#if I'm lucky the mod will come out in like 2 weeks

[lovely-vanserra-sunshine]

this ain't no love that's guiding me

Thank you so much to the mods in charge @erisweekofficial! I'm so excited to participate in my very event week!

Written for day 2 - childhood/legacy

Summary: Eris knew this arrangement was inevitable. He was the Autumn Heir and Autumn Heirs need to have a wife and child. What he wasn’t expecting was just how soon it would happen.

With the situation uncertain and new, Eris needed to adapt fast to his surroundings, learn how to say the right things, and wear the mask that made his father proud. Thankfully, growing up in the Autumn Court taught him how to mature quickly.

Warnings: mentions of child abuse, arranged marriage

Read below or on ao3!

Looking at himself in the mirror one last time, Eris reached a trembling hand up to smooth out the fine hairs that refused to lie flat. Not even the servants, who fluttered around him like a swarm of flies from the moment he was woken up that morning, could do anything to slick back all of his slippery, copper hair into the leather tie at the nape of his neck. The baby hairs flew in odd directions and frizzed the more they were messed with.

His fingers traced idly over the bridge of his nose, feeling the slime of the creams that were thrust upon his face, made up of a combination of honey, leaves, and flowers. It reminded him distinctly of his etiquette tutor. She was strict, and reeked of a floral perfume.

Eris asked his servants multiple times if the facial cream was necessary, if it really was, in fact, what the boys his age were putting on their faces. They all reassured him, in tones that increased in gentle exasperation as time wore on, that the facial cream was normal and was only there to make his skin appear healthier. No one would notice, they said.

Eris noticed though. The cream seemed to make the freckles across his nose brighter, bringing about an innocent appearance that seemed to cling to Eris no matter how hard he tried to rid himself of it.

As he stood there in his bedchambers, alone for the first time all day, the silence that Eris usually took comfort in, suddenly brought a flurry of twists and flips in his stomach, like the way the leaves outside would whirl when a storm was coming.

What if he stepped on the female’s foot? Or his hands were so sweaty, her fingers slipped right out of his? Or even worse, what if the steps he was forced to practice nearly every evening with his instructor vanished from his memory, leaving him to trip and stutter in front of the entire ballroom?

Everyone would be watching, their eyes full of mirth and delight, sneering, “look at the Autumn Heir, can’t even manage a simple dance.” His parents would watch on, and what would be worse—his father’s rage and disappointment or his mother’s concern and pity?

Eris allowed his eyes to trail over his face, noting with a wince how his face had flushed so severely that his freckles were no longer visible. He took a deep and unsteady breath in, held it, willed away the rosy cheeks, and let out a shaky exhale. 

He would be fine. He had to be.

There was a knock on the door behind him. 

“Come in,” he called, voice high and squeaky. The urge to scream in frustration was only squashed by the unbridled tremors that wracked his body.

“My,” his mother sighed, appearing behind Eris in the mirror. Her hands reached out as if she would place them on Eris’s shoulders, but then she hesitated, and they fell flat to her sides. “You look so handsome, Eris.”

Handsome.

The harmless comment somehow hit him hard. Eris knew he possessed no handsomely rugged features or large bones that Autumn court males were supposed to have. And he knew, even as young as he was, that all the other boys his age were starting to fare much better than he was. They, at least, had grown taller and some lucky ones even had hair under their arms. They weren’t constantly told they were too small, or had eyelashes that were too long, or had delicate fingers that were too graceful for someone who was supposed to wield a sword.

Eris met his mother’s gaze in the mirror only briefly. Those russet eyes used to hold endless warmth when she made eye contact with Eris. But now, as of recent months, they always seemed vacant. Like she wasn’t listening to anything Eris told her, and she was no longer interested in the things they used to do together.

He dropped his eyes to the bump hidden underneath the layers of her dress, at the way her hands rested upon her stomach. It didn’t look like much, not with the careful way she arranged her skirts, but Eris knew, and the resentment burned stronger and stronger each day that bump grew. 

“Feeling nervous?”

“Nervous?”

Eris’s breath caught in his throat. He thought he was getting better at it, at hiding his nerves, thought he was getting good at pretending. His father wouldn’t approve of this and he’d definitely leave a mark on Eris’s skin if he even heard of it. The simple thought sent his heart racing.

He quickly cycled through responses.

Not at all nervous.

Maybe a little.

Was it too obvious?

But which would please Mother?

And which would please Father?

Eris squared his shoulders and lifted his chin, practiced that certain little, head tilt that he always thought made him look a little crossed-eyed as he looked down his nose, but it usually brought about a prideful smirk from Father, so it must not be as clumsy as he thought it looked.

“Not at all.”

His mother frowned, and Eris quickly dropped the look and fiddled with the strands of his baby hairs again.

Not the right response then.

She watched him for a moment, and then her mouth quirked on one side.

“Not nervous at all?” she asked, chin gesturing to his nervous hands.

“No.”

She let out a small snort and brought her hands up quickly toward his face. Eris’s reaction was immediate and instinctual. It happened so fast, he wasn’t even aware he did anything until he saw the way Mother’s face fell and her eyes took on that far away look again.

