episode of the show… way too many times), and both Ed and Stede actually use “actually” a surprising amount. I just use it an even more surprising amount 😂

(This just sent me on a QUEST to find a specific number because I am that kind of nerd- Stede says it 15 times in S1 and 12 in S2, and Ed says it 8 times in each, for totals of 27 and 16, many of them in distinctive moments; it just gives that little buzz of recognition for me. I started out screenwriting before I moved to prose, so my writing tends to lean pretty strongly on having a recognisable, almost audible voice to the dialogue, as well as a cinematic visual style for the big adventures especially).

Do you have a beta reader? Have they made you a better writer?

I quite deliberately don’t use a beta reader for most of my OFMD fics, because being in this space is an exercise in recovering from lifelong paralysing perfectionism around writing especially. I’ve spent so many years not finishing original work because it never feels like it passes the invisible bar for perfection that exists in my own head. So when I started writing OFMD fic, I set out to accept good enough as good enough, and to get back to enjoying writing as fully as I can.

Obviously this means that my work could be better, but I’m actively working on letting that thought go and loving everything I’ve made just as it is. When I have worked with beta readers on projects that require them, like the Reverse Bang, it’s been with friends who I trust and adore, who I know will listen to what I need (cheerleading, mostly), and will do their best to work with me on improving the story without letting me spiral into hating it all because it wakes the perfectionist beast back up.

That doesn’t mean I’m without regular support, or that I’m not trying to improve my writing! I read an absolutely insane amount of fic, and I’m always in awe of the talent we have on this ship, and always learning from what other people do well. In lieu of beta readers, we share snippets of work all the time in our sprints team, so I get feedback there; I also get it from readers in progress, who often give me a sense of what’s hitting the way I hoped and what needs a bit of tweaking. I also have lovely group chats and individual friends like Kerry @communionnimrod and Lis @ghostalservice and Jill who I can run to if I need an opinion on whether an idea feels right or not, which I will often ask.

I’m very very careful with my writing, but in a couple of rare instances readers have also DMd me to note spots where I’ve inadvertently included something that doesn’t reach the sensitivity standard I’m aiming for. I’m always grateful for that gentleness and bravery in reaching out and I’m always happy to change something or to add tags or notes as needed.

Why OFMD 🥹

I watched the whole show in one hit a week after the final episode aired, and I loved it immediately, but I thought I was going to be normal about it. The unravelling into complete, unrelenting obsession happened gradually as I rewatched it with my husband and teen, then again, and again, then started to read fics and hunt up art, then started joining fan spaces, and then dived into writing my first fic in two and a half decades (all original writing between The X-Files and here), thinking it would also be my last.

I’m still here, still writing constantly, and a major portion of it is the show and how distinctly it reflected all the many parts of me, some of which I’d never seen so clearly before. I had a tough childhood in a few different family respects. I didn’t understand that I was neurodivergent until I turned 40 and my own kids were heading for diagnosis, and I’d been rejected constantly throughout my life for being too much. I was a high achiever who was in the process of crumpling under pressure right when I watched it, and while I’d been figuring out my sense of my own queerness for a few years, I’d never had a community that helped me feel at home with that.

And in the end it’s the community that’s been the reason I’ve been fully sucked into fandom for the first time since my teens- the writing in this space is top-tier wonderful, and the community is such a found family, just like the Revenge. Being able to write and have people actually want to read that writing, being able to cheer others on and hype their work, being able to help set up the OFMD Fic Club Discord and make it a safe spaceship for so many people, has been incredibly fulfilling and lovely. 

Please head over to @ofmdlovelyletters (who also made the header) and send your love to all your favourite authors (and authors of the week 😈 watch that blog for some special letters coming your way)

[datura-tea]

okey dokey! i just finished the fallout show! some Thoughts under the read more

tl:dr, the (bethesda) fallout vibes were definitely there. i liked it as a show on its own merits but as a part of the series canon... i'm mad, and that anger is kind of overriding the little i liked about it. overall maybe 2.5/5 stars and im being generous

things i liked:

visually, it's stunning - i could see scenes already being made into gifsets - the color grading is pretty good; even in dark scenes i could see and understand what was happening

the sets are soooo good!! costume design was alright too

title cards were fun and cute

they did some interesting stuff with the cultures of both vault 33 and the brotherhood of steel

they used the sound effects from the games :)

i liked the wastelanders!!! big npc and random encounter energy. i kind of want a whole show of just them. for example i love the marketplace and settlement in filly; it feels very lived in

the background characters weren't just young thin able-bodied conventionally attractive white people :) there's so many elders, which i loved!! ma june and barv were cool. i love gruff old lesbians

lucy!!! she was already kind of weird and a little off-putting even in vault 33 ("what's your sperm count" as an opener to the husband she was just arranged married to is WILD) and i like that. she's sweet and bullheaded and surprisingly competent :)

maximus is kind of an ass, but is also a pathetic nerd and brotherhood dickrider who actually doesn't really know anything. kind of a girlfailure

the ghoul was pretty cool too!! i liked him, though more for his prewar story than the one he has post-apocalypse

lucy's brother norman kinda grew on me. "i lack enthusiasm for every job that i do here" so relateable. also short king <3

THE DENTIST THAT BUYS TEETH. never thought that would be a Thing but now that i think about it, it makes sense

the monsters that we have were cool!! wish there had been more of them

MATT BERRY IS IN THIS!! i just really like him so i got excited :))

maximus and lucy's "wanna have sex?" talk LMAO

vault 4's various mutations!!

those giant unwieldy fuckass duffel bags that brotherhood squires lug around hahahhahahaaha

vault 4 and its genetic experiments because its main conceit is that it was ruled by scientists who hybridized humans. it's exactly the right amount of fucked up i want in a vault

i like that the protagonists regularly get captured and eat shit

FRED ARMISEN IS ALSO HERE

haha hacking minigame :) also chatting via terminals (and im assuming pipboys?) is canon now

they're growing crops in the wasteland + bustling trade + livestock + pets yay

robobrain was cute

things i was just ok with:

dane, the they/them brotherhood of steel aspirant who was fucked over so maximus can get their spot as a squire LMAO what a waste of a potentially cool character

IT'S SO FUNNY that there's yodelling whenever the ghoul comes into the scene ????? WHY

fight scenes.... pretty good but someone definitely had the bloody mess perk (i don't do well with gore so ew yucky). also lots of [VATS NOISE]

pipboy was not used as much as i thought it would be

cousin stuff... i get it, i guess in a vault you'd have a lot of cousins and not a lot of choice, so some incest would probably happen

the ghoul being vault boy's inspiration?? not sure what to feel about that tbh

the casual dismemberments... and equally casual attaching of limbs... not even prosthetic limbs.....

the vaulties eating good healthy well-balanced meals. giving out caviar in the welcome basket. kinda 50/50 on it

the vault 31 - 32 - 33 subplot couldve been more fucked up

have brotherhood knights always been celibate or did i miss the memo

there are regular chickens and... deer? for some reason?

the ghoul's design. it's fine in action but mostly it's meh

the vault 4 cult for moldaver

vault 4 as a refuge for shady sands survivors. im mad about it but like. i get it

that guys "elixir" (some altered jet??) fixing everything about thaddeus' foot instantenously AND GIVING HIM HEALING POWERS???

things i did not like:

lucy's plot premise is very much fallout 3 redux

lucy and maximus as a ship is very meh and kind of forced and not compelling. go give us nothing!!!

wilzig's head as a macguffin that everyone is after... ehh kind of just okay as a plot device

also the ghoul randomly eating that other ghoul???

