#no idea if i'll get around to playing it before i lose interest XD

[simsmadegeeky]

Just wanted to put out a quick note letting y'all know that retexturing all the default hairs in the sunshine system is not done and I will eventually be back at it.

I'm one of those people who often goes through intense periods of fixation before it tapers off either temporarily (TS2) or forever (Starfield). I can guarantee without a single doubt in my mind that I will always eventually get back to TS2. I've been playing it for almost 20 years at this point and I always come back.

I can't say when I'll be back to retexturing hair as I don't have much control over when the fixations end or begin.

But I wanted y'all want to know that I am still here and, I promise, I will eventually be back to retexturing. Thanks to everyone who follows me and likes my posts; it really does make me smile to see that people like my retextures.

[1unpaid-intern]

Ok so I'm kinda new to tumblr, but I just can't get this fanfic idea out of my head. So since I'll probably never write this/ lose motivation half way through, I might as well share it.

Soooo I've come across a really good ghost/calamity xie lian AU fic (Dark Sword, White Flower by Luna04 on ao3 if anyone's interested) and I've come up with my own take on that premise, because it's just so intriguing.

(English is not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes)

Also spoilers for tgcf (obviously)!

Almost all fics I've read make it so Xie Lian dies in the coffin Lang Qianqiu put him in, but even though that'd be pretty cruel (and would therefore make sense in universe xD) I just don't buy it. Jun Wu specifically wanted to make life as painfull as possible for him both psycologically and physically. Xie Lian getting stabed through the heart for decades would be a dream come true, so he definetly wouldn't let him die. Because if you ask me, he definetly knew. As white no-face he was stalking XL constantly and you're telling me he just stopped after his second banishment? XL was still suffering, since his luck got sealed away, so you bet that he's been watching him day after day while eating popcorn and going like: serves you right little sh*t (because we all know he's petty like that).

Instead I'd have XL die trying to stop the human face disease from raining down on Yong'an. In the original Wu Ming sacrifices himself, but what if no-face stops him by scattering his soul. XL then makes the ultimate sacrifice and even though all those resentfull spirits should kill him no matter what, in order to make it a little bit more poetic let's say that right before he gets hit, XL ascends for the second time since he regained his morals and tries to make up for it. (In the process he also breaks his shakle. And I know that you're supposed to also be imortal as a god, but Shi Wudu got killed by having his head ripped off and I just have this head canon that XL would be fine after that because JW just won't let him die.)

Now the "problem" that arises with this premis instead of the coffin-death is that JW absolutly knows about XLs death. If he lets the rest of heaven know that, it'd eventually reach Hua Cheng. Aaand oh booooyyyy. If he found out that his god not only died, but none of the other gods, not even the emperor himself, prevented it by helping him, the temples of those 33 gods wouldn't be the only thing on fire. Because think about it, the reason HC keeps on living is XL, but if he thinks he's gone, then the only thing that'd keep him going is revenge. HCs end goal would then be to become strong enough to even kill JW.

But I can also see this playing out differently. We know JW wants XL to follow in his foot steps and become a calamity, therefore needing to become a ghost (as he says when they're both trapped in the Kiln). So he'd definetly consider the posibility of XL becoming a ghost. Considering the guy has a sword for everything (looking at you virginity detecting sword) I could imagine that he also has one that can tell if somebody's soul is still wandering around even though they're dead. Obviously JW would want to find him and turn him into a calamity. But if he a) tells the other gods that XL is a ghost then atleast Feng Xin and Mu Qing would also be looking for him or b) only tells them that he died then somebody might get the idea to use the aforementioned sword and leading us back to a). So the most logical thing would be for JW to just lie about XL getting banished a second time (similar to how it originally went down).

While I like both scenarios, I'm kinda leaning towards the second one with JW lying, because as soon as XL ascendes for the third time he's gonna be hella confused why nobody is freaking out about him showing up in heaven, followed up by him becoming suspicious of JW.

