#i promise i promise i'm going to change my icon at some point

[lj-lephemstar]

Progress Checkup! (Nov. 2024) | Scratchin' Melodii Devlog

​​Hey again guys! Sorry if it's been a bit since the last devlog. With how much I've been up to, it sure feels like it!

Let's get right into it. For starters, the 3rd rival battle of Act 2 is complete! I'll likely be showing a gameplay preview of it sometime soon. This is the first song to use the new framework that I'll be using for all the other stages going forward, which also means I've had to spend the past couple weeks getting the previous songs working with this new system too... Did you know that in the demo builds, if I wanted to change something about the gameplay, I'd have to manually go back and change it for EACH individual song one by one? Well now, imagine all the songs had like a peace treaty to just share one good, clean, and organized system that I can easily tweak and add to as I please. So development is gonna be smoother than ever from here! This is how most games are SUPPOSED to work, but I was a liiittle too stupid to figure out how to do this until recently!

While I was moving Cream Cheese Icing over to this new system, I took the opportunity to make the chart a bit more beginner-friendly! For example, the first line went from this...

To just this!

As you can see, it has less notes, therefore it is less scary for new players. Believe it or not, I actually never intended for Cream Cheese Icing to be so difficult for new players in the first place! Naturally, being too good at my own game can make gauging the difficulty curve a bit tricky at times, but I think I'm figuring it out!​

You may have also noticed that the characters have new UI icons too! I felt like the old ones were too flat and boring, so I did a new take on them, aiming for more dynamic shapes and angles, not to mention how my art style's just kinda grown a bit in general since I last drew the icons. I also ended up leaving out the circles behind them. I was a little worried I was gonna run out of unique colors for all of them at some point, plus SOME of these guys can have really big hair and/or hats that pretty much just cover up the whole circle anyway. (hi rensa)

Speaking of artwork, here's a little look at some of the updated animation I've done for Stir & Mix! (Try to imagine it in not highly-compressed-gif-form. I promise it looks better in-game!)

When working on Stir & Mix related stuff, I can't help but feel a bit of a sense of dread knowing how people may react to it... Honestly, sometimes I kinda wish it never got as popular as it did in 2022. But hey, doing my own thing regardless of what's expected of me is the most Scratchin' Melodii thing I could do!

Speaking of which, Mia learned a ton of new stuff while doing the VOCALOID tuning for the last rival battle we worked on, so we might revisit Stir & Mix's vocals again at some point before release to give it even more style! (By the way, Mia and 2cada are the same person! Sorry if I refer to both names interchangeably! She's been the one doing all the VOCALOID tuning and vocal mixing for the game since 2023.)

Well, I think that's all for now! Here's another friendly reminder that there will NOT be anymore demos of the game. Any new content will be saved for the full game's release. I know I've said it before, but I probably won't stop saying it until people stop getting confused about it LOL. Thanks for reading!! I appreciate you. - LJ

[solecist]

ASDLFKJASDLFJ NOT 악어 SAYING "ok let's make our goal to find an accessory for today" AND IMMEDIATELY GETTING JUMPSCARED BY A SHIPWRECK WITH A PELICAN FLOATIE

[fuiru]

A 44 year old man goes to a K-Pop Concert

I promised you a report on the K-pop concert that I, a 44-year-old accountant, went to a couple of weeks ago with my wife and daughter in Toronto. So here it is.

The band we saw were Ateez. They're my daughter's favourite band and my wife's second favourite. I know most of my mutuals are similarly aged like me and may not be familiar with them so let me give you a brief primer on Ateez.

Imagine the most attractive eight men you can think of, just unfathomably beautiful specimens of aesthetic perfection, and make them sing songs that somehow combine the subjects of 'dancing like nobody is watching' with 'we live in a dystopian hellscape that we must all work together to overthrow'. Give them an ongoing music video story lore that literally nobody - not even the band themselves - understand, so that online discussion of their visual motifs looks more like the fevered rantings of a conspiracy theorist, complete with speculation about alternate realities and time being a Moebius strip. There is also a giant sand timer, for some reason.

That's Ateez. That's what you need to know.

Now, K-pop concerts are very different to the gigs I've been going to for the last 28 (!) years. There's no support act, for a start. Also the band perform for like, three hours, with breaks for costume changes and interpretive dance. Furthermore, hanging above everything is the constant looming threat of mandatory military service.

So this being my first such concert, I wasn't sure what to expect. What happened was difficult to explain, but I will try as I am already six paragraphs into this write-up and I'm too invested to stop now. Here goes:

In his Wicked + Divine comics series, Kieron Gillen places modern pop icons as deities, feeding upon and gaining strength from the worship of their fans at the altar of musical performance. I thought I understood that metaphor. I thought I understood it AS a metaphor. I was wrong, because that night Ateez WERE Gods with a capital G and we were their worshippers, a crowd emanating adoration (in the religious and non-religious senses), bestowing strength upon them and gaining their strength in return.

If that sounds weird, it probably is. But as pointed out above, I have lived over four decades and never yet experienced anything like the overwhelming passion of that crowd, the utter abandon with which they conveyed their love for the band.

"But Fuiru, what of the actual music?" you ask. Thinking back, there was a moment in one of their songs - I can't remember which - where I watched the stage, and the people around me, taking it in, and I thought, "Man, I just love Music". But that doesn't answer your question, sorry.

Ateez's music is bloody great. As a tiresome indie/rock/metal kid I'm resisting the urge to add the usual tiresome indie/rock/metal caveat of "...for pop music" because honestly that does it a disservice. They have some genuinely amazing songs. Halazia is an absolute fucking masterpiece that descends into furious hardcore breakbeat. Bouncy is a big, brash racket that somehow is also a perfect pop song. Utopia, Wonderland, and Guerrilla are similarly superb. The obligatory boy band slow number is represented by Dancing Like Butterfly Wings which will make you cry because you will forever associate it with your twelve year old daughter being pointed to and waved at by her favourite Ateez member (Seonghwa) because of her Seonghwa-branded lightstick.

That might just be me, though.

So in summary: being a 44 year old dad at his first K-pop concert rules and you should endeavour to partake in the experience if the opportunity arises.

Finally, for any Atiny reading this: my bias would be San or Seonghwa but my wife and daughter said they were taken so it’s Mingi. My concert outfit (designed and created by my offspring) reflects this.

[meltedpenguincc]

GRUBBY GAMERS cc Pack Pt.1

A cc pack for your gamer child and toddler sims! Includes everyday wear items, and a few variations of pajamas (child only). Includes characters from the following games across most items: Sonic, Mario, Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Zelda, Kirby, and Pac-Man.

All icons hand-drawn by me in Procreate! Had a lot of fun making this. 🤠

SMALL CLARIFICATION

I know I said their would be beds and paintings. However, due to sudden changes regarding personal life that process has come to a halt. I'm still going to resume making them at some point. I was looking forward to having them in my own game but it'll probably be a little while now. Apologies for over-promising, but I figured I'd at least get the CAS items wrapped up for a nice October treat! 🎃

Also, I'm aware the skirt isn't perfect perfect perfect. It's not horrible, definitely a functioning item, just a minor visual bug that i don't know how to address.

SET INCLUDES:

16 Items

Child

7 Tops

7 Bottoms

Toddler

2 Tops

BGC

As I stated in a previous tumblr post, I'm hoping to make a Teen-Elder Version sometime next year, but if anyone wants to convert these items, I'm perfectly fine with that, just be sure to give credit. You can even include the meshes.

INSTALLATION

IF YOU PLAY ON PC, BE SURE TO REMOVE THE "MACOSX" FOLDER

Please let me know if there are any problems, and I'll try my best to fix it in a timely manner, considering the current circumstances.

Hope you enjoy!

DOWNLOAD | PATREON (FREE)

@alwaysfreecc

[ladytabletop]

Do you happen to have any resources regarding accessibility in ttrpg design? About design, colours, phrasing of text or anything else that could be helpful!

I spent wayyyyy too long compiling all this - but it's important, and I appreciate you asking!!

Accessibility is a subject near and dear to my heart, and I will say up front that I'm not sure universal (aka accessible to everyone) design is possible, because people's needs can vary even within the same subset of similar disabilities (such as limited vision or blindness). BUT that doesn't mean we don't try to design for and make our games available to as many people as possible. Mismatch by Kat Holmes is a great read on design for accessibility in general, as is Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez. You might also check out literally anything Alice Wong has ever done.

To start, I recommend this article on the Lenses of Accessibility.

(for reference, this article is about web/graphic design, so I'm going to try and distill the most salient points for game design)

We are going to primarily focus on a few of these lenses:

Color

Font

Images & Icons

Layout

Readability

Structure

Keyboard

More details under the cut.

Color

Why does color matter? Well, for starters, there's a lot of colorblind people out there. Contrast affects readability. Autistic people and people who suffer from occular migraines might be affected by particular vivid colors. There's lots of reasons to consider color and the work it is doing in your piece, but in general you can provide a black and white, high contrast version of your game to help users.

There are tools out there to figure out if your contrast meets certain readability standards, such as this one.

Font

Dyslexia and other visual processing issues can make font choice really important. Plus, some fonts really affect readability. Additionally, line height, justification, and size of text can affect readability.

Best practice would be to provide a plain-text version of your game (and beware of "dyslexia-friendly" fonts which may or may not actually help - sticking to a basic readability font like Arial, Tahoma, or Verdana, is safest). I like this style guide for reference.

Images & Icons

For visually-impaired people, it's important to use alt-text, descriptions, and/or captions to help screenreaders properly translate images. Tons and tons of details that could go into this, but there are better people than me to describe it.

Layout

We've talked about this a bit, but there's tons of resources for this. There was recently a great writeup about Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast in terms of layout that I highly recommend.

Readability

More of the thing we've already talked about - it really is a combination of all the other lenses that comes down to readability. Audio versions of your game are always a good way to avoid the restrictions of screen readers, but can be expensive to produce.

Structure

This is tables. Tables are a nightmare for screenreaders, but including them as images can also be a problem. The short solution is "don't use tables" but that's not necessarily great for seeing people. The section in this blog is really great when talking about options for structure.

Keyboard

Debated on whether to include this, but given how many games are being read as purely digital files, I think it's important to have workable interactive elements that can be navigated through without a mouse. Some of that is going to come down to the programs being used to open your files. But if there are things you can do on your end (such as labeling form fillable fields on an interactive character sheet), they're worth doing!

Please understand that this isn't an exhaustive list. There's tons of resources out there and technology and standards are constantly changing.

It's also is important to note that even doing one of these things is helpful. You might look at this list and go "wow that's too hard" but I promise you, it's worth it. My games do not all have accessible versions! That's something I'm trying to rectify. The biggest part of that for me is thinking about accessibility from the start instead of at the end! But we can start today, and that's better than not starting.

The most important thing to remember are that disabled people are NOT a monolith - needs will differ from person to person. Accessible design makes gaming better for everyone!

Final Resources:

Accessibility in InDesign

Accessible-RPG

A11Y

Accessible Design for Teams

[lyrashifts]

. . . INTRODUCING MY MARAUDERS DR !

ABOUT : this dr is set in the 70s, and begins during my first year at hogwarts. it strays quite far from the actual events of the marauders era, and instead merges with the plot of the lighting era. in this dr, me and my friends work against prejudices and an upcoming war, as well as a very dangerous voldemort on the rise.

