#Progressive Periodized Programming

[techdriveplay]

4 Training Secrets of Elite Afl Players That You Can Apply to Your Workouts

AFL players are among the most elite athletes in the world. They are strong, agile, dynamic athletes who need the endurance to last around two and a half hours of intense game playing.  While the average bloke doesn’t need to train to the extent of someone who is an elite athlete, we certainly can learn some tips and tricks to make our training efficient. We spoke to Cameron Falloon, the…

[lunarharp]

pretty & cute witch men

[asteroshearts]

Postpartum Confinement

[Zayne (Li Shen 黎深 ) + Sylus (Qin Che 秦彻)]

In Chinese culture, mothers stay and rest for a month or more after giving birth to properly recover (zuo yue zi).

Xavier and Caleb

Zayne (Li Shen 黎深 )

Now, while you do go on your postpartum confinement period, Zayne is a doctor and can't help but ramble about the superstitions and old wives' tales that the zuo yue zi is built on.

"There's no need to take all of these rules seriously," he couldn't help but mutter lowly. Pushing up his glasses, he said, "Currently, there is no hard scientific basis on why postpartum women shouldn't shower or bathe. However, I can see where this superstition arose. Historically, clean, hot water was very difficult for the common woman to obtain, and bathing with cold water after giving birth—"

What he does entirely believe in is that the mother of his child should be stress-free and have as much rest as possible.

Vets the Yue Sao (postpartum care nannies) like crazy.

Many of the interviewees leave thinking that it was one of the hardest job applications they've ever done.

He's a bit crazy here: looks through all of their credentials, researching the programs they've graduated from, asks for references, etc.

In the end, he agrees on a middle-aged woman with over fifteen years of experience as a Yue Sao and is a mother of three herself.

He chose her because she aligned with his thoughts of science, she didn't lean too much into traditional medicine, and had a casual personality while being firm. He knew she wouldn't push you into doing anything you didn't want to do.

For the first time since he got into medical school, Zayne Li took a complete pause from work. No emergency calls, no midday meetings. He even left his pager and work phone in his office and Akso.

Surprisingly, he doesn't go stir crazy.

Instead, he dedicates his time to learning from the Yue Sao and taking care of your baby.

You would think he's studying for another medical exam with how he asks questions, takes notes, and looks over her shoulder as she's cooking you a meal, nodding along to her instructions.

He sat beside you as your nanny did your belly binding for the first time, staring with analytical eyes while your baby was rocking in his arms.

Then, when he tried to do the belly binding on you, his first attempt ended in failure as you kept on giggling, ruining your progress. You couldn't help but mess him up, you were too busy staring at the father of your child with such love in your eyes.

However, he does have one insecurity. Traditionally, the mother should prevent herself from being cold as much as possible, bundling up, and covering her feet and shoulders.

Zanye couldn't help but think that with his Evol—he might cause you or the baby long-term health issues. He'll wear gloves, a hat, and scarf indoors if you want him to—

Just tell him that it's silly. How could a man like him ever hurt you or your baby?

Every day you wake up well-rested, with the chores done, with someone looking after your baby, and carefully planned, cultivated meals laid out on the table.

He may be the Head Cardiac Surgeon at Akso Hospital, but here, he takes a backseat. He would never speak over a woman who was a mother, and there's a lot to learn.

He tries not to step on either of your toes, but if there's one thing he wouldn't let your Yue Sao do, it's make you red date tea.

He was the one who made you red date tea even before you got together, and he isn't going to stop now :)

Sylus (Qin Che 秦彻)

Books you the nicest room in the most upscale confinement center/hotel you could find for as long as you want.

All confinement centers come with doctors and nurses at beck and call, baby care, and meals, but he made sure yours was five-stars, with physiotherapy, massages, facials, hair treatments, and classes.

He even has his own men secretly upping the security of the building for your stay.

Although he took parenting classes with you, read some books in his free time, he can admit he's not knowledgeable, so he does what he does best: shuts up and listens to his woman 😌.

Some men are allowed to stay, like the father of the child or male relatives, so of course, he's with you and the baby the entire time.

It's a bit nerve-wracking when the staff take your baby away for a checkup or bath and he's silently standing over them with his dark red eyes.

You might be resting and napping throughout the day, but he'll be awake and following your baby around when the nannies or nurses take care of them or taking the parenting classes the center provides.

He's so annoying though!!!!!

Lays his huge body in your bed, sinking the mattress, and follows you to all your spa treatments. The hotel is thinking of charging you double!! (Not like he cares, money is no object.)

He loves annoying you and clinging to you as much as he loves, well, you.

Tried to rock your baby to sleep and sing to them once while you were napping and upset your baby so much, your sweet baby cried until you woke up.

The hotel had to send him an email politely asking him not to do that again.

You're tired all the time, and while the care center offers spa treatments, what kind of husband would he be if he didn't bring you your personal skin care from home, applying it on your face for you while you lay in bed?

Everything seemed perfect; everything was taken care of.

You thought there was something wrong with you, and maybe it was the hormones, but somewhere in the middle of your confinement period, you couldn't help but feel so ugly. You felt so undeserving of this treatment.

Your belly didn't look the way it used to, your hair wasn't the same texture as it was, and your breasts hurt. (Of course it wouldn't, of course it did. You knew this, but for some reason, you couldn't help but be so upset.)

You were his little Dragon Li, spoiled to the ends of the earth, and now you were crying because throughout all of this, even though he and the rest of the facility had gone above and beyond, you were upset that your nail polish was overgrown.

Something so little, but you couldn't help it. You just felt like you were never going to be the same again.

Sure, he could call your nail guy to come by and give you a fresh pair of nails, but if there was one thing Sylus took seriously, it was your health. He didn't know what kind of contaminants your nail guy could bring to you or your baby.

While you were napping and your baby was resting with you, you wondered what Sylus was doing to occupy his time.

After all, even before you were pregnant, he made it seem like he couldn't last a day without you by his side.

He thought you were glowing like an angel, but if his kitten was crying to him, pouring out your insecurities, he knew words meant nothing if he didn't prove them.

So when he sits at your bedside, pulling out a complete and fully-sanitized nail kit, you can't help but stare in awe as he pulls out the exact nail color you had been wanting, in the most non-toxic formula he could find.

Yes, he had taken nail tech classes while you and the baby were resting, and if you were upset with no one to help you, he was going to step up and do it himself.

[pixelplayground]

Harbour House, Home of the Potomac Maritime Society

Commissioned in 1892 by James Wellington Thorndike, a prominent shipping merchant who made his fortune establishing trade routes between Baltimore and Asia. Having immigrated from Bristol, England in his youth, Thorndike sought to create a sanctuary that merged American innovation with European maritime tradition.

The original structure was designed by renowned architect Stanford White, who drew inspiration from both Newport's Gilded Age mansions and traditional English maritime clubs. The distinctive three-story building, with its commanding views of the Chesapeake, featured a signature octagonal watchtower that still serves as a landmark for vessels today.

During the Prohibition era (1920-1933), Harbour House gained notoriety as a gathering place for Washington's elite, who would arrive by boat for "afternoon tea" - though rumors persisted about hidden wine cellars and secret passages used for rum-running. The club's guest books from this period, still preserved in the library, bear signatures of several senators and at least two Supreme Court justices.

The property survived a devastating fire in 1943, which destroyed the east wing but spared the historic main hall with its hand-carved mahogany bar and original brass telescopes. The reconstruction effort, led by Thorndike's grandson William, added the now-famous verandas and modernized the facilities while maintaining the building's historic character. In 1962, Harbour House made history by becoming one of the first yacht clubs in the region to admit women as full members. This progressive decision was influenced by Katherine "Kay" Thorndike, William's daughter, who had become an accomplished sailor in her own right.