the squire who bullied maximus calls himself fat but he isn't fat?? not even chubby??? hello????? just got a soft face

water chip being fucked feels very fallout 3 also but they kind of dropped it?

they definitely named cooper howard after todd. as tribute probably, which he doesn't deserve

fiend = cannibal now?????

maximus recognizing vault 4 as a cult but not recognizing the brotherhood as one lol

vault tec evil capitalism vs hollywood communists storyline was kind of basic. and bland. and weak

the enclave could've been established + explored better

no geckos or any other west coast-specific monsters

showing me ncr ranger armor when the ncr is gone

ghouls have healing powers?? WITHOUT RADIATION??

things i hated hated hated:

the ghoul needing drugs to combat the Disease That Turns Ghouls Feral

feral ghouls being basically zombies :/

IN EPISODE FIVE. THEY REVEAL. THAT SHADY SANDS. WAS BOMBED. THE ENTIRE NCR. WAS BOMBED. IN 2277. THE YEAR OF THE FIRST BATTLE OF HOOVER DAM

BASICALLY RETCONNED FNV?? IM PUTTING MY EARS IN MY FINGERS AND GOING LA LA LAAAAA

VAULT-TEC DROPPED THE BOMBS ???? BIG MT + MR HOUSE BEING IN ON IT????

THE BIG STUPID FUCKING REVEAL IN EPISODE EIGHT?? THAT THE OVERSEER BOMBED SHADY SANDS BECAUSE HIS WIFE DIDN'T WANT TO GO HOME WITH HIM??? FUCK THAT???

the brotherhood being the main faction of the west coast now. booo!! booo!!!!

the fucking last shot of new vegas being a burnt out husk. probably foreshadowing that hank is going to house's body but. UGH I HATE IT

to summarize: it came out strong! and stumbled hard falling face fucking first at the finish line. i would have liked it a lot more if it did not shit on the west coast as much as it did. because what the FUCK. if it was set literally anywhere else and left the ncr alone i would have liked it more, because on its own, as a self-contained story, divorced from the rest of the fallout series canon, it's not bad!!! it's fun, there's some good bits, it has the ~vibes~ but - and this is a big but - i don't know what it's trying to say. it's all very surface level and the very vague themes i picked up on are not really reiterated in the plot

it's like... the bits that make it fallout are there. vaults. the brotherhood. ghouls. a dog named dogmeat. but there's something lacking. it's like your usual sci-fi post-apocalypse show with a fallout veneer. idk. i like it for what it is but also i hate it for what it's emblematic of. that's all

[monocodoll]

OnlySims WIP Update 8/2024 #3

Fourthly, our next feature is OnlySims...

OnlySims is the sims equivalent of OF. Allowing you to gain a following, likes, and an income. Any sim aged Young Adult and Above may use OnlySims. OnlySims can be accessed via a Sims Smartphone, Laptop, or Computer.

-Create OnlySims Interaction

Upon creating your OnlySims account, your sim will obtain the first level of the OnlySims Skill. As well as have access to the other OnlySims Interactions

-OnlySims Skill

The OnlySims Skill keeps track of many things. Such as...

Number of Photos Posted

Number of Vidoes Posted

Number of Streams Posted

Number of Likes

Number of Tips

Number of Requests Completed

Number of Subscribers

Current Photo Quota For The Week

Current Video Quota For The Week

Current Amount of Comments To Read And Respond To For The Week

Current Amount of Chat Requests For The Week

Current Livestreams Quota For The Week

Current Likes Quota For The Week

Current Requests Quota For The Week

Earnings From Tips

Earnings From Requests

Earnings From Subscriptions

Note: Quotas are given as soon as you reach a OnlySims tier. The higher the tier the more that is expected of you to post. If quotas are not met by the end of the week. You may lose a percentage of your subscribers. Possibly dropping your OnlySims Tier.

The OnlySims Skill comes along with Skill Challenges.

Beginner Tier

Intermediate Tier

Advanced Tier

Expert Tier

Master Tier

Each Tier provides a bonus to the amount of likes gained on posts when achieved. Additionally, for the OnlySims skill you may need to achieve a Specific tier to advanced to the next OnlySims Level. Therefore Indirectly increasing the subscription payouts as you increase in tiers. For example in Level 1 of the OnlySims skill you only get 2 Simoleans per sub each week. Meanwhile at Level 10 you would get 20 Simoleans per sub each week.

Note: The amount of subs needed to complete the challenges are tunable.

-Post On OnlySims Interaction

This interaction will allow you to post on your OnlySims account.

As of this moment, the content you can post on your OnlySims are...

Selfies

Videos

Note: Each category of content that you may post has different factors that determine the amount of likes that can be gained from said post.

-OnlySims Selfies

With OnlySims you can utilize the Cell Phone to take Selfies. There are three types of Selfies you can post on OnlySIms. Selfies, Sexy Selfies, and Nude Selfies. Nude Selfies are Selfies taken when your sim is naked, Sexy Selfies are selfies taken when a sim is wearing sleepwear or swimwear, and everything else is a normal selfie.

Note: When a Sim takes a selfie, data is stored into that photo. Their age group, The Cosmetic Surgery they have had done, and the outfit category that they are wearing. This data then helps determine the amount of likes gained when that photo is posted. Other factors also determine the amount.

-OnlySims Videos

You can utilize a video camera to turn on the record button and perform a couple of activities while It's on to receive a recording.

The Type of videos that you can record for OnlySims are...

Work Out Videos

Dancing Videos

Hot Tubbing Videos

Posing Videos(Check Self Out In The Mirror)

Kissing Videos

Cooking Videos

Painting Videos

Woohoo Videos

Showering/Bathing Videos

After you perform the activity, you will recieve a recording that you can then upload to your OnlySims.

Note: When a sim shoots a recording, data is stored into that tape. Their age group, Cosmetic Surgery that they have had done, and the outfit category that they are wearing. This data then helps determine the amount of likes gained when that recording is posted. Other factors also determine the amount. Additionally, for those that will ask, Passion Woohoo will result in a Woohoo tape like vanilla ea woohoo. Any modded woohoo mod that triggers the "had woohoo" event will result in a Woohoo tape. As I use passion I can confirm that it does work with passion.

-OnlySims Livestreaming Interaction

The model may also livestream on a Laptop or Computer on OnlySims.

When you livestream you may start to receive tips alongside comments.

Note: By default you may start to gain tips at 50 subscribers. This value is tunable. Additionally, for every hour streamed, that counts as one livestream. So if you stream for 3 hours straight, you officially performed three livestreams. This value is also tunable.

-Read and Reponse To Comments Interaction

The model will also have the ability to read and respond to comments.

This will typically generate a comment and a response by the model. This is mainly utilized when the model reaches a tier and begins to receive quotas beginning the following week after obtaining a OnlySims tier.

Note: By default for every in game 5 minutes spent on this interaction, your sim will respond to one comment. Therefore if you spend 25 minutes using this interaction you have officially responded to 5 comments. This value is tunable.

-Read OnlySims Requests Interaction

The model may also take requests from their subscribers.

This will generate a request for the model to accept or decline. Alongside what the subscriber will pay for the personal request.

The requests can be...

