#might make another post about this in the future about the “miss you” code

[moon-light-bow]

Can we please talk about how petty Fiddleford actually is?? Like, this man left that picture on his desk like that ON PURPOSE for Ford LMAO.

He RIPPED IN HALF the photo of the day they met. People usually cut out the person that they no longer talk to from a photo so that they can keep their part to themselves. But, of course, Fiddleford wanted to forget EVERYTHING related to Ford, so, at first glance, it's reasonable that he left it on his desk.

However, if he was gonna get rid of the picture either way to forget everything, wouldn't it be easier to destroy it?? Like, burn it, or rip it to shreds so that you can barely see the original picture??? Nah, I believe this man PURPOSEFULLY left that photo there for Ford to find and realize the damage that he had done.

AND LET'S NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT THE 5 FAILED PROTOTYPES FOR THE 6 FINGERED-GLOVES THAT WERE ALSO LEFT ON HIS DESK.... He is SO PETTY.

[nightisawkward]

"Another challenger… it has been ages. Perhaps you have forgotten how this game is played. Allow me to remind you."

Happy halloween fellas!!! Hermitcraft/Life SMP inscryption AU ft. Boatem gang I cooked up awhile ago but never got around to posting B-) Wild life smp has reminded me how mentally ill I am about putting these Guys in Situations so here I am

Mild to major inscryption spoilers under the cut!

For those familiar with the game, the general roles are:

Luke Carter - "Challenger"/Grian

In this AU Grian is still a trading card-based youtuber who's recording all this nonsense going down real time as in canon, but has closer ties to the GameFuna company equivalent, named "WatcherCorp". His old college roommate/best mate Jimmy went to work for them, but mysteriously passed away in a fire at their headquarters. He found the Inscryption cards in Jimmy's leftover personal belongings a few years after his death, and decided that the best way to honor him would be to make a video featuring the project he put his heart and soul into... in more ways than one.

Key difference from canon Inscryption: Grian's mind is sucked into the game of Inscryption whenever he is playing. He is able to enter and leave the game at will, but he doesn't realize this until he first dies to Leshy/Pearl and ejects himself unconsciously out of fear of dying. The only reason he realizes he isn't hallucinating is because his camcorder footage proves he actually enters the game. He obtains the "Watcher's Eye" during Act 1, which he keeps for all future acts and allows him to see things he shouldn't see as a Challenger.

P03 - "Scarred Stoat"/Scar

Despite being the one who convinces Grian and the other Scrybes to stand up against Pearl, no one seems eager to spend any more time with the conniving conman than absolutely necessary. This may have something to do with Scar's history of backstabbing and cheating both Scybes and Challengers whenever it benefits him most. Which makes it rather unfortunate that Grian is must spend time with Scar in order to gather as much information as possible.

In the beginning, Scar and Grian do not get along in the slightest. Grian finds Scar's attitude too "fake", while Scar finds Grian's "cowardice" to be irritating. At some point, the two go from passive-aggressive fighting, to a grudging truce, to more friendly, lighthearted banter. Neither person seems to trust the other, but it doesn't seem to stop the two from being ✨saddled with unnecessary feelings✨. Scar's Act 3 world is much like Leshy's Act 1 world, with much more emphasis put on environmental storytelling and general Vibes than actual gameplay. Even if his game is a smokescreen for his true goal of Ascension, he feels strangely obligated to give Grian his best shot.

Scar in his proper Scrybe form appears more steampunk than canon P03. Think of a Grumbot with Scar's boatem base aesthetic and tons of missing nuts and bolts. P03's bastardous tendencies+ Scar's steampunk base made this role perfect for him.

Magnificus - "Horned Wolf"/Impulse

Impulse is a talented artist and an even more talented programmer. His future sight stems from his literal sight: His eyes are able to see read the code veil behind Inscryption, allowing him to predict likely futures based on what code is running. He often laments his status as an NPC, claiming that if he were given administrative privileges and the actual ability to modify source code he would have been able to escape Inscryption long ago.

He is rather absent in Act 2, focusing on finishing his "artwork" as soon as possible. He uses his brush to create a menagerie magical creatures with strange abilities in hopes that using one in battle might trigger a unfixable bug, allowing him to rip a hole through the source code. It is unclear whether he was able to accomplish his goal before Act 3 roles around, but it seems like Scar's method of Ascension seems awfully similar to Impulse's... perhaps a sneaky spy was able to steal Impulse's information?

As a proper Scrybe, he resembles a walking mop or a yak with overgrown fur. Most of his features are indistinguishable, save for his small horns and his glowing goat eyes.

Lemora - "Distinguished Stinkbug"/Mumbo

Mumbo is by far the most easygoing Scrybe in the cast. While he would greatly prefer an eternal slumber over yet another temporary ceasefire amongst the Scrybes, he is willing to work with the others in Act 1 simply because he finds his stinkbug form too uncomfortable to sleep in. Mumbo's goal is simple: to delete the game of Inscryption, and therefore himself, and finally rest. However, finds the constant power struggles in the world of Inscryption rather tiring and simply can't be bothered to make a grab for power himself to achieve this goal. This hasn't stopped him from asking Grian to destroy floppy disk of Inscryption. Unfortunately for him, the temptation of the o̷l̵d̷ ̶d̸a̶t̷ [REDACTED] mysteries within Inscryption are simply too powerful for Grian to resist.

As a proper Scrybe, he looks almost exactly like Mumbo's minecraft skin: A pale, mustached man with blood red eyes who resembles a vampire. Mumbo denies all vampire allegations. While he is the most "normal" looking Scrybe, Grian would still hesitate to call him "human" ...there's just something slightly off about his appearance that sets him on edge.

Leshy - "Game Master"/Pearl

Pearl is an unforgiving gamemaster that puts more emphasis on providing the player a challenge than her canon counterpart. After her self-proclaimed "tutorial", there is no more handholding and she gives Grian an absolute hellish time. Grian is only able to get a slight edge when he discovers all of the Scrybes, who provide him with stategy help to even the playing field. It is unclear whether Pearl actually enjoys running her Act 1 game or not: she seems to derive an animalistic pleasure from defeating Grian, but there are times where she seems tired and fed up with the endless gameplay loop and intentionally throws during key fights. She switches between manic and depressed at the drop of a hat.

During Act 2, she barely even tries to give Grian a challenge, allowing him to progress straight to her boss fight without any side quests to "get it over with quicker". She seems to hold a deep grudge against Scar for some reason, which is the only thing that motivates her to take action to stop him during Act 3.

Mysteriously, Grian finds a burned and unusable Unicorn card within her Act 1 cabin. Upon discovery, Scar immediately suggests that Grian leave it where he found it. Some things are best left forgotten, after all...

[drconstellation]

The Newton/Crowley Mirror-Parallel in S1

Future Echoes from the Past #2

Let me take a moment to try and explain the process of how I approach meta writing. I’m not new to this. I might be new to this fandom, but I’ve been writing metas for twenty years in other fandoms. I’m an old hand at this, and I learnt how to do it with some pretty critical masters of the game. I’ve been wrestling with this meta for several days, which never a good sign. I thought I was on the right track here but got to a point where I was trying to make my biased square blocks fit into the round holes I was expecting to see, and they weren’t, and thought, nope, it’s time to back off and see what is there instead. When things don’t fall and click into place, when you can’t see the next connection easily, when it becomes too convoluted - and actually, I think some of the story is missing in the crucial places - that's a dead end for the time being, so the meta I was expecting (and hoping) to see didn’t emerge. But there is still something there to be revealed, and it was from a bit that I didn't think had much importance.

A few days ago I posted a meta about how the paintball fight at Tadfield Manor was a loose re-creation of the Great War in Heaven that lead to the formation of Heaven and Hell. It was more a description of events and the two sides, and I didn’t assign any of the S1 characters to the celestial characters that we would have expected to be involved with the rebellion. For example, the manager Nigel strikes me as standing in for Gabriel, and jaded old Norman, who is on the verge of retirement, and who organized the “team building exercise” is most likely to be Lucifer  - he is the leader of the Yellow team, who are quite unhappy and full of complaints about the others in the office. But other than those two, the other bit players amongst our regular cast were missing, or unclear. And this was a problem, a BIG problem, because while there hints to who was Crowley, the match to Aziraphale was nowhere to be seen, and he should be there. So, let’s leave that for the time being, and move on.