One thing I've been thinking about a lot was what's special about XL as a ghost king, what differentiates him from the others. HC got his red robs, silver jewelry, blood rain, wraith butterflies, E-Ming and power over luck. He Xuan has his black robes, great acting skills (seriously give this man an oscar), never ending hunger, skeletton fish and power over the seas. Qi Rong (while only having the title of a calamity and not actually being a ghost king) has his green robes, green fire locks and his habit of trying to imitate the other calamities (e.g. hanging corpses & eating people). Bai Wuxiang has his simple white burial robs, the iconic half-crying half-smiling mask, a spirit calling cloth flag, Fangxin aka Zhu Xin, manipulation and the power of the human face disease. Things I've seen a lot in other fics and that I completly agree on are: XL can turn his nails into long claws (similar to Lady Dimitrescu I'd imagine), he doesn't want to be found so he shape shifts a lot and he helps out the common people, especially children and mothers (since trying to help others and making up for his past mistakes is basically all that keeps him going). While these characteristics are great, they aren't enough to make him stand out yet. One idea I'm really proud of is to make XL a puppet master. Because correct me if I'm wrong, but the only "ghost typs" we ever were introduced to were sentient weapons, possed objects, humanoid ghosts, ghost animals, water ghouls and puppet masters. And just imagine XL using threads and puppets to fight in addition to Ruoye. Like, imagine him fighting similar to Sasori from Naruto, the Spider Demons from Demon Slayer or ErrorSans from the Undertale AUs. I also think he should stick with the burial cloths he was wearing as white no-face (maybe with some blood on them to make it more creepy) but obviously adding his signitur bambu hat with some flowy long vails.

I wouldn't change to much about he whole XL posing as the Yong'an goushi backstory. I would only have it so Lang Qianqiu finds out that his goushi was actually a ghost king and XL fleeing so he isn't stuck in a coffin for decades. That way when LQQ finds out about XL being his goushi, it also serves as the big reveal.

I'm not so sure what to do with the Banyue kingdom backstory though. I would like for XL to take Ban Yue as his little adoptive daughter, but if he went back after the kingdom was destroyed, then woudn't he take care of Kemo and the other ghost soliders right there? That would lead to Little Pei never luring people in, therefore erasing the entire Banyue arc and I don't know how to feel about that. Yes, not much would change, were it to play out, but that's the first time XL meets the "earth" and wind master. Also JW led them to Banyue pass (and also to the ghost bride) in order to damage Pei Mings reputation, so he'd lose believers and therefore would be easier to beat later on and that's kinda important. Not to forget he used a puppet for that and with XL as a puppet master he'd definetly be able to get more info out of it, leading to raising his suspicions again.

Aaaaand that are all the ideas I have so far, also my fingers hurt from typing.

Maybe I'll continue this some day, since I probably won't stop obsessing over this AU any time soon. (Also if you know similar fics please let me know, I feel so starved rn)

[bard-llama]

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

12. Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

Oooh, good questions! Thanks for asking!

Hmmm. For 3 - I have this pattern where I think I'll never write a trope and then end up taking it as a challenge to write it my way. So... not sure there's actually one I wouldn't touch - but also, feel free to send me trope ideas and I'll see if I can spin them to my liking lol

7 is haaaaaard, so I'll do 12 next XD Honestly... I guess The Blue Spirit episode just for the potential of what it gives us? Like, the realization that this antagonist character who is loud and shouty and fiery can also be this sneaky, stealthy person who HELPS the protagonist... I mean, I'm also an enemies to friends/lovers fan, so this episode gives that some juice. But in general, I enjoy s1 AUs and playing with how things could go differently

(One of) My Favorite Piece(s) of Prose

Okay, so my memory is fleeting and I have a LOT of writing out there (like... 470 published fics between my accounts + a billion WiPs), but an atla fic that I keep coming back to is Wan Shi Tong's Uninvited Guests and I think it's 'cause there's still potential for more even though it's done. But I really like this scene (kind of long, so under a cut) and I think it's because like... it's really the epitome of who Aang is, to want to befriend everyone and bring peace and joy to the world. And also, I love Zuko's dubiousness over the frozen frogs as medicine lol

(oh my god, I despise tumblr and their stupid editor that they force you to use now and I can't make this idented without losing ALL the spacing so.... sorry)

Aang pulled back slightly, not releasing him. “Do you remember when I asked if we could’ve been friends a hundred years ago?”

