#why can't there be an official layout?

[ekat-fandom-blog]

Layout of Wayne Manor and the Batcave

there's like 7+ photos of layout that aren't really connected because there's no official layout of Wayne Manor or of the Batcave.

Yeah I was searching for layouts of the Wayne manor so I could figure out if there were windows by the front door and ended up falling down a rabbit hole.

For even more: Wayne Manor Blueprints most of which aren't actually Wayne Manor blueprints or layouts. One's even labeled "Malfoy Manor". Here's a bonus blueprint/layout:

[foodfightnovelization]

More Foodfight! Material DISCOVERED

That's right, I'm back. Just like I prophesized in my last post, yet another treasure trove of Foodfight! goodness has been uncovered, and this might be one of the strangest to date...that's right, official Foodfight! Cinnamon Sleuth Cereal was sold at Albertsons back in 2007, over five years before the movie finally came out!

Okay, not really, but I had you going for a second, right? So, this IS a proposed packaging design for actual Cinnamon Sleuth cereal, but it never went into production, it never made it to stores and there was certainly never any actual cereal to be eaten. This, among several other designs and a collection of behind the scenes material, was sent in recently by a Foodfight! crewmember, who explained they were mockups created to show off possible tie-in products. I'm not sure why they chose Albertsons for these mockups but it's likely they were in talks with them at the time and wanted to show off designs including their branding. In any case, I just had the Cinnamon Sleuth box printed because I thought it'd look cool next to my collection of Foodfight! merchandise, and I wanted to see if anyone would be convinced this really existed.

I've included all the designs above in case you want to print your own- there are several more including another cereal, brownie packaging and milk cartons. Curiously, the milk cartons have Farmland Dairy logos on them, with Farmland Milk actually appearing in the finished film at several points. I'd say this confirms my theory these mockups were created to show to companies they were already actively working on deals with, but I can't say for certain that was the case.

Equally curious are these character sheets from 2002, seemingly showing off almost every model created during early production. There are so many fascinating layers to this- Sunshine is still a human instead of a catgirl, showcasing a very different model to the one seen in the initial trailer, and Maximilius Moose is still a dog named Panzer Pup, both aspects that were changed once the decision was made to change Dex to a dog. However, it may be that Dex's human design was edited out and replaced after the fact, given Dex's model here appears to be the one from the finished film (you can tell by the weird hands). In any case, it's fascinating to get a closer look at all these characters- while the majority of the models for the main cast were found recently (see my last post for more on this), there are a bunch of side characters here we've only seen brief glimpses of before, including the Pringles man and the scantily-clad Cherry Waifer. The most fascinating to me however are the Red and Yellow M&Ms- I've read through their scene in the movie's script, I've seen multiple versions of the storyboard, even rough layout animation in the workprint, and it's only now I'm FINALLY getting to see their actual character models and how they would've looked in the Foodfight! artstyle. Sure, they more or less look exactly as they did in M&M commercials that aired around the same time, but it's still amazing to actually see these characters modelled and rendered after analyzing so many different iterations of the scene as it went through development.

The crewmember in question also sent a folder containing over a hundred stills which while at first glance appear to be from the finished movie, are actually subtly different in multiple ways- usually lighting, facial expressions, or background textures like the sky or color of a hill. A lot of these are labelled "fix" which makes me speculate if after the movie was completed, the crew went back and tried to touch up the animation to make it look more appealing before release. Is there a slightly better looking version of Foodfight! somewhere out there in the world? Who knows, but really it would've been like trying to polish a turd. The movie was already ruined by then, and I don't think any number small changes would've done much to salvage it. However, that does bring me to my next interesting point...

There are also storyboards dated May 2011, depicting an alternate opening to the movie giving a much more cinematic introduction to the main characters. It's crazy to think they were still working on storyboards so late in production, but there IS actually a reason for this. I unfortunately can't upload the entire sequence due to this site's image limit, but what you might notice are a lot of characters being described as "flying over the audience", "flying into the camera" or knocking things "into the audience", with some of the boards having "(3D)" written in parenthesis next to them. It's my belief that very late into production, Kasanoff wanted the movie to be 3D, made popular by the then-recent Avatar, and this new opening sequence full of flashy 3D effects was drawn up to show off what they could do with the technology. It's not clear if any of this was ever actually animated, but imagine going to see a movie that advertises itself as 3D but only the first minute contains any 3D elements. Of course, Kasanoff requesting this is only speculation on my part, but given how the movie was ruined by the crew having to cater to his whim of directing the whole thing with motion capture (made popular by the then-recent Polar Express) it's no stretch to assume the 3D opening sequence was a similar situation.

There's a ton more that was sent to us as well, so much so that I could never hope to talk about all of it. However, it should be on archive.org at the time of writing this if it isn't already, and you can now access everything Foodfight! related through the official Foodfight! collection on there!

That's right, so much Foodfight! material has been uploaded over the past year that the Internet Archive gave it its own archive, allowing you to find everything in one convenient place (including my scans of the novelization and Deluxe Sound Storybook). It'll also be updated periodically whenever something new is found, so it'll always be the home to all things Foodfight!. Whether you're wanting to take a look at some concept art shown in ROTTEN: Behind The Foodfight, read through an early draft of the script, or check out something I've talked about on my blog, it's all here at your fingertips.

I don't think there's ever really going to be an end to the depth of the Foodfight! rabbithole. I thought I was done a year ago when I finished analyzing the novelization, and look at everything that's been found since then. Every time I think I'm out, this movie pulls me back in. So...in my next post I'll FINALLY show off my collection of Foodfight! merchandise and talk about what this movie means to me, but that doesn't mean it's the end for this blog. Whenever I say I'm done with Foodfight! I end up jinxing it, so if I try to conclude things now in a few months some CD will show up with a bunch of lost footage on it, I'll get mailed concept art of a bunch of characters we've never seen before, or it'll turn out Larry Kasanoff was actually D.B. Cooper the whole time. So as long as there's something new to discuss, as long as there's a Foodfight to be fought, I'll keep updating this blog from now until forever. You better duck when they launch the cream pies!

[jccatstudios]

SoC Comic Adaptation and General FAQ

General

Who are you?

Hi, I'm Claire (she/they)! I'm currently studying to become a professional comic creator. I love drawing fashion, expressive characters, and anti-hero action.

Where else can I find your work?

You can find all my work on my website! I'm also on Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr. You can find my fan art under the handle jccatstudios, and my original art under jcscottart (only on Instagram and Twitter).

How can I support your work?

Besides supporting my work through your lovely comments and reblogs, you can help monetarily support me on Ko-Fi. Your support helps fund my college education.

Six of Crows: A Comic Adaptation

Why are you doing this?

Ever since I read the duology, I always thought it would make a great graphic novel series. When my professor encouraged me to start a webcomic, I took the opportunity to make the comic I imagined into reality. I want to see the whole series illustrated through comics one day. If I got the chance to make the official adaptation, that would be one of my biggest dream projects. I'm also using this project as an opportunity to improve my skills before I graduate.

Will you post it on (insert webcomic platform)?

Probably not. Most online comic platforms are meant for scroll format, and I'm making a traditional format comic. Plus, I post on so many sites already, so I think adding another would take too much time out of actually creating the comic.

Will you draw the whole book/series?

I wish I could! Since I'm not doing this full-time or professionally, that's quite unlikely. It would take years to complete it full-time, who knows how long as a hobby. I'd love to add a six-volume SoC graphic novel series to my shelf, but that of course can't be done without some serious backing. I'm currently working on adapting Chapter 3.

Where's Chapter 1: Joost?

I never drew it! I started with Chapter 2: Inej because I wanted to draw the main characters first. The first chapter of the comic is the second chapter of the book. I name the comic chapters after the book chapters just to make it clear which part of the book they correspond to.

Can I repost your art, use your art for layouts/edits, etc?

Yes, you may with visible credit. If you use it for your profile layout, put my handle in your bio. If you're reposting it or using my art for edits/collages, put my handle in the description. As long as it's for personal use, you can use my art. Do not sell copies of my art, use it in merch, or use it for any sort of monetary gain. Do not use my art for prompting or generating images.

Can I use your character designs and headcanons in fanart, fanfic, etc?

Absolutely! Please tag me if you do. I don't need credit since I didn't create any of these characters, but I definitely want to see what you create. :D

How do you make the comic?

The comic is made with mostly traditional methods with some digital editing. I pencil and ink all of the pages on bristol board. I mainly use the G-pen nib for characters and technical pens for the backgrounds. Once I scan the pages, I do light adjustments to the line art and correct any mistakes. The gray tones come from a single sheet of ink wash adjusted to be lighter or darker. The bubbles and lettering are all digital.

If anything else comes up, I'll add it here! Feel free to send me an ask if you have a question that isn't on this post.

