#shoutout again to the mods who started this up

[crosmack]

reasons that i can't ignore | read here

this was written for the @summerboyfriendsexchange!

[coffeegnomee]

All About You

This is about to be the most meta analysis post of my life, but something that has fascinated me the most about lifesteal recently: chat is the 38th member.

As a live stream story, lifesteal is always going to be affected by the live audience, the streamer reading messages, talking back and forth, sometimes doing what chat wants. This is the streamer-chat dynamic. It's natural, it's part of the story.

But something that has fascinated me particularly since season 4, particularly post zam's break s5, and Particularly in s6 since I've started interacting on tumblr, is just how much chat influences the lore and how much we influence each other.

At each of these moments there was a shift in the PrinceZam streamer-chat dynamic.

Season 4 was a lot of anti-lore chatters. People who blah blah blah'ed it up whenever Zam went into a spiral about what he should do. It heightened the feeling of isolation and confusion, especially as some chatters (shoutout van) tried to gently encourage zam in his decision making, giving counter points to the negativity. Unfortunately it often just lead to more confusion as chat was split 50/50 on almost every decision.

In season 5, after the break, there was a reset of the mod team to the team we have now (knowing most of you are here potentially reading this is weird.) These were the best chatters of s4, the ones who became highly invested in Eclipse, and lifesteal in general, and Zam in particular.

In season 5 the hivemind of the mod team getting excited about lore was hilarious to watch. Half the team reprimanded backseating of the rest of the mod team (shoutout meep), the other half lored it up (shoutout chips), everyone loved it. 'Credit to the artist' was born as direct quotes from chat made it into the character.

Read that again: Direct Quotes From Chat Made It Into The Character.

That is weird.

No longer was it simply the mind of PrinceZam forming the character of Zam, as we watched and reacted, but chat itself became an integral part of the lore (these are his amends. make him repent) forming and shaping it, right alongside Zam, into what that season became.

In particular the conversations as the Joker (specifically the Jumper yap in your president doesn't care about you) brought out comparison after comparison to past seasons of princezam as chatters brought up and compared jumper to zam season 3. This sparked a huge renaissance of past season analysis of Zam which became heavily integrated into the final months of the server, with zam to minute, with minute bringing up his own inspiration of season 3 zam, and with zam musing about how each character approaches what past seasons mean to them (concluding, iirc, that they remember it but it doesn't matter to them. tell that to s6 zam lol).

In season 6 the dynamic has shifted again. Credit to the artist has died down, usually in favor of admitting he's reading a suggestion from chat, but the back and forth conversation, reading out specific messages, from often the same few people (shoutout arch and van and citrus (hi citrus)) has flourished more than ever (also shoutout the new chatters. there's been a turnover again and a lot of new names who are consistently affecting the lore)

Right at the end of season 5 I began interacting on lstumblr and writing and reading posts. It came from the end of season conversation about The Mering essay, Barrier Blocks: a breakdown of lifesteal in 22k words about season 4 and conflict. It wasn't the first time that essay and the story of Eclipse Federation was brought up and analyzed on stream as Zam encountered head on that his darkest time on lifesteal was the defacto fan favorite story of the server.

The analysis of the chatters was being shared with the streamer and therefore, the character. These were the seeds of thinking deeply about his actions in s4 and s5 and how he actually felt about them and not just moving on and forgetting.

And then something else started happening. Maybe it happened often before, and I was just not aware of it; I do remember a few times in s5 the mod team referencing and asking zam questions about his character that they had talked about or mused over between each other on discord. So it was happening to some extent, but particularly since starting to hear your opinions and analysis about the story on tumblr, I'm seeing a new trend in s6.

The fandom stream snipe:

When someone in chat innocently brings up something I damn well know was talked about on here just the day before.

Some analysis about a previous stream. Some wishful musing about interactions we hope to see. A tidbit about a previous stream that was unresolved.

And it changes the lore just as much as Planet is known to change the lore by talking to Zam.

The two instances that got me really thinking about chat being the 38th member were recent:

After 4c betrayed there was of course a lot of discussion and the general consensus was the we would love to see another 4c and zam conversation. Especially after 4c gave kab the disc, and zam did the short confrontation of him with derap. Multiple people, I mean it was on everyone's mind, wanted another interaction.

And when the timing was good, chat struck. Or should I say, van cooked. After Zam wrote signs about kab and wondered what to do about his interactions with her, someone mentioned 4c, and the door was opened to talk about what we were all wondering about. Van delivered, nearly single handedly driving the conversation towards talking to 4c, musing that it felt unresolved. When zam got distracted by demi talking about his base, van brought the discussion back around to 4c and the rest of chat started cooking too, innocently encouraging a second conversation. And Zam /msged 4c to talk.

It would not have happened without chat.

The second was yesterday: talking about Leo potentially being a mole. I had analysis, I know zy had analysis, I think others did as well. But until chat started bringing up fandom analysis, zam and derap were not sus of Leo in the slightest. Zam was only partially suspicious about Mapicc wanting to kill Flame, but he only thought of it in terms of letting Mapicc down.

And it got me thinking; at what point are we stream sniping ourselves? It's not really stream sniping (though the 4c one gets very close) because it's based on our own analysis, and usually just based on zam's streams, or doesn't include knowledge that isn't known.

But that Leo analysis was lifesteal spoiler walled. It was, by default, something that was kept hidden from lifestealers on tumblr (though less for zam and more for anyone else), though, as a theory, is it really a spoiler? But as a theory, is it really meant to be seen by the character? Unless we were a member and wanted to tell our teammate we thought something was up?

It's an interesting conundrum. Our analysis is a hivemind of hyperfixating viewers who Think about lifesteal all the time, rewatch streams, watch everyone and know how everyone is likely to be thinking and acting, breaking it down, reading each other's analysis and cultivating a deep web of theories and hopes and dreams about this lovely server of ours.

