#brandon newbie

[lepacy-of-the-sims-1]

Round 6 - Newbies

Picture-perfect family

To celebrate Betty's promotion further down the Politician ladder, the family organised a small dinner between closest households: them, Goths and Roomies. Later the same evening, Mortimer quietly revealed to the new City Council that the timelessness influence is expanding, and soon several other regions in this world are going to be affected. And although Betty was initially supporting the idea of eternal life, she changed her opinion and started to agree with her husband and Mortimer.

Bob had this idea of spending their weekend in the forest camp near the sites where he has been working all this time as a ranger. He thought this experience would be very good for the kids. As soon as cabins and entertainment spots were prepared, he proposed going there. Betty accepted, but only with the condition that they were going to sleep somewhere warn and under the roof, with working showers and such.

They also burned their breakfast, distracted by this talk and their rekindling romance.

Children took their lessons about the great outdoors to hearts, it seems. Everybody had a great time, played games and explored around.

-Wow, mom! I didn't know you could use bows! - Brandon was very impressed when he saw Betty shooting away at targets. - I didn't know, either! - Betty replied. - But feels like I do enjoy unusual activities once in a while.

[digitalisnarcissus]

Kinda hate how Kickstarter is just part of the hype marketing thing now, and they're funding things that would, could, and should be made by normal big business processes.

[cinnamontails-ff]

The incredible @kittenintheden tagged me for this, so I'll give it my best shot!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Four.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

224,051 - which, honestly, is insane because that means I've written (and edited) pretty much two entire novels over the course of last 12 months. The vampire elf is too powerful, guys.

3) What fandoms do you write for?

BG3

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'm a fandom newbie, so I don't even have 5, but here are my babies:

Accountant's Guide - Pre-Canon Astarion teams up with a human accountant to frame Cazador for tax fraud. It's exactly as whacky as it sounds.

Magistrate's Advocate - The Magistrate Astarion longfic someone had to write.

Vampire Stay-at-Home Trophy Husband - Reverse Isekai EA oneshot

An Empirical Science - My contribution to the Holy Rolan Empire

5) Do you respond to comments?

Always. Obsessively so. Love responding to comments and chatting with readers.

6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

My fics have a good bit of angst and tension and heartbreak, but I always strive for an overall "warm" feeling in my writing, so those moments tend to get resolved at some point. No angsty endings in my portfolio (yet).

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Accountant's Guide is where I gave Astarion everything I wish he could have. Zero regrets.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Occasionally, but it's pretty rare. Not to make excuses for people hating on fics (because that is despicable; we're working for free here), but I don't think my fics are controversial enough to attract a lot of hate. They're cute. They're wholesome. They don't take themselves too seriously, so I think it's pretty difficult to hate on them.

Although someone once called Scarlett a b**** and sometimes I remember that and I become wrath.

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Explicit smut is something I've really only started doing when I got into fanfiction this past year. I like incorporating it into my longfics to emphasize key moments for my characters and their development, so it's part porn, part plot.

It can get kinky, but it will always be consensual. Dubcon/noncon is a big no for me, personally.

10) Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No crossovers, but An Empirical Science is where I have a lot of fun butchering adapting Pride & Prejudice lines. I mean, it's a Rolan fic. How could you not?

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know, but I have seen coincidences of very similar concepts and ideas popping up after I've introduced them in my fics.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, there's an ongoing Ukrainian translation for Accountant's Guide! I translate the comments every now and then and readers are really praising the language skills of the translator, so that's awesome!

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but we chat a lot about my stories on my Discord server, so that's often a little like writing together.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Shalladin (Kaladin x Shallan from Stormlight Archive). I love Brandon Sanderson with all my heart, but for this, I will never forgive him.

15) What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I get very hyperfocused on my stories and rarely work on more than 1 project at a time, so I tend to finish what I start.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Look, my social anxiety makes me a pretty rizzless person to talk to in real life, but my writing is funny. It's charming. I am great at character voice. I keep things real. My OCs don't need to be perfect flawless beauty goddesses to woo the guy; they recite a few paragraphs and swing their fountain pen and the guy is on. the. floor.

Sometimes literally.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

According to a rather charming public bookmark on my fic, I struggle with "pacing issues" and "questionable narrative choices". Clearly, this person knows what they're talking about, so let's accept it as fact.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I think this is generally really difficult to pull off without being confusing (check out "The Wee Free Men" by Sir Terry Pratchett for a really good example how to do it). So unless I had a very specific reason for it, I would prefer to write around it as I've done with Infernal in An Empirical Science.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Still BG3. First and last? Who knows.

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

Accountant's Guide. It's the story I wrote when I hit rock bottom and thought I couldn't write anymore. It's the story that made me believe again. My first story in English and by far the easiest thing I've ever written. It's the story I reread when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I want a hug that reaches all the way into my soul. I am never happier than when people tell me this is a comfort read for them, just as it is for me.

