#i've been tinkering with her design for a WHILE now

[starlight-serenade-project]

i think i'm finally happy enough with my jigen's sister oc's design to post it yaaaaay

her name is yuri she's a reporter investigating the hidden conspiracy behind lady iris's tour and she's the only person who can call jigen daisuke and get away with it. i love her

[lara-cairncross]

Ok I literally just submitted an ask but I am now watching the Pirate FAIRY and I have more questions for you!

First, would we ever see a talent switcheroo for the boys? And if so, who would switch with who??

Secondly, I had a sudden revelation. What if, and hear me out, what if instead of Captain Hook we have Cassandra???? I think she would be super fun in that role!! You could even make her have a REAL turnaround at the end for a full redemption arc! Again, just ideas, fully your au and I just wanted to share my thoughts!

Lastly, I realized that we need a Zarina, and I thought for a while about it. Then it came to me.

What about Kendra? She's a Tinker Fairy too iirc, so she could totally be a dust keeper who likes to experiment and everything from the movie could happen!

Again, just some ideas lol. Thanks for everything you do, I get so excited everytime it crosses my dashboard!! You are so wonderfully skilled and talented!!

HI HI HI ITS YOU AGAIN!!! :DDD this is a very late answer (again) but shhhhhhhh--

I've gotten so many people ask about talent switching!! While I don't think it'll ever be, like, a plot point or anything, I've been doodling little designs of the boys with swapped talents while I'm at work and it's SO MUCH FUN!!! I love swapping their designs around!!!! I definitely wanna do a more finished version at some point, especially since the pirate fairy movie isssss probably my favorite? top 2 at least :D

I'm not sure who would get who's power yet, honestly. There are a few cool things I could try with this concept. I like the idea of Donnie getting the animal talent, since I think it'd be funny for all of these animals to absolutely LOVE him despite the fact that he's not crazy about em. And Leo with the tinker talent would be funny to me purely because he would think it's the lamest thing ever HAH--

oooooo boy Cassandra. holy fuck. I have literally like, three different possible ideas for her that I just CANNOT DECIDE between. And uh I guess I now have four???? FUCK MAN THE IDEA OF HER BEING A PIRATE IS JUST SO COOL-- LIKE SHE WOULD ROCK THAT STYLE OG MY GOD. UH. might draw her as a pirate now even if it doesn't end up being canon AHHHH

and lastly: there IS a Zarina counterpart in this story! it's not a 1:1 ration by any means, but there is a bit of dabbling into pixie dust alchemy and dust-keeping by one fairy in particular...

not sayin' who yet, though :3

(I'll be keeping the kendra idea in mind though, that could solve a plothole or two--)

[my-plastic-life]

Behind the Scenes: Making Melody

Ah, Melody. The daughter of Ariel and Eric. Ariel, the only princess to have a child (Descendants doesn't count). Since the sequel to The Little Mermaid launched in 2000, I've wanted a Melody doll. To this day I can't believe the Disney Store hasn't made one.

Technically, one was released back in the day. I remember going to Toys R Us to get it, and upon seeing it, put it back on the shelf. Why? Because it looked nothing like my favorite princess's daughter.

A bit scary, right? Her eyes, for one, are brown and they should be blue or at least greenish-blue. And her face overall just gives me an uneasy vibe. I can't explain it, but she just doesn't look right. Even back then I couldn't fork over the money for her. Now, try to find her on eBay, and I swear she's ranged in price from $400-$800. Definitely out of my price range for a sub-par doll. Yes, I'd like to have the clothes, but no way am I forking over that kind of cash for clothes that I'm sure I can have someone make. And while I've come a long way with customizing and could easy change her eye color, it doesn't change the fact that she looks... off.

And thus began my journey of creating my own Melody doll. Again, Disney Store should really make one. A lot of us fans and collectors want one, and we know they have the ability to make smaller dolls because we've gotten Alice, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. Come on Disney Store...

But when a company fails to provide a doll you desire, you do the logical thing - you make your own!

The first step was determining the best candidate to transform into Melody. Obviously I wanted her to have one of the aforementioned Disney Store bodies designed for smaller characters. It would match the Ariel dolls I have, and I'd been eyeing an outfit made for that exact body (Melody's primary outfit, her bloomers).

So the body was simple. Next was the face. Obviously either of the three heads that came with the body would have sufficed. Skin tones were a good match to the Ariel dolls I have, so another easy step. The face, though... Melody is often portrayed as having a very large, toothy grin. I've seen people create Melody dolls using Ariel's face, and while that does make total sense, I felt her smile was a bit too "small" for this girl.

If I wanted to keep the original head with the body, Tinkerbell was out because of her pointed ears. That's one thing I can't fix LOL. Sculpting and drawing are definitely out of my area of expertise.

That left Alice and Wendy:

Great candidates, but their smiles definitely aren't right. Melody rarely had a closed mouth smile, if ever, and while I've seen some people customize these dolls into Melody and other characters and add painted teeth, the original issue still exists - the smile isn't big enough.

And yes, Tinkerbell, of course, has the open mouth smile - but the ears!!! Why?!

Another issue with using a Disney Store doll is the head itself. Disney Store doll heads are significantly harder than Mattel and Azone dolls, meaning it takes extra strength/work to reroot them. I could try dyeing the doll hair or using fabric markers on it, but A) that could possibly stain the doll, and B) I've tried fabric markers before and it makes the hair feel like straw.

I was convinced I'd inevitably have to use Wendy or Alice and have someone else reroot her for me, but then I thought of something else. Mattel has reacquired the rights to make Disney Princess dolls. That, of course, includes Ariel. I've made hybrid dolls before (my Inuyasha dolls combine two or three different dolls into one amazing creation), and I remember seeing the princess dolls when Mattel brought them back - particularly Ariel, who had a large toothy smile.

Plus, because she's Mattel, I know how the mechanics work with swapping heads and that the head is a lot softer and easier to work with in terms of rerooting. So I ordered her, but I wasn't yet sure if she'd work. Would her skin tone match either of the Disney Store bodies? What about the head size - would it be too big or small compared to the Disney Store Ariel? And of course, Mattel = pixelated faces... though I'd be repainting the lips anyway for sure because Melody's lips are a more natural pink shade rather than the bright red Ariel has.

Well, luck was on my side - the Ariel head not only matched the skin tone of the smaller bodies (which were also very close to the Disney Store Ariel), it was actually smaller than the original Wendy and Alice heads! I don't know what's up with that, but what a happy accident!

However, there was still another step. I've put Disney Store heads on Barbie bodies before, but not vice versa. And these are smaller bodies. How would it work? The verdict was a bobble head, but some rubber bands around the neck peg took care of that. I think it completely works!

The next step was the rerooting process. I don't know why it's so satisfying to pull all those little plugs out of a doll head, and then poke new hair right into it. :D Of course, before the poking, I had to use acetone to remove the factory paint on the scalp, then paint back over it with black and seal it. This time I was determined not to use too much hair, as in making it too long. When I rerooted my Azone Kagome, I didn't trim the hair until it was completely rooted, and not only did it make a huge mess, it was very wasteful because of how much I had to trim off to get it to the right length. Melody's hair isn't that long (it seems to hit just past her butt I think), so I felt fine cutting each piece I plugged in half. In the end, that proved to be a good decision because I only had to trim a very small amount to even it out and get the look I wanted. Yay!

Once that was done, I gave her a boil wash, allowed the hair to dry overnight, and then added the special glue inside from The Doll Planet Hair (I also got the hair from them). After that dried overnight, it was time to start on the face. I decided to start at the top and work my way down to lower my chances of messing up something that was finished. So I did the eyebrows first. Melody has significantly thicker eyebrows than Ariel, and of course they're black rather than red. Surprisingly enough, I was able to get them thicker and still even... this coming from the person who spent two hours on eyebrows on a different doll. >.<

Next was the eyes. At first I wasn't sure if I should leave them or not, but in the end I decided they needed to be changed. They were way too blue, and they're really supposed to match Ariel's and Eric's. She is their child, after all. Plus, thanks to Mattel, they were also pixelated. BOOOOO!

Many of the scenes in the movie show Melody as having green eyes, so I started there. But then I thought, I better make sure they match Ariel. So I got an Ariel doll out and used her as a guide. Let me tell you, matching that color was insanely difficult. Too green, too bright, too blue, too dark, etc... Then I kept going back and forth because, again, she seems to have green eyes. But then again, they should match Ariel's eyes. Remember, being a perfectionist can be super exhausting.

I finally had what I thought was a good color, so I used that to help shape the eyes. I kept the original white part of the eye and just painted over what was already there, trying to match the Disney Store style (large portion in the darker color, small ring in the lighter color, and then the pupil). But then, after holding it next to Ariel, I was still dissatisfied with the color (way too bright). I kept looking at Ariel, and then I even saw some other custom dolls with blue eyes and some shots of Melody do depict the eyes as being more blue than green (Ariel, too):

So, after literally a week of just trying to get the best color, I finally got it!!! Victory dance!