[foxhopfics]

How the Squads, teams and ranks actually work in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

The dissonance in tumblr users versus the actual branches of the military and how they've been written in fics.

Now, I'm very aware that's because no one here is an actual member of the SAS, and TF141 isn't real. So it's... not exactly like we've had the first hand knowledge about it.

However, I have noticed a lack of research having gone into understanding how the military actually works. The worst culprits are the people who've never actually played CoD, but to a degree, I've seen this in like 99% of CoD writing.

So, here's your OFFICIAL easy to understand guide to how the layout of the SAS and the British Military/Her Majesty's Armed Forces will Affect Your CoD:MW Fanfiction.

SAS:

All non-officer soldiers are returned to the rank of Trooper(Private) when joining the SAS, they then have to work themselves up again.

The 22nd Regiment SAS normally has a strength of between 400 and 600 men and is commanded by a Director-Special Forces of Major-General rank. While you may get ~125 candidates for tryouts, you're only going to end up with 10 new recruits who pass. Tryouts are held twice a year, once in summer and once in winter. A soldier must be a junior NCO to attempt, and only gets 2 total tries.

The regiment has four operational squadrons each consisting of 65 men commanded by a Major. Each squadron is divided into four 16 men troops commanded by a Captain and each troop is split into four patrols with each patrol consisting of four men, referred to as Alpha Company, Squad or Team, Beta Squad, Charlie Squad, and Delta Squad. Our boys from the 141 are part of the Beta company, which is why their callsigns are Bravo 6-0 (Price), B7-0 (Ghost), B7-1 (Soap), and B6-2 (Gaz, or B5-0 in '09) respectively. They are part of the normal British army, not the air force, despite their name being special air service. Where they normally are referred to in fanfiction as "tf141" which includes price, ghost, soap, and gaz. This is incorrect. What you're writing here is SAS Bravo Company, not Task Force 141

NCO, CO, DS, Sergeant, and Warrant Officers:

NCO- Non-comissioned Officer, or Enlisted: Ranked up from Private/Seaman/Airman. The "everyman", or basic infantry. Typically learns a skill and sticks with it (i.e radio techs, mechanical techs, vehicle mechanics, foot soldiers, etc). While any officer is a higher rank than a private, an NCO is never in a higher standing than a CO. After several years, they are eligible to become a senior non-commissioned officer (SNCO). This (NCOs) is who you're likely going to have working in the armoury.

CO- Commissioned Officer: "leaders" or "managers" from the beginning. Oftentimes completed a military degree (Royal Military Academy Sandhurst), or if not, was part of UOTC in college/university. Some others finish a degree and then attend officer training. They start as Lieutenants or Ensigns (navy) and often quickly rank up to Captain.

DS- Drill Sergeant: DSs teach Greenies/new recruits the Initial Entry Training (IET). They have their own Sergeant rank system that is separate from Sergeants. They must complete Drill Officer training to become a DS. Staff Sergeant, or a "regular" Sergeant, ranks up as an or NCO, and is in charge of infantry personnel, and doesn't really have contact with recruits (different from privates, you must complete IET to move from Recruit to Private).

WO- Warrant Officer: Higher than Enlisted, but lower than CO. Oftentimes keep their specialty skill, but without as much of the supervisor role. They come in as the "specialists" for things that the NCO's can't do (i.e complicated vehicle maintenance, machine overwatch, etc)

Ranks in the British Military:

NCO ranks:

- Private

- Lance Corporal

- Corporal

- Sergeant (Soap and Gaz)

- Staff or Colour Sergeant

- Warrant Officer class 1

- Warrant Officer class 2

CO ranks:

- Officer Cadet (officer school rank)

- Second Lieutenant

- Lieutenant (Ghost)

- Captain (Price)

- Major

- Lieutenant Colonel

- Colonel

- Brigadier

- Major-General (eligible to run the SAS)

- Lieutenant General

- General

- Field Marshall

So what does this mean for Task Force 141 and JTF Ghost Team?:

Task Force 141 was created by Captain John Price after Roman Barkov's death in MW1, but before MW2 as an international collaborative task force intended to tie up loose ends via Roman Barkov's associates.

It was approved by Laswell in the CIA and General Shepherd of the US Armed Forces.

Oftentimes TF141 is solely referred to with the British team which is where the confusion between Bravo Company happens.

TF141, while also consisting of Price, Ghost, Gaz, and Soap, is still an international task force consisting of Laswell, Shephered, and Alex (American), Nikolai (Russian), Farah (Urizk), and Alejandro and Rodolfo (Mexican) and ultimately existed for only one purpose.

JTF Ghost Team: Formed by Ghost and Alejandro after they were betrayed by Graves and Shadow Company, believing not many could be trusted at that time.

It was made to flush out the corruption of Graves and Shepherd.

Member consist of: Price, Ghost, Alejandro, Gaz, Soap, Rodolfo, "Ghost 2-4 Pilot" who I suspect is Nikolai, Laswell, and a few freed Los Vaqueros.

[lucid-fate-if]

A more Official Update.

A bit of a plan rant and so on:

I've been unable to continue this IF for a good amount of time due to personal reasons completely out of my control (planning a move to a whole new CONTINENT in a few months, learning a language, plus my mom is having unexpected medical related issues so there's that. Nothing to worry about tho! Unless it worsens we're alright.) but what I want to make clear is things will be insanely rocky up until the big move and while we are settling.

I imagine time will be insanely scarce then compared to now which is why I'll be writing as much as I can now!!

I've already prepped the IF IU and color themes so I'm happy about that (I've been thinking of adding a pure white version instead of the grey and a pure black version), what I am struggling with now is fonts and I'll figure it out in a bit. Hopefully. Aswell as any other cool ideas pop up in my mind. (btw I noticed a Dyslexic font ask that disappeared but I'll have that covered!! 💞)

I'll be working on the next update immediately instead of taking a break since idk when I'll have THIS much free time after next year.

I'll also be more focused on how the last bit of chapter 3 was written out. I can't lie I rushed it instead of actually taking my time like the rest and getting a vibe ready so I'll do better with that.

I've already got a detailed idea of the layout of the rest of chapter 4 and 5 so that's what I'm working on right now.

My focus will be heavily on my writing style and tone. I have this upsetting thought constantly that the exact tone of the scene I want to portray may not translate well.

I'd have to focus really hard on portraying a agender mc. I keep mc very neutral/genderfree when it comes to personality traits and actions (which is good) but I always have a feeling mc might feel more female (?). This might just be a unnecessary worry in my head. I just wish for any player to be able to mold into the mc and I can't tell if the gender part isn't moldable and can't switch between male/female.

Idk if I mentioned tone but I feel like there's three story arcs going on at the same time and all of them are important so I'll make sure to properly NOTE what the obstacles in the game are and so on. I'd rather people know what the game is completely about after chapter 2.

[xoxoavenger]

Style

pairing: Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

summary: He says, "What you heard is true, but I Can't stop thinkin' 'bout you and I" I said, "I've been there too a few times"

word count: 2167

warnings: drinking while driving (very mild, only sipping beer), Henderson!sister but it's a stepsister that Ms. Henderson adopted so it's inclusive, mentions of sex, mentions of cheating but they're not official so it's not really cheating

1989 masterlist main masterlist

Steve doesn't like the way he feels during the SnowBall, watching Nancy chaperone as if she didn't break his heart into tiny little pieces. It's all so sickening that he can't take it. So, he drives to the only person he can think of; someone who had been willing before he was dating Nancy and he's hoping still is.

He pulls up to her house quietly, headlights turned off so that her step mom doesn't wake up. He hopes she's still awake, because one look at his watch before he shuts off his car tells him that it's later than he originally thought. He sneaks around the back of the house like a pro, finding her window with ease. His first words to her when he knocks on the window and she lets him in is that she needs to get her own place.

"Oh, because you have your own?" She teases, as if no time has passed and he didn't leave her to date Nancy. He heard she got around after they cut each other out, with people ranging from Eddie Munson to Billy Hargrove. But she smiles at him like he's the only one she's ever seen.

"Aren't you going to ask me what I'm doing here?" He prompts, laying on her bed. She's changed the layout of her rom, but otherwise the furniture and decorations are still the same from when they had been together. It puts him at ease. She smirks and lays down beside him as he tries not to stare at her boobs through her thin pajama shirt, as if he'd never seen them bare before.

"What are you doing here, Steve Harrington?" Her smile is alluring as always, and he finds himself smiling at her as well.

"Well," He starts, moving to lay on his back. "I figured we could go on a drive, catch up."

"Why are you here?" She repeats, now curious. Her head is tilted and her eyes sparkling, which can only mean trouble for Steve. She isn't exactly sure why she let him in her room in the first place, considering all her friends would kill her if they found out she talked to him again. "I mean, we haven't talked in, like, a year." She's skeptical, and rightfully so after their twisted history.