And that holds weight. All the minds of the viewers pushing together to have an affect on the server. Honorable mentions are our opinions/analysis on lskab that ran rampant in chat for that like month, and, in the opposite direction, mer's rewatch of s4 ending in a "i wish zam could talk to vitalasy again" post which plausibly reignited the deep dive thinking about that season and then culminated in this past saturday's stream!

Would PrinceZam the character ever have wanted to talk to vitalasy nearly half as much without the love of the fandom (not just mer) for eclipse federation that persists to this very moment nearly 2 years later?

We mighteswell be a member on the server asking zam to talk to someone!

Not to give us a big head.

I'm in no way criticizing these actions. I don't have an opinion either way for when it's too much. It's part of the medium to have a chat. Lifesteal would simply not be lifesteal without the audience interaction and this influence is hardly new to the story. One could say the ls story never got started until the audience cared enough about the story as story to have an opinion on where it should go.

And it's the same with the server members: they have to care about the story enough to log on and be in the story. And then they start affecting it and the story is created.

[feudalconnection]

Get Ready...!!

It's the start of the 1st Term 2025 Inuyasha Fandom Awards!

Happy almost New Year! We hope everyone has a good & safe end to the year! A huge shout-out to everyone who participated last term and made it such a huge success! We look forward to all of the amazing new fanfiction and fanart to be shared with this beautiful community! (If you have not received your award banner for last term, please reach out to one of the mods asap!)

Big shoutout to @mayarab for creating last term's banners!

At the end of last term, the voting form included the possibilities of the Roulette Categories for this term, and we have taken the top choices for both Fanart and Fanfiction:

The Fanfiction Roulette Category for this term will be Best Character Development. This is defined as: The craft of giving a character a personality, depth, and motivations that propel them through the story. Includes how a character evolves throughout the course of a story. Must include specific character.

The Fanart Roulette Category for this term will be Best Coloring. This is defined as: An illustration filled with hues, shadows, highlights, and intensity that bring the picture to life.

As a reminder, we added a Roulette Romance category for both Fanfiction and Fanart. This term the pairing chosen will be Best SessKagu Romance (Sesshomaru x Kagura). This will be a category for both Fanart and Fanfiction.

For Fanfiction, it will be defined as: Stories that have developed a believable romance between Sesshomaru and Kagura. "Believable" is subjective, and it is up to those nominating/voting to draw their own line on that quantifier and vote their "Best". This includes canon universe and AU/AR settings.

For Fanart, it will be defined as: Any romantic depiction of Sesshomaru and Kagura.

The original Best Romance category will remain, so all non-InuKag or SessKagu pairings, including LGBTQ+, can be nominated into that category. All other pairings will be up for voting again next term.

Lastly, to help with inclusivity, we have also added a Best Rare Pair category to both fanfiction & fanart. You can find their definitions here, as well as on our Google Doc linked below.

If it wasn't mentioned above, chances are it hasn't changed. Please be aware that the moderators always take suggestions regarding how the awards are run and category changes into consideration, and each new term may bring about new changes. You can read up on the most recent FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories for more information [these links work best on desktop].

For ease of access on mobile, the FAQs, Rules of Eligibility, and Categories can be accessed through this link.

As nominators, please make sure that each term you take a peek at our list of creators who can’t be nominated to make sure you are staying current with who is eligible to be nominated.

Here you can find the mobile-friendly link for all current nominations for this term.

The 1st Term 2025 nomination period will begin on January 1st and go until the end of the day January 15th. Please send your nominations in through the submit button! If you have any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to send in an ask or reach out to one of the mods! We are also frequently available on the FC Discord!

Mods: @classysassy9791, @ruddcatha, @dchelyst, @the-lone-huntress

Please reblog to spread the word of the start of the new term!

[hermitadaymay]

That's a wrap!

An enormous thank you to everyone who created, donated, or even just enjoyed the art for the month! This was truly an event like no other before it. Doc shouted us out in two videos. Joe reblogged Juppet Little Mermaid. And we raised $1,222 for Gamers Outreach in a totally fan-run fundraiser! That's more than a third of all the purchase, assembly, delivery, and running costs for a GO Kart!

Final shoutouts

Not Alice (who will be receiving a commission reward!), sefif, Kat, and blabberwock all donated on the final day of the fundraiser!

And thank you once again to the rest of the 32 individuals, plus anons, who donated this month! Whether you donated one dollar or a hundred, I promise all your contributions were seen and appreciated.

What's next?

While the event itself has come to an official close, there's still more to be done in this next month:

After a short break, I will begin the June Queue, automatically reblogging all missed or late submissions at a queue rate of 30 per day. As I will not be leaving specific commentary on any June Queue post, I encourage everyone else to keep leaving kind words for the artists in the comments and tags :)

Rae will be finishing up the commission rewards over the next couple weeks - keep an eye out for them!

Maybe most excitingly, Belmarzi will be starting work on an 80-second animatic in celebration of reaching our $1,200 milestone! It might take a while, but we'll keep you all in the loop, I promise.

Once all that's well settled, probably in July or August, I'm going to be releasing another survey to hear what you thought about this event and what you want to see for next year. But you don't need to wait until that to send me your thoughts! Please ping me in any wrap-ups or retrospectives you post, and feel free to send me asks with any other thoughts you'd like to share (though I will say ahead of time not to worry about me; I will have another mod next year :P )!

Thank you

It's been an honor and a pleasure to hold this event and celebrate the Hermits with all of you for the second year in a row. As always, you can reach me at any time through the year in the inbox, on my main blog @as-if-unreal, or through the Welsknight Patreon discord.

