#so its the only reason i know those states

[lolabythebaysims]

hi! sorry to bother you, i know this post (/post/762917330214928384/i-edited-and-merged-a-bunch-of-makeup-and-got) is super old but i came across it the other day and can't get it out of my head... could you elaborate on how you pinned makeup cc to SPs to organize your blush category better? i'm really interested in doing that but i'm not sure where to start.

Never a bother! Like I said in that post, using this trick for organization isn't a new idea (BSOK is a thing and I think Almighty Hat uses it to sort distinct cultural attire in their game) but I've never seen it applied just to make-up, and that was the only category I thought was truly annoying to plod through randomly. This is what it looks like in Bodyshop in my Blush category:

I have all my actual blushes and a few effects things in their default CC state, then it starts with eye masks, then misc. "face kits" with lots of parts, then nosemasks, then freckles/moles/beauty marks, then lip enhancements. ETA: One downside to weigh here is that the binned CC no longer displays its tooltip on mouseover. For me, this was a non-issue, but it's definitely a tradeoff.

This turned into a mini tutorial with pictures, so...

How to Organize Your Unmanageable Make-Up Categories by Pinning To EPs using Outfit Organizer

All this is done by changing the Product value. To pin stuff to an EP, we just have to change this one number in the Property Set (or Texture Overlay XML, basically the same thing.) You can do it in SimPe or Wardrobe Wrangler, but those require you to edit packages or Property Sets one at a time, so I use the Outfit Organizer by @picknmixsims. Every EP and SP has its own number, and for EAxis stuff this number tells the game what EP to put it with in the catalog (another advantage of the Outfit Organizer: you don't have to know the numbers because it's in a handy dropdown menu.) Anything that's not EAxis gets labeled as CC and appears at the front of the catalog with the CC asterisk. The first thing I did was subfolder everything by type: all my nosemasks in a folder, my moles and freckles in a folder, my lip shadows in a folder... once I get it the way I like it, I apply the change to everything in that folder. (And at this point I'd probably make a backup of everything in case something goes wrong.) Here I just went and found some nosemasks I didn't have because clearly I needed more nosemasks right? I deleted the supernatural ones I didn't think I'd use much, and then the folder is ready. I open up the Outfit Organizer and select that folder to work on. It's listed in the top left box.

All the other stuff in the bottom section can be edited to do other neat stuff but for the task at hand we don't care about that. But before we do anything, we want to make sure every last thing in this folder is selected, because that's the whole reason we're using this utility over the alternatives. So select everything!

Why TSS for nosemasks? Arbitrary! I think I chose it because of the tennis scene from Clueless. I know I thought Eye-kea was a good, punny category. (Even though there's no Bodyshop content from Ikea Stuff Pack, it puts them together with the logo.) My face kits are K&B and the beauty marks are Glamour Life Stuff.

Once you've selected an EP from the Product menu, the program might jitter for a second and then you'll be able to chose Save All. After that, you can select a new folder and repeat for any other category you want to differentiate.

Clear as mud, right? I hope this helped!

[justdeltarunethings]

Carol's Eleven

(Or, well, Carol's Three to Fiveish.)

Theory Part 4

First | Previous | Next

Firstly, for anyone who's just gotten here, I'd like to direct you to the first post in this series in particular before starting this one. This is where that thought process, and that interpretation of the overall theme of Deltarune, hits its fullest stride.

tl;dr though, the key point is this:

Deltarune is not a game about a prophecy playing out. Deltarune is a game about a prophecy with gaps, about blank pages to be filled, and about the people who are trying to fill those pages with their own words.

Likewise, Part 3 of the theory is all about establishing one major, important point. Carol is not the Knight, but she IS working WITH The Knight, and may in fact be the shot-caller in The Knight's machinations.

So in order to understand what's really going on in Deltarune, we need to know what's going on with The Knight. Because as much as Carol may be head of the pack, The Knight is the most active member of, as one commenter called it, The Roaring Squad.

So first I'd like to lay out some things that I am going to consider Facts about The Knight. These are things that only take a bit of deduction, or things that characters directly say about its actions that, if we choose to ignore, harm our ability to trust any words that appear on screen. And while that can allow a whole lot more diverse theories, it's also (in my opinion) a very boring approach.

Basically, if I want to say that a character is outright lying or wrong, I want to come up with a compelling reason as to why they're lying or wrong. And in most cases, that reason simply either doesn't exist, or is only "Toby Fox is just trying to trick us." And I'll never accept that as a good enough reason.

If you wanna skip this part and hop to where I lay out what I think The Knight is doing, you can scroll down to the next BIG text, or ctrl-f and search the phrase "The Plan". I won't mind!

Bullet point time!

The Knight is a Lightner

Starting off pretty easy, The Knight can operate in both the Light and the Dark worlds. The only kink in this one is a Twitter Theory I saw recently that places The Knight as some reflection of Dess made entirely from the material of the Black Shard. There's really cool art, too.

Frankly this is the first real Dess Knight explanation that seems to have any grounding to me. I still don't buy it, but I REALLY like it and it's REALLY cool and if you're on Twitter you should go check it out and support that artist. He's also on Bluesky. But I couldn't see this theory posted there.

And honestly, even DessKnight theories like this one still place The Knight as a Lightner. Just a REALLY weird one.

The Knight created the Dark Fountains in the Abandoned Classroom and the Library Computer Room.

This is the litmus test for the aforementioned 'Toby Isn't Directly Lying To Us' bit. If we don't accept these two lines as factually accurate, then it makes it hard to know anything at all, since the only reason for either of these people to be referring to anyone other than the Roaring Knight we fight in chapter 3 is if the creators of the game are explicitly lying, on a meta level.

To double down on this, there's another example where a boss character talks about the Knight's actions in regards to their Dark World.

