#but its using a scene from an rp i did

[sourscrap]

Drew a scene from my RP server like it was a cartoon. Out of context ShoalPosting pt 2742. Featuring Finn, written by @brisskwinds

[allthepandasintheworld]

I just realized I can’t say Rene and Alois live in my head rent free. Like, they do pay rent.

The rent is emotional support

[sourslip]

I'm still reeling from that reveal/scene (like most of us, apparently) so bear with the chewing-on-glass scatterbrain but I think the surprise has actually made me appreciate Laura's RP choices even more

going into that scene set up my expectations for some comforting, maybe some discussion of what Laudna was going through post-party split, but overall I was expecting - at most - some cute and friendly intimacy reaffirming they are Very Good Friends

AND THEN ITS LAURA BAILEY WITH THE CHAIR!!!

"Can I kiss you?" felt like it came on so fast without any specific queues (like what we've seen in previous romances where one or both PCs will name their desires in conversation with someone else before acting on it) but it also made perfect sense in retrospect

ever since Laudna came back, Imogen has been sitting on something, always seeming to hold back some burning comments here and there. she was also insistent that Laudna would get to choose everything going forward, and part of that I think meant Laudna having the freedom to think on a response to any question of further intimacy without even a chance of Imogen overhearing. Laudna could have the freedom to wonder if she did want to get in touch with "that part of her mind", to think about how painful, scary, or awkward that might be after decades of being shut off to it.

Laudna has some pretty intense self-image and self-worth issues to work through, but she's also had 2 years of Imogen in her head able to pick up on her wants without having to ever voice them and, ultimately, without having to accept that she does have her own wants independent of the people around her. Laudna seems to have only just started to get in touch with her anger, and that kind of repressed emotion that comes out in the healing process is one of the less intentional ones! Girl hasn't felt safe enough to actually think about her wants, let alone try communicating them!

Imogen and Laudna reconnected after their time apart and discovered that they - as Marisha pointed out in 4SD - have grown into different people, and that resulted in the tension of the first moments in the scene where they kind of made quasi-small talk. They were figuring out how to connect with each other again but, rather than return to their old dynamics (that kept them stagnant), Imogen set them up to try exploring something new and maybe a little healthier with communication going forward.

I think Imogen has been working towards this for a while, and while the circlet was the last "thing" she needed to help force them to communicate better, having the time apart gave them an opportunity to try something new.

Imogen has held a lot back before because she's too tuned into other peoples thoughts, and Laudna held off exploring her own wants and desires for too many reasons - but she is starting to get more in touch with her self-interested emotions. So they've both been tip-toeing towards a change for a while, but change like that can sometimes be like getting into cold water; at a certain point you just have to commit and jump in the rest of the way.

So to me, not only was Imogen trying to give Laudna the freedom to make her decision without an audience (the talk about the circlet), but she also made the most of the new distance between them to push them both towards a change, one that challenged both of them to be more honest with themselves, each other, and about what they want from their relationship.

Laura Ultimate-Romancer Bailey everyone

[coquelicoq]

i know we're all losing it at this sudden insight we've gained in the [tarik voice] uhhh why is there a drone in my face scene, so i wanted to pull out some moments from previous books in which murderbot uses drones to look at people and see how differently they read if we now assume said drones are hovering inches away from their faces. reviewing my notes to look for examples is how i found out that mb doesn't pilot drones to look at people's faces until FT/NE, with one exception, and it's a doozy:

When it [the drone] reached Wilken, I had it stop and hover in front of her face for twenty-six seconds. Okay, so I was a little angry. (RP, ch. 5)

so like, it knows putting a drone in somebody's face is gonna freak them out, and it uses that to fuck with a human that pissed it off. lol.

that's really the only moment in the first four books where mb could conceivably be droning right up in someone's business, and it's made explicit. so i don't think we missed anything there. FT and NE are another story. here are some of my favorite moments:

FT

Indah faced me and asked, "You have experience at this?" Watching her via the drones, I kept my gaze on the Starchy Foods!!! sign, which had little dancing figures around it which I guess were supposed to be starchy foods. (ch. 1)

there's something about having a drone in your face while you're trying to talk to a person who is staring very seriously at a whimsical sign that contains three exclamation points...

Indah stared at Tural. So did I, with my drones. (ch. 2)

MULTIPLE drones in face incident! plus your boss giving you the eyeball?? tural is doing their best u guys please have mercy!

He [one of Mensah's assistants] was used to me and used to confidential council stuff, so he didn’t even glance up at my drones, just nodded to us and slipped out as we stepped in. (ch. 6)

whose job is it to tell newly hired assistants "ignore it" when there's a drone in their face? it's probably part of the standard onboarding procedure at this point tbh.

Then me, Aylen, and Indah were standing in the office looking at each other. Or they were looking at me and my drones were looking at them. (ch. 6)

mexican standoff if instead of guns you had eye contact and also one of the people involved doesn't like making eye contact. or something.

NE

The drone I had watching [Mensah's] face increased magnification, its low-light filter rendering her features in black and white. (ch. 2)

POV you're having a tense conversation about trauma therapy in the dark with a little flying camera buzzing around your head. just little secunit teammate things! (i actually think mensah finds this very comforting though. she smiles at the drone four pages later <3)

I wanted to use my drones to look at [Amena], but while that was calming for me, it wouldn’t be for her. (ch. 3)

hmm would it not be calming for amena to have something hovering in her face right when she's about to be abducted by raiders? ya think??

I had a drone view of Amena watching the hand scanner, her brow furrowed in half-wince, half-concentration. (ch. 6)

it doesn't have to be like this [mb 🤝 performing surgery] when it can also be like this [putting a drone in amena's face 🤝 mb 🤝 performing surgery]. mb has two hands (metaphorically)

My drone watched [Amena] eyeing me. (ch. 20)

every time mb says it sees through a drone that someone is watching it gets 200% funnier if this means that the person is deliberately ignoring the drone invading their personal bubble in order to look at the person that is outside of their personal bubble. like that's commitment.

[Mensah] came and sat down next to me in the lounge and I adjusted a drone to be able to get a view of her face. (ch. 20)

read: "a drone zoomed down from where it was circling above my head and stopped an inch in front of mensah's nose." i mean, you don't have to read it that way, it's never made explicit and i'm not the boss of you. but isn't it fun to imagine?

