#inspired by friend's current playthrough

[sammy-breakfast]

universe where johnny is just straight up a nice guy . jonathan silverhand. Everyone can be a star, Kerry Eurodyne. I have neutral feelings towards megacorporations. Perhaps I am in love with Alt

[unowneyenon]

sketch dump of favs from inktober 2024 that i forgot to share feat. WIP monster design💪💪

salmon one has refs to salmon run graffiti teehee

MONSTER WIPS + NOTES 🔥 been trying to decide between the two head designs but need some feedback…multiple people have liked the more whale looking one bc of its beard & wise-looking aura i suppose

EDIT FORGOT TO PUT MY CHARCOAL/WATERCOLOR THING I MADE

inspired by the game how fish is made 😌

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

To Catch A Falling Star (Idia Shroud x Reader)

Inspired by a scene from Criminal Minds

Masterlist

Reader is intended to be female

If Idia had to describe you in one word it was unexpected.

He still remembers the day he met the magicless prefect who appeared out of nowhere in a fiery blaze of glory like some leveled up shounen protagonist about to fight the final boss, how Ortho had directed you into his room before he could stop him. And instead of being repulsed by the many, many posters, figurines and merch he had scattered around his room, you were in fact…elated?

“You’re an otaku as well?” you beamed at him, your starry-eyed gaze of awe rendering him speechless before he flinches as you yell, pumping your fists in the air, “Finally! A worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!”

Yeah, he does not have the energy to unpack that.

Anyway, he never expected you to appear in his world, and he never expected to find himself comfortable with you, his new gaming buddy and fellow animanga enthusiast. You never judge him for his tastes or his behaviour or less than ideal personality. You were someone he could genuinely call a friend andabsolutelynothingmoreOrthoIloveyoubutpleasebequiet.

And having you around a lot, both because of you just barging into his room or by Ortho’s multitude of invites, just felt natural, your chatter being something that he could call soothing. Which is how he found himself absolutely dominating his current multiplayer playthrough with you doing your own thing by his side.

After his team had won the game, he turned to you, ready to receive your subsequent praise, only to find that your attention was diverted towards a wooden toy thing, your face scrunched up in concentration as your fingers fiddled with its many vertices.

“What are you doing?” he asked and you paused your twiddling, looking up at him. 

“Oh I got this star puzzle in Sam’s shop earlier. It reminded me a lot of this thing we have back in my world so I thought that I’d try it out,” you look back down and resume playing with it, “it’s practically impossible to figure out. You’ve got to put all of these pieces together to form a perfect star. It’s a bit of a headache really but it’s got a really sweet backstory.”

“So that thing’s got lore?” Idia raised his eyebrows and held out his hand. You gently toss it into his open palm.

“Well, you see it’s this romantic story where a young prince wanted to win the heart of the fairest maiden in the land, so he climbed up to the top of the tallest tower in the kingdom and caught a falling star for her. But, since he was so excited to give it to her, he dropped it and it smashed into all of these small pieces. So he frantically put it back together again to prove his undying love to her and he succeeded and they lived happily ever after.”

“What a load of normie nonsense,” Idia scoffed.

“Excuse me?!”

“You can’t catch a falling star,” he deadpanned, “it would burn up in the atmosphere.”

“Really?” you ask, unimpressed, “you live in a world that has flying broomsticks and magic mirrors and plants that can yell loud enough to kill someone - I really don’t think you can argue about the concept of reality when there are children here who are capable of breaking the laws of physics on the regular.”

“But still, it’s stupid,” he grumbles, “why does catching a star make you a shoujo manga male lead.”

“It’s romantic,” you argue, “he loves her so much that he would do the impossible for her. Besides, the point is that it’s impossible to do because you have to take all of these pieces and fit them exactly into the shape of a -”

You trail off, dumbfounded, when Idia smugly presents to you the completed puzzle, a small brown star sitting idly in his hand. 

“You were saying,” he smirked at your flabbergasted expression, preening slightly when it shifted to annoyed, “it doesn’t seem all that hard to me.”

“Why do you have to be like this,” you lamented, pouting as you grumbled about ‘high and mighty otakus who think they’re so cool just because they’ve beaten you in every one-v-one you’ve played’.

“Just take the L,” he said, not without a hint of condescension, as he turned back to his screen. Thankfully you were too busy wallowing to notice the magenta glowing along the edges of his hair. Why do you have to be so cute? You’re dangerous, you know.

Yeah, you’re a pretty unpredictable person. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t pull any epic gamer moves of his own.

[boos-gh0st]

Ever since we finished in stars and time my friend and I have been silly when reading dialogue in all of our playthroughs (currently finishing our second, working on two of our friends) and our current spiel is everyone having Jordans and the King having AF1’s and so [⚠️SPOILERS FOR ACT 5 END⚠️] when everyone shows up after the Mal Du Pays fight we were like

King: “Yknow what fuck you -creases your Jordans-“

And it is so funny to me thinking about everyone getting to the King without creasing their Jordans, just walking funny the entire way up and if someone tripped or wasn’t as careful someone else shouted “CAREFUL!! YOUR JORDANS!!!”

(Inspired by an Odile Ballin’ drawing I saw and sent him)

We also had one with Loop and Siffrin chats where we were just so obnoxious and silly as Loop and I can’t for the life of me remember ANYTHING of what we said regarding that topic and most of the other so I may make another post when I do but I am bestowing the thought unto you, the reader: ISAT crew but jordans…and the King with the AF1’s…

We were also in VRChat the other night with our friends and found an ASMR world and so we went there and for a while were just going off in our king voices going

“oohhhhh…. Ooooohhhhhh…. Bright one…. I see you have creased your Jordan’s…we see which side the universe favours…”

“Ooooohhhhhh…….. oooooohhhhhh… traveller….. you with the Jordan’s… no not- not you… the old one…. I hear air force ones are better for your hips…”

“…Siffrin, crease his air forces”

[you quickly salute to Odile and run over to the King, whom is shocked at the dastardly act you are about to commit.]

(Crease his Air Forces?)

>>(You only live once… Crease!!)<<

(You only live once… Run back to your family)

“BRIGHT ONE!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!” (/j)

We had this funny idea that it would be goofy if you could just type “crease his jordans” on your keyboard and you would insta-kill the king

Omg I was proof reading this and had the thought of siffrin whipping out a keyboard:

“Bright one what are you doing”

“[crease his jordans]”

“BRIGHT ONE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE- [dies]”

Party: “…”

Siffrin: “hey guys looks like we saved Vaugarde!” -insert the smile frame after he one shots the sadness-

I’m begging someone (maybe I will) to properly write something out for this because everyone having Jordans and the king with AF1’s and NOBODY wants to crease them is so funny to me. The king wanting someone to join his side, being the only one in all of Vaugarde who has AF1s

Imagine getting to BigFrin and it’s just

“Siffrin!! Don’t do this! You’ll crease your Jordans!!”

“Stars You’re right my bad homies” -shrinks-

This is a joke

But I think it’s funny anyway

I proof read this twice and missed a typo in the FIRST WORD sobs

I misspelled “you’re” this is embarrassing

[rhondafromhr]

Hey Sims 2 nation, who wants to hear about my super elaborate kinda unhinged AU involving the Grunt, Curious (mostly Vidcund), Smith and Specter (mostly Ophelia) households?? Some of this is inspired by the game and my own playthroughs, some of it kinda diverges, some of it’s stuff that’s plausible for the characters imo but can’t really be replicated in actual gameplay. Also partially inspired by this post. I’ll probably give in to the demons and turn this into a 100k longfic at some point, but for now here’s what I got. It’s not fully fleshed out yet but hope you enjoy! Also hope you see the vision for Vidcund/Buzz, I’ve never seen a single person put them together (understandable, it is very much a crackship) but I think they have the potential for SUCH a fun and interesting dynamic and could really push each other to change, for better for worse.

—The way I interpret Buzz is as a deeply flawed sim, but one who has room to improve and do better. He wasn’t the most involved parent, leaving most of the difficult work to Lyla (as seen in the in-game memories with her having taught most of their toddler skills), he obviously favors Tank, being harsher on Ripp and ignoring Buck, he puts a lot of pressure on all of them to live up to a very strict set of ideals. This impacts all of the kids negatively in different ways. Obviously not great, but I do believe that he does care about them and with the right catalyst, he could begin to see the error of his ways and make an effort to change. Like he’s not going to become the most open, accepting, emotionally available dad-of-the-year overnight, but I think he could sort of redeem himself over time. I see him as the type of sim who, once his mind sets on something, is all in, so I think once he realized how shitty he’s been, he’d throw himself into trying to be a better parent, although he would definitely not get it right on the first tries and would continually make mistakes. Of course there are going to be growing pains in an arc like this and he has some pretty skewed ideas of what good parenting looks like.

—I definitely get why he’s portrayed as straight-up abusive and virtually irredeemable in a lot of fanworks and that characterization is valid, but based the limited info we have from family and individual bios, memories, environmental storytelling, personality points, etc I think you could go in either direction and have a decently solid basis for it in canon. (Buzz in Division 47 in The Sims 2 PSP is a different story, but tbh I see that as an entirely different timeline and a lot of the characterizations are different.)