Nude Photo

Sleepwear Photo

Swimwear Photo

Athleticwear Photo

Formalwear Photo

Woohoo Video

Kissing Video

Shower Video

HotTubbing Video

Dance Video

Workout Video

Woohoo Video With One YA Sim (Can be Model or other)

Woohoo with BBL (Can be Model or other)

Woohoo with Breast Augmentation (Can be Model or other)

Woohoo with Big D*ck (Can be Model or other)

Woohoo with BBC (Can be Model or other)

Woohoo with Muscular Sim (Can be Model or other)

Woohoo with Size Queen (Can be Model or other)

Stream Liveshow

Woohoo Defloweration Video

Dance With BBL Video

Once a request is accepted, the model will need to post the content on their OnlySims in order to complete the request. Upon completion the model will be notified that they have completed the request and will receive the payment.

Additionally, if the model gets cold feet. They may cancel a request. However, this will cause the model to lose one Subscriber.

-Chat With Subs Interaction

The model will also have the ability to chat with their subscribers.

This will typically generate a chat message by a sub. This interaction also increases the social need when utilized. This is mainly utilized when the model reaches a tier and begins to receive quotas beginning the following week after obtaining a OnlySims tier.

Note: By default for every in game 15 minutes spent on this interaction, your sim will complete one chat. Therefore if you spend 45 minutes using this interaction you have officially completed 3 chat requests. This value is tunable.

-OnlySims Fanmail

Once a Model reaches any of the tiers for OnlySims, they will have a chance to receive Fanmail.

The Fanmail can consist of...

Cups

Cannabis Gummies

Visa Gift Cards

Laptops

Computers

Video Game Systems

Cameras

Video Cameras

Stereos

TV's

Hygeine Products

Furniture

Flowers

Make Up

The higher the tier the model is in, the more likely they are to receive Fanmail, the quantity of gifts are greater, and the more expensive the gift.

The Fanmail will arrive in the mail and be inside of a package. Once the sim opens the package they will receive the gift and a message from the fan.

-OnlySims Sponsorship Opportunities

Similar to Simstagram Sponsorships, if the OnlySims model were to have a Simstagram and a OnlySims. They may receive additional sponsorship opportunities.

These OnlySims sponsorships may appear under the check Simstagram Messages interaction.

The OnlySims sponsorship opportunities so far include selling your own Gamer Girl Bath Water and attending one of those redpill manosphere podcasts.

Gamer Girl Bath Water Opportunity

For the Gamer Girl Bath Water opportunity if accepted, 50 containers will arrive in the mail. Once received, the model will just need to have those containers in their inventory while they take a bath. The container will be filled with their bath water. The model can then send out the filled Gamer Girl Bath Water containers using their mailbox. Once they are sent, the model can then make a Simstagram post about their sale of bath water. The model will receive some sales. If the model still has remaining inventory, they will be able to make another post the following day until all the inventory is gone. Additionally, if the model were to aquire more empty containers, they will be able to send more out. Increasing their inventory of Gamer Girl Bath Water. Great opportunity to earn Simoleans. This product will offer the biggest commission as the product is their own Bath Water.

Manosphere Podcast Guest Opportunity

If the model were to accept to be a guest on one of the manosphere podcasts. The model will be able to attend the podcast on the Office Building Rabbithole. Once they attend, the model will remain there for a few hours. Where they will be asked 3 questions in total. The goal is to generate the most rage possible to create the most possible viewership. Therefore it is in the interest of the model to answer the questions that will enrage the manosphere red pill viewers the most. This will increase viewership and gain you the most possible sub gain from red pill simps. This opportunity does not earn the model Simoleans, but is by far the biggest opportunity to gain thousands of subs for your OnlySims.

-Consequences of being an OnlySims Model

Being an OnlySims model comes with consequences. A model always has the chance to become a known OnlySims model whenever they post on their OnlySims. The higher the tier of the OnlySims model, the more likely they are to becoming a Known OnlySims model.

Once a OnlySims model becomes a known OnlySims model, they will have difficulty in keeping employment at a regular job. The jobs that the OnlySims model can keep without being fired are the Criminal, Culinary, Music, Part Time Bookstore Clerk, Part Time Grocery Store Clerk, Part Time Mausoleum, Part Time Day Spa Specialist, and Film careers.

Additionally, OnlySim models will have a harder time keeping partners who have an issue with them having done OnlySims.

The partner may argue to the model about them having done OnlySims and may even break up with them once their relationship drops.

-OnlySims Ask For Consent Interaction

OnlySim models have the option to do content with others. Such as shooting Woohoo videos, Kissing videos, Naked Selfies, Sexy Selfies, Selfies, Naked Kissing Selfies, Sexy Kissing Selfies, and Kissing Selfies.

However, tapes will not be produced if the OnlySims model does not get consent with the other sim who they are recording doing intimate acts with.

Additionally, content that you shoot with others also have the chance of making them become known OnlySim Models. Giving them the consequences that come along with being a known OnlySims model.

Sims who are either against OnlySims or have a job that they could lose from doing OnlySims will always never give out consent to shoot content with you.

Note: Consent is sexy

-Add Mosaic Interaction

This interaction can be utilized by OnlySim models with a Computer or Laptop.

This interaction is utilized to apply mosaic to a Models Photos and Videos before uploading them to OnlySims. Completely preventing the chance of them becoming a known OnlySims models since mosaic will be covering their face. However, it is extra work.

-Delete OnlySims Interaction

This interaction allows OnlySims models to delete their OnlySims page. Completely removing the OnlySims skill.

Note: No photo's for this interaction, used the max possible amount of photos allowed on a single post.

In the next part of the report for August of 2024, we will discuss the fifth topic Cosmetic Surgery/Natural Physical Traits... This part of the report may also take a few days to release as I am debating adding more Natural Physical Traits. In the meantime, is there any additional feautures that you would like to see with OnlySims?

[flownwrong]

dS rewatch shenanigans

So me and @mannequin3thereckoning rewatched 2.04 Bird in the Hand, 3.02 Eclipse and 4.03 The Ladies' Man (or 4.05, depending on the region; I like this ordering of the episodes better, it makes the season more equally paced to me). Somehow we picked a nice equal distribution between seasons 2-4 (sorry s1, I just did not have that much free time!)

It was fun to compare the impressions between us, a person who's fresh off a rewatch and one who didn't touch dS for some years :) Unlike my rigorous friend, I don't have it in me to do a separate post for each episode. It's all pretty chaotic, but here goes:

Bird in the Hand

It was funny to notice how much easier it is to judge the pacing of an episode while also chatting about it in real time compared to a regular watch. This one is pretty much perfect!

It's a great showcase for the side of Fraser that sometimes gets lost between screen and fic, or screen and meta—his lowkey permanent annoyance with his circumstances ("I'm not sulky. I don't sulk," he said. You know, like a liar!) and his masterfully contained intense anger. It's so funny how annoyed he gets with Turnbull! Finally, someone at the consulate who gets more shit than he does haha.

Also another great example of Ray consistently ready to both stir up shit and take shit for Fraser in a highly stressful situation where Fraser's hands are tied. “He’d shoot him for you if you asked"—even Dad knows <3 Linking this wonderful art to express my endless appreciation for how well-oiled Ray and Fraser's banter is. No one does put upon like Ray Vecchio. No one.

And, I mean, the emotional centerpiece of the episode is BRILLIANT. The tone balances on the usual dS edge between wacky and weighty juuust right for juuuuust long enough via Ghost Dad, and then it cannonballs right into heartbreaking because of the Ghost Dad in the span of two lines, sustains it for one of the most effective conversations in all of dS and eases out of it by—you guessed it—Ghost Dad diffusing the tension with continuous murderous overtures.