Notable moments in Harbour House's history include:

Hosting several planning meetings for the D-Day invasion during WWII, when the club served as an unofficial gathering point for Allied naval officers.

The visit of Sir Thomas Lipton in 1925 during his America's Cup campaign.

Serving as the emergency coordination center during the historic Chesapeake flooding of 1933.

The establishment of one of the first youth sailing programs in the region in 1958.

Today, Harbour House stands as a testament to the region's maritime heritage, with many original elements preserved, including:

The original lighthouse-inspired watchtower.

The Thorndike family's private collection of maritime maps and navigational instruments.

The "Captain's Room" with its 19th-century ship models and original furnishings.

[ink-n-shadow]

in love with your demon!ghost.

so i'm thinking, it must be terribly boring being stuck in a cage for so long. pets need enrichment and exercise don't they? so what does ghost give reader to keep her occupied? esp if he has Important Demon Stuff to do and she's left alone for long periods of time? does he give her puzzles or games or is there like a hellish version of tv there? (you can only watch the live stream of tortured souls burning in hell's fire for so long before it gets really boring and you switch the channel to reruns of the same Suave Demon Tricks Bad Human movie that you've watched five times now)

she can't fly with a broken wing, but surely a good owner would make sure she gets (supervised) walkies?

anon you are KILLING MEEE with this request :')

ENRICHMENT TIME

𝜗𝜚 the one where demon!ghost finally gives you enrichment and things to do outside of the cage

𝜗𝜚 pairing: broken angel!reader x demon!ghost 𝜗𝜚 cw: mature themes (no smut but minors still DNI), more demon!ghost being a simp, mentions of preening (but not what it means) 𝜗𝜚 link to all my works in the demon!ghost au can be found here

demon!ghost never even thought about getting things to keep you entertained while you sit all pretty in your cage. he wouldn't understand why you couldn't just sit still and watch whatever television program or movie he'd left on from the night before—because surely that should be enough enrichment for you, right?

it would take a couple days of begging (and pouting when ghost would promptly shut down your requests or flat out ignored you) for him to finally listen.

and now he's giving you stacks of books from his personal library, works from both underworld and human realm authors, watching from his usual place on his expansive leather sofa as you thumb eagerly through the pages. he never knew his little dove would be such a bookworm, listening as you eagerly relay your thoughts and opinions on works that demon!ghost has spent centuries reading and rereading.

it would take a little more convincing before demon!ghost is bringing you little puzzles and crafts from his visits to the human realm (things he definitely stole). that's how he finds himself situated on the marbled floors of his living room, your body sprawled out across his thick thighs as you try and show him the latest thing you had embroidered that day. you would definitely try to teach him, but he'd get too frustrated trying to thread the tiny human-sized needle to actually make any progress.

but demon!ghost's favorite thing to do was take you for your (now routine) nightly stroll in the garden, his clawed hand held firmly in both of yours as you both stroll through the cobbled labyrinth. he'd constantly grumble about how tightly you were clinging to him, chastising you for being scared of the hellish sounds of the underworld around you (but he's secretly pulling you closer, wanting to make sure you feel protected at all times).

the nightly walks gave you the chance to stretch your legs, joints creaking from being curled up in the cage for the day. demon!ghost would be in awe as you stretched out your pretty iridescent wings fully, bringing his clawed hand down to try and preen the unruly crooked feathers from the base of your wing.

but demon!ghost really doesn't understand why you shiver and writhe with each feather he plucks, seemingly completely oblivious to just what preening meant to an angel like you.

©️ ink-n-shadow 2024

do not copy, plagiarize, steal, borrow, or repost any of my work without my expressed permission

[princesssmars]

victoria with lab tech reader…nsfw.

when you were approached at your basic post-grad biomedical science research program with the opportunity to "study and develop a potentially groundbreaking medication", you immediately, but politely, called bullshit. but your boss and coworkers encouraged you once they heard the pay, so you accepted.

it was…challenging to say the least.

the lab and the workers were shady as hell, not telling you any details about the company you were working for, if you were even working for a company, what exactly this medication was for, etc etc. but the pay really was good, enough to help you splurge on yourself while also saving and paying off your student loans, so you couldn’t really complain.

after about two months of great work and progress on your tasks, the leads of your team told you that one of the head donors would like to “talk about utilizing your full potential”. you were expecting further praise for your work and maybe a pay boost, not to walk into an office with the super attractive congresswoman you’d seen on tv sitting at the desk.

she has just as much mysterious charisma as she had then, keeping eye contact as she pulls out your chair, waiting for you to sit before she places herself on top of the desk, pantsuit-covered leg only a few inches from yours. she gives you a mini rundown of why she personally picked you out from your university and she's been keeping a close eye on your personal progress to develop a cure for an unknown but deadly disease you had been keeping track of.

"so that's why im here? we're working on a disease?"

"yeah, you could say that."

her smile unnerves you but you don't mention it. nor do you bring up how weird it feels that a congresswoman would be following your manic studies over a disease that only ten thousand people in the world had. you do have to reel in your ego slightly, figuring this meant that your theories were legitimate.

things are weird after that. now that you have some more hints about what you are actually doing your work starts to move along slowly, even impressing your lead with the progress you started to make.

ok, maybe a tiny little part of it was so that when victoria came in on her weekly walk-throughs she'd observe your work and give you that pretty smile of hers, maybe even a 'great job, hun' if you were lucky.

as the weeks went by and the medication came along her affection only grew in intensity, from leaving coffee at your workstation to inviting you to take lunch breaks with her. it was odd and completely unprofessional, but when those slender fingers would move one of your stray hairs back in place while telling a story you couldn't find it in yourself to care.

but then it happens - that dreaded period in any medical science where just one stupid little thing stumps you for a week. you should be used to it at this point, having been through this process since you bought your first microscope in middle school. it doesn't make it any easier to power through though, especially when you know everyone on your team is depending on you to finish up your labs.

so now you've resorted to this, three red bulls and a heap of paperwork around you while you frantically rework the math on some of the work you need to turn in. you're a few minutes away from slumping over when a loud door slam forces you upright, looking to the entryway to make eye contact with victoria.

you dont know how it happens but you go from hunched over in your chair to lying on the comfy couch in her office, a short blanket draped over your body as you drowsily explain your conundrum to the older woman. she nods along the entire time, a soft hand rubbing up and down the bare expanse of your arm while she listens to your rambling.

'what on earth are you doing?' your brain asks yourself when you shift closer to her body that's sitting next to you, head delicately resting in her lap. 'are you really going to jeopardize your career like this?' when your eyes flutter when she runs her hand over your cheek and down your neck. she leans her head down ever so slowly until her lips are just barely pressing into yours, corners pulling up when she sees you arch your back in wait for her neck action.

"but you'll figure it out for me, won't you smart girl?"

you solved the problem the next morning.

i dont even wanna write for her GIVE HER BACK TO ME

[feelmyskinonyourskin]

FMSOYS Matt Murdock/Daredevil Masterlist

my main masterlist

*I never give permission for my fics, manips, or any other original creation I post on this site to be copied, posted elsewhere, translated, or fed into any AI program. (that includes not allowing my manips to be used on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.)

I have created an AO3 and am slowly beginning the process of sharing my old fics there as well. Tumblr and AO3 are currently the only places I'm posting my works.