This is the same speech both King and Queen give, but there's a notable difference. Both previous bosses explicitly state that The Knight created their Dark Worlds. Tenna is actively choosing not to say that here, which signals to me that both King (and by extension Jevil) and Queen know the truth and are telling it.

The only other hiccup would be that the thing we see isn't ACTUALLY The Roaring Knight and the battle textbox is lying to us, either Kris purposely lying to protect the true Knight or the text box posting the party's assumption rather than the fact. But as with before, this feels like a dead end. There's room to work that into a different theory, particularly given the next point, but not one of mine.

Kris and The Knight are working together.

This one's not even really contentious from what I've seen. The evidence is overwhelming. Kris created the Dark World in chapter 3 after giving Tenna instructions, probably to buy time and listen to The Knight. Kris and The Knight hold back against each other in their fight, with Kris doing half damage to it until one of their friends goes down and The Knight not swooning Kris and de-prioritizing them (only targeting them when the other two are down) with the sword corridor attack, and then the shelter door opening after Susie leaves.

Then in Chapter 4, if the player manages to reach The Knight at the beginning, Kris just stands still until they get blown back. They hide The Knight's identity when we try to 'Think About The Knight' and The Knight's helmet almost comes off, and they refuse to open a door that it's likely hiding behind after closing the last Dark Fountain.

Not to mention preventing us from getting the shelter code in Dess's room, and calling Carol and the Knight (see Part 3) to rat us out about it.

So that places The Roaring Squad as, at the very least, Carol, The Knight, and Kris.

The Roaring Knight's primary goal is NOT to start The Roaring

Okay this one might be reaching a little bit to be considered a "fact", but multiple people have said this is it's underpinning goal and that just...isn't true. Lookin' at you, Game Theory. The only actual evidence for this is its summoning of a second dark fountain in the church's dark world (which I admit would be convincing if not for other evidence), and Ralsei's 'Talk' action in the Knight fight where he says "If the Roaring happens, then... then..."

Let's be clear about something. The Roaring, as Ralsei describes it to us, is not hard to make happen. If The Knight wanted to start a Roaring, it'd just do it. It wouldn't pose dramatically and wait for us to show up for a reveal. It'd have made the second fountain immediately. Or if you think it needs a cooldown, it woulda made one in Kris's house since it absolutely didn't make the first one. Or it would have just made one in the shelter at any time.

Whatever The Knight's doing, The Roaring is a tool in its kit, not its ultimate end goal.

Whoof that's a lot! I think that's a good enough basis for non-trivial facts for now. Finally, with this stuff established, we can start to figure out...

THE PLAN...

If you read part 1 of this theory, or even the key point I quoted at the beginning of this post, you can probably guess the general shape of this plan. Carol is attempting to mold the direction of the prophecy to her own ends, and she has recruited both Kris and The Knight into this effort.

Carol is organizing the creation of the dark worlds, taking active efforts to keep the prophecy on track. Even some of her stranger actions are guiding people into specific roles.

For example: Asgore. A lot of theories I've seen posit that Asgore is in on this entire plot, and is working with Carol, but I'd like to suggest an alternative. Carol is using Asgore. What do we know about their relationship?

Carol is bankrolling Asgore's flower shop in exchange for him working as her gardener. Asgore does like being a gardener, but he never wanted to sell flowers. It doesn't feel right to him. Asgore has some knowledge of the Dark World, but based on the conspiracy boards he's created he doesn't have a lot. One of those conspiracy boards is literally inside Carol's bedroom. Furthermore, no one believes Asgore about this, and yet Carol is apparently encouraging his obsession.

The end result of all of this is that Asgore can remain here in town, owns a flower shop he doesn't want, and his constant fixation on proving the Dark Worlds are real is keeping him and Toriel apart.

We know that the next part of the prophecy involves a "Flower Man", and that Gerson's adaptation of that part involves a "vast garden" that is "charred in an inferno of jealousy." The aspect of the jealousy in relation to a garden is likely within the prophecy itself.

People have had very strong guesses that the next chapter is likely going to be inside the Flower Shop, and I fully agree. But that's not going to be the case just because the prophecy says so. It says nothing about a flower shop. No, it's going to happen because Carol has set up every bit of the scenario to cast Asgore in her version of the prophecy.

She's likely even encouraging Asgore in his awkward efforts to get back with Toriel without fixing the fundamental issue. And she probably leaked that Black Shard to him recently herself, so that he'll ramp up his efforts at proving himself right...just on cue to take the stage.

And we already know she's cast Kris as The Cage. It's even possible that she set up Ralsei to be The Prince. Or, worse, Ralsei might be aware of Carol's plan, or at least a part of it. And of course, to round out her cast of heroes, she did everything she could to manipulate the scenario to cast The Girl...Noel—

...Wait a second.

...And How It's Going Wrong

Every single aspect of the Dark Worlds we've seen appear hand crafted to push Noelle into the role of The Girl. Not by fate. By Carol.

Chapter 1: Alphys mysteriously runs out of chalk overnight. Who would be the most likely person to volunteer to go get more? Noelle, of course. She did exactly that. And Kris would volunteer to buddy system with her, or just walk out because Alphys is a pushover.

Chapter 2: the Dark Fountain is basically created directly on Noelle's face. She just ends up coming out the other side thinking it was a dream because of Susie's interference.

Chapter 3: at the end of Chapter 1, Noelle was locked out of her house, again. She decides to go to Catti's, and likely does so again in Chapter 2, but if she went on Dark World adventures with Kris, she'd probably go to THEIR house instead...right where the next Dark Fountain was made. And yet, when they make the fountain anyway (Gotta keep the prophecy rolling, and the Lord of Screens was cast to be Tenna) it's Tenna's job to keep the party busy...and out of the way, while keeping Toriel unaware of the Dark Worlds.

