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eriellesudario · 5 years

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What I’ve learned in my 20 years of toy making | An Interview with Lance Priebe

This is a written piece based on the video interview that I’ve conducted. It’s now available to be viewed on YouTube.

In his personal life – he’s a father, an adventurer, and just a chill guy. But in his business life – he’s an innovator, creator, and a game changer.

For nearly 20 years, Lance Priebe – a digital toy maker and an entrepreneur from Kelowna, Canada, has been creating games for various audiences of all ages. He’s mostly known to be the creator of the MMORPG “Club Penguin” that had a total of 350 million users. He has created other games such as ‘Adventure Capitalist‘, ‘Epic Snails‘, and soon – Box Critters.

Lance is very different from your average game developer. For most game devs, they usually make the product based on what they think their fans would want to play. But according to Lance, what drives him to make a successful game is hearing what the fans want as communication between fans and creators is key to making a successful product.

“A lot of people think I play games. No, I don’t play games. I like making games that other people can play”

For someone who got huge name recognition, rather than working for a Triple A company for Nintendo or Ubisoft, Lance still remains independent and always will be. But despite that, he does collaborate with big names such as Disney, MGN studios, Dreamworks, etc.

“Working for the big companies is something that I don’t wanna do” Lance comments. “You can still work with them, you don’t have to be an employee”.

While Lance separates his life through social media by having 2 separate accounts, both co-exist and help a single entity, whether that be finding inspiration for the next big thing or needing to take a break off work.

“I don’t spend any time watching Netflix or anything. I’d just make games, go on social media, and go hiking” Lance says. “I would usually code for about 2 hours, design or do conference calls. And then I’ll go outside and go for a walk. And usually, it just helps me figure out ‘what should I work on next’. If you stare in your monitor too long, you won’t get anything done”.

Despite having a huge portfolio on games created in different genres, he mostly specialises in virtual worlds (or multiplayer-sandbox games) or what he calls “digital toys”.

“My time in Club Penguin…”

During his time in Club Penguin, co-founder Lane Merrifield did all the media interviews and the business whilst Lance managed the design aspect. He has no regrets for not being the face of Club Penguin.

“I got to work with all the artists and designers and writers… that is my best day ever” Lance says when asked about his main role in Club Penguin. “Now I run a company so now I have to be the public face!”

But despite Club Penguin’s success, so many issues occurred that conflicted with Lance’s physical and mental health. According to his recent blog post, he was having doubts about his skills after hearing feedback from people in the industry. Aside from that, due to his 5 year “non-competitive” contract with Disney after the game being sold off and the stress that the game is putting him through that caused him to go to the hospital, Lance needed a break.

So what did he do? He worked in a farm.

“I was not allowed to make video games for 5 years. I’ve decided on the third year I wanted to do something different. So I said ‘ok, well I can not make video games, I’m gonna work on a farm cuz that’s what the Walt Disney company does not do‘” Lance says as retells the “farm story”. “So I went and took a break and work on a farm”.

After his farming adventures, he and Disney managed to end his contract early and he was able to make games again. It’s still quite baffling that out of all the options he could have taken, he worked in a farm. Farming to Lance is like hiking. It’s about the outdoors and hard work.

“It’s like a big video game” Lance says. “Good work out, get a sun tan, dirt all over you. It’s always fun fixing the well when it explodes and water blasting all over you”.

When asked about the best thing about his time in Club Penguin, Lance paused and gave it some thought. As this game changed his life (and many others), the best thing about it was seeing this game grow from what was a white blank screen with a single penguin on it to this massive multimedia game that left a mark on video game history.

“I like how much impact it has on kids’ imagination, the conversation. Even you! You’re still talking about it, still inspired about it. There are so many artist that grown up by it, now want to draw. That’s the biggest pro, I love that!”

When asked about the criticisms about people not believing when he said that he’s going to bring back Club Penguin, he still claims that it’s still going to happen and it’s not all ‘false hope’.

“I need to be very clear on that one” Lance answers. “I continue to talk with the Walt Disney Company with what they’re doing with Club Penguin. I’d be happy to take it back and start building and working on it. At the end of the day though, it’s their decision. And sadly it’s not the highest priority as if you look at the box office lately, you can see what the highest priority is… A certain group of Avengers and a Star Wars IX. They’re a little busy on that one”.

Unpacking the next adventure

Currently, Lance is creating a new virtual world called Box Critters. It’s promised to be ‘Club Penguin meets Runescape, meets Minecraft, meets hamsters‘. So far it still has those Club Penguin elements but will soon have those Runescape elements are being put into place. The core idea of Box Critters is that we’d unpack out next adventure.

Box Critter’s origin story is quite odd as it’s based on a wager. Someone challenged Lance that he can’t rebuild Club Penguin using HTML5 and he began to try to prove them wrong. Using old ideas he had kept in the backburner, he transformed some old concepts and ideas and starting building.

“On January, I was told by a bunch of executives that I could not possibly rebuild Club Penguin in HTML5. And I went ‘Oh, you think so?! Alright bring it on!‘” Lance says. “‘Watch this, I’ll build a world in HTLM5‘. Yeah, seriously, it’s a wager”.

There are now only 2 people I know that impacted people’s childhood based on a bet – Magnus Scheving (the Creator of Lazytown), and now – Lance Priebe.

I was told I can’t do it, I’ll show you that I can do it

Box Critters is being tested out through what’s known as “Experiments”. This is where bits of pieces of the world are being put into place, making it grow slowly but efficiently. At the moment, Experiment 2 is testing out the inventory system and figuring out ways on collecting items. But in the upcoming Experiment 3 – it is confirmed we’d be going through a pirate adventure on ships!

“The first couple of adventures we’re gonna do, not to spoil it all, are all pirate-ty and all involving ships” Lance hints as he talks about the first adventure of the game.

He claims that it’s going to be different to Club Penguin’s pirate adventure party and to what Poptropica has in place. It would be something new, more intense, and hopes to release it really soon. It’s quest like this that the game is slowly having that Runescape elements put into place.

In regards to the game’s lore – Lance says it’s up to the fans to create something up. Lance says he only builds stuff and it’s up to us (fiction writers, roleplayers, etc) to come up with the story behind it.

“I always partner with great writers, great storytellers. Myself, I only like to think of myself as a world builder or toy maker” Lance says which to me, I assume he doesn’t have any idea of the origins of the game’s universe’s lore. “It sounds like you’re writing an excellent story, so maybe we’ll go with that way”.

So in other words – CritBits is canon in Box Critters (for now).

Critics, true fans, and box cutters…

Criticism is always awesome. I don’t like it but the reality is that it’s the best feedback

Lance has faced multiple criticisms during his entire time as a game maker. From Club Penguin, to his other games, even in Box Critters, there will always be those who will talk him down. That, however, doesn’t phase him as he believes hearing feedback from his audience is a good way on working and improving on a virtual world. His definition of ‘negative feedback’ is when a ‘true fan’ takes the time to message the creator of the game, stating why the idea/end product doesn’t meet their expectations; and the creator will take it into account and will try to improve when possible.

“I was taught early in my career that when someone criticises or gives you negative feedback, it’s better to get negative feedback than criticis,” Lance says. “Usually, it’s not helpful when people say ‘this sucks!’. It doesn’t help anybody”.

A really popular criticism about Box Critters that’s seen scattered throughout social media is the comparison between Club Penguin Island and Box Critters. Where CPI fans can’t comprehend why Box Critters – a game where currently, you can only chat and stay in one room, is getting more love than CPI – a game with lots of features during the initial launch.

“I hope they could one day join and we would put some box cutters on those critters,” Lance says. “You could run around as a weapon in your RPG using a BOX CUTTER!!!”.

Lance thinks that Club Penguin Island had something missing and the way Club Penguin is played is something uncommon in regards to ‘mobile gameplay’.

“I love the 3D look, I like they gave it something a little different. I’m sad that it felt like a product or a game, less like a world. It seemed to lack that it was your space to play in. It felt like you were visiting it rather than being part of it. I think it had a disconnect” Lance says as he shares his thoughts on Club Penguin Island.

In other words – the world looked good but it felt like you are not part of it.

What I’ve learned in the industry…

The world of gaming is changing over time and Lance is learning new trends and how to implement them to his creations, as well as learning from past mistakes. He also believes that we’re now living in a golden age where there are many resources for future game developers to use to create new and exciting worlds.

“If coding is not your thing then now is the time to get into gaming! It’s never been this easy!” Lance says. “Even with Unity and Unreal, most artist can start building a game. There are enough tools in those Unity packages that you can build any game you want. As an artist, you can make anything you want. It’s great, it’s absolutely great”

You guys are going to do the next one, not me! I just hope you watch what I’m doing with Box Critters so you know how to build your world

If there is one thing Lance wants to be remembered as, it’s to be the one who’d inspire a generation of players. Whatever game he makes or what he plans to create in the future, he wants to inspire the next generation to create new worlds for us to explore.