PLEASE ONLY INTERACT WITH FICS MARKED 18+/SMUT IF YOUR AGE IS IN YOUR BIO/PINNED OR I WILL BLOCK YOU. Thanks!*

★ Series

Judex, Judicum, Infantem (Frank x Reader x Matt)[In Progress]

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 (coming soon)

Fight Club (Smut/18+, Angst, Fluff)

Original | Frank's Version (Alt Ending, Matt x Reader x Frank)

Take What You Need(Smut/18+, Angst) 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

★ One Shots

Songbird(Angst)

Drive (Smut/18+)

Five Years(Frank Castle x Matt Murdock)

It's Hard to Dance With the Devil On Your Back(Fluff)

Who We Are and Who We Want to Be (Angst/Comfort)

A Hell's Kitchen Christmas(Fluff)

Rate My Professor(Smut/18+)

A Random Thursday (Fluff)

★ Drabbles and Blurbs

General Matt HCs

Matt Overstimulating Reader (SMUT/18+)

Matt x Tattoo Reader

Matt When You're on Your Period

★ Manips

Frank and Matt on a Roof

★ Moodboards

Professor Murdock Moodboard

Eloping With Matt Moodboard

★ Matt GIFs can be found on my other blog FMSOYS

Matt Murdock Tag List: @xxdrixx, @sexyvixen7

[aus-wnt]

Following on from events that were widely circulated and critiqued, members of the Football Australia Board met with Sam Kerr to discuss the situation. During this meeting, Kerr acknowledged her actions were not her best moment and recognised the broader impact it had, including implications in relation to the Code of Conduct, which applies to all players, coaches, staff, and officials. “I want to express my sincere regret for how events unfolded,” said Sam Kerr. “It was an incredibly difficult period for me, my family, my club, my teammates, and especially for the fans whose support means so much to us. I recognise that leadership means being mindful of our actions both on and off the pitch. I’m proud of the Matildas, the role I have played as a member of that team, and everything we stand for, and I’m committed to learning from this experience. Moving forward, I’m focused on doing my part to ensure we grow even stronger together, and I look forward to having the opportunity of rejoining the team once I’m fit and ready.” After reviewing the full context of these events, Football Australia concluded that Kerr’s professional and sincere acceptance of responsibility, as well as her acknowledgment of the far-reaching implications of on- and off-field actions, warranted no further action. The Board also sought input from various stakeholders during this review, underscoring Football Australia’s commitment to fairness for all participants. “Knowing how Sam (Kerr) feels about the events, along with the additional context we’ve learned, has added vital perspective that the general public may not be aware of,” commented Football Australia Chairman Anter Isaac. “Setting aside those difficulties, this one incident should not offset the incredible contributions she has made, both publicly and privately, on and off the field – for more than 15 years.” Heather Garriock, Chair of the Football Development Committee and Football Australia Board Member, added, “Sam (Kerr) remains a valued member of the Matildas, recognised by her teammates for her leadership qualities. We look forward to the opportunity of welcoming her back once she is fit and ready, and we fully support her ongoing journey in Australian football. The team will continue open dialogue to ensure we all grow and learn together. In light of these events, Football Australia is also refining its guidelines and training at every level to reinforce accountability, address potential reputational risks, and explore policy enhancements that will help prevent similar incidents and support everyone involved in the future.” Football Australia continues to stay in close, supportive communication with Kerr as she works toward full fitness. With the matter now concluded favourably for her in court, Football Australia considers it closed. Kerr’s longstanding record of dedication, professionalism, and leadership has consistently elevated Australian football, ensuring these recent circumstances do not overshadow her significant contributions – and she remains an inspiration to fans worldwide. As part of her return-to-play program, Kerr has now joined the CommBank Matildas training camp for the March/April FIFA Women’s International Window (31 March – 8 April 2025). Granted leave by Chelsea FC Women, she will continue her rehabilitation under the supervision of the CommBank Matildas' Performance Support team. This arrangement, developed in close collaboration between Football Australia and Chelsea FC Women, reflects a shared commitment to providing the best environment for Kerr’s recovery and re-integration into the national team. While she may participate in selected training activities, Kerr has not yet been cleared for competitive football, with her focus remaining on health, progression, and long-term readiness.

[mythauragame]

Development Update - December 2024

Happy New Year, everyone! We're so excited to be able to start off 2025 with our biggest news yet: we have a planned closed beta launch window of Q1 2026 for Mythaura!

Read on for a recap of 2024, more information about our closed beta period, Ryu expressions, January astrology, and Ko-fi Winter Quarter reward concepts!

2024 Year in Review

Creative

This year, the creative team worked on adding new features, introducing imaginative designs, and refining lore/worldbuilding to enrich the overall experience.

New Beasts and Expressions: All 9 beast expression bases completed for both young and adult with finalized specials for Dragons, Unicorns, Griffins, Hippogriffs, and Ryu.

Mutations, Supers and Specials: Introduced the Celestial mutation as well as new Specials Banding & Merle, and the Super Prismatic.

New Artist: Welcomed Sourdeer to the creative team.

Collaboration and Sponsorship: Sponsored several new companions from our Ko-Fi sponsors—Amaru, Inkminks, Somnowl, Torchlight Python, Belligerent Capygora, and the Fruit-Footeded Gecko.

New Colors: Revealed two eye-catching colors, Canyon (a contest winner) and Porphyry (a surprise bonus), giving players even more variety for their Beasts.

Classes and Gear: Unveiled distinct classes, each with its own themed equipment and companions, to provide deeper roleplay and strategic depth.

Items and Worldbuilding: Created a range of new items—from soulshift coins to potions, rations, and over a dozen fishable species—enriching Mythaura’s economy and interactions.

Star Signs & Astrology: Continued to elaborate on the zodiac-like system, connecting each Beast’s fate to celestial alignments.

Questing & Story Outline: Laid the groundwork for the intro quest pipeline and overarching narrative, ensuring that players’ journey unfolds with purposeful progression.

Code

This year, the development team worked diligently on refining and expanding the codebase to support new features, enhance performance, and improve gameplay experiences. A total 429,000 lines of code changed across both the backend and frontend, reflecting:

New Features: Implementation of systems like skill trees, inventory management, community forums, elite enemies, npc & quest systems, and advanced customization options for Beasts.

Optimizations and Refactoring: Significant cleanup and streamlining of backend systems, such as game state management, passive effects, damage algorithms, and map data structures, ensuring better performance and maintainability.

Map Builder: a tool that allows us to build bespoke maps

Regular updates to ensure compatibility with modern tools and frameworks.

It’s worth noting that line changes alone don’t capture the complexity of programming work. For example:

A single line of efficient code can replace multiple lines of legacy logic.

Optimizing backend systems often involves removing redundant or outdated code without adding new functionality.

Things like added dependencies can add many lines of code without adding much bespoke functionality.

Mythaura Closed Beta

We are so beyond excited to share this information with you here first: Mythaura closed beta is targeted for Q1 2026!

On behalf of the whole team, thank you all so, so much for all of the support for Mythaura over the years. Whether you’ve been around since the Patreon days or joined us after Koa and Sark took over…it’s your support that has gotten this project to where it is. We are so grateful for the faith and trust placed in us, and the opportunity to create something we hope people will truly love and enjoy. This has truly been a collaborative effort with you and we are constantly humbled by all of the thoughtful insights, engaging discussions, and great ideas to come out of this amazing community of supporters.

So: thank you again, it’s been an emotional and amazing journey for the dev team and we’re delighted to join you on your journeys through Mythaura.

Miyazaki Full-Time

Hey everyone, Koa here!

We’re thrilled to share some news about Mythaura’s development! Starting in 2025, Miya will be officially dedicating herself full-time to Mythaura. Her focus will be on bringing even more depth and wonder to the world of Mythaura through content creation, worldbuilding, and building up the brand. It’s a huge step forward, and we’re so excited for the impact her passion and creativity will have on the project!

