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theoperativeif · 8 months ago

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Admiral Elia Short Story

Below is one of the first short stories I ever wrote for The Operative for my patreon. It is about an early event in Elia Anderson's career, at this time the Empreza was a small cruiser. Its namesake would years later be adopted by the Admiral's new flagship. I hope you lovely readers enjoy it. <3

Imperial Year 195, Deep in Commonwealth Space

The blue of the Farris Nebula glimmered through the bridge screens of the Jay-class light cruiser, the UEG Empreza, bathing the dark interior in its brilliance. Officers stood in rigid silence, the quiet, notable clicks from the sensor operator cutting through the silence. The young man slowly adjusted the computer's settings, the glow of the screen further lighting up his face.

He looked scared, Captain Anderson noted from behind him. She made a mental note to encourage growth in him. It had been thirty weeks since they had been dispatched into Commonwealth space, and they had nothing to show for it yet. Neither had the three other light cruisers. Elia couldn’t see them on the sensors but she knew they were there, just as she was, waiting.

Several hours after their trap was set, something appeared. A convoy, most likely from the nearby farming planet of Frumentum. Slowly, one after the other, the ships' unique signatures appeared. The front half of the signature denoted the ship class, followed by its version, and then the unique part of the signature, true only to this ship.

Click.

“Piranha-class escort destroyer number five,” the operator noted, another click indicating its distinct signature was recorded. “That brings the escort to a total of six ships.”

Elia frowned, leaning forward and tapping the display of the sixth ship. “What is that?” she asked. Her parents had drilled nearly every commonly used ship class signature into her, many late nights spent over authentic military data from her father’s time in command. This one, she didn’t recognize.

Click. Click. Click.

The young man looked over the database for several minutes before finally marking it as new. New class, new version, and new ship. But it didn’t matter; she would make sure to ruin this new prize.

“Let's name it target zero,” Elia said, her eyes slowly working their way over the initial scans of the ship as she pondered the ship's complement. “Weapons,” Elia said, glancing over at Weapons Officer Orlov, “get me a solution for the Mark Twos on that big whale in the back, regular sevens for our regular targets.” The doctrine under a pack ambush was very simple; being the farthest ship in the formation, they would take the back two targets, both of them hopefully being transports bringing in war materials.

“Captain.”

“Yes?” Elia looked back at the young man, who was frowning at the screen.

“The back transport, it’s different from the rest. Look at the signature right there.” Elia squinted at the long signature, noticing the gap, thin as a piece of paper but still there. “Modified civilian liner, most likely a converted troop transport,” Elia mused, gesturing to Orlov. “Get me another missile ready for that one.”

Elia waited patiently, her eyes admiring the interior of the Empreza. It was a dark, cramped space; consoles took up most of the room, with long boxes nearly extending all the way to the ceiling. Bright viewscreens were their only sight of what lay beyond the hull plating. Looking down at the young man seated below her, Elia finally addressed him by name.

“Mr. Hyatt, where did you learn your signatures?”

“Onboard the Giuliano, Ma’am.” He looked up at her nervously.

“Ah, Captain Ceres’ craft. A lot less cramped,” Elia said, giving the console the lightest kick to accentuate her point before noting his unease. “You did fine. Stay on those signatures and the sensors. It’s about to kick off.”

“Captain, solutions completed, rockets ready to fire,” Orlov said gruffly, turning a dial before looking to her.

Elia took a long breath, adjusting her uniform slightly before glancing down at the stopwatch clutched in her hand. Beyond old school, but she didn’t care; up on the view screen, a synced countdown was slowly dwindling lower and lower. When it reached zero, the pack would all fire off their rockets then withdraw. Each Jay-class was fast; they would elude any short-term pursuit, and no captain would be crazy enough to pursue a pack off into the darkness.

The countdown hit zero as Elia gestured to Orlov. “Fire.”

Silence followed as the sensors lit up, picking up their missiles launching into view, then more as the other members of their little hunting pack also fired. She watched as the blips soared off, inching closer and closer to the edge of range. At the farthest edge of their range, the convoy slowly plowed along.

Finally, one of the escort ships for the convoy spotted the missiles. The map lit up as streaks of light shot out onto the screen. Flak guns, decoys, and other countermeasures were all fired off, some forming long lines across the screen.

Two of them, a Piranha-class and the newer warship, turned to place themselves between the convoy and the missiles.

"That would cost them," Elia thought, watching as one of the Mark Two missiles was destroyed by hardpoint fire. "Damn."

Watching the second, Elia tensed as that one was also destroyed, but quickly breathed a sigh of relief as the smaller and more nimble Mark Seven missiles dodged around the ships, slamming into a regular freighter as well as the modified transport in the back. The two ships exploded, debris flying outward in all directions.

"Perfect hits," Elia thought as her bridge crew gave a quick cheer.

The extra missile she had launched was also shot down.

“Alright, set course for the rendezvous coordinates, full speed.”

The Empreza lurched as its engines roared to life, the ship making a speedy turn as three blips representing the rest of the pack also appeared, each making a similar move.

The two escorts that had been closest were still moving towards them but at vastly reduced speeds, obviously wary of unnoticed ships still waiting to destroy them. The Piranha-class veered off, leaving Target Zero slowly following before coming to a near stop.

They had hesitated, realizing it was fruitless; if they pursued, the pack would separate them and destroy them from ambush.

“Excellent job on those solutions, Orlov,” Elia said, the man bowing his head before looking over to young Mr. Hyatt.

“Good work, kid.”

The young man beamed with the praise as the Empreza made its escape towards a nearby planet’s ring. And like that, the combat had lasted only a few minutes, such was the way of the pack. It certainly wasn’t her style, but if it worked and kept them all alive, why not?

Planet 30349

Eight hours later…

“A job well done, Captain Ducote,” Elia congratulated the superior officer. He was a man many years her senior, who commanded The Iliad. Ducote was a strange man, one mired in the swamps of rumors and hyperbole. It was said that the only reason he was even out here was due to an encounter with a Governor's wife. Other stories suggested cowardliness. She was partial to the latter, as he had often ordered a withdrawal before combat even began.

“Yes, I suppose it is satisfactory. Three ships destroyed, my compliments to your crew, Anderson,” he said, nodding his head.

The pack was positioned just above the planet's ring; the Iliad had to conduct repairs on its missile launchers, which had been damaged while approaching the ring.

Captains Poulder of the Kulan and Reyes of the Gius were also present on the screen, both waiting to report their ships' status to Ducote.

While they were discussing, Elia excused herself, walking over to Mr. Hyatt with a coffee firmly in her hands. She took in the lovely smell of it before taking a sip. She relied on the stuff; it kept her awake through days of no sleep, and it also kept some of the hunger pains away. There was no time to eat during battle. Speaking of which, she wondered what the cook would whip up for her.

Dismissing the sensor operator, she called for the next shift to take the officer stations. She swayed slightly, her stomach and legs having a competition to see which one could cause her more pain. "Traitorous body parts," she thought, "I would remove them for mutiny." She laughed to herself, glancing over at the communications officer.

“Please have Mr. Elroy prepare me something. I haven’t eaten since...” She stopped herself, trying to remember when she last ate; the days ran together at this point. “Never mind, have him kindly send it to my quarters. Mr. Kelce, you have the bridge.”

Waiting for the confirmation, she turned and walked off the bridge, making her way through the maze of tight corridors to her cabin. Calmly retrieving her key, she opened the door.

