#i haven't gotten a chance to play the new event but i NEED to

[yandere-daydreams]

Tsums are back in twst. That means someone is probably thinking of fucking a plushie. Probably Malleus or Idia.

i will defend malleus just this once bc i do genuinely believe he's too oblivious to ever consider fucking you until you've been married for 27 years, let alone sticking his dick in your marketable plushie, but idia is never beating the allegations. give him five seconds alone with your tsum and he's finding the most accessible hole on that thing to stick his dick inside of. if it's any consolation, he does cry when he comes on/inside of it, and not even ortho can get him out of him room for the next two weeks. he is a man of great shame and very little willpower. at least he feels bad about it, though.

[puckpocketed]

Hello. You might have seen this floating around on twt:

link 1 // link 2, archive link

If by any chance you or someone you know are thinking about joining in on the challenge… no one can stop you but I implore you as someone who makes art, as someone with friends in an often-exploited creative industry, as someone who lives in late stage capitalism alongside you and has seen this play out before: proceed with caution.

Read the fine print on that form. There is NO guarantee of an internship, much less a job at the end of it. I haven't gone further than this form, but if anyone reading this does, and if there's no written agreement that your work won't be used without credit to you + payment for services rendered - RUN.

This is a common corporate tactic to get free labor out of people. I'm not saying this is necessarily what’s happening; for all we know this was done as a completely innocent move to drum up some fan engagement and as a genuine search for talent for their analytics team. WHO KNOWS. But I can't ignore that I’ve seen this situation play out again and again, at every scale.

Job interviews, when they ask you how YOU think they should improve their systems, how YOU would solve their problems? When they require that you do some problem-solving for them, and it goes beyond a simple task? That’s a free consultation you’re giving them, that's free work you or someone else should be getting paid for.

When big streamers/influencers ask their fans to join in on a fan art contest to choose their new pfp/banner? That’s hundreds, possibly thousands of pieces of free art they never would’ve gotten otherwise. They could've gone to the trouble of paying someone in-house to do it, hiring someone for that position, commissioning a professional for a piece. It's free work from their dedicated fans.

In this case, Utah HC is asking fans to not only choose/provide their own dataset, but to do a complex analysis on it AND do the work of visual and verbal communication to senior management, who likely do not have a deeper grasp of the concepts and will need it simplified. The stipulation that you will present your work could be ANYTHING!! The "five page deliverable" is already bananas to me, having dipped my toe into what analytics is and how complex the fun ones are. Condensing it all is WORK. The presentation portion may include speaking time and answering questions; the groundwork for doing this effectively may include producing data visualisations, making spreadsheets, time consuming write-ups. Maths and science communication is hard. It is WORK. They are asking for free labor.

Many have already called it out, but it's still gaining traction via retweets from big accounts uncritically sharing it. I found out through the official Puckpedia account. Jack Han called it out pretty eloquently on twitter and on his substack:

Many people aspire to work as an analyst in the NHL. Earlier today the Utah Hockey Club gave those people a glimmer of hope. Utah’s Summer Analytics Challenge is unusual in that it doesn’t provide a dataset or detailed instructions. The open-ended contests contrasts with other public (ex: Big Data Cup) or private (ex: NHL team interview) events. In those scenarios, participants are given proprietary data to clean, model and analyze, which influence direction and methodology. Meanwhile, Utah is seemingly happy with anything as long as the writeup is under five pages long. Utah’s contest also stands out in its near-total absence of legal fine print. There are no mention of intellectual property implications, which is perhaps fitting when the team is asking participants to bring their own data and analysis. [...] Open casting calls such as Utah’s analytics challenge start out as a lose-lose-lose proposition: > The employer loses because it will have to invest massive human resources to trawl/filter/evaluate/reverse-engineer the hundreds of write-ups it is sure to receive, with no guarantee that any of them will be of use > Applicants lose because the vast, vast majority of them will have nothing to show for their efforts, while a tiny minority risks having its IP stolen > Good ideas lose because they’ll be born into an environment where their parents (the applicant & the employer) have no defined relationship and won’t be in a position to grow together

link, archive link

I do try to keep things light on this blog, but this is super personal for me <3 thank u for listening

[iamawolfstarsimp]

what's up ya'll

as previously mentioned I saw @fickle-tiction headcanons for a superbat (superman/batman) and yeah, here we are

just a quick side note for everyone to go like/follow/reblog her fics and headcanons they're literally the best ever

3,342 words

hope you enjoy!!

It all started with a quiet knock on his door early one morning.

"Ms. Diana is here, she says she needs to talk to you about a mission the team said was 'tailored to you.'" Alfred said in his usual neutral tone.

Alfred walked into his room with the usual greeting and started opening his curtains to let in some natural light that instantly blinded Bruce for a few moments.

"Just let her in then," Bruce mumbled, too tired to get up just yet.

"Very well." Alfred said and opened up his door to let Diana walk through. She walked in wearing dress pants and some new fitted top (new because Bruce didn't recognize it) while holding a folder in her hands and took a moment to look around the room before thanking Alfred and walking over to Bruce.

"Hey, you." She smiled at his messy hair and sour expression. "How did you sleep?"

"Alright, considering." Bruce answered while trying to blink away any grogginess he had left.

"The team found this undercover mission for you if you're up to it."

"Give it to me, I'll look through it." She handed the folder to him.

He flipped it open to see the location which was some island near the coast of Florida where the host was having all of his guests at his private mansion. They had the targets listed with a list of who they are and what information they needed from them. Then the character he would be playing. He was supposedly going to be called Mark Wilson who attempted to go the military (specifically marine corp) but then won the lottery randomly and left (wow, what a great guy) but then used his money to sponsor random charities and then got famous off of that. He also was recently getting into acting and was apparently starring in a new movie that was to come out next year. But ever since his rise to fame he mostly attends parties, golfs, spends his money, and spends time with his-

"Husband?" Bruce looked up at Diana.

"Yeah, that's the part I thought I should ask about.." She grimaced a little.

"Does his 'husband' have to be at the event or can I make something up?"

"He has to be there." Diana said.

"Who's playing the part of my husband then?"

"Clark?" Diana eye rolled when Bruce chuckled and gave her a look. "We all agreed that you two would be best for this since you both have natural chemistry. It wouldn't look fake in front of public eye."

"Is Clark really up to it? He doesn't seem the acting type."

"We asked him and he said it was perfectly okay with him. And give him some credit, he pretends to be a new reporter and has to hold back on everything he does so he doesn't break anything. Granted he has gotten a lot better at the last thing and maybe not so much on the first but we didn't pick him for his spectacular acting, that's why we picked you." Diana explained. She looked at him with a piercing look, arms folded so he felt like he was being scolded. Bruce sighed.

"When do we leave?" He asked, letting some of how tired he was feeling seep into his voice hoping to get some pity sympathy.

"This evening, I'll have a jet ready for you guys and Alfred will come and get you both." Diana puts a hand on his shoulder and rubs his back for a moment before walking towords the door.

And so after a long jet ride of getting into character and banter with Clark he ended up here, talking to some random reporter.

He looked over at Clark (he got to play Oliver Brown/Wilson who was a full time actor in mostly comedy, romance, and action movies and the two met on a red carpet for charity event and they "instantly clicked") who was on the other side of the room making small talk with one of their targets while the reporter was asking 'how is your husband doing, I haven't gotten the chance to talk to him yet?'"

"Oh, he's doing amazing and he looks amazing while doing it too?" He and the reporter laughed and nodded at each other. "I mean what the heck are we all doing?"

"I've heard a rumor that he night be a co-star for you in your upcoming movie." The reporter says.

"Well who said that?" Bruce asks, a playful glint in his eyes.

"He did!" The reporter laughs at Bruce's expression of surprise but then exceptance.

"Well to be honest with you we haven't started shooting the film yet but from what I hear the budget for this film is top tier and they've started wrapping up auditions." Bruce answers. "But if the producers decide the want him in it then they'll let him know, I mean we would be happy to have him, he's a fantastic actor and a wonderful person to have around and just lights up any room he walks into." Bruce was mentally cringing at his answers, he wasn't used to playing the "happily married with two dogs and a house".

"Aww, that's so sweet." The reporter coos at him and he just smiles back. "Oh, speak of the devil!" The reporter says and Bruce feels a hand slide across the small of his back and onto his waist and pull Bruce closer to Clark so now they're shoulder to shoulder.

"Oh hey, we were just talking about you." Bruce says, doing his best to smile and make it look like he was in love.

"All good things I hope," Clark grins at Bruce then the reporter who laughs and immediately starts asking questions. Bruce allows himself to zone out a little bit while Clark answers said questions and just look at him at the reporter.

He didn't expect Clark to be so good at this. And none of his movements or touches seemed forced or nervous and he seemed completely relaxed and comfortable. He zoned back in just in time to hear Clark turn and flirt with him with a wink before continuing on with what he was saying. He would have to take back what he to Diana, Clark was really good at this. Almost better than Bruce was.

Bruce spots one of their targets lingering in the corner, sipping on champagne. "Our target is sitting in the corner, I'm gonna go talk to him before we have to walk out onto this red carpet for photos." He whispers in Clark's ear, head turned far enough away from the reporter that she can't try and read his lips. Clark laughs like Bruce said something funny and nods and Bruce excuses himself from the conversation.

He bullshits his way through a conversation with this target who doesn't really know who he is but is too drunk to ask questions. He gets the information out fairly easy and then spots Clark walking the red carpet and quickly joins him.