[jannwrites]

book meme : WHAT MOVES THE DEAD by T. KINGFISHER.

a selection of lines from the novel what moves the dead. modified slightly for rp purposes.

i'm delighted by obscure passions, no matter how unusual.

it's cold and poor and if you don't die from falling in a hole or starving to death, a wolf eats you.

god, but it was a depressing scene.

i am, for the most part, not an imaginative soul.

he was the gentlest of souls, though he did collect rather odd things.

i swear to you, if i had not heard his voice, i would not have recognized him.

you look like you've been dragged arse-first through hell.

you have grown into an outrageous liar.

in some ways, it's rather refreshing to be treated in the same way as a fungus.

i will tell you, this is a recent dissolution.

i think it might be enough to make anyone ill.

i do not know how to deal with this sort of death, the one that comes slow and inevitable and does not let go.

death that simply comes and settles is not a thing i have any experience with.

i knew most of them would die anyway, but if they died in front of me, it felt worse.

we were friends once. i hope we still are.

i hear things now. everything. my own heartbeat. other people's breathing sounds like thunder.

sometimes i fancy i can hear the worms in the rafters.

but this place has made me afraid.

you don't pull punches in the morning, do you?

what sins could you possibly have?

you know i'm not a superstitious soul but i swear there's something wicked here.

they say mushrooms spring up where the devil walks and where the fairies dance.

perhaps they believe that the fungus is part of them.

it's in god's hands, not mine. perhaps not even his.

are you a witch, then?

don't listen to him. the dead carry lanterns down in the deep.

this place breeds nightmares.

he complains of nightmares. says the walls breathe them out.

i begin to think that this place has killed all of us, in its time.

most of us go to the devil without him having to personally oversee things.

the dead don't walk. you of all people know that.

really, what good would it do? have you not seen enough bodies in your time? maybe it helps other people, but it's just one more face to haunt your dreams.

headache is always preferable to heartache.

perhaps this miserable place has weighed down my spirit and left me vulnerable.

they don't fear ghosts where you come from?

i don't believe the dead actually care about those things.

[name], i have come to think of you as a sensible person, but there is something quite unsavory about all this.

you don't believe in possession, of course.

the dead may walk but i will not walk among them.

this thing, whatever it is, it's what's killing you. devouring you alive.

i've been dead for at least a month.

i could never help anything that killed you.

i know exactly where i would place the match.

[lucifersresources]

taylor swift // midnights rp meme. 

edit/alter/change pronouns etc as you see fit!  

lavender haze. 

meet me at midnight. 

you don’t ever say too much. 

i’ve been under scrutiny. 

you handle it beautifully. 

all this shit is new to me. 

i’m damned if i do give a damn what people say. 

all they keep asking me is if i’m gonna be your bride. 

they’re bringing up my history. 

they’re bringing up my history, but you weren’t even listening. 

i just need this love spiral. 

maroon. 

we lost track of time again. 

you were my closest friend. 

how’d we end up on the floor anyway? 

i see you every day now. 

i chose you. 

we were shaking. 

how the hell did we lose sight of us again? 

ain’t that the way shit always ends. 

i feel you, no matter what. 

and i lost you. 

i wake with your memory over me. 

that’s a real fuckin’ legacy. 

anti-hero. 

i get older, but just never wiser. 

midnights become my afternoons. 

my depression works the graveyard shift. 

i should not be left to my own devices. 

i end up in crisis. 

i wake up screaming from dreaming. 

one day i’ll watch as you’re leaving.

one day i’ll watch as you’re leaving, coz you got tired of my scheming. 

it’s me, hi. i’m the problem, it’s me. 

i’m the problem. 

i’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror. 

it must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero. 

i’m a monster on the hill. 

did you hear my covert narcissism i disguise as altruism like some kind of congressman? 

life will lose all its meaning. 

she thinks i left them in the will. 

she’s laughing up at us from hell. 

snow on the beach. 

life is emotionally abusive. 

time can’t stop me quite like you did. 

i’m unglued, thanks to you. 

it’s like snow at the beach: weird, but fucking beautiful. 

you wanting me tonight, feels impossible. 

this scene feels like what i once saw on a screen. 

i’ve never seen someone lit from within. 

my smile is like i won a contest. 

to hide that would be so dishonest. 

it’s fine to fake it till you make it. 

i can’t speak. 

i don’t even dare to wish it. 

can this be a real thing? 

you’re on your own, kid. 

summer went away, still the yearning stays. 

i play it cool with the best of them. 

he’s gonna notice me. 

we’re the best of friends anyway. 

i hear it in your voice. 

i didn’t choose this town, i dream of getting out. 

there’s just one who could make me stay. 

i waited ages to see you there. 

you never cared. 

you’re on your own, kid. you always have been. 

you’re on your own, kid. 

i see the great escape. 

he loves me not. 

something different bloomed. 

i’ll run away. 

i gave my blood, sweat and tears for this. 

the jokes weren’t funny. 

i took the money. 

my friends from home don’t know what to say. 

there were pages turned with the bridges burned. 

everything you lose is a step you take. 

you’ve got no reason to be afraid. 

you can face this. 

midnight rain. 

he wanted it comfortable, i wanted that pain. 

he wanted a bride, i was making my own name. 

he stayed the same. 

all of me changed. 

my town was a wasteland. 

for some, it was paradise. 

i broke his heart coz he was nice. 

i was midnight rain. 

i guess sometimes we all get just what we wanted. 

he never thinks of me. 

i guess we all get some kind of haunted. 

i never think of him. 

i never think of him, except on midnights like this. 

question...? 

we had one thing going on, i swear that it was something. 

i don’t remember who i was before you. 

i just may like some explanations. 

can i ask you a question? 

did you ever have someone kiss you in a crowded room? 

what did you do?

did you ever leave her house in the middle of the night? 

did you wish you’d put up more of a fight? 

it was too much. 

do you wish you could still touch her? 

did you realise out of time? 

fuckin’ politics and gender roles. 

i just may like to have a conversation. 

does it feel like everything’s just like second best after that meteor strike? 

i’m sure that’s what’s suitable. 

vigilante shit. 

draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man. 

you did some bad things, but i’m the worst of them. 

sometimes i wonder which one will be your last lie. 

they say looks can kill and i might try. 

i don’t dress for women, i don’t dress for men, lately i’ve been dressing for revenge. 

i don’t start shit.

i don’t start shit, but i can tell you how it ends. 

don’t get sad, get even. 

i’ve been dressing for revenge. 

she needed cold hard proof, so i gave her some. 

picture me, thick as thieves with your ex-wife. 

she looks so pretty, driving in your benz. 

ladies always rise above. 

i’m on my vigilante shit again. 

bejeweled. 

i think i’ve been a little too kind. 

didn’t notice you walking all over my peace of mind. 

putting someone first only works when you’re in their top five. 

i’m going out tonight. 

best believe i’m still bejeweled when i walk in the room. 

i can still make the whole place shimmer. 

familiarity breeds comtempt. 

don’t put me in the basement when i want the penthouse of your heart. 

i polish up real nice. 

i think i’ve been too good of a girl. 

i think it’s time to teach some lessons. 

i made you my world. 

have you heard? i can reclaim the land. 

i miss you, but i miss sparkling. 

sadness became my whole sky. 

but some guy said my aura’s moonstone. 

you can try to change my mind, but you might have to wait in line. 

a diamond’s gotta shine. 

labyrinth. 

it only hurts this much right now. 

i’ll be getting over you my whole life. 

i’m falling in love.

i’m falling in love again. 

it only feels this raw right now. 

lost in the labyrinth of my mind. 

you would break your back to make me break a smile. 

you know how much i hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back. 

karma. 

you’re talking shit. 

addicted to betrayal. 

you’re terrified to look down. 

you’ll see the glare of everyone you burned. 

it’s coming back around. 

karma is my boyfriend. 

karma’s a relaxing thought. aren’t you envious that for you it’s not? 

my pennies made your crown. 

don’t you know that cash ain’t the only price? 

ask me what i learned from all those years. 

ask me what i earned from all those tears. 

ask me why so many fade, but i’m still here.

so many fade.

i’m still here. 

karma is the thunder rattling your ground. 