Last was the lips. Should be simple, right? I like the color of my Barbie self's lips. They're a natural shade of pink, and I have the combo of paints I used to pull that off saved, so I could just replicate that, right? WRONG! I didn't factor in the original factory paint, which serves as a base coat and affects what goes on top of it, plus this doll has a warmer skin tone than Mini Me, so the color turned out to be super bright and very unnatural-looking. So I did a ton of mixing and modifying the paint recipe until finally I was satisfied with the shade. I had to go over the teeth a couple of times too because A) pixels and B) I went over the white a bit with the lipstick.

Once her face was done, I could start styling her hair. Melody just has a simple ponytail with large bangs like her mom. The hardest part was definitely those bangs. They're not straight or flat bangs, but they have kind of a "poof" to them.

The part was a little off - it should have been more to the side and less to the center. However, I was following the original factory root line, so I didn't really pay attention to where it was. That was my fault lol. I took a few strands of hair and held them out of the way as I tied the rest into a ponytail. To give the bangs their ideal effect, I tied that hair back separately with a hair tie I'd bought that resembles Melody's green one. Then I started pulling them out little by little, hoping to achieve the desired look. This was the first result:

Not bad, but I thought I could make it a little better. I noticed some small bald spots around that area in the scalp (oops), so I added some more hair to those areas to make the bangs a little fuller. I re-tied the bang strands (didn't boil wash the second set of hair because I didn't want to risk messing up the paint and I wanted them to stand up somewhat anyway), manipulated the positioning a bit, and came up with this:

I think that's a little better and gives the desired effect. I may still try to manipulate it some more, but I did put some of my special doll hair spray on it to hold it in place. The ponytail bottom just needed a small curl, and while I tried my curling iron on it, I found it to be better to just curl it by hand and spray it.

The final part was the outfit. I got the outfit from malanedoll on Etsy (she makes gorgeous Disney outfits!) The outfit also came with Melody's symbolic seashell locket.

I know what you're thinking - where the heck is her tail? Well, I can't sew that well (I can make little pillows, relatively decent curtains, and maybe some garden flags, but outfits? Nope lol), and I haven't been able to find a tail that would work with this body in the right color. By next year I might have her tail, but for now, she'll stay in her signature bloomer outfit. That is what she's wearing most of the time, and she did ultimately decide to stay a human in the end. :D

And with that, Melody was complete! Probably not 100% perfect, like most of my creations, but satisfying enough for me! Of course, if Disney Store makes an official Melody doll, I'll buy her - and totally do a comparison LOL. And I do intend to eventually get her that iconic red tail!

Thanks for reading my journey on creating Ariel's daughter! To this day, she's still the only Disney princess to ever become a parent lol.

[moooclipse]

I cannot escape pokemon, it has a grip on me.

I've wanted to make a trainersona for a while and finally got to it. I like to think I'd start of as a trainer traveling to different regions to meet new pokemon, and then later on decide to become a pokemon professor who studies shinies (and maybe legendaries?)

Most of my pokemon have names; Spirits the female absol, Lumi the shiny male umbreon, Wynter the female alolan vulpix, Tinker the shiny female sylveon, Moonstone the shiny male dusk form lycanroc, and Piko the female pichu. Still working on a name for Silvally. Either Tinker or Lumi I think would be my first pokemon, mostly because they're both based on pets I've had irl- my current black cat named Reaper and a black and white cat I used to have when I was younger named Tinkerbell.

Spirits is based on an absol I have in pokemon sleep, it was one of the first pokemon I got not long after the app came out! Although I didn't draw one, I think I'd also have a snivy, since one of my first memories of pokemon is from getting a toy snivy figure from a McDonald's happy meal. Might honestly swap out Piko with said snivy, not really sure why I included Piko other than reusing her from an older drawing (that I've been swayed from pikachu from the show since I've been watching it lately ^^')

While I'm at it might as well share some older art with my trainersona at the time not yet considered trainersona. First one was with my at the time main pokemon sleep team, which is where Spirits comes from, and the second one was with pokemon I at the time wanted to have if pokemon were real, which is where Pikos design, Wynters collar, and Tinkers marking (although barely visible on the recent drawing) came from.

Komainu (growlithe) and Nepheli (togetic) are both fully evolved now too, since the pokemon sleep art was made a few months ago.

Ok I need to stop rambling about pokemon-

[synergysilhouette]

An alternate take on "Wish" (2023)

I was hoping I wouldn't have to make something like this. I've already done remakes for movies I liked, and I wasn't expecting to make one on this so soon. I heard a lot of discourse about this movie, as well as a lot of praise, and sadly, the negative feelings for the movie are what I aligned with more. It felt like it was rushed and missing important pieces--weird for a movie that's an hour and a half--as well as unrealized concepts altogether.

Human Star--We all know what I'm talking about. At one point, Star was supposed to be a human who romanced Asha, but this was never realized. Some people surmise it's because Star was confirmed to have (at one stage) been modeled after Asha's grandfather Sabino, who would've been dead. However, in my version, Star is Asha's love interest, sans-Sabino inspiration. He (or whatever pronouns you'd like to use, since Star is nonbinary) would've appeared as a Star at first, helping Asha before taking the form of an ethereal young man after hanging out with Safi, Gabo, and Dario. His fashion would be standout from the get-go, very ethereal and vibrant like a walking ball of light--or a peacock, if you will. In contrast to the yellow aesthetic in the concept art, I'd like a rainbow look or a silver and blue appearance, bringing to mind "Colors of the Wind" and "The Soreceror's Apprentice." He wouldn't speak, instead miming and using sign language to communicate, forming close bonds not only with Asha, but Bazeema and Dario. He's funny and silly, but knows when to be serious and empathetic, like a slightly more serious and wiser version of Sisu. When Magnifico sucks the magic out of him, he falls and starts to flicker, similar to Tinker Bell when losing her magic. This is when the reprise of "This Wish" begins.

2. Asha's personality--You know, she wasn't as cringey as I was expecting since she was supposed to be adorakale, but I do prefer her being a bit more mature. I'd make her in her early 20s and give her a personality similar to Mulan and Pocahontas--athletic, determined, and heartfelt, while still being vulnerable without feeling like she tries too hard to be relateable (I swear, the scene with her grandfather and mother reminded me of Mulan being told to learn her place). I'd also give her (and Magnifico) a different design, but I've already made two posts about that. And I'd make her a bit less perfect with her ideals; she cares about others, but she's somewhat of a social climber, wanting to be Magnifico's apprentice specifically so he can grant her and her family's wishes. Magnifico appreciates her for her moment of cynicism, stating how Rosas has only grown in size because people want to use Magnifico's powers and leave.

3. Asha gets the job--Asha gets recommended by Simon to be Magnifico's apprentice, as he's a knight for the king and he trusts his imput. Impressed by how (unintentionally) translucent Asha is, Magnifico decides to make her his apprentice, giving her the power to use magic like he can. As such, she's his apprentice for a bit before running away.

4. Sakina's wish--Since Asha is over the age of 18, she has already given her wish to Magnifico. She's fine with not achieving her wish, but finds out that her mother wished that her father were alive, as she desperately misses him (it's been about a decade by now). Magnifico becomes something like father figure to Asha, but when she realizes he destroyed Sakina's wish in order to give her magic, she's horrified (she actually finds this out by accident, having overheard Amaya and Magnifico) at his disregard for others' dreams and runs away from Rosas. Magnifico sends people to find her and return her, unharmed, but her magic and her pain summons down Star to help her. Magnifico reveals that bringing Asha's father back from the dead is something he can do--but shouldn't, as it would create unforeseeable harm.

5. Magnifico and Amaya's Past--It's weird how a film's villain gets such a short and not-so-sweet backstory despite this fueling their whole ideology, huh? Deciding to pay homage to Disney, I decided to change his backstory, making it so that he is a genie--or, he was. He spent centuries being used and abused by mortals who wanted his wish-granting power, until Amaya found him and they fell in love. She wished him free, but only with the condition that he stay by her side forever, for while Amaya loved him, she loved power as well. It's revealed that she's a sorceress, but her power is much more limited than Magnifico's (see 1992's "Aladdin" for the power dynamic between sorcerers and genies). Similar to the Evil Queen, Amaya keeps a magic mirror that allows her to see anywhere in the realm she desires, as well as transferring her image to any location, and she is able to shapeshift. She is shocked when she discovers that Magnifico can gift others powers on his level, but that he never offered it to her.

6. "At All Costs" and "I'm a Star" are changed for different situations--It's revealed that Amaya is also a villain, and while she loves Magnifico, she has difficulty expressing it, as she frequently emotionally manipulates him in order to control him, as he's never learned the limits of his powers, and believes in maintaining the wishes of Rosas in order to maintain balance and keep bad wishes from being fufilled, which suits his wife just fine, since it makes her subjects more compliant. As a result, "At All Costs" is sung between the two in a powerful, rumbling, vibrant number that shows their twisted love for each other and their subjects. "I'm a Star," on the other hand, is a power ballad Star uses for Asha and the Teens to gain confidence in themselves, using the animals (and having Asha sing) in order to convey the message to her.

7. The Teens are more present and have lives--Simon is already a knight for Magnifico, Dahlia being a cook for Magnifico is more promiment, Safi comes from an affluent family, Hal and Bazeema are dating (just got the vibe; I'm not saying anything is canon), Dario is a farmer's boy with dreams of being a performer, and Gabo is still figuring himself out, fueling his bitterness in the group since everyone else has stuff going on in their personal or professional lives. As such, no one bretrays or turns their back on Asha--at least, not deliberately; Safi and Bazeema are quick to submit when their families are threatened, while Simon is manipulated into thinking that getting Asha back is solely for altruistic reasons.