Clark slips his hand around his waist again and when he can't hold his waist he grabs onto Bruce's hand as they walk.

Later in the evening when the event is drawing to a close, Bruce is talking to one of their targets. He's making small talk and asking about the man's hobbies since he's already gotten the information he needed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Clark walking over but decides to ignore him and continue his conversation. Once Clark reaches him he does what he's done all evening and puts his hand on Bruce's waist. He's done it so much Bruce now notices when the warmth of Clark's hand isn't there. He trys not to think about that right now though and just smiles and Clark and continues talking.

He isn't looking at Clark when he decides to lean in and kiss him. It isn't the first time it's happend this evening but he usually did it on his cheek or temple but this time decides to go lower and touches down onto his neck.

Without thinking Bruce squeaks mid sentence and scrunches his neck into where Clark's head is to rid of the sensation on his neck because oh my gosh it tickles. He chuckles despite himself and glances over at Clark. To any outside person his glance appears to just be a couple sharing a look maybe could even be taken as a way to flirt with them. To Bruce and Clark it means "do NOT do that again, I swear to everything on this green earth I will rip your arms off".

Clark just grins and (thankfully) doesn't do it again. But if Bruce knows his best friend then he knows there's more to come.

After what feels like an eternity of the host thanking everyone for coming and explaining why he decided to set up the event and thanking the sponsors, he and Clark and finally back up in their room.

They get undressed in mild silence until Clark dares to break it.

"Soooo.." Clark starts and Bruce can practically hear the grin he's wearing. "ticklish, huh?"

Bruce eye rolls. "Stow it, you just caught me by surprise." He says while taking off his shirt and putting on comfortable shorts.

"Oh really?" Clark says and Bruce can feel the sharp poke to his side coming but he was too slow to avoid it and let's out a shout, turning around to face Clark with a scowl on his face.

"That's not the reaction a nonticklish person would have."

"It's a character, doofus." Bruce says but keeps his hands out in front of him to protect himself from any more pokes.

"Ohhh, okay." Clark says and it appears that he decides to drop the subject for the time being.

The two get into bed and Bruce lays down on his back, thinking about all that had happened over the past two days, how many targets they had left, information they had gotten, how good Clark was at his role, his hands on his waist and his back and his neck and kissing him-

His thoughts were interrupted by the same person he was thinking about. Clark had rolled over onto his stomach and poked Bruce's side. He didn't react because he was slightly expecting it but he did look over at Clark.

"You're really not ticklish?" Clark asked. "I thought all humans were ticklish, it's a defense system isn't it?" Bruce sometimes forgot Clark wasn't actually human. He had to learn human customs and culture and how their bodies worked so he could pretend to be one.

"It's common for people to be ticklish but most grow out of it after childhood because their sense have been dulled by time." Bruce answered.

"That makes sense." Clark replied. "What happens if I do this?"

Clark reached out and Bruce expected him to try and tickle him in some way but all he did was reach out and wiggle his fingers just barely above Bruce's stomach and sides. Bruce instantly tensed his stomach and felt his face heat up from his cheeks to his ears. He just hoped it didn't show on his face.

Clark noticed the reaction he got from that and continued even after Bruce smacked his hand away.

"What's wrong, Bruciee?" Clark said, that mischievous grin of his plastered to his face again. "I'm not even touching you."

"I hate you." Bruce grumbled, glaring at his best friend. Clark just laughed and continued.

Bruce finally had enough and rolled over onto his stomach, face in his pillow, hoping Clark would get bored when he couldn't see his face or any reactions and go to bed. (spoiler alert: he was wrong.)

Clark took the liberty of his new work-space which was Bruce's back and started to drag his fingertips across the whole of his back, admiring the goosebumps left in his wake.

Bruce smushed his face further into the pillow hoping it would spare him the embarrassment of dying to Clark Kent and smother him to death. If he made it out of this alive he was going to kill Clark.

"Wanna hear a nursery rhyme?" Clark asked. Bruce wanted to shake his head no but he didn't want to give the satisfaction of an answer, and a small part of him wanted to see where this was going. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Walking through the jungle," Clark said slowly in a sing-song voice while walking two fingers up Bruce's back. "X marks the spot," Clark drew an X over his back with his fingers. "dot, line, dot, line, dot dot dot." Clark did exactly as he said, poking his back whenever he said dot and tracing a line down Bruce's spine whenever he said line.

"Heree come the spider to bite you in the neck!" Clark scurried his fingers up Bruce's back until they reached his neck to scribble in the crooks of his neck. Clark almost got Bruce to squeal, but he did manage to get him to scrunch up his neck. "Tight squeezeee," Clark reached down and squeezed his sides a few times. "cold breezee," Bruce swore that Clark used his powers to make his breath colder as be blew on his back and at his ears, which tickled like hell. "now you have the tingles!"

Bruce let out a sigh of relief from the rid of tickle-y sensation. He was holding in more laughter than he thought he was.

He thought Clark was done until he started over, doing his little nursery rhyme of torture (he was being dramatic, he knew that, but it was the only name that felt appropriate) for however many more times, sometimes with the words and sometimes without, til Clark finally got tired and turned off the light.

He let his body fully relax for the first time since early today. He felt his muscles release all the energy contained inside of them and from Clark's terrorizing he actually felt tired.

He was almost asleep until he felt a poke to his side, and five minutes later a cold breeze directed at his ears. He rolled over to glare at Clark just in time to see him jump on top of him and start digging into his ribs. Clark started vibrating his hands into his ribs at an inhuman speed, causing Bruce to dissolve into laughter instantly.

Bruce tried to protect his ribs and throw Clark off at the same time but managed to succeed in neither. It tickled so bad, the electricity of the tickles racing through his body and lighting him up like a firework. He shoved his face deeper in the pillow, hoping to find some means of escape in there.

"Poor, Bruce." Clark laughed from above him. "Too ticklish for his own good." Clark made sure to say that directly in his ear so that his breath tickled him. Bruce screamed at the feeling, squirming more than ever.

"G-get off of mehehehe!!" Bruce laughs, resigned to his fate but praying that maybe pleading will work.

"Be quiet, you're gonna wake people up." Clark replies, ignoring Bruce's whines and protests. "There's something I wanna try."

Bruce quiets himself but strengthens his struggles more than ever. Unfortunately a regular human doesn't do much against superman who is over 200 pounds of pure muscle.

Clark leans down and starts pressing kiss after kiss on Bruce's neck, starting at the nape of his neck and moving towards the crook of his neck and next to his ear and Bruce freaking giggles. If there's one thing Bruce thought he didn't have the capability to do anymore, it would be to giggle.

But of course, Clark Joseph Kent would be the only one to get it out of him. And of course it's like this.

"You- wait, do-hohoho-don't! Kehehent!!" Bruce spluttered through his giggles, eyes starting to tear up in his mirth.

"Hm, what's that?" Clark said into his neck om the part right below his ear so that the vibrations from his voice would tickle him too. "Sorry, can't hear you over all these giggles."

Clark was ecstatic about being able to get The Batman, Mr. Sour Face Grumpy Pants, The Broody Knight himself to freaking giggle.

Clark let Bruce roll over onto his right side to try and protect himself even if it didn't help much but he knew that Bruce liked to have the feeling of some control.

"Okay, okahahay!!" Bruce laughed freely, pushing at Clark's shoulders as he dove back in to kiss the front of his neck, even daring to throw in some nibbles.

He reached down a pinched Bruce's taut stomach as well, feeling the muscles jump away from his touch and shake with deep laughter.

"Y-you win, you wihihin!" Bruce cackled, shoving at Clark's face with one hand and covering his stomach with the other.

Clark stopped hearing the desperation in Bruce's voice. He leaned back to admire his work. Bruce's neck was covering in some red spots where Clark had kissed him and his face was bright red all the way from his cheeks to his neck. Clark felt his heart race a little bit looking down at Bruce and realized he was still straddling him. He slid off quietly and they sat in silence for a while while Bruce caught his breath.

"I hate you." Bruce muttered, glaring at Clark. It would have been more effective of his face wasn't still red.

"I love you too." Clark smiled brightly at him.

Bruce eye rolled and flopped over onto his stomach but otherwise didn't move his position from the near middle of the bed. "Mention this to anyone and you're dead."

"Noted." Clark chuckled underneath his breath and lay down next to Bruce, finally letting sleep engulf him.

Surprisingly, Bruce slept the best that night than he had in a while.

For the next few days Clark stayed close to his side, always either touching him or talking to him not that he minded.

But every time he'd try and talk to someone and Clark was with him, he'd take the opportunity to sneak hands into his suit jacket and make Bruce wiggle away from him or press a kiss to his neck or ears just to see him scrunch up.

Bruce always laughed it off in the moment but as soon as they were back in their room it was all glares and scowls meanwhile Clark was ever the ray of sunshine.

He didn't know why he didn't get Clark back, he knew he was ticklish (ridiculously so even, Diana had shown him one time when she snuck up on Clark and tackled him to the ground, wiggling fingers into his sides and scribbling on his neck. He suspected Clark might be extra sensitive to tickling because he was never exposed to it as a child and was also an alien). Maybe it was because he thought Clark wouldn't tickle him anymore if he did and he was just getting used to Clark touching him, he wasn't ready for the touch to stop.

He was shocked by his own thoughts but shook them off. He would deal with his feelings for Clark later.

