#y'know what maybe I'll do that

[hyperfixation-tangentopia]

So, I just??? Randomly just the motivation for this??? So enjoy more Tealstar stuff ig lol. Tried to do a lot here, not sure how well it worked for me. You can tell I got a little rundown at Tongbi's part, but I was still really determined to finish this, so. Here ya go.

   Chikao loved the storm.

   The smell of fresh rain and the swirl of dark clouds overhead lit up by flashes of lightning that split the sky in two and sent deep, booming thunder rippling over the land was something she could never get tired of.  Every lightning strike lit up her eyes, she could feel the vibration of thunder running deep within her bones, and the entire world was pulled just a little to the side by the chilling winds that whipped past.

   She was fond of the world after a storm, too.  The way the smell of rain lingered for a week afterwards, clouds drifted past so you could see sheets of rain coming down in the distance as they left, the sudden abundance of greens and the pinks and blues and yellows of plants as they sprouted up, the splashing of puddles gathered in random dips in the ground and squishing of deep brown mud as water sunk into the soil.  She loved that.  Loved everything about it.

   And the best part was that she could do it.  On a whim, whenever she wanted, she could summon the clouds and lightning and feel the very storm surging through her bones.  She could feel the world come alive in a way so, so different than it did in the shine of the sun.

   But, unfortunately, not everyone was so welcoming.

   And why weren’t they?  What was even the point of limiting her ability to create storms?  Why did she have to “register” a storm or whatever to create one?  It wasn’t like she was creating out-of-control tornados or setting forests on fire with lightning.  Most of the time, it was just a little rain to give the village crops a boost!

   But the Celestial Realm hadn’t seen it that way.  The first time Nezha had come down to meet her, he had called it “undermining the Jade Emperor’s authority” and “breaking the laws of the Celestial Realm” and “a matter to be taken seriously”.  But honestly?  How could she take someone that had come down to lecture her about why she couldn’t summon rain without paperwork seriously.

   And that was all it had been, for a while.  Something funny, eventually just a friend coming down to spar.  Barely an annoyance.  Not even a concern.

   And then Princess Iron Fan had joined him.  And they’d struggled over the winds of the storm, trying to turn them on each other to gain an advantage.  And then…

   Flash

   And then people had gotten hurt.

   And the Celestial Realm was angry.

   Stealing the Peaches of Immortality from their orchard?  That was probably just the cherry on top.

   But even when they’d come to arrest Chikao for her “crimes” (come on, they were peaches), they’d made a mistake to dare go after Tongbi.

   Chikao sighed quietly as she stared up at the endless night sky, the stars twinkling back at her like tiny diamonds against a sheet of inky paint.  It felt so close when the storm was swirling around it, the wind catching every little loose thing on the ground and throwing around every small hair out of place, but when the night was clear like this and she was laying on the ground beside Tongbi…it felt so, so far away.  She itched for it to be close again, to touch the clouds and feel their water in her hands. 

   She wondered if, in a world where Nezha had time, where Nezha could step away from his celestial duties and just relax for a moment, they could fly around through the clouds and throw water at each other.

   She didn’t live in that world.  She didn’t know.

   “Chikao?” Tongbi’s soft voice pulled Chikao out of her thoughts.

   “Yeah?” Chikao rolled onto her side to look at Tongbi, flattening the grass beneath her. 

   Tongbi’s eyes stayed on the sky as he spoke and his hands picked through the fur on his tail.  His voice was muffled by his dark green scarf as he buried his face into the fabric.  “You won’t let them t-t-take you from me, will you?”

   A small spark of anger flashed in her chest.  She’d said they’d be together forever, and she’d meant it.  No Celestial Realm would change that.  “Of course not.  And I won’t let anyone hurt you, either.”

   Tongbi didn’t respond and Chikao rolled back onto her back with a soft sigh.  She didn’t want Tongbi to worry.  He shouldn’t have had to worry.  She dealt with Nezha and Iron Fan on her own fine, didn’t she?  And then even when more celestials had shown up, she’d dealt with it.  But Tongbi was still worried, and Chikao knew well by then that the only thing that was going to soothe his concern was time.

   Time, or get rid of the Celestial Realm’s meddling completely, but she knew that wasn’t going to happen.

   At least, that’s what she thought, as the days went by and Tongbi slowly felt safe being outside of his library again.  As toddlers and children became teens and adults.  As people aged and grayed and passed.

   Until the Brotherhood reached out with a dream.  A dream of glory and ambition.  A dream of change and prosperity.  A dream of safety and comfort.  A dream of freedom.  A dream of storms.

   A dream of a day storms could freely brew in the days, and the skies would be theirs at night.

   A dream where the Celestial Realm wouldn’t meddle, Nezha could freely come and go, and Tongbi’s concerns would vanish.

   And Chikao took it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tongbi hated surprises.

   The unexpected whirlwind of emotions he wasn’t ready for, having to think on his feet and his mind going blank, only moments to make a decision and if it was the wrong one he was doomed.  The mounting pressure of what felt like a mountain behind his head and the crushing weight of do or die that he just couldn’t pull himself out of.

