#I need to look into the recently updated tabs more

[yoihino]

I've finally put all my suscribed works into bookmarks and I got so sad,, because there were so many that had been orphaned or abandoned. And I am not blaming the authors, it is their story and they can do whatever they want, but a part of me mourns these stories that will never have and end. Some of those were favorites too, which will make it all the more bittersweet whenever I reread them. And all of this to find a fic that wasn't even there /=_=\

[exopelagic]

WHY DID NOBODY TELL ME BURROWS END WASNT FREE

[charlietheepicwriter7]

Teen Villain Alliance

Chapter 1 - Damian

Despite his proficiency in the skill, Damian hated spying on the Teen Villain Alliance. 

Having appeared two years ago in alliance with Klarion Bleak, the Teen Villain Alliance, or TVA, quickly made themselves known as little more than pests, often rushing in to assist other young adult criminals or harass Justice League officials. Father wanted to investigate when they first appeared, but with Todd’s reveal and Damian himself coming to take his place as Robin, he’d been… busy. 

Which allowed the TVA to flourish into a respected criminal enterprise. No vault was safe, no hero strong enough. A group had even banded together to take down Superman! And while there was no lasting damage other than some bizarre markings on the Kryptoian’s face, it was enough to prove these teenagers as a threat. 

Damian, as much as it galled him, was not the first chosen to infiltrate. Martian Manhunter, shapeshifted into a meta fourteen-year-old girl, tried and was identified as a hero on sight. The Teen Titans and Young Justice got closer, actually able to talk to the villains about joining, but “it was like they could smell the hero on us,” Beast Boy had explained. “I don't know how else to explain it.”

Most likely, the TVA kept tabs on the Justice League and affiliated organizations. They needed someone fresh, someone who wasn’t a hero.

Damian had been more than willing to volunteer. 

Introducing himself as Damian Al Ghul, the recently escaped Heir to the Demon Head, he’d been accepted immediately despite having approached the group mid-heist. All he had to do was extrapolate about how Grandfather’s assassins were chasing him, and the Wolf—a designation given to the members of the TVA’s inner circle—allowed him to join, but he was forced to stay with the hacker of the group while the heist commenced with no interference from a hero.

Damian had been confident. He’d gotten so far in mere minutes when a member of the Justice League, and even Drake, couldn’t get past the first few questions. He’d have the Teen Villain Alliance dismantled within the week.

Then Manson, as the Wolf had introduced herself, took out a device that transported them all to another dimension. Which was where the main base of the Alliance was. And none of his communication devices or trackers worked there. 

Damian had only been able to update the Justice League a few times since his tenure as a spy began. Superman had reassured him it was fine, that there had been plenty of missions were communication was infrequent, but after a month of living in the TVA Base in the Infinite Realms, Damian hated not being able to contact his father easily. And in return, Father and Drake had taken to interrogating him for as long as possible the couple of times he was outside Headquarters. 

(Phantom’s Haunt is what the TVA members called it. It was Phantom Dark’s home that he opened up to them all. Damian didn’t know how to feel about that.)

Damian had only been able to contact Father three times in his four weeks undercover, each time on a supply run… which was essentially just a grocery trip for the Haunt. The first time Damian had slipped away to the bathroom and called, Father had been… furious. He’d thought Damian’s lack of updates was on purpose. It had been five minutes before Damian could correct him. 

He wished Grayson had answered during any of his updates, but he was on a mission in space and wouldn’t be back for another two weeks. 

In those four months, Damian was still the newest member, and had yet to be involved in the truly illegal aspects of the organization. All the information he’d gathered purely administrative, like how Duulaman, a reincarnated pharaoh turned hacker, stole money from various billionaires and government organizations to fund their plans. He’d yet to be involved with anything serious. 

He wasn’t allowed on serious missions either. He only had the supply runs to look forward to, and those only occurred once a month. 

His other objective, to undermine the Teen Villain Alliance and spur a mutiny, was also going poorly. The children he surrounded himself with were fanatically loyal to the Alliance, citing Phantom and his harem as the reason they were alive today. Even those who weren’t directly rescued were loyal. One such child, a boy named Kyd Wyckyd, had confessed to turning to a life of crime due to his terrifying meta abilities and their effects on his appearance. 

But the TVA took him in after the collapse of HIVE Academy. He hadn’t participated in a crime since, preferring to work with the Wolf named Jasmine who led individual and group therapy sessions for the villains. Jasmine had tried multiple times to convince her therapy sessions—more like brainwashing sessions—but Damian had stayed strong in the face of adversary. 

Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be much more Damian could do. He tried to push, to get involved with the criminal aspect of the organization, but the Wolves blocked him at every turn, saying he was “too young.” That he needed “stability” and to “rely on them to keep him safe.”

Perhaps Damian oversold the danger of the League of Assassins. 

For now, Damian hid in his room in Phantom’s Haunt. His castle. Even the magnificence of the compound he grew up in couldn’t compare to the headquarters. There were an infinite number of rooms—”as many as we need,” Phantom had told him—that changed based on the user’s preferences. Right now, Damian’s room looked like a cave. The Batcave, to be precise, though he didn’t allow references to his Father and legacy. 

He was hiding because Manson had suggested he attend some of the classes held in the libraries—there were four libraries at the moment. Classes were taught by ghosts under Phantom’s control and weren’t mandatory, but “everyone’s worried about the lack of structure in your life.”

He tried to tell himself it was because he didn’t want to be brainwashed by Phantom’s lackeys, and that he already knew everything they were going to teach. But in truth… Damian was anxious. Attending school at the Haunt felt too permanent, too much like he was planning to stay. He hadn’t gotten the choice to attend school back in Gotham, with Father acting like he would compromise their identities around children. He wasn’t that petty. 

Someone knocked on his door. “Damian? Are you inside?” 

Sighing, Damian stood up and opened the door. “Dr. Fenton. Am I needed for anything?”

Dr. Daniel Fenton was another Wolf, another member of the harem Phantom had built around him, twenty years old and not an actual doctor but everyone called him that anyway. While Damian had yet to see Fenton and Phantom in the same place, Damian was keeping a detailed record of how the Wolves’ polyamourous relationship worked. Phantom and Fenton both dated Manson and Duualman, though they didn’t seem to be dating each other or Jasmine. Klarion often inserted himself into those relationships for hugs and hand-holding, but only seemed to kiss Jasmine. 

“Actually, yes.” Damian’s lips parted in surprise. “I wanted to talk to you about something down in my lab. Would you join me?”

Fenton’s lab was off-limits to low level members of the TVA. He was the engineer, the creator of all their weapons of destruction. Fenton had no minions, while Manson had her thieves, Duualman had his hackers, Jasmine had her helpers, Klarion had his witches, and Phantom had his fighters. 

Fenton was alone. 

Isolated. 

Damian agreed. 

Fenton led him to the depths below the castle, past the never-used dungeon and through a secret door into a surprisingly bright and airy lab. He caught Damian looking through a window that displayed one of the Haunt’s many gardens, an impossible feat for being so far underground. “Magic castle, remember,” Fenton chided him. “Those work as portals that lead to the garden too, so it’s an easy one-way exit.”

Damian scoffed, abashed that he’d been caught so easily. From a glance, the lab was perfectly maintained, with every piece of equipment assigned to an outline meant to indicate where it belonged. As he walked further into the room, Fenton made slight adjustments to his tools, meticulously shifting them back into place. It looked more like a set than a laboratory. 

But then, Damian observed Fenton. The twenty-year-old relaxed as he put his space back into order, nudging the screwdrivers and beakers back into their designated outlines. As he worked, the sleeve of his lab coat road up, revealing a glimpse of lichtenberg scars before it was hidden again. 

Finally done, Fenton turned back to Damian. “My sister, Jazz, has told me that you’re not attending individual or group therapy sessions, is that correct?”

Well, that revealed a  lot of information. Ignoring the fact that Fenton and Jasmine were apparently siblings, Damian replied, “I do not see a reason to attend. If this meeting is an attempt to force me–”

Fenton held his hands up in surrender. “No, I would never. Therapy doesn’t work if the person receiving it doesn’t want it. But you haven’t been attending any of your classes either, and Phantom has mentioned that you don’t hang out with the other kids. Are you settling in alright? I know the others are a few years older than you, so it might be harder for you to connect with them.”