8. Amaya's deceit--Intending to get Asha back when she realizes she's summoned Star, Amaya shapeshifts into her father (who we'll call Ignacio for now) and says that Magnifico brought him back in order to have her return. Star attempts to alert her of the ruse, but they have a falling out over it, and Asha and "Ignacio" sing a reprise of "At All Costs." However, once they return to Rosas, Amaya reveals her deceit, torturing Asha with depictions of a violently bruised and battered Ignacio before stripping her of her powers and throwing her, Dahlia, Safi, and Bazeema in the dungeons. As such, Star must rally Gabo, Dario, and Hal to help them escape. During this time, "Knowing What I Know Now" starts off on a sad note, as Asha reflects on the complexity of wishes and how Magnifico was somewhat right.

9. Magnifico's Carnage--I want Notre Dame-levels of mass hysteria and destruction; houses are being raided, people are being injured (maybe even killed? Too much?), all because Magnifico is unraveling; after being abused for so long and even learning that his own wife has been secretly using some of his captive wishes and using it to increase her own power, he goes on a rampage, showing the kingdom how selfish they are, and how despite his best efforts to please them, they always wanted more. As such, the kingdom is left in ruins, and Amaya battles him, enraged that she has no one to rule over. Magnifico, not holding back any longer, takes away her own natural powers, leaving her a helpless queen, and during a battle in the throne room, Asha and the gang uses the magic mirror to repel Magnifico's attacks until one of them hits him and Amaya, turning them into a statue of silver and gold.

10. Lessons learned--While Star doesn't come back (kinda want a "If I Never Knew You" song for this generation), his magic is infused into Asha due to his love for her, allowing her to regain her powers and become a fairy godmother. Asha takes this seriously, seeing how her last experiences with wishes taught her so much and cost so many lives. The people of Rosas are humbled by the experience, and the citizens leave the land as night falls, a shooting star pointing to a distant land for them to inhabit. In the end, everyone wonders what future awaits them, and Asha vows to use her magic to help make it a home--though she asks them to be patient with her, since "even miracles take a little time."

11. We get more vibrant colors! SO much looks like they've been watered down instead of colorful and vibrant like "Sleeping Beauty" (the visual inspiration for the film) was.

Lemme know what you think! Keep in mind, I only recently saw this film, so as time passes, I may edit this--or delete this and make a brand new remake post altogether.

[changingplumbob]

Pancakes Household: Chapter 9, Part 11

To ditch career day... or to not ditch career day...

CW: Distressed infant

Since Tiana cannot speak her thoughts will often be in brackets

While Eliza and Bob have taken infant leave from their jobs, there is no such option for the teens. Fergus and Onyx pop their heads into the nursery where Bob is still rocking a sleeping Tiana and kiss her goodbye for the day. Then school awaits!

It looks like the Pancakes may have missed the outfit memo for today, oops. While Onyx heads off to find some friends Fergus tries to hastily finish the homework he neglected to finish. Unfortunately his friends are not much help this morning.

Anya: I look fabulous, thank you watcher

Artemisia: Are you staring at my best bracelet friend

Darwin: What? No. I was looking for the bus

Artemisia: Looking for the bus while we’re at school, unlikely

Atlas: I don’t think he meant anything by it

Fergus: Hold up- what did you guys get for 13?

Artemisia: Look dude, just keep your eyes to yourself

Darwin: Sure, and you can keep your venom to yourself

Outside the main building Onyx and Paola have some time relaxing.

Onyx: Aim for the centre

Paola: Of course I’m aiming for the centre dummy

Zhafira: Onyx! Hey! Look who caught the bus again successfully!

Zhafira approaches the pair beaming happily.

Onyx: Congrats. Did you hear they’re shuffling classes today

Zhafira looks downcast while Onyx explains the younger and older students will be having combined classes for the morning. They'll be with some of their friends but not Zhafira who seems upset at having to get to know even more new people.

As this is happening Mrs Tinker and Mrs Hensley come over and try give Paola some tips for successful throwing. Unfortunately they have contrasting opinions and in the end the teens decide the safest option is just to pretend they’ve gotten bored and head inside.

Onyx takes a quick swim before class and still manages to get to the room before the teacher begins the lesson.

Mrs T: Today we will be buddying up. Older students please join a younger student and we will begin designing a business for this scenario

Onyx: Mrs T can’t I just buddy up with Amie since she’s beside me

Mrs T: Sorry Onyx but Mr A wants to foster whole school cooperation, that's why we're having staggered classes this morning

Carson: I wish William had been put in here

Darwin: Don’t worry, we’ll see him at lunch

Carson: And I wish some outfits didn’t make my glasses vanish, it's like I've been dressed by a computer

After class wraps up Fergus goes to talk with Artemisia.

Fergus: I’m excited to see what we’ll learn this afternoon

Artemisia: *sighs* Don’t be too excited, it’s career day

Fergus: You’re not punking me, we only just started high school. There is no career day

Artemisia: I’m serious. I’m also thinking of skipping out on it

Fergus: We can do that?

Artemisia: I reckon I can, question is do you have the guts to

Fergus: Of course I do. Onyx was still feeling ill this morning so we can use that excuse to head home

Artemisia: May the best person not be caught

Back home Eliza is carrying Tiana when the infant fusses to be put down.

Eliza: Okay then, down we go

Tiana: *coos* (I coo now mother) *coos louder*

Eliza: Was that a coo? Was that a coo? I think it was *claps*

Tiana smiles and sticks her fingers in her mouth. Mother is pleased, she must be doing well. Even though mother keeps saying the word go, Tiana is happy they haven't seemed to leave the house.

Eliza is busy feeding Tiana when Fergus walks through the room.

Eliza: Hold on! What are you doing home?

Fergus: Umm, Onyx’s head got bad again so we came home so they could get a nap

Fergus walks over to the suckling infant and holds her hand for a bit. Tiana doesn't seem to grip back yet but she's looking at him curiously.

Eliza: You came home so Onyx could nap? I don’t think so. Onyx is capable of napping by themselves

Fergus: Fine, it was career day! I don’t need to worry about that yet. I’ll do extra homework tonight I promise

Eliza burps Tiana who spits up down her back.

Eliza: Ugh. it's okay honey, we can clean that up

Fergus: Want me to grab a cloth

Eliza: Please. Now I do not want you skipping school again, but since you’re here you can walk Strawberry since you're keen to help Onyx

Fergus: But I want to- *sighs* yes mother

The house is left quiet for Onyx’s nap while Bob takes Ginger for a run and Fergus takes Strawberry for a walk.

Eliza: Come on my snuggly sleeper. You get comfy back there and you can nap while mother does her run

Tiana: *coos questioningly* (wait, no, not outside! I don't want to leave) *cries* (I want to stay with mother)

Eliza: It's okay Tiana, mother is right here with you. We're just going to check out the neighbourhood huh. You'll be okay

Eliza jogs off and keeps talking to Tiana. Eventually the regular bouncing of the back carrier and the softness of Eliza's voice lull Tiana to sleep. Eliza is delighted to hear a quiet snuffling snore at her back as she runs.

Later that day...

Fergus: Dad?

Bob: Yes

Fergus: Umm, Tiana is crying. Don’t you think you should go give her a nap rather than carry her on your back

Bob: But- she’s learning with me though

Eliza: Fergus is right Bob, she’s exhausted. Better giver her to me

Bob: But I want to spend time with her

Eliza: And so you can, when she’s awake. You know she had a hard night, she needs to catch up on sleep still

Bob: *sighs* fine. Here Tiana honey, go with your mother *whispers* I'll teach you how to cook later though

Eliza carries a grumpy over tired infant into the nursery and sits down with her in the rocking chair.

Eliza: There there Tiana, it’s okay, you just go to sleep

Tiana: *coos* (mother came back with me, I not left behind) *yawns*

Eliza: It's okay my sleepy girl, mother is right here and daddy is just down the hall. You can sleep, I'll keep you safe

Tiana does feel very tired and so she yawns and falls asleep in Eliza’s arms. It may not be winning a Nobel Prize but Eliza feels pretty proud of finding time in her schedule to snuggle with her daughter.

The teens decided to do their homework at their own desks tonight! Fergus was working away on some science as he has a class trip to the aquarium tomorrow. Onyx meanwhile did their best to study for their exams. After Onyx felt like they could confidently say they were no longer sick they went and did some cheer practice. Later in the evening Tiana woke up.

After a diaper change Eliza gets Tiana into a clean night onesie and goes in search of Bob.

Bob: Thank you for the suggestion. She’s given us so much joy already

Kayleigh: No problem at all I- oh is this her?

