#the other reason for a different format is that i need to keep track of a fast forward symbol

[gynandromorph]

the scene i'm currently writing, i think i will need to use a different script format just to draft it

#currently outlining #the control for pacing needs to be very tight #so it would be better to just describe panel-by-panel #but some sequences won't have a set amount of panels #so i will probably just count those as one panel with 'subpanels' to make this simple #the other reason for a different format is that i need to keep track of a fast forward symbol #which changes over the course of the scene

[anonymousys]

useful system apps

hi ! we're an anonymous system, feel free to call us anon !!! we are making a list of apps* we find useful for system things !!! feel free to add any other things :)

*it was supposed to be just that but i forgot in the middle and just said a bunch of extra stuff. mb

our app suggestions

simply plural: useful for keeping track of alters and fronting. there's a chat function as well, though we don't use it anymore because of the way it formats messages. it is useful for reminders and tasks though! plus, insys communication if you aren't bothered by the formatting. (mobile and desktop free, but desktop is a little iffy.)

fortelling: an app for writers keeping track of their characters, stories, plotlines. however, we tested out how it would work for keeping track of alters and communication/journaling, and it worked pretty well! there are group options like simply plural, but formatted very differently. good for keeping discreet. (mobile is free, desktop is availble but payment needed)

firefox multiacc extension: we just started using this, and it's really helpful!!! we are able to have multiple accounts and tabs open, all organized by system! this, paired with protonmail, is really good for having seperate accounts if that's what your system wants. (desktop available, havent checked mobile)

feedbro: its a simpler, slightly lacking version of the usefulness of firefox multiacc ex.. we used it for a while for certain interests and added tumblr accs on it, and it wasnt the best, but it did work then! (desktop available, no mobile).

twinote: fake twitter. good for sys communication, plus it's just fun! (mobile availble, no desktop?) other fake social media apps work, too, though instagram ones are pretty annoying bc they need images

ifake: fake messages! good for sys communication, plus, again, fun! only thing is that you need to watch ads to make chats :( but the chats are good! many formatting options. (mobile available, no desktop)

notion: good for sys communication/journaling! we use one, and it's really helpful. we have a journal, task list (with reminders), alter list, interest list, plus more (feel free to ask abt it! can show ppl how it looks) unlimited amount of pages and elements as long as you only have one account per workspace! (mobile and desktop available, desktop preferred.) some alternatives are coda (limiting), evernote (limiting, formatting), and onenote (formatting).

pluralkit: bot for systems. we only use this on our phone as we have our own seperate discords on our computer (re: use multiacc firefox ex. <3) but it's helpful! plus, you can change your avatar per server (mobile and desktop available.) alternatives include tupperbox (formatting + old).

youtube music: pair this with firefox adblocker and i swear its so good. its just youtube but focused on music. cant change the playlist pictures, but lost of playlists available! plus less, shorter ads (if u dont use firefox adblocker for some reason). (mobile and desktop available, desktop preferred.)

other suggestions

keep a digital journal/diary! physical is good, too, but we personally find it easier to access digitally, plus less chance of people accidentally finding it.

use firefox. not too system related apart from the multiacc thing but firefox is great

some things we do

we have "certain alter [piece of clothing/thing/accessory]" that helps us determine whos fronting sometimes :)

try to keep track of what happens in life! its helped us integrate to be a little less confused with life

dont feel bad if you dont use any of these! its your system, your choice, you choose how to navigate everything <3

#* prince #plural #actually osdd #actually plural #actually traumagenic #osdd #osdd system #osddid #other specified dissociative disorder #plural system #traumagenic #* tin

[theresattrpgforthat]

Hi! You have a really cool blog and have been getting me into indie RPGs, so firstly just thanks :) But anyway, any RPGs that could work well in a play-by-post format, even if you'd need to homebrew or hack it a little? Online friends on the other side of the world are a beast.

THEME: Play-by-Post.

Hello friend! So I haven’t done a lot of play-by-post games, but I’ve tried it out once or twice. I think in many cases, you might not even need a ttrpg in order to do online roleplay; I’ve played in Star Wars pbp that used the FFG system, but I’ve also seen Star Wars forums that are completely text-based and host their own wikis on information that’s been established in their world to keep track of what's happened so far.

That being said, I can understand having a framework to help guide you, especially if you enjoy the structure of traditional ttrpgs. The possibilities of playing these games by post are vast, although I'm noticing that most of the old forums have migrated over to Discord these days - and Discord makes things like rolling dice so easy, so it makes sense!'

If you're converting a ttrpg that uses dice into something that is play-by-post, you'll have a dice-bot, while if you're using a game that has no dice, or is a little more free-form, then that's one less mechanical piece that you'll need to worry about. Other considerations will likely be things like where you put character sheets, whether the game will be organized in a West Marches format or more like a traditional story, and how often players will be expected to write up what they're doing.

All of this is to say that the following recommendations are just the tip of the iceberg, really. Some of these are designed for play-by-post, while others are just games that I've seen out in the wild before.

Lords of Creation, by Five Points Games.

Lords of Creation is a rules-lite cooperative world building game with a focus on the Divine. Players create Divinities and populate a fresh, open world with a focus on myth telling and lore. The game is intended to be played via Play by Post, allowing players to run multiple societies, factions and elements at once.

Five Points Games clarifies in the game text that this game isn’t really their brainchild, but rather the culmination of play-by-post roleplaying on old WOTC forums. It’s a game about divinity and world creation, and each “turn” of the game takes place over the course of a real-time week. I think this gives a lot of time for each player to be involved in each step of the game, as well as providing in-universe ways to manage players who no longer participate, or who need to stop playing for one reason or another. Lords of Creation is also GM-less, allowing everyone to participate in a partial player, partial GM-style role.

Yowl! What A Strange Hotel, by Zargo Games.

Yowl! is a reviewing service that allows customers to rate establishments from 1 to 6 stars and tell the important details of their stay in a handful of paragraphs. This game is about telling the story of a particular establishment, in this case a hotel, through a series of Yowl! reviews. Reviews are from a different perspective each time, and should reveal something interesting and unusual about the hotel. Is there a dark secret that the hotel is hiding, or is something even stranger going on?

Yowl! looks to be designed for a shorter length of play. Together you will create a strange hotel, and then take turns leaving reviews, letting little pieces of information contribute to a larger story-line as you go. I think this is a relatively simple way of playing by post, although it relies mostly on each player’s creativity, as the game doesn’t come with any prompts.

World /Chronicles of Darkness Games (currently published by Onyx Path).

The World of Darkness franchise is a beast, and has been fuelling play-by-post form play for decades. There’s a number of reasons this collection of settings has been so popular.

It’s focused on factions and politics, which means that a large number of people can join in and fill out various political groups and start plenty of drama with each-other. Because the drama is so juicy, dice rolls can fade into the background. (I don’t think that stops you from being able to use it in a small group though!)

It’s got oodles and oodles of lore, but it’s set within the real world, so players can use something like Google Maps to create a fantasy version of a real-life city, and it provides a solid frame of reference.

It’s been around for a long time, which means that there is so much in terms of resources and advice that you can look at, such as the Onyx Path forums, or the WoD Discord Server.

The Chronicles of Darkness games are specifically designed to be cross-compatible. Changelings, Hunters, Vampires, Werewolves and more can all interact in the same universe - as long as the GM is on board with it. Most of the base rules are the same, with some tweaks for each splat, so if you have some players that really want to play a werewolf, while others are more interested in becoming mages, you can combine the two no problem!

Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, by @jennamoran.

The Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG is a dice-less RPG from Jenna Katerin Moran, author of the well-regarded Nobilis and an important contributor to Eos’ Weapons of the Gods and White Wolf’s Exalted RPG.

Pursue fabulous quests. Progress through Issues. And find a place for yourself in a world of breathtaking beauty.

Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine doesn’t require dice, but rather asks you to role-play through scenes and spend points in line with your character quests. You gain XP for the experiences your character has, the way they interact with other characters, and the steps they take to move towards completing their quest. Because character advancement is dependant on role-play, I think Chuubo’s is a great way to prompt interactions in a play-by-post setting, and character advancement is both a compelling reason for folks to participate and an engine that feeds the storytelling machine.

The rulebook for this game can be a bit of a big read, but there’s a starter adventure included, with pre-built characters to help you get going.

Kids on Brooms and Teens in Space, by Hunters Entertainment.

Kids on Brooms is a collaborative role-playing game about taking on the life of a witch or wizard at a magical school you all attend that uses the “Powered by Kids on Bikes” system, first used in the award winning Kids on Bikes. Kids on Brooms is a rules-light storytelling system that takes you on magical adventures.

Teens in Space is a space opera RPG that uses the “Powered by Kids on Bikes” system. Teens in Space is a rules-light storytelling system that takes you into the cosmos for adventure and profit.

Both of these games use the teen-horror inspired game Kids on Bikes. Since these games rely heavily on polyhedral dice, I think setting up a discord server that also has a dice bot is the way to go with this one. You can choose a character from archetypes provided in the books, or create your own piece-by-piece. Different locations could be represented by different Discord channels, and since these games seem to work really well in regards to mysteries, I think a GM could focus on putting clues in different locations for characters to find, allowing the characters to slowly piece together a mystery over time.

I think Kids on Bikes is a kind of game that is going to require a lot more work to replicate as a play-by-post game than some of the other games on this list, because characters will need to roll dice in order to get things done, and it's best used in a small group. However, one thing I think really works well for these systems is the relationship questions that you roll on to determine how your characters relate to each-other. It gives you a connection right from the get go, and it can give the players something to work with while they're finding their feet.