In the mirror, he saw his stiff, bony shoulders lifted up toward his ears, saw the clenched fists at his side. Belatedly, he realized he had gasped.

It was quiet for a moment. Eris wasn’t sure if either of them were breathing. And then, slowly, she reached her hand once more toward him and Eris did everything in his power to hold still as she placed her palm against his hairline and allowed her hands to warm against his skin. With gentle fingers, she trailed them slowly over the frizzy baby hairs, silently pulling some longer strands of hair out of his leather tie and twisting it, heating it as she went. When she got to the ends, she started over. 

Eris wasn’t sure what was going on or how to process all of the conflicting emotions. Everything was confusing. Like there was a raging tornado inside his head.

He felt the beginnings of his throat close up, and it finally dawned on Eris, as the pressure behind his eyes began to burn, that the only thing he really longed to do was crawl into Mother’s arms and cry.

Instead, he bit his bottom lip, and pushed his head gently into his mother’s warm hands. She smiled at him, one full of warmth. 

“I’m afraid you’ve inherited these unruly baby hairs from me, my firefly,” she whispered. She brought her hands up again to slide them slowly over his hair once more. “Luckily for you, I know how to work with them.”

She gently, and ever so slowly, placed her fingers under his chin and raised his head. His hair was finally lying obediently with all the others, twisted into somewhat lazy braids on either side of his head.

Eris couldn’t lie when he thought the braids made his hair look even shinier and feather soft. It showcased the delicate point in his ears and the golden piercings that glinted against the candlelight. He tilted his head left and right, admiring the array of colors that shone in his hair.

Then he caught a glimpse of his face and discovered, to his horror, how the hairstyle accentuated his eyes and his cheekbones, how it emphasized his innocence and made him look frail and delicate. Like a maiden. Like the maiden he was expected to woo today. He wrinkled his nose. 

“Will other boys—they don’t—I’m going to be…” he stuttered and broke off abruptly.

“They’ll have braids in their hair too.”

“But Father. He won’t…” like the way I look, he filled in silently. 

“Never mind your father.”

“But—”

“You are the heir to the High Lord of Autumn, Eris,” she interrupted. “What you do and what you wear, whether it’s in style or not, will become fashion. If they’re not wearing braids today, then they’ll be wearing braids tomorrow.” She stopped to catch her breath, her face flushed.  “And your father, whether or not he approves of your hair, will approve of the way you set standards for others.”

Eris was skeptical, but the weight of his mother’s eyes on him combined with the subtle nod of her head made him feel slightly better. He could at least admit that she was right about him setting trends. It also helped that her words were different than what he heard all day.

Don’t worry about what everyone else thinks.

“Okay,” he finally uttered.

She smoothed her hands over his head one last time, exhaling slowly. In a softer tone, she said, “I’ll have to teach you how to work with those pesky hairs.”

"I'd like that."

“I’ve been meaning to teach you, but…” she trailed off, her hands coming to rest on her stomach. Eris didn’t miss the way her eyes seemed to do that thing again, where it looked like she wasn’t looking at anything. “Well, I’ve been very busy.”

“I know, Mother.”

He didn’t know, actually. He never saw her. In fact, he was certain she stayed in her private chambers for as long as she could.

“Maybe one day…” she started again, her hands still rubbing absentminded circles on her stomach.

They hadn’t talked about it at all. That bump of hers. Eris wasn’t sure if he was supposed to know about it, since neither Mother nor Father had spoken of it once. He had no idea what to make of it, especially since it had only ever been him and his parents for almost a decade now.

“Well, I suppose you have other manners to attend to,” she said, making her way toward the door.

“Yes, Mother.”

“I will see you at the banquet.”

“Yes, Mother.”

She stopped at the door and turned, hesitating. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Eris, her russet eyes sharp again.

“You’ve inherited more than just my unruly hair, Eris,” she said slowly. “Your cheekbones and lips are mine, I’d say. And you have my quick wit, curios mind, and kind heart.”

She took another calculated breath, and with it, came a quick flare of heat that blew through the room, fanning across Eris’s cheeks in a whisper.

“And I don’t care what anyone in this Cauldron forsaken court says, but that fire in your blood is from my family line.”

The candles around the room flickered at once and Mother stopped to take another deep breath. She smoothed her hands over the front of her dress, those fingers stilling over that bump. The candles settled.

“Your grandfather passed down his love of dancing to me,” she said, quieter now, “and I don’t mean to boast, but it’s because of him that I have become the dancer that I am today.”

Memories suddenly flooded Eris’s vision, of his mother gliding across the empty ballroom floors with a young Eris on her hip. They spun and spun until Eris got dizzy and begged her to stop. And she laughed and continued dancing by herself. Eris, only five at the time, watched in amazement as she seemed to float around the room, somehow taking up all the space with lively movements and a radiant smile.

“I have no doubt in my mind that you have inherited that trait, as well,” she said quietly, the fire in her eyes starting to dim and return to those warm, brown eyes that Eris was once so familiar with. “If your grandfather could see you tonight, I know he’d be proud.”

She bowed her head briefly, and then turned on her heel, her skirts flying out around her. Eris stared at the spot she once stood for a moment longer, absorbing everything. Despite the raging emotions inside of him, her words had given him a slight reprieve.