"I'll tell you in the car." He entices, standing. She sighs and stands as well, grabbing a sweatshirt and following him out her window and to his car. She's never been able to deny him, and arguing won't do anything except wake her mother up.

"So, Nancy broke your heart." She guesses as they fly down the freeway. The windows are down but the music is soft enough that they can hear each other talk.

"Pretty much." He admits with a nod, looking straight ahead. She sighs and looks in his backseat for the beer she knows he keeps back there. She knows him like the back of his hand, and when she offers one to him he can't help but crack it open, despite driving.

"Heartbreak's a bitch." She tells him, taking a sip and realizing that this is beer he's stolen from his father, which makes her smile slightly. It's rich and still tastes like shit, but she'll drink it if only to take the edge off.

"Like you would know." He scoffs, which leads her to roll her eyes.

"Just because you can't break my heart doesn't mean no one can." She tells him with a fake smile, annoyed that he would even bring that up.

"Okay, then who broke your heart?" He asks smugly. She shakes her head and looks out to the fields decorating each side of the road. "Come on, Y/N. I know some of your darkest secrets and you don't wanna tell me this?"

"What do you know?" She snaps her head toward him in time to see him smirk. It's so easy to kiss that stupid look of his face that she would give in if it weren't for the fact that he was driving.

"I know you lost your virginity to me." She's immediately stiff, ready to be defensive because she knows she never told Steve that.

"I did not!" She lies, but it sounds compelling to her.

"Y/N," He leans his head back and looks at her, and she puts her beer can in the cup holder before crossing her arms. Clearly, she did not sound compelling to Steve. "Come on."

"Are you trying to tell me I was a bad lay?" She frowns, mostly teasing. She knows she's not a bad lay. If she was, Steve wouldn't keep coming back.

"Oh my God." Steve rolls his eyes and stretches his arm as he slows down, turning off the freeway and into a random neighborhood. She's pretty sure they're not even in Hawkins anymore. "Just fishing for complements."

"Who told you?" She asks after a few moments, turning the radio down. It's now muted, and all they can hear is each other's soft breathing and the thrum of the engine as they slowly cruise past houses.

"I can't reveal my sources. That's just wrong." He tells her with a sly smirk.

The truth is, she knows who told Steve. They only have one mutual friend; Nancy Wheeler. She hadn't meant to tell Nancy, she was drunk and hurt. She hadn't known at the time that Nancy had begun dating Steve, which effectively ended their superficial friendship anyway.

"So," She starts, running her tongue over her teeth as she thinks of how to approach a serious topic. "Why did you really pick me up?" She asks, looking over. He stops, in the middle of the street in a random neighborhood, the sole lamp ahead of them illuminating only half his face. Part of it was right in her eye, but she continued to stare at him.

"Same reason as why you let me in," He shrugs, giving her a smile that looked more sad than happy. "I got my heartbroken."

~

The reason why Steve and Y/N worked was because they were so aesthetically pleasing.

Steve with his dark hair swooped to the side looking effortless, his light freckles and smirk that screams not giving a fuck but somehow personal and swoon worthy. Y/N with her short skirts, bright lipstick and winks that open doors. Her nails were always done, her hair was always perfect, her makeup always flawless. And while it was a lot of work, just like Steve's hair was, she enjoyed it. She liked getting up and pampering herself, having the time to herself to prepare for the day ahead. If she didn't enjoy it, she wouldn't do it, and Steve knew better than anyone that no one could make her do what she didn't want to do.

The only problem was, they'd never been official.

They went out. They made out. They had sex. They didn't plan study dates. They didn't kiss just for fun. They were not actually dating, a hard set boundary that was never fully discussed but still mutually agreed upon.

But that didn't matter. When they were on, everyone knew. And when they were off, everyone definitely knew. They had been in the on phase for awhile the last time, so long that people eventually forgot about their history, which was only a little embarrassing that everyone in Hawkins already knew about her love life.

And then he went and dated Nancy.

That falling out hurt. He didn't even tell her, just stopped calling until she found out from her step-brother Dustin. It was all he could complain about, coming back from Mike's house and having to endure Nancy and Steve.

"Honestly, I think it's better for her. Steve's a dick." She heard Dustin saying on the phone. She waited in the hall, wanting to hear the rest of what the little shit was going to spill about her. "I know she's your sister, dude, but she could probably help Steve. When he's with Y/N, it's like he doesn't give a shit about anyone else. At least now he seems nicer." And while it was cute that Dustin cared, it also made her furious.

Probably because it was true.

She marched over to him, taking the phone out of his hand and slamming it on the hook. He gaped at her, ready to call over his mother, but they both knew he wouldn't. Ms. Henderson was always on Y/N's side, especially after her father died, and Dustin had been talking about her.

"It's not like you guys won't get back together." Dustin scoffs, which makes Y/N narrow her eyes.

"He's with Nancy, and he seems a hell of a lot more interested in her than he ever was with me." She tells him, and he just rolls his eyes.

"You are so blind, God."

~

"If you're going to pick me up, the least you can do is make sure we don't die." Y/N chuckles, holding onto the side door of Steve's car. He had been staring at Y/N since she stepped in the car, causing him to almost crash multiple times.

"You're doing this on purpose." He tells her. It had been a couple weeks since he had gone through her window, and of course they had fallen back into old habits. He had picked her up almost every night, which alerted Dustin, and then before they knew it the whole town was once more in their business. Except this time, she was called a slut for hooking up with Steve so soon after Nancy. It didn't matter that Steve had come to her, or that Nancy had stolen Steve from her first. People just heard what they wanted to hear.

"Doing what on purpose?" She knows he's talking about the fact that she's wearing the short burgundy skirt, which is coincidentally the same one she wore the first night her and Steve had sex. She knew it would get him riled up, and she wanted to see it, since he was taking her to see a movie.

"You're just angry because I didn't pick your movie." They both know Steve is limited on friends right now, having lost his popular friends and also Nancy's friends, so Y/N agreed to go to the movies with him every once and awhile. Because he insisted on paying, he also insisted on picking the movie.

"Possibly." She tells him with a smirk. He makes a sharp turn, one that does not go in the direction of the drive-in, but she knows where they're going. It's exactly where she wanted to go anyway.

She always gets her way.

They arrive at Steve's empty house, racing in through the garage and upstairs to Steve's room, where he doesn't bother with lights or heating and just grabs her, pulling her mouth to his as he toes off his shoes.

"Hold on," She mutters as he pulls away to take off his jacket and shirt in one go. He doesn't go back to kissing her, but he puts his hands under her own untucked shirt and trails them up her bare back. "We need to talk." She whispers, and he just nods. He should have seen it coming, honestly.

They walk to the bed, Steve reaching over to turn his lamp on before he lays back. He'd rather not be looking at Y/N when she asks, which gives her every answer she needs.

"You know Dustin is my brother, right?" While they don't have the last name nor look alike, they both know that this question is rhetorical. Steve doesn't need to give a nod before she continues. "So what makes you think that you could get away with it?" She expects him to deny it, to tell her that Dustin heard wrong or that he doesn't even know what she's talking about, but they both know where that path leads.

"I didn't think I'd get away with it." He tells her, sitting up. "But I heard about you and Hargrove." Steve sighs, not taking any pleasure in the way her eyes widen and she presses her lips together.

"He doesn't have better hair, by the way." She's not quite sure what to say, both of them caught in the act.

"Does he have a bigger-"

"No," She shoves Steve with a small chuckle, rolling her eyes. "And he's not better, either." She looks up at him through her lashes, silently asking a question he's already going to answer.

"She's nothing compared to you." He mutters as he shifts on the bed, clearly ready to continue their previous activity. He ends up laying back on his pillows with her on his lap, his hands exploring her bare ass under her skirt. "I swear to God, I was worried I was going to say your name." He tells her as she leans in to kiss him. When she grinds her hips down, he tilts his head back while still keeping eye contact.

"Yeah, I've been there too a few times." 

//

tags: @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @one-sweet-gubler @sadbitchfangirl @gloryekaterina  @oblivion-void @alexshaff2002 @m-rae23 @icequeen1371 @mcueveryday @xxhellfiregirlxx @parkershoco @feelinglikeineedlotsofnaps @peculiarwren @freezaz123 @mads-weasley @munsstertwo @johnricharddeacy @sweetdreamsshifter @param8re @ashlynhasmanyhyperfixations @wish-upon-a-star-1310 @fangisms

[piosplayhouse]

Niche fandom happenings to take your mind after whatever stuffs happening in your fandom:

So as you can probably deduce, the model horse collecting hobby is made up mostly of older people. The hobby has been well established since the dawn of the Internet and I've talked a few times about how it's difficult to find some older resources about it/its history because of how every other link you click on which used to lead to a hobbyist artist's angelfire blog now is just a dead link or worse, bought out by some ad company sitting on the URL. Up until recently, a huge portion of hobby talk still relied on now-defunct Yahoo groups; now most have moved to either forums like Model Horse Blab or private Facebook groups. Individually most of these are pretty decentralized, but since model collecting by nature is a hobby that requires a significant amount of financial interaction (buying, trading, selling, commissioning, etc.), there has to be some kind of centralized marketplace for people to pitch their goods to as many corners of the hobby as possible.