Box Critters will be on official beta by September/October of 2019. If you want to follow Lance throughout his developments, you can follow him on Twitter: @rocketsnail.

If you’re interested to join a Discord server filled with Box Critters fans – join the Discord Critters.

#interview #2019 #lance priebe #rocketsnail #club penguin #box critters

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prophbuilds · 2 years

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Mission Statement (or “Hey, Proph... Why are you making yet another Tumblr blog?”)

If you know me - if you’re reading this, chances are you do - then you know I like to separate my things out for both myself and others. That’s why I have my Main Blog (a catch-all) and my Art Blog (exclusively filled with finished pieces and some extra info). As you can gather from the title of this one, this will be my Build Blog.

What’s a Build Blog?

Simple. This will be where I drop info on my various Gunpla and other kit builds. I’ve been making these models for a long time and I’ve done my a good number of posts over on my Main. Since I don’t necessarily do these very often, those posts are effectively buried by my usual foolishness. Like with my Art Blog, this will help keep my Build posts from fading into obscurity.

What’s Gunpla?

Gunpla is short for Gundam Plastic Model. Along those lines, there’s Pokepla (Pokemon Plastic Model) and Plamo (Plastic Model). It’s simply shorthand for the particular model kits I generally like to build and mess with.

What’s with those HG, MG & SD tags?

These are “Grades” - or types - of Gunpla. HG (High Grade) is meant to be 1/144th scale compared to the size of the fictional machines. MG (Master Grade) tends to be 1/100th scale. SD (Super Deformed) and the SDCS (Super Deformed Cross Silhouette) line is the one grade that I build that has no real equivalent as they’re done in generally smaller scale with a focus on making the kits look cute.

One that may come up is “Non-Scale”. Pokepla tends to be non-scale as the critters in the games range from just as small as the finished kits all the way up to like 325ft. They can’t scale so they’re effectively Non-Scale.

What’s a Straight Build?

A Straight Build is what it says on the tin (or box in this case). This would be a straight up by-the-book build. No cutting, adding, painting or otherwise changing things. I use all the stickers. I don’t go in and change things beyond maybe cleaning up nub marks or scars from me clipping it with my tools.

What’s with all the weird poses?

Something I like to say is you should have fun with your stuff. No matter how you slice it, these are toys. Specifically, the kits I build are meant to be toys. I know many folks like to build and place their kits on display on a shelf but that’s not how I usually roll. That said, the more recent pics I’ll post here will have one or more SDCS figures in the background or directly interacting with my in-progress builds. It’s my way of having a little fun with my desk toys. = )

- -- - -- ~ -- - -- -

And that’s about it for this little intro post. What I’ll do while I work on things is dig up and reblog some of my ancient builds here from my Main Blog. Back in those days, everything was fairly rough and done with a not-so-great camera on my phone so temper your expectations on presentation. My current stuff isn’t done much better but my equipment is better and I’ve learned a thing or two about color correction.

I can’t say what the first actually “New” build here will be here but I do know I have an unhealthy amount of kits in need of building.

Lastly, I will be doing stuff like item reviews and answering any questions I think is worth answering here. This isn’t a “Professional” project by any means. It’s just a chill thing to help move my Gunpla and model kit stuff off my Main Blog and onto someplace they’re less likely to disappear. = )

~EKA

#Introduction #Mission Statment #Proph Builds

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greenteaandtattoos · 2 years

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I think it’s time we stop talking about RWBYtubers

At this point, it’s bringing more toxicity into the fandom than the so-called “toxic” RWBYtubers are.

I don’t agree with a lot of Judgmental Critter’s opinions and criticisms, I feel that they are too negative for my particular tastes.

Calxiyn has done some things I don’t agree with, including her response to rosegarden shippers getting excited when the V9 teaser dropped at RTX.

But what is being said to and about them is disgusting and often out of context, complete lies, or said in bad faith in an attempt to cause mass hatred in their direction.

The opinions and actions that I don’t agree with don’t automatically mean that they are horrible people. And the assumption that they are just because you disagree on something is pretty fucking toxic.

We need to stop taking every negative post about them at face-value, especially from people who might find enjoyment in deliberately causing discourse.

If you see something that suggests that they did something you morally cannot agree with, or that they said something you find a genuine problem with, then it’s my suggestion that you go directly to the source and find out for yourself if what you saw was true or not.

Calxiyn’s twitter is here: https://twitter.com/Calxiyn

Judgmental Critter’s twitter is here: https://twitter.com/JudgmentalThe

If you see something you don’t like, then don’t just post about it without getting the full story. Go to them, ask for clarification. I am almost certain you will get a reply in the comments.

You cannot rely on second-hand information from Tumblr accounts that often enjoy sewing the seeds of discourse by using the so-called toxicity from RWBYtubers as their cover and excuse to be toxic themselves.

Judgemental Critter may be more harsh with their opinions, but the defend their fellow RWBYtubers, and do not let people bash on other people with baseless and often inaccurate opinions.

Calxiyn might associate with people you don’t agree with (VexedViewer, Judgmental Critter, twiins iink) because you personally have a problem with how they act, but they are rather fair with their criticisms and how they interact with people.

GO TO THEM. ASK THEM QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM. IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT SOMETHING THEY DID, ASK SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THEM, OR BETTER YET, ASK THEM DIRECTLY!

I am guilty of this, I will admit. But I’ve talked to them, and while I don’t agree with some of the things they do, they’re really, truly not as bad as some people will make them out to be.

And if you do all this, and still find a problem with them, BLOCK THEM. UNSUBSCRIBE FROM THEM. MUTE THEM. DON’T WATCH THEIR VIDEOS.

They don’t deserve to be lied about and slandered when they can’t defend themselves because others don’t like them and decide to use their dislike to cause more discourse.

Just recently, Raijin Rising released a video commenting on the topic of toxicity in the fandom, and without even giving him a chance, people were ready to categorize him as a “hater”. What you didn’t know was that he was fair, he did not separate the fandom into positive toxicity and toxic haters, he addressed the fandom toxicity as a whole.

That’s what the bloody word “fandom” means. It encompasses the people who watch the same show.

But people have been so immersed in the “you vs us” mentality that they cannot imagine that a person who does not agree with them can still be a decent human being.

You can’t judge someone based on their opinions on a fictional show. Do you know it’s called when you do?

Toxic positivity.

In the end, we are contributing to the toxicity of the fandom just as much as they are, and if we want that to stop, we have to first learn to stop and think for ourselves. Don’t just take what someone says at face-value, certainly not a stranger on the internet.

GO TO THEM SOURCE AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.

And a PSA:

The tumblr blog known as CanonSeeker cannot be trusted as a source for reliable information. They have often lied and taken things out of context in order to sew chaos and get people to stop following certain individuals.

Just last night, they went into Calxiyn’s Discord server, pretending to be someone else, in order to justify their actions and turn people against Judgmental Critter.

In all honesty, there is honestly no reason to get into a feud with these RWBYtubers, not Calxiyn, not Judgmental Critter, because if you just asked them for clarification or blocked them if you really didn’t like what they said, we wouldn’t have this problem.

What’s been going on is toxic, and I’m tired of it.

The necessity to ask for clarification and proof applies to everyone, including me. If you want proof of any of this, please come to me, Calxiyn, Judgmental Critter. There are screenshots and text messages that can be shown.

If you would like more people to corroborate, there are many individuals in Calxiyn’s Discord Server who can do so, and you will also be able to talk to her yourself and get the proof that way.

Her Discord is here: https://discord.gg/2s5xjdqvH6

Think critically, people, and think for yourselves.

#rwby #this has to stop #we're only adding more toxicity into the fandom

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mylittlegemlins · 3 years

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Hello tumblr, during my childhood I was really obsessed with smurfs and since I found out that they released a reboot, which unfortunately I haven´t yet been able to see, I think I had some inspiration and ended up writing this.

I don't usually post this kind of blog about series unless I'm too immersed in it because I feel like it's too childish but to hell, blogging about-analyzing series for kids is my entertainment method and if I can't post about my likes on Tumblr I don't know why have an account.

So I present:

How to catch the Smurfs

This is the definitive tutorial on everything Gargamel ever did to catch the little blue critters.

It is based mainly on the animated series from the 80s and the 3 films that were produced between 2011-2017, I watched several episodes again to write this, but I still hope I don't forget some important information.

Following these steps:

1. Why catch the Smurfs?

During the comics, the series and the recent movies there were many reasons why Gargamel and other humans wanted to capture the Smurfs that change over time, among its main uses we have:

- They are ingredients for exotic dishes.

-Turn them into gold

- Ingredient for the Philosopher's Stone

- Use its essence to obtain magic

- Their tears serve as an ingredient for spells

-Their skin serves as a treatment to cure diseases

2. Points to consider:

This is a set of rules that fall between the lines when using a Smurf for any of the recipes mentioned above.