—So anyway, here’s how it starts: Buzz is spying on his neighbors with the telescope because he’s a fucking freak who can’t mind his own business; Vidcund comes over to yell at him for spying because he’s also a fucking freak and assumes Buzz is spying on his household specifically. Buzz keeps doing it to spite him because no one tells him what to do on his own watcher-damn property. This continues every day and although neither would ever admit it, they both start looking forward to it bc they’re both lonely. Neither has many close relationships and every close relationship they do have is strained—Buzz with his kids bc he hasn’t been a very good father, Vidcund with his brothers bc there’s always been tension with Pascal over the whole Circe thing and he hasn’t been getting along with Lazlo as well recently. (That bit is inspired by my playthroughs—every time I load up that household, Vidcund and Lazlo have a negative interaction that causes them to lose their status as best friends). Slowly but surely, they build up a rapport and eventually something akin to friendship.

—Buzz gets his demotion, just like in the game’s scripted events, and will soon struggle to pay his mortgage and keep up his family’s current standard of living on his new salary, but he would rather die than admit to failure so he needs to find a way to stay in that house and keep up appearances. Meanwhile, with Pascal’s new alien baby, the Curious household is always loud and chaotic. Vidcund resents the lack of quiet and alone time and the interruption to his routine. Oh, look at that, Buzz has a spare room, and there are no crying babies in his house, just two horribly maladjusted teenagers and an attention-starved tween. Cue the “And they were roommates.”

—At some point, Buzz decides to try and get Buck into private school and invites the headmaster over. He enlists Vidcund’s help and they pose as a married couple (if he wants to impress this snobby ass school he can’t let on that he needs a roommate, and he sees that as the most plausible explanation for why Vidcund lives there. Also at this point Vidcund’s a professor at La Fiesta Tech so that kind of helps make them look even more impressive.)

—Buzz forces Tank and Ripp to spend the weekend camping at Three Lakes because he doesn’t trust them to get along for the night and make a good impression (who’s fault is that, Buzz?? Who played favorites and pitted them against each other??). They have a side story bonding and overcoming some of their issues there.

—To really sell it, Buzz and Vidcund casually touch each other here and there (an arm around the waist, hand on the shoulder, etc.) Both of them are too emotionally constipated to show affection in any way, especially physical, so they’re both super touch starved and end up liking it a lot. Like, a lot.

—Even though dinner fully caught on fire and nearly burned the house down, they manage to get Buck in. Buzz is all giddy (although he tries to hide it and be his usual gruff self) and keeps giving Vidcund these soft looks when he thinks he’s not looking.

—They end up sleeping together (in the literal sense, not woohoo) but Buzz’s reaction to it makes it seem like more happened. He’s all stressed over it, wondering what does this mean?? What are they?? He can’t believe he allowed himself to receive slight physical intimacy and comfort. What’s gotten into him??

—Cue Buzz and Vidcund lounging in the kitchen in their boxers and undershirts sipping coffee when Tank and Ripp come home early. Buzz is mortified and stammers trying to explain himself, but the boys Do Not Care.

—The fucking family drama this would cause!!! Imagine the Curious family finally finding out who Vidcund’s seeing. Pascal would be furious. Lazlo would just be confused, and maybe concerned for Vidcund, but they all suck at feelings and communication so he doesn’t express it in the best way. Then Vidcund gets pissed at his brothers, causing even more tension in their already strained relationship.

—Jenny I think would be extremely weary of Buzz because of his and PT9’s history and make it clear that she’s not going to tolerate any bullshit, but would try and put her best foot forward. She’s happy to see Vidcund in a relationship that seems to be making him happy and isn’t just one-sided stalking on his part (RIP Circe Beaker).

—When Jenny tries to talk to the other brothers about this, they’re already fragile and take it to mean that she sees their arrangement of living and co-parenting Pascal’s kid together instead of with romantic partners as inferior (bc a part of this is that they feel like Vidcund abandoned them for the Grunt family). They also incorrectly assume that Jenny thinks she’s better than them for having a more traditional family. And there WAS a time when she worried about them staying single in Pascal’s case or unmarried/only seeing Crystal casually in Lazlo’s (when you load up the household in the game, she almost always rolls the want to have a baby, but by that point she’s too close to being an elder to be able to do so; I think she adores her husband and her family and wouldn’t change anything, but because she waited so long due to PT9 being gone on his assignment, she wasn’t able to have a large family like she always wanted. So at some point she would have worried about her brothers waiting until it’s “too late” like she did, in a sense, but once she realized they really didn’t want that, she supported them.)

—PT9 is the type of sim to always take the high ground and focus on his own life and the people he loves, so Buzz’s beef with him has always been kind of one-sided anyway (saw a post of them as that “when someone’s so hateful it inspires you to be kinder”/“when someone’s so kind it actually disgusts you” meme and like yeah. That’s their dynamic). Buzz clumsily tries to make amends, and they slowly bond and put the time they fought in a Waffle House parking lot behind them (yes that is where the fight happened, it’s 10000% canon, trust). PT9 or Jenny will often playfully remind him about how he got his ass handed to him, but by this point (shockingly) he’s actually grown a sense of humor and he doesn’t mind. I just love the idea of Buzz, Jenny and PT9 having a slowburn enemies to friends arc.

—This leads to Jenny and Vidcund reconnecting. Between being significantly older and not sharing a lot of the same interests that her brothers always bonded over, I think Jenny always felt a little alienated and left out. Almost like they were in an exclusive little club she didn’t get to be a part of. But now Vidcund’s kicked out of the club too because Pascal and Lazlo hate his ass (not really. They’re just hurt and need time to come around to the idea of him being with Buzz Grunt of all people). So they get to get to know each other as adults and discover what they do have in common. Both love botany and they start gardening together. Jenny minored in botany and she’s extremely knowledgeable. Both are elated to have someone they can share their passion with. Vidcund is shocked and scandalized to learn that she grew and sold her own weed back in high school and college. (She still does on the side but shhh don’t tell Buzz). Both love to read and they form a little book club. They start out only reading the classics and scientific literature, wanting to impress each other, but they both have a secret love of trashy, pulpy romance novels that they try desperately to hide out of embarrassment. Eventually, they realize this and add some of those books into the rotation.

—As his relationship with Buzz has gotten more serious, Vidcund’s kind of struggling with his new role as essentially a stepdad, and Jenny and PT9 are the go to people for parenting advice. One night PT9 is essentially like “my brother in Watcher, it’s good that you care but you worry too much, there’s no guidebook and none of us truly know what we’re doing, everybody fucks up sometimes.” And Jenny’s like “preach”. (They also may or may not be stoned off Jenny’s primo weed for this discussion).

—What are the kids up to during all this?? Well, Ophelia, tired of her anxieties ruling her life, decides to explore the mysteries and weird supernatural occurrences of Strangetown. Initially, her goal is simply to learn how to exorcise ghosts so she can finally have some peace and quiet at home and no longer be constantly scared by them, but deep down it’s about proving to herself that she can be brave and overcome her fears. Through the process, gaining an understanding of the town’s weirdness will also give her a sense of control and make it seem less unknowable and terrifying. She drags Ripp and Johnny into it (they’re a polycule btw; they’re such an inseparable trio to me. I have installed mods in my game to allow polyamory solely so they can be together) and they begin to spend all their free time exploring the town and uncovering its secrets.

—Now that Tank and Ripp are cool, Ripp wants to spend more time with his brother, so Tank attempts to make things right with Johnny and Johnny gives Tank a chance, mainly for Ripp’s sake. So Tank kind of fourth wheels them and tags along on their adventures, but he doesn’t mind. He’s vibing and actually having fun for once. They also have to sneak around a lot bc Olive is really strict, as is Buzz (although he has started to loosen up a little at this point) and Tank really loves the shenanigans and rebelling because he’s never allowed himself to do that.

—I think Tank and Ophelia could eventually become close. They’re both bundles of tension and anxiety and hold themselves to impossible standards (Ophelia channels this into trying to be the perfect student and obsessing over her grades). They both struggle to let go of control because neither has really had any in their home lives. Neither one has really gotten the chance to talk about the parents they lost or given themselves space to properly grieve (Ripp hasn’t either), always too focused on surviving the here and now, but would eventually come to allow themselves to do so. (Haven’t really fleshed it out yet but the catalyst for this is that one of the supernatural adventures they go on involves ghosts and the need to process things to be able to move on to the next plane. It’s, like, annoyingly on the nose and Not Subtle Whatsoever to the point where it actually irritates them.)

—Also Tank is aroace. I see a character that doesn't have a canonical love interest and I go, “It’s free real estate” and hit them upside the head with the aroace beam. He starts out deeply ashamed of it, feeling like he failed to live up to the standards of masculinity his dad used to put on him and that he continues to put on himself, but slowly comes around to be okay with it.