Damian chewed on the question. While part of him was furious that someone, especially a villain like Fenton, was concerned about him and discussed him with his fellows, the other part… wasn’t. It was true; he was having difficulty connecting with the villains. Damian didn’t particularly want to, but it would make his mission easier. 

He chose a neutral answer. “In the League of Assassins… I was the only child in the entire compound. Other children weren’t allowed inside, not unless their parents did something wrong. And those children…”

“Were used against their parents?” Fenton offered when he struggled to find the words. 

“Precisely. It’s not in my nature to associate with children.”

Fenton nodded in understanding, stroking his chin in thought. “That does present a conundrum alright. How unfortunate; the task I needed your help with requires you to interact with at least some of the others, but if you’re that uncomfortable with the idea, then I could find someone else.”

Damian stared at the man in suspicion. “What task?” he demanded to know. If this was a way to get more information for father, he needed to know. But if this was another trap to get him into therapy…

“You’ve probably noticed by now, but I’m the only Wolf without someone working under me. Sam has her Bats, Tucker has his Flies, Jazz has her Rats, Klarion has his Strays, and Phantom has the TVA as a whole. The others have been pressuring me to create my own group, but babysitting a group of teens in a lab where anything could explode is just asking for trouble.”

Damian stepped away from the nearest device. Fenton continued, “However, I think a group dedicated to investigation would work much better. Here in the Infinite Realms, we’re very isolated from the human world, so my research on competing inventors is always lacking. Tuck and Sam help, but Tucker has his own hacking projects, and Sam targets financially viable targets instead of labs.”

“You want me to be a member of your new… group?” Damian read in between the lines of what Fenton was saying. Surely Father would be proud of him for gaining information about Fenton’s inventions and targets—

“I want you to lead the group.”

His glare dropped right off his face in shock. “Lead?” he whispered. 

“That’s right,” Daniel agreed. “It’s not conventional and I barely got the others to agree, but Damian, you’re one of the best trained villains to ever join the TVA. Yeah, you’re really young, but you are serious and professional. To be honest, most of the kids we take in don’t take our work seriously. It’s not a bad thing, but I need a leader who is willing to keep their group in line. Infiltration and information gathering can be very dangerous, and I need someone who can keep the team safe.”

Daniel trusted him enough for that? Father didn’t trust him enough to be his partner; honestly, Father didn’t even trust him enough to introduce Damian to the world as his son! Perhaps he was aggressive towards the interlopers in his home, but he wasn’t going to stab a civilian!

And while Damian didn’t understand why Daniel was so cautious around what amounted to breaking and entering, he wanted Damian to lead. He trusted Damian for that. 

And Damian was going to take back whatever information Fenton revealed back to his father, like a hunting dog to its master. 

Daniel continued, “Of course, this is still a few months off from being necessary. But that should give you plenty of time to attend some classes to prepare you more! One on leadership skills, one on modern technology, one on basic magic and wards, maybe a refresher on hacking… Knowing you, you’ll test out of them in a few weeks, but the main point is to find other people to join our team. I’m looking for four other team members, and while I am looking for certain traits and skills, it's up to you to decide who you want on the team.” Daniel placed a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “So, what do you think?”

He’d betray Daniel by saying yes. He’d betray Father by saying no. 

He made his choice. 

Damian looked up at Daniel, determination set into his face. “I won’t let you down.”

Daniel smiled. “I know you won’t. You couldn’t if you tried.”

[theresattrpgforthat]

How To Find Cool Games: On Itch.io!

As I drift into a reduced posting schedule, I figured I’d give everyone a peek behind the screen for how I cultivate ttrpgs for recommendations! Some of these tips might even help you find your next favourite game.

This is a long read so let's put most of this beast under a read-more. Keep in mind that many of these strategies work best when you're checking itch.io a little bit every week, and when you're engaging with the platform as more than just a store page. There's a lot of features that you can choose to engage with if you want to find the game for you!

browsing physical game recent releases. This helps me see what’s new and happening, and it helps with a number of things. First of all, I get to see new games pretty much every time I browse recent releases. Secondly, I get a good sense of what’s currently popular in the design space. Thanks to my weekly browsing, I recognize Cy_Borg, Shadowdark and Mausritter as games whose content shows up rather regularly - if you see a lot of products attached to one game at once, that’s a good sign that there’s a related game jam going on (in this case, Shadowdark), or that a game is really resonating with its player base.

sorting games into collections. I personally organize by genre, system, player configuration and (in Games That Intrigue Me) games that I’m personally really hyped about. This works for me because of the nature of my work, but a few collections sorted according to level of interest or game style might work better for you.

Depending on the need, I might have a collection that works specifically for the request - Neon Lights & Cyber Nights is perfect for cyberpunk games, but I might also reference this folder for combat, inventory mechanics, resistance themes, or interesting tech rules. LUMEN is great for folks who want fast-paced games, folks who are looking for certain kinds of video games, or folks who want to feel powerful. If you follow other people on Itch, you'll probably also be able to see their collections, which is a great place to browse.

searching game tags. I don’t typically use the regular search feature, although recently the website did update the toggles to restrict your results to physical games, video games, etc. Instead what I usually do is type what I’m looking for into the url: so in this case, [deck-building]. I might use a couple different wordings, such as [deck-builder] and [deckbuilding] (no spaces). You’re not going to find everything that includes the thing you’re looking for, but you’ll definitely find places to start.

Game Jams! I find these either by looking at the “Jams” tab (although you'll have to wade through video games here) or by noticing that a number of games being published recently have the “for the _” jam in the description. Alternatively, I might be reading the page for a game and see the little “Submission” badge in interaction buttons. There’s game jams for specific systems, game jams for various themes, game jams with special restrictions, and game jams that are titled things like “finish your damn game jam.”

Bundles. I typically buy big-ass bundles and then sort through the games in my downtime. These games are sorted into collections for future reference, and if a game really pops out - into the Intrigue Me folder it goes! And the best part is that I already own it, so if I want to learn more, I can just download it and start reading.

following game designers that I like. This way I’ll get notifications if they release a new game, update an old game, rate someone else’s game, or sort games into their own collections. I also get to see what other folks in the space are excited about - on the day I was browsing, Plasmodics by Will Jobst was really hot.

If you follow me on Itch, you’ll get a notification every time I add a game to one of my non-private folders! Also - you can interact with designers on Itch by liking their updates, and even commenting on their posts, which is a great way to get involved in the design community - and also just make a designer’s day!

[gatheredfates]

SEA'S COMMUNITY COMPENDIUM UPDATE

We have a massive one today! Huge thanks to a close friend of mine who sent me every single bookmark of xiv resources she had. 💖

Additionally, a good handful of these resources were sourced from a list originally created by @rinhkitty, which you can find here. I have tried to include the more recent/active of the lot, so it's not a one-for-one. Thank them for a lot of the large scale resources you'll find below! ✨

As of 04/12, I have added the following resources (in no particular order) to Sea's Community Compendium for FFXIV Creatives:

LARGE SCALE

GARLAND TOOLS — Contains XIV resources such as Garland Data, everything database, crafting lists and equipment calculators; Garland Bell, gathering timers, collectable resources and hunt windows; and FFXIV Fisher, daily fishing windows, bait paths and catch checklist. Maintained by Clorifex Ezalor of Zalera.

TEAMCRAFT — Create crafting lists and collaborate with others, set gathering alarms, simulate crafting rotations, and more!

CAT BECAME HUNGRY - FFXIV ANGLER — Contains everything and anything to know about fishing including specific fish guides, location, baits, aquarium fish and more!

FFXIV - CRAFTING AS A SERVICE — Crafting information and planning for FFXIV!

FFXIV GARDENING — The FFXIV Gardening Database is a collection of everything related to gardening in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. It was created to organize and visualize the results obtained from crossbreeding.

SIGHTSEEING LOG HELPER — This tool will help those trying to complete their pesky Sightseeing Log by letting them know upcoming weather patterns for each zone!

EUREKA TRACKER — For everything and anything to do with Eureka mobs, tracking and weather patterns.

FFLOGOS — for tracking of items/actions related to Eureka.

FFXIVSQUADRON — A comprehensive tool that helps you assess the success rate of various squadron missions.

FFXIV CHOCOBO COLOUR CALCULATOR — Will calculate what chocobo feed you will need to get from your current colour to your desired colour. *rng not included.

