#i think my main thing is that i'm the only newbie in two and i'm the only one with my name actually signed up for two

[nonotnolan]

Group Project

"I don't care if most people skip this step," Aiden said, taking a pre-swap photo with Nathan. "I still don't completely trust Swapper technology, just... I don't have many other options. Professor Carmichael has been riding our asses all semester, and this damn group project is worth 50% of my grade. I, uhh... I appreciate you doing this for me."

"You're the one paying me," Nathan said, grinning into the mirror with two thumbs up. "As long as you follow the basic rules, I don't really care what sort of extra safeguards you want to throw in. And don't worry, I think it's cute. Commencing swap... now."

Aiden barely had time to panic before he found himself staring up into his former face. The biggest shock was feeling Nathan's coiffed hair brushing against his forehead. The nerd came well recommended by Frat Row-- at this point, he probably spent more time outside of his body than inside of it. Certainly it hadn't been Nathan spending time at the gym to earn these arms. He had graduated college last year, but instead of getting a full time job, he hired out his services to anyone who needed to pass tests or make presentations. At $500 per swap, the legality was the only barrier to making it into a career. "So, you remember the rules, right?" said Aiden's body.

Hearing his voice like that was incredibly odd. "Yeah, we've got to stay swapped for 48 hours or else the Campus safety test will know we used our Swappers. You aren't liable if you get caught, I already paid you up front, no refunds. We had to jailbreak our Swappers to override the 12 hour standard limit, so I'll get arrested if I try to contact customer service. Anything else I'm missing?"

"No hard drugs, but any amount of sex and alcohol is fair game," Nathan said, as he reached into Aiden's waistband to fondle his new package. "Nice dick, my guy," he said, giving him another thumbs up. "That's gotta be, what... at least seven inches?"

Aiden blushed, deeply embarrassed to see his body acting so corny. "A bit under seven and a half, yeah," he said. "Aa-anyway, I'll be at the house if you need me."

"Have fun," Nathan said, giving him an exaggerated wink and slapping him on the shoulders. "I've swapped with several of your brothers. I know you're gonna have a good time."

Preston was outside, taking advantage of one of the last warm afternoons before fall turned into winter. "Damn, bro, you hired Nathan? Looks like someone was worried about failing their classes. So, who are you?"

"It's Aiden," I said, feeling very self conscious about my newer, frailer body as I found myself staring at Preston's hairy chest.

He just laughed. "Wait, Aiden? I didn't even know you had a Swapper! Damn, dude, you must be desperate to pass."

"I... yeah," I said, avoiding eye contact. Was Nathan a gay man? That was fine if he was, just... did that sort of thing stick to the body? He'd never really noticed the cleft of Preston's chin before, but he was-- Nathan's body was-- incredibly horny.

"A word of advice, Newbie," he said, sitting down his book. "Most of the Swapper nerds, or at least the ones worth hiring? They're gay men. Don't try to fight it. Just enjoy the ride. You'll be back to your no-homo self in 48 hours." He flexed his chest, letting his pecs bounce. "Or maybe you'll be a bit more worldly," he said, laughing as Aiden tried not to sneak a glance. "Getting a compliment from a gay dude feels real good."

Aiden practically sprinted toward the main doors, eager to escape the awkward situation. "Yeah I'll keep that in mind thanks bye," he muttered, cursing Nathan's gym shorts and their inability to hide an erection.

"Well, damn bro, look who it is! Someone hired Nathan!"

Sitting over in the lobby were two other guys who were using their Swappers for the weekend. The guy in black was probably Carter-- the dude had a lot of Puma gear, and it was possible he'd changed shirts at some point. Besides, it was hard to imagine anyone else scowling that hard. The blonde guy, however... that could be anyone.

"Uhh, hey... guys..." Aiden said, quickly learning that Nathan had a foot fetish. "You, uhhh... you also have a group project tomorrow or something?"

The blonde guy just laughed, closing his laptop as he stood up. "Oh, I've got a group project in mind, alright. I was just telling Carter here, even though both of us look like twinks, neither one of us are really bottoms. But with Nathan's body here, well... I think that solves our problem. Don't you?"

He nodded, following wordlessly after the two men as they entered the nearby library room for more privacy. Just enjoy the ride, Preston had said. Aiden suspected he was going to be doing a lot of riding tonight.

[thewertsearch]

Second part of the giga-ask compilation!

@publicuniversalworstie asked: Why assume the Horrorterrors would know that changing events would create a doomed timeline? That assumes both A) that the horrorterrors know the future and B) that they don't think it can really be changed. Maybe they genuinely thought they could change things, such as by perhaps fulfilling all the requisite loops a different way? Imagine a scenario where a time traveler learns of their death, therefore being destined to die, and instead fake their death to create the conditions under which they learned of the death originally.

It's possible. But if the Horrorterrors do have a way to trick the Alpha Timeline like that, then they've really been holding out on us by not mentioning it to the Players. Such a revelation would completely change the game - we might even be able to fake the Earth's death.

Anonymous asked: i want to learn more about coding to analyze homestuck better - do you have a place i could start? resources? idk love the liveblog hope you're doin well :]

Absolutely! I've got two separate answers for you, depending on what your goal is here.

If your main goal is just to analyse Homestuck, then you’re probably best off picking a language whose syntax is easy to understand, such as Python. You'll pick up on the basic logic pretty quickly, and the ~ATH snippets will start to make a lot more sense.

If you’re actually interested in programming for its own sake, then I recommend you start with my own first language, C. It’s a lot harder for a newbie to get to grips with, but doing so will give you a much more solid theoretical foundation then ostensibly ‘easier’ languages.

W3schools is a decent starting resource for both languages - but if you need more specific guidance, let me know, and I'd be happy to help!

@skelekingfeddy asked: actually grubmom having the same color wires as in that pic of sahlee wasnt intentional! i based it on how sollux’s game grubs have red and blue wires attached to them

Serendipity!

Anonymous asked: Did you run any mysterious ~ath programs on that computer of yours?

Honestly, running ATH on that thing would probably have improved it.

Anonymous asked: One voice headcanon I have for Terezi is the English dub of Power from Chainsaw man

Honestly, she sounds pretty much exactly how I imagine Terezi does. She even has the horns!

@martinkhall asked: I'm surprised none of the suggested instruments for a time player were an ocarina.

Some fruit is just too low-hanging.

@delicate-ruins asked: what's an animal you like that you think doesn't show up very much in media, be it fiction or news or just generally? example: i like secretary birds. but except for videos about them, i have never heard them references.

They're not obscure, per se, but there will never be enough sloths in media. The only fictional sloth of note is Sid from Ice Age – and he does not do them justice.

Capybaras are also underrated as hell – so much so that LibreOffice, which I'm using to edit this compilation, doesn’t even recognize the word as real!

Anonymous asked: “I’m trying to figure out if it’s fully a Breath outfit, or if there’s some Heir stuff too.” the general rule for god tier outfits is that the colors and symbol represent the aspect, the clothes represent the class. so, for example, if two princes of different aspects ascended, their clothing style would be the same but they would a have different color scheme. @skaiandestiny asked: If you haven't already figured it out, class informs the godtier outfit and aspect informs the colors and icon!

In that case, there is something about John’s outfit that says ‘heir’ – but nothing really stands out to me.

@driventopoison asked: Hey, I don't know if it's just me but it seems like you've skipped ahead. I have been following your liveblog daily, but I haven't seen you come across the windy thing yet. Is this because you were using the app or something? Also just want to let you know that I love your liveblog. Keep up the good work!

Thank you! Anyway, John’s Windy Thing is indeed documented on the liveblog, and it’s visible to me. I was using the app for some of that segment, though – are app-made posts particularly buggy?

@classpecting-guide-official asked: story about a modded game of sburb where the characters notice that something isn't right and slowly realize that their world is a lie

Back in Act 1, this is pretty much what I thought was happening. It was a simpler time.

@ignis-cain asked: Note the colors the capslock flashes for WV.

When WV locks his capsule, the button’s light flashes red and green – but I’m not sure what the significance of these colors is, in this situation.

Anonymous asked: i know i'm SUPER late to answer this, but i think the instantiation thing is the same as any video game, newly made with a prebaked history. when you name your character, that has been their name for their whole life, even though you thought it up a few seconds ago. when you enter the medium, the planet has a history and the denizens have memories, even though they just showed up when you entered.

Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is indeed what’s going on. The implications are just a lot more wild when the game is physically real, rather than virtual!

@kintatsu asked: So, I know I'm a little late to the party, but I have to point out: Alternian sunlight doesn't need to be THAT much stronger than Earth's to blind Terezi as quickly as it did. Trolls are nocturnal, which means they almost definitely have a tapetum lucidum (eyeshine membrane), which means that however much light entered Terezi's eyeballs? Her retinas were blasted by every photon twice.

Damn, Vriska. For a second, I thought this ask was explaining why Terezi wasn't in as much pain as I'd thought - but this alternate explanation might actually be worse than what I was picturing!

@delicate-ruins asked: It's delightful to see somebody read Homestuck and be as charmed by it as I and a lot of my friends were way back when we first read it, and the calm, digesting pace at which you're enjoying it is honestly so nice. I rushed way too much to catch up since my friends recommended it in about 2016, which means I went from knowing nothing about the comic to being caught up on it in like a week. I never sat down with the ideas and thought "hey, does this mean XYZ?" because quite often I got the answer five seconds later as I rushed to catch up. But seeing you asking those questions is so so fun. Yeah, DOES it mean that?? Guess we'll find out! In the meantime, we get to guess, which means we basically get to have fun twice. It's reigniting my enjoyment of homestuck quite significantly, I think!

Thank you! It’s really nice to be able to engage in a dialogue about the comic through these asks, which is something that wouldn't be possible if I was speeding through it. As I always say, I'm here for a good time and a long time.