Chapter 4: Susie is deeply concerned because the Church's Dark World could have trapped Toriel inside. ...Because Toriel would have been at choir practice. And so would NOELLE.

Chapter 5: That's right, Chapter 5, roll with me on this one we're getting a little meta. The quotes that playable characters have for equipping and using items on them in the overworld include Noelle quotes for pretty much every item from chapters 3 and 4. Originally, chapters 3, 4, and 5 were going to come out in one chunk. This suggests to me that we're getting Noelle back in the party in Chapter 5. But if Chapter 5 is going to be set in the flower shop, what's Noelle doing there? Carol is going to send her there.

Carol and The Knight have been trying their damndest to make sure Noelle becomes The Girl in the prophecy. But two unpredictable events have muddled that effort so far: the rain cancelling choir practice, and Alphys growing a spine out of absolutely nowhere.

The Roaring Squad was attempting to carry out their version of the prophecy, likely in an effort to make Noelle stronger as part of their ultimate goal. And this is why I think Ralsei is at least partially aware of the circumstances surrounding this plan. At least, that the casting call was for Noelle.

We know what it means to "Become Stronger" in the Tobyverse. It means separating yourself from your humanity, at least a little bit. It means caring less for the people around you. And we know for sure that Noelle is very susceptible to suggestion and manipulation.

In Chapters 1 and 2, Ralsei distracts us, the SOUL, by having us think about Susie. If we go along with it, when Susie rejoins the gang, Ralsei is saying something along the lines of "So that's why, Kris..." He was having a conversation with Kris. Explaining why he was doing something.

I would like to put forward the idea that he was explaining why he was propping Susie up as the hero. He knows the plan is for Noelle, but he also sees that plan as cruel towards her. Manipulative. And when Susie enters the Dark World, Ralsei takes the opportunity to save Noelle and play it off like they have no choice in the matter.

He has to justify it again in Chapter 2 because Noelle is literally right there. Across chapters 1 and 2, Kris seems upset at Ralsei. But by Chapter 3, Kris is treating Ralsei like an important friend, and by the end of Chapter 4 Kris is taking the prompt to tell Ralsei that it's okay not to smile as an opportunity to genuinely comfort him. We don't tell them to hug him, they do that themself.

Perhaps Ralsei's explanations stuck, or perhaps Kris is thankful that Ralsei has helped them grow close to Susie. Or maybe they're just moved by someone else who believes they're trapped in a situation they have no control over.

Either way, this is the wrench in Carol's plan. Even if they don't know it, even if Ralsei still thinks Noelle is eventually fated to become The Girl, even if Susie doesn't know all of the rules of the game she's playing, even if Kris is conflicted about what they're supposed to do, The Fun Gang has stumbled into an opposing role.

Carol may be trying to shape the prophecy to her own will, but in doing so she's created a group of people who are going to be doing the exact same thing. They're going to be putting every bit of themselves into changing this prophecy however they can. And THAT is the story of Deltarune.

Kris Hates The Plan

Before we wrap up for this part, we have to talk about Snowgrave.

If Deltarune is the uneven struggle between The Fun Gang and The Roaring Squad, then our two routes are where we get to make our choice. In the normal, Pacifist route, we are siding with Susie and Ralsei. And in the Snowgrave route, we're siding with Carol and The Knight.

If the major rift between the two sides starts with forcing Noelle into a 'strong' role, it's easy to see this distinction. Ralsei may have made a judgement call to try to avoid dragging Noelle into it, but through Snowgrave we, the SOUL, take the opportunity we can to make her "strong".

Noelle is getting truly stronger even in the normal route in a more subtle way, but we can make her stronger in a measurable way, so that she can still fulfill her role in the prophecy the way Carol intends.

Kris may be in on this plan, but it's clear they're divided on it. On the one hand, whatever promise Carol has over Kris is a powerful motivator. It's something they truly want, and so when we act against it they try to stop us. See the closet scene.

On the other, they genuinely and deeply care about Noelle, and following that plan would hurt her. And the Snowgrave route and Kris's reaction to it, and efforts to undo it once it starts, show which way they're truly leaning. But even then, even when they hate everything that they're being forced to do, either by Carol or by the SOUL, or both, they will still do it.

Because the plan does have a goal, and that's what we'll cover next time (After a short aside). The prophecy is a means to an end, and that end is written into the title of what will be one of the most iconic pieces of music in this series.

findher.ogg

Find her.

Find. Dess.

[bonebeautyart]

do you think saint-just was depressed/suicidal? because i think his letter to daubigny certainly reads that way… what do you think?

Hello, I'm sorry for answering your question so late. I just saw it.

Well, I think the letter to Dauvigny is quite mysterious not only because it is the first time we can see Saint Just's psyche in the red, without intermediaries or from his public perspective. (1)(Even another letter where he also shows this other side of himself is in his letter to Robespierre).

I believe the reason these two letters have survived is that they were the only way to confirm two things (from the post-Thermidor reactionary perspective)

1. Self-centeredness and excessive ambition for power (in the letter to Dauvigny)

2. His great idolatry for Robespierre (And again, the Thermidorians used them to excuse themselves and wash their hands, the content of both letters has various interpretations).

Regarding depression, I feel that it is something that the vast majority of revolutionaries experienced (even if they became prominent figures and representatives of entire eras, like in his case, they are still human beings with fears like all of us)

Therefore, the political life, the battlefield, the hunger and the plague that plagued France, was something that more than likely affected him in every way. He had a huge heart for all his people, and seeing them suffer must have cost him a lot emotionally. His own friend Pierre Gateau (in an edition of Republican Institutions and various texts) went so far as to comment that he had seen him shed too many tears for the situation in France.

