#the style changes so much I-- time difference what can i say)0)

[apllecrash]

i miss them (((

[astrow1zar6]

Astro Observations-32

Gemini moons have very unstable opinions and values. They usually change what they believe in based on their social environment. It’s very easy to convince them it’s this and not that if you’re convincing enough. These constant changes can make people confused in what they actually believe in. Very rare they have fixed beliefs about something. They contradict themselves a lot.

Gemini suns if underdeveloped can be big copy cats. I think they do it as a way to fit in so they’re more susceptible to changing their style or mannerisms based off of others they inspire to be like

Aries suns get triggered by everything very easily. If you say something they don’t like or that offends them they can take it from 0-100 real quick. They can be very mean at times but that’s usually their defense mechanism for feeling hurt. They can let wayyy to much things get to them they should learn to not take things so personally even if they are offended (this goes for Aries moon as well!!!) Controlling their reactions to how they deal with bs can help their mental peace a lot. When they learn not everything needs a reaction they can really become some bosses fr

Pisces/12th house placements show different versions of themselves based off of the persons vibe their interacting with. Which is why some ppl can see them as quiet and reserved and another person can see them as hot headed and loud and another can see them as sweet and outgoing etc. They can read ppls energy very easily which is why I believe they’re able to subconsciously change their personality to certain ppl as a defense mechanism to sorta see if that person is safe enough to be their true selfs. This can be why a lot of ppl see them in so many different lights. (Ex: my brother has a 12th house stellium and with family he’s extremely awkward & reserved but I’m his school he’s extremely popular & social and gets in trouble for talking too much). Learning to be more comfortable showing ur true self to others (other than the people they see as safe) can help others pin point better the person you are.

Cancer moons are so emotionally intelligent it’s insane

I notice your moon sign acts more like the stereotypical sign then your sun sign (ex: Scorpio moons act more like stereotypical Scorpios then Scorpio suns)

Leo moons are very passionate ppl. They want to live the intensity of life & they live it like that. That’s why ppl mistake their behavior for exaggeration & drama. These are actually their feelings they don’t exaggerate they truly feel that intensity. They’re only playful with selected people which is why others can see them as cold at times. If underdeveloped they can act like know it alls a lot, they can be very defensive and hard headed to others advice bc they believe they know better. Can result in big ego problems if not checked. But overall genuine hearted ppl.

Virgo moons get the “ick” from people easily that don’t value what they value

Sag moons do you guys deal with deep emotions at all? Everyone I met with this placement is abnormally very jolly & nothing usually bothers them much. How do you guys deal with emotions?? I’m lowkey jealous of this moon placement because of how well you take negatively. They’re able to transmute negative energy into something positive with such little effort. This can be somewhat stressful for deeper signs however to really see under all that joy. This lack of depth can make it harder for others to relate at times. This placement is the definition of golden retriever energy.

Ppl with Aries mars in their chart gain muscle VERY easily (especially in their arms) these people actually enjoy working out and going to the gym normally. As kids they had a surplus of physical energy. They were usually always running around or climbing stuff making obstacles courses, arm wrestling ppl etc. this placement is a blessing in terms of energy levels and health.

Taurus placement can sit around and watch tv all day if u let them. They really love TV especially movies. I notice this more with Taurus mars as well, they’re more likely to watch movies all day or binge watch shows for hours. It’s usually their happy place (and when u add food to it they’ll never leave lol)

Taurus moons usually always grew up loving fashion and clothes. Even as kids they can be very creative with the outfits the wore. They were usually too stubborn to have their mom pick out their clothes cuz they wanted a certain “look” (I’m guilt for this) they are also very fond of thrifting! Can be big shopaholics lol

Pisces moons tend to ghost ppl they’re close too with very little warning. They’ll just randomly decide to move to another state without informing anyone which can catch ppl off guard a lot. They do this especially when they feel overwhelmed with life and responsibilities. These are the hardest ppl to keep in touch with (unless you’re a love interest) they tend to put their love interests before everyone.

Pisces suns fall in love with some of the most psychotic/mentally unstable ppl ever lol. They tend to have very chaotic love life’s and tend to go for people that need some sort of mental help.

Out of all the Venus signs I feel like Taurus Venus’s have the easiest time in relationships. They tend to go for very stable people that usually treat them well. They have the ability to attract very helpful partners. (Cries in aqua Venus 🥲) however they can be more likely to take their partners for granted and don’t realize how good they have it.

Another question for other astrologers does the house of ur Venus give the same affect as the sign? Like for example ( does having a 5th house Venus give the same effect as having a Leo Venus in a way? Or is it not as strong?)

[justin-chapmanswers]

Sorry if this is a bit rude, but how do you consider yourself as he/they or they/he? I am questioning my sexuality and gender at the moment and seeing you (idk if ur lgbt) makes me find comfort, if you can, how did you realise you were not straight and how I can find mine! :3

Oh golly uh. Let's see if I can keep this short and then bury it under other answers. <3

Labels are fun cause they're so funky and ever-changing as you learn more about yourself. So, firstly, don't stress about finding something so perfect right away and bounding yourself to it. You're still you, any way you word it.

Gender-wise I'm in a state of def preferring they but being chill enough with he. Like whateverrrrr. It's hard to get around societal norms and perceptions, so my expectations are calibrated accordingly. I of course feel that for people who feel more strongly about a specific label, it's important to fight for it to be recognized whenever you're in a safe-enough environment to do-so. But for me, the concept of pushing for a specific label or, even more-so, of seeing other people pushing others to use a specific label for me is veryyyy anxiety-inducing. I tend to avoid spotlight when possible. But at the same time, a lot of it just comes down to not wanting to be grouped/perceived gender-ly at all. I tend to use the label agender. But I'm sure a lot of people have similar experiences with different labels. I just, ya'know, wanna be me.

Gender exploration is funnnn. There's no one right way to learning about yourself. Some people know from a young age, almost inherently, some people figure things out a lot later. It's never too late. Some people learn with outfits and styles, some with looking to people/characters who they want to be perceived more-like, some with experimenting through new names/pronouns and feeling-out how being called different things makes them feel. If you have friends you feel safe around with all of this, on or offline, can't hurt to say "hey would ya mind calling me x-name or y-pronoun for a bit?" And if you don't like it, you don't need to stick with it. But really be cognizant of it feels right to you.

Then on the romantic orientation side, that's been a much longer journey haha. I was calling myself straight through middle schooler, bi for a bit in early high school, gay starting in later high school, then for a long while. Nowadays I just say queer. Labels make things easier, until they don’t haha. For me, if you imagine a scale of feminity to masculinity with like little pegs running down the line from 0 to 10, with 5 in the middle, I tend to find myself attracted to people in like the 4 to 8 range? Something like that. But even that's not perfectly consistent! There's never going to be a perfect word for everything. That's why I like queer as an umbrella term. It's also just a cute word, I don't make the rules.

Hence earlier when I mentioned that you should just feel free to keep it open and not close yourself off. Maybe nothing'll change, but what if something does? But of course, I assume you're asking from more of a place of just starting this journey. I'm trying to get my mind back to where I started with that. I think the first time the not-straight realization hit was when a friend of mine didn't show up to an event and I was all like "why am I so miserably sad that he wasn't there?" And then a lightbulb appeared over my head and out-loud I said "aw damnit." And then things have been weird and confusing ever since.