In addition, I’ve secured 4-day weeks and will be working full-time each Friday to dive deeper into development. This extra push is going to allow us to keep moving steadily forward on both the art and code fronts, and with Miya’s expanded role, the next year of development is looking really promising.

Thank you all for being here and supporting Mythaura every step of the way. We can’t wait to share more as things progress!

Closed Beta FAQ

In the interest of keeping all of the information about our Closed Beta in one place and update as needed, we have added as much information as possible to the FAQ page.

If you have any questions that you can think of, please feel free to reach out to us through our contact form or on Discord!

Winter Quarter (2025) Concepts

It’s the first day of Winter Quarter 2025, which means we’ve got new Quarterly Rewards for Sponsors to vote on on our Ko-fi page!

Which concepts would you like to see made into official site items? Sponsors of Bronze level or higher have a vote in deciding. Please check out the Companion post and the Glamour post on Ko-fi to cast your vote for the winning concepts!

Votes must be posted by January 29, 2025 at 11:59pm PDT in order to be considered.

All Fall 2024 Rewards are now listed in our Ko-fi Shop for individual purchase for all Sponsor levels at $5 USD flat rate per unit. As a reminder, please remember that no more than 3 units of any given item can be purchased. If you purchase more than 3 units of any given item, your entire purchase will be refunded and you will need to place your order again, this time with no more than 3 units of any given item.

Fall 2024 Glamour: Diaphonized Ryu

Fall 2024 Companion: Inhabited Skull

Fall 2024 Solid Gold Glamour: Hippogriff (Young)

NOTE: As covered in the FAQ, the Ko-fi shop will be closing at the end of the year. These will be the last Winter Quarter rewards for Mythaura!

New Super: Zebra

We've added our first new Super to the site since last year's Prismatic: Zebra, which has a chance to occur when parents have the Wildebeest and Banding Specials!

Zebra is now live in our Beast Creator--we're excited to see what you all create with it!

New Expressions: Ryu

The Water-element Ryu has had expressions completed for both the adult and young models. Expressions have been a huge, time-intensive project for the art team to undertake, but the result is always worth it!

Mythauran Astrology: January

The month of January is referred to as Hearth's Embrace, representing the fireplaces kept lit for the entirety of the coldest month of the year. This month is also associated with the constellation of the Glassblower and the carnelian stone.

Mythaura v0.35

Refactored "Beast Parties" into "User Parties," allowing non-beast entities like NPCs to be added to your party. NPCs added to your party will follow you in the overworld, cannot be made your leader, and will make their own decisions in combat.

Checkpoint floor functionality ironed out, allowing pre-built maps to appear at specific floor intervals.

The ability to set spawn and end coordinates in the map builder was added to allow staff to build checkpoint floors.

Various cleanups and refactors to improve performance and reduce the number of queries needed to run certain operations.

Added location events, which power interactable objects in the overworld, such as a lootable chest or a pickable bush.

Thank You!

Thanks for sticking through to the end of the post, we always look forward to sharing our month's work with all of you--thank you for taking the time to read. We'll see you around the Discord.

[agent-yolk-writes]

A Nightmare in Devildom (Obey Me/Nightmare on Elm Street concept fic)

Basically what it says on the tin. A "what if MC was a survivor of freddy kreuger's torment before the events of OM" concept fic.

This is was of those weird ideas I came with this during the early covid lockdown period where my insomnia got really bad to the point where I was borderline delirious. I meant to get this out during October for spooky season vibes but after three Octobers came and went and Obey Me isn't getting any more updates, I figure I throw it into the pit before that happens. No beta we die like obey me as a franchise, I guess!

If this inspires you to write something similar, please let me know! If you want me to write more...please reconsider!

And, of course, happy holidays!

AO3 Mirror Link

Good lord, I look terrible. You thought as you looked at yourself in the mirror. When was the last time I got some rest?

Other than looking more visibly tired, you look...older. It was the face of a nurse finally coming home after back-to-back double shifts. The bags under your eyes could only get so dark, but thankfully you knew a demon who had so much concealer and foundation lying around that he wouldn’t know if a few went missing. 

You knew you shouldn’t be continuing this habit, but you can’t help it. Despite living in a mansion with the most powerful demons in Literal Hell(!!) in the past few weeks your brain is still not convinced that you’re safe from Him . Would he still have the balls to terrorize you still? Does he even know where you are? Surely he’ll just know when you disappeared without a trace, but you can’t afford to find out for yourself. 

As much as you wanted to tell the brothers, you didn’t want to drag them into this mess. After all, this problem only started just weeks before you were brought here. It came without warning, and suddenly it turned into a bloodied hurricane. To think He was the one that killed your friends and classmates back in the human world…you regretted not being able to do more for them until you were in His sights.

This opportunity with the exchange program was either a saving grace or a divine intervention, and you’re not going to let that chance slip away from you. You have the whole year to work on magic and potions and anything else that could possibly drive Him away if not kill him for good, and you highly doubt he’s going to forget about you. Knowing how to do magic is one thing, but putting it to memory is another. This wouldn’t be a problem if you weren’t so damn tired. You’re trying so hard to pay attention in class, but you just end up more focused on trying to keep your eyes open lest you allow Him to strike at your most vulnerable. 

However, there is one possible solution. The only problem is that you needed to form a pact with his other brothers before he could even consider helping you, that slothful bastard. Belphegor knows how tired you are and how you would do anything for a safe and peaceful rest. There was no point hiding it from him as you were with the others. Oh, how you envied the way he could sleep the day away in his little prison cell…you could just punch him if only you had the strength.

…

You really didn’t feel good about the multi-layered lie you found yourself webbed into to get the pacts in the first place. You recently got Beelzebub’s pact, putting you at the halfway mark. He looked so happy about your ‘plan’ to impress Lucifer enough to have him make up with Belphegor that it made your stomach churn in shame. Is it really okay for you to do this? Wouldn’t it be easier to tell the truth? Out of all the brothers, you couldn’t help but feel guilty for lying to Beel.

But what if Lucifer points his finger at Belphegor if you bring it up before you’re able to finish explaining? Would it destroy all the progress you made? Would you make things worse ? If they draw parallels that your deprivation is somehow related to the seventh-born’s sleep-related powers…only Lucifer would have an answer different from the other five. That’s why you have to keep up this facade for as long as you can. That’s why you need to stay awake. To find a way to protect yourself as well as the others. 

Your new friends at Purgatory Hall, bless their hearts, were none the wiser. Considering two of them were actual angels, you would’ve expected at least Luke to confront you with tears in his eyes about your health at least a month in. He makes a big talk about how you should never trust ‘those demons’ before having lunch with Beelzebub. Sometimes you think Solomon is giving you weird looks whenever you make eye contact with him. It’s probably the sleep-deprived paranoia, but you hope it’s nothing. You’ve been getting away with it for this long, so what? 

Tomorrow you have to stay over at Diavolo’s castle as part of an exchange party sleepaway camp or something. If you’re lucky, you can have a room for yourself. You don’t pack your go-to methods for staying awake until right before everyone heads out.

~

The steaming heat of the boiler room did not warm the chill in your bones one bit. 

You should know the inner workings of this hellscape by now. It was His favorite hunting ground, after all. However, something seems different this time. Everything felt…a bit shifted to the right, in a way. On top of that, there’s no sight or sound of Him anywhere. No taunting catchphrases, no spooky teleports he’s fond of doing, not even the shilling sound of his claw on metal when he’s close. This is probably his new trick, you think. Lulling you into a false sense of security before-

You turned around, involuntary flinching as you braced yourself to be hit. Only to process seconds later that nothing’s coming. In fact, there was no sign of life behind you in the first place. Damn it, he really was playing with you at this point. As soon as you let out a sigh of relief, you heard someone screaming from the other side of the room. You couldn’t tell who they were, but that’s not going to stop you. You ran towards the sound before you let the dread wash over you. 