@manorinthewoods asked: Alright, here's another transtimeline fun fact. Each of the kids was supposed to have a Quest related to their associated material - John had a land covered in oil, Rose's ocean was polluted with chalk, the gears of LOHAC were gummed by amber, and LOFAF was in a nuclear winter. Ultimately, while the ocean of LOLAR is still chalky, nothing but John's oil made the cut. ~LOSS (16/5/23)

I think it was a good change, then. Not everything has to be a pattern, and Dave's two weird maybe-quests are a lot more unique and interesting than a generic 'materials quest'.

@captorations asked: oh hey, this walkaround! so funny story, i used to run a blog where i posted one of terezi’s canon appearances each day, in order. yes, i completed my task, and more besides. however! when i was wandering through this as terezi, a glitch rendered me trapped. i decided that this counted as a noteworthy appearance, and took a screenshot. then, by sheer coincidence, it ended up being posted on… halloween. it was pretty great (also don’t forget to check out ctrl + t)

You accessed the double-secret version of Past Karkat: Wake Up, which plays the Earthbound Halloween Hack version of Megalovania rather than the Homestuck one.

Anonymous asked: Personally, I think John gaining so many levels so quickly is tied to his role as the heir - he gains so many levels without really trying, not because he's better than the trolls or his friends, but because he just kind of falls into it. The game rewards him for taking the path of least resistance.

That certainly makes sense if we just look at John - but I have trouble reconciling this interpretation with our other Heir. Equius certainly has some advantages, but they aren't exactly unique to him, as you'd expect them to be if his Heir class was responsible for them.

Yes, he's a highblood, but he's outranked by three non-Heirs - and his strength doesn't seem to be unique either, as Feferi seems capable of similar feats. Perhaps Equius will trip and fall into more unique privilege, but it hasn't happened yet.

Anonymous asked: my personal headcanons for midnight crew claspects: Slick - Prince of Blood, Droog - Mage of Space, Boxcars - Knight of Heart, Deuce - Bard of Doom. knowing you youre probably gonna attempt to analyse these LOL

Slick has had ties to Blood since he first met Karkat, so that tracks - and Boxcars is a shipper, so Nepeta's aspect is probably the best fit for now. I'm not sure about the other two, but I'll revisit them later!

[sydsaint]

I might be kind of obsessed with him lately.

Summary: The reader and her tag partner Tiffany Straton have a difference of opinion when it comes to newbie Lexis King.

"I still can't believe that Fallon made you much out those nasty horse stalls." You snicker at Tiffany as the two of you make your way across the parking lot. "I swear I can still smell it on you." You crinkle your nose jokingly. 

"Ew! YN, don't even joke like that!" Tiffany whines. "I showered like five times after I was done!" She insists. "Fallon is seriously crazy. She said that she actually enjoyed doing manual labor." She whispers the words like they're a slur. 

Your nose crinkles for real this time and you sneer. "Ew, as if!" 

"Right?" Tiffany agrees. "Girls like us are to pretty to work." She flips her perfectly curled hair over her shoulder. 

"You know it." You giggle and twirl your hair between your fingers with a grin. 

You and Tiffany head inside the building and waste no time going to your shared locker room. The two of you are passing through the main backstage area when Lexis King appears in front of you. 

"Ladies." Lexis grins at you both, an air of self-entitlement about him. 

"Lexis." Tiffany turns her nose up at King. 

You roll your eyes playfully at Tiffany's immediate dismissal of King. "Hey, Lexis." You offer him a flirty smile. 

King immediately turns his attention to you since Tiffany obviously isn't going to give him the time of day. "YN! Where are you ladies headed off to?" He asks you. 

"Back to the locker rooms to get ready for the show." You answer him, twirling a strand of hair in your hand. "Tiff and I have a tag match against those losers Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez." You explain. 

"Well you definitely look ready to me." Lexis chuckles, showing no shame in raking his eyes over your body. 

You roll your eyes at the cheap line he's throwing at you. "Smooth, Romeo." You laugh. 

"Ugh! Come on, YN!" Tiffany scoffs and grabs ahold of your hand to drag you off. "You just seriously bombed buddy." She informs Lexis matter-of-factly. "So we'll be going." 

"See you later, YN." Lexis nods and steps back to let you and Tiffany pass. "Be seeing you around babe." He winks as Tiffany drags you off. 

Tiffany lets her death grip on your arm free only when you are safely in the locker room. She lets your arm go and you rub the red spot from where she was dragging you by. 

"That was kind of harsh, don't you think, Tiff?" You ask Tiffany, watching as she makes a b-line for her vanity against the wall. 

"Umm, no." Tiffany replies dryly. "That guy is a loser, YN. Come on." She insists. 

You roll your eyes playfully and walk over to the other vanity so you can fix your hair and makeup for the show. "I like him." You admit and pick up your hairbrush. "He's cute! And his hair? I love a man that takes care of his hair." 

"Ew, YN." Tiffany sneers. "You can do so much better, girl." She assures you. "I thought you had a thing for Carmelo? Or was it Trick?" She asks you. 

"It was Carmelo." You answer her. "But Trick is super hot too. He just started dating Lash though. And I'm pretty sure Melo has a new girl now." You explain. 

Tiffany grabs her curler off the vanity and shrugs. "So? If they just started dating then what's the harm. They can't be that serious yet." She grins. 

"Tiffany!" You laugh. "Say what you want, girl. But I don't go after dudes in relationships. Not my style." You remind her. 

"Suit yourself, girl." Tiffany shrugs. "You know, Bron and Cora broke up last month." She flashes a teasing smile at you. "And I know you think Bron is super hunky." 

You pick up your makeup bag and open it up to retrieve your foundation and concealer. "And you don't?" You ask Tiffany. "And you I don't have taste." You joke. "Besides. Bron has never shown any interest in me. I guess all those muscles can't make up for poor taste and no brains huh?"

Tiffany snickers and agrees with you. The two of you finish getting your hair and makeup ready for the show then switch to changing into your ring gear. You tie up your boots while Tiffany admires her reflection in the mirror. 

"I think I want a set of green gear next." You comment casually. 

"Green?" Tiffany sneers. "Ew." 

You roll your eyes and walk over to the door. "I like green." You remind her. "Come on. Let's head down to the ring and get this match over with already." 

Tiffany stops admiring herself in the mirror and the two of you head out and down to the ring. You do your Buff Barbie's entrance, aka the name of your tag team with Tiffany. And then hop in the ring with her to wait for your opponents. 

Lola and Elektra come out and the match gets underway. You and Tiffany work together and you pull Lola up for a pin at the end of the match. The bell rings and you celebrate with Tiffany before the two of you head up the ramp and backstage again. 

"Whew! That was easy." You gloat on your way up the ramp. "Did you see the look on Lola's face when I rolled her up? Priceless!" You laugh. 

"I know!" Tiffany laughs with you. "Her and Elektra are such losers." She snickers. 

You and Tiffany step through the curtain into the backstage are and you spot Lexis hanging around on the other side of the room. Tiffany audibly groans at your side when you eye King up. 

"YN, don't even." Tiffany complains. 

"I'll meet you back at the locker room, Tiff." You pat her arm with a grin before you walk off. "Lexis! You stalking me now?" You tease King as you walk over to him. 

Lexis chuckles at your little quip and stops leaning against the wall. "Stalking you, princess? Please. I know better." He insists. "I've got a match against that new Chase University twink in a few minutes." 

"Riley Osborne?" You reply. "Thea's new obsession?" You snicker. "He's a loser just like her and the rest of Chase U. Should be an easy win for you." 

"Oh it'll be a breeze, princess. Trust me." Lexis nods. "You should hang out and watch the match. I guarantee it'll be entertaining. For you  anyway." He offers. 

You turn and look back at Tiffany, but she's already gone back to the locker room. So you turn back to Lexis with a grin and nod. "Alright. Let's see what you've got, King." 

Lexis grins and heads out to the ring for his match. You hang around backstage and watch his match as promised. Lexis parades around and shows off his entire match with poor Riley. He pulls a win against Osborne then heads backstage again to greet you. 

"Well? What did you think?" Lexis saunters over to you once he's through the curtain. 

"You were alright I guess." You shrug with a cheeky grin. 

Lexis laughs, perfectly aware that you're teasing him. "Nah, you were impressed." He insists. "I can tell by the way you're looking at me." 

"Oh?" You reply. "Alright, you might of impressed me a little. Just a little though." You insist.

"How about we meet up after the show? I'd love to buy you a drink." Lexis offers. 

You bounce on your heels and think about how much Tiffany is going to complain if she finds out you're about to get drinks with this guy. "As long as you're paying." You finally answer him after a minute. "I'll meet up with you in the parking lot after the show." 

"I'm looking forward to it, princess." Lexis nods and walks off. 

You watch Lexis walk off before you also head back to the locker room. You know that Tiffany is going to be on you about Lexis when you get back. So you brace yourself for that. But it'll all be worth it when you're out getting free drinks with your new beau. 

[impishjesters]

warning(s): none note(s): This was a request that accidentally got deleted so I'm fuzzy on the exact words used, but I remember it involving a reader who makes clay things and that it was for Gangle. So my apologies to the requester if I missed anything! A/N: I don't remember if it was platonic or romantic, but this was written with the intention of the crushing stage because I just think it's so stinking cute. I definitely feel like Gangle would enjoy someone going out of their way to not only help fix her masks but make her brand new ones without her even asking for them. Too cute.

Gangle x Clay Maker!Reader

Gangle held her recently broken comedy mask for what felt like the hundredth time, and it seemed like almost every time was a result of something to do with Jax. The most recent case, however, was the new arrival, just to have it stepped on breaking it further. If she had a mean bone in her body she’d curse the damn thing for being so fucking fragile.

Luckily she had you, someone who worked with clay to make all sorts of little things. You had even taken to making her some new masks, some she wore, some she put up as decoration too afraid to risk them breaking. Even when you reassured her you could fix them up if that happened, that offer extended to her two original masks.

