#that lore yet . because I am searching for it Myself in game

[ratcandy]

speaking about the fact that sozo seems the be the only one infected by the unnamed cordyceps-inspired fungus. irl, theres different splits (subgen) of cordyceps and each of them i think can only infect One Type of Host. like irl split subgen of cordyceps that seems to the inspo for sozo's parasite is Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, all of them in this subgen can only infect one tribe of ant called Camponotini, and cannot infect any others. i think?? (due to reproductive isolation yadayada) so i always sorta linked it in my head that "oh its only infecting sozo because it can only infect ants or something like that".

[or whatever, take my words with a grain of salt im a random autistic artist who graduated from highschool like two years ago,,,,,, that just happens to have a special interest in biology lol]

Yeah I sorta wondered that as well!! It could be that the type of cordyceps within game is just extremely specified to ant folk, in which case my theories get even more complicated because then anything could be going on there (the menticide itself causing the infection, a separate fungus causing the infection, the mutualistic stuff I mentioned,,,)

I just wasn't totally certain n didn't suggest it being super specialized since 1)

When I was taught very broadly about cordyceps, we were shown images of various insects getting infected from grasshoppers to beetles, so I wasn't certain how many generalized vs. specialized cordyceps were sporin around hdgKJSHG

and 2)

I'm just Not Sure what to make of this in general

[imagineitdearies]

ok so. in the game Astarion has this banter line describing his perfume of "bergamot, rosemary, and a hint of aged brandy". obviously he had it for a while and had enough opportunities to experiment to land on the perfect one for him. now wrt Perfect Slaughter, how does it fit into it? considering the abysmal conditions Cazador keeps the spawn in. correct me if I'm wrong, this particular smell hasn't come up in your story yet.

(ps. love perfect slaughter to bits and can't stop thinking about it. help)

Hi anon! Haha I love this hyper-specific lore question, because if you know me you know I've thought about all of it 😂

While Dufay's inventory ledger includes "balms and oils" and it could be argued some perfume was supplied to them for their hunt (besides the uh, more practical uses for oil), my personal headcanon from how Astarion describes his perfume is that he's crafted and perfected it himself over time, and had to steal the ingredients. He just sounds so proud of himself I want to give him credit!!

In Perfect Slaughter, Tyrus has a decent Perception score and noted Astarion's scent during a spicy moment in ch4:

"He gasped, dropped his head against the other spawn’s shoulders as his body picked up speed. The scent he found there was light but pleasing too, citrus and fresh with a hint of something richer, just the bare edge of a flavor that reminded Tyrus of his never ending thirst."

He notices it again in chapter 12!

"The closeness, the solid steadiness of Astarion’s body against his, was so wonderful. He leaned his head into Astarion’s neck close enough to smell a subtle whiff of something citrus, floral, and sharp, a scent leftover from the night’s hunt, he presumed."

Otherwise, of course, Tyrus doesn't mention it in his thoughts because it's a pretty minor part of Astarion for him.

Did I look up what scents bergamot, rosemary, and aged brandy each are described as for like 30 minutes one time, only to put this in two simple sentences? Did I almost end up buying myself an Astarion-scented candle in the midst of my search? (I'm still so tempted, but $$, am I right?)

Anyways, there you have it anon! Come to me about Astarion lore, I'll come back with PS receipts 😂💙

[lilithsaga]

Happy Birthday to the lovely Lilith Saga! (aka me) 🥳

I dont have much to offer other than sincere gratitude for everyone who supports me. Thank you all so much! 💜

That said, here is a short lore/origin excerpt of my story:

Or, better yet, feel free to read it below!

In my darkest moments, when everything seems hopeless, the one thing that consistently saves my life is a good story. This doesn't apply to every good story out there, of course; everyone has their preferences. I'm not going to pretend my tastes are better than anyone else's. But the kind of stories I appreciate are heart-touching enough to rip out dormant feelings that were buried deep, awe-inspiring enough to keep me invested in a lifestyle I never knew I needed to learn about, and thought-provoking enough to shatter my world to pieces and mold a new one from the remnants of what once was.

My name is Lilith Saga. I am a writer, succubus, and PNGtuber. I'm sure these titles that I label myself as seem a little strange at first. How can an introverted, shy, bookworm writer be the same as a sexy, alluring, tantalizing succubus? It's simple. Contrary to popular belief, succubi and incubi consume strong emotions to live.

Given our indecent reputation, desire and arousal are considered the most common emotions to consume because of how powerful and simple they tend to be. But for those of us who don't wish to get involved in that way, we also collect other human emotions. Anger, sadness, fear, disgust, joy, etc. The triggers for these emotions are different for every person, and are never guaranteed to work the same for everyone. However, there is one tried and true method that never fails to evoke deep emotions.

Storytelling!

So, for me personally, I prefer to say that I consume stories.

My heart swings against my rib cage when a story captivates me and takes my breath away. I adore listening to tales that make me laugh, make me cry, and keep me intrigued in a person and their world. Often times, when someone is telling their story, they go through the highs and lows of emotion when relaying it to me. Hearing their tale sparks a connection of mutual understanding, and we tend to grow a little closer because of it.

It's become an addicting feeling, one that I can't help but chase. If I had more time, I would spend every day searching for new stories to consume. Books, movies, TV shows, stage plays, musicals, comics, poems, songs, podcasts, fanfiction—every available format possible! There are so many different stories to consume that it can be difficult to keep up!

But... I know I can't.

I can never consume them all.

I'm not as healthy as I once was, not as happy, not as free. The older I've become, the more responsibilities I've acquired. More responsibilities mean more busy work. And more busy work means less time to indulge in stories. I feel as if I'm stuck in a cage where I'm so busy with mindless work that I neglect to take care of myself. I never found the key, nor do I expect to anytime soon. But, despite this, I found a warm blanket to make my stay more comfortable.

"Hellooooooooo Everybodyyyyyyyy~!"

This is my reality.

Channeling my creativity into YouTube like this was the best decision I've made in centuries. What started as an impulsive decision after getting laid off from my day job, turned into an outlet for me to enjoy storytelling once more. Currently, I play visual novels and RPG Maker games. Then I upload my playthroughs to YouTube. It allows me time once a week to go down the rabbit hole and experience stories I've always wanted to explore.

At first I thought it would be fun to document my journey to hold myself accountable, making sure I kept to this new habit. But then I noticed something. I wasn't the only person watching my videos! It never occurred to me that other beings around the world would tune in to my commentary and find it entertaining. I was just a silly succubus enjoying stories from games. And yet, without realizing it, I found a way to share these stories with others and connect on how the story impacted me.

My mind escaped to a world of creativity that I've been longing for. I've learned how to do social media, branding, public speaking, networking, project management, the list goes on. I have story concepts reaching me like how they used to when I was younger. I can feel this invigorating energy coursing through my veins. There's nothing in this world that can stop me-

Bzzt.

Oh yeah. Time. My mortal enemy.

...

Well, let's get to work, shall we?