Eliza: *grinning* Kayleigh may I introduce our youngest? This is Tiana

Kayleigh: Oh she is precious

Bob: Come to daddy, did you have a nice nap

Eliza: She’s still quite tired, I think she’ll need a proper sleep after her bottle

Bob: We can do that

Kayleigh: I best get going, see you all later

Bob: Can you say bye bye to Kayleigh

Tiana: *coos and snuggles into shoulder* (daddy is here, mother found him for me)

Bob: *chuckles* okay, food time then

Bob is delighted to see Tiana has a healthy appetite. He prepares himself to be spat on but to his surprise only gas comes out. Snuggling Tiana close he carries her down the hall and places her in her crib. He softly tells her another tall tale and the exhausted infant falls asleep happy with the sounds of fellow sims.

Previous ... Next

[jpitha]

Allan was sitting hunched over at his desk, with a strong light shining on it. Acrid smoke curled up while he worked. He was concentrating so hard that he didn't hear Malmani come in.

"Hey Allan! Your door was open and-- Ancestors! What are you doing? What is that smell?" Malmani took two steps back and coughed.

Allan looked up, startled. "Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you come in Malmani. The smell? Oh, hold on a second, sorry." He flipped a switch next to his desk and a powerful fan over his desk started, and pulled the acrid smoke away. "I was trying to solder together this board and was concentrating so hard. These surface mount components are super tough to do on their own."

As the air cleared, Malmani was able to take a closer look. Eyes watering, she noticed that he had two little clamps on his desk and they were holding a thin wafer of green plastic with...small protrusions dotted all over it.

She flicked her ear and said "What are you making? It looks like a miniature city"

Allan looked down at the PCB and chuckled "Hah, it does, doesn't it? I'm trying to make a new kind of environmental sensor. The ones we have are really bulky and fail often." He realized that they were of K'laxi make and that he was talking to a K'laxi and quickly added "Er, sorry, I mean that I was thinking about the design while I was trying to repair one last week and started daydreaming about making it better."

"It's fine Allan, it's fine. I'm not insulted." Malmani thought for a moment. "At least, I don't think I'm insulted. I was just wondering what you were doing, and now I know. But why?"

"Like I said, the ones in place are bulky. I think I can make one that's more compact. Maybe even one that's more accurate. Plus, it's fun to do."

"Fun?"

"Sure! I like thinking about electronics and how they work and how you could optimize things and make it better."

"So Starbase didn't ask you to make it, you're just making it because you want to?"

"Yup. Starbase and I have been collaborating on the design though. They're letting me know what things they wish were easier to read."

"That's right Mal." Starbase chimed in "Allan was asking me about the environmental sensors, and I had mentioned how it's tough for me to get a holistic view of an area since the sensors don't talk to each other - just to me - so first thing he's doing is adding a local network connection. They should be able to talk to each other and send a more unified picture of what's going on."

Allan nodded "Yeah, see these bits right here?" He gestured with a small plastic stick. "These are the mesh networking components. They are what will let them talk to each other. We're also going to try a human sourced environmental sensor. We make ours a different way, and I think it'll be smaller and faster to refresh. I'm keeping a lot of the K'laxi wiring though, your resistors and capacitors are incredibly efficient. I've already requested a couple boxes of K'laxi components, I want to see how well they mesh with human ones."

Mal shook her head. "I can't get over how you're just designing a new component for Starbase just because. I don't think I would have ever thought to do that."

Allan shrugged. "It's just the way I'm wired I guess. I don't think it's a human-only thing. After all, K'laxi built the whole entire Starbase without us, you have to have your own people who like to tweak and tinker, right?"

Mal thought a moment. "There must be some K'laxi like that because you're right. But I don't know if it's as..." She struggled for word "...as prevalent as it is with Humans? Most of the time, once we have a solution that works, we leave it in place until we have a need for a change. Iterating just for iterations sake doesn't come as naturally to us."

Allan nodded. "Looking at the components in place, I can tell."

Mal flicked an ear.

"Er, I mean that a lot of the comments are perfectly good at doing their job, but they look like that once a workable solution was found people stopped. In a bunch of human components you come across solutions that are elegant, or ones that utilize as few components as possible, or solutions that are the cheapest they could be, things like that." Allan thought for a moment. "I wonder if it has to do with our world? Earth is a lot more dangerous than K'lax right? Maybe we are always trying to find an edge, because that would give us just a little bit more breathing room in case of a disaster."

"Huh Maybe. Anyway, I was coming in to remind you that this week it's your turn to buy the snacks for tonights board game."

"Oh! That's right, that is tonight. Starbase, I'll have to stop here and we can pick it up tomorrow after work okay? I'm almost ready to install the firmware and have you connect and tell me." He stopped "How it feels I guess?"

"That's fine Allan, I'll be here."

[chewyjellycable]

PLEASSEEE YAP ABT YOUR OCS. Use this ask as an excuse🙏🙏

GOOD MORNING!! This ask has been sitting here for a while whoops.... Anyways!! Here's the OC I've been wanting to answer this ask with. Pickle Cheesecake Cookie!!

Pickle Cheesecake (PC for short) is Androgyne, using He/She/Xey/Zem. She also uses any science-related neopronouns that anyone thinks of to use for her.

PC is a mad scientist who creates various kinds of inventions similar to uwo_labs or Doctor Doofenshmirtz. Though life improvement is a goal he has in mind- being able to unlock the inner magical abilities that he thinks he has is the top priority (he doesn't have any, unfortunately).

Raised in a cult without a father figure, PC was very attached to xeir mother. Xey were a bastard child, with the other parent being from someone outside the cult landing xem and xeir mother in hot water. Not only that, but the cult despised PC even MORE considering xey didn't inherit any magical abilities.

Xey were continuously pushed into trying to cast spells or do anything that's worthy of a continued life. Unfortunately, no magic was ever found in PC's dough, and as punishment to both the child and mother the cult decided to crumble the mother with PC watching before kicking PC out onto the streets at a young age.

PC eventually found an abandoned building to make her home in, in a thick forest not too far from the borders of Parfaedia. The skills that she learned in trying to fix up the place led to an interest in tinkering. :] And since she was never really taught about what you should and shouldn't do, should and shouldn't make... That led to some wild things being created!!

And due to throwing caution into the wind, PC will handle things that a person normally wouldn't go near. One of those things being radioactive material!! PC has a pet rock that powers the building that's just a chunk of Uranium. If you were to put a Geiger counter next to PC, it would have an incredibly high tick rate. She is radioactive <3

PC is friends with Nemesia, an OC belonging to @vnillatree!! PC gets into shenanigans and Nemesia usually has to look on in worry and horror.

This radioactive miscreant has a HUUUUGE crush on Butter Roll it's not even funny. PC is already a mess when it comes to interacting with others, but when it comes to Butter Roll??? He absolutely loses his mind trying to be cool and endearing. Butter Roll is unaware of this crushing and just thinks that's how PC is.

PC calls his creations his "inators". This started as a joke but that's just how he is now. The things that he makes are... interesting, to say the least.

She has tension with Almond since she doesn't have any licenses or permits for anything that she does. She doesn't even have an ID or anything since she was never really taught anything about the legal system or... most things, really.

The reason why PC has slit pupils is unknown, but it might have something to do with his radioactivity! The same reasoning can be applied to why he has fangs.

PC has a stutter and tends to ramble with his words!! The more worked up he is, the worse the stuttering and rambling is.

Her hair is incredibly greasy... It would take an intense deep cleanse to clean her up properly. It's very hard for her to take care of herself due to wanting to make progress on her inventions for the sake of unlocking her missing magic abilities.

More of a design quirk rather than anything related to PC zemself, zeir goggles are expressive! When zey're wearing them, they can express themselves like normal eyes do, with the spirals acting as strange pupils.

[cj-the-random-artist]

Made some designs for that AU I mentioned, here's all the folks who in the AU live outside of town and also Katherine Elizabeth because she's gonna show up in one of the things I've got planned out. Some design notes:

Impulse, in this AU, would be half-dwarf and half-human. He's a blacksmith, living outside of town with Skizz. I wanted his clothes to be sturdy-looking and to actually resemble clothes that a blacksmith would wear. Under his gloves, on his right wrist, he's got that hardcore heart tattoo (matching Skizz's) that I've put on his design anyways for a while just cuz I'm attached to it.

Skizz, of course, has to have no sleeves and all that. I wanted him to keep his glorious wonderful hair, but it's ponytailed so it's out of the way. He's also been blessed by the fae folk with a silver tongue, so his tongue is actually silver (not made of silver but colored silver. Cuz it's neat). Also I gave Skizz (and a lot of the others) little sidebags because I feel like that would be a convenient thing for them to have.

Gem is an elven alchemist, I wanted her to have a functional outfit that also had an almost dress-ish silhouette, just because. I think I like the colors?? I might dial back the pink but it's gotta stay pink for complimentary. Also she gets a long poofy bubble braid as a reference to her Empires season 1 hair.

Pearl is a former high priestess for a goddess (also named Pearl) whose following has disbanded, that's where the sunflower tattoo comes from (also I plan to put Sausage in this AU and he has one too). Other than that, I figured she'd take up organization and such as a job post high priestess occupation, so I wanted her to be functional in what she wears. She probably works in the castle, but doesn't live there.

Tango, in this AU, is half-elven, a quarter human, and a quarter fire sprite. When he's not ranching with Jimmy, he's tinkering and making stuff to share with Zedaph and Impulse. Honestly he's not too different from how I draw him normally lol.