I'm tagging @thedreamlessnights, @purdledooturt, @larvasmoon, @karinamay and @davenswitcher if they feel like sharing their answers!

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

I have to say that the animorphs becoming something on par with Toomin and the other cosmic beings is my favorite because I absolutely love the idea of newbie gods as a story element.

I do too! [SPOILERS] My favorite takes on that so far are A School for Sorcery by E. Rose Sabin and That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis, but I'd also shout-out to Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

[valerieofavonlea]

No one asked for my opinion, but here it is anyway.

Here's how I would improve the cosmere/Brandon Sanderson subs on reddit, in no particular order:

1. Pinned FAQ and reading order posts, and crack down on other reading order posts, including "what should I read next" and asking for non Brandon recs. Keep it all in one thread

2. Have daily/weekly mega threads for simple posts and questions. I'd do two, one for questions and one as more of a "what are you reading right now?" thread where newbies can post simple reactions, rereaders can post simple observations, and we can see what other books sanderfans are enjoying. These threads can be moderated for spoilers

3. Stop using all the post flairs for spoiler policing. We need content category flairs like: question, review, theory, fanart, events, discussion, wob, etc etc. the subs are a pain to search through for specific content and this would help a ton

4. On that note, stop being so anal about spoilers period. You're completely stifling any real discussion, and alienating established fans. People who haven't read the books or aren't caught up and who care about spoilers can take some responsibility for themselves. Post titles also suck because of spoiler policies and I can barely tell what anything is about without clicking on the actual post. Also protip: flairs don't work on the reddit home page

5. Require that individual posts have some kind of real effort put behind them

6. Cross post a few of the best memes from r/cremposting every week. It'll be fun

7. Prepare event thread ahead of time. The mega threads for the WoR leatherbound campaign should have gone up the day before to consolidate discussion and questions, and it should be edited as more information becomes available so everyone has one place to look for info

8. Lead community posts, fun discussions, games, etc. And you can also lead community reads/rereads

9. Actually moderate? There was a discussion today with some criticism of the mods as far as how discourse and rudeness and general jerk behavior is handled, and the mod response was this:

Like, you don't have to step into every single conversation, but at least pay attention to the subs you manage? Stop letting the sub users do all of your work for you and maybe try to help de-escalate when you can see that a discussion is getting heated?

10. Hold more than one opinion poll a year. The fandom is growing at a crazy pace and keeping a closer eye on things would be beneficial. Also one a year is easy to miss

[florelia12]

What If Scenario - Helia didn’t have feelings for Flora…at first.

An AU where its more of a friends to lovers for Helia and love at first sight for Flora. One-sided pining until it’s almost too late.

So, it starts with Flora and Helia and their iconic meeting. Flora falls for him but Helia’s just like “hm, nice girl.” He makes a habit out of drawing people/strangers and gives it to them. But, Flora starts to develop a crush on him because of the drawing and also because he’s hot.

They organically become friends, with Flora (retaining her wonderful season 1 personality) making an effort to get to know him. This happens because he is assigned to the squad and is having a hard time adjusting. At one point, Flora confesses to him she feels left out too because Aisha and her used to be close until Musa and Aisha became closer. She’s not jealous because she knows Aisha cares about her but it does make her feel a little bit like no one in their group really gets her.

Helia has trauma (ofc he does) and is hesitant to make friends. Why? Because his old squad were assholes to him and when a mission went wrong, a lot of people got hurt and they blamed it all on him thinking they’d get away with it since he is Saladin’s grandson. Did that happen? Ofc not. Helia being Helia didn’t argue and simply accepted his fate. Saladin kind of forced him to take a break from RF, go for therapy and try and get his shit together. Hence, the gap year at a local art school on Magix proceeded by him showing up again on Saladin’s doorstep and refusing to leave since he almost died at the end of season 1.

Helia tries to convince Saladin that he is ready to be back. Saladin has his doubts. He puts him with Sky’s team and Helia thinks its a test because who are these lovable dysfunctional idiots but really it’s because Saladin knows he’ll fit right in. Now he just has to convince Saladin (truly, himself) that he is meant to be a Specialist and so they go on missions and yada yada. Back to where I trailed off…

He’s truly not interested in relationships right now because he has way too much on his plate but he does grow fond of Flora and appreciates the efforts she puts in to make him part of the group. Even helps her out with her own insecurities and helping her gain her Charmix. They become close and the closer they get the more Flora is reluctant to ever confess.

The girls hound her about it, the boys assume Helia has any idea that Flora has a crush on him but nothing happens because angst is what keeps us alive. ALSO. Helia, Flora and Aisha friendship with Aisha being stuck in the middle of these oblivious idiots after Helia and Aisha bond over being the newbies —- something she was forced into after Flora pushing her but then ends up genuinely enjoy Helia’s friendship proceeded by Helia helping Flora get closer to Aisha again after they drifted for a while there.