Turning his attention back to the mirror, Eris slid the golden leafed diadem over his hair and let the flames alight in his eyes. He was ready.

Read part 2 here.

[natabear-sims]

🌼 Modding Work in Progress 🌼

I wanna share more about the gameplay mod that I'm working on. ʕ·ᴥ·ʔ

For the last few weeks, I've been working on a pretty substantial gameplay mod. I've sunk well over 100 hours into it, and I'm really excited about the progress so far. I've been playtesting the features that I've completed while I work on bringing my other ideas to life.

My style of mod creation is making it feel as seamless and Maxis Match as possible—I prefer to not be constantly reminded that I have a lot of mods in my game. I want it to feel like it's part of the game. I also don't enjoy an overwhelming amount of moodlets or having to go out of my way in the pie menu, so simplicity is key.

My current design has separate files that you can pick and choose which features you want in your game and remove the ones you don't. I want you to be able to easily remove features that may conflict with your favorite mods (like Wonderful/Wicked Whims).

Features I've completed so far:

Emotion-Based Appearance Changes - sims will blush when they feel flirty, have flushed cheeks when they're embarrassed, and have a black eye when they lose a fight. Sims can cover the black eye by applying concealer at the mirror.

Juice-Induced Intoxication Mechanic - sims will start feeling tipsy when they drink bar drinks, and after awhile they'll become intoxicated. There are a few different drunken states they can be in—flirty, angry, silly, and a general daze. Once the juice wears off and they start sobering up, they can get lucky and the daze will fade easily, or they can have a rough hangover period that'll cause them to throw up and feel ill for awhile.

Seasonal Allergies and Illnesses - sims will have occasional illnesses varying in severity, ranging from mild allergies to a severe case of the flu or stomach flu. Super sick sims will have dark circles under their eyes or flushed red cheeks and an irritated, red nose. Sims unlucky enough to get the stomach flu will be running to the bathroom often, sometimes to throw up. If you have the Seasons expansion then each season will contain their own season-specific maladies, and if not then each illness will be possible all the time! Your sim can drink tea to speed up the healing process, or they can visit the doctor (off-screen) to receive immediate treatment.

Features I'm in the progress of completing:

Monthly Menstrual Cycle - fertile sims will experience their monthly cycle—they'll have a 2 or 3-day long period every two weeks in-game, experiencing random ailments like cramps, cravings, and mood-swings while on their period. They'll also have to change their pad/tampon at least every 8-12 hours, or they'll start to suffer for it. I'll have that feature disabled for townies to make life easier. There won't be any items to purchase, just a simple interaction with the toilet.

Features that I'm thinking of adding:

Self-Care Features - sims can apply different clay masks for various beneficial buffs, and I'm considering a feature that'll cause your active sims to get stained teeth and/or bad breath if they don't brush their teeth every once-in-a-while. I don't plan to enable that for NPCs.

Romance Interaction Variety - with the new expansion pack coming, I'm thinking of creating a variety of romantic interactions that add more realism and dynamics to different relationship types. Wholesome friends-to-lovers style interactions, or enemies-to-lovers style arguments that increase the romance bar.

I'll be posting occasional updates on my progress if you're interested in playing with it once it's released.

I'd love to hear your feedback!

[aspaceformbf]

Stardew Boyfriend Mod Ideas Yet Again!

Apparently there are mods where you can marry other characters in Stardew Valley.. so it IS possible!

I know i wrote some fics detailing what yb would be like as a stardew companion, but they are a bit too detailed and might not be easy to turn into a mod.

I think the gojo mod just adds the heart events and marriage stuff. YB is already in love with you so I like the idea that each heart event is actually YOU liking and trusting him more, like a reverse dating sim.

Fic 1

Fic 2

Or check the #stardew tag

---

If You're Married to Someone Else

Him killing off characters you're dating or married to might be a lot of programming so maybe just dialogue of him being sad and going

"I would get rid of them if i could.."

If he has 6 of your hearts or above he would be like

"i'm the better option, we both know that..."

Actually.. there might be an easier way to go about this..

What if the NPC you married resets to zero hearts a few days after marriage? They still exist in the game and do their usual routines but the option to date them is locked.

---

After marriage, yb goes silent for a while or says stuff like

"they don't deserve you.."

"they stole you from me.."

"I will fix this, don't worry.."

And then boom, you're unmarried.

Thing is you can still date and marry other characters, just not the one that yb has already "taken care of"

The cycle just continues if you keep trying that.. you marry.. you get unmarried, and eventually more and more NPCs get locked off dating until there's only him left

---

YB "Taking Care" of Your Spouses

One day you wake up and your partner is not there. You walk out of the house and there's a dialogue saying

"Where did they go?"

You are still "married" when you check your status

---

If you find your married partner where they usually are at 0 zero hearts and talk to them, you will get an extra dialogue/monologue going

"Why are they acting like they don't know me?"

You can keep talking to them and they just give their usual dialogues and you get extra monologues like

"Is this some kind of prank? Knock it off!" "What are you doing here? Come home.." "Stop acting so cold.." "What's going on??"