In the middle of all this is Newton Pulsifer. He oddly arrives in the office, destroys the electrical system, then leaves before the war begins. And there is an even odder follow-up exchange in the car park of the office as he departs. I had to ask why - why add this in?

[It should be noted, at this point in the discussion, that while the paintball fight was written in the original book, the office scene that is the prelude to the fight, and the scenes with Newt that I’m about to discuss, weren’t. They are from the tv series only.]

I have been building up a library of notes and screenshots to help me with my metas, and Newt and Anathema have been on my radar. I came across this screen shot of Newt lying on Anathema’s bed after his accident in Tadfield and went “Huh, he looks very Crowley-coded there with this black/grey clothes and yellow and red socks. That’s not the line I of thought I had been following..”

I kept going and then @ennas-aesthetic posted this meta about Jesus in S3 and mentioned that Anathema was an Aziraphale parallel, so that would make Newt a corresponding Crowley parallel – which would explain the screen shot mentioned. Then the final pieces for this meta were these two posts, one from @mouseonamoose about their thoughts on angel!Crowley and one from @cornchrunchie on part of the exchange between Aziraphale and angel!Crowley in Before the Beginning, at the start of S2E1. I’d already had a thought about another set of lines in this part that formed a parallel to Newt, but getting a second set of lines to tie it in to this S1E2 segment was a bonus, I must say.

So where am I going with all this rambling? Right. Let’s get down to business.

Hopefully by now I’ve established that one of Newt’s roles in the office scene that sets up the rebellion is to be not just a parallel to Crowley, but a mirror – he’s kind of the opposite, in a way. It’s like they are on opposite sides of the looking glass.

At the beginning of S2E1 we are shown angel!Crowley, the Starmaker – the Engineer. And what is Newt supposed to be? A computer engineer. Only, angel!Crowley engineers light, while Newt engineers darkness. Everywhere Newt goes, he turns out the lights. Which is why when he runs into Shadwell shortly after and is given the newspaper advert that declares “ASSISTANT REQUIRED TO COMBAT THE FORCES OF DARKNESS” if he joins the Witchfinder Army that I was cackling at the irony of this. Perhaps we’d better not get sidetracked with that though.

There’s a critical point here that I’d like to highlight that I noticed, and how I made the link, because it may have implications in the future, maybe in S3. In Before the Beginning, Crowley sets everything up to get the nebula started, then there is a slight pause.

Az: …is something meant to happen? Cr: Oh, right, sorry, yes yes. Knew I'd missed one. Let there be light.

It struck me that Newt’s efforts in making anything with electricity, the modern source of light, don’t work because he doesn’t check that he’s got everything right. He blacks out his neighborhood as a child without checking the circuits, he shuts down the entire office without checking his work.

Why would you need both light and dark? You can't really have one without the other. It's the yin and yang. Its balance. To see the light you need darkness. And to see shadows you need light.

So we get a short scene of Newt heading off to office, with his Almighty mother handing out some lunch rations, and wishing him luck. Hmm. He’s holding a box that contains, amongst various things, a pot plant (a bromeliad) with a deep red flower, for all love. Ngggkgk.

At the office, Newt is given the cold shoulder by the senior co-worker opposite him (I call her “Pearls,” because I don’t have the S1 script book and I’m not sure what she’s called.) She asks his name, but never offers hers. Sounds familiar, where have we seen that before…?

Az: Um, hello. I'm Aziraphale. Cr: Nice meeting you. Okay, here goes!

@mouseonamoose mentions that angel!Crowley wouldn't feel the need to mention his name if he was a high ranking angel here, he would expect other angels to know who he was. [op adds another item to their list of pointers to angel!Crowley being a senior Archangel...it's up to 18, btw. Yes, I know its only fanon at the moment...] Just like the Supreme Archangel "fucking" Gabriel hasn't got time for a bit of social chit-chat before Aziraphale!Crowley is supposed to be executed in the hellfire in S1E6. Just get on it with it, pleb! We've got better things to do with our time!

Outside, we see Newt has been given his marching orders. He's leaving already. A sharply dressed woman in a masculine-cut suit approaches quickly. I don't know about you, but she looks like a demon to me. Black suit, red hair, pink (which is a tint of red) shirt - she's a copy of Crowley. This is another Crowley-copy about to give some internal criticism to a Crowley-mirror.

"Need a hand, Dick?"

Then she power-walks past. Newt is not even worth her time stopping for.

*Snort* - and ouch. That's a below-the belt joke.

She's just called him a wanker. In the US you might use the term jerk instead. Someone who's a bit egotistical and more in it for themselves than others. (and I never thought I'd be fact-checking the meaning of this word ever, but there's always a first time...) She's basically just equated him Gabriel, in my book (and in more ways than one.)

That doesn't sound like the Crowley we know, does it? Maybe, maybe not - but it does reveal to us a world of information about what the other demons think about Crowley, and more importantly perhaps it gives a hint of what he was like pre-Fall and why he was cast out as a sacrifice for the team, a scapegoat and example for the losing faction, in addition to the asking of questions reason.

It's quite notable that Crowley doesn't have any other demon friends or allies, even after 6000 years. Plus, he seems to have gotten special treatment during that time. Furfur complains about this in the dressing room in 1941, remarking :

"No, what's ridiculous is demons like you doing what they please. And somehow still getting on, while demons like me graft for hundreds and hundreds of millennia and never get a sniff of a promotion! Well, not this time. Expect a Legion to come for you first thing tomorrow. Enjoy your last night on Earth."

Hastur calls him "Mr Slick," and thinks he's been up on the surface of the Earth too long. And you kind of get the idea that Lord Beelzebub is holding back their hand somewhat in their conversation in S2E1 when they summon Crowley down to Hell for a little chat about the missing Gabriel.

CROWLEY: [waving flies away] Augh. Oh, I thought we had a [spits out flies] generalized understanding. BEELZEBUB: We don't. You're still a traitor. I could put a price on your head any time I wanted to.

But they haven't put a price on Crowley's head. And they don't intend to. Crowley is still being given the special treatment. Also in that particular conversation is a hint that he was once on a similar footing to Beelzebub, and Beelzebub was also a high ranking angel before the Fall - they aren't Grand Duke of Hell and Satan's right-hand demon for no reason.

Its ever-so subtle, but its there. Those traces of privilege we were pointing out that Gabriel and Beelzebub flaunt when they abscond? Once upon a time Crowley had them too. But the passing millennia has slowly worn them away until we can barely see the traces of it. Although, it still shows up occasionally.

We should finish off the scene back in S1E2 with Newt, though, because he does show us s little bit more of our mirror-Crowley in the car park scene. As the demon-lady walks past him he calls after her:

"My name's not actually Dick, it’s the car's name. You can ask me why if you like."

Aww. Poor Newt. While Crowley was stopped from asking questions, and cast from Heaven because he wanted to ask questions, his mirror-character Newt is offering to answer questions for other people. It's just that they aren't interested in doing that either. Either way, the conversation stops, doesn't it.

To finish off, I'm going to leave you with this. I know, its about Newt not being a computer engineer, but since we've been discussing how Newt is a mirror-parallel to Crowley, perhaps it's something we need to tuck away in the back of our minds for S3 as well, when the past comes back to haunt us.

Further reading in this series:

#1: The Great War of Tadfield Manor

#3: "Not Even At Gunpoint!"

[highlordofkrypton]

Writing - Drafting Process

Clearly, I am avoiding actually writing by talking about writing. I was thinking about the drafting process today, and maybe this can help someone! For me, this process applies specifically to long stories to which I already know the conclusion, not my oneshots or update-as-I-go fics.