FFXIV HOUSING — A site specialising in the documentation of all housing items available in game.

HOUSING SNAP — A compilation of player-made housing designs. Can be used for inspiration or places to visit!

MISC

NPC CHAT BUBBLES — Would you like more NPC chat bubbles for edits? Say no more! Created by @alexoisxiv.

OLD TUMBLR LAYOUT BY PIXIEL — While not XIV specific I know a lot of people aren't fans of the new Tumblr layout, so this is a fix that will revert it to an as close as possible approximation of the new one. I won't tag the creator as I don't think they're in the xiv community, but it's run by @/pixiel!

HOW TO CURSE LIKE AN ISHGARDIAN — Do you want to make the church blush? Do you want to incur the wrath of Halone? @stars-and-clouds has compiled a list of appropriate curses/swear words for you!

FINAL FANTASY XIV SIDEQUEST GUIDE - HEAVENSWARD EDITION — maintained by @chatty-moogle, this guide explores interesting sidequests in Heavensward that will give you more information about the lore, titbits about locals and other interesting information!

TRUST BANNERS FOR XIV — If you have ever wondered how people mimic the Trust banners used in XIV, look no further! @locke-rinannis has a template for you.

MAKING USE OF RECOMMENDATIONS — created by @autumnslance, this guide will help you make your recommendations tab useful rather than annoying.

BOTANICA EORZEA — A guide to the flora of Eitherys and her reflections, including fungi and seedkin. For reference in writing and roleplaying. Maintained by @tinolqa.

GPOSE TIPS — A tutorial on how to achieve clarity and detail in your XIV screenshots! Created by @aryalaenkha.

UI MACRO MENUS — A guide on how to use macros to create small UI menus for XIV. Written by @diskwrite-ffxiv.

TYPHON GATE RESEARCH — Created by @mcstronghuge, these are the statistically best places for your character to stand for the Typhon Gate!

CHANGELOG

HYDAELYN HEALTH HAVEN has been removed at the request of the owner.

Moved THE BALANCE higher on the list to reflect alphabetical sorting, excluding names that start with The.

Misc formatting as needed.

Added some additional clarification around large-scale discords/spaces; in particular: Large-scale community discords such as the XIV Reddit Discord, Hunts, GPOSE promotions and broad-space roleplay servers that harbour a large number of people and are publicly available to all. These may not have an RP focus but will assist in other aspects of the game. Also includes well-known tools/resources that are utilised by large groups of people and assist in gameplay elements.

Added a quick-jump menu to the bottom of each of the table of contents menus to assist in navigation.

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)!

I am sure there's probably a couple of things I have missed or links/formatting that might be broken. Please don't hesitate to let me know if anything is out of place. I'm going to take a break now. I'm pretty sure that's the biggest edit that's ever going to occur on this document!

[goblin-social]

Changelog, 1/03/2024

It has been a while since I last wrote an update!

January and part of february has been kind of slow months. In early january, I dediced to focus on improving the compatibility with tumblr, thinking in that for a while no one would want to use Goblin on its own. And well, the tumblr compatibility (improve how tumblr posts from the rss feeds look like, optimizing then those posts are fetched, plan how to make goblin interact with reblogs and comments over tumblr-imported posts, etc) is a huge task that gets at odds with my resources to employ in goblin (it's hard to do big, complex systems when you can spend maybe 30 minutes every few days working on a project).

Anyway, the mini-implosion that tumblr has gone through this week has made change approach: I'm not focusing on making goblin stable and usable, and I'll care about tumblr compatibility (or not) in the future. That has made me regain speed once again.

What it has been done since the last update?

- It's finally safe to edit posts: The editor won't swallow your text or your tags when you edit a post. Yes, this is a recent fix. As 'today' recent.

- No longer empty tags either.

- In the post interaction view, it knows display the list of reblogs correctly

- Improved the styles of the reactions tab view too

- The post replies now show a little warning over the reply textbox to warn you are reply to an existing reply when you click on the "reply" button of a reply. Reply reply, reply? reply re ply reply re.

- Any "tootstorm" (or conversation between several people you follow) from mastodon or other non-goblin fediverse platforms is rendered as a reblog trail correctly now (yes, this was in the last changelog, but it sadly didn't work very well. Now it does)

- But if it's a string of replies between goblin users, we are not showing that in the timeline anymore.

- Changed the width of the timeline to make it a bit more narrow, avoiding images and videos looking absurdly huge.

- Fixes a bunch of bugs that could make your timeline empty of content

- Oh and you can follow any public tumblr blog rss feed. You just need to search for @tumblr-username.tumblr.com and you'll be able to follow that rss feed as if it was just another user).

[probablyasocialecologist]

To bring about its hypothetical future, OpenAI must build a new digital ecosystem, pushing users toward the ChatGPT app or toward preëxisting products that integrate its technology such as Bing, the search engine run by OpenAI’s major investor, Microsoft. Google, by contrast, already controls the technology that undergirds many of our online experiences, from search and e-mail to Android smartphone-operating systems. At its conference, the company showed how it plans to make A.I. central to all of the above. Some Google searches now yield A.I.-generated “Overview” summaries, which appear in tinted boxes above any links to external Web sites. Liz Reid, Google’s head of search, described the generated results with the ominously tautological tagline “Google will do the Googling for you.” (The company envisions that you will rely on the same search mechanism to trawl your own digital archive, using its Gemini assistant to, say, pull up photos of your child swimming over the years or summarize e-mail threads in your in-box.) Nilay Patel, the editor-in-chief of the tech publication the Verge, has been using the phrase “Google Zero” to describe the point at which Google will stop driving any traffic to external Web sites and answer every query on its own with A.I. The recent presentations made clear that such a point is rapidly approaching. One of Google’s demonstrations showed a user asking the A.I. a question about a YouTube video on pickleball: “What is the two-bounce rule?” The A.I. then extracted the answer from the footage and displayed the answer in writing, thus allowing the user to avoid watching either the video or any advertising that would have provided revenue to its creator. When I Google “how to decorate a bathroom with no windows” (my personal litmus test for A.I. creativity), I am now presented with an Overview that looks a lot like an authoritative blog post, theoretically obviating my need to interact directly with any content authored by a human being. Google Search was once seen as the best path for getting to what’s on the Web. Now, ironically, its goal is to avoid sending us anywhere. The only way to use the search function without seeing A.I.-generated content is to click a small “More” tab and select “Web” search. Then Google will do what it was always supposed to do: crawl the Internet looking for URLs that are relevant to your queries, and then display them to you. The Internet is still out there, it’s just increasingly hard to find. If A.I. is to be our primary guide to the world’s information, if it is to be our 24/7 assistant-librarian-companion as the tech companies propose, then it must constantly be adding new information to its data sets. That information cannot be generated by A.I., because A.I. tools are not capable of even one iota of original thought or analysis, nor can they report live from the field. (An information model that is continuously updated, using human labor, to inform us about what’s going on right now—we might call it a newspaper.) For a decade or more, social media was a great way to motivate billions of human beings to constantly upload new information to the Internet. Users were driven by the possibilities of fame and profit and mundane connection. Many media companies were motivated by the possibility of selling digital ads, often with Google itself as a middle man. In the A.I. era, in which Google can simply digest a segment of your post or video and serve it up to a viewer, perhaps not even acknowledging you as the original author, those incentives for creating and sharing disappear. In other words, Google and OpenAI seem poised to cause the erosion of the very ecosystem their tools depend on.

[norcani]

DRAGON AGE ORIGINS MODS GUIDE (for the first time player)

i made this for a friend of mine, but figured there might be more people that want to get into the series after the dav trailer.

this list aims a close to vanilla experience, with some fixes and qol stuff. Obviously a lot is still based on personal preference. It does not include big changes to the combat, new items, new companions or quests, overhauls, visual changes to characters*, or big retexture projects. Of course pick and chose whatever sounds good to you, but I highly recommend the ones I put under essential.

*besides removal of various boob armor All of the below should be compatible , read descriptions if you need to do something extra for them to be.

