#wouldn't want it any different

[shadeswift99]

SHADE. Shade I need your minecraft worldbuilding brain.

They introduced a bunch of new shards to 1.20. The one depicting the Warden is called "mourner."

THE POSSIBILITIES?? It's not just guarding these ancient cities, it's mourning what they once were? Maybe it's similar to an iron golem, a construct built to protect and then abandoned? Maybe it caused the ruination and it mourns what it destroyed? Maybe it's just cranky we disturbed it????

I really like all of those ideas! But, as is my duty as Shade, I am going to introduce you to an extra and more horrifying possibility!

So. Sculk. It's a fungus-like corruption that spreads when it's fed by XP, which is essentially souls or life energy in-universe released at the death or breaking of something. No mobs other than the Warden can spawn in the Deep Dark, which to me suggests sculk has a level of toxicity that even the undead can't handle. Except some people - players - seem to be able to withstand it, at least for a short period of time.

There sure is a lot of sculk in ancient cities, isn't there. A whooole lotta sculk. Whole lot of that stuff that duplicates through death of other living things.

Maybe the cities were full, when the first sculk was discovered. Maybe the toxicity claimed the first person to find it and spread as a result of that, the danger growing the more it took, until it was a wave few could escape. Maybe some got away through those odd portals, the ones with higher natural resistances lasting long enough to flee. ...Or, maybe some of them, left alive long enough to watch everyone else die, couldn't bring themselves to leave. Maybe they stayed to mourn the loss, exposing themselves for longer than even they could withstand. Maybe instead of dying, they changed.

The Warden has the same size hitbox as a player. In spite of visually far exceeding that size, it can fit through the same size gaps. Almost as if it outgrew the volume the Universe had calculated for it. And its ribcage, open and filled with sculk-like texture inside, has always read as human-like to me. The sculk controls it, so the body tries to kill living things to fuel the spread. It's only natural.

But maybe, like the cordyceps fungus, the sculk leaves the brain intact while bending the muscles of the body to its own purposes. Perhaps the Warden's eyes are closed because the mourner is still mourning - the loss of their city, still, or what they lost of themselves by not turning away.

[inkskinned]

the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.

capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.

now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.

and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.

and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.

and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".

it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"

[gen-toon]

[ruporas]

feast (ID in alt)

[ofswordsandpens]

"the Gabe and Sally dynamic in the show is abusive" and "the way they've portrayed Gabe in the show is distinctly different from his book counterpart and fans can criticize that" are two discussions that can coexist

[mittensmorgul]

after learning that ai scrapers took tons of data from ao3 a while back, it's kind of funny that everyone's clutching pearls about this current round. they didn't have "permission" or pay any money to anyone for that, and just... took stuff that was posted on the internet for anyone to see (or scrape for their theft blender).

Like... am i wrong about this? has anything on the internet been safe at any time from this sort of thing?

is there any more safety in, say, hosting your art/writing/videos/gifs, etc. on a personal blog that's still accessible to the public? where any passing bot could potentially scan and scrape it without you ever knowing?

[sergle]

what do you think is the hardest part of being an artist? personally I hate the process of "finishing" any piece. do you ever feel like a piece is truly done?

tbh... Finishing is such a weird one, I NEVER feel like a drawing is finished, only that I'm finished looking at it but I think the hardest part of being an artist (as a Trade) is that most of what you have to do, in order to be an artist, isn't art. So the organizing, the emails, the customer service, self promotion, order fulfillment, keeping a Schedule, things like that. None of that has anything to do with actually making stuff. and I think that's what's always the hardest for me. If I never had to manage my own presence, advertise, or figure out how to handle customer service / emails / organization in general, and my job was just to make things, I think "being an artist" is easy. If I could just draw, I think that would be the ideal. But 78% of being an artist actually has nothing to do with drawing.