   And the aftermath was worse.  Because then there were a hundred different feelings all weighing him down like boulders, telling him there was some way to alleviate their weight but not giving him a single how-to.  Sometimes the boulders were hot and sometimes electric and sometimes just heavy, and those meant different things, but he didn’t know what they meant.  But apparently, knowing what they meant and how to sort them out was the very key to getting them under control sometimes, because otherwise every time he thought about the surprise he would trigger another rockslide.

   Physically, Tongbi didn’t mind rocks, boulders, or even mountains.  Feet on the ground, dig his heels in, take a deep breath and move.  He could move boulders, sort out rockslides, split entire mountainsides in two that way.  The boulders he could touch the rough or smooth surfaces of were lighter than the ones that crushed his heart and held him down in the corner with tears spilling onto blurry pages, but never had a texture.

   Fortunately, people were welcoming.

   It had been a strange change after the curious chirps of the monkeys that found him hiding away in caves on Flower Fruit Mountain, but a warm one.  Chikao helped lift the boulders off his chest, explain some of the feelings and help him separate them apart so he could think without folding into a mess of matted fur and heavy emotions. 

   The warm nights of staring up at the stars and pointing out constellations as Chikao worked through his fur were the best nights he’d ever known.  Spending days reading books about the sun aloud and telling Chikao about asteroids that flew by brought him a warmth he could never quite explain.  Even the flower pin he had, with teal and red petals, served as a small comfort when he was alone, to remind him that someone cared.

   Though he had been nervous at first, the village was nice too.  Adults were happy to trust him to read about the phenomenon of eclipses to children and watch meteor showers with them, and the kids were always fascinated by his words and eager to ask questions and learn more.  Even on days where he didn’t have books, several of them were ready to ask questions and listen to him ramble. 

   And even as they grew and had more chores and work to tend to, nobody minded when he sat on a bench and read the afternoon away.

   Tongbi hummed a tune as his eyes scanned across neat words, written with meticulous precision.  Dust kicked up into the air as the click clack of horseshoes went by, but Tongbi was fully absorbed, the rest of the world blurred as he imagined how it would feel to step on the moon.  Would he feel lighter?  Would it feel like stone on earth, or dust, or powder, or something else entirely?  Would the stars look different?  What kind of new star charts could he make from there?

   “I’m bored!” The high-pitched whine of a kid caught his ear.  He almost called out to invite them to read, but…no, they probably didn’t want to hear him.  All of the kids he used to read to were teenagers or adults now, and had too much responsibility to bother listening to him anymore, and the new ones probably didn’t have any interest in him.

   “Hey, this guy’ll read to you about some pretty cool stuff, if you wanna.” Tongbi glanced up from his book to see a teenager with long black hair running down past her shoulders and freckles mixing with the dust and dirt on her face.  He felt a small flower of warmth bloom in his chest.  He knew this kid.  Did she still remember him?

   “Ooo, like what?” One of the children asked as their arms swung back and forth.

    “Well, you know the little white things that are up in the sky every night?” She smiled.

   “Uh-huuuuh.” The kid nodded.

   “Well, he taught me that those are called stars, and they’re actually very, very distant suns.” She said as she walked over to the bench Tongbi was sitting on.

   “Woah!” Three kids followed her, their eyes shining brighter than the sun. 

   “But suns don’t look like that.” Another kid frowned.

   “That’s the fun part.” She sat down in front of Tongbi and skimmed the title of his current book.  “He’ll explain the whole thing.”

   The kids promptly sat down in front of him, staring up with eager curiosity that filled Tongbi with warmth.  He started explaining, slowly at first, then faster when they only seemed more intrigued.  More children, kids playing in the village and teenagers he used to read to just finished with chores, came around him and sat down, enjoying his reading and explanations.

   He hoped this never changed.  And, luckily for him, it didn’t seem that was going to happen. 

   At least, that’s what he thought, as Tongbi’s reading slowly expanded to the entire village.  As toddlers and children became teens and adults.  As people aged and grayed and passed.

   Until the Brotherhood reached out with a risk.  A risk of danger and hostility.  A risk of battle and bloodshed.  A risk of pain and uncertainty.  A risk of imprisonment.  A risk of change.

   A risk of ferocious and bloody battles by day, and wounded and torn foundations by night.

   A risk of the Celestial Realm coming down with all their fury, Nezha would be injured, and Chikao being imprisoned.

   And Tongbi denied it.

   Tongbi denied the dream.  Chikao took the risk.