So now Helia reaches a point around in season 3 right before Eraklyon’s Anniversary Party (i think we all know where this is going 🐉 ) and he realises when Sky invites him that he really is a part of the squad and that they are really his friends. Its like his moment of realising that hey he’s on the other side and reached the end of the tunnel. Like. He’s happy. He’s healthy. So, he agrees to go to the ball/party idk

Now. We love a little jealous moment during the pining stage. So, Stella sets Flora up with a date for the party — maybe Brandon’s cousin or Sky’s friend (she knows what she’s doing). Then, casually assigns Aisha as Helia’s date which he is fine about until he sees Flora in the ballgown ( cue that scene when Brandon’s jaw drops after seeing Stella at her Princess Ball ). Now he’s not too happy about Flora having a date to the ball. Does he talk to her about it? No. He sulks in one corner in true Helia style because hopping planets isn’t an option right now and his therapist told him no.

Aisha decides to give him a wake up call. Helia’s like pft no, Flora doesn’t like me like that she’s nice to everyone. Aisha tries not to hit him. At some point, Helia had told Flora he wasn’t looking for a relationship and wasn’t ready and she was like good for you I support you 100% bestie even though she was dying on the inside (haha wonder where that was inspired from, definitely not projecting what). So, Flora never made any move on him.

He asks if Flora still has a crush on him. Aisha refuses to tell him. He gets frustrated and then gets even more frustrated seeing Flora dancing with the other guy because what if she’s moved on which he would have appreciated before he had the epiphany at the worst time possible. Decides to impulsively cut in and Flora’s like huh but then stupid Sky (i love him) decides its the perfect time to announce his love for Blo- nope, Diaspro.

They all get distracted trying to run from certain death at the hand of their friend turned cruel prince (cardan my beloved but thats not relevant). Flora then gets attacked by Sky’s dragon.

Angst.

Helia finally realises that shit he loves her. She’s his best friend and he can’t lose her <\3 Tries not to breakdown and fails miserably. Therapist tells him its good he is feeling his feelings because they are annoying like that (the good ones are life-savers)

Flora doesn’t die and Helia was a little overdramatic because Magic makes healing faster and less painful. But, now he needs to deal with his feelings for his best friend which is what he calls her when she wakes up and shes like aw, same <3.

Flora senses the shift in him but remains oblivious to his awkward flirting and thinks he is being extra sweet since she was hurt. Aisha is trying not to pull out her hair.

Flora gets her Enchantix, Helia is still miserably in love but then starts to avoid her because he is so confused and he does not want to ruin his friendship with her. Flora is sad but she’s too busy saving the world so they stay quietly missing each other

Then Tecna gets sucked into the Omega portal. Helia is there for her again, no longer avoiding her and he helps her through it. She tells him she was afraid that another friend grew tired of her or bored and drifted away. She feels like she tries to be there for people and a shoulder to cry on but after a point its all she is. Sometimes she thinks that’s all she knows. She thought this time it’d be different.

Helia almost confesses but knows this isn’t the right time because she is grieving. But he assures her that she is not forgettable or replacable. Tries to make her believe it but she doesn’t seem so convinced. Internally beats himself up but his therapist assures him that healing is not linear (i need to text back mine)

They save Tecna, hurrah and now Nabu is in the picture. Hello, Aisha 😏

They go to the Red Tower looking for Water Stars. Riven and Helia stay behind, Flora sends the cute little video message and Riven sees Nabu and gets ready to throw hands

When Helia tries to stop him, Riven calls him out and says hey at least im fighting for the girl i like. Helia’s like da fuck? Does everyone know but me? Riven calls him stupid and then leaves him to his overthinking in his towel. (Yall know what scene im talking about)

Anyways, they get the Water Stars and they come back but Flora’s quiet again. Helia tries to get her to open up and she tells him her test in the crystal labyrinth was about her worst fear of being forgotten. That if she wanted the water stars, she would have to choose to be forgotten by everyone, that they forget they ever knew her. Of course she chose that path because the universe was more impt than that.

Even though the council of elders eventually restored the sacrifices, for a while no one remembered she existed and that’s terrifying.

Helia tells her he can’t imagine a world without her in it. Cue intense eye contact and then they kiss.

Finally. Cue Aisha’s florelia senses tingling like that Charles scene in b99 with peraltiago (please understand this reference)

Flora is the first to pull away thinking she kissed him even though it was very much a simultaneous effort from both parties. She panics and apologises. Helia is hurt that she looks like she regrets every decision she has ever made in her life but understands. She runs away. (Girl, same)

The last one of the gang turns 18 so they decide to go to the club for the first time. Since Aisha had Nabu now, Stella declares that Helia will be Flora’s date. Are they happy about it since they’ve been avoiding each other? Nope. Do they say no? Also no.