౨ৎ﹕[ ABOUT ME ! ]

+ name : lyra a. lavigne

+ nationality : english-french

+ birthplace : cambridge, england

+ languages : english, french

+ blood status : pureblood

+ house : gryffindor

+ moodboard

౨ৎ﹕[ PERSONALITY ! ]

+ likes : writing, playing the guitar, drawing, reading, theater, cookies, poetry, magical creatures and animals, going on long walks, baking, being better dressed than everyone else, jumpers, rainy days, shopping (especially for music and clothes), hozier, queen, david bowie, the smiths, little women, lemon iced tea, stealing james's invisibility cloak, pranking (and actually getting away with it)

+ known for : converse, cherry red, loving 90s muggle movies, being best friends with remus, reading at social events when bored, drinking too much coffee, having cool hair, my style, quoting dead poets society daily, leather jackets, liking hozier and the smiths way too much, being an amazing gift giver, having a new hairstyle every day, being nice to everyone unless they cross me, smelling like cinnamon, coffee, and books, being amazing at school and magic, somehow getting every lead role in plays, wearing jumpers and leather jackets in the dead of summer and not somehow overheating to the point of death

౨ৎ﹕[ BACKSTORY ! ]

+ backstory : i grew up in england where a lot of my family was but by the time i turned 13 we moved to scotland, partially to attend hogwarts and partially because my parents wanted to get away from some of our pureblood family members. my parents, though from a notable pureblood family, don't agree with the views of pureblood culture. because my parents' reputation for their last name still upheld, when we moved we were invited to an event that ended up just being a pureblood society ball. we only stayed out of politeness, but it was there that i met sirius and promised to be best friends with him when we got to hogwarts since we both hated the party.

౨ৎ﹕[ WARDROBE ! ]

+ description : my style in this dr can change a lot, especially taking into consideration the weather or location i'm in. in terms of colors, i wear a lot of neutrals but tend to have a specific color pop (which oftentimes a cherry red). during winter and autumn months, i am often wearing oversized jumpers (whether mine or stolen from remus). i also almost always wear flared or baggy pants. some of my iconic pieces include leather jackets, doc martens, band tees, baker boy hats, plaid skirts, and more. during the summer i tend to wear baby tees and babydoll tops, along with skirts. with my uniform, i pair many accessories to make it look as appealing as possible, and use magic to have different nails every day.

౨ৎ﹕[ LIFE AT HOGWARTS ! ]

+ general : students start first year at 14, so it is a sort of hybrid between highschool and university, where students have much more freedom once 18. school uniforms are only required during classes from monday - thursday, and on friday you may wear your desired outfit underneath your robes.

+ dorms : students are allocated private dorms that have within them a bed, a desk, a private bathroom, and more. once a student is assigned to a dorm, the dorm changes to accommodate that student's taste. once you are given your dorm number, you must choose a password and it is your responsibility to ensure students you do not want to come in cannot. in the case that a student knows your password and you do not want them to, you can ask a professor to change it and they will do so. alohomora will not unlock dorm rooms. dorms are organized by house, but boy's and girl's dorms are not separated - everything is instead organized by house and name.

+ extra-curriculars : the clubs i am part of include music club (which later inspires me and my friends to make a band), theater club, art club, care of magical creatures club, and in later years, the quidditch team

+ houses : the animosity between houses (especially slytherin and gryffindor) is not nearly as prevalent as depicted in the books. it is known that not all students in one house are the same, and so, while some friendly competition is encouraged, it is not uncommon to have friends from every house. students of every house are allowed into the common rooms and dorms (with permission of at least one person from that house).

+ events : all the events featured in this post are included in this dr

౨ৎ﹕[ ABOUT THIS DR ! ]

+ worldbuilding : not a lot changes about the war except for the fact that it's toned down and ends during my seventh year (which we redo since it would be similar to the last year in the harry potter books - looking for horcruxes without actually being at hogwarts). of course, none of my friends die. i haven't accounted for how the war will end exactly, so i suppose i'll let that work itself out organically.

+ main friends : remus lupin, sirius black, james potter, lily evans, regulus black, marlene mckinnon, mary macdonald.

+ relationships : i am a formal part of both the marauders and the valkyries. i became friends with the marauders at the start of the school year, and we were consequently established as a friend group before me and the girls. i tend to spend more time with the marauders but our groups often mingle since everyone gets along (except maybe lily and james at the beginning). i also have some friends in slytherin, such as andromeda and regulus, but i tend to stay away from the anti-muggleborn students.

[genevievefangirl]

Gen's Top 100 DBDA Fics - PART 10

For all caveats/rules/backstory, please read the Master Post

Thoroughfare By: expertonhaircuts worm_pirate_ on twitter Rating: T Tags: AU - Zombie Apocalypse, AU - Last of Us, Slow Burn, Hurt Edwin Payne, Protective Charles Rowland, Unfinished Summary: “I’m Charles,” He says, determined to keep eye contact with the boy’s wide, green eyes, “Are you okay?” The boy doesn’t say anything. He just looks down and rolls up the right sleeve of his shirt, and Charles’ mouth goes dry. Logically, he knew it was there, he knew, he saw the Infected bite into the boy when Charles was under him. But somehow, as they ran, he’d convinced himself he’d saved them both. “Promise me, Charles,” The name comes as an afterthought, the boy’s voice shaking, “Promise me you’ll kill me when I turn.” // OR: A zombie apocalypse AU inspired by The Last of Us in which Edwin is immune, Charles has sworn to protect him, and together they’ve been running from their pasts whilst trying to do some good along the way. My Notes: This is the only truly 'unfinished' fic on this list in that it hasn't been updated for months at this point, but I promise you it is worth reading in it's current state. I love zombie AUs and this one is one of the best I have ever read. The first meeting between the boys is iconic and the instant connection they form is *chef's kiss*. I promise you will love it.

Touched by you By: Lemurafraidofthunder @lemurafraidofthunder Rating: T Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Caretaking, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Protective Charles Rowland, Protective Edwin Payne Summary: After a run in with an iron-happy witch, our favourite ghost detectives take care of each other and perhaps have some realisations. Featuring gentle touches, a slightly panicking Edwin and Charles who’s always gonna be ready with a soft smile for Edwin. My Notes: The boys taking care of each other after getting injured will always be one of my fav genres.

Wait, I'm Coming Too By: flowerbritts @flowerbritts Rating: T Tags: Feelings Realization, Misunderstandings, Protective Charles Rowland, Hurt/Comfort, Case Fic, FIrst Kiss Summary: Edwin was changing. Charles couldn't help but see this as strange as 'Edwin' and 'change' were usually never in the same sentence. But Charles noticed. Charles would always notice. or Charles has to use his investigative skills to solve The Case of The Different Demeanor. My Notes: Edwin's different. Charles is struggling with that. The boys talking about their feelings after the season is over is such an underrated genre of fic and this is one of the best of those.

what is Hell to a broken heart? By: imnotcryingipromise Rating: G Tags: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Self-Sacrifice, First Kiss, Soul Bond, Protective Charles Rowland Summary: "You'd trade your soul?" the demon asks, evidently mystified but intrigued. "For his?" Charles breathes out a humourless laugh. "His is worth more than ten of mine," he submits. "But I doubt you value souls of quality. You demons want anger, yeah? And pain? You feed off it... Well I'm full of it." *** Hell returns to reclaim Edwin. Desperate to protect his friend, Charles offers up his soul instead. My Notes: Charles trying to save Edwin from going back to Hell by sacrificing himself? SIGN ME UP!

what some circumstance stole By: Chrome @catalists Rating: T Tags: Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Torture, Kidnapping, Hurt Edwin Payne, Protective Charles Rowland Summary: For a magic-user intent on siphoning pain for power, both Hob Gadling and Edwin Payne represent unique opportunities. United in dire circumstances, a man incapable of dying and a boy long dead forge an unusual friendship--and try to survive the experience. --- “When you died,” Hob said. “How old were you?” “Sixteen.” “That,” Hob said, “Is awful.” Edwin shrugged. “Life is, I’m afraid,” he said. “Can be wonderful, too,” Hob said. “I promise.” My Notes: I have never seen Sandman, but this story hit me hard. It has everything! Hurt Edwin with Charles being protective and an interesting case too! And Hob is a great POV character that I grew from not knowing at all to LOVING by the end.

what was there to complain of, but that he had been loved? By: imnotcryingipromise Rating: T Tags: Fix-it, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Love Triangles, Angst with a Happy Ending, Protective Charles Rowland, PTSD Summary: "Edwin!" Charles' anxious plea brings him back to the present. They are just inches from one another, the younger boy’s hands pressed to either side of his inconsolable companion's face. "Stay with me, yeah?" Charles whispers. *** Following Niko’s death, Edwin begins having panic attacks. Charles is torn between his desperate desire to console his oldest friend and his duty to the girl he cares for. My Notes: Charles insisting on giving Edwin comfort when Edwin insists he doesn't need any is such a good trope. And I love Charles running after Edwin when he runs away.

Who Would You Kill For? By: Asoftdaniel ourbluehours on twitter Rating: T Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Troture, Protective Charles Rowland, Violent Thoughts, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt Edwin Payne, Angst Summary: Edwins' screams mulled Charles' soul into pieces. He was unable to reach him, the iron collar a burning reminder carving his skin with the guilt. No matter how much he struggled against the choker, no matter how many threats were shouted, he couldn't stop Edwin’s tortured wails. He would make that witch pay. He would make everything alright. or the events from the last episode written slightly different– more violent and sentimental– and the aftermath while comforting away some deep scars. My Notes: Charles going ferral on Esther after she tortures Edwin is catnip to me.

Who? You mean your teammate in the Codependency World Cup? - Series By: RoseGanymede95 @oxbellows Rating: G-M Tags: Case Fic, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Protective Edwin Payne, Protective Charles Rowland, Angst Summary: The pre-canon adventures of Edwin and Charles. In which they love each other a whole lot and neither one has any idea how to be normal about it. My Notes: Yes I did put all of Codependency together because otherwise it would have taken 5 slots lol This is highly rated for a reason, if you haven't read it yet, what are you doing??? Go read it! The characterization of Edwin and Charles is spot on and the writing itself is delightful. Everytime it updates the entire DBDA Haunt server screams about it. If that doesn't tell you all you need to know then nothing will!

Will it shine forever? By: Asoftdaniel ourbluehours on twitter Rating: G Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, AU - Soulmates, Angst, Protective Charles Rowland, Soul Bond Summary: “He is gone,” Charles choked out, wet and desperate, “I can’t feel him Crystal, he is gone.” It rang true, sucking all the oxygen in the space around them until it was painfully obvious that, even if soulmates could be separated by Death, Hell would have to try a lot harder. Even if the soul mark was gone and Charles grieved the loss of half his soul, he would wreak havoc until there was nothing left of him. Or: the soulmate au where when Edwin gets taken to Hell the soul mark and ‘soul bond’ disappears, leaving Charles uncertain if Edwin is still even ‘alive’ yet he goes down to Hell anyways. My Notes: Soulmate AUs are some of my favorites and I love this one partially because Charles not being able to feel Edwin anymore when he is dragged to Hell hit me right in the gut.

Your flickering light By: tragedy_machine @tragedy-machine Rating: T Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Protective Charles Rowland, Feelings Realization, PTSD Summary: Charles sees it happen in real time. He sees how Edwin goes from distressed to so deeply panicked it’s evident that his mind goes to a completely different place. He also sees the moment Edwin flickers and simply sinks through the floor. Edwin phasing through one floor to get to the one below wouldn’t be anything to write home about, except for the fact that they already are on the utmost ground floor. There was nothing underneath the house but a few meters of concrete, followed by rock and dirt. OR: Edwin gets triggered during an attack which causes him to disappear and a panicked Charles has to figure out how to find him before it's too late My Notes: The idea of Edwin falling through the floor due to panic has stuck in my brain from the first time I read this fic months ago. I love the moment when Charles finds him half buried in the ground. It is just so good.

And that's the full 100!

But we aren't done yet! Tune in tomorrow for:

Part 11- Bonus WIPs day!

[morningstargirl666]

hii !!!! do u know any klaroine fics like into eternity by you?? a fic where caroline chooses klaus / klaus is endgame but it follows the original story?? like i dont want an au ! i hope i'm making sense! thank you so much if you answer <3333

Hmmm I think I can think of a few, some are wips tho.

Persistence of Memory by perfectpro / @helpless-in-sleep

Complete. One-shot. Caroline visits Klaus in New Orleans after the last time they saw each other was when they had a fight (they've been bumping into other for years by this point). Doesn't realise his radio silence was not in fact anger, but because he'd completely forgotten her thanks to a spell. Mikaelson siblings guest star, post-canon divergence that really shows that Klaus will fall in love with her no matter the circumstances. There's a detail about his rosary necklace he always wears that I won't spoil but damn, did it change my brain chemistry.