2.1 How many are needed:

In some episodes Gargamel was about to cook a single Smurf, so 1 is enough to eat them.

To turn them into gold you need at least half a kilo, about 6 smurfs.

2.2. They don't need to be alive

I didn't remenber any place where it said that Smurfs must be alive to use them in recipes.

2.3. Smurfette doesn't always count

She has to be a real smurf or else it won't work, during her first appearance before the papa smurf spell and the episode "smurfette unmade" where she reverts to her original form she is not a real smurf, so it wouldn't work unless that is in its blonde form.

2.4. Fake Smurfs:

The reason Gargamel can't just create another Smurf and use it in his recipes is because his creations are blue clay with a conscience, to turn them into real Smurfs you need the “true blue”spell

2.5. Artificial Smurfs:

Smurfette, Sassete, Kactus, Vicky and any other Smurf they come up with in the future, count as real Smurfs only after their transformation.

To clarify the points, these are the steps:

3.Locate them

The Smurfs are in a village protected by a magical force that makes it invisible or unreachable, it is only possible to find the village if a Smurf guides you to it, even after finding the exact location it will have disappeared if you try to return, so the best It is marks the surroundings of the village and look for them in the places that the Smurfs frequent.

It is possible to capture them when they leave the village, force them to guide you, enter the village using teleportation spells or hoaxes.

4.Traps

Catching smurfs is relatively easy, you can chase them with butterfly nets, catch them with your bare hands, using a cat or any other hunting animal, now that I think about it a hound would be very useful to track their scent.

Using some classic traps to hunt animals also works with Smurfs, traps with cages or hidden holes in the ground, or camouflage in a bush until a Smurf is close enough to catch it, you can't use traps like an obvious cage with food in it, they are too smart to fall for that.

It is more effective if they are placed in strategic places such as a field of smurfberries which is outside the village.

Small female creatures are also used as decoys, such as female smurfs, little mermaids and lymph to make a smurf fall in love and thus leave the village to a point where they can be captured.

5.Which Smurfs to capture

Personally I think there are Smurfs that are easier to catch, although Gargamel could not have a list of all with so many times that they have passed by his house, he should already recognize one or another Smurf and I remember that there is a episode where he knows some of his names.

The main cast, Smurfette, Hefty, Brainy, Clumsy, Greedy, Grouchy, Jokey and Handy as far as i can remember, they´re the ones that have been captured the most times and also the ones that have escaped the most, since they're easy to capture, it would be convenient to take advantage of this, but since they know how to get out, they should change the cages with them, put the cages in another place, move the objects that previously used to get out, and above all not to fall the same tricks again.

Papa smurf has been captured many times, he is the one who most leaves the village and if in one of his trips they capture him, maybe the others would not notice his absence, it is something difficult because he already knows how to escape and he can use spells against you, but if you manage to kill him the others would be lost without their leader, and with the disaster they would be easier to capture.

Lazy smurf takes naps during his work outside the village so it's a good chance to catch him, hopefully he might still be asleep while preparing the recipe and he won't try to escape.

According to his debut episode sickly smurf was never able to escape from Gargamel and Azrael; it is so easy that he catches him with his bare hands in 20 seconds.

Baby Smurf is more vulnerable for obvious reasons, the negative side is that there is always a Smurf looking after him, but if they manage to separate the baby it would be easy to cook , considering the life expectancy of the Smurfs is more than 500 years, it may remain a baby for the next 10 years so there is time to execute your plan.

Nat, Snapy, Sassete and Slouchy, the 4 children Smurfs that appear in season 5 are in almost the same circumstances as Baby Smurf.

In Wild Smurf's first appearance he kicked Gargamel in the face and easily made Azrael afraid of him so it might not be a good idea to mess with him.

I guess Smurfs like scaredy would never leave the village unless they forced it so the only times he gets caught is when they capture all 100 together.

6.Don't let them escape

In many occasions the Smurfs escape when they have already been captured by Gargamel, either from his hands, cages and in their closest attempts they escape from the pot.

These are the points to keep in mind:

6.1 Capture only one

If you capture a single Smurf than two or more as it will take a while for them to realize that one is missing and they will not come to their rescue, the more they are, the more likely they will find a plan to escape, so keep them in mind. separate cages.

6.2 The others will come

Once Gargamel has one or more Smurfs, it is 100% certain that the others will come to rescue him at his house, so it would be convenient to go to another place away from the forest where he can cook the Smurfs without others being able to find them. Gargamel has a basement with a secret door, he was able to hide there and pretend he didn't have them until the rescuers leave.

6.3 catch rescuers

Knowing that more Smurfs could come, you could use it to your advantage by placing traps on the doors and windows, or on the contrary, closing everything so that it is impossible to enter without having a key.

6.4 They will leave him for dead

In the episode "the tear of a Smurf ", it seems that if they don't find a missing Smurf it only takes a week for them to surrender and prepare for his funeral. You can hide the smurfs with their mouths tied up in a drawer and pretend you don't know what they are talking about until they give up, then it will be time to execute the recipes. If Gargamel had enough brain cells to keep the secret, he could eat the Smurfs and the rest would think they were eaten by birds or something and would not take revenge.

6.5. Do not look any further

If you already have 99 it is enough, even if you have only one, it is not worth risking it to find one more, it is a trap.

6.6. Don't open jokey surprises.

The characters always forget that gift.

6.7. Don't listen to them

On several occasions they try to make conversation to buy time, they trick him into thinking that he will bring more Smurfs or that he cannot eat him, everything is a trap.

6.8. Just kill them

He never did that but it's a very obvious choice, I don't remember somewhere saying that smurfs have to be alive for recipes, Gargamel has repeatedly expressed his desire to destroy them. Wouldn't it be easier to kill them before throwing them into the pot? if you can't, they don't even have to be dead, just unconscious or asleep. Gargamel has drops of lava in his lab for some reason, how come he doesn't have substances to knock them unconscious? In case he have many captured you could use classic techniques such as placing the cage in a tub of water until they drown, even stepping on them would be enough since they are very small.

6.9. Papa Smurf's books

If Gargamel tries to kill them with an epidemic, papa will have the cure, if he casts a spell, papa has the antidote, since he has been in the village on several occasions, he should take the opportunity to steal or destroy their books, he could look for the true blue spell and perhaps find another useful spell.

7.Enjoy your smurf soup

If that's all i came up with, you can already eat or become a millionaire at the cost of a smurf's life, hopefully you'll have to face a horrible revenge from papa smurf, but i'm not responsible for that.

8.Other methods to get smurfs:

This is a set of theories for alternative ways to get smurfs without capturing one from the village.

8.1. create smurfs:

In the second live action movie gargamel gets the formula for the true blue spell, so from here technically he could create smurfs, then transform them into real smurfs and do whatever he wants with them, during the series he had to look for the formula instead to look for smurfs.

8.2. Clone Smurfs:

In the episode "the hundredth smurf" Vanity creates a clone of himself that eventually integrates into the village, it is a genetically exact clone so there is no doubt that it is a real smurf. He just needs to place a mirror in front of a smurf and get it struck by lightning, Gargamel could capture a smurf and make clones that will work, he wouldn't even have to keep the original and he would have an infinite smurf machine.

8.3. Kidnap Baby Smurfs:

During the blue moon it is possible that a zork came to the village bringing a baby smurf, it can take up to 200 years without bringing one but if you are alive when that happens, you can try to hunt the zork and capture the defenseless baby.

8.4. Repeat the fake smurf technique:

If it is possible to create fake Smurfs like Smurfette, it might work on a second try, Smurfs are not very cautious around strangers, once Smurfette arrives in the village no one wonders where she came from or why she was in the forest, but rather Immediately they offer him a house, Gargamel could create a smurf and this time instruct him to lead all the smurfs in the village into a trap and make sure he does not turn good, he can also turn himself into a life-size smurf costume, Nobody will notice that there is an extra Smurf and he can repeat the same trap,third time’s a charm

9.Conclusion:

Surely there are many other methods to catch Smurfs but I can't see the whole series again even if I wanted to, because it is a series for children Gargamel never learns from his mistakes I think that catching Smurfs is not that exaggeratedly difficult, especially for someone who has access to magic may be as difficult as capturing a talking rabbit, Gargamel is just stupid.

The end.

#the smurfs #hashtag so that the blog is not invisible #smurfette #gargamel #azrael #brainy smurf #sassete #sickly smurf #no smurf was harmed during the making of this blog #vanity smurf #papa smurf #clumsy smurf #smurf village #I should look for some images #ready #a picture

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seafleece · 3 years

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I personally liked the wrap-up and the ending a bunch of other things about CR2, and I disagree with some of your points and agree with others (especially the sexuality and representation, as someone mlm).

But........what the fuck........is this batshit crazy harassment that you're getting??? Like, what the fuck is going on??? Why are people so far up their asses that someone can't go "Yeah I hated this for these reasons, personal or not, in my own blog" and people decide to call you fucking names and unintelligent, like????

