#they just had to git gud at diplomacy

[transsweets]

I think half of what makes this unsatisfying is the presentation and context of this progress rather than solely the fact this was a small step towards good as opposed to a grand action.

The fact this is a very short scene with I think 0 dialogue makes it feel like kind of an afterthought. There is no triumphant music or big smiles, and this outcome wasn't set up as a goal the audience should want either. If you want to write a story where the little steps towards progress are better than lofty unrealistic goals, you should make those little steps feel good.

Then when it comes to the amount of progress made, we've seen multiple times that things can realistically be way better than they are. Silco almost got independence for Zaun. The alternate timeline is seemingly perfect and idyllic. Freedom for Zaun isn't like Viktor's grand evolution where it'd obviously result in terrible disaster. Its not like Icarus flying too close to the sun. Its doable.

The reason so little progress was made isn't because gaining complete independence and freedom was impossible. Its bc Silco had a skill issue. If he had been a better dad he could've coordinated with Jinx to help her steal the hex crystal without killing a bunch of people.

Oh those nasty glares and head-shake… The dynamic of oppression is far from over and I hope Sevika keeps on fighting for Zaun’s sovereignty.

A single seat in the council to represent Zaun is a goddamn joke…

[jamesbyerj]

Stay Home. Make Mods. - Week 3 Wrap-up

We're now three quarters of the way through our Stay Home. Make Mods. event and I'm happy to see so many mod authors have been sharing their content. In Week 3 (20th - 26th April) we had [b]259 [/b]entries from [b]230 [/b]author across [b]48 [/b]games. Overall we saw 1301 mods shared in total, which is the highest since we started this event. Keep adding the "Stay Home. Make Mods." tag to your mods for you chance to win in this, our final week.  Once again, Bannerlord dominated making up just under a quarter of the entries. Monster Hunter World and Stardew Valley also continued to eat into the share for the Bethesda titles, so it'll be interesting to see how things turn out for the last week of the event.  [size=4][b]Highlights[/b] [/size] I've selected a few of my personal highlights from the entries into Week 3, the list of winners can be found at the bottom of the article.  [url=https://nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/68714]FNV Mod Limit Fix[/url] - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/newvegas/users/87803783]iranrmrf[/url] Fallout New Vegas [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/130/images/headers/68714_1587582703.png[/img] [quote]This plugin fixes the Fallout New Vegas mod limit bug. It allows a maximum of 255 plugins to be loaded. It can also cause an increase in fps, remove game stutter and allow for faster loading times especially when using a large number of mods.[/quote]While this may sound like a fairly simple fix, it's actually a huge deal for the Fallout New Vegas community. The game was released with a strange quirk that was never officially addressed during it's development cycle and caused some mods to stop working or mod assets to fail to load at around 120 mods. This fix will allow you to mod New Vegas more extensively than ever before and comes with a nice little performance boost to boot! You can also check out the versions of this fix for [url=https://nexusmods.com/fallout3/mods/24056]Fallout 3[/url] and [url=https://nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/50066]Oblivion[/url] which use the same engine. [url=https://nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/1666]Bond Wire (U7)[/url] - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/users/69040603]Ebediam[/url] - Blade & Sorcery [img]https://i.imgur.com/R2hkGKf.jpg[/img] [quote]Do you like swinging around with a grappling hook? Well, then you need Argan Industries' lastest invention, the Bond Wire! Attach to any surface and swing like a mad man. Instructions in the detailed description.[/quote] This is actually the second mod by Ebediam to be featured in our wrap up posts. It's pretty impressive how they can create such interesting mods so fast! While this mod is described as a grappling hook I prefer to think of it as a Spiderman web slinger (watch the video to see what I mean). This looks like a lot of fun provided you don't get motion sick easily and aren't afraid of heights. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5849]Hot Spring Farm Cave[/url] - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/users/9139916]DustBeauty[/url] - Stardew Valley [img]https://staticdelivery.nexusmods.com/mods/1303/images/headers/5849_1587372220.png[/img] [quote]An underground hot spring farm cave with waterfalls, lush vegetation, and patches to plant crops.[/quote]This Stardew Valley mod adds a cozy cave with natural hot springs for your farmer to relax in after a hard day. It also includes patches for planting crops and lush vegetation. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/791]Realistic Battle Mod[/url] - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/users/10881053]Philozoraptor[/url] - Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord [img]https://i.imgur.com/BdZPGGU.jpg[/img] [quote]This mod makes combat more realistic. Armored units are more resistant to damage. Each weapon type has different effect vs armor. All units defend themselves more, units with shields actually use the shields. All projectile now cause damage based on their velocity. Velocity of arrows, bolts and javelins is now historically accurate. Longer battles.