—Buck and Jill become besties. I think it starts out as sort of a “well our families spend like every second together now. You’re literally always around and we’re the only two kids around our age at the function. I guess we’re friends?” type of deal. Like they’ve always been chill and friendly with each other at school, but never super close. But Jill brings out Buck’s more playful and imaginative side and helps him to just be a kid, and in turn she gets a new partner in crime. He also helps her gain the confidence to stand up to a few little shits who have been making fun of her at school, and they get their revenge on them with some kind of epic prank. They get in trouble for it and Buck expects Buzz to either be mad at him or ignore him per usual, but instead Buzz is proud that he stood up for his friend and for what was right.

—One day Buck and Jill are left alone in the house with the dog (I always get the Smiths a big dog and name it something stupid like Floofmaster 5000) and decide to give it a bath, haircut and dye job after Buck tells her about his dreams of being a celebrity pet groomer. (Fun fact for those not familiar with the game, that’s canon. IIRC it says something about him wanting to become a pet groomer to the stars in his bio. Sadly there’s no such career path in game to my knowledge). The Smiths come home to a bright pink dog with a surprisingly well-done haircut and a pink-stained bathroom. Jenny and PT9 try to (gently) scold the kids but they can’t stop laughing. PT9 dyes his hair pink to match the dog (in my heart he’s the classic “was adamant about absolutely not wanting a dog but then got the most attached to it” dad). Jenny joins in too because she always used to dye her hair fun colors and she misses it.

—Maybe Buck and Jill get crushes on each other and eventually date when they get older?? I usually put them together after sending them off to college in my game. Typically I give them both the pleasure aspiration too, so they spend their days just living it up, having fun, doing whatever they feel like doing. They match each other’s whimsy and chaos.

—Back to Buzz and Vidcund: at some point before they’re officially together but when they’re definitely Becoming A Thing, Buzz decides he needs to work on himself and repair his relationship with his kids before anything else can take priority, so they break things off but remain friends (emotional maturity??? From Buzz Grunt??? Inspiring. People really can change.) They’re both really mopey about it but insist they’re fine.

—Around this time, certified trust fund jerk Malcolm Landgraab IV comes on the scene to open up some new locations for his electronics retailer downtown. He and Vidcund meet, hit it off and end up in a sort of situationship. Vid still lives with the Grunts, but spends a lot of time with Malcolm and is around a lot less.

—The boys are Not Happy with this development. They’re like uh hey, where the fuck is he?? They’ve gotten attached to Vidcund and sort of started to see him as another parental figure. They kinda assumed Buzz and Vidcund were already a thing, so they’re shocked that they’ve “broken up” and not even told them, and that Buzz is being so cavalier about it. Also Tank and Buck don’t cope super well with big changes so this isn’t great for them :( now it’s up to poor Ripp to comfort both his brothers and tbh he has no idea what he’s doing. Get my man some of that primo weed, he needs it.

—Still, anytime Buzz or one of the boys call him for literally anything, Vidcund will drop Malcolm like a hot potato. It’s obvious where his priorities lie and where his heart is. Eventually, Malcolm breaks up with Vidcund, stating that he’s caught actual feelings but he knows Vidcund can’t reciprocate because he’s hung up on somebody else.

—This will become a plot point later: Malcolm keeps doing increasingly unhinged things to try and impress Vidcund and prove how great he’s doing after their breakup, which eventually escalates to him running for mayor of Strangetown. His opponent is none other than Circe Beaker and now everyone has to rally behind her because holy crap would that rich dumbfuck run Strangetown right into the ground. This is genuinely not meant to be a commentary of any sort, I just think a mayoral race between Circe “I definitely don’t have a man trapped in my basement to run experiments on” Beaker and Malcolm Landgraab IV would be funny, especially the way I like to characterize him (chaotic dumbass with a huge ego who has WAY too much money and free time and makes it everyone else’s problem.)

—Immediately after ending things with Malcolm, Vidcund tells Buzz what happened and why. After like a year of tension, they finally kiss. Vidcund moves his stuff from his room into Buzz’s and that’s that.

—They bicker a lot, sometimes playfully, sometimes not. It dredges up some memories related to their parents’ divorce for the boys when it happens in front of them. Buzz is trying but he’s still the densest motherfucker on the planet so it takes him a LONG time to realize this. Eventually, he and Vidcund learn to reign it in and the boys get to a place where they trust that it’s not anything serious and Vid’s not going anywhere.

—They’re both pretty ambivalent about marriage. Buzz has already been there done that and he fucked it up pretty bad. Vidcund’s not opposed but he’s never really pictured himself getting married. Eventually, when it comes time for Tank to start thinking about college, Vidcund mentions that as a prof at La Fiesta Tech any dependents of his get free tuition (including stepchildren) and suggests they get married for that reason. Buzz is like, “yeah, I don’t see us ever not being together anyway, sure.”

—I think they’re the type of sims to wear black stainless steel wedding bands. Buzz has an African violet engraved in Vidcund’s.

—As a popularity sim, Buzz would absolutely want a huge wedding and reception, and now that he actually has people who like him and would show up it’s within reach! But he knows how much Vidcund hates crowds and big parties so he keeps it lowkey. (Being considerate and prioritizing others’ needs and wants, even above his own?? Who is he??) They just do it at a courthouse and have a little family get together. Pascal and Lazlo come to at least make an effort to reach out and show their support, and Vidcund is overjoyed to see them, even if he acts aloof about it. Their relationship is still never quite as close as it used to be, but things are better.

—Also they’re autistic4autistic. Neither is aware of this. Buzz because he was raised in A Different Time and his parents were Very Traditional, so they just harshly disciplined him whenever he acted “weird” and he learned to mask very quickly; Vidcund because basically the entire Curious family was neurodivergent and Glarn and Kitty didn’t see the need to seek out a diagnosis, they just sort of accommodated the kids as needed and let ‘em do their thing. Buzz masks so hard and so consistently that he doesn’t even know how not to and refuses to accommodate himself (like if the fabric of a shirt is making him want to crawl out of his skin, he just keeps wearing it because he feels like he “should” be able to tolerate it and also that deeply ingrained toxic masculine ideal that suffering through it without complaining is the “manly” thing to do.) Vidcund cannot fathom masking and when it comes to things that trigger his sensory issues he’s a very “if it sucks hit da bricks” type of sim. He eventually convinces Buzz to just change out of the shirt, stop eating the food with the texture he can’t stand, take the aspirin when he has a headache, use the damn heating pad when his bad back is acting up, and just stop making himself miserable in all these little ways when he literally doesn’t have to.

—Tank is also like that (he learned it from his father and continued practicing it in an effort to be more like him and not disappoint him). He learnt about the joys of “if it sucks hit the bricks” from Ripp, and now that he sees his dad and Vidcund doing it, he feels more okay about not forcing himself to do things that make him really distressed or set off his sensory issues.

—Meanwhile, Ripp learned the joys of not hitting the bricks every time it sucks from Ophelia and Tank; especially with his creative endeavors, he starts sticking them out even when they get challenging, and he enjoys the satisfaction and fulfillment it brings him and creates some music and poetry he’s really proud of.

—The Grunt family looks for a car at some point and Buzz is initially going to get one of those unnecessarily huge trucks that don’t even fit in a lane on the road because of fucking course he’d be one of those guys. Ripp, the resident hippie who’s a bit of an environmentalist, is against this. Buzz actually ends up buying a more reasonable sized sedan, and Ripp is touched that Buzz listened to him, took his input and opinion seriously and even factored it into his decision.

[cherryfennec]

ever since ive posted the redesigns for the bad end au ive been getting a lot more asks than I'm used to. currently my askbox has over 80 asks to be precise!

some intriguing, some questionable, some unfortunately containing spoilers for the remake (the full unspoilered name) which means they'll get answered in the further future since I dont want to ruin peoples experience with the character it alludes to.

I've been slowly planning a response for each of them in docs, in my notepad and even my sketchbook, as some require some more additional research for me to do. Currently I've been watching the full playthrough of The Origami King(almost done) and playing my way through TTYD (i just finished chapter 4) in the background to name a few.

Other than asks there have been a few other original drawings I've been wanting to make for the Super Mario franchise or other. I've been learning programs or just brushes, I've gotten inspired over some stuff I encountered during the trip, I tried and am trying to participate in ArtFight or just making fanart for my friends for fun.

In the end I want to thank everyone who has been patient with me and supportive of my work up to this day. I know I'm not the fastest drawer and that I tend to be awkward with talking but i truly appreciate it. I know I don't owe anyone anything but I do want to give back to all the people I've met here for being interested in my ramblings, be it with answers or even the occasional doodles.

Once again, thank you! Thank you very much!

[deathscastleofficielle]

Breaking down my designs for the Main Bros

Hey, happy anniversary! Seven years ago today I published the very first chapter of Death's Castle! (and then a few years later I went back and rewrote it to better match my current skill level but LETS NOT WORRY ABOUT THAT-)

So in celebration of seven years, how about I actually talk about the design processes for the Bros and what's going on with their looks.

Quick note, since I already discussed many of the Bros' body types, I won't be rehashing that. We'll mainly be focusing on face, hair, and clothes. I will also be bringing up some of the old fandom artists that inspired me, but I once again ask that you please do not bother them as they have long moved on from this fandom (this does not apply to Jack or Zoe, they are my friends, go give them some love).