With all the love,

-Mod Luna

[tunastime]

Stars Realigning

what's GOOD! happy mcyt au fest day(s)! this is my contribution to 2024's mcyt au fest, based on the art of my fantastic artist in crime @eyesandbees. super shoutout to tetris (GO LOOK AT THE ART RN), this au really did something fantastic for my brain :3 and kudos to all the @mcytblraufest mods, contributors, and my mutuals new and old who joined in. mwah!

Xisuma and Exonia were explorers by nature—and how could they not be, when the world rested right outside their fingertips. When Xisuma pulls himself and their brother into an unfamiliar End dimension, their only chance of escape is with a player they've hardly met, to a space station they've never even heard of. Built on the foundations of exploration and discovery, HC might be all the opportunity the siblings need to start a new life—or ruin their only shots at understanding themselves.

(12,765 words) (Read the whole fic here!)

Every player knows two facts about the End: one of those is that it is very large. The other is that it is very dangerous. The islands stretch onwards as far as they eye can see, tipping over a black horizon line invisible to the naked eye. The static particles of void—ink black and speckled grey—fill the spaces that stone and cities and blocky fruit trees do not. No players make their home here—none dare to spend more time than they must. The End is a utility, more than it is a dimension of its own. Hostile conditions make it unlivable to those other than the ones that know it best: endernians, endermen, the dragon, and her egg. 

The third, most often overlooked fact, that meshes with the others in vastness and hostility, is that the End is no place for strangers to combat. 

Xisuma is one of those strangers—was one of those strangers. World hopping was dangerous, unpredictable, dimension hopping even more so, especially for them—for the untrained. He hadn’t meant for either of them to tumble into the End dimension, prepared or otherwise, with its thin air and itchy end dust and large, very large, very angry dragon. It's the first thing his eyes catch—the movement of large wings and a massive, black snout as the world tilts and settles around them. 

Xisuma gasps as they finish settling into the world and Exonia follows suit, shoving them both behind the pillar beside them. The air feels charged with energy, thick with the beat of air from the dragon’s wings. Xisuma swallows as the two of them drop behind the pillar, and as they manage to catch their breath from the initial shock, he stirs up the courage in his chest to peek out behind the pillar. He steps out into the ring around him, eyes searching for the dragon above him. He can hear her cry even from on the ground. The crystals that bolster her strength glow brightly as she passes. It only takes a moment for her to swoop down as she circles, and it’s in this moment that Xisuma realizes he’s been seen. 

They freeze.

The dragon crashes to the ground, the heavy footfalls of her landing shaking the dirt around them. 

Xisuma stares into the creature’s face, purple eyes unblinking.

Something grabs his hand. It takes him a startlingly long moment to realize it’s Exonia, their eyes wide behind their tinted glasses. He’s still too busy staring up into the maw of the black dragon, her eyes trained on his every movement, the betraying flick of their tail. His heart beats fast in the base of their throat. A voice jumps to life in his mind—surely if he stays put, if he doesn’t move, the great dragon will turn her head away from him, and spare him, and spare his twin, and the world will be right again. Xisuma shuts their eyes. The beat between his first and second breath feels like a millenia.

The dragon snuffs a great breath that catches into a screech, its heavy head whipping back and around as Ex tugs on his arm. His eyes snap open. 

He’s not dead.

The dragon roars.

If he squints, Xisuma thinks he can see a shape, blurred by the scent and fog of the dragon’s breath, barely visible against the dark black obsidian pillars. It draws back its glittering weapon and fires, arrows flying high above the dragon’s head and to the peak of the pillars above. The peak explodes; obsidian chips and dust rain down from the blast.

He jerks his head to look at Ex. Their face is pulled tight in confusion and fear, a mask of anger flickering over it instead as they tug his hand again. He stumbles forward, feet catching pocks in the stone before he regains his footing. The dragon’s focus stays trained on the newcomer. She slashes with her claws, jaws chomping on thin air as the figure darts around with the effort of someone trained to deal with monsters her size.

An adventurer. Another player.

He turns back to look at Exonia—the back of their head, the tip of a pointed ear they can see. They’re practically pulling him along into further darkness toward something he can’t yet see, weaving between obsidian pillars as the island stretches out in front of them, all the way to a noticeable drop into void. As they cut through a section of chorus trees, a craft makes itself known on the next ridge.

A way out.

Xisuma pales, the oxygen in his lungs suddenly feeling very thin.

“What is that thing?” he manages as they start to slow. Ex shoots him a look over their shoulder, eyebrows tightly furrowed.

“A ship!” they say. “Don’t be foolish!”

“We don’t even—” X starts, but Exonia pulls them further forward. They dip their head, avoiding the endermen that roam around them, sinking in on themselves to appear smaller. They scramble up the next hill. In the short distance they’ve put between the dragon and themselves, they can still hear the screech of her anger and the beat of her wings. X’s heart still slams away in his throat.

“D’you want to be eaten, you derp?” Ex hisses, dropping into a crouch as they shimmy over the crest of the hill. X scrambles after them, finding their footing on the steep slope and up onto the ridge.

“No!” They blanch at the thought of the dragon finding them again, with her huge, yellow-white teeth and debilitating breath. “Why would I want that?”

Ex shoots them a pointed glance, taking a few quick steps around the edge of the “ship”—if it was a ship at all—as they do.

“Then start lookin’ for a way in!” they bark. Xisuma sets his jaw. Sighing through his nose, he picks himself up from his crouch, and follows suit. The ship is bright white and grey-black, hidden carefully by the dark sky around them and by shimmering enchantments that Xisuma can only guess at as he travels around its side and toward the back. It’s not a large craft—certainly different than anything he’d ever seen. 