[which-qsmp-egg-would]

which egg would treat the masjid shoe racks as their own personal shoe store (because we cant wear shoes inside the masjid we put our shoes on a shoe rack outside the door and SOMETIMES you can get your shoes stolen, so its like a meme where ppl take pictures of the shoe racks and post them with the captions like "going shoe shopping")

Ramadan mubarak! (Sorry that this is so late in the season)

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

musicians should make it a point to have daylight shows instead of only nighttime concerts, send tweet

[summertimemusician]

Linktober Day 6

Mask(s)

Soft and sweet with just a hint of melancholic because 1.I'm tired and probably need a nap father than coffee, 2.I actually managed to make a pretty good mocha and the Anchorage LOZ animatic came onto my playlist before writing this and it kind of influenced my mood, and 3. I'm saving the usual Majora's Mask flare of angst for another prompt because I was having way too much fun dissecting the tragedy of the Hero of Time before sleep deprivation snatched the idea away which is usually my sign to pass the heck out and save the second option for when I have more energy lol.

For the Warriors fans, also Warriors is a disaster of an older sibling but we adore and appreciate him for it in this household, as always can be implied romantic or platonic between him and reader.

You were all but pinned down to the ground, brought down more effectively and unable to find the strength to get up.

Well, not literally, there were no enemies nearby, the chaos at camp had long since died down and there wasn’t anything much to do now that night had fallen, the heavens deigning to put all of it’s glittering jewels on display.

Were it any other day you’d probably focus more on appreciating it in full, the fire was crackling merrily, you were safe and had a full stomach and even with the ever present threat of the Shadow possibly deciding to ambush you all while most of your guards were down, you had your boys with you and the crisp autumn petrichor was a balm on your soul, weary from the journey.

Maybe it would be fine to rest for a little while.

And then the small figure clinging to you flinched, burrowing closer and holding onto your tunic like a lifeline. And awareness came to you like a smack over the head with a log, your fingers gently carding through blond locks as you hum gently. Weighting options and just how quietly you could move without bothering the precious Sprite at your side.

You had guessed Time had been a sweet kid, and you still wanted to lodge a formal complaint with the gods for writing such cruel fate for him because the man couldn’t catch a break and you’re not the only one to take it personally. But he was killing you here, this is how you die, with an adorable but oh so heartbreakingly sad little boy having fallen asleep leaning against you after telling you all sorts of stories about his extensive mask collection.

(You don’t know wether you want to cry, scream or laugh, Mask was so, so young. It breaks your heart, just a little.

Really, the deities of Hyrule must adore tragedies. Bastards.)

Sighing, you decide to compromise, gently keeping the Kokiri boy right where he is, fast asleep and with barely any nightmares as you hum and card your fingers through the spun gold strands, you brush your fingers through the last masks he fell asleep mid through telling the story of how he’d acquired. If you were careful surely you’d be able to reach his pack on his side so he wouldn’t worry later.

A pair of brown boots invade your vision, Warriors crouches down. You think you spot a flash of surprise on his eyes as he spots Mask napping on you, and then fond amusement of a big brother you knew he directed often towards Wind, tone low, “Well would you look at that, out like a light. It’s a rare honor for him to trust anyone like this.”

You chuckle a bit, shaking your head, “I can tell, he’s a good kid. I’ve barely met him for a day and I’d already take on an army for him.”

“Welcome to my world.”, comes Warriors dry response, though you both knew he was a hundred percent serious, his own mask quickly falling away as he gently picked up the Deku Sprout Mask to put it back in the small sprite’s pouch, hiding it’s confused, fearful sadness from your gaze (and it’s an effort, not to twitch, as your rage towards Majora gained even more kindling to burn) as the soldier handled it with the due solemnity of being one of the few Mask would allow to even touch the masks without his immediate supervision, “... I never thought I’d see him again, as...”

“I know.” Your tone was quiet, as you carefully picked your choice of words.

If there’s one thing you knew about any Link, is that they’re all really good elder brother’s and that they are too hard on themselves. Warriors specially, Mask and Wind were his everything, there wouldn’t be words that could describe how gutted he was, after confirming his suspicions with you, regretting not saying anything against Mask joining the battle field back then, loathing himself for not convincing him or Lana into letting him stay in spite of his bad feeling that as soon as the young hero of time passed through that portal he was unlikely to ever meet him again.