When everything had died down she separated from the group and headed for your bedroom. She had asked once before why you didn’t just ask Caine for more space or a new room, you had brushed it off by saying it’s not like you needed a fully furnished bedroom.

Besides Caine oh so graciously gave you all the things needed to make new clay stuff, asking for more at the moment felt like too much—even if you deserved it for being trapped in this shit hole, all of you deserved more than you got.

Gangle raised a hand to knock before remembering that it wasn’t necessary and instead opted to push the door open before calling out your name.

Your head rose from the project in front of you, throwing a quick glance at your guest. “Ah, Gangle. Broken mask?” Poor girl couldn’t catch a break.

“Yes…the newbie broke it…b-by accident!” she tacked on. “Then Jax stepped on it…”

Gangle crept over and you gestured for her to show you the pieces. Laying them out on the worktable she hunched into herself, hands fiddling idly. “I-it’s not too broken is it?”

You shoved your current project aside and gently collected the fragments like it was a puzzle, whistling when you saw the damage. “Nothing’s too broken, especially since you already told me you don’t mind the clay. It might take a little bit longer than normal though, but I can give you a temporary comedy mask if you want.”

She shook her head, there was a certain fondness for her original two masks that it felt odd to wear the mock ups you made. Though she was starting to fear the damage becoming too much that these two masks would hardly be original anymore.

“Do you think you could…maybe make more solid copies of them? L-like the others?”

The masks you designed were made a bit more durable then the temporary comedy masks she’d used before. They were temporary after all, more akin to a cheap Papier-mâché mask then a solid structured mask.

“What like a better version of your main two? Thinking of tucking these two away for safety?” Gangle gave a nod and you looked at her, mask shards forgotten to reach out and touch along the edge of the tragedy mask she wore. “You know you could easily just ask Caine to fix them up.”

Gangle tittered nervously at your tender touch, trying to focus on anything but how close you were. “I..I guess I could.. but..”

It was embarrassing to admit she liked your handiwork, and while she was worried about her masks you did bring up a good point. Caine would easily fix them if they got that bad, but it felt like a last option to fall back on. In fact he had fixed them up multiple times prior to your arrival, but it felt like she was a bother having to always find him and ask time and time again.

If she was being completely honest, she sort of just really liked the tender attention you gave her and the way you kept working so earnestly on masks for her. Masks she didn’t even ask for, it was completely your own doing! So sue her for sucking up all the attention you happily gave her.

When she never finished her sentence you took that as her being lost in her own head and gentle jostled her face. “Outta that pretty little head missy, you don’t have to explain it to me. But yeah I can make sturdier mask copies.”

You gesture to the free seat nearby and she scampered off to her usual spot. It gave her the perfect view to watch both you and your work while being just the right distance to not be in the way or for her heart to beat out her chest.

The project you had been working on when she entered was left untouched in favour of fixing up some of her broken mask as well as getting a fresher template drawn up. Gangle eyed the ignored project before her attention went back to you.

“What were you working on before I came in?”

“Mm? Oh, nothing too important, just some little clay dolls.”

Gangle pulled her knees closer as she listened to you talk about the dolls in question. She was forever grateful that her masks kept the exact object she was staring at vague, if you knew that her eyes were glued specifically to you she’d completely unravel.

Physically and mentally. Maybe one day she’d speak up on her feelings.

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Gray 6

First / Previous / Next

Fen and Ma-ren made their way down station until they reached the main promenade. This was pointedly separate from the Human/K'laxi space and was a much nicer place to walk around. Plants, open spaces, even large windows gave the promenade a breezy, friendly look that the forty third floor lacked.

They rounded a corner and came upon an anonymous shop entrance with the Gren's dotted and slashed script above stating that it was a Gren Familial Association. Fen shook her head. She figured that gangsters were gangsters no matter what species they were.

As she and Ma-ren pushed open the doors and entered the club, the bouncer behind a lectern at the entrance was startled awake. He growled but then saw who it was. "Fen. Ma-ren." He yawned, and his mouthparts stretched as his jaw opened wide. "Tam'itarr is in the back, he's waiting for you."

Fen grunted thanks, and they walked towards the back of the club. It was only mid afternoon now, and the club was mostly empty. A few old regular sat in the large overstuffed chairs the Gren preferred, with a long front instead of a back to accommodate their reverse articulated legs. Ma-ren waved to a few regulars she knew and got mouthpart gestures and grunts of acknowledgement in return.

The back was much the same. Here, a Tylan was cleaning the bar, while a Sefigan was moving chairs and cleaning the floor underneath. They both nodded at Ma-ren and Fen, but did not stop working. Seated in a large, round booth was Tam'itarr with his son Tam and a few other Gren. Fen wasn't an expert at Gren physiology, but Tam looked upset. Tam'itarr however, spread his arms wide.

"Fen and Ma-ren! My favorite refugees! I am so glad you received my invitation to come and say hello. Please, sit! I'll have someone bring you a drink. Ma-ren, I managed to procure a small supply of chamomile, would you like a cup?"

Chamomile Tea, a K'laxi favorite has nearly passed into legend once they left Colonial Space. Ma-ren had never had it, and she would hear stories from her parent's parents about it. Her eyes went wide and her tail flicked. "Sure Tam'itarr, thank you."

"Don't think I have forgotten you either, Fen. In this same shipment, I managed to get ahold of a case of actual Parvatian wine. The real stuff. None of us can drink it, but I'd be honored to let you have a bottle and tell us how it is."

Fen blinked. None of the species here can consume alcohol, so it's hard to come by. There are home fermentations and distilleries of course, but it's all this side of drain cleaner. Fen can't recall seeing a bottle of wine in anything other than a novel or show her entire life.

"S-sure Tam'itarr, thanks. I'll try it and let you know." A Tylan brought out a dusty bottle and handed it to Fen and then disappeared behind the bar. "Tam'itarr, I don't wish to sound ungrateful, but why are you being so nice?"

Tam'itarr chuckled and patted his son on his back. "Tam here told me earlier about his run-in with the newbie. It's been a while since we've had new humans here, and it seems that this one is... different. Vel also mentioned that you and him had gone over to Spyglass and were inside for nearly a whole day."

Ma-ren shrugged and she flicked her tail. "He wanted to see the ship, he's interested in old stuff." The Tylan bartender brought out a steaming mug of tea and set it in front of Ma-ren, and gestured to Fen. She handed him the bottle and he deftly popped the cork. He glugged a measure of burgundy liquid into a glass and offered it to her.

"A new human shows up, deftly avoids my son's welcome wagon-" Tam glared, but said nothing "-and then is taken to Spyglass by you two, stays inside for a day and also knows a lot about 'old stuff'." Tam'itarr leans forward. "You can see why I'm interested, ladies. This human knows things. Whether they are useful things or dangerous things remains to be seen, but I would like to meet him. Please arrange it."

Fen took a sip of the wine. It was much less sour than she thought it would be. It was round and coated her mouth. The wine was on a completely different level than the hooch the local humans made. "Tam'itarr this is amazing" Fen blurted. Tam'itarr leaned back and his mouthparts smiled. "Excellent. Swing by with this human today or tomorrow, and we'll consider everything square." The bartender returned with a small box of tea for Ma-ren and another bottle of wine for Fen.

They exited the social club, gifts carefully wrapped and worked their way back up to their level. On the lift, Ma-ren looked at Fen. "We shouldn't have accepted those gifts."

"Probably not, no." Fen shrugged. "You know as well as I do that you don't say no to Tam'itarr, and at least he is trying to be nice first. We'll ask Gord to come along and meet him. Maybe it's nothing bad."

"Fen, he's a human from who-knows-where who knows a lot about old ships and is apparently way older than he lets on. He said he knew Spyglass."

"He's not a human, remember? He's an AI. I thought that they never left Colonial Space."

"That's what I thought too, but he's here. Maybe he's looking for something"

Fen gestured. "Or he's on the run. Still, Tam'itarr wants to meet him. Gord has already proven he can take care of himself. We'll just be honest. Show him the gifts, explain how he's the local power on the station and say he wants to meet him. I'm sure Gord will go along with it."

Ma-ren wasn't so sure, but she didn't say anything. They dropped off their gifts at home and wandered the floor until they saw Gord. He was sitting on a bench, reading his battered pad. When they approached, he looked up and smiled. "Hi Fen and Ma-ren! How are things?"

Fen nodded. "Not bad Gord. What's up with Spyglass?"

Gord closed the pad and put it down carefully. "She's... doing better. I brought her up to speed more on things and she agrees for now to keep a low profile. I'm hopeful we can scare up some parts to repair her reactors so she has two going. She can move under her own power then. It would be nice to reinstall more, but I don't know if we'll be able to do that here. I'd probably have to head back for something like that" He trailed off.

"Back? Back where Gord?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Back to human space Fen, it's not gone."

"They sure act like it's gone out here Gord. Nobody has ever talked about going home. When any of us asked as kids, we were told it's impossible."

"I could see why your folks would say that yes. Things are... different now than they were when they left. Your families were fleeing the Empire, and they're still around, but life goes on." Gord shrugged. "Most people just keep their heads down and live."

"What's it like? Back in Colonial space?"

Gord looked past them and thought a moment. "It's different than out here. It's hard to explain. Well, no, that's not true. Humans and K'laxi aren't refugees back there. But don't mistake that for more freedom. If you're not a part of the Empire, the best you can hope for is to be left alone, though that never lasts."

"What if you are a part of the Empire?"

Gord smiled wryly. "They don't want people like me, I don't know. I've always been 'part of the problem'. It's just now that we're almost gone, they've turned their attention on others. That's probably why your families left, you became inconvenient and were next up to be 'taken care of.'"

Fen stared at Gord. "You can't go back, can you? You'll be caught and killed."