If you don't bump into them and end the day, when you go to bed you will get a monologue saying

"That's weird.. I didn't see them today.."

If you bump into yb

"I had to do this"

"They are out of the way now.. you will understand soon enough"

---

By the third day, your monologues escalate to stuff like

"So we're really over huh.." "This isn't funny anymore.. if you don't come home soon, we are done"

If you talk to yb by the second day, he will tell you that you're not married anymore and that you and him can "continue loving each other"

After five days your status goes back to unmarried, your ex reverts to 0 hearts and you can date other characters (yb) now

If you try to give them a bouquet again at 8 hearts, you get dialogue like

"They don't seem interested" "They turned it down" "I'm not going through this again"

---

Other Mod Features

Sometimes the day starts with his sprite next to your bed. He runs off as you wake up.

You get gifts from him in the mailbox.

He gives you common items like forages or berries or fish sometimes when you talk to him. The chances of him giving you flowers are pretty high.

After starting a game with him, you receive two roses in your mailbox. He approaches you with a bouquet. He tries to hug you but your character doesn't know him and steps away.

He looks stunned

"..."

His confusion changes to a smiling sprite

"Oh I get it. I need to earn your affection! Don't worry love, I will prove my love to you!"

---

Q : High Value Items

What if he gives you high value items every other day.. or maybe once a week, so people can't exploit it? 

Imagine if he gives you a gold tool or something hard to get early on if you're lucky enough

---

I'm not sure if he would give you tools above your current progress level, I mean it's something to consider since he would do it if he could. It would  screw up the pacing of the game though.

Tumblr lore states he is stable financially but he's not FILTHY rich so.. I like to think of him leveling with you. His gifts start off relatively simple and not like.. game breaking.

So expensive and powerful tools could be something he gives you once you reach a certain level or milestone.

Maybe a dialogue option where you can let him know what kind of gifts you prefer? Or something that toggles if he would give you something WAY above your current level?

---

Q : Existing Children

What if I already have a child with the npc, does the child get dismissed?

---

Maybe you can't get a child with anyone other than yb in this mod. When you apply to adopt, the adoption process gets delayed or you find that none of the adoption agencies are responding to you?

---

Q : i already have a kid with maru tho

---

Probably need a new save file I guess. Or.. 

One way to do this without really breaking the game is if the kid disappears when you add the mod to your existing save file.

You receive a letter in the mailbox reassuring you that your kid is safe. Yeah he kidnaps the child.

Or the kid just stays with you and you're a single parent after he "deals" with your current marriage partner.

---

Q : the kid could be scared of him

---

Does the kid have much dialogue in the game? Game wise the kid just disappears and reappears after you marry him.

If there's dialogue involved, it could be a game breaking event where they just act as if yb has been their dad the whole time.

[pbandjesse]

I wish I could say I felt better today. And it wasn't as intense as it has been earlier this week but man was I uncomfortable and crazy fatigued. The heat did not help. But I was able to mostly push through and still have a pretty good day.

I slept alright. But I woke up incredibly sore. I have been using my weighted blankets a lot but I think my tossing plus the weight of the blanket may have bruised me somehow??

I would struggle getting ready. I was just really sore and tired. My hair seems dry and I don't know why. Once I was dressed I just sat in the floor and tried to pull myself together.

The market was fine. It was entirely to warm but in a weird way. James drove us there. Made me hashbrowns. I only ate one and gave them the other and then pretended to be upset that they ate it and we were giggling in the car.

When we got to the museum James helped me set up. I was being a little baby about being so tired and sore. I just wanted to sit down. And I struggled to set things up. It felt like everything was going wrong. Even though it was all silly little things. James still helped me and once I was set up I would mostly just sit in my chair and knit the whole morning.

James would be running around fixing things and making sure things were okay for everyone.

I would have some sales. A lot of stickers today! I need to order new stickers ASAP but we have to find a few supplier after sticker mule lost their minds a few weeks back. I would also like to draw some more designs soon too. I haven't been very productive. Specifically with how poorly I have felt I haven't really made anything! Besides knitting. But even that it starting to hurt my wrists something fierce. So I will have to slow down with that I guess.

I had some lovely interactions today. That o e family came that I have been talking to a lot lately. Their little girl went around my table and just stood in front of me and I tried to chat with her but she's like 2 so she didn't say much that first time. But the second time she talked back and it was very sweet. And the mom remembered all about my knitting project. Which a lot of people were interested in today and had questions about so that was really nice for me.

Del was one of the educators today and came out to chat with me. Sat on my camp couch and we talked and caught up. He's always such a nice man. I also talked to the security guard, Mo, who made a big fuss about thinking my temperature blanket was such a cool idea and he loved how me and James always have a second layer of why we do things and it made me feel very proud.

I would also talk to Ann about the fence. She is annoyed that our fence was not the fence we ordered and is going to make sure we get some money back. She is great. And I'm really glad she is helping us so much just making sure things are okay. I feel very lucky to have gotten to know her over the years.

I was very very ready to go though. And when Ann said we could all start packing up at noon she didn't have to tell me twice. I waited until others were starting to pack up but I was for sure the first one out of there. I was just so sick of being outside. The nausea had come back (after over an hour of being okay) and I wanted to give James a hug and go do my tasks.