Also, spoilers for the fic below.

Stephano the Statue (+Janus)

Stephano is a statue, an artistic representation of idealized beauty, and thus is meant to be very handsome but in a way that makes him stick out from the rest of the castle. In a place where most everyone is pale and starving, Stephano's chiseled and healthy features can make him look uncanny. A quite literal case of "don't trust a pretty face."

One of his most notable features is his eyes, and specifically how little detail they actually have. In White Lily, Mayo notes that Stephano's eyes lack "deeper color" but have a metallic shine to them. In other words, his eyes appear flatter compared to others. Again, this is supposed to make him look more statue-like. I also tend to give him a more defined nose than others in my art, owing to his Arab heritage.

His long hair, often kept in a low ponytail, is borrowed from many pre-existing depictions of the character. I think we all just like the Finn the Human-type trope of a character who mostly keeps their hair covered but then it's revealed their hair is actually super long. And while most fan depictions made Stephano clean-shaven, in one of the videos he actually confirms that he has a beard, so I gave him a bit of a goatee.

As mentioned before, Stephano's outfit design was actually stolen and edited from the artist blackbeltkitten009 for their now discontinued comic The Stephano Chronicles. When I began Death's Castle, my goal was to create updated designs for the Bros, to provide a visual of the timeskip between the videos (where I tend to use design elements that were generally popular in the fandom at the time) and the fanfiction. However, Stephano is a bit difficult to make an updated design for because of all the Bros he has the most humanoid appearance in the videos, given that he's a statuette and actually has clothes. (An admittedly ironic statement, given that in Death's Castle proper his gold skin makes him unable to pass as fully human)

There were a couple elements that drew me to blackbeltkitten009's design in particular; for starters the design had a lot of drama to it without being over the top. There was one thing in particular that made me decide to use it though, and that was the ruby brooch.

In Death's Castle, Stephano shares his body with an entity he has named Janus, an element taken from the Disponentia custom story playthrough. When Janus is in control, Stephano's eyes glow red followed by everything gold on his body becoming pitch black. The ruby brooch acts as a bridge between these two forms. On Stephano, the red is a pop of color against his otherwise monochromatic design, with the color scheme adding a regal heroism to him, much like how Stephano would like to see himself. On Janus however, the red ties into his eyes and adds to the sinister appearance.

Is that a bit cheesy? Yes, but I was a teenager when I started this, give me a break.

Also as a sidenote, Janus' color scheme came from a misunderstanding. You see my first encounter with him was of someone's description of him. I didn't know which video "Evil Stephano" originated in, and for awhile I even believed he was something the fandom made up. Like Red Chair! But I must have misread "glowing eyes" as specifically glowing red eyes. However, when actually watching Disponentia it turns out his eyes are actually glowing white and his color is maybe a dark bronze. I like where the chips landed but if I began Death's Castle today, I probably would have made him closer to his appearance in the videos. But this would definitely call for a different Stephano design.

Piggeh the Pig

Piggeh's characterization was inspired by the scene and emo trends of the early 2010s. Not only the fun stuff which makes up his outward personality, but also some of the harsher realities that were going on in those subcultures.

One of the first decisions I made was to change his shirt color from pink to something else. For awhile it was going to be white since that was the only color I can think of that didn't clash with his color scheme, but didn't like it since I felt it would be too washed out on his pale skin. I ended up instead settling on a bright red (starting to notice a pattern?). This felt like a natural escalation of Piggeh's previous pink attire, as both are considered romantic/sexual colors. In fact Piggeh's color scheme is meant to evoke the typical garish valentine's day. The particular shade of red's gaudiness also says a lot about Piggeh; he doesn't put a lot of care into his appearance. On the other hand though, the red picks up on all of the eternally bloodied scars on Piggeh's body. Piggeh and blood are very well acquainted, and the tattered red shirt is a constant reminder of that fact.

The brown fishnet vest was another early design decision. Fishnets are often seen as provocative and are associated with adult entertainment, thus him having a vest made of the material is an easy shorthand for his sexual behavior without exposing too much skin. In fact early on the vest was hot pink, but I think someone pointed out how hard it was to see against the red so I changed it to dark brown.

The bandages on his arms are picked up from several pre-existing depictions of Piggeh such as StephanoTheStatue's and Mister-Chair's, but in Death's Castle they serve a plot purpose; hiding his self harm scars. Finally, the look is completed with brown jeans and a pair of work boots, calling back to his farm origins.

While most people tend to give Piggeh unnaturally colored eyes, most popular being pink to match his hair, I decided to give my depiction of Piggeh brown eyes like most real pigs tend to have. He also has snake-like pupils, owing to his famous line from the videos; "You thought I was a pig? Nah, I'm a snake!" One eye has a long scar over it in a somewhat diamond shape, but tends to curve in a way that can almost make it resemble a snake. His other eye, often kept hidden by his hair, is surrounded by a larger scar and blackened by hyphema, otherwise known as an 8 Ball Fracture. This was inspired by the character of 2D from the band Gorillaz.

His pink hair was originally shorter if just a bit messy, owing to the fact that I used to only be able to draw about two hairstyles for men. However when Jack ( @thesucessorofficalnot ) drew him, he gave Piggeh a longer and uneven cut more reminiscent of scene queen hairstyles, so I started using it myself.

Finally, one thing I want to mention is that Piggeh was designed to be very feminine looking, to the point he could easily pass as a woman. This started as sort of a joke because whenever I would show people in real life fan art of Piggeh they would consistently mistake him for a woman, likely due to his pink color scheme, so I just adopted it as a feature for him. His adoptive mother Bunny was even designed to look masculine as a compliment to his feminine design. This ended up being somewhat downplayed in the fic itself, as generally speaking the Bros aren't too concerned with how outwardly masculine or feminine someone is.

Oh and fun fact. Lately when I've drawn Piggeh or Fleur, I've drawn them with the same eye shape.

Mr. Green Chair

Appearance wise Mr. Chair doesn't veer too far off from the typical depictions. Short brown hair, light-skinned, wearing glasses and a green beret. He is often depicted as having either brown or green eyes, and I chose green to compliment his siblings' color themed naming, hence his first name being "Green" in the fanfic. One important factor regarding his appearance is that while most versions of Mr. Chair are presumably white, mine is biracial, and specifically Japanese. This is mainly to reference his appearances in the playthrough of Ao Oni, a game made and set in Japan.

Mr. Chair is similarly hard to redesign like Stephano, but for different reasons. Mr. Chair's design is pretty set in stone in the fandom, usually depicted in a green sweater vest or cardigan and a simple dress shirt. In general his look is very preppy, very academia. So how do I update that for a years later look?

Well admittedly I had already drawn up some designs based on basically a male version of Elizabeth's outfit from Bioshock Infinite. And we'll swing back around to Elizabeth later, but for now I basically had this lying around and slapped it on Mr. Chair. I simply changed the colors so that the blazer was his signature deep green, and the lining on his dress shirt was a reddish purple. There was originally no pattern on the shirt, but the amazing ZoeDraws did some awesome artwork of the Bros and on Mr. Chair they included a light grey vine/floral pattern so I have also adopted that in at least some of my art.

While on the surface the outfit is typical for a bookworm character, the rather bold combination of green and magenta is surprisingly flamboyant. My friend even comared him to a toxic frog. I think this acts as a bit of subtle foreshadowing to the more unsettling parts of Mr. Chair's character, such as his past drug use. It also shows a bit of his creativity, as presumably Mr. Chair made or altered these clothes himself, given his sewing skills.

And while not fully intentional, the outfit parallels Red Chair, who similarly wears a red and black blazer patterned like Pewdie's modern branding and a red hat. Perhaps Mr. Chair can't help but want to emulate his older brother?

Jennifer the Rock

Jennifer's look was solidified very early on due to the popular traits she was given in fan art. Long black hair, pale skin, gray eyes. The most important element of her design is that she is plus sized due to Pewdie constantly insulting the character for being fat. An unfortunate artifact of the time's humor that is explored more thoroughly and compassionately in Death's Castle proper.

While actually letting her be fat sounds like a no-brainer nowadays, this was not the case in the fandom back then. Most people tended to make Jennifer skinny, some even giving her an eating disorder of some sort to justify it. And the few who did make Jenny fat were tending to continue the joke from the videos. Now I don't say this to act all superior, frankly speaking Pewds put us in an awkward position, and I'm sure for a lot of the artists they didn't want to offend anyone or maybe it even hit too close to home for some.

However, it was important to me to actually give Jennifer the body type she was assigned to, and to not only show the struggles fat women are faced with, but that fat can be beautiful. Especially without being sexualized. (see my pride headcanons for more on that) It also provided a bit of a contrast to how we see fat today vs how fat was seen in the past.