Ex investigates with the unshakable confidence of someone who’s read far too much about this exact situation, or craft, or biome, or what have you. Xisuma tries to siphon that energy for himself, watching as they track the side of the metal with eyes partially obscured. They reach the back together, the ship’s large bay door shut against the End and void around them. X watches Ex’s face, their tail flicking agitatedly. Their hands find a depression near the fins of the ship. As they press into it, the door hisses, starts to lower onto the dusty stone below. Exonia scrambles back, catching Xisuma as they do, their hands clasping together again. Xisuma watches as the dark inside floods with the End’s pale glow, illuminating the sparse space within. 

It’s a holding bay—a handful of boxes are scattered around, their heavy plastic lids strapped tight. Bolted storage units line one wall, and a short staircase leads upward, into the space Xisuma can only assume is the main cabin of whoever that figure was.

Xisuma blinks. 

Exonia enters.

Enters is a loose term, because as his foot steps onto the metal-ribbed platform, Xisuma feels something crawl it’s way up his spine and turns, much too fast, Ex’s name already jumping from his throat.

There’s a crackle, like the sound of fireworks in the distance, as the sky fills with soft purple light. Xisuma alone watches the figure turn, a large, dark object cradled in their arms, and feels them stare back. Distance and the helm obscuring most of their face doesn’t do their features justice—it looks like a man, a human, staring back at him, eyes wide and bright, expression unreadable from here. All Xisuma knows is that the chill starts at the base of his neck and pulls through him, catching his lungs and heart and spine all the way down, hooking him in place. 

“Xisuma—” Exonia starts, tone bordering on impatient, but as they turn, they see exactly what they did. And they say again, their voice taking a fine, fearful edge:

“Xisuma.”

The figure starts toward them, and X can feel the immediate betrayal of all his senses, all at once, as his hackles raise, body recoiling until his feet hit the cold metal of the ship behind him. Exonia grabs his arm as he stumbles from the platform, tugging him away from the ship as the figure starts to close the distance between them. The man is carrying the dragon egg, much too large for his arms as he calls out to them.

“Hey! Wait! Wait!” The man calls. Xisuma stutters as he tries to scramble away, skittering to a stop at the man’s plea. As he turns to look over his shoulder, against all better judgment, he realizes the man has crouched by the entry door, egg still in his arms. The beat between the man stopping, dropping to a crouch to make himself small, and his next words is a rift Xisuma considers just jumping into. He wills a small, shaky breath into his lungs. The man sets the egg at his feet, hands spread.

“Are you okay?” he asks, breath evening as he stills for a moment. “I didn’t mean to scare you away. The dragon looked pretty dangerous!”

Xisuma blinks, breathing hard. Exonia manages to summon the courage he can’t seem to even taste, voice coming small from beside him.

“Who are you?” they muster. The man dips his head.

“I’m sorry for scaring you,” he says slowly. “I’m Keralis. Are you two from here?” 

Xisuma shakes his head. The man, Keralis, nods.

“Are you lost? Do you need help going home?” 

Xisuma offers a nod this time.

“Do you… know where home is?”

There’s a beat. The silence stretches on in the absence of anyone’s voice or actions, until Ex finally says:

“Not anymore. ‘S too far.”

Keralis doesn’t say anything for a moment. He stares instead down at the egg in his arms, the only expression on his face evident by his eyes through his visor. Xisuma watches him, trying to read that expression and coming up blank. It doesn’t look malicious, though. He’s begun to settle from the razor’s edge of nervousness and back down into a sense of normalcy. 

“I don’t want to leave you here. I…” Keralis hums. “I can take you back with me. And then maybe there will be someone who can help you get home, how about that?”

“Where’re you from?” Exonia asks. Keralis smiles—Xisuma can tell by the squint of his eyes.

“I’m from a ship. A spaceship in the sky.”

[fandomtrumpshate]

FTH 2023 Wrap-Up

Boy has it been a year, guys.

This seemed like the year when anything that could go wrong did, from covid to family emergencies to work obligations to software bugs. We're so grateful to you all for your patience and for coming back year after year to remind us why we do this.

Historically, non-election years have usually seen slumps in both our number of auctions and our donation totals. But this year? You guys blew us away yet again.

We had just as many auctions as last year, which is amazing. But even beyond that: our donation total —just 10% lower than last year's massive record— is 150% higher than our third best year, making it a very close second.

So are you ready for this year's grand total?

This year

thanks to all of you

FTH raised...

$47,361.75!

Which brings our seven-year total to

$239,507.86

Thank you so much to our 616 creators who offered 800+ auctions in over 400 different fandoms and subfandoms, and to everyone who bid! Also a special shoutout to our record 17 crafters who raised over $2500 of this - three times as much as any of our previous craft bazaars!

Your returning mods (@porcupine-girl, @captainbunnicula, @tiltedsyllogism, @anyawen, and @renjunbabygirl) would also like to give our heartfelt thanks to this year's two additions to the mod team, @trickybonmot (who has been a mod before but was returning after several-year absence) and @a-still-small-vox (who is brand new to this whole thing). Given everything that went down this year, the auction literally could not have happened without them. They've been ridiculously awesome.

Creators, be sure you contact your bidders by April 1, and bidders, on your end please respond to their communication by April 15!

Once the fanwork is posted, let us know via our form (can you believe six creators have already finished??) and if you're posting it on AO3 be sure to add it to the Fandom Trumps Hate 2023 collection. If you're writing a fic for FTH and need help from our Regiment of Fan Laborers, email us!

As always, we hope that for at least some people, your involvement in FTH will lead to continued action throughout the year. Sign up for our organizations' email lists, check out their volunteer opportunities, and help boost their signals on social media!

And if you'd like to run your own fanworks auction for a good cause, we can help get you started! Contact us at fandomtrumpshate at gmail.com and we can send you our auction playbook, as well as answer any questions you have about our process.