Someone's First Choice by unpublishnovelist

WIP. Multichap. Not finished yet, but really promising. Caroline visits Klaus in New Orleans for Mardi Gras and its beautiful. We love our girl getting what she deserves. I'm so excited for more updates of this.

Does forever work for you? by meet_the_girl_who_can

Complete. One-shot. AU from when Liz dies. Klaus visits her at the funeral and she chooses to leave with him for New Orleans.

throw roses into the abyss by marxandangels / @marxandangels

WIP. Multichap. Another Caroline goes to New Orleans after her mom's death and decides to stay there. Some real iconic scenes in this one, and it continues on, spanning months/years into their relationship. Really good read.

From The Eastern Mountains by Cupcakemolotov / @cupcakemolotov

Complete. One-shot. Smut included, if I remember correctly. Caroline and Klaus keep bumping into each other across the world. The (christmas?) market scene lives rent free in my head. Absolutely iconic.

Wayfarer by perfectpro / @helpless-in-sleep

Another cute little one-shot where they bump into each other in Paris. Perfection.

There's tons more but these are the first that come to mind, some even inspired Into Eternity in some ways. I'll stop there cause I think I'm just going to end up reccing fics I've already recced before. Check out my bookmarks on AO3 and filter by the vampire diaries if you want more - I tend to bookmark everything I read and enjoy.

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Vol3E1 "Round One"

Hello, everyone, and welcome to a new collection of RWBY Recaps!!

This is a unique project in that instead of writing purely for my own entertainment, these recaps are part of the Fandom Trumps Hate auction (you can check them out here if you're interested in learning more). Specifically, these recaps are a gift for the lovely Kae who requested some meta on the earlier Volumes, or work that focused on Ozpin and/or Ironwood. I figured that Volume Three would touch on all those requests and, frankly, it's an era of RWBY that I was already interested in covering. Volume 3 was a turning point for RWBY's tone and overall mythology and I'm eager to see what I think of it in 2024, after six additional seasons and a rather chaotic overhaul.

(If anyone is reading this from the future, one of the reasons why it took me so damn long to get the first recap out is because finding official streams of RWBY has become a fool's errand as it changes ownership. Fun!)

Anyway, the game plan is simple: cover all of Volume Three at an undetermined, though hopefully steady-ish pace from here on out. Technically, the deadline for our FTH fandowrks is at the end of 2024, however, I absolutely plan to continue this series past my 5k promise. As always, this will be a RWDE-focused meta (though I'm eager to see how much nostalgia carries me through the season), so if you Don't Like; Don't Read.

Everyone got that? Great!

Now, indulge me for a moment and cast your mind back. It's October of 2015. Pizza Rat is a tumblr icon, Left Shark still reigns, and everyone is arguing over whether a dress is gold and white, or blue and black (it's the former FYI ;). Amidst such quality memes RWBY begins airing again on the 24th, presumably bringing with it another season of stellar choreography and simple, if entertaining conflict. Team RWBY has just helped contain a massive breach courtesy of Cinder's machinations, Torchewick is in Ironwood's custody, the White Fang is falling under Salem's puppeteering, Penny has revealed her android identity as well as her supposed fate to save the world, the girls are beginning to acknowledge the responsibility of their chosen career path, and the mysterious Raven has been identified as Yang's birth mother. All in all, RWBY has a lot to play with going into its third season.

It's notable then that we open peacefully. The viewer is treated to a number of environmental shots to set the scene, including one of the forest with its iconic falling Fall leaves. Ruby is positioned at the edge of a cliff with her signature rose petals drifting behind her. Stylistically it fits the scene, though from a literal standpoint it also implies that she used her semblance speed to get here. Given the momentary reveal that she's speaking to her mom, that's a rather heartwarming detail.

Sidenote: has anyone given any thought to cliffs in this series? It only occurred to me recently how often they show up, often during character milestones. Here we have Ruby talking to Summer for the first time, her (bodiless) grave situated at the end of a cliff. The Beacon initiation involves chucking the kids off a cliff and seeing how they fare, an action that is the catalyst for the group's introductions/growing dynamics. Shooting Oscar off the edge of Atlas solidifies Ironwood's turn from anti-hero to outright villain. Though I'm far from a fan of this scene, Ruby's (ridiculous) near-fall off the cliff during the fight with Cordovin preludes her (supposed) growth in leadership as she stands up to Qrow. Penny lets herself fall from Amity after sacrificing herself to get it up into the air. Then, of course, we've got the girls falling off of Ambrosius' bridge, taking them to a world where - execution aside - the intention was for them all to go through major developments: Ruby is literally reborn, Jaune experiences a lifetime of struggle, Yang and Blake finally admit their feelings, and Weiss... gets over her whole country being destroyed?

Idk, we'll have to come back to that one.

I clearly don't have a big takeaway here, just the acknowledgement that this is a visual RWBY gravitates towards. Might do a whole side meta on it some day...

Anyway, as said we realize quickly this is Summer's grave with her name carved into the headstone along with "Thus kindly I scatter." Notably, she also has her rose motif there and it's likewise prominent on Ruby's belt in this scene. Looking back, we can see how RWBY did a better job at the start of sprinkling in these significant character details before, you know, dropping them completely and then attempting a rapid-fire resurrection. Meaning, I would have bought into the emotion of Ruby giving her pendant up in Volume 9 if we'd gotten these moments consistently throughout the story's run. It wouldn't take much, just a reminder every couple of episodes to maintain the momentum. Give Ruby a scene where she explains that this rose was left by Summer before she disappeared and she's treasured it ever since. Show a flashback where we learn that it was really left behind for both girls and Yang handed it down to Ruby when she was old enough to keep track of it. Give us a minor conflict where it's lost during battle and Ruby unnecessarily endangers herself in an attempt to retrieve it (perhaps in Volume 8, setting up that the object itself is not as important as the intangible love it represents). Hell, keep it lighthearted where Yang gets Ruby something rose related at the gift shop, Nora tucks a Rose into her hair while wandering the wilderness, Qrow gives the pendant a cheeky flick while talking about how Ruby's as stubborn as her mom. My point is there are a million ways the show could have built towards that scene in Volume 9 - ways like showing us that rose on Summer's gravestone - but the show dropped the ball halfway through.

Here and now though, Ruby begins catching Summer up on everything that's happened to her since she started Beacon, which serves as a useful way to catch the viewer up too - both those who, for whatever reason, may have started RWBY with Volume 3, and those who just need a hiatus refresher.

Ruby is delightfully awkward here, a personality trait that I think becomes more forced as the series goes on. She jokes that she hasn't gotten kicked out of Beacon yet - while doing that cute little rock on her heels thing - and says that she's able to "keep [Yang] in line" by being on the same team. She follows that up with, "...that was a joke" which is just quintessential Ruby to me. Love it.

She recaps that Yang has grown a lot as a fighter since Summer left, the rest of their team is made up of Blake and Weiss, together they form Team RWBY and yes, that's as confusing as it sounds. She's stopped bad guys and met some "odd" teachers, including Ozpin.

(THAT'S MY BOY!!!)

Looking back, this is actually a fascinating couple of lines. At least, I think they have the potential to be fascinating if RT had followed a clear writing path. Ruby wonders again why Ozpin let her into Beacon early, but shrugs it off under the assumption that he'll tell her one day. "You know how he is."

Yeah, I do, Ruby. Do you?

We already knew from their initial interaction that Ruby knew who Ozpin was - she recognizes him on sight - though him posing the question implies that he never visited Patch post-her birth. At least, not recently enough for Ruby to have formed a memory of them meeting. I can only assume then that she's heard enough about him from Tai and Qrow to a) be sure of his identity (any promotional material/news about Beacon would have helped with that too) and b) believes strongly that her impression of him formed since entering Beacon aligns with what her parents presumably said about him: "You know how he is." The fact that this is in reference to Ozpin's secret keeping makes me wonder how often that came up around the dinner table. Did Tai ever express frustration, a la Ironwood, that they're clearly being kept in the dark about things? Did Qrow ever dodge the girls' questions about where he's been because he can't be honest about his spy activities, aligning Ozpin's reputation with secrecy by virtue of working for him? The casualness with which Ruby shrugs off Ozpin's secrets to Summer heavily implies that Ozpin's cagey history is both well known to the family and accepted.

Honestly, I would have loved to see this woven into Ruby's core characterization, perhaps even an extension of her "simple soul." Give me a girl who is intrinsically accepting of people, including their need to keep certain things close to the chest. Teammate deliberately kept her faunus identity under wraps? Friend hides the fact that she's an android from the whole world? Ruby accepts them. Ruby gets it. The fact that Ruby does, canonically, accept their duplicity without so much as a blink is, I think, one of the reasons why I expected her of all people to be more sympathetic towards Ozpin's hidden identity. We can argue about the girls' right to the truth via participating in this war till the cows come home, but at the end of the day Ozpin's secrets are intrinsically tied up in his family, his history, and the trauma surrounding both. Let the others get mad, prioritizing information over personal motivations (that does fit their characterizations well, with Blake perhaps being an exception), but Ruby? The show has never been willing to commit to the kind of dark story that would result in a 180 character growth - endlessly forgiving protagonist becomes jaded and cynical as she experiences The Horrors - and little moments like this one further emphasize to me that Ruby, specifically Ruby, is uniquely suited to helping Ozpin not just fight, but finally finish this war. It should never have been (just) about her talent with a scythe, or even the rarity of Silver Eyes. The Gods wanted Ozpin to unite humanity and here's a young woman who unabashedly loves everyone that the world tends to despise: secret keepers and drunk uncles and faunus and Schnees and scary androids. Ruby should have been the emotional bridge!!

Okay, I swear I'm not going to make this series a rehash of my issues with the later Volumes lol. Inevitably some things are going to crop up though.

Moving on, Ruby mentions that Tai is here too and the viewer gets to see his avatar for the first time, albeit from a distance. In keeping Summer updated on her... husband? Wait, were they married? Well, in keeping her updated on her partner, Ruby says that, "He's, you know... Dad," which, unlike the Ozpin line, is just plain funny. Sure, most of her talk is very exposition-y and absolutely functions as a soft lead-in to new content, but that's not to say a story should ever put absurd dialogue in a character's mouth simply for the sake of the viewer. That is, Ruby should never say, 'Oh, Tai is here! You know, my Dad?' because the person she's talking to, Summer, knows damn well who Tai is. Television has actually gotten better about this as a whole. Once upon a time a medical drama would have the doctor yelling, 'Her skin is turning yellow - she's jaundiced! Her liver is failing!' to ensure that the viewer understood precisely what 'jaundiced' meant, never mind how absurd it was for a professional to be shouting that among their peers. (Granted, medical dramas as a whole are absurd. I say that with love.) Despite RT's general inexperience, RWBY belongs to an era of televised storytelling where leaving certain things unsaid is par for the course.

Here, the unspoken information is what it means for Tai to be, you know, Tai. We don't really know who Tai is yet- personality-wise, I mean - so Ruby's comment functions more as a way to set up our expectations rather than to connect with us in agreement. We now expect Tai to be the kind of guy who does things to make his teenage daughter sigh and go, 'That's Dad...' and we, presumably, look forward to seeing that.

Granted, the three things we do know about Tai at this point in the story consist of:

He's a fellow Huntsmen (which is an insane job)

He let his daughter join Beacon two years early to also become a Huntress (also kinda insane but I support him)

He maintains a relationship with said daughter and daughter Sr by sending them their dog in the mail (do I really need to say it?)

Based on that I suppose we can guess as to what Tai is like lol.

He calls Ruby away so they're not late for the match and she sends a last message to Summer over her shoulder: "It was good to talk." As we transition, a murder of crows flies across the sky. Or is it an unkindness of ravens? I can barely tell in real life, let alone when they're animated blobs, but either option works well enough given the upcoming revelation about the Branwen twins.

Cutting to the arena a little time in the future, the viewer is treated to some establishing shots that, while simple, are honestly pretty cool. I believe this is our first introduction to Atlas' floating environments and showing a bit of Beacon Academy in the background helps give us a sense of scale.