Enter Model Horse Sales Pages (MH$P), a, well, site where people can post sales pages for model horses and accessories. It's an old fashioned sales pages site from the 2000s with a somewhat shitty layout but unparalleled detailed search functions-- to order things from a seller, you'd have to personally email them to negotiate for their listing. Though this seems somewhat inconvenient to our modern senses used to one click payments and speedy delivery, MH$P is undoubtedly a pillar of the model horse community.

... So that's why people are scrambling as it's allegedly been hacked and taken down for the foreseeable future. Worrying about personal information aside, now fans are left to wonder: what's the alternative? Well, the first one is of course eBay, which many hobbyists already use. However, eBay is obviously less catered to model horse hobbyists and is therefore a bit harder to search if you're deep in the hobby and can't be assed to look through 4000 "plastic horse" titled listings to find the 2008 SR glossy xX Devilish Girlfriend++ Thoroughbred you want. MH$P occupied a specific niche for long time fans looking for grails.

So what are our alternatives for people in the hobby looking to buy from others in the hobby? Well, there's a few decentralized official dealers like Chelsea's Model Horses or Triple Mountain who you can consign older models to, but going through a middleman takes time and you have much less freedom in your personal listings. Alternatively, you could go grassroots and post listings in Facebook groups and on forums, but those have reaches limited to the members of those specific, often small, groups, and it can be hard to move stock that way. So now people are looking for a backup marketplace platform, both for the current situation and longtime health of the hobby. But imagine my surprise when I went on Model Horse Blab and saw people suggesting an alternative site kickstarted by

STAR STABLE ONLINE YOUTUBER DENIS/DENISE WISESTORM. Denis has been a controversial figure in the SSO fandom (though there's pretty much no uncontroversial ssotubers especially on ssoblr because clickbaiting and weird reactionary takes are like the bread and butter of that side of the fandom) who's been called out for having some alt-right homophobic views in the past, as well as for his abject and unproductive negativity towards improvements made on the game. He's a lps customizer and pretty prolific breyer collector, though, so his drive to create a model trading and selling platform makes sense at least. But still! Why him!!!!!!

[script-a-world]

Submitted via Google Form:

How much can a city get away with not actually giving streets a specific name? As in all the streets are like First Street, or First Street West, etc... Any names are descriptive and the only thing available like if there is one hospital the street it's on might be called Hospital Street, and the road that leads to the only train station is called Train Street, the street with the only university is called University Street. Even when they have actual names, the street is still just descriptive. I think this might make a place very easy to navigate? The only thing is you've got to know where those unique descriptors are. Something like this has got to be planned right? Because if things get changed, it can go awry. The streets will have to fairly straight in a grid layout right so streets can't crisscross every which way or be too curvy.

Licorice: In my town, which was founded in Roman times, we do indeed have streets called “Street of the Hospital”, “Street of the Train Station”, “Street of the Cathedral”, “Street of the Cliffs”, “Street of the Windmills” and so on. Most UK towns have streets called “Station Road”, “Church Road”, and of course the ubiquitous “High Street” where all the shops are congregated, which in every town is always known as the High Street even when its official name is something else. It’s the equivalent of Main Street in the USA.

Does one need to know the location of the landmarks after which these streets are named? I don’t see why one should. Once you find a road called “Street of the Train Station”, you can be pretty sure it’s going to lead you to the train station. 

A lot depends on whether your city is a planned city or one that has grown up organically over the centuries. 

Street names in older, organic cities tend to derive from one of the following sources

A landmark on the street, e.g. Church Street. The landmark doesn’t have to be man-made. Fleet Street in London was, in the middle ages, a street that ran along the river Fleet, which no longer exists.

The place the road leads to, e.g. Oxford Street, Liverpool Street

The occupation of the people who lived and worked on that street, e.g. Threadneedle Street

Streets in planned cities or planned subdivisions are named by the planners and often follow some kind of theme. In the UK, new housing developments in Victorian times might commemorate famous battles (Alma Terrace, Lucknow Terrace), places in the colonies (Canberra Drive), historic figures (Wellington Road), and so on. In my European town, one of the main streets is named after the date on which we were liberated from occupation by Napoleon. 

In Hamilton, Ontario, which was constructed on a grid system in the 19th century, the main streets are (if I recall correctly) named after the family of the founder, George Hamilton, or the family of Sir Allan Napier McNab, a local bigwig - they’re called John Street, James Street, Mary Street and so on.

Trees are a perennially popular naming theme for street planners in North America. Chestnut Street, Elm Street, Mulberry Street….

The Romans built a lot of new towns. The grid system was widely used by the Romans and was based on the layout of their army camps. You might find it interesting to look up Roman city planning and see how they named their roads. It sounds like you want your city to be a practical city, and the Romans were eminently practical people. They knew how to design a town that people would find it easy to live in. 

Utuabzu: A lot, really. Kyōto has gotten away with it for over a thousand years in its historic core. Venice has street names, but few signs or indicators of what street one is on or what address a building has, and it has also been functional for over a thousand years. In a lot of older cities, people navigate more by landmarks than by street addresses, which makes sense, because any urban environment older than about 150 years was built to be navigated on foot, and likely has a bunch of little alleyways and shortcuts that wouldn’t show up on a street map but which all the locals know and use constantly. Pre-internet and without a car, getting directions in the form of landmarks was generally going to be more useful than a street address, particularly because, as Licorice pointed out, most streets in older, organic cities were named for landmarks or some visible characteristic (like who lived and worked there). 

Even when the landmark is lost or moved, the name often still endures as a fossilised bit of urban history. The hospital might move, but the street it was on would still get called Old Hospital Street, because everyone was used to it being Hospital Street and it’d be annoying to have to learn a new name for the place, while the new location would either keep it’s pre-existing name (eg. the new hospital is on Station Street, so they call it the Station Street Hospital) or it would get called something like New Hospital Street. 

Oftentimes old cities are very dense and have narrow, winding street networks with names that seem to change arbitrarily, but this isn’t always the case. Almost all Roman cities were founded with a grid, and the Roman foundation is roughly square or rectangular (eg. The City of London, Jerusalem’s Old City*, Florence), although these grids all break down very quickly outside the original Roman walls. Cities in the Sinosphere (the region of the world historically under heavy Chinese cultural influence) were also often initially built on a grid, such as Kyōto, which I referenced earlier. And like Kyōto, many don’t have regularly used street names. Grids are also common in Spanish colonial cities, because almost all of them were laid out following the regulations in the ley de los indes, a Spanish law that (among other things) governed how and where new colonies were to be established. Consequently, almost all Spanish colonial cities have a very similar layout in their historic cores, with a central square and a grid radiating out from there. 

Prior to the late 19th Century and the creation of the suburbs, most of the time these grids broke down because of unplanned informal development outside the area covered by the initial city plan. In a lot of the world this still happens frequently. And oftentimes these informal settlements become officially part of the urban fabric simply because it would be too much work to remove them.

[raayllum]

The Coin / Moon Fam plotline: a Structural Analysis

There's been some stuff in the tags recently about people being bummed over how long the Moon Fam / coin plot line has taken, and while it's an understandable perspective (particularly with how long hiatuses can feel between seasons), when looking at TDP as one complete story... the Coin / Moon Fam plot line hasn't actually taken that long, and is one of the most consistently developed plot threads / relationships in the show - and here's why.

This meta is broken down into three subheadings labelled, "Series Layout," "Plot Relevancy," and "The Trio('s emotional arcs)".

Series Layout

First things first, the fact of the matter is that the only season that didn't continue the coin plotline at all has been S2. Every other season has had something. This is pretty unique as outside character journeys or relationship development, not much besides overarching plot carries between season to season. Callum's arc is a mage and Ezran as king is ongoing, but the coin plotline has developed more consistently per season than emphasis on Ezran and Rayla getting one-on-one scenes together (which they haven't since S2). So the official breakdown is this:

1x01-1x03: Runaan and his relationship with Rayla are developed. He is taken prisoner while she goes on the mission with the boys.

1x05: Rayla shares the backstory of her parents failing to protect the egg. This is the first and last time she talks directly about her family until S3.