Jennifer originally kept her hair down as seen in some of the past segments of Death's Castle, but by the present day her hair is worn in a ponytail. This was actually an element inspired by a doodle Punkichi did, depicting their Jennifer in an alternate hairstyle. I liked it, so I adopted it for mine. Her hair also covers one of her eyes to show her shyer and insecure personality. Finally, I used a popular accessory often given not to human Jennifer but to the rock version of Jennifer in non-gijinka fanart. A bow. Which also inspired me to make her an archer because I thought it was funny for her to have two different kinds of bows.

In an attempt to get back her memories through an orb shard, Jennifer falls into a trance and ends up severing her pinky finger. What may initially seem like a random injury actually holds a lot of meaning when Jennifer's past as Genevieve is taken into account. For starters, as a lady of high society, Genevieve had to have proper etiquette, and we all know the rule of sticking your pinky finger out when drinking tea. Cutting it off shows that Jennifer is no longer that proper girl. On a dourer note, the pinky finger is also associated with the pinky swear or pinky promise. Losing that finger in this sense symbolizes promises that were never fulfilled.

Each of the Bros had a signature color of sorts. Pewdie was blue, Stephano was gold/yellow, Piggeh was pink, and Mr. Chair was green. Jennifer on the other hand didn't really have a solid agreed upon color in the fandom that wasn't just gray. So it only made sense to make Jennifer's purple. This was for a few reasons. It was an appropriately feminine color to put on the one girl in the group without infringing on Piggeh and even Marzia's pink, it paired nicely with all the grays in her color scheme, it worked as an opposite against Stephano's yellow, and finally; purple was a color often associated with wealth and power.

Jennifer is a bit of an interesting case outfit wise since she initially starts with a different outfit, but quickly changes into a new one in the seventh chapter. This was mainly because I struggled with her costume design the most out of any of the Bros. I initially wanted to play with the idea of moss growing on a rock and paired this with a look meant to focus on her archery skill, but this design was rather ugly and uninspired- not to mention it used far too much green for a character who was supposed to be associated with purple, so it was retconned to instead be a simple gray tank top and black leggings.

I actually eventually took inspiration from Jack's version of Jenny. I designed a letterman jacket style gray hoodie with white sleeves that had purple morning glories and mint green vines embroidered on them. This was paired with a dusty purple t-shirt that had the brofist symbol on it and a pinkish purple pleated skirt that matched her signature hair bow. She kept the black leggings and gray boots from her previous design. This design ended up suiting Jenny more and setting the tone for her style, as it better fit her fangirl characterization from the original videos.

Interestingly, in both her concept design and her current one, Jennifer is the only one who actually wears her flower motif on her person. Perhaps in a way it shows that she's the most self-actualized of her group? Alternatively, it furthers her resemblance to Fleur, and shows how Stephano can't help but see the lady with the flowers in those around him.

Also I apologize to everyone I've ever confused by describing the mauve color of Jennifer's ribbon and skirt as VIOLET. I had a crayon that was apparently horribly mislabeled, so I associated a pinkish-purple color with the word violet.

Mayo the Small Table

Mayo is one of the most important characters in Death's Castle. His sudden reappearance after what the Bros were led to believe was a childhood death is what kicks the plot into action, and throughout the story acts as the deuteragonist since the story is just as much about him and how he grows up as much as it is about Stephano. During the videos he was only nine years old, which presented an interesting challenge for his Death's Castle design. While everyone else started as adults and were only getting a little older in comparison, Mayo went from a child to a young teenager.

Mayo's childhood design is rather typical for the fandom. Short blonde hair, gold or brown eyes, a light colored t-shirt, brown overalls and a matching cap. A cute if potentially rowdy kid. His teenage design shifts drastically, presenting a more mature- but still youthful- version of the character.

This is where we swing back to Elizabeth, as the Bioshock character influenced a lot of Mayo's characterization. Specifically, the motif of a bird caged for the mysterious use of those who trapped it. As such, I pretty much took elements of her first outfit and slapped them onto Mayo. The collared shirt, necktie, even his birdcage brooch is lifted from one of two pins Elizabeth wears on her choker. His color scheme is made up of white, soft browns, and pastel yellow, evoking innocence and light. You look at this version of Mayo and want to protect him.

However, that protection can be stifling to someone trying to grow, so Mayo undergoes a dramatic change later on. After his clothes get ruined by blood, he swaps out most of his outfit for a simpler get up of a white dress shirt and black slacks, and this is accompanied by a rather dramatic new piece. The coat that once belonged to Alexander himself.

This is where we finally acknowledge the recurring use of red. Each of the main Bros uses some shade of red in their designs. Sometimes this is more straightforward such as Stephano and Piggeh, other times it's more subtle such as Mr. Chair's magenta or Jennifer's accents of pink. This was for one big reason, PewDiePie himself. In his early days, Pewds was associated with the color blue. He even adopted a light blue color for his brofist icon. However, things have changed since then. Nowadays he uses red. This common color scheme also shows that the Bros are a more unified team than they once were.

But then there's Mayo, who initially looks quite out of place, and he is. They are essentially an outsider by now, unfamiliar with the greater workings of the Bro Army and having to catch up on the five years they were missing in action. The Bros' protectiveness over him also others him, puts him on a pedestal, and this even leads to Stephano and Mr. Chair electing to kick him out of the castle, thinking it would be best for him to grow up among humans. As such, when he returns in Alexander's coat, in the red shade the group has adopted, he is sending a clear message. He won't be pushed aside anymore. The red and gold color scheme also draws comparisons to Stephano in particular. Once again, the story is just as much about him as it is our favorite statue.

The red also ties into his flower motif, and the reveal that his "flower chapters" work differently than his adult companions. Since he is still so young, for all intents and purposes his backstory is still ongoing. He initially starts with a white lily, symbolizing innocence and death. This is a melancholic flower, reflecting the sad situation of a child having been robbed of his freedom by enemies and family alike. His motif then changes to a scarlet lily, represent passion and lofty aspirations. This is a Mayo who has been pushed to the edge and now refuses to be a passive player in his own life.

His hair has grown out from his childhood and is now kept in a short ponytail. This was an idea I lifted from AskMayo's version of the character, as it added more variety to the cast. This person was also where I got the idea of Mayo using daggers to fight. (Quick note, ages were not universally agreed on in the fandom. This person's Mayo is older and was often sexualized by the artist.)

Now, there is one more thing I want to bring up about Mayo's design that no one actually knew until now; Both of his costume designs are based off circus attire. His first outfit, along with being stolen from Bioshock, is meant to resemble an acrobat's costume, complimenting his flexibility and fighting style. He loses that in his second outfit, but it has a subtler connation. With the long red coat, Mayo looks like the stock ringleader.

Conclusions

While making this post, I talked with Jack and he pointed out something I hadn't really put into words until now. My approach to designing the characters was very theatrical. Since I went for more human designs overall, I had to rely on costuming and styling to get my points across. And honestly, given that I've been in theater my whole life, and it's shaped the way I tell stories, I find that very fitting.

I could go on about why I designed characters in certain ways. There are so many characters, and I put a lot of work into each of them. However, quite frankly I just don't have the time so I'll just leave it at this;

There was a time when I wasn't sure I would ever write this story, and it's crazy to realize that I've been doing it for seven years now. Some years were more plentiful than others, I mean we definitely had a slow start, but I can't believe how far I've gotten. We're nearing what I would consider the end of the first season, the characters have evolved so much and there's so much more waiting around the corner.

To everyone who has supported me, whether you've been here since the beginning or found me along the way, thank you. Thank you so much. I don't know if I'd even be here without you guys.

Anyway I need to go rest my fingers because I talk way too much.

[wakacreations]

Get To Know People Better Tag Game

I was tagged by @graysparrowao3! Thank you and hi nice to meet you!

Three Ships:

I had to really think about it. I never really thought about if I had any favorite ships.

From Spy x Family (Loid x Yor) : Pretend to be in a relationship but end of up falling in love. It's really sweet how they parent Anya.

From Futurama (Fry x Leela): Friends to lovers vibes. This ship is more nostalgic. I enjoyed the journey of these two. The finale made me cry. I still need to get around to watching the Hulu reboot.

From The Flower of Evil (Jiwon x Hyun Soo) : How many times do I have to remind you that I love you? How many times will you fall in love all over again till you admit you're in love?

The angst and the drama with this married couple is so good.

Bonus: Bladeweave (Gale x Wyll) : Two people who will easily sacrifice themselves for others see the impact of those actions through each other's eyes. How can you ask the other not to sacrifice themselves when it's all they have known. I don't know. There is something there but I don't feel the need to write their story.

I still feel bad for not picking either one on my playthrough. Maybe when Patch 7 comes out.

First ship: I honestly don't remember. Most likely Mandy x Nergal Jr. from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.

Last Song: Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang by Silver

Last Movie: Recently watched a horror movie called Long Legs. It was more strange than scary but I still got scared anyways. It's an a experience.

Currently reading: A House Called Tomorrow Fifty Years of Poetry by Copper Canyon Press. I just flip through to a random page and just start reading. It has been fun seeing what poem a get each day.

I got "On Finding a Field" by Tyree Daye today.

Some fanfiction:

Direct from Hell Logistics by Ineadhyn

Through the Gates of Horn and Oak by Sensoo

Currently watching: Dungeon Meshi

Currently Eating: Stir fry Buldak

Currently craving: Some inspiration and a apple fritter.