This event is clearly popular, with the stadium absolutely packed with people (even more are trickling in from ferrying ships) and, to RT's credit, they did a bit of work to convey diversity in this world. We see a decent variety of skin tones as well as faunus characteristics, to say nothing of the cool designs many of the competitors will get. Beyond the main cast still being overwhelmingly white, I'd say the biggest issue here is the lack of body diversity, what with everyone having the same, stick-thin figure. Yeah, RT is clearly using the same base model copied a hundred times and I'm very aware of their previous status as a small, independent company, but such visuals nevertheless stand out in a series that's been pushing a minority plotline for three seasons.

The camera swoops down to follow Team RWBY in the midst of a battle which, again, is staged in a way that's clearly meant to catch up/invite in new viewers. It's very trailer-esque as each shot lingers on Weiss, Blake, and Yang for a moment before finishing with Ruby, complete with a twirl of Crescent Rose. This is the show visually reminding you of what it's really about. Sure, we might have started with Ruby speaking peacefully by a grave, but at the end of the day RWBY is the story of a team engaging in combat situations.

Oobleck and Port are announcing the event and Oobleck throws out his standard "Doctor" when his title goes unacknowledged.

You know, I started RWBY nearly a decade ago. Four years ago I secured a PhD, so I feel that now.

Port provides another handy info dump for those "just now joining us." AKA the viewer who has no idea what a Vytal Festival is, but this is as good an excuse as any given that people are still entering the stadium. Simply put, all the Kingdoms' huntsmen schools are competing as teams first, then as duos, then as individuals to determine the final winner who will have achieved "victory for their kingdom!" Age and year are irrelevant, which makes perfect sense given the nature of RWBY's combat. You've got young prodigies like Ruby and people who sneak into Beacon like Jaune, and though the other schools/years probably don't have as much drama going on, the variety of semblances, weapons, dust use, and personal experience really makes this anyone's game. A first year might easily beat a fourth year if they won the genetic lottery with their semblance, or a student from School A might trounce someone their age from School B, depending on how much their school has sent them into real combat situations.

Given all that, I kinda wish the Festival had developed the other Kingdoms more, given that it's the perfect opportunity for the cultures to learn from one another and/or butt heads. In a perfect world, one where RT had some sense of where their story was going, I would have loved to see:

Strong development of Vacuo's citizens, especially given that it will be the focal point of Volume 10 and possibly the end of the series (if we ever get that...).

Though the gag that Weiss excepts strict, militaristic fighters from Atlas only to get Neon is funny, that 'Don't judge a book by its cover' lesson really doesn't align well with what Volume 7 and 8 try to push. Better, perhaps, to set up Atlas' dictatorship tendencies before swinging hard in that direction (and I'll get into how what we do see doesn't make the cut).

How Remnant's racism gets displayed in a highly public competition. Do Blake and the other faunus face more discrimination now that they're in the public eye? Do asshole citizens challenge wins because no way did a faunus beat that human?

How different schools approach training their huntsmen. Specifically, everyone seems to abide by the four-person team structure, so why would this competition eventually highlight duos and individuals? It seems counter to what Beacon, and by extension all the other schools, are trying to promote. This setup would make more sense if we were shown that different schools have radically different curriculum. Maybe it's eventually 1v1 because Vacuo's individualist, survival-based culture teaches huntsmen to fend for themselves; teammates are just another liability. Maybe Atlas, being militaristic, prizes safety in numbers and has students train in groups of six rather than four. Maybe Mistral is incredibly semblance-focused (a way to develop Neptune's phobia rather than just making it a gag; a fighter who can't or won't use their semblance is considered effectively useless) and if you can negate that aspect of their style somehow, you find they're lacking severely in weapon-based combat.

Again, I know that RWBY, particularly early RWBY, only had so much time per episode, but looking back it feels like there are a lot of missed opportunities in this world-watched event. None of this is even taking into account Cinder sneaking into the school, or Penny being outed as an android. If any RWBY rewriters are reading this, the Festival is a potential goldmine of characterization and cultural development. If you're going to write random RWBY books, write some about that!

One moment of cultural significance that is shown though is the Atlas security hovering around the arena. They mostly keep to the background, without any single appearance being obtrusive (yet). This is one of those moments where (some) fans look back and say, "See? Ironwood was always a controlling, military-obsessed bastard," but the reality is that this is incredibly tame by real world standards, to say nothing of the realities of RWBY's fantasy world. Regardless of how you feel about the, uh... motivations behind the security in your country (because that's a whole other conversation), you expect there to be some level of professional oversight when that many people are meeting in one place. That's a reality we have to work with, which includes all the potential pitfalls, biases, manipulations, and accidents that come with any large-scale endeavor. Toss in the fact that RWBY's security is designed to defend against man-eating monsters and I'm honestly surprised it isn't presented as dystopian here. Meaning, we easily could have been given a story where people are comparatively safe from grimm in modern day Remnant and the security functions primarily as outside control and/or a fear-mongering tactic. It's not that security is inherently unnecessary, but those walls have done a damn good job for the last generation or so, so why is James so insistent on populating this festival with his probably not-needed robots? Seems sus 🤔.

As it stands, grimm DO attack people on the regular (that was kind of a big part of last Volume's finale), security IS necessary (according to many other council professionals once James raises the issue), and it's arguably MORE necessary now - during the festival - because there are so many potentially negative emotions just waiting to crop up. Instead of "Seems sus," the reaction to having defensive robots around is more, "No duh." At the very least RWBY might have had the characters react to the security with suspicion/fear, even if that doesn't totally track with the rest of the worldbuilding, or better yet, demonstrate that there are major issues with AI leading the charge (robot mistakes kid in grimm mask for real grimm and fires a shot!). Granted, we get that through the hacking at the very end of the Volume, but here and now the Atlas ships seem to be used primarily for transporting viewers, the crowd is fully at ease with these guys, and — as we'll see later — the prospect of additional security in the form of AI is greeted with enthusiasm, not wariness, simply because it will keep real, breathing people off the front lines. Those are all important things to keep in mind when you consider whether a) The show took a very sharp turn in Volumes 7-8 or b) The show capitalized on a long established, slow burn plotline.

(Psst the answer is 'B')

ANYWAY, Oobleck is yelling about the "Spectacular spectacles on which to speculate on!" and I love him all the more. While he and Port narrate we get some non-animated shots of people viewing the Festival from around the world, though frankly it doesn't do much to help RWBY's worldbuilding. Some people watch the fights from a camper outside, others are in a minimalist apartment, still others are in what's basically a bar... if you're looking for intriguing backgrounds to drum up interest in the world outside of Beacon, you're not going to find it here. The presence of various faunus individuals is really the only thing that distinguishes these settings from a show based in the real world.

Onto the fighting! (It's about time :p) The girls are facing off against Team ABRN (pronounced "Auburn") from Haven and they're decent for a couple of one-off characters. I like the design of the girl with the skateboard - Reese - and how her weapon, the board itself, gives her a lot of flexibility in battle. Since it functions as a hoverboard she has a lot of maneuverability, she can use the board as a shield, a projectile, adapt its abilities via Dust, and - of course - she can pull both sides apart to duel wield the guns. Looking at all that flexibility, it is a little lame that she 'loses' that particular encounter with Blake by slipping on the ice, but then we're not really supposed to care about these characters. They exist solely to get us hyped for the battles to come and give a quick primer on how those battles will work. AKA, now we've learned that the battlefield itself has hazards the girls must circumvent.

Blake is cute here though. She's so concerned and I'm like yeah, girl, that looked like it hurt 😬

This whole exchange has that same vibe: one of casual playfulness, which makes perfect sense given that this is supposed to be a fun competition. They're exhibition matches, not real attempts to take the other team out (which is why Yang's supposed act later in the tournament will be seen as so heinous). The guy with the pink hair (Nadir) full on pouts when Ruby successfully traps him in a block of ice and, of course, we have the classic "Got your back!"/"My BFF!" lines in response. The girls are enjoying themselves and that's so damn wholesome to see after all the tragedies - plot and writing-wise - of the later Volumes.

Team ABRN are able to make a bit of a comeback and - *gasp* - the girls have to actually think creatively/combine techniques in order to get the upper-hand. Blake successfully tricks Reese with a clone and catches her in the midriff with a quickly timed ribbon, cleanly knocking her out of the ring. It's here that we learn a team member can be eliminated via leaving the bounds, or having their aura dip too low (remember when that was a thing?) I know I just said there's teamwork, and there absolutely is here, but it did stand out to me how Blake just like... disappears after this moment? I mean she comes back, but it's clear RT wanted each girl to have her moment in this battle, despite the fact that any member who successfully defeated their opponent would be rushing off to help the others. That should be a near defining win condition - defeat one opponent and suddenly it's a 2 vs 1 situation for someone else - but that expectation falls by the wayside until the fight's final moments.

It's a good fight though. Not the greatest by RWBY standards, but it was no hardship to rewatch for this recap either. Weiss pulls out an epic ice hand that ensnares two of the members, now rolling chaotically across the arena, and clearly she thinks this is the end of the fight. However, Arslan — the monk-type who favors hand-to-hand combat (or the one with the "Eastern martial arts influence" according to the RWBY wiki...)— simply rolls her eyes, plants her feet, and shatters the ball with a single hit. Gotta admit, it's pretty cool.

Of course, Team RWBY still comes out victorious in the end. With all of Team ABRN now in one place, the girls have one of those lovely mind-reading moments and pull off a coordinated attack, allowing Yang to sucker-punch them all out of the ring. Again, it's nice to see that kind of teamwork, as well as the adorable way they all stand there, mildly shocked that they won.

I'll take that over the brazen, cocky confidence they've gained any day.

The only thing I'm kinda iffy about regarding this fight is how Team ABRN feels a little less like a full-fledged team to me, and more like a faint Team RWBY echo. It's most noticeable in the Yang vs. Arslan sections where you've got two yellow-coded, hand-to-hand snarkers facing off. Blake and Reese both feel like the cool, alternative style members of their teams, and then you've got the Weiss-Ruby duo trying to overtake the Bolin-Nadir duo. It's admittedly a subtle familiarity that lessens with each example, but it stood out to me in the re-watch; like Team ABRN only exists to give Team RWBY someone vaguely similar to overcome. Which, granted, they do. These are not characters we're going to follow as the series progresses, so in most respects they've done precisely what they needed to do and in a way that looks cool and feels entertaining. So this isn't a criticism, really. More an acknowledgment that RWBY is a series with limits and if we want to know more about these characters/flesh them out beyond their paralleling characteristics, we'll have to do that ourselves in the fanfic.

As Ruby jumps into the air in a victory celebration, we PowerPoint slide cut to the festival later that day where she nearly collapses, asking if anyone else is starving.

Yeah, child. You just made it through a physically intensive battle in front of an audience while existing as a teenager. Of course you're hungry. Blake's stomach gives a giant, embarrassing growl in response and Weiss sarcastically bemoans the fact that there's nowhere to eat at the food-focused festival. Good times, good times.

Ruby: "It's okay, Weiss. I forget about the fair grounds too."

Before they can grab lunch though Weiss declines a call from her father and an old 'acquaintance' suddenly shows up.

Emerald.

You know, kudos to Katie here because Emerald's laugh and, "Good to see you, Ruby" sounds so fake to me now. It just oozes, 'I secretly hate you but am pulling out all my acting skills to convince you otherwise' energy. Obviously RWBY has a host of villains/antagonists that have done a plethora of heinous things, but there's something particularly skin-crawling to me about seeing Emerald in retrospect. Part of it is the deception. I don't know about anyone else, but I personally would prefer a villain who's upfront about their nature from the get-go, rather than one who pretends to be my friend before stabbing me in the back. The first scenario just lacks the same emotional punch, you know? Though the other part of it is, of course, knowing where everyone ends up. Beacon will fall. Ozpin will "die." Pyrrha will actually die, and our heroes will be sent out into a war they're in no way ready for. Yes, Salem is our ultimate Big Bad, yes Emerald has her sympathetic moments and does a heel-turn into "good guy" territory four Volumes from now... but I think the fandom often forgets that she willingly and actively participated in this horror show. This isn't someone just along for the ride because their crush manipulated them, this is someone with a working brain between their ears who has PLENTY of time to consider the ramifications of this and still went, "Yeah, I'll lie my way into orchestrating a massacre."