And I think Fraser's ✨Plan✨ in this one is a rare example of his speechifying that actually bares his underbelly as opposed to only expressing his beliefs illustrated by his experiences. He's very self-aware: he says to his father, "I'm no better", I, too, can't ask for help, I, too, can't express my love and my hurts—and then he goes and does exactly that—and then he immediately follows it by turning the tables on everyone and going "ah, but I stunned you all with my emotional openness on purpose so I could get the upper hand in the stand-off"—but it works both ways, and it's clearly also him using the excuse to actually be vulnerable for a second. Man, Fraser is a thing to behold in this episode.

But you can actually see how far he's come since the pilot, and how his partnership with Ray affected him—it's cool that this happens only two episodes after Ray bullies him into admitting his dissatisfaction with his circumstances. And here he's expressing grief, not the anger, not the desire for revenge, but grief, out loud, to everyone. "You broke my heart." Jesus.

10/10 episode, highly recommended.

Eclipse

This episode is like a favourite well-worn hoodie to me. Apart from the iconic "Do you find me attractive?" exchange it offers so many joys.

It's funny (The "now it's broken and it's working" exchange and "Mom, how you've changed—into cuban cigars" are both beautiful moments).

There's Fraser's "I'm acquainted with loss and, on occasion, loneliness" line which is I think a great thing to learn about him early in the season both if you tuned into the show without seeing s1-2 and if you're Ray Kowalski.

There's the great Ray intro, doubly so because we already had the intro, and were even given a lot of the info there that Eclipse reinforces (like Ray's compulsive need to express his vulnerabilities in hope of protecting himself from being judged too harshly, but also his competence—even if my man should really keep those glasses on—and his ability to think on his feet and his obsessive tendencies and his soft romantic underbelly and I could go on, we learn so. much. stuff. by the point we hear Fraser's exposition on Ray's professional record we're not even surprised).

I love that Fraser is immediately comfortable with his new position of being the more emotionally stable one in the duo, haha—while Ray Vecchio had his insecurities and great moments of learning to trust himself with Fraser's help, Fraser is clearly both fascinated by Ray Kowalski's openness and ready to offer his shoulder to lean on, with an added bonus of being in less danger of being perceived while near this dude who constantly makes himself available for perception.

Random little notes: I really love how Ray says his own name with so much disappointment when introducing himself: "I'm... *frustrated sigh* Kowalski." I love how he tentatively asks Fraser to repeat "friend" after his declaration of friendship. I love that he's a dork who throws the dreamcatcher like a frisbee. I love the b-plot letting us hang out with the station gang a little and see them stand up for each other. I love the insane angle on Ray's face while he's being interrogated (see: my eyelashes gifset). I love the birthday party. I love the crypt as a setting, and I love everyone in that impromptu holding cell.

And, in the words of my wiser friend, "ray finding out his imposter syndrome was caused by a guy who doesn’t even remember him is so very ray". I take my hat off to everyone involved in making this episode.

The Ladies' Man, which I'm very glad my friend suggested, bc otherwise I probably would've forced her to watch it anyway, and I'm not a fan of such cruelty.

Let's get some things out of the way:

Ray looks incredibly good in this episode. It's a crime to look this good AND suffer prettily on top of that. The fact that the camera that was already pretty obsessed with CKR these two seasons gets, like, terminally stuck on him here does Not hurt matters.

I have some Questions for the episode, and I'll get to them, but it's my top one dS episode on a pure viewing pleasure level because it pushes my buttons.

Can't say much about the cold open because it's pretty much perfect, tight and tense and we get the Homoerotic Calling Off Your Rabid Dog Partner When He's Losing It Before He Kills Someone, which is a timeless classic (complete with the obvious and iconic Look at me! Look! At! Me!), and Ray and Fraser are perfect characters to act it out. CKR is on fire, no notes.

One moment I somehow forgot from my many previous rewatches that really struck me during this one is Fraser's almost casual admission of imagining murdering his father's murderers—thinking again about Bird in the Hand up there. It's a great reminder late in the show, where we see this aspect of him less often, and it's cool that he can safely share it in the face of Ray's rawness, you know, as opposed to it being a great and painful admission when he's the vulnerable one.

A brief interlude to shake my fists at the sky and wail Why, o Paul Gross, did you have to add the singing—it's not just that the joke didn't age well, it didn't even land at the time, and I don't think it would in any episode, but especially here???— and the bark tea flirting—which is par for the course as far as dS goes and could be cute but it feels totally disconnected from the rest of the scene, let alone the episode, so, again, ???? It's not that I wanted a mournful monotony of an episode with no laughs—I would pick a different show then—but like, I think better jokes could've been made. Like later in the episode, where during a climactic scene they drop the "actually, all that exposition makes me feel a little thirsty" line, it works.

Back to the point: Dixie Seatle is fucking amazing??? Her and CKR work so well together that all the noise of failed gags and nonsensical continuity of Ray's cover and whatnot is super easy to wave away because they're the emotional core of the episode, and they deliver. They have such a fragile thing going on, with him being exhausted from all the guilt and her also being exhausted from his guilt on top of the, you know, the whole death penalty thing.

Which, speaking of, UM, that's one of Thee Darkest Premises in the whole show and encountering it for the first time was a trip, during a season I was not a fan of and considered dropping. And yes many rewatches later I'm still confused but grateful about it all. The world in this episode is brutal in the way it rarely is in the show; integrity and redemption and whatnot are big motives in dS, and the big point is usually that the world, imperfect and unfair as it is, can respond to kindness with kindness and this is worth upholding. It is Not So here; scenes like the whole precinct cheering away at the prospect of Beth's impending execution are just—wow, okay.

So, as far as dS goes, this is a super solipsistic episode. It's perfectly self-contained, and even though it could have, I don't know, implications for Ray the way some of Fraser's Bad Shit did for Fraser, it just isn't addressed in the end. And I don't think it should be. It's a character study, and whoever decided they needed a very heavy one for Ray is my hero. (Note: I think this is the reason I never read a coda for this episode that I enjoyed. Having your blorbo break down in tears right in front of his boyfriend right before the credits with no follow-up kind of begs for a coda, but—newp. It works so well because it cuts off with no big resolutions.)

And whoever wrote those two closing scenes deserves a medal; to have this much restraint is an achievement for late season dS. CKR and Dixie Seatle also deserve a medal each for creating something this excruciating with super precise line deliveries and body language.

Small things my mind always catches on:

Welsh and his pink duster, looking out for Ray

CKR's rolling over the car stunt (steam comes out of my ears)

tiny flashback Ray checking his hair in the mirror at the crime scene because of course he does

Ray casually fiddling with Fraser's hat as they walk around

Sam Franklin's whole deal. I mean, there's tension there. For god's sake he pats Ray's cheek like a proud mentor he played the whole time when Ray takes his gun during his arrest. I mean. Uh. Yeah.

the fact that truepenny quit her meta right before this episode is a human tragedy

Probably like 40% of what you've read above have been brought up or articulated by @mannequin3thereckoning, so thank her for all the fun. I hope we can do this again some time <3

[streetkid-named-desire]

Cyberpunk 2077 Barbie Dream Closet Virtual Photography for Charity Extravaganza

Do you play on console? Are you afraid of modded clothes or posing with AMM/PMU? Do you just want to support some charities?

Send me your request and if you use modded items and I'll let you know if I can do it or not. If I can, then send me a screenshot via ask or DM of your donation receipt and all the info listed under "what I need from you." Also, if you prefer chatting over Tumblr DM or Discord. I won't get started until I see proof of your donation 😅

Charities to support

Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

World Central Kitchen

Red Crescent

Brazil Foundation

America Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa

Islamic Relief Worldwide

Ukrainian Red Cross

National Bailout

Jewish Women International

This will probably be an ongoing campaign.