Zuko was vaguely aware of the Avatar’s friends startling, but all he could do was nod, still baffled by it.

“I meant it,” Aang said. “It’s not a hundred years ago, but we’re friends now. I’ve decided.”

Zuko stared. “I… don’t think that’s how it works?” He wasn’t actually sure, given the only real friend he’d ever had before had been his cousin, Lu Ten. Even Mai and Ty Lee were Azula’s friends before they were his. 

“No, it is,” Aang said, not an ounce of uncertainty in his voice. “You’re mine now.”

Sputtering, Zuko tried to find words, but there really were none. 

“Aang,” Sokka groaned, slapping a hand against his face. “You are not supposed to adopt the guy trying to capture you.”

“Why not?” Aang asked, genuine. Sokka appeared no more capable than Zuko was of finding the words to explain the absurdity that was the Avatar deciding to befriend Zuko. 

There was something kind of flattering about that, but Zuko didn’t understand why. Why would the Avatar care about him!?

“Because I can,” Aang said simply, grey eyes meeting his gaze directly. “Because you deserve to have friends and I want to be one. Because I think you’re interesting and I like you and I want to get to know you.” Aang shrugged, smiling slightly as he concluded, “because you’re Zuko.”

Zuko… had no fucking clue how to react to that, so he kind of just froze.

Aang’s smile widened and the arms around Zuko’s torso tightened. “It’s okay if you’re not ready to respond yet,” Aang said quietly, looking so ridiculously earnest, “but I’m gonna show you what it means to have a friend.”

“You – what – why?”

“Because someone should and I want it to be me,” Aang said. 

Zuko blinked rapidly, trying to process that. “...you do remember the part where I chased you all over the world, right?”

“I do,” Aang nodded. “I also remember the part where you saved me.”

“Wait,” Katara and Sokka shared a look, “what!?”

Zuko flushed. “I was helping myself,” he mumbled, embarrassed. 

“So?” Aang shrugged. “You still saved me. Even if you do the right thing for the wrong reason, you’re still doing the right thing. That matters.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Twinkletoes?” the new earthbender girl said. Uncle had said her name was… Tough? That didn’t seem quite right.

“It was before we went to the North Pole,” Aang said, not releasing Zuko. “I got captured by Zhao, and Zuko saved me.”

“What!?” Katara sounded worried, but Sokka looked more angry. “Where were we!?”

“You were sick!” Aang said into Zuko’s chest. It was kind of weird to have someone clinging to him who was talking to someone else, but for some reason, Zuko wasn’t struggling to get free. “I had to get frozen frogs for you to suck on to cure you!”

There was a moment’s silence as they all processed that and then Zuko’s face scrunched up in disgust. “Is that what the frogs were about!?”

“Yeah!” Aang nodded vigorously. “They were medicine!”

“...are you sure about that?” Zuko couldn’t help the dubiousness in his voice, but that sounded seriously sketch.

Aang laughed, squeezing his arms around Zuko’s torso for a final time before stepping back. He was smiling brightly and Zuko really didn’t understand why.

“So…” Sokka drawled, “what happens now?”

Zuko sighed heavily, rubbing his face. That was the question, wasn’t it?

He glanced at Aang, but Aang just looked back with a smile, as though totally confident in what Zuko would pick. Why!?

Part of Zuko wanted to attack just to prove him wrong… but really, what was the point? His Father had declared him a traitor and had sent his sister after him to bring him home in chains. Did the terms of his banishment even matter anymore?

And – and if they were right and Father really was wrong… then how could Zuko bring this child who declared friendship with his enemy to the man who would burn him without remorse?

He sighed again. He’d always been a disappointment to his Father, and that wasn’t likely to change soon. But he’d told his Uncle he’d be back, and he tried not to disappoint Uncle. He wasn’t very successful, but… 

He had to try. Uncle was all he had left in this world, and he had to try.