Honestly, I only found out that I write this way after my first fanfic. It's something that I do naturally, but with all the fun writing discussions I got to participate in lately, it was a fun exercise to actually break down what I do. It might sound daunting, but I promise that it's not as formal as you think!

I'm absolute a ✨vibes✨ writer, the drafting process is mostly for consistency and making sure I get to the end!

There are many ways to write, so for those who might still be looking for their process or those looking for something new, hopefully this can inspire you.

DRAFT 0: OUTLINE

For larger stories, I always get a surge of inspiration. I usually create a DUMP document where I dump all my ideas. At the very top of the document, I create an outline with the major story segments and then whenever I think of a scene, I add into that outline.

For example, my outline for my ACOTAR Prequel was created in chronological order, but also by location.

I would also start by adding:

The scenes that come to mind and I have muse to write

The necessary scenes that are either fundamental to character development or plot development

The transitional scenes

So, in that order, I can get a pretty decent idea of what I need to get done.

I also always make character sheets when I write. Not in a formal way, but just a page where I dump anything that I wrote in the story so I remember word for word what I said. That or I'll color code highlight, but a character dump is easier.

It's absolute chaos, but I prefer ideas to be as raw as possible. I'm an emotional writer, so I want to be reminded of it the way it came to me.

DRAFT 1: SKELETON /JUST WRITE

The writing starts here for me. The goal is to just write. Don't think, don't question, just write and depending on what medium you're using, drop a comment with notes for your future self to come back to. Sometimes, I'll even add a line between sections that I don't want to write to say "COME BACK AND INSERT TRANSITIONAL SCENE", highlight it or mark it in red.

More often than not, I'll start by writing out the scenes that appear in my mind vividly. For example, in Wildflowers, the first scene I ever wrote was actually Chapter 4. I knew that I wanted to write out Hybern Castle and if you read the scene completely, it was barely edited because it came to me so strongly.

Then, once I've finished writing the "muse driven" scenes, I start writing by importance.

Do not worry about about fleshing out the story. That will come later.

If I'm struggling with finishing, then I usually tag in a beta reader who's job at this point is to answer one question and one question only: "Is this good?" I think a more accurate phrasing would be -- Am I on the right track for this story? I'll do another post for how I work with my beta.

DRAFT 2: FLESH OUT THE STORY

At this point, I only focus on the story and character development. Don't worry about the little details. For long stories, I might choose to print the story out because it helps refresh and reset my brain. It's also easier to read/annotate hundreds of pages this way.

Read through your story once.

Add notes to where you feel the story needs to flow better, either add transitional scenes, or something that need to add or hinder to your character.

Write out the scenes.

Bring in the beta and ask: "Story-wise, is there anything missing? Is there anything about the character that needs to be clarified?"

For example, a question that came up for Wildflowers is why would Tamlin be different from his abusive father and his siblings? He wasn't. Not at the beginning. He would have been raised to look down on humans, so in the second draft, I went back and thought of scenes that would help inform his choice to empathize with humans.

DRAFT 3: SELECTIVE READ / EDITING

Calling this draft 3 is tentative because you may choose to do multiple drafts of this section. Once I've gotten most of the story down, I will pick one element that I want to focus on editing. I will do a read through and annotate what needs to be fixed for each "element".

For example, I might want to check the consistency of the character physical descriptions, so I will read once focusing ONLY on pieces of writing that contain that. Then, maybe I wanna go back and make sure Rhysand's voice is sassy enough. Another read through focusing ONLY on his dialogue.

I find this method is really great because it allows you to work on that specific element rather than getting overwhelmed with everything to fix.

These are what I usually read through if you're looking for ideas:

Character descriptions

Lore elements

Dialogue

Smut

Show vs. Tell

Tense (past vs. present)

Relationship depth (especially for side characters)

One would think this is where I would add foreshadowing but I'm not that organized of a writer. Again, I just go with the ✨vibes✨ and it usually works out.

DRAFT 4: FINAL EDIT

I call this the final edit because I will probably write forever if you let me. In this draft, I focus on proofreading, grammar, sentence structure and clarity of the writing itself.

Yes, there are typos that usually escape and haunt you forever especially if you're a binder like me.

I also get my beta to help me with this as a second set of eyes, especially to give me feedback on stylistic choices.

I don't know if this helped anyone, but this was fun to write! I like doing guides and thinking about stuff, so yeah, this is usually my process. It takes about 2-3 months if I'm locked and loaded focus-wise.

Let me know if you have questions, I'm happy to help!

[ashleycodes]

COMMISSIONS - opening soon?

it has been a very, very long time since i've openly done commissions. i think i needed to take a little brain break. but lately i've been thinking about doing a commission here and there again, as i do miss it. would anyone be interested?

pricing and caveats/deal breakers would be as follows:

$250 - base price, which would include: - fully custom html templates for the skin itself - custom forum structure (up to 3 different styles per category. any more styles will be extra, price dependent on complexity and amount of boards) - member group color changes (for whole skin + member profiles) via variables for easy addition of groups in the future - separate member & staff (or ooc) main profile - light/dark button - webpage design (2 different styles) - footer webpage if desired (for affiliates, discord widget) - accessibility widget - set of general templates (general template, face claim template, member directory template, misc claims template, bbcode multi mod template, application or shipper template if needed, 1 simple bbcode, 2 post html templates, 1 communication template)

$60 - additional templates package, which would include: - 3 additional html posting templates - 1 additional bbcode posting template - a full set of development templates (image, moodboard, quote, playlist) - 2 additional communication templates - 2 social media templates + "reply" templates

any other templates would be discussed on an additional price basis ranging on $5-$10 per template not mentioned above. the reasoning behind this is that i just feel incredibly uninspired/not unique when i code templates so i try not to offer a bunch

$35 - graphics package, which would include: - a full header graphic that matches the skin - staff team graphics that match the skin - board graphics that match the skin - 1 advertisement for the site that matches the skin - placeholder graphics for "unsorted"/brand new accounts that match the skin

anything not mentioned above to be added can be discussed. there are some things i can/will do that i don't feel like take time to add in and therefore wouldn't cost money. so if you're unsure about a feature, i'd be open to discussing it before settling on a final price. i am mostly just trying to provide fixed prices so that you know exactly what you're getting.

the deal breaker in all of this might be that i will probably request a good portion of it up front or possibly the full price. this is touchy, i know, but having been ghosted on final payments after quick turn arounds i think is part of what finally broke me down and when i quit doing commissions. i am trying to offset this, however. i will code the skin directly into your site's board wrappers and css templates (so i will need ACP access). you will get to see the progress live and provide input as i go. i will provide you xml files once it's completed as well and will be available for 1 month post-completion for troubleshooting - though i have noticed by coding live into jcink, i find quite a few bugs on my own so hopefully the implementation process is smooth.

turn around time would be 1.5-2 months depending on the complexity of the skin, possibly longer but this will be discussed. if i give a turn around time, payments are made, and can't meet it, i will discuss a percentage of money back with you depending on the extra time needed.

anyway this is 100% NOT set in stone, i am just trying to gauge the interest based on my new terms/terms that would make me comfortable taking commissions again lmao. i'm not fully committing to this yet, and may very well not do this at all but it is on my mind so here we are.

in other news, i am still working on pushing out other old SH skins as multi-sale premades (none of which will ever be priced more than $30) and will likely create templates for my newest free skin, and maybe put out another more modern free skin but that just all depends on what the ADHD demands from me!!