1x08: The coins are introduced in relation to Aaravos and the mirror, specifically. Runaan knows something of what the mirror is. He is coined.

3x03: While Runaan is believed to be dead, it is shown to the audience that he is stuck between life and death in the Lotus pond.

3x08: We see Lain and Tiadrin. It is implied they are coined.

3x09: Viren has the coins, taunting Rayla about them. This likewise teases that her parents were coined and reminds us that Runaan is too.

4x07: We learn about the quasar diamonds, which is set up for S5. Rayla also mentions how Runaan used moon opals to create illusion spells.

4x08: Rayla offers to sacrifice her blades and explains their connection to Runaan and Ethari, and how she believes she won't ever see them again. This is pretty blatant setup for the next episode in which

4x09: Rayla tries to save and then receives the coins from Claudia. This is also when it is finally confirmed that Lain and Tiadrin were coined as well. She and Stella escape Umber Tor (this is also how Rayla learns about Stella's portal powers).

5x01: Rayla investigates the dungeons to find out what happened to Runaan / how the coins work. She finds a 'mystery human' in a 4th coin. She determines that while she wants to help her family, she can't bring herself to prioritize it while the world is still in danger and that Callum and Ezran need her.

5x02: We meet the mystery human and find out that he is Kpp'Ar, Viren's old mentor. Rayla uses Runaan's bow and Ethari's arrows (thanking the latter) to defend herself against a corrupted banther.

5x04: Rayla tells Callum the truth about the coins and her pain concerning them. He immediately wants to help her and finds a potential solution concerning the coins: quasar diamonds at the Starscraper. Callum intends to personally free them himself and risks all of their present lives to get the information.

5x05: Karim summons the Bloodmoon Huntress, Kim'Dael, to do his bidding. As we know thanks to the graphic novel of the same name, she has history with Rayla, Runaan, and Ethari.

TDP loves to set things up, add to it a little for a season, and then make it a major focus.

Think of how Claudia and Soren didn't see their dad again after 1x06 until 3x03 - that's about 14 episodes, roughly half of Arc 1! Or how nothing that Viren does in S1 or S2 affects the trio at all until his kids catch up with Callum, Ezran, and Rayla in 2x02, or his own actions until close to 3x04 and 3x08 - once again, seasons apart.

Thus, the breaks in between the Moon Fam development makes sense, even if as laid out before, Rayla's relationship with them and the coins are developed 4/5 seasons. In particular, Rayla's relationship with Runaan and Ethari are more developed and emphasized, additionally, than her relationship with her biological parents. And what's more, thanks to both the Nova Blade and the Quasar Diamonds being rumoured to be at the Starscraper, let's talk about

Plot Relevancy

As soon as we'd learned there was a fourth coin, I assumed that Kpp'Ar was imprisoned inside it, simply because 1) he's close to Viren, 2) he 'mysteriously disappears,' and 3) his name sounds like fucking copper. It is implied in the Book Two: Sky novelization that Kpp'Ar has Plot Relevant Information about Aaravos (and possibly the relic staff) as well as whatever Viren did to save Soren (and his own dark magic misdeeds).

The novelization confirms that Kpp'Ar had a box that perfectly matched the one Aaravos uses inside the mirror for the bug pal spell. Kpp'Ar is also a master of puzzles and could very well be the descendant of the Jailer, who created the now infamous puzzle of the prison, in addition to having a wide berth of magical knowledge.

This implied connection to the prison would make the most sense if Kpp'Ar gets out before Aaravos is freed, and Aaravos will have to be freed in season six. And if Kpp'Ar is getting out of his coin, then the Moon fam are also getting out of theirs before the season finale.

There's also the Kim'Dael plotline to consider. While she is a menace in S5, Janai implies that she is not at her full powers, claiming, "This is a monster you do not want unleashed." Given that Karim has the sun seed and an army, he will likely become King of Lux Aurea and able to free Kim'Dael in S6 as well. This sets up the Moon fam all working together with Rayla to defeat her in S7.

So thanks to Kpp'Ar and Kim'Dael, the Moon fam is tied to two ongoing plotlines that have to get underway sooner rather than later. They are also three of the few characters to have presumably known what the mirror was. Runaan seems to outright know something ("That mirror? You have found something worse than death") and for Lain and Tiadrin, it is implied, as it seems they stayed behind ultimately to guard the mirror > Zym's egg (given that they tried to have Hendryr take the egg with him) because they knew it falling into the wrong hands could be dangerous. This means that when the three of them do come sprawling out of the coins, they will immediately understand the stakes of Aaravos' imminent or potential release.

The "two relevant plotlines" is under the assumption as well that Callum's pursuit of Star magic in order to free them is not what ultimately leads to him 1) him being possessed (with Rayla being called upon to kill him again, generating a potential interesting conflict with Runaan) or 2) snowballs into being what releases Aaravos. In which case they'd be tethered to Three Plotlines. But in some ways, they already are, because of how Runaan in particular is going to impact each of

The Trio

or why the "Ezran short story indicating Ezran is going to have lots of big nasty feelings about Runaan's rescue and survival is the best thing that could've ever happened, thank you" section. You can read the short story here if you haven't already (and I highly recommend it).

Okay, but why is this a good thing? Well...

We know next season that Callum and Rayla are heading to the Starscraper, likely now that things with Aaravos have resolved enough and/or to get the Nova Blade because things have escalated very quickly. However, as previously discussed, while Callum might do some plot relevant snowball shit to get them out of the coins, from an emotional arc standpoint, he's more likely to struggle with Runaan once the assassin is out. As of now, Callum is wholly dedicated to helping Rayla get her parents out of the coins (as he states and reaffirms in 5x04). The fact the Starscraper also has the Nova Blade is a nice preventative bonus. But this current lack of 'big feelings' means that Rayla was our main emotional tether to how people are Feeling about the coin plotline, from a character standpoint.

Enter Ezran and his anger. Not only does it expand his character, it gives the audience another piece of emotional investment and complication in the coin plotline, even if we're still inclined to be more for freeing Runaan than not (which is where Ez may fall). And it also introduces that complication for Callum.

Rayla and Ezran, and Ezran and Callum, rarely argue. Now Ezran is going to be presumably pitted against something Callum wants to do for Rayla, being torn between the two people he loves the most, with Ezran possibly feeling betrayed by the two people he loves the most.

So now there's an emotional investment with all three of the main characters - for Ezran, his anger in contrast with his hopes for peace; for Callum, devotion to Rayla and more importantly in this vein at least, disagreement with his brother; and of course, Rayla being caught up in magic that may have a steep price to pay in order to free her family (and what Runaan may encourage her to do once he is freed, re: killing Callum).

The brothers have to resolve their conflict; Rayla has to get her family back; Runaan's responses to each of these things, and indeed being freed, opens up a lot more avenues. TDP has never taken the easy way out when it comes to character development and complicated emotion. Viren was saved from a similar fate to his former prisoner so that he could develop further - otherwise why keep a character alive? Runaan (and the others) are going to be freed by the end of S6 if not earlier than the finale by a decent margin, and have enough time to change, stumble, and grow alongside their daughter and her friends - while defeating Kim'Dael together as a family, I think. #Justformerassassinthings

Conclusion

S6 is go time and it's gonna be great, Runaan and Ethari are gonna get a good chunk of screentime together, Runaan is one of the most important driving forces within S6's setup, and they all still have places to go as characters. Thank you goodnight

[8ug8ear]

Do other autistic people feel this catastrophic level of stress from change? Had to go to work after I learned we were officially getting kicked out, and I violently cried the entire time. Probably gonna keep doing that for the two months until we move. I just can't bear leaving this place, it's my safe space. The layout of the rooms, the level of light, just everything. Imagining even one thing being different from here is enough to send me into another crying fit, and everyone seems to be so fed up with me. I just don't understand why I'm this way, it feels like I'm just not cut out for life if I react this way to every single change. I can't imagine being this way forever, I'm even on medication.

[moreespressoformydepresso]

So to expand upon this TreeMina post since I have my computer... @crazycriter

I am now officially using lore I've thought up for a potential book of mine. In case Hannah reads this, no it's not the one I told you about. That's a different thing entirely.

Lets start with my (probably disastrous) attempt at explaining the world and magic in short fashion. As stated, the magic society is a hidden one. It exists in plain sight, but only those who are a part of it can see it. This hidden society has two subcultures: Order and Chaos. They are, naturally, in a constant conflict with one another since they're polar opposites and all that. Order's hidden city has very grandiose buildings with a very structured general layout that doesn't vary much between buildings. Walk into one and you have a pretty solid idea of what all the others look like. They have personal touches but everything is very, well... orderly. Symmetry is key in everything for them. They call themselves reglarians and use order magic. As you may expect, they believe that order is the correct way to be and are very much lawful on the alignment chart. What kind of lawful depends on the person. In terms of clothing they certainly have similar outfits. You can tell someone's a reglarian if you know what you're looking for, even though the clothes themselves are very different. It's a similar, recognizable theme rather than a uniform. It's about patterns and styles, and they tend to stick with light color schemes and very much consider themselves the "light side" in general. Because order is good, and chaos is bad. Their buildings are higher up in every city they reside in, some are even in the sky and hidden by magic. Very divine-esque aesthetic, like they're trying to literally be above chaos. For some extra spice you can go with my version where the two sides actively call themselves Light and Dark, to feed into the conflict you may start to see growing here already.

