#new mandatory mod just dropped

[skyrim-forever]

Finally a realistic body mod (link)

[pamsimmer]

When I made "Lunar" someone asked for a legacy challenge for human sims. So I finally wrote one!

Since some people don't like big legacies because it takes forever to finish, I made another small legacy! Only 5 gens.

If you know my stories from twitter or my "pamsimmerstories" you know I usually use a lot of adult themes and this is not different, so be aware this can be a little dark.

TW: Spouse death, while giving birth; Drug Use, alcohol and other drugs; Child Abuse, Neglect; Infetility

LEGACY CHALLENGE: "Dream Odyssey"

Basic Rules:

Start as a Young Adult - any gender you want

Normal/Long lifespan (which one you prefer)

You can use freerealestate cheat if you want to begin.

When I put ( / ) is because you can choose what you prefer or if you don’t have said pack you can choose the base game one.

Colors are not mandatory, but it could be fun?!

Requirements: Cottage Living, University, City Living, Nifty Knitting, Horse Ranch, Get Famous, Get Together, Snowy Scape, Island Living, Seasons, Parenthood.

Mods recommendations (Not required):

McCommand Center,

UI Cheats,

Long Distance Learning,

RPO.

Basemantal Drugs

Generation 1: ���Dandelions” by Ruth B.

You moved from your parents to live in a big city and go to your dream college (San Myshuno Institute)*. You’ve always wanted to be a doctor/veterinarian and this was finally happening!

One day you met the love of your life in between classes (preferably someone you met that is also at uni) you get married, but one day you caught them cheating and you feel like this is the end of the world.

So you leave everything and go to Henford on Bagley and become a farmer. You meet someone that makes you open up again and you two have a beautiful family.

*if you don’t want to use mods like the ”Long Distance Learning” by Ravasheen, you can just pretend you’re going there living in San Myshuno

Traits: Good, Animal Enthusiast/Loves the Outdoors, The last one you pick, to make things interesting, pick a bad trait like high maintenance

Career: Start as University Student in San Myshuno (you can finish it and start the career or you can just drop university in the middle of your term); End up as a farmer in Henford

Skills: Logic/Vetenerian and Cross-Stitch

Hobby: Cross-Stitch or Knitting

Aspiration: Country Caretaker

Relationship: fall in love at university, get cheated on, runaway to Henford and meet someone new. You can have children with the first one if you want to or you can wait until you meet the second sim. It’s up to you.

Color: Green/Yellow

Generation 2: “High” by Miley Cyrus

You grew up in the middle of a bunch of animals, your parent was a nature freak and you became one as well. But your kind of animal is a bit different from your parent. You love horses and you dream in live at Chestnut Ridge and have your own horse and participate in competitions and earn money from it.

You find love, but when your wife is giving birth to your baby, she dies (your sim could be a woman and you use cheats to make her pregnant and if you don’t use mods as RPO/Pandasama you can also cheat to kill the sim).

[The Sims 4 killing cheats: [death.toggle true - kill your Sim] I've never used it, so I don't know if it really works]

So you see yourself as a single parent juggling between parenting and taking care of your horse and participating of competitions.

Traits: Horse Lover, Rancher, the last trait you choose.

Career: Autonomous as Horse Competitor, you can try odd jobs as well

Skills: Riding, Painting/Nectar Making

Hobby: Painting/Nectar Making

Aspiration: Championship Rider

Relationship: Meet someone, become a widow/er. You can find love again if you wish.

Color: Orange

Generation 3: “No Love In LA” by Palaye Royale

When you were born your mother died and you never met her. Your other parent was always busy with his horses and competitions that you now hate Chestnut.

You want more for your life. As soon as you age up, you go to Del Sol Valley and you’re finally able to follow your dream of becoming a star! You want to be a famous actor/actress. But not everything is like you thought it would be, you thought you would become a 5 star celebrity quickier than you did. But you never give up.

Find a celebrity and get married to them just for fame (I guess you’re gonna need cheats for them to meet).

[Modify Relationship

You'll need the full name of your Sim and the celebrity Sim (or vice versa). If it doesn't work, try " LTR_Friendship_Main" at the end.] (I also never tested this one...but in case you don't have mods, try this)

One day you’re gonna meet someone who’s a nobody and fall in love, you’re gonna cheat on your partner and get pregnant/get someone pregnant.

You have two choices:

leave your spouse and be with your love or

stay in a unhappy marriage and pretend the cheating never happened (if your sim is a male, never talk to the pregnant sim again and one day a child shows up at your door, this is gonna be the heir. And if your sims is a female, pretend the kid is your husband’s child. It doesn’t matter, you’re gonna fail as a parent no matter what).

Traits: Self-Assured, Ambitious, and a bad trait of your choosing

Career: Actor

Skills: Acting, Dancing, Photography

Hobby: Photography and also dancing, go to nightclubs often, drink a lot (if you don’t play with mods pretend your sims is an alcoholic, if you play with mods like basemental your sim is definitely an alcoholic and maybe had a drug addiction, let’s go dark here)

Aspiration: Master Actor

Relationship: Marry for fame and cheat on your partner and get pregnant of impregnate someone this is how your heir is gonna be made.

Color: Red

Generation 4: “Flares” by The Script

Your parent should never be a parent.

You grew up in a spolight because of your parent, but you hate it. Everything is so fucked up and you just want to run away as far as possible.

When you become a teen, you're going to run away from home and go to Mt Komorebi, drop from school and work in a part time job.

To scape your own mind you start a few hobbies such as snowboarding/skiing/climbing.

When you’re young adult you meet someone while doing one of those things and you two fall in love. You two start a family and are very happy.

Traits: Adventurous, Loner, and a trait of your preference

Career: Teen: Part Time Job; Young Adult: Salaryperson

Skills: Two of these: (You can choose: Snowboarding/Skiing/Climbing)

Hobby: Choose two from 3 (Snowboarding/Skiing/Climbing)

Aspiration: Extreme Sports Enthusiast

Relationship: Find love when your sim is a young adult and this sim is gonna be actually happy :)

Color: Grey

Generation 5: “Light” by Sleeping At Last

Your parents were loving and you loved Mt Komorebi, but you feel like you need to run away from the cold mountains of Mt Komorebi.

When you grow up you want to live in a summery place, so you choose Sulani.

You fall in love more than once, but your relationships never work. You’re also infertile, but you want a kid so baaaad, so you decide to adopt one after years of trying.

You're going to raise a kid alone, maybe get yourself a dog as well? You want to be the best parent someone could be.

Traits: Family Oriented, Child of the Ocean, and a third trait of your choosing

Career: Any of the freelancer careers

Skills: Parenting, Flower Arrenging/Singing

Hobby: Flower Arrenging/Singing

Aspiration: Superparent

Relationship: All your relationships will fail, no matter how hard you try. One day you finally realize it and just accept that you’re going to be alone and you can be happy like this. Then you adopt a child (could be a baby if you want to) and maybe a pet as well.

Color: Blue

[crying-fantasies]

Restoration period

Masterlist

Dating a cybertronian is no joke, at all, it's a constant reminder while waking up, sleep still clutching it's long nails against you- oh, nevermind, those are Rodimus' digits.

These are rare moments, when he is truly relaxed, since long the sound of his interior is part of your routine, it can only sound in such a soft manner in the morning, well, what is supposed to be the beginning of a day since there is no sun, but you all manage, what is really difficult is to get him to wake up, or to online like they call it.

It's more difficult after having intercourse, and it shows when he makes a miserable noise as you try to escape his hold, at least his system is almost online and not totally out.

"I'm getting your energon ready, okay?"

Rodimus answers something unintelligible for you, maybe mumbling neocybex in his partially sleeping mode, his optics are offline but his servos still prevail over your naked body, keeping you in the curvature under his neck guard, next to all the sensible cables around, almost as inviting your actions upon him.