Jimmy is a tiny bit fae, which doesn't really mean anything for his appearance other than that his pupils reflect light. Mostly wanted him to just be functional as well, because he's the other half of the ranchers and he's gotta be in functional shape to take care of the cows, chickens, horses, and their singular unicorn.

Zed I made into a satyr / faun (sheep man) again (since that's no longer my default for him I may as well use it here), he's a tinkerer as well who lives in a cave and vibes most of the time. Every now and then he wanders out and shows everyone the stuff he's made, but mostly he's just vibing.

Katherine, in this AU, is a travelling monster hunter (probably also blessed by the faes), and while she doesn't necessarily live around the town or anything, she passes through every now and again to pick up supplies and hunt monsters. She would generally carry two axes, one silver and one gold (for fighting different monsters- silver is most effective against some and gold for others), but I figure for her first introduction she doesn't have her gold axe due to losing a bet. I based her outfit on her monster hunter look from Empires season 2.

Anyways! Random design thoughts and tidbits for y'all. I've got comic ideas which I'm gonna start on soon, but that said, please enjoy these for now! :D

[knifedancer]

Emotional Security

Felinette Drabble inspired by a recent interaction with my partner (Mr. Knifey). Just our lovely couple having a sweet moment together, letting down some emotional barriers.

Aged up, established relationship, identities known, post-Argos redemption.

~~~~~~~

Marinette tilted her head up as she sensed her human pillow shift, watching as her boyfriend slowly emerged from his three hour nap with a yawn. His blond hair, usually styled with gel, was mussed from the extended contact with her pillow. His clothes were untucked and wrinkled, the top few buttons undone to reveal pale collar bones adorned with the remnants of a small love bite -- evidence of their affections but low enough for his shirt collar to hide from prying eyes -- and the silver chain from which currently hung his miraculous. The hand on her waist tensed, pulling her tighter against his long lanky frame as if to reassure himself of her presence in his half-awake state, while the one at her shoulder rose to rub the sand roughly from his long lashes.

"Greetings, Rip Van Winkle, how was your nap?" She murmured sweetly, enamored by the way his pale lips upturned into a small sleepy smile at her voice.

"Mm, excellent. What time is it?" His voice was husky with sleep, making Marinette's heart beat race at the tone. She watched as he groaned, the hand on his face now pressing two fingers to the bridge of his nose.

Running a hand up his chest to rest over his sternum, she nuzzled into his shoulder playfully. "It's 5:38, sleepy head."

With a start, two pale green eyes opened and looked at her in shock. Marinette smiled as the residual haze of slumber finally lifted and his usual sharp gaze took in their surroundings -- her pink room, the magazine cutouts and drawings pinned to the walls, his tie and vest neatly strewn atop her chaise, their two kwamis asleep in a toy hammock in the corner, the waning daylight through the overhead skylight, and finally her bedside alarm clock -- before his chest rose with a quick intake of breath. "What... How did I sleep for so long?"

She snorted softly, "Really? You woke me up early, promptly whisked me away after to have brunch, took me shopping, and insisted on helping me with the akuma earlier... all this after your three hour train ride from London!"

"Do you blame me, Tib? I missed you." The young man cupped her cheek, his eyes glowing with love.

She returned it with an exasperated, deadpan stare. "...The train you caught was less than an hour after your flight landed from New York. Have you slept at all in the last twenty-four hours?"

The blond rolled his eyes while his fingers tinkered with the tangled strands of one haphazard pigtail, "As if you're one to talk about getting rest, Miss Guardian. Don't think I don't know that you've been staying up all night designing again."

Marinette gasped, "Who told?!"

Her boyfriend grinned and his eyes twinkled with mirth, "My cousin."

"Et tu, Adrien?" She huffed, feeling Felix beneath her chuckle as he pulled her tightly against him again.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, drinking in each other's presence for the first time in several weeks, happy to simply be. No words needed to be said when their hearts spoke volumes. Wrapped in their own little cocoon as the muffled sounds of Paris drifted up through her window from the city below.

Finally, Marinette broke the warm stillness with a soft snort. The blond raised a questioning eyebrow at the sound. "You know, if I was any other woman, I think you would be in trouble right now."

"How so?" He scrunched his brow, watching her with a slight frown.

"You napped for so long, any other woman would feel neglected from your lack of attention," she dramatically tossed her head off to the side as she had seen Chloe do on many occasions. "I've been a gaming widow before so I can handle it."

A mocking half grin spread across his features, "You mean you caused gaming widowers."

Smiling mischievously, she scoffed but he cut her off with a finger to her lips. It was then that she noticed the lingering shadows around his eyes and the vulnerable gleam in their green depths. His words came out as a soft whisper, as if he were afraid to be overheard. "Is it so wrong that I feel safe with you beside me?"

Raising her hand to his face, she watched as Felix turned to nuzzle into her palm with a sigh. She kept her tone warm and loving, hoping it would cover the concern bubbling up inside her heart at his sudden change in behavior, "No, of course not, my dove. I'm so glad I make you feel safe..."

"...you're so warm and soft, comforting, that I just...my heart cried 'home' and I fell asleep," he murmured, his words like a whispered confession as pale lips trembled against her skin.

The intimacy of his tone left her speechless as she stared at her boyfriend. Felix was often stoic or mocking, keeping everyone at arm's length with biting comments... Hell, his primary love language even appeared more often as teasing banter sheathed in a mirage of scorn. The moments in which he revealed his softer side were infrequent and reserved for the select few that he cared about, Marinette receiving the bulk of it after his mother. However, even then, there was still a piece of him left guarded that no one could touch. Amelie had hinted at a rough childhood but wouldn't go into details, simply giving the young designer the advice to have patience and make him feel loved.

The exposed man before her was so different from the one that stole her heart that she scarcely remembered to breathe! Perhaps the prolonged exposure to Duusu was attuning him more to his emotions? As the silence dragged on, Marinette noted the way his eyelids pressed closed and he drew shakier breaths, as if trying to suppress something deep inside. She could tell he was at his emotional limit, his muscles growing as taut as a wound spring as his defenses began to rise in the deafening silence. She needed to do something to assure him of his well-being while still leaving room for this new emotional territory their relationship had expanded into...

Taking a cue from his love language, the bluenette shook free of his tight grip and climbed on top of him with a playful smile, bracketing his face between her forearms as his hands unconsciously found purchase on her hips as she hovered over him. Guarded green eyes searched her face silently, as if waiting for a strike. "Are you saying I'm so boring that I put you to sleep, Mr. Fathom?"

He smirked, a light growl emitting from the back of his throat as she leaned in closer. "Oh I'll show you how boring you are, Love..."

They would both be tired and sore tomorrow but they certainly weren't bored the rest of the night. And Marinette certainly couldn't complain about his lack of attention.

~~~~References:

Rip Van Winkle: Dutch-American folktale about a man that, while out squirrel hunting to avoid his nagging wife, falls asleep for twenty years after imbibing in alcohol with strange mountain men.

Tib: Medieval term of endearment meaning "calf", because ladybugs are sometimes called ladycows. Also became a way to refer to young women of a lower class, also sweetheart, in the 1530s.

Dove: Victorian term of endearment, some breeds mate for life, felt it was fitting for the peacock (bird) holder.

[donutdrawsthings]

It's been a while since I've made art for my world The Reaching Isles!

Finally a proper reference and updated design for Kia! Her eyelashes are now more visible :oD and she now also has a reference for her expressions, even if mild.

A concept for what Tinker might look like as an adult! He's part of a ravenous species that lived millions of years ago... Not much is known of them in The Reaching Isles outside what some fossilised bones can tell about their diet, but in this world they're basically seen as Terrifying as the T-Rex of our world! They've never found a juvenile specimen though, so for now Tinker is still hard to identify as this monstrous species.

Meet Fiffa Tinmur, palaeontologist and professor of the passed sciences! He's a type of brine shrimp! Fiffa is an eccentric little guy with the same youthful passion for palaeontology he had when he was just a little nauplii. Although his first instinct is to stick up for the little guys, he can easily be persuaded to a morally dubious side with his interest in fossils and remnants of the past.

[argentumcor]

Sandrock Thoughts, no particular order

-Ya'll, Logan's hair isn't super long, it's Aragorn's hair, just tied back. He's a Dunedain ranger, of course it's Aragorn's hair.

-He really is. I just actually me him on my replay and he's just such a decent heroic person oh my goodness. Dunedain ranger, I'm not kidding. I wish actually there had been a flirt option to essentially say 'well now I've heard you talk...' instead of all meta. Out here being the dangerous, rough man defending the decent folk of Sandrock from the definite dangers of the wilds, taking all of that on himself. He isn't exactly Aragorn, though I think there's parts of his design are meant to call back to movie Aragorn, who had a lot of elements to his costume design meant to call back to westerns- that sort of duster jacket thing he wore, for instance.

-The dynamic between Justice and Unsuur (and the cat Captain) is one of my favorites. Justice is a great character in his kind of tired lawman way, plus he does have some great lines- "tracking device? What kind of budget do you think we have?". Unsuur does, too. ("Is it so wrong for a mole to love a princ--" "Yes."). It's a really great dynamic and I actually wish we'd gotten more of the Civil Corps and Logan teamup.

-I know Unsuur is a potential love interest but he makes me all maternal. That boy is my son and I will have no word said bad about him. You just leave him and his rocks alone!