But in terms of giving advice, it's hard to not just be like "uhh idk just hang out with people that makes you feel gooey." But obviously it's more complicated than that. A decade ago, I was taking random "am I gay" tests online. But they're kinda silly cause the questions on those would ask me to fill in information about how I feel, but how am you supposed to know how I feel without the test telling me how I feel??????? So realistically, I'd advise private journaling. Just take some time, even five minutes. Start now. Write out who you are drawn to, in any sense, and how they make you feel. Especially if you're like me and have trouble self-reflecting unless I force myself to. Like. In a Tumblr post.

There's so many ways to explore. It's also nice to look at relationships in life and media and seeing if you connect to any relationship or long to fit into someone's place within a relationship. That's why representation matters, baybeeeee! But also, ya'know, talking to people goes a long way to learning about yourself. Trial 'n error let's gooooo.

And above all: you got this.

[koiiiji]

Could you do some windbreaker characters with a fem gyaru s/o? I would specifically like Vinny you can chose any other character if you want :)

author note : OMG!! I searched some photos in pinterest, like inspiration for gyaru, and wooow!! i will definitely take some details into my style bc its sooo beautiful… i genuinely thought (idk why honestly) that gyaru is more like pink barbie in 80-90s style but it looks so cool i can’t!! sorry for such long reply, and we r mutuals so i feel even more ashamed :(( i tried with more characters but give up and done just these two!! hope you will like it💋🎗️

warning : pure fluff, vinny being softie and shelly cutie as always

vinny - he definitely have 0 idea about all fashion trends, styles and different subcultures aside from street racing… so he genuinely don’t give a fuck about your style, he crushing into person, not a pieces of clothes you wear, but once your dialogue went in all different direction, you explain him what your style specifically is and what inspired you to join this subculture, he take note in his head that as soon as he will earn more money he will buy you as many new clothes and other items as you wish.

it was one of your first dates, you were sitting together in some random cafe that you found on the way from the second-hand store to which you dragged Vinny to find new elements for your outfits.

“so… was it really necessary to spend solid 2 hours in that shop to find just few pair of shorts, skirts and belts?…” he began hesitantly, doubting whether it was worth bringing up the subject. do girls get angry if you ask them why spend so much time in the shops? should he change the subject of conversation? or maybe you want to discuss this trip to the store? it seemed that now Vinny’s brains would just explode, before you he had not had to communicate so long and closely with girls. when you looked up at him, it seemed to him that his heart skipped a couple of beats - your eyes literally sparkled with joy and fun.

"of course it was!! if you want to find really unique things, then there is no place better than a second-hand store! of course, you need to try to find something really worthwhile, but when you find that very thing.." you clenched your fists and squeezed your eyes shut, smiling so sweetly and swaying back and forth with impatience

"...oh right, let's go at my place today!!! i'll show you why we spent so much time there, these shorts and skirts will just go perfectly..." Vinny continued to listen as you happily chirped about your ideas of what to wear new things with, and it seems you also mentioned new places where you wanted to take photos together with him, and much more. at that moment, Vinny didn’t cared about anything as much as your smile. you were so sincere with him, you smiled so brightly, just like a little star in his hands, and he suddenly remembered that pleasant, soft and warm sensation in his chest, just like in rare moments from childhood. your touch pulled him out of his own thoughts as you gently shook his hand, looking questioningly into his eyes.

"didn't you listen to what i was saying?" you squinted suspiciously. "wh... what?.. no, i heard everything.."

laughing in response, you pulled him towards the exit of the cafe, in direction to your house. at that moment, it seemed to Vinny that there were no problems around, and he was finally felt like ordinary schoolboy. yes, you were the one who helped him still stay sane. you were his own little star.

shelly - 100% fashion intusiast so she highlighted your style immediately, and liked it!! as i mentioned before, she definitely would post tiktoks/insta stories with you, admiring how cool and beautiful her girlfriend is.

“hey, let’s go shopping together after school? how about finding some new stuff?” shelly said excitedly, coming up from behind and hugging you. it was the last day before weekends starts, so after school you could relax and go shopping in search of new things, maybe you will be lucky enough today and you will find some cool archive things from 2000s.

"oh my god, look at this!!" Shelly squealed in delight as she ran up to you. in her hands was Vivienne Westwood's archive white handbag, with silver chains as handles and with a distinctive badge. it needed a little repair, but for the price that was offered for this handbag, it was worth it!!

"Shelly is so cute, how did you find it?!" you exclaimed joyfully, picking up the bag from her hands and examining it from all sides. today it was a really cool piece, and after picking up a pair of pumpons and key chains for a bag, you headed to Shelly's house, deciding to celebrate this purchase with a sleepover at her house, her grandfather wasn’t at home, and he anyway liked when you two hang out together.

"what do you think about ordering something to eat and putting on makeup together? we can shoot something in tiktok! oh! or let's film unpacking for this baby, what do you say?" you asked her excitedly, as you remembered that Shelly always wanted to try your makeup style and clothes you usually wear. and she was so pleased that you remembered such little things that she mentioned once quite a long time ago, and they were deposited in your head. hugging you tightly around the neck and whispering a quiet thank you, Shelly took you by the arm and headed for her home, excitedly offering you ideas for posing and which sound you should choose for your tiktoks.

[natsukishinomiyaswife]

ahhh hi again!! if you don’t mind i’d like to place another order!!

may i get a strawberry tart with black coffee? :0

Hello Ian! ☆

Thank you so much for placing another order! ♡ Please note that this story is angst, with no happy ending! ♡ I hope you enjoy! ♡

This is part of an event I'm doing where people can request stories by placing orders! For more information, please refer to this post! ♡

⋆ 𝓡𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓼: 𝓤𝓷𝓻𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓛𝓸𝓿𝓮 ⋆

One strawberry tart and a black coffee, coming right up! ♡

⋆ There's a table in the rose gardens of Heartslabyul, in a spot away from prying eyes. A tray filled with pastries lay untouched, with two empty tea cups on either side. A teapot sits in the middle of the table forgotten, just like the table's only occupant. His head hangs down as he stares at the plate in front of him, his fists clenched as he tries to make sense of his emotions.

⋆ There was just something about you, something that he couldn't seem to define. Feelings that were foreign to him, pushed to the back of his mind. He had other priorities after all, more important things to focus on. His schoolwork, his future, his role as housewarden. Yet, as you spent more time together, he found that these feelings wouldn't go away, growing and changing over time.

⋆ When did he start focusing on your appearance, paying attention to the smallest of details? Noticing when you styled your hair different, or added an accessory, or when your clothes needed to be straightened. He's fixed your clothes more than once, not thinking anything of the proximity until he was finished, realizing how close you were to each other. He would turn away, feeling warm as you thanked him.

⋆ When did he start looking forward to your conversations, seeking out your company? Inviting you to unbirthday parties, offering to tutor you, asking if you'd like to study together. Using academics to spend time with you, wanting to ensure your success. While he could be a bit strict at times, you didn't seem to mind, time flying by as you worked together in the library.