Belonging Outside Belonging Games.

As a rule, Belonging Outside Belonging games don’t require dice, and as a common feature, BoB games don’t usually require GMs either. Characters are typically organized into playbooks; tropes or classes or collections of abilities that both define characters and make it easier for new players to find their rhythm. These playbooks will come with three categories of abilities: things that you can always do, things that require a token to activate, and things that reward you with a token when you do them. These games also usually include the setting itself as a playbook, or a divided series of responsibilities handed out to each player.

I can imagine a play-by-post form of game moving between descriptive scenes and active scenes, with players alternating between introducing elements of the setting / narrative obstacles; and describing how their characters react to these new events. (I've also seen this kind of thing happen on a Wanderhome server.)

Some Belonging Outside Belonging games that sound interesting to me are Lunar Echoes (a solar punk hack of Wanderhome), Geese at the Beach (chaotic water fowl looking for shines), and Capitalites (urban Asian young people trying to figure out who they are).

I hope you found this useful!

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #game recommendations #dnd #asks #play by post

[shinewerst]

Here I will leave some of my thoughts, guesses and headcanons. Some of them may be stupid and unreasonable, but I will share them with you anyway.

I've noticed that a lot of people headcanon Earth and Moon or Earth and Venus as siblings. And I partially agree with this. But here are my thoughts on this matter: They are cosmic bodies and they do not have siblings in the usual sense, but since they live for a very long time, over billions of years of being close to each other, they can develop family feelings for each other. But only if they are always close. Therefore, most often this occurs between a planet and its moons or between several moons of one planet. This is unlikely to happen between planets, since each of them is in its own orbit, perhaps double planets are an exception. Therefore, I headcanon the Moon and Earth as brothers, Phobos and Deimos too, and Mars as their guardian. (Earth and Venus may be somehow connected, but not family) It's more difficult with gas giants. I believe that when their moons are too numerous and constantly increasing in number, they stop keeping track of them and treat them more like decorations. But Idk.

In the Solar System, having life is supposedly cool and the Earth is proud of it, Venus dreams of it, etc. but it seems to me that in other systems the attitude towards this may be different. For example, I have an oc exoplanet and in her home system this was not considered something cool. They literally treated it like lice lol.

Planets/stars/satellites do not speak any of the earth’s languages, but their own. But different systems have something like their own accents and dialects. So my oc speaks a little differently from them.

In different parts of the universe, the appearance of the planets changes and what the planets will look like usually depends on the star (I'm talking specifically about planethumans).

For the planet/star and satellites, love is something deeper than for earthlings. This is very strong, sensual.

I also noticed how in many fanfictions characters call Proto-Earth that way. But it seems to me that the term “Proto-Earth” itself appeared after his death, namely the collision with Theia and the appearance of the “new Earth”. Before that, everyone simply called him Earth.

Each of them has its own axis tilt, right? They don't really follow it, especially in the planethumans format, so I made a headcanon about them sleeping on their slants. So, Venus sleeps upside down, huh?

The Earth speaks all earthly languages and knows the stages of evolution of almost every creature on his surface, although sometimes he himself may be confused about this. His past memories are slowly fading. He does not remember how he and the Moon appeared, he does not remember that there could have been life on Venus before. I imagine him periodically reading a book about dinosaurs because he doesn't want to forget about them.

I like to think that Mars used to be a bad-tempered asshole, but Earth doesn't remember that. Mars himself does not want to remember this at all, since he has already grown out of it.

Probably the Earth became the way we see him because of humans. Perhaps he was different before. I imagine him as a sweet and kind planet who does his best to care for his friends and his little brother. But when he changed, Luna continued to love him like a brother and care for him in return.

Earth usually tells others only the good side of earthlings, but usually he complains to the Moon about how much he is hurt, about how they are starting another war and doing other terrible things. Therefore, the Moon is much more tolerant of the Earth; he must be the only one who knows how hard it is for him.

Venus is jealous of the Earth and everyone has already understood this. I like to think that Venus, after losing life on its surface, feels the need to protect Earth and its inhabitants.

Luna is aroace. Just because for some reason it seems to me that dating someone just doesn’t suit him.

That's all for now. Maybe I'll create a second part cause I might have forgotten something :p

#solarballs #solarballs earth #solarballs venus #solarballs moon #solarballs mars

[safety-pin-punk]

Punk 101: Recording Music

To answer the question: ‘How do you record music off of a streaming service’ (for legal reasons I wont say which one I recorded off of)

Warning: it can get a bit complicated and is illegal

More Important Warning: at the end of this post there is a video with flashing lights

Also a point to make: you shouldnt do this especially for smaller bands. They make money off of streaming. They need money to survive. Support small bands

Step 1. Put the playlist together

This can be on Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, etc. You just have to be able to access it on your phone or tablet (something that takes an aux cord)

Step 2. Turn the sound to Analog

This is accomplished by running it through an aux cord. If you have a newer iphone or simply a device that has no aux output, you need to get an adapter. But the music HAS to be transferred out of a digital format otherwise you wont be able to record through any encryption (Im not a computer person please dont ask me to explain streaming encryptions)

Step 3. Turn it back into digital

Heres the thing, you can’t really record analog (well not without a HUGE quality loss in sound). This is the part where I warned it can get complicated. I’m going to show the ‘advanced’ way. But you could probably also just find a way to plug the aux into a computer as an input too.

Personally, *if* I were to record music (which I totally dont do cause its illegal) I’d run my music through two different boards

The one on the left is an old as fuck board that has amazing sound, the one on the right is a Denon, which we currently use for DJ gigs. The aux is the input into the old one, which in turn is the input into the new one.

Side note: I’d only add the old board into the mix if I can’t get the aux input loud enough on the Denon to match any pre-recorded music. That’s important for a DJ. The old board would let me give it an extra boost.

Step 4. Sound match (kind of optional, but recommended)

If you want your music to be the same volume as all the other music you have, you have to sound match with a song you already have. I like this song:

You need to record about 20 second demos and compare them with the original song while messing around with the settings until it sounds good without damaging the equipment. As you can see it might take a few tries to get the sound to match. But once it does, you dont have to change the settings for any other song you record.

If you are using a board to record or boost your audio, these are lights that you want to pay attention to. You never want to ‘peak’ your boards. Its not good for them and will shorten their life span.

Step 4. Record

Newer boards often have recording functions (like the Denon). If you are on a computer, use whatever recording application you have available. Save each track. (Maybe listen to the first few to make sure you arent cutting off the very beginning or end of a song). Keep track of which song was recorded in what order if you cant name them right away.

Save the songs onto a usb or on your computer. From their you can rename the files

Step 5. Do with it as you please

Want to turn it into a cd?

Punk 101 Master List

My entire set up for recording: FLASH WARNING

#punk 101 #music #recording #flashing tw

[animi-kings-lair]

K bout that racing series, I've devided this ask into several parts to avoid it being a wall of text.

Basic concept: A field of fourty dragons are all put on a oval track and race side by side with walls to prevent corner cutting, rules stating you can't touch the floor or go higher than specified to prevent cheating. These races are fast, close together, and long. 100 laps at the longer tracks, as much as 500 at the short ones.

Series format: 36 races a year, one week in between them for teams to prepare. On friday it's free practice around the track. Saturday, qualifying where dragons try to set the fastest lap and determine where they start on the grid. faster the lap, further up front you start. Then on sunday it's race day. Depending on where you finish you are awarded a certian amount of points and who ever has the most points at the end of the season is the season champion.

Individual races: Racers will line up at the grid in 2 lanes with 20 dragons each. It alternates which line you get from qaulifying. You got the second fastest lap in qualifying you start in the outside lane right up front next to the fastest dragon from qualifying who's in the inside lane. Before the race starts dragons will follow a track offical around the track to keep pace speed (I'll refere to them as the pace dragon). The pace dragon will leave the track on the start lap and as the dragons get close to the start/finish line the green flag is waved and the race is underway. During the race dragons are allowed to go to a seperate easy access area just off the track to grab some sort of drink, patch up any injuries they may have sustained, and a quick rest. I'll just call this a pit stop for convinence. The positions dragons are in can be kept and displayed either manually or with animus objects to keep the crowd updated on how each racer is doing.

Track design: So all these tracks are ovals, which may seem boring but there's a twist. Each track has banking on the floor and different amounts of width, meaning dragons will be in constant competition. Tracks can range from long super speedways where they don't have to slow down around the curves because it is that big, short tracks small enough to fit inside wearhouses where turning fast is key, and intermediate tracks which are a mix of both.

Saftey: We always have to keep our dragons safe, so in the event of a mishap that could put racers or the crowd watching at risk a yellow flag (Caution) Can be put out which means all racers have to slow down to pace speed and whatever their position was at the moment of caution is how they'll follow the pace dragon for the restart. Red flags can be thrown if a race is threatened by weather or damage to the track. Black flags can be thrown if a racer has commited a on track offense like cheating or can not keep race speed for whatever reason and is considered dangerous to other racers. this will require them to come to the pits and be done with the race. On pit road, when dragons are going to make pit stops they have to maintane pace speed for the saftey of t he team memebers and racers on pit road around them and if they speed, they usually have to take a pently.

Skill level system: Not every racer is as skilled as the pros and needs a entry level. So there's four divisions, Rookie, Intermediate, Skilled, and Pro. This way racers on each division can get experience with people on the same level as them and not worry about pros making it dificult. To move up through the ranking system team scouts from teams higher up in the division systems will scout out rookie memebers for their team. In anything beyond rookie division if it's the first year you race you are required to wear a yellow vest so other racers can clearly idendtify a rookie and know to keep a look out.