Favorite color: Navy Blue

Favorite flavour: Mango

Current Obsession:

BG3

Art (Been studying MINJYE artstyle on YouTube)

Alien Stage

Ultraman: Rising

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Last thing I googled: monk bg3. I wanted to know what spells they had access to.

Favorite Season: Winter

Skill I'd like to learn: Piano or guitar again. I took a long break from music. It would be nice to revisit it again.

Best advice: Stay hydrated and eat good food. Below are some words that I have to sometimes remind myself. I don't know if others needed to hear it as well but I am willing to share.

Through the struggles you weather hope is ever present. No matter how deep we choose to bury it. You will continue to move again. You will continue to struggle. You will try again and again because everything is temporary even the cave you've trapped yourself in.

Feel free join if you wish no pressure!

@crowwolf and @theshotsheardacrossworlds

[tj99er]

Can I please see some more of your OC?

Now that my PC has recovered, here is all the art I've gotten of my squirrelboi, Dust. (unless I've missed something)

First the reference image, showcasing the model that @/olivercanticle revised for me (based on a much more simple model I made in Vroid)

Next, with a small story attached; my friend @/maplejava was at one point doing emergency commissions, I pitched in on Ko-fi, but told him that there wasn't anything in particular I wanted.

MY DUDE DECIDED HE WAS DOING SOMETHING ANYWAY AND SURPRISED ME WITH THIS WONDERFULLY STUPID IMAGE. (Context: I'm a sex-repulsed Asexual)

But that's not where maple's surprises would end, because he has also been working on a VRChat map that's kind of meant to be a hub or sorts for our friend group.

So while making that map, he adds in a Soda machine and decides, "you know what? I'm just going to put TJ's Character on there, imitating the boxart of the PS1 classic Pepsiman"

you know AS ANY PERSON WOULD THINK TO DO.

On the more tame side of things, as mentioned in that previous post, I've commissioned @/lenoxmst-blog to draw him a couple times (fun fact: He came up with the idea of having the rim of his goggles reference back to the Godot mask that Henry, my Yoshi character has always had)

And then, inspired by my Lobotomy Corporation playthrough, I asked Lenox for another piece where he's barely holding it together. (This game is amazing and also I have SO much fun editing this image)

At around the same time I asked lenox for the first image, I also commissioned @/cookiestar456

My current profile pic was done by the wonderful @/sethwindam

My friend Fuzz contacted one of his artist friends to gift me this art

When I started doing a mild amount of programming work for ChairGTables at lame dimension, this guy was made:

And finally, inspired by my Mario Kart streams, @/plushievik and @kahilia made fan art of Dust in cute chibi animal form

As a bonus for scrolling through all this art, here's a couple of my favorite screenshots I have gotten while using VSeeFace, the software that tracks my face for my stream

As you might be able to tell, I really like my dumb little squirrel fella. And I've not even talked about the lore I gave him (which is largely based around a real experience that happened to me in a gaming session)

[writing-intheundercroft]

When We're Older

Sebastian Sallow x OC

Forever indebted to his two best friends, Theodora Caulfield and Ominis Gaunt, Sebastian Sallow swears that he’ll be a better man. He’ll balance his classes, new job, good grades, future career prospects, and his social life, all while promising to never delve into dark magic again. He promises to figure out a way to make it up to Anne, win Ominis’s trust back, and help Theo hone in on her ancient magical abilities. When Sebastian Sallow sets his mind to something, he rarely gives up (clearly to his own detriment).

Promises are easy to make at sixteen, and even easier to break as one gets older.

______

Started a Slytherin playthrough of HL and decided to write a character background for my MC. Two weeks later, I had 100 pages and an entire longfic outline. So voila, the product of my summer has been uploaded to AO3, and thought I'd make a HL dedicated sideblog for my endeavors.

I haven't published a fic in ages, but I had an extended period of time off this summer and I couldn't help but finish Sebastian's story. There are time jumps in some chapters, and for the most part, the story will cover our favorite slytherins from 1891-1898. When I say I've got plans, oh baby, they're plans.

I have four chapters published so far, and about twelve currently drafted! So if anyone would like to beta, let me know :) I know I'm late to the HL fandom, but man, it's been a minute since the inspiration has hit this hard.

[samthecookielord]

CURRENT LAYTON STATUS: AL done! onto plvspw next. at some point.

That's right, I'm dedicating a post to all the Layton content I've consumed and will consume. Wish me luck gamers. (I'll also add the status of my gameplay videos!) (And a list of layton AUs at the end)

Mainline Trilogies

(note: i call the games by which version i played (UK or US) but i tag by US titles)

(note 2: we only record towards the end of the game because my computer space will CRY and also i do not want to edit all that hope this helps)

PLAYTHROUGH PLAYLIST

CURIOUS VILLAGE: 100% completed

(not recorded)

DIABOLICAL BOX: 100% completed

Uploaded---

Chapter 7: (Part 1) - (Part 2) (fun fact: part 2 features the first instance of me using animated sprites for me and my friends!)

LOST FUTURE: 100% completed, all uploaded!

Uploaded---

Chapter 9: (Part 1) - (Part 2) - (Part 3) (fun fact: part 1 is the first time i use game sprites to give visuals to our improv bits, as well as generally being the start of me putting a lot more effort into editing and trying new stuff!)

Chapter 10

Chapter 11: (Part 1) - (Part 2)

Chapter 12

Chapter 13: (Part 1) - (Part 2) - (Part 3) Epilogue: (Part 1) (Part 2)

LAST SPECTRE: 100% completed

Uploaded---

Chapter 8: (Part 1) - (Part 2) - (Part 3) (fun fact: from this point on, our playthrough group has increased from 3 people to 4!) Chapter 9: (Part 1a)

Planned---

Chapter 9 -> 2 parts (IM STUCK IN EDITING HELL)

Chapter 10 -> 2 parts

Epilogue -> just one

MIRACLE MASK: 100% completed

Planned---

Chapter 6 -> 6 parts left (HELP)

Chapter 7 -> 6 parts left Chapter 8 -> 1 part left Epilogue -> 2 parts left

AZRAN LEGACY: 100% completed

Planned---

Chapter 5 -> 6 parts left

Chapter 6 -> 5 parts left

Finale -> 3 parts left

Spinoffs & Extras

ETERNAL DIVA: Watched :]

Improv Fandub will come out soon. Probably

LB MYSTERY ROOM: completed

(not recorded)

PLVSAA: not started (will play after mainline)

will probably record? perchance? (NO SORRY MY BACKLOG IS EXPLODING ME 😭😭😭)

MYSTERY JOURNEY: im on case 3 lmao

The anime: not started (will watch after mystery journey)

Cheerful Mystery: i saw the lost future one lol ill go check out the rest later probably. I also read up to ch28 of the lbmr manga

Layton AUs

i have a lot of clive aus. here's a slideshow. here's their interaction tag

Puzzles Gone Wrong AU: (belongs to pastel-player) A take on "evil Layton" where we ask what if he wasn't evil evil, but morally dubious. Basically he's a dictator now but he hasn't really done much harm to the city of London. He's making some questionable decisions, but... he's still the polite gentleman Layton who cares about his loved ones. Said loved ones have many conflicting feelings about him. Takes place at least 1 year after main trilogy, unclear when exactly. (Ao3 series)

Pastel wasn't doing anything with Clive in this AU so I picked him up and ran off then came back with a whole new design and stuff. Anything I make with PGW Clive that doesn't involve Timeline Hopper Clive's shenanigans is proobably canon to the AU. Basically I'm the ceo of this one guy within this AU and nothing else <3

(PGW Clive's tag)

Layton Assassin AU: (belongs to snekatiemainy and thia-quiche) Layton but he kills people with swords. And also Luke beats people to death with shovels. And Flora also sword. Yayy!!! Initially inspired by our jokes from playing Curious Village, mainly Luke saying the phrase "this man is being VERY RUDE we should KILL HIM" (Ao3 series)

Assassin AU Variant: (belongs to me and snekatiemainy) A variation of the assassin au where Clive is adopted by Layton. Clive picked up a gun and has never been the same since. Guy who loves his 20 guns and is sooo annoying about it <3 Honestly 90% of my assassin au tag is just the variant instead of the actual original au hdtdhdhrfd

(Ao3 series)

(AV!Clive's tag)

Timeline Hopper Clive: (belongs to me, inspired by a-queer-kitkat's post) Post-canon Clive that starts getting tossed across dimensions at random intervals due to an abandoned machine prototype left by one of Dimitri's scientists. Often crosses over with Puzzles Gone Wrong and Assassin AU. He gets worse but then he gets better. Then there's a version where he gets worse again and weird buggified.

Clive Triton AU: (belongs to me and snekatiemainy) what if clark adopted clive. Send post

The BEHUH??? AU: (belongs to me and snekatiemainy) ???? goddamnit timeclive what did you DO (BEHUH??? stands for Butterfly Effect HUH???) (two guys chilling in the river 5 feet apart because get pitted idiot)

CSAU: (belongs to me and snekatiemainy) clive is adopted by descole. I encourage you all to ask us what CSAU stands for several times.