Her cabin was not much bigger than the nearby officer rooms, the only exception being she didn’t have to share it with another officer from an opposite shift. She ducked into the doorway, closing and locking the door behind her. Her cabin had a small desk on the right with a computer and a chair, which took up the entire center floor. Her bunk was on the left with a small curtain separating the room in half that could be drawn.

Sighing, she pushed the chair back before sitting on the stiff bed, slowly pulling her boots off before setting them aside for a moment. Her feet objected as she stood up again, grabbing the chair and looking over her messages. Most were general updates from either the other captains in the pack or a general note from The Admiralty they had received when they last connected to a network outpost's signal. Then two messages caught her eye, one in particular making her burst into a wide smile.

But business first. She read over the lines slowly, frowning and then reading them over again.

“Warning for all pack commanders: Several packs destroyed along zones four and five. Use extreme caution if assigned to those zones.

Rachael Hernandez, Rear Admiral”

Fourth Fleet Command

They were in zone six, but right along the border with zone five. Surely Ducote and the others had seen this; she guessed that they had deemed it as not applying to them. Maybe the Commander sought to make a point to his superiors about his delicate position. Forwarding it to the Captains again, Elia finally got to the other message, this one far less formal.

“I think I found a house for us. It's back in the old district, just outside the Nikko Park. When you get back, I can arrange for us to go look at it. My ship should still be in dock when you return, so we will have lots of time together. Maybe go to that restaurant Muldoon is always raving about. I swear he somehow finds some of the best food around. But anyway, I am hoping every day for your safety, my love. I know you can take on the world at your leisure, but my heart can’t handle that every day. So please, be careful.

P.S. I tried some more of that special coffee you like; it still sucks.

Sincerely yours always,

J.R.”

Elia smiled, looking over at the picture on her desk. A thin woman dressed in a stark blue long coat stood with a smile on her face, her lips a brilliant red, and her hazel eyes filling the world with warmth. She would definitely look forward to some time for them soon. She leaned back in her chair until the headrest bumped the wall, closing her eyes, she imagined them walking the paths of the national park, the peace and quiet, the beauty, and more.

“Captain Anderson to the bridge.”

Elia shot from her seat, instantly turning to look at the time. She had dozed off, but it had only been thirty minutes. What could be happening? Putting on her boots before rushing out the door, she passed Mr. Elroy, the tray of food in his hand. She snatched the brand-new cup of coffee off his tray. “Sorry,” she muttered, not hearing his annoyed reply as she rushed to the bridge.

Entering, she quickly noticed the sensor operator was still where she had last seen him; she frowned, also noticing the Captains still all on the screen.

“Mr. Hyatt, you were supposed to be relieved.”

“Yes, Captain, but something was bugging me about that mystery ship, and Chief Mate Kelce said it would be ok.”

She cast a tired glance back towards the Chief Mate who gestured back to the young man. “Go on, what about it?”

The man paused, switching through several screens before freezing, his eyes planted on the screen.

“Well?”

Click. Click.

Elia froze at the familiar sound, quickly looking down. Beyond the debris that made up the ring, a single signal pinged in and out; the barest flicker of a signature made its way towards them, fast.

“Battle stations!” Elia called out, the lights inside quickly turning low and red as the crew rushed to their stations, an alarm blaring.

“Battle stations,” the other Captains echoed without question.

“Signature approaching, could be a transport,” Captain Ducote confirmed, also bent over his sensor operator’s console. “I'm arming missiles, fan out and have countermeasures ready.”

“What does the signature match?” Elia asked, looking at Mr. Hyatt.

“Captain, it's Target Zero. Closing fast, opposite the ring, then us.”

Elia was shocked, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead before looking over to the other Captains still on the screens. They had all been communicating actively; they would be lighting up like lights on that ship's sensors, but there shouldn’t have been a ship anywhere close to here, let alone one they left in the dust. This was all wrong.

“At least it won’t be able to fire until it's past the debris field, maybe we—” Reyes was silenced as his ship's alarms blared, as did the others, as a missile appeared from the debris field, heading straight towards Reyes.

In just a couple of seconds, Reyes's screen shook as his ship was tossed by the explosion, sparks flying up from a console near him. “Fire the moment the solution is locked! Damage report?”

“We took a hit between sections two and—” The screen winked out as suddenly Elia was nearly thrown from her standing position; the Empreza shook and groaned as debris slammed into it.

“Screens,” Elia ordered as the Captains all disappeared, replaced with a view of the carcass of the ship next to them.

Behind it, a large black mass, about two times the size of her ship, barreled through, and then at point-blank range fired an array of missiles and cannon fire into the pack. Elia noted four cannons on it as it passed. It screamed by the three remaining ships, its first barrage of missiles missing by mere feet.

“All weapons to local controls! Get us on that bastard's tail!”

Chaff shimmered in the view screens as well as decoy beacons launched from the ships. The Empreza chased behind Zero while the other two fanned out, their cannons slowly turning towards the ship. Elia watched as her gunners took experimental shots at the craft now barreling away from them.

“Helmsman, I want you to keep us behind him, missile control ready our Mark Twos.”

Elia started her watch as the missiles were prepared, the ship still speeding away from them. Seconds dragged to minutes as the ship quickly outpaced them with shocking speed. It was faster than them; as it neared the outer sensor range, it suddenly began to flicker before vanishing.

Silence blanketed the bridge in its false hope, as everyone stared at their screens, waiting for the return of the alarms. The red lights slowly flashed in the background, bathing Elia’s vision in a tinted form of hell.

“Well, Mr. Hyatt, kindly relay your original idea to me,” Elia said, crossing her arms.

“When we first recorded it, we were keeping constant contact with its signature, but when we engaged them, the signature changed. It was nearly unnoticeable, but our sensors caught it; for barely a second, our Target Zero was a match for an unknown cruiser spotted at the front lines.” He pointed to an after-action report by a heavy cruiser captain who had been engaged by a small but deadly opponent. The heavy cruiser drove it off but not before it had wiped out its destroyer escorts.

“Send that to Captain Ducote, and slow us down,” Elia said, looking uneasily at the screens. If we can break contact, we may be able to make a run for a jump point, she thought.

After a few more tense minutes, Captain Ducote’s face appeared on the screen, his face unreadable. “Anderson, you and Poulder cover the Iliad’s withdrawal. We are making our way to the jump site now; we will wait for you there.”

Elia tensed, waiting just a moment too long. “Yes, Sir.” The screen blinked out as the dot representing the Iliad began to turn, heading for the coordinates to the jump point to take them back to Imperial space. She looked over at the sensor console with a questioning look.

“Uh, I am not reading any damage from here, Captain,” the man replied, looking down.

Click.

It was back already; the dot representing Target Zero was barreling towards them, from out of nowhere, it just seemed to appear there.

“Cannons to local controls again, helm, bring us to an intercept course, weapons, I want solutions this time, Orlov.”

She pulled out her watch, eyes glued to the two dots on the screen now screaming towards each other.

They were both closing so fast that the cannons began firing just as the missile solutions gave the green light.

“Fire and adjust course, take us,” Elia paused, scanning through star charts, her finger settling on a portion of the planetary rings that held larger asteroids and debris. She selected it, watching as the helmsman adjusted the course before she even finished the order. “There.”

The ship shook again, the hull pinging as several shells skimmed off its armor. Then one hit, its fuse detonating so close to the hull that sparks flared outward.

Elia watched as two missiles soared out at the ship. It rolled slowly before making an evasive turn, its turrets trying to take down the missiles. Suddenly, a shot from the Empreza hit home, causing a small but noticeable detonation beneath the hull.