"Nice try", all he gets is a kiss on his faceplate, already whining, as you move to give another one on his derma, he is putting his lips like a pampered kid, there's a noticable spot of pinkish fluid almost dry above his mid armor, maybe a leftover that wasn't cleaned at the moment, fortunately there is a new packet of cleansing rags on the bedside table and, while his protests in alien language make you feel pity for him, it was his idea to go south on you with his glossa yesterday, "you're supposed to be getting ready, come on".

It takes a few minutes to clean the almost dried transfluid, making notes on your head to be more detailed with the aftercare as there is no drop of any fluid in your body, as expected of your considerate boyfriend, once it's all clean to the eye you finally register his armor, hot to the touch, and look back, the little opportunist has long activated his optics and is now looking at you with an "I'm innocent" look on him.

Right, as he wasn't looking at your ass a few second ago, "go to the washroom before you overheat your spark, mister", his translator is still rebooting as it seems because you don't understand much apart from the usual machine noises and metallic intonation, maybe a little bit of sarcasm, he even makes grabby hands at you before scoffing when your shorts and shirt are finally on, but he peeks, "up, up", another kiss and that's what is needed to have his engines working, you can hear them trying to check internally if nothing is wrong after some intercourse or undergoing micro failures.

Interesting thing about cybertronians this is, they look a lot like humans (if not the other way around), they also heal on their own, but the sexual act or intercourse it's a heavy toll on them, a lot of energy is burned, some can even blow a circuit or more if things got too heated at the moment, and the extra recharge time is mandatory because no one wants a spark burning from the inside out, the first time you were so worried since Rodimus didn't even move, but now it's a familiar sight while his biolights look more vivid by the second, as if those were a burning fire in the making.

No family friendly, just normal when he had some extra time in the morning before his usual schedule, a little bit to cuddle on his recharging body as you could hear the machinery inside of him correcting any fuses that got blow at some point, Rodimus said that since you were human he was consuming more energon before the do, using the mass displacement mod was no joke, and don't start with how much a speedster can go down before being satisfied, your hips were a good example and you were a little envious of how he would be ready to go in a few minutes, but needed his energon.

Since humans started to live inside the ship some rest points were made, unable to walk that long it was good to have a stop and drink something, didn't take much before a prototype of an energon refiner dispenser was made and put there too next to a coffee machine, in which you could go with the normal coffee or the dandelion one, it was a saviour, only taking a few minutes to get there on your space scooter with your platform attached and return with a cup of energon, Rodimus didn't like your scooter, he reminded you of his disgust when he grunted at the sight of it, "or the mister can go with me and probably fall face first", and that was all that was needed to earn a "I'm better and faster than that thing".

Nevermind, it was early, and sleep was still not letting you go, so going slow was better, the machine was always on and everyone always put new energon cubes to use, maybe it wasn't as good as totally refined energon but most bots aboard had a familiar taste for the basic energon rations, your own cup of coffee was made and all what's left was waiting for your boyfriend's portion to be made and what seasoning you would pick when someone else appeared, "Morning".

You didn't need to look back to know who it was, nor your bracelet that emitted a green color after successfully recognize your selected pair buddy's EM field approaching, "Good morning".

There was a lingering smell of ozone around him, the same could be said for you.

"Rough night?", Inferno only smiles, that handsome smirk on his faceplate as his optics shine just a little bit softer than always, obvious lack of energy as he can only exvent and plop himself over a free chair near, helm resting above his crossed arms on the table, humming something that one could only relate to a voiceless affirmation.

He was so tired, you put another cube in the machine to fill, and he thanks you without even looking.

There is silent understanding as you yawn and he puts a digit just above your lower back, massaging where it stings the most and repaying a favor you didn't ask for as he goes to upper part, you notice the paint transfer on above his private area and of course is red.

You both have something going on with red painted bots.

You put another cube on the waiting line of the machine and he thanks you yet again while smiling, moving his digits and gesturing for you to get near again, putting pressure where you need it most to get rid of the difficult knots around.

"Captain should have been more tender", Inferno means well, you know it, but even when he is your dear friend no one can say anything of Rodimus, that's your job.

"He is trying his best", obviously he isn't satisfied by your answer but let's you be, before you can say anything about the dents on his chassis and upper legs the security alert activates, minutes later the whole ship shakes and Inferno catches you before a roar out of the phantom zone itself could be hear from outside.

It's so early this day, and both your partners, one the co-captain of the starship and the other the reinstalled security chief, are knockout cold after a night of interfacing.

That's just the luck this ship seems to gather around.

Inferno offers you his cube, to which you gave a cheers with your own mug, both of you down your drinks in one go before he sets you on your scooter, "for another good cycle aboard the Lost Light", he salutes you before catching Red Alert's cube and putting Rodimus' on your cart.

"For another one", you two should be scared at this point, any other sane being would be screaming, but that's your life now while you return and see Rodimus trying to reach for you with what little energy he has while whatever space creature uses the ship as a chewing toy.

[dynamite124]

Hey, just wanted to drop in here & say Taliesin is seriously one of my absolute favorite mod followers out there. I tend to start new saves a lot, and I always used to avoid having any followers (outside of mandatory ones during quests) because I hated having to babysit them & make sure they didn't get stuck/killed, but ever since I downloaded your mod I haven't gone a single new game without grabbing Tally at some point. He's super handy to have along for tough fights, and his personality & commentary breathe so much new life into all the same-old Skyrim story beats I've seen a million times at this point. He actually made me wanna run all the way through the main storyline again just so I could see his reactions to everything. You & Pat are both doing SUCH an amazing job with him!! 🥰

... tl;dr thank you for new blorbo he funney :] <3

Aww thank you so much! This made my day, I'm glad you're enjoying ol' Tally! <3

[hermitshippingbigbang]

What if a writer can't make a check in? Is it just filling out a form (stuff you can do on the go) or do you have to upload your fic or anything like that?

Thank you for the ask!

Check-ins are mandatory, but low stakes. The purpose of the check-ins are to give writers some accountability so that they continue to be motivated throughout the creation period and to ensure that they communicate readily.

Officially, check-ins will just be filling out a Google form to answer some brief questions about how your fic is going and if there is anything you want to report (changed plan, new ship, starting over, month long vacations that will slow you down, etc).

People are always welcome to check-in early or request a check-in extension. If absolutely necessary, while it's inconvenient for book-keeping purposes, writers can check-in directly with a mod over Discord. If there is an extended period that someone will be unavailable, all they need to do is to let us know. Our goal is to make it very difficult to miss a check-in 😂

If a writer does miss a check-in, first they would be hounded by mods reminding them to fill out a form or even to just answer the questions directly to them. If we do not hear back or receive any check-in in a week, that will be a "strike." If a participant with a strike misses a second check-in and we do not hear back in a week, they will unfortunately be dropped from the event.

Due to the collaborative nature of this event, communication is vital. We cannot, in good faith, pair an artist to a participant who is known to not be reachable and who fails to communicate about when they are not available.

The only check-in where writers will have to upload a copy of their writing is Writer Check-in 4. Extensions will also be available for this check-in upon request, but it should be noted that there is a hard deadline on September 8 (the day before fic summaries go live for previews). Fics submitted after that hard deadline will be included in our Doodle Tier.

[spnsabrielbang2023]

SPN Sabriel Bang 2023 Rules

Full version of the rules under the cut! The schedule and FAQ are located under our announcements tag and linked in our bio.

Tag list: @captainkatya, @mangakasheart, @meep-the-froggy, @hobbyistauthor, @gay-destiel, @bearboyboy, @ravensandstarsss, @tappedthedavidsassonce, @key--lime--pie, @leatafandom, @goldensilvan, @bakh-meliorism, @dustghoul, @i-love-you-but-in-spanish, @ladyknightskye

What is the SPN Sabriel Bang?

The SPN Sabriel Bang is a fanworks event focused on celebrating and exploring the relationship between the characters Sam Winchester and the archangel Gabriel from the TV show Supernatural! Writers and artists will work together to create completely new stories and illustrations, which will be shared on our Tumblr and ao3 accounts.