Essentials

4gb patch: you basically need this to run the game without constant crashes. Any of these should work: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=233222451 OR https://ntcore.com/4gb-patch/ OR https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5989

Dialogue fixes: Back in my day we used : https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1120 plus https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/928 it looks like more recently this mod has superseded it though https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4689

Camp chest : https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/61 a chest in your camp to put your shit in (the game gives you a party chest eventually in a dlc but its in a stupid location you will never use)

fixes for awakening: this expansion is very buggy. get this: https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5944 as well as all the ones under the "recommended awakening fixes" section (read description to get details about compatibility) fix for dlc items that won't transfer to awakening https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5354 (i used the old version of this mod, but this seems ok . if it doesn't just search for the title on nexus and download the version that doesn't say updated)

Optionals

Utility:

Unlock specializations https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/316 specializations are unlocked through playing the game. But once unlocked they are unlocked across all playthroughs. This auto unlocks all. If you want to rp learning the specializations as you go, don't install it. but it's fully possible to miss unlocks.

Two specializations sten : one of your companions is nerfed by nto being allowed to have a second specialization for some reason. this fixes that https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/486

Respec: it's respec https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/14

Advanced Tactics: lets you configure the companions ai more precisely https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/181

Auto Loot: it's auto loot https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/28 -> the comments on this imply some issues but i dont remember any problems use at your discretion. might need to use https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/5172 to not loot your party chest. idk i had no problems with this mod but now im unsure.

Gift guide : https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/385 people slightly overstate the importance of gifts in dao. In the original game you couldn't actually get a lot of approval from gifts , but there was a joke dlc that effectively lets you buy as many gifts that give plus 10 approval as you want which kind of ruined the system. I mostly recommend this mod bc there are a few gifts that have dialogue attached, and i feel like using vanilla gifts just feels better than generic dlc ones. Anyway i know who wants what by heart but it might be good for a first run

more random encounters: frankly i used another mod for this but i cant find it anymore, but comments imply it works https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4052?tab=files its not essential but there are a few enconters with a pretty rare possibility

Vanity:

Hip Sheath: I just like it :) https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4654

No helmet hack: you dont want to look silly in cutscenes , do you ? https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/202

icons project: give stuff unique icons :) https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/826

Proportion fixes: I always use them personally because I don't like how characters look in dao but more improtantly this optionally makes the light armor unisex. https://www.moddb.com/mods/tmp7704/downloads/dwarf-proportions https://www.moddb.com/mods/tmp7704/downloads/human-female-proportions-fix https://www.moddb.com/mods/tmp7704/downloads/efl-proportions (note each has multiple options you only are supposed to use one of course)

Neutral Female armor: no more boob armor https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4462 (has compability files with the above) (unisex light armor available in the proportion fix mod) (this is essential TO ME)

remove boob patches for mage robes https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/3962

Dog

Extra Dog slot: you get a dog in the game. he takes up a full companion slot. he is not very strong and gets not much extra dialogue so there is almost no reason to take him along generally. Extra slot just lets you take him along for free https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/664

Extended Dog Talents: at some point the dog will keep leveling with no skills to gain, this fixes that https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/1361 now your dog can be op (not really)

dog gifts: dog already has gifts, but since he loves you no matter what theyre kind of useless. now they give stat boosts. https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/635 now your dog can be op (still not really)

recd with caveat….:https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonage/mods/4659

this is primarily a bi mod and it is good for that, but what i like most about it that it removes gender restrictions on random dialogues. The caveat is that frankly i dont think this should be used on a first playthrough as it includes non-canon content that will not import to da2 and might cause issues(if you don't care about da2 imports, go ahead). But that's just the big choices, so if yo uwant the gender neutral dialogue it is still worth getting… the way i personally use it is remove the Morrigan and Anora folders if i play female bc i don't want those options available to me for rp. if you play male just don't romance Alistair i think that's the only big change. 3.4 version should be used to be compatible with dialogue fix pack. When I tested this now it made the game not load there is probably a way to make it compatible but not worth it for first time player.

[gorlygorlx3]

he was overqualified for the job

“Give it up for the Glamrocks once again!” The roar of an applause echoed through the crowd. Each member of the band waved at their adoring audience. Freddy and Chica both smiled happily while Monty and Roxy relished every moment of it. 5 minutes of fame is always nice, but it’s only 5 minutes. The Glamrocks slowly descended down to the ground floor, content with their performance. Last performance of the day, finally. All that’s left is the meet & greets. The main four split up into their respective attractions.

Gator Golf wasn’t as packed as usual today. The biggest group of people that stopped by was a birthday party. Congrats for little Daniel turning 10. Double digits woohoo! Not important. What’s currently on Monty mind was rock n’ roll music. More specifically, rock bands over the years. Ever since all the animatronics were updated with a built in browser and messaging, Monty had some fun searching up whatever pop into his head when he got bored. Maybe a little too much fun. Anyway in the pools of swampy waters, Monty’s little search engine tab open several articles about history and timelines and random facts about some famous band members.He didn’t care about any of that.

Well…except that majority of the famous ones usually consisted of a drummer.

Monty pondered for a minute as he looked through some photos. As far as he could see, old rock bands consisted of two guitarists (a lead guitarist and a rhythm guitarist, with one of them singing lead vocals), a bassist, and a drummer. Wonder what it could be like to have a drummer. They could finally play different songs than the ones they were used to.

Man…ever since Chica came with the idea of having the band write their own songs, Monty started planning. In private of course! He doesn’t want any distractions. (Yeah right 😏) Brainstorming wasn’t as boring as he thought it was. Time consuming but fun. Especially, listening to some old music for 80’s. Gives him inspiration he says. But until recently, everything the Glamrocks played was just about everything they could come up with. Freddy was stumped, Roxy lost interest, even Chica was struggling. And her songs are the ones they’ve been using! Yeah. They needed a drummer. But who would be the drummer? It can’t be Freddy, he’s already the lead singer of the band. Chica’s too good with the guitar. And Roxy doesn’t plan on switching from her keytar anytime soon. “Maybe I’ll play the drums…” Monty muttered. But he loves the bass. The deep, utter moans crooning along the music. It’s perfect for him. Maybe he could tag-team?

Attention all guests, the Pizzaplex will be closing in 10 minutes. Please make your way to the exits.

The announcement snapped Monty out of his thoughts. Already closing huh? He hasn’t been thinking for that long. Whatever, if it means he can get out of here he’s fine.

Chica: Emergency band meet at in my green room!!!!

Looks like he wasn’t going anytime soon.

“You had to call us over here?”

“What’s the big deal?”

“What is this said emergency you speak of?”

Chica slumps on her couch. She sighs in defeat. “I’ve got nothing…” She mumbles. The rest didn’t hear her. “I said I’m stumped. I’ve got nothing.” She pulls out a bunch of crumpled papers. “This was all the stuff I spent on for the past two weeks!” The trash bin next to her vanity was overflowing, some of the papers migrated to the floor due to a lack of space. “Lyrics, sheet music, you name it! I tried everything.” She slumped back down.

”Why can’t we just use the old songs? Roxy suggested.

“But they’re so boring…” Chica groaned. “It’s so much better to play songs we come up with.”

“There’s nothing wrong with using the pre-uploaded music for our performances.” Freddy reassures. It didn’t really help with Chica’s frustration. Maybe this was the moment for Monty to actual say something genuine.

”We need a drummer.” Ok not as genuine as some thought.

“You’re right!” Chica exclaimed. Wow, an idea Monty came up with doesn’t get shot down in 3 seconds. “Actually, a lot of the sheet music I wrote needed some drums to keep the rhythm going.” She digs through her trash bin to find them.

“And where the hell are we gonna get a drummer?” Roxy raised a brow. Monty didn’t have an answer. Luckily, Chica did.

“Auditions!”

”But we are not allowed to have any guests stay here after hours.” Said Freddy. He’s sadly right. And even if it was during hours, there won’t be any time left.

“Maybe someone here can play?"

”Chica there’s only two other options, DJ Music Man and the daycare attendant.” Roxy retorted. She doubt any of the staff bots even knew how to how a drumstick.

“And Music Man won’t fit on the stage with us.” Freddy added.

“Then Sun it is! I’ll go talk to them right now.” Chica left her green room with excitement. She left the others in a state of confusion.

“Does really think that clown can drum?

Boy was Chica happy. She’s glad Monty brought up needing a drummer. After all the stuff she wrote down, she knew something was missing. How could she not have known, a drummer’s job was to keep the tempo going. The sheet music she created was meant for fast, upbeat songs. Not to mention she did find an old drum set while wandering around for trash food. The daycare. She made it. Fingers crossed they’re up and running today. Not saying Moon wasn’t as good as Sun, but they just fit the role better.