[allianettemie5]

Honestly, if any CC reads this I will have my goal achieved, so proceed

Warning: about CCs and fanfiction, so to those who can be triggered, pls skip this

I hail from a big streamer-based fandom, a place that had apologists, haters, and those who tried their best to be within everyone's boundaries of privacy; there were a lot of artists and writers there, excellent ones, who could rival published authors tbh. I am in awe of many of them. I mostly stayed out of any controversies, though they naturally were bound to find me in whatever corner of the world I was hiding. Privacy breaches, a lot of dirty clothes being dug out, CC targeting, mental illnesses, fans being unable to separate characters from content creators, and more. It's disgusting

I went to among us streamers in search for idk maybe more mature vibe, and I thought I found peace for just a short while. But lobby slot arguments, people not clicking with each other, that even led to shouting matches, bringing the group mood down. It was exhausting. The fandom was as creative, less explosive but was new, inconsistent and shaky, and it seemed that nobody knew each other

I don't see that much in PR1 streaming group and PR2 community. I enjoy talking to people that hang out here and enjoy the same things that I enjoy in a similar way that I do, and they are all just wonderful, just amazing, and fun, and crazy, and insane (in the best way possible). There is peace between CCs and fans, both sides addressing the bad things that happen in the fullest once, just once, and that is always enough for the both sides to keep the matter quiet and just keep up the positivity and mutual understanding

However

The recent events (that were basically just a sum up of several events prior to that, and it started way back a decade ago) actually rose a serious concern, that I was really hesitant to address, but it's that time I guess (yt "we have to talk" thumbnail)

I have not encountered online bullying directed at myself yet, and I hope I'll never have to, and I wish that my fellow PR2 people will not experienced that in the future

I know what irl bullying is though, I've experienced it first hand. I know what it is like to be hated and publicly laughed at because of being different. I know what it feels like to hear slurs and hate-talk about yourself and those who are very close to you from such a prejudiced point of view

I just escaped all of that. I have enclosed myself within a tiny space, consisting of only those who I want to speak to, those who I enjoy listening to, topics I feel safe reading and not going to lose my last nerves on

I'll say this once, and will not make another tumblong on this topic

If an abstract CC wants to read fanfiction sooooo fucking badly, they should

Suck it up and make an account, fucking coward

ASK THE AUTHOR FOR PERMISSION YOU ASS

Do not make fun of a real living person because they do what they enjoy for their friends to read

Do not make content of other people's hard work in a disrespectful way

Do not FUCKING STREAM reading the fanfic without EXPLICIT PERMISSION from the author

Imagine if the developers of a game, that you enjoy playing a lot and create playthroughs and guides and theory and lore exploration videos, come across your content and start yelling in their twits how fucking dumb you are, omg we can't believe that someone would in their right mind create these, LLOOOOOOOLLLLL WHAT AN IDIOT, what would you feel? You go to your comments and see haters and insults and you receive messages that you're a disgusting person and should stop doing whatever you were doing, what would you do? How would you respond?

If certain CCs don't learn that boundaries go both ways they can very well expect their fans number decreasing in a rapid rate

[meatball-headache]

They said "don't get attached to your first dozen" characters, and boy howdy, that was an understatement. I've fed I don't know how many to the jungles of Qud, and now I'm not creating characters with interesting builds and carefully-planned stats, I'm just hitting random, because it's at least as good as me when it comes to preparing to roam the salt marshes :p

So this is Urdru, a True Kin Child of the... something. Hearth, I think. I don't know. He's doing well! Well, he got past Red Rock, so that's officiall Making Progress—he's the first True Kin I ever had that got that far. Really, I've only ever had one character get past Grit Gate and only two that got to Grit Gate. You know me, I get distracted searching for Dessicatedicus Molluskfriend, and returning books to the library all the time...

I am totally into this game. This has to be my game of the year. I know, it's a late introduction, and the competition's been pretty thin, but I'm just completely captivated by this game. I've played Dwarf Fortress and ADOM and stuff a little bit, but not in any depth. Not for more than an afternoon, anyway—they were too hard to understand, in terms of how to play or what I was looking at, and too hard to make progress, and a younger Meatball had no patience for something like that. These days, I'm much more okay with just hitting RNG and letting an emergent story tell me how I die. Will I ever get good at the game? I don't know, did I ever get good at Bloodborne, or did I just bullheadedly plow my way through and get the Platinum anyway?

But, I mean, it's not just the steep challenge. It's just, this game's particular style rubs me the right way. Mutants and cybernetics were never really my thing, honestly—although when you've got a copper sword and leather armor and you're up against a battery of laser turrets surrounding an electronic keycard, now I'm interested. But it's more than just that level of the theme. It's something in the writing, and how the dynamically-generated scenarios are completely ludicrous, but the atmosphere of the writing and music compel you to take it seriously. You go five layers deep in a dungeon, dealing with exploding flowers and machine guns the whole way, and you find a statue that reveals some secret history: that Sultan Quradesh went to the town of Poisonedwasteland and bought a bejewelled dagger that he named Bejewelledicus Poisonedwastelandgift. And then he lost in in a bar bet and fled the town. ("Quest accepted: 'Find Bejewelledicus Poisonedwastelandgift'!") And the game is asking you to nod sagely and accept this as deep, serious lore, and there's something captivating about that.

I dunno. I'm flattering myself, but, it kind of reminds me of my own writing. The only voice I could be comfortable writing in has this... completely off-the-wall word-salad pile of mumbo jumbo going on, but, I'm not trying to write it to be funny, I'm trying to write it with the same sense of awe and grandeur that Tolkien used to list the trees the hobbits walked past. Some kind of "glorious stupidity," or something. I don't know.

...and that reminds me of the date. Tomorrow's a whole new year, and that traditionally calls for Resolutions. I haven't made any Resolutions, capital R, in a while, having decided that the whole thing was pointless, and life's too short to stress yourself out over. And yet, here I am, a million years old and how many books have I wroten? Either two or five—sort of—but who's seen 'em or cares? Where's my Wikipedia article? What's my tombstone gonna say but some dates? It's disappointing. I need to crack the whip some more, and get myself moving.

So, my New Year's Resolution is: writing every day. The only way I can function is doing a whole chapter at once. One chapter has to be written in one sitting, and one day's writing is one chapter. Now, we can see how this will lead to burnout, so, I'm not putting a word count on it. I just want to pin down an A and Z so I know what happens in a given chapter—what the point of writing it is. And, I'm not just going to churn out word count constantly. Going back and editing yesterday's, last week's, last year's chapter totally counts. I just want to keep working, and keep moving forward.

Also, so I can tell what I did all year (what happened in 2024 other than Dawntrail?) I'm going to return to my personal journal. So I can spare you from my rambling thoughts like this :p But, mainly it's just to bullet-point what I've been reading, writing, and playing lately.

...but, that's an adventure for tomorrow. For now, I have to see how Urdru dies :p

[cartierdreamx]

Hacked into you - 3 (AU)

Hi guys! Hope you’re doing well and your week has been great, here’s a longer chapter that I definitely enjoyed writing and that you guys deserve, something mention here (the car) in the chapter is confusing if you don’t know Watchdogs lore but a quick google search should fix that!! To keep me writing, I am so down to take requests for Jenna or any of her characters so if you would like to send in a request or just to talk to me, feel free to!! Anyways, I hope you enjoy <333

READ PART 2  PART 1

Pairings: jenna ortega x fem! Reader

Warnings: swearing (that’s it I’m pretty sure)

*I plan to write smut in this story and it does have some dark themes like violence involved, the game itself was rated MA15+ where I am from (might be different depending which country you are in) so my fic will be 18+ because I am involving more adult themes, if you do choose to proceed, please keep that in mind*

BLOND - 3

What’s the CTO of Blume doing here at 3am on a jog? run? Hell, I don’t care, only thing I care about is trying to figure out where he placed the tracker, he takes me for a fool, but the rich white man underestimates me yet again, after collecting myself, I shake off the sand and see Jenna squinting her eyes at me, trying to decipher what just happened.