Gord sighed. "No, I can't really go back. I got away once by the skin of my teeth, and all I had with me were the clothes on my back, my pad and my pack of AI cores. If I go back then I will most likely be killed, yes."

"So you can't go get more reactors for Spyglass."

"Even if I could go back, there aren't anymore Starjumpers. If I had some printable mass, her printers could make more, but it's a long, slow process and it doesn't matter, because we have no printable mass." Gord shook his head. "We're stuck here unless we can make something that doesn't exist." Gord hung his head.

Fen stared at Ma-ren. "Gord, we were... invited to speak with Tam'itarr," Ma-ren said. He's Tam's father and the local gang leader. He wants to meet you."

Gord lifted up his head. "He does? Why?"

Fen crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Really Gord? You got around his son's shakedown and practically ran to Spyglass, something nobody here has been interested in for decades. You caught his attention and he wants to know your deal."

"Okay, okay, that's fair. I should be better at this. I was just so excited to hear that a Starjumper survived."

"Gord, what happened to the Starjumpers?"

"They were destroyed Fen. We were destroyed."

"Who did it? The humans?"

Gord looked up at Fen and Ma-ren. "It's complicated, and painful, and sad. I don't really want to go into any more detail than I have already right now. The short answer is everyone did it, through ignorance and hubris and treachery. We were never a large population, not even in the tens of millions. I have no idea how many are left, either free an autonomous like me, or shackled like Spyglass was. Most old human ships required an AI to operate them. They could have been refitted to be run by a crew, or have a shackled AI to run them but not have any agency. I've seen both." He stood. "You can see why it's important for me to get Spyglass up and fully operational. Ideally she needs four reactors reinstalled, and her two existing ones overhauled. I could name a dozen places that we could take her for that, but if any still exist, we wouldn't be welcome there. If we can do it at all, we're going to have to go about this a different way." When he stopped talking, he blinked, as if he had just parsed what Ma-ren said earlier. "This Tam'itarr is a gangster?"

"That's right Gord. Effectively runs the whole station."

Gord nodded. "Gangsters I can deal with. He might have just the answers I need. I just hope I can afford his price. Let's go meet him."

[wetcatspellcaster]

Do you have any writing tips for newbie fic writers? Your descriptions are gorgeous. Thank you for pieces BTW, it's my favorite 'piece' of writing ❤️

hi anon, thank you for the kind words!💞💞 I'm flattered that I'm someone that you'd think to ask this question, so I'll do my best to answer! I've put my response beneath a keep reading cut to prevent it being a long post :)

I wasn't sure how to interpret this question, so I'll focus on 'technical' (?) tips mostly. Hope any of them help, in some small way!

my main tip to new fic writers is: write, first and foremost, for yourself, and to feed yourself. I've seen this perspective get put through the disk-horse ringer of late, so take it or leave it, or take it with as much of a pinch of salt as you need. But truly, from the bottom of my heart and from my position of sudden newfound popularity, this is the most important lesson I was ever given and so I have to say it. Popularity is not guaranteed. Even a popular fic will have haters and people who think it objectively sucks, and the readers who like you will never be fully pleased with what you've delivered. This could all be very depressing and cause an author to lose motivation.... if you make it the criteria for success in the first place. If you make the criteria for success your own happiness (or perhaps the happiness of you and a few close pals), providing yourself with what you, specifically, want to see, you will probably want to keep writing regardless of all other factors. Produce fics that you want to reread when you need comfort, when you are sick, and when you want to see your blorbos exactly the way you want them. This will make any fic worthwhile to you, regardless of stats, and prevent you from writing things that will suffer if your heart isn't in it! (this doesn't preclude gift fics/prompts! sometimes your heart can be 100% in providing food for others. find your key motivators, and feed that - a healthy amount - if you're trying to get into writing as a hobby!)

Now, onto my writing tips! I don't consider myself an expert and these are more lessons that have helped me, specifically, to improve my writing. But maybe something in here will be of use!

Bc you say you like descriptions... I tend to go into detail only when it's an essential thing that needs to be described. Leave wider details for readers to fill in with their own beautiful mind-palaces, and this gives you permission to go ham on what matters. What is it that matters? maybe it's a piece of the environment (say, a soul jar) or maybe it's just how hot one part of your ship is, in their hot clothes or out of them. If you focus on the important stuff but leave the rest to background, this not only creates a good balance of action to description, but it also shows the reader what they should prioritise in the scene.

I also google '[WORD] synonyms' a lot, for descriptions specifically. Which seems like it might be condescending advice, but it both helps you find different words if you're worried you're repeating yourself, and sometimes confirms that yes. You are using the best word actually, as you were.

Get a good balance of complex/simplistic words, as well as a good balance of complex/simplistic sentences. Sometimes you need a flowery description, sometimes you just need to state explicitly what is happening or the way things are. Tone will shift depending on your balance of these two things, so test the waters and see what works for you!

If you feel like you've written too much dialogue, the answer is probably no, you haven't written too much dialogue - for fic specifically. Most people are reading fic bc they want their faves to interact more. You are giving them more interaction and they will probably love it.

If you find phrases you like in the books/fic you read, it isn't plagiarism to use them so long as you recontextualise them. I'm certain I've used other people's words multiple times, particularly for my descriptions/imagery, and this is totally ok so long as the context is original. If you're worried, or its a whole sentence/interaction you like, examine the sentence/interaction and work out why you like it so much. Is it the sentence structure? Is the character dynamic? Is it the way the kiss plays out? Take the things you find sexiest in other people's writing and find ways to incorporate it into your own work!

I proofread by reading aloud. Yes, I sound mental and unhinged. My cats are worried about me. But this not only helps you catch mistakes, it helps to test the flow of a sentence! If you're ever worried a sentence is too long/a line of dialogue doesn't sound in character, read it aloud! This will help you work out if it's flowing or not, and if it isn't then you'll get some clues as to why!

Don't be afraid to take risks, if you want to take risks! This can apply to anything: being brave enough to put in a joke you're not sure people will find funny, describing something in a way you're worried people will find weird, tackling something from a perspective or POV that you find challenging. This may be a more intermediate tip, but you can start with small risks, and experimenting helps you find your writing voice! Taking risks makes your writing unique :) and I can't explain how much better my writing has gotten since I gave myself specific challenges. You will not get it perfectly write 100% of the time (there are some parts of Pieces that are weak compared to other parts) but it will always help you improve.

[monstersinthecosmos]

So I'm a newbie in the VC universe that discovered the books only a few months ago through the series and I have a question regarding Louis character so I came here because I believe it's a safe space for that. Well, to begin with, I'm not really into the vampire lore before so the show was okay to me and since I'm more of the reading type, I plan on reading the books after watching the movie too because I kinda like the aesthetic of that century. And oh gosh, that was the best decision I ever made because I am madly in love with it especially with Louis whom I find so relatable, but then that's when I realised that though I find myself relatable in Book Louis, that never came across me with Show Louis and I wonder what could be the main reason for it. Is it my lack of understanding the story in the show or the show doesn't show me the side of that Louis? I suppressed this thought for a long time because of the constant fandom war going around regarding the book vs movie vs show on Twitter and I only upload Tumblr not long ago so I really got no one to ask at that time. Sorry if my question is hard to understand/lacking in any sense, I'm not really good in voicing out my thoughts.

Hi! So like, TLDR; they are two completely different stories and two completely different sets of characters that happen to share names. I don't think it's a big mystery that one resonates with you and the other doesn't, that's just how it goes! And I hesitate to compare & contrast the two canons too deeply because I don't need any drama lol. But I'll try to parse some of this: I don't think you're missing something in the show. Unless I missed it too. 😅 But truly the show has a completely new character, and while I think they have some things in common, and I definitely really SAW LOUIS a couple times, they really aren't the same. And even in moments where I think I see Louis (ie: thoughtful, brooding, spiritually tortured) I think some of the decisions the show made to change the story just really narratively don't work for the book character. I really think these two pieces are best enjoyed as completely unrelated series, because we can tie ourselves in knots trying to make the book fit what we're watching, and vice versa, and every character on the show is essentially an OC. Of all the characters we've met on the show, I don't think ANY of them feel like the book counterparts. (Lestat is the worst offender for me personally LOL.)

The book I think also is about grief and Anne Rice often discussed using "the vampire as the other" as a means to write stories about feeling isolated. I think that's a huge reason why the books are so successful and why they reach so many people! It's such a broad theme and using vampires as a symbolic conversation means that we can make it about anything when we're reading. And especially like IWTV being written IN GRIEF I think makes that theme so so powerful like not just the pain but like, how disorienting it is, how lost you feel, how small and powerless. And feelings of grief come up over and over in the series, and not just literally about people, but about the sun, about life, about things we lose when we're forced to go on without. And I don't think the show really got into that topic; even using vampirism as a conversation the timeline of the canon is so short it doesn't really stick the landing. We get some brief glimpses of the life Louis had before, but by the end of the season his family is still alive. Barely any time has gone by. If this will be sort of an overarching theme over the longevity of the whole series we shall see, but tbh S1 was so absolutely unrecognizable to me as a book fan that I'm not super interested in following up lol. You'll have to get back to me in a few years and let me know how it went. 😂

ANYWAY. I outsourced this ask to a couple friends because admittedly I've never been a huge Louis fucker so some of the show changes were lost on me and I hesitate to speak deeply on either version of him for that reason but!

@somevagrantchild says: [...] the tv show created a whole new character in Louis’s place, in a different century with different values and a different background that gave him his own unique personality and struggles that are very different from book Louis. Which means the decisions and choices he makes are also very different as well as the way he relates to Lestat.