Both missiles, unfortunately, failed to score hits, but it had at least disrupted the ship's course.

At least one hit, then. She watched as Poulder's ship mirrored her ship's course; it soon loosed its own set of missiles which streamed past them. And like that, they were once again in a chase. Zero slowly made its wide turn to try and avoid the additional torpedoes.

Then one hit. Just behind where she assumed the bridge was, there was a large explosion on the screen. The bridge began to cheer, but Elia silenced them. It wasn’t over.

Click.

The dark shape emerged, damage to some of its plating evident, but still under its own power, and still barreling down on them.

“Time to the ring?”

“Thirty minutes.”

The chase to the ring was relatively calm, save for one exchange of missiles. The three ships maintained distance from one another as the ring slowly began to fill the view screen. Even though they had just been sitting above it earlier, it really was a marvel. Everything from debris to asteroids and even moonlets all spun and slowly moved along the enormous planetary ring. It also gave the two running ships time to coordinate; to her surprise, Poulder was receptive to her idea.

“Find me a larger asteroid, one that can fit our profiles.”

After a few seconds, an image of a large asteroid filled the screen. Time to arrival: ten minutes. “Fire off another missile, this time use a MIRV; that should get him to move.”

Elia watched as the missile sped off towards Zero. When it had closed the distance, the missile exploded outward, and eight separate warheads shot out. Target Zero banked hard, the ship barely dodging warheads as it fell further behind. Good.

“Poulder, are you going to be ready?” Elia asked.

“Yes, helm is ready.”

“Let's do it then. Commence maneuver.”

Poulder's ship banked upwards, climbing slightly above the debris. The Empreza, on the other hand, plunged straight past the enormous asteroid before diving hard. Holding onto the railing, Admiral Anderson felt uneasy. Which target would they pick? If they picked her ship…

She gritted her teeth, shaking off doubts; she would still win. Turning and gesturing to Orlov, she gave the orders, “Arm everything we have; if he comes around that corner, I want every goddamn missile to launch and every hardpoint to fire.”

Engines slowed as the Empreza was slowly turned around, facing back up at the empty void above them. Then they waited.

“Seal off nonessential compartments,” Elia said before staring at the dot representing Poulder's ship. It pinged, slowly but surely relaying the enemy's position; it was coming for her, fast.

“Captain,” Chief Kelce said, offering a mask and oxygen supply.

“Thank you,” she said, watching as each crew member donned a similar-looking apparatus. There would be no guarantees of air after this fight.

It took five minutes for the dot to reach where they had been before they began the maneuver.

“Fire!” Elia ordered, the crew responding as one. Missile after missile was let loose, soaring out into empty space. Just for a second, the dot almost seemed to stop, her heart skipping before seeing the black shape plunging over the edge and dipping downward, like falling from a waterfall.

She had them.

Missiles struck home, its turrets unable to react to them all in time. Metal glowed red-hot as explosion after explosion struck the ship, crumpling armor.

“Close and stick with her!” she ordered the Empreza, which flipped over with impressive speed, quickly laying into the side of the black ship. Shot after shot either skipped off like stones on a lake or erupted into tiny little pockets of light before vanishing.

The bridge rocked as return fire was received, warnings blared in deafening howls as the ship groaned and shuddered.

“Damage?” Elia asked, looking down at her own screen, red sections of her ship popping out as several sections were torn open to the cold embrace of space.

“We are venting, sealing off affected sections now,” came the response.

Growling, Elia glanced over at Poulder's position. His ship had circled around, firing off its guns from extreme range. It got closer and closer before letting loose everything it had. Timing was crucial; she had saved two missiles for this.

“Fire,” she said gravely, watching more and more sections of her ship glow red.

After a small delay, the missiles launched from close range, from completely different angles to Poulder’s missiles.

Elia watched as noticeably fewer hardpoints fired up at the new batch of missiles, maybe she had disabled some of them. The missiles struck, all of them. A colossal explosion cascaded throughout Target Zero before ripping the ship in two, sending half spinning off into the debris field.

The bridge bucked like a wild animal. If Elia’s boots hadn’t been planted, she would have been thrown into the air, though her legs shot spikes of pain through her.

Shrapnel shot through the bridge, tearing metal and flesh equally as Target Zero’s carcass delivered one last blow. Alarms went silent as the atmosphere vented, leaving Elia in silence.

She breathed slowly, not feeling any pain. She patted herself down before glancing around. Bodies hung like mannequins, blood pumping out in streams as their hearts fought a losing battle.

Some survivors fought to try and fix damaged oxygen masks, ultimately going still as they lost consciousness.

She didn’t look where the sensor operator, Mr. Hyatt, had just been sitting alive earlier, nor did she look at her weapons officer. Instead, she turned to the terrified helmsman as her comms sprung to life, connecting with those still alive on the bridge. “Take us to the jump point, make sure Poulder and the Kulan follow.” She slowly moved to her chair, finally sitting. For just a moment, her whole body roared, biting and stabbing her all over with pains she didn’t know possible, but she ignored them, silenced them to the best of her ability as she contacted engineering. “Report.”

“Best we can get from her is half power, Captain. We will have to limp there or else risk not being able to jump at all.”

“Acknowledged,” she replied, leaning back for a moment, her back racking her with pain.

The helmsman slowly but surely guided them out of the ring. The dot representing Poulder's ship slowly followed alongside them. Silence reigned for the remainder of the trip to the jump point. The bodies stayed exactly where they were, most sections of her ship had been isolated, pockets of loyal crew working in those confined spaces to keep the Empreza limping. Elia thought of Rounet, oh what she would trade to be out of this silent hell and in her arms.

It took them hours to reach the jump point. Ducote and the Iliad had not waited for them. Instead, the Kulan and Empreza, two wounded but very much alive ships of war, jumped into Imperial space and limped their way to safety. Elia quietly sat on the bridge, copying each and every sensor and comms recording from the ship's computer and storing it on a private drive before slipping the tiny disk into her pocket.

Her weariness and pain gave way to anger as she thought of the Iliad slipping away without a scratch. But Ducote’s cowardice was something she could use, something she would use. Her expression turned into a smile as she stared out into space. Yet another rung on the ladder to climb.

Several Months Later...

Captain Anderson stood quietly in front of the large screen in her living room, her eyes scanning the news slowly passing by before switching to a different channel and lowering the volume to almost a whisper.

“This just in, the Imperial Navy has released statements saying the body of Captain Ducote was found in his office this morning with a single gunshot wound to the head. This comes just days after recordings of a recent incident involving the Captain were leaked to the press. Authorities believe that—”

Elia shut off the screen, sipping a small cup of coffee as the bedroom door opened. Jeanne stepped into the room wearing her blue evening gown, earning an eager glance from Elia, who blushed as her wife noticed the look with a raised eyebrow.

“What was that on the news?” Jeanne asked, smiling warmly before hugging Elia and planting a kiss on her cheek.

“Nothing,” Elia said, looking out the windows towards the twinkling night sky. She had plans for both of them, plans that no one would interfere with.

#if: the operative #the operative #the operative short story #writing #patreon short story #short story #interactive fiction #lore

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fiftymilehighclub · 1 year ago

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@aharris00britney's Misa hairs + my child versions in JewlRyBox!

Naturally anytime I make a conversion I've gotta recolor it in my main palette for maximum coloration! I was having issues with Puppy Crow for some reason so those have gotten put on the back burner as I just yeet this into the world so I can clear out my WIP folder!