“Woah, are you okay b?” B? Babe, baby, bitch, either way a little lightning bolt electrifies my heart as if I needed to be revived.

“Yeah, yeah, that was Nemec”.

“Shit. SHIT. Fuck, what’s he doing here? And so close to Dedsec, he never gets this close, nor does he do his own dirty work”.

She’s hyperventilating, well about to.

I step closer to her and extend my arm, allowing her to grab on if she’s willing, to my surprise she takes it in an instant and pulls herself into my chest. I couldn’t help but to me taken a back, but I don’t pull away, I place one hand on her head and the other running across her shoulder blades, she smells of vanilla and apples, warm, like home. Y/N snap out of it, she’s not yours.

“Hey shhhh, I’m here love, it’s okay, you’re okay, I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Her breathing slows but deepens, indicating that she’s calming down, I’m glad I can give her some comfort.

“Would you like to go get food or do you wanna stay like this for a bit longer?”

“Just a bit longer, please”.

We stay like this for around 5 minutes, it was comforting, she was comforting, and I didn’t think I needed it, she was waves of healing, like the ones that spoke to us on the beach.

“Thank you, y/n”.

“It’s really no worries, Jen”.

By this time, I was fully sober and so was she, I was sober enough to drive and vice versa, but I was craving that drive and I wanted Jenna to relax and focus on staying warm than figuring out the cars and roads. Now, obviously I don’t have my car, blindfolded was the transportation I took to get here, however when a single click of a button on my phone, an electric car around me clicks open. It was a sleek, batman black, asteria prime. It was an instinct to open the door for Jenna, on the way in, she winks at me and slides her hand past my waist. There was no alcohol in my system but her presence, weakens my knees and system, the way fermented yeast did. Once I hop into the driver’s seat and press the button for engine start, I can see Jenna shivering a little, she’ll never admit it but my eyes never deceive me, so, I turn on the heater and seat warmers allowing her raise her body temperature.

Being in this car with her raises the unspoken tension between us once more, so I decide to turn the radio on. I realise putting on RnB would only raise the tension but I can’t help it, it’s my favourite music genre and it is heaven to my ears, the slow melody that massages every nerve in your body to the soft yet sharp voice of the artist you’re singing, nothing beats RnB and it’s sub categories. As I reach for the touchscreen displaying Spotify, Jenna reaches her hand towards it to, our pointers touch.

“You’re so warm, I need you”.

“Me?” I knew what she meant, you as in my warmth, not the warmness of my soul but my physicality, my warm skin, the way my blood rises to warm me up. Ever since I was young I was able to warm myself up easily, I never knew the reason but I couldn’t complain, it’d be the coldest winters but my hands and face never knew glaciers, the cold wasn’t welcomed upon my skin. I knew what she meant but I couldn’t help but smirk and allow the butterflies to set in, her comment made me grasp the steering wheel even tighter.

“Not you- well, I, I meant, you but” before she could finish I cut her off to save her the embarrassment, I can’t lie though, I enjoyed it and I will not be living it down.

I chuckle, “well, well, well, now look who’s stuttering”.

“Shut up, it’s just cold”.

“Mmhmh, whatever makes you sleep at night, relax Jen, I know what you mean, I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I’ve just been able to do this all my life, my friends would grab my hands and place them on their cheeks to warm them up”.

“Cheeks, huh?”. She smirks.

“Oh, that’s not what I meant and you know it!”

“Hmmmm maybe, but I like seeing you flustered”.

“Careful Ms Jenna wouldn’t want people to think you’re flirting with me”.

“Flirt? With you? Never!” She exclaims, letting out a dramatic gasp. “Okay y/n, put your music on, let’s see, put on the wrong music and I’m jumping out the car”.

“Oh, well then I think you should just jump out the car honestly.”

“HEY!” She hisses and hitting me in my sternum, causing us both to laugh and wipe our eyes as they started filling with water.

I knew exactly what to put on, I needed something cruisy, but deep enough that it talks to both of us. Frank Ocean. Specifically, Ivy, from his albumb Blond, my favourite album of his.

The first line sings, I thought that I was dreaming when you said you loved me, the start of nothing.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP! I LOVE FRANK, YOU TOO????”

“Anyone given the gift of life should”.

“Well, I guess I just might stay in the car then”.

‘WELLLLLLLLLL” I shrieked.

“Whaaattttttttttt?”

We’re here, right outside a McDonalds, just what we needed after a long night, the bright M logo is lowkey blinding us but the light illuminates her face even more, she exults a beauty no words can grasp, but the soft yellow light upon her skin from the softens my muscles, every knot undone. Driving up to the speaker box, I know exactly what I want.

“Jen, what would you like?”

“Whatever you order, b”.

“Aren’t you pescatarian? I will most definitely not be eating a fillet o fish”.

“Technically yeah, but I can be flexible, within reason, and tonight is within reason”.

“Alright, well I could eat the entire store so be ready”.

“This lil lady can eat”.

“Alrightttttt”.

Hi! What can I get for you tonight?

Hi! Could I please get 2 double cheeseburger meals, no pickles, large and coke and sprite for the drink

Sure thing! Anything else?

Yes, could I also get 40 nuggets with sweet and sour sauce and big mac sauce with that, that’ll be all thanks!

Sure, no problem, drive down to the next window, thanks.

After arriving at the window, I pull out my wallet to pay but Jenna grabs my wrist.

“Uhhhh, what do you think you’re doing b, you’re not paying, you’ve already done enough tonight”.

“Nope, I’m not letting you pay”. Swiftly paying before she lets out another word.

“Damn, you’re slick” I wink at her and click my tongue. “Okay, but next time, I’m paying”.

“Mhmhm, not gonna happen”.

I drive to the last window to collect our food, as soon as they open their drive thru window to pass out our food I can smell the oil, the signature smell of McDonalds, the shoestring fries with a linger of salt. I can’t like, my mouth nearly starts salivating, though, there could be another reason I’m salivating, and she’s sitting right next to me.

Here’s your food, enjoy!

Thank you so much.

Now we have our food, I place it on Jenna’s lap and quickly catch her stealing a fry or two, I giggle, knowing damn well the temptation was there, and if I was in her position, I would have done the same. I have no clue where to go but I reckon home is where we should head. I say home as if souls and bodies embrace my apartment, but I’m young, single, and unavailable, in a sense that I don’t technically exist anymore. I am alive, breathing, living, everything but, everything I was, is now not everything I am, the same body, yet different minds, mind over matter and my heart above all.

“Where are we headed now? Ms Uber”.

“You think you’re so funny don’t you”.

“Just a bit”.

“Don’t mean to burst your bubble butttttt”.

She stares me down, giving me an iconic Kubrick stare.

“But what”.

“Hehe, but nothing”.

“Mhmhm, that’s what I thought, b”.

Something about b. One syllable, not even a word, and right now I don’t even know what it means, b to me could be different to her, she could be calling me bitch for all I know. Usually time goes fast when you’re having fun and when you’re with the right company, but with Jenna, with her. Time is nothing but us.

“Okay, before you kill me, we’re headed to my apartment”.

“What an honour”.

“Hmmm, maybe, I don’t know, I’ve had plenty of girls over”. I smirk, taking a hit on her, the smartass in me had my ears raised, and before I could say another word, I feel a warm sting on my stomach.