They sit awkwardly in the club once the pairs start pairing off. Not talking until Flora can’t stand the silence and apologises again. Says she doesn’t want to lose him as a friend. Helia agrees even though he wants to be more. They are okay for a bit before Valtor that diva sky-telecasts his challenge to duel the headmasters.

More angst and so this is why this will never be written out into a fic as my patience is a thin as my hair.

Helia is worried about Saladin but Saladin assures him Helia is ready to be on his own if anything should happen to him during the duel. He isn’t afraid to leave Helia behind because he knows he has his people now.

Then he tells him to tell Flora how he feels.

How does Saladin know? He gives some weird wise sarcastic answer like “I’m all-knowing” but really it’s because Faragonda told him. She’s the one that’s actually “all-knowing” aka invades the privacy of her fav students and ships them.

Final battle with Valtor happens. Flora returns safely and they do share the hug at the end of the episode. Helia decided to tell her how he feels but at a better time and they agree to sit down and talk about it once its all over.

Is it over yet? Haha no. Valtor is still alive, kidnaps the specialists and leaves Helia behind. On the way to save his friends, he walks off to the back of the ship and admits to Flora he feels like he failed to protect him. She comforts him and he tells her that he was so scared he wont make it out alive. That Valtor was going to kill him. She starts tearing up.

He tells her that all he could think about as he possibly faced his last moments was not telling her how he felt. She tells him she has feelings for him too. But, ofc the moment doesn’t last and they are pulled back into the cockpit.

Now. It’s over for reals. Stella throws another Princess Ball because I would too if i got turned into a monster halfway at my first one.

After all the intense moments and will they won’t they moments and pining and anticipation… they finally have a good, soft Florelia moment and they get together. The end.

[murderthecrowreforged]

- Murder The Crow: Reforged -

Warm greetings to visitors and familiars. This is Brandon. Since 2020, in the wake of the pandemic. I have been actively researching and forging my own universe but in general, is just an excuse to draw more often and draw more consistently. Over the past year, I have been working on my main characters; Sadie mac Lir, Jamie Ann Robyn and Hector James Dagger. Interacting and living in their own universe in peace and perhaps, interact with a few OCs as gifts to thier respective users.

This journey, although short. Has now reached a turning point and the cogs are about to start moving once more. After much deliberation. I've decided to share that MTC is getting Reforged!

But what is Reforged?

Well, it's a complete redo of everything you know so far about MTC. We want to kickstart the series once more with a brand new set of eyes. Correcting some of the past faults and sorta start over with the existing props. Think of it as a Retcon.

But why Reforge it now?

In truth, I was feeling stuck with the current state of the series. The universe at the moment is a complete mess and its required to be cleaned up before it can be repackaged.

This process will require difficult decisions to remove certain props from the main storyline and reintroduce certain props but make no mistake, we are determined to stick to our guns with this change.

What's going to happen to the original series?

For now, consider everything posted on @caw4brandon as MTC's World Zero. A trial period if you will. Everything you know there is going to be rewritten to an official status but then again, its nothing much due to the impulsive nature of the posts.

What will we be expecting?

This is unfortunately, this is still a work in progress at its early stages and as we have mentioned. This is a Reforge. Nothing will stay the same as it was and that covers even the non-official doodles. It will be painfully slow because of real-life circumstances but this will be done.

For the a newbie's sake, The logo that you see here is official. If you ever see a new post with this logo. Know that its sealed and approved as part of the official series.

- Join The Caw -

If you like what we post and are interested in the development process of this series. Consider to Follow us. Feel free to browse about and feed us Likes and Reblogs. We will thank you in the comments~

You are very welcomed here.

⚠ We do have ONE simple rule ⚠ 

If your account is a spam account or if your account  suggests any sexual or explicit content.

We will report and block without hesitation. Spam Bots BEWARE! +

Other than that, have fun. We hope you enjoy your stay as we go through this process together.

Thanks for Reading

- Caw4B -

[claireelle18]

Sweetness in Life

A continuation of what @cellythefloshie started with her teacher x Brandon Hagel blurb/imagine. ————————————————————————

Not long after retiring to the couch from the long Friday school day, does her phone ping with a new notification.

Unknown number: “Hey gorgeous”. Confusion taking over her mind. Three dots appear underneath, disappear, then reappear. “It’s Brandon.”

It clicks. He texted. That was quick of him. She didn’t expect him to text her so fast, let alone at all. He was a hockey player and she was an elementary school teacher. The two talked late into the night, texting about everything that came to mind. Both laughing and smiling at their phone screens.

This had become the new pattern the two fell into for the coming weeks. He had to travel to finish off the last few weeks of games, while she prepared for the end of the school year.

The first phone call came after a rough game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Lightning. He was so upset about the game's outcome, he just needed to take his mind off of it all, and drifted towards her.

Only a few rings before a half awake answer came out of the speaker. "Oh um hi," she yawned out.

He grimaced, "Shit. I woke you up."