And that should cover it. Best piece of advice I can give is if there's a problem, listen to the fans and racers who enjoy the series. They know what they wanna see it will help this series sucseed.

"Okay,"

◇◇◇

Meanwhile with Qibli—

#animus qibli au #wings of fire #wof #dragons #qibli wof #wof art #darkstalker wof #wof oc #king darkstalker answers

[threeclans]

Hi! I hope all is well. Ive been in the wcrp community for a few years now and Im currently in the process of rebooting my own rp server. Ive tried several times and have been struggling with keeping them running/staying motivated because activity seems to die completely about a month or two after opening… I was wondering if you had any advice for running a long-term rp like this? Anything is appreciated.

Hi! Advice as far as group management goes is always something that will vary from group to group — what works for us might not be exactly what another group wants to follow for their own guidelines, depending on preferences and standards for how certain things like time and server setup are handled — but I'd be happy to go into some things that I think have led to ThreeClans seeing a lot of success through the 8 years we've been active!

We've had to do a lot of adapting and learning during this time, which is the first thing I'll make note of. When our group started, we were roleplaying on Skype, and our organization looked quite a bit different than it does now today! Still, we've kept a lot of things from our past too, like our commitment to keeping up with the pace that we've chosen for our group (which follows a real life time system, so that the flow of time progression proceeds naturally in tandem with the flow of time in real life — each day that goes by in real life is the equivalent of one roleplay day, so that you don't have to worry about doing any math to track how your characters should be aging or progressing) and our longstanding lore and rules for the sake of member comfort.

One thing to keep a group going that I've found beneficial in ThreeClans on the modding front is making management something you feel capable of handling! As a Mod, you're dedicating quite a bit of your free time to something that's a hobby, and if you aren't able to invest your time or passion into a group, it's easy for members to feel uninvested too. To make this smooth for everyone, set yourself up for success! One way we do this in ThreeClans is by making things comfortable for us. We like to keep our channel numbers low, for example, so that we're not constantly darting back and forth between hundreds of text chats trying to keep up with what's being said. We've also been told this helps members feel less overwhelmed in what would otherwise come off as a "large server" with many channels to drown in. As an example, I've attached a screenshot below to display what our setup looks like for three of our main categories for NettleClan, CreekClan, and JaggedClan and the amount of channels we have accessible for each one.

When these are kept open, I can see them all at once on my screen without scrolling. Any notifications, therefore, are visible, and I can keep a close eye on all activity! Some of these channels are also temporary, and therefore we're usually even a bit lower in number. One other thing to note here is organization in the way you name things. Being able to search your channels for relevant information using Discord's search feature makes modding tasks easy. Say you need to reference a roleplay done by a member: by knowing exactly what format of naming you use for the channels you have available, you'll know where to look when searching!

When it comes to motivation on both the behalf of Mods and members, it's definitely a delicate balance. Sometimes you just can't be sure who will "click" in a group or with a particular opening. In ThreeClans, we always try to prepare for our openings with the awareness that we may have members who join and then drop off in the early weeks of being in the server for one reason or another. They may not mesh with the server atmosphere, they may feel overwhelmed with the amount of history or the amount of people present, they may simply get too busy to be prepared to take on roleplaying at the time and may not have anticipated such a thing when applying! For whatever reason, sometimes things just don't work out. We'd advise, then, leaving some "extra room" when you open a roleplay for these occurrences. Accept enough applications so that even if a couple of members do decide to depart, you won't be out of your entire member base.

Of course, you don't want to resign yourself entirely to the idea of people leaving! Like I mentioned, feelings of being overwhelmed can sometimes crop up, or sometimes people may just be a bit shy. In this case, the best thing you can do is be prepared to include them. Go out of your way to say hello specifically to them as they join the server! Offer a compliment when you DM them to give them their invite. When setting up the server for new members, be sure to make sure that every person is included in conversations about character development and relationships. It's your job as a Mod to take note of who clusters together and who might be a little more quiet, and while you can't make anyone talk, you can reach out and let them know you'd love to roleplay with them when you have a chance! This is something you should also encourage members of your roleplay to do if you have a pre-existing server. In ThreeClans, I think part of the reason we see success in new openings is because our current member base is so actively welcoming and completely excited to say hello to any new participants when they do hop in to the server that it's easy to feel like you've made a friend from the start.

When people feel like they fit in, they're more likely to maintain engagement in a group. Let them feel like they can come to your Mod team with ideas, and you'll be able to bounce your own thoughts off of them and help generate further plotlines that fuel you past that initial thread of the 1-2 month period of excitement. Of course, sometimes it has to be up to you and your Mod team to take note of the unique traits of people and their characters and come up with pitches to present to them on your own. This can be exciting for members as they feel included in something that makes them want to keep moving along — in addition, I'd always suggest that when you start a group, you should have an idea of how your opening plot is going to slot in new additions.

All too often I think people tend to have a basis for lore / setting / staff characters and neglect to imagine the plot threads that will need filling in by new additions. This can mean creating a draft and reworking it a few times as you figure out who the characters that'll come to populate your roleplay server are, of course, but even having a loose idea of a plot such as "This opening will be based around the idea of a clan that has been stable for seasons upon seasons, but now with the introduction of a branch group claiming to be descendants of former clanmates who went missing years ago, they're forced to reckon with what they really know about their history and how it might impact the reality of their cozy lifestyle and current leadership," gives you something to work with. Member characters can fit into the role of characters comfortable with their normal lives (soon to be disturbed) or in the position of those about to shake things up, depending on where you choose to go with things.

Another thing to mention as far as activity goes is maintaining OOC connections! It might take some time with a fresh group, but part of what keeps ThreeClans together, in my opinion, is the bonds formed by our members and the fact that we all often get together to have fun outside of roleplay settings. Things like movie nights hosted on stream or casual gaming sessions / nights hosted by Mods or staff can really bring a community together and foster a sense of belonging which translates to an overall feeling of happiness in a server. You can choose to host OOC events that have an impact on the IC world too, like contests to make up parts of the lore of your server or to create things like clan icons or server specific resources with special rewards like character art given out to anyone who participates!

This is getting long, though I could go on for ages about all the things that can compliment a server and its continued activity. At the end of the day, sometimes you just have to keep trying! Your first attempt or your first few attempts might fall through, but if you show continued passion and find the right group of people to work with, you'll manage to make something that continues steadily along, I'm sure!

Mod Maya

#ask #anonymous #long post

[thelureking]

LILIUM'S 2023 GAME RECOMMENDATIONS:

Hey! Better late than never! I actually have been editing this list since november, but I lost some of the things I said about the last games and it took me this long to remember what I had written. The risks I run because my mind flows better when I write with pen and paper. So, seeing how well the last list did on my memory, and because I got bored of talking to myself, I shall torture the unlucky ones who have found this post with both my video game taste and my rambles about them. I am so sorry in advance.

It's the same as before: they are ordered chronologically, from first played/finished to last, not ranked in how much I liked them. If I dont say a lot its not because I didn't like it, or that it was bad. At times I didn't want to give too much away. This time I tried to write each segment right after finishing them, or the following days, so that's why I talk way more or in more detail about each game and my own opinions. And who knows, maybe this will be a yearly thing. I like it, I'm Having fun. And hopefully some of these games get the love they deserve by whoever reads this.

So, once again, and now with more words:

1) Mothmen 1966

Mothmen being in the title was enough for me to give it a go, so it's good to say that the game is also good. It is divided by chapters, each one from the perspective of one of our three protagonists, showing the perspective of these vastly different people even if they are connected in some way. The game goes from a visual novel style to changing the gameplay to be interactive while also maintaining its format, something that I found entertaining. Its visuals are a treat, and I believe they enhance the horror presented in the story. All of the parts in this game work in its favor. I cannot believe I am actually saying this, but to get an achievement you need to take an L. I am not joking. It is part of a puzzle and me being good at it made me miss an achievement. No hard feelings, I had a good laugh about it as I was going back to the save file and doing it again. Sometimes, sucking is the way to go. I may have spent way too much time trying to win the Impossible Solitaire. But I will, one day, you'll see.

2) Roadwarden

You know a game is good when I play it for hours uninterrupted and is the main reason I turn on the computer.

Roadwarden is, as the title image says, an illustrated text based RPG, in which you take the role of a Roadwarden who is tasked to explore an unknown peninsula to expand a merchant's guild's influence, establish its safety, and find out what happened to the missing previous roadwarden.

Let me tell you, this game is amazing from both a mechanical and storytelling level. Mechanically because the game keeps track of so many things, it will remember even an answer you gave at the very beginning, and it'll become an integral part of your character. Even little thoughts as you are about to sleep will shape who you are playing as. On the story telling level, so many of the quests and towns are interlinked that holding back on finishing certain quests is the way to go, although in some cases having as many done as possible will no doubt help. The characters and towns are all unique and memorable, each with history that shapes them and how they interact with each other and you, the outsider. Both gameplay and story service each other to present an experience unlike any other, enhancing each other at every opportunity. The art and soundtrack set the perfect atmosphere for each moment. And the world building. Man, the world building, it's just. So well done, you actually believe this is a real place that existed before you arrived, and that it will continue to do so after you leave. It wasn't waiting for you, it did not kick into gear just because you showed up. It has its own issues, its own history, its own people, nature, culture, and you can feel that with each written word, each piece of information. I can't even explain properly just how good the world building is.