The mission ended rather well and soon enough they were on a jet flying back to one of Bruce's mansions where Diana would be waiting for them. They'd have a team meeting next week to discuss the information according to Alfred, whom was driving the jet.

Bruce set his phone down and looked out the window, thinking about all that had happened the last few days. He didn't know what was going on between him and Clark and he was okay to let it go for now and just enjoy the feeling of warmth that spread through him whenever he looked at the brown haired dork.

He glanced over at Clark who immediately fell asleep as soon as they got into the jet, chair leaned back and arm thrown over his eyes. Bruce smiled and looked away again. Yeah, he could get used to this.

I kinda went a little free hand for some parts (I'm not great at writing anticipation and such but I'll improve) but I you liked it!

(I very briefly proof read it but not too much because I have school in the morning so if there's mistakes then I'm sorry 😭)

[caelwynn]

Caelwynn's Mod List for Stardew 1.6 - Gameplay/Quality of Life (pg 1)

Page 1. Page 2. Page 3.

Grandpa's Farm — optional farm map available with Stardew Valley Expanded. Pretty much the only map I play with.

More New Fish — adds 140 new fish all across the map.

Cornucopia More Crops — adds over 90 new crops and 35 new trees. I moved to this when PPJA did not get updated for 1.6.

Cornucopia More Flowers — adds over 40 new flowers and 5 new flowering trees to the game. Again, moved to this after PPJA was discontinued.

Advanced Save Backup — an absolute godsend. It makes a back-up save at the beginning of each play session and at the beginning of each new day. Note: if you're tight on hard drive space, you'll want to periodically go in and trim down your saves.

Auto Animal Doors — automatically releases your animals from the buildings at a set time each day, and then locks the buildings back up at another set time.

Automatic Gates — for those of us too lazy to open/shut gates.

Better Friendship — adds a bubble above the heads of NPCs informing you if you've spoken with them today and what in your current inventory they might like to receive as a gift.

Better Ranching — adds a bubble above the heads of farm animals informing you if they need petted and/or milked/sheered/whatever.

Chests Anywhere — access your chests from anywhere on the map, or from select locations as set up in the config.

CJB Cheats Menu — a GUI to access various console commands. I mostly use it to freeze time while decorating or to warp to certain locations prior to unlocking the minecarts, because with as many expansions as I have, it takes for-freaking-ever to walk everywhere.

CJB Show Item Sell Price — shows a tooltip telling you how much an item (or stack of items) would sell for.

More Warp Points (CJB Cheats Menu) — adds in warp points for various expansions.

Event Lookup — canNOT live without this one. Allows you to lookup what heart events are available that day, and what time/location you need to be to trigger them. If you go into your social menu and click on a character, you can also see which of their events you have/haven't seen, and if you want to see the requirements for a heart event, you can click on said event for it to list the requirements.

Generic Mod Config Menu — sets up a GUI in-game to allow you to set up config files for your mods.

Happy Birthday — gives your farmer an actual birthday in-game. NPCs will wish you a happy birthday and give you gifts. Some people will even throw you a party!

Harvest Seeds — gives you a configurable % chance of getting seeds whenever you harvest your crops.

Integrated Minecarts — adds additional minecarts around the vanilla map and to different expansions where applicable.

Lookup Anything — for those of us tired of constantly using the wiki (or who have so many mods the wiki is no longer accurate), this pulls information from in-game.

This mo-fo has gotten insanely long, so you can find page two here.

The Masterpost for all of the mods is located here.

[plottwiststudios]

Women of Xal II Kickstarter: Delayed?

Hey, have you heard of the overly ambitious visual novel titled "Women of Xal" for Steam and Itch.io? (PC/Mac/Linux) Because that plays into why we might need to shelf the series for a few years. Full breakdown under the cut. (No spoilers)

For those who have gotten the True Ending, you should be fully aware that the story is about to vastly expand outside of Xuna's castle. It's a narrative must where everything that happens, happens well outside the scope of the original game in so many ways. And let's talk about scope! Especially if you have no idea what's so staggering about the original Women of Xal visual novel:

600+ optional choices we painstakingly programmed

Branching paths that people are still asking for guides on

A dozen romance options

Poly and gay options that interact with one another

Voice acting from now VERY popular voice actors

A 15 hour story full of mystery, lore, and tense politics

110 track soundtrack

4 Endings

Animations

Thousands of art assets (Bless Cat)

Years of hard work and long nights

No AI Art

100% positive reviews as of this post

Recouped $6000+, or roughly a fraction of the cost of development. After 2+ years of being released

Note that very last bullet point. Doing things for the art and passion is amazing and all, but I can't be investing literal thousands of hours into creating a game for a subset of a subset of a subset of people. I have bigger projects I want to finally get to work on. Ones I really hoped Women of Xal I would help a bit with funding. But it's not. And because of certain facts about the game, it may never be able to do so. To no fault of any of the players.

When I made Women of Xal I, my time was more readily available and I was quite a bit younger. The cost of running a company and creating a game like WoX as the first product hadn't quite hit me. I was also silly enough to believe "if you make it, they will come" to a degree. That part makes me grin in a not fun way.

But these days I have a job that takes me away from creating, but does pay the bills and debts. Debts I don't want to get into again in order to create the sequel that will undoubtedly come with far higher costs due to the game's scope. I have a better understanding of the costs of hiring returning and appropriate talent necessary to create a game better than the last. (I don't personally believe in being satisfied with an intentional steep downgrade.)

Yes there is the Kickstarter option for Women of Xal II, but there are plenty of costs and time investment that makes it an unviable avenue to explore during this point in time. After all, who but the people who sat down and explored everything the first game had to offer would understand how we came up with a $50,000 Kickstarter price tag for a visual novel's sequel? Especially since too many will look at the first Kickstarter and believe we made the first game with only $14,000.

I have thought about giving Women of Xal I a modernized facelift with a smaller Kickstarter, complete with a ton of new features and fun ways to streamline and highlight the narration's strong points, but there's a LOT of baggage that comes with that, including not wanting to go backwards when I still want to create my "pipe dream" projects.

So I'm thinking we'll give it a bit more thought these next few days, and if we can't think of a solution that we haven't already tried, we'll officially announce the delay (and before you suggest your own ideas, know that there's a 99% chance we've already tried it).

A long, long post just to say I do sincerely apologize for having people wait longer, but I am literally still a few thousand dollars away from paying off all my debt that came from funding the first game. It's a micro-trauma I do not feel inclined to repeating again. When the franchise is in a better place, or I am emotionally/physically, I will return back to Women of Xal to finish the story. If I cannot, I will release a summary of events that transpire after the first game's true ending.

But for now, I'm going to focus on financial and emotional healing, and creating projects that I feel will be more appreciated by both myself and people who are turned off by what "Women of Xal" offers.

Thank you all for supporting our small company these past several years. <3

-John

[misc-obeyme]

So uh... this Princess Rose event, huh??

I don't even know where to start! I wasn't gonna write a post about it 'cause I have too many thoughts, but damn it I couldn't resist so here we are.

SPOILERS & SCREENSHOTS under the cut.

SPOILERS & SCREENSHOTS under the cut.

First of all. I love that Mammon's initial motivation for all of the following shenanigans is "business deals." Like... my man, do you even hear yourself?? And then how his whole pitch is that he's holding up the economy? I wouldn't have accepted that nonsense from anyone else, that's for sure.

And let's be real, Asmo's assertion that his beauty makes other people happy was also something I let slide due to my affection.

What can I say, I love both Mammon and Asmo so very much.

I mean, to be fair, financial security is definitely nice and certainly reduces stress. So he's not wrong.

Oh no! Not a recession! Once again... are you hearing yourself!?!?

I will say that the non key route was once again a complete disappointment. You don't even find out what happens at the end?? It's just them being like, oh yeah? We'll see who wins! And then it ends. So you don't actually see who wins at all unless you play the keyed route. Sometimes the non key route is okay, but for other events it's pretty pointless. This was one of those.

Aside from that, though, I quite enjoyed this event. It was sufficiently hilarious, courtesy of the other brothers being their usual selves.

MAMMON IN THIS EVENT THOUGH.

We already knew that when Mammon wants something, he will work hard for it. This is further evidence of that because he chooses Lucifer to teach him ON PURPOSE knowing full well that Lucifer will not go easy on him. And then he steps up to the challenge!

However, I quite liked how Asmo wasn't a slacker, either. He wasn't like oh I'm pretty so I've got this in the bag. No, he chooses Barbatos and also works hard to get himself ready.

And like despite EVERYBODY expressing how they don't think these guys are gonna get anywhere, they both bust their asses anyway.

Asmo is not having it, guys.

Have some faith, Lucifer.

I'm pretty sure this was the only thing Luke said in this event, but he didn't hold back, huh?

BUT THEN.

That ending.

Sir. I'm going to need you to stop being so cute. My life depends upon it.

I think you could say that while they ended up being twin princesses, neither one of them would have won without the other. I think it was the fact that both of them sacrificed their own chances in order to help the other that caused them to win. Because doing something like that really demonstrated the nobility that they were looking for in the first round.

It's just more proof of how the brothers truly care about each other. Even if they argue all the time, when things get serious they can count on each other.

Can I tell you how excited I was when Asmo was ready to go run down that demon with MC? I liked that he was so badass about it and just kind of kept brushing off MC when they were like aren't you late for the show?! Can't you let me handle this?! And he was just like nope, I won't stand for any demon smearing my brother's reputation like that.