You need the original adult mesh from here and child versions require my mesh, here. The included hair accessory is enabled for both and has a custom thumbnail, and is found in brow piercings. The child ones marked TEXREF require the adult V1 version while taking up less space, while the unmarked ones are standard recolors -- make sure you don't grab both!

Patreon Download (always free!)

Alt Downloads: Google Drive // SFS

@alwaysfreecc @childandtoddlercc @thejewlbox @maxismatchccworld @mmoutfitters

#ts4 #ts4cc #ts4 cc #ts4 recolor #ts4 jewlrybox

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van-yangyin · 2 years ago

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Razor's Outfit and hair (Genshin Impact) [Male frame]

我的「卢皮卡」的狼。它��是家人。～ The wolves are my Lupical. My family.

Sul sul, I've taken quite a while because I wanted to leave it the most complete as I usually do and because March has been a very busy month, but here I present today to you download of Razor's outfit and hair from Genshin Impact with a little extra earrings.

【Everything shared below, has been tested by @lea-heartscxiv and me in Ultra quality (non HQ) following our needs, if you find any problem let me or him know.】

Download under keep reading ↓

If you download my CC it means your agree with my T.O.U (English/Español/日本語).

General Info:

clothes (Upper, Lower and Lower with boots)

gloves (2 versions, HQ and non-HQ)⁽*¹⁾

boots

body marks as tattoo (4 swatches)

face scar (two types, real scar and painted scar on scars or tattos) [Painted scars is for those who want a more drawn style, with original color of Razor model]

left earring (right earring and right and left earring at the same time

upper right bracelet

hair (24 EA Swatches + Razor swatch) [Male and Female Frame]

all LOD's

normal, specular and emission maps included

custom thumbnail

HQ compatible (only gloves have non-HQ version)⁽*¹⁾

In case you would like a version of whole outfit in one click or whole outfit in one click with game assets hair, let me know by commenting below or from Ask me anything

~⭐️~

~Razor's outfit~

Outfit Info:

Upper and Lower Clothing/Lower Clothing with boots⁽*²⁾)

gloves (2 versions, HQ and non-HQ)⁽*¹⁾

boots

Razor's body marks as tattoo (4 swatches, only Male frame)

face scar (two types, real scar and painted scar on scars or tattos) [Painted scars is for those who want a more drawn style, with original color of Razor model]

left earring

upper right bracelet

all LOD's

normal, specular and emission maps included

custom thumbnail

HQ compatible (only gloves have non-HQ version)⁽*¹⁾

All except tattoo is opposite frame compatible

Compatible with higher and lower game sliders

There are small bugs with some parts of clothes

⁽*¹⁾ Only download HQ version of gloves if you have "HQ mod" if this isn't the case, download non-HQ version because otherwise you will get a shiny pixel on left hand. ⁽*²⁾"Pants without boots" looks like in picture below, for that reason I've made another version with "pants with boots", in case you don't like how "pants alone" look, but I've also placed "boots" in case you download first option or you want to have "pants with boots" and "boots" alone to use it in other outfits. Hope that I've explained myself clearly 😆💦

LODs Info: Upper Clothing: LOD0: 8k LOD1: 6k LOD2: 3k LOD3: 1k Lower Clothing: LOD0: 2k LOD1: 2k LOD2: 1k LOD3: less than 1k Lower Clothing with boots: LOD0: 4k LOD1: 3k LOD2: 2k LOD3: less than 1k Gloves: LOD0: less than k Boots: LOD0: 2k LOD1: 1k LOD2/3: less than 1k Upper right bracelet: LOD0/1/2/3: less than 1k

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (Patreon ~ Always free, no adfly)

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (SFS ~ Free, no adfly)

~⭐️~

~Razor Scar and body marks~

Info:

Razor's body marks as tattoo (4 swatches)

face scar (two types, real scar and painted scar on scars or tattos) [Painted scars is for those who want a more drawn style, with original color of Razor model]

custom thumbnail

HQ compatible

All except tattoo is opposite frame compatible

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (Patreon ~ Always free, no adfly)

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (SFS ~ Always free, no adfly)

~⭐️~

~Razor left earring with extras~

Info:

left earring (Original Razor's earring position)

right earring (Extra)

earrings in both ears (Extra)

left earring, right earring and earring in both ears merged

Left/Right Earrring: LOD0/1/2/3: less than 1k Left and Right earrings: LOD0/1/2/3: less than 1k

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (Patreon ~ Always free, no adfly)

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (SFS ~ Free, no adfly)

~⭐️~

~Razor's Hair~

Hair Info:

24 EA Swatches + Razor swatch (Child and Toddler version coming soon)

Base game compatible

Hat compatible

All genders and agender

Teen to elders

Texture hair and hair mesh made by me from scratch

Split hair compatible (Patreon/SFS)

Custom Thumbnails

LOD Information: LOD0: 15k | LOD1: 12k | LOD2: 7k | LOD3: 3k

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (Patreon ~ Always free, no adfly)

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (SFS ~ Always free, no adfly)

Preview in CAS:

Hair with hat category:

Split hair color:

~⭐️~

~Genshin Impact Eyes~

color eyes of characters as non-default

color eyes of characters as make-up face

⚠️ Important: At the moment both only have swatch of Razor's eyes, but I'll add more as make other characters, which in that case will be notified in corresponding post so that if you wish you can download or re-download it with new swatch (if you downloadi it from SFS), for those who become a patreon on Patreon I'll simply modify the file and make it notify the update of that post, since it seems that if someone only follows me this function doesn't warn you (Thanks @lea-heartscxiv for the warning).

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (Patreon ~ Always free, no adfly)

✨DOWNLOAD LINK✨ (SFS ~ Always free, no adfly)

~⭐️~

Let me know if you find any problem. 🙏❣️

IF YOU LIKE MY WORK PLEASE CONSIDER BECOME A PATREON OR TIP ON KO-FI. ANY HELP IS ALWAYS WELCOMED BUT ALWAYS OPTIONAL. YOU CAN ALSO COMMISSION ME HERE OR FROM TUMBLR, IF YOU WANT ME TO DO SOMETHING SPECIFIC FOR YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

👀👉MORE DOWNLOADS

📻 @alwaysfreecc, @sssvitlanz, @public-ccfinds

Happy simming! 🍀

💛

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readyandnot · 2 years ago

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HOT DAMN-

THAT WAS THE BEST ONE SO FAR

first off- ofc ash got a little injured, man can’t even stay out of trouble when vacationing lmao glad it’s only minor tho

again, ash sounds a lot better, the whole staying behind thing sounds normal and he’s a lot more cheerful, always makes me happy :))

also i loved that marie bit even tho we haven’t met her lol

WOOOOOOO let’s just jump right into it huh?

HOLY SHIT ASH WTF

i felt like i was actually listening to the patreon versions omg

mans goes SUBMISSIVE I LOVE IT

that’s like probably the most spicy (noise wise) we’ve heard so far it was LOUD AND CLEAR

the massaging part *kiss* love that so much

i wish there was more of ash being insecure about his scar, BUT less angst to deal with so all good in my book

but wowwww that threw me for a loop, it just keeps getting better and better

like vincent’s was great but ash’s is also great so vincent is a close second

WHEW

OH SHIT QUESTION MARK IS NEXT

alright- predictions: i think it’ll be a new character like morgan, or huxley and damien and fl ORRRR a new idea popped in my head, ollie!

either one or whatever we get honestly i’m pumped for!

#redacted asmr #redacted asher

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gabbomanestamuyloco · 3 years ago

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I am working on a tumblr alternative

It's going to be called WAFRN (We Allow Female Representing Nipples).