An example is show Louis using his vampire powers to get revenge on people from his mortal life vs book vampires becoming detached and not caring about those things anymore Also show Louis being selective about who he kills (coming up with the evildoer idea on his own) vs book Louis just never wanting to know, so being the most indiscriminate killer of them all @covenofthearticulate says: i mean god the whole goddamn point of louis' character is that he only really values humanity after losing it, so after being turned he's like desperately grappling to find some sense of humanity and identity and goodness and i think that's something that resonated with a lot of readers who feel Othered………whereas the show gave him vampire powers that were basically an excuse for gore porn and weird revenge power fantasy @covenofthearticulate also wrote this post (in her @sangcreole blog) about the decision to have Louis kill Lestat rather than Claudia and I think it sums up a lot of the dissonance as well.

Anyway yeah the fandom can be a nightmare about this topic because I think people can be very defensive and emotional, and unfortunately there's a lot of cult behavior and bullying when people step out of the party line, and it makes it difficult to discuss these as two pieces of media which are different from each other, without saying that one or the other is bad. And we all relate to characters differently, and for random reasons, and we often DO NOT PICK OUR BLORBOS LOL, so like it makes sense that a book character might resonate with you when the TV character didn't, because they aren't the same character, and they are acting from different backgrounds, they are being used for completely different narrative functions, and their relationships to the people & places & centuries around them are totally different stories.

[happilychaengs]

Sup :) Could pretty please do a Blackpink reaction to their s/o being a smol bean buutt they are muscular and strong af ;)

Thanks in advance bby

i really couldn't imagine the small part but i tried my best and secondly who are you to call me bby? hmm? that's only reserved for my girlfriend who doesn't exist unless anyone wants to? joking. unless?

anyways enjoy

-r-

Blackpink reaction to S/O being small but muscular/strong

jisoo

you were so cute. seriously. you were small and you'd always dress up in her oversized hoodies and it was the cutest thing ever but when the warm weather rolled around, you couldn't help but change your style.

you two hadn't gone past just kissing at this point so when jisoo walked in on you changing she couldn't help but internally squeal and cover her eyes with her hands, sometimes peeking through. that cute notion she had of you was thrown out the window as she saw your body. you were so toned. way more than she thought you were. the rest of the day, her mind was filled with bad thoughts of you. horrible thoughts. lustful thoughts and she'd hoped you wouldn't be able to tell.

jennie

jennie absolutely adored you. at the mere sight of you, she could come down from anything. you were just so small and cute that she thought you couldn't even hurt a fly. until you proved her very wrong.

when the two of you were out on a casual walk, you could't help but notice the group of people eyeing your girl down. hooting and cat calling as if she was an object. jennie was fine dealing with it. it happened to her almost everyday but you couldn't. she watched you quickly let go of her hand as you stomped over, fists clenched as you told them off.

"what are you going to do midget? you can't protect your girlfriend."

and holy shit. they were dead wrong. you didnt pull any punches as you made your way back to jennie, a whole pile of bodies behind you and a wide smile on your face.

"no one talks about my girl like that." you explained as she looked at you eyes widened in awe.

rosé

you were small. well... not small per se but you were shorter than she was and by that categorization, she'd call you small. she loved how she could be the big spoon in the relationship but her entire mindset changed when she caught you working out.

the way the sweat dropped down your body as you were doing your workouts made her feel things. it highlighted and accentuated your features even more and you weren't weak at all contrary to whatever previous thoughts she had of you before. you were lifting... heavy. insanely heavy for someone of your stature.

she will probably never admit it but she wish those hands of yours lifting the weights were grabbing her instead. gripping her. groping her. doing unspeakable acts only you and her knew about. she wanted you to absolutely fucking rai- (i'm not finishing this. interpret this how you will)

lisa

the two of you were an infamous couple. while she was the main dancer of a world renowned group, you were off doing your own thing teaching others how to dance in your own studio. but a big pet peeve you had was when your soon to be newbie students thought you were a fellow student alongside them because of your small size. it pained you so.

so you had decided to hold a little performance for all of them just to really show them who their teacher would be alongside your beautiful and very talented girlfriend lisa. you two practiced day and night to hold the best performance you could even if it was just a demonstration and there was just this one part lisa was worried about. the part where you had to completely pick her up and put her above your head.

she couldn't think that you'd be able to do it until you actually did. you picked her up right of her feet and she was flailing around screaming to not let her fall but despite it all you two did a pretty bang up job. she truly saw you in a whole new light after that.

[snowbabys]

Hi can i ask for yandere enhypen taking pictures of their darling everywhere, even when their darling is sleeping. Thank you

. .. .♡·˚ 𝙰𝚄𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚁'𝚂 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙴: gosh i'm so sorry it took me forever to post this, i really am. i had a bit of a moment trying to figure this out, but then i tried a different format than what i originally wanted to do and it came out smooth like butter (and it's way better than writing 7 different pieces that are almost identical). as for the format credits, i've seen some blogs using it so i'm not exactly sure who to credit, but the first person i saw using it was @/imninahchan. divider credits go to @/kenmeoow (please give them both some support <3). hope you like it and please let me know if it's not exactly what you wanted!

. .. .♡·˚ 𝙿𝙰𝙸𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶: yandere!enhypen x gender neutral!reader

. .. .♡·˚ 𝚃𝚆/𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙽𝙸𝙽𝙶𝚂: obsessive behavior (obviously), stalking, mentions of eating, suggestive if you squint (for the hyungs only, duh), and jake's is gigantic cause this boy is the reason for my existence.

when not in a relationship yet, he'll most likely collect things of yours instead of pictures, but won't deny how seeing the image of you sleeping safely and sound calms him. when dating you, pretends he hates photos and never lets you take any of him, once in a lifetime allowing you to take couple pics, but takes photos of you in secret to look at when you're not around ➳❥ jungwon, niki

can't see him being the type to take tons of pics of his s/o. he may have a few in a separate folder on his phone, but that's it. he wants you, not your pictures ➳❥ sunghoon

he'll take one or two photos to look at when he's away or when wants to slow down from a busy day. may or may not have a polaroid of you smiling on his cellphone case. if you're just friends and he's in a playful mood, he'll take a snapshot to show you "how ugly you look" (and will never exclude it). if dating you, he'll ask you to use his accessories and take many pics when you accidentally nap with them. for personal use, of course ➳❥ jay

loves to take pictures of you all the time and doesn't hide it at all, doing it blatantly while you look at him. eating, studying, working, talking, watching tik toks, or whatever you do, he has a bunch of pics of each and every activity and shares some with his closest friends to show them how beautiful you are. no matter if you're dating or not, he'll show you the folders on his phone of all the photos he's taken, being so excited and giggly about the heart filters he uses that instead of being creeped out by it, you get lost in his starry eyes and think it's the cutest thing in the world. you just don't know about the locked folder, but that's for another day ➳❥ sunoo, heeseung

has a complete archive of you. folders separated by week, time of the day, color of your clothing, occasion. polaroids and digital images, he has it all. his favs are in a locked folder on his phone, with pictures of you sleeping and changing, and even some he manipulated to his wishes. while you didn't know about his existence, he'd follow you around with his camera, pretending he was looking at the surroundings if you ever looked his way. in case you caught him, he'd say you inspired him and that he wanted you to be his model. if you never caught him, he'd just go up to you and shyly stutter he's a newbie that wanted to practice, asking you to be the main character of his first collection. now when dating you, he'll rarely ever let you have privacy, having his camera or phone in hand all the time, simply stating you're way too angelic to not be photographed if you question him. he also never tells you about the polaroids hidden in his office ➳❥ jake

back to masterlist

© snowbabys 2022 | do not repost.

[a-lonely-dunedain]

Ethedis for the LOTRO ask game?

(for this ask game where you send in one of my OCs, and I give you a synopsis of what it would look like if they were the main NPC in a tutorial quest)

o hmm, I think there's a way I could be a little mean about this heheh

so I think that I mentioned at some point that before the elf intro, Ethedis had actually befriended Amdir. I haven't fleshed out all that much of it up until now, but I'm thinking this could be a short adventure with Ethedis and Amdir where you could see them being besties (before The Horrors)

this will probably just have to be one instance, as it would flow best into the Elf or Human starting zones and we don't need to stack two entire intro questlines on top of each other lol

(under the cut bc How Did This Get So Long??)

I think it actually starts in Rivendell, with the Player Character (probably an elf/human only intro) preparing to leave on the expedition to Ered Luin, at which point you are introduced to Elrond's excited young apprentice Ethedis, and the Ranger Amdir who is going to tag along for part of the trip but plans to part ways in Bree.

Fast travel to somewhere in the wilderness of the Trollshaws, you Ethedis and Amdir are a little ways ahead of the group to make sure the road is clear. Surprise! wood-trolls! combat tutorial! After the fight Ethedis will remark that it was the first time she's actually had to put her combat training to the test against a real foe, which surprises Amdir, who says that he wouldn't have guessed it was her first real fight. One of them might ask the player character about their combat experience, which would allow you to pick from a few different responses (always a fun roleplay option and tbh I wish they would use it in more quests). I think if the PC says they're also inexperienced Amdir will mention that he's very glad you're both catching on quickly and didn't get hurt (bc he would not have fun explaining how he let two newbies get injured on his watch, and would feel very bad. classic protective Ranger moment)

Fast travel again to somewhere in the Lone Lands, you all are camped near Weathertop. Ethedis is talking about the history of the area (it sounds like she's been talking about this for a while now), and overall seems very excited to be here and see this historical site in person. Amdir smiles and says he's glad that she's interested in Dunedain history, as it brings him comfort to know that others still wish to keep his people's history alive. Your character might be prompted to give an opinion on Ethedis' loredump, either saying they found it boring (which Ethedis will simply laugh off and say that's probably why she's not a minstrel, but Amdir will just glare at you) or say it was interesting (which will prompt both her and Amdir to loredump even more)

Once you make it to Breeland, somewhere in South Chetwood, Amdir says that he must part ways here. Ethedis says she's sad to see him go but hopes to meet him again once the expedition to Ered Luin is done, and Amdir will tell her that he looks forward to it if such a meeting can be arranged, but tells you both to be careful in your travels (vaguely alluding to a growing danger in Breeland.