Little Hershel and the Curious Playground: what if it was all elaborate playground roleplay, and targent is a group of school bullies? (some ideas come from conversations with friends on discord)

Commander Cardinal AU: mackintosh takes over targent while layton & friends are busy procrastinating on getting the last egg back by going puzzle searching

Apprentice Nils AU: (belongs to me and snekatiemainy) that random miracle mask npc's parents died so layton yoinks him

Randall Possession AU: (belongs to snekatiemainy) what if he became a ghost and hung out with his best friend Layton forever now

Layton Object AU: based on those silly object show things. They're living objects with limbs and faces etc etc and the only real changes in this au right now is just names, designs, and minor things that come with those design changes. i make this kind of au for almost anything i touch loll

Vampire Layton AU: what it says on the tin. One of my earliest tagged AUs. It didn't really go anywhere but it's fun to think about sometimes. Based on a joke we made while playing Diabolical Box.

[postgamecontent]

A Taito Arcade Archives Sale Starts Today

I'm not going to do news on this site as a general rule, but if I see something cool that my readers might appreciate, I'll go ahead and post it. So... here's something! Starting later today and running through September 25th, a selection of ten Arcade Archives Taito games will be on sale for 30% off on both the Nintendo Switch eShop and the PlayStation Store for PlayStation 4. That makes them $5.59 instead of the usual $7.99, which is not a huge discount but might be enough to win you over. Arcade Archives rarely go on sale twice, so if any of these look interesting to you, the time is now. Or soon, I suppose. Here are the included games:

New Zealand Story (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

The popular platformer that seems to have really caught on in Europe via a variety of home computer ports. You might know it under its alternate title of Kiwi Kraze. It's rock-hard, but the cute visuals and variety of stage gimmicks make it worth a playthrough.

Metal Black (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

A very enjoyable and slightly bonkers horizontal shoot 'em up whose main claim to fame is its giant laser duals that inspired the usage of a similar mechanic in later Darius games. If you like shooters, this one is quite a bit of fun. Good for fans of the score attack and timed Caravan modes in particular.

Bonze Adventure

A decent little platformer with an interesting theme. As you would expect from a Taito platformer of this vintage, it's tough as old boots. Some might know it from its PC Engine release under its Japanese title, Jigoku Meguri. I think it's good, but if you don't like platformers with stiff movements you might find it frustrating. Not featured on either Taito Milestones collection so far, and not on the list for the third set either.

Don Doko Don

One thing you can hand to Taito is that it knew how to put together a good elimination platformer. That's the genre label I'm going with. But you know, Bubble Bobble-likes. Don Doko Don is a pretty good one, even if it doesn't have quite as much personality as some of Taito's other games in the genre. Not included in either of the currently-released Taito Milestones collections, and also not on the upcoming third one.

Alpine Ski (Also Seen in Taito Milestones)

Phew, this one is an oldie. As you would guess from the title, you control a skier as they make their way through a course. Go through the flags to earn points, and watch out for trees. Not a bad score chaser, really. You have to have some appreciation for games of this vintage to get the most out of it, though.

Ben Bero Beh (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

This is a quirky one, to be sure. You play as a hero trying to rescue his girlfriend from a burning building. Put out fires, jump over collapsed floors, and watch out for the enemies that are for whatever reason trying to hassle you. If you're looking for something unique, this is it.

The Fairyland Story (Also Seen In Taito Milestones)

Another elimination platformer, this time with you playing as a witch who can turn enemies into cakes. Frightening stuff. You can even drop those cakes on other enemies to smoosh them. A little lacking in frills, but here be plenty of thrills. I just thought of that one on the fly.

Liquid Kids (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

You might know this as Mizubaku Adventure. You play as a hippopotamus named Hipopo and are on a quest to rescue your precious friends from monsters. Your main weapon on this journey is a supply of water bombs. A colorful and enjoyable side-scrolling platformer, and I give it a very high recommendation.

Gun & Frontier (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

A vertically scrolling shoot em up from the same team that made Metal Black and Dinorex. Imagine a world where everything is guns. That is Gun & Frontier. A very imaginative setting and some slick action makes this a solid choice for fans of the genre. Another good one for those who want to try their hand at score attack or the timed Caravan mode.

Dinorex (Also Seen In Taito Milestones 2)

Dinorex is an absolute trash fire of a fighting game starring dinosaurs, and I love it. It is completely ridiculous and it's almost worth playing just to see all of the goofy things going on with it. It also features a story link to Rastan, so if you're a fan of that and want to know the complete lore, you have no choice but to buy and play Dinorex.

And there you have it, friends. Many of these are in the Taito Milestones collections, and that might be a more economical way to go. Do note that the Milestones versions don't always have the full set of features seen in the stand-alone Arcade Archives releases, though. It might be worth the double-dip for your favorites.

[daisychainsandbowties]

Ooh an ask game! Then, I want to know #1 and #7, we'll throw in #20 so we get a pretty gif, also #2 is a pair so we can't leave that out. And finally, am curious on #17 and #6 to really get expansive words. ^^ Tell us all the juicy pretty Dragon Age things you're rolling about~

thank you so much for asking me these 🥺

1. What was the first dragon age game you played?

i got origins for my ps3 way back in high school. the first time i played it i remember i started as a mage and spammed walking bomb and spent twenty minutes on the first darkspawn boss because he killed everyone and it was just me running in circles occasionally casting a spell on him. very reminiscent of the Arishok fight🫠🫠 i tried very hard to romance Morrigan but i kept making her hate me instead😭 so i went with leliana, HOWEVER my weird eventually friends thing with morrigan inspired the ot3 ship that still haunts me to this day (warden/morrigan/leliana is 🥰🙏😳❤️🥹)

2. Which dragon age game is your favourite so far?

that’s an incredibly difficult question. i think overall in terms of how it made me feel and how much i like the gameplay loop and the environments it’s definitely Inquisition 🥺 a fic of that game kept me alive for a few really really shaky weeks a few years ago (i told myself sternly that i could only read a chapter a night, so i had to get through all the nights until the end of this 550k fic, and then the ending was the epitome of hopepunk and it made me sort of forget about being shaky). so yeah, definitely Inquisition. but i adore all the games😌. i had a lot of fun with da2 but it isn’t as good for my brain to replay over and over (<- guy who actually loves 100%ing the Hinterlands in every playthrough)

6. Do you have your Rook(s) planned out to any degree? If so, would you share some details or ideas you have?

ít’s really hard for me to rotate things in abstract like that. i know there’s lots of information but i don’t want to read it or know it before i play the game. i will most likely play as a mage? unless they make that unpleasant somehow 🥺 (i hope not) but beyond that i can’t make myself interested in planning out a character who doesn’t live anywhere (yet). it’s the same with my own fiction writing. i have to understand the world a little before i can create any characters of any substance. i’m really excited to do my first playthrough though! i know that whoever my Rook is, they will love the griffin baby 🥰

7. Which character from the previous games or other media are you most hoping will make an appearance in DAV?

it would be extremely good to see Fenris again, or Merrill. i don’t really trust Bioware with Anders, so i hope he stays with whatever peace he found after kirkwall. i liked seeing morrigan and leliana again so some da2 characters would be neat! oh!!!! isabela would make sense in this because ship captain 😳 i would love to see her again 🥺

17. Are you interested in all the lore and speculation or do you focus more on the games and stories themselves?

oh i LOVE the dragon age lore. i recently got the dragon age TTRPG core book mostly because it has so much lore in it 😳 i find dragon age lore especially compelling, particularly the grey wardens and the blight and how magic and the veil works. my favourite fics are always the lore heavy ones that engage with the themes dragon age tries (and sometimes manages) to engage with.

the speculation is also fun because dragon age fans adore pain and misery and usually conjure up the worst possible way things could go. and that’s great 🥰

20. Post a picture or gif that conveys your current level of excitement for Dragon Age: The Veilguard!

[andreaphobia]

9 people you'd like to get to know better!

tagged by @meibemeibelline !! sorry im gonna be a boomer and write a lot, hope that's ok lmao

three ships : fresh new brainrot: tim and hawk (fellow travelers) had brain worms for years: joker and akechi (persona 5) in perpetuity: yamamoto and hibari (katekyo hitman reborn)

first ship : I had to really think about this one. It's hard to say because when I was growing up, it was illegal to depict homosexual themes or content in the media. It actually still kind of is that way, although they've relaxed their standards for censorship a little. After racking my brains, I think I want to say it was......Yuki and Shuichi from Gravitation??? If not that, then Sirius and Remus from Harry Potter. One of those two. Also, after talking to my bestie about this one I remembered "ship" also encompasses het lmao. In that case it would be Buttercup and Butch from the Powerpuff Girls because that's the first fanfic I ever wrote xd

last song : Feels Alright by Spoon. Recently for black friday I didn't want to wait for something to be shipped to me so I drove 4 hours round trip over to a best buy warehouse in the central valley to pick it up, and I probably listened to this song for two hours straight on the way. This song is from their newest album, and I love that they haven't drastically changed their sound, only polished it -- they still have the same grungy Austin rock and roll feel that I fell in love with in high school.