And that is what I did. James would give me the things they bought at the market for our little cook out tomorrow. And then I was off.

I went to Glen Burnie and went to the value village. I dropped off my big box of shoes. The guy who worked there that helped me tried to flirt "you got an IG (Instagram)?" And I hit him with the "I got a husband." And his eyes got huge and he apologized and ran away. And it was very funny.

I would walk around the thrift for a little. I got James a framed newspaper headline collage about the Orioles. And got myself a pajama jumpsuit. And then I was off.

I really wanted garlic bread from mod pizza. So I would go and get that. Got confused on the parking lot but it was fine and I figured it out. I also got a little lemonade cake. I was able to eat half before I had to throw in the towel. I needed to go home.

It took about 25 minutes but I got back here. The sun was oppressive and terrible but I got the groceries James got me inside. Our neighbors, Sean and Victoria, are moving and today was the day!

Their door was open and so after I got my stuff inside I went to wish them luck and promised to move their garbage cans on Thursday so they didn't have to drive back here. Sean also showed me around their house so I could see how their layout is different. And I am jealous of their upstairs!! While it's only two bedrooms, they are obviously a much better size and they have two full bathrooms. Plush they have the original banister with decorative trim. The upstairs felt so much lighter. I would love that. I someday I want to knock down the one wall between the two back rooms. But that is a future project for sure.

After wishing them luck I came back in here and did some cleaning up and putting away. I vacuumed the frog tank. And pet Sweetp. Let him go roll around outside for a while. But eventually I would make him come in and went to take a shower.

After my shower I laid down and fell asleep. And I slept really hard. I don't even remember having dreams. I do remember James coming in and touching my hand. But when I woke up for real they were not home. They left me a very sweet note. That they loved me and would be back home from laundry soon.

And they would. And when they got back they babied me. Rubbed my legs that still hurt so bad. Made me an orange juice and frozen strawberry smoothie. Which made me feel bit as bad. But I still felt weak. Like my body was full of concrete. I feel heavy and sore and just so tired.

James would work on folding laundry and I would come lay on the couch. And eventually we would cuddle up to watch "interview with the vampire" which we ended up watching two episodes of and it is fantastic.

I have maybe talked about this before but I had a long standing beef with Anne Rice. I loved Queen of the damned when I was a kid. It was my favorite movie. But Anne Rice was rude to my mom and also all of her fanfiction taken down nonsense. So I decided to stop supporting her. But she's dead now so I win and I can enjoy the series and it's great and I am glad we are watching it together.

Now James is playing with sweetp, who has been very very needy and affectionate this week. And I am very ready to go clean up for bed.

Tomorrow we are having some friends over for a little cook out. And I'm looking forward to seeing people. Though I am very nervous about how I have been feeling and just falling apart on everyone. I am going to do my very best.

Sleep well everyone. I love you all. Goodnight

[rebuildingrhi]

I had been struggling to lose weight for a long time. I'd been stuck in a very frustrating loop with my health and my training. Actually, frustrating is selling it very short. I was finding it physiologically devastating. I was on a carousel of 4-maybe 8 weeks of solid training if I was lucky, seeing progress and starting to feel good and then my condition would flare up and depending on the severity would take me out of the gym anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Every flare up was doing more and more damage to my mental health. It was making any improvement seem impossible. I considered giving up on fitness (my main hobby) just to avoid the constant disappointment. I was slipping into depression regularly.

I signed up for a 'cut' at the gym. I feel like cut is a bit of a misnomer. I didn't calorie count at all the whole time and I trained as normal. It was mostly clean eating, low carb and relying on protein for energy. I signed up thinking this was my last chance to make a difference to my health and hopefully lose some weight and feel better about myself.

We did the program as part of a group. The group aspect helped. People would share their experiences and their meals. We also were tasked with running 10KM a week for the 4 weeks we were on the program. We also had a weekly check-in that included 30min of zone 2 cardio and an hours body building session mod week.

We weighed at the start, at the halfway point and at the end. I was a bit demoralised as I only lost 0.5Kg in the first fortnight. I was advised by the organiser not to be concerned. She said it was clear my body was changing and I was likely building muscle or holding onto it. She offered to take pictures to compare with the first set so I could see the change. I opted to wait until the end. We took picture at the star pr the first week and then end of the fourth to see our progress....

I ended up losing about 3.5Kg. I used my scale at home and saw that I was able to lose a whole percentage point of visceral fat. This has been upsetting me for a long time. For years I have been able to keep it really low, around the 6-8% mark but since covid is has only increased. I could also see that I gained muscle and dropped fat which I was most concerned with. I'm keen to build strength as much as possible.

Finally, this diet is good for my PCOS. I have proof now that it works for me. I' have been slightly slacker in the two weeks since the cut ended (we started another clean eating challenge on Sunday but morae about that soon!) and in the interim I have not gained any weight back. I finally feel back in control and like I'm coming out of the darkness finally.

[adozentothedawn]

So! Finished the loyalty quests of 2 (and the whole game while I was at it but sshhhh), here my hot takes. Well I don’t know how hot they are cause I know jack shit about the fandom except that a bunch of people are horny for Garrus, Thane, and Liara specifically. Not that I don’t get it mind you.