⋆ When did he become more lenient when enforcing the rules, finding himself unable to stay mad at you? Trey would give him a knowing look each time, with Ace accusing him of favoritism. He does his best to stay impartial, knowing the rules must be followed. Yet, he can't help how his face softens in your presence, tension leaving his body as his anger subsides. You still need to be punished, but he's willing to give you a warning...just this once.

⋆ His feelings for you grew until it got to be too much, causing him to finally acknowledge what he felt. After doing some research, asking others for advice, and doing some contemplation, he realized that the feelings he held for you weren't just platonic. A crush, maybe? No, that wasn't right either. His feelings for you were much deeper than that. As foreign as it was to him, he had fallen in love with you, putting him in an unfamiliar territory. He could only hope you would feel the same, asking you to join him for tea.

⋆ He had planned for this to be perfect, working with Trey and Cater to make his confession a success. He asked Trey to make your favorite desserts, while Cater made sure no one would interfere, keeping everyone occupied and out of the gardens. He was nervous as he waited for you to show, checking the time every few minutes. At first he would use the time to go over what he wanted to say, thinking back to the confession he wrote and memorized. Soon you were late, leaving him looking around as he wondered where you were. He didn't want to miss you though, so he decided to keep waiting, a few minutes turning into hours.

⋆ His body shook in anger, hot tears coming to his eyes. How dare you leave him waiting, not even responding to the messages he sent! He was angry, he was furious, he was...he was...

⋆ He pressed his hands over his eyes, unable to face his reflection as tears fell onto his plate. It hurt, it hurt so much, his chest aching at the realization that you had no plans on showing.

Why would you agree, then?

Why would you tell him yes?

Why would you give him hope, if he never had a chance to begin with?

⋆ He hears someone approaching, feeling a glimmer of hope before realizing it was only Trey and Cater, quickly looking away. Though it was brief, he saw the sadness in their eyes, refusing to accept their pity. The tea has grown cold now, bitter and unable to drink. A bitterness that will never leave him, whenever you look his way.

I hope you enjoyed your meal, and thank you for visiting the Cathie Cafe! ♡

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾! ♡

[factual-fantasy]

29 asks! Thank you!! :}} 🦀

I use FireAlpaca! And occasionally MS Paint in specific situations or for fun XDD

FireAlpaca is free and I'd say its good for beginner digital artists, but also has a lot of tools for pros! But keep in mind it's got some quirks and weird bugs sometimes- use it at your own risk! <XD

Tassels is a much nicer word than "ribbonlike feelers", which is what the pokedex entry's say they are <XDD

And thank you! I'm glad you like that detail!! :))

Thank you! I'm doing my best not to overdo it <XDD

@minnesotamedic186

*The bottle sinks into my head and disappears*

Thanks you :}} 👍

@samcat2

Oh, no no- they are not a couple/gay. They are like the bestest-best brothers :}

@realmerks6969

:0 .... do I like what-

@milk-powrit

Yes! Birdos in my AU are decedents from the original Yoshi's. They live on the coast by Daisy's kingdom and have been domesticated by the Delfino people.

While Yoshi's come in all different colors.. Birdos are mostly Pink, Red or shades of purple due to red Cheep-Cheeps being the corner stone of their diet.

Now, the specific/individual Birdo that we know? The one with the bow and everything? That Birdo is supposed to be Daisy's personal pet Birdo. She's very spoiled XDD

@antisocial-bird

Thank you!! And welcome back! :))

I'm sorry to hear you've got some personal battles and school weighing you down.. <:(( I hope you can salvage some of those connections and make some new ones soon! :}}

(Refencing this post)

SKJNJ I N G O T S XDDD

(Refencing this post)

Honestly? That's rather fitting for Emmet- XDD

I'm glad to hear it! But hey! Don't call it ugly >:(( Its wonderful!! :}}

@artblock200322022

I'm glad to hear it! :DD And ooo! Whisper?? That's such a cool name!! :}}}

@illogically-austere

<XD You don't seem happy about it, I'm guessing it was more of a nightmare?

If you mean which game ending my AU follows..

Its supposed to be a modified version of the 6AM ending. Where Gregory escapes when the front doors open but he doesn't get caught by Vanessa later. He ends up coming back to the Pizzaplex 2 weeks later on his own.

If you mean an ending to the entire AU itself? I have some ideas in mind and just need to take the time to pick one of them--

@glitchhayden418

:DDD ROSES AND ORANGES!! THANK YOU!! :)))))

XDD Don't worry, I assumed it was my POV-

@yourtypicalfoxobserver

:DD Thank you! I'm glad you like what I make! :)))

Just trying something new! This new lineless pixel style is a change of pace and is helping to keep me out of art block :) 👍👍

@pinkiexneomorph277

Thank you so much!! :DD And I'll take the thumbs up XDD 👍✨

(Refencing this post)

.....Well he's got that Papyrus energy tbh-- <XDD

(Refencing this post)

NOOOO <XDDDD

(Refencing this post)

AWWWWW 😭😭 THATS SO SAD YET ADORABLEEEE

🥺Flowers........ 💖🌹💖

(Referencing the comments of this post)

XDD Don't worry, I'll track em down! >XDD

@shiocreator (Referencing this post)

WAAAHGH THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! :DDDD

@kirozil

I'm hanging in there, thank you for asking! :}

My FNAF AU/Recap/Repair project thingy has kind'a been put on the shelf for a while. But that's mostly due to my poor health and being unable to sit at my desk and draw on my PC..

(All my resent posts- this one included- and drawings have been made on a laptop while laying on a couch. All of my FNAF stuff is on my desktop PC :((( )

As for your second question, sorry, I don't take requests! 😅

Thanks for the ask! I hope you have a great day/afternoon/night as well! :}}}

@empowtisblog

That sounds like me! XD Thank you! I'm glad you liked my Octonauts stuff! :))

@captain-skyler1987

:DD Thank you! :))) 🍪💖

@soulful-rodent

I'm hanging in there as best I can 🫠

[st-pop]

SWAP AU!!

Details:

Reiju:

Everything from sanji’s 2nd backstory is the same until the part where reiju helps him escape to the orbit

Rather than Sanji escaping to the orbit for freedom, little sanji, realizing that reiju is also ‘emprisoned’ in a way chose to make reiju leave instead to ‘be free from judges rule’

in the end reiju escaped germa instead of sanji, with the promise that she would come back to save him

(Im pretty sure that reiju had her humanity but still was unable to not follow whatever judge said, dont come after me if this isnt right, im surviving off of spoilers since im on skypiea 🫶)

Reiju, on the orbit didn’t really do much other than decide to work on the ship until they reached land

But then, oh no! The cook pirates attack! Reiju’s fine though because of her Germa abilities, she did save the captain of the cook pirates however and bring him to land..wonder how that will play out later in the story

Anyways, once on land she starts to go in hiding because while on the orbit she finds a newspaper detailing how germa/judge is looking for her

Overtime she ends up working for an anonymous assassination network (since killing was what she had been practically raised to do) called ‘Baroque works’ as Poison Tulip, as Mr. 1’s partner. (Ms.Doublefinger is forced to be Bon Clay/Mr 2’s partner dispite him not wanting/needing a partner :’))

She meets the SwitchAU! crew (which was only Ace, Nojiko, and Kuina at the time) when she had been attempting to assassinate kuina as she was on Baroque Works’s ‘hit-list’ (For more context, a few years back when Baroque Works had attempted to recruit Kuina, like Zoro in the OG universe, she beat up one of the millions and (coincidentally) the Mushi-Mushi line the millions had on that directly connected to Crocodile’s office had turned on. Kuina (unknowing of the Mushi-Mushi line) said something like ‘After a while, crocodile!’ As a catchy goodbye (knowing nothing about Mr.0’s identity) completely unaware of the fact she gave the actual Crocodile a bloody heart attack and got herself on Baroque Works’s top hitlist and for the past few years she’s had to deal with baroque works assassins)

Before Kuina and Reiju can actually begun fighting, Nojiko throws a tangerine (picked up from onland) to reiju saying ‘You look like you havent gotten to eat in days’, Reiju expects this to be something to keep her off her guard, or perhaps a taunt but quickly sees the rest the crew, (Kuina waiting patiently for her to eat and Ace flashing her a grin before telling her they have more food in the back if she needs any) and realizes that they’re genuine.