“OW, JENNA, what was that for?!”

“For trying to be a smartass”.

“Oh” I test my luck and shoot one more hit, “you know jealously is not a good look on you”.

“I’m not jealous, y/n”.

“Mhmhm whatever you say, anyways we are hereeeeee”.

“Finally, if it took any longer, I would’ve jumped out of the car”.

“Okay Ms big mouth, I’m the one with the key to the apartment”.

“Hm yeah? Well, I’m the pretty girl” she clocks at me whilst getting out of the car.

I stay in the car for a few seconds and giggle a little while turning off the car, honestly if I knew Dedsec would comprise of this, of Jenna, I would have joined a lot faster, it’s silly, I know but sometimes I think maybe I could have a chance at a normal life, a wife and kids, living with pride about who we are as a LGBTQ+ family, and maybe it could be her. I shut my eyes hard and and let out a sigh, that’s all that it is, a thought, a fantasy, a dream out of reach. It’s not my life, and honestly all this vigilante work and Dedsec is my life, it’s here in the palms of my hands, and I’ve worked too hard to let it go.

“Y/nnnnnnnnnnnn, if you don’t get your ass out here now I am going to find your apartment door and knock it down”.

“Okay, okay, the princess gets what she wants”.

“Yeah, she does”. She winks at me.

We walk into the lobby and Alfred; the doorman greets me.

“Good morning, Ms y/n, ma’am”.

“Good Morrow, Alfred”.

Jenna smiles at him and chucks a good morning to him as well.

“In the Dedsec world, where no one knows your name or face, who is he? No judgement at all, I was just curious” Jenna remarks as the doors open for the elevator and I press the top number and place my key card on the reader that will let us up. I look away from her face, looking anywhere but her, probably the first time tonight I did.

“I’m sorry, it’s okay you don’t have to open up to me, I didn’t mean to cross a line”.  

I immediately look up at her with my mouth in an O shape.

“Oh, Jen, no, it’s okay, please don’t apologise, you did nothing wrong at all and don’t worry I do want to tell you”. I take a deep breath and let my heart talk.

“I know how dangerous this life is, I knew the risk but Alfred, he’s the only family I have, well have left anyway, I broke ties from my family years ago and started living here, yeah they were blood but what choice did I have when the blood was drowning me and water was all I had left? I took this apartment, it was the only thing I took from them and Alfred, knowing me since then, became my family and after deciding what I wanted to do, what I wanted to join, I couldn’t just leave him behind, not when he was the only thing I had, when I had nothing”.

I take deep breaths, making sure no tears escape my ducts but one stubborn one escapes, I go to wipe it off but a small, soft, warm beats me to it.

“Hey b, thank you for opening up, I feel honoured, and I understand you completely, I’m here now, we’re here now, Dedsec is your family, you are one of us, and I promise you nothing is going to happen to Alfred, or you, I won’t let that even be a thought”.

“Thank you”.

That was another time where the 4th dimension was non-existent, but alas, the elevator door dings and finally opens. I hear a loud gasp which makes a smile break.

“Fuck, did Oprah join Dedsec?”

“Haha, I’m glad you’re amused, welcome to my humble abode”.

“HUMBLE? Y/N THIS IS BIGGER THAN ANY DEDSEC HACKERSPACE WE HAVE, WHO ARE YOU, WHO IS YOUR FAMILY”.

“Now, sweet one, that is for you to find out, quick get over here before your food gets ice cold”.

After a good 20 minutes of eating, chewing, and a lot of “Oh my God, I needed this”. We were both collapsed on the couch, in a food coma about to pass out. At this time of night, well morning, I offer to Jenna just to stay the night instead.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, there’s a guest bedroom over there to the right and the closest is filled with spare clothes if you need, toiletries and other things are in the dresser”.

“You’re too kind”.

“Always”.

“But first, let me see your room, I bet it’s bigger than my brain could even think”.

I lead her towards the bedroom and open my door, instead of a gasp I hear a-

“SHIT”.

“Impressed?”

“Very, hmm you know, in another life where I’m a world renown actress, this could be mine”.

I laugh, “I believe that Ms Jenna”.

“Ortega, my last name is Ortega”.

She opened up, it may not seem like much, but Dedsec members are super secretive about personal information, it’s better that way, it’s for protection, I mean our faces and names are wiped off the system anyway, but caution is taken. I smile at her and nod.

“Mines l/n, y/n l/n”.

“Well, nice to meet you Ms y/n l/n”.

“Likewise, Ms Jenna Ortega”.

“Now seeing that you’re sitting on your very comfortable looking bed, I’m assuming you’re about to pass out so I’ll leave you to it”.

She starts heading towards the door, but before she opens it to head out, my subconscious takes over me and becomes my conscious.

“Wait”.

She turns back with wide eyes.

“Stay”.

[roserefrain]

early live a live s/i lore ideas under the cut. they got quite long and rambly!

so! live a live is very fun to make ocs and/or s/is for because you get to make a lot of different things. live a live characters need a time period, a chapter title (always structured as The [blank]. a statement relating to or describing the main character), a "for" statement (to do with the theme of their chapter. ie, for love, for hope, for redemption), a final boss (a powerful and evil character of some sort, whose name is a play on "odio"), and a chapter gameplay gimmick of some sort that makes it stand out.

even if you're a fan of live a live you're probably like "wait what are those for statements?? those aren't in the game" and you would be correct. they are on the ps4 collectors edition tote bag.

listen. the tote bag is so important to me. every live a live oc needs to have a tote bag line. i could rant about this tote bag for paragraphs i am Not joking. (<- likes live a live a normal amount) i will restrain myself tho

here are some of the ideas i have for my s/i, based on the criteria i previously mentioned. time period: recent past (taking place around a decade or so before Masaru's chapter) chapter title: few ideas for this based on which direction i take the chapter. The Cursed, The Endless, The Second Hand, and The Repeating are all ideas i've had! for statement: again, multiple ideas here. For Change is the main one, but i've also been tossing around For Joy and For Tomorrow (<- i like this one, but it doesn't really fit with the theming of the rest of them, does it?) odio: my basic idea is that the timeloop of the chapter is being caused by a ghost of a once powerful person, who is trying desperately to grasp on to their power/keep the world the way it was when they were alive. i'm not totally married to this idea though, it could go a lot of different directions! chapter gimmicks: the chapter is a timeloop, because i am a certified timeloop enjoyer. it is one day, looping over and over again, and only the main character seems to be aware of the previous loops at all. gameplay wise, this means you are playing a short section many times, with limited actions (there isn't a clock that ticks down, that would be too similar to Sundown's chapter, so instead each time you interact with something takes an "action point". some things take multiple of these points. when you run out, you start over.) information gained transfers between loops, but items do not. the gameplay is mainly focused around item puzzles ("use this item to do this" style, like old point and click adventures)

the main character must search for the most efficient path through this day in order to reach and defeat the final boss. there are multiple paths to reach the final boss, some more challenging than others. there is a "golden path" where the main character helps all the chapter npcs before defeating the boss, which leaves no time for strengthening themself for the encounter (this gets you a special item). and a "bad path" where the main character deliberately antagonizes or frightens all npcs in order to get them out of the way quicker (this would also get you a special item)

my initial little design idea for my s/i is this! made with the "something about them" picrew by sodapvnk which you can find here!