Meanwhile, Chaos (they call themselves warlings) lives mostly in the actual, literal underground of the city. In a complete opposite to Order, their buildings are all very different and openly uniquee, often making no sense in layout on purpose. Honestly everything about them is the complete opposite of Order. Generally darker color schemes and a very nonsensical... everything, really. That's not to say that there's nothing homey about them though, because they know how to make places cozy. If dizzying, given how they will use their magic to actively confuse anyone who comes into the house. It's a go down the steps into the basement to enter the upstairs bedroom kind of situation. Their clothing is alike in how different it is. Some like very practical clothes, some wear the most extravagant nightmare to move in you've ever seen. The only consistency is that their main color is almost always dark, but even that has exceptions. Really, the only common theme that holds true for every single warling is mayhem. They are, well, chaos. Gotta give it to them, they are dedicated to their brand. Rules are made to be broken and their whole culture is built around causing as much mayhem as possible. Not in a way that hurts people, but they've been designated the bad guys by their magic so why not follow their nature? It's not like they can change how they're perceived. Warlings have their strong opinions on the good vs evil debate and they don't necessarily like being seen as "evil" for something they had no control over, but it's not something they actively oppose. They do cause mischief on the regular for kicks, so it's not like they're helping their image.

Ykw I'll save the actual history and conflicts between these groups for a later post and stay focused on the worldbuilding for now. The magic system! Order is pretty straightforward. Their magic is very structured, with rules on what they can and can't do and explanations for why those rules exist. It's something you can study and understand completely if you take the time. Most of their magic comes down to rules, actually. Changing the rules of nature to some extent. They call upon the world and make it do what they want, working within the limits of whatever they're working with. Water can turn to ice, but it cannot naturally turn into wine. So order cannot turn water into wine because that's not how nature works. Those are against the rules. Chaos, on the other hand, works pretty much the exact opposite way. There are limitations but there aren't. They can't do absolutely everything except sometimes they can. Does this make sense? No. That's the point. The magic system is that there is no magic system. In a sense it's more worldly, because it changes with the moon. Metaphorically, because no order is allowed here. That's actually a conflict between Treech and Lamina. Mostly it's a problem for Lamina, though. She's been raised with order drilled into her head from the day she was born. The world works on order, she was told, and that's what makes them better than chaos. They are the world, and chaos tries to destroy them. Good vs Evil. But Chaos magic is a direct refutation of that, because it's entirely natural and there isn't a single semblance of order involved. Yet it exists just fine. She was taught chaos only destroys, yet it's existed for years.

She and Treech fight several times because he "refuses to explain" his magic to her, but the thing is that he can't. It makes no sense. That's all there is to it. You can try all you want to figure out how it works but you'll only drive yourself insane because the whole point is that it doesn't make sense. There is nothing logical about it. It's disorganized and chaotic, because that's its nature. A direct opposite of Lamina's entire life and worldview. By the end, the resolution to the conflict is her finally realizing that maybe her people don't know everything. It ends with her finally accepting that sometimes, things just don't make sense, and sometimes you just gotta live with that. Yes, there are parallels to psychology there that I may explain later.

[goombasa]

What's Your Default Software Spread?

This is a quick one to sate some curiosity I've had. With so many large software developers alienating their audience as of late, I'd love to know what sort of software people are using in their day to day lives or in their creative pursuits. Do you still use larger, well known brands or are you using smaller, more  independent or open software? Just be aware, I'm not interested in something that is ‘better’ than what I or other people use, I'm just curious what you use, and why you use it. So to start us off, I figured I'd give a quick list of some of the stuff that I use with some relative frequency, and maybe some of the other stuff I use occasionally. 

(Unless otherwise noted, the programs I use are totally free)

Librewolf: I've been in a position where I've been taking browser privacy really seriously lately, and so far, Librewolf has been my answer to that. It's basically a pre-hardened Firefox with everything that could be used for tracking and fingerprinting disabled by default. This does lead to some issues; anything requiring webgl basically won't work with this out of the box, and so websites that have a lot of interactivity don't always work, so I have to keep another browser on hand for those at times, but as it stands, Librewolf out of the box is really, really good if you are pretty privacy conscious.

Freetube: Youtube sucks. Or at least a lot of the corporate ideology behind it sucks. So I've taken to using Freetube for basically all of my youtube viewing. While it does keep me from engaging in the social aspect of Youtube (I can't post comments, for example), I can view my videos and subscriptions without ads and without an algorithm constantly telling me what to watch next. It isn't perfect (there are times when an update temporarily breaks its ability to play videos) but I vastly prefer it and the huge swath of customization options it offers to any of the official apps or the website itself.

Discord: This is one I wouldn't mind replacing down the line if a better option became available, but Discord is basically where all my friends are, and it's voice and text chat options make communicating with my friends very easy. It's also one of the few non-open source softwares I still use.

OBS Studio: While I would love to start streaming at some point down the line, I primarily use this as a means of recording footage on my computer, and at least on my system, it does so without taking up a lot of my system's resources, and let's me play around with a bunch of different layouts and building a fun looking visual, and keep different layouts for different uses.

Thunderbird: I prefer using a client to keep track of my email, and Thunderbird has made some really good strides forward in terms of layout and usability, and while I was using it beforehand, it's become one of my favorite email programs, especially after switching away from using Gmail as my main email client.

Web Apps: This one kind of straddles the line a bit. It's an app that comes pre-installed on Linux Mint and I've found it very useful for turning websites into standalone applications. Any time I want to scroll through a web feed or use a video-centric site like Twitch, I turn it into a web app so I have the site as a standalone app, which helps in making it much easier to focus on it if I need to. Sadly, much like Librewolf, it isn't fully compatible with every webiste, especially ones that are heavier on interactive elements, like virtual tabletops and the like, but it works decently well otherwise.

Audacity: Can't get much better for open source audio editing. It's not as powerful as other DAWs, and I do find it very clunky trying to edit together multiple audio tracks in it. However, when it comes to recording and editing voiceover and apply effects, I find this to be a very dependable, easy to use program, powerful enough to make my voice sound halfway decent.

KDENLive: As a Linux user, video editing is a bit difficult. Yes, you can use Da Vinci Resolve on Linux, but it's a pain to get working and an even bigger pain to keep working, and I prefer stuff to work out of the box if possible. There are a few native video editors for Linux, but when it comes to ease of use, learning curve, and doing what I need it to do, KDENlive is the best from my perspective. If it did have a native version, I'd probably rather use Hitfilm, as that was what I used back on Windows, but with how simple my videos tend to be, this one works just fine, at least for now.

Retroarch: It's one of the most versatile and wide-ranged suites when it comes to emulation you could ask for. Not entirely 100 percent, there are still some other stand-alone emulators that I have to use for certain systems, but Retroarch makes working with my older systems really, really easy to work with rather than having to have a bunch of individual programs for it, and pretty much anything I would want to play runs perfectly through here.

Solanum: It's a pomodoro style timer. There are a ton of timing apps like this out there, but I find this one to be the most helpful for me. I actually don't use it very much for working. Instead, I use it as a way of keeping track of how much time I've spent sitting, and when I should get up and actually stretch my legs a bit.

Onlyoffice: Office software is a must, because I generally don't like to store a lot of my stuff on microsoft or google servers. Only Office is the only software I've found that is open source and gives me the option to work on a document or spreadsheet cooperatively with a friend without having to sign up with a bunch of guff that I don't need, while also giving me some very solid Microsoft Office alternatives for when I prefer working on something locally instead of putting something on a server.

Trillium Notes: When I'm not working on a story or a video script, I've taken to using Trillium Notes to working on documents. Heck, I'm writing out this (along with all of my blog posts) in Trillium right now. It uses a tree structure that makes formatting and organizing my notes and sections of a document really easy, it lets me export my notes as HTML or Markdown, it easily lets me nest my documents together and group them based on topic so that I casn very easily organize and find what I'm looking for if I'm, say, doing worldbuilding for a D&D campaign or such, and probably my favorite feature is that it constantly autosaves. I've been spoiled by this program in that I have never once had to hit CTRL + S at any point while using it. It's fantastic.