I just really fell in love with being a guy on the road taking care of these settlements' problems, getting to know their inhabitants and gaining their trust, all while falling in love with the game. There is one quest that I do not want to spoil, but the ending was so. Fitting, in a way, that I was surprised I didn't see it coming. Even as I saw the achievement name once I completed it, I looked back and just. I just smiled like damn, good job.

If you want to really take in this entire world and its people, I would personally recommend playing in Casual, since any other difficulty setting will put a limit to the days you'll be allowed to stay, and I must stress that this experience must not be rushed. Unless you dont mind a time challenge, in which case you do you. Also don't know about your memory, but I needed to take notes, and some highlights are: "Efren marry me", "We should have all stabbed Thais full Julius Caesar style", "Eudica and Efren my beloveds" and "Thyrsus is my Warlock Uncle". With that being said, the Journal mechanic is a god sent, and I can't be more grateful that it exists. Finally, a journal that doesn't get stuck in the first sentences of a quest from when you first got it.

Oh boy, those are a lot of words. Can you tell I really liked this game? I can't wait to see more from this developer.

EDIT: THE GAME HAS RECEIVED A HUGE UPDATE THAT I HAVE YET TO PLAY, BUT OH BOY IT'S MAKING ME WANT TO REPLAY THE ENTIRE GAME AGAIN.

3) Exhibit of Sorrows

A short game set in a clown exhibit, with a point - click and drag gameplay. I'll keep this one short, since this game can be played for free in both browser and for download in Itchio, and it is a neat little thing that you can beat as fast or as slow as you want. You interact with each exhibit, clicking and dragging the mouse depending on what you need to do, each with a little buddy that you need to help or have fun with to get the key, and proceed to the next screen. Its length and artstyle make for a fun and interesting experience, pacing itself beautifully. It is effective in every way. And come on, they are clowns, they are so cute and look like plushies. I love them all.

4) The Firebrand

A game about a detective interrogating a woman with different word prompts that he writes down in his notebook, all which branch into more questions and answers. You'll uncover the story and the truth of this conversation as you play along, finding out stuff about the woman, the detective, and even the world they live in. It is an interrogation against a clock that keeps on ticking, and luckily the developers give us the chance to check out a dialogue tree and how to get both the Normal and True Ending. With that in mind, the questions that don't lead to either of these are worth reading, as they serve to paint a bigger picture. And hey, you can also get the Bad Ending while you do it.

5) Royal Alchemist

Royal Alchemist is a visual novel in which you, the protagonist, are tasked with tutoring the three princes of a nation. You will fight for your life against the challenges this new position presents and also the stat checks you will have to pass at different points of the story, both of your character and the princes. Speaking of, each one of them represents a different route, with their recommended order (which I highly request following as stated by the creators: Aurelius, then Serin, and finally Nazir. Trust me, they were made to be experienced like this, you wont regret it). You will experience the constant back and forth, the battle of swords and wits with Aurelius, the emotional build up with Serin, and to describe the main appeal of Nazir's route before playing it would be a spoiler. The romance in this VN is some of the best I've experienced. I have never read about two characters holding hands in such an intimate way, it made the pure build up of a route worth every second. And the Princes aren't the only interesting characters, this visual novel is full of fun and complex characters, all with their own personalities and roles. From Raphael, the butler who might as well be the patron saint of patience, to Viola, the infamous head merchant. It has a mechanic of stat raising and, as stated before, there will be points in the story where you will need to reach a certain level of a skill to be able to pass. But don't worry, there is an official guide made by the developers which is a life saver, which not only has each stat requirement for each route, but also with neat additions like character profiles and more. The only criticism I'll give it is that some scenes are cut short when they could have been expanded on and it would have had a better effect, not only in terms of an emotional connection, but also to further enforce the bond between the player and the relationship developed in the route. But besides that small complaint, this visual novel is one I would gladly recommend.

6) Fear & Hunger

God, this game. This game hates you on a mechanical level. This game will put the fear of god in you every time you get further away from a save point, every time you think "yeah I can take this enemy no problem" and next thing you know you are eating dinner with your creator; every time you think "oh neat, a new area" and proceed to eat shit and die for the next hour because you just lost a fucking arm and a leg and can't outrun your enemies anymore. And you refuse to start another run because you are just that stubborn, and you will suffer through the consequences of your early game actions. No this is not my personal experience what are you talking about. It is a bleak and grotesque horror rpg game, made with RPG Maker. You will accompany whichever poor soul you choose as your playable character in their trip to the dungeon of Fear and Hunger, for whichever the reason their story presents. Should you play this game? Be mindful of the triggering content, first and foremost. This is a dark game, and it does not shy away from depicting it. From enemy designs, gameplay mechanics, to the way of worshiping gods, to specific game overs, and so on. Its hard and you will feel it unfair. This game will not hold your hand, and when you think it does it will put its teeth around your wrist and tear it off your body, its saliva infecting your wound with poison and leaving you to rot. I love this game.

7) Clash: Robot Detective

Fun fact: I never look into games that much before playing them, which in this case led to the asssumption that I was going to play a robot. So I named my character Flesh, because I thought a robot named Flesh was funny and also cool. Turns out, I ended up playing a human named Flesh. Which was somehow even funnier, and ended up becoming a pattern when I played the extras, which have a different protagonist, and I decided to commit to the bit and named them Blood. Flesh and Blood, my favourite human beings.

You play as the extremely new assistant to our titular detective Clash, who asks for your help in solving a mystery taking place in the cruise ship you are vacationing on. Depending on the different dialogue options, you can play as the good or the bad cop, and Clash will balance you out in this act, which leads to different and interesting outcomes.

I have to say, the artstyle drew me in. I am a sucker for these types of illustrations, and I'm glad that the writing and story were as good. I was invested not only in the case, but also on Clash as a character, who I will longingly stare at from a distance because I respect his boundaries and preferences.

Keep on going, you majestic robot detective, I can't wait to see what kind of trouble you get into in the future.

8) EXCUSE ME SIR (Demo)

Long awaited (at least for me) DEMO from Airdoft (creator of FAITH) and , and it all came about because of her videos and a single tweet.

The demo is short, but it shows the great potential of what a game like this could grow into, and I cant wait to see it become a finished project.

EDIT: Sadly, the game has been canceled, so we won't be able to see this concept grow into a finished game. Hopefully it'll inspire others with its style and presentation.

9) (Don't) Open Your Eyes

In this room, you know how everything looks. Does that include your midnight intruder?

This entire VN is a one sided conversation between you and something that may or may not be there, shaped in the darkness of your closed eyelids. Both of you are gripped by the same question, the intrigue eats away at you. Your imagination runs wild trying to give shape to this anomaly, and it is so desperate for you to find out.

There is only one way to do so:

Don't open your eyes.

10) Fortress

Man, short and effective is the way to describe this one. It has such a fantastic grip on atmosphere and tension that I admire. It truly captures the feeling of returning to a place where an impactful childhood memory took place.

Using the same location and making you play through it at different times of the story was done so well. I was ready for things to happen just because they did in the past, the first half of the game, and expected them to happen again.

In the past, I was ready to shoot on sight. As an adult, I couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger, not even to see if I could. I don't know why, months after playing it, this little thing has stuck with me the most.

11) The Shadows That Run Alongside Our Car

You leave the gas station with a stranger, either on the wheel or sitting next to you. The silence hangs heavy between you two, the road is empty, the sun is setting, and the end of the world is now. Time to break the silence, you get to choose who. In this visual novel you get to decide how this conversation at the end of the world unfolds, a game of perspective between our two characters, who may hide certain details about themselves or reveal them, if they give you the choice. After all, what would you gain by hiding a secret in this car ride? It could be your last.

12) Attack of the Murder Hornets

Hornets are evil, evil things of nature. They are coming for your bees.

They are coming for you.

BE READY

13) Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (+ Siege of Dragon Spear)

There has to be a saying that goes: If you can't play the game everyone is talking about, go play every single game in it's series that came before it. Because that's what I did, even if I already wanted to play the Baldur's Gate games before the third one came around. But it was definitely a good push. The game's story has a much smaller scope than I expected, or maybe that's just how I feel now that I am currently playing the second game, but I think it works in its favor.

I think the reason I don't have much to say, besides the fact that I had lots of fun, is because my head is still processing Siege of Dragon Spear (with its much bigger scope) and what I am currently seeing in the second game. What all I'll say about that one now is man, what a way to start a sequel.

My suffering came mostly from the ruleset used (which I was unfamiliar with) and the fucking paralysis spell. Fuck it. ALL MY HOMIES HATE THE PARALYSIS SPELL.

In terms of characters, I didn't end up using most of the available NPCs in my party, even if I made the effort of recruiting them all, mostly because the ones I had I liked a lot. I liked Rasaad and I was pleasantly surprised he had a romance in the expansion AND the second game, which I am enjoying a lot. Jaheira and Khalid never left my party, same with Imoen who I kept treating like a sister because come on, the setup of being raised in the same city since birth and being childhood friends was perfect. I love Baeloth an unhealthy amount, he is so perfect in the expansion I made an effort to keep him in the party even if I had high reputation. In the expansion my party was insane looking. Like Oh yes, the Hero of Baldur's Gate, her monk companion Rasaad, Jaheira and... a gnome nobody knows why he is around, Baeloth the entertainer I guess, and a GOBLIN? At one point I did switch Jaheira for Viconia, only because Baeloth was one point of reputation away from leaving the party. I swear, the grip that man has on me. The story from Viconia's POV must be so funny: She gets recruited and instantly tells me she is fucking off, gets recruited again only because I dont want an idiot entertainer to leave; and then when she is about to be killed, who comes to her rescue? THIS DUMBASS. She must be like: GOD, DAMN IT, I CAN'T ESCAPE THIS BITCH. I am her surface curse.

