#how to create a team manual

[mentorshelly]

Signs You’re Overdue for a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Overhaul in Your Small Business

Let’s be real—when you first started your business, you were the CEO, HR, marketing, admin, and janitor all in one. You did what you had to do to get things off the ground.But now your business is growing. You’re hiring. Delegating. Scaling.And things are slipping through the cracks. If your small business is running on outdated instructions, word-of-mouth training, or “this is how we’ve always…

[chiisanajimi]

woe, sonic fankid be upon ye 💥

introducing starlight the hedgehog!

they're a son/silv/shad fankid essentially LOL

text from the image says:

- being of chaos produced from residual energy left by sonic, shadow, and silver when they use chaos powers - like when u fry something in oil and some bits come off... or like when u boil pasta and the water gets starchy... - the bits eventually merged their shared qualities to form this artificial hedgehog and dropped it in front of silver while he was mid-transition between timelines/dimensions

tl;dr made from Energy Soup created by extensive use of chaos emeralds. a cheerful thing with lots to learn :)

pronouns are probs gonna change but for now it's she/he/they (or basically, generally feminine but prefers masc/neutral terms)

starlight tag (<- contains stuff that's not canon to the au)

starlight au (<- everything specific to the au in which star exists)

sonic fankid showdown tag (<- everything i made for/during sfs 3 2025)

sexuality hcs for dads // sonic parenting habits // dad interactions // living situation // domestic stuff // baby go to school // aged up // super form // gardening with silver // silver sense // nicknames, etc. // about team dark // missions with rouge // gender presentation // family dynamic // pre-relationship (sonadow) // shadow gets hurt at work sometimes // about tails // the rest of team sonic // fav pastime(s) // thoughts about the parents // sonadilver beginnings // 3 quick facts // who does star take after the most?

fun facts:

the quills sticking up is not consistent cuz it depends on how much he gives a shit about looking clean-cut on any given day

silver only really used the emeralds in '06 and that one time in the metal virus arc of IDW (if he's used them more than that don't spoil me on it LOL im still getting through the comics) so his influence is not as strong as the other 2. it comes through mostly in personality (generally pleasant, socially inept)

however, starlight is VERY attached to silver because he recognizes silver as a point of comfort. the chaos used silver's PK powers as a conduit for his creation so there is an instinctive attachment there (thank you @/rubynautilus for the help with this idea!)

starlight exists in strict juxtaposition against the other hedgehogs because unlike all 3 of them they literally were created for no purpose other than to exist. hence she has a weaker sense of self than silver or shadow and especially sonic. it's fun to think of them raising a kid and having to manually instruct them how to enjoy living

hypothetically has access to chaos powers like her "dads" but since chaos energy is also literally her molecular makeup she basically falls apart if she uses it too much, hence the inhibitors

also i say "dads" but the only one of the 3 who really acts parental towards them is shadow (more on that later)

[ms-demeanor]

I had a straight up delightful moment at work yesterday when a new member of the management team asked me how we were tracking warranties and I explained that we kind of aren't and he asked why we aren't and that meant he got a 30-minute rundown of how top-to-bottom fucked the procurement process is here.

First I explained the process for sending a quote (i am assigned a ticket in system A1, I create an opportunity in system A2, from the opportunity i can generate a quote in system B - if I start with the quote I can't associate it back to the opportunity or the ticket, if we need to change the quote after it was approved we need to generate a new quote from the opportunity to overwrite the old one - and send the quote from system B.)

Then I explained the process of getting approval (system B sends the quote and receives the approvals but does not communicate that to system A, so until it is manually updated system A sends a daily reminder about the quote to the client and after three days with no response will close the ticket even if the client approved the quote in system B. System B will send an email if a quote is approved but it comes from our generic support email so to make sure that I don't miss approvals I have filtering rules set up and a folder I check twice a day. Because there are 4 people who use this system I also check twice daily in system B to see if anyone else's quotes were approved).

Then I explained how I place the orders (easy! I'm a pro! We have a standardized PO pattern that tracks date, vendor and client, it's handy)

Then I explained how I document the orders (neither system A nor B has a way of storing information about orders in progress, only orders that are complete; as such I have created a PO Documentation spreadsheet that lists the PO number, vendor, line of business, client, items ordered, order total, order date, ETA, tracking numbers, serial numbers, delivery confirmation, ticket number for install, ticket title for install, shippong cost, and close confirmation, which all have to be entered individually and which require a minimum of three visits to the spreadsheet per order: entering initial info, entering tracking and SN info, then once more to get that info to close the opportunity)

Then I explained how we close an order (confirm hardware delivery or activate software, use system A2 to code hardware/software/non-taxable products appropriately, run wizard to add charges from A2 to ticket in A1; because the A2 charges were locked by approval in system B, use system A3 to add shipping or other fees or to remove any parts that were approved but not actually needed or ordered - THIS WEEK I got permission to do this bit on my initial A1 procurement ticket instead of generating an A1 post-procurement ticket for fees and shipping. Once all of that is done it's moved into system A4 and is no longer my problem).

If there is a warranty involved it *should* automatically have the expiration tracked in system C, but system C doesn't have any way to pull order info so there's no way it can track warranty *start* dates without somebody manually entering it or without using API data from the manufacturer, which some manufacturers don't provide (fuck you, Apple).

But me and my trainee are happy to add the start date to the configuration once a tech tells us that the device is enrolled in system C. If the techs will tell us that we can add that info no problem.

Until then, I have unfortunately been forced to start a spreadsheet.

The manager was appalled, it was great. I got to say the words "part of the reason things sometimes fall through the cracks is because we have so many cracks" and his response was "no shit." I'm talking to vendors about a procurement system now :) :) :) :)

[lucybellwood]

Another piece I did for The Nib back in 2015! Gonna keep posting these until they shut down at the end of the summer. It was such a treat to hear that Matt and the whole editorial team just won an Eisner for their work on the magazine and website. Much-deserved.

Anyway: this is a parody and isn't representative of every screenwriter's experience, but it certainly feels relevant with all the strikes rolling out right now. Did you know what kind of credit you get on a film directly impacts how much you're paid? For writers you'll see "created by," "written by," "story by," and all sorts of other things, all of which translate to different levels of compensation! (Highlander, for example, has Story by Gregory Widen and Screenplay by my dad and his writing partner, Larry Ferguson.) The Writer's Guild is often responsible for arbitrating those decisions. They have a whole MANUAL to help writers understand the process. It rules.

Thanks, WGA. Thanks, The Nib. (And you can always make more of these comics possible on Patreon.)

[foolishlovers]

With 2024 coming to an end, I just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my favourite fics I (re)read this year. I have so so much appreciation for all writers creating beautiful works about our beloved angel and demon pair. Reading these sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes sappy, sometimes deliciously filthy stories has been a constant source of joy. I truly can't even begin to describe how thankful I am to be part of such an incredibly creative and loving fandom. So so much gratitude for all the different versions of them, all the genders, all the tropes, all the canon fics, and all the human AUs. There are so many more amazing fics I read this year and there are so many more to explore in 2025, but the following few have made themselves a home in my heart. I promise they're worth a read! 💜 [I do fic recs all year long, check out this tag for more.]

Date by @ddagent (2.5k, T)

Every year, Aziraphale is spoiled on his birthday. This year, he decides to do the same for Crowley. There's only one problem - he's not actually sure when Crowley's birthday is.

Roller Derby Queen by @summerofspock (2.5k, M)

Crowley skates for Hell on Wheels and she's pretty good at it too. She'd be better if she weren't so distracted by the new skater on the opposing team.

Sweet Nectar of the Eldritch Gods by @brenna (3.2k, G)

Azira writes a letter to the purveyor of her favorite honeys and sweetness ensues. No offence, but who says “by the by,” by the way? It’s adorable? By the by, do you like wine? Crowley

Poor Men by @why-not-go-with-style (3.9k, G)

What To Do When Two of Your Professors Are Hopelessly in Love With Each Other: an instruction manual by Adam Young (featuring Pepper Moonchild because someone has to be the voice of reason here).

!False (It's Funny Because It's True) by @mirjam-writes (6.4k, E)

Aziraphale drew a long breath through his nose. Crowley, of course it had to be Crowley. The new guy in the sales department, who would promise potential customers just about anything to close a deal. Arrogant, annoying – and wildly, stupidly attractive. Aziraphale hated him.  Aziraphale is a stellar software architect and a project manager, who is so done with the sales department selling unrealistically scheduled and budgeted projects. And he definitely doesn't have a crush on anyone, thank you very much.

Show me where the Nightingale sings by @sabotage-on-mercury (6.5k, G)

After settling into their new home in the South Downs there are still things to process for Aziraphale and Crowley before they can start a new chapter of their life. But winter is turning into spring. There is magic abroad in the air. And finally, the nightingale is back.

The Art of Human Nature by @ineffable-doll (6.5k, T)

Crowley is a painter who has only ever had an eye for nature. That is, until a client named Aziraphale commissions her for a painting to boost her self-confidence, and Crowley discovers that her client is as beautiful as the Earth itself. Then she goes and catches feelings, because she’s a disaster.

Lit by @fellshish (12k, T)

Crowley takes a university course on literature and surprise! The book they’re discussing is Good Omens. Uh oh.

Paradigm Shift by @hakunahistata (13k, E)

“Apologies, apologies! The time got away from me.” Aziraphale Fell entered the room brightly, a binder in one hand, tea mug in the other. Crowley’s languid sprawl went rigid as the senior accounting analyst who had been the indulgent secret in the back of his mind took the seat opposite him.   Or, Crowley Pines at the Office: An AU.

Feast by @ashfae, mostlyjustgoose (15k, E)

Crowley's spent the whole of lockdown asleep. Aziraphale has spent the whole of lockdown baking, cooking, and becoming increasingly frustrated with his solitude. Which eventually leads him to the perfect way to solve all his problems at once... Or, Aziraphale attempts to seduce Crowley with a truly excellent meal, and Crowley is amenable.

Ever-Fixed by @hkblack (19k, E)

Aziraphale Fell had a plan. Go to school, get his degree, and start his life with his beloved at his side as man and wife. Until one day Crowley disappears. Decades later he meets a man, and finds the love of his life again. Anthony J. Crowley, suave, cool, masculine, in control, unflappable, has spent decades building himself up. He refuses to let his confident facade disappear for Aziraphale, who once almost tumbled down the stairs to certain death because his nose was stuck in a book. It’s just sex, and they’ve been dating for months, this time around. There’s no need to get his knickers in a knot. But the past isn’t easy to let go of, even if you’re both avoiding it. A story about love, intimacy, and finding each other again. (Alternatively: Tender smut, but then I wrote love story flashbacks, and now it's just emotional and there's plot in my pornography)

Fireworks by @optimistic-starlight (19k, E)

He had to get himself under control. Aziraphale needed him. That prick boyfriend of his drained so much of Aziraphale's time and energy, dampened so much of the gentle, beaming happiness that Crowley had always adored about him. He needed Crowley there to support him, to do the things a best friend should be there to do. And, well, if Crowley needed him too, if he had to subsume his own pain to focus on making Aziraphale happy, that was something he could bear quietly. He could do it for his angel. Crowley groaned and dropped his head against the tiled wall of the shower. His angel. He had to stop thinking of him like that.

Maybe Next Christmas by @flamingbentleyy (21k, T)

Airports were tricky business, but waiting in airports was as close to hell as one could possibly get. Nobody knew it better than Aziraphale, whose luck had made him end up in one right on Christmas Eve of all days. Although his airport experience turned a little less hellish and a whole lot more entertaining after he ran into an old college friend in that same airport. And then again. And again…

The Small Ad by @theladydrgn, @sylwritesstuff (32k, E)

WORK WANTED: Partner For Hire. Tall, lanky ginger of arguable gender available to be your significant other to keep pesky relatives, nosy coworkers, or well-meaning friends at bay. Able to be as annoying or as polite as you like. Causing a fight over Christmas dinner with your odd, bigoted uncle/aunt/cousin will require an extra £200 up front. £50 for the first hour, negotiable otherwise. Ciao.   It isn't the sort of advertisement Aziraphale usually paid any attention to, but desperate times do indeed call for desperate measures.

Heavenly Wicked Cafe by @waitingtobebroken (33k, T)

There is a terribly rude barista that makes amazing coffee and a saint of a barista, whose coffee tastes vile. And they are in love.

Petrichor & Parchment by @katnoggin (33k, E)

“Mr. Crowley, I presume?” Aziraphale asked in lieu of an introduction, which was not forthcoming. The guy hadn’t even removed his sunglasses. Oh God, he had a tattoo on his face. Aziraphale wasn’t one to judge, but… what kind of gardener had a snake tattoo on his face? Now also available as a podfic from Literarion  [Huuuge recommendation for the podfic!!]

The Heart of the Forest by Kalimyre (33k, E)

Retired librarian Aziraphale moves into a small, isolated cottage deep in the forest with a strange history. He soon realises he's not alone in the woods; a presence watches him. But as he begins to befriend the stranger that lurks in the trees, Aziraphale comes to understand there's more to him than appearances suggest - and Aziraphale's own destiny may be tied to the mysterious creature with the golden eyes.

in your own time by @ineffabildaddy (33k, E)

Aziraphale and Crowley grew up together as next-door neighbours on Hogback Lane, classmates at the local Catholic school, and inseparable best friends. By the age of eighteen, both were hopelessly in love with the other, despite the knowledge that they were doomed to live apart, as Crowley aimed to pursue university study in London and Aziraphale committed himself to remaining in Tadfield, dedicating his life to the Church. After almost twenty years spent away from his hometown, renowned botanist Crowley decides to come and visit Tadfield again at a moment's notice; the purpose of his visit is to speak at a Careers Day for the school he and Aziraphale, now a beloved priest and a frequent helper at the school, attended. The twenty-four hours that follow will change both of their lives for ever.

Between Comfort And Chaos by anathxmadevice (45k, T)

“And how long have you two been a couple?” “Oh, I—” Aziraphale panics. “Ha, well, that’s a funny… We’re not actually—” “We’re just friends.” Crowley says, their voice clear and calm and lightly amused, either because of or in spite of Aziraphale’s flailing attempts to divert the conversation. “Ah, yes, quite.” Aziraphale says, then takes a sip of his drink just for something to do, instead of focussing on the way Crowley said just friends, and how it causes a painful throb in his chest that he has never fully got used to. His memory can only scrabble at the edge of a time where being just friends with Crowley didn’t feel like a particular form of torture. * Or, Aziraphale has been desperately in love with his best friend and housemate Crowley since they were students, but is too scared to do anything about it.

Loving You Slow by @tawnyontumblr (46k, E)

Crowley just wants to dance, but he's not prepared to sell his soul (and other things) at Mayfair's Hellfire Club to do it. Tending bar at The Bookshop in Soho is just the escape he needs, providing Crowley can convince the club’s owner he really belongs on the stage. Unfortunately Aziraphale Eastgate is not quite the generous guardian angel Crowley has been led to believe. Welcome to The Bookshop, where it always pays to look under the covers.

A Billion Points of Light by akitsuko (50k, E)

The firefighter lifts the visor on their helmet, and Crowley may not be able to see very well, but those are the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen in his life. Crowley has never been one for the whole 'love at first sight' business, but he may need to reassess after Aziraphale - a gorgeous firefighter - saves his life.

More Than by @naromoreau (55k, E)

Crowley would like to spend another year without marrying, especially when thrust-forced to pick a husband. She refuses to cave in on a matter of principles. She refuses to cave in specifically on a matter of not wanting to be married to Lucien Morningstar. But she might need a hand to break free from such a burden. And who knows? She might even find something else along the way.

Lavender Apiary Of Your Honey Eyes by @snek-of-eden (66k, E)

The first thing Aziraphale registered was fiery red hair matted with sweat. The second thing was the man’s face, sharp and intelligent and a little guarded, sunlight dappling a spray of freckles. Upon seeing this, two contradictory thoughts crossed his mind: ‘Gosh, he’s pretty’, and ‘I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a man use that many expletives in the space of a minute’. “Oh,” he said, swallowing hard. “Hello, then.” __________ When Aziraphale inherits a small, cosy cottage in the countryside, he finds unexpected company in a gardener he didn't even know he had. Crowley is sweet, and strange, and about as foul-mouthed as you can get. Before he knows it, he's falling pretty goddamn hard for a man whose friendship he's terrified of risking. Ah, the foils of love.

Old Vines by @sevdrag (189k, E)

A.Z. Fell, one of the most respected names in wine and food blogging, has been sent on assignment with his assistant Warlock Dowling to spend six months in California Wine Country. Under direction (by his boss, Gabriel) to use this experience to double his blog followers and write a novel, Aziraphale is both excited and anxious about the opportunity. Anthony J. Crowley is the owner and viticulturalist of Ecdyses, a winery that unexpectedly fell into his lap eleven years ago when he hit rock bottom. He may be in debt, yeah, but he’s paying off his loans — and despite pressure from his lenders and their team of inspectors, Crowley has found a kind of contentment tending his little corner of terroir and producing extraordinary wine. Crowley’s old vines are the heart of his vineyard, and he’s never let anyone in. Crowley finds Aziraphale intriguing; Aziraphale finds Crowley enthralling. Turns out a famous wine expert and an experienced viticulturalist can still learn things from each other. The summer of 2019 unfolds. [Big recommendation for the podfic here too!!]

[herbertwest]

My Favorite Remmick Trivia from IMDB (quoted directly)

Jack O'Connell claimed that the filming of one of his scenes outdoors was interrupted when an alligator wandered into the shot behind him. He joked that he wished they'd cut the scene and go somewhere else.

-

For Remmick's vampire eyes, Michael Ralla revealed, were brought to life by a collaboration between the special and visual effects teams. "Remmick's eyes were actual practical contact lenses," the supervisor revealed. "They look really cool," he said, but continued, "Unfortunately, the actors couldn't see with them." "So, any time that somebody's moving or walking," Ralla said, "they're digital. But that's the one thing that's really important for this film: we never made anything up. There's a physical equivalent for everything that we created digitally, and that's one thing that was also really important to Ryan that everything's grounded in reality. [The vampires' eyes are based on] an effect called tapetum lucidum, where the back of the retina reflects [light] we boost them a little bit [and] there's a good amount of digital eyes in there, but they're based on those lenses."

-

Remmick mentions how Christians "took his father's land". Given that he's Irish, this would mean he was alive before the island was fully converted to Christianity, putting his mortal life somewhere between the 5th and 7th centuries, making him at least 1300 years old.

-

As he dies, Remmick becomes a column of fire, like the ones which appeared before Moses and Lot, representing God's punishment. And Elijah is known for being taken away in a flaming chariot.

-

Smoke and Remmick both wear the same model of blue-and-white pencil-striped Winchester shirt throughout the movie. Smoke's is new, clean, and has the collar attached, while Remmick's is stained and missing the collar. Characterized by its non-matching (usually white) collar, Winchester shirts were a popular alternative for upwardly-mobile men in the 1920s-30s, as white collars were usually reserved for high-income professions, while patterned and dark-colored shirts were meant to help hide the stains acquired by low-income, manual laborers. Matching a white collar with a non-white shirt demonstrated the wearer had sufficient funds to blend elements of the two wardrobes, making it a popular choice for men like Smoke who had recently come into money either through bootlegging or the Stock Market. Remmick's wearing of an identical but worn out shirt demonstrates both the similarities he possesses to Smoke, and also his aspirations to literally become Smoke by adding his consciousness to the vampire hive mind.

-

Honorable Mention

(I've seen a bunch of people talking about the crib, and Peter Dreimanis is one of my favorite singers)

According to Peter Dreimanis there's a cut scene that explains Bert and Joan talking about their desire to have a child and inability to do so, then an injured man shows up and changes it all, which explains why there's a crib in their house in the scene where Joan discovers that Remmick has killed Bert.

[muxshwriting]

like father, like son

Bradley Bradshaw x sister!reader

summary: when you crash land, it's not bradley you see coming to save you, it's nick || warnings: plane crashes, head trauma, hallucinating, reader has the callsign hummingbird, broken bones || word count: 1202 || masterlist

"MAYDAY MAYDAY. I'm going down."

Bradley's heart dropped as he watched his sister's plane begin a death spin through the air. Your engine had been washed out sending your plane flying through the air, gradually spinning faster and faster until you couldn't hope to pull it out of the turns.

"Hummingbird, eject." The calm voice of control filtered through your helmet as you reached for the lever between your legs.

Except it didn't move. Your lever was jammed, your canopy wouldn't open. You couldn't eject.

"Negative. My lever is jammed. Repeat, my lever is jammed."

"Try it again. Then go manual."

The worry sets into your bones as you remember your brother is flying with you. "Brad- Roo. I love you-"

Your radio cuts out before Bradley can reply as you start to disconnect everything your connected to, pulling out your comms and removing your oxygen. The plane is still falling to the ground, closer and closer. "Talk to me dad."

Over the radio, Rooster is screaming at you. He's watching your plane get closer and closer to the ground, counting the seconds and waiting to see the parachute release from your plane. But the chute is never released.

"I'm going after her."

"Rooster- No." Maverick began. "They're sending the rescue team out."

"That's my sister Maverick. I'm not gonna leave her to- I'm not leaving her alone."

It doesn't take anymore time for Bradley's brain to decide what he's doing. The moment Bradley's straps were undone, he was jumping from his plane and running to yours. His legs couldn't carry him fast enough as he got closer to the wreckage. There was smoke lazily pouring from the back of the ruined plane that Bradley ignored. He couldn't think about that right now. He clamboured over the wreck, pushing stray pieces of metal out of his way. The cockpit came into view. Except it was empty, you weren't there.

For a split second, the chaos in Bradley's mind calmed as he let himself believe that you had got out in time. But then it returned tenfold. he hadn't seen a parachute deploy and you'd been so close to the ground when he'd looked away. Even if you got out, there's no telling how much damage you'd sustained from hitting the ground.

He screamed your name with a desperation nothing could match. The guttural and heartbreaking sound of a brother who wouldn't survive loosing you. His eyes scanned the landscape until he spotted a bundle of a parachute not too far from the crash. The rope is all tangled and wrapped around the chute as Bradley tear through the fabric and pulls it to let him through.

You're lying in the cradle the chute created. Small cuts and scrapes cover your arms and some of your face from the cords cutting into you as you fell. But what worried Bradley the most was the dripping cut near you temple and the way your leg was crumpled beneath you, bending a way it probably shouldn't. But you're breathing. Your heart is beating and your breathing which means your alive. Bradley hasn't lost you.

Not yet.

He's shaking you awake before his brain catches up and realises that he maybe shouldn't shake someone with a head injury. But you groaned as you came back to consciousness and blearily opened your eyes.

But to you, it wasn't Bradley crouched in front of you, it was your father.

"Dad?"

Your dad frowned, reaching forward and brushed a stray hair behind your ear. "Hummingbird, it's me. It's Roo."

"No. It's Goose. It's Dad, not Roo." Your voice is slurred but you're smiling as you talk to your dad. Or rather who you think is your dad.

Bradley decides it better to let you believe he's his dad than to fight you on this. "Yeah. It's Goose, okay? Are you okay?"

"It kinda hurts."

"What hurts?"

Instead of answering, you sink deeper into delirium. Your smile widens as you push against Bradley's hand that's fussing over you.

"Y/N? Hummingbird, you gotta talk to me. What hurts?"

"Everything." It's a whisper that breaks Bradley's heart. Your smile has dropped, the sheen over your eyes dulled by pain as you seem to come to your senses. "Brad- It hurts."

Bradley's pulling the parachute away from you, unwrapping the cords from your limbs and getting ready to pull you out of the wreck. "I know. But you're gonna be okay. We're gonna get out of here."

"Yeah?"

He can hear the hum of a rescue helicopter growing closer. "Yeah. You're gonna be okay."

"Okay... I love you Roo."

"I know." Brad whispers back. "I love you too Birdy."

Bradley held you close even as the rescue team found you two. He held you even as they checked you for injuries. It wasn't until they had to move you onto a stretcher that he let go but he couldn't leave you alone. He looped his pinky with yours just like you did when you were kids, keeping his hold until he absolutely couldn't. The whole journey back, he held your hand while kneeling at your head whispering anything and everything to you, just so you knew he was there.

He's pulled aside by Maverick as your wheeled down a corridor of the medical centre, finally having to let go. Maverick doesn't let him be deserted for long, pulling him into an embrace that neither wants to end. "She's okay?" He asks just as concerned for your wellbeing.

"She saw Dad."

It's all Bradley says but the mention of Goose sends Mav's head spinning. "She- what?"

"When I found her. It was like she wasn't seeing me there, she was seeing Dad. Mav..." His voice broke as he spoke, the emotions of the last hour pouring out in waves. "I think she'll be okay? Her leg is probably broken, she hit her head but she wasn't majorly hurt any other way."

"Then she'll be okay." Maverick wasn't sure if he was convincing Bradley or himself.

It's hours later that they let Bradley and Mav in to see you, sharing the extent of the damage: a leg broken in two places, a severe concussion, countless scratches and scrapes from the parachute cords and the general rough landing and some bruising all over. But you would be fine. Most importantly, you would be able to fly again.

You stir in the bed, hand twitching as you try and move. Bradley surges forward, holding your hand in his like he had done before. "We're here." He whispered to you. "Me and Mav are here."

"Dad?" It's one word that sends Maverick's heart breaking all over again.

Maverick takes your other hand and presses a kiss to your knuckle. "Uncle Mav's here."

You just smile, squeezing their hands and ignoring the pain. You were back. And maybe your Dad wasn't here but for a split second you could feel him arms around you and you could see him. Maybe he had gone but you still had Bradley and Mav to hold you on the difficult nights and whisper stories into your hair when you couldn't sleep. They would protect you from the storm and never let you go.

[if-whats-new]

What's New In IF? Issue 28 (2024)

By Brij, Dion, Briar, Jen and Peter

Now Available!

Itch.io - Keep Reading below

If you read the zine, consider liking the post: it helps us see how many people see it! And sharing is caring! <3

~ EDITORIAL ~

The surprises are just never-ending!

The Halloween Issues are successfully behind us. But don’t worry, there’s still more exciting things to come! Check out the Announcements for more information!

We want some feedback!

As we’re starting to get a hand of things, we would love some feedback from you guys! What you enjoy, want more or less off, how we could improve... Anything goes! We even have a nifty form!

Still looking for members!

The Zine Team is growing, but we won’t say no to more free hands looking to make a little difference in the community!

If you too would like to help us out in a more official capacity, please shoot us a message! You can check out the available positions here, but if you’d like to help in any other way, feel free to contact us as well!

We hope you enjoy this new issue!

BRIJ, DION, BRIAR, JEN AND PETER

~ BE A PART OF THE ZINE ~

THIS ZINE ONLY HAPPENS WITH YOU!

Want to write 1-2 pages about a neat topic, or deep-dive into a game and review it in details? Share personal experiences or get all academic?

WRITE FOR THE COLUMN!

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Contact us through Tumblr asks, Forum DMs, or even by email! And thank you for your help!!

~ EVENT SPOTLIGHT : BITSY JAM ~

Fuu, already #85?

Bitsy is a little engine for little games, worlds, and stories created by Adam Le Doux that makes game making look easier than ever! I mean really! You can use it to make a game in your browser just by drawing it! Thanks to the simple pixelated graphics and limited colour palette you can make basically anything from simple short stories to complicated masterpieces.

The first jam (with a yummy theme: Breakfast) took place on April 8th 2017. Now it’s a monthly occurrence, each time with a new challenging theme that the creators themselves (or even possibly you) get to vote on.

Petrichor, temporary, intentionally bad, tomatoes, no dialogue, long distances, secret place, bitsy fest jam, lost media and waiting are just the ten most recent ones. This month’s theme is game manual - the theme can be the core of the game, or just a small reference. Anything really. The main point of this jam is to have fun and make something! (Just make sure that your game is made in one of these: bitsy, mosi or bipsi.)

So why not give it a shot?

~ ENDED ~

The Halloween Jam has officially ended and the winners have been announced! Check out the results here.

~ ONGOING (VOTING) ~

The voting for ECTOCOMP 2024 has officially started! To vote and participate as a jury, you must do so by giving between 1 to 5 stars on each entry page of the jam. The voting period ends on November 30.

The 7th edition of inkJam is in motion and you have until the 15th November to vote for your faves. The winners will be officially announced the following day.

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

Disabled Rep VN Jam has a very simple premise but a very important message.

Once upon a time, a game jam was held to create stories around the theme of fairy tales… and that game jam is the Once Upon A Time VN Jam. It’s running from October 1st to January 31st.

Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone 2025 is for all French-speaking enthusiasts. Submissions are accepted March 3rd 2025.

Are you perhaps a fan of more somber, melancholic themes? Then check out the Dying Year - Visual Novel Jam! You have until the end of the year to participate.

The Black Visual Novel Jam is all about working with creative professional developers who work in visual novels to bring more Black stories to life. The goal is to create a space where Black creators can show their unique storytelling through visual novels.

Bare your teeth and sharpen your claws because the Monstrous Desires 2024 Visual Novel Jam is here! Dedicated to the love of entities, horrors, and monstrosities, this jam will be full of romantic Visual Novels (VN) that heavily focus on a monster may it be original or from classics, folklore, modern media, etc.

The October Bitsy Jam is here! The theme is game manual and you have until November 11th to submit your projects.

~ OTHER ~

Jams are a great way to find new games! Don’t be afraid to check out submissions from previous years as well. There might be some gems hiding between them!

~ NEW RELEASE ~

The corpos are after you. The cops are, too. Even your ex has crawled out of the grave to try and get you back. Meanwhile, the fate of the galaxy itself rests on a knife’s edge, and only you can bar the doors of hell in Whiskey-Four (CScript)

In Between Two Worlds (CScript) join forces with a rogue smuggler to uncover the truth of a mysterious cult and foil their plans—but who can you trust in a time of uncertainty and darkness?

It’s natural to hold onto the memory of someone you loved and lost. But when does remembrance turn to fixation? When does clinging to the past begin to warp your present and future? Find out in That Which Surrounds. @blank-house

Blood Moon Rising is a text-based IF where vampires kidnapped your father. Now you need to get him back to safety at all costs.

You wake up in a dark forest, all alone. Who are you? What’s going on? Play The ritual (bitsy) and find your way inside the forest and discover the truth about the mysterious ritual that brought you here…

In Monstrous Brew play as Mae, a cute pastel witch, finding refuge in her bakery. What will she do when a feather flutters into her hand, foreboding a her death?

As always, don't forget to check out the submitted entries to the events mentioned in the previous pages. They deserve some love too!

~ NEW RELEASE (WIP) ~

Godsbane: Book One (CScript) Since the day of your birth, everything was nothing short of perfect. So why do you still see this face? Why does it burn so much? @speechlessturtle

Love After Death (Twine) Your past is in the past. And your future is with your lover. No more stress. No more tears, rage, helplessness, or feeling powerless. But isn't it going a bit too smoothly?

In Unneeded Script (Twine) you died in a car accident. Now, it's time to try again in a fantastic setting, but oh wait! You are a villain! Good luck! @unneededscript-if

In When Love and Law Collide (CScript) you are a newbie police officer. And as a police officer, your mandate is simple. Apprehend those who don’t follow the law. But what if you get caught in the rivalry between two warring clans - and two people who make you ignore the laws and follow your heart? @biinthecity

Addy (Ren’Py) - Welcome to Nowhere Tech, transfer student- where you'll meet people, make choices, make mistakes, and make even more mistakes.

Hana's got some skeletons in her closet. For the past few years the hustle and bustle of the city has served as a great distraction, but the time has come for her to view the reality of what happened to her in MINE MEMORY.

~ UPDATES ~

College Tennis: Origin Story (CScript) released Chapter 6 to the public. @collegetennisoriginstory

Cyberpolice (CScript) added the Romantic part of Stillwater one night stand scene to their demo.

Remnants of the Past (Twine) released Chapter 3 of Act 2. @remnantsofthepast-if

The Ballad of the Young Gods (Twine) released Chapters 2 and 3. @childrenofcain-if

Vice Virtue (Twine) added new content to Chapter 1. @dam-peace

Only Flesh and Blood (Ren’Py) updated the demo. @gauloiseblue

The Bureau - Halloween special (CScript) is here. @morbethgames

Crystal Lambs (Ren’Py) released Chapter 4.

Dice & Dungeon Masters (CScript) added new content to their demo.

Hooves & Hearts (Twine) released Chapter 1: Rudolph and Dasher.

~ OTHER ~

The author of The Sword of Rhivenia (CScript) is also back with a remake! Be sure to check out the demo.

The VNture podcast is back with another episode! This time talking about spooky scary monsters.

The wait is over and the Reincarnation Of The Archdemon (CScript) demo relaunch is here.

Chronicles of Taldun: The Remainder Expanded Edition is out. There’s a lot of new content, so be sure to check it out!

~

As always, we apologize in advance for missing any update or release from the past week. We are only volunteers using their limited free time to find as much as we can - but sometimes things pass through the cracks.

If you think something should have been included in this week's zine but did not appear, please shoot us a message! We'll do our best to add it next week! And if you know oncoming news, add it here!

~ MAYBE YOU NEXT? ~

We did not get a submission this week. But if you have an idea for a short essay, or would like a special space to share your thoughts about IF and the community...

Shoot us an email!

~ HIGHLIGHT ON ~

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

Sanguine Sky by @sanguinesky-if (CScript)

HEYYYY! for the game highlight, may I please mention "Sanguine Sky" by the amazing @ sanguinesky-if ??? I swear this IF is so lovely, and the ROs always have my heart racing. Not to mention the amazing writing!

//submitted by anon//

Flight by Cidney Hamilton (Twine)

You moved overseas for love. But was it worth it? A short piece of hypertext fiction about leaving a toxic relationship.

//recommended by the Team//

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserves some highlighting?

An old or recent game that wowed you so much you spam it to everyone?

Tell us about it! And it might appear here!

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! WHETHER IT'S GOOD OR BAD, OR EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN...

Have something to say? Send us a message titled: Zine Letter!

Did you miss our Small Talk portion of the Zine? Then you have a reason to celebrate because we’re bringing it back!

You’ve read it right! The interviews are back thanks to our new Team members: BRIAR AND PETER! Welcome to the Team guys, we’re happy to have you! There’s already an interview in the works and we can wait to share it with you!

And we will be interviewing... *insert drumroll here*

LEIA TALON!

Fantasy romance writer, author of the newly released Ink and Intrigue, Their Majesties' Pleasure and The World Tree Chronicles book series.

Send us any question you'd have for her and we’ll ask her for you! Whether it's general or ultra specific, tell us what you'd like to know!

As we end this issue, we would like to thank:

our awesome anon!

For sending us their game Highlight!

As always, huge thanks to all you readers who liked, shared, and commented on the last issue!

What might be tiny actions are huge support and motivators to us!

Thank you for cheering us on this journey

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

We’re also currently working on a Meet the Team post, so be excited for that!

And see you again next week!

BRIJ, DION, BRIAR, JEN AND PETER

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2024-ISSUE 28

[frameacloud]

Some ways to avoid generative AI in web searches

Our web searches are being filled with more and more AI-generated slop. GenAI creates misinformation that can be difficult to tell apart from the correct answer to whatever question you're looking up. GenAI mixes things up that have similar names. In one example that is especially easy to recognize, genAI has thought that a baseball team and the bird that it was named after must both be the same creature, with a bizarre combination of their eating habits and behaviors. This mistake still happens with specialized topics that could be harder for you to recognize unless if you're already very familiar with the topic in question. GenAI also makes up fake sources and facts out of thin air, and you can't tell until you try to find them somewhere else. The tech is more like advanced predictive text than something capable of research or reasoning, even though it can look enough like it that it can fool you if you don't know how to spot its mistakes.

Not only are the results of genAI unreliable, the source texts and images that they’re based on were used without permission. Sometimes they aren't modified enough to avoid plagiarism, but it's worse than that. Source images have turned out to be private medical photos and intimate personal photos that hackers had stolen and leaked to harass the people in the photos. Another reason why this technology is unethical is that each genAI query has such a high energy cost that it's significantly harmful to the environment, contributing to the climate crisis.

Here are some things that you can do when you use Google, DuckDuckGo, or other conventional general web search engines:

To turn off Google's AI Overview, set "web" as default. Here's how to do that on your devices and web browsers.

Add this string to any web search to only show results from before the genAI fad. Before:2021

Install the web browser extension uBlacklist. You give it a list of web addresses to not show you in your web searches anymore. Other people maintain lists for it that you can subscribe to so that you won’t see certain types of results in your web searches. Follow the instructions in Laylavish’s Huge AI Blocklist to subscribe to that list which will rid your web search results of AI-generated pages or images.

Since genAI slop is getting to be such a big problem on them, use alternatives to conventional general web search engines some of the time:

Use a specialized search engine instead of a general one. For example, if you only wanted to find a particular science article, there are specialized search engines that only look for those. The blog post "Skip Google for Research" has a list of specialized search engines for academics.

GenAI is notoriously bad at math because that’s too far outside the scope it was designed for: advanced predictive text. In any case, genAI is overpowered for math that is easy for computers to do. If you want to use a very advanced calculator, or even ask a math question in natural language, use Wolfram Alpha.

For questions about how to do things, look them up in WikiHow, the Youtube channel Dad, How Do I? or The Ultimate Manuals Library.

You can search within Wikipedia, but unfortunately vandals have been putting machine-generated falsehoods into it, as well as genAI images. To avoid this, use the article history to view versions of the article from before 2022.

Ask yourself if there are some topics that you often do a web search for just because you keep forgetting an answer to something. Start saving those answers in a book or file that you can refer to offline. This is called a commonplace book. For an example of one, Beth and Angel made theirs into a zine, Stuff I Often Google.

How about a completely different sort of web search than present-day Google or DuckDuckGo? Marginalia Search only brings up results that are text-heavy and similar to the web of the 1990s and 2000s. Its software is independent and open-source.

Have you been using a web search engine to take you to the websites that you visit on a regular basis? Switch to saving them in your web browser's bookmarks folder. Your web browser, Firefox, can sync your bookmarks to your other devices. If you often need to refer to a large number of static web pages (ones that don't change what is on them every day), then you can save and organize them in your Zotero, a bibliography management program. You can sort them with folders and tags so you can find them again.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚫

Because ⚫ is done, 66 or 500 for

He starts by getting half his team on hoses, and half on creating a manual firebreak. If they can keep this contained to the park, rather than spreading into the canyon, that will be crucial. 

“Update on air support?” Buck asks Dispatch as two more engines arrive. The 110 and the 133. Buck should really hand the whole IC thing over to them, but that’s just not how it works. He’ll ask for their advice, though. Consult them. 

“An hour out.” 

It’s Maddie who chimes in this time. That catches Buck off-guard. He had been talking to someone else before. Ever since Sue retired, Maddie has stepped into a more supervisory role. She doesn’t step in on calls unless she deems it necessary. Buck supposes today might be sort of a big deal.

“That’s too long,” Buck replies into the radio. “We’re doing our best to cut this off on the northeast side, but you know if it gets away from us we’re looking at a serious problem.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Maddie says. “They’re just getting back from a high rise fire in Koreatown.”

Buck sighs. Today had to be the day, huh?

“Okay, thanks,” Buck replies.

“One more thing, Captain Buckley.” 

She does this. It’s very kind of her. He’s pretty sure she always called Bobby Bobby. But he’s Captain Buckley. 

“What’s up, Metro Dispatch Supervisor Han?” Buck retorts, a small smirk on his face.

“We had to reroute the 120 to a collision closer to their station, so we’re sending the 136 to you. They’re four minutes out.” 

Buck pauses for a moment. The 136. Oh. Interesting. Cool. That’s cool. Would Buck have preferred literally any other team? Yes. Of course. But is the 136 a bad team? No. No, it makes sense. And, regardless, Buck can’t voice any of that. Part of those professional emotional boundaries. 

He takes a breath. 

“Okay, thanks for letting me know.”

🔥

Eddie has been captain of the 136 for two months and five days. It wasn’t something he thought he ever wanted for himself. Really, some days he comes home and he still wonders if it is. Is he way fucking in over his head? Potentially. 

He’s never felt like a leader. He always does well with good, clear leadership. He learned a lot in the military. He learned a lot from Bobby. He learned a lot from Hen and Chim, too. But he liked being a follower. He liked instruction. Now, he’s the one providing that. He’s not sure how to process that fact sometimes. 

[steelbonded]

Meet Calvin, a 22-year-old police officer from Ottendorf, a small town of The People's Republic of Harmonia. He grew up in the sketcher part of town and witnessed countless crimes in his childhood. His sense of justice and servicing his community and order drew him to enlist as an officer.

When he graduated from the academy at 19, the radical leftist government of Harmonia "reallocated" funds away from the police. First, they "demilitarize" the police. Abolishing the SWAT teams, removing semi-automatic. Then they "disarmed" them. Handing back their pistol. They then shortly "decriminalized" all drug use.

Calvin saw firsthand how Ottendorf and Harmonia spiralled out of control and he had no resources nor power to prevent it.

The Steelbonded Republic was created to break away from Harmonia to defend the law, obey authority and reestablish order throughout what was Harmonia and beyond.

It was only two days ago when troops from the Steelbonded Republic liberated the town of Ottendorf. Calvin accepted them with open arms as order and authority needed to be established quickly.

The republic senses Calvin's desire for order and offers Calvin a new chance, to be remodelled into Steelbonded's police officer. To join in their mission, to spread order and conquer misery. "

"You have chosen peace and order," said CPO-103-0A94, his new commanding officer as he went to Ottendorf's Town hall to enlist in Steelbonded's forces.

"This will be uniform, wear it and soon you will be integrated into us"

Calvin marveled at the new uniform, jet black equipped with advanced technology that he will never have access to in Harmonia. It would be stupid to not serve Steelbonded, after all the values of Steelbonded are why he signed up for the police forces in the first place. Calvin nodded and donned the uniform, with the flag of Steelbonded and his new tag APR-093-202D proudly displayed on his left chest.

"Wear the helmet and your integration will be complete." CPO-103-0A94 gave him a jet-black helmet with a thick visor. The helmet is heavier than it appears, at least 7 kg but nether less, Kevin manually adjusts the helmet, positioning it securely onto his head.

Calvin was drowned in darkness as the visor fitted snuggly on his face. How are you supposed to see anything Calvin wondered. Little did Calvin know was the helmet is equipped with advanced neural technology, and is designed to interface seamlessly with his brain, mapping out neural pathways and preparing to inject The Steelbonded Republic values.

The helmet activated as soon as it was able to identify key neurological points that response to resistance and areas susceptible to suggestion. Flashing lights and discordant sounds play within the helmet to weaken Calvin and prepare the brain for the inauguration.

Panicked, Calvin immediately tried to grab the shell of the helmet to desperately pull the helmet off. The helmet refused to budge. He tried to peel the helmet off, desperately trying to find the seams between the helmet and his combat shirt. As he didn't know, his helmet and his uniform had been sealed together to form one complete piece, trapping him inside.

Noticing his struggles, CPO-103-0A94 approached Calvin.

"Just relax, Calvin and surrender control. Individuality is harmful. Join the conformity. Resistance is meaningless. Empty your mind and accept your new identity APR-093-202D. You crave order. You crave structure. You crave discipline. You are APR-093-202D. Let the NEW COUNTRY in you and you will be a vessel to serve The Steelbonded Republic."

The familiar but authoritative voice of a CPO-103-0A94 washes him in calamity, supplemented by the helmet's hijacking of his higher conative reasoning reducing his mental resistance.

An endless loop of images, videos and symbols of the The Steelbonded Republic then bombards Calvin APR-093-202D. Scenes depicting the glory and might of the police force and military are regularly shown. Whenever order and law are enforced, the helmet releases a splurge of dopamine to signal conformity and order is pleasurable. “Unity is strength,” “Obedience is protection,” and ��The state is supreme” echo in an unending loop.

After endless hours of conditioning, CPO-103-0A94 orders APR-093-202D. "Identify yourself."

"I am APR-093-202D, sir! I serve The Steelbonded Republic and its laws must be enforced. Order must be established!"

202D is ready, CPO-103-0A94 determined. He will be the property of the republic and be integrated with republic forces. Acting as a nod, CPO-103-0A94 connects 202D to republic's server and integrating 202D within the vast forces of The Steelbonded Republic. For 0A94, this is the ultimate glory, expanding The Steelbonded Republic's empire. 202D was the first but not last Ottendorf officers to be indoctrinated into the republic.

APR-093-202D stands among the rest of his Ottendorf officers APR-093-202E, F and G and among the Apprentice Police Reserve (APR) with the same uniform. Each officer is visually identical, with identical body armour, tactical boots, and a helmet that completely obscures the upper part of the face. The only hint of their individuality is their identification number tag plastered on the front and back of their chest. They are after all, one vessel. To establish law and order within The Steelbonded Republic.

[calder]

Dude you're just making shit up. At least in the early days of your little psychotic episode you were limiting yourself to taking stuff out of context so people who didn't know better might believe you without brain damage, now I think only people as batshit as you are would take you at your word. Do you hear how deranged you sound? "Nuka mods and friends joked about finding a former mod and beating her and siccing dogs on her irl?" Take your meds and quit making your psychosis our problem. This isn't funny, and whatever friends you have need to find help for you rather than enabling your bullshit. It's just pathetic at this point.

Ok, great, let's talk. This was prompted by Brook noticing that I had interacted with - not posted on - a subreddit where he is one of several mods. He proceeded to announce that he'd "got my reddit account."

NP leaders are seeking alliances with small communites, where they have built narrative control or used pre-existing connections to isolate the people from being warned. All I had to do to trigger public harassment from Brook was message a mod on reddit asking to talk. The mod was receptive and kind - it was only Brook who did not approve.

In January 2025, four long-standing representatives of Nukapedia, the Fandom Fallout wiki, engaged in conversations of a violent and sexually degrading nature on "Fallout Federation," with Rads and Brook, the administrators of that server. Context and proofs are provided below.

In 2024, the Nukapedia admin team acknowledged on Discord that bigoted and eugenecist-adjacent beliefs had long been under-punished, and announced an intention to do better. They did not. This year, head admin DJ manually unbanned a flagrant christofascist whose first and only edit was blanking the LGBT page. A "three strikes system" is still blatantly exploited to protect trolls and silence good actors ("white knights") at the discretion of a biased inner circle.

In November, a founding member of the modern community acknowledged the presence of racist and alt-right actors at Nukapedia.

If this community is to have a future outside of becoming a new No Mutants Allowed full of aging alt right Fallout enthusiasts complaining about how no one wants to join them, DJ has to go. Mediating the situation on the terms of the people responsible for this is not going to change things, and frankly I don't think they can continue to be part of this community. The siege mentality of the group he represents is detrimental to the wider community, and its on full display here - [...] not everyone wants to go back to the old days, so a new enemy is needed. Anachorite and people like her represented a future for Nukapedia after Kdarrow, but because that future had different politics, it needed to go. [...] hiding behind the shield of centrism and being apolitical to suppress actual centrists and moderate leftists while enabling alt right users to spew conspiracy theories and racist nonsense in the name of impartiality is insulting. [...] DJ is unfit to represent Nukapedia and his actions are actively pushing away anyone interested in creating a new future for it instead of recreating and reinforcing the past. - Aiden4017 (talk) 26 October 2024 Aiden, having left, how do you know things have gotten worse? (just joking) We shouldn't be commenting our views on this forum while it's locked. It's not fair to others. - intrepid359 10/26/24

Content Mod Aiden was removed and dragged for this comment in March of 2025 after contesting an improper inactivity notice, and the entire event was censored in April. Now, anyone who acknowledges racism at Nukapedia is bullied and punished, on the grounds of "spreading harmful misinformation about our community," "participating in a misinformation campaign," and "taking a game website too seriously," even though an admin addressed the presence of racism at NP in 2024.

In January 2025, a community server called Fallout Federation was in talks to be linked to the wiki. I was previously acquainted with one of the admins, and tried to warn him about the danger at Nukapedia, but was only met with skepticism impervious to evidence.

I have obscured part of the username of "User G" because Rads and Brook admitted to me they suspect him to be underage, despite Fallout Federation being an 18+ server, and despite engaging in explicit conversations with him. The FF admins asked "G" to produce screenshots where their group mocked the owner of the Independent Fallout Wiki on the grounds that she was a "whore."

Four Nukapedia representatives can be seen in these screenshots: community leader and policy author Leon/"O'saa"/"Janasci", dominant admin UrbanAngel/"siha", dominant mod Don, and dominant former mod intrepid359. All four were acting as formal representatives of Nukapedia during these conversations.

I rased concerns about the way they were talking about Kate, and was told by both admins that Kate deserved this. I tried to explain that no woman should be spoken about this way, but I was told this was an "edgy community" where I should expect that sort of thing.

I raised concerns about alt-right beliefs being espoused in FF. I was told by Rads that alt-right rhetoric is allowed in FF.

When I began razzing other members on their server to fit in with the supposed "edginess" of the room, I was quickly told by both admins that I had become "a troll." I was ultimately banned, but not before an incident where Leon made misogynistic comments to provoke me and bury another conversation. Admin Urban tried to mediate by saying that he had her permission to make these 'jokes.'

When I mentioned the Kate incident on my blog, I received a message from Rads once again chastising me for humanizing Kate.

I also received a furious series of messages from "G", who firmly threatened to sue me if I talked about FF. He repeated the Nukapedia propaganda line - I am 'Kate 2.' This is the same user who harassed Kate, called her a "sand whore" and talked about her "punchable face" among other severe comments.

Users of the Nukapedia Discord have been stalking and harassing me for a period of over one year. They have mocked and disrespected my mourning. They attempted to dox me and mocked the death of my cat. They are still attacking me with throwaway accounts, trying to dehumanize me to hide the abuse at Nukapedia. They are stalking me across five platforms now. Why the fuck should I tolerate that? Because I tried to get the "anti-woke anti-marxist" Intrepid359 banned for his stalking, racism, and abuse?

Many relevant discussions are still publicly available on the NP server, how could I "take them out of context?" Your admins still won't acknowledge the Hand Banana Incident. Go search 'hand banana', go read it in #neighborhood-watch. Intrepid359 and Boink were both recognized by staff as racist trolls and they viciously menaced, defamed, and gaslit a minor of color, while Boink's username was "hand banana." No staff member has ever acknowledged Intrepid's messages on 6/25/24. They still cannot admit what they all watched him do. He is surrounded by silence and joyless :joy: emojis. Believe your eyes over their words. If your server cannot acknowledge what Intrepid359 did on 6/25/24, then something is deeply wrong.

With the endorsement of your leaders, Brook and Rads began slandering me on NP, centered on the notion that I was 'too nice' to specific users on their 18+ server, one of whom they believe to be a minor. Again, in their 18+ server where they talked about "whores" with the same user they're feigning concern for. Rads has even admitted I did not do anything wrong, but insists that his "intuition" tells him that I am the lowest kind of human being.

They allege that when I joined their voice chat, I said something sexual - I shared a story with the two of them, where I'd told a stoned friend that "Elton John's dick" had simply "exploded" and he believed me. They laughed, and that was the end of the conversation. Now they've reimagined this event with vague, shocking details. They knowingly slandered me in the most serious possible way to intimidate me out of showing proof of their past actions.

Guilty Nuka personnel will endorse any slander towards me because I am holding their inner circle accountable for abuses they felt justified in committing. Even the misogynistic language Brook uses doesn't seem to matter - as we've learned, Enemies Of The Group are acceptable targets for misogyny, and caring about that misogyny will mark you as a "sympathizer," an Enemy Of The Group.

Brook said 'anyone who listens to Anachorite is more mentally challenged than she is.' I am mentally disabled. He dehumanizes me and anyone who listens to me on the grounds that I am mentally disabled.

Rads postured as concerned for me in his DM, while attacking me in public, a private demonstration of dominance. Your leaders treat the baseless lies of these bad actors as gospel, and hide inconvenient proof.

Your leaders do not speak anywhere we are not silenced. They've spent the past year hatestalking and harassing banned users, attempting to discredit and silence us by any means available wherever we might speak, because our voices matter.

As long as they convince their echo chamber that dissidents are demons, they'll be allowed to hide evidence, play victim, and indulge bigotry.

Fallout.Fandom.Com is the first link when you google fallout+anything, and despite Fandom condemning the Discord server, Nukastaff recently integrated the server widget into the site UI on every page with no statement. They are funnelling people offsite, they torment anyone who tells the truth, they create confusion, and they play dumb. It is an institution of abuse which harms vulnerable people by design. Too many kids have been hurt. Too many people are scared to speak. Addressing the danger Nukapedia poses to our community is absolutely necessary.

Nukapedia is place where alt-right rhetoric is often tolerated on principle, but calling it out is punished as defamatory or disruptive. This is typical of their style of denial and punishment. They begin by using emotional blackmail against anyone who steps out of sync with the leaders - "Come on, you're better than that. You're being disruptive. You're taking it too seriously." If that does not immediately work, they jump to silencing and defamation.

They enforce their doublethink ruthlessly, maintaining a room full of people who will always allow them to lie - either out of faith or fear. They'll deny you the language to acknowledge what you are seeing, they'll punish you for being honest, and they'll call it "policy."

They strictly converse in situations where they are in complete control, where they dictate reality for the room without burden of proof, and where all proof can be denied, hidden, and punished. They insist you block and attack their outcasts before they have a chance to speak - when the echo chamber cracks, they have to contend with reality.

I have helped too many survivors to deny that Nukapedia is dominated by an effective and dangerous high-control group.

The inner circle freely abuse and lie, they hunt former members, they create confusion, and they play dumb. It is dangerous and it cannot continue. Users are pressured to block outcasts and mock them from inside the bubble, because those who speak with us tend to realize something is very wrong at Nukapedia. And nobody with concerns about the in-group can be allowed to speak as Leon's equal.

The people you're tormenting are cult survivors. The behavior you're trying to eradicate is reviewing evidence. Your group is dedicated to avoidance and harassment over diplomacy because your group is structurally a cult. You are pressured to prove your loyalty by rooting out dissidents, displaying limitless hatred of former members, and rejecting all evidence from 'outsiders.' You treat anyone who speaks to outcasts as tainted, broken, alien, and criminal.

DJ, Leon, and Brook tell you I am medically psychotic - as in, they want you to think that your group has driven me insane - and they still lead you in hatestalking me over a year after I was banned. I didn't even fucking post anything this time, and you people are leering over previous blog posts and harassing me because Brook saw me message his peer on reddit.

People who talk to me are called "anach sympathizers" and treated as cognitohazards. Your leaders and their in-group repeatedly sought to discredit me on tumblr because they want to control the narrative outside their bubble, too. But I'm an established member of the community telling the truth, and they have nothing but verbal attacks and denial.

You need to move past the notion that your leaders bear zero responsibility for the state of things. Read up on breaking control tactics of high-control groups and abusers. I had to learn a lot to process what happened to me, and to help others navigate the situation and heal.

They get away with everything by harming good actors to the point of surrendering for their own wellbeing. I will not stop fighting for accountability, and I am not alone. This ends when your leaders are held accountable for the safety of the community. Thanks for writing. - The Anachorite

[mountmortar]

anyway anyone who thinks that blue is the poster boy for the "jerk rival" trope when silver is quite literally right there has clearly never paid any attention to any of blue's dialogue in the games, where there are Quite Literally Multiple Instances of blue giving red advice meant to aid him on his journey in the same way that many of the later friendly rivals and neighbors do, even if the tone of it isn't as sickeningly sweet as the later rivals are. blue literally, in the game, waited in the middle of silph co. to challenge red to a battle to make SURE he was ready to take on giovanni because he was worried about him. do some of you genuinely think that blue was so mean to red when they were eleven that red is like. still traumatized by it when they're in their twenties or something.

red and blue's whole journey is actually kind of hilarious because you have professor oak very clearly favoring red to the point where blue isn't even an afterthought and blue's clearly decided that he's sick of it and hates red now but he still shows up to give him advice and check on him to make sure he can actually handle fighting team rocket and whatnot. it's just a constant loop of "yo! red! crawl around in grassy areas to find more pokémon! go visit bill (who gives red the s.s. anne pass) and thank him for creating the P.C.! i waited here in silph co. for you because i knew you'd turn up! you collected all the badges, too? that's cool! i was looking forward to seeing you!" that he buries under another loop of eleven-year-old "I'M SO MUCH BETTER THAN YOU LOOK HOW COOL AND STRONG I AM" bullshit because again. he's just up and decided he hates red now because he's clearly & understandably jealous of all the attention professor oak is giving him ("you and your rival used to play nicely together when you were little, but lately, he has become mean." -> pokémon blue manual) but that doesn't change the fact that they've been friends since they were toddlers and that never once goes away no matter WHAT happens between them. do you think blue's phone call ("I'm Blue. Man, this guy called Red brought me down in a heartbeat. I haven't seen him in a long time...I wonder where he is and what he's up to… Come to think of it, you look a little bit like Red. Yeah, you do. Just...Just a little bit. Whatever...") came from nowhere. Do you think that isn't the sound of a fourteen-year-old missing his best friend. Grabbing you all by the shoulders here. Do you think they ever stopped being friends. If you answer wrong you get tossed into a volcano

[comicaurora]

You've mentioned before about how Dainix growing up in a society of all magic-users was difficult for him, is there anything you think is interesting about him adapting to that surrounding? Like, does he carry around means of manually creating fire with him (like flint); and is creating fire via anything other than magic something most other ignans would even know? What kind of things can most of his peers do that he has to ask for help for or find other ways of making it work, aside from general fire-blasts?

(Also, as a disabled writer, I think fantasy/sci-fi disabilities are an underutilized goldmine of worldbuilding & characterizarion, and I really like the way you integrate it into Aurora.)

I asked myself that when I was choreographing the Zombie Dungeon Funtime Adventure! When they lost the light source I knew Dainix would need to replace it in order to navigate in the dark without Falst, but I concluded he actually wouldn't be carrying firestrikers. Even if he personally couldn't magically create fire, he'd always been part of a team of people who could. Instead, he had to strike sparks off the wall using his metal knife. Something he'll definitely prepare for in the future! (Falst always carries firestrikers, but Dainix doesn't know that and wasn't about to go digging in his pockets)

Fire magic the way most Ignans use it is fairly utilitarian, but some people specialize in useful ways - some Ignans can gain bursts of speed or altitude by kicking out fire jets from their feet, or manipulate fire's brightness and color in precise ways to create simple illusions. And even without the expectation of specialization, being unable to do even basic fire magic basically means Dainix always has one fewer weapon than his peers - no emergency last-ditch flashbang moves, no covering fire, no way to do field repairs on damaged metal or glass tools. It's part of why he's always so careful with his equipment, and why he's such a precise and observant fighter - he has no room for error and has to work harder to feel like he's measuring up.

[tiesthatbind-tf]

When you get a chance, could you please explain with a bit more detail about the armor the autobots and decepticons wear? Do they often wear the suits under their clothes?

Aye, I'll do my best! I've given a short explanation here a while back, along with some visual aid. Basically, the way the armor is constructed is inspired off The Centurions, especially Ace McCloud's setup for the flyers. There is a bodysuit underneath the armor which is flexible and offers some protection against blades and small-calibre weaponry. Teleportation is a tech still in development in TTB, where live trials have been unsuccessful, but it has been in used for about a decade or two to transport items (or bodies from offworld colonies back to earth). The larger the item is, the longer it takes to teleport. Also, you need a direct, solid Point A to Point B. That's where the bodysuit comes into play, as it coded to sync with the armor and is the solid Point B for armor teleportation from base, as well as something equivalent to a 'mesh mapping' on a 3D model that makes it easy to the algorithm to identify where the armor phased to the recipient is supposed to go (as opposed to shin armor being phased to the forearm, as an example). The Decepticon/Autobot emblem works as a beacon to direct where geographically the armor should be teleported, and the suit grounds it. The armor is phased/teleported in pieces to the recipient as this takes a shorter time than doing so with a large, fully-attached solid set. Of course, it still takes time for people who wear highly-specialised armor which may have extensive weaponry attached to it--in particular are the flyers who require mini flight engines and/or turbines, as well as those like Preston/Prowl or Suraya/Soundwave who have shoulder-mounted artillery--versus people who only have standard protective armor, like Dai/Drift and Carina/Chromia.

As to how often characters don this bodysuit under their civilian clothing, I'd say given the situation they're in, probably about 60% of the time and depending on whether it's an 'active combat' sort of week. There'll be some weeks where the skirmishes can be daily, and some weeks where there's lulls/uneasy truces in between the fighting. The armor did not start out made for military purposes---it was originally a project of Wheedon/Wheeljack's which Senator Sharifuddin/ Shockwave funded. Wheeljack, as someone born with Tetra-amelia syndrome, was in the business of creating affordable cybernetic prosthetics/mobility aids for large swathes of the public/lower class manuals who could not afford them. When the Clampdown happened and members of Senator Shockwave's rebellion were being targeted, Shockwave asked Wheeljack for help and Wheeljack came up with the idea of protective armor from his project which he and Shockwave jointly worked on. The very first suit of armor created was actually Stefan/Starscream's suit, which he wears until today mostly unchanged from the time of its creation. It was the first because back then, they decided that having eyes in the sky was a priority and once test flights on Starscream's suit proved successful, Megs' and OP's followed. In the current day of the war, the Autobots' armor is crafted by a team comprising HotRod and Swerve who craft the raw material, Bumblebee and Mirage who deal with the colors/designs, Wheeljack who codes it to work as a unit and Nautica who helps out with trial testing. For the high-ranking Decepticons, Megatron crafts most of their armor (he often uses it as a bonding session to get to know the recipient better) and Shockwave codes it while members of the DJD help out with trial testing. Wheeljack has very complicated feelings about the way this tech he pioneered with Shockwave is being used, and he generally cannot be talked into coding Autobot armor with live artillery (he doesn't care if they want to wield weapons, but he won't be making them), unlike the Decepticons who do (he will allow, such as in Prowl's case, non-lethal rounds or elements to stun/incapacitate enemies).

I hope the information proves insightful!

[lonelymikoto]

Kakashi Headcanons for romance

So... I made general headcanons for Kakashi before, but now I want to make some for him in romantic relationship. I won't put any names shipped with him so you'd have a space to ship him with whoever you want so I'm going to use y/n and they/them pronounce instead.

Note: it was written originally in russian and translated by DeepSeek. I did my best to edit it to what it looked like before translation. If it has some grammar mistakes, please, tell me.

TW: Mentioning of intimacy

When the relationship first starts hinting at its existence, Kakashi might not fully understand what he’s feeling. He’ll wonder if he’s actually in love or just enjoys y/n’s company. But the more it progresses, the more he catches himself caring and worrying about them.

Emotional rollercoaster. He swings between extremes: either joking, flirting, and openly showing affection, or blushing like a tomato and trying to hide his embarassment when y/n reciprocates. On one hand, he tries to mimic the romance novel heroes he reads about; on the other, he’s painfully awkward at it. After all, he’s not a book character but just a lonely shinobi.

When he’s not flirting and wants to prove his feelings are genuine, he shows it through actions: practical gifts (like a combat manual to improve y/n’s skills), a first-aid kit (similar to Rin’s), or even asking the Hokage to let him join her missions to protect them. Or he’ll suggest celebrating completed missions in some cafe. His gifts always have meaning or practicality—being loved by him is a privilege.

At some point, he starts imagining y/n and himself in scenes from his erotic novels. It makes him giggling stupidly in his room, hugging a pillow, or even kicking his feet. No one’s watching, so he lets himself be silly.

Might send Pakkun to help y/n out on missions when he’s busy. Sometimes just to watch over them. Pakkun, loyal as ever, won’t spill Kakashi’s secret crush.

Kakashi subconsciously adapts his fighting style to complement y/n’s, creating seamless teamwork.

When Kakashi is not on a mission and if y/n gives him their apartment key, he’ll sneak in to clean while they’re away. No key? No problem. He’ll find a way.

Practices love confessions in the mirror and buys cringe-worthy "How to Woo" guides—but it never goes as rehearsed.

Low-level intimacy: Casual touches or care from y/n make his heart stop and face burn. He’s torn between teenage-level shyness and wanting more, but he’ll force himself to act composed as an adult man he is.

Too shy to initiate touch without permission. That's the reason he doesn't show affection through touch.

The Confession: A disaster. He stammers, blushes, and maybe trembles. If his stomach growls from nerves? (Yeah, some people experience that 😭) He’ll either vanish into the ground or mutter "Gotta go—talk later!" and avoid y/n for three days before trying again. (Typical "cool guy" meltdown. Remember his bratty 12-year-old self? Yeah, same energy.)

Might need Guy to push him and stage a "heroic rescue" plan to confess. (Spoiler: It’ll backfire spectacularly.)

Post-confession: Sunshine mode activated. He’ll stick close, bring small gifts after a mission: field-flower bouquets, heart shaped rock or even point out a heart-shaped bruise like a dork. (Free fanfic trope for you!)

100% packs lunches for y/n’s missions/training so they never go hungry.

Can’t bring himself to spar y/n at full strength. Hurting them is a tragedy for him.

Lights up when y/n appears and always gravitates toward them—unless he’s on duty, to ask "How are you? Want to hang out?"

Hides his grief, but if y/n learns about his losses, even if he'd not see a purpose of it, he’ll open up. He'd honestly tell them about his fears of losing Team 7, friends, and them. Their bond deepens after that because he knows that he can pour his heart out to them. Bonus if y/n starts taking extra care to stay safe for him.

Eventually, they both cry in front of each other if needed. And he didn't even think that it feels so good to be heard and loved. He calms down and melts when y/n strokes his hair during hugs, and might whisper "Keep going..." even after calming down. Just like an affectionate cat.

Plans the perfect first kiss: fireworks at a festival, secluded spot with a great view to take off his mask without anyone watching them nearby, a quiet night at home, or—👀—right before "the first time."

Develops habits: a hand on y/n’s waist when walking. If y/n has a feminine body, tracing their stomach/thighs. If y/n has masculine body he's more into patting their bum/lower belly.

First time: Gentle and cautious (it’s his first, too). Later he might start biting and scratching. He also can last for two or three rounds.

Post-intimacy, he’ll cuddle y/n like a plushie, showering them with forehead kisses and hair strokes—proof it’s not just physical and he genuinely loves them. Intimacy would only make them closer.

Open to exploring y/n’s kinks especially if they’re willing to do the same for him.

That's all 🥰