All this hindsight angst is interrupted by the joke (and I use that term with great reservation) that Ruby must have dropped her wallet because "Girl pockets are the worst!" Sorry, but that has such cis-guy-trying-to-relate-to-women-and-failing-miserably energy to me. Like yeah, I also hate the super small/outright fake pockets that they often sew into women's clothing and I too have smiled at women promoting pockets as part of their independent brands... but somehow hearing the RWBY writers reference it just doesn't land. It's not #problematic, just cringy.

Emerald butters them up a bit by complimenting their fighting and Weiss notes that they haven't seen Emerald's teammates in action yet. We cut to their battle where they dominate the other team, complete with a disguised Neo showing her real eye color before she knocks the competitor out. "[They did] really well," says Emerald in the fakest humble tone ever heard.

Ruby invites them all to lunch and Emerald - clearly horrified by the prospect - dodges by claiming that her teammates are too socially awkward for a meetup. In her defense, Mercury is in the process of randomly sniffing a boot, so although this is absolutely just an excuse, she's also not wrong. Like, at all lol.

Fishing for more info, Emerald asks who's moving onto the doubles round and it turns out that Team RWBY voted for Weiss and Yang. There are three things that I love about this moment:

They voted. Yes, Ruby cheekily tries to make it sound like this is all coming from her genius as team leader, but at the end of the day they decided as a team who would represent them. It's a small detail, but those stand out so much more now that we have Ruby vocally and angrily calling the shots.

(This is a ridiculous side-note I'm 99.9% sure I've mentioned before, but every time I talk about Ruby's intense form of "leadership" in the latter Volumes, I'm reminded of Rick's, "This is not a democracy!" in The Walking Dead. If you know, you know.)

They chose Weiss and Yang. From both an in-world and meta perspective, it's actually a little surprising that Ruby isn't representing them. As established, she's team leader. The team is named after her. She's the protagonist of the show. She's also, canonically, a prodigy wielding an insanely deadly weapon. Yet it's refreshing as a viewer to have a new duo taking the spotlight and within the story-world this choice reinforces Point #1: They're a team and no matter how individually talented any one member may be - or even what titles they hold - they are, at the end of the day, all on equal footing. Why shouldn't Yang and Weiss represent?

The way they both respond to this reveal is dang cute. Weiss' "I will happily represent Team RWBY" while curtseying to Emerald vs. Yang's "Yeah! We're gonna kick some butt!" while slamming her fists together. It's a great contrast and shows why these two might have been chosen. Though powerful on their own, their styles and personality are different enough to compensate for any flaws.

With all that out of the way Emerald rejoins Mercury and her smile immediately drops. She's disgusted at having to get all buddy-buddy with them, but "Orders are orders." She has this classic villain moment where she expresses shock over how they're just so happy all the time and I'm like oh, honey. Darling. Morally misaligned baby girl. Just give it a few Volumes.

We cut to Team RWBY at lunch and aRE THE BOWLS SUPPOSED TO BE THAT BIG?

I recalled that they were big as a visual gag, but not half the girls' size. Honestly? Great choice. I too want to live in a world where you can get insanely giant noodles a millisecond after you order them.

Deviating from the others, Blake nods at the seller dude and receives an equally giant bowl filled with fish. You know, I really wish RWBY had done something with the faunus' animal traits rather than turning them into an endless joke. The concept of a god merging humans with literal animals and then, generations down the line, cat-people being influenced by cat instincts as well as human instincts (because remember, we're animals too) is actually really interesting to me... but navigating the racial implications of that takes a level of nuance that RWBY was never interested in exploring. So we're just left with a Blake who is fish obsessed and chases laser pointers and hates dogs and we're supposed to laugh at all that, rather than buying into her teachings that many people use these traits to dehumanize the faunus.

Anyway, Weiss shows off a bit and pays for all their food. At least, she tries to. Turns out her card has been declined, which is more than a little confusing to her given that she was "barely into [her] monthly allowance." Hmm, could that possibly have anything to do with her ignoring her father's phone calls? Surely no one knows.

Luckily, Pyrrha shows up and offers to pay instead (it's nice having a famous BFF, huh?), but like... what were the girls' initial plans? None of them were expecting Weiss to pay, yet they act like Pyrrha is saving the day by showing up, implying that they don't have the money to cover their meal. The shop guy even takes Blake's fish away, leaving her despondent. So what? Were they planning to eat and just worry about the bill later? Actually, that sounds exactly like something these chaotic preteens would do lol. Yang especially. She was introduced while "buying" a drink before destroying the whole dang bar.

Speaking of teenagers, they all finish their bowls with the kind of appetite only seen in 14-71yos. Although, it was a near thing for Jaune. He's very close to barfing (callback!) and Nora encourages him to "aim it at the enemy!"

She continues ragging on him for a bit, failing to come up with any compliments while hyping up her team. Pyrrha is a world-renowned fighter, Ren is basically a ninja, she can bench five of herself, and Jaune is... Jaune. Nora also doesn't include him in her secondary list which implies that Jaune a) hasn't trained as much (or, more realistically, hasn't gotten as much out of it) as the others, b) doesn't possess an "awesome" weapon, and c) is still frequently yelled at by Glynda.

Poor Jaune. I don't say that very often anymore, but he's going through it here lol.

All of this leads to Nora spiraling at the possibility of them losing. This includes the oh-so-causal drop that she and Ren "have no parents and no home left to go to" which is a HELL of a thing to throw out in a comedically framed breakdown. I mean, being orphans is sad enough, but "no home left to go to" won't be explained until we learn that their town was basically wiped off the map, so damn.

Team RWBY reassures them that a fight with actual rules is nothing compared to what they've already been through. You know, the murderers, extremists, and sociopaths. "Oh," gushes Ruby, "imagine what it'll be like when we graduate!"

As Port and Oobleck call Team JNPR to the arena for their match we cut to Emerald and Mercury settling in to enjoy the festivities. In retrospect, this right here is a really nicely composed shot:

It tells us that Emerald is serious about going through with this destruction (again, she's no manipulated damsel), but she's not getting the same personal enjoyment out of it like Mercury is, as showcased by the smirk. The focus remains on them with Team RWBY framed in between. This is the villains' Volume. They're going to win. Our eyes follow the soon-to-be champions not of the festival, but the battle, while our heroes are literally and metaphorically trapped between them. Finally, Yang is the only one who looks back. We won't know this for several episodes, but she's at the heart of their plan and has every reason to cast the almost-but-not-quite-worried glance over her shoulder. Subtle foreshadowing, how I love thee.

It's shit like this that makes my brain go, "It used to be good! RWBY used to be fun AND occasionally insightful! Those overworked animators were uplifting a mediocre story and the result was good!!!"

As they take their seats who should show up but Cinder, casually using her semblance to pop a kernel of popcorn (power move). "Even if you know how a story ends," she says, "that doesn't make it any less fun to watch." True that! I mean, she's talking about knowing that Team JNPR will be moving on because they need Pyrrha to murder Penny, but I agree with the sentiment outside of that context.

Actually, do they ever explain how they manipulated the fights? I mean, they obviously entered and are winning their own battles and we know that Mercury will be staging his injury with Yang... but here Cinder makes it sound like she's pulling strings in every match. Toss that onto the list of development I would have liked for this Volume: what precisely are they doing behind the scenes? I'll have to pay careful attention going forward to make sure I don't miss anything because right now all I can recall is them looking at Penny's blueprints (presumably obtained via Watts).

Team JNPR's area is randomized into a forest and mountainous land before the battle commences. We end on that cliffhanger, complete with the superhero-esque freeze shot.

And that concludes the first episode of Volume 3! As well as my first recap in a long while. If you've followed me at all you'll know that work has been my personal Big Bad the last two-ish years. Given the scope of my responsibilities and the energy they extract, I simply don't have the time or means to write the way I used to. However, I feel like if I can muster up the willpower to finish this on tonight of all nights (people reading from the future: check the posting date and you'll understand), then I must be getting a little better at carving out writing time in my hectic schedule. All hail self-improvement!

On that positive note, everyone have a wonderful night. Or at least try to. Seriously. Text a loved one, treat yourself to a favored snack, do something that feels fulfilling. Take some deep breaths and I'll see you for the next one.

~Clyde❤️

[cptapathy]

hey! what are you favorite ttrpgs?

Dice tumble

Pen scratch

A held breath

A promised climax

We sit around our table/

At our desk/in a circle on the floor

And together we laugh

And smile and more

We love these creations in our heads

As they dance and fight and flee

And as the night draws close to us

We hold them warm and tightly

These people we conjure are dear to me

For they are the crystal through which I look

To see the life I share with you

And the love we have for each other

Okay so my favourite ttrpg changes as I play them but right now it's A.N.I.M's EURKEA!

I have always been a fan of murder mysteries from Agatha Christie, to pie in the sky, Midsomer Murders, Rosemary and Thyme and everything in between.

I had run several murder mysteries in different ttrpgs and even a couple of murder mystery larps (including a spectacular zombie one) but I'd never found a system that truely captured what murder mysteries feel like.

Then I discovered Eureka and the Eureka mechanic and it all clicked. You could say it was a eureka moment.

I'm going to discuss in some detail the mechanic and give an example but before that everyone should go and

a. Follow A.N.I.M. on tumblr

@anim-ttrpgs

b. Join their patreon so we can get the gorgan playable investigator. Go look at all the cool stuff!

https://www.patreon.com/TheAgencyofNarrativeIntrigueandMysteryPatreon/posts

Essentially A.N.I.M have separated dice rolls into two categories

1. Investigation rolls

2. Non-investigation rolls

Investigation rolls are when an investigator is trying to uncover information or clues to progress the investigation. (Pretty clear definition) non-investigation rolls are all other rolls (combat, hiding secrets, getting out of dodge etc.)

Whenever an investigator makes an investigation roll there are 3 possible outcomes

1 Failure - they do not success and/or complications arise - they gain 3 Eureka points

2 partial success/mixed success - they get part of a clue or a clue and a complication - they gain 2 Eureka points

3 full success - they gain the clue without issue - they gain one Eureka point

When the investigators have a full eureka bar they can use a EUREKA!

This allows them to roll a check with 3d6 and take the highest instead of 2d6 or (my favourite option) gain clues from previous failed rolls.

So to take the most iconic episode of Midsomer Murders as an example - "The Killings At Badgers Drift"

Spoilers and CW for references to incest.

DCI Barnerby arrests the foppish artist on suspicion of murder, during the arrest the artist's sister arrives and the artist crys out "I've been framed" and makes a sign of a square with his fingers.

The DCI Makes an investigation roll but biffs it, snake eyes, complete failure, no hope of discovering that clue.

Later on The DCI is talking to a woman at a call centre who was the last known person to speak to the victim. Apparently the victim said "just like poor annabella" before hanging up. Again the DCI makes an investigation roll this time getting a partial success, there is someone related who has a name similar to annabella who died from an "accident" and the DCI decides to investigate this accident as well now, thinking (correctly) that it might not be so accidental.

But now the DCI has a full eureka bar and so the player shouts out eureka to gain the clue from the failed check earlier. And so, that night, the DCI has a dream of all the relevant clues and realises the clue missed when the artist made the symbol and said "I've been framed" it was a code, to tell his sister that the evidence of their affair (the nude painting he did of her) was in the attic and could prove that they were working together to keep their affair secret. This new vital clue allows the DCI to search for, and find, the painting helping to solve the mystery.

And so that is one reason I love eureka, along with the approach to disability and monster characters. It's currently got a free demo and stuff, go support them they're great.

[freakattack]

Since you did that LGBT+ headcanon post for the Mario cast, could you do one for the WarioWare crew?