On the suicidal issues, I think it's complicated. Saint Just had heroic tendencies, a very strong will to power where, even if the path destined him to a premature death for following his principles and values firmly while also doing his true work on this earth, he would accept death for that honor.

He himself states, «I would rather be a dead hero than a living coward.» in his 9 Thermidor speech.

Its significance in posterity has been not only due to its ideas, but also due to an indomitable will to be. More than suicidal tendencies, it is an acceptance of a human truth: we will all die and life has little meaning(2). If he don't have it, for Saint Just, (paraphrasing Philonenko): his truth, was to live in his grandeur of understanding that absurdity, giving the meaning he wanted to the only thing that is eternal: collective memory.

Initially, he may seem like a sad or depressing character (Malraux?) but that's also due to his great mental lucidity; he was a sensitive person.

We cannot forget the memories left by his friends, from Gateau to Elisabeth LeBas, who deeply appreciated him for being kind and good-natured, even if he personally felt different from those versions: either the public one (the myth of the Archangel sums it up very well) or from his close ones (Antoine, for friends).

Ah, he's a human who has been dead for 230 years, so it's hard to say.

—————————————————————————

(1) Although we know little about how Saint Just kept the letter or why he kept it for so long (I assume he did it with two intentions: if he survived Thermidor, the letter would be of little importance, if he didn't (as it was), that letter would be the perfect excuse and it would be talked about in many ways. Actually: a damned mystery)

(2) This feeling of detachment from life and disdain for it can be found in two parts of his writings (even from a much younger age, we can see this questioning of physical life and what relevance it really has):

"In the grave, it will soon dissolve (...) Ugly death, everything succumbs under your horn, you destroy everything: Thrones, palaces, and cities. Your cruel arm, in the oblivion of the grave, Annihilates ranks, dignities And the charms of the moving beauties, The fault of time, everything strikes, everything takes away; Everything ends, flees, and hides in those low places Is life a dream?

��Organt Canto X (a really bad translation from French, sorry)

Or the famous quote «dans le siècles et dans les cieux » :

Je méprise cette poussière qui me compose et qui vous parle; on pourra la persécuter et faire mourir cette poussière! Mais je défie qu'on m'arrache cette vie indépendante que je me suis donnée dans les siècles et dans les cieux.

—Diverse posthumous texts of Louis Antoine Saint Just

[schizodepressive]

i love you doechiiiiiii 🥰🫶🏽❣️🤩

[flippedorbit]

its me and the sudden headache i have against the world

[lwcina]

the fact that the us government can continue funding and arming a genocide despite massive public opposition really highlights how inherently non-democratic the united states is

[ourstarsystem]

even though i feel like i can confidently tell when a piece of art is generative A/I, i really don't feel inclined or really even justified calling someone out for it due to the precedent it sets - especially when artists who DO make their own pieces get caught in the crossfire for being inexperienced or making the choice to be more free-form when it comes to character design / consistency...

[moafleco]

i hate that duality that your mind can be your safe heaven that helps you get through some difficult things, keeps you going and brings you happiness at the worst of times. and at the very same time it could be your worst tormentor that won't let you rest and won't let you breathe, literally for no particular reason at all. and you can't leave or silence it. can't get it to stop when it gets dark in there. can't get the light in when you desperately need to feel a respite instead of suffocation.

[taichi-x-koushiro]

"We need more complex AUTISTIC CHARACTERs {+in dIGIMO}---"

You guys can't even handle Autistic!Koushiro HEADcanons {and probably still can't, in the year[s] 2k24 and beyond--}

(For those who can't tell, this is a meme/joke-post! But maybe being taken partly seriously...)

[light-wrath-paradise]

@dandelionsheep

so tired of this bullshittery

[windrunner]

current events but under the cut just in case because i am Upset and it is all Upsetting Forever

SC/OTUS news is smthn i simply cannot speak my actual thoughts on 4 reasons, so all i can say is: you gotta start going as hard as u personally can for Pl*nned P*renthood in states where this is gonna affect them.

especially ru/ral clinics and every single person who needs care from them. regardless of any other factor(s). not really asking or arguing abt this one tbh

[traegorn]

while i completely agree with your assessment of realistically what a trump vs harris presidency will look like, i think the issue me and a lot of other leftists have is that there is no need to tell people (and effectively tell harris) that oh ofc we are gna vote for her despite these issues because trump is THAT bad and if you say you don't want to vote for her because her party is pro-war, pro-genocide, then you are condemning americans to a trump presidency. we know trump is worse! i don't want him to win AT ALL, but why would harris even consider even changing the language she is using (i'm looking at the absolutely stupid speech she was giving in michigan, given the large arab & muslim-american population there and given its a battleground state) if she thinks she is going to win on a not-trump basis? i know who i'm voting for on nov 5th if it comes down to it, but we need the democrats to THINK they are going to lose until the very last minute, we need them to feel like they can't just rely on being the lesser of two evils if we want any chance of a shift on palestine. because they very well might lose, for this exact reason (and i'm speaking again more to the votes of the arab & muslim-american population which is far more demographically meaningful than the votes of leftists) and if that happens, they have no one to blame but themselves.

So I'm going to tell you something important: You don't have the leverage you think you have.

Political campaigns are a machine that's been operating the same way for a long time on the Democratic side. The Republicans may have abandoned a lot of the old ways of doing things, but the Democratic party hasn't. And you've got people running these campaigns who are steeped in the "wisdom" of how you win.

And when a block of voters says they're not going to vote for their candidate, they tend to believe them. So they decide to go court the people who they think will vote for them. That's why you've seen the Harris campaign trying to court moderate Republicans who might be iffy on voting for Trump a third time.