Turnaround time will try to be within a week depending on volume and complexity of the request. I work a full time job so only have time for this stuff after work and on weekends.

Check my tags for my OCs listed in the pinned post for examples. I'm not super good or using Otis and a bajillion tools and mods, hence why this is for charity!

Charity tiers

Each tier is per one OC. Donate to more than one charity and I'll bump you up in the queue!

If you donate in multiples of 18 I'll also bump you up in the queue cause like, you know, Jewish tzedakah tradition.

$10 - two portraits in one outfit and one action photo of your OC

$18 - same as the above plus one non-explicit shippy photo

$25- four portraits in two outfits, two action, one non-explicit shippy photo

$36 - four portraits in two outfits, three action, two non-explicit shippy photos

$50+ - whatever the hell you want within my skillset, priority turnaround, and my admiration and gratitude <3

Charities to support (again)

Palestinian Children's Relief Fund

World Central Kitchen

Red Crescent

Brazil Foundation

America Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa

Islamic Relief Worldwide

Ukrainian Red Cross

National Bailout #FreeBlackMamas

Jewish Women International

Some notes and rules

I use VTK vanilla so only fem v with default breast size (I'm lazy I'm sorry, again this is why I'm doing it for charity and not being paid directly). Specify if you use another complexion. I use Ava's with abs, no moles.

UV Male is fine. I use FrauBlume's skin.

No body rigs

Minimal customization mods please (recolors, more body or face meshes, and VTK or UV overlays are fine)

For shippy pics: only canon (lore not strictly game only) sexuality pairings: Judy x fem v, Kerry x fem or masc, Johnny x fem or masc, Panam x masc v, etc (I'm sorry it's just what I'm comfortable with, do not come here with discourse bc I do not care. This is for charity.)

All VP is final, no redos: I'll provide unedited versions and my own edits in a Google Drive folder. You're free to do whatever you want with them. Specify if you want them private, otherwise I will pick a few to share to continue promoting the charity drive/as a VP portfolio thing or whatever.

I have the right to deny any request I'm not comfortable with and I will provide alternative suggestions (e.g. outfits that cover customization options I can't do, more portrait or action photos if I can't do the shippy photos, NPC portraits, environment, etc)

What I need from you

1. Your CC values, preferably written down (Skin: 01, Eyes: 02 etc) but screenshots of the color palettes OR an NPV file OR an ACU preset file (please provide the written down CC values just in case ACU wants to crash)

2. If your OC has any signature colors or color themes they wear, as well as any other special requests such as "they dress practical" or "they are a total slut". Any additional personality info will be great too. You may specify clothing items/mods or leave it up to me for a surprise!

2. If you use arm cyberware

3. If your OC uses modded appearance items this will also increase turnaround time. Please provide either the files or link the mods and tell me what you use. *This may or may not work out depending on my own install. Have a mostly vanilla OC backup or other request available.*

3. If you want combat poses: any signature weapons they use (if they use iconics it may be a little while before I could get to combat poses depending on if it's masc or fem), how they fight (stealth, melee, run and gun, etc)

4. If you want non-explicit shippy poses: obv the NPC. Also only canon sexualities (no Judy x Masc V, Panam x Fem V, Kerry is bi so that's fine, obv side NPCs are fine their sexuality isn't quite established depending on who). These might have a longer turnaround time. If you use an NPC+ file link to the mod or provide the file.

[the-dork-urge]

Masterlist

Hey ya'll. This is my masterlist!

I will now also be taking request. (For basically anyone in BG3)

-> You can always try and shoot your shot if you want something else written. You may do that via ask or just chat.

Examples:

Baldurs Gate 3 - Sons Of Anarchy - Yellowstone- Breaking Bad Universe -

(Fluff)

(NSFW) Spice level *- **-***

# are requests

I do not take responsibility for any additional trigger warnings.

I assume that those playing the game are familiar with its themes and thus aware of the potential themes in fan-generated content.

Abdirak

|| Sweet Restraint || Abdirak x Tav (NSFW**)

Aradin

WIP

Gortash || Behind velvet curtains || Gortash x Durge (NSFW**) ||Wicked Urges|| Durge x Gortash?

Rolan || Anew || Rolan x Reader Rugan || Not what we signed up for || Rugan x Tav Part 1 WIP || Not what we signed up for|| Rugan x Tav Part 2

Zevlor

||Stable Work|| Zevlor x reader (fluff)

|| A Good Man || Zevlor x Tav Part 1 (fluff)

||A Good man || Zevlor x Tav Part 2 (fluff and NSFW*)

||Stone and Earth|| Zevlor x Tav (fluff)

|| Joy || Zevlor x Tav / Reader (fluff) #

Companions (grouped fics & hc's)

How they series:

How they'd dance with you

with Halsin-Aradin-Rugan & Zevlor

How they'd dance with you

Rolan - Dammon - Astarion

||Coming out as ace || Zevlor / Halsin #

Rip Wheeler

WIP

[myrfing]

hi!!! sorry this might be a bit of an odd ask, but i saw that you get some comms from the crepe site (the eating gif one is sooooo cute) and i wanted to ask what the process was like to use that site to order commissions? is knowledge of korean needed? is it like skeb where you can enter comm details in english and it auto translates it for the artist? thank you for your time!

HI not odd at all! I hope more people use crepe, there's many talented artists on there. There is no auto-translate like on skeb. I run everything through the DeepL translator or good old google translate. I also use the Simple Translate extension for Firefox to make this a lot easier. I have 0 knowledge of Korean so I like to double check back and forth & try to use simple, straightforward phrases. Thankfully the website is also designed pretty intuitively, it's just a lot double checking on my end :J...

I pay via stocking up on Points via Paypal and use that to pay artists. In short: you select a commission type from the artist's page, fill out and send in their request form (it seems to be customizable on their end so they differ between artists), and if they accept your commission, they will invoice you via the site's chat system. They will also likely ask any questions they have about your request in here. Once the site confirms your payment, then it's relayed to them to begin working on your commission. Some artists offer check sketch, etc., stages that are facilitated by the site in the same chat, some don't. When they finish, the site will notify you via email & that chat thread, you receive the file, review it, and confirm the completion. At that point, no changes can be made, and the transaction is complete.

Here's a shitty mspaint guide:

To sign up via email:

Follow this link. Enter your email and hit the link to send an authentication email.

2. In the email from crepe, hit the verify button.

3. Fill out your new credentials, then hit the create account button. You can review the terms & services via the subtitle link.

4. This next page asks you what your account is for. The left box = I'm here to commission artists. The right box = I'm here to take commissions as an artist. Make sure the left box is selected and hit next. (Text below informs you you can swap to an artist account later, and artists can commission from other artists)

5. It then scrolls you to the option to verify your identity. This lets you communicate via kakaotalk, adds a layer of security, and verifies your age for 18+ commissions, but unless you have some form of S. Korean ID, hit "I want to do it later". Then hit the "I don't want to verify now" option again on the confirmation popup. I'll add on to this post on how to verify via passport as an overseas user, but it's not necessary unless you want to get hole & pole commissions.

6. Account creation complete :~)! the button just takes you to the front page which displays random commissions you can browse.

To commission an artist:

I'll use the artist who did the snacking animation for me as an example! Say you find an artist you really like, and you go on their page. Here's an overview.

Let's say I click on the top one. It will take me to this page. Scroll down and review all the information and terms about this particular commission type. Artists will tell you what you get, what they will and won't draw, pricing caveats, what you're allowed to do with the commission, and whatever other pertinent info here.