i don't have a ton in terms of personality or whatnot for them yet, i wanna refine their scenario before i do much development for them! however, they would have several different possible character interpretations depending on how you go through the route, as i think that'd be a fun parallel to oboro-maru

[insomnya777]

I HAVE MORE WORDS:

want, hope, lemon, truck, tide, lost cause, last, dream, music, light

feel free to answer as many/few of these as u want, i just think they’re neat words

OMG YAYAYYAYAYAY i had so much fun looking for these ?????? ask game for anyone else who wants to send me more (please do?!!!) this is kind of long so. press the read more thing

want:

"I am taking care of you!" Joel protests. "I got you water!" "Wow," Etho deadpans. "So helpful, Joel. Really, do you want an award?"

literally from earlier this week. should probably be posted soon because i'm obsessed with it.

hope:

It's weird seeing Jimmy like this. In his old Captain America hoodie, that stupid  wedding ring still hanging from a chain on his neck, a hopeful glint in his eyes that is long gone by the time Limited Life comes around.

this one is so fun, its based off of this fic by apollothetransboy (if you see this. hi. that fic changed my brain chemistry) and i don't know if it'll ever be posted but it probably will be considering i have like a solid 5k already written for it

unfortunately i couldn't find any with lemon, truck, tide, or lost cause (that i hadn't already posted </3) but i did find one for last!!!

[REDACTED]: Name? Suspect 1: Grian. [REDACTED]: Last name? Suspect 1 remains silent.

this fic was so fun to write, i have about six chapters completely outlined. it was about the Murder Of Jimmy Solidarity TM and it was told entirely in transcripts of audio recordings. i really want to work on it now because i'm rereading it and some of this stuff is completely genius.

dream:

Scar dreams of the desert. Or, more accurately, he dreams of the past.

one of the first fics i ever wrote 🥹 it's actually making me sorta emotional rereading it because why is this actually good. have i lost some of my writing skills hello????

music:

Tango laughs. The sound is music to his ears. "Hi." He pauses, tilting his head to the side. It's adorable. "What are you doing here?"

little ranchers moment. i don't write as much for them anymore which kind of makes me sad i miss themmmmm!!!! this fic is actually extremely sad though you all should be very glad i havent posted it (yet)

finally!!!! light:

(For one, was Jimmy imagining things, or did Grian have a few new scars on his face?)  (Was it just an odd shadow, or were there wings behind his back? (And was it just the light, or did his eyes look purple this time around?)

i wrote this the day secret life premiered!!!! back when everyone was talking about grian being the secret keeper lololol that idea got in my head and wouldn't leave until i wrote something about it so this appeared. this fic was going to be titled The Perilous Misadventures of Jimmy Solidarity and it was going to be basically his entire secret life series except with Lore and Sadness™️

anyways the end unfortunately. this was very fun. too fun. i'm enjoying myself so much. what am i going to do with my life now that i have no words to search for. yes this is me super subtly guilt tripping everyone who's reading this to send me more words,

[lighthouse-enjoyers-anonymous]

The CSH pipeline (aka my downfall)(aka my favorite band ever)

Last year around June, I listened to Car Seat Headrest for the first time, I think starting with Sober to Death. I had seen mention of the band before in memes about it being "incel" "male manipulator" music, but it was associated with a lot of bands I already had an interest in. My first instinct when seeing that something is being shit on is to go and consume the media so I can judge for myself whether it's actually that bad or if the fanbase is just being characterized by a couple shitty fans and if it's being meme-ified like Weezer. This has lead me down some questionable paths but I ultimately like this way of consuming media because I do end up finding new stuff I enjoy without being restricted to what's popular. I started listening to Mitski because I saw a tumblr post about how people don't like her work. Idk. Anyways I loved Sober to Death and started listening to their other top songs to get a feel for it. I think I mainly just listened to Twin Fantasy and Teens of Denial at first, then ToS and MBIKMB after a while. I wasn't hardcore into it and I knew barely anything about the band except I had picked up somewhere that Will was a furry (I have zero idea when I learned this but at the time I thought it was the most hilarious thing I've ever heard). I was just focused on my other interests much more (you know how it is). Fun fact, my ex included "It's Only Sex" on our relationship playlist when we dated in March, which

1- is an absolutely insane red flag 2- proves I knew about the band earlier than I remember Flash forward to February. I must have seen CSH mentioned a lot more on tiktok or pinterest or something, because I suddenly had a lot of interest in it. Sometimes I get waves of "oh god i'm a fake fan for not knowing everything about this subject" and that spurs some manic search to CONSUME ALL. I started listening to every album available on spotify, learned about Will's pre-CSH projects, and was instantly hooked.

This guy had written songs that spoke to me in a way only several other artists had in the past. On top of that, he had lived less than an hour away from me for the majority of my life (until he relocated to Seattle in 2014), AND most of his music was written at the age I am now. There was something so personal to me about it. Obviously, it was a popular-ish band so it wasn't really underground or anything, but it wasn't known by everyone so I still had the opportunity to introduce it to my friends for the first time. That being said, I still got teased a bit for listening to "sad gay furry music" :/ Touché.

Anyways, I then learned about 1 Trait Danger. Oh boy. I had heard the "Timmis" sound going around on tiktok without realizing it. God Andrew Katz is amazing too. It was silly, it was stupid, it had a new plotline to follow for each album, there was a discord server, there were costumes, there was Will Toledo, there was SO MUCH TO LEARN. So naturally I joined the Patreon so now I get some sick behind the scenes video game development content.

Deeper into the rabbithole comes Cate Wurtz's comics, which are mentioned in several CSH songs, and generally help to contextualize Will's work. Holy Shit I love Crow Cillers. I only started reading it yesterday. I have yet to fully understand what's going on because there is such a mash up of themes. It's entirely possible I made a mistake and managed to skip some crucial lore, but I'll figure it out eventually. Ynce Iche is badass. Other things that this hyperfixation has caused me to get into:

Radiohead and Weezer. more stereotypical incel music but I D K

Costume design? I'm in the process of building a trait mask, and I will make another post about this because I need help!!

animation, possibly. I'm hoping to animate parts, if not all, of 1 Trait Bangers. I have no prior experience with animating so this will be.... fun...

video production. I am ALSO in the process of creating a series of tiktok style videos to all of twin fantasy. if each one is about a minute, I should have... 71 videos. 1 down, 70 to go! This is cool because I got to visit the spot in Harper's Ferry mentioned in BL-I-D.

CSH livestreams. I looove the acoustic sound. Do miss the other band members though. Lots of his covers have lead me to find new music as well.

Will Toledo's tumblr. I scrolled all the way to the bottom of it and i'm attempting to compile a playlist of every song he mentions on there.

Will Toledo's spotify monthly playlists. That funky guy is listening to soooo much welsh folk. This raises questions about what the possible new album will sound like, but I'm down for anything!

Andrew Katz's instagram reels. I love these funky little videos it's like a vine revival with all of our favorite band members.

Will Toledo's high school bands/comics. The Mr. Yay Okay facebook page is so blessed I love seeing shitty home video recordings of them playing with a Ouija board.

New friends! Shout out to the cool people on the 1td discord server. game nights are always hilarious

Pop culture references. I have been convinced to buy several books simply bc they were mentioned in a song or his tumblr. also I started NGE and I will eventually get to Twin Peaks.