I really think they need to let Asmo be a little more evil. Like yes, he's beautiful and he has perfect skin, but he will absolutely kick your ass and he won't even break a nail doing it.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed this event. I really need to go back and play the other Dame event on Lonely Devil I just haven't gotten to it yet.

Now for some random screenshots that made me lol.

Yes, okay, please go ahead.

I loved that Lucifer said this to MC. He's so done with everything, he's just like please stop trying to make jokes.

At least he's honest.

Beel demonstrating his unusual type of synesthesia - the ability to taste numbers.

New tongue twister just dropped!

Okay and Levi in this event had so many excellent one liners, he gets his own section. I can't deny that I'm on a bit of a Levi-loving kick lately, so maybe that's why, but I just thought he was so funny.

He's so precious.

Okay, I'm done. I always take too many screenshots and then I want to post them all. Because I just think all these guys are so funny. I can't help it.

I realize that I didn't mention anything about the gender aspects of this event, what with the whole Dame situation, but do I really need to? I've seen some excellent posts about that already. And honestly, anyone who thinks that the Devildom doesn't already have completely different ideas on gender hasn't been paying attention.

And also I don't have time to write anymore, this post is already too long. I apologize for the length lol. But thank you for reading!

--

[pomrania]

Draw Everything June (henceforth DEJ) is coming up, so here's what you need to know about it.

For the month of June, AdorkaStock will be releasing a new pose reference photo each weekday morning; there's a whole event, it's fun and you should look into it if you draw, or you're thinking about drawing, or heck if you write and you're interested in some non-traditional prompts.

Here's how I do DEJ. When I get online for days when there's a new pose, I make a quick doodle of that, then I post "hey here's what the DEJ pose is for today, does anyone have a queer D&D (or other gaming system) character that would fit this pose?" Then I work on neatening up that sketch from reference, getting increasingly obnoxious (because I'm increasing desperate) about asking for a character. Once someone gives me their character to draw in that pose, I ask them about what their character looks like, and work on drawing THAT character in the given pose. I need to know what Pride flag/s apply to the character, because I colour it in using that colour scheme; so, a lesbian character would be rendered in shades of pink and orange, for example. I need to get a piece done before the next pose comes out, and generally that means I need to get it started and finished on the same day, but if a pose releases on Friday then I can work on it over the weekend.

I can't do this without you. Literally, I can't, my brain won't let me; also I don't have any characters of my own to draw. And there's a REALLY long rant I have inside me about this, but it boils down to "just trust me when I say that a) I can only do this a certain way, b) I want to do this, and c) it's not an imposition if I specifically ask for you to make requests".

I like it when multiple different people go "hey my character would work well for this pose", because then I have the option of choice; and if I don't pick your character for THAT pose, then it's going on a list so that character WILL get draw, even if it ends up being in July.

Below the cut I'm putting some more clarification about what characters I'll draw; this hasn't changed from previous years, but if you find yourself thinking "oh they wouldn't draw MY character", please check this to make sure.

Will draw:

a character I drew for a previous year's DEJ

an NPC from your game (if you're the GM)

your queer D&D character

your queer character from a non-D&D TTRPG

your queer character from a weird indie one-shot you'd played once

multiple characters from the same person

your friend's queer TTRPG character, if you can sufficiently describe the character

a character with or without visual reference, and whether you clearly know what they look like or where you just have vague vibes of their appearance or anything in between

a character you're currently playing

a character you're no longer playing

a character you've already made up, but haven't yet gotten the chance to play

a character who has or hasn't had artwork done of them

a character who doesn't have a specific queer identity (the rainbow flag is very useful)

Won't draw:

a character I've already drawn in DEJ 2024, unless that character experienced a massive redesign

a character from an actual-play stream or podcast, because that counts as fanart and not "drawing your character"; UNLESS you're the person who plays that character

a character who isn't queer

your BG3 character, or your character from any other video game, because that's not a TTRPG no matter what its system is based on

a character who exclusively wears all black that covers most of their body (but I can work with you to come up with another outfit for them)

"oh just use my character for whatever pose you need"

your non-game RP character

[charmixpower]

Think about the girlies nails rn bc I haven't gotten mine done in a while

Bloom: Bites, worries, and rips up her nails all the fucking time. At first it's just because she has pretty bad anxiety and is constantly fidgeting, and part of that is fucking up her nails, but after her first transformation when her Domino looks are restored she starts ripping them up because she hates how shes reminded of how fucked up her life has gotten. During s3 when Bloom is calming down after the pure anger she was running on for the end of s1 and most of s2 Stella starts painting her nails so they taste bad to bite and are harder to rip up so Bloom breaks her bad habit of destroying them. After this Bloom starts growing her nails out because she never actually cut them in the first place so they just grow out until she accidentally breaks them. They're usually like mountain peak claw shaped nails, because that's how they grow, but when Bloom gets them done she sometimes gets them in a oval kinda shape to have her old nail shape back for a little while.

Stella: Always has her nails done because of course she does she's Stella, fingernails and toenails. She usually has nails extending as well. Her nails aren't super long, she prefers medium length extensions. Her nails in s1-3 are done in an almond shaped, but in s4 she starts getting them done in a ballerina shape. After all that she needed a change, and it matches her new vibe and style better. They're usually in orange, blue, or green, but sometimes she gets them in white a more neutral color if she has a specific outfit planned that her usual nail colors will clash with. In her magic forms her nails are much shorter and don't go past her finger, as she uses a staff in combat and that can get difficult with long nails.

Flora: Her nails are usually pretty short, barely going past her finger in a oval shape. Mostly so they won't get broken while she's gardening and won't hurt under her gardening gloves. Even though she usually wears sandals and flip flops she usually doesn't bother doing her toe nails. She's usually not looking at her feet and neither are most people so it doesn't matter to her. Sometimes she'll do it for a special event or just because she wants to but it isn't usual.

Tecna: In s1 Tecna keeps her nails short in a square shape. Just a little bit of her diva energy seeping out despite the fact that she's convinced herself that emotions are cringe and logic is king. Though she's always been terrible at actually controlling her emotions lmao. When Tecna finally allows herself to express herself properly, instead of pushing all her emotions down and ignoring her anger until it boils over, her nails get longer. Not super long because typing would be inconvenient, but visibly pasted her finger. Like medium short. She'd love nail art and doing funny things, she has gauges and dimple piercings in my thing she tries flare nails and edge nails at least once.

Musa: Girlie does not take care of her nails. She's a tomboy and she plays instruments. While Musa primarily plays the flute, she can play every instrument. Which means string instruments, which notoriously do not get along with having any length to your nails. Due to her rejection of girly things in s1-s2 she doesn't really paint her nails, when she accepts herself, her sister, and stops distancing herself from feminine things she allows Stella to paint them or drag her along to a salon s3 on. The more she gets into fun performance outfits the more she does her nails as well.

Aisha: Very well manicured short nails. Aisha does a lot of stuff with her hands and long nails does not play nice with rock climbing so she cuts and flies them often. Very well maintained though, usually wears a clear coat, or skin tone colored nail polish that goes with everything. However in her magic forms her nails are usually longer and always fun colors, it's a chance to express herself without her nail polish being immediately ruined. At first she really didn't like nail polish because all it did was remind her of getting ready to essentially be a living ornament during noble gatherings, but then Anne painted her nails in rainbow colors and her gay heart was immediately won over.

Icy: She has long ass stiletto nails. She's had them for as long as she could confidently pull off the long ass nails look. Long, but not like x-long or any further. She still wants to be able to use her hands without too much of an inconvenience from her nails. I think she'd do her nails as long square nails in her civilian form right up until they get kicked out of CT and any pretense of not being evil is immediately dropped. Takes immaculate care of her nails, she even uses her ice to reinforce her nails so they don't break. They look too good for that.

Darcy: Short-medium squared oval nails, she does not have the time nor the energy to keep up with nails like Icy does and doesn't feel like them constantly getting in her way or getting them redone when they break so she just takes care of her natural nails and paints them herself. Laughs at Stormy when she accidentally stabs herself or at Icy when she struggles to do something because of her nails. In her magical forms her nails are much longer as she doesn't need to take care of them because of magic.

Stormy: Medium length almond shaped nails that she is CONSTANTLY breaking and getting redone. I'm so obsessed with how Stormy is the most feminine and the most chaotic of the Trix. Yes she only wears heels and mini skirts, yes she'll chase you down without breaking a sweat. I'm obsessed with her, but yeah she breaks her nails all the time because she's heavy handed and doing stupid shit and I love her.

A little guide, because I needed to Google this stuff to know them all:

[minisception]

The local Warhammer store is having a 'Vanguard' event for AoS on March 28th. Ie, bring one painted Vanguard/Spearhead box, play it against others, make a time of it. I have the models for all four undead faction Vanguards, but none of them are fully painted. Which one should I try to finish for the event?

First up is Ossiarch Bonereapers. These are the guys I've been painting most recently and I had intended them to be my big hobby project for the year before Old World stole my attention. I also like this color scheme the best out of my existing dudes - this is certainly the pile that I'd be most proud to show off IF I finished on time. The problem is, this color scheme is SLOW. I'm already significantly behind schedule on the mortek guard, and I expect the riders and harvester will take even longer. 3/28 is still a ways away, so I could still finish on time, and in the process get back on my overall schedule, but I might fail completely, and even if I don't the risk of hobby burnout is real.