“I’m coming!” You yelled at them. “Wake up! He can’t hurt you if you’re awake!” You were so focused on tilting your head up to project your voice to the other person that you didn’t realize you hit a dead end until you ran into a wall of pipes. “Oh, god damn it!” You cursed, pivoting on your foot to turn around and run even faster. 

What happened next happened too fast. You didn’t know where you were going. Everything is starting to blur together. A pipe managed to burst the same second you turned your head to follow the noise, immediately blinding your vision with steam and a “Shit!” jumping out of your mouth. The suddenness of it all made you lose your momentum and you feel yourself stumbling forward. You didn’t have time to brace yourself for the sharp object that’s going right through your- 

You wake with an audible gasp, hands going up to your throat. The sound of your racing heart and your uneven breathing replace the sounds of pipes and steam. You looked around in the darkness and could barely see two bodies sleeping in their respective beds. Ah, that’s right. This is the first night of Diavolo’s retreat, and you find yourself paired to a room with Asmodeus and Simeon. In an attempt to pretend you’re asleep ended up having you fall asleep for real. You couldn’t help but think how pathetic you were for letting your guard down for one second and falling into His hands again after so long all because you were waiting for someone to finish their 20-step overnight skin routine.

With a shuddered sigh, you carefully slipped out of your bed and into the hallway in hopes you could clear your thoughts without disturbing your roommates. 

Thanks to the occasional jittering of a Little D doing their nightly duties, the halls of a demon lord’s castle don’t feel as haunted as you would think. The lights were dimmed but not out completely, which gave way for the moon to shine in as its own source of light. Had you been carrying a candle in a brass holder you would’ve thought you stumbled into one of those old gothic novels. You didn’t have a real destination in mind, but you made sure you remembered which room you were assigned to just in case. 

At some point during the night, you ended up in one of the lounge rooms, curled up on a couch facing the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, and looked up at all the stars. It has always been a comfort for you. You even began reading about them in an attempt to stay awake back in the human world. You thought you could recognize some of the constellations, but there are always a few stars here and there that turn it into an unrecognizable shape. At least you have new material to read about when you’re back in your room at the House of Lamentation. 

The soft calling of your name from the door broke your serene silence followed by a, “Is that you?”

A small gasp managed to escape your throat before you were able to put your hands over your mouth. You curled into yourself at first so whoever it was can’t see your head poking out from the back. After a few seconds, it finally clicked as to who it was.

Sheepishly, you stick your head out. “Hi, Barbatos.” You said, voice croaking in unexpected use. Even though it was dark and his figure obscured, you could make out that he was holding some kind of tray. “Am I not supposed to be here? I’m sorry. I’ll go back and…”

“It’s fine.” He assured you. “I heard someone walking around, so I’ve taken the liberty to brew some chamomile tea for them should they feel restless. Would you like some?”

“...”

Tea does sound nice, but the fact that it was chamomile made you hesitate. At the same time, Barbatos just made it, so it would be rude to let it go to waste.

“...That would be nice. Thank you.”

He made his way over to the other side of the couch. Part of you wanted to sit up and be proper when drinking, but even thinking about adjusting your posture makes you tired. Still, you make an effort to reach over to take the tea cup from the butler’s hands. Barbatos took this opportunity to start talking. 

“This is your first time spending the night at a castle, I presume?” You made an affirmative noise as you sipped, not wanting to point out that it’s not just any castle you’re sleeping at. “I reckon slipping in a new bed right as you got settled in would put anyone’s nerves on edge.”

You put your cup down as you replied, “I guess you can say that.” 

He looks at you quizzically. “Is something amiss? I’ll inform the Young Master right away.”

“It’s…It’s fine, Barbatos. Thanks for worrying.” You took another sip before letting out a sigh. “I’ve always had trouble sleeping, you can say. I get…these really bad nightmares that make me stay up for days on end. They were so terrifying and real…I kept wondering if I was losing my mind. I’ve tried every remedy in the book to stop them but…” You stopped to let a yawn out. “Sorry…As I was saying, I tried everything the doctors thought could help me. They even brought in a priest thinking it was ‘dream demons’ or something.” You paused, replaying the last thing you said. “Are dream demons even a thing here?”

“They are a form of lesser demons, yes.” The butler answered. “They’re relatively harmless as individual beings, but can pose a threat in large numbers or if they get close to a human.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.” You told him bitterly. 

“If it brings you any comfort, just know that they’re not powerful enough to be able to enter the human world on their own. Only certain powerful demons have the authority to travel to that realm directly. Such as the Young Master and Lucifer, for example.”

You couldn’t help but huff out air through your nose in relief. Suck on that, Pastor John. 

“...So yeah. Just before I was summoned here, they put me on a clinical trial for a medication that…reduces? Suppress? It, like, stops giving me dreams entirely, and they work. Forgot the name though. And I coincidentally ran out just before I was transferred here so…yeah.” Your eyes looked over to the butler. “Sorry I didn’t mention it earlier, I guess. I keep getting roped into whatever the brothers get themselves into that I never really had time to check on myself.”

Barbatos didn’t respond immediately. You were too busy concentrating on balancing the tea on your stomach to spare a glance over to your nighttime companion to see what kind of face he was making. Would he make one? Shouldn’t he have known of this malady when your file was being processed? Maybe, because of their biology, demons don’t worry about these kinds of conditions. You mulled around internally in a tired haze before realizing that your eyes were slowly creeping shut. With a soft sigh, you moved the plate to the nearest table and stood up slowly.

“Anyways, thanks for the tea. Compliments to the chef.” You couldn’t help but let out a big stretch followed by an even bigger yawn. “I’ll head back to bed now. No guarantee I’ll sleep though.” You let out a huff that was supposed to be your attempt at a dry laugh. “You should get some rest too. Big day ahead, y’know? See you in the morning.” And with that, you exited the room and into the dim hallway.

The small smile Barbatos had dropped as soon as your back was turned to him. It was no secret that your time as a transfer student was being hindered by your lack of sleep. Even your recent medical file was perplexing in figuring out the cause of this disorder. It’s not genetic nor was it caused by a major traumatic event. Perhaps it’s something else? You did mention dream demons, after all, albeit it was more of a speculative idea that was brought up by your doctors in order to get a man of the cloth involved. It definitely couldn’t be Belphegor’s meddling, he thinks. He wouldn’t know about the human’s arrival.

It looks like he’ll have to do some digging after this exchange party concludes. He might need to start gathering evidence now while the human is still here. Diavolo will need to get involved, there’s no doubt about that. He would do anything to ensure the health and safety of the exchange students, after all. 

~

When everyone converged for a tour around the castle, some had noted that you looked less sluggish than usual. You simply waved them off, making up an excuse about the mattress not being up to human standards. Hopefully, you didn’t offend the demon prince when you said that. 

Still, you can’t deny that you feel a little well-rested. You did remember trying a method where you close your eyes for 15 minutes, wake up for another 15, close your eyes again, rinse and repeat. You usually had an alarm for this technique, but you didn’t want to disturb Simeon or Asmodeus as much as you already did slipping in and out of bed. You didn’t think you were able to keep track, but you did somehow, give or take a few minutes. Now you can actually pay attention to that cute little demon acting as the tour guide, explaining the intricate history of all the subjects painted on these beautifully crafted portraits. You couldn’t help but smile seeing Diavolo puffing his chest in pride when the Little D started talking about his father, the current Demon King. 