*Knock Knock*

“Come in~.” A sing-song like voice emitted from the doors. Chica happily walks in, her potential drummer is in her sights.

“Why Ms. Chica! I didn’t think you would come today." Sun greets in his usual manner.

“Listen Sun, it’s important. We need you for something.” Chica grabbed Sun’s hand and hastily pulled him outside.

“Chica, where are we going..?” Sun’s fidgety voice asked.

“You’ll see!”

In the time Sunrise only seemed to get worse, even when they were alone his chipper happy voice had left them. Chica had beamed, immediately rushing down the hall.

Chica: i got them. meet me at the stage!

“Shouldn’t I wear anything different? This will be my first outing in years!” Sunrise huffed when Chica said it shouldn’t be a big deal. To Sunrise it was the biggest, maybe even bigger than a child turning 10! Maybe.

“But aren’t the other Glamrocks are going to see me? I want to look presentable for tonight!” They didn’t exactly have clothing to wear either way, especially none that fit them, but somehow Sunrise had acquired items over the years. Suppose boredom can lead to strange hobbies? (By animatronic standards, as they weren’t meant to have hobbies.) Apparently Sunrise would take clothes from the lost and found and repurpose them, to the best of his ability. Too late now.

“Oh relax Sun, it’ll only be for a couple of minutes.” Chica reassured. Sun whispering worries and doubts under his breath all the while. Chica had already told him why he’s was dragged out the daycare, explaining that the Glamrocks were running out of ideas for songs and that maybe a drummer would help make new songs. Sun admitted that he always liked their music. As much as it was muffled. But hearing they were having some trouble, he wouldn’t mind helping out. Sunrise gazed around the massive dome that was the concert area of the Mega Pizzaplex. It was filled with light, sure as to not bring out Moondrop, colors dancing wildly and beautifully around. And the best part? Near the concert stage was the other three Glamrocks; excitement, anticipation, and welcoming dawning across all of them. “Hey you found the drums!” Chica noticed the drum set that sat atop the stage basking in the light, revealing the golden yellow of each piece. Sun was enchanted by it but looked back at the other Glamrocks with the same delight and fear. “Thank Fredbear over here for finding it.” Monty eyed Freddy; it was his idea, how come Teddy Ruxpin gets the credit?! No matter, the real concern was the clown in yellow who looked anxious.

“Chica, you can’t seriously believe this guy can drum?” Roxy crossed her arms.

“Roxy, there is no need to doubt their abilities. We will give them a chance.” Freddy assured.

”Yeah I think they at least know a few things about drumming right?” Chica turns to Sun, awaiting an answer. To which he responds with a nervous smile and laughs.

“I-I think I know a thing or two.” He said shakily.

“Well no time like the present.” Monty grabs Sun and hoists him up to the stage. “Show us what you got.” The gator huffed. Sun gazed at the golden drum set. They must’ve just cleaned because it looks brand new. Wonder where’d they’ve found it. He sits in the swivel seat, swinging left and right. A little smile grew on his face as it the stool calmed him. A little distraction if you will. The Glamrocks stepped back to get a better view of Sunrise and the stage. “Alright Sunny, whenever you’re ready. You got this!” Chica cheered. Sun smiled at the her words as he picked up the sticks.

As the music started, Sun bobbed their head to the beat. A fairly tame instrumental. A simple rhythm emitted from Sun with the drum set, the sticks playing a 4-beat in a slowly pace. Not bad for someone like him. Freddy smiled at the canary-colored jester, he’s glad his friend’s nerves calmed down as they played. Chica felt the same, but she silently wished for some more from them. No matter, this was a just an idea. Monty was surprised that the clown had actual musical knowledge. Especially for someone who listens to the same jingle every day. But he was starting to get bored. He could see it in Roxy too. As he was just about to cut off the music, the instrumental quickened.

And so did the drums.

Sun's pace increased in what was the bridge of the song. They were completely lost in the music. Eyebrows were raised and eyes were sparkling amongst the four bandmates. Surprise, delight and a little disbelief was in the air. They watch as their friend keep the beat of the sample instrumental, making it more fun and lively.

“See, I told you they had some talents.”

“Right you are Chica. Sun is very capable of become our drummer.”

“Not bad, I guess.”

”I could do better.”

While the Glamrocks were having their own conversation, Sun sped up the pace.

Drastically.

The Glamrocks stopped talking and listen to the new tempo. We’re getting closer to the end of the instrumental. Sun beat the drums like there was no tomorrow. The sticks hit each part of the percussion set. The snare drum, the high tom, the medium tom, the floor tom, some of the cymbals. All in the harmony with the instrumental. Yeah, they’re completely lost in the music. The solo began afterwards. It was like a watch a love concert. Sun jerked with each movement of his body, banging the drums in chaotic but rhythmic fashion.The Glamrocks were speechless. And by Glamrocks, I mean Monty and Roxy. Freddy and Chica were too busy recording and transcribing each beat into sheet music in their data bank. And once the solo ended, he paused for a second before a drum roll brought the rest of the instrumental back for the finale. It was clear, Sunrise was gonna be their drummer. Chica’s creative juices were flowing, she’s already cooking up new songs for future performances.

Once the music ended, Sun huffed as if he was out of breath. If he was human, he’d be covered in sweat by the extreme workout of drumming. “That was fun!” He cheered, drum sticks in the air in triumph. The Glamrocks were still shell shocked by the performance. ”Oops…guess I got carried away.” They said sheepishly as they rose up from the cushiony stool, ready to leave the stage in the embarrassment. Clapping can be heard from two of the Glamrocks.

“Way to go, Superstar! I didn’t know you could do that!” Freddy applauded.

”That was AWESOME!” Chica exclaimed. “Where did you learn to drum like that?”

Sun blushed a little. “Sometimes I like to play with this little drum kit I found in the Lost & Found.” A bashful little smile form on his face. “So…does that mean I’m in the band?” He asked. How was that even a question?! YES! When sun got off the stage, Chica hugged Sun and spinned them around in joy as Freddy congratulated the animatronic.

Monty and Roxy had no words. How? HOW?! And of ALL the people?! THE DAYCARE ATTENDANT?!?! Was it the daycare attendant or did the spirit of a rockstar took over their body? Whatever it was, Sunrise was their drummer no matter what.

For they knew…

he was overqualified for the job.

[mildmayfoxe]

big fan of your romance novel complaint posts (love to see a fellow hater living it up) but i’m also curious if there are any you would recommend? not looking for anything in particular, just would love to hear your thoughts as someone else with nitpicky reading habits and a taste for trash

ok hello. i left you hanging for a FULL week and for that i am sorry but i wanted to be able to have some time to sit down and type out a real answer to which the short version is YES of course there are several that i have enjoyed!! my disclaimer is that i almost solely read gay romance so if you are looking for lesbian or even straight reccs i don't have much for you (although i will put a couple at the end anyway). hopefully something in this list is interesting to you or at least interesting to someone else! links are mostly to goodreads. break bc i'm gonna write too much

-kj charles is one of my fave authors in this genre bc they're all pretty reliable and there's a ton of them. they're all historical fiction and usually there's at least one murder- she's good at keeping a plot going while developing a romance. often supernatural or magical elements. sometimes cults! i've read almost all of the books she's written and have enjoyed them all

-charlie adhara wrote a really incredible werewolf series that i loved, the first of which is the wolf at the door. this is one of the only series i've read which keeps the emotional stakes up through the whole thing & kept me interested in a relationship after it was established bc sooo many series get boring the second the leads get together. i actually read the first book of the spin-off series (a pack of lies) first which is technically possible but i don't recommend bc i was like "wow they're really throwing me in here. i love it" and then i read the first series and i was like "oh i was supposed to know all this stuff." but i actually liked the dynamic between that couple better and i'm suffering every day because the next one still doesn't come out til 2025 and i read it in 2022. also worth noting that this (the original series) is cops-ajacent (~federal special agents~) and one of the characters is really prejudiced at the beginning & imo doesn't have enough character growth before it's waved away but if you can ignore that it's really good. mysteries! werewolves!