Right now one of the reasons Netanyahu is refusing to commit to a cease fire is because he thinks Trump can win. If Trump wins, he has no reason to ever agree to one. One of the reasons he thinks Trump can win is because the polling is so close.

If you want to know why they've gone to the right recently, it's because they think they've lost the left. And since a lot of those leftists are claiming there's a line in the sand that they don't have the power to appease (because -- again -- they can't get Netanyahu to do shit right now), they're going to go for the centrist Republicans.

Also, there seems to be this weird notion that the only way to move the Democrats is during the election. That's not how you move people. You keep pressuring them during their term and it works. Like Biden is continuing to work on forgiving student debt even though he doesn't have an election ahead of him. Because they know that what he does reflects on the future of the party. Voting doesn't end this game, it's the start of it.

But none of it will matter if Trump wins.

[icarus-suraki]

I don't like wading into Ao3 debates, but I want to give my professional opinion on Ao3 with regard to archives vs. libraries.

I am a professional librarian (MSLS) and I have worked in both archives and public libraries and a lot of the confusion and concern I see surrounding Ao3 is a fundamental misunderstanding of How Archives Work.

An archive is a collection related to a subject. That subject is often a person but sometimes a field or concept or project. And the purpose of an archive is to keep everything. And I mean everything. I was going to say "short of biohazards" but since I know there's a sealed R. Crumb Devil Gal chocolate bar in the UNC Chapel Hill archives, we really do mean everything.

When a collection of materials--which are usually unique and original and can be photos, manuscripts, letters, recordings (audio and/or visual), notes and notebooks, objects, published books, whatever--on and/or from the subject arrive at the archive, they are examined, preserved for longevity, accessioned and cataloged (added to the archive's records), and added to the archive. You measure collections in linear feet. As in, once it's all preserved and boxed and secure, you note how many feet of shelf space it takes up. And some of y'all on Ao3 have a lot of linear feet to your name (and I'm proud of you).

This is an archive: it is designed to preserve the original materials related to a subject. That is its purpose. Archives are how we have the original scroll manuscript of On the Road, for example, or the Lomax recordings of American folksongs, or Tijuana Bibles, or James Joyce's loveletters to Nora.

Now you, a member of the public, can access some archives. Some are easier to access than others. The one I worked in was open to the public; good luck getting into the British Archives without a good reason.

So now apply this to Ao3--which is an archive both in name and in purpose. It is intended to preserve fan-created content long term. And this means everything, whether you personally like the materials or not. It is a repository for as much as possible.

And the "whether you personally like the materials or not" is important, hence why I mentioned Jim's loveletters and Tijuana Bibles in particular. (RIP Jim, you would have loved pegging.)

If it's made by fans and it exists, we should keep it to document the history and progression of fandom. That is the point. We have lost enough materials related to the subject of fans of media and we don't need to lose any more.

The fact of the matter is that Ao3 is only one facet of the OTW, which preserves other fan-related materials (convention booklets and zines, for example). Somehow Ao3, an archive on the subject of fanfiction, has been divorced from the rest of the project, mostly by way of "purity culture" and panic over "dangerous" fiction.

The fact that you can go through an archive and find interesting information is the other side of archives. No, they shouldn't be like the banker's box of old letters stuffed in my closet. Yes, they should be organized and as accessible as is appropriate for the state of the materials.

It's really, really cool to find stuff in an archive, I'm not even going to lie. I have done it before and I will do it again. And yet there are other items in an archive that I might not want or need or be interested in at all--but they're still there. That's the cataloging and accessioning: to keep up with what's there, to stay "on topic" with collecting, and to be able to find things in that archive. Bless the tag wranglers who are doing the cataloging at Ao3.

The pearl clutching seems to come from 1. the creation of "dangerous" fanworks and 2. public access to those "dangerous" fanworks. These are issues of "purity culture" and opinions on censorship and should not involve Ao3.

Ao3, under the umbrella of the OTW, is a documentation and preservation project first and foremost.

[mx-pastelwriting]

Saving My Fanfiction Work

First. Side note: This post was only intended to give resources to fanfiction writers and enjoyers. My talk on recent political events was a context/reasoning on why I made this post. Also I’ve had to add more information to this post over time due to people’s confusion in my comments. Explaining it was to make sure that this post didn’t come off as out of the blue for my followers and this community. Which is fanfiction.

Also, why I made this post was from people asking if they could download my fanfiction because of the recent political events in America hence why I named it “saving my fanfiction work” and added my context. So this was also a post to tell people that liked my fanfiction they could download it as long as it was for their personal collection. I merely just wanted to list resources to people who wanted to download fanfiction and don’t know where to start or don’t have the immediate resources. I’m not here to fear-monger. I am just giving resources and the reasoning on why I’m giving them along with urging people to look into those information/recent events as staying aware is important. I respect everybody who’s given their opinion and yes, some of my grammar in this post is not adequate as this post was merely made for giving/stating resources.

Lastly, I will no longer update this post with comments as I’ve said my peace, nor will I pay attention to the notifications as they are muted. As my page is for fanfiction not politics. Thank you for the people in this community who share this post for the resources see you around the tags! Stay safe friends!!✨ Remember I love you! And you are loved!💛

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Due to the recent events in the United States. To clarify the recent events being Trump becoming president of the United States, Project 2025 more than likely going to be integrated. If you are not familiar with Project 2025 I urge you to look it up.

Along with the KOSA bill that has many problems and it has passed the senate now needing the finally vote in the house, which both are majority red. Go here to learn more on why it needs to be stopped and how you can. This is another component that will harm our communities. Go to: stopkosa.com

With all of its harmful plans some of the plans are to take down/restrict internet sites that have LGBTQ+ communities that means communities like the fan-fiction communities/sites in the United States.