Your mods are going to be going into post-auction hibernation mode (or, for most of us, post-auction deal-with-all-this-other-stuff mode) for a little while. So if you email us, don't panic if we don't get back to you immediately! We will start actively monitoring the inbox again by April 15 at the latest.

Here is a quick snapshot of the donations to individual organizations - see below the cut for all of the totals!

We hope to see you all again next year!

Amounts raised for each of our individual orgs:

TLDEF $8,594.5 (18.15%) DigDeep/Navajo Water Project $7,037 (14.86%) Rainbow Railroad $5,970 (12.61%) Sherlock’s Homes Foundation $3,169.5 (6.69%) Life After Hate $3,069.75 (6.48%) Never Again Action $3,062.75 (6.46%) Citizens’ Climate Education $2,235 (4.72%) Xerces $2,103 (4.44%) Razom $2,101 (4.43%) Violence Policy Center $1327 (2.80%) NNtEDV $1,157.75 (2.44%) The Appeal $935 (1.97%) Other organizations (that aren’t abortion funds) $1,151 (2.43%)

All abortion funds $5,468.50 (11.54%) Indigenous Women Rising $2,073 (4.43%) other abortion funds $1,184.50 (2.50%) Abortion Fund of Ohio $963 (2.03%) KY Health Justice Network $634 (1.34%) New Orleans Abortion Fund $349 (.74%) Buckle Bunnies $240 (.51%)

[tedsies]

Medieval Windenburg - Crumbling Isle complete!

Having already completed the Old Town and Farming districts of Medieval Windenburg, I have now finished the third neighbourhood - The Crumbling Isle.

I won't lie. I don't feel quite as happy with how this area turned out (except the keep - I love the keep), but maybe I'm being hard on myself. I think by this point I'm just raring to start playing in the save already, so I'm now going to start doing just that! I'll build up the final neighbourhood (the docks) when inspiration strikes again.

As always, all builds are my own, but a special shoutout must again go to @thesensemedieval for their Medieval Windenburg mod which alters the environment of the world to make it more in keeping with medieval times.

Without further ado, below are some short descriptions to accompany each build (in the order they are pictured above)

Landgraab Keep (picture 1) - You may recognise this build, as I completed the first iteration of it back when I initially decided to start a medieval save. However, I have since returned to it and heavily updated it now that I have accumulated a load of medieval CC which I have used elsewhere in the world. The lot originally began as this beautiful build by @helgatisha, but it quickly took on a whole new life of its own. This keep is where my Olde Landgraab Legacy will began, with Eudora Landgraab finding herself returning here after her family had been banished from their high society life in the Kingdom of Tartosa. It is the Landgraab ancestral home, and where they first built their wealth and notoriety, but has since been left abandoned for over a century.

Beachfront cottage (picture 2) - a small cottage positioned on the lower part of the island, right on the beachfront. It is inhabited by a peasant-class family, who farm and trade at the local market.

Temple of the Seven Stones (picture 3) - on the opposite end of the religious spectrum to the Church of the Watcher in the Old Town, this temple is where those of an occult nature come to gather and worship (in particular the spellcasters whom are dotted around Windenburg...). The Seven Stones are ancient runes which hold great worth to those practicing these supernatural beliefs.

Farmer's dwelling (picture 4) - another small peasant home, with a plot of land to undertake farming and to keep small livestock. This would have formerly been the home of one of the families working for the Landgraab family, but with them having been gone for a century, it is now home to a lone farmer.

The Old Ruins (picture 5) - set within an old ruin, this lot is very much the hub of the small island. It comprises of a small restaurant/tavern and a marketplace for the islanders to trade amongst one another and with passing ships.

[berrypass-de-murdler]

About the Murdle fandom. (long post)

I have made vent posts before, but this is less of a vent post and more of explaining the specifics of the situation, which I have not yet shared my perspective on publicly. I know it's a long post but please, please for my sake read it.

I joined Tumblr because I wanted to be a part of the Murdle fandom.

It started with Raven. She was the only person on DeviantArt (where I started) other than me who posted Murdle art, so I summoned the courage to talk to her. I'm glad I did. She ended up one of my best friends, not just in the fandom, but period.

After a while, I more or less left DeviantArt and moved entirely to Tumblr to focus on the Murdle cartoon. For a while, she was the only reader, until I was joined by RoyalleBlue, my best friend on Tumblr.

And I would also like to shoutout kirvee, electricskelecomics, foxglove.woods, and murdleandmarot for providing support

Raven invited me to the Detective Fanclub Discord server. I was extremely nervous coming in but was welcomed by electricskelecomics and a few others. I wasn't used to a public server and had intense anxiety, but was slowly warming up to talking.

Eventually I was comfortable enough to talk regularly about Murdle. Raven posted AU information about Logico, and I jokingly called her out for 'hurting my babi boi'. Another user suddenly publicly called me out for 'infantilizing' characters, completely humiliating me. They gave an indirect apology (through Raven) apologizing because they 'knew I was fragile'. I left the server, to then which a mod followed me to DMs and criticized me for leaving for a long while until I stopped responding and they finally let it go.

To this day I am very uncomfortable when the server is brought up and often fall into another depression cycle.

I generally felt better here on Tumblr. Even though I didn't get much attention, I still had Blue and Raven.

I however seemed to unknowingly be making an enemy. A prominent user in the Tumblr Murdle fandom who I had never spoken to directly but had still liked the posts of and who indirectly said I was 'very cool' at one point began completely avoiding me, although I'm not sure exactly when it started. Initially I figured they just didn't read the series, which is fine, but they also ignored my art while usually liking and reblogging every other Murdle art post. This kept increasing to the point where they no longer interacted with Blue simply for being friends with me, and refused to acknowledge art that I was even tagged in.