“I left my Uncle in the Misty Palms Oasis,” Zuko said quietly, not quite looking at them. The unspoken admission that he was letting them go was heavy in the air between them.

“Okay,” Aang said. “Do you want a ride?”

Zuko blinked and the Avatar’s companions yelped his name. “What?”

“Do you want a ride?” Aang asked. “I guess we could walk, but Appa would be much faster.”

“...what?”

Aang smiled slightly. “I told you. You’re mine now. You’re not getting rid of me.”

Why did that sound vaguely threatening?

“So,” Aang continued, “do you wanna ride on Appa?”

Honestly, he did. He really, really did. But he couldn’t give in that easily. 

“Don’t you have Avatar stuff to be doing?” he asked. 

“Spreading peace and joy and love,” Aang grinned, “that’s Avatar stuff!”

Zuko had no idea what to say to that. 

“C’mon, come try riding Appa!” Aang encouraged, tugging on the rope that still bound them. 

Zuko sputtered, feeling like he should protest. But… he didn’t really want to walk across the desert when there was an alternative. And the alternative involved flying. 

So he was maybe a little bit excited when he gave in and let Aang drag him up into the saddle. 

“Yip yip,” Aang said even though no one was actually steering the bison. Appa lifted from the sand and as they rose upwards, the air around them seemed to cool slightly. The wind blew through Zuko’s hair and he could see around for miles, and while there was nothing to actually see, it was still incredible.

This entire day had been like sailing through a tsunami, but even though Zuko didn’t know what would happen next, it was somehow easy to let himself lean into the wind and allow the tension to uncoil from his spine.

[crimsonbluemoon]

Crimson's Current WIP Masterpost

Okay, so I am having a hell of a time getting my head on straight with my writing. I have so many ideas and thoughts regarding what I want to write, from old stories I never got around to write for other fandoms, to new ideas, to stories that are currently 70% written but I can't figure out what to do with it. So, to just update people on why I keep talking about writing but not actually producing anything, I figured I'd throw them out here to prove I'm actually trying XD

If you wanna hear about any of these or have questions, don't hesitate to ask. Bouncing ideas always makes me writer better. Some of these concepts I just need a wall to throw ideas at and see if they'll stick.

Just a Thought

FBI story: George and Karl become key witness for an FBI case, which puts their lives in danger. George, in danger of losing his visa if he doesn't finish his grad school dissertation, refuses to go into protective services. Enter Agent Dream and Sapnap, tasked with making sure the two don't get murdered before the case. Status: Super early process, random thoughts but no way/shape/form of actual plot/outline.

Autoshop story: George doesn't even own a car, so how does he keep running into the cute annoying autoshop owner? Simple: his friends are idiots. Status: Basic ideas of each of the interactions, but no concrete outline.

Dating SIM Game: When a new rp/dating game releases, everyone is obsessed with unlocking the creator's 'hardcore route'. George has no interest, only agreeing when his boss makes him write an article on 'DSMP'. He plays it, focusing more on the mysterious narrator, Dream, than the storyline. After the final interaction in the game, an 'error' pops up on the screen before all the servers go offline. Annoyed at the bugged game, George goes to bed, planning to return it.

And then things get really weird. Status: Ehhhh *wiggles hand* I've had this thought for years and years, but never been my main focus. Just in bare-bone thoughts. Torn between two very different routes I want to go with this one, so its hard to create an outline without knowing which one I want to do.

The Captain: Mr. Beast hosts an IRL MCC sort of event for DSMP members, with groups of 5 lettering the Feral Bois play together. Dream is chosen to be their captain, but some comments online and his own anxiety about IRL meetings makes him question their choice. Cue wholesome shenanigans. Status: Not sure if I'll even write this. There's really just one scene from this idea that haunts my dreams.