This reminds her of Sanji and shes explains that originally she was to kill the swordswoman however now shes changed her mind and has decided that she’d like to join the crew.

Nojiko and Kuina are suspicious but after seeing their captain’s grin they realize that anything they say wont be much use so they just sorta accept it

And thats how in this au reiju joined the SwitchAu! Crew!,

Kuina:

Ok so for kuina i’ve always liked the idea that her story would exactly be like Zoro’s, so that what im going to do here

the only different is that Zoro died young instead when he was training, kuina took up the 3 sword style technique to commemorate him

Ik that this isn’t really for kuina but i just have to put this here, in this AU tashigi is a dude who looks identical to Zoro (tashigi was so important to Zoro’s story in the OG timeline so i feel its only right to do the same for kuina. Tashigi’s personality, glasses and morals are all still the same tho ^^

Ok this is it for now, i’ll edit this later and slowly add the rest of the AU’s Backstories when i’ve got the time 🫶

[positivelybeastly]

What does beast sound like in your head when you read?

So, I go back and forth on this, and it does sort of vary depending on the verse I'm writing and what era I'm reading? Some verses, I don't have voices locked in for, others I do.

Verse: hated and feared (aka X-Men '97)

He's George Buza. He just is. George is a perfect voice for this era of Hank, mature and reasonable and kind and compassionate, a stalwart of the team. I wouldn't change this voice for the world. I also feel like every time people tell me that they can hear Beast's voice when I write him, this is the voice people hear - which is great, honestly, I take it as the highest form of flattery. If I had to pick a single voice for people to think of when they read Hank's dialogue, this is the one I'd pick!

That being said, it's not the voice I hear unless I'm writing this verse - it's a very specific voice, and TAS/'97 Beast, while near and dear to my heart, isn't the Hank I know most intimately or best. Comics Hank is always who I reach for first, and comics Hank doesn't quite sound like this, apart from that stretch from '91 to 2000 that inspired TAS.

verse: getting by (2013-2018)

I have a headcanon that Hank's voice changes every time he mutates, so I like to think that he doesn't sound the same through every form. I think this form's emotional baggage and tiredness and self-ruminating lends him to something a little less centred, and a little less emotive - so I always hear (and occasionally faceclaim him) William Petersen, who you might know better as CSI: Las Vegas' Gil Grissom. Especially at 0:19. I can hear so much Hank there.

verse: another time and another place (aka Dark Beast)

I know that, logically, he should have the same voice as classic Hank, but I honestly hear a lot more of a Jeremy Irons style voice for Dark Beast. He's just a conniving little fuck, and he's almost always portrayed as a schemer, as having that sleazy, 'telling you what you want to hear' air to him, which comes through a lot more here. I also feel as though, given he's 20 years older than Hank (relatively speaking), he should sound older.

verse: earth's mightiest! (aka Classic Beast)

This one was tricky, honestly, because he's so different to all the other Hanks, and yet so intrinsic to all of them. It's (maybe) the closest to who Hank actually is, when he's not performing or buried under trauma or changed so completely by time, so what does he sound like?

And . . . he sounds like Tom Lehrer. He has the intelligence, the wit, the humour, he sings? He's perfect.

verse: default (feline Hank)

This is the one I struggled with most, because he's the nearest and dearest to my heart, and thus it's important he sounds right. He should be able to sound low and guttural and growly, but he should also be refined and funny and able to turn a phrase like nobody's business. I feel like there should be a faint unnatural reverberation to his voice at almost all times, a feeling that he isn't speaking with a voice box that's wholly human.

Now, Fred Tatasciore, who voices Hank in the X-Men Anime, which is one of the few adaptations of this version of Hank, does, I'd say, an admirable job? He voices Hank in a few projects. He's very good, but he's not quite perfect, imo.

Nah, for me? The perfect Hank voice . . . is Jeffrey Wright.

Tell me you can't hear it.

[needle-noggins]

Volume 7 destroyed me. Part 1 of whatever this analysis is. Lots of talk about childhood trauma. Vash is such a complex character so if there are inconsistencies in my logic here, help me.

So in Volume 7, we get some pretty heavy flashbacks to Vash and Knives' shared trauma of discovering Tesla, and it's juxtaposed with Vash meeting up with Knives in the ark, contrasting then and now. Highlighting how they've changed and developed in response to their shared trauma - which is to say, in opposite ways. And not necessarily just due to their personalities. In fact, I would say that Knives is more sensitive, sweet, and trusting pre-Tesla. Vash is a bit more aloof, although still a good kid.

Also, here's the lily.

White flowers are a common Japanese symbol for death/grief and are primarily used in funerals. Lilies can symbolize purity and innocence (don't quote me on this one though). Rem must have put that flower there and kept it alive. She does say that she opposed the experimentation and regrets Tesla's suffering and death, but this drives the point home in a way that also highlights Rem's character and her love for flowers (which, tbh, seems more of a Tristamp thing I think? Regardless, I hope the next season of Stampede has more Tesla flashbacks with the white lily. That would be a nice nod to the manga).

Back to Tesla trauma. God, it makes me sick. The cold, detached way in which she's described as the "subject" hits home for me because I have to write like that for a living working in healthcare. It's commonplace and required, but man, it's terrifying reading it and understanding that there's 0 compassion in there. Medical ethics (or lack thereof) are my kryptonite. It gets me every time.

To make things worse, it's gory in it's own sterile way. Tesla's body is contained in nice little tanks, but if you look into those tanks... oof. She's riddled with tumors, organs are near-indistinguishable, and her small little child legs make it all the more horrifying. That's a child. With a detached, tiny baby angel arm in another tank. It may be important to note that this is reminiscent of Vash's angel arm (it's the right arm) but also it's the arm that's detached (well, both of Tesla's are, but this one was likely removed first and by Dr. Conrad and the team). Foreshadowing, in a weird way? And Tesla's entire brain is in another tank, with her eye. At what point did this happen? Was she still conscious for that? I want to scream.

Vash is not handling this well. He's the first to cry out about the differences between plants and humans. Also, the composition of that last panel here is incredible - the emotion is palpable. And the eyes?? Eyes of all the humans, watching them as they sleep in the ship, waiting to pounch, or Tesla's eyes, watching from the tank, casting judgement down? Either way, it's evocative. Poor baby Vash. He is so so angry and so scared.