At this point I could tell that it was personal, and yet I still don't have the faintest idea of what caused the grudge, as again, I never spoke to this person. They blocked me at one point before unblocking me the next day (and still avoiding me). Eventually I couldn't take it anymore, I sent them one non-aggressive message explaining why I felt like I had to block them and did. It hurt me, because I knew this was a very nice person otherwise and someone I wanted to be friends with initially.

It doesn't matter if it's not direct, targeted avoidance hurts. Every time someone other than me, Blue, or Raven made a Murdle post now, I'd get a harsh reminder of the fact that I was being ignored on purpose.

The depression I've gotten from all this is more severe than one might expect. I just wanted to join a community with the people who also love my new favorite thing. Murdle was the only thing making me happy through a dark time, and now it just makes me think of the people who berated me on Discord and avoided me on Tumblr.

I hate thinking of the book like this. I find it, needless to say, amazing in every way which is why I dedicate so much time and effort to it. Designing characters isn't easy. Writing isn't easy. I only wanted some appreciation for my efforts. I don't mind if people aren't interested in the cartoon. But the personal offenses are getting to be too much.

Thank you for reading this. I want to be free to continue my work that I love making so much.

[turpalauri]

Then vs Now

Tagged by @robynostornwyn (thank you ! :D)

Uhh I have no idea who hasn't been tagged yet. If you're reading this and no one has tagged you, then now I have >:)

August/September 2022

Enjoy this masterpiece of a gpose ☆

I first tried out ffxiv in 2021 and my very first character was actually a femroe ! However, I didn't properly get into the game until spring 2022, when I created my current character on Zodiark (shoutout to other EU gamers !). Ena was originally an Elezen during my free trial days, but I immediately turned her into a Viera after I bought the game.

March 2023

I always had this nagging feeling that Ena was meant to be a femroe, and in March 2023 I finally pulled the trigger >:) Ena still looked very different, as she used face 2 instead of face 3 and was a Hellsguard instead of a Sea Wolf.

December 2024

Aaannd here she is now ! Face 2 on Ena never felt quite right, so I changed it when I started Endwalker at the beginning of this year. Her appearance has changed quite a lot, but hey she's still a redhead and pale as a ghost :') Her height has pretty much stayed the same too, since she was around 191 cm tall as a Viera, and now she's exactly 192 cm tall.

The hair I often used on Viera Ena was a bit buggy, so this is what she looked like from a distance :D Ty to my friend for the beautiful shot

Ena looks so short compared to most femroes D:

As I played through EW and 7.0 msq, Ena started to have an identity of her own instead of just being my avatar. And I know a lot of people have probably said this about their characters, but she has become super important to me C: Just like ffxiv and the community as a whole <3 At the moment, I don't use that many crimes to alter her appearance. In addition to some modded hairstyles and gear, I use the basic Bibo+ and a mod to make the blush look slightly different. She also has some subtle scars you can barely see x) I'm playing through the msq again and I'd like to try making my own scar mod for Ena, once I've come up with more lore for her !

[gnostichymns]

Happy October, everyone! As you may already know, Gnostic Hymns is celebrating its first year anniversary this month! It's been a fantastic year full of faces old and new, and we are so happy to have had you along for the ride with us. We've got a lot to get through in this newsletter, so let's get to it!

Spiral Abyss has concluded! We hope you had a fun time getting to test out more of our system than ever before. If you haven't already, please review the closing post for more information on prizes and feedback.

We are introducing a brand new system to the group! As an incentive to keep up activity amongst the group, Gnostic Hymns is introducing monthly artifact rewards! Here's a glimpse at how it'll work:

For every 5 IC posts in a calendar month, muses will gain 1 chance to roll for a tier 1 artifact for a maximum of 3 rolls a month.

Upon claiming 3 tier 1 artifacts, you will be given the opportunity to exchange them for 1 tier 2 artifact of your choosing.

Interactions with the same muse and ask memes will not count for more than 3 IC posts towards this reward each.

Ability to claim these rewards will start in November, with posts from October eligible to claim. We will be providing instructions on how and when to submit your claims closer to time. For those of you who were not involved in Spiral Abyss, you can preview our current artifact options here.

We have also updated our Rules and Guidelines regarding characters with NPC familiars. Going forward, the ruling will be as follows:

Certain NPCs exist in game as designated companions to playable characters, such as Ajaw, Oz, Gouba, Changsheng, and Mr. Tail. Gnostic Hymns will not consider these characters separately appable from their designated playable character, and muns will maintain jurisdiction over their familiars narratively. Following this, however: Gnostic Hymns will consider Clara and Svarog separate characters, allowing them both to exist as appable characters within the group at the same time.

As many of you know, we will be hosting another group-wide event in November to celebrate one full year of GH. Keep your eyes peeled for more information when signups drop next month!

With all this talk of GH turning one year old, so will a number of our members and muses! You'll be seeing anniversary announcements in the Newsletters and Discord server regularly going forward, but a very special shoutout to the very first of us to celebrate in the month of October:

Muns: Alina (10/25), Neffi (10/26), Ree (10/28) Muses: Neuvillette (10/26), Wriothesley (10/28)

Don't forget to fill out or monthly feedback form, especially if you participated in Spiral Abyss. We'd also like to take this moment to remind you all that your feedback matters, regardless of what it is. GH strives to create a healthy and fun environment for its members above all. If you are having trouble with another member, or are unhappy with anything going on among the group, please let us know. We cannot resolve issues we do not know about.

And last but not least, there are new additions to our Swirl commission board, which you can find here!

Thank you all again for being here with us and continually contributing your passion to build this community. It's truly bizarre to think that an entire year has passed and we are still here. We hope for many more to come!