Rollercoaster: George is an up and coming songwriter who works with country newbie Sapnap at 404 studios. When writing a song about a summer romance five years ago, he catches the interest of a fellow masked songwriter, Dream, from XD inc. When Dream's singer, Karl, and Sapnap go up against each other for new artist of the year, George (sorta) meets Dream, and the two instantly connect. Too bad everyone seems to have a secret. Status: I'm really in love with this idea, have a playlist and everything going for the songs being used, most of the concept is done but the outline is still in the works.

Outlines Only

Homerun to my Heart: Karl is a single parent who is raising Foolish after Foolish's mother died in a car accident. Sapnap is a designated hitter for the Red Sox who has to 'clean up his image' after being arrested the year before. When Quackity posts a video of Foolish playing ball with Sapnap's t-shirt and gushing about his dream to meet the designated hitter, Karl doesn't think anything of it. That is, until Twitter does its thing with cute stories and the all-star replies. Status: Stole this from an old moodboard I did years ago, so the outline is pretty much done.

Merman story: George is a merman prince who is poisoned and left to die as a human on the shores of Florida. Dream is a struggling artist helping Sapnap run a souvenir shop while he decides what to do with his life. The two cross paths one early morning, and its up to Dream to figure out how to save George from his dismal fate. Status: Same as the previous one. Totally stole it from an old moodboard, and I always wanted to write it, but never got the time. Outline is done, story not started yet.

Bar Karaoke story: Secret Youtuber Dream finds guitar playing George at a bar doing karaoke and falls in love. This is the awkward (yet hilarious) story of how, with some 'help' from his friends, Dream tries to court him. Status: Whole outline done, not a single word written for the story itself.

First chapter land

Can't See Jealousy, I'm Colorblind: Everyone knows Dream 'simps' for George; it's half the reason their fans ship DNF so much. George doesn't mind, knowing their feelings are totally platonic. So when George sees a video of Dream acting similarly with another Youtuber, he shouldn't care. He shouldn't feel his breath stop, heart drop, stomch turn cold. George should be fine with it. Funny thing about the word should. Status: Outline is done, few pages into the start of the story.

The Four Fs: George has never gone all the way due to a sexuality crisis in college and Youtube distracting him afterwards. He decides he wants to change that, and who better than his more experienced best friend and housemate, Dream? But Dream has some concerns, and so the deal is set: They'll go through the 'four F's', and if George doesn't change his mind by his own birthday, Dream will have sex with him. Status: Outline all done, and a few pages into the first chapter.

Year of Love: George gets broken up with before New Year's Eve. While trying to process his feelings, George finds Kinoko cafe, a new shop down the street from his job. He meets the owner, Sapnap, and a man named Dream that he accidentally loses a bet for. Follow his year of feelings and flirting, told by holidays. Status: Outline is done, I believe three holiday visits are finished. But there's like, ten or so in total so it's not even close to done.

On our way!

I Don't Dance: Sapnap doesn't dance, until he meets Karl. (Or the 6+1 about Karl and Sapnap being in love through dance) Status: Four of the seven chapters done. Chapter five has given me a hard time so I'm stuck. >.<

Redolance: Rework of the Redolance story I started pre-pandemic. Basically, what happens to the DSMP crew when a virus hits that changes how all facets of society function based on their scent. Status: Reworked idea, plotlines, character points, and have about 13 chapters done. Only two relationships in the story, but the whole DSMP crew is intertwined.

So that's my list. Wow, I have way more ideas that I thought I did. >.> Anyways, if any of these really tickled your fancy or you want to see done before the rest, let me know. I'm trying to dedicate time to the ones closer to being done or at least started, but some of the others (*cough cough* Rollercoaster *cough cough*) are totally taking over my brain.

Will update this each month to let people know where I'm at! ^.^

[ariparri]

Veruca Then vs Now

Hello! Not officially back because I'm still taking my break from here but I wanted to share this. As the title suggests, I will be sharing all the things about Veruca that I've changed throughout the year. I recently started looking back on Veruca's character on when I first made her and realized just how different she is to the Veruca everyone knows today.

Not sure how many facts I'll be going over, but this will be interesting. Let's get started!!