2. Once you've reviewed everything, scroll back up and hit apply. The price is a range; artists will tend to charge more for high detail/addons!

3. You will be taken to their application form. Again, this is different for each artist, and you're gonna need to carefully fill it out case-by-case. Once you've filled out everything required, scroll all the way down and the submit button should no longer be greyed out. It's purple like all the buttons so far. Hit that, and it will show you your completed application and send it to the artist.

4. At this point, you wait for them to either accept or deny your commission. Here's an overview of your header bar menu, click on your icon to access it. You can check commission progress history, the application you submitted, and your messages here. Your messages are where you're going to be alerted if the artist accepts or not, it will have a notif mark. You can also stock up on points, but you can also do that when they invoice you.

5. Once the artist accepts, you'll get a message. It's in the messages where you'll deal with all communication and the procession of your commission. If you're not completing your steps (i.e. paying, checking the sketches) by hitting the purple buttons, the commission can't continue. These buttons will sometimes take you to different pages, i.e. charging points for the invoice, to the comm timeline page to receive your files and confirm steps...U Must play it by ear here and translate on your own because I'd need an ongoing commission to show you & I'm on ice soup week right now

But that's pretty much it! Some things:

I usually begin my applications with a blurb specifying I'm using a translator as an overseas customer in case they are not comfortable working with the language barrier or I start saying some crazy ass mistranslated shit to them. Ex: 안녕하세요! 저는 기계 번역을 사용하는 해외 고객입니다. 번역이 제대로 되지 않은 텍스트에 대해 사과드립니다. 해외 고객은 받지 않는지 알려주세요.

I tried asking if an artist takes tips once, but there's no built-in system for it and Paypal seems to be the only avenue for it, which I think the site disallows you from sharing (?) to keep transactions moderated by the site. They said "don't worry about it", but I dunno if this is universal

Try to not leave descriptions in your ref images, it's hard to read in your application. Enter it as text in the boxes.

I leave a review once per artist within a month, I am nooot sure about the etiquette about leaving multiple reviews. I don't think it would hurt but uhhh I haven't checked

"Omakase" = artist's choice for most of the image composition. You can still give refs of course and make a simple request, but this means you can't nitpick/have total control over what the artist draws.

"Water level" = NSFW 18+ stuff. I habe no idea what a better translation for the term is yahoo mario water level

👍 enjoy your beautofial art

[ladykailitha]

WIP Wednesday Game

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames or specific AUs your WIPs; not titles, filenames (eg werewolf AU, unnamed mafia omegaverse, or Steve's Rizz vs Eddie's Zero Filter.)

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write at least 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

My only problem is that I tend to file name what the title is so I can find it easier, so...here’s what they were called before I titled them.

“File” Names

Stripper AU

Olympic AU

Sugar Daddy/Baby AU

Metal Band AU

Snippet

“So take a night off once and awhile and date, man,” Jeff huffed. “You give everyone at least one night off, two if you can swing it. But when was the last time you stepped into a club that you didn’t own?”

Eddie scoffed. “Probably never.”

“You have me and Chrissy to help you run this place,” Jeff reminded him. “Take a day off, rest. Hell, go visit your uncle. I bet that bastard misses your scaly ass.”

Eddie shook his head and finished his third glass. “I should. I call him all the time, but it would be good to see him too.”

“I think you’ve had your head so wrapped around this club,” Jeff said, “that you forgot to be someone other than ‘boss’.”

Eddie let out a slow shuddering breath as he pushed away from the bar. “Thanks, Jeffy. I owe you.”

****

It's that great and wonderful time of the week again! WIP Wednesday!

The game runs from 8am-11pm EST.

Send in as many asks as you want as often as you want.

Today, I'll be throwing myself a birthday party on my new Discord server for my writing. Link here. Come join me, ask questions about me or my work. I like to chat.

You can also ask me writer questions either here on Tumblr or via the Discord. Can't think of anything to ask try one of these or these!

@mira-jadeamethyst @zerokrox-blog @forgottenkanji @w1ll0wtr33 @thesecondfate

@acingthecounts @beelze-the-bubkiss @just-a-tiny-void @kultiras @niniel-karenine

@dreamercec

[tagsecretsanta]

TAG Team Secret Santa 2023

What is Tag Team Secret Santa?

Just like normal secret Santa just for Thunderbirds fans!

Secret Santa is where the people involved give and receive gifts without knowing who they’re giving a gift to or receiving a gift from.

In the case of the fandom… no, we don’t expect you to go out and buy something for a perfect stranger! Instead, you simply create something to give to the other person. Most commonly this is fic or art but any form of media is welcome! Look at previous years for some examples!

But how do I know what to create?

Do not worry! We don’t expect you to go in blind. Anyone who wants to be involved needs to send in three prompts of things they would like to receive. Have a look at previous years for ideas on what sort of prompts to send in. These prompts will then be shuffled and sent out to participants… so anyone who sent in three prompts will receive three prompts to use as a guide of what to create. On Christmas Day the Secret Santa team will post all of the creations for everyone to see.

In summary…

1) Send in three Thunderbirds related prompts to this Tumblr account via chat.

2) This Tumblr account will send you three prompts in return when the prompts are released.

3) With the three prompts this Tumblr has sent to you, you create something that fulfills the prompts, one, two or all, whether it be fic or art.

4) Ask this Tumblr what email to send your completed creations to and send them in.

5) Sit back, relax, wait for Christmas where both your requested prompts and your completed prompts will be posted for everyone to enjoy!

Dates

Looking at times, here are some dates:

TSS starts today, so put your thinking caps on.

We need your prompts by no later than 6 November. We will get back to you shortly after that with your gift prompts.

Deadline for completed creations will be 18 December - please contact us if you don’t think you can make it but give it your best shot.

Posting of gifts will start on Christmas day.

Any questions, send an ask or a message to this Tumblr.

But most of all, don’t forget to have some fun!

[pokemon-icon-factory]

> It's an honour to make your acquaintance!

➭ About me

I go by many names... But you may call me by the name of the character in my pfp — currently Avery, but it might change from time to time. I'm 21 years old, autistic and my pronouns are she/he/they. Pokémon is like, my special interest since forever and I can't get enough of it lol — hence this fun side blog

➭ What is this blog about?

I do icon sets for Pokémon and non-Pokémon characters from the Pokémon franchise, who would have thought. You can ask for a specific character or Pokémon if you want to and you can send me a specific picture of them too

➭ Where does the art come from?

Almost all images are taken from Bulbagarden Archives and they come from either the games, anime, cards, manga, promotional art and other official sources. Fanart can be found there too though and credit will always be given in case I use it. I'll credit contest and campaign artworks too

➭ What do I offer?

The sets consist of 6 icons — 3 square and 3 round. You can ask for a specific tint, pride, disability and even agere/petre flag too when requesting! Here's an example of how they would look like. I may start making stimboards too in the future, not now though. Also, I won't take requests for the Treasure of Area Zero DLC at the moment because I haven't played it yet

➭ Who can interact?

This is a safe space for pretty much anyone queer, disabled, neurodivergent, alterhuman, systems and anybody else, really

➭ Who can't?

I don't want any bigots, predators, 18+/NSFW, proship and discourse blogs to interact with me. Oh and to be clear, zionists can fuck off

➭ Can we chat via askbox?

Absolutely! Please do talk to me! :)

➭ Do you have an inbox list?