-Mod Alina

[ingapotejtoo]

14 + 19 for art ask game?

14. whats your favorite thing about drawing? i think it's just the ability to portray an idea i have in my brain and being able to like? show it off to others i'm not too good at explaining things via words especially if it's in english - not my native language all all of that - because i end up overthinking things and i feel like i start nonsensically mumbling like a little child to someone (shoutout to all the mods in zines who let me show off my ideas via sketches instead of explanations ily, i give u kissies) 19. where do you find inspiration? I either loop one song over and over again that gets my brain hooked on an idea that just spawns in the middle of it or i just listen to streams and some of these mcyt mfs drop the most raw one liner known to man that makes me end up clutching my pearls in shock and couple of hours later you got an angsty piece done LMAO

[enstarsblr-yearbook]

Mod Afterwords

This yearbook would not have been possible without the work of the mods of this project! To celebrate the ending of the yearbook, we have a few words of thanks to give to you all. As you know, us moderators have taken on the name of an enstars character to keep our identities a secret for the sake of the yearbook, here are all the yearbook moderators:

Each one of us has something to say regarding the end of the yearbook, let's all give it a read shall we?

Mod Subaru

Thank you everyone who has interacted and participated in the yearbook! This started out as a silly idea and ended up being a project I really enjoyed doing, I loved seeing everyone’s reactions. As the essential head mod of this project, it makes me really happy to see that it ended up being a success! I would like to thank my fellow mods for helping out and to everyone else who interacted with the yearbook and making it so much fun, without everyone the yearbook wouldn't be what it was. I know some people already know who I am, and I was prepared for that, but if you know who I am: no you don't. I really hope to return again next year to do this all again!

Mod Aira

Despite being more busy working, the yearbook's been great fun. I'm happy see this project made to support our fellow fandom members come to fruition. Thank you to all my fellow mods for pulling my weight this could've never been done without them and to anyone reading i hope you enjoyed the yearbook, may we see eachother again ♡

- mod aira 🦢

Mod Adonis

Despite the fact that I have not done much I did enjoy being a part of this project and I had a lovely time seeing everyone’s responses and propaganda posts, also appreciate mod Subaru for having done most of the work she carried this project, I wish everyone a wonderful new years

- mod Adonis 🧸

Mod Ritsu

I don’t think i helped as much as i should’ve but hehehe… spreadsheets<3 hope you had fun with the yearbook too

- mod ritsu 🦇

Mod Shu

I didn't contribute a lot aside from answering asks, but it was still very fun seeing all the responses from the community! generally it was mod Subaru who pulled most of the weight, so shoutout to her. i wish you all a happy holidays and a happy new year!

- mod shu 🫀

Mod Eichi

It has been such a joy working on this project alongside my fellow moderators, being able to watch the community come together to collaborate and uplift eachother in a celebration of all the things that have happened within this past year. i would also like to give special thanks to mod Subaru for organising this project, we couldnt have done it without her <3 i hope everyone has a lovely holidays through into the new year!

- mod eichi 🪽

Mod Natsume

Even if i may not have contributed much, this has been a really fun project and i’ve really enjoyed seeing everything come together! i loved seeing people make propaganda for themselves too… shoutout to mod Subaru she carried the whole thing could not have done it without her <3 i wish everyone a happy new year and i hope you enjoyed the yearbook!

- mod natsume 🔮

Mod Leo

I haven't done much, i'll be honest, but the yearbook was still such a huge joy to work on! it truly was delightful to see people being invested in this project, and thank you for it, i hope everyone enjoyed it! also huge thanks to mod Subaru; none of this could have been possible without her hard work

- mod leo🎶

Thank you for supporting Enstarsblr Yearbook 2023, we hope to see you next year!

[ultrabananapudding]

Streamer AU | Jalim

Zain is a streamer and his chat keeps simping for his dad who pops into frame from time to time. Good luck trying to figure out who is who from the chats usernames.

More info below:

Big shoutout to @myscprin and @mistmoose​ for all the wonderful tidbits you added to this silly AU of mine. You can find all their OG ideas in this post replies and reblogged tags. 

Zain does streaming while going to university. Content wise he is modeled after twitch streamers such as ludwig and CDawgVA, but just a lot more chill personality wise. He plays games such as Elden Ring and Hades where he can pepper in all sorts of fun little mythology facts and stories. 

Zains success on twitch is not only attributed to his gaming skills and general history knowledge, but also with his sweet dad who usually pops in during streams to give Zain some food. Salim is very supportive of his sons ambitions and inadvertently helps spike Zains follower count. As much as it benefits Zain for his dad to take a few minutes to answer silly questions thrown by the chat, a new rule had to be implemented where any form of simping for his dad gets you banned. 

Jason is notorious for the immense thirst he has for Salim, and he has been ban evading for ages now with the amount of backup accounts he has in his arsenal. He goes by many names, such as; definitelynotJason, embracethesuck, rocknroll420, malewife2-1actual, gawkgawk9000. (@myscprin the ultimate name generator so big thanks to youu)

Its only after a few months later after the initial thirst dono where Zain puts 2 and 2 together that the simp in question is his own head mod. In @mistmoose words; His scrunch face could rival Kermit's when he realizes. 

During this whole debacle, Salim became interested in streaming himself so he asks Zain to help him set up a twitch account. Salim becomes a cooking/baking streamer where his son acts as his head mod to make sure the chat doesn't run rampant with thirst donos. Ignoring that fact, Salims stream could only be described as wholesome as he gives small history lessons on his culture and the food he is making.

The amount of THIRST poor Zain will have to fight off. Zain would force Salim to wear a turtle neck to cover up as much as possible AND STILL chat goes crazy. Jason started off strong by donating 1000 dollars to have Salim wear a maid dress live on stream. Zain was very swift in banning that alt account of his.