-Speaking of kids, I really like the kids in this game. Jasmine is pretty great as the town princess, essentially, and Andy is a delight in his chaos gremlin ways. Pebbles is cute as, well, essentially an extension of Rocky and Crystal and a representation of what they see in Sandrock. Child characters can be too precious or too annoying easily, but there's a sincerity to them and a genuine stumbling childishness.

-I haven't had the PC have a kid because those mechanics seem like more intensive farm animal ones. Thematically, it makes sense because it's a game about forging a future for a town, but. But I would like to enjoy playing the game.

-The horny French moleman just has to be a reference to the horny French moleman of Atlantis: The Lost Empire. He's fun. That whole mission is fun even the platform part where if you screw up enough the game asks if you'd like to skip this part. Heh, and assault rifle for boss killing wins.

-Someone wrote Qi to be very Sheldon Cooper but it works because they hit it just the right amount and he is, in fact, as much an agent of chaos as Cooper or Andy or Elsie in his enthusiasm for giant robots. Being as the Vega 5 rep asks how you worked with him and didn't throw him out a window, his scientific peers are quite happy to have him tinkering away in the ass-end of nowhere and so is he.

-Elsie's story is a nice tale of maturity that the player plays a very small role in. You just give her some fish, really, and serve as a sounding board. Her story is hers, and I see her as just being a year or two into adulthood while most of the town's love interests are in their mid-20s (this is explicitly stated about Logan, who is a few years younger than Owen we know for sure and probably Justice).

-I kind of wish that, if you get both parties past a certain relationship level and you still haven't flirted with them, that some of them courted each other. I have found out that this can happen for Owen and Amirah under certain conditions- not a pair I'd have picked- but I haven't seen it. It would make sense for this to happen in such a small town and with the game's themes.

-Owen courting Amirah makes sense- she's an out-of-towner and is written and designed to be stunningly beautiful, but it's not a good long-term match IMO. Owen wants someone to run the Saloon with, and he really cares about the Saloon, as it is his family's legacy and he runs it really well. He has no angst about the Saloon, thank God. This really is what he wants. Amirah is very introverted and...well, women like that, their great beauty tends to make them mercenary or cynical about romance for good reason- look at how often people hardcore hit on her- and Owen is a romantic at heart. He's romantic about Sandrock and the Blue Moon and a thousand other things, but Amirah is a cynic in a lot of ways. Amirah likes being in Sandrock because she finds it inspiring in a challenging way and allows her to be an introverted beauty, but she doesn't and can't love it and its people like Owen does.

-I could see Owen with Jane or, as I've read in fic, Mi-an. Jane grew up in Sandrock but left and came back, so there's distance there from the town dynamic I think is crucial to the crew pairing off but a love for the place. She likes people. Mi-an as she develops gains more confidence, she loves to fix and grow stuff, and loves the town, too. Writers don't seem to embrace Owen/Amirah often at the moment, possibly because they're unaware of the quest and it's non-intuitive.

-Arvio gets a bad shake from fanfic, poor guy, but his is a tale of growing up in life and business. I really like his and Amirah's plotline. Musa basically tells him to actually think if he's going to chase big dreams and then he damn well does. He is another one, like Elsie, it's hard to see as a romantic interest for me but that doesn't mean I dislike him. What's interesting about his height- he is the shortest adult male townie, I think- is if he talks about his past you realize he might have been malnourished and a child laborer in a quarry.

-Heidi's a fun and a grounded career woman. I like her 'smart country girl who wasn't interested in city life' vibe. She mentions her dad pushing her to find someone, which all the older people would, but her focus makes sense. I think it would be really funny, and fun, if she sort of paired off with Qi of all people. They work together so much in the main plotline and she does rein him in. It's a fun dynamic even if platonic, at any rate. Them dating would mystify the townsfolk hilariously, you have to admit.

-Fang is interesting and I get why many ladies love him but...it seems an uneven relationship. There's something coercive about how one would get involved with him, some feeling that you're taking advantage of someone you're helping, at least to me, YMMV. It may be my age. He is a really interesting character with his personal tragedies and deep sense of medical ethics.

-Pablo is there. He may have more going on, I am happy with how my character looked so I didn't go into the salon much. If he had a store selling other stuff I'd probably swing by more...or had more commissions. If the fashion show story had more meat- I'm not there yet in my second playthrough- maybe I'd feel different. It's the talk of the town when it happens but there has to be a story with talking Logan and Fang into it and I'd like to see that. Maybe I missed it.

-I generally wish there were reactions to you getting involved with someone specifically more. Maybe there are and it wasn't something I was paying attention to because I am a Logan girl and that only happens later in game. Nasty thing to code for in a kind of complicated game, though, and even more writing in a writing-heavy game. It does make it seem like it's a secret relationship though. These people are realistically so gossipy that it would be a subject of conversation.

-I like the ranch family and Cooper's rambling and sort of earthy madness are endearing. He's written as much more...closed-minded in fanfic than the game if you actually listen/read his rambling. His issues with Elsie are issues of parenthood and being far too alike, not some sort of 'but the old ways!' thing. His rambling to Fang about vegetarianism isn't actually judgmental, more curious; I think he really appreciates what Fang does for his ranch and family. It's so cute how he adores his wife and she adores him, the latter of which is surely a mystery to the rest of the town.

-Hugo and Heidi are mutants themselves, as Vivi wandered through some kind of gas when she was pregnant, giving Hugo his superstrength (short skinny Cooper is a brave one for antagonizing him so often), which Heidi got as well. I've seen in fanfic Logan (and his unnamed mother) as mutants, which they are at least with hair color which is commented on so it isn't just stylized blond. It's kind of cool that there's some mutations that aren't harmful, though when Heidi explains her strength she hints that it is known to be debilitating.

-In fanfic, of course, the Church of Light gets run down, and the plot does make that easy, but in game it is a lot more nuanced than the hostile-to-religion culture of most fanfic writers, which is to be found in Burgess. Burgess is a doofus, no doubt, but he isn't only that. When he gets free of the people manipulating him, undermining his confidence, treating him like a weak-minded idiot, he starts to grow. He's still a doofus a lot but he is also capable of serious insight and leadership. The quest where you make him a confidence hat to preach really shows that. Also, Burgess is the one who made the really insightful point about equal application of the law at Logan's trial- that Logan agrees with- that made me drop my controller. He says a lot of great things about what forgiveness means, too, and he really is going to be a good and wise minister. It would have been complicated to code, but I kind of would like the character model to lose a little weight after the conspiracy transpires because I like to imagine his weight was a part of how he was being run down- and also eating meals with Pen, who eats like a high-intensity athlete.

-I'll have to pay attention to Rian to see if his habits change post-conspiracy. I'd have liked him to open a furniture store after that, actually, the way Mi-an opens a plant store after some quests. It almost feels like cut content, as there's a great big building next to the museum that seems set up to be a shop. This is what I'd call a AA game, so stuff had to get prioritized, I get it.

-Have a pregnant model for Dan-bi post conspiracy. They kept talking about their future child but I'm not clear if that's an upcoming or ongoing plan until, you know, they have one. It would have been nice to have more going on with that. Again, I get it.

-When you know the twist with Grace, it becomes more obvious what's going on early on. She needs the insulted lunchbox thing to get food to Logan, Haru, and Andy, for instance; not sure this tracks with the timeline stated in game, where she contacted them after he train hijacking, but it's so small it could have been missed if it's off.

-Nia is very dull in a game full of big personalities. I get why she exists and she's not a stupid person, but she feels like she's from another game. Maybe it's her too-cute body language and kind of generic character model. YMMV, though I do see fic writers feel the need to punch her up a lot.

-I like Grace and I think she's more someone who would be my friend as a peer than the others who get more of that. I wish she had an outfit during the invasion that showed what she really was, some kind of Black Widow suit instead of her waitressing outfit, but near as I know the only people with a plot-related costume change are Elsie and Logan.

-I kind of wish this game had quest-modding tools. Most of the quests are text only and I really do want more. The pet DLC came out in May and I feel like the storylines have a lot more to give- again, maybe I just haven't found everything- so who knows.

-The Free Cities' governmental structure is different and not stupid. It's pretty clear there's not a strong what we would call federal government- these are in effect city-states. Trudy has a lot of power as mayor over Sandrock and she doesn't really answer to anyone but the locals. The population of humans worldwide seems low, which makes sense given the Calamity and its dangerous aftereffects. There's a fear, I think, of the Peripheries spreading. It does create a political tension because there's land to the south but no one can live there. They can barely live in a good chunk of the Free Cities' territory. Sandrock only exists because of ancient water generating tech, Duvos can't produce enough food for itself (this may be self-inflicted, as they are extremely Soviet which you can see if you know Soviet jokes; whoever wrote this was smart).

-Someone in a fic had most of Sandrock's assorted prior-to-invasion misfortunes be sabotage and I wonder if that was the canon intent. Howlett's death is stated to end the truce with the Geeglers, but how did they know he was dead? The Bandirats were the ones breaking the Greeno pipes in an attempt to find the princess, but it's not clear how it would help, though the queen is crazy...maybe it was part of some deal, because that starting right after big investor Musa had been convinced to give Sandrock a chance and is himself in town is suspicious when the Valley of Whispers had been there being a no-go zone forever right next door. With the road being built, you have to think Tiger and crew were in a bit of a panic because things weren't supposed to start getting better for Sandrock.