If I don't go with the OBR then in theory Soulblight Gravelords is the most logical choice, as this group has the fewest models yet to finish. However, I'm not very happy with my old Soulblight scheme, a legacy of my 'Green and Green Alone' period. Painting models in a scheme I no longer fully invested in is positively begging for hobby burnout and/or failure by procrastination/ADHD. I could paint the remaining models in new color variation, but then I'd feel a need to start repainting bits of the 'finished' models to match, which entirely undoes the advantage that Soulblight have here. Also, while this group has the fewest unfinished models, those that aren't finished are particularly large and effortful, especially the blood knights, and especially especially their banner.

These Nighthaunt models are the most recent victims of my chronic Hobby ADHD, and I do still regret not getting at least this vanguard set finished before pivoting to the OBR. The store event could be a chance to fix that, and all of these models are at least started - heck from the far side of a table they all look at least half done. And while these models are also clearly from the Green and Green Alone phase, I actually still like how that color scheme looks on Nighthaunts, so I wouldn't feel demotivated finishing them or tempted to repaint anything. The big down side here is that 30 models need their upper cowls done, and that's the most time-intensive part of this color scheme, requiring a base coat, two washes, and 5 highligh passes. So while these look like need the least work to finish them off, the truth might be the opposite.

Finally Flesh-Eater Courts. Thanks to the recent army teaser box I actually have the contents of the upcoming FEC Spearhead/Vanguard box, even though it hasn't been released yet. Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to assembling them, so they're still on their sprues. In theory this means FEC have the most work to do as I haven't even started working on them yet. However, that might be their saving grace, as I could choose a brand new scheme for them specifically to be extra fast an easy, maybe something incorporating oil washes as I just picked up some oil paints. With a simple enough scheme, one avoiding the excessive layered highlights and time consuming blends that I've committed to with my other undead factions, this pile of grey plastic might be quicker to finish than any of my half-painted factions.

....

The rest of the week and probably this weekend are still committed to getting a pair of 1,000 point Old World armies assembled so my room mate and I can play some games & start learning the rules, so I've got about that long to decide, if not less, as I really need to start putting the hobby time in if I want to get any of these four done in time. Especially as the Elden Ring DLC is expected later this month, and that's going to eat a fair bit of time itself.

[factorialsotherfandoms]

Happy Ending AU Canon Divergences! This won't be all of them, it's just what I have to hand. And just bullet points. These are the bits I can immediately think of.

Things are staying preeeetty similar up until Pac gets kidnapped by himself in the water prison. There may be slight alterations for timing or me not remembering/knowing things here or there, but its pretty the same. Fit and Philza's conversation probably comes sometime in mid-August, but its not like that's a big earth shattering scene or anything.

Mike takes a couple of extra days to get kidnapped post Pac's kidnapping. This is both to help ease up the timeline a bit, and so with the Fit telling Pac and Mike scene the panic attacks can have happened a few times before but Mike is still there.

Mike gets to come back earlier! Congrats Mike! He's still away a while, but he comes back earlier and once he's back he's back. Also we haven't seen enough of him to know for sure what's up, so... I'm just ignoring the 'came back weird' thing. This is because I like Mike and also with the new plot he's kinda needed as one of like 3 people who might be able to make a specific item, and the only one of them actually entrusted with the info...

Eggs are still going to go missing, and still end up in the hospital, but the Federation is going to find them and drag them back much sooner. Partly because of something massively canon-divergent that's going to happen while they're gone and anyone who has read the fic with Philza and Forever can maybe guess at... Note - it will (like with Mike) be longer between events. Mike is probably gone for 2 weeks and the Eggs vanish about day 10.

Purgatory is not happening. Just. No.

Black concrete plot... Unsure. It's probably still going to happen, but differently. Them thinking its the eggs trying to communicate from another dimension is important for escalating plans, buuuuuut I don't know where the plot is going and I'm not using purgatory, so... It'll have a different resolution to whatever canon has planned.

Forever is still getting Nethered because I love that plot. But he's probably not getting infected, because what the black concrete is is being changed. Pac will also not get the chance to go after him. It's during this period that the big, probably predictable event occurs. This... May also come sigificantly later time wise because the events of this au are much slower than canon, and it needs time to drift along its solution.

Cellbit doesn't get his worker murder arc, sorry bro. He does get a different arc of horrible times, but doesn't snap /as/ hard thanks to having more support (not in the someone knows sense exactly but in the Forever is forcing Philza to be his investigation buddy way), the framework of another thing to try, and an actual future to strive for which isn't legalities loose him both his husband and his son and he's back to a shit job, a criminal record, a good therapist, and Felps' couch as the only semi-positive things in his universe.

The Rebellion/Revolution plot stuff may or may not be going on. It's not actually super important to how the story plays tbh, so it can probably be assumed at least as far as its gotten.

The new eggs! I hadn't planned for them but I haven't written anything that contradicts them, so the new babies will get to come along too! This isn't a way things are different, well their arrival is a little, but I thought people would like to know.

The probably predictable spoiler is below the cut. Aaand I got carried away so actual genuine spoilers too as this is a plot summary of the first "arc", which I may or may not ever get to write.

Forever is recruiting Pac and Mike to help him make a device to help Philza fly again. While Forever is in the Nether, Pac and Mike finish the wing supports, and giving them to Philza is the first he knows about it. The group reasons that they knew Forever entered the Nether, but it can serve as a portal to other worlds. As such, they beg Philza to go looking - mostly Pac. Fit is going to help him open the nether hole.

In searching for the eggs and Forever, Philza will find a suitable world for them to go to, and manage to get in contact with Kristin to get it set up for them. She will grab the other goddesses to also help out, as they've all been worried. She goes looking for the eggs - as a goddess she can reach much further - and in that time he speed builds very basic farms and "town centre", just so everyone has somewhere to live and food to eat and basic-ish medical supplies as soon as they get there. Also to mark it as claimed and inhabited so reasonable folk won't think it uninhabited and steal it. He notes the coordinates but, with Kristin confirming the eggs and Forever are still somewhere they can't reach, Philza will return.

However, the Federation know what happened, and are pissed. Sure Philza came back, but they're extremely unhappy with him. Tubbo has no idea what's going on but stumbles in on this, and ends up taking the fall for the wings - he can just looking quickly work out how they work well enough to convince Cucurucho they were his design and stuff. Of course the wings are destroyed and both Philza and Tubbo get torture hours, bailed out by their various allies - Pierre even steals the designs from Tazercraft just to copy them and 'prove' it wasn't Tubbo, so him arguing can serve as a distraction while others help.

Philza and Tubbo both obviously get out, and people close ranks hard. Thanks to Tubbo the plan is still safe, but like... they got to the end of the actual plan. Tubbo is folded into the net. (It may be more than Fit, Forever, Cellbit, Philza, Missa, Tazercraft at this point, but they're the ones with key plot roles. Cellbit would absolutely bring in Roier. Pierre probably will be folded in for his assistance, and I imagine Forever will bring BBH in as part of the 'try stop BBH's physical and mental decline' plan). Missa gets to come in clutch on helping Philza stay semi-sane as having been outside of the universe the 'unreality' shit gets a whole lot worse for him.

Philza's wings are going to get even more fucked up, because... the Federation knows. Not taken from him - they're not that /kind/, they want him to see their marks every day.

Like 2 weeks after this Cucurucho shows up with the horribly sick children, plus the new ones. And of course with the eggs so sick, the residents can't really... Think much about escape... Because even with more of a plan for the next phase, they'd have no means to treat the kids. Also now Tubbo and other potential problems like Bagi have new children to care for! And the Feds holding their kids over their heads!

While Tazercraft still have the original wing designs, Philza's wings are far too weak to function with them... I really want them to have to find a way to break into the End somehow, but better fakes is an option. At the very least Philza is going to be getting actual accessibility devices to help him in day to day life, not relying on the backpack alone.

There's a few possible plots at that point, depending on things go. However the end result is going to be thusly - yes they can get everyone to safety, buuut only those going via void can take stuff with them. So they have to carefully plan the necessities, enough of any mod shit they want to keep that they can regrow it (some mods, like create, are a function of the guardian gods [or other controlling entities such as the Duck] of a land shifting the rules. Others, like extra mobs and new biomes, can be introduced to a world by introdcing the animals/trees/whatever from elsewhere), and sentimental items such as photo albums and paintings and books and such. Only Philza can /safely/ void travel, as he's an ancient end-entity predating both hybrids and elytrians, but kinda considered the second maybe? Sophia would be confused. Long dead race, you know the style. TBH the elytrians are probably /also/ a long dead race, but the metaphysics is not so important here. If someone else wants to try come they'll get a suit and stuff, but they're probably going to die horribly in the void both on a 'they believe they will' and a 'i the writer will actually kill them' level. Kristin will grab them and they'll be scarred by it but safe, buuut yeeeeah. Lose all their stuff, and its probably the most painful death possible.