[/quote]I'm still really bad at playing Bannerlord, but it's great to see mods like this popping up for when I "git gud". This mod makes units behave more intelligently and provides a better level of challenge which may lead to longer and more intense battles. [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/halothemasterchiefcollection/mods/332]Zombie HORDE Reach Firefight[/url] - [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/halothemasterchiefcollection/users/87458833]KrakenLORD[/url] - Halo: The Master Chief Collection [img]https://i.imgur.com/iGs9yjT.jpg[/img] [quote]Firefight Zombie, the zombies are strong brutes and have only melee weapons. You have to be strategic and manage your displacements to stay close enough to deal important damage but not to close to be overwhelmed by the horde.[/quote]Halo Reach is already a pretty great game, so adding a zombie mode will just make it even better. How long can you hold out against waves of bloodthirsty Brutes and Hunters? [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/mods/thisweek/?nav=1&RH_ModList=nav:true,home:false,type:0,user_id:0,game_id:0,advfilt:true,new_time:7,include_adult:false,sort_by:date,page_size:80,time:-1,date_from:2020-04-20,date_to:2020-04-27,open:false,tags_yes%5B%5D:3183,page:1]You can view all the entries for Week 3 here.[/url] Which ones were your favourites?  [size=4][b]Thank you Bethesda![/b] [/size] I hope you'll join me in thanking the folks at Bethesda for very generously donating the Fallout 76 game keys to be used as prizes. The winners will be able to enjoy the new Wasterlanders title update, which is getting some positive reviews from what I've read. So enjoy! If you're playing '76 and want to install mods, you can use the [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/110]Vortex extension for Fallout 76[/url] recently uploaded by Netrve.  [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Y1ApcRR.jpg[/img][/center] [b][size=4]Winners[/size][/b] If you see your name here you'll have already received a PM from either BigBizkit or me with instructions to claim your prize.  [b]Game of your choice winner[/b] - [url=//nexusmods.com/newvegas/mods/68714]FNV Mod Limit Fix by iranrmrf[/url] [b]GOG Prize winners[/b] [spoiler] [list] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5859]Horror Hats by Pinheadius[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5905]Clean Quarry- Two Variations (Content Patcher Pack) by Faedelity[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/102437]Side Kick Bash Replacer by 0ska[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mysummercar/mods/217]Jonnez Fuel Gauge by psychovanz[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/35240]Shabby Chic for Commoners by andi5000[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/832]Diplomacy Fixes by Katarn2000[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/800]Add Points Everywhere by kleinersilver[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/761]Culturally Immersive Names by cnstntnpl[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/102270]Valmeyjar Gear Set (CBBE) by AuroraPhoenix44[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/986]Sturgian Noble Infantry by redsunderthebed[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/fallout4/mods/44571]Coffin Dance Death Sound Replacer by Lachdog[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/bladeandsorcery/mods/1656]StormBreaker by burtbackarack[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/starwarsbattlefront22017/mods/2849]Wookie Jedi Knight by owendalegend[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/planetzoo/mods/59]Vegetation requirement rebalance by GBlair4811[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/oriandthewillofthewisps/mods/1]Unlock Developer Console by Jb0238177[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/845]Aserai Sultans Guard and Assassins by mannl41[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/1037]Zondar's Mid Tier Governor by CapZondar[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/34965]SMART - Scaling Mod - A Retroactive Treatment by rderasta[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/5851]Replacements for Iridium Tools by Kyuya258369[/url] [*][url=//nexusmods.com/mountandblade2bannerlord/mods/814]Best Workshop Type by lostRD[/url] [/list][/spoiler] Don't be disheartened if you didn't win anything this time around. You can still win a prize until 4th May, [url=https://www.nexusmods.com/news/14248]check out this week's event here[/url]. Don't forget you can also earn rewards by opting your mods in to our [url=https://help.nexusmods.com/article/112-donation-points-faq]Donation Points[/url] system! Stay Home. Make Mods.  Published first at Stay Home. Make Mods. - Week 3 Wrap-up

[nikniknikin]

A Positivity thing!

Alright, sure! Warning, this got to be the length of a goddamn manifesto because I fucking love talking. (See #3 lmao). I also just took adderall so my thought are all nicely lining up in an order that is easy for me to follow and describe. So I'm putting it behind a cut for courtesy's sake. And to do that I had to take a pic and pate it in bc answering has limited text options and does not allow readmores apparently? Tumblr is a functional website.