Knives, meanwhile, shatters so badly that he blocks it out and/or represses it without showing a single emotion - as a defense mechanism. This certainly seems more like a Vash-style response, right?

Do remember that these boys are twins. Despite all their differences that have baked in as adults now, they were much more similar as kids. The specific circumstances in their experience immediately post-Tesla then shape them for the rest of their lives and cause the rift between them that we see today (in the same volume, no less). It's nothing but pure tragedy.

Which then brings us to the next scene - Vash, even at such a young age, is already showing tendencies of self-harm and suicidal ideation. He's refusing to eat, wasting away. He'd rather die than live long enough to become another experiment, to be subjected to that torture. There is no safe place for him in this world of humans, and Knives is refusing to acknowledge it (he's literally asleep during this; we love an avoidant king - jk but i'm handshaking w/ Knives; relatable). Rem, bless her, tries to treat Vash to some freshly-cut fruit (also a symbol of familial love in Japan - acts of service and all) but ya know, she forgets the cardinal rule when handling someone who is suicidal - don't let them have access to sharp objects. No knives for you, Vash.

BIG MOM MOMENT. Rem grabs the sharp edge of the blade and lets it cut her to prevent Vash from harming himself. She may not have birthed these boys, but damn if she isn't their mother in every other way. (also, quick point - generational trauma - Rem's grief over Alex's death becomes Vash's grief over Rem's death? I don't have good formed thoughts on this yet).

UGH. The flip side of Rem's blank ticket philosophy - the future is blank, so why throw the present away? There's always, always hope. Isn't that just the overarching message of Trigun?

This is obviously a formative moment for Vash. He never forgets this lesson.

Caveat to this, Vash is still a very self-destructive character as an adult, verging on suicidal without being outrightly so. He has let this moment shape his character, but he still others himself in that he believes this philosophy doesn't apply to him, an Independent. Vash has said before that there's no hope for him, he wishes he had never been born, and he's only really alive to destroy Knives and finish what they started. That's uh, Not Good... what will make Vash want to finally live? (*shhhhh, spoilers!*) Anyway, Vash applies this lesson to Wolfwood in Wolfwood's weakest moment. Vash sees himself in Wolfwood in the "Shoot" moment, no doubt, he sees his fear and anger, even if it's a bit of a different flavor. Wolfwood is simultaneously suicidal in that moment and has this twisted logic of, If Vash can kill me he can kill anyone; this will help him and i'm willing to die for that cause.

Someone tell me their thoughts on this parallel. I kinda just want to scream incoherently about it. That's all I got.

Anyway.

It takes some extra learning in this moment before Vash can figure his shit out. He takes the situation from bad to worse - he's still angry at humans for his pain, still terrified. He's so angry that he stabs Rem - his mother figure, the only person other than Knives that he's ever known and trusted - and instantly regrets it, terrified that he'll lose her (before his worst fears are later realized, and he does and it's his fault, again).

It's like, you know, the feeling when you hurt your sibling because you're so fucking mad at them, but the moment they're actually hurt, you're instantly filled with fear and regret? (THIS WILL COME INTO PLAY LATER TOO I PROMISE.)

I can imagine it's 10 times worse with a parent.

And Knives is asleep! For all of this! I think the one big takeaway with the twins is that Vash has always been the more outwardly emotional one, and Knives has always been more sensitive but withdrawn. Vash expresses his anger outwardly, getting it out quickly, even if it's very destructive in the moment. But this moment teaches him to do otherwise - he sees the result of his anger, and he's terrified out of doing anything to cause harm ever again. Vash tries to kill Rem! Vash, who now wouldn't hurt a soul, even if he wants to! He's terrified of the consequences, and with the added idolization of Rem's memory... yeah. So as an adult, Vash turns away from "flight" and into "fawn" as his main trauma response. He just wants to make things right and he's willing to break a hundred times for it so no one else has to get hurt. (he's also very much a "flight" still, but ya know)

Knives sits back, represses, plots until his emotions have twisted beyond recognition and his resulting actions are a hundred times more irrational and fucked up. Very much "fight". And it's even more terrifying, actually.

When Knives wakes up, he's calm. He's collected. He says he doesn't remember what happened. He's plotting to doom the whole SEEDS project. He's going to kill them all, and he's not showing a single emotion until he's gleefully realized his plan is working. That's horrifying.

I think this is where I'll stop for now. I'm not a therapist or psychiatrist or expert in trauma in any way and this post is quickly running away from me and into a psychoanalysis of the twins, which I just don't feel equipped to do here, never mind have the right words for. But at least this can get a conversation started.

[terrathetulpa]

I would like to bash the Minecraft movie teaser immediately. Because we need to bully the studio into getting rid of it or changing it like we did to Sonic. It is the most egregiously hideous abomination of Minecraft I have ever had to look at through these poor shared bloodshot eyes. The animals look like fucking horseshit supreme! Like someone was fucking around with some fur shaders for the first time and went "What if I pulled in a model of a sheep from Minecraft?" That llama is gonna be in my nightmares and I'm gonna lucid dream for the first time in months just so I can banish it to the wretched cursed CG hell plane that it came from. But first I'm gonna bash it's hideous skull in so it doesn't come back!

I am so unimpressed by your wide angle shot of a landscape that is supposed to be Minecraft, and doesn't even pass for modded Minecraft! It doesn't look like the game at all! It looks like someone tried to do a 4k voxel style remake of genshin impact and then someone else photo-shopped random ass stock photos into it. And when is someone gonna tell the movie execs that we don't wanna look at Jason Momoa anymore!? I hate his stupid bearded face!

The only snowball's chance in hell that this thing has of being watchable at all is Jack Black, and even he looks scuffed as shit! You bought that man a blue T-shirt from the GAP SEVEN MINUTES before filming- didn't even check to make sure that shit fit him! LOOK AT THIS!!!

I love you Jack Black, but you are not Steve!!! YOU ARE NOT STEVE!!! Did anyone bother to like- LOOK at the source material for more than 0 seconds!? Do you realize what this movie COULD HAVE BEEN!? I CAN'T EVEN SIT HERE AND DESCRIBE TO YOU HOW BAD THIS MISS IS FOR ME, WE WOULD BE HERE ALL NIGHT!!!

GOD!!! AT LEAST GET HIM A PROPER SHIT FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!! FUCK!!! FUCKING FUCK!!! FUUUUUCCCKKK!!!!

MOTHER FUCKING DAMNIT! BITCHES IN HELL!!! FUCK THIS MOVIE! PLEASE KILL THIS MOVIE!! BOMB THIS FUCKING MOVIE!!! I need all of you internet haters to pretend this thing is Morbius! When this comes out in theatres, if they haven't at least tried to fix it. Every time you see it just pretend it's Morbius. It is not worth your time. Do not see it. Even if you really like Jack Black. Do not.

You know what fuck it- I can write a long ass post.