Jacob: Excuse me what the fuck. Boy deserves better, the fuck is this quest. 

Miranda: You are too smart to not think telling me your sister’s age was important. That said, the quest is fine. I do wish people stopped Oriana like a baby though, she’s 19 she should get an opinion in this.

Kasumi: Hell yeah, I got me the mod for a suit for FemShep and I’ve been drooling all day. Best girl gets excellent heist, just wish it was longer.

Thane: Boy is edgy, with issues and problems(tm). Really needs a good head pat. Not my type but the quest is fine. I still wanna shoot the cop.

Tali: Tali is best girl always, I love her, and my only regret about her father dying is he can’t be weird about me romancing her anymore. xD He did give me the dad talk per email already. Nice quest though, I like it, and I like that is has real consequences if you don’t do as she asks.

Garrus: Garrus continues to be my personal baby and I want to hug him so bad. Kelly is right, she just needs to be less creepy about it. I like the quest, I only don’t like how the autosaves are spaced, that got me some grief. 

Samara: The quest is fine, I just wish the Ardat-Yakshi lore was better. At this point all I can say is I don’t know why this is such a big deal. Just don’t have sex, no need to have anyone secluded or whatever. Also Samara’s line about the bravest of her daughters is dumb. 

Mordin: Honestly really good when the game remembers the conflict. Ocasionally they conveniently forget about the moral issues which is always when the quest is at the weakest. That said, Mordin’s singing scene when you talk to him after is excellent, 10/10. He’s such a mood too, I love him.

Grunt: I have the humour of a 12 year old and the fact that some krogan wants to fuck Shepard now because we killed that Thresher Maw cracks me up. xD Also good for Wrex! Yeah I like this quest.

Jack: The quest is honestly pretty good, I am here for weird mystery and survivor’s thing Jack has. Sadly once again the weakest part is Shepard. I did the side quests in 1, the best assumption I have of the Illusive Man is that i he’s way more ineffective than he acts and doesn’t know what his people are doing, I’d like to be able to say that.

Zaeed: This certainly is a thing that happened. Although having Garrus along even if he doesn’t say anything is very tasty, there’s a lot of heavy looks involved from my Shep.

Legion: This is the only quest so far (as far as I know) that punishes you for taking the paragon option. In general, yes good, sometimes doing the seemingly more merciful thing bites you in the ass later. On the other hand, the fact that this is the only such option makes it basically not deducable. If I hadn’t looked it up I would not know. I was seriously torn because rewriting them seems like a bad idea, but the game has always leaned towards paragon as the good path. That said, Harper blew them up and I have no regrets. Legion is also best boi, that talk about the armour is amazing, both because it’s funny and for the implications!

[confessionsofa-roleplayer]

I recently returned to tumblr after (x) amount of months of not being here on a new oc of mine. Most of the people I knew are either inactive or have not followed me back on my OC (used to play a semi-popular canon?) and i'm having trouble getting follows/followbacks from strangers in the tags as well. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. My rules page is accessible and not hard to read, same with my about. My graphics are pretty good and i don't overformat. I currently have 45 followers after about a week of my blog being public. however, i get 1, maybe 2 notes if i'm lucky on my calls and promos, but my inbox is empty always and my draft box is too. i'm proactive: i send asks when I see memes on my dash from my mutuals, but sometimes they're just not even answered. im starving for interactions but all my attempts at reaching out go flat. what do i do?

So, once upon a time I worked in the marketing department for a major museum in my area. I took a lot of good things away from that job, but one of the things I remember most clearly is when it came to sending out emails, etc. we were taught to never expect more than 10% of people to open it. Sometimes we'd get as much as 12%, but not often. And of the 10% who actually read what we sent, even less actually took the time to engage with the email by clicking links, or taking polls, or whatever.

I sort of look at roleplaying the same way. Having 45 followers doesn't mean they're all going to engage with you. And when you think about the 10% rule, 2-3 people engaging with your blog out of 45 sounds close to what you're dealing with right now. (And engagement can really feel like pulling teeth when you're an OC - especially in certain fandoms.) I know that feeling well.

So, my immediate response is to tell you to find more people to follow, anon. I know that's not always easy, especially in particular fandoms, but especially when you're just starting out, following more blogs will help you get yourself out there. It's also a good idea to branch out into different areas, if you can. If you're in a fandom, try following blogs in fandoms where a crossover might be easy to pull off. If you're not in a fandom, follow blogs in any fandoms where you think your OC could easily fit. And then make sure you do a little write up for your OC in that fandom, so when those blogs come to check your muse out, they can get a clear idea of how your muse exists in their world.

You've already said you're interacting with the blogs you follow, and that's a good way to get people to notice and pay attention. Do it for OOC as well as IC things. People generally like to talk about themselves and their muses - show them you're interested in things beyond just a thread, and they're likely to feel more comfortable with you. In that regard, you don't have to wait for an OOC meme to come along. Read through someone's bio, and then go into their ask box. Offer them a compliment on some aspect of their muse that you enjoy, and then ask a question or two. Show them you're interested.