"No. No, you're fine, Bran." He started to relax a little. "What's up? I wasn't expecting your call."

"Honestly?" he questioned, following up with the explanation. "Honestly, I need the distraction. I wanted to hear your voice. Tonight's game really sucked, ya know? Thought that this was easier than texting." Texting turned into phone calls as time permitted for the couple. He looked forward to hearing her voice after games.

A blaring clock sound rung out, scaring her awake. She jumped for her phone, shutting the alarm off, when a soft snoring sound arose followed by grumbling. On the other end of the noise was Brandon. He woke up hearing the noise, confused as it did not sound like his set tone. "Good morning," a soft voice called out. "It seems like we stayed on the phone all night."

"Morning darling. I'm pretty sure you fell asleep and not long after I did too. But I did have you up until somewhere around 2 am I believe," he admits. In past phone calls, she had ended the call before falling asleep, or he would hang up if she had fallen asleep on the call. She politely ended the call not long after, but he already planned to make sure he brought her coffee later in the day.

The bag packed with lunch items weighed in his hands, along with balancing the tray with coffee in it, as he walked into he school office. Nancy, the front office lady, dialed her room. "Ms. M, you have a visitor." He was then escorted back to her room.

She turned a bright pink when she caught sight of him. A few of her students started 'ooo-ing' and put the puzzle pieces together. Students lined up to head to lunch, he walked with the class. "I hope you don't mind that I brought you lunch...and coffee. I thought maybe have a lunch date. I know you are working so time is limited."

"Actually this has been the best part of today, well minus waking up to hearing you," she flirted. "Thank you for doing that."

"I couldn't pass up the chance to bring you coffee. The least I can do after I kept you up so late last night."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She finally accepted his invite to come to one of the games. He promised that the other wives and girlfriends would love her, as she would be up in one of the boxes with them during the game. It only was a couple of weeks prior that the two actually became an item.

Francesca Maroon took to her the quickest, well besides the Stamkos boys. Little Carter was glued to her side as much as she’d allow him to be. No eyelashes we batted as the group of women and children took to the newbie. She had been accepted into this exclusive club. New friends, an exciting new relationship, what more could she ask for? Playoffs were approaching, a battle for the championship, Lord Stanley, which would have brought the couple under stress, but the two maintained their routine. Brandon surprised her again at school, with boxes of donuts for her students.

Even through all the madness of his season, he took time to celebrate the little moments. Her class scored the highest average and most growth within her grade level in the school on the end of year state testing. The sweet moments in life are what the young couple enjoyed the most.

The team didn’t make it past the first round of playoffs, which was disappointing to the men, but it did allow for a bit of slow down for the couple. Especially once the school year ended for her. “What about a vacation once we finish packing up your classroom? It can be a couple days to wherever,” he suggested. “Just some us time.” She agreed.

Days later the two found themselves on the tarmac of the tiny airport of the small tropic island. Salty air, the smell of coconuts and wafts of sweet rum blanketed the city. Their cells rarely used the trip, focusing on themselves. The sweet journey of life the two could enjoy without much interruption.

[koco-coko]

renegade and the reckoners as vampires

HEAR ME OUT

you ever think about how seemlessly the Renegades (Marissa Meyer) and the Reckoners (Brandon Sanderson) could transform into vampires/vampire hunter aus???

The Reckoners is the easiest, just make Epics vampires. High Epics -> Elder Vampires and Minor Epics -> lesser. Just turn the Gifters into people who can turn others into vampires. It's so easy and IMAGINE THE GOTHIC AESTHETIC?? IMAGINE PROF TIA ABRAHAM AND DAVID WEARING 1700S CLOTHING?? PROF'S LAB COAT REPLACED WITH SOMETHING MORE AKIN TO THOSE LONG PIRATE COATS???

And the Renegades is the same way! Instead of heroes and villians with superpowers it becomes: the Anacharists (+ otherd obviously) are vampires, and the Renegades are just vampire hunters. And so the Renegades can still keep that "ehh kinda sus" structure it could be a passed down tradition so it's more exclusive and people trying to enter are often mocked since there would be those with 3 generations of vampire hunters (probably Genissa lets be fr) compared to Oscar or Ruby who are newbies to the busniess and had to be selected/handpicked (so the trials thing still exists, tho maybe it works more like the hunger games where its random or something similar, so keeping the "hey renegades arent that good of a group" thing going)

So yeah if anyone wants to write these feel free I just needed to point out how seemlessly these superhero/superpower stories can transfer into vampire tales and still keep the story beats and themes for the most part

[lepacy-of-the-sims-1]

Round 3 - Newbie

Full House

"I'm pregnant again" Betty thought. She had a depressive episode and tried to think about what to do with her life, and it appears that life is actually full of surprises.

This was great news for Bob, though! They had enough money, they planned some renovations, and their household clearly missed the baby chaos. Their life turned around when their first son came into this world. Perhaps, a daughter can bring the same energy again, since their home kind of became a place of depression once more?