That's all for now! I should be able to update as I find more stuff to deep dive into, and as my creative projects unfold. It's going to be a busy couple of months in my house though, as I prepare for college. If I end up switching hyperfixations before I complete anything, I must apologize. But I don't owe "you" anything. I say to my singular follower, cheezbot. Hi cheezbot.

[bellshazes]

it's interesting to think about video games that attract lore-crafters as sizeable parts of their audience, and the legitimacy of those audiences within the fanbase entire. fnaf attracts this type because its origin as a simple horror game was effective because, in part, it was vague enough to make the horror work. now that it's become a beast of a franchise, the later works have leaned into answering and not answering core mysteries and reviving earlier plot points into narrative zombies. combine this with the explosion of popularity amongst a younger crowd, it's a recipe for a community who sees their favorite game as an encyclopedia brown exercise to be solved.

fromsoft games in the soulsborne+ suite have the opposite problem; the gameplay is not overly concerned with the details of the lore, but the lore is actually voluminous and requires a particular effort that has nothing to do with the gameplay to a) engage with and b) disentangle. the primary legacy of the fromsoft fanbase is "git gud," and fan interactions you're likely to stumble across are usually that angle - but the fraught, ambiguous suggestion of continuity across the dark souls series gives space for creators like vaatividya to arise and become storytellers in their own right. git gud and lorecrafting are not mutually exclusive, but require fundamentally distinct and not inherently overlapping skills; you can finish the game if you're good and still struggle to put the story together, even reading item descriptions. so there's a need and a hunger from people who played the game to have their gaps in understanding filled.

vaati has become an incredible storyteller in his own right - especially with the help of his team. they are cinematic and engaging and thoughtfully researched, almost anthropological or historiographical documentaries of a virtual fictional world shot with a filmmaker's eye. arguably the storyteller who positions themself as authority because they are telling tales originated by someone else is, in fact, the oldest form of teller's legitimacy, at least in english and its predecessors.*

while "theorycrafting" you might find may be qualified with phrases such as "I like to think," or allude to headcanons, the exercise is largely predicated on a search for an objective truth with attention to conflicting details and what it all really means. naturally this is challenging in a medium typically produced by teams of people who are often subject to the whims and wishes of corporate stakeholders and development cycles.

nevertheless, dark souls 2 fans are most curious of all for their obsession with the platonic ideal of DS2 which to many is evidenced by its cut content suggesting alternate concepts squashed by the tight and fraught development deadlines. to many, the cut content of DS2 - but also many other games, both in and out of soulsborne - speaks to a better, more preferable and more enjoyable "truth" that is revealed through the perfection of theorycrafting that deconstructs a game into code and dev tools and reveals its guts, which must say something about its true nature.

what it actually reveals is that these worlds and stories are artificial, narratives whose tensions and contradictions owe both to the in-universe narrators with conflicting interests and the fragmented nature of collaborative programming projects. i am myself not immune to the desire to know how the behind-the-scenes production process affects the final result presented to me, but sometimes things are cut from the final version because it better told the story the author wanted.

which, to my actual point, is really wild being a fan of anything mcyt-related because minecraft as a sandbox game with next to no lore** the story of minecraft is in perfect alignment with the story of the player playing the game. it is whatever story you are telling in the world you are making. and yet there is the constant pressure and/or desire to search for some unifying truth whether that be in analyzing the gameplay features and functions to derive lore from them or by seeking to interconnect every world and SMP into a larger multiverse*** in an effort to solve them. it is, again, encyclopedia brown behavior; fun, but a juvenile way of engaging with mysteries, and specifically a modern one!

this sort of "theorycrafting" or obsession with lore is only possible in a world where authorship confers intellectual property rights, thus illegitimizing the narratives about a narrative constructed by non-authors. it establishes a definitive version to which readers/players are beholden, a thing alien to the contradictory and divergent parallel narratives of pre-modern stories most easily identifiable in arthuriana. it requires active effort to let contradictory narratives occupy the same universe of fiction, even when the text/game suggests that they must through incomplete exposition or the infinite variations of minecraft seeds which have their own unique instances. i wish it weren't so hard.

[scifriskyxy]

I've been thinking lately a lot about the new sonic game and recently heard about a restructuring that Sega went through a while back so I went searching for more information and pondered on the companies actions

By what I can tell somewhat by their actions Sega seems to be one of those few game companies that haven't been taken over by greedy CEO/managers, incompetent higher ups or controlling ones...ever since the restructuring I can feel the freedom something I haven't sensed or seen In a large company ever since I was a kid when I first played sonic frontiers it felt like cold water was dumped on me and at the same time a sense of something that I haven't felt in a very long time

I got brought back to my childhood I wasn't as informed as I am today the game that officially Dove me into the community with was sonic and the black knight, even tho it was a budget game I adored the characters...Sir lancelot is the one that I still remember vividly even now

The game that gave me a taste was ironically what's considered the worse game ever aka Sonic 06...even now I'm not sure what's wrong with it maybe it's because I focus more on the story more than anything else, how they introduced shadow,silver...the death of blaze...when blaze died I cried I'm not sure why but it did I didn't understand what exactly happened but I felt what silver felt In that scene his heart shattered...

Now today because of sonic frontiers drenching me in water and pushing me off a cliff,Im re-developing my first and only Full fledged OC currently doing art and modernizing her and getting her more lore accurate basing myself on the original idea I had for her a knight well the next user of caliburn after sonic left...even tho sonic and the black knight was a budget game i fell in love with some of the characters I wanted to give caliburn[the sword] a second chance in my own special way as I felt he would never be used again i wanted to make someone that would be part of the sonic lore but not a part of the main cast yet she or he aware of the team while they arent...an ancient evil an explanation to what happened to Avalon after sonic left on how it became but a myth a story...a legend at the same time I want to keep her story as accurate as I made her as a child...my memory of her isn't the best but I'm gathering the fragments and revitalizing her into a brand new light... someone that was tarnished by war loss ,alone once parallel to sonic but lost everything events didn't pan out,alone... even tho they'll never encounter eachother I want her to be a cracked yet still shining light someone that shows what sonic could have becomed properly if things didn't turn out right someone even shadow can relate to if they ever encounter, someone Amy would have a very hard time with making friends with someone knuckles would be amazed by him having a proper glimpse of the past and maybe even a glimpse of his people and perhaps even what caused the eventual downfall...someone whom can remind and tell tails that having two tails isn't evil or a bad thing but a blessing a sigh he's meant to do great things and go far

Someone shadow would be shocked that there is an ultimate life form that wasn't created in a God damn lab and maybe she'd some light on parts of his creation mainly DNA related that made him look as he does

Sonic the hedgehog was my childhood I wish Sega the best and I hope they don't end up corrupt and greedy once more and don't lose their momentum and fall into the pits of greed and power like many of the game-developing companies today

I hope Sega truly manages to reach the stars and be a force of good in this sea of greed, corruption, and control

[thewanderingquill]

My dearest friend,

The past few days have been rather uneventful. New Year's was delightful as I spent it with my girlfriend. It's the first time I don't spend it either with family, or at home attempting to finish one last book before the the clocks strike midnight. That same day we met with her parents to eat and play board games. When I left that night, however, I felt that I had overstayed my welcome. I struggle a lot with embracing that people do enjoy my presence (who knows, maybe I'm right and did overstay my welcome).