As you know, tumblr banned all adult content in 2018. They used the phrase of "female representing nipples" as things they blocked. I am not part of the LGBTQ community, but I know that tumblr created a place where they felt comfortable. It is what I aim for, a safespace for people who needs it. Nowdays people dont feel comfortable with tumblr because at ANY GIVEN TIME they can change the rules.

I am working on a minimally usable version. It will allow text posts, image posts, reblogs, tags, and it will allow you to mark your posts as NSFW.

It will be web based, so no app store issues. And since its an early concept and might be something REALLY that might not even get "famous" I will use some small server that I have on credit on some VPS provider. If it grows up we will figure out a way to have it afloat.

How will the platform sustain economically?

As I said, I have some credit in some web platforms, so initially it shouldn't cost too much money to mantain (less than 10€ per month). If it starts growing up, I might do something on the lines of putting a patreon/something on the lines of that. If that is still not profitable, I will try something with ads.

If that doesnt works, I will make the project fully open source so you can try to make an instance of this. If I had to do a big ass compromise on "mantaining the platform and being able to run it economically viable" for some reason, I, again, would fully open source the project.

Please, help me defeat my ADHD demon so I can finish this.

#WAFRN #tumblr #censorship #girls #tumblr controversy

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the-griffons-saddlebag · 1 year ago

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💎 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺! Courier’s Cap Wondrous item, rare (requires attunement) ___ This tan bag cap bears a wax seal on its side and is stamped with a variety of messengers’ markings. While wearing the hat, your walking speed is increased by 5 feet. Within the hat is a special demiplane that can hold up to 100 letters, written notes, or similar mundane sheets of paper. You can use an action to reach into the hat and pull out a sheet you choose. If the hat is punctured or torn, the sheets of paper spill out in a pile within 5 feet of the hat. The hat has 3 charges and regains all expended charges daily at dawn. While wearing the hat, you can use an action to expend some of its charges to cast one of the following spells from it: “message” (0 charges, or 1 charge to cast the alternate version detailed below) or “sending” (2 charges). If there’s space within the demiplane, any message sent by either spell is automatically recorded on a mundane scrap of paper, torn to the size of the message, and stored within the hat. If you expend 1 charge to cast the “message” spell from the hat, the message you send as part of the spell materializes in front of you as a folded letter, complete with the message inside of it. The message is written in your handwriting. The letter then flies through the air towards the target, which can be up to 1,000 feet away from you. You don’t need to be able to see the target in order to send the message in this way, but you must either know its name or provide a general description for the flying letter. The letter flies through the air with a speed of 50 feet; it has AC 10 and 1 hit point. When the letter arrives, it lands at the target’s feet or in one of its open hands, provided it has one. “Special delivery!” ___ ✨ Patrons get huge perks! Access this and hundreds of other item cards, art files, and compendium entries when you support The Griffon's Saddlebag on Patreon for less than $10 a month!

#illustration #digital art #dungeons and dragons #dnd #d&d

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anim-ttrpgs · 8 months ago

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Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Prerelease Patreon Update March 21st 2024

Changelog

CHAPTER 1

Have started working on replacing the examples of play with updated ones that actually fit the current and slightly more stable version of the rules. These will be found in various chapters. You can see them in the table of contents.

Fixed a pretty bad typo in a sidebar “Sometimes, citizens are innocent despite being proven guilty in a court of law. A quest to prove the innocence of a convicted criminal makes a great mystery-solving motivation.”

Changed “Collaborative Storytelling: Players are not their Investigators” to “Players are not their Characters”

Changed the heading “Not An Excuse for Bad Faith Play” to “No Excuse for Bad Faith Play”

Changed header “Expect to Fail Risky Rolls” to “Expect to Fail Rolls”

Investigators’ Truth is now a MUCH cleaner and easier to understand section. Holy crap that was a mess.

Made it so comforting and exacerbating factors for composure rolls no-longer stack. Made it so that two stressors happening at the same time just count as exacerbating factors rather than clunkily combining the modifiers.

Changed skipping a meal from -2 composure to -1 composure

Changed “Total Composure Loss (Optional/Legacy Rule)” to be “Portraying Composure Loss” and completely redid it as guidelines and suggestions rather than really being rules.

Changed a lot of stuff about Jumpscares. Made the choices more potent.

Combat and Chases are no-longer considered Scenes.

Created a new section just for defining scenes

Overhauled Ticks

Added a new section: Adventure Modules, How to Use Them, and Why

Started marking the sidebar stuff in such a way so it will be easier for readers reading the beta version before the fancy corkboard formatting is applied to see what sentence each sidebar is referencing.

Added multiple new sections underneath Role of the Narrator, full of GM advice tailored specifically for Eureka.

For Tick consumption in travel times, added 4 different starting values based on the size of the era the adventure is taking place in. Made other changes to how Ticks work with traveling, and also added a mechanic for speeding and getting pulled over by the cops. Made it more clear how Ticks work and how they are supposed to be used.

Sports cars no longer take less time getting to places and are counted as regular cars for tick cost of traveling.

Moved the rules for how to restore Composure with a Comfort roll into the Composure section rather than being under the Comfort skill, more like how the HP-restoring rules are found in the section about damage and HP rather than under the Medicine skill.

Way better clarified how the Manipulate skill is supposed to work.

Copy-edited all the way to Interpersonal Consequences.

CHAPTER 2

None

CHAPTER 3

None

CHAPTER 4

None

CHAPTER 5

None

CHAPTER 6

None

CHAPTER 7

None

CHAPTER 8

Added a new Mage Trait, Lightning Powers

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interact-if · 3 years ago

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Taking the spotlight for Day 6... Lucirene!

Lucirene, author of An Angel’s Song

Latino Heritage Month Featured Author

In the forest of Bres an otherworldly sickness corrodes the soil and changes the creatures within. “A parting gift from the fallen angels” say the citizens of the Hyaku Region and the mark on your hand confirms it.

Though the scent travelling in the air is sweet and enticing everyone knows better than to get closer. But the mark, it pulses, it burns, the pain spreading as fast as the corruption of the forest does.

Your masters are calling, and it seems like this time you cannot escape them.

An Angel’s Song Demo | Author’s Ko-fi | Author’s Patreon | Read more [here]

Tags: dark fantasy, romance

(INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!)

Q1: So, tell us a little bit about the projects you’re working on!

I have so many, but the only one public is An Angel’s Song. It’s, more than anything, a story about grief, loneliness and overcoming it all while navigating a hostile environment and discovering long lost secrets about the Divine and about the MC’s country. That one is very cathartic for me to make because of the themes, I feel like I’m working through a lot of feelings I didn’t even realize I had by writing it.

The next one is also an IF and it focuses on comedy, adventure and character interaction. It’s supposed to be more lighthearted, more fun, but knowing me… I don’t know if it’ll stay that way. Basically, it goes: A Captain’s boat falls prey to the storms and the strange creatures living under the sea, and they and their crew end up washing ashore an icy, snowy country. I already have the main cast written down and they have so much synergy, it’s amazing.

And the last one I’ll talk about (a traditional novel) actually happens in the same setting as my second IF, but many, many years before, when their local deity/guardian was born. It’s more of a romance-fantasy than anything, a love story between a Goddess and a half-dragon, however it also showcases many of the situations the people had to navigate and face before their country could become the place you’ll see in my second IF.

Q2: What excites you most about using interactive fiction? What are some of the biggest challenges?