My closing thought for this game is: Whoever made the TOSC maze... Who the fuck hurt you? Same goes for whoever made that final boss. WHY?!

#game recommendations #mothmen 1966 #roadwarden #exhibit of sorrows #the firebrand #the firebrand game #royal alchemist #fear and hunger #fear & hunger #clash robot detective #excuse me sir #(don't) open your eyes game #dont open your eyes game #Fortress game #the shadows that run alongside our car #attack of the murder hornets #baldur's gate 1 #baldurs gate #baldur's gate #lilium post

[northern-passage]

Your latest post about romance lockouts has given me the courage to finally send this.

If I do not romance anyone, will I miss out on anything in the overall plot of your story and the Hunter's connection to it?

Right now, with who my Hunter is, I do not see them being capable of romantic attraction/love, hence the ask.

But I hope that my Hunter will still be able to show platonic love. Especially with Noel, who right now is seeing my Hunter at their absolute worst.

(I say absolute worst because there's no way you're going to make it any worse for them, right?

...Right?)

Xir support and friendship has touched both me and my Hunter. I get emotional when they reach out for xem at the start of Chapter 2, just so that they can be held.

So I hope they can tell xem they love them for everything xe has done at some point, for being there by their side, even if it's not in a romantic sense. (I hope I got Noel's pronouns correct as well in this ask.)

no, you do NOT need to be romancing anyone to still get the full story! i have a lot of relationship variables pretty much for this reason - i'm trying to keep track of who the hunter is spending the most time with as well as who they're flirting with. i check for these things in tandem, and i always write non-romantic versions of scenes.

using Noel as an example, since you asked about xem (but this applies basically to all of the one-on-one scenes): what i do is first check to see if you went with xem in Blackwater. only people that went with him in Blackwater get that longer scene at the start of ch2. i then check to see if you've flirted with xem. if you have, you'll get the romantic version of the scene, and i'll check to see how much you've flirted/how you've treated xem and you'll get subtle variations. if you have not flirted with xem, then you get the platonic scene, and if i'm being honest they're really not that different from each other! i check for just about the same things in both. and then, of course, there's yet another variation for people that did not go with xem in Blackwater (and i still, again, run almost the exact same variable checks)

i do this for everyone, and i have various other variables i call on besides just the flirt stat and the blackwater stat, too, like your personality as well as previous dialogue that may have impacted how the character feels about you.

it's important to me for people to be able to experience this game without romance, and is why i like to make sure i have a good balance of both flirt choices and non-flirt choices when interacting with everyone.

while a lot of the focus on tumblr/the blog is about the romance aspect of the game, this is not solely a "romantic" love story. the game is about the characters and their relationships with one another - all kinds of relationships, not just romantic.

when we do eventually get to the romance lock-ins, there will be non-romantic options, too. i can't say for sure the exact format yet (cus it's a while to go) but the foundation will be the same - there will be both romantic and non-romantic options, and they will all be clearly labelled so you know which one you're selecting :-) not locking into a romance isn't going to bar you from any future scenes or any parts of the story at all, the romantic relationship is just one variation of the relationship you can potentially have with certain characters, if that makes sense.

#also anon im pretty sure you are like the first person to get all of noel's xe/xem pronouns correct in an ask LOL #💗 #also i LOVE platonic 'i love yous' we will definitely see those i prommy :-) #ask #anonymous #technical stuff

[amadwinter]

Making of Monday - Tracking Word Counts

On Making of Monday, we share behind the scenes of one of our works past, present, or future. All the little things that would fit into a DVD bonus content section: cut scenes, outlines, director's writer's commentary, or basically any thing that didn't make it into the final version. Send me an ask if you're interested in knowing little details about any particular fic!

This week, I decided to show my word count spreadsheet that I've been meticulously using and crafting for coming up on two years now. It wasn't built in a day, and I'm almost constantly tweaking it to make it look nice and functional as I keep writing.

Uh, fair warning. This is not a very exciting post. Unless you like numbers and data, like I do.

For the sake of my own sanity, I started a new Excel document for the new year. This is my Summary page for the year 2024. I have pages created already for each month but hide them when it isn't that month. I'll show the Overview page next after I've explained what you're looking at.

So what you see here is my monthly and annual writing totals. This only takes into account new words written, although the start number at the top of each yearly column includes my running word count. Each month's number is automatically updated from the corresponding month's page, and added up in the total column.

On the side, I have fun projections. So if I wanted to write x number of words per year, not counting the words I have already written, I would need to write y number of words per month with an average of z number of words per day. It's not something I pay too much attention to, just for fun. Below that is a projection of if I write the NaNoWriMo daily count (1667 words per day) or 1000 words per day, how much that would add up to at the end of the year.

This is the Overview page from last year (2023) plus December 2022 which is when I switched over from my previous Google Sheets document. Additionally at the bottom you can see the different monthly pages that are not hidden (I color coded them because I was bored one day).

This page keeps track of my daily totals in the form of a color gradient, linked to the monthly pages to get the totals.

Solid Red = 0

Solid Yellow = 1000

Solid Green = 1667 (NaNoWriMo Daily; 50,000 words in a 30 day month)

Originally, the idea was to be able to look at it and see if there were time periods that I wasn't writing as well due to being busy for various reasons, so I could be able to predict in the future what conditions weren't great for writing. But an interesting side effect is it's also able to track my good days and my bad days for health reasons.

That random number you see on the right side is my highest daily word count. I was curious about it, but I couldn't figure out a way to make it look pretty and fit in with everything else.

This is my month page, divided by each individual project. Y is series or event with multiple fics involved, Z is one-shots, two-shots, or very short fics. The greyed out ones at the top are ones I'm not actively working on, the ones in green are fics that I am either actively working on or trying to work on.

Also at the top are the new words added each month (which is the cell used in other pages to keep track of the monthly number), the total words in all my documents, and the daily average for the month.

The color gradient at the top for each day follows the same pattern as before; Solid Red = 0, Solid Yellow = 1000, Solid Green = 1667+

I keep track of the word count for each chapter, add the total, subtract it from the previous day, and boom, that's my daily total. If there are times where I delete things, I throw it into a document called "Binned" to balance the numbers. That way, I never subtract from the amount of words I've written, only add.

While it may look like a very simple sheet, it is very messy with formulas, conditional formatting, etc. If I were more skilled at Excel, I could probably improve it even more, but at this point, there's very little maintenance needed to keep it going and I can focus on actually writing.

In theory.

#making of monday #writing process #no i didn't almost forget to post this #what are you talking about? #this might only make sense in my own brain

[absolutebl]

BL Info & Review Content Providers/Blogs OFF Tumblr

BLOG

Wordpress based blog: BL Express. https://theblxpress.wordpress.com/

A small team that updates regularly and are very sweet and very good and consistent. They’re pure fan passion but thorough in their reviews (not-academic), and while we don’t always agree I like reading their thoughts. They also talk about m/m books and occasionally yaoi. They have an RSS feed so you can aggregate. (You might even be ale to get it sent to you in newsletter form.)

FACEBOOK

Facebook page: BL Update 2020 https://www.facebook.com/blupdate2020

I think just one person who speaks several languages (specifically Japanese & Korean) and keeps an eye to Twitter, Instagram, and places like that where BL announcements are made. They then repackage into a daily digest posting format. More interested in providing content/announcements first, than engaging with fans, so doesn’t really respond to comments or cultivate a community (which is FINE).

When I hear gossip on Tumblr about a new project, this is who I check first, then I bop over to…  

TRACKING SYSTEM

My Drama List AKA MDL https://mydramalist.com/

It’s worth having an account just so you yourself can keep track of what you watch. You can follow people like me who only review BL, and create lists of it. More importantly you can check the comment threads beneath the different dramas for indie subbers posting more obscure titles. Also people who know what’s going on with production etc…

TWITTER

World of BL on Twitter https://twitter.com/world_of_bl_com

This is my least used resource for no other reason then I really hate Twitter. But I know a lot of people follow them. And they might be the most up to date source on this list. Very engaged with the community. Also runs a wikia based (or maybe hard coded?) resource of BL + reviews. (I just don’t like the interface, ugly af, but there are some who find it useful and prefer it to MDL).

Also: BLUpdate @BLUPDATE2022.

YOUTUBE

Will of Thai BL on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/ThaiBL

Does videos regularly of trailer clips etcetera of upcoming dramas (not just Thai stuff). Because they have to cut everything together and upload there is a delay on this content (as compared to the other gossips), but still it’s a fun resource. Also Will is a reader of Thai y-novels and will occasionally post spoilers of currently airing shows (which you don’t’ have to watch, I just like spoilers). Uses a robot voice, but *shrug*.  

YouTube BL Documentary Resources 

BL History

Strongberry on BL (Korea)

Thai BL

TED Ex BangKok (growing up gay in Thailand)

Chinese masculinity

Perth on working on a BL show (Thailand, Aussie perspective)

——

There it is. That’s how to stay in touch with the community if, for any reason, you wanna/need to flee Tumblr or get booted or anything.

Please repost and add more if you know of them (specifically if there is a new releases newsletter out there), or leave a comment if you have other suggestions. Tumblr is fun but not exactly the best organizer of information.

(source)

#bl content provitors #information about bl #thai bl #korean bl #japanese bl #taiwanese bl #pinoy bl #vietnamese bl #where to find bl #info about bl #reviews about bl #bl off tumblr

[cantsomeoneelsedoit]

Ch 20: Keep Your Hands Off Planet Earth

UMA Galaxy has been unleashed! And it's the last chapter of this arc! And we get multiple double page spreads! And I have ridiculous theories to share!