-Musa's pretty cool. Gives good business advice. Acts like a real investor who is a decent human being, too, yes they are out there...not in Silicon Valley or DC maybe, the Orthanc and Barad-Dur of the United States.

-It is thematically relevant that the superfund site gets turned into the Happiest Place in the Free Cities. Catori seems like a satire of a conniving entrepreneur at first pass- she's another one I think doesn't get a fair shake in fanfic but has a good story in game, I think part of it is her accent which is a little grating- but no she actually wants to build something better. She has a dream and she's trying to make it work. She has to learn how to think and she casually builds all these castles in the sky in conversation but when it comes down to it she actually goes and figures it out in a way that actually works. It's not just belief and a dream, it's risk and thought and hard work and a dream; someone who wrote this actually knew a thing or two about Walt Disney and admires him. Not many cozy sort of games would have you get returns on your investment from a theme park entrepreneur but this one does! And explains what an angel investor is, too, like outright explains it.

-There's some broken English in a few places in the interface ('get a discount when consuming in the store' for relationship perks) and in a blurb asking for a Steam review in a billboard outside the game center, which is bizarre because the majority of the game is written by people who know English so well they can handle dialect well. Weirdly, it's sophisticated broken English- 'when consuming in the store' is a very archaic turn of phrase.

-The PC gets some real great dialogue despite being restricted to one or two lines. That takes talent. A few of my favorites:

Some absolute bullshit is going on...."how are you so strong!" PC, well aware of the BS: "I don't know, diet maybe!"

"What did they make in this place anyway?" PC: "Shampoo! Evil shampoo!"

-Speaking of...the ancient evil corporation is named frelling Geegle, and the post-apocalyptic lizardman cargo cult of the Geeglers uses sendups to Google logo art as their graffiti. It's great. It is also not nice at all to Google in a not generally anti-business way; this is anti-corporatism. It's specifically definitely anti-Google.

-The theme of environmental stewardship is really well done. It's not heavy handed or anti-civilization. I thought it'd have the boilerplate bad and sometimes hateful Lorax knock-off like everything else but it doesn't. There's a groundedness and humanity to it. It's outright Tolkienian.

-The imp and fiend designs are the most disturbing monster designs I've seen in a video game for a long time. They creep me out because they're so clearly things that used to be human in a game with people who are definitely human and you're talking to all the time and are being affected at that moment by the thing that made these monsters this way. They are, unlike all the mutant animals who are part of an ecosystem if often a dangerous and bizarre one, not right. If they were in a Banjo Kazooie game or something like that, they'd be just another enemy, but in this context they are downright disturbing and the game leans into it just the right amount. Style over graphical intensity as always.

-I know Portia is the game that started this but what I like about Sandrock is the people and I just don't get that from Portia. I guess it's because I'm a gun-toting western hick myself and the region reminds me so much of home. The Free Cities are an interesting setting and a lot could be done with them, but I'm not really interested in Portia and maybe not the other places. I like this place and these people, like I liked Kirkwall and those people in Dragon Age 2, but have no interest in anyone really or the places in the rest of the series afterward (you would have to pay me a lot to even read the follow-on comics; I do not even check the DA wiki for updates on the plot anymore). This could change depending on what Pathea does next, of course.

-I am floored and delighted by how smart this game is written, I cannot say it enough. Hope is hard to come by these days, I find, but this silly game gives me some.

[currentlyfckingurmom]

Arachnoid (part 1)

(Yelena Belova and Female OC)

PART 1: And So It Begins

Aim. Shoot. Swing. Release. Aim. Shoot. Swing. Release. Aim. Shoot. Swing. Release. Aim. Shoot. Swing-

"Oh shit!" Rory exclaims as she narrowly misses a bird in the dark city sky. "Sorry dude!"

The Arachnoid swings onto a rooftop to peer into the alley below, hearing a commotion coming from down the dark corridor.

She sees two small women effortlessly fighting off four much larger men. Before she even has the chance to intervene, the fight is over.

"I totally had that under control," the blonde one complains.

"Yeah, right," the redhead scoffs.

"Сука."

"Ooh, Russians, how fun," Rory whispers to herself.

"Did you hear that?" the blonde asks, reaching for her gun.

She cringed and reluctantly reveals herself. "Uh, hey, hi there," she waves. "How are y'all tonight? Those were some pretty cool moves right there, I gotta say. Oh hey, you're Black Widow right?! Big fan, truly." She rambles on.

"Who the hell are you?" they ask in unison.

"Oh right. Allow me to properly introduce myself." She drops down from the roof, into the alley next to them. "I'm Arachnoid." She definitely doesn't puff her chest out as she says the alias.

"Who?" The blonde asks disinterestedly.

"What are you, like, a fake Spiderman?"

"No! I've been around much longer than that little copycat. He tries all he wants but he could never be all of this," she gestures to herself with frustration.

"Right, okay. So what are you doing here?" Black Widow asks.

"Oh, well, I just heard some commotion and came to investigate. Seems like this is Avengers business and you have it totally under control, so I'll just see myself out," she salutes. The Russians go to speak and she cuts them off, "And, no, I won't tell anyone that I saw anything. My lips are sealed."

Rory walks backward out of the alley, pointing at the blonde and making a 'call me' gesture before taking off into the city.

"Ooh, the spider likes you," she hears behind her, followed by a smack. Rory laughs at the situation, wishing she had gotten the blonde woman's name.

Several hours later, feeling utterly exhausted and content with it, Rory climbs back through her apartment window. She peels off her mask and ruffles her medium length hair, blowing a loose strand out of her face. She turns on her stereo, singing and dancing around as she stumbles out of her suit and into the shower.

After her shower, she throws on some boxers and a baggy t-shirt before climbing onto her fire escape. She opens her laptop and logs in as she lights up a preroll.

She blows out a cloud of smoke as she opens a familiar file, tinkering with the prototype design. She spends the next forty minutes like this before she gets hungry and goes inside to cook fettuccine alfredo. The best dish to have at 3am, if you ask her.

In four hours, she'll wake up to start another day of monotonous work and exhilarating crimefighting. But right now, she's got her weed and her alfredo, and she's convinced she couldn't be any fucking happier.

MEANWHILE

"So are we gonna talk about what happened back there?"

"You mean the mysterious chick in the black tights who was hitting on you? I was wondering when we'd get to that," Natasha hums. They had returned to Yelena's apartment after the mission to go over the new intel they had gathered.

"Hmm, yes, very funny, сестра (sister). Have you heard of this person before now? Are we sure they aren't a threat to the mission? If they interfere with freeing the Widows, I will kill them."

"Yes, unfortunately. Arachnoid has been on SHIELD's radar for a while now. She's not lying; she has been around longer than Spiderman. She's a bit of a loner. A lot more stealthy than Peter Parker. I'll get SHIELD's files on her. But no, she's not a threat. Not intentionally, anyway, but she's been known to get herself into sticky situations without realizing it."

"Interesting," Yelena mumbles, taking a swig of her cold beer.

"That's all you're gonna say? Alright, well if I can get her number, are you gonna call her?" Natasha jokes.

"No. Do not be ridiculous, Natasha."

"Oh please, I saw you checking out her ass when she walked away."

"That is so not true!" she objects. "I was looking for weapons!"

"And what did you find? Anything dangerous?"

"боже мой (oh my god)"

"So how about we do a little digging on our new friend? I mean, just in case she poses a threat to the mission." Natasha is making excuses, and they both know it, but some part of Yelena wants to know more about the masked vigilante.

"Alright. But only for the sake of the mission," Yelena emphasizes.

"Of course."

~

Natasha is called into Director Fury's office the next day.

"So I hear you've been looking into our little friend, the Arachnoid."

"And how did you hear this, Nick?" Natasha smiles.

"I hear everything, Romanoff. Let's get to the point, shall we? We've been looking into the Arachnoid for years. It's about time we get to know who she really is, don't you think?"

"I'm inclined to agree, Director. She's been lurking in the shadows for years, undetected by the press and the public. That takes some skill. Might be someone we should watch out for."

"Or someone we should have on our team," he counters with a raised brow and a smirk. Natasha returns it and accepts the file Director Fury hands her, leaving his office with a nod.

~

"Boss, it appears that someone is doing some digging into your files."

"Do you know who?" Rory asks the robotic voice.

"It appears to be coming from SHIELD. Would you like me to hack into their database?"

"Oh, EDNA, you know me so well. I'd love that."

"On it." The voice resumes a few minutes later. "It seems that Agent Natasha Romanoff, code name 'Black Widow', has been accessing your files quite frequently in the past 24 hours."

"Huh. I've got the Black Widow looking into me. Think I've finally made it to the big leagues, EDNA?"

"Yes, it appears so. You will likely be dead within a week."

"Okay, well, that was just rude."