Listen, you have to understand that I love Minecraft. I love Minecraft so much. I love running around, making things and exploiting villagers. Roaming vast landscapes of blocks and tricking the skeletons into shooting each other. The greatest burden of my childhood is that I couldn't convince my friends to continue playing Minecraft with me. If Minecraft were a beautiful woman, I would marry her. We would host lavish dinner parties and all of the guests would compete to build the coolest Minecraft build, and I would always win because Minecraft is my wife! Now I will proceed to spend several minutes resisting the urge to describe even the most intimate aspects of this theoretical marriage I would have to Minecraft in excruciating and graphic detail. (The fuck was I saying?)

This movie could have been LITERALLY ANYTHING! Because if it has ever happened, it has happened in Minecraft. This could've been a thriller, a murder mystery, an action movie, they could have remade literally anything and gotten away with it because "It's Minecraft, it's different" They could have made INFINITE MINECRAFT MOVIES!!! But more painful to lose, and more painful to see missing from the discourse about this film is that it could have told stories that nothing else could have told. This could have been a base wars movie, this could have been about conflicting factions competing for land, with complex politics, interesting heroes and villains, doing goofy ass shit like building sheep everywhere or making chicken bombs as much as they actually genuinely fight with TNT cannons and crazy ass ANIMATED PVP sequences. This movie could have been FUCKING SICK!!!

This could have been a retelling of an anarchy server's history, or a long romantic love letter to the game itself in movie form, or a playful exciting romp through someone's LAN game but from the perspective of those in game characters- AND NO ONE PLAYS AS STEVE HE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE!!! Where is our community's representation??? I don't trust this studio to show us massive sprawling builds that represent years of work, the fortresses, the cathedrals, the giant nether mansions. We're not going to see seasoned players strike down the ender dragon with 5 beds and a wooden axe. We're not getting elytra courses, SMP stories, redstone computers, massive pixel art, giant sculptures, hidden signs in peoples bases, pastoral communities farming by the river, villager outposts, torn up server spawns, that one guy who built a 150 block tall wheat farm overnight, the absolutely massive expanse of mods for this thing, the elaborate RP plots, the full on cities constructed by dozens of people, adventure maps, survival challenges, that one fucking log by the door that you keep stripping on accident- THE ACTUAL ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT MINECRAFT IS FOR ANYONE!?!?

NO!!! NOOOOO!!! None of that for you! You know what you get instead!?!?

You get JACK FUCKING BLACK trying to lug this 150-million dollar 6000 pound TURD through the box office BY HIMSELF!!! In a shitty blue T-shirt that some poor underpaid intern bought for him for 9$, 7 minutes before they started filming!!!

and I don't think he can do it!

There's no band-aid big enough to make this better.

Not even Jack Black!

[puzzled-pegasus]

Annabeth Chase headcanons because I must have hallucinated doing this list months ago

She has major resting bitchface sometimes especially when shes thinkin really hard abt something or shes tired

She was really touch deprived for a super long time, especially before she got with Percy, so she tends to shy away from physical contact that's too sudden unless it's Percy, Chiron, or Piper (or thalia)

When she gets excited about a topic it's really hard for her to guage whether someone else wants to hear her informative talk about it so she ends up boring some people to death if they're too polite to change the subject on her

She considers Sally like a second mother and the two of them have the deepest conversations sometimes

She cries sometimes when she gets mad and it annoys her soo much

She has almost 0 sense of style on account of she's been at camp since she was a child and doesn't really see the need to dress for looks at all, so on occasions where she wants to dress nicely or look cute she asks Piper for help

Piper affectionately compared her to Leo a couple of times, because she loves both of them, and annabeth did not like that

Piper also listens to her infodump a lot and since she has better politeness understanding than Percy (lol) she's better at asking questions and overall Active Listening

Jason is also often genuinely interested in things Annabeth has to say but they don't have conversations as much and also Jason is kinda afraid to ask Annabeth questions bc it takes a while for it to sink in that she's happy to talk and hes not bothering her

(i wonder if he ever asked her about thalia...that would be really sweet I think in need to write that in my mental fic idea list)

On that note shes not always entirely aware of how scary/unapproachable she looks or like she cant always turn it off, otherwise she's a really good leader/teacher, that's kinda the difference between her and Jason as leaders (and also ppl just trust Jason more bc hes a dude which is Not Cool but what can you do)

Part of her love language is incorporating other people into her plans and preparations. Like if shes traveling with other girls she'll make sure to bring extra hygiene products and hairties, traveling with others in general she'll make sure to have extra necessities in case someone needs them. She's like a mom who carries all the snacks except no one knows until someone says "i'm thirsty" and suddenly she's got a pack of mini gatorade in her backpack and she's asking if you want one.

Whenever there's a group discussion she's really aware of how much the other girls are getting to speak, and if someone is being talked over she'll be the one to be blunt and say "hey, I think she has something to say"

She taught Mrs O Leary some more obedience and plays fetch with her a lot

[eulaliasims]

Get to know you: Sims Style

Ty for the tag @executables-sims. ^^

What’s your favorite Sims death?

idk this time, whoops. I haven't had a sim die in my game except by old age for a while. 🤔

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Both? Is that an option? Both. Really, I like aspects of both and so I blend both in my game. Alpha hair and clay hair, maxis match objects and realistic objects, whatever, if it fits in my game I'll use it.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

I used the SimBlender to change some of the models fit states on my last download post; otherwise, no.

Do you move objects?

I move so many objects, baby 😎

Favorite Mod?

My enormous hacks folder makes this hard to answer, lol. I'll shout out Epi's Baby Personality mod, b/c finally I'm getting some sims with more than 0 to 1 nice points born in Middleground again.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

It was Pets. Because I've always been an animal lover and it came out right after I started playing.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

It's still LIV mode and I'll still die on this hill.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

Made? Idk, I don't often make sims to play (I think I picked Jackie from Far Valley last time), so I'll show you my favorite born in-game sim!

is anyone surprised (if you're new here, that's Clara Blanch)

Have you made a simself?

Yeah, but she no longer exists in my sim bin and no one gets to see her.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Black? I guess? Idk, I don't really have a favorite hair color.

Favorite EA hair?

Hmm, I don't remember what I answered last time I did this one. I think the little half-up ponytail from Seasons.

Favorite life stage?

Is it a cop-out if I say everything besides the infant stage? (Does that one even count? They're basically potatoes.) Playing this hood for so long, I've come to enjoy playing sims through each of their life stages. Toddler and kid are cute; teen stage is fun because I get to explore their personality and interests more, and ofc there's budding romances for sims who are into that; adult stage, I get to build their lives and see what their own family turns out like; and elders in my game usually get to relax and savor things once they retire, and spend a lot of time with their family and friends and hobbies, which can be a nice change of pace.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

insert both is good gif from @executables-sims's post here

Are you a CC creator?

Sometimes!

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

Yeah, though the concept of a sim squad is so funny to me for some reason.

Do you have any sims merch?

Nope

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Nooooope. I like to watch some simmers, especially speedbuilds (shout out to @kayleigh-83 and @nervosims for their great speedbuild vids!), but no one would enjoy me flitting back and forth between seven different things at once, lmao

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Play style or aesthetic style? They've both changed over time. Gameplay wise, I really only stick with Middleground and my rotational play now, whereas I used to start (and abandon) a lot of legacies, tried at least one BACC, just random sims that were fun to play. Aesthetically... hmm, you know, I'm not sure this has changed *that* much. Here's Clara circa 2011:

I use more matte skins now, and the style of clothing I download has probably changed the most, but I could absolutely recreate this pic without downloading anything new, including the CC stuff in the background.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Don't make me pick one!! If you're really interested, check my sims pinterest in my pinned post, I'm sure there's patterns there.