last film : I'll skip over opining on the real answer for this bc it was despicable me and I didn't like it much lol. But before that, I embarked on a journey with some friends to watch every single Jurassic Park movie, and I'm proud to say that we succeeded. No one asked but here is my ranking: 1. Jurassic Park (original) 2. Jurassic World 3. Jurassic Park III 4. Jurassic World: Dominion 5. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 6. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

currently reading : Embarrassed to say that I'm not in the middle of reading anything right now, there's a couple of books I've been meaning to get around to (captive prince xd) that I just need to work up the motivation for. But I am thinking about reading the book that Fellow Travelers was inspired by because lol brainrot

currently consuming : "honeycomb banana milk" that I got from a boba place yesterday. In terms of media, I'm crying screaming about Fellow Travelers every day. I recently finished a playthrough of Baldur's Gate and I just started Persona 5 Tactica.

currently craving : Nothing in particular, although every day I wish that I could play Outer Wilds for the first time again.

tagging friends old n new, but no pressure!! @whitnerd @lobotomizes @exampleofinconsistency @yuki119 @somanyjacks @benicemurphy @mastershearts @aquathunder @sxnnoh

[wolgerrswraith]

Writerly Questionaire

Tagged by @winglesswriter for this writer questionnaire. I'll do my best to answer them!

About Me

When did you first start writing ?

Probably around 9 or 10. Terrible little stories I did in stapled together pages that have been lost to time. I tried to write "seriously" in my late teens. A lot of that is also lost, but what got kept shows some promise.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

No, not really. I'm big into YA/fantasy these days, so a lot of what I write falls into the fantasy or YA genre as well. Not everything, but a lot of it.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

I consider Holly Black, Madeleine Roux, and Stephen King my biggest inspirations, but I don't try to copy them. I wouldn't compare my work to them, either, but I'd like to think a little Holly Black gets into my writing sometimes.

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (Room, coffee shop, desk, etc.)

Nothing too special, unfortunately. Just my usual desk with my pc. I need to dust it, probably.

What's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

It happens at random sometimes. I'll have an idea, and the story comes into being from it. My novella was inspired by a DVD cover, for example. (Not the film itself, though, just the art.) Other times an idea sticks in my mind from a book or film, and I work it into something original. An entire story I wrote once was based off a single moment in Crimson Peak, for example.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Absolutely not.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Broken homes, unflattering parental figures, and found families keep cropping up. I'd say it's surprising, but at this point I just accept it as the way my writing goes.

My Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character?

I like all my characters, but my favorite is always my elf guy, Lestrain. I need to actually put him into stories more often, but I default to him in games if I need to make an avatar, and currently the most chaotic Sims playthrough to ever exist stars him.

Which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

Wolgerr (who is sometimes human), and Jonah (usually human). They're both down to earth, modern types who don't judge a lot and try to get along with people.

Which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Scarlett, mostly because I made her the biggest bitch to ever live (for story reasons!). She'd pick too many fights for me to ever like her.

Tell me about the process of coming up with of one, all, or any of your characters.

Honestly? Accidents. Almost all of them. A prime example is Lestrain, which came from a rewatch of Interview With the Vampire. Lestat somehow morphed into a disgraced prince, who then morphed into a man who loved too freely and got banished off the throne for it. The elf bit was for fun. And the amazing hair.

Do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

A lot of bisexuals. And sassy assholes. Wouldn't know why that keeps happening!

How do you picture them? (As real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc

Cliche as it is, all my main characters have actor "face claims" to help me visualize. I'm at the point I see the claims when writing my characters, so I guess it worked.

My Writing

What's your reason for writing?

Mental health. Life is hard, sometimes I need to write about pretty elf people fucking up the patriarchy.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

I don't get as many comments as I'd like (it's too hard for someone to post feedback apparently) but I'm always glad to see my stories are interesting, and even funny (when they're supposed to be).

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (For example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who "gets" the human condition; as a talented worldbuilder, as a role model, etc.)

I'd like to think people read my work and think "Wow! This guy is super nuts and this plot is ridiculous! I must finish it!"

But seriously, I'd just like someone to think the story is good enough to finish reading.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I think my dialogue comes across well. Banter, jokes, gentle jabs between friends. (Not pillow talk, though... don't ask!)

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Dialogue and weirdness. Combining elements that don't feel like they'd work but somehow do, with people who can banter with the best of them.

How do you feel about your own writing? (Answer in whatever way you interpret this question.)

That it's awful, and everything I write is trash can worthy. Because  intrusive thoughts are real, and hard to ignore.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Probably. Someone would have to.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? If it's a mix of the two, which holds the most influence?

I attempt to put a little thought into what other people might want to read, but I'm also writing a novella with samurai teaming with elves to fight dragons because I like those things. And because no one can stop me.

Tagging @aintgonnatakethis @fortunatetragedy

[mrxcreepypastamadness]

Here she is, my official WIP for VirusVirdem (VV).

VirusVirdem

Inspired by:

Death Race Vanellope (created by Bleedman)

Appearances:

• s-vanellope-6 (Creepypasta)

• VirusVirdem One Shot

• Racer's Playlist (Friday Night Funkin')

Aliases: VV

Species: Entity

Gender: Female

Best Friends: REBOOTED XXX

Victims: Lauren

Height: 5'1

Eye Color: White encircled by red

Debut: s-vanellope-6 (Creepypasta)

Overview:

VirusVirdem's design is based off of the death race outfit, with the exception of a blue denim mini skirt along with grey striped leggings with lower saturation to it meaning the colors may have darkened a bit. Originally she has no symbols on her shirt, but VirusVirdem does as it is a japanese Kanji for "Night", however, the meaning of it has not yet been elaborated on.

Biography:

It is unknown for how long VirusVirdem has been around, or where she exactly originates from. She used to reside within a prototype copy of Slaughter Race (known as Death Race); in which was delivered to Lauren's residence.

It didn't take too long until things began to feel off during Lauren's first playthrough. After beating Sweet Treat, the game seemed to gain consciousness, displaying ominous texts where they shouldn't be, causing huge amounts of bugs and lags, and eventually bricking the game disc, much to the protagonist's dismay, taking it to the video game store to how much it costs.

Later on, they decide to play Sugar Rush Galaxy on their Nintendo Switch as an attempt to forget about the busted game, however it completely backfired, as the entity within that disc had already infiltrated the console, making the red Sugar Luna in the game say something very out of line. After crashing the system, VV supposedly turned off the home security system just as soon as Lauren tried unplugging all their electronics, in attempt of preventing her from possibly causing malwares and viruses and damaging them as well.

Upon receiving a call from the home security company, Lauren tried to explain what went on, but is suddenly interrupted by the sound of static, alongside a deep and spunky feminine voice telling Lauren she'll always watching them, which causes them to be on the verge of breaking down, and drive over to stay the night at their friends house, Thomasina, eventually staying here for the time being.

As if right now, it is unknown where VirusVirdem currently resides, as the video game disc had been defensively destroyed by Lauren, and their TKES (TobiKomi Entertainment System) and Switch kept in a box for purposes of sentimental value.

Trivia:

• Just like Kilobyte, VirusVirdem chooses to make her vessel look like it's rotting, but can choose to make herself more closely resemble Vanellope's actual appearance.

• VirusVirdem is actually an inspiration of Death Race Vanellope in general, while she's based off the current EXE; Lord X, and the currently known entity in the House of Horrorbrews, KiloByte.

• VirusVirdem is like KiloByte's twin sister due to same height, well depends if the "alpha twin" situation happened. She's basically the Mabel type of personality, while KiloByte is the Dipper type of personality, though more powerful.

• VirusVirdem is actually far more mature than Super Horror Vanellope, even though she may be powerful than her and an additional story for Sugar Rush Madness, she "might" be a slave to Horror Vanellope.

• VirusVirdem hangs out with GV and JB-BX for a game of bingo, although GB and MX may not understand KiloByte's game, well, at least not yet, these independent women VirusVirdem, GV and JB-BX can understand bingo better than GB and MX.

• VirusVirdem and Empress V are the only two that could be sonic derivative-related EXEs according to the Wreck-It-Ralph Horrorbrews. While Empress V covers Tyrant (D'Lordess Sugar Rush Mix), VirusVirdem covers Danger Awareness (Cosmic Awareness Sugar Rush Mix)

• Sweet Treat is a female varient of Sweet Tooth from Twisted Metal as she made her appearance from Death Race (The prototype version of Slaughter Race video game.) as the final boss of the game.

• Lauren is a transgender, as hinted by the pin at the top of his/her shirt.

• Thomasina Miller is the genderbend version of Tom from the original Sonic.EXE story and twin sister to Tom.

• Thomasina is more of a Sonic fan of a girl, unlike Lauren, due to those kind of fast-pased games giving them motion sickness.

Reference Art:

Death Race Vanellope

The Death Race outfit Vanellope wears from Death Race, which is what VV's design is based off of.

Created by: bleedman