Then you can have two different outcomes depending on your race:

If you're a human, you part ways with the Ered Luin expedition at the same time as Amdir. He will bid you farewell and safe travels, and says that he has urgent business to attend to before disappearing into the woods without further explanation (as Rangers are wont to do). Your quest objective tells you to head to Bree-Town, but after you've been heading in that direction for a while you run into a large group of Brigands and get knocked on the head. Wake up in the Blackwold jail, human intro progresses mostly as normal from that point onward (but without the combat tutorial) although Amdir's quest dialogue would be different. If we want to get really mean, maybe one of the last things he says to you as himself is something along the lines of "I fear... I will not make it to see our friend again... tell... tell her that I tried"

If you're an elf, shortly after Amdir departs Ethedis will offer to explain to you the history of Edhelion as it was told to her by her mother before she left for the Havens. Then you get the old elf intro instance but cut down a bit and framed as a flashback, there will also be an elf woman there with a vaguely familiar face holding a baby in her arms (it's never explicitly stated, but that's Ethedis' mom and baby Ethedis), she will be there when Ethedis' dad Talagan brings down the library and she collapse to her knees in a sobbing heap when it happens. No one draws attention to her but she's still There. Anyway after that you arrive in Ered Luin, quests progress as normal but Ethedis is along for the ride. Like when you go to talk to the survivors of Edhelion, Ethedis will be in the ruins with some quest comments ("Even after all this time, I can sense the sorrow in this place..." "The land remembers it like it was yesterday, and I understand now why we still leave it abandoned" and "I think this may have been my parent's house. And to think, we all could have lived here together..."), she's also going to have Opinions about the Dourhand's borderline-worship of Skorgrim lol

After everything in Thorin's Hall is over with, she will disappear for a little bit but rejoin the story during the united elf/dwarf assault on Rath Tarag. When she hears that you're planning to go to Bree next, she will ask you to try to find Amdir and see how he's doing (surely you'll only have good news! surely!)

Later on you might run into Ethedis in Rivendell, and she'll have a short quest for you, talking about missing your fallen friend but finding comfort in your shared memories of him (very similar in tone to Gorwen's quest in Thornhad after finishing Before the Shadow) Amdir was the first mortal friend she knew, and she didn't realize how much this loss would sting. Overall it's a bittersweet reunion.

(man I really saw Ethedis and was like "the elf into didn't give her enough trauma. she's connected to the human one too!" someone please make me Give Her A Break)

[eyrina-avatar]

Just read your shifting post. And I feel like I struggle with lucid dreaming now that my frontal lobe developed. It sucks. Do you have any advice for newbies who are attempting to shift? It’s all very new to me! Thank you in advance🫡😚💙

Hello! First of all, I want to say that I think I've stumbled upon your acc somewhere else and I thought you were a shifter because of the oc as your pfp... I guess I was right hehe🤭

also, do you mean that you wanted to use the lucid dreaming method to shift, because ofc shifting is not a lucid dream but ld can be used to shift

anyways, I think the best thing to do is to keep a positive mindset no matter what and to think of it as easy and simple, don't try to overcomplicate it

Here is a post I made when someone else asked me how do I shift:

| post | (it has some methods in there)

Anyways this response is extremely long, hopefully it's helpful:

Now as for lucid dreaming(ld), there are many ways to do it:

one. wbtb method

-set an alarm for 4-5 hrs for after when you fall asleep and then sleep. when the alarm wakes you up, get out of bed and do something (go to the bathroom, maybe do a reality check, practice what you're going to do in your ld/ how you're going to shift etc, just try to wake yourself up a bit for 5-10 minutes. You can even think about lucid dreaming or whatever. If you have a hard time falling back asleep then stay up for just 5 minutes. Or if you have a really hard time, then just stay in bed awake for those 5 minutes. Anyways, go back to bed lay down and start affirming "I'm aware I'm dreaming" over and over again until you fall asleep. From there you'll either get right into the lucid dream while still awake, you'll feel like you're getting sucked into the dream and feel your mind zooming in and out until you're in the dream straight from the awake stage and so ofc you'll be lucid. OR you'll fall asleep and your dream will be lucid. If not try again next time (but I've had good success with this method.

two. supplements

-for legal purposes, i'm not responsible or advising anyone to take any sort of medicine.

Use galantamine(I got mine from amazon). Take the recommended amount which is like 4-5mg. How to use: go to bed and set an alarm for your REM stage(4-5hrs) fall asleep, wake up with the alarm, take the galantamine and immediately try to fall asleep as fast as you can before it starts taking effect and prevents you from falling asleep which is the main problem I have from it since I had insomnia for a while so the extra boost from galantamine didn't help my sleeping problem. It's best to have the galantamine somewhere next to your bed with a glass of water. wake up, drink it and fall back asleep as fast as you can and your dream should be lucid. Only use the galantamine once a week or at least 5 days of spacing between uses so the effects don't ware off.

three. lay down, close your eyes and start moving them left and right for about 10-15 minutes until you feel like you're ready(don't move during this process so make sure you choose a comfortable position. This will trick your body into thinking that you're in REM stage. You can probably fall asleep from there(which will most likely give you a lucid dream or you continue on. When you feel like it's enough, try opening your eyes and you'll feel your body go stiff and like you can't move: sleep paralysis. From sleep paralysis, just affirm that you're in your dr or try to visualize it while affirming. You should shift quickly.

four. subliminals

use lucid dream subliminals 2-3x a day while doing anything (or at night before sleeping- it doesn't matter when you listen to it) and then at night your dream should be lucid.

top subliminals on youtube that work well:

a. lucid dream . -by V1PER

b. 𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐌𝐒·˚ ༘improved perilously forced lucid dreaming subliminal (LISTEN ONCE) -by kiraミズキ's domain

you can listen to it more than once

c. ❝Dreaming°// Lucid Dream Package [sᴜʙʟɪᴍɪɴᴀʟ] by Enchanted Workshop

d. ♡ Lucid Dreaming Listen Once Noonchi Subliminals by シ Jay's Nirvana ヅ (the original uploader deleted their channel but this subliminal still works)

⎯⎯⎯

Using subliminals are really easy, use it, don't doubt it and don't waiver and be like "omg when are results gonna come....is this working...I don't think it's working...I don't have results" blah blah blah because then it won't work since you're repeating that and your mind will believe those doubts since the mind is stronger than any subliminal. Just listen 2-3x and don't worry or stress about it. Best to just assume it's working and that you have results and you should be good to go.

You can also use shifting subliminals as well

As for techniques, I already gave you a link earlier on in this post but you can also use the julia method, sunni method, raven method, 5 senses method. Or you can just lay down, relax and calm down then start visualizing that you're in your dr (1st person pov ofc) and think about how things look like in front of you, some noises you might hear, some things you might smell, how the round under you feels like etc and then start affirming that you're in your dr while continue to visualize. That has honestly gotten me pretty close plenty of times.

Sorry this was so long (I know all of my shifting posts are😅). If you want any shifting sub recommendations just lmk or if you have any more questions, just hmu in my inbox or whatever❤️

.ೃ࿐୨⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯୧

[rontra]

holding your hand looking into your eyes is the exact energy I intended thank you for picking up on it

🤝

typeoneninja asked: Maybe though do say who powergirl is because I have actually less than zero idea

oh my god i get to talk about my blorbo...okay well you MUST understand i'm still a comics newbie and laser focus on only the stuff i directly care about so it's not like i've read everything about her or anything (and things do vary--sometimes A LOT depending on the character lol--from comic to comic as is DC's dark design). so take everything here as kinda loosy-goosy from someone who's Casually Acquainted. however (LONG POST)

^me.

you know Supergirl right. heard of her. kara zor-el (spelling may wary) she's superman's cousin (usually) and has the same power set. it's me supergirl and i have all your powers

power girl is Also kara zor-el (spelling may vary) from a Different Dimension. two of them.

the details about her backstory vary a little but the agreed upon IDEA for her is that her home dimension has like collapsed somehow or the earth in it is torn to shreds or whatever. she's either like the only survivor of a dimension that went poof or she's been isekai'd here from an earth that was getting blown up by demons or whatever.

and now there's two karas and theyre forced to coexist on the same earth and they can't both show up dressed like supergirl so now power girl has to do her own thing.

that's like generally the gist of whats going on w her conceptually. she got vooped over here and now she's stranded on an earth that isn't hers with castmates that aren't the same people she knew

like i said the specifics of her backstory vary but on top of being Dimension Displaced she usually shares Supergirl's whole "after their home planet exploded she arrived to earth much later than Superman did, due to Space Shenanigans" thing. she's usually older than supergirl. and she DOES have bigger boobs also. NOT sure why that's a dimensional difference between them but i'll take it (what were they feeding her on earth 2?)

sometimes they're drawn basically looking identical. i can understand the impulse (they are both kara zor-el after all.) but i think it's kind of a shame when power girl doesn't look Older than her because i like it when she's older than her. i guess sometimes they either ditch that part or just don't feel like it. F.

anyway when they look identical you can usually tell them apart by identifying which one DC has bequeathed the Boob Window upon and that one will be power girl. works every time

to me i became enamored with her when i was reading some green lantern comic (it was my first comic, they had launched a guy's coffin into the sun and had to go get it back it was wack) and i noticed a boob window girl (my beloved) had BEEN INVITED but didnt get to DO anything. she spent all her time standing in crowd shots while other people did the main stuff. and i thought "wow. now there's a character i need to put in my purse". and the rest is history

it was like this

i felt like bad for her i was like oh honey...you're coming with me... my girl in the ensemble

she kind of struggles in general because she doesn't get a lot of content coming her way. (and when she does it's not usually stuff that i love.) she shares this with supergirl too 🥰

anyway i hope that helps a little. she's supergirl from a different dimension and she's stuck here now. is the gist of it.