What I like most definitely is how much freedom we have as authors. Of course, one is constrained by one’s ability to code but I think, for the most part, we can do so many things, reach an entirely new level of immersion that would not be possible with a regular novel. It’s amazing how sometimes I’m reading something and get so into it, feel so connected to the MC I feel dread when they do, panic when they have to make a choice that will clearly impact a lot of people in their world. With IF you can really feel like you’re part of the story.

Another thing I like is being able to explore other paths with my writing. Like for example, what if the MC had done this instead of that? How would that have affected their relationships, their world state? Writing branches is a lot of work, especially because they could change so many things, but it feels oddly satisfying when you do decide to include them.

Challenges… Coding, mainly. I feel like a lot of new aspiring IF authors are a bit afraid of coding and I can understand that, especially since, had it not been for the help of the community, I would have taken way longer to actually start using Twine. Hopefully with time for resources come up and it becomes less daunting.

I don’t know if any other author feels the same way but, though I think branching is a blessing, it is also a curse. I can only write the same conversation so many times, I mean I know I’m writing it in different tones and sometimes with different results but it gets frustrating after a while because it feels like you’re stuck, like you’re not progressing at all.

Another one would definitely be finding a balance between reader interaction and just following your vision. Since it’s IF at times I feel like I have to meet a quota of branches or ways in which you can react, sometimes I also find it difficult to make the MC feel like a real person instead of a reader-insert. I’m working on that.

Q3: What has been something in your project you’ve had to do a weird amount of research for?

That’s a difficult one… I don’t know if I would consider it weird but I do tend to investigate a lot about fashion, especially when designing the main outfits of the characters. I spend hours trying to find out what colors were used back then, what they meant, who was allowed to use them. I have this little image with some palettes for kimonos depending on the season.

I also spend too much time coming up with names, especially for places. Like I look up names of places that already exist, what they mean, I try to investigate if the words that I want to use make sense, then I panic because I can’t find anything, but I think that’s usual for writers. I also spent more time than necessary researching for the name of a tree that you will see way later in the book, which no one will probably notice what the name of the tree means or what it symbolizes but it makes me happy.

Honestly, I feel like the amount of research I have had to do has not been particularly weird? If anything at times I think I should research more, even if some aspects of Japanese culture will not apply to Kyou.

Q4: Which of your characters is most like you? How?

The initial version of the MC from An Angel’s Song, which I miss dearly since they had more personality. They were autistic coded too, and I hope some traces of that still remain. Apart from that I feel like all of the characters from the main cast share something with me, even if their experiences are, of course, more dramatic than my own.

A lot of them have issues with a paternal figure or an absent mother, which also resonates with me. Some of Saori’s traits draw inspiration from ways in which I talked or acted before I became a little better at masking, before I became more self-aware. Hazuki being emotional and caring, K being a bit clingy but devoted, Masa having a temper yet loyal, Miwa being friendly but reluctant to open up beyond surface level information. I think those things describe me.

There’s also Rei but I don’t think I’m writing her book anytime soon. She’s someone that’s very family oriented, she’s a bit temperamental but she means well and she’s not afraid to speak her mind. Now that I think about it, maybe Rei is more the person I want to become.

Q5: Does your heritage influence your characters as you create them? (How? Why or why not?)

I’ve been living in Venezuela my whole life so I think so, even if most of the time I don’t even notice it. I believe that this happens especially in regards to relationships because people in Venezuela are very family oriented and also, from what I’ve experienced, they form strong bonds with their neighbors, which creates this strong sense of community —sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t, but my mom and her friends always make at least some friends in their neighborhoods and they gossip with some coffee about the happenings of the rest—. So when it comes to writing a character it is very important to me to make an emphasis on family relationships because those are a strong part of my culture, of my identity.

In An Angel’s Song you have the main cast having issues or conflicting emotions about one or multiple members of their family, which influence their behavior and their outlook on life, but for the most part they are (or will be) able to form similar relationships with people that are not related to them, or to work towards restoring that relationship, transforming it into something healthier.

In my other books family dynamics are also immensely important. For example, I’m going to mention Rei again because I love her. So, Rei has a sister named Rin, and they are both very close, even if they haven’t spent much time together. Their bond and trust in each other helps them overcome a lot of obstacles and they rely on each other when they need support or encouragement. Rei also has other people that she thinks of as siblings, and restoring that relationship with them is one of her main goals. There’s also this recurring guilt she feels at leaving her birth family and her home to explore, because to her, families are supposed to stay together.

Another aspect that I think influences my writing is religion, even if I wasn’t raised in a particularly religious household nor do I belong to any religion. Religion is a big deal in this country, we have so many events and holidays relating to religious figures. I remember when I was very young I loved going to one of the churches here because the Virgin of that town had a building filled with pretty clothes to dress her with.

So, in that vein, I try to think about the character’s relationship with religion, do they believe in the Gods? Do they trust them? Do they follow local deities or prefer the main pantheon? How does this religion shape the way people interact with each other and the world? In regards to characters that are Venezuelan or Venezuelan-coded… I do have a few that are Venezuelan, but I don’t think I’m going to be releasing their stories soon, so I’ll keep it quiet for now.

Q6: What is something you love to see in interactive fiction?

People being passionate about their work! This isn’t something exclusive to IF, but it is something that I love seeing. I also like seeing the different ways people innovate within the genre. I feel like sometimes, especially with newer writers, there is this idea that an IF has to subscribe to a specific format and that’s simply not true. If you don’t want to use a stat system you don’t have to, if you want to add combat then go ahead, if you would prefer to write an MC that’s already pretty pre-established (which is something that I personally want to try) then there’s nothing stopping you and I encourage you to give it a go. IF is very versatile and it’s wrong to try and fit authors into a box, especially if they want to bring something new into our little corner of the internet.

Q7: Any advice to give?

In general, I advise people to have fun writing, to not worry so much about how good it is, about if people will like it. Writing, at the end of the day, ends up being a pretty solitary activity and having those thoughts in your head too long will make you spiral. Be kind to yourself, be open to feedback when it comes (and learn to distinguish constructive feedback from destructive feedback) and enjoy the exploration of your world and characters.

You are not alone in all of this. If you can, join a group of writers you can talk with, exchange ideas, get feedback from or just exchange memes (the ultimate bonding experience). Don’t be afraid, you’re not alone.

#if: events #latino heritage month #latino authors #interactive fiction #cyoa #choose your own adventure #choose your story

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maverick-werewolf · 4 years ago

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Werewolf Fact #60 - Werewolves Have Tails

Unbelievably, I never actually did a werewolf fact on this. But... Well, it disturbs me just how many random people on the internet I see making the utterly baseless assertion, as if they actually know, that “werewolves in folklore didn’t have tails.”

That is categorically untrue.

(Although plenty of things in Hollywood spurned tails on their werewolf designs for various reasons, Underworld remains the primary culprit for popularizing the concept of “my werewolf is too edgy and unwolfish to have a tail”)

Do werewolves in folklore have tails? The answer is so simple it can be shortened to just one word:

Yes.

Now, if you ask me, I think it looks totally ridiculous to have a werewolf with a wolf (or whatever modern designs pretend passes as something remotely wolfish; let’s face it, most werewolf designs, especially movie ones, have basically nothing in common with a wolf) head and/or digitigrade legs that doesn’t have a tail. Those need tails. But don’t get me started on werewolf designs.

I also personally think it’s much scarier for a werewolf to have a tail, and I don’t buy the arguments that they are “scarier without one,” because apparently startlingly bare werewolf butts sticking out like they’re begging to have a tail pinned on them are scary (?), and I’ll tell you why at the end of this post.