I do, you can find it under the cut

> Inbox

Dusknoir - queerplatonic flag

Pokespe Blake - aroace flag

Ash - simple

Bede - genderfluid flag

Sonia - simple

Ash - trans flag

Cyrus - genderfluid flag

Leaf - aro and acespec flag

Shedinja - bisexual and trans flag

Stoutland - disability flag with royal blue tint

Proton - BPD flag

Shiny Furret - simple

Red - fibromyalgia flag

Pokespe Red - fibromyalgia flag

Pokespe White - fibromyalgia flag

Gordie - transmasc or trans bear flag

Grimsley - transmasc or trans twink flag

Saturn - trans twink flag

Volo - simple

Stunky - simple

Skuntank - simple

Stunky - non-binary flag

Skuntank - non-binary flag

Green - simple

Scream Tail - simple

Champion Iris - simple

Oshawott - bi gay flag

Pokespe Iris - simple

Shiny Feraligatr - simple

Arezu - simple

Misty - simple

Arceus - simple

Giratina - simple

Arlo - simple

Spark - simple

Blanche - simple

Candela - simple

Matt - simple

Yancy - genderfluid flag

Starly - simple

Flareon - simple

Brendan - aroace flag

Rachel - simple

Sawyer - simple

N - aroace flag

Grusha - aroace flag

Pokespe Colress - bright yellow tint

Grusha - trans flag

Rinto - dark purple tint

Mars - red tint

Shinx - non-binary flag

Arven - BPD flag

Yancy - simple

Curtis - simple

[leafofkudzu]

Hello again! I did say I was going to consider hosting more art parties if last month’s test run went well and, well, it did, so here I am again! Come one come all to [VS] Verdant Shield’s second ever monthly art party, this time with an expanded reach!

For those not in the loop from last month, what is an art party exactly? Well, they’re common occurrences in the Final Fantasy XIV community where artists of all kinds get together to chat, hang out, and create together! If a certain character catches your eye, you make some art of them in whatever way suits your fancy, then during or after the party post it under the tag for that party so others know where to look and spread the love around via reblogs/retweets/etc! I said it last time and it’ll always bear repeating - the ‘goal’ of attending an art party is not to be drawn, but to draw others, and share with the community! Attendees from last month’s party compared it to art jams, people watching, or attending a life drawing class with people you actually like. For more tangible examples, you can check back through the tag I intend to use for all of these monthly events - #VSArtParty - to see what previous partygoers have made!

I’m a lot less antsy about hosting these events now that I have a baseline, so much so that I want to involve those of you over on EU servers as well by hosting two rounds of parties, first on EU and then NA! However, I’ll still be keeping the squad(s) private and out of LFG to deter party-crashers, especially since this time we’ll be in a more well-known and easily-accessible location as the party moves Eastward into the Grove!

Check under the cut for details on how the event(s) will be laid out and how to reach the party location!

Welcome to the expanded details! First of all, the Garden of Dawn is the Grove’s worst-kept secret so I’d be surprised if you didn’t already know about it, but just in case, here’s a tl;dr on how to get there from Ronan’s Waypoint (aka the bottom floor of the Grove, you can drop down from Upper Commons Waypoint or Reckoner’s Waypoint to get to this starting point too):

Head North along the path towards the House of Aife PoI (not shown in the picture but you’ll see it on your map).

Take a hard left at said PoI and yeet yourself into this tiny pool that has a secret tunnelllll~

You’re here! It’s bigger than it looks in this picture but still relatively small, however I’ve attended events hosted here and can confirm that it can fit a lot of people, and also from last month I learned we don’t actually need a ton of space since we all squish up together to see each other anyway. However, if this space gets too crowded we’ll breach containment and relocate to a more public spot - very likely Starbower Nursery aka the little multi-level tavern on the South side of the map (it has its own PoI so it’s easy to spot)! If we do I’ll make sure to put the updated location in the squad message!

Okay! With that out of the way let’s get to the real important stuff.

This month’s event will consist of two separate art parties, each 3 hours long (though you’re welcome to stay later if you like), with a 1hr break in between so people interested in attending both can stretch, get snacks, etc etc.

The first party will be on EU servers and begin at 9pm Central European Time (that’s 3pm Eastern Standard Time for NA folks). I’ll be hosting it on my EU alt, so to join you can either whisper Aemryn of Dusk for an invite or type ‘/sqjoin aemryn of dusk’ in chat to join automatically!

The second party will be on NA servers and begin at 7pm Eastern Standard Time (that’s 1am Central European Time for any sleepless EU folks). This one will be hosted on my main account, and you can join by either whispering Kirslyn for an invite or typing ‘/sqjoin kirslyn’ in chat to auto-join!

Like I mentioned before the cut, we’ll be using the same tag for both of these parties as we did for last month’s - #VSArtParty - and I think that’ll be the one we’ll continue to use in the future for these! There’s no spaces so that it can be used on Twitter as well if you’re still over there!

That’s it for now! Expect to see this reblogged a few times between now and then, and I hope to see you all there for another fun time! ♥

[blueharborhq]

TASK 004 — RANDOMIZER #1

Happy September, everyone! As we celebrate (nearly) four months of being open here at Blue Harbor, we'd love to introduce something new and exciting: a randomized interaction task! This type of task is one that we'd love to incorporate more consistently moving forward in order to ensure that everyone is making new IC / OOC connections, staying inclusive towards others, and having fun! Unlike previous tasks, THIS TASK IS MANDATORY FOR ALL MEMBERS TO PARTAKE IN, excluding those who have joined or taken up additional characters following the date of September 1st. Don't worry, though, it's relatively simple! Underneath the cut, you will find every character of BH split up into smaller groups of four ( two will be of five ). These groups were mainly chosen by an online randomizer, with minimal admin interference to make sure that everyone was paired with as many different members as possible, most of whom they may not interact with frequently. That being said, considering the sheer quantity of muns and characters, there may be instances of repeats (For example: A, who has four characters, being in two separate groups with B, who also has four characters) — so don't be alarmed if that's the case for you! That just means more opportunity to chat with someone.

By October 1st, we expect all characters within a group to have at least one interaction individually with each other. This gives you all four weeks to plot and work out a connection— be it random or otherwise — with every character assigned to yours, and every mun in your group! These interactions do not need to be complex, nor do they even need to be written threads. Since this is the first time we're implementing this sort of task, we'll happily accept interactions like texts / calls / facetimes for this, so long as you keep in mind that they will not count towards activity. Ideally, these interactions will not be dropped and will surpass just one reply back and forth; we really want everyone to put the most amount of effort possible into this, rather than doing the bare minimum because it's required. PLEASE NOTE: We will be keeping track as best as we possibly can, and anyone who does not start the required interaction within the given time frame (who has also not opened up a conversation with us to discuss) may receive a friendly follow up! Rest assured, if you wind up falling into this category, you won't be in trouble in any way! We simply want to understand how we can make future installments of this task better for you and improve upon it for next time!

That being said, if you feel as though you cannot complete this task for any reason, please reach out to us. This task is supposed to be something fun and mutually beneficial for all, not a chore! Nor should it be stressful in the slightest. So if there is an element to this task that you are unhappy with, so much so that you feel like you cannot complete it, we need to know. We're willing to chat, help and compromise to make sure that everyone is having a good time! You can do so via the main's direct messages or either admin personally on Discord, as the anonymous feature will remain disabled for the foreseeable future.

Ahead of time, we thank each and every one of you for your cooperation!

GROUP 1.

Deacon Edwards ( Laine )

Elijah Falvey ( Kellen )

Leandro Contreras ( Stef )

Safiye Aksoy ( Kris )

Valletta Cambridge ( Emily )

GROUP 2.