All important dates can be found on the schedule, here.

Sign-up forms coming soon!

Who's Running This Thing?

There are currently three admins running the bang.

Cat (she/her). Contact her at: archangelsammy.tumblr.com, cat.archangelsammy@yahoo.com.

Kaira (she/her, they/them, it/its). Contact at pirate-captain-kaira.tumblr.com(DMs and asks open), kairaaithrin@gmail.com. 

Mara (she/her). Contact her at: andreigoncharov.tumblr.com.

Contact Us!

You can contact any of the mods at the locations given above, and you can contact the SPN sabriel bang accounts by dropping us an ask or sending an email to spnsabrielbang@gmail.com. After you’ve signed up, you can also contact us through our Discord server!

Our accounts:

Tumblr: spnsabrielbang.tumblr.com

Email: spnsabrielbang@gmail.com

Rules & Requirements

All fics and art submitted must be new - meaning no part of them has been published previously.

All works must be created by the participants of the challenge - they cannot be commissioned or created by a third party.

Authors cannot reveal any details about their work before the claims are complete, except to their beta readers. If a beta reader is also an artist, they may not volunteer to beta a fic created for this bang until after art claims are completed.

There will be three to five check-ins conducted through email and/or forms throughout the course of this bang. In order for the event admin to make sure everything is running smoothly and that everyone gets their fanworks completed in time, these are all mandatory.

Required warnings: Rape/Noncon, Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Implied/referenced CSA (based on the Archive Warnings from Ao3). All background ships and characters should also be tagged for. Beyond this, we don’t have any required warnings, but please do your best to tag any you can think of!

Plagiarism is a serious crime. You will be removed from the bang semi-permanently if we find you to be plagiarising someone else's work.

Make sure to keep copies of your work! This isn't really a rule, but it's a good policy to keep backups of all your works in case of malfunctions.

The rules might be subject to change. Any changes to the rules will be announced via Email, Tumblr, and in our Discord server.

Minibang/Bigbang

This challenge has two tracks that specify the minimum requirements for authors and artists.

Mini Bang:

Authors: 2k minimum word count.

Artists: 1 complete artwork minimum.

Big Bang:

Authors: 12k minimum word count.

Artists: 2 complete artworks minimum.

You will not be required to choose your track when signing up! 

Fics will be categorised at the second check-in, just before art claims. More details about the check-ins can be found at our schedule.

Artists can claim fics from either category, then provide the amount of art accordingly.

Authors and Fics

See the FAQ section for more information. If your question isn’t answered, feel free to drop us an ask!

Authors can only submit one work per author; if you plan to co-submit, co-authored works must be the only work either of you submit.

If you are writing with a partner, each one of you will have to submit the sign-up form separately and provide your co-author’s pseudonym; if you at any point after signing up wish to co-author with someone, email the mods at spnangelbang@gmail.com before the second writer check-in. Co-authoring requests will not be accepted after art claims!

Any interpretation of Sam and Gabriel is fine - platonic, queerplatonic, romantic, or something in between - but your fic must focus on them the vast majority of the time. Background characters and relationships are fine in moderation, but be warned that your fic may not be accepted if it's not focused on Sam and Gabriel.

Beta readers are not required, but we strongly recommend them. If you don't already have one (or if your regular beta is unavailable), we have beta readers available through the bang!

Our beta masterlist will be made available to you when you sign up, and there’s a channel in the discord server where you can request a beta read if you’re not comfortable reaching out privately or if you only need help with a small part of your fic. Please be aware that full disclosure of ships and topics will be required, and as such artists cannot beta-read for the bang until after art claims are finished.

All ratings are allowed, as well as any background characters and pairings! However, we do ask that you use tags and  warnings responsibly. Rape/Noncon, Major Character Death, Graphic Depictions of Violence, and Implied/referenced CSA are our required tags (based on the Archive Warnings from Ao3). All background ships and characters should also be tagged for.

Beyond this, we don’t have any required warnings, but please do your best to tag any you can think of!

Artists and Art

About halfway through the course of this event, artists may claim one or more fics to draw for during the second and/or first rounds of art claims.

Artists can claim more than one fic, but will be required to adhere to the deadlines with all of their fic claims. Please don't overextend yourself here! Only take on what you can handle.

Your artworks (one piece min. for the minibang, two pieces for the bigbang) should all be inspired by your claimed fic - e.g. illustrating chosen scenes.

They should also be centered on Sam and Gabriel! If you want to do a group shot, that’s fine, but this is a Sabriel bang; at the very least they should be prominent in your artwork.

Digital art, traditional art, and photo edits are all allowed for the minibang and bigbang requirements, so long as there's some measure of work put into it. If it’s work you would gladly put your name on, you should be okay.

Additional goodies such as icons, podfics, mixtapes etc. are welcome, but won't count towards the minimum art requirements.

Beta Reading

Beta sign-ups are a semi-official part of the challenge, aimed to help the authors find betas for their fics. Authors are not obliged to choose a beta from the list, which means it’s probable that not every person on the list will be asked to beta read. Authors are responsible for contacting betas and providing them with drafts.

The list of betas and appropriate information will be made directly available to all authors.

Every beta reader has the right to refuse to work on a certain piece for any reason.

Betas can opt out of the list at any time. To do so, just send us an ask, email us at spnsabrielbang@gmail.com, or contact one of the event admin directly!

If you are co-registered as an artist, you won’t be able to volunteer to beta-read for the bang until after art claims are conducted.

We will not engage in resolving any issues between authors and betas.

What Can't You Submit?

We will welcome most content and topics. However, we do have a few restrictions. You may not submit:

- Interactive stories, such as “you based” fics (this includes “x reader” type of fics).

- Sexual or romantic content involving a minor under 16.

- Romantic and/or sexual relationships between a minor and an adult and depictions of child sexual abuse. 

We allow referenced/implied child sexual abuse with the required warning. CSA is an incredibly heavy topic, so proceed with caution writing it; please do not describe this topic in a way similar to sexual scenes between adults. This is a required warning. You may be removed from the bang if you do not warn for Implied/referenced CSA.

- We do allow abuse in order to avoid unnecessary censorship, but this is also a heavy and triggering topic, so if you decide to write something depicting abuse, please be cautious about how you portray it. This is a required warning. You may be removed from the bang if you do not warn for this.

Underaged Participants

Participants under 18 may not write M or E rated fics, make art for M or E rated fics, OR beta read M or E rated fics. If a minor is found circumventing this rule, they will be semi-permanently removed from the bang.

Authors: If you should turn 18 before writer sign-ups close, you can let a mod know and we’ll adjust your sign-up status. You can then submit a rated E or M fic if you so choose.

Artists: If you should turn 18 before artist registration closes, you can let a mod know and you would be allowed to claim a rated E or M fic during claims.

Beta Readers: We can update your information on the beta list at any point during the process to note your age and availability, but until you turn 18 you can only be listed as available to beta-read a G or T-rated fic.

Announcements and Emails

We’ll keep participants updated via email throughout the bang, so you’ll need to keep up with those! They’ll have all the important information re: deadlines, any changes in the rules, and how to navigate the resources we're providing. If you sign up, we recommend adding spnsabrielbang@gmail.com to your contacts so your emails don't go missing.

Having a Tumblr account is not essential but will be helpful; we’ll put all of our public announcements on our Tumblr page.

We also have a Discord server for all participants! Joining is not obligatory, but definitely encouraged. You might find it helpful as a source of motivation or information, and that's where you'll get answers to your questions the quickest. Your confirmation email will include an invite to the server after you sign up.

Once you sign up, you’ll receive a confirmation email within a few days. If you don't receive a confirmation within a week, email us at spnsabrielbang@gmail.com.

By signing up for the bang, you agree to receive challenge-related emails from the event admins  (such as confirmations, reminders about upcoming dates, and other vital information) and to follow the rules at all times.