Move is an UMA under control of the Union that looks like a monster with a body made of board game parts. It looks kind of like The Game of Life.

His head is a die that has Roman numerals on it. Do they refer to the Negator seats numbers?

Move is such a weird and abstract concept. Like what is a world without Move like??

Our characters can obviously move without Move's help, but when they use his power, they can be moved to a new location anywhere in the world. It looks like Move creates pathways or portals to other parts of the world.

Move allows the author to break normal rules of physics and have characters that appear out of thin air instantly for various plot reasons. The concept of "Move" seems like a really basic aspect of storytelling and world building, so he must be important.

The Union is transported to Uluru in Australia. IRL, this rock formation has a lot of cultural stories about world-creation, ancient history, animals, and people. It makes sense that it would be the symbolic location for Earth to make a stand against aliens.

Nico's helpful assistants fill the Negators in on what physical and cultural changes have occurred. (So now we know Victor was from a place that already had Galaxy!)

and we get this wicked double page spread:

They're the Acks! And they have axe armor! And their ships have axes on them! And they blow up Uluru!

Juiz is so badass here

Juiz was probably going to destroy them no matter what crazy ultimatum they gave, but she handled it with such grace and simplicity. I adore this spread:

Damn, Juiz can reverse someone's ideal justice. That's wild. And since the Acks wanted humans to be wiped out, her ability makes them turn their weapons on each other and wipe themselves out. Brutal.

Moving on, I'm about to get weird.

The Acks fit neatly into my theory that UU is a story about writing. The threat from Acks and their axes were a grave danger to our characters' world. And what's the greatest threat to a manga writer? Getting axed. It would mean that the story wasn't allowed to continue.

This Axe/Acks thing sounds good, but I might be totally wrong. For one, "Axe" and "Acks" are spelled with different katakana. Plus, I don't really know if "to axe something" is a known English phrase in Japan. The verb used for manga cancelled suddenly is more likely to be 打ち切る uchikiru, "to cancel, to terminate." I don't even know if Tozuka speaks English.

But he does use a lot of foreign words in his manga, and the aliens clearly have axes on them, and it fit the theory too well not to mention it.

ANYWAY, Juiz reveals the existence of a stone tablet that's keeping track of the number of penalties. We're now up to 99, and there are 101 slots. The 101st slot is labeled Ragnarok.

I think it's weird that the stone tablet doesn't have a name and isn't mentioned as being an artifact. Juiz says that they found it at the same time as Apocalypse.

Is it possible that Apocalypse isn't just the book, but the book and tablet are a set named Apocalypse?

Fuuko, Andy, and Tatiana are sent to seek out Unrepair. Andy seems to agree to the mission simply to pay back his favor to the Union rather than to actually do his assigned duties. I need him to commit to the Union! Because if he's still intent on dying, then they'll have to recruit even more members!

Masterpost

#the clown is from the Sanrio Nutcracker Fantasy #which is the most surreal and insane acid trip anyone has ever created #you should watch it today #esp if you like minatures #overreading undead unluck #undead unluck #undead unluck spoilers

[gaiaseyes451]

New WIP Tag Game!

thank you @malachitegrey !

Give me three lines/paragraphs that you've written that you love [fiction, non-fiction, from different works or the same, from completed stories or poems or WIPs, from yesterday or ten years ago]. If that seems hard, even one will do. It doesn't have to be perfect. It can just be something silly that gives you joy.

And give me three lines/paragraphs that you've written that you dislike and find shitty. Anything at all as long as you wrote it. If you think it's ridiculous or absolute fucking garbage, even better! That's the point of this game. To see that we all write good things and bad things. Yeah? You can do this. And remember that both these categories are subjective.

Ok, let's start with the ones I don't love. These aren't polished, they haven't come out right yet (2 WIPs and bloody hard to pick without giving major spoilers):

When the alarm buzzed at 10 a.m. on 25-May Ezra was already awake; thankfully Anthony had awoken naturally a bit before the alarm. That boded well for the day, it was always easier when Anthony woke of his own volition and today would be challenging enough. The hope was to keep their routine at home as consistent today as possible until they had to get ready for Adam’s wedding. It was one of the reasons Evelyn had suggested setting the ceremony for 3 p.m., an unhurried morning for Anthony to give him the best possible opportunity to be able to attend and enjoy the wedding. They would miss getting ready at the hotel with Adam and the rest of the wedding party, they would miss the photographs before the ceremony and getting to spend the last few hours with their son before he embarked on married life, they would miss the last chance to give fatherly advice.

“Get out of there! I don’t need you mixing things up. If you can’t keep track of your own things I’d thank you stay out of my personal effects!” He shoos Anthony away from his desk as his phone in his trousers rings. He checks the name on the screen - Tracy - probably looking for Anthony.

Heaven largely didn’t concern itself with Hell’s organogram, but Aziraphale knew even Hell followed the idea that the punishment must fit the crime. A demon found to intentionally have aided and abetted in Good would be severely reprimanded. Crowley’s role in saving Elspeth’s life must have had dire consequences. What did they do to you? He wanted to demand an answer, to know what his role had been in this change in his companion’s countenance. But he remembered the withering glare, the venom in Crowley’s voice earlier in the evening. Careful. Don’t push, don’t demand. Careful.

The ones I do love (3 different WIPs):

It was the sorrow that overwhelmed Aziraphale, that drew the air from his lungs and forced his eyes open. He had felt others’ sorrow many times before, he knew the way it spread like oil over water, leaving a film on everything it touched. The surge and swell before it receded again to the edges of consciousness, not always demanding attention but omnipresent nonetheless. That was not this sorrow. This wasn’t an insidious oil slowly coating every surface. It was an inferno consuming every molecule of oxygen, stoked by every breath taken in vain attempts to smother it. It was keen and blinding and new and it needed to be contained before it reduced everything else to smoke and ash.

“’Magine my surprise, seeing a streak of black and red flash past my office door. No ‘hi Tracy’, no stopping by to complain like you usually would on a Friday, not even frustrated mutterings!” She affects an air of obviously feigned concern. “I’da been worried ‘bout ya if I weren’t so stunned by the peaches ‘n’ cream flash that wasn’t two steps behind ya.”

[This is technically in verse, formatting be damned] He is my after life and my liturgy. I seek not Heaven nor Hell. Valhalla nor the Elysian Fields. I worship him alone and he sanctifies me. He exalts in me as I debauch him. I am his salvation and he my damnation. Together we are Balance. Look away, heavenly hosts, for you cast him aside as wicked. Look away, legions of Hell, you sought to destroy him as righteous. You shall never know a love such as ours.

@hakunahistata, @kotias, @paperclipninja, @the-literal-kj and anyone else who wants to, come play!

#wip wednesday #my fic writing #my fanfiction #my wips #good omens

[davidmariottecomics]

Not So Evergreen: A Perennial Problem

Hi there, 

Wouldja believe it, this week I was thinking about comics? 

I know, it's hard to imagine I've had time around Valentine's Day and preparing for our impending nuptuals (which you can contribute to if you're so inclined!).

Or around the continued bullshit that is KOSA, which you might've noticed is NOT actually fixed--and still needs to be stopped. Or, as long as we're talking about regulation and the internet and what can/should be regulated to try to make it a better safer place, all the latest "Generative AI" nonsense (not linking anything in particular here, but there're new stupid developments every day). 

Or while keeping track of what's happening in Gaza and, specifically, in Rafah, where Palestinians were told to evacuate to and that is now under bombing, or as they continue to attack hospitals and kill civilians. Sharing up top some recent resources I've seen, including a nice list of places where you can donate (you may also notice the PCRF on our registry and thanks to the folks who've already given there) and a nice collection of Palestinian cultural reading and listening and cooking you can do. There continue to be demonstrations and actions--with a lot in the past week being organized to keep hands off Rafah. Call.Fax. Email.Contact the White House. Keep an eye out for actions from organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace, American Muslims for Palestine, BDS, and the Democratic Socialists of America, or whatever local organization is making efforts near you. If spending money brings you any comfort and you feel a need to put something into good practice, the Cartoonist Cooperative's page still lists a ton of resources for E-Sim cards. 

But despite the many other things that should and do reasonably take up my time and brainspace--the good and the bad--it is my job to make comics and I do have to spend some time thinking about 'em and something I've been thinking about this week is the strange state of "evergreen titles." 

A Perennial Should Standalone

In particular, I was inspired by seeing some random young person somewhere online say a fairly common refrain, something along the lines of "I tried Western superhero comics, couldn't see myself in them, other than one (now) 35-year-old Vertigo series, and found a lot more in manga for me."

This is one of those things I've talked around every part of in the past, I think. I've talked, fairly recently, about how it is strange to me when people cut themselves off from or don't give themselves the opportunity to continue to explore a format or genre of comics entirely as if they're homogenous and how I think that can make you lose out on some of the contextual history of the medium and how storytelling can work within it. I've talked about how manga is just another word for comics and how I think some of the separation of manga and "Western" comics is more artificial than people realize. I've talked about continuity and how it can be a real turn-off for people, but also how even when it does matter, it maybe kinda doesn't matter, and even earlier than that, I talked about how they say every comic is somebody's first comic and the strange balance of serialized storytelling and accessibility. And just last week, I was mentioning how I think N.K. Jemisen's Far Sector is a really great example of a modern "here's how cool superhero comics can be" book. Now I want to pull it all together and talk about how we've maybe canonized a lot of comics that require a higher bar of context than they're often given. 