LOL thank you for taking interest in my gay luigi posts. I actually did make one of these before but that was two years ago and also mostly jokes so I think this is as good a time as any to do it again but in serious mode. I have also changed my mind on some of these so they might not all line up with the other post but such is life. Obligatory "That's My Opinion" so if my tabloid speculations don't line up with yours feel free to imagine me falling down a very deep hole, or you can squint your eyes and pretend you're squishing my icon between your fingers like a bug if that's more your speed

WARIO: Briefly said this in the mario post but sure I'll go into more detail about wario's sex life, I think he's aromantic and bisexual. I do realize it comes off as kind of shitty to make Mario be Romantic Asexual and "Evil Mario" be Aromantic Sexual, but as a Wario Megafan I just think that he values his friendships a lot more, and given what we have seen of wario's disgust for romance despite his very active libido* (I promise that link is not as bad as it looks), I think it would be remiss to pretend that he would ever want to settle down with someone. He still loves people in a platonic way - even beyond the warioware cast, he cared a lot about princess shokora by the end of WL4, and even though he does not necessarily LIKE waluigi (and I do subscribe to poppadopolos theory so I am of the belief that they were fuckin' and truckin' for a good portion of the early 2000's), I think wario still cares about him in his wario way. They are like a divorced couple that still has kids except instead of kids it's cheating at tennis. Also, I think that wario is transgender, because it explains a lot about him (e.g. his lack of nipples) and because that way nobody has to think about what his "real name" was before it was wario. It was his deadname! Everybody go home! Have a rotten day!

*I do not think that wario would canonically catcall random news reporters but I'm still counting this as nebulous evidence that wario can be horny

MONA: I think that she is bisexual but doesn't know it at this point in time and also isn't really stressing about it. Her taste is kind of skewed towards whatever wario is (in a puppy love type of way i do NOT ship them), but if she ended up having a close friendship with a girl her age I could see her catching feelings. I don't wanna say that her thing with wario is comphet because that's not entirely true but I do think that his unattainability is a comfortable way for her to not have to think about actually getting into a relationship. (For the record, I don't think she even wants to BE in a relationship with him, I think she is perfectly happy with the way things are, but mona has TMI'd about her opinion on wario's physique often enough that I kind of get the idea.)

JIMMY T: My opinions on him have not changed. Who do you think gave him the T? Also, I didn't mention this before, but I do think he is bisexual, and although it kind of feels like a cop-out to make the Holy Trinity of Warioware all bisexual, sometimes that's just how the cookie crumbles. Groovy!

DRIBBLE: This is where things start to diverge from the original post. I said he was bisexual before But I lied I think he just likes men. I think that he has a supportive family, but he's still a little shy about actually going out to meet people and start a relationship. Anyways you're probably not gonna like what I have to say next

SPITZ: I am soooooo sorry. But I think that he is straight. More power to you guys but I never really got into dribblenspitz as a Ship because I associate their dynamic so strongly with the Cool Boss + Rookie dynamic that we have all been at least one half of that I can't imagine them in a romantic relationship. They have the most beautiful bromance of course, they would go to the ends of the earth for each other, but they wouldn't smooch. I think that spitz's dating life is/has been kind of sad (not in a angst way in a regular way) and were he to go back into the dating scene dribble would hype him up about it and give him advice and spitz would be like hey why don't you have a girlfriend? You're clearly better at this than me and dribble would say uuuhhhhh

ORBULON: Orbulon is hard to pigeonhole into these labels because the guys on orbulon's home planet operate on an entirely different paradigm from humans on earth. Reproduction via budding, communal childrearing, telepathic mega-cliques*.....on Earth, orbulon certainly has no interest in romance or beyond (both because he has no need for it and because he is two thousand years old on the planet of the apes), but he does have fun being a girl. You could call him "genderfluid", but he also doesn't feel too much of a connection to earth genders in general; he just likes wearing different hats.

*THAT'S MY OPINION

CRYGOR: I think that he has had no interest in romance for a hundred years, but also if he randomly picked up a stepdad for his adult children one day I would not be mad. (Mike might be, but he would eventually come around due to the Power of Love and whatnot.) Penny is his "granddaughter" but I think that this is more a label for convenience's sake and because she IS his granddaughter at heart. "But why does she randomly show up into everyone's lives in smooth moves as a full grown kid" Until warioware decides to show me her parents themselves I'm not entertaining this plot hole

PENNY: The reason I don't think penny is his granddaughter is because I still think she is a transgender clone of dr crygor. I think that crygor is enthusiastically supportive of her, gets her all the pink glittery shit her heart could desire, and helped her transition with his Science Inventions. I also think she is a lesbian, although I don't Ship her with anyone in the main cast (sorry again).

MIKE: Earlier I said that mike was "gay but he thinks everyone is annoying". That was before they revealed this bombshell:

Now, this could mean absolutely nothing. Checking the translation of the japanese website yields pretty much the same sentence. However, due to an incident involving a botched translation before the english version of this website came out, I had it in my head for a while that the connotation here was of a certain kind of fascination. And honestly, who could blame him? This is a karaoke machine that got frosty the snowman'd into existence. Of course he would be conflicted about who he is supposed to love. Does he have the heart of a man, or machine? Even Mike does not have an answer. So, my revised LGBT+ headcanon for Mike Crygor is "gay, and whatever this is".

5-VOLT: I'm on the fence about whether i Actually Think This but I am very fond of when people headcanon her as a trans woman, so I'm giving that a shout out. Shout Out! Other than that, I think she's only ever dated men and is happy that way.

.......Unless

[mongoosefangs]

Fursuit Camp 2024: Getting Started

Welcome back to Fursuit Camp! It's time to start this thing proper! Whether you're ready to build along at home or just enjoying the ride, let's go over one of the most basic and important steps: planning our project and choosing our fabrics!

For this demonstration I'm going to be making a coyote partial! I don't always plan my projects thoroughly in advance (I may or may not have a dragon head base from like 2017 that I'm still stumped on how to finish) but I usually like to do at least some rough doodles to figure out what kind of colors and markings I want. These details may be subject to change as the build continues, but this is a decent starting point.

I'm going with a 'yote because I've wanted to make one for a long time and they're pretty iconic in the desert Southwest where I live. It helps that I already have all the right fur fabrics on hand for this design. I also figured a canine species would be good for this demo, dogs/wolves/foxes etc. are eternally popular and common choices for fursuits, and a fine place for beginners to start.

Although you can make whatever you want if you're following along at home, I will say that if this is your very first build, you might not want to start with a beloved fursona or visually complex character. Keep it simple with less pressure to make it perfect as you get used to the building process. My first suit was a generic fox; I didn't attempt to make my mongoose 'sona until later.

Here are the faux furs I'm going to be using for my coyote. You can see I've got a mixture of both long and short fur, and the colors don't exactly match 100%, but that's okay. Have faith! There are a lot more faux fur choices now than there used to be, but sometimes you're still limited. Depending on what you can get, you might want to start planning your project the other way around. Look at the fabrics available to you and pick an animal based on that.

You might be fortunate to live in an area where stores sell fur locally, or you might have to order online. You might even find yourself cutting up furry pillowcases and jackets from the thrift store for that perfect fur you can't find anywhere else (which is totally okay, in my opinion, as long as the fabric is clean). Regardless of where you source it, there are a few things you should keep in mind.

Always inspect fur in person. This means buying samples first if you're ordering online, but I promise it's worth the extra hassle. Make sure it's the color and texture you want before dropping $30-50 per yard on the stuff. How's the durability? Gently tug on the fibers; do they stay put or fall out? Part the fur with your fingers; does it seem flimsy or patchy? Faux fur quality can vary tremendously between styles, sellers, and even when the fabric was made. You won't know for sure until you've got it in hand.

Buy more than you think you'll need. How much that actually ends up being will depend entirely on your design. For this 'yote I probably won't need more than half a yard in any single color, but it's always better to have extra in case you make a mistake or want to add extra fursuit parts in the future. Don't assume you can just order more of the same exact fur later! It might be out of stock, discontinued, or not the same color or quality that it was in the past.

Know your terminology. What's the difference between fox fur and shag? Beaver and seal? Multiple types of furs are commonly used on fursuits and there are pros and cons to each kind. Let's go over some of them:

-Beaver, Seal, or Super Seal: very short fur, dense, soft, and kind of shiny. The short orange and cream in the photo above are beaver/seal style furs. A great choice for fursuit faces and finely detailed areas, but doesn't come in very many colors, and seams are more likely to show though the fur.

-Bunny or Teddy: short to medium length furs, up to about an inch long. Soft and fluffy, comes in a variety of colors, but some of them can be kind of thin furs in my experience. Not as dense as the shorter stuff. May need to be shaved down if used on fursuit faces.

-Lux Shag, aka Punky Muppet: a long style fur about 1.5" to 2". One of the most common choices for fursuits, widely available, comes in a huge array of colors. The long grey and orange in the photo above are examples of lux shag. Will need to be shaved if used on fursuit faces, but does not always shave down neatly. Quality varies. Can look clumpy or messy over time. Better for cartoony suits, less ideal for realistic styles.

-Fox: longer than lux shag, usually 2" or more, and a little more realistic in color and/or texture. The long cream in the photo above is an example of a fox style fur. Not as soft as lux shag, but also not as clumpy. Will need to be shaved if used on fursuit faces.

-Mongolian: a type of shag that's extra long and kind of wooly looking, with a chunky or kinked texture. Might work for some characters but probably not what you want in most cases.

-NFT/NFTech: National Fiber Tech, this is high quality faux fur used professionally for film and TV. Can be custom made to order to almost any length and color, especially good for fursuit hair tufts, but prohibitively expensive for most folks. They do sell overstock and random remnants, which can be a great value, but the selection is pretty unpredictable.

There are also other types of fabrics you may use for a fursuit, especially if you're like me and want to avoid shaving long fur at any cost (we won't be covering that in this build at all.) If you need something really, really short, but you can't find it in fur, try one of these instead:

-Fleece: just regular old anti-pill fleece can be a fantastic choice for fursuits. I always use at least some for things like inner ears and mouth linings, but I've made entire faces out of it, and some people have even used fleece for whole suits. Fleece is cheap, easy to work with, comes in a zillion colors, and hides seams surprisingly well with the right stitch. It's not fluffy like fur is, though, so it can't hide everything. Try to make your underlying structures as neat as possible if you're using fleece.

-Minky: commonly used for stuffed animals, comes in different styles, some are fluffy enough to mimic a bunny style fur. Tons of colors and prints to choose from. Can be used in a lot of the same ways as fleece, but I honestly don't like it as much. It doesn't hide seams as well and it's messy to work with. Good for making plushies, maybe good for some small details, but probably not my first choice for a fursuit.

These are just some of the fabrics you might end up using, but honestly, that's only the tip of the iceberg! I could literally spend the rest of the summer just weighing the pros and cons of every conceivable material you might use on a fursuit, but I'd rather actually make a fursuit. How about you?

If you're looking for fur online, try these sellers. I'll add to this list as I find more recommended shops!

Big Z Fabrics

FursuitSupplies

Hairymann's Closet (NFTech)

Howl Fabrics

JoAnn Fabrics

Mendel's

Next time, we'll compile the rest of our shopping list and price out everything else we need to make this fursuit. It may be more affordable and accessible than you think!

If you're building along at home, please use the tag #fursuitcamp24 or reply directly to this post, I would love to see what you're working on! Let's do this thing!

[brainddeadd]

The Walking Dead: Seasons 1-3

spoiler alert ⚠️

Overall thoughts:

I'd choose Daryl to be by my side in an apocalypse any day. Michone too. Glenn as well.

Who is the sweet angel baby boy??

GLENN IS SWEET ANGEL BABY BOY 

“Who are you? (…) Rick Grimes? You got something you want to tell me? (…) Let me process this. You saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there!?"

Arms 

"I dropped the key." "Couldn't pick it up?"

"WELL👹YOUR👹HEAD👹AIN'T!👹" 👹👹👹👹

Daryl hiding under a dead body is feral and iconic

"Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord." - Daryl Dixon (s2, ep2) - he sounds like Sheldon Cooper when he says that

Walker: * groaning* Daryl: shut up *shoots it* ICON

"Except my ass itched something awful." - Daryl Dixon (s2, ep 3)

Shane killing Otis is fucking insane

Not Maggie, just straight up being like, "I'll have sex with you" to Glenn.. I get it hun I get it

"Some men do not earn the love of their sons." ouch

Daryl getting Carol a rose and knowing what kind of flower it is. Bringing it back safely and putting it in a 'vase'. And people say he's heartless. "I believe this one bloomed for you little girl." 🥹🥹🥹🥹

Daryl getting impaled on his own arrow fuck

Daryl covers himself up like a Victorian lady when Carol brings him food and not knowing how to respond when she kisses his forehead 🤣

"I can't profess to understand God's plan. Christ promised the resurrection of the dead. I just thought he had something a little different in mind."

fuck Shane

Shane being a dick and opening the barn and Glenn asking Maggie for permission to kill the walkers cause he knows they were family

Lori is really fucking annoying

Daryl finding out that some people touched little girls - terrifying

thank GOD Shane is dead

Can they not control Carl for even one second the fuck

Who the fuck keeps zombies on a leash like dogs?????