karma’s on your scent like a bounty hunter. 

sweet nothing. 

they said the end is coming.

the end is coming. 

everyone’s up to something. 

i find myself running home to your sweet nothings. 

all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing. 

this happens all the time. 

you should be doing more. 

to you i can admit that i’m just too soft for all of it. 

i’m just too soft for all of it. 

mastermind. 

the planets and the fates and all the stars aligned. 

the touch of a hand lit the fuse. 

checkmate, i couldn’t lose.

i couldn’t lose. 

what if i told you none of it was accidental. 

none of it was accidental. 

the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me. 

what if i told you i’m a mastermind? 

i’m a mastermind. 

now you’re mine. 

we were born to be the pawn in every lover’s game. 

if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. 

strategy sets the scene for the tale. 

the first night that you saw me, i knew i wanted your body.

i wanted your body. 

it was all my design. 

no one wanted to play with me as a little kid.

i’ve been scheming. 

i’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since.

i’ve been scheming like a criminal ever since to make them love me. 

this is the first time i’ve felt the need to confess. 

i’m only cryptic and machiavellian coz i care. 

you knew the entire time. 

you knew that i’m a mastermind. 

the great war. 

my knuckles were bruised like violets. 

cursed you as i sleep talked. 

spineless in my tomb of silence. 

tore your banners down, took the battle underground. 

flashes of the battle come back to me in a blur. 

my hand was the one you reach for all throughout the great war. 

i vowed not to cry anymore. 

if we survived the great war. 

you drew up some good faith treaties. 

you said i have to trust more freely. 

you were playing with fire. 

maybe it’s the past that’s talking. 

maybe it’s the past that’s talking-- telling me to punish you for things you never did. 

i justified it. 

i vowed not to fight anymore. 

i vowed not to fight anymore if we survived the great war. 

got a sense i’d been betrayed. 

that was the night i nearly lost you.

i nearly lost you. 

i really thought i’d lost you. 

we can plant a memory garden. 

there’s no morning glory, it was war, it wasn’t fair. 

we will never go back to that bloodshed. 

we’re burned for better. 

i vowed i would always be yours.

i would always be yours. 

paris. 

all the outfits were terrible. 

i’m so in love that i might stop breathing. 

i was taken by the view. 

romance is not dead. 

romance is not dead if you keep it just yours. 

levitate above all the messes made. 

i want to brainwash you into loving me forever. 

high infidelity. 

i didn’t know you were keeping count. 

you said i was freeloading. 

put on your records and regret me. 

i bent the truth too far tonight. 

i was dancing around it. 

do i really have to chart the constellations in his eyes? 

seemed like the right thing at the time. 

there’s so many different ways that you can kill the one you love. 

there’s so many different ways that you can kill the one you love. the slowest way is never loving them enough. 

do i really have to tell you how he brought me back to life? 

glitch. 

we were supposed to be just friends. 

maybe i’ll see you out some weekend. 

i think there’s been a glitch. 

i’m fastening myself to you. 

i’m not even sorry. 

i was supposed to sweat you out. 

our love is blacking out. 

the system’s breaking down. 

i’d go back to wanting dudes who give nothing. 

would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. 

if you tasted poison you could’ve spit me out. 

if you’d never looked my way i would’ve stayed on my knees. 

i damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil. 

the pain was heaven. 

now that i’m grown, i’m scared of ghosts. 

memories feel like weapons. 

i wish you’d left me wondering. 

if you never touched me i would’ve gone along with the righteous. 

you made me feel important. 

you made me feel important, then you tried to erase us. 

you tried to erase us. 

you’re a crisis of my faith. 

if i’d only played it safe. 

i miss who i used to be. 

the tomb won’t close. 

i regret you all the time. 

i can’t let this go. 

i fight with you in my sleep. 

the wound won’t close. 

i keep on waiting for a sign. 

if clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die? 

living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts.

give me back my girlhood, it was mine first. 

dear reader. 

if it feels like a trap, you’re already in one. 

just run. 

pick somewhere and just run. 

desert all your past lives. 

if you don’t recognise yourself, that means you did it right. 

never take advice from someone who’s falling apart. 

bend when you can, snap when you have to. 

you don’t have to answer just cause they asked you. 

the greatest of luxuries is your secrets. 

when you aim at the devil, make sure you don’t miss. 

i prefer hiding in plain sight. 

you should find another guiding light. 

[genericpuff]

Sorry but I think you’re being super negative about the whole “Rachel Presents” announcement.

Rick Riordan is a white author who is passionate about mythology. After Greek mythology and briefly going into egyptology, he used his influence to give People of color a chance to write modern mythology stories from their own culture and experiences—and most importantly he stayed in his lane.

I think Rachel choosing to step back and give other people a voice is a great outcome, considering you guys all joked about how horrific it would be if she tried to appropriate another culture in her next series.

You also said she should have given LO to another creator who had the passion and dicipline to finish for her. That’s ESSENTIALLY what she’s going to be doing with RP. Maybe her true calling is just…being an Idea guy. She has wonderful concepts and cool ideas, but lacks commitment. In this scenario, we could end up with super amazing stories, with proper editing from Random house and proper commitment from new creators. I don’t really see the issue here, everyone wins.

(And lots of authors do the whole “___ presents” format. I don’t think she deliberately copied RR. Most likely her books sales did well and Penguin House approached her with this offer.)

lmao what? I was against the folks saying she should give it to another creator. I don't think not liking the series should mean she's obligated to "give it to someone else." The series is hers and so it's her responsibility to finish it. I do think she should have ended it a long time ago or if she was really miserable making it then she should step away, but she shouldn't be giving it to someone else to finish for her just because "boo you suck at writing your own comic". She started this, she should finish it.

And this is literally her doing exactly that - appropriating other cultures - with extra steps. Just instead of being on the front lines with her own work, she's sponsoring other works based on her own bar for quality (which we know is EXTREMELY low) and slapping her name on them so she can take a "backseat". It's really icky to see from a creator who practically failed upwards and is now using "herself" as a selling point, when she has no real legitimacy outside of LO, which was only as successful as it was because of WT constantly sinking money into it and advertising it over other series on the platform (and because it's based off a story that was VERY popular to romanticize at the time, the H x P myth. Like it was literally what was popular on Tumblr when it started as a hobby comic on Tumblr.)

I'm outlining all of these posts with "speculation" because obviously I don't know what's really going on behind the scenes here, but I think it's really disingenuous of Rachel to sell herself as some top tier brand name for mythological works as a whole when she's caused so much actual harm to the Greek myth community and its sources. It's furthering the notion that she has any credibility as a "folklorist" when really she just pulls whatever comes off the front page of Google. And the similarities between herself and Rick Riordan do matter here because of how commonplace it is these days for Rachel to rip off other works rather than take inspiration and make it into something that's organically her own.

That's my two cents. It's not me trying to be "negative", it's me being genuinely concerned over the blatant appropriation from a white woman gaining even more control over the depictions of cultures and mythologies that she claims she's educated on and isn't. Unlike Rick Riordan, Rachel does not have any formal education in the subject she's claiming to be educated about. Unlike Rick Riordan, Rachel allows her fanbase to use her work as a source on Greek myth and she obfuscates the line between "fiction" and "fact". Rick Riordan started Rick Riordan Presents after he had multiple hits under his belt that were celebrated and loved. Rachel is starting Rachel Smythe Presents after a one hit wonder that could be chalked up to a total fluke that wasn't even able to go out with a bang.