I am only giving resources to those inside and out of the US in case they banned sites that hold fan-fiction. Better safe than sorry.

Being that I live in the US the possibly of mine and many others Fanfiction has the possibly of being in danger. Therefore I'm giving you recourses. (I'm not leaving or stopping my writing, I'm here for the fight!)

For those wanting to save my fanfiction, I give you permission to download them off of AO3 and to be used for your personal collection. Meaning, your eyes only. To clarify I’m saying this as others have asked if they could download my fanfic so for those who would like to you can.

If you do not know how to download them many others on online have tutorials on how to download them and add them to our phone libraries.

Here are some links to tutorials:

Downloading Fanfic

Adding to Iphone & Android Library

Adding to Kindle Library - Video on How (On TikTok)

Adding Book Covers (At the bottom) - Good EPUB Cover Changer (I use this)

Types of Files and What they mean

Please stay safe out there! Remember to follow the rules below.

DO NOT share the downloaded file anywhere online.

DO NOT repost the downloaded file under your name.

Fanfiction is protected under copyright law when plagiarism is involved. If you plagiarize my work, either a piece or whole in any language, I will take legal action. Inspiration or the same idea does NOT apply to this, only word-for-word plagiarism in any language.

♥ mx-pastelwriting does not consent to their fanfiction being copied, copied & credited, translated, used in videos and/or audios, screenshotted, used in AI, or reposted on any other platform without permission.

♥ mx-pastelwriting does give consent to "reblog," sharing links to direct work, and being in recommend lists.

Please stay safe out there friends! I love you so much! Know that there will always people that love you and in for the fight to make sure you are loved!

And here are some resources in case you don’t feel okay! Resources here

[damselneedssaving]

BATBOYS BUT THEY WITNESS A STRANGER PULL F!READER INTO A HUG AND CLAIM TO BE HER BOYFRIEND. FT. MARK GRAYSON! P.T.1

★ TAGS: older!damian wayne, older!duke thomas, everyone is 18+, mention of death, romance, mark is utterly devoted to you, jealousy, lots and lots of jealousy, little bit of dark!batboys, kind of dark!mark too

★ A/N: yes ik the pic is technically the mark variant who wears a shiesty but that's still mark and it's a hot pic so it's staying. anyway that poll on if y'all would read a mark grayson x reader fic alongside the batboys x reader was almost unanimously yes and i'm so happy because of it 🤭

★ 𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 ! ★ | ★ 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 ★

YOU DON'T KNOW HOW YOU ENDED UP HERE—

—trapped in the embrace of a stranger.

One moment, you're in your kitchen, preparing a nice, hot bowl of popcorn for both you and your house guests—the next?—you're at your door, stood rigid and tight and ever-so-still as your arms are pinned to your sides by another pair. A stronger pair.

A stranger's pair.

The embrace is warm, seeping with this longing you've only ever felt from Dick that one time he returned from a mission that lasted way longer than it should've; that one time he hugged you swearing he'd never let go.

But even then... Dick did eventually pull away.

Something about this stranger's tight grip tells you they won't.

Your name is whispered, breathed out on the tongue of whoever it is holding you as he squeezes just that tad bit more, just that tad bit tighter.

It's strange. You're sure you've never met this man in your life, yet something about his embrace feels familiar, intimate in a way no stranger could ever imitate. 

No stranger but this one at least.

You can ponder on it for all but a few more seconds before a new warmth is on your shoulder—this time: a recognisably familiar one—and without being given a moment to even blink, you're yanked out of the embrace of the stranger, vision flooded with the broad back of your dear friend as a click bounces off the walls of your once quiet apartment.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't lodge this bullet between your eyes."

Jason stands before you, finger nestled snug against the trigger of his gun like it's just waiting for the opportunity to pull it, like he's just as eager to give it the command to do so.

The stranger puts his hands up, and it's just then that you realise he's clad in a skin-tight suit. Yellow and blue. With goggles over his eyes. 

"I don't want any trouble."

"Yeah?" scoffs Jason, "Well you shoulda thought of that before pulling up at princess here's door."

"[Name], get behind me," Dick calls from further in your apartment, a hand quick to spread out over your clothed stomach and push you even further back than before.

You know by the way your light starts to flicker that Duke's also on guard, and you can't imagine that Tim or Damian are that far off either.

The tension in the room is thick—heavy in the air and just as swallowing—the boys' muscles all taut. It's as though they're ready to lunge the moment just a strand of hair moves out of place.

You try to swallow, but all that goes down your throat is sandpaper.

He catches it though.

The stranger's head tilts ever so slightly after your gulp, just enough so that you're fully in his field of view again.

From under those goggles, you can't really see his eyes, but the way his brows visibly pinch is enough for you to feel the desperation radiating off his form when he speaks your name again.

Dick moves to cover you further. "I don't think so, buddy."

"Look," the man states simply, head subtly moving back up, "I don't mean any harm, really. I just wanna see her."

"Tt." The slink of a sword slipping out its sheath sounds from behind you. "And what business is it that you have with her?"

The stranger tilts his head again, letting out a frustrated grunt when Dick only moves to counter once more. "[Name] please," he whispers, tone uneven, watery and wavering, "it's me: Mark—"

Then he does something unlike your boys, unlike any vigilante you've ever seen really, and he moves his hand up to his mask, slipping it off with the ease and trust of someone not currently at the door of a stranger's house.

"—Your boyfriend?"

You can't even fully observe his face before a bang bounces off the walls of your home.

Your eyes widen, pupils shaking and hand already pushing Dick to the side as you hiss out a severely pissed, "Jason!" 

But before you can even think of screaming your heart out at him, of having a go at your friend for shooting an innocent person at your door, your mouth falls agape, muscles tensing just as much as the rest of the vigilantes you know as you catch sight of what you're sure should've been a dead man on the ground.