(But when it was mentioned that he's been sleeping at the bottom of Devildom for millennia you couldn't help but feel jealous. The most powerful being of all the realms is casually sleeping the decades away while you don’t even get the privilege of an hour of uninterrupted rest.)

You looked at the other paintings decorating the hall. Some plaques are written in what you can only presume is some kind of archaic language that only demons would know. If you could understand at least a part of it, then maybe you can get a deeper understanding of these pictures. 

A gentle call of your name and a not-so-gentle clap on your back broke your weak concentration. You tore your eyes away to meet Diavolo’s gentle gaze. “I see that her beauty managed to draw you in?” 

You blinked, trying to process what he said. “I-I’m sorry, whose beauty? I was…too focused on figuring out what the plaque said.” You managed to blurt out, causing the prince to chuckle.

“Oh, that? It simply reads ‘The Queen of Devildom’. In other words, that’s my mother.” His gaze turned to the painting, but you stayed fixated on him. He continued by adding, “This painting and some vague memories are all I have of her. She passed away several centuries ago when I was still an infant. My father would always talk about how…” And he continued to drone on from there. It wasn’t his fault, and you were genuinely trying to cling on to every word he’s saying because it’s important to him and you wanted to leave a good impression. On the other hand, the bleariness in your eyes started to cloud your vision again as a result of your lack of sleep. So you avert your gaze back to the painting unintentionally so you can wipe it away, biting your tongue to restrain the yawn that comes with it. Part of you hopes that Diavolo thinks that you’re speechless and moved to tears.

That thought quickly vanished when you opened your eyes to the painting. 

There was a choking noise, and you almost didn’t realize it came from you. It felt like the world around you completely disappeared, and only you and Him were the only inhabitants. 

Devildom seemed to freeze over the moment you made direct eye contact with the painted eyes of your tormentor. His scarred face did nothing to hide that cocky smirk he loves to wear. He’s holding up his bloodied claw to you in a way that couldn’t be anything else but a taunting gesture, as if he knows what he’s doing to you. His other hand wrapped around the back of a bloodied woman. By the way, the painting is framed, you assumed she was supposed to be sitting. Unfortunately, you know that’s not the case here. Her head dipped back, obscuring her face from you. You assumed she was originally wearing either a white or a similar light-colored dress, but that didn’t matter as it was dyed by the blood seeping out of that four-lined wound in her chest that you knew all too well. Just the sight alone made you reach for your hip where an old wound dimly throbs at the clothed contact. 

You didn’t dare move your gaze. You needed to keep an eye on him. 

“Hey…!”

You knew it. This opportunity to fly off his radar and find a way to kill him for good while he’s not looking was too good to be true.

“...!”

How did he even get here? Did he follow you down when you got summoned? What will he-

“...!!”

Time seemed to resume the second someone grabbed onto your shoulders and turned you around. You wanted-no, needed to keep an eye on him. Sadly, you don’t have eyes on the back of your head. Instead, you were forced to look at Diavolo's worried eyes. You didn’t even let him get a word in before you began panicking. 

“What have you done?!” You yelled. You pointed to the painting behind you. “Can’t you see I’m trying to protect you!”

“Protect us from…who?”

“Him!” You pointed to the portrait.

Only the painted eyes of a woman stare back at you.

It was too late for you now. The moment you allow yourself even to think you’re away from his control, you end right back into his hands. 

Nowhere is safe, not even in hell.

A maniacal laugh fills your ears as everyone crowds around your panicked state.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Poop Crystals

( Please come see me on my new patreon and support me for early access to stories and personal story requests :D https://www.patreon.com/NiqhtLord Every bit helps)  

The pace in which human technology progressed over the millennia was rather standard for a class 4 species. Even when accounting the periods of scientific degradation which resulted from natural plagues or religious persecution; it was expected that humans would not achieve advanced space travel until another 2-3 thousand years had passed.

Scientifically speaking human scientists were well more advanced than the society they lived in, but due to the technological limitations of the human race they were held back from implementing their designs. A primary limitation was the lack of a sufficiently powerful power source. They did have many different forms of power generators ranging from solar to nuclear, but to power larger machines often required equally large energy sources. To power their ships alone around a third of their vessels were dedicated to the power cores.   

With these restrictions in place travel between stars for humans often relied on decade long journeys in cryo sleep; which ironically required even more power generators to maintain. Their large size made them easy targets for natural disasters such as space debris or prowling space pirates seeking an easy profit margin at the slave markets. These dangers became a standard for human travel until the Terran civilization encountered the planet Nolla 987 and the species that called it home.

During a long duration colonization trip the human ship “Midas” was struck by the trail debris of a rogue comet and knocked off course. The robotic caretakers tried their best to maintain the course, but with the damage done to the ship their primary programming to maintain the lives of the crew kicked in and diverted the ship to the nearest habitable planet for debarkation. Nolla 987 was the closest planet with a stable atmosphere. Originally charted several years earlier but deemed unsuitable for colonization or industrial expansion, it was not ear marked for either and left alone; until the Midas incident that is.

The landing was not a smooth one. Several engines had been damaged and multiple hull breaches resulted in portions of the ship being shredded away during the entry process. It would be safer to say that the Midas crash landed during the final stretch of the maneuver, but with a 73% survival rate of the crew a rather acceptable crash landing.

One by one the crew and colonists were unfrozen to find the ship a burning wreck and only a handful of robotic assistants still functioning. The industrial printing machines were relatively undamaged but without the ships power core they could not be used to print components or tools needed to make the necessary repairs. The crew was then forced to ration its remaining power supply and divided into two teams. The first team would comb through the wreckage and salvage what they could of the wreck while also building shelter. The second group would scout the surrounding area for anything of use and then report back.

It did not take long for the second team to stumble upon a nest of the dominant species of the planet. An insectoid called the “Sectar” which ranged from the size of a house cat to as large as a two story building. These insects digested their food and excreted the waste into a dense crystalian substance that they then used to build massive hive like complexes.

The occupants of the hive had been driven from the hive by the crash landing of the Midas leaving it almost completely empty save for a few eggs and new hatchlings who were not strong enough to flee on their own. Several of the second team members had been scanning the crystal structures while interacting with the newborn Sectar’s. To quote a journal entry of one of them, “They were like insect golden retrievers. Extremely derpy with at least four times as many sets of eyes. They followed us around on their legs like we were their mothers and clung to our legs when we began to return to our ship for the night.”

At least one of the second team was confirmed to have brought a hatchling back to their camp. There was a debate amongst the survivors on if they should try and eat it, but the notion was quickly squashed as they still had food reserves and no one was brave enough to see how the alien’s bio matter would react inside the human digestive system.

The same human who had brought the hatchling back offered it a portion of food which it eagerly ate. Not long after the hatchling excreted a hardened crystal roughly the size of a thimble. When the human made to pick up the seemingly beautiful gem they recoiled as an electrical discharge shocked their hand. This immediately drew the attention of the rest of the crew who began carefully examining the crystal substance. After some rather rough jury-rigging, the crystal was wired into one of the printer machines and to the surprise of everyone powered the machine. The crew quickly learned that the older Sectar’s would produce larger crystal excrements but were extremely hostile and territorial. Smaller Sectar’s were deemed more desirable for the time being as they were easier to train and harvest crystals from.  

Within a matter of days the crew had not only collected enough crystals to power all of their machines and send out a distress signal, but also used the new found crystal power to create a full settlement on the planet complete with water filtration, crop fields, and a sizeable wall to keep out the native wildlife.