Yesterday was not much different from the rest of my days since winter break began, I've spent a lot of time reading. My first book of the year is Bioshock: Rapture. That has to be one of my absolute favorite videogame series, and to be able to read more into the lore of Rapture is a delight I may not have enough words to express. As for the rest of my days, I do like to start my mornings with a simple workout before moving on to doing whatever may come to mind, like writing to you.

When it comes to my creative endeavors, I can't say I've made much progress. It is my year's resolution (or one of them) to attempt to write one short story a month. It sounds relatively manageable, and it could be adequate to keep my creativity within reach, instead of having to search for it in a metaphorical maze of darkness in which my only source of light is a never-ending birthday candle. However, here I am, typing one word at a time for you, and I thank you for that. You bring me a sense of accountability, to know I can no longer wait until the last moment to finish what I've told myself I'd do. Hopefully one day you may understand how grateful I am to you.

Anyways, today is Friday, a fact which I discovered no more than a few hours ago. Time has become so relative in my life, and winter break has only made it more confusing, as I have no school schedule to follow. That will change on the 13th, when classes start anew. I can't say I'm ready to go back, but I do want to, for I finally feel like I'm studying something I truly enjoy, instead of doing it because I was told I had to do it. *I forgot to mention I'm studying Clinical Psychology. It has been rather fascinating so far, and I haven't even begun learning the actual theory. Everything so far was superficial and introductory. But I don't mind. We have to start with the basics whenever we try something new. You have to learn to crawl before you can walk, as the saying goes.

Well, I won't take more of your precious time. I'm sure you have more pressing matters today. I might do some brainstorming to think of an idea for a short story; can't fail on my resolutions on the first month, right?*

*(I understand that one can use resolutions as a tool for accountability and motivation, yet we must remember that we are also human and life can be a bit chaotic and uncooperative at times. We can't be so hard on ourselves when things don't go the way we expected them. What matters is that we made a conscious effort to accomplish our goals. That is an achievement in itself, and should be treated and celebrated as such.)

May the wind be at your back and good fortune touch your hand.

Your friend,

Quill.

[jeff141]

Reading Resolutions

New Years' resolutions never work out for me and usually three days into the new year, I have already dropped all expectations of completing my resolutions. I stopped making resolutions a couple years ago after countless efforts to go to the gym more, eat more healthier, and, especially, reading more books. It's unfortunate since reading used to be a pastime I greatly enjoyed but slowly throughout the years, has been phased out of my daily life either due to school or opting to play video games instead (not necessarily a bad thing however!). This year, having been graduated for a couple months, and now having an inordinate amount of free time, I decided to take a crack at reading once more but using a different approach instead.

My resolution is not to read X books or spend X hours reading, my resolution is to simply spend more time at the library. I found that forcing myself to read a specified amount of books or spend a determined amount of time reading stressed me too much to actually enjoy the act of reading. As such, revising my resolution to just spend time at the library took a significant amount of unnecessary stress off of my chest to meet goals. I'm not chained to meet a quota nor am I actually forced to simply read during my time at the public library. Other activities such as perusing the shelves, doing job searches on my laptop, prepping for my next DND session are some of the things that I have done while at the library. However, simply being in an environment where I am surrounded by books as well as having the free time to be able to enjoy reading without the obligation of meeting a pre-determined goal has naturally increased my enjoyment of reading and read more often. It’s made me a more productive person, especially at a time where I don’t have as much responsibilities as I did compared to when I was in college, with the added benefit of making me enjoy reading once more. Additionally, the services of the public library are amazing and should be taken advantaged by anyone who can get a library card. Tickets to most museums in my area as well as an opera showing at my local opera house that would have been 98 dollars? Sign me up! This is an advertisement to all public libraries in the world. Go get yourself a library card now!

What am I reading right now though? I wanted to read something by Kurt Vonnegut who is probably my favorite author. I would like to go through his entire catalog of books and so I started to read his second novel, The Sirens of Titans. This science fiction book centers on Malachi Constant, the luckiest man in the world and owner of the richest company in the U.S., Magnum Opus, as he travels through space after being foretold of his future by Winston Niles Rumfoord who is, by all means, "unstuck in time" (I wonder if Billy and Winston have met?) and is able to see far, far, far into the future. Winston became as he is because of something called a "chrono-synclastic infundibulum". Don't know what an infundibulum is? Ask your mother. 

As is with all Vonnegut books, the plot of this book is absolutely insane. You should expect to feel like you are being whiplashed from plot point to plot point whenever you read a Vonnegut novel. Yet the charm of Vonnegut is that despite his outlandish plots, bizarre characters, and literally out-of-this-world settings, Vonnegut has a keen understanding of what it means to live a human life and is, surprisingly, sensible in that manner. 

As I am writing this blog post I am about halfway through the book and it has been a great ride through outer space. I have read two novels of his before, Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions, and thoroughly enjoyed both of them. A mainstay in many of Vonnegut's novels are rehashed and recycled characters, ideas, and place names that only people who have read Vonnegut's older novels would understand. And while not knowing Vonnegut's self-referenced lore certainly did not detract from my experience reading Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions (SH5 especially), I really wanted to know where Vonnegut's ideas started and how they developed over time. Thankfully, his charm and prose are still ever present in The Sirens of Titans and it's amazing to see where many of the themes he wrote about in Slaughterhouse Five got their start here in The Sirens of Titans.

Here are two of my favorite lines in The Sirens of Titans so far (spoilers!):

"Look," said Rumfoord, "life for a punctual person is like a roller coaster." He turned to shiver his hands in her face. "All kinds of things are going to happen to you! Sure," he said, "I can see the whole roller coaster you're on. And sure — I could give you a piece of paper that would tell you about every dip and turn, warn you about every bogeyman that was going to pop out at you in the tunnels. But that wouldn't help you any." 

 "I don't see why not," said Beatrice. 

 "Because you'd still have to take the roller-coaster ride," said Rumfoord. "I didn't design the roller coaster, I don't own it, and I don't say who rides and who doesn't. I just know what it's shaped like."

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

"Before turning to the signature, Unk tried to imagine the character and appearance of the writer. The writer was fearless. The writer was such a lover of truth that he would expose himself to any amount of pain in order to add to his store of truth. He was superior to Unk and Stony. He watched and recorded their subversive activities with love, amusement, and detachment... Unk turned the page and read the signature. I remain faithfullly yours--was the sentiment expressed above the signature... 

The signature was Unk's... It was literature in its finest sense, since it made Unk courageous, watchful, and secretly free." 

(I would love to have this tattooed on me someday, this entire chapter had me feeling things!)

A couple of other books I am currently reading are:

How Long Has This Been Going On by Ethan Mordden

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Wish me luck this year!

[metalgonemeta]

MAJORLY LONG POST IM SO SORRY

This whole post is a comparison of Isane-the-shiny, aka my older version of this blog, to its resurrection MetalGoneMeta

First things first, im sending development for this blog into motion. And although everyone who saw and i interacted with under the Isane-the-shiny/-and-muses usernames are now 2 years+ inactive and/or archived, i feel its best to put up the similarities and differences between then and now both for their sake should it be of interest as well as to give myself a blueprint for resurrecting under Metalgonemeta.

Isane-the-Shiny/-and-muses (2018?)

ItS was a Non-Selective, Independent, Pokémon/Metang OC Roleplaying blog

While I ran ItS (and later IaM) I was very VERY new to Tumblr RP and didnt know what anything meant besides a blog being Selective or not. And if you even had Semi-Selective in your bio, I posted the Same. Damn. CopyNPaste Ask of basically:

THIS GD ASK HAS PLAGUED MANY A USERS INBOX, and yknow how i said i didnt know the terminology of RPBlogs? That included those who had “Mutuals Only” as a rule of their blog.