How long have you had Simblr?

*checks archive* ...Ten years next May, yikes!

What expansion/gamepack is your favorite?

Hmmm, I'm going to say Apartment Life this time. I've really been enjoying playing witches lately, and it added a lot of buy/build items I like. Or maybe Uni??? No, AL it is.

Tagging, uhhh, I'm a little late so sorry if you already did this and I missed it!: @isimchi, @tvickiesims, @episims, @anachronisims, @sushigal007

[spgothkidsheadcanons]

Hey! I love your writing it brings me much joy! Can you do all the goths meeting a goth Lolita reader? ALSO I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY/NIGHT/AFTERNOON!!! ( ♥︎´･ᴗ･`♥︎ )

HELLO THANK YOU SO MUCH I HOPE YOU HAVE AN AMAZING DAY/NIGHT/AFTERNOON AS WELL!!

I hope I wrote these out well enough for you! Where I’m from, we didn’t have lolita or pastel goths, so I’m sorry if it’s not what you were looking for!

Goth Kids meeting Lolita Goth!Reader

Michael:

- To be honest, Michael was kind of an asshole at first

- His style is mostly Victorian Goth (“The only true Goth there is”) (yes, those were his words)

- He was so adamant on the fact that anything you wore was not goth

- And he would know. He was so nonconformist that he joined a dance group

- But the day finally came that you educated him on the different styles of goth, everything down to the clothing and personality types

- And he never bothered you again

- But since that day, if he sees a little frilly umbrella or choker that you might like, he buys it for you

- You’re like his child now -3-

Henrietta:

- Henrietta was probably the first to accept you and your style

- Her style is mostly Victorian Goth with a hint of Romantic thrown in

- It was really refreshing to her to see someone with your style

- She, unlike the others, had a great understanding that there were many subcultures out there, and pretty much accepted you straight away

- She was very protective over you, snapping at the boys when she thought they were going to far

- And if you ever wanted to try a different style, she was forcing you to go to the Gothic Boutique to help you change your style

- Mama Hen for the Win \*0*/

Pete:

- Pete acted pretty much like Michael at first

- He wasn’t as much of an asshole, but he did call you a poser and accused you of not taking their lifestyle seriously

- He went home and did his own research, going down a rabbit hole of subcultures

- His style was very much Lazy Goth, basically throwing anything with the most common goth colors on (ie, skull shirt, black jacket, black pants, his purple winklepickers)

- You actually influenced him to start changing his styles and trying to find something that actually suited him

- You would even help him by sending him ideas that you thought sounded interesting to him

- And you encouraged him everyday he came in trying a new style

- Aww, look how sweet you are :)

Firkle:

- Oh, oh no

- Firkle is a major asshole to you

- He’s so goth that he doesn’t even acknowledge “your pathetic attempt at trying to fit in with them” (wow he’s so mean ;O)

- Unlike the others, he never let up on his lowkey bullying you

- No matter how many times the other’s got onto him, he always retorted by saying that he was the best goth because he wasn’t accepting

- He’s a hateful little dude

- Just call him out on betraying the others that one time, then you’re good XD

[femmikoto]

pokes inbox

hi do you have girlmeep ideas... i wanna try drawing girlmeep and your brain has magical things according to what i've seen from your posts :0

runs

[CRACKS KNUCKLES] ohhh do i have girlmeep thoughts. these will be a little scattered between deeper character insight and aesthetic stuff so forgive the rapid chopping and changing

• FIRSTLY i think certain elements of 09s story are made stronger by a female interpretation of the character. anyone whos lived as a woman at some point in their life knows how much society hates women and how its expected that they make themselves "smaller" and more paletable so theyre not labelled as annoying or rejected by the world at large

• i think mikotos emotional repression and meticulous social maintenance line up incredibly well with this, particularly the suppression of "ugly" emotions so others dont think less of him

• in a female interpretation john (jane?) can also be read slightly differently as a manifestation of the concept of female rage- anger and social rebellion against the pressure and everday injustices against women that people are shamed for (typically by men) if they so much as acknowledge them in any capacity

• i think she would mostly dress the same as canon (showing very little skin, preferring baggy clothing but styling it a little differently, sticking to casual street fashion etc) but instead of ONLY having trousers she also switches it up with shorts or skirts from time to time (always paired with tights or high stockings depending on the length). i dont think she would wear dresses very often outside of formal events like weddings, funerals etc

• shirts stay the same though i think shes only wearing t-shirts or button-ups. again always things that dont show much skin, if any

• i dont think girlmeep would be immune to perpetuating internalised misogyny in the way a lot of girls tend to do with each other- looking at women who are more brash and unrepentant in their self-empowerment and going "so rude, i could never be like that" or "just put up with it like the rest of us..." rather than allowing herself to consider how freeing it must be to stop caring about what men think

• im not gonna pull a hideo kojima on why i draw her with huge boobs 85% of the reason why is just that im a lesbian who loves huge boobs. HOWEVER. the remaining 15% is because anyone with boobs will attest that the larger they are the more total strangers feel like they can comment on them and objectify you for them and i think this would shape her "if i endure it, ill stop being irritated and get used to it eventually" mindset

• i prefer girlmeep with mikotos canon haircut but i think theres a case for her having both long and short hair. long hair is more traditionally feminine but i think mikotos style and trend-conscious nature makes the canon cut possible. however trying to figure out how to accurately place her blond tips without her ceasing to look like mikoto can be a pain in the ass with the longer hair so i say reject realism and just do whatever you think looks best if you end up drawing her (I REALLY REALLY HOPE YOU DO I EXIST FOR GIRLMEEP ART DROPS)

[jones-friend]

I FINALLY PLAYED TWO NEW GAMES TONIGHT

Zoo Vadis & Cryptid Cafe

I recommend them both but with an asterisk*. They have some wonderful strengths but also have some specifics I’ll get into that may or may not make them suitable for your friends.

Zoo Vadis was a game I found off kickstarter that is actually a remake of the game Quo Vadis?: where players in a roman senate advance their senator tokens and make deals along the way. From the changes I’ve seen Zoo Vadis makes some good tweaks!

In Zoo Vadis each player picks an animal in the zoo. You have 6 tokens of that animal. The board has four starting enclosures at the bottom and through branching paths and enclosures of varying sizes ends with the star enclosure at the top. On your turn you place one of your animal tokens on the bottom, advance one to the next enclosure, advance a peacock, or move the zookeeper.

The trick of the game is you need to accrue more laurels, victory points, than the other players AND you need to get one token in the star exhibit. If you aren’t in the star exhibit you get 0 points.

To advance your animal token you need the majority vote of the enclosure you’re in. An enclosure with 3 spaces needs 2 votes, 5 spaces needs 3 votes, and so forth. You require minimum those votes, so if you’re the only animal in a 5 space enclosure you aren’t going anywhere. You can use your victory point laurels to bribe the neutral peacock faction OR make deals with other players.