Now, last bit of business before we dive in, just in case, what do I mean when I say perennial or evergreen title? They are a little different, though I'm largely using them interchangably here. There are certain comics that have been canonized (not meaning made canon to a in-universe continuity, but the older definition of added to the historical register as a work of significance) that you can pretty much always find, and that has grown even more with the increased importance of the book market to comics sales. To use a very important example, you can walk into *most* any comic shop or bookstore that carries comics and is not specifically a specialty shop (like not Silver Sprocket probably, but also, shout out to them for joining the PACBI) and find a copy of Watchmen. Doesn't matter that the book is nearly 40 years old, it has been kept in print constantly (which... if you aren't familiar, is a story unto itself) and y'know, still sells. New people discover/buy/upgrade their copies of Watchmen every year and DC always points to it as an Essential title in their annual catalogs. 

DC in particular is actually pretty good about promoting their evergreens. They release an annual catalog to comic shops (and some book stores) that's like a free 80-ish page thing about like "if you want to read DC comics, here are titles we recommend." And if you're even halfway immersed in American Superhero Comics, you could probably name a good half-dozen of them off the top of your head. Watchmen! The Killing Joke! Sandman! All-Star Superman! Batman: The Long Halloween! Batman: Hush! Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth! Kingdom Come! Dark Knight Returns! Other titles written 30-40 years ago by a White British person! Any title from the past 7 years written by a guy named Tom! Etc! I'm being a little flip, and generally, like a lot of those books, but it's true, those tend to be what gets platformed in that way. And, credit where it's due, I know the last catalog also included things like Far Sector and Wonder Woman Historia and Nubia: Real One and the Kami Garcia/Gabriel Picolo Teen Titans OGNs.

But what I find complicated about a lot of those decisions is that a lot of those books may be self-contained in that you can read a single volume or single series and get a pretty complete story without a lot of continuity fluff or cross-reading or whatever, but I think a lot of those books benefit from having existing grounding in reading superhero comics that can get lost when they're being presented not only outside the context of what they were originally in conversation with, but as books of high accessibility or jumping on points. 

I could probably go on about most of these, but I'm going to use Killing Joke as an example because it's a really clear one. It's famously a "read this book" kinda book. I think it's still in the DC 25 Essential titles list. It's also a book that is STEEPED in important context that it usually isn't presented with and that I think does really change the reading experience.

Like, when Killing Joke was originally released, it was part of a big push of the Joker at DC. In early 1988, Killing Joke comes out, followed a few months later by A Death in the Family (the one where he killed Jason Todd Robin) and the year capped off with a Greatest Joker Stories Ever Told collection that didn't include either of those stories because, y'know, they were both too new. And modern collections (the 75th and 80th, respectively) both include, interestingly, 1 issue each of A Death in the Family (and different ones at that) and only an excerpt of Killing Joke because they usually don't like to collect it because it can take up a lot of pages for a book that most people own as an individual volume (though... interestingly, the 80th does include Mad Love). Sorry, getting a little distracted. But you know what the Greatest Joker Stories does include? A comic from 1966 that came in a box of PopTarts. Pre-'88, he had gone through cycles of being serious, silly (not even connected to Batman '66, the Joker's many boners story was from the early '50s!), and serious again when he returned in the '70s, but it was never to the extent that Killing Joke went to and that was solidified by the next year of publishing. And, even then, the next year brought some very different Jokers: Jack Nicholson's live-action version who is very much not the Killing Joke Joker and the Joker of Arkham Asylum, who again, is also violent, but in a very different way. 

As you start looking at the long-tail, you see the Killing Joke interpretation more in the Batman: The Animated Series version of the character (though, obviously, toned down somewhat for the audience) and that continues to resonate through each version of Joker that happens after across media (except maybe Batman: The Brave and the Bold, because that series is so Silver Age-y). You get Oracle going from a somewhat unexpected character in Suicide Squad to being a major part of the Bat-family and really evolving as a character as Birds of Prey took flight in the late '90s (pin in that for a sec). There are stories that directly reference it, like that Booster Gold issue where he keeps trying (and failing) to change the past because Rip Hunter (almost wrote Rip Torn, who would've made for a very different Booster Gold book) lied to him. There are whole projects that are inspired by it, like the One Bad Day books from 2022/23. There are real world effects, like the things I mentioned earlier with it becoming an evergreen title and one of the first big DC tentpoles to have as a constant at comic shops and in bookstores (especially as the book market has become increasingly important). 

Looking at the sort of joint in continuity and publishing history leading up to Killing Joke, it's important to know that Joker and Barbara Gordon had been sort of in-and-out of the comics. Joker hadn't had a major break in a while--also an influential factor on Killing Joke, another darker '80s Joker was in Dark Knight Returns just a couple years prior. But he had been a character who kinda disappeared out of the comics in the past--I think before his return in Batman #251 in '71, he had not been in a comic in like 4 years. And, speaking of not being in comics in 4 years, Barbara Gordon had largely retired as Batgirl before Crisis on Infinite Earths in '85 and was basically a non-character in DC comics post Crisis until Killing Joke. It's part of why the story got approved with her in it and part of why she got taken over to Suicide Squad afterwards... there weren't any plans for Batgirl otherwise. 

And all of that is before we're even talking about stuff like the fact that it was recolored and the recoloring really changes the reading experience (TBH, I am not a fan) or that it's a book that if you are recommending it to someone, you should tell them that it's a book with a heavy trigger warning for sexual assault. It's not talking about it as an Alan Moore project and his publicly bad relationship with DC/Warner (see, among other things, that earlier Watchmen article). 

So many of these books have that sort of important contextual elements that change the way they're read. I think it's important to know that Sandman is a DC universe book and at least something about some of the DC characters who get featured (like Prez, Element Woman, and Dr. Destiny). All-Star Superman is in conversation with Superman comics of the Golden and Silver age and I think in particular dialogue with Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow (and, hey, again, probably helpful to know that Grant and Alan have their issues). 

How to Contextualize, Or Find New Evergreens

Okay, brief note: Becca and I went and saw Madame Web and this was left unfinished when we did. Madame Web was great. It was genuinely bad. It was the Cats (2019) of superhero movies. I've never seen a movie where literally all the content was in the trailer and the rest of the movie was deleted scenes. Anyway, after it was over, we went to the Barnes & Noble next to the theater and listened to this couple talking in the comics section and literally every book they gravitated to was one of these sorts of evergreen titles--Sandman was mentioned, Watchmen and Before Watchmen, V for Vendetta, etc. It was clear they weren't really readers, they seemed to be shopping for someone else, but that their primary frame of reference was TV shows and movies, which also goes to the whole "what makes it evergreen" argument and is really interesting because through adaptation, some of the importance of how these things work in the comics medium is lost. And by the end of it... I think they just didn't pick up a comic. Anyway, was just kinda funny to have a real world example of this exact phenomenon I'm talking about happen mid-blog. 

Only other thing I want to say before getting any further. Obviously, I've focused a lot on DC titles. The reason is DC makes it easy. Like I said, they literally put out a catalog with their "here's what we think is most essential from our library" every year. DC's also got a long track record of these types of titles to examine and particularly because the initial comment led me to think it was more about American Superhero Comics, it was a clear focus. Every comic company does have their evergreen titles and I think evergreens are a good thing! When positioned properly, they are supposed to be new reader friendly and a great way to get into the medium. I'll talk a bit about Marvel in this section, but I'd also like to acknowledge that one really smart move that Image made (not entirely sure if they're still doing this, but props where it's due) is they made the first volume of multi-volume series--particularly the ones that seemed ripe for perennial status like Saga--$10. I think making these titles at an accessible price point is a good way to help prop up the things that can help secure a love of the medium and drive further visits to comic shops and bookstores. 

More generally, I think there are two things that would both be rad if they were to happen because I think they'd be really helpful for onboarding new readers. The first is I wish there were more international approaches that were like the partworks collections. If you're unfamiliar, there've been a few of them from the UK, including Marvel, DC (who started with Eaglemoss and actually got picked up by Hachette later on), Transformers, Star Trek, and Judge Dredd, wherein significant arcs were released periodically with connecting spine art so they looked really nice together on a shelf that featured additional material like introductions and contextual writings on the reason the arc is significant and the featured character(s) and the creators and really provided at least a starting point of context. The other kinda interesting thing is for the Hachette ones at least, they were released with two numbering systems: one by release of the partworks collection, one by (relative) release order of the original story relative to the other partworks releases. It's almost like when you used to buy an encyclopedia set and every however often the new volume would be ready and you'd have to buy that. I think that's a really cool approach to bringing comics backlist to new and lapsed readers and particularly with the contextualization element, gives you reason to understand why these stories are evergreen. It's exciting to look at partworks as almost a curated greatest hits collection. 

The other thing, and again, I think this is already in progress with both what DC is doing generally with their Essentials catalog and specifically with a lot of the stuff in their middle grade and young adult OGN space (and to a lesser extent with Black Label) and with the more recent additions to the Hachette Partworks--is I think that the "canonical" books need to be updated. And, of course, I have a lot of thoughts on what should be on those lists. I've said it before, but Far Sector would certainly be on my list. As would Superman Smashes the Klan. Just to throw out a couple of others: Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon, Batman: No Man's Land, Young Justice: Sins of Youth, New Frontier, GL/GA: Hard Travelin' Heroes, (when it's collected, the first arc of the current Birds of Prey series), no longer a big two series, but Astro City (honestly... any volume), Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt, X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga, Marvels, Shadow of the Batgirl, Wednesday Comics, Gen13: Meanwhile (hey, that collection slaps), Mr. Majestic (the '99 run), Starman: Hell and Back, uhh... can we just collect all the pages where the Legion of Superheroes wore outfits designed by kids and fans, and probably a lot of other dumb stuff. But besides being the books that I really like and feel like are deserving of a place in more readers minds, I think the important thing is that we expand from books that may've had a splash outside the medium's traditional haunts (be that in films & TV or literary circles) or that we as comics people recognize for their artistic merit or internal cultural significance to books that celebrate and capture how fun comics can be! Also... and I realize what my own list looks like as I say this, but... fewer comics by white guys, please. 