-speaking of werewolves (i could suggest several but i'll keep it to two) tj klune's wolfsong ends up at the top of a lot of gay werewolf novel lists (i'm keeping tabs) and there's a good reason. i enjoyed it a lot. made me kind of sad which is always a good sign to me. the writing voice was very fresh and novel at first but i did find it a little grating by the end so i've put off starting the second book in the series (it's also about a different couple which was disappointing) but i will get around to it. i enjoy tj klune in general although his recent stuff has a very different vibe than this and lightning struck heart is very 2015 in a bad way imo

-bone rider by j fally is a standalone that really delighted me. the russian mob? aliens? vaguely western? possession? throuple? it's got it all. very fun

-ok speaking of westerns there's this other series called magic & steam (yes it's steampunk. sorry. it's very silly) that starts with the engineer. a federal agent is sent to a town to apprehend a ~madman engineer~ except he runs into an infamous outlaw in the process. and the outlaw is really sexy. and probably why i enjoyed the series so much. the series also keeps them apart a lot in a way that i enjoy- i love when things take a long time. it's ongoing so this is another one that i keep checking for updates on

-i've read a lot of stuff by nr walker and they tend to be VERY hit or miss for me but one of my faves is evolved which is almost pure smut. it's about a sex robot that gains sentience. what more do i need to say. she also wrote a three-book series about an amnesiac that made me cry cry cry. and her cowboy (australian rancher) series is pretty ok. i could go through a list and tell you which novels of hers aren't worth it and which ones are good; i've read most of them

-salt magic skin magic by lee welch was a big surprise to me. cool magic, good folklore, fairies in there too. historical. big kj charles vibes which makes sense bc she edited it. welch also wrote a book called seducing the sorcerer which i had more mixed feelings about but had magic in it that i think about OFTEN (the horses)- that one's about an imposing sorcerer and a rundown groom cum handyman. and they're in their FORTIES!!! 🥳🥳🥳 (i love when books are not about 23 year olds)

-another one with a magic system i enjoyed was magician by kl noone. this was the first book i read by this author and i liked it but generally i find their books are too "nice" for me. i'm in the middle of one right now that i started months and months ago that i keep trying to go back to and it's sooo rough for me. but this one and the twelfth enchantment are pretty ok

-emily tesh wrote a duology of silver in the wood and drowned country that i loved because i am suuuuch a sucker for a wild man/green man story. really good. haunting! evocative! kj charles has a green man story too which was actually the first thing i read of hers (spectred isle)

-i complained about the monsterfucker book i was reading a while back but despite that i will also recommend the series it's from: lily mayne's monstrous, which starts with soul eater. are they messy? yes. are they repetitive? yes. are the monsters usually disappointingly humanoid? yes. are a lot of them about the military? also yes. so we're starting off on a bad foot. but the world building is interesting and there's LOTS of kinds of monsters and most of them were pretty fun. the one i just read (#7) was the worst one of the bunch though imo. and i have problems with #6. but 1 2 and 5 were good

-ok i should do a quickfire round. honeytrap: about two enemy agents during the cold war. put it off for a long time bc i didn't love that but it takes place over a VERY long period of time which is always interesting to me. zero at the bone: about a hitman who needs to protect a witness to a mob hit. really strong start but fell off a bit in the middle to the end imo.

-you'll notice a lot of these have subgenres of like fantasy historical supernatural etc but here's some regular contemporaries. a lot of these are about sad guys bc those are my favorite. best laid plans: hardware store owner helps a guy fix his house. in the middle of somewhere: same author actually. guy moves to small town to work at a college. mr jingle bells: this is a christmas one. bad title. fake dating. part of the reason i think i liked it so much is because i expected it to be awful but it was actually pretty good. good emotional stakes. published 2021 but feels very 2014. ignore that part. work for it: i rated this five stars but actually don't remember much what it was like. i think they were both really sad which i love. give me big emotions and i eat them right up with a spoon. i should read it again

-OK now i've got some straight & lesbian options. talia hibbert's brown sisters series is good and cute. she also wrote work for it, above. the unhoneymooners is the first real Romance Novel that i read and it really surprised me because i had fun! previously i had kind of written off romance novels as not for me but this kicked off a reading habit that is still going strong (primarily reading romance novels). i read this in 2020 so it might not be as good as i remember. as for lesbian options olivia waite has a series that i enjoyed that's also historical, and a friend of mine really enjoyed delilah green doesn't care (but i haven't read that one myself). and while not really romances i will always be a sarah waters fan: you may recognize her as the author of fingersmith, which is the novel park chan-wook's movie the handmaiden is based on. if you haven't seen the movie or read the book i recommend both. her books are very dramatic lesbian historical fiction; they don't always have happy endings but they're all very good

ok i think that's the end! regular disclaimer that romance is generally not a genre notable for Good Writing so a lot of these are just things i had fun with or just stuck out in my memory for having fun conceits etc. i can't guarantee that any of these are actually good, especially because this is a list solely based on my own taste and bad memory. would love to hear anybody's thoughts and/or if anybody has recommendations for ME!!! this post took me over three hours to write! crazy!

[tulipe-rose]

asking this on your writing blog because it's a theory (?)

what if kenji was the one picked for the pm transfer ? his ability is very strong and since he's young he would be easy to manipulate.

this theory also has angst potential too , mori starving him just for his ability , and kenji just leaving the ada in general

sorry if this was confusing to read ( ・－・)

I LOVE THIS THEORY!!! (⁠つ⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)⁠つ

It's honestly one of the most valid theories for the exchange. Kenji is so blatant about his care for his friends, If you so much as appeared to be a threat towards them, kiss your ass goodbye. He quite literally fought a hunting dog, and won if it meant keeping Atsushi safe. If he was angry for a moment more than he was, we might as well have been preparing Tecchō's funeral at the time.

Which brings us to the topic of his self control.

Once Kenji is officially recruited into the Mafia, he must resign from his post as a part timer at the agency. He's no longer under the effects of All men are equal, and Mōri is fully going to exploit that. He would go to unimaginable (yet just the right amount of subtle) lengths to emotionally manipulate Kenji. Due to losing the effects of all men are equal, Kenji might as well lose control of his emotions as whole, because of how he forgot what it was like to effortlesly contain his anger, and strength. He could go on random rampages, and Mōri could ask Chūya to direct him towards the location of any enemies he needed eliminated.

Kenji might as well turn into the next destruction incarnate. Chūya would feel pity for him; he wouldn't want such a kind soul in a place so dirty, but since he's here, Mafia is Mafia, and orders are orders, nothing can be done. He can't help but see himself in him, so he tries to spend as much time with him outside of work as possible, maybe even sneaking him a phone call with the agency members from time to time. He decided to be there for him, because surviving among demons tears you apart too painfully

How would Mōri keep Kenji under his complete control, while ensuring that the slim possibility of revolt turns non existent? Hostages. Better yet? Unknowing, blissfully ignorant hostages. Mōri is perfectly capable of threatening the peaceful life in Ihatovo, and won't hesitate to if Kenji decided to be rebellious. The deal is: Listen to my every order, eliminate the enemy, and your village will be allowed peace. Visits are limited to a month each year.

The armed detective agency have no right to interfere anymore, anymore than keeping tabs on the village, and the Mafia's recent whereabouts would be considered interference in Port Mafia business that doesn't concern them. They're brewing with anger, and are on the verge of playing Russian roulette with the Mafia. If it weren't for the calls, and updates Chūya manages to give them, they would've cracked long ago.

Kenji is absolutely destroyed, and will probably never be capable of looking at himself in the mirror again. I don't even know if he can forgive Mōri after everything. The day he cracks, and finally murders Mōri (something like that scene in beast with Atsushi, and the headmaster, except Mōri wasn't asking for a hug, he was briefing Kenji on his latest mission, and wouldn't allow Kenji to visit his sick mother on her deathbed) would be the day he finally calls the detective agency directly, with the news. 'He's dead', and the line cuts off.

[diana-fortyseven]

A.K.A. "I wrote this instead of sleeping..."

You can find the prompt bingo right here.

It's still a work in progress, and there's so much more I want to add eventually, but everything that's already there is working.

And what's there is a lot. Like, a metric shit ton.

I've added all

Cinematic Titles

Mission Names

Mission Stories

Challenges

Destinations

of all Hitman World of Assassination Game Modes.

Some challenge prompts might look like typos to you. While I always appreciate when you point those out to me so I can fix them (seriously, please do let me know if I missed something!), please check first if there isn't an in-game challenge with that exact name, because so many of them look like I forgot how to spell. :D

Fun fact, did you know that there are roughly 1,200 challenges in the game? I wasn't joking about the "instead of sleeping" part of the title.