Except he isn't dead. And he's nowhere near the ground.

In fact, he's floating off of it, brows now furrowed and lips pulled tight into a snarl as he yells, "What the hell, man?! You just shot me!"

"And you aren't dead," Jason replies through gritted teeth. "Why the fuck aren't you dead?"

"Not to worry," Damian replies before the stranger—before Mark—can, "I'll fix that."

All it takes is the lights flickering once more and the sound of a staff whirling in the wind for you to snap out of your little stupor, for you to see and hear and feel everything around you once again.

And once you do, your voice rings clear and final.

"Enough."

The boys tense, forms faltering as their eyes finally leave the stranger to fall on you.

You take a step forward.

Duke blocks your way.

"Duke." Your arms fold over your chest, his name stern and heavy on your tongue.

"[Name]"—his brows furrow—"you can't be serious. This is a stranger. A meta too, no less."

"And you aren't?" You quirk a brow. His jaw ticks. "He hasn't done anything. All he did was hug me."

"That doesn't mean he won't do anything," he retorts stubbornly. "That doesn't mean he can't do anything." Then, his tone softens, brows scrunching a little as he regards you with a look all too warm and familiar. "I don't wanna lose you. Not you."

Your arms uncross, one hand gesturing out as you return his gentle look. "And you won't. I promise. Just let me talk to him."

You can tell he's reluctant, can see it in the way his jaw is still tense and his eyes suddenly can't meet your own. But you also know Duke, and you know that he's a hero—one that, if given the chance, will choose the option of peace over all else.

And so, his shoulders fall, and he steps to the side to allow you through, to which you flash him a grateful smile before taking a step forward...

...only to be blocked by yet another wall, one now back to facing the person floating at your door.

"Jason," you call, but he doesn't so much as spare you a glance. "Jason."

His jaw squares, the only sign you have that he's hearing you.

"Put the gun down."

But he doesn't listen. He hears you but he doesn't listen. Because of course he doesn't listen. You're speaking to Jason Peter Todd, when the fuck does he ever listen?

"Jason!"

"I'm not putting the gun down until he's bleeding on the fucking floor."

The meta snarls at Jason's words, and the latter is quick to return it with his own look of disdain, blood boiling enough for heat waves to be visible in the air around him, for even the hottest lava to envy what courses through his veins.

"Then get out of my way so that I can speak to him."

The man lets out a sound halfway between a scoff and a laugh. "And let him feed you another lie to bring down your guard some more? I don't think so."

"I'm not lying," Mark hisses, floating just a tad bit closer.

"Oh yeah?" Jason tilts his head to the side, eyes glinting in that familiar way it does when he mocks a crook. "Why don't you say that to your so-called girlfriend? Because to me, it doesn't look like she even knows who you are at all."

That seemed to have hit a nerve, because the next thing you know, Mark is lunging forward, and Jason is just narrowly dodging his shove, rolling to the side and letting out another bullet in his direction.

You're only able to blink once before your form is engulfed, covered by the oldest brother in the room as he regards you with soft, gentle eyes.

Yours only scrunch in return.

"Dick, let go of me."

He tosses a glance over his shoulder as another bang rings out. "Don't think that's the best idea right now, princess."

"Dick."

He meets your gaze again.

"It's either you let me go so that I can break up the fight, or you let me go so that you can break up the fight. Your pick."

He holds your gaze for a few seconds, eyes wide and disbelieving. "You can't be serious."

You don't say a word, and he blinks owlishly.

"You're serious."

"Deadly."

"Okay, fuck," he curses, head turning to the side as his eyes all but seem to run through a dozen different scenarios at once, acting more like a computer screen than sclera.

Then, after at least two more seconds pass, he turns back to you, shoulders falling in quiet resignation.

"Fine. Stay here. I'll break it up. You're not going anywhere near that fight on my watch."

You feel the way your shoulders fall at his words, a wave of relief crashing over you like a sudden change in tide as you flash Dick a smile much like the one you gave Duke earlier and he starts to slowly get up with a roll of his shoulders.

"Alright you two, break it up."

Mark pauses, and Jason takes the opportunity to lunge, but before his arms can even graze the meta human, Dick hooks them under his own, and you quickly take the opportunity to put yourself between the three men.

You then proceed to waste no time to deliver a mountain of fury to the man who started the fight.

"Really, Jason?"

He pauses his struggling against his brother.

"I mean, seriously"—you throw your arms out in front of you, scoffing the words on your tongue out in disbelief so heavy, it fogs your vision—"you're a grown ass man, starting fights like a child, over something as small as someone claiming to be my boyfriend?"

He opens his mouth to retort, but purses his lips once you send him a narrow look, opting instead to scoff and turn his head to the side.

"Oh, and don't think I didn't notice you two getting ready to join in, Tim, Damian." You turn your stern gaze to the other two currently armed individuals in the room, and they both mirror their brother's reaction to a tee.

It's funny, really, how they react like children being scolded for something like drawing on the walls rather than grown men who were planning on murdering someone in the comfort of your home.

Or at least, Jason was.

Geez, you really thought you had this talk with him already, that he'd changed his previous ways and swapped out his real bullets for rubber ones, that he'd sworn off killing for the rest of his life.

Guess not.

You pinch your nose, taking in a breath and counting up to ten just like your momma taught you when you were little, just like you always do when your veins get a little too heated for your own good.

Each second in your head is a second the heat flushes out your system—and your muscles unscrew themselves from the stiff boards this whole night reduced them to—until eventually, you can feel yourself finally calming down.

Then you open your eyes again and witness the mess that is your living room, and all that effort flushes down the drain.