We don't agree. Who cares!!! Your art is so good and you make interesting points that I could think over and challenge what I think myself of CR!! "Echochamber" isn't "I disagree with you", it's "I disagree with you, so YOU'RE OBVIOUSLY WRONG!!!!!". Sooooo maybe anon, check yourself??? Bitch???

i always feel really uppity when i bring it up but it’s really becoming very painfully apparent the longer i’ve spent in cr— this fandom and kind of a lot of spaces in general have a real problem with self-awareness and insecurity in media consumption.

it has a lot to do with how the show is structured and the kind of messaging they send but there’s a million little reasons why people think they can get away saying things about how it’s not fair to criticize them when in truth it Is fair to criticize Any media available for public consumption— if not on that basis alone, then at least ones that profit from that public consumption and their audience.

there’s a lot of people i’ve encountered who think the cast need to be protected from their audience’s opinions and it’s really not about the creators, it’s about them, and seeing criticism of something they like. i understand the impulse, i have pretty bad rsd, but you just Have to separate the media you consume from yourself, and separate other people’s opinions about that media from opinions about you.

i think it doesn’t immediately occur to people that i don’t say it’s bad and wrong for someone to watch critical role, because there’s this kind of inherent defensivessness when you see something that matters to you being criticized. it feels personal, either because someone is saying a thing you think is good and okay might not be so good and okay, or because you feel like they’re implying you’re bad for consuming that media. i don’t think critical role is worth people’s time and money nearly to the degree they would purport, but i don’t think anyone is bad for watching it. there’s nothing wrong with watching media that, on any level, isn’t considered “good”. it’s about the self-awareness and the realization that every show is a product and you are the consumer. criticism leveled at the show and creators, like mine is, is Not criticism about the consumer.

critical role doesn’t like to think in those terms because of the way they started out and because they thrive on the perception of them as a small company who are just Friendly Guys Playing a Game. but they made 11 million dollars on kickstarter and they have pride merch and they claim to represent marginalized communities they are not themselves part of and their games have obvious real-world allegories. they can and should be criticized by their audience. i think i tend to really hit a nerve not because i say anything especially wild, but because i’m pretty relentless in that anon hate doesn’t deter me and i’m fairly secure in the way i feel and how i engage with the show. i have no intention of being bullied off or into silence, and that’s the only way a lot of critters seem to be used to engaging. it’s alienated so many people already and critical role Needs to recognize the trend in their audience. on more selfish days i kind of feel like a documenter of this kind of ugly underbelly, but on worse days i look at their continued radio silence and just get tired.

#asks #heebydeeby #long answer sorry!!#i’m just.#my entire critical role experience has felt like a huge experiment in show-audience interactions #and what an experiment it has been

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monasims · 4 years

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The Ultimate Resource for Occult Sim Building*

*It’s a wip

I have a whole bunch of masterlists like this planned, so stay tuned for those! This one is by far the biggest, and includes any cc I found that could arguably be described as the sims’ genetics, regardless of category. Supernatural skintones, makeup to match, markings and skin details, eye colors, funky presets, different kinds of ears, extra appendages like wings, tails, horns, ext. I am actually continuing to add onto this every day or two, but when it stops expanding at such a rapid rate I’ll keep a note on my blog of the last time I updated it.

Note! I am a curator, not a creator! Please give attention to the actual creators, from liking and relogging their posts to leaving them a donation!

If you are a creator and you do not want your cc on my list please contact me, I asked around and was assured this was appropriate to post but I want to respect your wishes.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12me1jE5SBtqC5Bj5PYGoAAJwHmnlBHxBxJJsyK6yVZs/edit?usp=sharing

Some tips on how to use this and a general explanation on how I structured it below.

1) The order that you will find things is roughly: things in the head edit section, things in the body edit section. Hair is up higher than it probably should be but I could not decide where to put it.

2) There is both a skin detail and tattoo section. They do not actually encompass things that are in those slots. Instead, skindetails houses things that look like they should be part of the body - things you were born with or awakened into for our undead sims. Tattoos are things that look like they could be, well, tattoos, as well as body glitter, cybernetics, ext.

3) The sets section has things that were too much of a pain for me to annotate in each separate section as they are all packed together or in the same link. If you’re starting from scratch I might recommend going down here first, it’s way at the bottom. Otherwise things that had like, two separate categories in the same link each got their own annotation. Sometimes related sets will be in the small set section, but it’s a recent edition.

4) There are entirely too many supernatural eyes for me to include them all. I’m sorry. I didn’t even include every one I found. I have put down eyes I have used, so I can find them (I did originally make these for me), eyes that are super customizable like Pralinesims DIY Eye kits, eyes that I felt filled a niche or were unusual, or eyes that include a LOT of styles to pick from.

((Still on eyes, there are actually a few in here that are real eye conditions. I do not mean that people with these eye conditions are less human in some way. I just notice a lot of people will go for like, subtle horror, and these real-but-still-odd eyes are used for that. Also things like Polycoria(multiple pupils) & Tapetum Lucidum(torn or broken iris) are completely harmless just like heterochromia, at least as far as I know. That’s your fun fact!))

5) Somehow scales ended up in their own category, I think skindetails was just getting too bloated and they cover so many different kinds of critters. (Update - Skindetails might be getting split up into more categories, as it is BIG right now) There are some IL compatible mermaid tails here, and some non IL dependent tails. I’m not super interested in them so I, again, mostly saved those I thought were neat. There’s tons out there though. For creators that are inactive, I have often listed all or most of the applicable cc if they specialize in Occult. For creators that are either active, very active, or have a massive catalog, I have put them down in the resources tab for you to check out.

Please leave me your suggestions if you see something you use/love not on this list! Except eyes, please don’t send me eyes, I’m swimming in eyes. But I will annotate mermaid tails.

Also, I occasionally break links while editing since all I need to do is hit space. I’m 90% sure I have fixed them all atm, but if you see a broken link please mssg me. You should also theoretically still have enough information to find the thing.

#s4cc #sims 4 occult #sims 4 mermaids #sims 4 vampires #sims 4 alien #sims 4 fantasy

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stomp-that-ho-regard · 3 years

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I typically don’t do asks (I've only ever gotten a few), but a recent one got my gears turning and I wanted to reply.

(This is a secondary blog, so I can’t answer asks in the usual way.)

Your post about the retcon is so fucking good, I wish every critter saw it and actually thought about how shitty it was done, but then their belief in the cast and show would probably start cracking.

Thank you for liking the retcon post. I’ve seen various people in the tags thank me for making that post and have said that it’s helped them ‘feel less insane’. None of us are insane. We are not delusional. We didn’t experience a mass hallucination. These things happened, and they’ve been thoroughly documented. Hundreds of hours of material over the course of three years.

The people who should read that post won’t ever see it because I have all those assholes blocked lol. If they did manage to find it somehow, I know they would just mock it, as they’re wont to do with any of our criticisms. They’re so far up CR’s ass, they’ve convinced themselves that a retcon didn’t happen. Even shoving the literal definition of the word in their faces wouldn’t wake them up.

It's just so fucking weird to see how the group is acting now, and I'm pretty sure we're never gonna get a Laura&Marisha episode picture and a TM episode with those 2 for the rest of the campaign. It feels like when a non-canon wlw ship gets big on a TV show and suddenly the actresses can't be seen or interact with each other anymore🙄 it's the same fucking pattern and like you, I thought I wouldn't have to deal with this on a d&d show.

I specifically want to address the “It feels like when a non-canon wlw ship gets big on a TV show and suddenly the actresses can't be seen or interact with each other anymore” because I’ve thought about that pattern too. (Not so much with Marisha/Laura ‘cause them being on TM together is already a rare combo. If they don’t appear much or at all going forward, I don’t think it’s because of this, though it really wouldn’t surprise me. But, I have been thinking about that specific pattern in regard to their characters.)

I can make a comparison between this situation and what happened with the show A/gent Carter and the way the ship Cart/inelli was handled.

I know that might sound weird, but stay with me here lol...

I want to make it clear that I’m not comparing the relationships at all. Cart/inelli did not have nearly the same amount of build-up and depth as Beaujester, (or quite frankly, their level of possibility.) What I am comparing is the creators over-the-top reactions to these characters being shipped so hard and the extreme measures they went to in order to ‘remedy’ that.

The ship included P/eggy Carter and A/ngie Martinelli. The show was set in New York. Angie was a waitress (who wanted to be an actress/be on Broadway) at the diner that Peggy frequented. They ended up talking quite a bit and became fairly close. That ended up kind of becoming the core relationship in the entire first season, and LOTS of people started shipping it.