It would not be for another thirty years before a passing human shipped picked up their distress signal and went to investigate the planet. When they arrived on Nolla 987 they were astonished to find a fully functioning colony complete with limited orbital facilities. Nearly every human settler and their descendants had a Sectar in their household that they would take care of and feed and in exchange use their crystal excrement to power nearly everything they needed to live.

From there it was only a matter of time before the entirety of human space was aware of the events of Nolla 987 and the Sectar species. Within the decade the colony on Nolla 987 became the capital for a fully settled world with dozens of cities and communities. The Sectar species were transported throughout human space and began being implemented in all aspects of society.

There was initial resistance to the new power source by existing power blocks which realized Sectar power would be far more efficient than nuclear powered engines, but unlike other power sources they had squashed in development the Sectar power option had thirty years of trial and error to back it up with research as well as a fully functioning model with the planet of Nolla 987.

Sectar’s became a common sight on every human planet and were treated like common pets. It was even studied that when introduced to different food sources the energy output of crystal excrement could be increased resulting in certain food industries booming overnight. The composition of spices, cooking technique, and flavoring became an entirely new and highly prestigious academic field with the most successful of its practitioners being highly sought after by companies.

The technological capabilities of humanity experienced a massive surge in advancement within fifty years to the point humans no longer needed cryo ships to travel between stars. Those who had been studying humanity found themselves now being introduced to them as humans winded up on their doorstep with a Sectar on their shoulder and a perverse obsession with collecting its bodily waste.    

[befemininenow]

It's even better when the outfit screams femme.

It's been over 3 months since you first joined B.U.S.T. and your loyalty to the team has been noticeably known. B.U.S.T. applications have exploded to over 300% in the past 3 months you first joined and the higher-ups can't keep up with the demand. They know it's all thanks to you and your ability to make the program known through social media and word of mouth among LGBT+ safe spaces. Just as you're admiring your feminizing figure and your new, high boots, boss stops by and interrupts you: "Hi, honey. I love your new boots btw! You look just as gorgeous as ever! I need you to stop by my office in 5 minutes. It's very important." You stop what you're doing and take a small breather and a glass of water before heading out and meeting her at her office. "Have a seat, hun. Let's start our meeting." You hope it's all good.

"You have developed so well within the company, you fit as the perfect model for our goal, miss." Your boss, the busty lady from the ad, reviews your progress portfolio on her side of the office desk. Rarely does anyone get a call from boss unless it's a higher-up, interview, or even get fired. For the former two, it's just a regular thing; for the latter, it means the end of their journey. You're not sure why you were even called to show up, but you prefer to stay quiet and respond to her questions calmly, like an obedient servant.

"You know, I just love how you respond to my questions without resistance. I think you're becoming more submissive *chuckle*" It may have sounded hot when you were just a weakling sissy, but now that word just sends shivers to your spine. At least back then, you were doing it willingly. Now, though, it's become a habit that's hard to break. "Look, it's been 3 months and it's usually the time period when I either let you go or extend your stay. I'm here to break you the news..." Oh god, what is she up to? You were enjoying the stay here and you hope you didn't strike a nerve to boss. "I'm promoting you to team lead! Congratulations, girl! You're one of us now!"

Wait, hold up. Team lead!? "R-r-really!? OMG! Team lead? That's like, awesome!" "Yes, girlie! Team lead! We figured it's the first step towards becoming a higher-up for B.U.S.T. since you have so much potential towards change and influence! Isn't that exciting?" There's so much you want to say, you feel like tearing up out of nerves and excitement. "I just want to say one more thing before you sign these documents for your new position." She hands over the list you gave her in the beginning towards your transition goal. "See that? You just passed and checked number 7 without realizing it. Guess what's next, hun?" You read the list and you read number 8...

"Take these, hun. It's estrogen. You're going to become a woman. Forever." Wait, HRT!? You want to say something on top of your lungs. For you, it's just a kink or a fetish. But inside, or outside, the answer is very different. "What do you say? Are you ready to become another sister of the team?" "Yes, boss! I'm ready to be a loyal sister forever!" No!!! How can it be!? This isn't what you wanted! You just wanted to feminize for humiliation, not become a woman! Right? Right? ..... Wrong!

(To be continued)

[4-the-l0ve-0f-art]

Artist!Reader x Wriothesley.

Artist!Reader who's proposal to teach an art program at the Fortress of Meropide gets accepted. A way to teach the inmates new skills and help them explore art as a hobby. They get to do something different from their daily routine, and you get to do what you love: share your passion with others and interact with people from all walks of life.

Every day, you go to the Fortress to teach the inmates. You go through the slow and difficult process of getting to know the inmates participating in the program. Some were there to genuinely learn something new, while some were reluctant. You take your time with each and every one of them, observing their personalities and perspectives aa you teach. You teach them the basics of art: have fun, and don't hesitate to try something new, even if it's intimidating.

You're patient and respectful with them and take all the time you can to work the magic that art has.

Routinely, you report your observations and progress to the Duke in his office: how the sessions went, your interactions and observations of the inmates, their reactions and opinions towards the program in each class, etc.

The more you report, the more you interact with the Duke. The more you pique each other's interest.

Offering you tea after every report, seeing you off when you leave the Fortress, occasionally popping up in the middle of the class to observe you and the inmates. Both of you curious to unravel each other's mysteries.

Tea time turning into long, drawn out conversations and enjoying each other's company, forgetting to check the time until someone comes knocking onto the office door. Observing your classes with the inmates turning into Wriothesley trying to stop himself from staring at you longingly. He finds himself trying to squeeze time out of his busy schedule to sneak glances at you during your visits.

Overtime, as the classes prove to be successful and improve the overall mood and environment in the Fortress, a temporary program turns into a routinely one and you find yourself visiting the Fortress more and more, much to yours and Wriothesley's delight. You spend more time with him and make various memories with the inmates and other people at the Fortress.

Your tea times now turn into lunches and dinners with the Duke. Routinely reports turn into him offering you his office for work whenever he's working alone. You even get your own private room and class room for when you're working for long periods of time and need space for your art.

You become friends with Siegewiene and Wolsey, helping them out in their respective work whenever things get a little busy and you just so happened to be there. The Fortress practically becomes your second home, and people start to notice your place next to the Duke.

The highest authority in the Fortress, who always seemed to be working with no vacation in sight. The man who instilled fear to the very core of the inmates who got to experience or witness his disciplining methods and work ethics first hand. The Duke, eating meals at the cafeteria with the artist from the surface world, cracking a smile and talking softly to you.

You laugh at something he said, and he looks at you like you are the breathe of fresh air he needed after a lifeitme of cold prison walls.

Two people from completely different lives, making each other their world. Building their own home and keeping each other grounded in a world full of all kinds of loud noises.

[velvetfoxgames]

Infinite Blue - August 2024 Update

Hello! Just a little update this month, as we're still in a slow period of development. We've made great progress in the art department, it's mostly down to wrapping up writing and progressing with programming at this point. Here's where we're at with everything:

CGs: 1 left

Sprites: Complete

Backgrounds: Complete minus time of day/weather changes

GUI: Mostly complete. The demo GUI will be getting a little update to match the newer graphics

Writing: 3/6 routes done, remaining routes in final editing phase

Music: Working on track variants

Programming: Hard to quantify. We'll be adding an additional programmer this month to help

Voice acting: We were going to wait for the routes to be further along programming-wise, but for time's sake, we may begin recording sooner rather than later

When will release be?

I'm afraid to answer this at the moment! Whenever I estimate a time frame, it doesn't end up working out. For now, the best I can do is to keep everyone posted on progress updates until we get closer to actual release. Otherwise, I'd rather not get hopes up only to disappoint later.