1- I am naturally good with animals! I've been like that as far as I can remember and it''s something that I didn't really realize wasn't universal until quite a bit later. Of course it's partially a learned skill, especially since different animals have different ways of communicating and can interpret the same gesture as calming or aggressive based on species. But the bottom line is that birds, cats, horses, even reptiles and arthropods really warm up to me pretty quickly. Dogs are something of an acception I don't think I'm any better than your average person at interacting with dogs, but that is a lack of experience thing. I've worked in animal shelters and vets offices, but I've never actually owned a dog so I'm not as confident with them, and they can tell obviously. Anyway I love animals and they tend to like me back which is pretty great all around.

2- I'm pretty funny? Sometimes? Idk I am a bit self conscious about claiming that I'm funny without y'know, proving it, since being funny really is really up to the people you're entertaining to decide, but my track record of laughs per joke ratio is Decently High I like to think. I also remember when exactly I decided I wanted to be funny.

My family was driving to a family reunion in Nebraska, from Texas. Which means driving up that column of absolutely empty boring bullshit states in between where there is nothing but fields of corn and soybeans. Forever. As with any family stuck in an enclosed space together for hours and hours of extremely boring driving, we'd gotten irritable and had some kind of fight. Namely between myself and my dad, which was a commonly recurring problem when I was younger. So now we are sitting a tense and upset silence, and my dad decides to take a stab at lightening the mood by pretending nothing is wrong. (This is his go to move, and it is very frustrating tbh >_>.) So he makes a one handed gesture at all the Fucking Farmland around us and says in a grandiose voice "Look kids, this is where All your Food comes from!" As if we had not been staring at fields and fields of corn for hours, and also as if we did not understand what farming was.

I stare out at the corn abyss, contemplate this statement for a long moment. And then reply, "What about fish?" Everyone absolutely broke down laughing. Me and my baby autistic brain had meant that as half a sincere question, half a skeptical jibe, but nope. It broke the tension and immediately put everybody in a good mood. At this point in my young life, (I was probably 6? maybe 7?), I was pretty used to being the angry disruptive kid prone to tantrums and generally Making Situations Worse, so this was a....sudden departure from that norm. A departure I /liked/. Eventually we all calmed down and conveniently we passed a verly clearly man made "lake". It was a perfect rectangle, and had a weird nondescript building attached to it. Dad pointed and excitedly defended his claim.

"See, fish right there, I told you."

My response, after careful consideration, this time with the real intent of being Funny once again,

"I think that's a sewage treatment plant."

Cue laughter. Cue baby determination to Understand this Humor Stuff and git gud. As mentioned earlier, I like to think I've done a pretty good job all in all.

3- I'm hella verbose. I used to be really self conscious about this one too, as I was ///really bad/// at noticing when people wanted me to stop talking and/or were trying to say something themselves. This was not just a childhood problem too, it has continued well into college and I still struggle with it sometimes. Ironically this gave me a tendency to befriend shy and naturally quiet people. This would go very well for a period of time, but the combination of shyness and obliviousness meant that on the occasions where they DID have something to say I just steamrolled over them. This problem would Fester until the friend in question would get fed up and cut ties. To me this was unexpected, to them it had been a mounting and more obvious problem that they were trying to convey to me and I just did not realize it.  

I've gotten much better over the years, and now really enjoy how effectively I can say what I mean. This also has made me really persuasive, which I use to my advantage as a self appointed LBGT+ educator as often as possible lmao. Once again I have a quick story about how I realized this, but it's shorter I promise.

Seventh grade, US history. We had a somewhat final project thing that was making a list of the 10 most crucial moments of American Independence, and then defending these choices to the class. I picked a somewhat unconventional 10, prepared my speech, and then gave it, about halfway through the presentations. The time for the q and a had arrived. I looked out at the students, (most of whom hated me for generic junior high school reasons), and expected to get torn into.

There was absolute silence. No one raised a single question. The teacher, (who was one of my favorites in that whole school to be honest), smiled and said, "Nobody has any questions? Everybody agrees with [girl name redacted]? So everybody's list looks exactly like that, huh?"

Evan, one of the few people who was Mildly Friendly towards me thanks to us both being percussionists in concert band said,

"Well it would NOW, if I got to change it."

:)

4- Tough. I'm tough. I hesitate to say 'things don't bother me' because it's blatantly untrue given my fairly severe anger issues, but I don't get /insulted/ all that easily. I'm very much a 'who cares what other people think' kind of person. Not to say I disregard other's opinions, (although that definitely used to be the case oops), but I'm good at discerning like valuable critique from bullshit complaints. This is another trait I've had since time immemorial for me, and it's been pretty invaluable to me.