... You settle for something simple, instead, reaching a hand to softly pat his head, taking care not to mess his hair too much, “You did good, Wars, it’s not your fault. Mask also knows you did your best.”

He still, sighing, the mask falling away as he guides your hand to his lips, quietly thankful (really, like big brother like little brother, your wonderful, silly, caring boys. You make a point to cheerfully bat away the butterflies in your stomach, ), “... Feels hard to believe that, some times. Thank you.”

You hum, after putting the Zora mask away, Warriors takes Mask’s other side, pulls you closer and breathes.

(Just in case, he lies to himself.)

You quietly listen to his stories about his little brother, and Warriors is content.

[r2y9s]

[Raffles]

hear me out: AU where everything is the same except it's the roaring 20s instead of the 1890s

[skunkes]

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO TRANSITION. THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THEIR 80S TRANSITIONING NOWADAYS, TAKE YOUR TIME <3 <3

thank u, i understand this its just a little hard to continue to cope sumtimes... Like ohh okay i didnt get to grow up a boy... ohhh okay i dont get to be a guy in my 20's either.....ok..........👍.......ok.......

[eclaire-went-bam]

scrolling thru narc abuse truthers blogs is so fucking funny bCS DO YOU GUYS KNOW WHAT THIS TERM EVEN MEANS ???❓❓❓❓❓❓

HELLO 😭😭😭😭 DELUSIONS PF GRANDEUR????

delusions of grandeur are ALSO present in mental illnesses like SCHIZOPHRENIA and BIPOLAR DISORDER. PSYCHOTIC DISORDERS !!! me when i claim i've experienced schizophrenic abuse

also idk y'all i also have psychosis and i think i can say pretty confidently that when i'm experiencing genuine DELUSIONS of grandeur, i don't care as much of maintaining my image because yes i do genuinely believe i'm an incarnate of god so why would i need other people's opinion???

me when i tell someone experiencing psychosis that their symptoms (grandiose delusions) are NOTHING compared to ✨my✨ experiences

[casiavium]

I really need to be cleaning my room but. fanfiction I'd write if I had time but I Do Not

There are several ghiralink fic storylines that are along the lines of "Link gets exactly what he thinks he wants and turns out it isn't really what he needs" (whether real or a dream-state) that have him taking Ghirahim's sword and gaining complete control over him and the themes are of personhood and power and complacency. be careful what you wish for type things. A few that are Ghirahim killing Link/Link losing and realizing he would rather have him alive and fighting instead of dead/given up because it was more fun than way, but usually end up being sad. oh well I guess for the former and teaming up with Link to defeat Demise for the latter.

What I want to write is the themes of scenario 1 but role reversed so it's like scenario 2 with Ghirahim having the "this isn't what I wanted" moment. Ghiralink adds, usually as a joke, a level of "if I can't kill you, maybe you could join me ;)" and I want to write more or less Link doing that, Link being a perfect subservient extension that does everything he wants him to and he doesn't regret it (he can't), but Ghirahim having the realization that he doesn't want someone who is nothing more than an object for him to use. A doll. A sword.

And then, how Link has guilt over Fi and the Master Sword and his role as hero and how Hylia controls him but he's no better than her, Ghirahim realizing Link is now what he is to Demise and rethinking his own position. Is this what Demise thinks of me. Is that why he treats me the way he does. And he takes his anger out on Link but Link can't fight back anymore. Link doesn't want to fight back anymore, and not in a depressed it's hopeless kind of way, but in the same way Ghirahim accepted Demise pulling the sword out of his chest.

When Ghirahim is empty and goes isn't this what you wanted, Link can genuinely say no because he has a hero's heart and conscience and never meant for anyone to get hurt. When Link goes I am what you made me, Ghirahim has to face that fact that yes, he is, and he is made in my image, and I do not want this anymore.

[alullinchaos]

wait off topic if I change Cinder's semblance for my rwby canon-adjacent au.... would this be controversial editing to warn people that the tags are novel length but that i love them and also @graythegreyt pls read them when u have a chance

[arabela25]

The Liverpool Songbook | Eurovision Song Contest 2023