They are going to have to lay new tracks to get the train to the right nether portal, but Tubbo has a machine for that. They just have to go out and fix it or refil it every now and again. (Not sure why Nether travel wipes inventories but it clearly does so just shh I want them to have to pick what photos, what trees, what animals... It's probably a facet of godly influence and all. Chances are the train also can't actually pass back through the other side, even if they built tracks for it, because the world doesn't recognise it as belonging. Stuff Philza is carrying comes via end - void connects end realms, not overworld or nether. but because all of the void is the same while nether requires tricks and very specific manipulations to swap worlds - its just also the actually viable one for most people as being too far away from a landmass in the void basically means death by low vacuum without either being an End-species or having incredibly good tech. Even then the risks aren't worth it. Nether travel is reliable and relatively safe. Void travel is not. It's not within scientific theory that the void is even transversible, let alone you would use it to get places, especially when if you set your nether portals right you can connect portal to portal and not even need to go into the nether [because the gods are blocked from the island this isn't possible for the guys] - look at how Forever reacts to Philza mentioning going into the void, and Forever /trusts/ Philza and thinks he has some non-human skills already.)

On the way out they're totally getting Maxo to make a super-nuke and blow up the entire place. Maxo might still sacrifice himself to make sure it goes off properly, or might get onto the train. (If he does sacrifice himself, this is still a happy end au gdi so Kristin will grab him and let him respawn with Dan and Trump in another world entirely. Not the one where everyone else is, but one where they're safe and happy as a family and can come visit. Spreen and the other dead eggs have also been respawned to elsewhere but see further down.)

Everyone gets their safely and they crash in what becomes the town hall and slowly spread out to build their own town with their own homes huddled about the hall and the nether portal.

The main plot ends with everyone safe and in a new world, beginning to build out and explore it.

Aaaaand then there's the follow up, because a) we need the dead eggs back and b) of course not everyone's happy and c) I did mention the dissociation plot was back in play...

Getting everyone out and safe is a lot. Most people rest, Philza cannot handle it. He ends up drifting and slipping out of the new world more times than they can count, and now it's Missa hanging a lantern in the window and hoping his husband comes home - more worried even than Philza was, because at least Phil new Missa was travelling for work, while Philza has to those who know him visibly crashed following getting everyone safe - a lot have but Philza very very hard - and Missa has no idea where he's going.

It's in his drifting he finds his hardcore world again, where the godlike entities greet and embrace him and have him come home.

(It's during his wandering which takes so long some of his friends are begging for answers from the goddesses/god that he finds the dead eggs in other worlds, and brings them to the Nether portal. But knowing he's found one means he doesn't enter himself, just sends them through with the promise of their parents and goes to look for the others.)

All in all he's gone for weeks, if not months, and those who leave the safe world search desperately for him and wonder if the Federation got him. The kids back and mentioning him is a bit of a relief, but only partially.

Eventually they find him passed out infront of their own Nether portal. Wakes enough to grab them for hugs, the touch of even more gods in his eyes. Everyone ends up back in the hub he initially built for him, Chayanne and Tallulah closest to their dad, and his closest other people next, in one giant floor nest huddle. Which. Forms end of plot entirely. After that its just community fluff of people adjusting, such as the Fit/Pac&Mike or the Quackity bits I've already written.

(Others like Cellbit likely also have a hard time adjusting, but the bonus for them is that they aren't also being psychically called to by something forgotten in a previous life, and don't have the ability to just... drift between realities. So, it'd be oneshots involving what that looks like, not the massive chunk of writing Philza wants)

Of course the problem with all of this? Philza's epilogue, the initial escape looking for Forever up to getting kidnapped, maybe also the rescue, the actual escape proper? That's all probably chapter fic. And I /loathe/ writing chapter fic. Especially longform and plotty. So... If you do ever get to see it, you probably don't get to see it in its ideal form - you might get Missa's PoV of Philza's epilogue, or maybe the inital finding the world and contacting Kristin in disjointed oneshots, but... its never going to be in its perfect form, and it might not ever be written at all. Oops. And hence the scribblings here...

[thelazyhermits]

hey! i'm the one who asked about the length of the halloween fic, and i decided to start twst! it'll be a lower-priority game, but i wanted to let you know bc on the tutorial 10 roll i ended up going with (after way too long of rerolling bc i kept getting dupes when i got my preferred ssr), i got all of diasomnia in a row, and then ace and deuce back to back, which i thought was really funny and coincidental. guess i know what dorm the game wants me to favor!

Oh hey!! That's awesome! I hope you come to enjoy Twst as much as I have!! ^^

I actually can't remember all the SRs I saw when I was doing that first free 10 pull. I rerolled so many times because I refused to proceed with the game until I got my best boy, Jack, whom I eventually pulled after getting pretty much every other available SSR in my previous pulls, some of which I got multiple times lol I didn't care what the game said. I wanted my boy, and I made sure I got him 😂

Right off the bat, I'd recommend checking out this. It's the pinned post for an account that I often see get a lot of questions about the game, and they have masterlists that should be really helpful to you.

As far as the content gap is concerned, at this point, there really isn't a large gap between the JPN & ENG server cause ENG has been doling out new events like crazy to catch up 😂 However, there are a few events that we haven't gotten in the ENG server, and we're only getting the first part of Book 7 of the main story at the end of Nov while JPN has like 5 parts out so far for Book 7.

Anyway, you can click here to find the wiki page that shows all the Twst events for ENG & JPN. Unfortunately, by this point, ENG has pretty much already done reruns for all the events, and you can only read the stories for the events in the game if you were playing the game when those events came out, so if there was a certain event you were hoping to see, like the first Halloween one, you'll likely have to look for it on Youtube since the chances are low that it'll get another rerun in the game, although I won't say it's impossible since you really never know lol

As far as advice is concerned, I'd say save your gems for event banners, ergo the cards that are only available for a limited time while an event is ongoing. The dorm uniform SSRs will always be available in the standard showcase and in every event banner. The only banners they don't appear in are the birthday banners, which is a good thing since that means any SSR you get in the birthday banner is the one you're aiming for haha

I'd also recommend against spending your gems on LP since the 10 you get regenerates after 2.5 hours. It's better to just wait and take your time as you're progressing through the main story which will likely take a while for you since we currently have Books 1-6 and Book 7 Part 1 is coming.

Book 6 is especially brutal cause of the battles , so by the time you get there, make sure you have strong cards for Riddle/Azul/Leona/Jamil/Vil/Epel/Rook. You're gonna need them lol 😂

I can't think of anything else right off the top of my head that might be helpful, but feel free to send me another ask if you have any specific questions. I'll be happy to help! 😊

[literaphobe]

Is it dumb for me to have hope that he'll play again eventually? 😭 I understand his decision and while I did miss him on the last 3 mccs he did leave with a win and his season 2 wrapped up nicely. And i remember him talking about how the pressure on him to perform well on mcc is too much and with him being so busy the past few months and not practicing (very understandable) and mcc island being used for people to get better it makes sence that he doesn't feel like joining in.

But I still have a tiny bit of hope that after the break for season 3 where things would have hopefully calmed down a lot, he gets back into streaming,he plays minectaft again and gets back to minecraft shape, mcc changes up some games, he sees the new changes/maps and wants to try them out and get the season 3 coin and that way we get his pov back. Is this too much copium? :') At least maybe for a special event.

I do feel like the last few mccs weren't too exciting honestly (from a game perspective). It's nice that they added parkour warrior but I can't speak on that cause I didn't want to watch someone other than dream play. But sot as much as I love it ends up with a lot of the same rooms and no one other than dream has even attempted the gold key and got gold vault. Meltdown is fun but it's gotten a bit repetitive. Games haven't really gotten big changes. If I have to see turtle run get played again I'm going to scream, this was not even an exciting map and it's been played the most times in a row. Tgttos feels like it needs new maps as well. They haven't said if they made any changes to bm yet but it obviously needs them, it keeps getting skipped for a reason.

So if they get to prepare exciting stuff for season 3, I hope it will spark dream's excitement to play again. :D

(Also this isn't that important and maybe it wouldn't gave happened anyway but drellumina my drellumina, I need for them to have a chance so so so badly)

he’ll come back at some point anon :) just wait for the dust to settle and for him to be in some era where he’s playing minecraft more and sticking around at home a bit more

[aonoexpat]

Landing

05-02-2023

I finally have time for a more elaborate update!

The moment I entered Brisbane airport and saw the terminal for my Air New Zealand flight indicated on the screens, I was getting giddy with anticipation. The vibe at the airport was vastly different from that at Incheon and CDG. I only had a 1:35 layover, but was quickly greeted by a lady with that lovely Ozzie accent letting me know there was absolutely no need to rush. My gate would be right up the stairs, and everything was all right. I thanked her and went to empty out my water bottle for the next luggage check. The air flowing in through open doors or windows was hot and humid, and it had that tropical smell to it that instantly brought me back to my backpacking trip around Australia seven years ago. It felt a little like coming home 🥰

Even on the plane, people seemed much more cheerful and welcoming than on the previous flights. Other passengers were singing along to the songs playing during boarding, the safety video was stunningly beautiful, and during the flight I found out they have a little app on the entertainment system called 'seat chat', which allows you to message other passengers. I took some chances and randomly invited a couple of seats to a chat, and one of them accepted! We had a really nice chat and shared some amazement about the gorgeous views from the plane as we made our approach to Aotearoa:

I'd been worried for about thirty hours that my luggage wouldn't successfully be transported all the way with me, but to my relief it was one of the first to roll in. After getting through customs and biosecurity (which luckily allowed me to keep all of my items), I was kindly picked up from the airport by my friend ♥️ She drove me into the city to say hi to her husband, and then we headed to their home, where I am lucky to be welcome to stay for a while. The whole drive I was gaping out the window, in awe of both the hot weather and the hills and ocean. She hit me with a lot of cool information about the area, and my heart was just about ready to leap out of my chest! First impression: absolutely wonderful ♥️

After getting a much needed shower, I went into town with her to grab a bite to eat, and after that we went for a walk along the beach in the sunset:

In the supermarket later that evening a stranger came up to me and said they liked my hair so naturally I'm already IN LOVE with this place ☺️

It's funny how, when you're planning a move like this, you can feel like you won't find your way in a new place at all. Especially if I haven't travelled for a while, that's the one thing I forget the most quickly. It feels like you'd panic, or won't find a place to sleep at night, or won't find a job to support yourself. But then when you get there, and (if you're as lucky as I am) you have some people helping you get settled in, it all works out so easily. All those walls and fears come crumbling down in a single conversation, and it feels magical. You find out you still have your wits about you, you still have your skills and your intelligence, and you can still ask questions, get answers, and make sensible decisions that work for you. All of that applies no matter where you are. And of course it's still scary, don't get me wrong. It's a vastly unfamiliar environment, everybody drives on the wrong side of the road, I am actually having some trouble properly parsing Kiwi English, and living costs are high. But I'm reminding myself regularly that I have a whole year to find my way around here!