[merrock]

wednesday; hump day catch up.

Since we've had a lot going on here on main lately, I thought that I would post some stuff for anyone just logging in, or maybe as a reminder to check out the following posts:

OCTOBER MOD POST -- please take the time to read this one over, just to make sure rules are being followed and you're up to date with everything happening in the group.

ACTIVITY CHECK UPDATES -- something to help you stay up to date with the most recent activity expectations in the group. don't worry, nothing too scary or that you can't handle!

SHELTER APPRECIATON WEEKEND -- help us clear the shelter! come adopt your new best friend, or drop off some donations to help care for the animals they have.

HALLOWEEN MASQUERADE -- a formal event that you are welcome to add a little Halloween twist on -- not a costume party, but do wear a mask and formal attire!

TRICK-OR-TREAT NIGHT -- the big Halloween to-do involving costumes. volunteer to help out with the party for kids, or get out there and do some trick-or-treating!

FALL PHOTOS TASK -- running the whole month of October! please do be sure to read about the task, so you're completing it correctly. not mandatory, does not count for activity. just for fun!

ALL ABOUT AUTUMN & HALLOWEEN TASK (repeat) -- from last year, but still fun! this can also be done during the moth of October. again, not mandatory, does not count for activity. just fun!

STARTER PAGE UPDATED -- and lastly, we've added a couple of brand new starters to the page for October, so make sure you take the time to check them out!

I'll mostly be hanging out on my blog, working on replies today, but if you need anything, please don't hesitate to shoot me an ask -- remember, we'd love you to help us update any pages with things we might have missed, and updated your wanted connections, as well (check the OOC blog for more info about that). Enjoy your Wednesday! xx

[sovpologist]

Lightfall Review: TLDR

Read my full review here!

Best parts of the story:

Zavala immediately squashing the "The Traveler tried to abandon us" hot take by explaining that it went to confront the Witness at the end of Seraph. Like I felt like this was obvious but some people want the Traveler to secretly be evil so badly they'll use anything as proof

Osiris launching himself in a Cabal drop pod

Nimbus and Osiris bickering

Caiatl coming to help us and Nimbus thinking she's hot

Calling down orbital strikes

Neomuna being an Ishtar Collective colony (science wives Maya Sundaresh and Chioma Esi were alive! And thriving!)

Osiris' theory that Light = material/physical and Dark = mental/immaterial

And how this would build/add onto Ikora's theories about pain, forgiveness, and memory and why the Light forgets but the Dark remembers

The Witness taking control of Ghost to get to the Veil

There's precedent for this in the Vow raid lore; plus the Witness/Darkness has influenced/taken control of Ghost before. It also always seemed too good to be true that Ghost and the guardian could spy on the Witness with no issue but that connection didn't go the other way around

Worst parts of the story:

Amanda being on the front lines of the battle despite being a civilian non guardian??? and later in defiant battlegrounds devrim even has a line about how he and amanda cant be on the front lines bc they dont have lives to space so why was she there in the first place?

Osiris seeing the Witness touch the Traveler, leave, and immediately guessing that the Witness 1) saw the Veil 2) is going to get it right now

The Veil and the Radial Mast in general

Rohan's death being obvious from a mile away and him not getting enough screentime that wasn't draped in "I'm definitely going to die soon" red flags to actually be able to get attached to him

"Let's stand perfectly still in the dark!" -Mara, Zavala, Elsie, Ikora

Overall:

Story: 4/10

Pros:

Lots of mystery going into "Final Shape"

Strong aesthetics + vibe

Post-campaign content is largely better written and more engaging

Cons:

Breakneck pacing

Poor motivations

Lack of setup

Overutilization of MacGuffins

Rapid, jarring tonal shifts

Obvious, guessable deaths

Stakes are supposed to be high but feel low

No payoff

Bungie telling people who are confused or unsatisfied to buy the year's seasons and play them to get answers… Expansions should be mandatory to understand seasons. Seasons should not be mandatory to understand expansions.

Characters: 6/10

Pros:

Fun new characters

Interesting character interactions

Cons:

Underutilized existing characters

Gameplay: 8/10

Pros:

Difficult but not oppressive content

Strand is massively fun and engaging

Interesting, well-designed missions

Lots of opportunities to use/experiment with Strand during main campaign, meaning putting together a build post-campaign is easier

Strand is much easier to unlock than Stasis, which was a huge pain

Replayable activities in Neomuna

Cons:

Some of the "secrets" on Neomuna are not really secrets (Vex disruption, Cabal ammunition, disrupting transmission)

Post campaign content with great lore (yay) is largely patrol based (nay...)

Will need to see the longevity of Neomuna + how it shakes up in the long run; Savathun's throne world had some things to do for leveling/unique replayable missions right after the campaign but a season or two later they were essentially worthless, meaning there was no reason to go back

QOL Changes: 9/10

Pros:

Simplified mod system

Ada-1 sells shaders now!

Loadouts!!!

Mod building screen!!!!

Commendations are fun

Artifact mods are intrinsic

Artifact is free to reset

Power system less relevant

More ways to stun champions

Cons:

Guardian ranks system is underwhelming, just another list of tasks to check off

Lore being moved to triumphs is a bad design choice IMO; I much preferred being able to read it on the same screen I unlocked it 

[qobb]

QuiObi Big Bang 2023 - Signups open February 1

Guidelines

The Bang is open to both gen and slash content, but Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan’s relationship must be the focal point

All genres and ratings are accepted

All content is welcome, with the exception of sexual underage content

Minors are allowed to participate, but we ask that underage artists not claim fics with explicit content and that underage authors not write fics that exceed the Teen rating

Be kind and respectful of each other. All participants are expected to refrain from gatekeeping, bullying, judging, shaming, or demeaning actions

All participants must provide an email address that they check regularly as all important communication will be done through email.

Any participant who does not respond to a Mandatory Check-in or multiple inquiries from a mod or team partner will be considered dropped from the Bang

If a participant needs to drop out, we ask that they let us know as soon as possible. We do understand that life happens and are very willing to try to work something out with participants. Please just keep in contact with us and your team partner. We can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on

The final date to drop out is June 1 for Authors and July 15 for Artists. Ghosting or dropping out after these dates will likely result in bans from future eventse

Author Requirements

There are 3 different word count tiers (listed below). You will specify which one you want to do on the sign-up form

1 fic allowed per writer

Coauthoring is allowed, but that will count as the 1 fic allowance

All works must be brand new or a previously unpublished WIP

Authors will be required to submit drafts at scheduled check-ins that are at a certain level of completion. The wordcount requirements for the check-ins are detailed in Tiers Info section below

Claims will open on May 6. While it is preferable for all authors to be committed at this point, there will be a grace period to drop out with no penalty until May 15.

Please keep your work private until claim assignments are announced

Chaptered fics are allowed, but all fics must be completed in their entirety by the posting date

We do ask that you use a beta reader. You may select your own or choose from a list of betas that we will be providing

All stories must be tagged. If a tag is a spoiler, it can be posted in the end notes with a note at the beginning to see end notes for more detailed tagging info

Finished works should be published on AO3. There will be an official AO3 Collection for the Bang

You may participate as both a writer and an artist, but may not create art for your own fic as this defeats the collaborative purpose of a Bang

Artist Requirements

There are 3 different art tiers (listed below). You will specify which tier(s) you want to do on the sign-up form

Your work must be brand new or a previously unpublished WIP

Art can be either illustration or photomanipulation/edits/gifs; however, if it is a photomanipulation/edits/gifs, we ask that it be more than just a simple filter application and demonstrate a certain level of artistic skill

No AI images are allowed to respect the current situation

Traditional art is accepted as long as it can be scanned to meet at least an HD visualization

Explicit art is allowed, but please do not exceed the rating on the fic without confirming with your author

Art can either be embedded in the fic or hosted elsewhere

You may participate as both an author and an artist, but may not create art for your own fic as this defeats the collaborative purpose of a Bang

The final day for artists to drop out with no penalty is July 15

Tier Information

Please note that authors will have to submit drafts at the check-ins that are at a certain level of completion. The wordcount requirements for the check-ins are listed for each tier.