At the time, no one was calling us crazy or delusional. At most it was, “This is ABC! They’re not gonna pair her with a woman!” and of course the obligatory “But Peggy’s not gay!”. But no one was calling us names or being generally cruel. And anyone who tried it was ignored because everyone else drowned them out. The ship became extremely popular on Tumblr and Twitter. Both actresses were very positive and supportive. They regularly liked/retweeted romantic Cart/inelli fanart on Twitter. Even one of the female writers on the show got behind it too. It was asked about frequently at conventions and no one booed or rolled their eyes. The questions were never dismissed or made into a joke. (Honestly, this was one of the better overall fandom experiences I’ve had on here.)

And all of us were super excited for S2. Not just because of all the support, but because they had ended S1 with Peggy and Angie moving in together. Peggy had purchased, either it was a really fancy apartment or house (my memory is fuzzy on this), and she literally asked Angie to stay with her. Needless to say, that fueled the flames even more.

But despite the actresses and at least one writer being on board, between S1 and S2, something shifted.

Clearly, the showrunner and/or the execs, took a look at all of this and deemed it a ‘problem’. When S2 finally came around, suddenly everything was different. Instead of both of them living together in New York, instead of it being an organic (I’m beginning to hate that word) continuation from where they left off, Peggy decided to move to Los Angeles to do work for some agency out there or something, and Angie stayed in New York. It’s never explained why. It’s never explained why a woman who so badly wanted to be an actress would NOT want to go to LA, where Hollywood is. LA was never mentioned in S1. There were no hints that Peggy might want to fly out to the West Coast at some point. She seemed perfectly happy in NY, basically setting up house with Angie.

And they didn’t even ease into the change. They just got rid of the character. The actress was bummed about it and Cart/inelli fans tried to put pressure on the showrunner/writers to bring Angie back, which the actress completely supported, but even that fell on deaf ears. So, Angie was simply no longer an entity on that show. Conveniently removed. All the excitement we had was crushed. And of course, the second that Peggy got out to LA, she suddenly had a very obvious male love interest. What a surprise.

The showrunner/writers were not subtle about what they thought about our ship and us. They made the most extreme, nonsensical writing decision in order to permanently separate these two characters. Because, hey, that’s the only way to get the shippers to STOP, right?

This was what I was reminded of when I started seeing the turn that post-hiatus CR was taking. It ended up being a weird combination of kneejerk erasure (BJ) and heavy-handed overcompensation (BY).

But of course, CR is not a TV show, it’s D&D. And they can’t force one of their PCs to just disappear, so what do they have to resort to? Not interacting.

We all know how severely neutered Beau and Jester’s general relationship has become. It’s clear to me that both Marisha and Laura felt they had to do that. They had to suddenly have their characters stay away from each other as much as possible so they could prioritize Fjord and Yasha, and speed-run into romances with them. They started acting as if either of them giving the other one ounce of affectionate attention (like they had been doing so often and so naturally before), would be breaking some sort of hidden ‘relationship code’. Almost like if they ever hugged again, the studio would go down in flames.

The very obvious fact that they went to these lengths, to me, proves two things...

One, it proves the retcon even more, because you can tell that the way they behaved with each other DID in fact change. The frequency of interactions and the way those interactions would play out. Whenever they interact now, it seems like they’re trying to keep it as short, thin, and almost comedic (to the point of goofiness, and not in a good way) as possible. Their engagement seems half-assed and dull. The sounds of their voices, their facial expressions... completely sanitized. Even all the physicality they had is gone; the touches, the hugs, the cuddling. Every single aspect is different and they absolutely did that intentionally. This had to happen because they needed to dupe the viewers into believing that despite overall interest waning, their threadbare connections to Fjord and Yasha are more important, and were always more important then their connection to each other, that we all watched them steadily build. (And watched them pick up steam from about ep70 onwards.)

And two, that whole intentional decision to cut themselves off from each other, proves to me that their interactions pre-hiatus were indeed tinged with ‘something extra’, that was more than just friendship. They both recognized it and that’s why they pulled back so hard. That’s why soft touches and hugs and cuddling are no longer ‘allowed’. That’s why quiet, heartfelt conversations are no longer ‘allowed’. Because if there was absolutely nothing there, if they didn’t see/feel any romantic chemistry simmering underneath, and it was all just platonic BFF stuff, why would they suppress their behavior so drastically?

I think that all of this really does cement what I said in my retcon post: That there are disingenuous patterns being used here that I’ve seen far too often in media. In A/gent Carter, it was a character separation, in CR it was a character dynamic separation. Both done on purpose, to make the shippers shut up, and to push a different plot.

One is scripted, the other is unscripted, but the situations feel disgustingly similar, don’t they?

#op #ask #long post #i feel like i'm just retreading old ground here #still cathartic though

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beetlemancy · 3 years

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Hi so having seen some of your posts on Caleb's trauma I wanted to ask what your view is of people arguing that what Liam said about the rooms in the tower is wrong. That actually keeping memories like the residuum chamber is just self-harm and not healing. That it isn't a healthy way to process trauma. Cause honestly if I hadn't read meta done by you and other critters I might have agreed with them.

Hmm. If I understand your question, I think you’re asking specifically about the people who disagree with me and a few others of us - and aren’t asking necessarily about why I think differently. If anybody else wants to read those, uhhh. I dunno, probably just search ‘caleb’ on my blog and ‘characters with trauma’ or just ‘trauma’ on luckthebard’s page - Luck’s breakdown of trauma and EMDR is especially a good read.

Okay so, back to the people disagreeing. Their opinions are valid and might very well be exactly how their trauma works. Maybe they’ve had really horrid experiences with therapy that utilized some kind of retrospection on their trauma. That’s more than okay for them. They’re allowed to think differently.

Its the people who are making maintagged posts, sending anons, etc saying, ‘No, you are wrong, Liam is wrong, and I will fight this corner to the detriment of everyone around me.’ Those are the people who I can’t stand and who need to shut up already.

There’s also quite a lot of people who clearly DON’T understand trauma (outside of, like, 2020 trauma) who are used to seeing typical media about it and are drawing their conclusions and their worldviews from those false sources. This leads to quite a lot of ableism involved in their ‘takes’ regarding characters who have trauma, and especially Caleb as Liam enjoys exploring the darker, less glorified, less digestible traits of trauma/neurodiversity. Its okay to not fully understand a topic, but when people are saying ‘hey, i relate to this, this scene and this character and how this character handles their shit is really important to me and how i handle MY shit’ then maybe take a fucking step back?? There’s also, like, you know. People who enjoy shitting on Liam characters and who jump at the mere wafting smell of a reason to do so. Many of my untagged “chipmunk” posts have more to do with my personal feelings on the topic, and my personal feelings on Caduceus. This, to me, is separate from how I feel about people who overall disagree with my take on things. As long as they let me live, I’ll let them live.

#cr discourse #cw trauma #tw trauma #Anonymous

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petri808 · 6 years

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Zero Degrees of Separation

AU Story, FT Next Gen. Jerza kids. 4300 words. I wrote this story for a school assignment. Pics of the kids are on my side blog @petrischronicles

It is summer break before Identical twins Andesine & Azurite Fernandez will be leaving for college on opposite sides of the country. Their family takes their annual summer vacation to the mountains but both brothers are troubled about breaking their connection.

The breeze coming off the crystalline lake was something Azurite Fernandez always appreciated when they visited the summer cabin. It had that typical rustic quality of earthy scented pine, mixed with warbling birds and chattering squirrels, a beautiful serenity and today was no exception as the warm kiss of mountain sunlight blanketed the family from powder blue skies. He stood there with his eyes closed letting the calming peace and quiet sweep him away for it might be years before he’d be back again. This was perfect, he mused to himself. Someday building a house and raising a family in a place like this appealed to his inner nature.

“Azurite, could you help your sister with her bags?”

He opened his eyes and released the fresh moist air from his lungs, “sure mom,” before turning towards his family’s SUV. Azi clicked his tongue, chuckling as his sister struggled with her oversized suitcase. Grabbing it from her and setting it on the ground he teases, “did you pack your entire room?”

Amethyst huffs, picking up her smaller carry-on and purse from the ground, “not all of us loves this place as much as you do, I needed things to keep me busy.”

“I’m with Amy on this,” their brother Andesine, Azi’s twin, throws his arm over his brother’s shoulder. “I’d much rather be hanging out with Sage and the others, considering most of us are going to different parts of the country in a couple months.”

“Tch,” Azurite crosses his arms, “then I would just as much prefer to spend time with my girlfriend then you.”

“Alright, alright boys,” their father Jellal chides them as he walks past into the house, “it’s family time, not friend time so just deal with it and make your mother happy for a couple of weeks.” With a sigh, Azurite simply grabs his sister’s suitcase and along with his sullen siblings makes their way into the house behind him.

That evening as Andi and Amy hole up in their rooms with their phones or laptops, and their parents enjoy the rest of the night in the den, Azurite ventures out onto the spacious wrap around deck, propping himself atop a railing. With his long legs easily balancing on the beam and his back against one of the pillars, he had chosen the spot because it was a clear vantage point of the nighttime lake. Dark and ominous waters like at any moment some creature could walk out of its depths ready to strike at the unaware and yet, with the shimmering moonlit surface, instead of a creature, maybe a beautiful water goddess come to grant you any wish you desire. A slight uptick around the corners of his mouth are the only indication when a few fond memories begin to flow through.