(Hey, it's Brandi Broke / Newbie! Can't wait to see how she'll look like when he grows up.)

The Newbie household had a little celebration as Brandi Newbie became a full member of their family. - How are you feeling, honey? - Bob asked Betty. - Actually, I am quite refreshed. I've even decided what I'd like to do with my free time: I'll become this neighbourhood's council. We know so many people now, I want to organize something official with it. I've already talked to the girls, and they agreed to have me as some kind of a heas figure! - I hope that our daughter will look up to you. - Bob smiled and hugged his wife.

[downwithpeople]

ran two sessions of delta green on the weekend - back to back, same scenario - and had a blast. here's what i got to say about it.

all of my players were fantastic, first of all. great team players, getting involved in the shit. big shout out to the dude who rolled sheets of paper into 'cigarettes' of various lengths and would periodically swap them out between scenes.

each game was 4/5ths complete newbies to delta green and one ringer, one absolute hardcore veteran of the system who miraculously hadn't read the scenario that's included in the handler's guide. i appreciated having an auxiliary GM to coach players with the mechanics.

i was running sentinels of twilight. the hook is that a missing kid returns after 40 years, hasn't aged a day and his parents are on their way to pick him up right now. the enemy are the k'n yani, twelve-foot tall giants who can control minds and phase through matter, plus as many zombie versions of the original kid as you care to throw at the PCs. it's a good con scenario because you can run it as a crazy siege with the massive storm as a backdrop. the k'n yani have a few too many things going on with their statblocks but you can drip-feed reveal their powers in a way that really scares the shit out of people. it's bad enough when they're outside destroying the cars, but gets much worse when one climbs onto the roof of the building and phases through the ceiling. little brandon mcgill is human enough that the players are normally driven to save his life and every time someone has gone to interview him they so quickly adopt the mantle of child counselor it's like they're talking to an actual kid. that didn't stop the veteran DG players from trying to give the kid to the giants as soon as the shit goes down, but that's to be expected.

i pretty much ran this as a spooky house of horrors, slowly ratcheting up the tension before the first encounter with something supernatural. the PCs behaved almost identically in each game, in ways that were fairly predictable. i think there's a few too many things going on and considering the extremely short timeframe, not enough time to reveal them all. no one's ever gone to the dam, no one's ever found the etzilac (the mysterious white ectoplasm in brandon that the k'n yani need as part of their machinations).

next time i think i'll be a little more cautious with the pregens. they're good pregens, effective and handpicked for relevance to the scenario, but their listed equipment is crazy if you let them have it all and it's on me for not checking it. one of the players was bemused by the inexplicable inclusion of 'doorstops' as a thing on his person, while another was pleased to find out that he actually brought scuba gear to yosemite national park.

[gerec]

Do you have any recommendations for fics where Charles or Erik is a sex addict? Or something like a Shame AU? I haven’t seen a lot of those floating around

You're right, Anon; unfortunately there aren't very many fics in the fandom (that I'm aware of) about sex addiction. I've read the first three fics on this list and can highly recommend, though I thought I would also include a few others I found during my search that I've not personally read :D

I Wanna Do Bad Things With You by ascoolsuchasi (1st of a series, inspired by the movie Shame)

Anticipationwantneedlust. It's not something he can control.

I'm Sure It Would Be Magical by treasuredleisure

Fill for the following prompt:

So, Brandon at one point suggests that if he could live anywhere and be anything, he'd be a musician in the 1960s.  What I'd love is some story where Brandon manages that, and one night Charles and Erik happen in on whatever club Brandon's working in. What happens next, totally up to you author!anon. But you know, Brandon is a sex addict...

Home is (Shame au) - this is just a tiny little snippet but OH BOY it's HOT tl;dr -- Erik fucks his way through New York, his younger brother Charles shows up, Erik is conflicted but probably does him anyway.

-----

I'm Breaking The Habit Tonight by Hyperballad (unfinished) What if two compulsions collide? What if two people find each other at a time when they are facing their own demons? In this fic, Erik Lehnsherr is a successful, corporate executive struggling with being a sex addict while Charles Xavier is a drop-out college student forced into prostitution to supplant his drug addiction. Their compulsions brought them together one night and Erik, in a desperate attempt to find salvation, uses Charles as his anchor. What comes next is a mutual discovery of love and redemption.

Shame/Him Cherik au by newbie

Erik is Brandon from Shame and Charles is Conor from The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby.

Fill for the following prompt:

Shame by orphan_account

Erik Lehnsherr lives a remarkably privileged life. He's acting-CEO of Stark Industries, he gets to spend every day rubbing that in Charles Xavier's face, and is doing a pretty good job of avoiding any and all responsibilities. So, when his son Peter unexpectedly crashes at his apartment and invades his privacy, Erik is finally forced to confront his problems head-on.