Tier 1

Art Count: 1 Word Count: 5k - 10k

30% Completion: 1.5k - 3k

60% Completion: 3k - 6k

90% Completion: 4.5k - 9k

Tier 2

Art Count: 2 Word Count: 10k - 20k

30% Completion: 3k - 6k

60% Completion: 6k - 12k

90% Completion: 9k - 18k

Tier 3

Art Count: 3 Word Count: 20k+

30% Completion: 6k+

60% Completion: 12k+

90% Completion: 18k+

[snarry-fest-adopt-a-prompt]

SECOND CHECK-IN DEADLINE!

Hello snarry creator!

Today is November 21th, and it is the deadline for Adopt-a-Prompt’s second Check-in!

The check-in is mandatory for all fest creators, but don’t worry if you haven’t made much progress on your fic yet, or even if you haven’t started. There is still time left until the deadline. Check-ins are simply easy ways for you to let us know if you’re having any trouble or if you need any help, and for us to keep track of how everyone is doing and remind you that we’re still out there, ready to lend a hand. Also, there still the possibility of extensions if you think you are going to finish your work in time. 

To complete the check-in, simply click on the link below, fill in the form and submit it. Within approximately 24-48 hours, you should receive a confirmation email, so keep an eye out for news from us, and check your spam inbox, just in case we end up in there!

CHECK-IN #2: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdsBrAY1wxj_75z3duEULAiSTU4hEY5ad1N9B3Iv36YM2TdbQ/viewform?usp=sharing

Remember!

If you do not fill and submit the form within today, you will receive a warning email to remind you. If you do not complete the check-in within 3 days of receiving this email, you will receive no other warning. We will consider that you have dropped out of the fest and your prompt will be made available for other creators. We hope this won’t happen, but we want to ensure that the fest runs as smoothly as possible for everyone (us mods included).

For any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Also, you can still claim our prompts if you wish. This check in won’t apply to you and you’ll just need to submit your work for the deadline on December 16th.

PROMPTS LIST - CLAIMING FORM

[swbigbang]

SWBB 2022 ANNOUNCEMENT

Hey everyone! Is it really that time of year again?

The Star Wars Big Bang 2022 is here! We’re stoked to bring you another year of this awesome event. That being said, there’s a few changes.

What’s new?

Author requirements will stay the same as last year. There will be multiple checkpoints throughout the event for accountability purposes, during which you will need to submit a draft of your fic.

Sign-ups start TODAY! You can find the form here.

There are three categories you can sign up for. At the first check in, you’ll need to submit the minimum wordcount for the category, OR a completed outline of the entire thing. If you’re going with the first option, the word count for check-in 1 is:

     5k-10k category: 3k words

     10k-20k category: 3k words

     20k+ category: 6k words

Author sign-ups close the same day, so make sure you get your form submitted by then!

Remember, this is only a draft! We’re not going to be looking for polished, ready-to-publish work at this stage. It can be as messy as you want it to be, so long as it’s started and meets the required wordcount for check-in.

NOTE: It is a mandatory requirement to list trigger warnings or other sensitive content that may be included in your fic. These warnings must be present in the story details and in the tags of the published content. Failure to list trigger warnings will result in a ban for next year’s event. Please consult the FAQ for the full list of warnings.

Beta reader sign-ups are being overhauled.

This year, a sign-up form will be released alongside the author sign-up form. Shortly after sign-ups have begun, authors will receive a beta reader request form, through which they can get help finding a beta reader that suits their needs, whether that be help with the overall plot and structure of the fic, or just someone to check for typos. Once both forms are compiled, we’ll start matching beta readers with authors.

You can find the form here.

Artist signups are the same this year.

We’ll have sign-up forms finalized soon, so keep an eye on this space. On February 4, you’ll receive story details. Select your top 3. There are no guarantees you’ll get your first choice, but you can trust that Lily and the mod team are going to do their best to pair everyone with something they’ll enjoy creating for.

Now for our biggest change:

The collection reveal date is being moved up. That’s right, reveals will be happening earlier! Over the years, May 4th seemed like the obvious choice, but many authors have expressed concerns about many other events revealing on the same day. In order to give authors’ fics a better chance at being seen, the collection will now close on April 21st and be revealed on April 22nd.

That means everything is getting shuffled around.

The new schedule

November 1: Event start. Author and Beta signups are open NOW. While the forms will be linked in this post, a separate post containing the forms will also be posted. Beta matching will continue throughout the event.

>>Author sign-up form

>>Beta sign-up form

January 18: Author Check-In 1. Authors are required to submit either a completed outline of their fic OR a draft at the minimum required wordcount. See the author requirements above for the minimum wordcount per category. Author sign-ups will also close.

February 1: Beta reader and Artist sign-ups close. Final story details are due.

February 4: Story details will be sent out to artists for claims. See the above artist requirements for more details.

February 11: Artist claims are due.

February 16: Author Check-In 2. 75% fic completion is required for this check-in. Fic and artist pairings will be sent out. Note: This day is the last day for authors to drop out of the event without penalty.

March 25: Author Check-In 3. Authors will send in their finished, unedited drafts.

April 10: This day is the last day for beta readers and artists to drop out of the event without penalty. Pinch hitting begins.

April 15: The AO3 collection opens. Authors and artists may begin posting their work to the collection.

April 21: Posting to the AO3 collection closes. You cannot submit to the collection after this date.

April 22: The collection is revealed!

We hope that these changes make for a smoother event for everyone who participates. We can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Also, a big thank you to @minnarr for the new avatar and banner art! It looks so snazzy.

[discordhelp]

hi mods of discord help! i have a question: after christmas, my roleplay group has like .. died. and no matter how often i try to gather engagement through posts in the group chat or plot calls, no one responds and it's starting to make me really sad tbh. do you have any ideas on how to like spike up activity?

hey there, anon! we're sorry to hear that your rp has reached a plateau leading into the new year. believe us when we say we have been in your shoes before, and though we wish there was a definite answer regarding how to revive something that's dropped in activity, neither of us have had perfect success when it comes to trying to do exactly that.

this got a little long, so i'm putting this under a read more, but if lurkers are reading this and want to provide their two cents, please drop a reply or hop into our inbox! we'd love to hear more opinions on this.

some advice i can give you is to perhaps be a little stricter with your activity rules for a week or so, whether that means implementing activity checks instead of interest checks or you can add requirements for your members to reach in order to be eligible for interest checks. this can include posting / reacting to starter calls every other week, interacting with three different muns every week, replying to closed starters that were written for you within a week, etc. and if these aren't met, you can issue these members a warning, in which if they haven't met the activity requirements in the next 24 hours, you have the right to remove them from your server.

within this time, i suggest throwing together a mandatory task for everyone to do! this can be as simple as a muse playlist, headcanons, or making a pinterest board. people love exploring their muses, so i think this can offer some inspiration that might've been lost over holiday break!

we also love plot drops / events in this house! so perhaps creating a mini plot drop for everyone's muses to react to can boost interest! it'll give everyone a collective thing to write about and encourage plotting / starter calls.

again, these aren't going to be end all, be all solutions, since every rp is different. just know that this is a team effort and if you've done all you can do to try and recharge your server with nothing given in return, it is not your fault. an admin can only do so much and if members aren't there to put in the effort you're giving them, you're valid for feeling disheartened. but! if anything, especially if you love the concept of your rp and you don't want to give up on it, there is no harm in closing the group temporarily to then revamping it with maybe one or two fresh ideas added to the plot or application or skeletons / muses to garner new interest!

we're wishing you all the luck, anon, and sending you all the good vibes! if you'd like a shoutout for your rp, feel free to pop in our inbox again and we'd love to give one for you!