Such supernatural creatures were common topics when they were little. Nights like this one spent on the shore sleeping under the stars, trading story ideas, or dreams of heroes and villains come to life. Just a lot of imagination packed between the Fernandez twins and the seeming link they shared was evident. One would start a sentence and the other would finish it, an idea for a character would come to mind and the other would simply nod and agree as if they could see it too. Like words never spoken aloud but through the spirit became secrets only they could share driving their sister crazy because it left her out of the loop.

They used to love fishing with their father, sometimes competing with each other on who could catch the biggest fish, campfire smores with their mom who made sure they didn’t burn their hands, and tag teaming scares upon their little sister. On sunny afternoons the boys would swim out to the middle of the lake where a platform had been anchored, jumping off or sun bathing. Hikes with the family in the surrounding forests were a treat to find bugs and other critters or make forts amongst the trees to search for dragons.

It was quite an enjoyable childhood, but like many kids, as they got older, and their individual personalities developed, different interests and friendships pulled them in separate directions. They were still brothers that got along for the most part, but no longer peas in the same pod. Azurite closes his eyes, ‘and the distance is only gonna grow wider when we leave for college.’ It wasn’t that he wanted to be separated from his brother or family, but when one receives a full-ride scholarship to M.I.T, they’d be a fool to decline. Unfortunately, that meant he’d be attending school in Massachusetts clear across the country from Santa Barbara where Andesine had opted to go.

“Will you cheer up Az?” the warm hand of his brothers upon his shoulder, rouses Azurite from his reflections only to look over and see the smug smirk of his twin staring back. Andesine taps his temple, “is the distance really bothering you that much, cause ya know eventually we had to cut the cord.”

“I wasn’t thinking…” Again, Andi taps the side of his head and cocks an eyebrow. “Okay, sure, maybe I was but that wasn’t the only thing.”

“A…” searching his pockets, he pulls out the only thing he had and holds it up with a goofy grin, “piece of gum for your thoughts?”

Even Azurite had to laugh at the silly antics of his twin, “It’s nothing,” waving his hand, “maybe I’m just nervous about being so far away from everyone. I mean, aren’t you?”

“Mmm,” Andi tips his head, “not really, kinda excited to see all them California girls!” singing out part of the Katie Perry song.

Azurite rolls his eyes, “You are so bad!”

“And you are too good!” Andi retorts and laughs out loud, “I feel like I need to balance out this dynamic duo!” Azurite tries to hide the amusement but fails miserably since his brother can read him. “Come on… grumpy gus,” he playfully punches Azi’s arm, “just get some sleep and maybe you’ll feel better.”

After his bother moves out of the way, Azi slides off the railing and stretches out his stiffened back. “Mom guys crash yet?”

Andesine nods, “fell asleep on the couch. I think Amy too, cause her light was off.” He pulls out his phone, “I don’t think you realize but you’ve been out here for several hours, see,” showing his brother the time, “it’s almost 2 am.”

Azi frowns, “I didn’t. But why are you still awake?”

“I wasn’t, just woke up when I felt something bothering you.”

“Sorry.”

“‘so’kay man, I’ll see ya upstairs.”

“Be there in a minute.” Azurite watches his brother walk back into the house and takes one more look at the lake...

To the outside world, Andesine Fernandez was the quintessential jokester who never took life seriously. He did decently in school, had his own aspirations, tons of friends, and fashioned himself a lady’s man, though this last notion might be more in his head than reality. But just because he lived in the realm of humor, wasn’t to say he didn’t care or pay attention, he simply preferred to live by the YOLO ‘You Only Live Once’ motto. This stark contrast in personality from his more reticent and bookish twin, was along with their different colored hair, the most noticeable distinctions.

A few nights later, the family sits around a small campfire in front of the house, relaxing after a long day of hiking around the forest and lake. Amy and their mother Erza chatter about a Korean drama they both watch, and Andi is only half listening to Azurite and their dad discuss the latest MMA fight in the UFC. Maybe Azi had a point about the distance, it wasn’t something he’d really thought about until now, probably because, well, ‘I didn’t want to, I mean, it’s only a physical thing!’ But as the dancing flames of the fire crackle and send wisps of burning embers floating into the air, Andesine’s thoughts go with them. His eyes dilate, focusing on the red-orange glow, mesmerized and sending his mind into a distant timeframe.

‘Don’t even think about it, Andi,’ his brother blocks him, ‘mom already gave you a Hershey.’

‘Ugh! It’s so irritating that you know what I’m thinking! When we get older, I hope this stupid twin thing stops too!’

‘I don’t really like it either, cause dealing with you is frustrating.’

But their mother had stepped into the argument, chiding her sons, ‘there will come a day when you’ll regret saying that stuff.’ Pulling them into a hug on each side of her body, ‘that special bond means you’ll always have each other to fall back on, even when you’re far apart.’

‘Why would be far apart?’ Azurite asked their mom.

‘Well…’ squeezing them tighter, ‘one day you’ll grow up, go to college, meet a girl, maybe settle down and have a family. As much as I’ll miss my boys, I want you to be happy and independent in the future.’

‘Sounds good to me,’ Andi shrugged, ‘I can’t wait to grow up!’

She chuckled, ‘don’t worry, before you know it, you will be…’

Andesine’s brows furrow at the memory, sometimes he hated to admit when their mother was right, but damn was she ever. A night exactly like this one, settled around a campfire, eating smores, except now they were all ten years older. Amy only two years away from graduating high school and the boysabout to start their adult lives. Was he really ready for it like he had bragged about? Did he want to admit that he’ll miss his twin? He snaps out of the reflection, looking around to see if anyone had noticed it, but everyone was still engrossed in their conversations.

He stands up, dusts off his pants and kisses his mother goodnight. “Are you okay?” she asks.

“Just tired, think I’ll shower and head to bed.”

“Alright, good night sweetie.”

“Night mom.”

He knew from experience that the best thing to do was let his brother process whatever was bothering him in his own way, so Azurite pretended not to pay attention while Andi zoned out or even when he said he was tired. But as he watched his twin trudge into the house, he had to wonder what it was about. A smug tugging on his lips, could Andi be just as nervous as he was about the whole separation? Now that would be an interesting flip.

Andesine tossed and turned.

“Noooo!!!” he screamed as he raced towards his brother on legs that suddenly seemed uncooperative, reaching out and stumbling along the asphalt. The scene blurred through a tunneled vision while the sounds of screeching tires echoed in his ears. But no matter how fast he ran, the distance remained the same.

His brother’s head turns seconds before the impact, a tear trailing down one cheek, “I’m… sorry Andi…”

“Azzziiiiiii!!!!!”

Andesine pops up in his bed screaming out of the dream and frantically looking at the other side of the bedroom for Azurites bed. “What the fuck?” Because there was no bed, only an empty space where it should be. He throws off the blankets and hops off his, wildly circling the barren floorboards. “What the hell is going on! Where is Azurite?!”

The door swings open and his parents rush in, “Andi, what’s wrong,” Erza asks, “what are you yelling about?” As Jellal grabs his son’s shoulders to stop his hysterical flailing, “did you have a bad dream?”

“Where’s my brother Azurite? Why is his bed gone?” The poor young man is on the verge of tears.

“Azurite?” Erza questions, looking to her husband with concern, “but honey, you don’t have a brother.”

“What!! Of course, I do, he’s my identical twin!”

“Son, you need to calm down,” prompting the young man towards his bed and sitting him down, “there’s only you and your sister, remember?”

“No, this doesn’t make any sense,” Andi shakes his head, “it felt so real, He felt so real! W-we were so close, we could feel each other, read each other’s thoughts, I—I…” cradling his head in his hands, “but our…”

“Sweetheart it was just a dream,” Erza kneels in front of him, “we promise you, you’ve never had a brother…”

“No!” he pushes them away and scrambles to get out of the room. This was all wrong! Why were they lying to him? There was no way he’d just make up a brother! Andi bolts down the hallway, stumbling a few times in an effort to reach the front door while the walls seemed to sway and fold inwards on him. He had to get out there now!

As he turns the knob and flings the front door open, a blinding light stops him in his tracks.

His eyes snap open and he sits up in bed. ‘What the…’ turning, Andesine looks to his left and notices his brother still asleep in their darkened room. He checks the alarm clock, 3:30am, it was all just a nightmare? With a groan, he drops on to his back, ‘it was all just a friggen nightmare!’

The following morning, Andesine is still a bit unnerved from the dream. It was the first time he’s ever had one so disturbing involving his brother and he couldn’t fathom what it was supposed to mean. Was it a premonition that his brother would die from a car accident? He’d never had one of those before, or more than likely a subconscious reaction to the whole idea of separation and distance. No matter what it all meant, if he didn’t get a handle on these emotions, the rest of this trip would be a miserable one.