Arms 

Daryl and Carol being cute lil besties

"Today's your lucky day, fellas. You've been pardoned by the state of Georgia. You're free to go."

CARL HAVING TO KILL LORI OH MY GOD

Andrea sucks.. pls die

"Nope. No way. Not her. We ain't losing nobody else. I'm going for a run." (s3, ep4) Darylllll yes

"Kid just lost his mum. His dad ain't doing so hot." (s3, ep4)Love you Daryl baby

Daryl my beloved

Arms 

T-dogs death was unnecessary bro

adore Michonne

Michonne just leave Andrea in the dust please im begging you

"Little ass kicker, that's a good name, right? Little ass kicker."

Daryl with a baby lord help me

A Zombie.. hunger games ?? Boxing match ???

AYO DARYL TAKING A FLOWER TO CAROLS GRAVE CAUSE HE THINKS SHES DEAD

A phone ringing?

"GO BACK" MICHONNE MY LOVE

Michonne please kill Merle

DARYL'S MUM !??!?!?!?!

Daryls so gentle with Carol

Michonne getting the food to the prison - She's so lovely

"Don't you worry about your old man. Imma keep my eye on him." Daryl bby dont ever change

Maggie gets to kill the governor. She has to.

Stabbing the Gov in the eye. Queen.

"The smell, it's loud." Pardon ?!?

Daryl leaves them for Merle ?!?!?! Yuck!

Rick seeing the ghost of Lori is fucken wild

Can the Governor die now please

At this point, if it's not about Daryl and the team, I don't wanna know about them - just give me my found family

Mama stilinski what are you doing here?

Daryl please come home

s3, ep 10 - this is where I started to actively take note 

“You quite a lady.” Yes she is, but not for you. 

Daryl knowing that it’s a baby crying and not wild animals - immediately going to check it out. Of course Merle is acting like a dick. 

ARMS

CLOSING THE WALKERS HEAD IN THE CAR’S BOOT HOLY SHIT 

Daryl putting the crossbow on Merle when he’s stealing from the family with the baby 

“They didn’t owe us nothing.” You did save their lives bby 

“THERE👹WAS👹A👹BABY!” 

“Man I went back for you. You weren’t there. I didn’t cut off your hand neither. You did that. Way before they locked you up on that roof. You asked for it.” Finally someone says it. Finally Daryl sees it. 

DARYL’S BACK

HOLY SHIT 

OH MY GOD

NO 

SDKFNHRUE

“I didn’t know he was-“ “Yeah, he did. He did the same to you. That’s why you left first.” JNFJHEFUSIOJWEL IMMA KILL 

“Back where I belong.” Yes sir, I know that’s right. 

“Damn near killed the Chinese kid.” “He’s Korean.” WE LOVE TO SEE GROWTH 

“You know, I may be the one walking away, but you’re the one that’s leaving. Again.” I am not ok. I don’t think I’ll ever recover from this. 

“This rage is going to get you killed.”

THE GOV SHOWING UP AND KILLING AXEL 

DARYL NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME FOR YOU TO SHOW UP

WHO 

THE 

FUCK

IS 

THAT

WHY ARE THEY DELIVERING WALKERS 

GLENN 

WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU

OH NOW YOU SHOW UP 

BUT LATE GLENN

Oh shit Rick

DARYL YES

Ew Merle

S3, ep 11

Carl telling Rick he should stop being the leader was not on my bingo card 

The Gov wanting children 13+ to fight in his war 

Gov lying to Andrea - unsurprising 

“You go to that prison, you stay there.” Or the both of you can just.. disappear..

I’m with Glenn on this one. Remove Merle. 

Merle can read????

“When the governor returns, he’ll kill me first-“ GOOD I’LL PAY HIM TO DO IT

“This is our home.” “This is a tomb.” Well damn Daryl, why’d you come back then???

“He’s your brother, but he’s not good for you. Don’t let him bring you down.” STOP HURTING ME WITH DARYL’S STORYLINE 

HIS LIL LAUGH WITH CAROL 

Andrea fuck off

Milton two-timing Andrea is iconic - sucks that it’s for that piece of shit tho

Andrea doing Michonne’s pet walker thing 

Tyrese and his gang witnessing it 

Merle approaching Michonne 

Tyrese is too pure for Angela and the Gov

Rick setting Andrea straight 

“Next time you see Phillip, you tell him I’m gonna take his other eye.” As you should 

“Go to hell, Michonne.” Have you seen the world you live in? 

“He sent Merle to kill me.”

“You chose a warm bed over a friend.” Preach 

Tyrese run 

“Shane loved Rick.” “Shane loved Lori.” No he was obsessed and stalkerish with Lori. 

Carol asking Andrea to sleep with Gov and then kill him is wild but like.. pls do. 

Rick giving Andrea a car, knife and gun - he better than me, I’d leave her for dead 

HOW IS CARL READY

HE IS A CHILD

Ugh Andrea you bitch just kill him 

S3, ep 12

Driving past a hitchhiker - I get it, but fuck man that would suck 

The car getting stuck in the mud is instant karma but I hate it 

Carl boy it is not her fault the car got stuck 

THEY LEAVE HIM BEHIND AGAIN

‘No guilt, you know that’ what 

‘Turn around and live’ ??

Carl shooting the shooter in the town was unexpected 

Morgan’s story… fuck man 

Walkers just chilling in the cafe thingy that Carl wants to go in 

“I think she might be one of us.” Hell yes she is Carl 

Love the lack of judgement from Michonne 

Walkers got the hitchhiker 

S3, ep 13

Where in the hell are they? 

I love the angel wings on Daryl’s jacket - they’re such a juxtaposition to his personality and the stereotype of leather jackets and their wearers 

WHY IS THE GOVERNOR THERE ?!?!?

Daryl shoot him

Please 

Just get it over with 

Gods Andrea just fuck off 

“Great. He bought his butler.” Daryl I love you

“You better watch your mouth, sunshine.” Marry me 

Merle shut the fuck up

Andrea shut the fuck up 

Bringing up Judith’s parentage is a low blow fuck 

“… for failing to see the devil beside you.” “Oh I see him alright.” Damn ok Rick 

Daryl’s “after you” and then killing more than the other guy 

Guys why are you fucking when there’s imminent danger ?!?!?!

Rick don’t you dare 

Ok like, thank you for not giving Michonne over, but also.. fuck 

NO 

RICK 

NO 

DON’T YOU DARE

NO

S3, ep 14

I swear to god Rick Grimes if you give Michonne over to that pice of shit

Michonne knew the pet walkers 

“They deserved what they got. They weren’t human to begin with.” Oh ok. So not people we liked. 

What the fuck is the Governor doing 

Milton finally growing some fucking balls and telling someone about the Gov’s plan to kill them all anyway 

THE WHISTLE EW 

Do it Andrea do it shoot him go on do it do it kill him

The Gov does NOT get to kill Andrea 

Tyrese RUN

Ok the Gov is actually fucking insane 

Like I knew that

But fuck

Like dude 

Chill out 

You’re waisting petrol on the chick you slept with 

THE WHISTLE AGAIN

WHO SET FIRE TO THE WALKERS?!?!! TYRESE ?!?!?

HOLY CRAP 

HE TOOK HER 

TO THE TORTURE CHAMBER 

S3, ep 15

RICK GRIMES 

DON’T YOU DARE

DARYL DIXON

DON’T YOU DARE

DON’T BRING MERLE INTO IT 

“I’m a damn mystery to me.” Not to me buddy. You’re an abused turned abuser. 

“I’m here for my brother.” I actually hate you. 

“He say he was sorry yet?” I love that you actually think he has it in him to apologise bby.

“Cause he is.” don’t even boy 

“Imma make him. There’s gotta be a way.” Daryl bby, ily but he beat the shit out of him. That’s not going away any time soon. 

“I care more about her than I care about me.” Glenn sweetie, you’re in an apocalypse 

Lmao Daryl’s face at the mention of crystal meth. Good boy. 

“Do you even possess a pair of balls, little brother?” Man go fuck yourself Merle. Daryl’s more man than you’ll ever be.

“I just want my brother back.” Daryl bby, he’s not worth it.

THANK GOD RICK 

MERLE GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER 

His voice actually causes a physical form of hatred to course through my body 

MERLE NO

FUCK

RICK HELP HER 

DARYL STOP YOUR BROTHER 

FUCKEN HELL 

DON’T YOU DARE HURT MY BABY

“I wanna marry Maggie.” I get it my guy I do. Me too. 

Please let Merle die 

Why does he never die 

Merle letting her go???

DARYL JUST LET YOUR BROTHER GO 

Merle what the fuck 

Did Merle just lead the walkers to the governor ?!?!?!

MERLE WHAT THE FUCK

Is the governor going to be the one to kill Merle????

HE JUST BIT OFF HIS FINGERS

THE FUCK

HOLY CRAP 

He shot him 

Governor shot Merle 

Holy shit 

GLENN PROPOSES 

SKANF;JKADNF;IDSF

YES

YES

HOLY 

CRAP

SHIT

FUCKBALLS

YES

Rick finally talking sense 

Oh god Daryl please be careful 

NO

PLEASE 

NO 

NOT DARYL CRYING 

NO 

PLEASE

I CAN’T HANDLE THAT

NO 

FUCK

THIS IS WORSE

HE HAS TO KILL HIS BROTHER 

FUCK 

NO 

PLEASE NO 

NO

THE WAY HE FOLDS IN ON HIMSELF 

SDKFNOSIHFN

OH GOD 

NO NO NOJNKJNWDOIFKNP

HIS LITTLE CRY 

No 

The rage 

The sobbing 

His body falling 

Fuck no

His heaving breaths 

Fuck 

Daryl 

Jesus Christ Norman why’d you have to act it like that 

I know I wanted him dead but I didn’t mean for Daryl to have to kill him fuck 

S3, ep 16

MILTON BURNT THE WALKERS 

Holy crap the Governor is insane Jesus 

“What would your daughter think about what you are?” Oh ok Milton, you want the Torture torture 

Governor telling Milton to kill Andrea and Milton trying to kill Governor, so Governor kills Milton, who then turns and kills Andrea.

“Either you kill or you die. Or you die and then you kill.” 

Carl’s pissed 

RICK AND MICHONNE FLIRTING !?!?!?!?

Tyrese and Sasha my loves 

THAT’S A BIG ASS GUN SHIT 

They’re gone sucka 

Andrea the man is gonna die and then he’s gonna eat you. Stop being a whiney bitch.

WAS SHE RAW DOGGING HER SHOES 

THE FUCK

Sneak attack 

Carl shooting a surrendering teenager.. shit 

He just killed the people he’s supposed to be protecting.. psychopath 

Mama Stilinski surviving hell yeah 

Carl is brutal 

Rick and the others going for Andrea just after Milton bites her 

“No one can make it alone now.” “They never could.” 

Michonne staying with Andrea as she kills herself to make sure she doesn’t turn 

Them bringing the town to the prison to get them away from the Governor 

[restinsodaroni]

I'll try posting the FAQ this way lol, hopefully this works better! So read below to see the asks I will and won't accept or answers to common questions I get! I'll be linking this in my pinned post!

Alright! Please read this before sending in an ask!

REMEMBER AN ACTUAL PERSON (Me) RUNS THIS ACCOUNT NOT SUN OR MOON! KEEP THAT IN MIND BEFORE SENDING ANYTHING!! THANK YOU!!

🚫Evidently I am going to have to be stricter now since I have been creeped out numerous times on here. So yeah I will be blocking folks who keep disregarding my boundaries, constantly ignoring my FAQ, or just being impolite! Sorry! 🚫

Here's a post where I talk about said boundaries.