[callabang]

hi calla! sorry if this is a weird question, but i just remembered the fic exchange primer you made so i thought i'd shoot my shot. do you know if you need to have a dreamwidth to sign up for hbb? are there any things you think a first time hbb-er would need to know that might not seem obvious? thanks so much either way!

hello! no weird questions on THIS blog

((link to hbb sign-ups & instructions))

i have only done hbb once, in 2020, so it's not totally fresh in my mind, but i'll do my best to help! as far as i know (edit: confirmed by mods!) you don't need a dreamwidth account to sign up, although it does make it easier to post. you CAN just post comments anonymously, so long as you include your AO3 username in the comment itself

more stuff under the cut

so the broad structure of HBB is below, and i think just going incrementally deadline by deadline is the best way to tackle things for a beginner!

Sign-ups Open: Now! Mandatory Check-in/Primary Fanworker Sign-ups close: Monday, August 1 50% Draft Completion/Summary Submission: Wednesday, September 14 Summaries Posted For Viewing: Saturday, September 17 Summary Claims Open: Sunday, September 18 Posting Date Claims Open: Saturday, October 15 Mandatory Check-in for All Participants: Thursday, October 14 Posting Begins: Monday, October 31

stuff that might not seem obvious (also: always check with the mods! they are in charge)

not everyone posts at once, like in an exchange; you're assigned a date and they are staggered

a fifty percent draft doesn't actually need to be half of your fic, but half of the minimum, so 5k words! that said you do have to at least bullet-point plot out the entire thing, for the mods and for your secondary fanworker

as for other ~*insider*~ advice.... my HBB (a beam of your sun that banishes winter, aka fuckpriest) was co-written with @manybumblebees, which was the best decision i could have made personally! i know that co-writing isn't for everyone but even just to designate a cheerleader and handholder is a great to way to stay motivated and engaged as you work.

a big element of us finishing the story was really committing to 250 words a day, which is 1) not as hard as it seems at first 2) a great way to write more than your goal every day. it also allowed us to finish a complete draft with enough time to get some very thoughtful feedback from out beta and make substantive edits that helped make the story much stronger, which was a new and good experience for me, someone who lovesssss to finish at the last minute and then have a beta just check for spelling and grammar, el oh el.

one more piece of big advice is to be in communication with your accompanying fan-work-creator (ie artist, podficcer, etc), once you hit that stage! if you need more time or need more of a draft or need to drop out or anything, it's better to get in touch sooner than later.

also, it's a very cool thing to participate in a big bang and you should be proud of yourself for trying it!! have fun!!

[the-auris]

RULES

GENERAL RULES

✧ This is an 18+ server. We will not tolerate minors trying to sneak in. If we find out you are underage you will be permanently banned – this also goes for members who were underage when they joined but turned 18 when we found out. No exceptions.

✧ Absolutely no ableism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, etc. If a character of yours canonically shares any bigoted viewpoints, keep those to a minimum. We want this place to be a fun getaway from any real life problems people might face.

✧ Be respectful when interacting with each other. Mind everyone's triggers and boundaries, as well as use tone indicators when you feel there is a need for them.

✧ Try to keep politics, negative world events and everything that can be similarly upsetting in #deep-talk. Note that this channel is for the aforementioned topics, not for excessive venting.

✧ No usage of slurs. That includes ones you can reclaim.

✧ Suggestive talk is allowed but please keep everything explicitly NSFW in the assigned category. This includes images containing non-sexual nudity.

✧ If a conversation is ever making you uncomfortable, whether IC or OOC, you are always free to tap out. While a short explanation in these scenarios is appreciated to not let it happen again, it is by no means mandatory.

✧ In general we do not expect people to censor spoilers from canon licensed media, however please be mindful about potentially spoiling relatively new media.

RP RULES

✧ Every member may have seven characters in total from either DBD canon or crossover horror media. Crossover media must fit the setting of DBD, be relatively well known, and is limited to video games and live action movies/shows. Multiple characters from the same franchise are allowed as long as you don’t pick more than one recurring main character and the characters you pick are not closely related to each other. Also please only pick characters that are relevant to their respective franchise, not just a background character. When picking a character from a franchise, you must be familiar with every piece of media they appear in, regardless of which point in time you are picking them from. If you're unsure about whether a crossover character is allowed or not feel free to ask the mods about it! OCs are not allowed.

✧ New members are allowed to pick up two characters from the start, but everything beyond that will come with a short window where members will have to wait before reserving or applying for a new character.

The third character may be reserved/applied for one week after the second character was accepted.

The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh character may be reserved/applied for two weeks after the previous one was accepted.

✧ Characters may be reserved for up to two weeks. Reservations can be made in #updates-and-reservations. If you haven't submitted a character within two weeks of joining, you will be kicked, but are welcome to rejoin with the intention of submitting a character this time. If a member has not been active at all, i.e. has not even made an intro, this kick might be issued sooner.

✧ The mods will do monthly activity checks where inactive members will be kicked. Since we are a role play oriented server, only talking in OOC channels does not count as activity. If you have been active with one or more characters but not with others, we will have to ask you to drop the unused character(s), but you will not be kicked from the server as long as you are active with at least one character. Generally we will judge activity harsher on DBD original characters than on crossover characters. If you have to take a break because of IRL reasons you are free to take a hiatus of course, but please tell us beforehand that you need a break so you don't get an unwarranted kick.

✧ While this is a paragraph-style literary RP, there is no minimum or maximum thread length. The most important thing is that both parties are comfortable with each other's writing style and post length. The same goes for post frequency, although the aforementioned activity checks will still be in order.

✧ Heavy written gore and violence is allowed and will not be censored, with the exception of some specific triggers. If you are generally uncomfortable with gore this server is unfortunately not for you.

✧ If a character's whole ordeal involves a trigger of yours (i.e. the Plague and vomit) we will not expect players to censor the trigger in their RP threads. As the person with that trigger please just stay away from those threads. Of course the trigger will still need to be censored in the chatrooms and all OOC channels.

✧ All characters must be 16+. Younger characters with an unknown age (i.e. Susie) and characters who are canonically 17 (Cheryl, Laurie, etc.) are allowed to be aged up/taken from a later point in time but are banned from the NSFW category regardless of age. Characters who are below the age of 16 are not allowed to be aged up/RPed in general. (i.e. Chatterer)

✧ Shipping in general is allowed, however ships with questionable age gaps, specifically if one party is very young, and ships with incestuous themes are prohibited.

✧ Don't try to control other characters. Also don't assume your character knows things about another person's character just because you, the player, know them.

✧ When making headcanons involving other characters always discuss them with their respective players first. Please always be polite about these things and don’t pressure people into playing into your headcanons. Additionally, please try to keep headcanons true to your character(s). Slight divergences are okay but headcanons shouldn’t completely change the character or delve into AU territory. The same goes for their overall portrayal.

✧ Always discuss plots with your RP partner(s) first, especially when it involves killing a character or putting them through something traumatic. Never pressure someone into plotting with you simply because you like their character/dynamic with your character. If you ever feel pressured into doing something, please contact a mod. This goes especially for NSFW threads.

✧ Unless specifically stated by the player, always assume the source material a character is from is real, not fiction. I.e. don't assume the Scream movie franchise exists in your character's universe.

✧ In RP, Tupperbox icons are considered to be the character’s chatroom icon, meaning it should only be of something their phone could photograph in the fog, preferably a photo of themselves or something relating to them. Please also make sure the icon actually resembles the character. With that in mind, please make sure your Tupperbox icon does not include anything they would not encounter/have access to in the fog. Stylized art or bright/blank backgrounds are okay, of course.

✧ Everything that happens within the bi-monthly RP events is seen as canon and is allowed to bleed into non-event channels.

Depending on the severity and frequency of disregard towards the rules, the mods will either strike or ban members.

Last updated: 01.02.2023

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #Gudako: Gudako

Happy April Fools! We were going to do Scathach today, but this thing crawled into my home and it won’t go away until I make a build of it. So here’s Gudako.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

We’ll then return to our regularly scheduled Scathach.