Inspired by Shame.

[emma-what-son]

Long gone are the days when I didn’t research my favorite celebrities. One such favorite was Emma Watson, who was announced as the new muse and ambassador for Prada on August 18th, after asking on their Instagram stories ‘’who is she?’’ as if we didn’t see her the last 20 years, she is not a newbie.

My first thought was ‘’wait, Prada was rated by Goodonyouapp as Not Good Enough, so the perfume must be shady as well’’ and I was right. Prada’s fragrances are not cruelty-free, not even the latest release called Paradoxe, as in they could be tested on animals such as bunnies whether directly by the brand or indirectly by suppliers or third-party, they even sell in mainland China, where such tests are still required by law.

Emma Watson and Prada wanted to come across as sustainable in the new behind the scenes video. Yet, only the 100ml bottle of the perfume is refillable. Ethically all available 30 and 50ml bottles should also be refillable in Prada stores. They failed to explain what exactly is sustainable about Emma’s self-image campaign advert, which barely featured the perfume(Paradoxe) she was expected to sell/promote.

Three photos of Emma leaked already, which is surprising to me, even the behind the scenes video was not posted by official accounts which showed lack of professionalism handling the campaign. Emma Watson did fire her Prosper PR team after she received backlash over black squares posted on her Instagram account. She must have thought she has the last word when she posted black squares recently, on the same Instagram account.

All so called luxury brands want to be perceived as sophisticated, expensive, yet testing on animals is an unnecessary practice, they could have easily said a firm ‘’NO’’ to selling their products where such practices are still required, but one can guess business and profits are above the ‘’do not harm’’ principle. If they wanted to be sustainable they would have taken action in that direction. This is another example of greenwashing enabled by celebrity hype. Is it really luxury if animals are slaughtered for a perfume?

Emma herself is not an (eco)activist as she flew during the pandemic for leisure, feminist(slut-shamed women at 17 and was named in the Panama Papers with an off-shore company among many other unethical things) or anything close to sustainable(she is mostly papped shopping for fast fashion for which there’s plenty of photographic evidence, never for a book, music or art supplies).

I wonder what happened to ”we have so much power to change the world just by being careful in what we buy”(February 2019 on Goodonyou) and ”I have committed to only purchasing and wearing brands that are rated ‘It’s A Start’  or above, as I want to be able to support brands moving in the right direction.”(Vogue UK 2020) as most of her sartorial choices were rated Not Good Enough by the same company she endorsed(search a brand here).

Lack of a PR team means that news of her relationship with Brandon Green(son of Arcadia Group owner P. Green) overshadowed the news of her Prada collaboration, this relationship alone shows where her priorities are. A paradox – so the name of the fragrance fits Emma like a glove. She even has a diva reputation for being rude, dismissive to fans as young as 6 years old, to journalists since she was 11, to everyone from film crews, film extras, restaurant and festival staff to her own drivers to whom she had a tendency to yell at, a snob in public(from people who met her in Oxford, Headington School, Oxford Uni, Brown Uni, HP premieres, out and about etc.).

She clearly chose prestige and money over values. The Female Lead was right to advise young people to choose a role model carefully because Emma is clearly the opposite of one. Her image was built by her former PR teams and perpetuated by the media(which we know is an illusion). I’m not falling for greenwashing enabled by celebrity hype anymore. Thanks to the internet for enabling me to get better informed!

---

Okay, serious question: Does this person read Sam or my blog? Or do they just do their own research, because everything this person says has been mentioned on this blog.

They're being pretty harsh, but they're not exactly wrong. They're right in saying that the ad focused more on her than on the perfume. And then there's the fact that the perfume isn't cruelty free! The bottle being refillable doesn't really seem that great after learning this.

And is it true that the 30ml and 50ml bottles can't be refilled? I just thought that people could just buy the 100ml bottle and fill them gradually.

[hashtagcaneven]

K, O, R, U for the fic writer asks!

K:  Do you have a guilty pleasures in fic (reading or writing)? I'm a sucker for a soulmate AU. Something something I mostly find it appealing because the idea of someone wanting/loving me despite regardless of my flaws and trauma is personally appealing something something.

I also love utilizing shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs. This drives my main writer friend crazy and we argue all the time. But I refuse to bend to peer pressure. (Plus I was a journalist. I can't write long paragraphs to save my life)

O: What are your thoughts on people writing fanfic of your fanfic? hjdfejklhasfdjklgfgads I would be so flattered!!! (provided credit is given/a link to the original is included somewhere)

R: Which writers (fanfic or otherwise) do you consider the biggest influence on you and your writing? I'm still a newbie at fanfic itself so I'm still learning fanfic styles from what I'm currently reading and its too soon to tell which ones are influencing my own work, but the writers that have influenced my work over the years include Jim Butcher, Mark Z Danielewski, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Sam Sykes, and I could go on forever I'm sure.