Before I get into the folklore meat of this, though, I will say that part of my personal stake in werewolf studies is to push for a less broad definition of the word “werewolf.” Personally, I don’t hold to many scholars’ ideas of calling every single person turning into a wolf a “werewolf,” and this applies doubly to things involving witchcraft.

Personally, I think a “werewolf” needs to fit a certain, meaningful criteria, instead of any old person or thing who has the ability to turn into a wolf.

To start off, I will open with the very simple statement that the overwhelming majority of werewolves in folklore turned into giant wolves. Yes, just wolves. Not wolves walking upright, not wolf-men, just wolves. And what do all wolves have? Tails. Case closed.

If that isn’t enough for you, though, there are many sources that detail exactly the how and why of werewolves having tails in folklore...

Firstly, there’s Henry Boguet in “Of the Metamorphosis of Men into Beasts,” from 1590 (my version was republished in A Lycanthropy Reader: Werewolves in Western Culture, edited and compiled by Charlotte F. Otten). On page 79 of this edition, Boguet marks a difference between werewolves and witches that have turned into wolves, repeating a common belief that, when witches turn into animals, they have “no tails.”

Notice that the witches do not have tails. The werewolves, however, do, and that is even specified as an identifying attribute.

Secondly, there’s the Malleus Maleficarum, specifically question X of part I, “Whether Witches can by some Glamour Change Men into Beasts.” I’m pulling this from Monatgue Summers’ translation.

They say that, “the devil can deceive the human fancy so that a man really seems to be an animal.” This specifically refers to deception. Thus, illusion. Not a true, physical change as we get with a werewolf.

Furthermore, however, they say that “when it says that no creature can be made by the power of the devil, this is manifestly true if Made is understood to mean Created. But if the word Made is taken to refer to natural production, it is certain that devils can make some imperfect creatures.”

“Imperfect,” in this instance, generally thought to refer to “tailless,” along with a few other legends, such as a witch in animal form still bearing human eyes. Again, witches.

Bear in mind that the Malleus Maleficarum was written and compiled during a time period in which werewolves were considered a form of witchcraft, although not equal to it. One could become a werewolf via a curse, without directly practicing that witchcraft. Long story short, werewolves and witches were NOT the same thing.

This also came from a time period when werewolves were considered negative (obviously), unlike in earlier time periods, and much more like today.

Moving on, we also have Albert the Great in his book On Animals, as cited by Montague Summers, who says that devils can indeed make animals: “they can, with God’s permission, make imperfect animals.” Again on the imperfection.

There is one scholar who disputes this very, very briefly in his writing, and that is actually one of my prime sources: Montague Summers. In his book The Werewolf, he remarks, “many–but not all– authorities hold that the werewolf has no tail.” Like, dude, what? We just established that they do.

Something to remember about Summers is that firstly, he truly believed in werewolves as a form of witchcraft. To him, werewolves are more closely connected with those aforementioned witches (that I think werewolves need to be separated from). Secondly, when he makes this sweeping statement, he provides absolutely no sources whatsoever and doesn’t really make any kind of argument to back up or to defend that idea. I’m calling his BS on that one.

Thirdly, we have an overwhelming number of other sources on werewolves being depicted with tails as opposed to without. We have imagery from various time periods (as appeared in my post on werewolf appearances; there are a few more images here), in which they are virtually always depicted with tails or mid-transformation into the form of a wolf, which would have a tail. One of the only depictions we have of a tailless werewolf is the wolf-man woodcut of the one eating the baby, which is in itself a rare sight, as werewolves weren’t generally “wolf-men” very often in folklore. And, frankly, I think somebody misnamed that woodcut, because I’ve never seen any sourcing on it and I don’t even know if it’s supposed to depict a werewolf in the first place.

Descriptions of werewolves in folklore frequently refer to tails, or else refer to the werewolf as simply a “wolf” and thus lead us to assume they must have a tail, or such a radical difference would’ve been noticed by the narrator (Niceros’s tale, Bisclavret, Melion, the curse of Lykaon, Chinese legends, and many more).

There are doubtless many more citations/discussions/arguments on this, but I think you get the picture.

Werewolves have tails. And not some funky little cut-off rat tail or some stub sticking out from their spine - a wolf tail.

And you know one reason why werewolves have tails? Because, ages ago, people didn’t see a terrifying werewolf and immediately go “omg puppy uwu must pet good boi” or “werewolves are so corny lol.”

Because, ages ago, the concept of a human turning into something so inhuman was terrifying. Unfortunately, everyone today has reframed like 90% of everything into “that is bad and corny” if it’s remotely fantasy. Regardless, the idea of a human turning into something with a tail - a tail being a markedly inhuman trait - was extremely scary and startling. A werewolf with a tail will always appear much less human than a werewolf without one, and that is something that brings them closer to being terrifying beasts as opposed to just hairy dudes.

So yes, sure it’s an aesthetic choice of the creator, but werewolves in folklore had tails, whether anyone likes it or not. And if they are anything beyond a wolf-man, they’re simply going to look better with tails, and if you ask me, that’s also something that will be the case whether anyone likes it or not. You hear me, Blizzard?

(If you like my werewolf blog, be sure to check out my other stuff and consider supporting me on Patreon!

Patreon — Wulfgard — Werewolf Fact Masterlist — Twitter --- Vampire Fact Masterlist )

#werewolf #werewolves #werewolf wednesday #werewolfwednesday #lycanthrope #lycanthropy #lycanthropes #folklore #random werewolf fact #werewolf fact #werewolf facts #tails #worgen #underworld #world of warcraft #wolves #wolf

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popculturebuffet · 3 years ago

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House of Mouse Reviews Christmas Double Feature: Pete’s Christmas Caper and Clarabelle’s Christmas List: Tis the Season to Give Mortimer a Restraining Order (Comissioned by WeirdKev27)

Ho Ho Ho All You Happy People! More christmas, more house of mouse, more nonsensical jokes and refrences

Though this marks the last month of House of Mouse reviews on the blog. It’s been a heck of a year but with Kev moving his patreon reviews to smilier pastures and me having covered most of the episodes I want to, it feels like a good place to stop for now. I might do some one off reviews for character birthdays, but for now the house is about to close for a while. This is one of three final reviews, the other ones being snowed in, for obvious reasons and house of crime as it has my faviorite short and was the only one I didn’t get to over the year I REALLY wanted to. Again ther’es one or two I wouldn’t mind visiting and I enjoy the show enough to revisit it, i’ll talk more about my throughts when we finish the reviews at the end of the month. It’s been a good ride though, and I’m happy to have a few more miles to cover

So once again we have a pair of episodes i’ve paired up for time’s sake, I had to get to the insanity of the christmas star and what not. It’s also why I pushed the other Christmas DuckTales ep to next year. These things happen. But it’s no less of a review and it’s no less fun so join me under the cut as Pete Steals christmas , clarabelle’s a dick and Mortimer commmits a lot of sexual ho-ho-harassment. So join me under the cut for all of that and more!

As I did last time, i’m seperating the episdoes by doing the wrapround first. This is already late so let’s goooo

Pete’s Christmas Caper: This is a very simple but very entertaining wraparound. It’s the night before christmas and the HOM gang is having a gift exchange, which Pete is indignant about as he automatically assumes he wasn’t invited, which given he’s their landlord and not really part of the club, actively tries to shut it down on a semi-regular basis and smells like old cottage cheese, is a fair assumption. But no Mickey included him, and gladly lets Pete play santy claus after he begs.