Masterlist

[gomzdrawfr]

hiii Im not sure if you're still on your car ride ummmh ignore if you're not haha but I was wondering if you have more than one cod oc? :D

I love PriceRaven and recently GhostRaven 👀👀 a lot!! So I got curious

Im at home now but its ok LMAO you can always ask me things anytime

well I have another few more OCs that doesn't have a thorough lore and attention Raven gets, or I haven't decide if I want to place them in the COD universe

they're more like a concept- lil gremlins in my head yk HAHA but I'll introduce you to a few

First off in Raven's cannon universe, there are 3-4 more OCs that exist Vik and Archi, which are Raven's adoptive parents and the founder of Cobra (I don't have a face for Archi yet sadly, technically also for Vik too, cant decide a face for him + bonus Cobra insignia) -> also the main antagonist in Raven's timeline (these are old doodles)

Second is Fish, he's a Medic OC who ironically doesn't want to live while saving other's live (rather dubiously, he decides everything with a flip of a coin) -> not sure if Im making him exist in COD universe because he's just more like a guy I ship with my friend's oc with

Third and Fourth is still a process Im thinking (it's been a few months send help)

the idea is this, this new OC is a weapons specialist/engineer or munitions system specialist (basically a personnel focusing more on storage, handling, and maintenance of weapons, ammunition, and explosives)

they're one of the few people Raven trust and are close acquaintances with in Cobra

when I was brainstorming this new OC some friends suggested making it a twin, hence third or fourth

Nothing much has gone into them besides the idea is that they carry a huge plushie around and inside its their rifles XD and I want them to be ridiculously tall

They're probably going to be the type that doesn't talk much and knows sign language, owns like a real fancy garage / workshop to tinker with items and such

They operate based on their own virtue, so after Cobra betrays Raven they left Cobra as well and sort of went off their own ways

They also helped Raven in more ways than one:

sending intel to Price to let him know she was majorly injured (they couldn't meddle in because they were still active Cobra members at that time)

wiped out "Python" data(her old callsign when she was in Cobra) and retrieved what's left of her belongings(her precious sniper)

assisted her and Price's loadout situation after mw3 when they have to go under the radar for a period of time on their own

im just really bad at coming up a character design so I've put off these for so long (Raven took like legit 8 months ish to finalize her design - that's a lie there are still things Im changing for her HAHA)

If you have an OC you want to ramble about you can info dump in my inbox :3 I love reading it

[pridepoisoned]

CHARACTER NOTES: JUPITER/ERIS EVANS

[I've been meaning to do this for a while and I have it on the brain right now, so why not? With the information below, I'm hoping to open new doors for interaction while also clarifying some of Eris's motives and the core influences behind the character. She deserves a deep dive. 😊]

Pokemon Platinum is my favorite main series game, I love my supporting characters, and I wanted to try a villain, which is why I initially picked up roleplaying JUPITER around 2017 in a closed Tumblr group. However, the experience left me feeling bitter--the Cyrus player at the time was very possessive, and Jupiter and I couldn't escape his shadow (or the community's view that Jupiter was a mere Galactic lackey, victim of the 10,000th spacesuit joke.)

ERIS EVANS was born from the ashes of that blog when I went indie in 2020, inspired by the questions: what would a post-Galactic Jupiter do, fully independent and freed from Cyrus's influence? What if she was 'worse'? and what would today's unethical sciences, corrupt politics, and greedy corporate behaviors look like within the Pokemon world?

Four main themes inform Eris's portrayal: (excess) hunger/greed, masks, poison, and resilience/survival.

More than anything, Eris Evans has an insatiable appetite for knowledge, willing to cross almost any unethical lines to satisfy her rampant curiosity. This hunger has been present all her life--from when she was gazing at the distant stars, entranced by Cyrus's fantastical vision for a new world, searching for her father, and even more so now. (Her hunger for knowledge is all-consuming and spills in every direction. If you have something cool, she'll want to figure out how it works. Take it apart. Tinker and probe.)

Importantly, Eris does not want to usurp any existing leaders or organizations...

The spotlight is stifling, and she is most at home working away in the background shadows. Above all, power, influence and control are things Eris craves because they allow her the time/resources to experiment as she pleases. While she's currently under Devon's employ right now, Eris will happily work with/under anybody who can provide her with freedom, resources, and a lofty goal to work towards.

With this being said, Eris's appetite is designed to lead her into trouble. She's woven an intricate web thus far (which I am pumped about), flitting back and forth between various conflicting organizations--a day will come when her multilayered façade all comes crashing down.

So, how does Eris manage to survive under the spotlight, juggling all her connections? She's an expert mask-wearer, ultimate deceiver, interchanging her personality to best fit the mood and get what she wants. She can't help herself. With her disarming looks and unmatched charisma, Eris excels in the world of big business, concealing her darker side underneath. A total wolf in sheep's clothing.

I made Eris a poison-developing expert because it fits in with her curiosity and the idea of soft power, an advisor whispering shadily into a leader's ear. Poison corrodes, corrupts, and is often used in deception, which makes it Eris's perfect symbol of choice. She uses poison in many forms--ranging from the sadistic physicality of her 'enforcer' Seviper, Anje to the gentle suggestion of her mind-warping Kirlia, Felisa. Eris and poison are all about damage over time, infecting and collapsing bigger foes from the inside...

All of this being said, Eris's endgame is unclear right now, even to her. Galactic gave her an ambition to sink her claws into, and Devon is currently satisfying her with full access to Pokemon bioenergy development, but she's always on the lookout for the next big step, always working, worrying about her legacy. Survival.

She helped leash Dialga and Palkia atop the Spear Pillar, spat at them. Soon after, Cyrus disappeared, just like her father had aboard the Sea Mauville all those years ago. That fateful encounter (and abandonment) helped her realize that time and influence are fleeting. In order to thrive in this new, post-Galactic life, she must fill the void with as much knowledge as possible, as many answers as possible. Rules are restraints. Above all, she must survive, no matter how terrifying/twisted she may become. Mortality hangs over her head like a hungry serpent, always demanding tribute.

Always demanding more.

TIDBITS

ERIS is the second (not first) largest dwarf planet in the solar system, maintaining Galactic's cute planetary roots. Eris is also the goddess of discontent and discord (not that Discord.) EVANS was chosen because I wanted an unassuming last name for her to blend in to society following her expulsion from Sinnoh. Also, alliteration always goes hard.

I chose DEVON as Eris's landing spot because they are very similar. Smiling exteriors, shady interiors. I view Devon as the consummate too big to fail company of the Pokemon world, doing whatever it can to maintain PR and get ahead of the competition. (Once again, Eris is looking out for herself and isn't beholden to Devon, though the corp does spoil her...)

[spammynegrutou]

Hi! Once again the Riku brain rot has consumed my entire being, so here's some headcanons I've created (not in any particular order).

BASIC HCS 💕

He's Handy! He can fix almost anything. He loves tinkering with his Gummi Ship!

His favorite food is grilled fish! White fish specifically, like flounder, sea bass, tilapia, etc. And he has a taste for savory treats, which combats Sora's sweet tooth.

He comes from a loving home. He loves his parents, a lot and they love him. However, his biological mother passed away when he was 7ish (after BBS, but before Kairi arrived). His father became emotionally unavailable for a while, until he met Riku's stepmom. She filled her motherly role over Riku and he thanks her for it. He loves his step mom!!!

His dad taught him a variety of things like: self defense, how to fix common things, fishing, basic survival skills, and the basics of building

He moved out after KH2, and got his own place. The reason why is because after everything he's been through he needs his own space to brood about how small everything is. Albeit sad, his father approved and has the land lady check up on him every so often 🥺 Riku helps outs his elderly land lady and pays rent on TIME! He's a responsible boy 😊

Riku isn't all into fashion but he can DRESS. He loves a good "urban/street wear" look, and fucks heavy with grunge. He appreciates the chains and skull designs that come with "punk" fashion but doesn't think he can pull it off

Riku doesn't spend a needless amount of time on his looks. He has gel for his hair, a skin care routine, and a nighttime ritual to keep his hygiene up. He's very much a pretty boy in our eyes, but that's just his genes. He does the bare minimum to keep himself looking presentable

Speaking of his looks, he surprisingly gets his good genes from his dad. The muscles, the hair, the jaw line, all from his old man. His father was most definitely a looker back in the day! That being said, Riku has his mother's smile and her eyes. He also carries her temperament with him.

Along with tinkering being a hobby of his, he likes video games too! But he's not a complete shut in video game nerd. Riku LOVES the outdoors. The wilderness calls him like he's a feral animal !!! He likes camping, and fishing! He's the main guy on the islands you'd go to for some handy survival tips. He knows a good amount of edible plants, fungi, berries, leaves, and etcetera to eat if he ever got stranded. He has one or two books on that kind of stuff but he doesn't read it anymore.

After the events of KH2, Riku didn't go back to highschool. Instead he got a GED (or KH equivalent) online and started taking community college courses. He's doing it to make his dearly departed mother proud.

To add on to that, Riku is a fast learner. He's quite intellectual when it comes to mathematics, some history, and biology but please don't ask him why the author made the curtains blue 😭 the boy is emotionally stunted. He is NOT using critical thinking when it comes down to poetry or thick prose. He has some emotional intelligence but compared to Sora, he might as well have the emotional capacity of a brick wall 😭

Alright! That's all I have for now (it's 5am, I should be sleeping) if I have any more I'll post em lol

XOXO Mx. Jade 💕