Being gay, trans, and overall weird in Texas in 2009 was not a picnic as it was, and I've seen how much much harder it could have been for me if I wasn't as resistant to mockery as I am. I like this about myself, and I like to think I /use/ it well. As often as I can I try and get myself in between bigotry/rudeness/ignorance and someone more vulnerable to being hurt by it. I can take the punches, get no bruises, and fire back with my previously established High Diplomacy Stat to really shut people down. This has been called by people other than me being 'brave' and 'courageous' but I always take a minor issue with that just because it doesn't feel like it has a /cost/ to me. It's not necessarily easy, but it's natural. It's not a matter of choosing to square up to something that intimidates me, but just using my natural immunity in a way that seems obvious.

5- And this one is sort of abstract in a way but, I've worked on myself. I've improved as a person. I'm still working to do so. I'm naturally very low empathy, morals confused and eluded me through much of my life. Compassion, respect, and plain old niceness do not come easy to me, but I've looked at myself and other people critically and made a commitment to trying to make people around me happier when I can. This is a trait I would accept being called brave for, but it's not one that ever gets that label. I admire people who this stuff comes to naturally, and I aspire to be someone who can help people who DO lack the innate understanding to learn the same way I have, (or whatever way works for them), how to understand why these concepts are important and worth pursuing.

WHEW okay sorry for the novel guys haha, but even if nobody gets all the way to the bottom of this it was really fun and uplifting to do. Thanks a ton for sending this ask my way, I'm very grateful.

[nicegaai]

fellow norice fans i offer u a meal of crumbs

heres some of my daydream premises that have become notesapp ramblefics

1)

iceland is finally drinking alcohol! hes very serious in his mission of building a tolerance. because u see. diplomacy is very important to him, and many cultures mix alcohol and business, and many NATIONS like to drink together after meetings. and he is an ADULT NOW and needs to git gud so people take him seriously / he doesn't make any social faux pas overseas. this isnt for fun, he decided he needs to do this.

he surprises the nordics with this new development in his life and theyre super supportive (hes proud of himself but embarrassed by the attention hehe). norway in particular goes out drinking with him not long after--maybe the next month, when they have free time. there's no overt peer pressure going on, norway isnt going crazy with it but he does tease him and iceland is determined to push his limits and impress his brother with a little hard liquor consumption (that he doesn't enjoy). and norway takes THAT as a challenge. they have the most fun theyve had together since they were kids, both of them being loosened up is doing great things for their prickly sibling relationship. neither want to end the night too early. they stay too late, drink past their limits, and both of them black out.

naturally, they wake up naked in bed together. (queue 5 chapters worth of will they wont they drama)

2)

possibly set in the 1700s. i havent done a lick of historical research yet. both iceland and norway are physically younger than canon.

major issues in iceland. maybe that one mega eruption that killed 1/3rd of its population and caused the french revolution, but im not 💯 on this setting yet

iceland himself is in BAD shape. hes always been sickly but hes like incapacitated. denmark asks a favor from norway to go and take care of their little brother. (like i said havent done the research yet. maybe nor is with sweden at that point and this is more of a personal favor)

norway finally makes it to him by ship and ices like actually (temporarily -- nation healing , just very slow rn) paralyzed below the neck. he needs to be fully taken care of by a nursemaid (a danish woman who accompanied him there) or some situation like this.

in any case iceland is fragile (both the guy and the country) and he looks FUCKED. and for some reason hes getting more irritated by the day. snapping at norway who is literally there entirely to help. its awful, they fight, they hate each other. and finally norway realizes iceland hasnt jacked off in like a month and that he physically cant move his arms to do so. and he laughs at him but then is like god, will you stop being a little asshole if i jerk you off? and iceland is like. what the hell did you just say to me?

(and then it becomes a routine)

ARGH FUCK I CANT KEEP MAKING N/ORWAY OBSESSED WITH BLOWJOBS LIKE THIS IM BECOMING SOMEONE WHO WRITES THE SAME THING OVER AND OVER WITH SLIGHT VARIATIONS ////////////// I DONT EVEN LIKE DESCRIBING BLOWJOBS !!!!!!!!! I DOTN EVEN LIKE BLOWJOBS AT ALL

(actually im revising/adding to an old notesapp fic rn. maybe this was where the idea started and i recycled it. this maybe was the og...)

fanon convinced me that norge is the bj king and i cant unbelieve it ://///////// and i just want him to spoil ic/eland forever and now my """fics""" all end up as uhh ..... n/o/rice oral sex with emotions. lol lmao

im starved for norgice