Andi finds his parents in the kitchen cleaning up after breakfast, “Is it okay if I take a hike to the bluffs?”

“I don’t see why not,” Jellal puts another dish in the rack before turning to address his son, “is Azurite going with you?”

“Nah, I kinda wanted to go alone.”

Erza frowns, “That’s not really safe honey…” but when he gives her a sad, puppy expression she sighs, “just make sure you take your phone with you.”

“Thanks mom!” he hugs her then his dad and takes off out the door with a small back pack of water and of course his cell phone.

He waves at his sister and brother who were lounging on patio chairs and heads north of their rental towards the trail leading up to a mountain peak he enjoyed. Andi takes a deep breath, ‘Im’ma sort out whatever the hell it is that’s bugging me!’ pumping a fist into the air with a grin, ‘It’s time to go zen!’

The trail itself was moderately rated, mostly because of the final leg up a steep incline to the bluff, but it was completely worth the effort. Twenty-five minutes later, as he broke through the tree line and made his way up the final ascent, Andi knew he had made the right decision to come here. There were a few fluffy white clouds passing by and the heat was mildly tolerable due to the higher elevation. The ground was thankfully dry since it hadn’t rained for at least a couple of weeks and the bugs seemed to be taking a day off, so he finds a flat-topped rock and sits down ready to get this load off his mind.

Why was all of this bothering him so much now when it hadn’t even crossed his mind before this trip? Sure, he had realized that picking a college thousands of miles across the country would probably make his parents sad, but it never donned on him that it would upset his brother, or himself. They would be in different states not different countries and thanks to today’s technology, distance wasn’t such a burden anymore. Andi had friends all over the world on social media, and he was excited to finally meet a few of them when he got to California. Besides, it’s not like he was the only one, Azurite chose a college away from their home state, granted it was because of the scholarship, but still, it was a choice that he made.

Andi closes his eyes and tilts his head back knowing he was skirting around the real issue that none of this had to do with a normal leaving the nest syndrome. He exhales, both brothers were quite ready and capable to venture out on their own because their parents had done a phenomenal job of making sure they would be. No, this all came down to their twin connection. Will it feel weird when they are so far apart from each other? Will there be some strange feeling like a part of him was missing? It was this uneasiness that was at the heart of it all.

‘I’m sure we’ll be fine,’ he finally concludes, ‘nothing to worry about. I bet we’ll be too busy with college and everything to even worry.’ He was sure that he’d simply let his subconscious and imagination run a little too amok this time and it was time to reign it back in.

“Yosh!” he stands up, stretching out in a full, arms above his head motion, twisting his midsection and legs. “Bout time for lunch anyways!”

In a better mood now, Andi slings his backpack over one shoulder, shoves in his earbuds and cranks up his music, starting the trek down the steep zig-zag trail of loose stones and dry pine needle covered dirt. Dense foliage made a few portions along the path harder to make out and unfortunately one of those spots was a narrow, stepped ledge, carved by the elements into a natural staircase. Andi slowed down because he knew going down was the most dangerous part.

Suddenly, the flapping of wings and a stirring of feathers from a startled pheasant takes Andi by surprise just as he is about to set foot on the next step. The bird scuttles off into the forest, its squawking mixing with his scream as he slips, hands flying up, bag along with his legs going airborne like in a slow-motion scene. His brother’s name is the last thought in his mind as his back hits the ground and head bounces-off the stony surface knocking him out cold…

Down at the lake, the family is relaxing near the water’s edge with Amy and Erza sunbathing on the shore. Azurite and Jellal dangle their legs off the short pier fishing for dinner while discussing last minute things the young man needs to secure before he leaves for college. All in all, a relaxing sight despite the glaring midday sun. But just as Azi casts his line again, a cold breeze sweeps through, normally welcomed on such a heated day, but for him, the chill it shoots up his spine catches him off-guard and if he didn’t know better, his name had been funneled along with the wind.

The fishing pole he holds clatters to the ground as Azurite shoots to his feet, “Something’s wrong with Andi!”

Jellal looks up bewildered, but knows not to question it, “we’d better go then!”

The two men race up the forest trail while Amy and Erza wait at the house ready to call emergency if necessary. They had no idea what they would encounter but if Azurite was right, and Andi was too injured to have used his cell phone to call for help, they needed to be on standby. Azurite tore up the path like a man both panicked yet guided straight to where he just knew his brother would be and his father simply following, trusting his son’s instincts. It took them 15 agonizing minutes to reach the spot.

“Andi!” Azurite clambers up the steep grade, crawling the last couple of feet to where his brother lay prone. Panic sweeps over his whole being, “Aw, Fuck dad there’s blood coming from his head! Andi!” he’s about to reach out and pull his brother up but Jellal grabs his shoulder.

“Don’t move him yet, we don’t know how badly injured he is. Check his pulse and breathing while I call your mom… and see if you can wake him up but gently.”

With his father on the phone telling their mother to call 911 and giving them directions to where they were, Azurite is using every ounce of willpower he has not to cradle his brother’s limp body in his arms. He couldn’t believe this was happening, Andi was usually so careful whenever he went hiking but as he scans the area and notices a few stray feathers and his brothers bag lying above and off to the side, he could surmise what had happened in those last seconds. But all that didn’t matter, whether or not Andi had been spooked or simply slipped, what was important was getting him medical attention as quickly as possible.

Azurite pats his brother’s cheek, “Andi wake up! Please,” tapping it a few more times, “wake up Andi!” Moisture pools and clouds his vision, tears leaking down his face in salty rivers. “Damn it, Andi wake up!”

After ending his call, Jellal slowly lifts his sons head to check the injury and see’s that despite the blood, the wound doesn’t look very deep. He pulls off his shirt, folds it, and tucks it under to cushion Andi’s head. “Emergency services are on their way so, all we can do is wait. I’m going to head back down to meet them at the beginning of the trail, will you be alright here?” The young man manages a short nod. Jellal puts his hand on Azi’s shoulder, “It’s going to be okay son,” and with a second half nod, the man starts his descent.

Left alone, Azurite retrieves his brother’s bag, so it didn’t get left behind, sitting back down and checking his brother’s vitals every couple of minutes. It was so frustrating not being able to do anything more, but his dad and their Eagle Scout training were clear on this, Andi was best left for the professionals to handle. He hangs his head and while his tears had slowed, they were still like droplets of rain along a window pane, dribbling down in irregular waves.

“I swear you really are an idiot Andi, you know how dangerous it is to hike alone! I don’t know what it was that was bothering you, but it better be a damn good reason for scaring me half to death! Do you know how it feels, every time you do these foolish things and I have to worry about you…” Azi lets out a long exhale, “But maybe you’ll get it now? I hope you’ll see why I was so worried about the distance, I mean if something happened to you and we’re miles apart, I can’t come running like I did today.” He lays down on his side next to his brother, just like they would as little kids when they were scared during a storm and takes hold of his brother’s hand, so limp and lifeless, bringing it to his chest. “It feels like… like a sinking weight on my heart…”

“Could you be…” Andi’s voice is groggy and muffled, “anymore… melodramatic…” He squeezes Azi’s hand back, “I ain’t dead yet.”

“I ought’a knock you back out for that!” Azi half snorts half laughs, for as frustrated with his brother as he was, it felt amazing to hear Andi’s voice again.

“I love you too bro,” he finally opens his eyes, half lidded because of the pain. “And to answer your question, I do know how it feels.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had the most screwed up dream last night, that’s why I came out here to think… I dreamt that I suddenly woke up and you weren’t there, mom and dad told me I had dreamt you up. It hurt so bad like something had been ripped out of me…” Azi looks up when he hears the sounds of footsteps approaching but is drawn back as he brother keeps talking. “I do worry too but today I realized that it’s going to be okay.” He squeezes his brother’s hand again and closes his eyes, grimacing through the pain, “we’ll always be brothers, and even if we’re far apart nothing will ever change the bonds we share.”

“Just promise me you won’t do anything crazy out in California, because if I have to fly there, I really will kick your ass.”

Andi tries to chuckle but gives up when another wave of throbbing pain rushes over him, “you could try...”

On the final night of the family vacation, Amy and their parents lounged on the porch playing a board game while the two brothers settled on a log beside the lake shore. Andesine’s head was still wrapped with gauze to protect the stitches he received, and Azurite was teasing him. “Remember,” Azi turns his gaze over to the lake, “When a full moon casts its luminous glow beckoning to any fools that dared to breach its darkened waters…”

“… a creature may arise to strike you down, or maybe a beautiful goddess will appear to grant you your desires. Forgive me but I don’t think I qualify as a goddess.”

“You’re right, you’re more like a creature from the abyss.”