But please know that nothing is going wrong with development. It's more that with such a long time frame, life gets in the way sometimes and the team has periods of burnout or needing to attend to other matters. It's been challenging to navigate as a first time game dev, though I have been learning a lot and have hopes to make the process more streamlined in the future. And I'm still so excited for Infinite Blue's release!! Thank you for your patience and support, it's meant everything to keep the game trucking along.

There should be more updates next month - see you then! 🌼

Thanks for reading!

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[mortallychaotickingdom]

I don't even know how to begin since with this post I don't want to fish for sympathy in order to excuse my umpteenth disappearence but rather explain what happened behind the scenes.

In short, it was another long and frustrating period of crisis, both as a person and as an artist; I constantly felt overwhelmed by everything and struggled to focus and deal even with the most basic tasks. With the advent of the New Year I decided to seek for help since I was tired of just surviving. After some research and a couple of impulsive decisions I signed up for a program to receive an ADHD diagnosis. I don't even know what I was expecting from that, I believe that I was just seeking for answers and someone who would tell me that I was not beyond repair. The whole process was quite long and and hearing that I could have been diagnosed as a child if my parents weren't careless idiots made me feel quite remoreseful but at the same time I want to focus on the present rather than on the past.

So yeah, in the end, I got formally diagnosed with ADHD with some discreetly high possibility of being AuDHD (but for now I can't afford to get a proper diagnosis for that as well sigh…). It was definitely an interesting rollercoster of emotions; going through grief, relief and frustration for having spent most of my life feeling broken, misunderstood and unworthy. Having an answer did not repair all the pain and feeling of inadequacy I have felt for my whole life but it had certainly helped me to know myself better and now I feel rather silly for always forcing myself into a mold I couldn't fit in when all I had to do was to change the mold to better fit myself.

Now things are already going better since I am slowly learning to base my expectations on my needs and necessities rather than on pleasing others; the path is still long but I am proud to say that I'm making great progress! I am not sure if I'll be back or not for now since the idea of being on socials still feel very scary and overwheling but I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and actively working to improve my quality of life thanks to these new information.

Thank you so much for your patience if you managed to read this messy wall of text and I wish you a wonderful day!💕

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

🌐The Long and Complicated History of the Time Lords: Part III – The Rise of the Time Lords

When last we met, Gallifrey had ascended from red-grassed obscurity to interstellar power, thanks to the Pythian Order and a lot of prophecy. But as Gallifrey reached the precipice of total dominion, it was about to face its greatest upheaval yet.

Disclaimer: Information on the creation of existence and a whole society is obviously mixed. GIL has waded through many contradictions to provide you with the most cohesive, structured, and key details of how it all came about, but there is room for interpretation.

⚰️ The Kotturuh Arrive

Somewhere around the time young Rassil Onasti Prydonius (soon to be "Rassilon") was studying temporal manifolds and learning the correct ratio of owl imagery to god-complex, the Kotturuh arrived.

The self-appointed Bringers of Death, the Kotturuh, had been bouncing around the Universe for some time, declaring that every other species in the cosmos was not, in fact, entitled to immortality. They finally reached Gallifrey and imposed finite lifespans on its people. [1]

Gallifrey was horrified. Physicians, like Androken, described mountains of corpses. The Age of the Pythias entered a period of paranoia, rebellion, and deep theological discomfort.

🏟️ The Death Zone & Gallifreyan Slave Games

Seeking a way to manage internal unrest (and perhaps keep the population distracted from the rising death toll), the 430th Pythia commissioned architect Rassilon to construct the Death Zone—a gladiatorial pit where prisoners of war, slaves, and various alien species were forced to fight to the death.

The Games of Death were considered sacred, and Gallifreyans watched the carnage on public access channels. Autons, Mandrels, and Drashigs made regular appearances. White sand was imported to show the blood better. It was all very tasteful.

🔬 The Time Program Begins

Somewhere between the death pits and state-sponsored prophecy, Gallifrey realised it could do better than watching. It could time travel. The 508th Pythia, in one of her more progressive moments, authorised the Time Program—a state-funded effort to explore the theoretical possibilities of time travel.

A student named Peylix submitted a temporal theory based on Genefrenian models and received the lowest academic mark in Gallifreyan history: Omega. He kept the name. Alongside Rassilon and probably the Other, Omega developed the first space-time craft capable of entering the Vortex. It worked. The first Time Scaphe[2] launched.

🧬 The Timeless Child

Meanwhile, deep in another subplot, explorer Tecteun returned to Gallifrey after aeons with a child she found near a wormhole monument. The child had impossible DNA and could regenerate indefinitely. Tecteun was intrigued, and also deeply unethical.

She studied the child extensively—painfully, repeatedly—extracting genetic material and triggering forced regenerations. Eventually, this child would become known as the Timeless Child. Theories about their origin include:

Conceptual entity

A Great Old One

An Elemental

Vampire godchild

Misunderstood CAT

or possibly all of the above. Or something else.

🩸 The Vampires Are (Accidentally) Unleashed

In one of Gallifrey's less successful experiments, Rassilon attempted to harness a stellar singularity for use as a power source. Instead, he punched a hole in the Vortex and accidentally invited in the Yssgaroth— eldritch creatures from a darker universe, including the Great Vampires.[3]

These monstrosities weren't just huge; they were metaphysically infectious, contaminating biodata and history itself.

Rassilon whistled innocently and said, 'Oh gosh, who did that? That's terrible!'

This would come back to haunt Gallifrey.

🔥 The Intuitive Revolution

As Gallifrey's science advanced, its stability crumbled. Its interstellar colonies began demanding independence, civil unrest grew, and food shortages worsened with the onset of an ice age.

A new political movement, the Neo-Technologists, gained popularity. Led by Rassilon and backed by the Other and Academia cadets, they rejected the Pythian regime's mysticism and demanded rational reform. Tensions mounted, and Gallifrey reached a breaking point.

On Intuitive Revolution Night, the Neo-Technologists stormed the Temple of the Pythia, beating drums as the Council Police opened fire on the protestors. The Capitol's west district burned, shocking Omega, who was appalled at the violence.

The last Pythia, unable to see the future and cornered by reformers, hurled herself into the Crevasse of Memories That Will Be. Before doing so, she laid a curse[4]:

'Let the world hear my curse. I am Gallifrey, sky and rock, flame and flood, womb and bone. When I am no more, the world shall be barren and empty of new life. It will live a slow ageless death and come to nothing in its own dust. I have spoken these words. Let them be fulfilled.'

🧬 The Curse

The Pythia's final curse did more than end prophecy—it ended reproduction. Womb-born Gallifreyans vanished. Rassilon's daughter was stillborn. Shobogans hurled their stillborn children into the Crevasse of Memories That Will Be.

A solution desperately needed to be found.

🔱 Rassilon Crowned

The Council awarded Rassilon not one but three crowns, officially ending the theocracy and beginning the Time of Legend. The Court of Principals quietly became the Court of Rassilon, and society restructured into the Six Chapterhouses (each headed by one of the mythic Founders).

Rassilon now ruled a barren Gallifrey.

Assembled from ROOG and TARDIS Wiki

Tomorrow: Part IV - The Birth of the Time Lords

Footnotes:

[1] The Kotturuh: Imposed a lifespan of roughly 300 years.

[2] The Time Scaphe: A six-crew capsule powered by psychic energy, was Gallifrey's first manned time vessel—predating TARDISes but laying the groundwork for their design.

[3] The Great Vampires: They infected time itself, spreading a metaphysical plague known as the V-Factor. It's like the X Factor but with less singing and more blood sucking.

[4] The Pythia's Curse: Gallifreyans would become functionally sterile, their children loomed rather than born, but more on that in part IV.

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