[life-winners-liveblog]

Shortening my reviews as well, so hopefully it won't take as much time. LimL!Cleo's backstory is so sad. Did you come up with it? I don't remember that being part of her series but maybe I missed it? The loop recap is wonderful... though I somehow missed a few? I think? Marigold continuing to not beat the Fae allegations. *crosses fingers* please let LimL!Scott be a necromancer. please let LimL!Scott be a necromancer. please let LimL!Scott be a necromancer. My boy has so much emotional trauma and baggage. Also I feel WC!Scott fits more similarly to LimL!Scott than Chromia!Scott does. He doesn't actually care about himself winning, only making sure his allies get as far as possible and his teammate (*cough* partner *cough*) wins. The betrayal didn't matter to him because he wanted Martyn to kill him anyways because he couldn't lose another person he held so dear to his heart. He did everything he could. Even destroying himself and effectively killing himself to make himself stronger so he could bring Milo back. A certain vein of Self-Sacrificing that we also see a lot of in LimL!Scott. If it wasn't him to win Witchcraft he would have wanted it, and even pledged that if he didn't win he'd ensure Cleo's victory instead. Aka, his closest friend and ally. Someone who he knew he could trust, and who trusted him in return. A connection stronger than most dedicating their loyalty to each other. Because both knew what it was like to hate what they saw in their reflections. Hate what they've become. Yet embracing it for the hope of a better future. A loyalty that continues into the games. Aaaand I've made this longer than I was planning too... anyways! I totally forgot Jimshie existed.... and he now has Ren as another father, of course. Of course LimL!Cleo's fav song is Addams Family (fun fact that was the spring musical we did my senior year of hs) Oh that's Cleo's actual canon lore.... holy shit. Why have I not heard about that before? Bel caught up. Maybe there is hope for me *stares at 3 months worth of posts*... hopefully. RIP Grian's pottery, as someone who also works with clay, I feel that pain on a deep level. I see what Bel has done and I send him a bit more clay, as well as a mixer and clay powder so he can recycle the clay when needed. And a refill of any glazes he may need. Oh! And a wheel if he doesn't have one already, as well as a few needed tools like sponges, bats for the wheel, some ribs, etc. LimL!Cleo is so Toriel coded. We love Goat Mom. Oh also, (this might have been answered already and I haven't seen it yet) but what faction, if any are Gem and the Scotts part of? Also possible Scotpulse? Perhaps? Scott²? Idk i love those 2 together, also Impulse was the only one to not betray Scott during the Boogey Infection sooooo. Lmao Cub is scared of ducks. L oh... oh. oh Pearl. Red and light blue huh? I totally didn't start tearing up. I didn't do that. No way. And thats the end of the May review! I mean't to make these shorter and I don't think I succeeded.. oh well!

-Xas

Ooh reviews are back, loved these!

And yeah, I actually found out that Cleo used to have a Tumblr blog where she stated that as her backstory!

[animation-is-my-jam]

Hey ! I meant to send this a long time ago when you were taking asks, but I left for vacation so i never got to. I watched Wordgirl again recently and I have been obsessed with Becky and Tobey !! I saw that you have older versions of them and that's my favorite part of the Ship you made(I love domestic AUS)

Question||

How would you imagine a Becky and Tobey wedding? Who do you think they would invite? The best man? Maid of honor?

Where would they get married? Who would be crying the most? Lol (sorry if thats a lot of questions)

Ah, thank you, that's sweet!! (I live for post-canon Tobecky dynamics, too) And don't worry. Yeah, I'm incredibly busy now, but I'll still take asks. And this one is a very good one, Thanks!!

How would I imagine their wedding?

Besides some ideas of what they would wear/outfits (that I've drawn before, but I might redesign again, ha). I actually haven't given it much thought beyond some things I think would occur. And I'm mostly talking about my future AU versions of Tobecky and characters since that's literally my staple canon here, but that can generally apply to my perspective Tobecky since future au is literally just a time skip story.

So basic ideas. I think they would have two different areas for their wedding. One is inside for it being private with family and another outside for the public or general invited guest. I mostly say this because I think it was a compromise of Tobey and Becky wanting a more occasional smaller wedding versus their family urging for a bigger event. And also for Wordgirl/Lexiconian related reasons. As I think by this point, all her closest friends and family would know her identity and would probably like some Lexiconian traditions applied to the marriage (at this point, she's been wanting to connect to her original planet, but not by much). But where would they actually get married at?

I know it's a bit of a joke to say the city's library, but I think that would be cute since they have a lot of memories with the location. Where they could ask in a favor for miss Dewey and the city to rent out the space and make room enough for a small venue and get legally married. And the bigger outdoor wedding could be in the park or a rented garden venue.

The main colors would be white, gold, blue, and scarlet. (Becky wanted some green in there, but the planner refused--saying the greenery of the plants and outdoors would be fine enough). I have no idea what the dress code or coloring would be on the guest outfits/groom mates. But I could see the bridesmaids having golden/yellow dresses.

Maid of honor for Becky...like if it isn't Violet, then what are we doing!! So yes, of course it's Violet.

For Tobey's best man...I know some would say its Scoops, or Two-brains, or Rex (depends on who they would see as Tobey's best male-adjacent friend), but what if I totally go in the bold direction of saying TJ. And yes--it's mostly because in Future AU, I'm the only one who plays with the idea of TJ and Tobey's brotherly-in-law dynamic to the point where they do see each other as close friends despite how opposite they are and how often they get into conflict. And I could definitely see Tobey only asking TJ to be the bestman for the sake of Tobey not wanting to give Scoops the satisfaction of admitting he's his best male friend, LJDJSSJ (I really gotta make that dynamic/relationship chart).

On who would they invite? Besides already the close friends and family attending (like the Botsfords, Mrs. McCallister (+other family), Violet, Scoops, Rex, Rose, Victoria, Johnson, Bob, and Ect). I think for the public wedding they would extend it to the villains. Becky would be a bit conflicted on it, but hey--if they're all at her wedding, then she can make sure they don't commit a crime during her special day. And idk maybe besides DTB, it wouldn't be strange to only have them invited under the guise of Tobey doing the inviting because of his former status/relationship with them. Like the villains being at the wedding would mostly be a Becky idea (bc wahh I'm still a sucker for her and them getting along 🥹, even if they don't know she's Wordgirl). Other than the villains...idk like the recurring characters that we see? Maybe the groceries store clerk, exposition guy, Tubing, Reginald (I mean, they are going to use his jewelry for the rings). Aside from Tubing, they weren't personally invited, but eh, Becky is happy enough to let them be there.

Other details: Who would do the catering? Well, not wanting there to be a war. Tobey and Becky probably just let both Butcher and Chuck do it. Mostly to help with Bob's appetite. And the baker and candlestick maker provide the cake.

Who would be the wedding planner? I would most definitely say Violet, but she's more of the designer than the planner. So...idk maybe Becky? Who would try to be organized and cautious to the point of a breakdown from the stress? Yeah, so it's her. Becky definitely will need all the reassurance in the world to get through the wedding. I don't think the whole event will go perfectly, when do they for their family? But stuff will work out in the end, and Becky's going get her dream wedding. (Even if Granny May was trying to steal the wedding gifts/lh)

Who would be crying the most? The easiest answer in my life, of course it would be Tim. I can imagine him also being in charge of the recording, but he's so filled up with tears that he didn't do a good job at it, lol. And, of course, he couldn't stop wailing when they exchanged vows.

Speaking of the vows. You better believe that Tobey probably would say a lot, but he managed to make it as brief as he could, while Becky will pull up a 20-page essay from out of where and start reading out loud. (Many are almost asleep when she's done with it) (Not Tobey though, he's just not trying to kiss her immediately when she's reading through).

And last thing. The person who would officiate? There were many contenders on the list... I would have said someone like Professor Tubing, or Leslie, or Beau Handsome, or the exposition guy. You know people who would just totally randomly have an officiant license. Another idea is Bob, but nobody besides Becky would understand him, and he's out there putting his heart out in a speech.

But I thought about it and just went with the idea of them getting ordained by one of Tobey's robot, probably made specifically for it. I say that because Tobey has to have at least one robot doing something significant in the ceremony, but also, it would be the ultimate call back to his drawing.

That's all I think for now about their wedding. Maybe one day, I'll go into it deeper on another post. Thank you for the ask!

[fan-clan-fun]

Hello! I love this blog and always come to it for inspiration!