GIMP: I'm aware that there are other Photoshop alternatives out there. I actually used Affinity Photo back on Windows, and really liked that, but Affinity doesn't run well on Linux, even under compatibility layers, and I don't really like using web-based applications. If you haven't noticed, I prefer local software, so while Photopea is really giving Photoshop a run for its money, I don't really use it that much. GIMP is a good image manipulator, and it works great for the simple tasks that I need it for, though I am under no illusion that it is the best. My biggest criticism for it is that it is very beginner unfriendly and fairly unintuitive in the way its tools and features are laid out. However, after some practice, it's easy enough to wrap your head around, and it works great for everything that I need it for, which is usually just putting together a basic video thumbnail or editing together a simple stream background or layout.

Krita/Inkscape: I'm putting these two together for right now because for me, they both are serving a similar purpose, which is learning how to do some proper art. I'm very early in my journey, but both Krita and Inkscape have proven invaluable for starting programs in learning how to properly art. While yes, they focus on two different kinds of art (Krita is more traditional raster images while Inkscape is for vectors), making some basic stuff in both has been really helpful with getting to grips with the fundamentals.

Blender: Much like traditional art, I've started learning some basics for 3D modeling as well, and of course Blender was going to be my starting point, it's free, it's powerful, and it basically has everything that's needed for every step of the process, with its newer versions being far more user friendly than it was before. I did actually try to use it back before version 2.8 came out, and boy was it a struggle.

Had to split the list because of the character limit for blocks of text.

Godot: If it isn't obvious already, I'm trying out a lot of different new hobbies and mediums, always slowly and perpetually moving forward with them, and game design is one of them. I chose godot mostly because of its open source and visual building capabilities, giving me the ability to learn how to make and build a simple game and ease myself into how to code a game as I go rather than having to learn to code right at the start, which, as someone who has not really had any experience in coding, makes me feel more at home with the environment, and with a lot of learning material cropping up for the engine as of late, I'm enjoying my time with it.

VSCodium: While I might not be much of a programmer, I do want to learn, especially as I get more into the weeds of game design, but this program is more for me to freshen up a passion that I had back in high school, which was building simple web pages with HTML, and this program is purpose built for viewing and editing code. I could use basic VS Code for this, since it does have a native Linux version, but VSCodium is basically the same program, just without the Microsoft telemetry. Yes, there are some add-ons that don't work outside of the Microsoft version, but honestly, any add on that I want to use is available for this version, so at least for me, I haven't lost out on much by keeping Microsoft's spyware off my system.

Tellico: I collect a lot of stuff. Books, games movies, I love going bargain hunting and coming back with a big armful of things that I didn't have before, whether they're rare or common, interesting or banal, I just like physical media. But sometimes it's tough to keep track of everything that I have. Tellico allows me to create and maintain a collection database that is pretty versatile and easy to work with and lets me enter in everything in my collection and keep track of it.

Calibri: As much as I love physical media, sometimes it's easier to just keep hold of a digital collection, and Calibri is fantastic for digital books in this regard, mostly because I don't have to worry about the file format or having it locked down to a single service. I can also use it across multiple devices, which is great when I have a very large library to maintain.

Handbrake: This one is lumped in with KDENlive somewhat, as I use the program primarily to compress the videos I edit since KDENlive doesn't have a built in compressor itself. It's also really useful as a DVD and blu-ray ripper.and that about does it, apart from basically listing out every program that I use for viewing or listening to the files on my computer, like Elisa for music files for example, but I don't really have a lot different to say on those, and I don't think they're worth listing out here at the moment. I'm interested to hear if you guys use anything similar to these, or if you use something totally different.What are the applications that you tend to use the most, and why?

[lonewolflink]

TO-DO LIST

- keep asking about 2yeon

the fluffy blonde hair was. wooh boy. on one hand. little mushroom. on the other hand. hi hello hiiiii jeongyeon. fancy mv chaeyoung is SO. the fact that she pulled that outfit off amazes me daily. though i have to say i think black hair chae may be my favorite

michaeng, dahmo and 2yeon are some of the big ones, yeah! some people consider them outdated but they’re just haters. the sana…..ooooooooh im giggling i love her so so so much. heart pounding thinking abt chapter 3. if sana and jihyo interact then idk ill probably explode into a million pieces

the sketches are sketching so 🫡🫡 1-7 days depending on how busy school keeps me, probably.

also the planning documents r so funny. its very nice to see someone else be an insane planner bc i have like. room layouts and maps for my fics. i have personalities for characters who will never appear. i have the ikea furniture page open so i can make sure that the furniture im describing matches the realistic budget they would have. it never ends and that is why it takes me 5000 years to write anything, so i think its deeply impressive that you’ve got actual things happening!!! like wow!!!! the hyperfixation note is also so true, sometimes they really just. grab you by the throat and go “Now. The Thing. You Must.”

-wsc’s #1 fan (official title) hambbyong

(sidenote, i genuinely thought ddeongies and snowddeong were the same person for like. the entire time ive been in the itzy fandom. just now realized they weren’t. crazy.)

ok first of all i have to say thank you again for your chaeryeong wsc art i literally can't stop looking at it and i'm obsessed with it i love it sm

(do keep asking about 2yeon, i'll do it eventually. i've possibly even already committed to it emotionally...)

fluffy blonde jeongyeon bro i. god. we're not getting into chae bc i don't think i can handle it emotionally so we're just gonna end this topic with these photos

i think you will enjoy all the twice moments i have planned for wsc...every member is going to get some real screen time and pretty awesome moments on and off the ice :)

(one of my personal favorites is a small but awesome dahyun moment that comes during act 2, it's not like super plot heavy or anything but i love it so much because of how it marries something very particular to actual dahyun with something incredibly niche even within hockey that i personally love)

"i genuinely thought ddeongies and snowddeong were the same person for like. the entire time ive been in the itzy fandom" i love this so much and will leave it here for them to take joy in themselves ahahaha

[karmic-kinboards]

Layout is a wip

❗please read!!❗

Feel free to send in requests, limit is temporarily suspended while I'm on break 💚

About me

Overall blog CW/TW:

Some problematic sources (I can't control this but will tag offending posts), likely some form of body horror, direct references to death (Usually in source or kin names)

(other CW's and TW's will be applied to posts as and when they come up, don't be scared to ask me to tag something, I'd rather you be comfortable viewing this blog)

Milestone posts

First post

First Stimboard

What I'll be posting

Kin moodboards / aesthetic boards

Stimboards

Pride flag edits

Sprite edits / official art edits

requests?

Why a separate blog?

Basically I don't wanna clutter my general kin blog

Boundaries

No Proshippers, maps, zoophiles, racists, queerphobes or anyone who dislike disabled people (help, I don't remember how to spell the word)

If you dislike 'kin why are you here 😅

I'm not a roleplay blog

[osakaonryoif]

This might sound weird but...

I want to hear more unhinged train rants. Please provide your answers to the following questions:

Your favourite train model.

Detailed information about the model you chose for question 1.

You 100% have a model train set in your basement. Please provide pictures and nerdy ramblings.

Ever thought about writing an IF set fully on a train? I think you'd knock it out of the park.

That is all. Thank you.

Ah, someone who enjoyed the train rant in the demo. I appreciate you, Anon.

And no, no no, it isn't weird, in fact I find it flattering!

Fun fact, that train rant is 742 words, which is just over 0.5% of the total current word count! But, onto the questions.

Easy, BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 Steam Locomotive. Although a close second is the Pere Marquette 1255, but that's just me being nostalgic for a Christmas movie.

While yes, the models used on the Shinkansen lines, (such as the N700S Enu-Nanahyakuesu series, which is the train the MC rides in Act one), I am and always will be a sucker for the steam trains over modern electric trains.

Main reason, the big smokestack. Now I know, I know, environmental pollution and all that, but you can't deny how cool they look, as well as acting as a visual signifier of an approaching train from a distance. Second, the whistle. Ohhhh the whistle. Modern trains have whistles, yes, but they are more akin to the horns on cars than traditional train whistles. There's just something distinct about them, but I love the noises. (I may or may not listen to distant steam train noises on youtube while trying to sleep.)

Also, the bell. Of course, not every model had a bell, but they might as well have done. When you think of trains, there's a good chance you associate them with bells, and for good reason.

Finally, the chugging of the wheels as they move along the tracks is iconic, and frankly one of my favourite noises.

Ah, went off on a bit of a tangent, should've been justifying my choice of specific train model, rather than steam trains as a whole.

The 9F Steam Locomotive was the last steam locomotive designed and constructed by British Railways during the 1950's. It was also one of the most powerful steam engines ever built.

I love this model because the front of the locomotive has these side plates, which to me, looks cute because it looks like it's trying to hide it's face because it's shy.