U: Is there a pairing you would like to write, but haven’t tried yet. Not for Trigun, but Dresden/Murphy (The Dresden Files)has been my OTP since high school - and I need them to be happy after the end of the last Dresden book T.T

[eway]

Hello eway mii! How are you today? My name is Sir Meliodas It's very nice to meet you! Could you tell me a bit more about your friends?

(Ooc: I love 7 deadly sins. Also, these characters are young and some have edgy backstories because I was 14 when I played Miitopia. Ok Eway time)

Heya! Meliodas, huh? That's a cool name. I'm eway!

I'm 14 years old I'm from Powerdered Peaks! I have two sisters, one is adopted and when she went missing, I set out to find her. Then I saw a butterfly with eyes and got sidetracked saving Miitopia, haha. But I made lots of new friends! (And a boyfriend, hehe)

This is Lilly! She's 13 She's a popstar! She has a little brother named Scrub. She has a beauty mark that floats next to her! It's genetic. She was the first person I met on my journey. She is so positive and encouraging to everyone, that it makes me worry about her hiding her feelings...

This is Julie! She's 16. She came from a Knights' Academy! You should hear her talk about sneaking out to join me and Lilly, it sounds AWESOME. Though she does have a stutter, I don't mind, though she can be hard to understand sometimes. She has a crush on a guy from the Academy named Zack, though her and her best friend fight over him

Lyra ( LEER UH. Not LIEra) is an enigma. She is 14 years old! She comes from Neksdor and is an awesome thief, but her past is sad. Her mom died after her sister was born and her dad was...well I've seen Lyra's scars. She doesn't like to talk about it. She is also fiercely loyal and protective of Maxie, her sister! Another thing, unlike the rest of the girls, she's not interested in boys. And unlike the boys, she's not interested in girls. She doesn't seem attracted to anyone! I'm talking like, not platonic. She can make friends with anyone, but she is hard to approach...

Brix was my first friend in Neksdor after the dark lord Brandon took my friends captive. She's 14! She used to be a Mage, and a very inept one. She was bullied for it in her magic school place thing. She also has a lisp so that didn't help. She has a sister named Lotus! Anyway, she's very kind and tries her best, and when she tried being a cleric she was so good at it! She's waaaaaaay happier!

Yuko~chan is from Peculia and is 13. I think she's dating Conner now (more on him later). She acts kind of dumb, unaware of her surroundings, not knowing when certain things are good (stop SLEEPING IN BATTLE!) but she has a good heart! And also her culture is very different from mine so that's interesting. She has a twin named Akira~kun. He's her bro!

Poor Travis is sick. I wish I could get a better pic. Anyway, I didn't like him at first. This 15 year old would hide behind us in battle and it was annoying! But... well I was very stressed when I met him. And while Brix and Yuko~chan were trying their best, I felt I had to hide my pain, my fear. My friends were kidnapped and I had to deal with two newbies! But Travis...he let me vent. He listened to me. He gave me advice. We talked alot. Beneath his laid back exterior, he cares. And we became friends. And when he and the others were taken, I felt more upset about him being gone than anyone else. I realized how I felt. And after beating the dark lord and the darker lord being a thing, after another vent session I accidentally confessed. Apparently he felt the same and now we're a couple!

Celeste here is the youngest by far. She's only 8. Apparently, her older sister, Sylvie, was supposed to join us, but her face was stolen, so Celeste went in her sted. She's kind and sweet, but also, odd. A lot of the things she says don't add up. She talks about her home in the Elven forest, and how she and her sister are orphans, but sometimes she mentions evil parents. I figured out the truth, as did the rest of us, and its heartbreaking and Celeste is not at fault for any of it! She's also very...alien, in behavior. Having a near photographic memory is not normal. But we love Celeste, she's everyone's kid sister!

Alexis is 14! She is a princess with a twin brother named Alex. She is also going to marry a prince named Roberto when she's old enough, but they're in love so it's fine. However, a coup de ta happened! Her handmaid, a girl named Lucky, and the girl in love with Alex, revealed herself to be the daughter of the leader of this coup. Her real name? Luciena! Lou she en a! Not Lou she na. Gotta correct that. But Lucky was loyal and helped Alexis escape, but her brother was taken. Just like me, her quest started for a different purpose, but directionless. So when the Guardian Spirit recruited her, she joined us to save Miitopia and hopefully find her bro along the way!

Conner...this guy is a flirt. And french. OK he just has that accent. He's also from Peculia and is a nature spirit. He has a brother named Loki I think? He used to have a thing for me, but he was respectful when I rejected him (I was nice about it). Yuko~chan noticed his change in demeanor and took it upon herself to make him feel better. They became close. They know things about each other that the rest of us don't, just like me and Travis! Honestly, before this he flirted with everyone except for Travis (both only like girls) and Celeste (because Celeste is waaaaay younger than him. She is too smol) oh yeah and Conner is 14 I guess...