Unsuprisingly Pete is using Mickey’s kindness and geneorsity for an evil scheme... one even more transparently dickish than that time he tried to use an earthquake machine to drive Goofy out of his home. I swear sometimes I fear i’m just going to wake up and find out this job was just a fever dream I had.

Pete wants to steal all the presents and also steals the sorcerer from fantasia’s hat to get the help of the brooms, a clever gag I gotta applaud. This ends up literally backfiring as once mickey figures it out he tricks him into.. burning all of them. IN the furnace.

I mean.. I GUESS you win... a pile of charred ash and the smug satisfaction that you won? I swear this ending confuses and infuraties me.

Outside of Pete’s humbuggery and Mickey’s dumbuggery, we have Mickey do some man on the street segements, which I think only happened in this one episode, but my brain swore happened more. Maybe it was just that memorable. So we get some fun bits as he asks people what they want for christmas and if their naughty or nice. Good stuff.

My faviorite part of that though is when he talks to mortimer who asks for Minnie’s phone number.. and next time we see him the tip of his nose has been caved into the rest of it. Mickey punched a dude so hard he caved his nose in. Oh and it gets better, as he next asks for Daisy’s number..a nd comes back MORE beaten up and now with a chunk of ear missing as seen up top. Just to get this into your head

MICKEY MIKE TYSONED MORTIMER’S EAR

Either him or Donald point is at least ONE disney icon bit into a buncha cruncha ear. I love this job so much I can’t stand it. Overall a fantastic wraparound, even if the ending makes almost no sense. Also the add is for a sweatshop version of gepetto’s, as he apparently went all evil after Pinnocio left the nest. Maybe this is a prequel to disne’ys version of fables I dunno.

The Nutcracker:

This is another one of those big, beautiful two part shorts they did, the kind that really stuck with me all these years. This is easily the best of the two parters i’ve rewatched and were it not for the two part Blot short, which we’ll get to soon enough.

It follows the basic plot of the nutcracker well enough: A vaugely aged girl is given a nutcracker by her eccentric uncle, said girl shrinks down, dances and romances with the nutcracker. Then she gets kidnapped by the rat king who wants to make her his bride because that’s all villians could think of back then, the nutcracker breaks his testicles with a silver baseball bat, everyone’s happy and then you loose 20 minutes of your life watching the dance of the sugarplum faries. And that’s without having seen the play in 20 years, it’s homaged and redone like this that much.

This short has fun with that by using the narrator, who interacts with the cast. THe best of this is at the start when Ludvig, playing the uncle (Minnie is naturally the girl, Mickey the nutcracker and Donald the rat king), gets increasingly pissed off at the narrator not letting him speak and narrating over all his lines. Ludvig is always a delight but here he’ sin top form with just the best expressions. Eventaully the narrator gets fed up with this and LITERALLY throws him out of the story uncle phil style. IT’s great stuff.

Donald meanwhile grumbles about his roll and only agrees when the narrator lies and says he’ll win in the end which only works due to Donald’s stance on literacy.

Finally we have Goofy showing up and the narrator refusing to get in the middle of his whose on first shenanigans, and goofy simply putting a hat on to signify he’s the snow fairy. It’s truly fantastic and the ending, with Ludvig becoming the sugarplum fairy, is great and lampshades how utterly pointless that segment is. A true christmastime classic. Check it out on it’s own or with this truly amazing episode. This ep as a whole is easily one of the best i’ve checked out during this yearlong odessy. Oh right there was one more short right?

Donald’s Dynamite: Snowman Donald gets exploded. It’s funny. Moving on to the next episode.

Clarabelle’s Christmas List:

Another great wraparound. After how lackluster some of them have been it’s nice that this last batch have been the best. I truly feel season 3 is when they finally got the groove on doing these down pat as on the whole they tend to have the best.

This is another simple one like last time with a main story and a running segment. This time the running bit is that Mortimer wants a kiss from Minnie using missletoe. That old timey family friendly brand of sexual harassment. It’s okay, not as good as the man on the street segement and it’s just not all that funny compared to what mortimer does usually. The only reason I don’t HATE it is that one bit has mister toad kiss him which is great and it’s more gay than any of disney’s “first gay characters” combined. So there’s that.

The main plot is Clarabelle allegedlys has Santa’s naughty or nice list and plans to read it off. The gang minus Mickey don’t want their sins read aloud if they are naughty and try heisting it.. which is fair. It’s one thing to be declared naughty by santa, you made your bed and what not. it’s another to have a literal obnoxious cow read it out loud and likely mock you for it.

Their attempts fail so she gives it to mickey who naturally sneaks a peak. Clarabelle then tries to declare them all naughty for the list thing.. only for Santa to show up. He clears things up as naturally Clarabelle didn’t REALLY have his list, she was just bluffing for attention. Santa deals with her the only way he knows how

Nothing of value is lost and a merry christmas is had by all, with donald ripping up a book because apparently my iletarcy joke is somehow cannon.

Overall not QUITE as good as the last one, but still pretty damn spiffy.

Donald On Ice:

This one is pretty good but hampered by the ending. The boys build a snowman for a contest while donald skates with himself baby, and slides his way on over into some shenanigans. Again it works fine: the slapstick is pitch perfect, with mouseworks having really gotten what makes Donald work a lot of the time, and it goes a bit nuts in the best way possible as Donald gets chased by a mutant killer snow goon at one point.

Yup. No explination just a murder snowman. The boys snowman gets ruined in the process of the chase and.. donald gets chased off into the sunset.. because a snowman tried to kill him because he.. wanted to skate peacefully on his own? Yeah the ending sours what could’ve been a true classic, and thus weakens the whole short. Still might be worth a look just be wary of that.

Mickey’s Christmas Crisis: A fun bit of holiday fracas as Mortimer, whose mickey’s neighbor in this one, competes with mickey in the annual holiday decorating contest. It’s fun, it’s fancy free and it’s really hilarious. Easily worth checking out, all sorts of inventive gags.

The reason i’m so short on words is not tha tit’s bad, it’s not it’s just very simple “one does something then the other does something” sense of escalation comedy. Simple but great stuff. No what’s got me distracted.. is that THING up there int he image. Mortimer brings out this talking wreath, the monstoristy before you and it’s just... it looks like someone horribly edited it but I assure you this is how I look. Unless someone fucked with my copy of house of mouse, someone thought this was okay. Someone designed this, someone storyboarded this, someone drew it to horrrifying life, someone approved it, and someone likely got killed by it in the night at some point as part of some ancient curse as they gave an elder god the holly jolly form he’d been craving. It is the ungod and if I suddenly disappear after today, you know know what finallyd id me in. It wasn’t the poor diet or stress or anxiety or depression, it was our new green god, may he have mercy on me.

So yeah good short.... and uh all hail our new green overlord I guess?

Overall this episode is pretty good, not as good as the other christmas ep but still pretty spiffy. Both are REALLY worth checking out this holiday season. If STILL not on disney plus. Still. It’s been a year, for fucks sake. I WILL give disney till the end of the month, when I do the phantom blot review and what’s coming on plus next will be out, till I actually complain about it at length, but given it’s been two years of the service and a year of doing these reviews withotu proper, upscaled copies, i’m not holding my breath. I am going to enjoy the rest of my christmas reviews. next is donald and scrooge fighting with steam shovels. No I won’t give you context you’ll just have to follow and read the next one won’t you? If you enjoyed this review consider giving to my patreon or sending a donation or comission my way via paypal

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And thanks for reading.

#house of mouse #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #mortimer mouse #donald duck #daisy duck #goofy goof #pete disney #disney pete #peg legged pete #clarabelle cow #santa claus #christmas #holiday

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