The picture above is actually the last of the 9F classes to ever be constructed, The Evening Star, which was the last steam engine ever constructed by British Railways, and is on display at the National Railway Museum in York. I went there once, and ooh boy lemme tell you I spent ages there. My friends had to physically drag me out of the building. Slight side note though, why does the museum, which is British, have a coach from a Hikari-model shinkansen? The British Museum struck again.

Another reason I like the 9F class is because of it's versatility, which by that I mean that it was run as both passenger trains and freight trains. While they were originally designed as freight trains, some madlad decided to slap some passenger coaches on, and found that it worked wonders! Though if you ask me, it should've been a no-brainer that the most powerful engine you ever built would be a good versatile model.

I suppose by doing that I actually answered question 2 as well. huh. Although, I suppose I didn't go into details about the technical stuff, so here we go.

2)

The full name is the BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0. All steam locomotive classes conceptualised by British Rail had a 6 digit code after their official name. This code tells you the number and layout of the wheels on the locomotive. For the 9F, you have two tiny wheels at the front with a radius of 3 feet, known as the leading wheels, made to help the train around corners and bends in the track, and then 10 MASSIVE wheels, which provide most of the acceleratory power, and are 5 feet in radius.

Traditionally, the wheels near the back of the locomotive were smaller, but the 9F had massive wheels across the entire length, meaning the rear grate had to be set higher than was standard. This had the effect of a smaller firebox than on other models, which meant that the stoker had to shovel coal more frequently in order to keep up maximum fuel efficiency in the steam engine. There is a reason most standard locomotives had a wheel map of 4-6-2.

There are 9 9F, (probably not intentional) that survived the scrap, and are in use in various locations across the UK. We have the aforementioned 92220 "Evening Star" on display at the National Railway musuem, but there are a few being used for other reasons.

In operation at Tourist Destinations/Steam Heritage Railway sites.

92134 (In service at the North Yorkshire Moors Heritage Railway. It is however missing it's original tender, which has been replaced with one from a class 5 73050.)

92203 "Black Prince" (In service at the North Norfolk Railway.)

92214 (In service at the Great Central Heritage Railway.)

Non Operational:

92207 "Morning Star" (This one is in a bit of a sad state. It is literally just a scrap piece of metal tube, which really has no business being called a train. Some dedicated people are trying to restore it to pristine condition, however.)

92212 (In service at the Mid Hants Heritage Railway until December 2019, when it's boiler ticket expired. Is currently being stored at the site.)

92219 (Being stored at the Strathspey Heritage Railway, and is awaiting Restoration. Poor guy is covered in grime, really needs a wash.)

92220 "Evening Star" (On display at the National Railway Museum in York.)

92240 (Is undergoing restoration at the Bluebell Heritage Railway site.)

92245 (Sadly, is being marked for scrap, and will bring the total survivors down to 8. The boiler is going to be given to 92212, which is a prime example of sharing is caring.)

3. I'M SORRY NO I DON'T. IF I DID I WOULD 100% BE CONSTANTLY SHOWING IT OFF.

But, it is definitely on my list of things I want in the future. Just couldn't afford one at the moment, unfortunately.

4. Oh, funny story that. I actually have, several times. While working on Onryo, I have had that itch of wanting to also have a second project. But I would not want to work on more than 2, as at that point I think it would just become excessive, and I doubt they would ever be finished.

So I did have 2 concepts that I couldn't decide on, which I posted on the Choice Of Games forum a few months ago. I'll link it below.

https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/interest-check-thread/39424/5922?u=leinco

I have since decided on the concept of Broken Rails, and will devote myself to writing the first chapter once I have completed act 2 of Onryo. From that point, I will alternate between the two, writing a chapter for each, then switching, until both are done.

I have considered making a tumblr page for it, but I don't want to do anything like that until I have a demo ready, so I have held off.

Bonus fact about Broken Rails - the train you are on is a Class 9F! Because of the apocalyptic setting, electric trains are a no-go.

That is all, you have reached the light at the end of the tunnel. Or is it an approaching train?

[akehoshimystar]

Chapter 3

A few days later. After passing the screening, Kyoka-san has officially become a client. The request was to act as a groom and hold a pseudo wedding ceremony. Today we will start deciding who will be in charge and discuss our next action. Kosaka-san and I from the Main Office, Kou-san from the Simulation Dept., and…

Shizuka-san from the Watchdog Dept. have been summoned.

Yuzuru: The results of the investigation were not particularly different from what Yashiro-san and the rest had heard.

Kou: Her reputation from those around her is that she is "living for work."

However, according to an interview with her, she dated someone in the past few months.

Ito: Yes. Apparently, she felt a difference in values ​​soon after they started dating, so they only dated for a short time...

Her ex-partner was reluctant to accept the breakup, so I heard it was a bit one-sided.

Kou: I see. 

So that's why Shizuka-san is here today.

Ito: …….Yes.

Shizuka: ……..

When someone is involved with yellow flag situations or dangerous circumstances for a character acting substitution, the Watchdog Dept. will be assigned to protect them. This time, it's the latter.

Shizuku: After close inspection, the characteristics of the “man who stared at them from afar” that Mika and Aizawa saw on the day they first met the client were almost identical to that of the ex-lover.

They can't say for sure since it was from a distance, but both of them said they got a rather unpleasant feeling from him, so I think it doesn't hurt to be cautious. What does the client want?

Ai: Due to budget constraints, no security guard was requested. The precautionary measures should be included in the category of “necessary expenses to provide the service without any problems.”

Shizuka: How many people can I mobilize?

Ai: In addition to the groom, there is one other person, Yashiro, who will handle the store, and one more. That makes it 3.

Shizuka: Haaa... I kind of had a hunch when I saw her sitting here. Yashiro got herself involved in a delicate and dangerous request again.

Ito: My main job is in the store anyway.…. I will try to cause you as little trouble as possible.

Shizuku: Try not to get yourself hurt. We can handle the rest.

Ito: …………Yes. I'll do my best.

Shizuka: I hope you’re aware of what you’ve gotten yourself into.

Ai: Give up, Fushimi. It’s a waste of time. Once Yashiro starts saying this, she won't yield. She just keeps saying "I’ll do my best" with a stubbornness that makes no sense.

Ito: (I will just assume that this is his way of saving time….)

Kou: Ahaha. Well, that's just how guarding works.

If she’s going to have a normal ceremony, she’ll need a fair amount of money and preparation, but this is just a small one, right?

Ito: That's right. It may not be large scale, but she wants it to be in a proper place, not a restaurant or rental space.

There are a few options within the budget, but... at the moment there is no place where I can make a reservation for the date and time she wants. Finding a venue is likely to be the most difficult task here.

Kou: Yeah, it’s pretty sudden after all.

We have no choice but to expand the range, but considering our client's mother, I don't think we should go far away from Tokyo, where her doctor is.

Ai: I'll take care of that.

Ito: Eh?

Ai: If I explain the situation, I’m more than certain the owner will cooperate.

Ito: (The owner... Ah.)

The venue for the next dress-up event?

Ai: Considering that he’s a wedding reception hall owner who asked us to advertise the place because he hasn’t received any reservations, we might as well start the ceremony right now.

That kind of structure should be enough for a pseudo-wedding ceremony if we work on the layout.

Not to mention, it’s very easy to negotiate the price.

Kou: Oh, I see. An acquaintance of His Majesty?

Ito: (Ah... I see. If one place can be used for two purposes, we could keep the budget down even further...)

Ito: Umm, Kosaka-san….

Ai: You can use the event supplies for this request as well. Make sure you discuss the use of costumes and other items borrowed from the venue.

Proceed with that in mind.

Ito: (That was fast...!)

Thank you.

Kou: Although things are coming together nicely, I have some unfortunate news from the Simulation Dept.

I just checked the schedule and everyone, including me, is booked for that date.

Ito: ……!

As I was thinking about what to do, Fushimi-san, who had been silent for a while, started talking.

Shizuka: Well, isn’t that perfect?

Kou: Huh?

Shizuku: I can't move much if there's only one guard.

It would be best if someone who can also be a guard took the role of the groom.

Kou: Oh….... I see?

Ito: (Two roles, one person...?)

Shizuka: Only if Kosaka is fine with it. What do you think?

Ai: Given the situation, it's a reasonable choice. I'll allow it this time.

……As long as that person is Aizawa.

Ito: !

Ai: However, this is a request outside of my responsibility. So I’ll give him the right to refuse. If that happens, as I said earlier, arrange one groom and one security guard.

Shizuka: Got it.

I’d prefer it if he didn’t refuse, though. I'll talk to him.

Ito: (Eh?)

Ai: You do you.

Kou: Then, I’ll leave the rest to you~

Ito: (...Was it just my imagination?)

(Does Aizawa-kun even have a right to refuse to begin with...?)

Chapter 4