Right now my current fan project takes place in a post apocalyptic future where cats are going through their own Stone Age and using tools, very simple like clay bowls, antler and stone knives, learning to control and use fire, etc.. (I wanted to get rid of humans as the idea of sentient humans owning sentient cats doesn’t sit well with me) Instead of Clans they’re called Guards, and they each protect a small place of power within their territory from outsiders, relations between guards are actually pretty good and they allow cats to move Guards when necessary and encourage friendships and rivalries between cats.

Their leadership is loosely based on British Monarchy, with a ‘King and Queen’ (called Commander and Consort) and a ‘parliament’ of skilled cats who advise the commander (usually the Commander ends up picking his mentor and his parents perhaps some friends but his choices have to be approved by the Oracle so they don’t choose untrained or unliked cats) they do have a ‘Deputy’ but they are now called ‘Second’, Seconds are usually the oldest most promising heir from the Commander and consort, or a cat the Oracle and Advisors (elders) choose.

I tried to base the culture heavily on succession and mentorship, passing knowledge down, so it’s considered an honor to be given the same or similar suffix as your mentor. Cats are also apprenticed differently, becoming apprentices at 3 moons, early into training is just going over the code, games that teach them skills, and when they reach 7 moons they choose which guild they want to join (they can change their mind whenever but it’s uncommon)

The Guards are larger than Clans in general and have unique ranks, Guardians are warriors, a focus on fighting and hunting, regularly do patrols, switch amongst the territory camps to help protect them, especially camps that may not have a lot of fighters. Next are Crafters, cooking falls into crafting, but they also make satchels, knives, rudimentary traps, toys, as well as den maintenance. Then I have Ambassadors, I condensed them with one of the healer positions, ‘Speaker’ as they essentially do the same thing, Ambassadors are outside relations and Speakers were inside relations, but now they’re basically the guard therapists that also mediates with other Guards and groups. Mentors are pretty self explanatory, while every cat should get the chance to experience the bond between mentor and apprentice, these cats spend a lot of time with the young cats before 7 moons and pick their mentors according to personality and desired skill. My personal favorite are my Keepers, they keep track of history and familial relations, they’re essentially Perma-queens with a huge role in keeping bloodlines clear and recording history, they’re rarely storytellers but often parents. Lastly I have a sort of unique rank for each guard, usually something to do with the unique dangers each territory presents, (ie Mount Guard has an ‘Avalancher’ who after mountain slides they take a count of all the cats and go out searching for those missing)

I hope this isn’t too long, I got really excited seeing you pop up on my notifications again, I might send another ask going over healers or some of the unique customs the Guard cats practice.

I'm so sorry this took me so long to answer, truth is I've been answering most of these on mobile, so the longest ones have taken me a lot longer to get to, thank you for your patience in that!

I'm always curious how people plan on going about settings with cats and tools, as it's something that could be very interesting. Ultimately it requires a liiiittle suspension of disbelief, but I find sometimes that can be more fun.

Some of these concepts I've actually used or considered using myself before, so I am perhaps a bit biased when I say I enjoy them. I'm curious, do the commander and their consort often fulfill certain roles? Is it exclusively to produce kits for the next generation of leadership? Or is it more of a partnership than that?

I do have some clarifying curiosities, are the Guards the replacements for Clans? Or are there both?

So many fun different roles, and I like that you call them guilds. Once upon a time I wanted to do something similar, with a bunch of different ranks, each with their own little group of suffixes to denote their rank/guild, and when you apprenticed, you chose which guild to join. Seems like you could make it work well with your system.

I also think apprenticing that young, as long as they aren't fighting, makes sense. The bigger kits would likely require extra effort to keep busy, as they are pretty large at that point, so adding a few moons of education in camp before going out makes perfect sense.

Thanks for sending this in! Sounds like you have thought this all out pretty well, keep working hard and having fun!

[demonslayedher]

Nezuko's missing! We've got to go find her, at our local Aeon shopping mall!!

Yeah, it's that time again. Time to go check out another KnY collaboration, this time at a big handful of Aeon shopping malls across Japan. It's a simple two-part game, in which you walk around the mall, find four posters of characters posted in obvious locations to later receive a set of sticky notes, and three slightly less obvious posters with little voice clips of the characters which you can unlock after logging 1000 steps. Nezuko encourages you to be healthy!

It's really easy to get 1000 steps just going between the different floors to find the posters, though I know the drive behind the collab was to encourage me to download the shopping mall app and wander into stores and buy things. Joke's on you, Aeon, not today! All I bought was lunch!

Also, the app was kind of frustrating. It took a while to figure out where to start logging my steps, because you need to get 1000 steps before you can supposedly login to another page to download a cell phone wallpaper of a basic Nezuko pose with the secret keyword that you need to unlock the three special voice spots, but then the web page asked for my point card info, and I fumbled that and lost the page, and then even though it had my steps counted it wouldn't let me back into the Nezuko campaign, and then while trying to troubleshoot that on the instruction page I saw a blurred image of the screenshot and could make out the secret code anyway, so... anyway!

The first spot was a poster of Muichirou (it seems they had Mitsuri last week instead), saying stuff like, "huh? Aren't you the kid who Tanjiro is looking for?" and the third poster was Tanjiro being like, "You found her! Thank you so much, I've been looking everywhere!" but I never found the second poster. Since only Tanjiro and Muichiro's seiyuu were credited as being featured this week, I have no clue what the second one would had been. A mystery...

Anyway, I went to the food court looking for something quick and stumbled upon a totally separate collab--fried octopus balls!

Decision made.

And, since they have a different collab menu on different dates and there was only the Tanjiro and Nezuko option for today, decisions doubly made. I could had put it in a take-out box, but naaaah. The take-out box might or might not be used for future in the future for non-takoyaki purposes.

While trying finish collecting each character from the regional keychain series, I found Himejima and takoyaki about a month ago. Why is he crying about takoyaki, I wondered? Is it because the takoyaki is so good he's moved? Does he find the octopus too cute to eat? Did he burn his tongue? No, I now realize it's because he didn't get to be included on the takoyaki collab.

Don't worry, Himejima-san. They'll include you on more collabs in the future. There will be plenty more like these ones.

[melody-han-wayne]

(OOC: Update + Apology—Long Post)

So I've been pretty much non-existent for the past 4 months or so BUT I can explain!

Basically what happened is that I emigrated to not just a different country, but a different continent on literally the other side of the world from where I grew up. And I left behind all my friends and family at home, meaning I came here alone and I'm still alone and probably will be alone for as long as I remain in this new country. So for the past few months I've been dealing with moving and settling down and making plans to secure my future in this new country—heck, just making sure I can have a future in this new country. I'm more or less settled into my new life now (except for the planning for the future part) but before that I kind of forgot about Melody for a while 🫥

So anyway the guilt ate away at my subconscious and Melody's voice came to me in a dream and berated me for abandoning her, so I woke up and quickly came to check on my baby. And I realise, to my utter mortification and horror, that I never paused my Tumblr queue, so all the half-baked ideas, the rough drafts, the tentative-but-not-in-chronological-order character development, had been posting itself while I was away 🫠. So if during the past 5 months you saw my blog degenerate into a bigger and bigger mess and wondered "What the heck is going on"—it's not you, it's me. Right now I'm just trying to salvage what I can of my blog (and my dignity) and reorganise everything I originally planned for Melody (tbh I forgot half of it but I'm sure the memories are in here somewhere, I just have to clean out the dust and oil the gears first).