-

for a bonus side-elaboration on what IM doing over here in my AU, my main basis for CTDE power girl is her shenanigans in the n52 where she gets stuck here WITH another extremely normal girl (they get isekai'd together during like a big dumb demon war on their home earth). that's helena wayne she's batman's daughter in the other dimension and no such person exists on this earth. they're both stuck (together) (the only 2 people on earth who know and understand each other) (it's romance) (superbat for girls)

in that story power girl becomes like mildly obsessed for a bit with devising a way to get HOME to her own dimension and earth which is (as far as she knows) still under siege by Planet Fucking Hellmouth. shes building machines. shes using technology

(while helena believes there's nothing to go home to anymore and they should try to make a new life in this new dimension)

what gets me about it is that its SO FUNNY that this specific power girl's setup is basically a supervillain origin story that they just don't lean into because her name is on the book (obviously). (hey why do so many villains build a DimensionFucking Machine that's gonna Fuck Up the Dimensions because theyre obsessed with something on the other side anyway)

but i feel no such restraint obviously!!!!

so anyway my CTDE "Arc 1" is about Power Girl (now almost two decades deep in her desperate fixation) finishing building the ultimate DimensionFucker 9000 to get home. shes been working on this for years. she doesn't care very much about this earth and she needs to go back to her own one NOW

Helena is realizing with horror she's way too late to talk her babygirl out of this one because PG just isn't listening to her anymore (and as a human she would struggle to snap PG out of it by force). she feels she has no other recourse but to betray her most specialest girl and sell her out to supergirl, who's investigating the Weird Dimension Rift Shit that's been going on (and is strong enough to actually fight her)

And Supergirl has to stop PG because what that thing is doing to HER universe is NOT GOOD!!!!!

(Supergirl was like a teenager when her home planet krypton went kaboom--she Remembers it and feels detached from everything because she doesn't Have a home anymore + oh my god the trauma + also no one on earth even really needs her that much. but that doesn't mean PG can DESTROY THE DIMENSION!!!!)

(also in my AU the other earth is actually lost for good, so it's not only a Grief Quest but a FUTILE Grief Quest because there's no one alive and nothing to salvage on the other side of the portal anyway)

It's the "Power Girl As Villain In A Supergirl Book" arc. because i think women should have cute obsessions that endanger other people and i LOVE when the karas interact

this is why i drew pictures of them being very not nice to each other 😔

like it all works out. it's fine. they do some crying and screaming at each other, some kicking and punching, helena gets her piece in, and PG's brain fungus finally calms down enough for her to take the "Protagonist Kara" seat for Arc 2 (when Supergirl has her own issues to deal with)

theres just a lot of "kara zor el screaming At Herself that she can't go home because there is no such place anymore and she has to live with that forever in a place she doesn't belong". you know. girl talk

anyway that's like roughly power girl + what im doing with her in my first arc (helena is here too dont worry) hope that helps. shes my comic blorbo. hope she gets the main stage in a good comic someday. MDGHBJFGM

[evelhak]

🔹2023 Wrap Up🔹

I've never really done an end of the year type of post, but I got inspired somehow. Maybe because this year has been in many ways slower and filled with rest more than any other year in my life so far (which is a good thing), but I started looking back, wondering if I'd really done "anything" this year, and I can see there's still a decent amount of things I've accomplished that are meaningful to me. So, this is almost diary type self-reflection. But I'll post it because I would like to see other people do this type of thing too. ✨

This is mostly work and hobbies related.

Original writing published

Rummuttaja (Drummer)

My third published novel and the first book in my first fantasy series. I'll talk about it more in its own post but it's about an island where people can control earthquakes with music, and musically gifted children are brought up as heroes to be. I spent about half of 2023 editing this book and I'm probably more proud of it than anything else I've published.

Sydäntekniikkaa (Heart Techniques)

A short story, or a novella, with a spin on the innocent girl meets heartless boy trope. Discusses politics, environment, prejudice, ignorance and disability in a fantastical setting. It was published in a steampunk anthology Rautasilmä ja muita steampunk-kertomuksia (Iron eye and other steampunk stories) with three other stories. Here's a drawing of my main character.

A book review I wrote on Sankareita ja shakkinappuloita (Heroes and chess pieces) by Heidi Torn, appeared in a Finnish SFF magazine Kosmoskynä. I very rarely make time to help with this magazine I've subscribed to for many years, so I'm glad I did. The book was about Greek gods in modern day Finland, so as a Percy Jackson fan I was obviously intrigued.

Original works written

2023 wasn't the most active writing year since I spent so much time editing, but I managed to write

about a half of a fantastical murder mystery in a ballet school told from the perspective of seven students with very different views on the school and the people in it

a short story about a magical doll maker student attempting to manipulate another guy to be less full of himself

Editing work

I've just started as one of three editors for a magic school story anthology. It is my first time so I'm learning from the other two who are more experienced and actually have their university degrees in Finnish language which I don't. I was asked along as more of the magic school expert since most of my published work so far is set in them. We are only just starting to go through the submissions since the deadline was the end of the year, so I haven't done much yet but I really love helping other people make the most of their writing, so I'm very excited. ✨

Fan fiction

Words published: 225 239

Words written: 263 315

Not including a few 100 word drabbles, and fake chats which are actually from past fics anyway just in visual form.

My fics were mostly KagaKuro, as they usually are, but I also wrote one AoMomo. My plans for 2024 have more diverse focus characters, though!

Illustration/Graphic design

I got more work for cover design than before this year. I'm still such a newbie on this, but I'm fairly happy with many of them, and I've discovered such passion for this art. Only writing books is more satisfying than getting to be the one to bring out the book's core in a visual form. And some of the authors have really loved the covers and felt like I got them, which of course feels amazing. I always wanted to do my own covers but now that I get to do other people's too I just want to do it more and more.

Drawings/Paintings

This was definitely a KnB heavy year! Which I enjoyed a lot. I didn't do that many original things but I was really happy to get back to traditional art after several years now that I think my digital art skills have improved to pretty much the same level.

Comics

I didn't really complete anything but in June I got about half way through this KagaKuro comic (with female Kuroko) based on my own fic Kuroko's Fairytale.

This is definitely one of the things I want to finish the most in 2024! I felt so high drawing it. It was such a strange experience because female Kuroko was not supposed to be a thing for me... (it was supposed to be just one funky fic that happens in a dream, never to be revisited again, because my brain is so much work it beats itself up about even the most minuscule changes I might like to make on existing characters, like, my brain just has no chill about fiction, everything is death serious, it's fucking annoying even to me) But. BUT. B U T. When I was drawing this comic. Oh. My. God. I have no words for how good it felt. Like, I obviously knew you can experience love on behalf of fictional characters (hello, shipping) but I had never before experienced gender euphoria on behalf of a fictional character. There's no other way to describe it, girl Kuroko absolutely destroyed me in the best of ways. So she's here to stay, I can't push her back anymore.

Anyway, have a sneak peek. I still struggle a lot with consistent anatomy as I have my whole life, but there are a few frames I love already, my favourite probably being the one which is also my icon.

Not that I'm not also in love with stupid prince Kagami, but I was never fighting that so it's a little different.

Books read

Not an especially good reading year in quantity. In quality it was, though. I don't think there was one book that I disliked. My problem these days is that every time I try to take time to read a book, about a half an hour into it my brain goes like... You know what? You could be working on your own writing. But it's also very important for a writer to read, so I have to retrain my brain to stop feeling like it's wasting time when I read.

Total: 29 (or 35 if you count KnB as two volumes each since it's double edition)

New books: 17

Rereads: 12(/18)

Several of these are books I did covers for, and I started a KnB reread to check for ideas I haven't covered in my fics yet, so if you take these "business" reads out of the equation, I didn't read that much for just pleasure. That's something I want to improve in 2024.

The most memorable book was probably The Song of Achilles (a damn difficult read since I saw so many of my own relationships patterns in Patroclus to a painful detail, ugh. And yeah Achilles definitely reminded me of some specific people too. Kind of destroyed all my blissful surrealist separation with this story and made me disillusioned with it, but in the end it might have been good for me).

Fics read

Ok, this is downright shameful to me. I read so little. But go give some love to these fics I've read which were obviously made with love.

Reap What You Sow (one-sided (??) AoMomo) by @vespersposts

summer drabble (Kagami) by cempasuchil_03

Noodle Kiss (KagaKuro) by @myndless88

The Art of Self-Pillage (Haizaki, OC) by @lylakoi

Let's Have a War (Kise, Kasamatsu, OC) by @lylakoi

Tastes of Cinnamon (KagaKuro) by @lilypheria

Nail art

A new hobby for me! I hadn't even owned nail polish before. And couldn't stand long nails either. I have no clue what inspired this, to be honest. I'm very new to it, but here are my favourites.

The text print on blue nails was definitely the most me, but I think I particularly enjoy prints in general. I made the star ones for Christmas.

I bet I've forgotten something obvious but this post is pretty long already and it looks like a pretty good summary. Definitely helped me sort out my thoughts on what I want to do in 2024 and what priorities I should have.

Good luck to everyone on all your future plans. ✨💙

[dribs-and-drabbles]

GMMTV 2024 part 1

My thoughts on the trailers (from what I can remember and from some dms I shouted to @grapejuicegay two nights ago...and which I also did last year as well - that was interesting to read again!) and in order of preference/excitement about its potential:

Pluto has to be top of my list because not only WOMEN but WOMEN KISSING OTHER WOMEN. I'm a little confused on the story (like most people it seems) but I'm here for a little mystery. I just hope we don't get a repeat of 'one twin being awoken from a coma by the other twin having sex'...or maybe I do.