Salim starts making Southern dishes to challenge himself and much later on, Jason is invited live on stream to rate his dishes.  And boom, before Zain knows it, his head mod has now become his dad. Once again quoting @mistmoose; From ultra simp to step-dad in five easy steps: a guide by a southern dumbass. 

Once Jason joins in, it is not unusual to hear him laugh off camera whenever he reads out the spicier donos. Jason is, however, known for his possessive streak so eventually Salim had to outright ban his own husband from joining in on his streams as to stop all the threats that he keeps throwing out live on camera. 

Much later on, Jason starts streaming as well. He plays military type games, playfully mocking the inaccuracies and characters then turn around and give himself a heart attack when a zombie jumps out at him when he plays a horror game. It is a running joke that such a badass ex-marine like himself is so sensitive when it comes to horror games/movies. 

It is not uncommon for Salim to join in on his husbands streams from time to time, most often or not he is there to hold Jasons hand whenever chat had dared him into playing a new horror game. It is also not at all uncommon to hear Zain cackling in the background from the other room whenever he finds Jasons reaction to whatever game he is playing to be extra funny.

[bioethicists]

hey just wondering if you could give a shoutout to anyone who has joined the forum? if they feel up to it, there's definitely a member or two on there who could use some kindness and support. the forum is not dead!

yea, ty for reminding me!! i'm super swamped with schoolwork which is why i've ghosted on the forum so i've been waiting to add new applicants + start posting again but i will make a note to check in there this weekend <3 hoping to look for some mods, as well

[rescueheros24]

Hey everyone, Mod here. We are reaching the one-year anniversary of this blog. I just wanted to thank everyone who followed, liked, shared, and send in questions throughout this year so far. I never expected this blog or au to take off or even to be noticed in the first place. I know we're at a slow place right now, but it's the same route that most blogs go when it starts. As a thank-you gift to all of you lovely people, here are a few announcements.

----------

~ As soon as the second part of the origin of this story is uploaded, that is when the main story will start. Will be 8 different story with Rescue Bots Academy crossover between the forth and six story. In fact here is the line up:

Story #1 - Denial

Story #2 - Anger

Story #3 - Bargaining

Story #4 - Depression

Rescue Bots Academy Crossover Story

Story #5 - Acceptance

Story #6 - Guilt

Story #7 - Shock

Story #8 - Resurface

Story Total - 9

----------

~ Each Story will have there own playlist so if anyone has any song ideas please let me know. Please know I am still planning out these stories so if you have any questions please feel free to dm me or send in questions. I have a few song ideas for a few stories, so please inform me what story the song suggestions are for.

----------

~ Saving the best to last, I am hosting a contest! The rules are simple and hopefully easy to follow. The rules are:

Rule #1 - Like or Share This Post

Rule #2 - Make sure to follow this account

Rule #3 - Just inform me that you are entering the contest

Due Date: July 24th 2023

I will pick nine winners randomly and those nine will pick which of the nine stories that they want a shoutout.

----------

Thank you all for everything through this first year of this blog. Can't wait to see what the next year will bring for the blog.

Thank you again,

Mod💜

[tedsies]

Medieval Windenburg - Farming district complete!

With a couple of weeks gone by since I shared my completed Old Town district of Medieval Windenburg, I've now managed to reach another milestone - a second finished neighbourhood! This time, it's the rural farming area.

This district is largely comprised of peasant dwellings, but also includes a tavern and a stately home belonging to an important local family. These builds are all quite similar in style, but that's just because I think it makes sense for this area to feel quite uniform and cohesive.

As before, all builds are my own, but a special shoutout has to again go to @thesensemedieval for their amazing mod which changes the environment of Windenburg to appear more medieval (i.e. the roads, streetlights etc).

Anyway, here are some short descriptions to go with each build (in the order they are pictured):

Herbalist/midwife's cottage (picture 1) - a small home tucked away amongst a forested area, this is where the herbalist and her young protege reside. The barn that you see alongside their home is where they perform their 'rituals' and treat those who come seeking their aid. Whilst magic is outlawed in these times, most are willing to turn a blind eye if it means an improved chance of surviving childbirth or making a miraculous recovery from a sudden fatal illness.

Peasant's lakeside home (picture 2) - a humble abode situated on a small plot of land, surrounded on three sides by a lake. It has everything a small family might need to sustain themselves in medieval times, and (spoiler!) it may be where my own Sims begin their journey once I finally start playing in the save.

Journeyman's Tavern (picture 3) - a small tavern that doubles up as a dance hall/event space for the local community. A popular watering spot for those travelling in and out of the nearby city (hence its name), it also hosts a number of market stalls on its doorstep. Shopping and drinking - sounds like a perfect medieval day out!

Horse lover's haven (picture 4) - another quaint peasant home (you may recognise this as the WIP I shared a few weeks ago), but this time with a sizeable stable to house one or two horses. It again has everything a family would need to live off the land. I personally love this one.

Noble's mansion (picture 5) - a grand stately home belonging to the Lord and Lady Webb who oversee these rural lands on behalf of their good friend, the Duke of Windenburg. Whilst this house is huuuge (and as such is the only one I couldn't be bothered to furnish), its the heavily landscaped gardens which the owners take particular pride in.

Neighbouring farmers (picture 6) - two final peasant homes, who in their close proximity to one another agree to share a plot of land on which they both grow their food. These homes are small but cosy, and most importantly within stumbling distance of the local tavern!

So, what's next? I've recently been improving the Landgraab Keep lot I built a while ago, and once finished I'm torn between completing the rest of the island neighbourhood, or taking a break to actually start playing in the save. Hmmm... decisions, decisions!