Additionally, there are long lists with smutty, kinky, romantic, angsty and whumpy prompts.

You can opt-out of NSFW, Shipping and Angst by not opting in (I swear this makes sense in my head right now), but if you select the theme "Romance" from the dropdown menu, you will get shippy prompts even if you don't tick the Shipping checkbox, and if you select Hurt/Comfort from the dropdown menu you will get angsty prompts even if you don't tick the Angst checkbox. I recommend ticking the Shipping or Angst checkbox if you select Romance or Hurt/Comfort for a larger pool of prompts.

You will not get NSFW prompts unless you tick the NSFW checkbox.

However, some mission stories and challenges have names that could be mistaken for NSFW prompts. I haven't put them behind the filter, and I don't know if I will do that in the future.

If you don't like a prompt, you can just re-roll that one specific prompt by clicking/tapping the field it's in.

The Themes

The bingo generator has four themed lists so far: General Prompts, Mission Fic, Romance, and Hurt/Comfort.

I will be adding more at appropriate times, such as a summer list for summer (Northern Hemisphere) or a Halloween list for Halloween. Those will be permanent additions. It's just a lot of work, and I have so many more plot bunnies and code bunnies and art bunnies, so I really have to space these updates out. xD

If you'd like to suggest a theme or donate a list of prompts, please feel free to do so!

How to Play

Create the card you want, do with it whatever you want.

You can take the prompts literally or interpret them any way you like. If it's the name of a mission story or challenge, you can use the mission story or challenge itself as a prompt, or come up with something just based on the name. If it's a pun, you can use the prompt as-is or remove the pun element from it.

Use as many or as few prompts as you want in a fic, or in a drawing, or in a daydream. You make the rules!

If you think a bingo should require a line of prompts used in one single work, cool. If you think four single works should count, that's cool too. And again, if you don't like a prompt, just re-roll it until you get one you like more.

Just have fun with it! :)

Mobile Version

The mobile version is working, but word breaks for longer words won't be pretty. I still need to add word break opportunities, but that's a lot of work, and I will probably do this in small batches over the next month or so.

If you want a prettier card, you can re-roll prompts with unpretty word breaks by tapping on the prompt you want to change.

Keyboard-Only Users

For accessibility, all prompt fields have added button functionality, which means you can use tab to select them and enter to interact with them. Your browser needs to have JavaScript enabled for that to work, though.

Now go play with it!

Or don't, I'm not your mum, I can't tell you what to do.

Final disclaimer: The platform I'm using to host my generators, Perchance, recently added AI options. My generators were not built using AI, and none of the prompts you'll get are AI generated.

My generators are all 100% handcrafted chaos. :D

If bingos are not to your liking and you'd like more detailed prompts, try my Hitman Prompt Generator!

[wesleysniperking]

I have an Usopp problem 😵‍💫

***Break over

I’m seriously not sure if it’s because of the algorithm, or Oda’s 3 week break and fans are bored and suffering because of it, but it seems like Usopp has become more of (???) a person of interest in the fandom, very recently—for the wrong reasons. Maybe it’s because of my hyper-fixation on Usopp’s journey…I admit. Can’t even cross it out.

…So, maybe it is JUST me.

Maybe that’s why it seems like he’s a person of interest even more nowadays.

I am avoiding Reddit and Worstgen, but YouTube is testing my resolve. I use YouTube for other things besides One Piece analysis vids and whatnot.

Tamir’s Verse do post pro-Usopp videos, but even those bring forward slander in the comments that’s hard to look past, personally. There’s a video about how and WHY Usopp is the most disliked Strawhat! 🤯 I can’t watch Tamir’s Verse videos and shorts at all anymore.

And then there was a poll of “Who’s the Most Disliked Strawhat?” on my YouTube feed. Usopp had the second to the most votes. If “Other” hadn’t been an option/choice, he would have won. If the algorithm is gonna play mind games, can they give me the positive Usopp videos? Please?

This isn’t meant to be a rant at all.

But having to read that Usopp is “The Butt” of the Strawhats is kinda sh**ty. (This was in response to when I posted a comment in one of the vids. I said that Usopp was a nuanced and brave character).

But have no fear, I will forever argue against the harsh criticism. The harsh criticism and arguing won’t matter in a year. I know this. There’s the real world outside. I have to talk to someone about this…I know 😔.

The YouTube algorithm is playing mind games.

I won’t look at the comments I won’t look at the comments I won’t look at the commets I won’t look at the comm–

I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comm-

No more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arg–

Let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda coo–

Conclusively, I’m gonna go do some soul searching. I have an exam this week, and I’m experiencing writer’s block (currently writing a one-shot, writing Act 2 of an ongoing Usopp-centric fic)…and..

So, I’ll go and touch grass.

And I’m gonna give myself the hard challenge of not talking about Usopp for 1 week. You know what? Let’s give myself a bigger challenge. I won’t talk about Usopp for 2 weeks. But if that means not talking about Usopp, I’ll need to stop watching One Piece for 2 weeks, and writing fanfiction (even just updating the drafts) for 2 weeks... I’ll need to stay off YouTube, Reddit, and TUMBLR for 2 weeks... I’ll need to stay off Ao3 for 2 weeks…

I’ll have to clear my cache and delete all my tabs. I’ll have to avoid my email (I’ll unsubscribe from the YouTube messages I receive). I’ll reply to the last of my notifications…then…

2 weeks. 2 weeks. I’ll give it 2 weeks…

I can do this. Right? Right? I’m writing this to instill some discipline in me. I want to find a way to approach things differently, and not argue endlessly about nonsensical comments…I want to feel what it’s like to not participate.

Then I’ll come back to the fandom and be a little bit more positive and well rested. And I’ll contribute to all the nice things.

Note to self. I got this…if anyone is reading this. Thank you for your time ❤️

My break starts now!

Stay true!

– wesleysniperking

[melbrewer367]

So you want to make a recolor...

I made a quick recolor tutorial for a friend group so I thought I'd go ahead and share here too. This is just a super quick guide for how to recolor an object/cas item.

There are two types of recolors. Standalone and Overrides. Overrides will replace the item/swatches that exist in the game. Standalone recolors create an additional item with it's own swatches. This tutorial works for both kinds, you just pick which one in Step 1, and then the rest is basically the same.

This tutorial also works for pretty much all buy mode items and CAS items. Anything that is tileable...I think maybe that's what you could call it...anything that can be stretched across multiple tiles, for instance, wallpapers, flooring, roofing, fencing...these types of items require a few more steps that I will not be covering here.

Ok so you want to recolor something, you need Sims 4 Studio (S4S) and a photo editing program like photoshop (there are plenty of free alternatives out there too, like Gimp is one I know a lot of people use).

Step 1! Open up S4S and pick either "Standalone" or "Override" depending on what your end goal is. Generally, you'll probably do standalone. I usually reserve overrides for permanent world items I want to change, like changing the images on the billboards in San Myshuno, for instance.

For this, I'm going to make a standalone recolor of an object so you would make sure Standalone Recolor is selected and then click "Object."

Step 2. Find the thing you want to recolor. Across the top there's filters so you can narrow it down by pack or search keywords to help find what you're looking for. Pick your item and click "next" at the bottom. A save window is going to pop up, save your file and make sure to name it something useful that's actually identifying so you can easily find it and remove it/update it/etc in the future. If you just hover your mouse over an item, it will give you the game's name for that item.

Congrats, you've created a Sims 4 package.

Step 3. (Optional) If you want to make changes to the in game display name, description, price, or style tags...you can do that on this first screen and then just hit "Apply To All Swatches." You do not have to make changes here if you don't want to though.

Step 4. This is where the fun begins. Click on the "Texture" tab. This is where you're going to get the file that you actually need to recolor. If there's a plain white swatch, I would pick that one, otherwise, I would go with whatever the lightest and most blank swatch is to make it easier on you to recolor. You just click one of the numbered swatch boxes at the top and then in the lower section make sure you have "Texture" highlighted, in this case it is my only option, and then click "Export." Another save window will pop up, just save that texture file somewhere easy to find, it'll only be there temporarily. (Or, if you want to be really smart and you plan on recoloring many things, you should make a project folder for each thing and save your texture files and things in there so you can always come back to them later.)