So after getting a good night's sleep, today I've gotten a local phone number, done some groceries (sooo many nice vegan products here!!) been invited to a board game night, have found several jobs to choose from when I'm ready, have looked around for accommodation options, figured out the public transport situation, have looked up open mic night events, and have found several second hand guitars online that I'm interested in buying :)

Looking forward to the next 363 days!

[ardathksheyna]

Fuck Everything

I've given up on the job market. I may as well admit that I'm not going back to work in software development. I'm either "overqualified" (too old) or not qualified enough (non-white/female). It's time I stopped lying to myself about the right one coming along because it's too much mental stress in hoping right now.

My biggest regret? Bowing to the pressure of those "older" and "wiser" than me and going to school. "Go to school," they said. "There'll be more opportunities," they said.

What opportunities? Those opportunities only exist if you're a straight, white, neurotypical (read: extroverted) male. YoU GoTtA nEtWork MOrE! YoU GotTa BUILD yOuR nEtWork!

Lol, I tried that. I really did.

My "network" turned its back on me the last time I got laid off. Same thing this time.

It's like once you've been laid off, no one wants to hear from you because it's obvious that you're either bad luck or you "did something" to deserve getting laid off.

I have no network. What "network" I do have is in the same boat as I am. Social anxiety and agoraphobia basically fuck me out of networking events (hence why I need a remote job.)

Yeah, I'm alone. Other than my boyfriend—who can't be my emotional health crutch forever—I am completely alone in this. Most of the people I thought I could call friend turned their backs on me for being "toxic."

Gee—didn't know that going through family backstabbing, bankruptcy, house-fire, and multiple job losses all in the space of three years made someone toxic but do please go on.

That wasn't this time, btw—that was 2016 through 2019. 2020, I did finally find some peace and enough financial security that I could a chance and buy a house with my boyfriend two years ago.

Until my employer decided that a) he wanted a beach-front mansion, and b) he didn't want to employ WordPress developers anymore and decided to lay all of us off this past spring.

Some cold comfort in knowing that I wasn't the only one, except for the fact that the bimbo HR Cunt in the meeting seemed downright pleased that I was getting the axe.

I hope that bitch chokes on a fish-bone. As for the rest of that company's leadership—I hope to whatever gods that be that they experience the same pain, loss, and heartbreak that I went through.

I hope their families turn on them, I hope they go through the humiliation of bankruptcy court. I hope they lose everything that they own in a house-fire and have to wonder about where they're going to live next.

I tried to be the "better person" these last five months by holding back that hatred, but I can't. Whatever bad end the leadership of that company has coming to them, they have more than earned. I don't care if they have families.

Guess who else had families? The people they laid off. Who are now struggling to put food on the table, pay their mortgages and other bills, and still haven't found a job because recruiters and hiring managers have gotten lazy with using AI to create spam job postings.

Some of my coworkers were like me—they felt secure enough to buy houses—only to find out 18 months later that they don't have jobs anymore.

Fuck severance. I think companies that do this shit to their employees should be on the hook for their former employee's bills for however long it takes that employee to find a new job.

Especially since employers wanna play that "We're A Big, Happy Family" bullshit. They want loyalty but give none. I should have known better. I /did/ know better, yet I thought maybe this time. Lol nope, proved wrong once again.

Everyday is a battle—a decision as to whether or not I keep going or do I just end it? My boyfriend is the only thing that keeps me here. I don't want to think about what would happen to me if something were to happen to him.

So yeah, that's been my summer in a nutshell.

Oh, and the absolute kicker? I got laid off the day before my birthday.

[radnewspaperroom]

Celestial Blessing mechanic, can it be saved?

I've been giving it a lot of thought. NTT Solmare went through the trouble of labeling it "our NEW mechanic" on the page which leads me to believe this is here to stay.

But can it be fixed?

I think so. 🤔

For a first attempt....yeah it's still awful, but I want to see it as a learning opportunity.

Problem 1: The rewards aren't that great...

What makes a good reward? I would like to think it's something not easily obtainable in game, such as :

UR Demon voucher

UR Cards

UR Card pieces

SSR Demon voucher

SSR cards

SSR Card pieces

Backgrounds

Icons

Majolish items

DP

D-Energy

Demon Vouchers

However, most of the boxed rewards are cheap Akuzon items and rewards from both Normal and Hard mode. They water down the chances you have of getting the rarer items and waste your pulls. And there's SO many.

Problem 2. The amount of prizes in each box.

Each box has a massive 250 items inside, with only 1 or 2 of the really great items and 5-10 of the uber cheap items.

If we cut out all the cheap items, there really isn't that much left--so there needs to be a good balance. But how can we do that?

Problem 3: Locked progression

If you want to move onto the next box, you have to gain the item with a sticker, which is probably the rarest item in the box-- in other words "lowest drop rate". So if your rng sucks, you're doomed from the start unless you begin a steady pump of money into the game.

Problem 4. Locked half of it away!

I understand wanting everyone to savor it and not devour it in a single inhale like Beel would dinner. However without the whole event from the beginning, you limit how many bouquets are actually obtainable.

Problem 5: balancing

The amount of bouquets needed to do a pull vs how many items there are per box is totally out of whack. Its literally impossible to get all you want without sinking irl cash into it.

So what's the solution?

1. Space out the good rewards.

Rather then dump them all in clumps and then give the extra great items later on out of reach--space it out.

2. While you're doing that, also cut a LOT of the cheap items--or at the very least organize it and minimize.

My suggestion would be to do theme boxes. Each box represent a character and what they like. Since Mammon was our first pact, he would be box 1.

For this event that would mean:

the Santa icon

The Christmas with Mammon background

The cat butler icon

The cat butler background

His SR card

His akuzon gifts

Dp

And Yellow themed Devil Tree items.

While it's a plump box, it's not over filled as long as you don't require a shit ton of pulls on them (I'm looking at those gems, Grimm and akuzon items.)

Continue on with boxes this way.

Levi, Beel, Asmo, Satan, Belphie and Lucifer...with an 8th box being strictly extra stuff: surprise guest items, Devil tree items, Grimm, Story Keys, and such--the things that you can get in game but having extra would help.

That would make up part 1 of the event and then use part 2 for the other characters.

Solomon, Luke, Simeon, Barbatos and Diavolo. With the 6th box repeating as it does right now. Or you could hold off on Lucifer and put him between Barbatos and Diavolo for an even amount.

With this set up, people aren't wading through a sea of DT and Akuzon items for EVERY character for each box, but they still have a chance to obtain them once the rush of getting them rare items is done. You want people to play as much as possible and make it enjoyable, why would I farm in regular battles when I can obtain special items (keys) that whatever is left over turns into grimm?

3. If you're going to require the rarest item to be drawn to progress, then you HAVE to lessen the amount of items available. I've pulled almost 200 times and have all the backgrounds and icons from Box 1 but still no Simeon card.

Or you could ask for a certain amount of pulls as a safety measure (youve pulled 10 times and haven't gotten it? That's OK, you can skip now)

4. You run into the problem of Ap amounts with a 4 part event, but you open the possibility of more bouquets being available. Why would you lock half of it away for half the time? That's tying both legs and ordering a marathon?

Again, I understand the need for people to not rush it and get bored

4.5 add extra battles if you insist on locking away the other half of the event. Allow 6 battled at 8ap rather than just 3. That would be double battles for the same amount of story. When you do the update to unlock the next story sections, adjust the amount of battles so they're the result 3 battles.

5. Even if it wasn't locked away, and it was only a 2 part event--the amounts you're asking for are insane. Even with all 6 cheat cards and using up the 18 free dp a day available, it's impossible to gather enough bouquets to clear all 6 boxes in the first half of the event. If you save every single one, you have a better chance of box B, but you'll lose out on everything in Box A?

You need to look at the amount of items you have, and figure up how many battles you have. What amount would make it difficult, but not impossible to clear all the boxes in the timeframe?

Now adjust the amount that the cheat cards give. You want them to help without making it TOO easy. Yet don't make it so hard that you REQUIRE them to pass.

Tl;Dr

Yes, but it's gonna require some tweaking and scaling to make fair for F2P players. I think themed boxes would help keep it easy to manage and less annoying with rng Chances. But I know there needs to be an adjustment for how many bouquets (or whatever comes next with HDD 2022) per battle, so that people aren't forced to spend a lot of irl cash.

[sallyf4ce]

wolves

chapter III

-> sallyfacexf!reader

-> enemies? to lovers

-> previous | next

cw: drugs, cigarettes, abuse, violence

*does not follow original plot of sally face*

summary: (y/n) wakes up early to avoid sally. sally’s upset that he did something wrong yesterday. (y/n)’s first meeting with travis isn’t the nicest.

The incessant beeping of your alarm tugs you out of your dreamless sleep.

The sticky tears on the ground remind you of yesterday’s events, but you disregard them. All you want to do is take a shower, throw on your jacket and get out the door. You slowly clamber up off the ground and across the living room to turn off the alarm. After making sure it’s not on snooze, you drag your sore body to the shower. It smells like smoke and lots of cleaning supplies. This place is fucking gross. Is it even monday?’ you check the calendar. It is, in fact, monday. You strip and turn the shower handle.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

You're so glad that you chose to wake up early. Usually kids this far from school drive or get picked up by the bus, but you prefer to use your skateboard. That’s why you get up at 6:30, so you have enough time to get ready and get to school on time. Sanity’s fall quietly played as you washed your breakfast plate and cup, brushing grease residue off the greyish porcelain. You wonder if Sal is awake yet. Probably not. You know, waking up early ensures that you won't see him in the morning. The guy’s not that bad, his eyes just freak you out a little.

Pulling the pink glove off your prosthetic, you wipe your hands with a towel and move to the closet to put your shoes on.

“Jacket, jacket, jacket, jacket.” you mumble, eyebrows knitted. “Where are you?” oh, right, you left it in your room.. With poppy. Was that even her name? You kind of just decided it for her.

Alright, don't be a pussy. Just go in and grab the jacket. You sucked in a breath and opened the door to your room.

“Eeh! A teenager! What’s your name, little lady?” her blond ponytail bounced with every sentence. This was the first time you could get a good look at her. She didn't really have feet, just bloody stumps where they used to be.

“Holy fuck, you’re so loud!” your hands covered your ears.

“Ahh, so sorry! I haven't used my voice in years.” she coughs.

“S’ fine... Can I just- just grab my jacket?” you point at the green pile amidst the boxes all around the room. You didn't get a chance to set up.

“Go ahead!” she nods and smiles.

“Alright. uh, listen, lady. This-” you motion towards the whole room. “Is my room. I live here now. I get that you, like, can't leave this place and shit, but could you maybe sit quietly while i set up later? I really need to clean my room up. I’ll set up a little chair place for you or whatever, so you could sleep at night.” you mumble the last part, embarrassed about your hospitality.

“I can’t sleep.” she smiles, her teeth surprisingly shiny for a ghost’s. God, she’s so preppy that you forgot she’s dead.

“Pretend to then, i dont fucking know. Alright, i have to go. Just… don't cause trouble.” grabbing the jacket, you begin shutting the door. “My name’s (y/n), by the way.”

You can hear her squeals as you leave the apartment. You decide to take the elevator because you don't feel like running down the stairs with a heavy ass bag on your back.. Stepping in, you press the main floor button. It looks like there’s a bit of sticky stuff around it. gross. Syrup? You hoped so.

The elevator dings and you step out, heading out the front doors. It’s cloudy. Again. Not a surprise, really. Keeping your eyes on the gravel, you set down your skateboard and begin your journey to school.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Sal’s point of view:

“She probably went on without us, man. Don’t know why you're worrying so much.'' Larry leaned back into the bus seat.

“It’s not that, Larry face. Yesterday, when we left…” was it my fault? Did i scare her? Did she see my face through the mask? Fuck.

“What is it? Spit it out, sally dude.” he pulled the cigarette out of his mouth and puffed the smoke out the window.

“I think i scared her, larry. I think she saw my face.” i let out a shaky breath. God, everything was going good. Why the fuck does this stupid face ruin everything?

“Did you- did you take your mask off?” he sat up in the seat, eyes wide.

“No. She probably saw it through my mask.”

“I still dont get it. Explain more, dude.”

“She looked so scared. We made eye contact, and she, like, panicked. Her eyes widened and then she threw me out. It was definitely my eyes. We were fine the whole night, i dont know why she freaked out.”

Larry let out a long hum. He was probably trying to piece things together. Anyway, she definitely went to school earlier than us. I can ask her about it there.

“Woah, sally face. Calm down or you’ll go bald.” larry’s hands pulled mine off my pigtails. Huh, i didnt even notice.

“Thanks, dude. I think we’re here.”

Your point of view:

It was around eight o’clock by the time you arrived. Kids were already piling out of buses and cars, standing by the school’s entrance and conversing with their friends. You definitely felt some eyes on you. That was expected, though. They didnt recognize you, and nockfell didnt seem like a town with many new people. Thinking back to yesterday, sal and larry mentioned some bully kid. Probably wouldnt be hard to spot him.

“Watch it, goth freak!” a pair of hands gripped onto your shoulders.

Ah, what a coincidence.

“Get the fuck off me, fucking prick.” he twitched as you gripped onto his hands and pushed him away.

“Is that a metal hand? Ha, you’re a fucking cripple! How pathetic.” he chuckled. Blond hair draped itself across his forehead, definitely not complimenting the purple shade of his shirt and eye. School fight? or daddy issues? Who knows. I mean, you’re not one to speak, your dad’s literally dead.

“Let me guess, you’re that bully fucker they talked about. God, isnt there enough troubled kids in Nockfell?” you rolled your eyes, just wanting to get to school.

When you said you had bad luck, you really meant it, because all of a sudden, his fist landed on your face.

Are you fucking serious?

You just moved here yesterday and you’ve already been fucked up twice. You can’t keep taking hits, (y/n)! You gotta dish some out!

Sighing in disbelief, you reached out to your gushing nose.

“Mother.” you flicked the blood off your prosthetic hand. “Fucker.”

At this, travis bolts. You drop your bag and get back on your skateboard, weaving through the crowd to get to that shrimpy little fuck.

“I’m so fucking done with nockfell.” blood trails down the side of your face as you lock your eyes on the blond mop of hair in front of you.

Do you jump? Or let him get away?

Nah, you jump.

The skateboard shoots out beneath you as you kick off. He lets out a strangled cry as you land on his back and send him to the concrete. A few whoops can be heard from the kids far behind you.

“Fuck, i’m sorry! Get off me!” he scrambles beneath you.

“Now you’re fucking sorry?”

He doesnt say anything. You slowly climb off, keeping a hand on his neck.

“Pussy.” a snicker escapes you.

“What’d you just-” the hand on his neck squeezes tighter and shuts him up.

“What’s your name again?”

“Tr-travis, fuck.”

“Travis, huh? Well, travis-”

“(Y/n)? What are you doing on Travis?”

Sal’s point of view:

Me and larry were getting off the bus when we heard a bunch of cheering. Weird. I looked in the direction larry was staring. Hold on, that’s travis and some other kid on top of him.

“Sally face! I think that’s fucking (Y/n)! Holy shit!” larry shakes my shoulder. That’s actually her! What is she doing on travis?

“Larry, c’mon, we have to go get her off!” i try pulling him away, but he doesnt budge.

“No way, man! I wanna see her beat him up! She’s doing what you won’t let me do!” he smiles wide. Fuck, i guess i’ll just have to go alone. Larry frowns as i drop my bag and begin running towards them. I’m not letting her get in trouble on the first day. I hear her say something to him as i come closer.

“(Y/n)? What are you doing on travis?”

She looks up in surprise. Holy shit, she’s bleeding!

“I’ve gotten fucked up twice in the past 24 hours. I’m not letting this fuck get away with it.” She snarls. As bad as i feel, she’s kind of attractive, bloody and feral like that. God, what the fuck? Not time for this, sal.

“Oh my god, (y/n)! Here, uh, get up and i’ll take you to the office.”

Your point of view:

You look back at travis. There’s a visible blush on his face, and he’s staring straight at sally.

Oh.

OH.

A smirk forms on your face.

“No thanks, porcelain face. Me and blondie here will go by ourselves. Right?”

He growls, but you tighten your grip on his neck again and he nods.

“Uh, okay. Do you want me to take your skateboard or something?” Sal scratches his head and changes the topic. Just a sliver of jealousy can be found in him, but he is grateful for the nickname. It suits him.

Your expression darkens for a second, all of a sudden feeling possessive of your skateboard. He’s not touching it. It was your dad’s.

“No. Take my bag or something.” you nod towards it by the entrance of the school, where it sits. He obeys and gets up to pick up your bag. You pull travis up with you, blood dripping down your shirt and an arm around his shoulders. Sal’s quite a bit away at this point.

“You gay?” you hum. Travis’s back straightens and fear flashes through his eyes. How did you know? How the fuck did you know?

“No! Fuck you, you’re just a pussy who thinks she knows everything-” he starts yelling, trying to get away, but you interrupt him.

“God, shut up. You’re making my head hurt more. It’s okay, you know. I wont fucking tell anyone about your little self exploration journey.” you pat him on the back and he flushes.

“Fuck, you’re so sappy it’s disgusting.”

“I’m not gonna be a dick to someone because of their sexuality, fuckass. I’m not that low. Let’s get to the school.”

taglist: @dream-of-eros @potatochic2003 @mr-bombastic @purelydarling @ghostfacefricker6969 @deadpoetsandhoney