Rick Riordan writes fictional stories inspired by Greek myth for children. Rachel is writing fictional stories claiming to be "retellings" of Greek myth - and now other mythologies if the implications of this project follow through - for adults. It's disingenuous and it frankly deserves to be paid attention to and called out.

I do genuinely want to see creators given an avenue to monetize their work and that's why I think the thought of it is nice, but any amount of further digging just makes this feel like a grift that will lead young and inexperienced creators down a path that won't benefit them (or take advantage of them) due to the blatant lack of care and management exhibited by Rachel over the past 5 years. Just because Rachel had one massive hit that lined her pockets for years does NOT qualify her to be a titan of the industry. Not by a long shot.

To quote Super Eyepatch Wolf,

"Let's say you decide you want to become a carpenter, and particularly, how to build a nice chair. Think about the kind of person you'd want to learn that skill from - would it be from someone who's built nice chairs every day for 30 years, or would it be the guy who built ONE nice chair 5 years ago out of a special kind of wood that doesn't exist anymore, who has NO experience with the kind of wood available to you now?"

EDIT to add: it was more likely Rachel's representative, Britt Seiss who landed this deal for her, not Penguin House themselves. That's what agents are for.

EDIT EDIT: this is ALL assuming she even FOLLOWS THROUGH with this project, because god knows the only reason LO has even gone on as long as it has was because she was being held responsible via a contract, she's NOTORIOUSLY bad for committing to things and has even admitted to it in interviews. She barely even works on LO as it is. Spring of 2024 could roll around and this project could entirely fizzle out. Again, not me trying to be a negative nancy here, I'm just stating my own concerns based on what we all know about Rachel at this point and how she operates.

[tangledinink]

MY CHILDHOOD LOVE, WARRIOR CATS MY ONE AND ONLY

I MADE MY FIRST OC'S, SELF INSERTS, AND PERSONAS FOR THAT SERIES

WE WARRIOR'S FANS STAND TOGETHER IN OUR SEA OF BLOOD AND PILE OF BONE

oh BIG MOOD. i was obSESSED with warrior cats for AGES. like. lowkey baby's first true hyperfixation. i deVOURED those books. they were typically too expensive for my family to buy (esp coz there were SOO many of them) so every time a new one would come out i'd beg my mom to bring me to the bookstore and then i'd straight up just sit in the aisle and read the entire thing then and there.

warrior cats is definitely, like, a huge part of what truly got me into drawing/writing/storytelling. i used to dedicate hours to illustrating scenes from those books. i had four HUGE handmade posters up on my wall as a tween with each and every cat from each and every clan that i'd update as the allegiances changed in the books. i used to design 'warriorsonas' for each and every one of my classmates because i was a super normal child. warriors is how i got into roleplaying, which was definitely a huge influence on my writing-- i read in an interview when i was, like, 11 that the erins sometimes got inspiration for warrior names from roleplay sites, and i was like!!!!! omg i have to start roleplaying on roleplay sites so that one of my warrior names get into the books!!!!

(they never did lol)

but i still obSESSIVELY roleplayed online for YEARS, i'd draw all my characters and draw my friends' characters, too, and scenes from the rps. we'd all write PARAGRAPHS upon paragraphs with, like, proper grammar and everything (because at that age and in those circles, roleplaying *with actions in asteriks* and stuff was CRINGE and everyone KNEW that the LONGER you wrote the BETTER your writing was, obvs, and that was the only factor--) i spent, like, every waking moment on this massive chatroom-based site called kugyay that had, like, hundreds and thousands of users in its heyday. granted, like, most people had more than one account (so you could have a custom profile for each character, obvi) but i remember everyone freaked out when we hit more than 10,000 accounts.

i could talk about my experience with warrior cats and all my various ocs for... like.... ages. also like. this is random and won't mean anything to most people, esp coz i only posted, like, a few pages about it, but i also want y'all to know that this graphic novel that i desperately want to bring to life and do justice someday and that i've dedicated SOOO much time thinking about is... like....... 1000% inspired by/based on warrior cats lowkey. like. i am infected. forever and ever.

[wolfhednn]

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. Repost, don't reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! Happy anniversary, TOA! Here's to many more years spent together.

Name: rai

Pronouns: it's complicated so she/he take ur pick

Birthday (no year): may 17

Where are you from? What is your time zone? the states, east coast beast coast. (not rly its swampy here)

How long is your roleplay experience? i regularly lose count. 17 years now i think?

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? neopets, p sure. at least i can't remember rping before that. warrior cats and gifteds rps on neopets were the one-night stands of my heart

How were you introduced to TOA? according to legend, ree was reported famously to have said "we could do it tho" and then i answered "yeah ig we could huh"

Do you have any pets? nah i've come to realize that im not very good at taking care of living things (including myself) and no lifeform should be subjected to that

What is your favorite time of year and why? i'm an autumn girlie, complete with the pumpkin spice. november specifically is my favorite time of year

What is your IRL occupation? i work at a community college writing center ob it's really rewarding to make a direct impact on other people's experiences

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? gacha games, reading, poetry, hearing the dank beat drop in a song and imagining some dramatic rp scene to go along with it

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? honkai: star rail, granblue fantasy, pokemon, jrpgs, otomes, vn's in general, whatever games my friends want to stream for me while i grind granblue fantasy

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: raichu, and flying types

Tell us some fun facts and trivia about yourself! 3 stuffed animals have pride of place on my bed and they are a fennec fox named luhan, a red panda named shizi (persimmon in mandarin), and whale tartaglia

How did you get into Fire Emblem? was browsing the nearby gamestop in college shortly after fates came out, decided to pick it up on a whim because it looked up my alley. got hooked and blasted through the rest of the series in short order afterward

What Fire Emblem games have you played? everything except jugdral, but i've studied jugdral like i did ff7 back in the day in order to rp it

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: fates as mentioned above. favorite depends on the metric jsdjgsk but, simplified, binding blade remains near and dear to my heart

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! i cannot do this i do not hold enough characters in my working memory at a time

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! i think tsubaki. he was pretty and a pegasus knight, and i only liked him more as i actually saw more of his character HAHA

Any Fire Emblem crushes? huh. surprisingly, not really? was definitely expecting to have some for this one

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? 　　Awakening: lucina. and yes. always always 　　Fates: tsubaki, nishiki, and leo. and yes. 　　Three Houses: felix bc i liked his character and i always tend to s-support my faves just to see their lines. ambivalent now tbh im kinda roulette w 3h s-supports 　　Engage: gregory, mostly bc i'm also roulette w engage s-supports rather than any overt favoritism for gregory. maybe fogado?

Favorite Fire Emblem class? nomad ranger / bow knight

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? i've been told i'd be mage into mage knight but wielding dark magic. magic nuke but kind of whatever everything else. lysithea but mounted i guess. if i'm somehow playable the circumstances must be EXTRAORDINARY because good luck peeling me away from my nice quiet life for your continental justice war no thanks

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? black eagles probably and i'd cringe abt it

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? reason and authority boon. gauntlet, heavy armor, flying bane. i don't rly think i'd have a budding talent in any of the rest

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? tbh i'd probably be from elusia

How do you pronounce TOA? individual letters

Current TOA muses: felix, caeldori, rosado

Past TOA muses? too fucking many yall. ugh lemme see. volug, sety, idunn, leif, yuri, kurthnaga, ephraim, lucius, etzel, nel, citrinne, nishiki

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? will smith gestures at the grumpycat

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? reckless boys with hearts of gold (felix, leif, zeiss, ephraim); perfectionistic dreamers (caeldori), charismatic cunning extroverts concealing a boatload of issues, somber cerebral sages (sety, etzel, kurthnaga arguably)

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? there's plenty of archetypes i don't gravitate toward, but i don't really wish i did either. so not really

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? i like dramatic, fast-paced action scenes. i also like anything that explores complex topics and reveals how subjective the world really is, situations that challenge a character's views and beliefs and force them to reflect on what makes right or wrong

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? not really right now. i don't usually have rp wishlists like this because my enjoyment of a scene depends more on how effectively i feel it's being executed rather than just getting to do the specific scene by itself

Favorite TOA-related memories? probably running team mercy in lock&key? that was a really fulfilling experience

Present or past tense? present tense

Normal size text, small text, no preference? small text but idc what my partner uses

Got any potential muse delusions to share? i have muses falling out my pockets. lately i've been fistfighting the ilios in my head constantly. sometimes you just want to play a loser

[gatheredfates]

Hi everyone, happy weekend (or happy almost weekend, depending on your timezone)! I was waiting on a couple of communities to get back to me before I released this update... but there is nothing stopping me from making a belated one later. ⭐

With that being said, as of today (06/01 - Happy Pride!), the following resources have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives.

LORE

Minerica Eorzea — maintained by @wildfireward, this Compendium was inspired by the Botanica Eorzea and serves as her counterpart. It contains item descriptions of raw materials, item descriptions of gear that use said materials, stats of gear that use said materials, leve quest lore, and crafter quest dialogue.

MISC

Animations for XIV — A spreadsheet created and maintained by Sayo#0196 that contains a list of animations that can be useful for posing purposes.

Transparent Assets for GPOSE — Have you ever wanted to overlay a screenshot with XIV’s assets like ‘this scene cannot be skipped’? @fortunafavore has you covered!

CHANGELOG

For some reason, the text for the Hingan Alphabet had vanished on its bigger advertisement. It has since been readded! (Don't ask me why it did it, I have no idea.)

COMMUNITIES

With the Tumblr communities in beta, I'm trying to think how to best incorporate them into the Compendium should we get an influx of XIV related ones when the feature goes properly live. While they're currently invite only I won't be adding any (unless community leaders would like to reach out and have them added) but, once they are, I'll either make a separate section in the Compendium for them or sort them between the aforementioned categories as needed. If you have any thoughts, questions or suggestions, please let me know!

Do keep in mind that the feature is in beta, so my thought and categorisations may change as the community feature itself expands. Tumblr may also incorporate a better method of searching/filtering that might make it redundant! We'll have to see.

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

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. Again, all the below information is accessible on the document! 🐡

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads.

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include in-character tabloid blogs used to generate RP.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

FAQ.

I want to put my community on the compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community on the compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it.

What resources/communities can I add if I'm not the owner of them?

Mutual consent is extremely important to me, so anything that isn't a large-scale community OR a publicly accessible resource must be endorsed by the owner/admin/moderators in order to be added to the compendium. I operate under the assumption that a resource posted to a public space (tumblr, googledocs, youtube, etc) is open to all. A large-scale community is one with a significant member count or openly advertises itself as being accessible to everyone for whatever purpose it serves. If in doubt, please get in touch with me. I'm happy to contact your community owners for you!

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, absolutely contact me about that.

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

[randomgooberness]

@temothylol you have just plucked the WRONG jenga stick, my friend. 

OKAY SO. the TLDR of this is: Mind(from Freeman’s Mind) puts the sample in the rotator like usual in his canon, but it gets all weird and snaps him into another timeline/universe: HLVRAI, and he’s forced to “go under cover” because the guy who they’re calling Gordon Freeman IS NOT HIM and is likely a government coverup here to replace him- so he has to play it cool as he tries to escape with them. Through this journey he learns the power of friendship and how to not be as much of a fucking asshole. 

This AU is being rped by me and my friend @shineyfish​ ! 

The SUPER SHORT TLDR is: mind makes friends and shit sucks so much but its otay the power of friendship :)

THE LONG VERSION IS:

(warning for blood, gore, and talk about suicide at the end)

Like I said, he’s transferred via Resonance Cascade, and thrown into the HLVRAI universe. When people address Gordon by his name, he goes. Oh shit this guy is here to replace me. What the FUCK. And of course when Gordon asks for his name he panics and goes “MIND. MIND YOUR BUISNESS” and it sticks. sorry dude you’re Mr. Mind now.

Unlike how Freeman’s Mind takes place over the span of a day or so, this follows more HLVRAI’s timeframe. Which should be more like 4 or 5 days but I always write it as like. a Month because it makes it feel more like a journey and I like it.

Just like in normal HLVRAI, shit is Looney Tunes and BONKERS, though, like Gordon does, he adjusts to it with varying levels of stress- kinda going into denial as well- though he realizes Gordon is kinda the “leader” as well as is the MOST NORMAL, so he’s the one he talks to the most- and Gordon himself see’s him as More Normal Than The Rest.

He is, however, more suspicious of Gordon because, unlike everyone else, he doesn’t seem like much of a person outside of Black Mesa! Like, sure, he has a Son, but... that’s kinda it? He likes video games? This guy is suspicious as HELL.

(Meanwhile, the ACTUAL reason as to why Gordon is Like That is because he’s the player characters model. His backstory gets made up on the fly and he’s not given as much stuff as everyone else- not to mention, even outside of being a vessel for someone to play a game, he’s...depressed. And lonely. He has identity issues and doesn’t fucking know what he’s doing with his life except for taking care of Josh every third week and then playing video games when he’s not doing that.)

A Running Theme here is: while it sorta takes a bit, they DO become friends! The cost of this is: Mind is NOT USED TO HAVING FRIENDS. Gordon isn’t either but Mind especially didn’t Plan to make friends nor did he Want to, and now that he’s attached to people, he freaks out more over the shit happening around him. Because he has people to WORRY ABOUT. Meanwhile, in Gordons case, he has someone who is “relatively normal” or another “straight” man in this situation, which means that he gets grounded more often and isn’t as mean- but this comes at the cost of, well, dissociation makes it easy to forget what's happening around you and the weight of it. If you get grounded during a traumatic event you Get More Traumatized. So both of them are more traumatized than their source versions LMAO.

As of writing this, we’re almost half way through RPing act 2, and Mind has only JUST realized he can trust Gordon(which I want to draw the scene where he realizes this SO BAAAD ace did a FANTASTIC job writing Mind starting to break the boundaries between what hes saying Out Loud and what he’s saying in his head), and they’re...getting along. It’s really sweet I like them :)

Another fun thing that they haven’t figured out in RP yet(mostly because they haven’t even realized they’re from separate universes yet), is that Mind is from 2007. HLVRAI is in 2020. I’m not sure how they’re gonna figure that out before they escape but it’ll be really funny. Here’s a post-plot doodle 

OH AND DONT WORRY IT’S NOT ALL JUST MIND AND GORDON. Those two get along the best bc Mind has very little tolerance for bullshit but he gets along with Bubby okay at first(after he betrays Gordon, he fucking HATES him and it’s hard to repair that). He is Scared of Dr. Coomer and sorta hates him, and he is also scared of Tommy but tolerates him the most out of all of the Science Team post-plot. As of right now in the rp, Mind has attacked Benrey NUMEROUS TIMES. Here’s my two favorites 

(dr coomer was played here by my friend Newt, though I play him most the time. I just gave them permission to interrupt as him at any moment because its funny as hell)

I also, just real quick, want to mention post-plot is p similar to my fic Headfirst for Halos, except Mind is also there as a wacky roommate. When Benrey moves in shit is the worst ever and its so funny.

Something I physically cannot refrain from spoiling is the Betrayal Scene. We have no Rped it yet, but we have planned it and the aftermath in-depth and it makes me FUCKING INSANE. 

Basically, like I said, Mind doesn’t trust anything for the first few days- ESPECIALLY Gordon. Also, Mind was going through Withdrawals the first few days(which were only relieved because he eventually told Gordon who started trying to hack his suit to give him some morphine routinely- not too much, just enough to ease his suffering until they got out).

This meant that Mind was very, very prone to shit-talking Gordon behind his back, especially to Bubby. This ends up morphing into a bit of a situation in Act 3. Mind trusts Gordon by then, but still makes a few jokes with Bubby and Benrey from time to time- though he backs out once it starts getting too mean(which is funny as hell because mind is the meanest guy there). Because he backs out, Bubby and Benrey don't trust him to let him in on their plan to betray Gordon, but they don’t throw him into it, either, thinking he’ll be willing to walk away and turn a “blind eye” when it happens. 

...He doesn’t, but he DOES earn a Blind Eye.

Mind dives in to help Gordon, and is IMMEDIATELY overwhelmed by the marines, and suddenly, he’s laying on the floor fighting for his consciousness while he listens to Gordon scream for help.

When he wakes up, he realizes a few things. 

1. He only has half his field of vision.  2. The walls are starting to close in.  3. His first and now Only friend is borderline-dead next to him and missing an arm. 4. The walls are starting to close in.  5. He has to get him, and a guy bigger than him, OUT of here.  6. THE WALLS ARE STARTING TO CLOSE IN. 

So, with that, he has to, in a spur of adrenaline, drag Gordon and himself out of a trash compactor while dealing with a new disability for the first time. Once they’re Out, he has to sit there, watching Gordon’s suit try to cauterize his wound and wonder if he’s going to lose the first person he’s ever Actually Fucking Cared About. He sits there for a few hours, and when Gordon finally wakes up, he is thrust into the position of comforting someone at their lowest point- something he doesn’t know how to fucking do. 

When he sacrifices his bandana to wrap up Gordons arm and try to prevent further blood loss that the cauterization didn’t seal, Gordon says something that, one, no one has ever said to him, and two, sounds a lot like last words. 

Gordon has no problem telling his friends he loves them. He said he loved Dr. Coomer within the first hours of the Resonance Cascade. 

Mind, meanwhile, is only just now realizing he has a friend in the first place, and that friend is dangerously close to dying.

Anyways. Mind does NOT trust Tommy when they meet up with him again, but only stops threatening to kill him when he realizes he’s making Gordon freak the fuck out. 

The Dr. Coomer fight. It goes um. :)

And when they meet up with Bubby, the guy throws Mind under the bus and tells him, right in front of Gordon, that he figured he’d be fine with the betrayal because he was Also shittalking Gordon. Up until that point, Gordon was only really trusting Mind(and sorta Tommy), so it’s a HUGE blow that he starts spiraling from, and Mind is forced to show character development by apologizing genuinely as he can to him and telling him that he trusts Gordon with his Fucking Life. Mind ALSO has to go through the extremely unsettling realization that him and Bubby are in more similar boats than he thought, messing with his black and white thinking patterns. 

Mind struggles with the concept that he might’ve just ruined his friendship with Gordon until the guy suddenly announces that, because he’s so bloodloss right now, he cannot lead, and appoints Mind as leader instead. Mind goes through the thought process of “OH YAY GORDON LIKES AND TRUST ME AGAIN!” to “YES. POWER FOR ME. I DESERVE TO LEAD” and then “OH MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS THE MOST STRESSFUL THING IN THE WORLD”.

another theme, and probably my FAVORITE, is their different stances on life. I’m putting this at the end because it has a Huge suicide warning.

Mind wants to live. He wants to get out of here, and live his life. He has Plans, he is always coming up with More Plans. 

Gordon...doesn’t plan. He doesn’t consider what he’s doing when he gets out- he asks everyone else, and then freezes up when he’s asked in turn. And, in the worst moments, he impulsively tries to die. In HLVRAI, this man has had at least 4 suicide attempts. He only spirals like that when his stress spikes, but it’s still not a good thing at ALL, and a sign that there is something deeper here.

So, when Mind witnesses all this with Gordon, he’s...horrified. The first time Gordon threatens to kill himself, he thinks he’s joking- because like, it was funny. Making a joke about shooting your brains out if you have to swim again is funny. But then when the guy tries to Swim Into A Blade, he realizes he isn’t joking. And he has no idea what to do, because his first ever friend wants to die and he’s already stressed at the idea of losing him from Outside sources.

It’s a contrast that is FASCINATING to work with and we’re having fun toying with it.

anyways thanks for opening pandoras box. I’m sure i have more to say but it’s all stuff ill eventually talk about or im forgetting and will discuss later. feel free to ask questions if youd like i feel insane over this naruto and among us crossover au

[astrxlfinale]

🌿 Author portrait. Get to know the author behind the blog! repost, do not reblog.

Basics.

Name/nickname: Jace. (Has been my net handle for forever.) The Grumpy Ass.

Age: 32! I am indeed made of all bones and walking canes now.

Pronouns: He/Him.

Years of writing: Since my mid-teens. It really started around the time I first got a computer at my grandma's old place. Was able to watch overseas shows then one thing led to another.

Reflection.

Why did you pick up writing?: For me if was to answer one simple thing. 'What if', and that itself could be tied to countless scenarios that wouldn't be shared in canon continuity. Initially it was what do the characters do off the screen, then it edged to getting more detailed, to what new journeys or shared moments could they have? It led to a hell of a fun snowball effect. Coming onto different platforms and seeing it was shared or that other folks were ahead of the curved served as some fun motivation. In all the good, bad and deadass kinds of wild. It led to another 'what if' to answer, and still is being answered to this day with the RP hobby.

Do you have any writing routines?: My methods for knocking out replies are to always actively read the post. (no duh Jace), BUT, this comes with the idea on how to blend and extend. How can I give the post offered to me its due diligence and reactions, but how can I equally build off that by ensuring there's enough content to be responsive to for my RP partner? I let my character perceive to find their voice in terms of response and actions during this process.

Afterwards once I got the framework in my head, I kick on some tunes I genuinely enjoy getting it all doled out with the metaphorical meat and potatoes.

That said when it comes to scrounging up not muse per say, but that certain line of writing that I'm satisfied with? I just hop back to old works (fan made and official) that really worked those writing wrinkles in my head. There's some content that vividly let my fingers flow to 'paint a picture', in either emotion or literal presence in scene setting.

What's your favorite part about writing?: For me it'd just be bringing feeling to a scene. To give a very easy ground for anyone, experienced or new in this kind of thing to just feel the said scene. Not as some realistic one for one, but as a means to let their imagination comfortably sit in the drivers seat and have these elements expand before it. Tied with that is being able to find neat/cool ways to highlight my own muse's emotions through writing, letting it so volatile in it's creativity and their said emotions in said scenario.

Three things you like about your writing.

One. I really enjoy how shameless my writing can be. Honestly speaking, my personal taste never really clashed well with 'refinement'. It's blunt and broad, it holds energy and isn't ashamed to really let that be. I feel like that essence of 'voice' within writing is an important fundamental for me enjoying it. In hand with this, it's also why I never could actively write like other authors, and trying to say write similar to how a series does would never great great results from me. I want to carry that particular voice that varies with my muses, and have it flourish with what they also bring to the table.

Two. One thing I've also become proud of is details. Coming from a point where text based dialogue writing was my main bread and butter, watching the change in how it actually expanded has been like night and day for me. In particular, being able to describe a scene in these warm, cold or chaotic ways, adding that touch of whimsical flare to my posts as well. It's primarily why I get my kick from always having some fantasy in my settings, old age, modern or futuristic all the same. I love when I can get to use all the extra detail as extensions.

Three. This isn't tied into the act of writing in itself. Now days however I have to say I really improved on the aspect of proper plotting. My main issue was that I used to make it sound either too much like a script, or I got so creativity locked that it actually sucked the fun out the process for me. Taking some new approaches to the RP hobby has actually ironed out this detail, and I've come to see the incredible amounts of fun that can be held with it too. I intend taking the utmost advantage as well.

A question for the next person.

Write a question for the next person to answer. Once you've answered it, leave a new question for someone else to answer.

When life throws you lemons, and gets you down, does writing become something that you're drawn to as to get you through it, or do you feel like it does the opposite?

For me it'd be the absolute opposite. My creativity first and foremost is tied to me having a good mood. Being in more negative headspaces generally makes me harder to approach, so normally I wouldn't frequent any social angles for a prolonged period while I get that ironed out. It becomes a case of contrasting gears that are heavily rusted.

This is why I often put emphasis on this being a hobby for me. To me, it's similar as to booting up a video game for example and giving it a good spin. A more downtrodden me is moreso being a slough and not really wanting to move, outside of just watching tv while being a bump on a log. Stuff like that needs genuine time for me or a key situation involving said scenario to really iron out those kinks.

It leaves a bad taste for my type of character let that touch of escaping get involved.

New question: What are your favorite details that you enjoy to highlight about your muse through writing? Is a physical element? A measure of character that holds the most flare? This can have multiple answers or a solitary one.

Tagged by: @araneitela Look at you dive bombing me with this. Thank you kindly homegirl.

Tagging: Any and all can proceed to take part! What's your writing lore, let the fine details fly out.

[darkenforcer]

2 FROM EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THOSE PLEASE

QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN || accepting !

What caused you to start writing? What was your key point?

reading and writing have always been hobbies of mine, so when i learned i could write as the fictional characters i love? with other people!? i was so down!

i don't remember what keyed me in on it, though? i used to play pretend (it was just LARPing, lbr) on the playground until i was around 11, so maybe it kinda clicked in my mind that writing was the natural next step? no clue.

Do you tell your friends / family that you write?

KINDA... i tell people i write with a community online and create "collaborative stories," but i never refer to it as rp or go in-depth unless i know that person's also done it before / is in similar fandom spaces.

Are you happy with how your favorite canon muse was portrayed in canon?

sure, i don't have any major complaints about his writing! it's consistent and fun to compare how differences in the localization shift the tone of certain character/rship-building scenes, while still managing to keep the spirit of his character intact. my only "issue" is that they could've put more time into expanding his character arc in the third act (but the same can be said for every character... a fumble all around tbh).

Have you ever written a canon muse that you first thought of ‘meh’ when they appeared in their canon show/movie/book?

NOPE! can't do it. if i'm not weird about that fictional character from the start, it's very unlikely i'll ever put the effort into forcing myself to write them. i need that click! that spark!

How do you create an OC? What are your steps for developing an OC?

i haven't developed an oc in yearssss so i'm the last person anyone should be asking. uh... (1) be a preteen, (2) develop an insane normal fictional crush, and (3) make an oc to ship them with. bam.

Who was your first OC?

i made my first in-depth oc when i was a wee 9 year old... she started out as a self-insert sonic oc that i obviously had to ship with sonic and shadow bc, duh. i also forced my cousins to make ocs so we could roleplay together lol.

i had more before that one but they were basically just vague roles i slipped into when playing pretend with my friends.

Is there any fandom you regret exploring?

can i say all of them njgnjg i think every fandom out there has its subset of annoying fans who'll make you reconsider ever interacting with anyone you haven't personally vetted lol, even if briefly. for example -- just bc of its infamy -- i never interact with sonic fans outside my circle; i've seen way too many pointless debates and shitty opinions to risk venturing out there again...

In what fandom did you start?

i am SO glad sonic was the first because the ones after it are infinitely more embarrassing.

What are your favorite ships on here (feel free to tag?)

OOO good question!!! i'll start by saying i've been rooting for break/zhilan since day 1 -- love those goobers!! other than that, i enjoy seeing any ship get together on here, like lloyd/zelos, vash/wolfwood (both iterations), nicolette/wang yi... if you're shipping with someone just now i'm hooting 'n hollering whenever they interact.

Have you ever developed a ship based on writing with a certain other character / mun?

nope, not yet! it's not that i'm against developing ships after noticing chemistry betwen muses -- far from it! -- it's just never gotten to the point where i wrote one.

What’s something you find weird on here?

i can't think of anything in particular, so... tumblr's commitment to making their layout as annoying as unoriginal and bloated as possible.

What people make you happy when you see them on the dash?

commence the taggening... you (duh), @kleinstar, @moraypower, @hollowfaith, @cladinivcry, @ultimatelifefcrm, @innerbeast, @nicawlette, @twohundredpower, @spiderstaff, @lalaluuz, ... i can't keep tagging people i'll go on forever...

[bewitched-bullet]

Wait and go back, Maybe they'll say more. A story is rarely ever one sided.

Though I suggest it's over and find a new group to watch.

I just mean no one knows what happened yet.

I took your suggestion and decided to go back through everything with a fine-tooth comb today before answering this ask. And I am not liking what I see.

This is certainly a very difficult situation. The facts as they are at the moment: John has abandoned interacting with the original Sherlock blog and is no longer participating in roleplay with consult-sherlockholmes. Claiming an amicable split.

I find it interesting that consultjohnwatson was interacting with other (very new) sherlock blogs in the exact same manner as they would with consulting-sherlockholmes before the "break up" announcement. Makes it appear that they were shoping around for a new rp partner before they pinned that post.

Side note: (After looking at some of the reponses by the rp blog) There is no excuse for mistaking these new blogs for the original rp partner whether in out of character.

We know of it happening the first time publicly at the end of January, about a month ago. Almost directly after the rp love confession from original account. We also know for a fact that John ( the character and roleplayer) isn't stupid and would see it wasn’t consult-sherlockholmes, like it was implied/said. I am sure we all can see this.

(Devils advocate) would he (John (rplayer and character) have been oblivious, though?

Personally, I would doubt that. I don't quite remember the timeline of when they officially put a label on their (rp) relationship. I believe it was somewhere around January 29th. That was two months ago confirming a johnlock relationship. Who in their right mind would destroy that? Not John the character. Thats so way out of left field for him. That being said, it's possible that they (John and the new sherlock account(s) have been talking behind the scenes before the break up AND before the offical rp johnlock confirmation.

Especially, considering the ease at which they (the john rp and new sherlock account(s)) are interacting with each other. Incredibly sus. Which is why I would doubt him being oblivious to what he's doing.

Digging further, it almost seems planned, however sloppily. All of this is weirdly out of character for John to do. Which leads me to believe that this is not roleplay. Because, how likely is it for John (rp or not) to just split after getting johnlock? So that begs the question. Why did John actually break up with their original Sherlock? It can't be because he received a random ask from another Sherlock. Thats just ridiculous.

Especially, choosing to immediately hook up with that someone(s) as if they were together all along with, using a near identical username to consult-sherlockholmes, etc. It appears that this entire debacle was intended to replace him (original sherlock rp), without warning.

Last point and the most damning would be this. If this was talked about between original parties for a "long time" and it is an amicable split of partnership (roleplay or outside roleplay), why is consult-sherlock completely surprised in his posts? Why was he surprised about the appearance of the other sherlock(s), thinking its an impostor? If roleplay, if this was actually planned, if it was discussed he (consult-sherlock) wouldn't have reacted like that.

This would be extremely shocking and hurtful for anyone.

Anywho, just things I've seen and noticed.

All in all, the point is. Something in the milk aint clean and I have a strong suspicion that this weirdness isn't roleplay but a deeper issue behind the scenes.

If I am so motivated, I may even organize the information I have gleaned and put it in a comprehensive format. Because who doesn't love graphs?

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

Find The Words

Thank you so much @mostmagical for tagging me! My words were brush, crumble, and light. I couldn't find crumble, so I used the reserve word plant. Not going to lie, I had to dig pretty deep in my WIPs to find these (just a sign to me that I should get started on a new project soon ;)).

brush, from an Untitled WIP that I had started writing last year, which was a post-season 4 finale fic about how Marinette always falls in love in the rain:

Marinette had never really understood why some of her classmates feared the rain, why they were spooked by the loud claps of thunder. Her parents would always tell her about the “coup de foudre”, and about their own love-at-first-sight. It had taken Marinette an embarrassingly long amount of time to realize that the clasp of thunder wasn’t literal. Still, Marinette had always loved the phrase and while she had hoped for her own little “coup de foudre” to happen one day, she knew that it probably wouldn’t happen in the rain. That was until her moment did happen, and it came as quickly as a lightning strike, as the thunder rumbling in the sky. The umbrella turned from his hand to hers, a brush of fingers light as a stroke of a feather, and she was in love.

light, from another fic that I had given the temporary title of DL (which I'm pretty sure stood for distanced love, my temp. titles aren't very creative) which was about Adrien falling in love with Marinette, but do so from afar:

Adrien was good at loving people from a distance.  Maybe it was his genetic makeup, maybe it was something he had picked up in his 14-odd years on earth. Maybe it was learned from a mile-long table’s worth of distance, the distance his father preferred.  Or perhaps Adrien hadn’t always loved from so far away, perhaps, much like Icarus he had approached a blinding warmth of, in Adrien’s case, Love. Perhaps Adrien had been burned, his wings withering away until he no longer knew what it was to feel the golden light on his face. The love of his mother now locked away from him, his only solace, the rare and fleeting gusts of a warm breeze that came from his otherwise frigid father.  Whatever its cause, Adrien had learned, absorbed, inherited, whatever, that to love someone was to do so from far away. After all, a distance meant you could never get burned.

plant, is from a WIP called RP&V (or Rose Petals and Vanilla) which was about Adrien figuring out Ladybug's identity through the power of scent. The following snippet was a flashback:

As he witnessed the scene before him, lips pressed together lest he accidentally let a word out, he tried to take in every detail, every memory. Somehow knowing, even then, that this was something he would want to hold onto.  The delicate snipping sounds of plants getting pruned mixed with his mother’s melodic humming, the visage of yellow, blue, purple, pink, and red growing vibrantly, yet harmoniously next to the unusual and therefore humorous sight of his mother’s clothes stained by grass, these details all dulled somewhat over time. What stayed with him was the scent.  Adrien had always wondered on those seldom trips to the garden, if anything else had ever smelled as wonderful, if anyone else had ever experienced the pleasure of inhaling such heaven. 

I can't think of anyone off the top of my head to tag or who hasn't done this game already, so I'm "tagging" whoever wants to do this who hasn't yet!

Words: cried, tiptoe, pink

Reserve words: jump, lost, hands

[burr-ell]

To your Laudna post from earlier- I started having doubts about this character concept when Marisha said on 4SD that she wanted Laudna to be a character who was legitimately over their trauma. Just because…ok, if that’s the case, where is the character going?? What’s the growth, or the arc? (Which, to bring a bit of my bias into it, is why I think her most interesting interactions are with Ashton, who continues to poke that trauma and insist that she is not, in fact, past it.)

And to your point, if the idea is to have the character be over this trauma and for it to not play a large part in their life, why exhume Delilah for it?? Why dig up an old villain for a part that could easily be played by any random necromancer in Exandria?

It’s just such a bizarre series of choices, especially contrasted with Beau and Keyleth, who had such great character growth over their campaigns.

Yeah, that worried me too. I think the character has inched a little closer to full acknowledgment that she is not, in fact, over it (the Hound of Ill Omen rp, her killing of Bor'dor being explicitly because of her trauma around betrayal), but the fact that this was even the initial concept is very troubling.

I had some of the same reticence with Orym, since Liam was pretty upfront that he was meant to be Just A Guy who'd already been through the grieving process—but not only did Liam really put a lot more thought into what that would actually look like, the grief and recovery are not actually the point of Orym's story. Instead it's about the experience of what it means to be a foot soldier in a world full of legends, and that's a potentially engaging arc in its own right. He's not in my top ten or anything, but I generally enjoy what he's bringing to the table.

Laudna's just...a mess, and as you said, it really stands out when you compare her to Beau and Keyleth. I recently watched 2x30 for the first time, and the conversation between Beau and Caleb in the carriage on the way out of Shadycreek Run about what Beau's really doing and why she's with them was such a great scene. Her moment in 2x27 after Molly's death is good, but that more quiet conversation was so simple and yet established her so well. Keyleth, for her part, doesn't do a whole lot for me, but she doesn't really have to for me to recognize that she's a solid, well-developed character. Even Patia, who was around for a fraction of the time, was an absolute tour de force—and Patia makes the comparison even starker because she was created and developed at the same time as Laudna.

Like, there may be a turnaround here, but my charitable readings have worn thin, and even if this character does turn a corner, you still have to deal with the fact that she spent what will probably be at least half the campaign faffing around. Stories aren't made on potential; they're made on using it.