A companionable silence falls between them, each lost momentarily as the placid nighttime waters soothes their psyches. Azurite exhales and holds up his arm in a 90-degree position, Andesine sighs, grabs his brother’s hand, squeezing and nodding his head for their zero degrees of separation. This trip had been long and fruitful and now they were finally ready to move into the next phase of their lives, together.

#ft next gen #fairy tail #jerza kids #petri808 #petrischronicles #au story modern day #andesine fernandez #azurite fernandez #amethyst fernandez #Erza scarlet #jellal fernandes #zero degrees of separation

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thecoroutfitters · 6 years

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Written by R. Ann Parris on The Prepper Journal.

Three Sisters, Elders, or Iroquois mounds are one of the most common and oldest examples of companion planting to be found. Corn, beans and squash are grown in close association, with each plant filling another’s needs. It’s a proven winner large or small, throughout history, including modern university studies on yields and post-harvest soil.

Succotash gardens are also billed as a survival and a storage all-in-one gardens – pretty fair assessments.

The first in is corn. Pole beans are planted after a delay, and use the corn as a trellis. They also stabilize the corn, removing the need to hill it – which is good, because you’re not going to wiggle a hoe through a thriving Three Sisters mound. The beans also replace some or all of the nitrogen used by the corn and, in trinity plantings, their third sister: squash. The squash helps shade the soil, preserving moisture.

There are now about as many ways to arrange them as there are to use the produce, which we’ll touch on later. We’ll also look at ways we can modify it for the crops commonly grown in today’s backyards, tubs, and big plots, compared to the traditional versions.

Clarification – N

The beans are not boosting the nitrogen for this year’s crop. By the end of the season, the beans will have started producing excess nitrogen if the proper bacteria is present, but it’s toward the end of the season. They’re replacing nitrogen used by their companions, which means less amendment is needed in subsequent plantings.

Sunflowers – Skip It

Subbing sunflowers for corn in Elders mounds regularly pops up. It’s more than possible that somebody’s managed successfully, but nobody I know and I’ve yet to find good results/yield data or late-season and harvest images posted by those who claim it works.

When we hear after-action reports on this experiment, it’s usually “well boogers” or excited growers who have not yet established an on-their-own baseline yield for their squash and bean varieties.

Mostly, like many things, we just don’t hear back on it – which is sad, because some of those gardeners who are just getting started or just branching out are likely embarrassed, and think it’s them.

First: Failures are part of any learning curve. “No” is an option on troubleshooting and decision-making flow charts for a reason. “Well that didn’t work” is part of the feedback loop for everything from permaculture to scientific method.

Share failures. We get more feedback yet, which lets us make better adjustments than we would on our own.

Secondly, don’t believe everything you read online – especially start-off suggestions without final results presented. That’s something we’ll touch on with the planting suggestions, too.

I do grow some of my beans with sunflowers, but I expect the major productivity drop versus a corn planting and I do so knowing that bean production is already lower in corn-companionship stands.

(It’s the total productivity of the space that’s a wowser, versus the same area with a single crop, and usually corn gets a pretty significant boost.)

So let’s understand sunflowers. There is a wide, wide range of sunflowers beyond production types. I plant some of them for tiny bird seed. Plus, well, look how cute!

In production conversations, we’re typically looking at two types. Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (BOSS) are used for oils and most animal/bird feed, and are usually 4-6’ tall. The big 8’ and 12’ “stripeys” (professionals say “confection”) are the human-snack and in some animal feeds.

Both are greedy. Like, way greedy. They just don’t share well. There are weed-suppressing groundcovers that work, but whatever you stick near a sunflower is likely to end up stunted. That’s not great for the yields from companions.

Sunflowers seem like they’d sub in for corn without problems, but in the long run, especially for survival gardens, it’s not effective. You’ll need to plant 3-5x the beans you would to meet your normal harvest baselines from corn-bean mounds or single-crop stands, and if you go for a trinity planting, squash just isn’t going to fair well at all.

*Bonus Tidbit: All sunflower stalks are suitable for drying, burning or chipping, and spreading as potent fertilizer elsewhere because they’re so greedy. They’re particularly potassium-hungry, which makes them a fabulous source of potash for other crops.

Back to Corn…

Natives mostly grew dry corn. Today, backyard and small-market growers are mostly after sweet corn. Thing is, sweet corn is ready 20-60 days before most popcorn or field corn varieties – and most dry pole beans.

This becomes super significant when planning a succotash garden.

If you use a big, multi-vined pole bean, it’s tough to get in there to harvest sweet corn without snagging the drying bean vines. Sweet corn is usually more loosely branched, so you may be able to wiggle harvests out from around lighter, single-vine pole beans, but there is regularly damage to vines.

One solution is to use the pole beans mostly for green beans. We can dedicate lower pods to going to seed for us, limiting the potential damages are limited to veggies with less time invested and faster regrowth.

Another option is to use bush, semi-vining or semi-runner beans with sweet corn, so their max height is lower than the upper ears. At most you might damage tips at 3-4’ harvesting the bottom ear. We can also just declare the bottom ears to be our future seed stock, or let them dry for popcorn/milling so we don’t have to disturb even those shorter vines.

If we’re growing dwarf, compact, bantam, and container corn, shorter-vined and bush beans are definitely superior choices as companions.

Bush Beans

There’s some drawbacks to bush beans, but there’s also benefits. A bush bean won’t typically yield as much as a pole bean, either by the plant or by square-foot.

We have place them carefully, especially with field/dry corn varieties that have denser leafing than sweet corn, or they’ll get shaded out. They’re also a little more likely to be overrun by large squash varieties if we go with a three-species “trinity” mound, so we may have to use bush-type summer squashes.

However, they’re pretty easy to step over for maintenance, and they’re fast-growing and fast-yielding. Packing low-growing bush beans in tightly lets us reap some weed and soil-evaporation suppression from them as well as squashes – or if our squash is in separate rows and mounds.

Bush beans won’t anchor our corn for us – although some bush types will send out a few 6-18” tendrils, particularly the “southern pea” types.

Especially if we’re after sweet corn or working with a bantam, or if we’re working in more limited space, bush beans may be the best option. Instead of traditional beans, we can also consider vining English peas or crowder peas for early and compact corn.

If you really want an old-school, native pairing for corn and don’t have to worry about too much rain, give Bawi a try – https://www.nativeseeds.org/learn/nss-blog/341-celebration-of-tepary-beans-part-1. It’s a prostrate bush type, although it’s a whole different species than the beans most of us know today.

Squash

Historically, a near-pumpkin squash, gourd-like squashes, and small true pumpkins were planted as the third sister in elders gardens. We can use anything we want. Melons, trailing-vine squashes, or compact bush types, and even cucumbers offer pretty similar benefits.

Those options have the added advantage of those spiky vines surrounding the mound, which anecdotally deter pests and critters, but we can even use eggplant. It will do the same soil-shading job as the squashes.

Planting Guides

There are a lot of planting plans out there for Three Sisters now. Some combine all three sisters in a trinity planting per mound, while many have squash on a separate mound. Some use 18” mounds, some suggests 3-5’.

One involves working inside a bucket-sized ring (roughly 12”). If you use that one, consider going easy on densities and fertilize heavily – that’s a lot of biomass in a very small space.

I also give my squash way more than 4-6”, my beans go more than 3” from my corn, and my mounds are usually more than 2-3’ on center, more similar to Wampanoag plantings.

Wampanoag systems also have an arc of sunflowers to the north with separate squash mounds and corn-bean mounds filling in a circle. Others suggest similar, but arrange the beans-corn mounds differently.

In a bed system versus mounds, I tend to max corn and beans through the center and stick whichever squash varieties I want on the ends of short beds, or create breaks with double or triple squash plants every 10-12’ on long beds. Others break up hilled rows and beds in smaller repeating patterns.

Mechanizing is as easy as setting up hoppers with different seed, and a third hopper or a second pass for a much-decreased squash planting 18-36” offset from them, or alternating rows of corn-and-beans with rows of squash.

If we’re using narrow beds/rows or containers, we can easily set up multiple pairs – a few bush beans with that squash, or a squash and a pole bean or two that are going to go up one trellis, and another with our corn and another few beans.

We don’t have to limit our squash to containers or beds – trailing them out to the side or letting small-fruiting varieties drape off a table, bench, or rail is fine (if we can get around them). We do want to make sure the squash isn’t vulnerable to breaking in winds or from fruit weight, though. Those big ol’ stalks are hollow and a little bit fragile.

Three Sisters gardening has a lot to balance just because we do have sooo many options these days. What planting styles work best for us will depend on preexisting soil fertility and the varieties we choose, with our climate and space available playing into cultivar selection. There’s a modification that works for pretty much everybody, though.

It’s a storied, proven winner, regardless of scale, for both beginners and those looking to up their yields or decrease inputs. Tractor- or hand-tended, acreage to balcony, it’s definitely a planting scheme to consider.

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The post Companion Planting – Planting & Modifying the Three Sisters appeared first on The Prepper Journal.

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indd40041020202021 · 4 years

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