To those whos blogs i did invade, I do apologize. I will say that i have improved since then.

(Also SHOUTOUT TO THOSE WHO ACTUALLY RESPONDED DESPITE THEIR OWN RULES /pos Istg i look back on this Invading copy and paste ask with HEAVY cringe, but I also remember feeling so ballistically happy seeing the “X answered your ask” notification. I hope all is well for you ^^)

Back to this list of how things were, pretty much said above but to put it shorter and more organized, Back when i ran IsT/IaM i was very Invasive and i was unaware of boundaries. And this was mostly due to it being back when i was about 14-15. (Im an Adult now dw ^^”)

Lastly and pretty much the only last changes and differences… Isane, the Metang OC of this blog, Is getting a name change and Overhaul. This is primarily for finding purposes ig? Basically, There is a character from a different fandom i follow, Bleach, with a character of the same name. (If anything i legit just stole the name cuz i liked Isane lmao). I do not have a new name decided *yet, but am actively searching so i can get it set in stone for the blog. And in terms of the actual overhaul, im going to look into updating, aka giving, her lore as well as (likely the only thing anyone i interacted with gave a shit about if at all) a redesign. Whether im going to turn her into a default blue and silver metang, or my Orrian Metang design is also still to be decided (you can find said design here )

Metalgonemeta (2023 onward)

Now all the big stuff i will admit is under the previous section by accident and ive noticed this post is getting pretty lengthy so ill try to keep this section short and to the point.

MGM is likely going to be identical to ItS in the fact it will still be an Indie NonSelective Blog. Though if i wanted to label every applicable term i found to give a better idea of what itll be: Indie, Pokemon/Metang OC, Based on Canon events that happened in both the mainline pokemon games as well as Pokemon Colosseum/GoD:XD, though will likely focus mainly on Unova B2W2* in writings.

Now i will say, factually in my stance, i should NOT go around peoples inboxes all wild andlikely childish. Even if i didnt make the other person uncomfortable, there were cases where i did make some uncomfortable… likely those who had stated mutuals only and yet here i was, a complete stranger banging on the ask box. Im probably going to just stick with those who interact with me first because of this and keep me going into inboxes at a minimal (i.e posted staters, prompts, etc.)

Kinda to keep parallel with the previous section, in terms of age rating im thinking ill have this blog be 18+. Not because of any mature material (if anything this blogs gonna be pretty sfw since its a gd METANG) but to avoid any uncomfortable complications regarding me, an 18y/o adult interacting with teens/minors of any age tumblr allows (I dont know what to even think of this cuz i just turned 18 not too long ago so from what ive heard i shouldnt have to worry about this type of stuff in the way say a 24y/o should), im just deciding in the hopes to just avoid any complications just keep the 18y/o me in the 18+ audience.

And that about wraps up all there is in terms of blog comparisons.. this was mostly focused on the blog technichalities and i will look into setting up a accessable Rules and About page when i get everything set up and can move onto a theme.

Im sorry this was so long but i felt it was best to post this now while everything i want to do is still fresh in my mind.

Thank you for reading through,

—Tamer

[theblueskyofthedawn]

A bit bizarre one, but thank you for the tag, Koi-Koi~.

Last song listened: That would be Samudrartha! Other than that it's random radio someone else set up (so I have no idea) or whatever I sung myself (so my own creations or lullabies for a cranky child). I do take a conservative stance on what "song" means, though - for the broader question of "listened to music", I've searched up Vivaldi's Four Seasons again plus ran across a whole lot of Star Rail's and especially Genshin's OSTs (mainly because I play the latter with sound), and I don't remember the order xD.

Last TV show/movie watched: For shows, maybe NCIS/other detective mysteries I don't remember titles of, once upon a time, but I haven't been watching consistently even those five years or so back, it was family's background TV. For movie, Fifth element, courtesy of a New Year's party.

Current obsession: in the literal moment, Sedition of Imbibitor Lunae xD. Not playing the game does not stop me from devouring desired lore and, so happened, Dan Heng is the perfect catalyst for my desire (I joke to myself that I scored a third honorary Anemo pairing with my resulting RenHeng obsession :D). But my fascination with Genshin's ancient gods had not dissolved even for a bit, yet (Neuvillette the current target, thanks to updates), and an overwhelming sense of kinship with Venti (and heightened sensitivity to any Anemo, stemming from my attention to any Air ever since I've learnt my zodiac sign is Air in the early childhood - I have extremely consistent and pretty selfish tastes) had not either. I am very comfy in my Cloud Castle xD.

Tagging: anyone from @favonius-library is welcome to join~.

thanks for the tag @thychesters 💕💕💕

Last Song Listened to: literally the whole Barbie soundtrack

Last TV Show/Movie watched: last TV show I watched would be the powerpuff girls! the last movie I watched would be SPY!! THE movie ever btw. no comedy on earth has ever been better. first time I watched it, I laughed so hard I thought I was gonna have a heart attack MULTIPLE times.

Current Obsession: hmm honestly I guess it’s Arcane? Been in the mood to rewatch that

Tagginggg uhhhh @enchantingruinscandy @scattered-winter @wingedrobins @mojimallow @citrinesparkles @capedcrusadr @batmanstwelfthkid and idk. who am I forgetting. @sparkypantaloons @starcloud-nova @batcassed

[katyspersonal]

bestie you started a ER playthrough?

Yes I did, and it was hilarious/painful sdfhsdhfds

Basically as I escaped the gate to the large open world area, my first reaction was to go and explore some, to literally any direction possible but not THE one I was supposed to go! I got to hunt some animals and check some interesting places, met a dude with really weird and funny hat, also met Irina and then went to the castle but then dropped it, and found a poisonous mini-swamp, and so on and so on...

But I started to grow gradually frustrated because in the game you need a character, Melina, to level up! I had more runes than there are letters in my BB lore essays ffs, so I gave up and bugged @val-of-the-north to help me to find her ok? And this is where things got REALLY stupid, because not only I was not able to understand his directions at all but also apparently for these several hours I went anywhere BUT the intended place?? She was supposed to appear near a site of grace (a checkpoint) but I checked like 10 of them and yet? But wait it gets WORSE

He was like 'but you did meet Varre, right?' and I was like NOOOOO I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE HE IS! Who places gameplay crucial NPCs in a SPECIFIC spot in an OPEN WORLD game? I kept walking in frustration and decided to sit at the random site of grace ok? The one I DID check before, and...

FSDHGHFGFSDSGD so yeah okay now things should be fine, right? WRONG! I realize I know this cliff, so I jump up and up, and end up at the exact doorframe that I started from, and...

IT GETS WORSE!!!!!!!

Because I look right in front of myself, and realise that Varre was literally within like 5 footsteps from the entrance, right in front of the view THIS WHOLE TIME????

It is like... I don't even know HOW I missed him. I've never searched for an NPC in the game more desperately in my life @_@' (Worth it though, his voice is really hot) My ONLY guess as of how it happened is that like... he stands in front of the rocks that are grey... and his clothes are rather grey too, so the colors maybe merged for my weird brain and made me glaze through him?

But yeah I am having a blast! Also finally getting to feel FEAR because unlike with Bloodborne, I had little to no spoilers on ER: