#...checkbox feeling of the game

[ganondoodle]

something i just realized about the sages (ignoring how frustrating to use i find the sages abilities overall) when they get their enigma stone they are like wow look at how much stronger i am now!! when its really just a ... clone of them, without the parts that make them interesting- the personality, and they "give" it to you (it doesnt feel like its really yours tho bc, unlike botw, its not intergrated into your moveset- which could have been solved by just adding them to another ability wheel- so it doesnt even feel like they are really yours) but ok i can see why its stronger even if i find it boring to just duplicate the character isntead of actually making their ability be more-

but then at the very end, they join you in the battle and .. dont even make use of it? what where the engima stones even for then? i guess you could bend over backwards and say well its bc their powers cant reach you all the way down there so they have to physical join you- BUT .. when they are right next to you .. shouldnt the connection to them be back anyway? so their clones should return shouldnt they? or is the entire arena just so surpressive of that power that it wouldnt work either way? then again ... what was its use then to get them to have those stones? like how ultra hand is supposedly the focus of the game but doesnt matter to the narrative at all?

(can you unsummon them when they are there?? i havent tried it but i dont think so ..)

like obviously it would be wayy too chaotic if all sages where there twice, especially together with all the ganondorf clones too- but it kinda .. once again... makes it feel meaningless that you even got them the stones? sure they only get to you when you do it but its really just again another check box with no substance, isnt it?

(... actually .. did anyone actually need the stones? aside from ganondorf getting that huge powerup somehow- like even the original sages and sonia and stuff, are you telling me she couldnt rewind ..................................... a tea cup, on her own? or i guess the only time sonia does anythign with her stone is when she gives its power to raurus laserbeam attack he never does again ... and the other sages arent shown to gain anything from it either?? are they?? what even would minerus ability have been bc she wasnt a -utterly useless- mech back then ... the shield she does doesnt seem unique to her either bc rauru literally does it too after sonia gets falcon-punched to death to block ganondorfs .. goo beam .... i mean i guess it doesnt matter anyway bc all we see them actually do is .. stand around and talk, sometimes "hurt" (dirty) sometimes not ... so whatever i guess?)

[luke-shywalker]

I just rewatched the bit from TLJ where Ben and Rey have their first accidental Zoom call and Rey sees him and immediately starts making threats on his life and bro is just looking around like “Can you see my surroundings? I can’t see yours. Do you have a background turned on?”

I haven’t actually watched the sequels since the years they came out so. Sometimes I forget that canon Ben Solo is actually just as much of an idiot as I imagine him to be

[queer-omens-in-the-archives]

D.Nd: Poisoned text walkthroughs

hello meronia community. if any of you would like text walkthroughs for all endings in D.Nd: Poisoned (the MelloNear visual novel by Akane), you can find them here :3 (with tickable checkboxes for each step! and an ugly but serviceable PDF you can easily print if so inclined)

[gxldencity]

actually the better question to ask wrt choices mattering is since when did your choices from past games actually mattered in a dragon age sequel

[gamebunny-advance]

Hmhm~

It finally happened. I finally have a conventionally attractive anime(esque) boy that I can fawn over.

[sims3fiend]

Stutter reducererer

EDIT:

This is now somewhat avail for both versions of the game in S3SS if you go into Streaming -> Throttle checkbox or use the preset file (which will help a lot more). The patch for lot loading on view is still steam only tho but tbh doesn't make a huge difference, it's also in S3SS under patches.

Original post:

Thought this deserves its own post since I'm still bugfixing the new Sims3SettingsSetter (hopefully not for long...)

A fix for stutter at last! Well, close enough.

Before

After

This enables a debug variable called "Throttle Lot LoD Transitions" that, you guessed it, throttles lot LoD transitions. What this means is that lots no longer all load at once causing horrific stutter, instead just a bit of a dip. I've also done a small additional patch that should™ remove the frustum/view component of lot loading (might be unloading? not sure, need to look into it further), so you can spin (in place) to your hearts content without loading lots.

There's a lot of related settings to further tweak how the lots are throttled (15 total under streaming), but that'll be something for S3SS. Likewise, this is STEAM ONLY, if you're on EA or another version, this will all be settable in S3SS. I haven't had any issues reported with it thus far, but feel free to message me w/ the details of any crashes (along with any xcpt logs), likewise if you don't see any difference, please also message me. It's a very simple patch and shouldn't mess with anything.

Super embarrassed I didn't find this sooner since I looking for a way to throttle lots loading and there's literally a setting called Throttle lots....

STEAM ONLY STEAM ONLY STEAM ONLY

Full: http://www.simfileshare.net/download/5326250/

No patch version (setting only): http://www.simfileshare.net/download/5326252/

Source: https://github.com/sims3fiend/S3LotLoDThing/blob/main/README.md

You will need an ASI loader, I recommend dxwrapper

[alllgator-blood]

I don't usually do anything for pride month cause I'm fruity every day of the year, but ahhh let's just say this year it felt especially important. Hope everyone is doing safe and that your ally friends/family members are giving you all their worldly possessions + sacrificing heretics in your name! I actually drew a very similar picture last year but didn't end up finishing it, some of the flags were definitely different though. NARINDER HAD THE EVIL AUTISM FLAG FOR SOME REASON. Shamura was the only one I finished so I'll just drop them off here:

Wow look at them go, rejecting humanity and encompassing cosmic knowledge and ceaseless war rather than masculinity or femininity....what an icon

Over the year that I've been in this fandom, I've had a lot of thoughts about Shamura's gender that I'll dump here, I WILL SAY it gets more ranty than I've ever gotten on this blog + talks about the fandom itself, so I hid it under the cut. But I feel like I've been pretty tame on this blog so far and because it's pride month, I have the legal right to make ONE rant about a queer fictional character's perception by the fandom

My weak enby heart still has a fucking death grip on shamura that hasn't been loosened in over a year at this point. They're not the best nonbinary representation in media but they're MY FAVORITE and that's all that matters. I can't stress how awesome it felt playing an actually cool, fun game a couple years ago and seeing that the Wisest, Most Powerful Eldritch Beast in all the land was a disabled nonbinary person. And it goes completely without question, it's like yeah that's shamura and *they're* going to traumadump on you and mind control your followers to rebel against you. Don't even worry about it bro

Being like....nonbinary and disabled and native and butch and yadda yadda, I swear to god I just got used to having no media/characters I could relate to. I didn't even think about how bad it felt until I'd stumble into the odd comic or indie game that had a Diverse Cast that MAY feature someone like me, but generally those types of things don't really *do* much with those characters. Not to be like THEY JUST WANT BROWNIE POINTS but...uhhh.........is it so bad to say that sometimes it does feel that way lmao, I won't play your game or read your comic if I feel like you see me as a checkbox to tick rather than a person with a fundamentally different experience.

I'll take this time to say it is kind of disheartening to see the fandom's treatment of shamura's gender sometimes, as someone who uses exclusively they/them. I've got a thick fucking skin, I've publicly acknolwedged I was genderless since before the nonbinary flag was even made, I've had a lot of time to roll with the punches that inevitably come from being trans. But literally one of the first comments I ever got about my shamura headcanons (when I still posted on reddit like a year ago) was that they didn't like that I made them AFAB and said "why can't they just be completely genderless". Like...making the TRANS character TRANSITION at some point was a bad thing? I wasn't saying "they're a girl in my drawings lol" and I even explained that I made them AFAB so I could connect with them better but. Ough

I s2g just mentioning this character brings up arguments, same with the lamb to a lesser extent, but DO NOT look at the reply chains on the youtube uploads of ANY of shamura's songs. It's always that someone calls them a him or her, someone corrects them, someone crucifies that person for being the Woke Police, blah blah blah IT'S AWFUL. It's funny in a way that the mere presence of a nonbinary person is enough to start a small war, but it also feels dehumanizing to know that my gender just cannot respectfully be talked about the same way binary genders can.

While I'm still talking about this, I don't hold it against people who played the game in other languages and call shamura "he" or w/e because from their perspective, the character is male. I've not changed my perspective of the character because I found out they're male in other releases, so I can readily accept that those folks won't either. But it feels....gross to see people who played it in english who just picked whatever binary gender they wanted shamura to be and went with that. Literally every single character with a confirmed gender is male except like, Heket + Forneus + Monch, so to take the ONE undebatably nonbinary character and decide they're not good enough the way they are is....ough. "It's my headcanon" bro that's erASURE IDK HOW ELSE TO TELL YOU. The people doing it probably literally do not comprehend what it's like to never see themself in the media they consume so I don't hate them or anything, but it took me like two decades to find a character whose gender feels like mine. It's lonely out here man

There's something to be said about me talking about that while making my kallamar nonbinary, but I'll just say this: there are so, so many male characters out there. If there was a crowd of millions of characters and ONE GUY vanished, you wouldn't be able to tell. But if there was like...a broom closet with like 9 they/thems, you'd fuckin notice if one was gone. AND I DO. Nonbinary representation isn't good enough rn to be taking the very few they/them characters out there and being like "nope my headcanon is that you're just some guy/chick", especially when sooo many people do it. Me taking one sopping wet man out of that crowd and being like "you can still be a sopping wet man, but sometimes you're a girlfail and sometimes your gender is squid" isn't the same I don't feel, otherwise I wouldn't have done it. I can't stop anyone from making shamura binary, we're all just random internet artists and do as we please, but I'm still allowed to judge from afar. I've definitely had people judge my headcanons from afar lmao

edit: I walked away and had to run back because I need reiterate, if you give Shamura features that are seen as "binary" but keep them nonbinary I think it's cool and based, especially if you are also nonbinary and just want to connect with the character more. "Gendered features" or w/e that are on a nonbinary person don't detract from their nonbinary-ness and we don't owe anyone perfect androgyny. I have boobs and an hourglass shape but also a lot of body hair + mustache and a good amount of muscle mass, doesn't mean I'm more girly or manly.

Okay end of rant, I had to get that off my chest for like EVER tbh. I really really hate discourse or drama or w/e but this is a topic that does mean a lot to me, so I made an exception this one time to make my opinion known.

[saeun]

এ absolute failure ᪲ ﹕ changing the tides ! ᪲ jujutsu kaisen ᧔ female reader.

࣪⊹ he always wanted to hold you in a “sheep in a lion's den” (or something like that) situation, but how can he get past the barrier of a beating heart and sweaty palms?!

+ love, ‘un: featuring (gamer) megumi ⸝ (neighbour) yuta!

megumi fushiguro’s mission: make you nervous (FAILED)

usually megumi rarely invites guests. if there are guests, they invite themselves (example: gojo satoru). it’s the main reason why his housemates were jaw-dropped when they saw a girl following behind their friend.

megumi? with a girl? money might as well grow from trees next week.

it was simply unbelievable. not that they’re calling their friend a loser—hardly, but he’s not the most sociable… in person. megumi's more than comfortable yelling into his headset’s microphone, but he never shares that energy elsewhere.

once megumi entered, he immediately gestured a “don’t say anything” to his housemates. they listened and obeyed; doing nothing more than greeting and telling you the classic: “make yourself comfortable!”

now, megumi meticulously planned the entire session with the help of his group chat. he’d invite you over, keep a cool persona, and use video games as a way to bond with you. what megumi didn’t know was that you were already familiar with video games—you’re just more of a mobile player than a pc player (his main forte).

“do you play games?” he’d softly ask, mentally ticking off the checkbox in his mind.

once you confirmed that you did, he offered you his gaming chair. at first, you denied, saying that it’s his chair and you’d be fine with just standing. what you didn’t know was that’s exactly his plan. he’d have you on the chair while he stood behind you.

he’d guide you through his pc set up, pointing at different games, chrome extensions, doing his best to distract you so you won’t pay any mind to him. when you settled on a game, megumi would smoothly lean over you, putting his hand over yours to control the mouse.

he’d do it all under the disguise of “i’ve played it before. let me show you the tricks.” slowly moving his fingers to sit between yours, stretching his other arm to hold the other side of the chair, leaning in closer til he can feel the heat from your body, talking more than he usually does.

megumi would pretend to be immersed in walking you through the game, but he’s secretly glancing to see whether you’re showing any signs of being flustered.

an hour into the session and he’s the one who’s fighting heartbeat. you weren’t nervous at all. you were calm, sometimes biting your lip to focus on the game. whenever you did something to gain an achievement, you’d smile at him brightly, cheering with an “i did it!” while he responded with his own “yeah, you did.”

you were acting as if this was a normal, friendly hang out. he hid his true intentions. you didn’t know that staring at him until he answered made his heart race. ultimately megumi’s crush you deepened meanwhile you’re excited for another gaming session.

yuta okkotsu’s mission: shojo moment while walking together (FAILED)

yuta fell victim to the unskippable event of falling for his neighbour’s daughter. can you blame him? you’re the same age (bonus number one) and you never get bored of him turning the conversation into a marathon of his interests (bonus number two).

not only do you frequently talk, you also walk together every day. whether it’s to school, to the convenience store, or just taking a stroll around the neighborhood. your parents never allow you to walk without a guardian and yuta’s more than happy to spend time with you.

today it’s walking to the convenience store, though you hold a grudge against it. you’ve ranted multiple times about the irony of it being a convenience when its prices are anything but convenient.

while yuta’s doing his usual rap about his new obsession, you felt a few drops of rain. at first you shrugged it off, thinking you’re imagining things. the sun hid behind the clouds, yes, but the sky’s relatively bright! not a grey cloud insight.

again, you felt more drops of rain. you stopped walking, opening your palm and tilting your head towards the sky.

“hey, is it just me or is it raining?”

upon hearing your words, yuta stops. he was a few steps ahead of you, unable to notice that you had stopped due to being immersed in talking. he walks to you, eyebrows raised as he’s ready to answer your question. unfortunately, the sudden burst of rain cuts him off.

taking advantage of you being in a tank top, yuta quickly slid his jacket off, ready to swing it on your shoulders.

however, you had other plans. it’s raining and you were told to get what your mother needed with haste. with time clearly being a villain today, you grabbed his jacket with one hand and held onto his wrist with the next.

“no time for that!” you shouted, pulling him behind you as you sprinted towards the convenience store.

the sudden contact caused him to be flustered; running through the rain is dangerous yet he’s allowing himself to be dragged along. he would’ve covered you with the jacket and found somewhere to shelter but you took the initiative.

so close, yet so far. the romantic moment he always dreamed of being replaced with whatever’s going on. a moment that could’ve been filled with romantic tension forever mourned. maybe next time he can take the initiative anywhere else but conversations.

[send-me-a-puffalope]

I know you’ve tackled this a little bit, but how do you think William Afton (loser) parents his children? Like in the games and movies. And if you think there are any differences between universes.

I think the difference between Afton’s actions in the games and in the movie is his intent behind having a family.

In the games, I believe having a large family was for the grand facade he was building. It was a checkbox on his list of requirements he needed for success. I’d like to believe Michael remembers when William was a good dad, all those years ago, but his “love” always stemmed from his need for control. So when Fredbear’s Family Diner came along, William became enchanted with the animatronics: they were predictable, he was able to change the way they behaved. If they ever malfunctioned, well that was just a reflection of his and Henry’s failure. He was barely at home anymore, though he was very much an absent father when he was.

Michael, on the other hand, had hit the age where he acted out more—mostly to get William’s attention. His unpredictability drove William insane. CC and Elizabeth came around not too long later, William’s attempt to feel the same amount of control over them he felt when Michael was young. When Mrs. Afton left the picture, William’s mindset was still on himself and his slow climb to success. Michael had to take on the responsibility of his siblings instead, though he was Bad at it. Because he was a kid and this was never a responsibility he was supposed to hold.

In the movie franchise however, William just has Vanessa. I never imagine a Mrs. Afton really existing in this universe at all, so I usually think of her as died early on in Vanessa’s life—to the point where she doesn’t even remember her. Rather than William choosing Freddy’s over his family life, these two became deeply intertwined as Vanessa never left his side. My main HC about the movies is that, before the MCI, William and Vanessa looked like the “perfect family” to the rest of the town, despite it being just the two of them. William was everything anyone could ever want in a father, he even accredited the success of his animatronics to his daughter’s unwavering support. However, I still think that William’s “love” still stemmed from his need for control. Vanessa was the perfect daughter because she listened.

As mentioned before, I think the big shift in their dynamic happened when Vanessa witnessed the MCI. Suddenly, her perception of her “perfect father” shattered and her childhood and innocence died all at once in those backrooms. Post-MCI, William tried to continue his facade. He acted the same as he did prior, though to Vanessa, it was horrifically jarring to see him smiling and laughing after What She Saw. So she began to act out, began throwing tantrums William mentioned in the FNAF movie. Once William realized the “perfect family” he’d spent so long curating was unrecoverable, did he finally drop the act. This kinda relates to another ask sitting in my askbox rn but I think the first time William physically laid a hand on Vanessa was during one of these tantrums—shocking both of them. The moment William realized he still had control and the moment Vanessa realized she was not immune to her father’s anger. Other than this moment, the extent of William’s physical abuse laid in intimidation. A grab of the collar or face to keep Vanessa’s eyes on him. Or bruising grip on her arm to remind her that he has the power in this relationship. I think William using the anger he knew Vanessa had and turning it into violence (her being forced to become his accomplice) was a form of punishment to make her like him in a way that she couldn’t escape.

Anyways i’m normal about these characters (<- highk not sure any of this is coherent because i wrote this on the way to school)

[theresattrpgforthat]

games to play with my long distance partner? we’re queer nerds, i have a lot of dnd experience and some not dnd experience, they have a little bit of dnd experience, we both have fucked up schedules so something that’s asynchronous or short would be best. uh. there’s two of us. yeah i think that’s everything.

THEME: Long-Distance Games.

Hello friend, I am excited to introduce to you the joys of epistolary games!

From the Petals to the Leaves, by somewhere with stories.

This is a two player game about writing to a loved one while you are apart.  Throughout the game you will write to each other while in different gardens, surrounded by plants and flowers of your choice. 

This looks to be a pretty small game, but I think it fits the mood of writing to a loved one, with a concrete topic to base your conversations around - the plants in your gardens. I don’t own this game but I own a similar one by the same creator, so I’m assuming that the game provides you with a prompt list for each letter you send each-other. You can create your characters slowly as you write, uncovering bits and pieces about each-other through your fictional personas. If you just want something a little extra to flavour your letters to each-other, this might be worth looking at.

Soulum Scriptum, by Radmad.

Featuring the art of Marisa Bruno, Soulum Scriptum is a letter writing game for two or more players. You are isolated and alone, until a mysterious courier arrives at your door. They give you a proposition: write letters for someone just like you and they will bring you letters in return.

Develop the broken world and the haven that protects you, all while fighting despair and taking what hope you can find in your new connection across time and space. 

This is a game of connection, between two isolated individuals who are struggling with despair. There are pages for various steps of the game, from world and character creation, to how to manage your feelings after your first letter. There’s also instructions for what to do when you fill certain tracks, including the track for your Haven (your home) and your Hopes (lines and pieces of the letters you receive that give you hope). If you like emotional games that have great potential to tell a story that grows brighter as you play, I recommend Soulum Scriptum.

Talking Thunder, by Eleanor Hingley.

‘Talking Thunder’ is a two-player correspondence RPG about finding connection in a dystopian world. 

As the world changes, you never know what news each letter from your only friend will bring…

If you even hear from them again.

Another game about connection, this time in a post-apocalypse of some kind. I’m curious about how the letters are meant to reach each-other in the fiction of this game, although I suspect that ultimately that is up to the two of you!

We Are Ciphers, by Jgurantz.

We Are Ciphers is a 2-player letter-writing game where you craft a story using coded messages sent through the mail.  You and your partner both covet the Prize, which you believe will transform your lives for the better. But acquiring it is an extremely tricky operation. Many things stand in your way, including the Target. 

This is a letter-writing game with an added layer of complexity, because both of you could be writing in code! The code part is optional, but the premise of the game is that you are two spies trying to get your hands on the Prize - whatever you two decide that may be. The game comes with a list of popular media for inspiration, as well as a series of checkboxes for you to tick off to help you create a game that would be fun for the two of you. There’s also a number of worksheets to help you build your world, craft your codes, and create your characters. If you would like a fair amount of guidance as to how to play the game, We Are Ciphers might be up your alley.

The Wanderers, by AdventureByMail.

You and your friend wait to board two ARK-4 Civilian Class Shuttles charted for new colonies in the hinterlands of space. Though you will be several light-years apart, you promise to keep in touch through the interstellar communication network known as the Unified Starways Parley System. You'll use this network to tell each other about the life you build and the love you discover in the far reaches of space…

This creator makes a number of games designed for long-distance play, so if you like The Wanderers, you might want to check out some of their other work as well! The game itself is small enough to fit on a brochure, so it should be easy to print out and keep somewhere for easy reference. There are roll tables to help you create a character, and some advice on how to write your first letter. Following letters will be provided prompts based on a deck of playing cards, with special rules for drawing Aces. If you like using a bit of randomization to help drive a story, this game might be for you!

Games I've Recommended in the Past

I've played The Reaper's Almanac with a friend before and I really really love the premise of it. It has a chance to dive into some pretty traumatic material, however, as it is about death, so make sure to talk about your partner about the things you'd like to steer clear of if you play this game.

[lurkingshan]

Only Friends is taking shape as a story about three dudes getting in over their heads trying to play games with men more experienced than them.

Mew thinks he is in control of his relationship with Top and ticking off the checkboxes on his little list, meanwhile Top is smarter and more calculating than he thinks and playing him right back while already starting to fuck around with Boston on the side.

Nick is reading way too much into Boston’s casual interest in him and already developing feelings despite all the warning signs, and he’s clearly not prepared to see Boston fucking around with other dudes.

Ray has all the careless confidence of a rich boy and thinks he can buy his way into anything, including Sand’s time and interest, but there’s already an edge of desperation there as he tries to keep Sand’s attention fixed firmly on him.

And all of these pairs are intertwined and tangled up with each other, so when the shit hits the fan it’s going to be absolutely glorious chaos.

[turoce]

day 2 update

KULCS Day 2 Update Community: -has thoroughly deconstructed the map, including various prop pieces and brush chunks, but not very relevant -Cones identified as a potential key lead since they seem to have distinct positions, though not sure why -The various floating props seem to be interacting very specifically with the lighting, shadows and light seem to be displaying shapes of numbers/letters/symbols? -Lots of various ciphers/cryptographic methods tested on aspects of the map but nothing appears to bear much fruit. I’m also personally doubtful the engine would generate anything this complex but that’s just my opinion -People have tried moving the map/lighting around to generate new shadows, but nothing seems to have come from this. My End: -Been spending a lot of time looking around the map myself but still can’t really figure anything out myself In game nothing has really changed, except the figure occasionally seems to spawn in different places -Tried some suggestions but nothing worked. For example, HL2 cheat codes don’t work because I can’t jump, shoot, or use flashlight -In video attached, looking around but nothing is new or changed, still can't move or do anything Other Notes: -Personally I’m feeling that deconstructing the map isn’t going anywhere significant. I have also tried a lot of things on the vmf end but I’m convinced that there’s something about how it’s set up currently -People have been sending me lots of suggestions but there’s too much for me to get to. I won’t be able to try everything you guys suggest + it could take me weeks to really get to everything Maybe I’m going a bit crazy too, but I just realized this entire debacle is happening around the 2 year anniversary of INTERLOPER 3, which was the first time I had to lean on you guys for help. Again thanks everyone for your help, and keep me posted

the sillouette is back.

Additionally, there was a conversation that took place in another person's tf2 server that hosted the Kulcs map:

This is a transcript of TF2 chat messages between Anomi and Autumn-, when Anomi joined Autumn's server hosted on kulcs. Video of encounter -- START -- Anomi has joined the game Autumn- : WHAT Anomi joined team BLU Autumn- : ANOMI?1 Anomi : find anything? Autumn- : uh no? Autumn- : How are you here? Autumn- : This is like a local server? Anomi : u have the checkbox turned on Anomi : its a new tf2 feature Autumn- : which one? Anomi : in create server Autumn- : huh Autumn- : interesting Anomi : theres a checkbox that lets steam host your listen server Autumn- : never thought the creator of the mystery would join Autumn- : also the most interesting thing by far I've connected is Autumn- : is that the images in the out of bounds are Autumn- : somehow connected to the games yo uare able to play this map? Autumn- : It works in half-life 2 Anomi : idk Autumn- : and portal Autumn- : I tested it Anomi : it does? Autumn- : yep Autumn- : if you put it in the og portal's map folde Autumn- : *folder Autumn- : and do the 'map kulcs' command Autumn- : it'll send you here also Autumn- : the xbox version is obvious cuz y'know Autumn- : Interloper d? Autumn- : oh wait Autumn- : well I am only saying it cuz Autumn- : the images also have the half-life 2 xbox cover Anomi : like the 360? Anomi : yeah Autumn- : yep Autumn- : the weirdest thing is Autumn- : when I researched this map Anomi : actually you know Autumn- : ? Anomi : on the xbox 360 version this map was the first map that loaded whenever you launched the game Autumn- : oh? Anomi : orange box Anomi : yeah Autumn- : that's interesting Anomi : I played a LOT of orange box Autumn- : Never got to play it, was too youn for it lol Anomi : me too but I borrowed it Autumn- : ah ok Autumn- : anyway uh Autumn- : everybody keeps thinking cuz of the vrad thing Autumn- : that the shadows have secrets Autumn- : like it's somehow a code Anomi : I kind of agree I think Autumn- : idk how it works Anomi : like this Autumn- : well no Anomi : I'm kind of looking at this thing Autumn- : some shadows connect to look like symbols Autumn- : what do you see? Anomi : it is just me or does this look like a letter e? Autumn- : i mean.. kinda? Autumn- : the top thing makes it look like so Autumn- : but there have been shadows that make them look like letters Autumn- : idk where Anomi : OH i see it Anomi : stand here Autumn- : I could find a youtube video with them Anomi : look this way Autumn- : oh yeah Anomi : you know I should open this in vr and see if I can find more of these Autumn- : hm.. Autumn- : oh yeah Autumn- : wait I am curious really Autumn- : since kulcs is hungarian for key Autumn- : and the key you showed in INTERLOPER D Autumn- : could they be connected? Anomi : i thought so but I have no idea Anomi : thats been the thing for the last weeks Autumn- : huh.. Anomi : but like serial keys arent literal keys so Autumn- : yeah but since it's source Anomi : it's a little too silly 90's Autumn- : some things could be literal Autumn- : idk Autumn- : seems usual for entities within the engine Anomi : I'm gonna look around some more, let me know if you see or find anything cool Autumn- : ah ok Anomi left the game (Client Disconnect) -- END --

[lady-gothique]

Royale High Outfit Icons for the Stream Deck

I've made these icons on Canva to save me some time changing my outfit in between classes using my saved outfits. Feel free to download and use them if you're like me and get immersed in the RH school life spirit while playing.

The list for the icons is as follows:

School Uniform - This can be used for various classes like Computer, Study Hall, English, Math, and detention.

Cheerleading practice - Not yet available.

Lap Pool Activities - Meaning the swim spinner and Baton Swim. The swimwear fashion show theme changes every time so you'll be better off saving a basic swim outfit that you can build upon with the given theme.

Princess Practice - Not yet in game but it won't hurt to have an outfit at the ready.

Flight Class

Mermaid class - Not yet available.

Magic Powers 101 - Not yet available.

Magic Fencing - Not yet available.

Potion Class

Basketball

Archery

Dance Studio - Not yet available.

Bubble Ball - Not yet available.

Baking Class - Not yet available.

Home Economics - Not yet available.

Student store rush - Idk, it's just fun to make a casual shopping outfit 😅

Shower

Sleepover

Workout Gym - Not yet available.

Yoga outfit - For the Stretch Lounge

Spa outfit - Spa not yet available.

Rainy day outfit - This is optional as there's no such thing as weather in Campus, but still fun to use! It can also be used for Rainy day Classroom.

Dress form - Optional but I like to keep a clean basic outfit with no accesories so it is ready when I want to create a new outfit slot.

Farming Outfit - You know the one that includes the Noslats Butterfly Set w socks, the P.E. shirt and now wings!

Sunset Island - To save and outfit with my most used Sunset Island accesories.

Seasonal - This outfit will be overwritten to match the current season.

Elemental - Outfit with your main power.

*You can save the ones you find useful for your gaming style and if you don't have a stream deck at least you can take some ideas for your saved outfits 🥰

How to set up your Outfit Hotkey on the Stream deck.

Step 1: Drag the Multi Action button to your deck, click the new action button, then click on the Content arrow

Step 2: Drag two text actions and a hotkey action from the System dropdown menu.

On the first 'System: Text' type a "/" in the Text box like shown in the image below. This will trigger to open the Roblox chat box.

Step 3: In the second "System: Text" you'll need to type: "/e saved outfit name" For example: /e schooluniform

Check on the Press Enter after message box.

This will prompt an emote attempt so it won't appear in chat to others but it will prompt the pop up window to wear that saved outfit.

Step 4: In the "System: Hotkey" button you need to click on the Hotkey box and press the "Enter/Return" key to assist the Step 3 process, so it runs smoothly. For some reason the "Press Enter after message" checkbox wasn't working on Roblox so adding this step fixes that issue.

And there you have it! Now you can set up your saved outfits to hotkeys in the Stream Deck and save a little time without having to type or remember the names of your fits! Just click YES when the pop up window appears 💗

Important Notes:

This trick seems to work only on public servers for some reason. It might be a glitch for me idk, but I do want to mention it so you are aware of this issue.

The limit of saved outfits is different for everyone, and it is influenced by how detailed your saved outfits are as they take more data space. If you want to be like me and have an outfit for different classes my advice is to use only what's necessary in that outfit. I ran into trouble due to this reason; my saved outfit limit was capped at 22 so I made a few adjustments and was able to increase the limit to 25 as of now.

Most of my fits had invisible wings so I could always use them in flight class but since I no longer need that bc having the hotkey button makes changing more quickly I removed my wings on all my fits except flight class and elemental fit.

If earrings or other accesories are not visible due to hair, sleeves, etc. take them out. Body glitter also counts. Halos too, we do not need to wear halos on every single outfit.

Combine outfit slots if necessary. In my case, I had to eliminate Home Ec. fit and decided to wear just regular uniform for that class too. We still don't have it available, so we really don't know what we'll need. I also removed the Sunset Island slot since that one always changes and now I use the dress form icon for the purpose of having a basic, bare outfit that I can build upon with the given theme.

[niloycentral]

Welcome to Niloy November 2024!

Starting November 1, use the above prompts for each day of November to create something new for Aloy x Nil. Tag #niloynovember, #niloynovember 24, or @ niloycentral for a reblog!

Special thank-you to @kittleskittle for the photomode background for this year's prompts!

What is it?

Above, you’ll find a table of one prompt per day of November, most of which contain special significance to the relationship between Aloy and Nil. For those participating, simply take the prompt and create something around it for that day.

As Niloy November starts the day after the Horizon Zero Dawn remaster release, this year's prompts lean heavily into themes between Aloy & Nil in this part of their lives - but that doesn't mean you're restricted to setting your art, fics, gifs, or photomodes during the Horizon Zero Dawn timeline! You're welcome to use them for Horizon Forbidden West and beyond as well!

What can I make?

Whatever you feel most comfortable creating!

If you’re a writer: a drabble, ficlet, even a poem! No word count minimum or maximum, but in the spirit of the event, I recommend no greater than 2500 words.

Artists can do sketches, doodles, fully rendered pieces, comic pages, whatever they are inspired (and have the time) to create.

Gif-makers, virtual photographers, and other types of visual media are also more than welcome to participate and we encourage it!

For prompts that limit gifs and virtual photography, alternates have been provided – though you are welcome to use the alternates for art and/or fic for the given dates, if they inspire you more.

In addition, you are not limited to one form of creation. If one prompt inspires art, another inspires writing, another has the perfect shot from in-game photography, feel free to mix it up!

The only ask is that whatever you create be new for the prompt. However the prompt inspires you, run with it! Some may feel “on the nose,” but those can be fun to explore metaphorically too!

What are the restrictions?

For fic submissions, please use the appropriate submission tags below the text box. All ratings are welcome provided they are properly labelled.

As per Tumblr guidelines, we cannot show any NSFW art or photomodes. If your submission contains NSFW material, please submit a suitable crop preview or censored version that can safely be displayed on Tumblr. The post will also, if possible, have a Mature community content label. This also applies for other types of Mature content.

Can I team up with someone for art or writing for a prompt?

Yes! Fics and art are welcome to inspire each other.

Where do I post?

Wherever you feel comfortable sharing. Fics should be posted on AO3 and you are welcome to share the link on your own social media or in a server. Mostly, I encourage you to submit it directly to the niloycentral tumblr.

If you have a Tumblr: You can submit it directly to niloycentral, or tag your post with either #niloynovember or #niloynovember24 – both will be tracked! You can also @niloycentral.

If you don’t have a Tumblr: You can submit the art or photomode itself directly, or link to your creation on other social media (Twitter, Instagram, AO3, wherever it is hosted) through our niloycentral submissions page using the following format:

Creator: your @(social media) or your alias

Prompt: what day/prompt you have submitted

Plus any applicable tags as per checkboxes below the submission area.

#niloynovember and #niloynovember24 will also be tracked on Twitter, but to make sure we see and catch everything, I encourage submissions to niloycentral Tumblr!

Do I have to do every prompt?

We don’t want anyone to get burnt out or frustrated. Some prompts will inspire more than others and we all have days where we just can’t. You definitely don’t have to do every prompt to be included! Your creation will be featured whether you do all 30, or 19, or 12, or if you even only do 1. You’re more than welcome to continue working on the prompts after November as well.

Do I have to do them in order?

No… but if you do submit to the blog for a prompt from later in the month, we will schedule your submission to post on the proper day (based on EST). Any submissions from previous-day prompts will be posted as usual.

Prompts are being released now, but we ask that you do not post until November 1.

Happy creating!

Prompt list below:

Pulse

Camp

Feather

Eclipse

Voice

Cover

AU - Modern (Alternate: Metal)

Call

Dark

Duel

Proposal

Match

Union

AU - Historical (Alternate: Grey)

Path

Free Space

Humour

Reason

Intimate

Dawn

Bright

Final

Comfort

Kindred

Tether

Dusk

AU - Genre (Alternate: Storm)

Warmth

Future

Meme

[otaqueer]

Post 1- From Class-S to I'm in Love With the Villainess: Is it gay to be gay?

In the beginning, there was no yuri (what a sad world to live in!), but in the early years of the 20th century, Class-S was born.

Class-S is a term used to coin a genre really prominent in Japanese fiction in the early 20th century. To sum it up, the S stands for concepts like sex, sentimentalism, shoujo, sisterhood, and more. These stories took place in all-girls schools, where they would experience romantic and/or platonic feelings towards each other, and they would even get to experience sexual attraction sometimes.

I will love to touch more on Class-S, how it came to be yuri and the Year 24 group and their works in future posts, but for now, I just wanted to clarify that, looking at Class-S as yuri’s predecessor, it had little to nothing to do with queerness, as these stories between young girls were considered just a phase. They would graduate school and marry men. Everything would go back to normal in the end.

We travel in time now to October 2023, when the I’m in Love With the Villainess anime based on Inori’s light novels and manga with the same title was released. This story is an isekai who follows Rei Oohashi, or Rae Taylor, as she is called in the world of her favourite otome videogame, to which she was spontaneously transported. The former burned-out office worker now lives in her favorite game, which takes place in some kind of Medieval-like time period, and where she is in love with the villainess rather than the male love interests. I was personally already obsessed with the novels so I really loved that they were doing an anime adaptation.

The anime had a good reception overall, with a bit of a viral moment originating from a conversation that happened on episode 3 (and part of the reason I thought of creating this blog).

The following does not contain spoilers per se:

Misha, Rae, Lene and Claire are having tea together and Misha confronted Rae with the following question:

“Are you what they call gay?”

And it says so in Japanese as well, using “doseai-sha”, which directly translates to “homosexual”. Lene scolds Misha, as she deems that question inappropriate, to which Rae clarifies that she is okay talking about it. Claire expresses that she is uncomfortable with that conversation and that she feels herself in danger around Rae, to which Misha points out that those are prejudices and it is not okay to have them. After Claire has been scolded, Lene verbalizes what she just thinks she understood: For Rae, gender doesn’t matter when it comes to love. But turns out, it does. Rae clarifies that, for her, gender matters as she only likes girls, not boys.

I loved this conversation from the bottom of my heart. Also, in the novels, topics like being transgender and gender non-conformity are also mentioned very thoroughly from Rae’s thoughts and memories from her previous life and some other events that take place in the story.

This marks a very big checkbox for me about queerness in manga and anime: It is queer out loud. So I guess this raises a question: Does a manga or anime need to be queer this out loud in order to be classified as “properly queer”? My answer is, although I loved this and wish to see it more in this kind of works, it probably shouldn’t be a necessary criteria to be met. At the end of the day, I am seeing everything through Western lenses and, though I think it is a worldwide wish to be able to speak about queerness more openly in fiction, every country has their own reality, as every author and artist does. All in all, not talking about something does not make it any less true.

But, after episode 3 was released, it caused some negative reactions online.

These screenshots were uploaded by Twitter user ShoujoCent:

Although not talking about something doesn’t make it any less true, it seems like some yuri fans don’t consider the yuri genre to be queer in on itself. They don’t consider the sexual and romantic attraction between two women to be necessarily sapphic.

This reminded me of the Class-S conception: These girls love each other romantically, they are attracted to each other sexually, but it is just a thing girls do sometimes, isn’t it?

It is pure entertainment, it is simply fun, or beautiful to watch. The stereotypical girl who chases another girl and is not afraid to say out loud that she wants her as it is not a serious thing is simply a loved trope, it doesn’t mean anything.

One thing that the World Wide Web has given us is that people speak up their minds more often and louder than before. Someone could read yuri in the 80’s just because they liked the appeal of it and then be a homophobe, but no one would know about the hypocrisy of those two acts coexisting together. Probably, many more wouldn't think that is a hypocritial thing to do. Sadly, this thought never died, and queer people are still regarded by many as just a theoretical concept made to entertain them, to have opinions about us and to consume us as simple content.

This is not to say that Class-S was untouched by queer people, as one of the most notable authors, Nobuko Yoshiya, was a lesbian. Also, Class-S authors were not to blame for the way queer themes were used devoid of queerness for (mostly) straight readers to consume. But the message that those works expressed 100 years ago should have already disappeared, as in most of the world’s societies we know about the existence of queer people as real, tangible beings.

For me, queerness in fiction doesn’t have to be about saying it out loud, but it sure has to do with not separating queer people and queer themes from queerness.

All in all, I’m in Love With the Villainess is a very queer work by a very queer author, since Inori also happens to be a trans woman and her themes really do have a contrast with the Class-S narrative.

What do you think? Do we share the same concept of queerness?

Thank you for reading my first post!

[oonajaeadira]

questions tag game

Lol thanks for the tag, @insomniamamma, @grogusmum, @katareyoudrilling, @toomanytookas, and @ace-turned-confused. I missed playing games!!!

Do you make your own bed? Only if I have rehearsal that day. My rehearsal studio is in my garage and the only toilet's inside the house. Our back door goes directly into the bedroom, so if people have to pass through our bedroom, I'd like it to look neat. But otherwise no. I actually like to throw the covers wide and let the sheets air.

Favorite number? Truthfully, numbers are weird to me. I don't get 'em. It's a long story. I guess the only one that catches my notice is probably 17 because my birfday, but I don't know if I'd say it was a favorite.

What’s your job? I work with performing artists. Fewer than 300 people on earth have my job and probably fewer than half of those even use the same job title. But I love love love my job; I'm good at it and it feels like I was made to do it. I get to spend my days working to make it more accessible for artists to present their work, organizing arts events, and fighting on their behalf to keep arts programs running.

If you could go back to school, would you? A few years ago I might have said yes. But now, probably not. I'm content to take classes, but I don't have the time, money, or energy. I wouldn't want the pile of checkboxes and deadlines again, that's for sure.

Can you parallel park? Pretty well, yes. Bonus for being able to parallel park in February when the snow's all built up on the side of the road and I have to gun it through plow drifts.

Do you think aliens are real? Statistically speaking, the probability of there deffo being aliens is astronomically high. (See what I did there)

Can you drive a manual car? Yes. I learned in/took my test in/first owned a stick. My dad taught me to drive and wanted to make sure I could always drive whatever vehicle I got in. It was his way of protecting me--if I ever got in a scrape and suddenly needed to drive a car, I'd be able to, no matter what. It actually came in handy in college because I was a pretty straight shooter, so my friends could drink and toke and I was always there to drive them home, even if it wasn't my car.

What’s your guilty pleasure? Most of my pleasures are guilt free because idgaf. But I do love staying up late knowing that I'll be tired in the morning. And I do love having a lazy day even though I know being sedentary isn't good for me. I love love love flying when I go on vacation, but I know my carbon footprint is deep. And I love shopping on Amazon and Shien and...well...*capitalist guilt*

Any phobias? Centipedes. Stick around my blog and you'll hear me scream about it often enough.

Favorite childhood sport? I was a water baby, so I loved swimming and would get into the water any chance I could. I was on swim team and gymnastics team in junior high. Loved riding my bike anywhere I could get to. And I was big on roller skating and downhill skiing...until I found theater and then I couldn't imagine risking breaking a bone and being in the wrong kind of a cast for six weeks....

Do you talk to yourself? All. The. Time. In the third person. Both admonishment and praise as well as practicing imaginary conversations with others. Sometimes it's a back and forth battle between two voices that are both me playing devil's advo. And sometimes I talk out fic dialogue in the shower or in the car. I get caught at it all the time. Whoops.

Tattoos? One on my back that I'm thinking about covering up with a Darksaber/watercolor tat. Now that I'm at the point in my career where I don't have to keep my body "marketable" (an actor's life is bizarre, yo), I'm thinking of getting a set of matching forearm tats.

Favorite color? Lemon yellow.

Do you like puzzles? I love brain puzzles. Sudoku, crosswords, anagrams, logic puzzles, escape rooms. Complex scheduling lol. Anything you have to think through. I usually wake up and play my way through most of the New York Times daily puzzles first thing in the morning. I am not as fond of trial-and-error puzzles like jigsaws and rubiks though. Those just feel like work to me.

.

tagging: @feathersandfoxtails @songsformonkeys @yespolkadotkitty @julesonrecord @writeforfandoms

@honestly-shite @lowlights @ithinkwehitametaphor @moonlitbirdie @the-blind-assassin-12