"Look"—you find yourself sighing, turning to face the still-floating Mark as you address him with heavy eyes—"Mark, was it?"

In an instant, he lowers himself to your height, and now that there's no goggles in the way anymore, you witness the true extent of the way his eyes stare at you, wide, unwavering, like you're the only one they truly see.

It sends a shiver down your spine.

You swallow air. "...I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong girl. I've never seen or met you in my life. I don't even have a boyfriend."

At that, his shoulders fall, sagging in a way that has you biting your lip and half-contemplating taking it all back if it meant you'd get to see that look on his face again.

Wait... what?

"Right..." Mark starts, his solemn tone enough to pull you straight out of your thoughts. "Different dimension. My bad."

His words, though muttered, couldn't have been louder to your ears, and you raise your head in time with the rest of your friends, eyes wide and trained onto him.

"I'm sorry..."

He glances up at your voice.

"...Did you just say 'different dimension'?"

TAGLIST: @silas-222, @bloofairyfox, @wiseavenuelove, @inkycapps, @velovicy, @mmentallyelsewhere, @verysynical, @1abi, @bluepartywobblernickel

[nochepsicodelica]

"All those drinks are gonna do you dirty, ma. You're gonna throw up if you don't get some food in your system, so eat," Toji says, pushing the box closer to you.

You giggle at his serious face, before standing up from your chair for the fourth time, trying to go around him. Toji's used to this by now and stands up, bringing you back down to your chair.

"Stop getting up and eat your food. You literally begged for this. Why aren't you eating it?"

"Why aren't you eating it?" You return, raising your brows at him, seductively. It doesn't come off too sexy when raising your eyebrows makes you immediately squint because of the light going into your sensitive eyes, but it does lure a chuckle out of Toji.

"I'm ignoring that. Just eat. I don't wanna hear you upchucking in a couple hours."

"You won't hold my hair back?" You pout. Your feigned little flash of sadness produces real tears in this state, so it's a little confusing for Toji when you start giggling while wiping at your reddened cheeks.

"Your food's getting cold. I know how you are about reheating fast food, so eat it before it goes to waste."

You smile at him, your eyelids almost completely shut in your drunken daze. Toji can't even lie, it's cute. It's the only reason he's not up the wall about this little situation. Then you decide to drop a bomb on him.

"I'm not hungry anymore. Too tired to eat." You rest your chin on your palm, shutting your eyes. It feels nice. It would take less than thirty seconds for you to fall asleep.

Fuck. Think, think, think...

"Hey." Toji pokes your forehead, lightly, earning a hum and a furrow of your brows. "What if I feed you?"

You laugh, giddily. "Ooo, you trying to romance me?"

"Sure, if you eat."

You laugh again. "Toji, you dog, you. I'm not putting out." You shake your head, eyes closed with a dumb grin on your face. "No, sir. It's food and then goodnight for me."

"You already put out for me, earlier, doll." He smirks at the way you blush, clearly having an 'oh, yeah...' moment. "Eat some more so we can go to sleep."

"Hm?" You hum, rolling your eyes open after your blink of sleep. You crack a grin as soon as you look at Toji. "You wanna kiss me sooo bad. Look at you."

"I'm not gonna kiss you. You're not listening. You think you deserve kisses for that?"

"Uh... yes? I mean no. Pshhh, nooo. Of course, not."

"That's right. So eat, or you'll go to sleep without kisses, tonight."

"Noooo," you whine, dramatically. "Wait! Fine, fine. Look." You take a huge bite of your sandwich, your cheeks puffing up as you chew. "Oh, this is really good," you say, muffled by your mouthful of food.

"Don't choke, doll. Small bites are fine," he says, picking up a napkin and wiping the excess condiments off your face.

You push through it and gulp down the bite. "That was a lot. Got bread stuck on the roof of my mouth." You take a sip of your drink to wash it all down. "Did I look so pretty for the party, today?" You ask, your lips curling as you put the cup back down.

"You did, mama. Stunning. Swept everyone there, off their feet."

You smile, the gesture transitioning into a giggle. "Even Shiu?"

"Yup. Even Shiu said he wanted a piece of you."

You gasp. "No... Did you fight him?"

"Nah, I wanted to, but I kept my cool. If he had put his hands on you, then I might have, but I had my eye on you all night, to make sure nobody did more than look at you."

"I wouldn't have followed him anywhere, anyway." You roll your eyes, suddenly so hostile against the host of the party. "Probably would've kicked him in the nuts and gone to find you."

"Yeah, that's a smart idea, doll."

Toji's elaborate answers to your questions kept you awake long enough for you to mindlessly eat while he talked. You were at the end of the sandwich when you realized how much you had eaten and how full you were.

"Can't... do it..." You groan, lying on the arm you have extended on the table. "Too full." You sigh, heavily, setting the rest of the sandwich down on the scattered fries in its box.

"That's good, ma. You don't have to eat it, anymore. We can go to bed, now."

You let out another heavy sigh, sluggishness washing over you before you force yourself to stand up from your chair, this time with Toji's 'okay'. He looks at your little belly as it protrudes from your dress, proof of how full you actually are, and pokes at it. Your usually soft tummy is temporarily stiff and it's adorable.

You grab Toji's hand so that you don't stumble as you walk. Before leaving the table, he finished the remainder of your sandwich in one bite and threw out the container with the remaining cold fries.

"Damn, you were right, baby. That was good."

"Mhm," you mumble, waiting for him to lead you to the room.

Toji helped you brush your teeth and wash your face, and when you finally made it to the room, he helped you dress down into comfier clothes. Now, you're in bed together and you're in his arms trying to doze off, but you can't with the way he's smothering your face with kisses. It's just kiss after kiss with him and you can't focus, but it is what you wanted. After all, you stuffed your face for this.