Hey so please don't:

• Send me any questions that ask about what would Sun and Moon do if you were harming yourself no matter the severity or the circumstances. It makes me uncomfortable and I shouldn't have to explain why.

• Spam the same ask especially everyday! That is not gonna get me to answer you. Spamming = Block I am not going to be lenient about this anymore!

• Send me an ask to change Y/N's body type.

• Expect me to answer your ask right away. If I could answer them quickly I would but that's unrealistic for me

• Nitpick my art, it's very demotivating especially if it isn't a helpful critique. Like yeah you can point out bad anatomy or perspective, but if you get on me for making Sun's eyes glow in the dark, then that's just a nitpick.

• Tell me you don't like my art style, but you like my comics. It's not the compliment you think it is!

• Be rude to me in your ask, that's just gonna get you blocked. I ain't putting up with it anymore.

• Send me roleplaying asks, this counts if you send me an ask roleplaying as an OC or character. I always get confused because I get sent info that I have no idea what they are saying because I know nothing about the Oc or character. I just don't know how to respond to it.

Alright here's some answers to frequently asked questions, or some do's and don't's to send me:

How do you pronounce your Username?

It's rest in sodaroni ! It's a play on the phrase rest in pepperoni. I made a joke about it a while ago with my sibling and decided to make it my username lol. Yes I know separating the words would have been ideal, but I'm not changing it now!

Can I draw you fanart centered around your AU?

Sure you can! As long as it’s sfw then its fine!

Are you ok with nsfw being sent to you?

I am not! I’d like to keep this blog sfw please! 

How come you haven’t answered my ask?

Well that’s because I get sent A LOT of asks. And a majority of them need comic responses which takes time to do. Not to mention my schedule is pretty hectic, even when I have free time I don't know if I'll have time to myself lol.

And I have other projects, art, and my Daycare Attendant fics I want to work on too sometimes. So just know if you send in an ask it may take me a while to answer it!

Also I may not have a good idea how to answer your ask at the time. Or I'm just overwhelmed at the moment lol 😅 And please don't spam the same ask in my inbox. Spamming = Block

Where can I read your fanfics?

You can read them right here!

‼️ Disclaimer! Please read the tags and summary for either fics! I don't want you to be blindsided when you find out the fic isn't 100% fluff or wholesome! Just gonna give you a heads up lol ‼️

When will the next chapter of your fic(s) be out?

I promise you I'm working on it! It just takes me longer because of the drawings since I am putting more effort into them now! Thank you for your patience!

Can I use one of your drawings as an icon, wallpaper, etc?

Yeah that’s fine!

Why did you draw Sun, Moon, or Eclipse like *Insert questions here*?

Why does anyone draw the way they do? Because I wanted to lol, and I like how it looks. That's basically it haha. Everyone is drawing the Daycare Attendant how they want, I don't think there has to be some deep reason for it.

Will you ever turn on anon asks again?

No I don't think so, Sorry!

Do you roleplay?

Nope!

Can you draw me/myoc/my sun and moon/a meme?

Sure! But please send a picture of what you want me to draw! I got a handful of asks that requested this but sent me no reference photos so I don’t know what to draw lol.

Also don't send me drawing prompts of your characters/You getting too intimate with Sun and Moon or even Y/n. (Yes, I have to add Y/n on here now...)

If you want a hug cool, anything more than that I will probably not draw since some people can't behave lol.

If you send a question about wanting to be mean or even hurt Sun or Moon just don't get upset by the response you are given lol. It's just a comic, it's not real and Sun and Moon are not really mad.

Where do you get your gifs/screenshots of the Daycare Attendant?

I watch a lot of Fnaf security breach sfm videos on YouTube so sometimes I come across a funny video clip and screenshot or make a gif of it. If you'd like to know which video I got the image from I can try to see if I can find it!

Who is your favorite? Sun, Moon, or Eclipse?

I’ll be honest, I can’t pick between the three lol. I like them all!

One of your drawings came out weird or bad.

Please elaborate. You aren't being very helpful if you just tell me my drawing is bad, then leave without an explanation or a way I can improve. People on here do this to me a lot and I am quite tired of it.

I don't like your art style/ I don't like how you draw Sun, Moon, or Eclipse/ You don't draw as good as the other artists.

It's fine if you don't like my art style, but please just keep it to yourself, your blog, your friends, your grandmother, or whatever. Like idk why people on here felt the need to tell this to me, but yeah don't do that. And no, telling me you don't like my art style but like my comics isn't the compliment you think it is. I wouldn't have cared so much until I got a few people telling me this pretty much every time I posted. I ignored it as long as I could lol 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't like how you interpret/write Sun, Moon, Eclipse.

Okay 👍🏻

This pertains to a few asks so I'll address it here:

I know when someone is fetish farming, I'm not naive lol. Like it seems really suspicious when I have the same person/anon desperately trying to get me to draw a specific ask 👀 soooo cut that shit out lol. It's very creepy and goes against my consent. Also chill with the dark humor.

*Ok so I’m going to be talking about a heavy topic here so read no further if you experience thoughts of self-harm or depressive thoughts!*

I don’t believe I would get an ask like this again but this is just in case! ( Edit: nevermind I did get more asks pertaining to self-harm smh ) I don’t mind drawing you something if you had a bad day, but I will not draw something for someone who requesting me to comfort them with a drawing of Sun or Moon because they self-harmed. I’m sorry if that sounds harsh, but I just can’t. I go over my reasoning in this post. Please don't send me any self-harm related questions!

*End of the serious topic!*

And that should be it! I may update this down the line! Thank you for taking the time to read this! (I know it's a lot of do's and don't's 😅 sorry about that!)

[sawyerconfort]

2 and 48 with pre death kyle? 😚 ily

Hey, anon! Thanks thanks ily too!!!

I mean, I'm trying to change the blog so don't mind if I change the icon, the pattern and everything, is just experimental!

Anyway, last post for today, I promise!

(but my masterlist is finally organized so, I guess it's a win?)

Let's stop talking and go to the oneshot, yeah?

Kyle is such a bean <3 pre and post death, I mean...

I LOVE EVAN PETERS!

Enjoy!

Want to send me an ask? You can choose a prompt here!

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

2. "is that my shirt?" 48. "you look sexy."

*ok maybe just pretend you're zoe idk hahaha*

Kyle and the gang were playing in a neighboring town against a neighboring frat as well, and you were entirely determined not to miss him, but it was kind of impossible at this point because your boyfriend was pretty much the only person from the frat you talked to and had a sincere friendship.

Come on, the other guys weren't all that nice, and the girls even less - they were always making plans to flirt with Kyle at one of the parties you almost always threw -…

The days went by, the games went by, and with the lack of news from Kyle, you were starting to go crazy. It was hard to concentrate on classes, eat alone in the cafeteria, and especially not have him in bed at night.

It was unbearable to live with it until you found a solution: his lost shirt in the middle of the wardrobe (from the wardrobe mess, rather…)

As soon as Kyle returned, he was greeted with cheers and cheers for the team's performance, and you were left there in the corner, waiting for some alone time. It didn't, of course, because the boys went straight to celebrate at a nearby diner and would probably stay up all night drinking and laughing to themselves at their inside jokes. You went because it was customary for them to bring their significant others, and Kyle looked so airy and happy that he didn't even notice you were wearing his shirt.

Okay, that made you sad, but it wasn't his fault anyway…

***

You got back to his room, having had a few drinks, and you threw yourself on the bed, ready to pull his jock shirt off, when Kyle turned around, after his shower, smiling.

"Is that my shirt?" he asked, stretching a smile into something sly and teasing.

"Didn't you notice until now?" you asked, frowning.

Kyle shrugged. "I noticed, but I didn't want to say anything in front of crew, you know... I'd rather see your flushed face when we're alone, (Y\N)..."

You blushed instantly, taken aback by his teasing. Kyle wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close, kissing you hard on the lips with the same smile.

"You look sexy...", he whispered in your ear, laughing. "That I couldn't say in front of the boys as well, so I thought I'd wait."

And you blushed once more as he pushed you onto the bed, practically ending the night with make-out and sex until the sun was almost up. Because Kyle was like that, whenever he got the chance, he would tease you and make you blush to take advantage of it...

[vyladromeave]

20 and 22 for the ask game?

20. you can only change one plotline in the entire canon—what would it be and how would you alter it?

FUCKKKKK ONLY ONE? hmmm....

I do think there is a part of this question that is phrased strangely, I understand the "only one plotline" thing in theory because it requires you to limit yourself to one decisive answer. But that also kind of implies that the One Plotline you're changing has changes that are all self-contained and ultimately return things to the status quo, which is typically not why I would make a change in plot to begin with. If I'm making one big major change in the plot, typically its going to be something major enough that the rest of the series is affected, which kind of conflicts with how the question is intended...

With that in mind... I mean the easy answer is something Aaron-related, but honestly most of his issues stem from a character standpoint given he rarely ever drives the plot forward meaningfully unless he's literally killing himself lol. There's not a lot of single isolated plot issues for him, I don't know if I could fix him without really going back to the roots and really domino-effect-ing him and how he interacts with the rest of the plot moving forward. sooooo...

If I had to do a more self-contained plotline change, it'd be the circumstances around Garroth's S1 betrayal. Easily.

Judging by how quickly everyone forgives him, the series itself seems to forget that people got hurt, killed, and had years of their life stolen because Garroth got mad that Aphmau maybe romantically liked someone else. It relies on miscommunication and poor characterization to even be executed at all. Eek.

Canonically, one of his biggest weaknesses is that he invests too much into people. He couldn't kill Zenix despite Zenix actively trying to kill him multiple times because of how much time and love there had been between them. Are we really expected to believe he'd betray Aphmau on the off chance she might've done something that could've hurt his feelings? Are you kidding me? This is stupid.

Seeing as how the series treats him as if his motives are already easily forgivable and justified, just changing the motive to be... actually that, keeps the change relatively self-contained here. So! Lets give him a motive that actually makes sense here:

Zane promises the war will be endless unless Garroth gets him what he wants. He's scared of O'khasis' military might and knows what they can do. Lillian is still a method of coercion, mostly as a contact point between him and Zane.

He's trapped in a lose-lose situation, both actions causing Phoenix Drop harm, growing sick and locking himself in his room from fear and indecision. It culminates in his betrayal in the S1 finale, his fear of O'khasis and Garte outweighing his trust in Aphmau and Phoenix Drop. This leads into a much more viable change of heart in the S1 finale, and a much more natural redemption afterwards.

22. who's the character that you most identify with and why?

looks up to my url. looks back at this ask. looks up at my url again. looks at you. looks to my icon. looks to my header. looks to this ask. yeah it's vylad why do you ask.

No but on a serious note, I think it's natural to put pieces of yourself into characters, and with Vylad that comes very naturally to me. He has always fascinated me, even since before we had much confirmed about him (I very vivdly remember trying to talk to people about him being the Elusive Third Sibling of Garroth during S1, only to get VERY confused responses). When he got properly introduced in S2, only to justify basically everything I had ever theorized about him to be right, it was very satisfying lol. I don't think I can fully answer the "why" here without getting very personal, but here's some stuff I feel comfortable sharing!

Green and red are important colors for Vylad, and they're important for me too!! Green has basically always been my favorite color since the dawn of time, although I did go through a strong purple phase when I was younger.

The way he acts and behaves can be very easily read as autistic/otherwise neurodivergent. I saw/still see a lot of my behaviors in him in a way that made him very comforting to me when I was first watching the series in 2015, and still makes him very endearing to me now ^-^

I am a sucker for characters who go through a literal death + transformation afterwards. Big fan of symbolism. Somewhat for transgender reasons personally, but also stuff beyond that.

speaking of transgender: nonbiney :) and while we're at it hes one of the most explicitly lgbt characters we've got. gay people!!!!! woooooo!!!!!!!!!!

we've both got freckles heehee :D

This comic was based off some very personal musings of mine, so much so that I almost didn't post it lol. His strange relationship with not-religion is very important to me.

Weirdly enough though, I'm not a sibling! I very very frequently find myself identifying with characters that have strange sibling relationships, but I'm an only child! I don't know why this keeps happening.