Race and Background

Ritsuka Fujimaru is a human, but you’re an awful little gremlin with a penchant for lechery. In other words, a Lightfoot Halfling. That gets you +2 Dexterity, +1 Charisma, and makes you Lucky, Brave, Nimble, and Naturally Stealthy. This means you can re-roll ones on attacks, checks, and saves, have advantage against being frightened, can move through larger creatures, and can hide behind them as well.

We’re also making up a Gambler background for you, giving you proficiency in Deception and Insight. 

Ability Scores

Even if you’re a weird awful version of FGO’s master, you’re still FGO’s master, so your Charisma is pretty freaking good. After that is Constitution- I don’t know how you survived the end of that last book but you did, so that’s probably con based. After that is Dexterity. It might just be the art style, but you’re kind of noodly, and incredibly fast. Your Strength isn’t amazing just yet, you’re still kind of a nerd. After that is Intelligence, then Wisdom. You play a gacha game. Enough said. 

Class Levels

1. Sorcerer 1: Mages in the Nasuverse are kind of a weird mix between sorcerers and wizards, but since you never really learned about magic that means you’re 100% the former! 

Thankfully, being a sorcerer opens us up to the gacha of the magic world, Wild Magic! At first level you can cast Spells using your charisma, and first level or higher spells can activate your Wild Magic Surge. After casting such a spell, you roll a d20, and on a 1 you then roll on the big ol’ table and get weird magic stuff. If you’d rather roll more often, your Tides of Chaos can force the issue. You can spend it to gain advantage on an attack, check, or save once per long rest. That being said, you can speed things up at your DM’s discretion, recharging the tides with a mandatory roll on the wild magic surge table.

Speaking of spells, you get a bunch of cantrips here. Friends and Mage Hand will improve your relationship with Mash, Prestidigitation takes care of all of that “actual magic” stuff, and Message lets you use your phone like a phone. Weird, I thought this was a gacha console?

For first level spells, Chaos Bolt brings the gacha into your combat, with the spell’s damage type based on the damage roll you make. It also has a chance of bouncing off and hitting another target for theoretically infinite damage. Expeditious Retreat will give you that gremlin speed you’re known for.

Finally, you get proficiency with Constitution and Charisma saves, as well as the Arcana and Intimidation skills. You just kinda give off this aura, y’know?

2. Sorcerer 2: Second level sorcerers become a Font of Magic, giving them sorcery points equal to their level that they can spend to make new spell slots. You can also do the reverse, but that won’t be useful until next level. You also learn how to bring out a creature’s hidden desires with Id Insinuation, which forces a wisdom save (DC 8+chr mod+ proficiency) or the target is incapacitated and takes psychic damage. There’s a reason your little eggplant has trouble fighting you off.

3. Sorcerer 3: Third level sorcerers get Metamagic, ways to use your sorcery points to enhance your magic. You strike me as a buster meta player, so Empowered Spell will let you get the most damage out of your spells (and also let you cheat a bit on Chaos Bolt). You also learn how to skip the casting animations on your spells thanks to Quickened Spell, turning an action casting spell into a bonus action.

On top of that, Hold Person lets you hold a person down while you have your way with them. By that I mean attack them, duh. Get your mind out of the gutter.

4. Sorcerer 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Strength. Trust me, it’ll help out later.

You can also cast Create Bonfire for the survivalist in you, or you can Mind Thrust on the people you’re holding. It’s still nothing lewd, it just deals psychic damage, and if a creature fails the intelligence save it can’t take reactions until the end of its next turn and has to choose between moving, taking an action, or a bonus action next turn.

5. Sorcerer 5: Fifth level sorcerers get third level spells, and Conjure Lesser Demon lets you summon Mephistopheles to the battlefield! Actually it’s just eight manes or dretches, but it sounds like it would summon Mephistopheles. Those demons are just as loyal as Mephy though, so... keep your distance.

6. Sorcerer 6: Sixth level wild mages can Bend Luck as a reaction, adding or subtracting 1d4 from any check, save, or attack you wish near you. Now you really have protagonist powers! You can also cast Haste now for additional gudaspeed.

7. Sorcerer 7: Seventh level sorcerers get fourth level spells, and Conjure Shadow Demon does exactly what you think it does. You can conjure a shadow demon- I think Cursed Arm would probably count for this? Also, this demon’s slightly more cooperative, but it will probably turn on you after the fight’s over.

8. Sorcerer 8: Use this ASI for more Charisma. You can also Conjure Barlgura, which also does exactly what you think it does; conjures a barlgura. What, you don’t know what a barlgura is? Yeah right, everyone knows barlguras! They’re so iconic I don’t even have to tell you which servant they’re like!

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

What the hell? It’s been eight levels already and we haven’t even summoned a four star yet! I’m so salty I’m gonna....

9. Barbarian 1: Going into barbarian lets you turn your gacha salt into Rage, giving you extra bonus damage on attacks, getting advantage on strength saves and checks, and you get resistance to physical damage types. You also get an Unarmored Defense, letting you continue your fight even in the nude.

10. Barbarian 2: You can now make Reckless Attacks, gaining advantage on all attacks for the turn at the cost of taking attacks at advantage for the round. Your Danger Sense also gives you advantage on dexterity saves that you can see coming. You might think that’ll help when Berserker of Learning with Manga turns on you. You’d be wrong.

11. Barbarian 3: Did you think the gacha was over just because of a class change? Hah! Thanks to Tasha’s, you can set down the Path of Wild Magic at third level, giving you Magic Awareness, an action to sense magic within 60′ of you proficiency times per long rest.

More gachaly, you get a new Wild Surge when you rage. It’s a smaller table than your sorcerer surges, but it’s more consistent. It’s the friend point gacha to the other’s quartz gacha.

You also get Athletics proficiency from your Primal Knowledge, for better sprints.

12. Barbarian 4: Bring your Strength even higher so hitting people is actually a good idea.

13. Barbarian 5: You get an Extra Attack each action now, and your Fast Movement adds 10′ to your movement speed, making you not the slowest person in the party any more!

14. Barbarian 6: At sixth level, your Bolstering Magic lets you spend an action to either A) add a d3 to a creature’s attacks or checks for 10 minutes, or B) regain a creature’s spell slot, with the level based on the roll of a d3. You can use the second one once per creature per long rest, but your total number of uses is equal to your proficiency bonus each long rest.

15. Barbarian 7: Seventh level barbarians let their Feral Instinct take hold, gaining advantage on initiative rolls. You also can ignore surprise by raging. Your Instinctive Pounce lets you move up to half your speed when you rage. You like pouncing.

16. Barbarian 8: Use this ASI to bump up your Constitution for more health, more AC, and stronger rage spells.

17. Barbarian 9: Your Brutal Critical gives you an extra die of damage when you deal a critical hit, as you rub gacha salt in the enemy’s wounds.

18. Barbarian 10: Your last wild magic goody is the Unstable Backlash- when you take damage or fail a save while raging, you can roll on the wild magic table and replace your current effect. More gacha, MORE GACHA! 

You also get more Primal Knowledge for Survival proficiency. I think you kinda ended society as we know it in at least one timeline, so you’ll need it.

19. Barbarian 11: Your Relentless Rage gives you a guts skill of your very own! When you would normally drop to 0 hp you can make a constitution save to say at 1 hp instead. The DC increases each time, but resets on short rests.

20. Barbarian 12: Your final level is another ASI for more Strength. Hit people, it’s real simple.

Pros:

You are just so random, which makes it hard to strategize against you. Your enemy can’t know what you’re gonna do if you don’t!

You’re pretty beefy, but you can also send in a demon squad to cause chaos in your stead when you’re feeling lazy.

Halfling’s lucky is so useful it honestly deserves its own pros spot. Nat 1s are for nerds!

Cons:

Mixing conjuration and rages is never going to end well, especially when those conjurations want you dead.