And thats the heart of Zoo Vadis. This is a highly social negotiation game. If you play solitaire and secure your own path to zip to the end you will end the game with barely any points. Voting for another animal awards you a 1pt Laurel as the winning player claims a laurel token between 2-5pts. You need to spend time advancing your tokens and helping others advance, aka extorting your friends. All deals made within the turn must be abided by but not if the deal extends beyond that turn. “If you pay me 2 laurels I’ll vote for you this turn” must be abided by. “You vote for me this turn I’ll vote for you next turn” can be broken as a deal. But if you aren’t trustworthy, who will make deals with you?

And thats what I love about Zoo Vadis. There’s a balance here: shoot right to the end and you barely score any points. Spend too much time racking up laurels the other players can and will block you from the star exhibit.

The zookeeper token allows you to advance without a vote, but you don’t acquire the normal laurel token for advancing. The peacocks also add a lot of strategic depth, using them to block paths or gum up enclosures for rough votes. Our 4 player game had 5 spaces in the star enclosure and 2 spaces were taken up by peacocks so one player ended with 0 points since we all couldn’t make it.

The production design is also stellar. I love the art direction, each faction is a different kind of fancy. The art looks great, the pieces are high quality, its amazing.

There are optional powers but every review I’ve seen says the powers cause unnecessary clutter so we opted not to use them.

This is where I bring in the asterisk*. If your friends enjoy more solitaire style games like Earth where we largely work on our own engines then compare scores at the end you won’t have a good time. Everyone needs to be social and be aggressive, you get the most points if you make the most deals. If your friends enjoy lots of gotcha! mechanics or interaction heavy games this is a top tier one for the group. Just light enough on mechanics to keep the game from bogging down with 3-7 people making it a great game for large groups.

Cryptid Cafe! I bought this game just bc of the flavoring and art and I don’t regret it! In Cryptid Cafe you have cryptids coming to your cafe! They have an order at the top you’re looking to fulfill! Send your three server tokens to the chef up top to get ingredients like Brain-Lettuce-Tomato sandwiches or Hot Apple Spider, Cinnemonster Rolls. Serve them before your cryptid guests get mad and walk out on you. Play 8 rounds and the highest score wins!

This is a game I bought bc it looked cute and I’m glad its mechanics had some meat on them bones. You have 3 worker tokens (your servers). The kraken chef’s board has all 3 ingredients with 3, 2, 1, 1 spaces beneath each. Place your worker on a chosen spot to gain that many of that food. At the end of worker placement players can tip the chef. If you’re last in line you can pay one money (victory point) per space to go higher, get more ingredients while bumping everyone down. Its a fairly cutthroat mechanic, one tip from my roommate at the last round stopped her brother from being able to fulfill his last order. Its also a great worker placement mechanic, since you can place anywhere 3-1, you can intentionally place last to tip, and just bc you snagged the first spot doesn’t mean you’re safe.

At its heart its an efficiency game. Guests request 2-4 foods and you can only gather with three workers per turn. Figure out how to use your gathers efficiently and serve your guests. Its theming is an absolute delight and its puzzle of getting the right food was just meaty enough for us to enjoy. Its not the deepest game but for what its doing its good.

I will mention, if this is a dealbreaker for you, that the developers aren’t aware of the taboo nature of the wendigo and that is included here.

The rulebook also lists out origins of each cryptid in the game with brief descriptions. We had a lovely time with Cryptid Cafe if you don’t mind a simpler worker placement with a twist. My asterisk comes in with the wendigo part as well as this is a thematic game, if you’re charmed by the theme you’ll have fun. If you aren’t you might not have the same experience I did.

[vesperlionheart]

Hello｡◕‿◕｡

I have had an idea in my head for a long time. But it is large, so I wanted to ask a few things.

How do you juggle all the characters? Do you write the setting first, and then create a backstory for each character? What is the most convenient way to prescribe all this? And how not to be afraid that no one needs my idea, and I'm wasting my time on unnecessary things? If my goal is to create my own fanfic and get feedback.

I like the idea that my story will end and people will still be writing reviews 5 years from now. How do you feel when you receive feedback? When did you decide it was time to write your first story and see it through?

large world building projects are so much fun, it always feels like snuggling into a comfort blanket or sweater you can really immerse yourself in, at least for me it does.

Juggling a lot of characters can be a struggle since I'm personally a world driven type of author as opposed to the character driven and plot driven types of authors you might run across. What I mean by that is for me the world usually appears first in my mind and I have to build it out before I know exactly who lives in it or what's happening. I think the most convenient way to prescribe all the steps you want to take starts with knowing who you are as a writer and what your personal style is cause we're all made a little different. I got to know myself better as a write after reading The Curiosities, a collection of short stories by three different authors who all are a different type or have a different approach to writing. (I loved their notes to each other reviewing their stories and its a great read.) Knowing what works for you is what's most vital, and a lot of trial and error shouldn't be feared in order to better understand yourself. You'll never waste time trying to grow and improve yourself, even if you don't achieve the fame or money in the end.

For me, when I come up with a story idea, I am usually provoked by some other media I see and feel the urge to make something more suited to my tastes. I read about vampires or werewolves and wanna do my own spin on an urban high school for monsters, I get a fraction of information about some obscure mobile video game and want to run with it in a new direction that gives it lore and meaning beyond the pretty visuals. What do you enjoy reading or playing or watching? Chances are those are topics you might enjoy creating with. For me writing is like 'play' and I enjoy playing with some things more than others as my tastes change and mature with time. On the more technical side of things, in order to build a functioning story I try to make sure I have a problem in my story and I try to ensure my protagonists are characters with needs or desires that push them along through the narrative. These can change depending on the setting they're in.

When I first started writing I was like 12/13 and I just wanted to write for the fun of it and didn't know what I was doing when I posted my first fic online. I appreciated the validation of others who read my work and commented/reviewed, and I think later on that motivated me to switch up my style and try new things for the thrill of it. (No regrets, 10/10 would do again.) You asked about "how not to be afraid that no one needs my idea, and I'm wasting my time on unnecessary things?" Believe me when I say people need stories. I'm not sure about a lot of things in life but I know stories have existed as long as people have lived and there's a reason for that. We need stories as a species. Maybe you do create a story that gets 0 comments or only a few likes and clicks. It happens to most of us when we start out. We think we're making crap and never realize our fields need that fertilizer for a better harvest in the future. You'll make some bad poems and stories and mess up plays or scripts in your life and that's good as long as you don't let it stop you. Keep trying and figure out what works for you. Keep digging until you strike gold. Your brain and your soul deserve the nourishment creating gives them. Make art any way you want and don't look back.

It's fucking amazing to know someone loved what I wrote, even 5-10+ years later. It's humbling and haunting at the same time. I'll never stop being in awe of how great it is to know someone, somewhere in the world of endless possibilities, found some joy in my story. I'm forever in awe of how cool that is. But the older I get the more I realize this writing thing I do, this expression of creativity I gravitate towards, is a gift unto me for my own sake. I need to create stories. I want to live a little in these dream worlds of mine before the daylight burns it all way and makes me go back to work. Writing is a means of self preservation at this point, even though it's a lot of hard work I still mess up on. I find so much joy in the ideas I try to flesh out, so I hope you can discover for yourself the unique joy of creating too. Don't let fear hold you back. Write your story.