Step 5. So the exact tools and steps and such will kinda vary here based on what you want to accomplish and what program you use but, the broader overall process is the same. Open your texture file in an image editing software, change the colors/patterns/etc how you want, and then save that texture file. For instance, on this one I'm just going to change that pink section to a different color by just selecting the pink area with a marquee/quick selection tool and then using the Hue/Saturation tool to change the color.

Another example, this is something James Turner did in a recent video that someone asked about, you could choose some in game frames with images, put your own screenshots onto that image, and then boom you have your screenshots in game as framed photos. You would simply add your screenshot on top of the framed image as a second layer, line it up nice and neat, and you're good to go. Here's an example of what that would look like:

That's also basically how you could quickly add patterns to something. Lay your pattern image over top of the texture, change your layer style to something like "Multiply" or "overlay" depending on the look you're going for. Either way you do these, just remember to save your final product as a .png file.

Step 6. Back to S4S! Same place you were before, except now you need to click "Import" down in that lower texture section, select your texture file you just made. While you're on this screen, you should also update the colors in the "Swatch Thumbnail" section to match your new recolor, and you can also "remove swatch" to get rid of any additional swatches you don't need. Once you're done with all of this, hit save, and then go throw that .package file into your Mods folder.

Step 7. Go in game and check out your items and then pat yourself on the back.

Now you too can be cursed with this knowledge so that every time a new item/clothing is added to the game and you think, "wow I'd really like this if it was in better swatches" you can just...make those swatches.

[gingkos-eldritch-secret]

Fanfiction commentary and recommendations: The why´s and how´s and Part I of 'Lex Luthor´s ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood'

Okay, so. I know it may be weird, but bear with me for a moment: i love to comment on fics or stories like some people would a youtube video - with all the comments and snark and further ideas that entails. (though that works best in a chapter-for-chapter basis) And all the random tangents my brain will go off of. Which is why I thought: why not share my thoughts? (also thanks to the comment from @norapretzel) Since I have about 300 fics of the Phandom in my 'Please update I need more' tab folder, I wanna share just why I put them there and what makes them worth reading. (Seriously, tab groups or tab lists are the best thing ever. They have made my life so much easier. And stopped my laptop from regularly fighting for it´s life.) I don´t know how regular this will be or even if, because work and life in general. But anyways: it´s just for fun and to put something out there.

I will begin with the fanfic I am currently reading: 'Lex Luthor´s ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood' by halfagone (milkywxy) [@halfagone]

The other parts can be found here:

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

My most recently read chapter is chapter 35 which means: the first mini-arc as well as a few important plotpoints have been mentioned if not completely finished. I have binged those first 35 chapters sometime between late afternoon yesterday and evening today so it will not be as detailed as it would be if i only mentioned one chapter - I do apologize for that.

Anyways, here the actual commentary instead of my usual ramblings:

As for the first point. The most important point. The reason you should read this? It´s a story about family and the difference between the people who raised you and those you actually view as family. It´s about trust and that sometimes you can´t trust those you want to trust the most and that that´s okay. It´s about family by choice and that it may sometimes look or feel weird (especially if viewed from the outside). It´s also about burdens and how one handles them - how it can become unhealthy under circumstances. It´s a story about many themes and plot points and details that play together to become something more. I do hope it doesn´t sound too philosophical to be honest. But to just put it in a nutshell: 'Lex Luthor´s Ascend from supervillainy to fatherhood' is a story about family and how to overcome obstacles together.

The story begins at a gala. Or, more precisely, at a gala where Brucie Wayne (and oh, he holds onto that persona with an iron grip) and Lex Luthor (who has SOME kind of respect for the guy, even though he has his own son run the company instead of himself) are having a talk. And while we all know and love Bruce for this persona it does mean it paints him in a rather incompetent light for other people in this circle. This does not stop him from being a worried parent though. Oh no.

This man has the audacity to tell Luthor IN HIS FACE (though not in those words) that he fears him to be an (more or less accidentally) incompetent father figure. Which Danny predictably finds hilarious when Lex later tells him.

So here we see a first glimpse of the relationship between these two - a relationship that seems to have already been developing for quite some time already. It´s also here that we find out that Danny is stranded in this dimension - i do not want to say 'trapped' but in a sense it is the correct word. (all his friends, his family, everything he knows - they are are not here. He is the only one in this dimension. And even if some things are similar enough - I doubt it´s the same.)

While sad to think about, i do believe that he is making the best of his situation and he already seems to have found himself a parent figure. A parent figure that seems to actually care even. Who wants his best and won´t put their own work before the wellbeing of their child. Though we´ll only get there a little later in the story.

And personally I must say that it´s just damned funny to see the 'showdown' between Lex and Bruce go down. It´s such a stark contrast to the conversation Lex and Danny have later in the chapter that i did have to laugh quite a bit at all of the reactions both them tried to hide xD

I don´t want to sell the story short, but I also don´t want to spoil all too much, because honestly? That just takes the fun out of a story. So I´ll just summarize the next bit for a bit:

What follows are some serious and some funny conversations between Danny and several Heroes and Danny, as well as our favourite halfa and his new father figure about the nature of their relationship, his life before all of this, the nature of cloning and clones and no one has asked to be born and should not be treated any less for their parentage. Also about people being superweapons and how well (or bad) that can turn out. (And also the question: Are Lex Luthor and Superman bitter Exes? An important question I must admit. It would honestly explain so MUCH about their relationship. And even if it´s not true: i kinda want Danny asking it out loud at a press conference with Clark Kent and Lex Luthor present. That would be just hilarious xD)

And honestly? After the heartwarming talk about clones I kinda want Danny ripping Superman a new one about his behaviour with Kon. It would 1) be a very amusing thing to watch and 2) Our boy deserves a brother who will defend him from the people who have hurt him the most.

After that we get to Cass and Danny meeting and my god, those are such frankly adorable scenes that i DO NOT WANT TO SPOILER. So I´ll just ignore that whole comment in my head and just say: it´s the most adorable thing ever and i think i have diabetes after reading it. Also: I think my neighbours were about to knock on my door to ask where all that squealing came from and if i needed help because of all the running around they heard. I may or may not have run around my flat squealing like a little kid. Maybe.

What we also get to is Lex´ reaction to their meeting and it did not disappoint. He´s just such a tired dad now. Before long he´ll have talks about their children and their relationship with bruce. And both will probably be absolutely suffering during it lmao. As well as the batfamily as a whole. They don´t know what to think yet but they are already preparing the shovel talk xD

We also get to see one of the many abilities and strenghths Danny has and how he constantly holds himself as small as possible - our boy has a low self esteem and such a low opinion of his own intellect that it just physically hurts me :')

Okay so it´s quite late now - those were the first 5 chapters. Those are part commentary and part speculations and i hope it was entertaining. I did expect to get out a bit more, but my brain wants to go to sleep and and who am I to deny my brain it´s rest? Will try to at least do another 5 chapters tomorrow but I can´t promise anything ;p

[angel-axo]

hii i was wondering what ur process was for making skins ?? i am trying to make my own but ngl the process is annoying. i have a separate tab open js to see how the changes will look… 💀i need helpp 🙏🏾🙏🏾

Tbh the process is annoying and very fiddly, but there a definitely ways to make the actual writing it part easier!

I use an add-on called Stylus that lets you write CSS in a pretty way, will show you most syntax errors automatically, and will update the site live as you write it. It takes nearly all the difficulty out of actually writing the theme.

I normally split my screen between AO3 and Stylus like this:

(But note that Stylus is an actually well-maintained system, so if you're planning to copy-paste the code back into the AO3, then check your theme regularly, because Stylus will accept it just fine but AO3 may find reason to throw a tantrum.)

The next thing I suggest is uBlock Origin. Its core functionality is as an Ad-Blocker, so I recommend it on that alone lmao. Google recently updated its entire service just to ban Origin on Chromium, so I heavily advise not only Firefox in general, but Firefox for AO3 theme writing.

Origin, using its element picker feature, actually lets you more accurately, well, pick the elements you want to target. It will show exactly what you're selecting, and will let you move up and down the element hierarchy to get what you want. 85% of the time it'll do better than what you'll get with inspect element.

These two together really simplify the process.

Aiiiughm if you want more tips I can give you more but purely process-wise, this be it.