I think that's a good way to get started, but can our followers offer the anon any other good ideas for getting more interactions going?

~ Mod MJ ~

[eyes-talks-ocs]

DnD stuff.

We took a break last week because of the holidays. So I only just now got around to getting my character sheet updated.

Jesus Christ. That random level up in Warlock I got from the sentient sword like broke my character.

I've always just been a straight sorcerer till now. And truth be told, Lucan could hold his own in a fight pretty alright as long as nothing got too close. Because if it did, then I was in trouble. (Yeah I know, I'm strange. I've been using a freaking sorcerer as an offensive character. Fight me....but not too closely please.)

But now, with the new spells I took and the little bonuses. I've become a fuck around find out character you don't want to get close to. Like, granted I still have under 60 HP as a level 9. So. Not really that great right there.....and my AC sucks ass. (And then there's our druid that broke the game and can farm over 300 HP with an AC of 20 and integrated armor in his wild shape.... he is a tank for days.)

But yeah, you get too close and try to touch me, you're going to take damage from all sorts of things. Like if played right, a single strike from my new sword will deal a 1d8 fire + 1d6+2 slashing + 1d6 trigger type damage. (And the 1d8 fire has splash damage, so, any creature within 5 ft of the target takes 1d8 + my SC mod.) That's just my freaking sword mixed with Absorb Elements for the trigger type damage if I got hit by something prior. But even if I don't have that, it's still a 1d8 fire + 1d6+2 slashing and splash damage without Absorb Elements. If I have my guardian active, that's an almost guaranteed 10-20 damage from just getting into melee range of me on top of the sword damage. I could also spend a sorcery point to make a spell a bonus action and try and get a second shot in on my turn as well. Like. Honestly, fuck around find out.

My little squishy boy is moving up in the world!

Also through rewriting my character sheet and organizing my notes, I've come to the realization that my character has like 4 or 5 different abilities that let's him rerolls bad rolls. (Or give a bad roll to the enemy. Thank you Lucky feat.)

--

The only downside to all of this, is. My DM is now opening a chapter in the campaign that is introducing my character's background to the party and story line. And well...the sword that kinda half way possessed me apparently belonged to the cult I escaped from 🙃

Didn't find that out until after it spontaneously attached itself to me when my party went to investigate some underground tunnels after an encounter.

It also gave my other party member some psychic damage because he looked at it to try and figure out what it was before I looked.

Yeah. The sword is sentient. It chose me to attach itself to. It belongs to the hellish cult I escaped and ran from. The sword that is now just apart of me and can communicate with me telepathically, has a higher intelligence and charisma stat than I do....(I have the state card for it now.)

This dumb piece of metal is gonna end up trying to control me isn't it? Fuck.

[akaiitokoibito]

hey there! for a matchup, i would love knb + hq! i'm a leo, isfp, 5"7, and chubby! i love reading + writing even though i get hit by artists' block often. i mostly laze about on the internet when i'm not busy. i've been told i'm really caring, considerate, charismatic, and diplomatic, even though i can be a big slacker and lack a lot self-confidence. i can be introverted among those i'm not familiar with but i'm really lively and crude with close friends. thats pretty much it! tysm in advance!!

Hello, hello!

We’ve decided that the ones at the end of your red thread are Kuroko Tetsuya from Kuroko no Baset and Nishinoya Yū from Haikyuu!!!

“Let’s work hard together.”

tl;dr supportive couple too good for this world

You met at the public library.

Both of you went to different schools; in fact, you went to Touou. However, you two both knew each other as “that other high schooler who enjoys reading as much as I do.”

Kuroko was actually the first to approach you. He wanted to check out a book, but noticed that it was in a pile of books that you were using.

He was caught off guard when you noticed him approaching you and flashed him a small smile. “Hi, do you need something?”

Kuroko was so surprised that you saw him that he only managed to mumble, “Check…out?”

You thought he was hitting on you and sort of internally freaked out. “Sorry, I’m not interested!” you stammered, averting your gaze.

Kuroko realized what you were thinking and quickly corrected, “No, your book. Once you finish with it, may I check it out? It’s the last copy.” He gestured to said book in question.

“Ah, sorry for misunderstanding. Of course! In fact, I believe I’m finished with it already…?” You awkwardly offered it to him.

He took it, blinking and tilting his head. “Thank you. If you don’t mind me asking…how did you see me?”

“I…just…saw you?”

“Most people tend to not notice me unless I address them directly,” Kuroko explained, sensing your confusion.

“Ah! Well, I guess it’s because you’re always checking out the same books as me. You’re Kuroko Tetsuya, right? I see your name often on the library card. I guess after awhile, I began keeping an eye out for you.”

You’d meet every week or so at the library, and slowly began learning more about each other. At first, it was sort of awkward, but discussing books with him was a nice way for both of you to open up.

Kuroko is the best supportive friend ever. Seriously. Whenever you feel down, or have some kind of writer’s/artist’s block, he’ll encourage you both verbally and through small little gifts.

For example, once he learned you were stressing out about a particular exam, he consulted Midorima and bought you some generally lucky items (including one of those “good grades” charms from a nearby shrine).