You’re so random that you can’t really strategize for anything. Yeah, it won’t be boring, but you can’t be as precise as other builds.

For a lot of this build, your shortness can be an issue when it comes to mobility. Being the slowest person in the party when running from demons (that you may or may not have summoned) is a serious problem.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Satisfied, Part 26

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~~~

They snuck through the house. Did they really have to? Probably not. She doubted that anyone would genuinely care if they saw her there. Were they still going to? Of course. It was infinitely more fun that way.

Then, seemingly at random, Jason pushed open a door and gave small bow as she stepped inside.

It was a dojo of some sort. The floors were lined with padded mats. On one wall, rows of dummies were lined up. On the opposite wall, she found a shooting range. The other two walls were ‘decorated’ with different types of weapons and, occasionally, the odd pad.

Jason hummed as he looked around, then rested his hands on his hips. “Right. Shooting range?” He asked.

She bit her lip and looked around. “Actually, I’d like to fight.”

His lips pulled into a slight frown for a second before he nodded. “Do you want to beat up a dummy or me?”

She blinked. “I’m not going to beat you up.”

“I meant with padded armor.”

Her lips formed an ‘o’ shape and she nodded, then considered the question. If he was wearing armor, then at least she could get in some practice on finding/hitting people’s weak spots. On the other hand, she was still injured; she didn’t know if she should push herself like that.

She glanced at him and bit down on the inside of her cheek. Would he notice if she was in pain? Could she do any intensive work? Did she want to risk it?

“I guess it would be fun to beat you up.”

“Ouch,” he said, resting a hand over his heart with a cheeky grin. Still, he started getting into the armor.

She stretched while she waited, closing her eyes. A warm up was important, she just had to make sure not to flex her stomach and sides too much. This didn’t leave her with as many options as she would have liked, though, so she was done pretty quickly.

After a bit of looking around, she pulled on some grappling gloves. She flexed her fingers. “I like these. They’re mine now.”

“Sure, take everything but the katanas and the guns and you’ll be fine.”

She snickered. “Why specifically those?”

“Well, the guns are mine and I would prefer not having to go through the trouble to mod new ones. As for the katanas, those are Damian’s. They’re not special or anything, far as I can tell, but they’re his and you don’t mess with his stuff.”

She raised an eyebrow as they walked back onto the mats. “Is that a sibling thing?”

“Stealing each other’s things? Yeah.”

Marinette grinned. “Well then, I’m going to have to pass on your offer to get adopted. My stuff is my stuff.”

"Don’t worry, you don’t really have anything worth stealing anyways.”

She huffed and gave him a kick in the chest for the express purpose of watching him stumble back a bit. “Rude!”

“But true,” he said calmly, stepping back into position.

She didn’t respond outside of a punch to the face. Which, she supposed, was an answer in itself.

And, so, she worked. She didn’t go as hard on him as she usually would when training, because she needed to make sure she didn’t start bleeding through her shirt (it would be hard to explain), but she still threw a fair few punches and kicks that made him actually move. Occasionally, he would reach out and poke her somewhere to show her she’d dropped her guard.

She was in the middle of a roundhouse kick when he asked what must have been on his mind for a while: “So, why are you mad at them?”

She blinked and her foot passed through clean air, leaving her to spin a bit. She huffed as a hand tapped her back and got back into her fighting stance. “Why do you ask?”

“Figured that, as your older brother, I should know if what they did is murder-worthy or not,” he joked quietly.

She sighed and shook her head slightly. “Fine.” She threw a punch with the word to show her distaste, but still answered: “First one is Chloe. She... she and I didn’t get along from the start. We went through a lot of school together and she bullied me.”

She saw his eyes flare with anger and rolled her eyes.

“It was nothing really bad, don’t worry. And it wasn’t as if I wasn’t rude back at times.”

His shoulders relaxed a little bit, but he didn’t seem any happier about this information.

She threw a particularly high kick at his face and winced as pain raced through her. To make sure he didn’t interpret it badly she stepped back and nursed her hamstring as if she’d pulled it.

He dropped his arms and frowned, stepping forward, only to get poked in the nose.

“Dropped your guard!”

Jason’s eyes narrowed slightly and pat her on the head. “You did, too,” he said.

“Mhmm, but let’s not talk about that.”

He rolled his eyes and brought his hands back up.

She gave him a cheeky grin and got back into a fighting stance herself. “And then, after all that time, she finds out blackmail on me. Literally the biggest blackmail she could find. And she didn’t use it. She didn’t even threaten it.”

“Everyone has morals of some kind, what’s so good about it?”

Marinette shook her head slightly and gave him a quick kick in the shin. “You didn’t see her. She’s been helping me out a lot since. She didn’t even need to, and she went to a lot of trouble to help me.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“And the other person?”

She hesitated to think up a name for Robin, but then figured she might be able to get away with just not using one. “Right. He stole a win right out from under me. Cheated a bit, too,” she explained.

“And why are you thinking he’s a good person now?”

She thought of how to phrase it without looking like she was hiding too much. “We saw each other recently and he didn’t recognize me. And he was so... sweet?”

A sigh slipped from between her lips. Her hands fell to her sides.

“But even when they’re nice and all... I still can’t be nice back. Not really. I can do little things in short bursts... but it’s all fake and I just can’t seem to get over it! Chloe hasn’t done anything in years and R--Roy hasn’t done anything too bad since but I can’t...” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t know how to keep going. He seemed to understand, though.

She laid back on the ground, resting her hands over her eyes. She heard a dull thud as dropped down next to her. They were quiet for a long time.

Jason was the one to break the silence: “So, do you think there’s a link between the two for why you can’t get over it?”

She mulled this over for a bit. She came to an answer and sunk into the mat a little bit. “Me?”

He sighed. “No. Okay, yes, technically, but I don’t think that’s it.”

She dropped a hand and looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. “Then what?”

“Well... think of it this way: anger is a secondary emotion, right?”

“Secondary...?”

“Basically, anger is a completely different emotion that's boiled over. Usually sadness, but sometimes other things.”

She rolled her eyes. “So there’s some secret emotion I’m feeling underneath?”

He gave a short nod. “My personal guess is that they make you feel weak or inferior.”

“But I’m not.”

“I know that,” he said gently. “But from what you were describing... the first person bullied you, right? You said you fought back a little bit, but it sounds like you got a lot more than you dished out.”

She frowned. “I didn’t want to stoop to her level. The only reason I fought back at all was because of a friend I had at the time.”

He nodded. “Okay, sure. Then there’s a person that actively undermined you. You say he ‘stole your win’ but that’s not really much to be bitter about. Sure, it sucks, but you’re holding way more of a grudge than you should.”

She rested her hands on her stomach and stared at the ceiling. Maybe. But...

“But most damning,” he began, pulling her attention back to him, “is that you’re fighting while clearly injured.”

Marinette cursed in French. So he had noticed. She bit down on the inside of her cheek.

“So, yeah, that’s what my best guess is for why you can’t just ‘get over it’.”

She thought this over for a bit, before sighing. “And what do I do about it?”

“For now I’d apologize, explain that you’re working on yourself, and warn them that you might end up snapping at them in the meantime. If they’re actually good people, they’d understand, right?” He reached over and poked her cheek. “And you need to raise your self esteem if you want to really get over the problem.”

She gave him a tiny smile. “You seem to know a lot about this.”

“I suppose my therapist would have to come in handy at some point.”

She was stunned into silence. He certainly seemed the type to need a therapist, but he didn’t seem the type to actually get one.

He laughed at the look on her face. “Yeah, Bruce makes it mandatory for all his kids. Us and our friends usually end up held for ransom from time to time. It’s good to have someone on call.”

Marinette nodded. That made sense. She bit the inside of her cheek. So, she needed to work on herself and apologize.

She pulled out her phone.

~~~

This took forever to write out and I still don’t know if I got the point across well enough so like fuck --

~

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