Honestly I have no idea how many people follow(ed) Melody's story, I might as well be posting into the void for all I know. But like so many of the other RPers on this blog I started because I was bored and had some ideas in my head that wouldn't leave me alone, and over time I became attached to my OC and her story (perhaps unhealthily so). That's part of the reason why I decided not to just delete my blog and make my absence permanent. Because working on this self-indulgent project used to make me happy, and because I still have some ideas I want to share with whoever might be lurking around. Another reason is because of the community that welcomed me and that I personally watched grow. Even when this blog was at its 'most active' I probably didn't interact with other RPers as much as I should/could have (again, it's not you, it's me) but what little interaction we did have I truly did enjoy as we built and connected our own stories and characters while also interpreting the DC ones. I don't think I've said this before, and I don't think I'll ever say it enough, but really, thank you all for being willing to indulge me and play with me. This has been a lovely space to be in, and you guys combined are like 80% of the reason ❤️❤️❤️❤️

@florence-wayne-official @kit-the-nonbinary-wayne @that-one-gotham-kid @amira-wayne-al-ghul @warren-wayne-kyle @teagrayson + anyone I missed, knowing the rate at which this community grows there's bound to be at least one person I didn't tag (it's not a snub—again, not you, it's me and my bad memory—please don't be offended 🥺)

((idk if tagging everyone is proper etiquette after my prolonged absence, I was just going to say 'you know who you are' at first and leave it at that but I'm not sure if you guys actually know who you are 😅 so if I'm breaking some kind of unspoken Tumblr code of etiquette I apologise again))

(((I didn't mean for that above note to sound as rude as it did)))

ANYWAYS if you've read past the wall of text above to make it down here congratulations and thank you, I'll be doing my best to clean up/revise my blog and my OC and her story in the coming weeks and hopefully get some sort of continuity back on track :) I'm also trying to figure out what happened in the rest of the RP community in my absence so if I reply to a three-month-old post now: once again, it's not you, it's me, and there's totally no obligation to engage with.

Can't wait to hang out with the Batfamily again ☺️ plus all my RP siblings, half-siblings, future siblings, stepsiblings, undead siblings etc XD

[manonamora-if]

Another weekend another check in...

The ribbons had been have and the festival closed its door (until March next year!), so it was time to post my PostComp Mortem. Super long post detailing where the idea came from, how the process went, and what the reception was (and the lessons I should have learned...).

I've also released the full code of the SpringThing version on my Github to view it freely.

There will be an update at one point in the future to clean out some code, fix some little issues with the parser, and add some missing content.

The translation of this game is now complete!! I've managed to fix some issues from the French version as well, and included pretty graphics, too!

The English version in the testing phase, and will be up and running at the end of the month (so not next week, but the one after next weekend). It know I will have some kinks to iron out, and getting a whole week for that will be great!

The translation will be added to the original page, and an announcement will be made about it! (a.k.a a new intro post for it all)

Oh and the French version will be fixed as well...

The Writing is going, with almost half of the small exploration bit being drafted. MelS and I have discussed puzzles for the Chapter (there will be a few of those), as well as secret lore location. There will also be some interaction with a certain someone, and some more investigation.

But that will take its course. We are on MelS time for this :P

Guess who still hasn't made the map again...

I've announced it on the @neo-twiny-jam page (and reblogged it here), of my pledge to match the submission amount of the jam into a donation. Consider participating! (or share the announcement post)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also on my GitHub now: the source code for :

Exquisite Cadaver (Jam version)

SPS Iron Hammer (Jam version)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There might be less news from me in the next few weeks, for personal stuff. But I should be back to continuing my old projects for a while! (I don't think I could make it to the IFComp this year. I have an amazing idea but I think I would need a good year to implement it properly. You might see smaller mini-project pop up tho.)

Also my analytics showed I passed some milestones with games/blog, I should prob do something but I need to think about what.

[feelin-kinda-cocky-bmc]

FKC Mini-Update 2/21/23

Alright, don't have a lot for this update, but hey, I thought I might as well keep posting so people are aware this project is still very much active! I'm currently on Mardi Gras break, and will be utilizing the next two days to work on writing Dustin's Route. There is a bit in Dustin's Day 1 that was originally going to take me a hell of a lot of time, in which I would be writing eight unique chunks of dialogue based on three options the player chooses in a row. However, for the sake of getting a rough draft out ASAP, I have streamlined it to where each topic will flow into each other without much of a missed beat. The eight interactions might appear in a later installment of the game, though.

However, while I'm here, I'd like to announce that the FKC Tumblr now has a new header image, courtesy of our new artist: Rose! I'm extremely happy with the art and I'm so glad we have another great artist on the team. Here's the full image because Tumblr dimensions are wack lol

Anyway, in an absence of content on my end, I'll go ahead and put out what is completed, what is currently being worked on, and what I'm hoping to achieve in the future:

The rough draft of Rich's route is done. However, in an effort to keep up with momentum during the earlier stages of writing when I wasn't on ADHD meds, I ended up skipping a whole part and promptly forgotten that I had skipped it. It's still very much a draft with a lot of repetition that I need to iron out, solely because when you work on something for so long in spaced out intervals, you forget what you did previously.

Once all of the incredibly messy drafts of each route are completed, I will be going back to revise them and hopefully get to a point where I can personally playtest the early stages of the game.

Also, in addition to completed routes, Rich and Jeremy's routes will have secret routes. These won't be as important and as high priority, as they are genuinely just me throwing some OCs into a fangame. But hey, if you like hot, borderline criminal bad boys, or flower-loving, theater kid soft boys, then I've got just the routes for you ;)

With the way I'm writing the routes, I'm also simultaneously coding. Or half-coding, anyway. I'm writing it all in a way that makes it easy for me to simply copy and paste it into ren.py, and then I just edit the Python from there. Double tasking woo!

I also have basic GUI assets that I made,,two years ago,,so I'll need to revise those. But aside from the title screen art, everything looks moderately okay and is completely functional.

At the moment, I'm working on Dustin's route. This is going to be heavily headcanon-based, I'm warning everyone now, but it doesn't stray far from canon. He's just a little unique because there's not a lot of canon information about him

Also, I don't know if I ever clarified this, but each route will be structured in the same format: The default exposition (where you choose your route), around 5 in-game events (or days), the dance day (where your bachelor of choice has invited Michael to the school dance), and if you're lucky, the date day (self explanatory, only available on good endings). In addition, each route with have a bad, neutral, and good ending. This does not include secret endings

After the Dustin Route, I plan to start Jake's, and then Jeremy's (sorry Boyfs shippers!). When all are completed, I'll start revision and the addition of the secret routes.

When the writing stage (which I'm almost entirely sure will be the longest) is mostly complete, we'll be going into the art stages. I have several talented artists already volunteered to help out, and I will likely make a hefty portion of my own. Art will include backgrounds, GUI assets, sprites, and possibly promotional pieces.

And after the art stage, we'll start playtesting a beta version so we can figure out bugs, adjust the stories as needed, and overall gauge the interest of the BMC fandom :)

I would love to create background music for the game at some point, and have the capability to do so, but that genuinely might not get there until later stages of development

Though this is far off, after the game's release, I'd also like to release events. These events would allow for a new storyline to be played regarding Michael and the rest of the BMC crew. These will largely be either self-indulgent or catering towards the fandom as a whole, such as writing all the characters in FKC into an AU. These sort of events would happen for things like Halloween, Christmas, Valentines, etc. Again, far off! But I'd like to make it at least known

Discord | Community Idea Drop

[fishnapple]

Hi there!!! I hope you have a nice day! ;)

I saw your October mini game post and I really want to give it a try ✨

My name: Thu

HEX code of a colour: #b6cfae

So here a fact about me: I have pretty big burn scars from hot boiling water all over my left leg. It happened when I was like 3 or 4 years old. And I noticed that I have never ever felt insecured about it. Probably because I wear long pants/skirt all the time, people never say anything bad about them (because they don't know, obviously 😭). So, when I wear shorter types of clothes, I feel pretty confident because I feel like people actually don't care lmao. But that also makes me sad that how words can affect you in a bad way 😞 Like, those harsh words can make you think badly about yourself when in reality, you're amazing!!!

Also another fun fact 🤓☝️: Do you know that we have leap years in the Lunisolar calendar! I don't know if I'm just dumb or this fact is actually amazing because it's pretty random but whatever 😭😭😭 My mom just did a search about leap years in Lunisolar calendar (idk why) and asked me and honestly I know nothing about it until just now. I don't know how Lunisolar calendar works lmao 😭😭 I'm a bad Asian child fgjwofnslksbs

So yeah, that's all. And I'd love to hear messages about all of my studies (don't know how I should word this because English isn't my mother tongue😅) right now because I've been feeling very down for like, 4 years... I don't know what I'm doing. I don't have any clear plan for the future. Is the path I'm going worth my time?😞 University life is so sad...😞😞

Okaiy, that's it. Thank you so much for the mini game :3✨✨✨ Also, I love your readings so muuuuuch pls don't die 😔🙏

Hello Thu, thank you for sharing that fact about you and a fun fact about the calendar. You're right, with just a few words, a person's day or sometimes months, years or longer than that, can be affected, for better or for worse. You're really brave for embracing yourself like that.