Rafael Moldonado ( G )

Giselle Finch ( Kau )

Rachel Han ( Claire )

Dante Kidd ( Stef )

Madisyn Huang ( Soph )

GROUP 3.

Oliver Ashford ( Alyssa )

Ash Williams ( Em )

Ruby Morrisey ( Kau )

Estefania Betancourt ( Velouria )

GROUP 4.

Maximilian Mohan ( Frankie )

Halide Dursun ( Hanna )

Theodora Nowak ( Ceecee )

Sawyer Marshall ( Alyssa )

GROUP 5.

Dylan Westwick ( Claire )

Warren Pearce ( Hanna )

Grayson Heller ( Christie )

Valentine Finch ( Laine )

GROUP 6.

Juno Behar ( Stef )

Theo Bailey ( Mina )

Jack Lynch ( Aaron )

Grace Connors ( Krys )

GROUP 7.

Dilara Kaplan ( Stef )

Calahan Macarthy ( Manes )

Eliana Kendrick ( Sarah )

Leonard Katz ( G )

GROUP 8.

Daniel Choi ( Krys )

Thalia Edwards ( G )

Ruairi Macarthy ( Riley )

Antonella Ibarra ( Talia )

GROUP 9.

Cassie Westwood ( Hanna )

Dahlia Young ( Krys )

Damian Escobedo ( Ceecee )

Lisha Katz ( J )

GROUP 10.

Sofia Escobedo ( Em - 2 )

Selina Vale ( Talia )

Leon Wozniak ( J )

Angel Wallace ( Sarah )

Trey Kingston ( Christie )

GROUP 11.

Jasper Finch ( Manes )

Phoebe Yates ( Soph )

James Bennett ( Eric )

Terry Lowenstein ( Laine )

GROUP 12.

Jia Kim ( Em )

Lainey Caldwell ( Nikki )

Jeanie Ramachandran ( Aaron )

Elspeth Sun ( Manes )

GROUP 13.

Berenice Henry ( J )

Isabel Guzman ( Alyssa )

Maya Jackson ( Krys )

Avery Chopra ( Bay )

GROUP 14.

Saul Weissberg ( Velouria )

Lincoln Welch ( Nikki )

Samuel Harrison ( Talia )

Liam Reed ( Em )

GROUP 15.

Scarlett Blackwood ( Caitlyn )

Antonio Beltran ( Ceecee )

Chance Underwood ( Kau )

Nilay Bailey ( Bay )

GROUP 16.

Arizona Ortega ( Kris )

Moshe Behar ( Riley )

Izulu Zakwe ( Emily )

Quintana Weisz ( Nikki )

GROUP 17.

Rory Anderson ( Ceecee )

Matty Foster ( Molly )

Lewys Stone ( Sky )

Micah Weissberg ( Frankie )

GROUP 18.

Josie Finch ( Em - 2 )

Nate Abadiño ( Kau )

Roman Daniels ( Soph )

Charlette Lowenstein ( Riley )

[lullabyes22-blog]

Forward but Never Forget/XOXO - OC Contest

Calling all lovely peeps who submitted their delightful OC's for the OC Contest<3

I've begun plotting and outlining the chapter where the journalist dives into Zaun. They'll interview a bunch of people who comprise the daily bulk of Zaun's diverse cityscape.

As such, please submit a little paragraph - via reblog or comment - as to why your OC enjoys living in Zaun - or at least finds it tolerable or suited to their skillset/nature/lifestyle.

Template example:

"Well," said a fanfiction writer who chose to go unnamed, over their sixth cup of green tea, their tongue painted a nauseously dull viridian, "it reminds me of many a hellhole I've passed through - but with better drugs. I say that's the start of a promising future. Or, at least, a fine alternative to boredom." A sip from a mug shaped like a severed skull. "Come to think, I'm never bored in Zaun. Too many folks shooting at me. The Eye of Zaun's pissed because I'm writing an unauthorized biography on his past, and am refusing to pay him a dime in royalties."

The interview scene is as follows:

Whatever the arrangement between the Eye and the Fixers, they had cleared the way for you to enter Zaun's deepest recesses.

Now, all that was left was to make good on the journey.

Over the next few hours, you would be privy to secrets by the dozen: places and people heretofore unknown to you. Never before had you ascended the jumble of rooftops above Drop Street to observe the Solar's secret midnight ritual known as the Midsommar Farewell: colorful kites looping through the smoggy night sky as groups of giddy sumpsnipes raced across the firmament, tugging on strings in symbolic mimicry of the sun's eternal rise and fall. Or mingled, in the glassed-in gem of a cultivair's hot-house, with a languidly supercilious chem-baroness whose botany was the pinnacle of Zaun's genetic engineering: a profusion of ferns, vines, blossoms in a palette of chromatic vibrance that exquisitely perfumed the humid air. Or perched, cross-legged, in the suffocating walk-up of a tailor's shop, where an angel-faced girl labored over the stitches of a tycoon's suit: her fortieth for the night, but with no shred of self-pity in her smile, because her talent had made her a princess in the only kingdom that mattered. Or chorusing, blotchy-cheeked, with a crowd of laborers in a dimly-lit ale-house, their foam-topped tankards overspilling cheep beer as freely as their dirty tavern ditties, while others lounged in the quieter pockets, smoking cigarillos between hushed debates on everything from politics to poetry.

Zaunites, you observed, were as prone to waxing lyrically as they were to swearing. Their passions were strong; their fuses short. Their love of the absurd was matched only by their defiant optimism.

Self-determinism was, to them, not simply an integral facet. It was an article of faith.

It was a quality rarely glimpsed in their complacent counterparts across the river. The Undercity was once plagued by shootings, drug epidemics, floods, fires and bombings. Yet in barely two years, it had begun snapping into shape. There were offices and emporiums. New schools. Maternity clinics and rehabilitation centers. The ports had been rebuilt, and each day, a rich tide of tourists, merchants and migrants poured across its docks.

Zaun's cosmopolitan ethos welcomed newcomers. In Piltover, many districts remained honeycombed by bloodline. In Zaun, different creeds, classes and clans thrived side by side—albeit tempestuously. A cheap standard of living paired with easy access to food and medicine in an unregulated market meant that up-and-coming professionals, aspiring artists and rebels could flourish here. You spoke to a pretty Reiki masseuse who had rented an apartment at Entresol without, as happens in Demacia, being evicted on grounds of witchcraft. At a crowded tavern, you chatted up a cloaked Shuriman refugee exiled for worshiping the Great Weaver, a figure shunned abroad but tolerated in Zaun. Refilling your chem-filter mask at a breather station, you listened as the heavyset owner boasted of starting his own business from scratch after fleeing penniless from the war-torn trenches in Ionia.

Here, aristocratic antecedents counted for little. Wealth was the true determinant of success.

Or as Lock put it, "Money doesn't just talk in Zaun. It never shuts up."

Indeed, there seemed no end to Zaun's potential as a towering Technopolis. No matter how far you ventured through different zones, you never came away empty-handed. There was virtue and vice in every corner. Zaunites seemed the externalization of escape velocity: everyone was constantly pushing themselves toward the stars, even as their origins were grounded in the gutter.

It was a city of extremes: in ambition, in style, in attitude. What united them was not their origins. Rather, it was a sense of belonging to the city, as if each had claimed a square inch for their own.

OC's interviewed:

Avi - @silcosmoke

Hugo Nikolo - @the-blue-quetzalcoatl

Iris - @juniper-sunny

Rea - @lbulldesigns

Kayla - @catgoblinchelly