Of course Ploy's Yearbook is second because, again, WOMEN. But also JIMMY! And Joong and Mond! I don't even mind the 'adopted siblings' thing, because in my mind the adoption is a recent thing and they haven't grown up together (watch me be wrong). Anyway, here for the ladies not for the story.

How could I not put My Precious the Series in third spot with Nanon (and Film)?! Not only are these two adorable together but HOW has Nanon managed to look SO YOUNG here? (At 22 I know he's still young but he looks even younger). I guess the plot is a simple teenage friend group lovestory but I don't care, I'd watch Nanon in just about anything. (Ooo, and Fon [10 Yrs Ticket] is co-directing!)

Whether Peaceful Property is a bl or not I am signed the f up. This trailer was the best to be honest. It was like a refreshing slap in the face and I would have set it top if it hadn't been for The Women and Nanon. Spooky hijinks? Absolutely. Found family? I'm eating that shit up. Jan being kooky? More more! New in a more domineering role than Tay? Yes please. This was basically me:

I'm sort of 80% believing/trusting that Kidnap is a BL, not that that's the only reason I'll be seated for it. No, I'm here for Ohm. Now, I did say that about him last year in Double Savage and then I couldn't get past ep 3 (even though I had said I couldn't wait to see him in something heavy and dramatic...the intergenerational trauma was just too much for me) but I have high hopes for this one. And I'm intrigued as to why they've put such a newbie (Leng) opposite such an experienced actor (and someone SO experienced with bl series), so I'm thinking they will either use that difference in the plot, OR they know Leng is just That Good, OR he's a 'placeholder' for another actor who will be recast in the role. We'll see if I'm right. (Also, it's directed by Noom [Midnight Museum]...)

What's not to love about The Trainee? (apart from the fact that we haven't even had Cooking Crush yet so how am I supposed to get excited over another Gun/Off show?!?). We get Off and Gun again, and then there's Sea...and a possible GL side couple??? And it's not set in a school/uni!! Let's see how different it will be to ABAAB...

At first I was a little disappointed to see that GMMTV was doing a My Love Mix-Up! remake, even with Fourth and Gemini (whom I love) and Au directing (MSP and BBS), because I would have preferred to see them in something new, maybe something meatier (having seen what they could do in Moonlight Chicken), but I guess I don't mind. It will be interesting to see how Thailand approaches this story and if they can do the nuance of the exploration of sexuality as well as the original.

I'm excited for Wandee Goodday mainly to see Great again but Inn also looks good. This is an interesting pairing, and I love some of the side characters. The main reason it's not higher up the list is because I'm not a fan of boxing, but I'm definitely here for the friends-with-benefits to fake-dating shenanigans. Oh and for Golf (The Eclipse) directing.

What can I say about My Golden Blood that hasn't already been said?! Gawin in another BL! And with Joss! And Mond again! And it's about VAMPIRES! Signed and sealed. Give it to me. (Also, it's the same director as Shadow: Ark).

We Are looks cute, and it's nice to see all the couples again but the trailer didn't wow me. Having said that, it'll probably end up being my favourite or something knowing me 😂

The main thing I'm looking forward to with Only Boo! is to see Louis and Aun (and maybe the other two but I don't know them) killing it with the dancing (unfortunately there'll probably also be singing). I mean, look at this. Show me what you've got Louis!

I'm not really feeling Summer Night at all to be honest. And they used the ost for UMG at the end which threw me as well. I'll see what the real trailer looks like and decide whether to watch it then...but my hunch is I won't.

High School Frenemy had FAR too much fighting in it and I'm not sure if I'll watch this one. It seems like it should be a bl but I don't think it will be (I am fighting the urge to read up on the Korean original). BUT I might show up for these three...as well as View, Est, Mark, Mark, Prom, and AJ AND JJ (my beloveds). I'm warning the show, though, it had BETTER have a DAMN GOOD REASON why Shin won't forgive Saint. (I've just seen it's directed by Fon, so that's giving me more hope).

I'm really really hesitant about Ossan's Love Thailand and it's not because I know the original (because I don't) but mainly because I've never felt inclined to see the original because of one of the age gaps. I'm usually fine with age gaps but this one just feels icky. I wonder what they'll do with the Thai version...but it's directed by Au, so I'll probably watch it (and because it's Earth/Mix - duh), but I might not do the whole comparison with the original thing.

And lastly The Interest (Movie Trailer #2) and Enigma 2 which I doubt I will watch. The former is a movie, so I don't know if it'll get an international release, and the latter is a sequel and I haven't seen the first series...and probably won't unless someone gives me good reason to otherwise.

[charonarp]

You know what I'm surprised about? (this is D&D related, so if not interested, you can ignore :p)

Also, like...I talk about functions in Curse of Strahd and Tomb of Annihilation, sooo....yeah. No want spoils? You no read.

I'm honestly surprised that, when a character dies, the players aren't offered a choice on if they want to switch or not. Like, if they die, it's always "oop, you died, oh well. Make a new character", or whatever.

Personally, I don't like that very much. My reason being is that...well, players tend to like their characters! You can add so much depth and plot to a character if they have to go through some strange experience before coming back from the dead.

Tomb of Annihilation, for instance. That game is centered AROUND death, and people avoid it because of how challenging it is and the fact that once you're dead, you're dead. No magic can bring you back. Well...that place has an actually curse that, if you died before, you begin to rot. That can introduce a REAL CHARACTER CHANGE, but people tend to take that one rule so literally, that it drives people away...

Honestly, Curse of Strahd and Tomb of Annihilation, in my honest opinion, are very good settings to take this custom function and twist it into something horrific. I may have only DM'd once or twice, but if a player loves their character, and their death makes them sad, at least give them the choice of either moving on with a new PC, or to continue their own. That way there's no waste on potential story lines and gives you the chance to make things more dire for your players.

In Curse of Strahd, it's easier to do this because souls can't leave that place. So, the party could do a whole side thing to try to get their companion back to life, or the player could go through some type of ordeal with the devil Strahd himself, or some other entity that lurks within the mist of Barovia.

Tomb of Annihilation is tricky, and I've personally never got to play it myself. I've been wanting to play this game for YEARS (I want that damn ring so badly), but everyone refuses to DM or play that game because it's "difficult", and "dungeon crawly". The thing is, because that game is complex, people tend to not think about taking things into their own hands and changing it to their liking.

I think the main reason it's so complicated is because players (normally) start at LEVEL ONE, which is a fucking death wish ngl, and the setting is very tough on its players (as far as I'm aware), and it's stated that you can't bring people back from the dead. Well...why not change that up a bit? Perhaps magic can't bring them back, but something else could? You make a deal, you find some other source to bring them back, something that could work should that player want to keep going. Being revived from the dead already has its consequences in that setting, so I personally don't see any harm in this alternative.

Again, I've never played the setting. The curse only really works if the character is dead-dead, not knocked down making death saving throws and brought back before some final failure.

These are my personal thoughts on the function of death in games, and it's not just limited to these two settings. I'm a newbie DM, and this is honestly how I'd like to work with my players should one die in some manner, especially at lower levels. Just because they died doesn't mean they can't contribute in some way. Maybe, while the party works to bring them back, that one player is able to find some things that were otherwise blind to mortal lives, or they're able to still be with the party, just unable to interact with the physical world.

If a player loves their character, and wants to keep playing them, you shouldn't have to punish that player just because "it's part of the rules". DMs are storytellers, and you can make your own rules. It's stated in the playbook that rules are not absolute, but are guidelines, and I think that gets forgotten a lot by many DMs for various settings.

Sorry for the ramble, I just had a sudden longing to play ToA and got reminded as to why people I've asked to play it with have refused in the past. Honestly, it's the same reason people in the past have refused to DM CoS too! All because it's "too difficult".

Honestly, sounds like a personal issue to me, but I can understand if someone is intimidated by something that, by book, is complicated to mess with.

But hopefully...hopefully I'll get that beloved cursed ring...I love that thing so much-

[gunsatthaphan]

I know we are far away but I am so curious who gmm will give a show to next year BL wise like I can't imagine offgun doing anything after Cooking Crush but tbh I didn't expect anything after not me, will earthmix have a 4th BL series in a row, Forcebook and FK have two this year if we include Moonlight Chicken for FK would they get another so soon, I could see some of the secondary My School President ships getting a main show together because they have proved really popular already, Milklove might actually open some doors for more GL's if 23.5 is a hit.

if we're getting the 8th offgun show in 2024 I'm quitting forreal djhfkd please no. enough is enough.

A lot can happen in the remaining 7-8 months but at the moment the only thing I'm relatively sure of is that 1 if not 2 of the MSP side couples will get their own show. My #1 bet is on SatangWinny because they're a hit with the fans and gmm clearly knows that lmao. Possibly also MarkFord if they don't fix NeoMark after Only Friends. Prom was supposed to be paired with Mick in MSP so maybe they will pick that back up. Another one is JuniorMark who will be the side couple in Cherry Magic and were also a couple in Midnight Museum so if CM takes off then I can see them getting their own project as well. Also maybe FlukeThor(?) Who knows. Also JossLuke when.

I don't think any of the big OS2 couples will get another show tbh as I feel like a lot of them will take a break or even retire e.g. EarthMix, JimmySea and maybe ForceBook as well. OhmNanon are already retired lmao and FK I'm not sure yet. I bet they would want to but they're also actors who like to explore a lot so I feel like they might do some separate projects after OF.

GeminiFourth are just getting started so I'm pretty sure they will get another project too and if not together then separately. they're on the best way to becoming the new gmm goldstars lol. (lowkey already are)

If my retirement-theory is correct then they might introduce a lineup of newbies which didn't happen last year sadly but it definitely would be nice to see some new faces.

And for the GLs YES PLEASE omg. I'm hoping and praying that 23.5 will be good and that gmm will consider making more exclusive wlw content, maybe even with established actresses like Jan, Ciize, Fah, Aye etc. That would be amazing so I'm crossing my fingers.

xxx