And now, our regular features. 

New Releases this week (2/14/24): None

New Releases next week (2/21/24): Godzilla Rivals: Mothra vs. MOGUERA (Editor - IDW, post-leaving)

Announcements: Happy Black History Month! This week, I want to spotlight writer/editor Joseph Illidge! He's one of those guys who has been everywhere--Milestone/DC, Valiant, Heavy Metal, Lion Forge, etc. He's got irons in a few fires right now, from Noir is the New Black to teasing a new Image project coming to doing more editorial work to doing some pretty good articles of his own on the current and historical state of the comics biz. Among his many editorial credits is one of the books I mentioned feeling like should be treated more as an evergreen title (though... given it's complexity and just how many titles it ran through, I do understand that it's a bit harder): Batman: No Man's Land. But he's on all the socials and always has something cool brewing, so throw him a follow! 

Sorry that Patreon is still behind! I've sent in a help request and once it's all sorted, blogs will be going back up regularly! As mentioned above, we're getting ready for wedding and travel and expenses around all that, so please also check out my webstore, my Kofi, my eBay, and Becca's site for additional ways to support us and get a little something for yourself!

What I enjoyed this week: Nancy (Comic), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Baldur's Gate III (Video Game), Blank Check (Podcast), Solve This Murder (Podcast), The City We Became (Book), Blade Runner 2049 (Movie), Madame Web (Movie), Witch Watch (Manga), One Piece (Manga), Dandadan (Manga), Lore Olympus (Webcomic), Death to Smoochy (Movie), Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), and big thanks to everyone who has already given us a little something for the wedding! 

Pic of the Week: Nadja made a new friend (?) and his name is Optimus Prime. But she HATES that Sonic. 

#comics #stop kosa #free palestine #hands off rafah #eyes on rafah #batman no man’s land #killing joke #canonical comics #far sector #a lot of dc comics sorry #comic opinions #a cat that loves optimus and hates sonic

[girderednerve]

okay these are workflow notes that i made for myself! they are about making podfic

record the thing. try to do it in one go somewhere that has consistent background noise, or break it up naturally—if breaking it up as chapters, drop in a label track & mark them out. leave ten or so seconds of contiguous silence in there. remember to put the pop filter on!

immediately export completed audacity recording **pre-editing** as a flac or whatever & dump it in some kind of labeled folder on the external hard drive ("[short title] raw")

normalize to max -1 or so. noise reduction using silence sample, then apply to whole recording. if you have individual tracks in one project for some reason normalize & reduce noise separately, then combine.

sync-lock the label track

edit that sucker! correct flubs/make a final decision on multiple line reads, silence or trim out loud breathing/background sounds/weird mouth noises where possible, check for timing, adjust volume. 3 seconds of full silence at section breaks & before new chapters. save at each section break or interruption in work or suffer disappointment

export a flac when you're done ("[short title] edit")

add in sound effects or music if you're doing that, being careful to match volume; remember sync-lock & track muting. retain credit info. also this is when you should make cover art

last-pass stuff (must be done on windows to use my beloved fish fillet plugins, whose retro interface is so charming): use envelope tool if that seems appropriate after primary editing -> de-ess using spitfish (remember to toggle 'listening' off before applying) -> compress using blockfish (quick speed, high volume, low saturation). listen through a couple different chunks of audio before applying to the whole piece, because it's slow as hell.

save, export flac/s ("[full fic title as it ought to appear in metadata]") & mp3/s. archive flac/s on external hard drive.

for smaller mp3s, update ID3 to include cover art using itunes or puddletag or whatever, upload to gdrive/mega & IA (also upload cover art), update metadata as needed, proceed to ao3 post.

[do on desktop, not laptop] for larger/multipart works, chunk out mp3s as appropriate & chapter-by-chapter (we love options! we love audacity Shift+Ctrl+L!). also export chapter-by-chapter flacs with detailed metadata ("Chapter # ChTitle"), rename files fictitle1.flac etc., save into a folder together with cover art, then break out m4b-tools in terminal. command structure: m4b-tool merge -vv --jobs=6 --audio-format=m4b --audio-bitrate=96k --audio-codec=libfdk_aac --audio-channels=2 "INPUTFILEDIRECTORY" --output-file="DESKTOP/FICNAME.m4b"

upload m4b plus maybe a zipped version to gdrive/mega/IA, editing metadata as needed. time to Post

for ao3: lazily copy html from one of your other fics, remember to apply private workskin Podfic1 to work, then update all the links to go where they're actually supposed to, add notes as desired/appropriate & invite polite criticism, preview & fix errors, post!

edit file names as needed, look through remaining project files & move to HDD or delete. do not keep that huge .aup on your internal drive you will not need it

m4b-tools works great but it took me so much trial & error to figure out the command structure that works for what i wanted to do, & i couldn't initially get it to install because one of its dependencies is archived code & so not available as a package, & i couldn't figure out how to make it work with the actually live fork of mp4v2. so thank you to my beautiful girlfriend for figuring that one out. i found very little guidance online about how to make an m4b with user-friendly FOSS options (like sure okay there's someone on the archlinux forum who thinks we should all just use ffmpeg! okay dude maybe we should but i'm stupid!); there may be better ways to do this than the one i chose but i'm happy with the result.

#workflow #everyone loves a Procedure Document. absolutely Everyone. #sorry y'all & i hope everyone has gotten some time to themselves to do silly nonsense lately <3

[autistic-sidestep]

squinting at sidestep's [redacted]/sidestep's age/timeline stuff, not very coherent but throwing it together in one place (obviously massive retri spoilers)

We’re assuming Sidestep is (unless there’s a weird curveball the author’s going to hit us with in books 3 or 4) a Re-gene. What i’m going off of is the article mentioned in the timeline’s claim the Re-gene project dates back to the 70s which is probably connected to the hero drug research going underground given that Re-genes are boosted:

They have memories from someone else:

The sibling matches the gender of (if relevant) a binary trans sidestep, ortega suspects hg arranged a legal gender marker change for them:

The Venice Beach memory sets them as at least 7 years old before the big one, but the juvenile detention photo is from before “puberty [...] kicked in fully”. That puts the sibling’s year of birth as at least pre-1973, and HG is thought to be at least Ortega’s age or older (Ortega was born in 1982). For the sibling to be younger than HG, HG’s date of birth has to be before that, maybe 1960s? To self declare as kingpin of LD in 1999 they’d need a lot of influence that a teen doesn’t have, (i have a separate tinfoil theory wrt the hood/HG connection given that Hood’s power was geokinesis, maybe Hood was affiliated with hg’s family before going straight?)

So officially the youngest sibling died in custody, but given the ethics of the project and the Farm’s interests in telepaths/maybe connected to why telepaths keep disappearing… maybe the sibling took the hero drug at a young age and was a telepath? Or they were experimented on at the Farm, or its predecessor, if the in-universe article’s claim is true, and the sibling became a Boost after being officially listed as dead. There’s definitely a crime family link there from Ortega’s tinfoil theory, maybe related to the sibling being in juvenile detention. 

See: ‘the old man’ probably HG’s father? Looks like they’re the only surviving child left if what ortega found abt their siblings is real, probably other relatives involved if it’s crime family’

There’s a mention that sidestep suspects sunstream might’ve been disappeared and taken for experiments after she quit the rangers b/c of interest in her powers, and sidestep can also be concerned about a romanced argent for the same reason post-crash if they went to the meeting

Anyway this aside i think this debunks Sidestep being the sibling cos of the big age difference (on that note, ortega, how old do you think sidestep is??? They’d have to be in their late thirties for it to make sense, unless ortega thinks they have really good genes + supposedly the boost process slowed their ageing but even then…), since they should be late 40s-early 50s, not early 30s. Sidestep’s physical age places them as born in the late 80s, wayyyyy after the big one. The only thing that works here is that they’re cloned from the sibling’s genetic material. I’m wondering whether the sibling is actually still alive and captive, that might be interesting

Sidestep says they were decanted as a physical teenager

Hasn’t been implanted with the chip yet when they say no, since regenes are androids – probably memories carried over from the sibling? Word of god says they take a few months to grow to maturity iirc

sidestep is familiar enough with the special directive to know their tactics and how they work, as we know from the psychopathor warehouse fight, so a while (no more than 3 years, ofc), which was (“officially” anyways, take with a pinch of salt) formed in 2005, so their escape has to be between its formation and their debut, and i think another word of god is that regenes age normally after they’re decanted? 

Nine years ago (from rebirth, 2020), on the date of the nanosurge in 2011, i’m guessing ‘being twenty’ as meaning early 20s, given that two years later HB happens and sidestep says they were about the same age as herald is in retri (25) - maybe the author lost track of dates a bit?

that would make sidestep’s year of birth from their body’s physical age (assuming that’s what they’re referring to) as late - putting their debut as physically just hitting adulthood? think their decanting is early 00s so they’re the right age.

Anyway. Uh. yeah.

#fh codediving