The Lunisolar calendar can be so confusing, did you mean the extra leap month every 3 years? If I celebrated my birthday based on the Lunisolar calendar then I would probably have had only about 18~20ish birthdays by now, feel so young. 😎

About your last sentence, eh.., you can wish for my blog not to die, as for me, sorry, I will have to disappoint your wish someday 😅

The message for you: If you only focus on the hardship before you eyes, then you will miss the vision for the future ahead of you. What you're doing is laying foundation for your future, no matter how small, how boring the actions are. I do see a stable and fruitful future for you. But don't close yourself off, don't be in the solitary mindset. You might look at other people and see them doing all the fun things with their life, comparison is your worst enemy here.

October Mini game - Message from the Universe

[princesscolumbia]

Code of Ethics - Ch. 3 - Trigger Warning

My outline had the events of this chapter spanning three chapters. I was honestly surprised how quickly the details needed hit the page and how smoothly one thing flowed to the next. The first scene was intended for a much later chapter in part 1, so I shuffled a few things around and it works MUCH better than my initial outline.

Dylan learns more about the assignment and the new VR tech and some inner demons come out to play

Preview below the cut:

Dylan sighed as he let the door to his flat close behind him. He rather liked the term ‘flat,’ he felt it suited his home better than calling it ‘an apartment.’ He grew up in apartments, and while there was nothing wrong, per se, with apartments, they did serve to remind him of the struggles of growing up in a poor home in the post-war years. Rationing had been harsh, resources scarce and getting more so by the day, and people weren’t sure if they’d have jobs to go to the next day. Then the riots started, followed by the epidemics that wiped out a good portion of some communities. Rumor was the epidemics were coordinated by the CDC to thin the population at the behest of the President, but nobody in the intelligence community wanted to dig too deep into those kinds of rumor. That’s how you got disappeared or suffered ‘heart attacks’ at a young, healthy 32.

Like John.

Tossing his keys in the dish on the end table and taking off his coat, Dylan gave a thought to the man who was his boss and might have been a friend if the power dynamic hadn’t been one of boss-and-employee. He was smart and kind, carrying a sense of justice that had been untarnished even after a decade in the agency. Never married and, as John had confided over drinks one Friday night when it had just been the two of them without plans, never would have even if he’d lived to be 100. “The world has enough couples who struggle to manage making it through another day in this hellscape we live in. I’m not going to shackle someone else to me if it means I might ‘go missing’ one day and some poor woman has to carry on after me.”

Dylan looked out through the panoramic picture windows that lined the western wall of his flat. The waters of Galviston Bay sparkling as the evening drew on. The building had once belonged to some tech company that was based out in California, one of the many that had intended on using Texas’ extremely lenient tax rates for corporations to establish a foothold in the local economy, but then the war had fractured the United States into the Republic of California, The American Republic, and the shattered Eastern seaboard that was, effectively, a no-man’s-land. The California based company had to relinquish their ownership of the building when the wall was built and had gone under during California’s reconstruction. The American government had seized the building and converted it from the towering office structure it had been intended for into luxury apartments meant for whomever the government found favor with at the time. Not many chose to live in the building long-term. Simply having one of the suites as your address often painted a target on your back, so frequently the place was a stepping-stone. Earn a spot in the building, stay long enough to establish your success, then move out to the Houston suburbs as quickly as possible, mostly for the protection of your family.

Like John, Dylan had no plans to ‘settle down’ with someone. He was well aware of his issues with intimacy. In spite of his pastor reassuring him that he’d one day find the girl he’d want to start a family with, he didn’t want to saddle any woman with his presence in their life. He was attracted to women (on a bone-deep level, if his dreams were any indication), and it was this very attraction that he found off-putting. He could imagine just about any woman he knew with a bright, wonderful future…without him. The moment he added himself into the vague visions of familial or career success down the line, those dreams seemed to crash and burn, Dylan’s mere presence acting as the catalyst for disaster.

Of course, he knew this was catastrophizing. He just couldn't seem to imagine any woman ever being happy and successful with him hanging off her arm.

He glanced at the wall clock, noticing the date and scowled. Happy birthday to me, I guess, he grumbled to himself as he stalked over to the kitchen and opened his alcohol cabinet. Not bothering with any of the wine, he went straight for the vodka. As he poured himself a drink, he considered turning on streaming video, but realized anything like the news or a live broadcast channel would have memorial stories. He did not need more reminders that his birthday shared the date with a nuclear bomb wiping out Washington D.C. His birthday was always a litany of replays of the event and commentators debating the woulda-shoulda-coulda of America’s response to the event. Then there were the ‘truthers,’ the people who claimed The Second had ordered the detonation Himself. Dylan didn’t know, didn’t care to know, and did his best to either work overtime or get plastered whenever his birthday rolled around. It was easier to tune out the mausoleum to tragedy the rest of the country made of the day than pretend to be one tiny voice trying to celebrate another trip around the sun.

Finally, he decided on some music. Something from fifty or a hundred years ago, something with no words. He woke the touch screen on the wall of his living room and navigated to a radio station and hit play, the sounds of strings and synthesized percussion filling the air.

Sipping at his vodka, he scanned the walls, trying to find something he could lose himself in. Thoughts of Star Trek from earlier entered his mind, but he couldn’t seem to muster the desire to read any of the books his mother had gifted him the Christmas before she passed away. They were paper books, too, not the e-books that most people used. “Nothing wrong with reading e-books,” his mother said at one point, “But sometimes you want to hold a book in your hand, feel the weight of the words that someone put the effort to put on paper. Words on a screen can move you, but the physical sensation of a real book makes it seem real in ways a digital copy just can’t.”

Sighing at the memory, he thought about plunking away on the piano, but then he’d have to stop the music, which would allow his mind to wander. An idle mind was the devil’s playground, after all, and there were enough sinful thoughts in Dylan’s mind for the devil to have plenty to play with.

His eyes fell on a model kit he was tinkering with of the I.S.S. Voyager, neatly stored in its partially assembled state on a shelf above the parts and tools needed to build it. Nodding with satisfaction, he picked up box that held the unassembled parts and moved them to the dinner table he’d never once eaten at.

Three hours and two more shots of vodka later, he’d managed to assemble a good portion of the saucer section. This particular model was the kind with circuitry and wiring to allow for the lights to work. It also had a bridge, captain’s ready room, and open shuttle bay that you could look into through tiny viewports and see ‘functional’ workstations and a tiny little Delta Flyer Attack Craft in the shuttle bay. It was appreciably ‘fiddly,’ literally thousands of parts and included a wireless controller that allowed the builder to program the lights and what could be seen on the miniature display panels. He was somewhat disappointed when he’d read the schematics and instructions to find that you couldn’t build the small borg alcoves that Seven would call her home, but if the manufacturer had done that, then they would likely have put in the agony booths as well, and of all things Trek, the agony booths were the one thing Dylan just did not like.

God, he groused to himself mentally, I’m such a downer today. Taking a cleansing breath, he began putting the kit away for storage. Looking out the picture windows showed that night had well and truly fallen and the water in the bay was reflecting the dark night sky above. Stars were hard to see in the city, even when looking out over the bay to the ocean-filled horizon, but a few managed to pierce the light pollution, shining on them like it had for their ancestors for millenia.