He basically gave you the confidence boosts you needed.

But at the same time, you’d encourage him whenever he felt down (particularly because of basketball).

There wasn’t any kind of dramatic confession. One day, while discussing one of your story ideas in the library, Kuroko tilts his head and asks, “Would you like to grab something to eat with me after this?”

When the rest of the basketball community found out about your relationship, you were…uh, accosted by several very tall people. After all, only Midorima and Kagami really knew about you before this (Kuroko never really was one to talk about others when they weren’t around).

Seirin accepted you as part of the family. Yep. Aomine and Momoi, who went to your school, soon began approaching you more often to bond over your mutual admiration for Kuroko.

The GoM in particular wanted to interrogate you, but Kuroko reassured them that you were a kind person. (And, well, if you could make Kuroko Tetsuya smile like that, they wouldn’t interfere.)

“You’re a nice person, you know that?”

tl;dr so awkward and cute it hurts

Noya’s your senpai; his classroom is in the same hallway as yours, so you often see each other during class periods.

You couldn’t help but notice how lively he was. No matter the time of day, he’d always stick out to you – despite his short stature.

You began drawing him. Well, not him: that would be awkward. Instead, you drew his eyes: sincere, straightforward, and beautiful.

He noticed you walking with your sketchbook open one day.

“Woah, those eyes look so cool! Can I see?”

You realized that he didn’t notice that those eyes were his, and resolved to not tell him lest you die of embarrassment. “Of course, Nishinoya-senpai.”

He freaked out since 1) you called him senpai and 2) your sketches.

“You’re really skilled at this!” he gushed. Then, he promptly realized that he was talking to a girl and turned into a stuttering mess. “A-ah, um…senpai!”

“I’m afraid I’m your kouhai, Nishinoya-senpai.”

“N-n-no, that’s not it.” He pointed your sketchbook at you, hand trembling but eyes narrowed in determination. “You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

And that was your first meeting.

You and Noya would occasionally walk together and chat as he headed to the gym. It took a very, very long time for him to acclimate himself to you, but he eventually got (somewhat) used to your presence.

He’d always throw around compliments and smooth one liners without realizing he was being smooth. (Whenever he’d actually, consciously try to act smooth, he’d fail epically.)

You’d always stick to calling him “senpai” – although he did manage to convince you to call him “Noya-senpai” instead of “Nishinoya-senpai.”

He’d nosebleed/sparkle/cry tears of joy whenever you called him senpai.

Occasionally, you dropped by volleyball practice to wave and watch him for a bit. You didn’t want to overstep your boundaries, but at the very least you could act like a good friend™

(Tanaka freaked out the first couple of times you came in to cheer him on.)

(Asahi, who was a witness to your and Noya’s easy banter, silently predicted to himself that you’d be dating by New Year’s.)

(You got along well with all of Karasuno once you got used to them: they considered you a Cool Bro™ who they could joke around with.)

There wasn’t any singular moment that made you fall for Noya.

You just realized one day that you genuinely enjoyed the sound of his laughter. Noya was always sincere and kind. He never lied to you, and even when he’d offer bits of constructive criticism, he always made sure he gave you bits of encouragement, too.

Noya’s revelation was a whole lot more dramatic.

He had been talking with Asahi during practice on one of the days when you didn’t come and just–

“–cheeks and my heart seems to thump faster when I’m around her. Do you think I’m getting sick?” Noya paused, then reviewed the symptoms in his head. “Wait…”

Asahi gave him a consoling pat on the back.

“OH MY GOD, I LIKE HER, ASAHI!”

“Yes. Yes, you do.”

“WHAT DO I DO? DOES SHE LIKE ME? SHOULD I CONFESS? ASAAAAHIII, HELP ME!”

He began pestering Asahi everyday for advice on how to confess.

Eventually, Asahi gave in and began helping him meticulously plan his confession.

It was going to be perfect! After a glorious victory at a match he would invite you to, he would bound towards you with a bouquet in hand and the team cheering.

Instead, though, on the day that he was going to invite you to their game, he found you sketching.

He was supposed to say, “Hey, [Y/N], wanna come to our game tomorrow?”

Instead, he blurted out, “I like you!”

You stopped drawing, turned to gape at him, and Noya promptly facepalmed.

“Oh shit, wait a minute…” he cursed, muttering to himself. “Wait, no! I was supposed to do it AFTER the match!”

“Noya…senpai?” Your voice was strangled, hopeful.

“Aaaah, [Y/N]! Forget about it, okay? I’ll tell you tomorrow after the match!” he declared.

(This dork, you thought to yourself, fighting to keep the grin off your face.)

“I’ll be waiting,” you settled on, flashing him a smile that left him blushing madly.

The volleyball community as a whole were stupefied by the fact that Nishinoya got a girlfriend before any of them did, but accepted you (if the Karasuno players approved of your relationship, they would too). Tanaka sobbed manly tears of joy. Asahi rejoiced, crying, “Finally, no more being a wingman!”

Mod Rose and I had a lot of fun discussing this and coming up with ideas, lol. Hope you enjoyed it, anon!

- Mod Camellia ( + Mod Rose’s fluffy ideas huehuehue)