Before officially becoming a Hogwarts Mystery OC, she was made for the Golden Trio Era. She was three years older than the trio and hung around isolated places such as the astronomy tower or the owlery.

Veruca was originally a daughter to deatheaters but was later disowned when she refused to follow in her family's path. She was then forced to become a deatheater when they ambushed her during the attack at the Quidditch World Cup.

Veruca was originally supposed to be shipped with Carson but I ended up liking some characters a lot more than I initially thought. And now I can't view the two as anything BUT siblings.

Veruca's old concept design had her with slightly tanned skin with black hair. And you can't really tell from the image, but she also originally had fiery orange eyes. Clearly different than the Veruca we're all used to today.

Veruca's personality had her much more colder and intimidating due to her being a daughter of death eaters and then eventually disowned by them. She also preferred being alone, even telling Carson she didn't want any rumors about him going around. She was also much more moodier than how she is now, quickly losing her temper at the slightest thing.

She was originally skilled at 'dual wand wielding' after stealing someone else's wand and practicing with both of them. That was later swapped for wandless magic.

She originally hated her brother Coby. Their relationship wasn't exactly great. With Coby being the pride and joy to their mother, was always being neglected by her mother. Veruca's relationship with her mother was very bad. Wilhelmina outright telling her that Coby was the only child she was proud of and that Veruca was merely a child who kept making mistakes. The neglect made Veruca desperate for her mother's affection that when Coby went missing despite being happy about it Veruca didnt hesitate to try to find him hoping that by finding him her mother would love her. Now her relationship with her mother isn't entirely great now, but it's clearly a lot better than before. Wil does love her daughter, but as an Irish woman, they tend to favor their sons more.

After changing Veruca's backstory, she was also going to have an older sister named Cerise. Technically that was a placeholder name but let's roll with it. She was disowned and never mentioned by the family due to her psychotic and sadistic view. Veruca never liked her as she was always physically or verbally abused by Cerise. During the search for Rakepick in the forbidden forest, instead of her showing up Cerise does leaving Veruca frozen in her spot. She tried to fend Cerise off but eventually fell short when Cerise casted a spell towards Rowan to distract her before Cerise casts a spell strong enough to send Veruca flying back badly wounded that she needed to be sent to St. Mungo's for recovery. This was now changed to be more of an au and the original storyline was scrapped.

Veruca runs away from Hogwarts and everyone after she couldn't take any more of the dangers and stress from searching for the vaults, and the fact her friends were slowly turning their backs on her after hearing them talking about how much she just needed them for the vaults or how she didn't really care about their feelingswith the exception of Carson. This was scrapped in favor of the one now, this is now an au idea instead.

Veruca was planned to die within the final vault where she materializes into nothing right in front her friends' eyes. Has now become an au idea. And a drawing idea

The original idea for the final vault was to have Veruca sacrifices herself from her friends' memories so they no longer remember her. She doesn't bring herself to interact with them again, and would rather suffer alone with her own memories of everyone else. Also now has become an au idea in favor of her story now.

Veruca was also supposed to have another sister for her deatheater backstory. Her name was Heidi and she was 8 years younger than Veruca. Their relationship is a little rocky as they used to be close when they were younger but Heidi was always told not to play with Veruca. When Veruca was disowned, Heidi was told Veruca had betrayed the family which angered her.

———————————————

Well, that's all the things I was able to recall for Veruca's past concept. I'm sure there was more hidden in my memories somewhere but these were the ones that I remembered the most

I definitely like how Veruca is now as compared to back then. She has definitely gone through a lot of changes throughout the year. And I'm glad that there are people who actually like her character! I was a little worried about that honestly xD

I'm also working on a new post regarding genderbent Carson and Veruca. And maybe I might also make a Then vs Now post for Carson too!

What are your thoughts on Veruca's character back then? Do you like her now or did you find her past portrayal interesting? Do you have anything to share about your MC from how they were when you made them to how they are now? I'd love to read about them.

I'm just gonna tag this as #MC Then Vs Now for future reference because I know I'll make a similar post for other characters of mine =w=