What would it be like to actually fly a ship through space? He pondered, pausing to look up at the sky as he held the framework of the saucer section of Voyager. Just take command of a ship, find a star, and head out…not worry about hunting, not worry about the faces of children pasted onto soulless digital creatures…

Of course, he knew it wasn’t that easy. Even on Star Trek: Hegemony they couldn’t escape the realities of life on Earth. The Maqui that had been forced to earn the loyalty of their captain or be phasered from existence, the scarily prescient vision of an A.I. doctor that would go rogue and turn on its creators, and the treason of Chakotay in the year before Janeway had been able to crush Unimatrix Zero.

He wondered briefly why the show had never shown Mirror Janeway. Plenty of fanfics existed pondering exactly that, and there was that one torrent that still floated around the dark web that had laughable production values but was like a mirror universe version of the show he loved. He’d watched five minutes of it once when he’d been an analyst, one of the rogue A.I. he’d been hunting at the time was showing it for a ‘movie night’ for other A.I. and some humans that didn’t know they were in the middle of a nest of rogues. It was…shoddy. The production looked like it came from the late 20th century, but then if you were putting together an unauthorized version of one of the most successful science fiction franchises ever made, it was inevitable you’d have to cut corners or get some things wrong.

Like the Vulcan tactical officer and best friend of Janeway. How much did you have to screw up the character of one of the greatest human captains ever written about to have them befriend an enemy of humanity?

He realized he’d been woolgathering with the model in his hand and staring at the sky for several minutes. Shaking his head only to regret it (he probably shouldn’t have had the third shot of vodka on top of the pint of hard cider at the bar), he put the model back on its shelf and headed to the bedroom.

The faster he got to sleep, the better.

[lenteur]

random thoughts about strong girl nam soon, episode two

(read more because i always get carried away lol and this post might contain spoilers)

i didn’t mention it but i really like the opening song

it might not mean anything to most people but i appreciate the fact that they start the episode with the last scene from the previous episode. helps refresh my memory.

another thing i forgot to mention is how nam soon has good taste in men lol she's a shawol and she likes other kpop idols hehe

nam soon and hee sik are doing such a great job for a first scene together. the close up shots of their faces adds to the fun of that moment. I can't wait to see more of them together

the bitcoin bit had me on the floor. i was literally the man listening to the explanation. went from one ear to the other

kang hee sik dressed as a woman and with a fake baby too

you could feel nam soon's pain of looking for her mother and being involved in so many situations instead. it's starting to wear her down but her knight in shining armor arrives at the right time

cool blurry effect on the camera to mimic nam soon's tears and the romantic music in the back when he asked her if she ate. It's the little details that make this scene even better.

i see nam soon has already started to rub off on kang hee sik. He just repeated what she said to him a few seconds ago and with the same intonation. I think I'm gonna have a blast with these two.

i can't get enough of the comedic scenes in this drama. the little dance hee sik does and nam soon's laser vision getting to see it live lmao she was bewitched by his lack of a*s and dancing skills

the actress playing hwang ja is doing an amazing job because i want her to fail so bad!!!

miss madame hwang geum ju... i need you to stop being so iconic and elegant and fierce and gorgeous. My heart is a little too fragile to handle all of that

the fact that geum ju chose not to follow the dress code for the elite billionaire club thing speaks volumes about who she is. even her little speech, she wants to create a world that is livable for both the rich and less rich people. one thing that has been consistent with her is her consideration for the less fortunate. she lent the money to ms. park, helped her and chased the two men who were selling ms. park dr*gs (censoring just in case). she does know where she comes from and it was obvious with her choice of shoes: sneakers. she shocked the elite and proved that she was on her way to change the world. i really like her character because she doesn't give up and will go through literally anything to reach her goals.

once again, the trailer for next episode makes me want to watch it asap

overall, a good second episode

i hope the next episode will develop both the villains' arc a lot more because i'm left hungry for more scenes and character development. i know we're only in episode two so that's why i'm curious to see where the story will go in future episodes.

i'll rate it a 8.5/10

[couponawk]

How to Get the Best Price by Using Red Rickshaw Discount Codes?

Table of Contents

1. How to Get and Use Red Rickshaw Coupon?

2. Will Red Rickshaw Participate in Black Friday?

3. Have Any Discounts on Cyber Monday?

4. What’s The Red Rickshaw Shipping Policy?

5. How about Red Rickshaw Return and Exchange Policy?

6. How about Red Rickshaw’s Opening Hours?

If you are a full kitchen lover, you can come with me to find out about Red Rickshaw. Red Rickshaw, as one of the UK’s largest online Asian grocery stores, offers produce and spices from different countries. From Michelin-starred restaurants to bustling street food markets, they make it possible for home chefs to create authentic Asian cuisine and also provide amazing new ingredients for your cooking. You might think that their prices will be expensive because the products they provide are of high quality and healthy. But in fact, their price will be reasonable because you can get unlimited access to their Red Rickshaw Discount Codes.

1. How to Get and Use Red Rickshaw Coupon?

I guess you may have questions about how to get and use coupons. If so, don’t worry, please let me introduce you to specific methods. After you learn this method, you will save a lot of money in future shopping. The first thing you need to know is that Red Rickshaw coupon codes are usually posted on the couponawk.com website, where you can search for promotional codes for various products. Therefore, when you want to pay for a product you like, you can simply copy and paste the coupon code you searched and paste it into the payment page to get the cheapest price. The operation is so simple, so you better bookmark couponawk.com, an important website.

2. Will Red Rickshaw Participate in Black Friday?

Yes, of course. Black Friday is a very important promotion day for them, and they seize this opportunity every year to attract more customers. On this day, they will issue a variety of coupons just like other merchants to feedback those customers who like and support them. Many people are accustomed to wholesale ingredients here because they are very customer-oriented and customers can get the best shopping experience. Therefore, if you want to wholesale some healthy and fresh ingredients from Red Rickshaw on Black Friday, you should pay attention to their official website or couponawk.com in advance to get Black Friday promotion information.

3. Have Any Discounts on Cyber Monday?

Cyber Monday is another major promotion day after Black Friday, and they will also offer exciting promotions on this day. If you missed the Black Friday because of some inevitable personal factors, you should be more fully prepared for Cyber Monday. If you already have products you want to buy, you can go to the official website to add them, and then go to couponawk.com to learn about the related promotions on Cyber Monday, so that you can buy your long-loved ones at the fastest speed on the day.

4. What’s The Red Rickshaw Shipping Policy?

They are a completely online business, headquartered in the UK, but can send ingredients across Europe. Most importantly, they also provide transportation services to more long-distance customers on request. They support free shipping and your order is eligible for free shipping when your order exceeds £ 55. After receiving your order, they will deliver it in the shortest possible time so that you can pick it up as soon as possible. After shipping, you will receive an email from their courier to know when the goods arrive.

5. How about Red Rickshaw Return and Exchange Policy?

Almost every customer care about the online store they will make an order is available for returns. The return and exchange policy is an essential policy for Red Rickshaw because they are very responsive to consumers. They know that you may be dissatisfied with their service for some reason, so If you wish to return any items purchased from them, they will be happy to provide a refund or exchange service. They will refund your payment within 3-5 business days after receiving the return. With this reliable return and exchange service, they will provide you with comprehensive protection.

6. How about Red Rickshaw’s Opening Hours?

Red Rickshaw knows that every customer want to shop online at any time he/she likes, but Red Rickshaw is different from the clothing or makeup stores, they are the fresh food selling store. They have to use more time to collect the food materials from different regions. Thus their online store opening time is from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday – Friday. They want customers to understand them. 

Red Rickshaw understands different places have different special foods, so they are committed to allowing people around the world to share foods from different regions. They believe that purchasing seasonal foods around the world is a longer-term, nutritional, and safe solution. And they want to help food industries and gourmets like you embrace the world’s biodiversity and balance the world’s diet. If you are looking for a more convenient way to get involved in Asian cooking, you’d better choose Red Rickshaw to deliver authentic Asian and Middle Eastern recipes directly to your home and provide a customized spice mix. After you pick up their Red Rickshaw Discount Codes, you will definitely be excited about such a great price.

https://linkcoupon.wordpress.com/2023/06/08/how-to-get-the-best-price-by-using-red-rickshaw-discount-codes/