#tealstars #I'm actually #not that upset about this?? #I really like the first few paragraphs of Chikao's stuff #and I got a bit run down on Tongbi's part but it's still like #good? maybe a little less? #it's on the likeable spectrum I guess lol #I tried to do a lot here so I hope it worked #if nothing else I think this helps get their personalities down a little bit more #also I'm dramatic as hell when I write I'm aware there's a reason I relate to Macaque so hard XD #I kinda tried to parallel their bits a bit?? I hope that worked #I think I managed to some extent highlight the difference between them I really wanted to highlight #and still squeeze in some other stuff that's harder to get through in just drawings and rambles #anyway actually pretty happy with this one so :333 #please tell me if you notice anything mainly bc I will be super happy if I got stuff across properly :3 #I need to just make a post collecting all the tealstar stuff together at this point XD #y'know what maybe I'll do that #imma go do that now maybe perhaps #anyway enjoy!! I'll stop rambling now lol

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

if dorian didn't show up, do you think louis would have shot minnie?

I do. I know some people think either he wouldn't have or he would've missed so that's why the writers had him shoot Dorian instead, but mmmmmm no, I don't personally think so. I like to think that if he had taken the shot, his shaky hands would've caused him to shoot her fatally.

Mostly because I'm already so normal about the fact that of the Ericson crew, Marlon and Louis are the only ones with a body count. Well, that we know of, but shown to us in the game, at least. Plus, we know it's Louis' first kill.

Like yeah, Clementine and AJ become part of the crew and they have bigger body counts, and if we're counting indirect kills caused by actions, then Tenn has a count... and I guess everyone has blood on their hands for blowing up the boat... but I'm talking about killed directly with a weapon like....... I lied, I'm not normal about that at all, Louis and Marlon are the ones who have killed someone in Louis' route. I'm also not normal about the fact that Louis kills Dorian and then even as he's clearly in shock, he tries to go with Clementine to get AJ, and then later on when they talk about it, he says it feels like bile but not quite and he's glad he has it in him to do it.... listen, listen, listen... I'm obsessed with that.

Anyway, so if Louis shot Minerva, I think he would've accidentally killed her and can you imagine? He's already enough of a mess after killing the woman who pinned him down and tried to cut his finger off [or succeeded] but he knew Minerva, they were friends before the twins were taken. Even Violet couldn't kill her even though that would've been the smarter thing to do, and we know thanks to meta knowledge that killing her would've saved lives, but Violet couldn't, and I don't think Louis would intentionally either.

Speaking of Violet, if Louis killed Minerva, I hate to think about what that would've done to Vi. I think she might've actually left at that point, like what was planned before it got changed to her being burned. I don't think she would've attacked Louis over it, though, like yeah she attacked Clementine in the cell but Louis? I don't know, but I don't think so just because it's Louis and he'd be a mess about it anyway.

Though if he did kill her, it would be a neat parallel to draw... y'know, because Louis forgave AJ for killing Marlon even though he was pissed and heartbroken, and Violet was annoyed with him the entire time... but could she ever forgive Louis for killing Minerva? Y'know? We already have a similar parallel with AJ shooting Tenn, but still.

If Clementine killed Minerva in that moment, though, then I could see Violet attacking her since in her eyes, Clem proved her right.

So yeah, I get why they added the Dorian kill to his route. It adds another compelling element to Louis as a character, but we also need Minerva alive for episode 4; Louis can't kill her, he can't miss, and he's not going to stay with her because we need Violet to stay on the boat and him to be on shore for all routes.

#asks #twdg louis #twdg minerva #twdg clementine #twdg violet #twdg marlon #twdg tenn #honestly whenever i see someone say louis is the boring option i'm just like '.......that's your opinion but also how can you say that??' #then again i'm sure other people look at me saying violentine just isn't for me and they say the same thing so y'know... i can't talk haha #also time is such a weird thing because i look at the entire cell scene in louis' route and like... i'm not even mad about violet anymore #like yeah i still don't believe she was brainwashed like i'm sorry y'all only believe that because kent said something about it #not because there's all this evidence toward it in game like vi being pissed at clementine makes sense she doesn't need to be brainwashed #for it to work like her being vulnerable and easily manipulated into submission makes perfect sense especially with minerva there #it's like everyone was pissed that she attacked clementine and people needed a way to excuse it so it's not violet's fault when like... #that's literally what makes it interesting like calm down it's okay if violet is pissed and scared and behaves accordingly #also my controversial opinion of the day that i'll hide here in the tags so maybe people won't find it sksksk but #I personally find the concept of vinerva and the doomed tragedy of it more compelling than anything violentine did #like i'll defend violentine and i do believe it's an important and good ship it's just not my personal favorite #anyway but then the whole thing with lilly and minerva is so good and louis screaming FUCK YOU at minerva?? amazing love it so good #i love when the soft character who never chooses violence is so pissed off that all that anger they have boils to the surface and it's raw #like... he's SO mad he's SO furious he's SOOO UPSET like he wasn't even like this when marlon died or anything like he hit his limit #and then shooting dorian through the mouth while an accident is just well done i love it and i love his reaction of mortification #and apologizing and YET he still tries to go with clementine he's trembling and can barely string together a sentence but he wants to go #he wants to help her he wants to save aj THAT is the gut reaction he has after everything that just went down #'louis isn't loyal or good for clem because of the vote' babe tell me you don't understand any nuance of louis' character without telling m #it's fine IT'S FINE you don't have to agree and i just have to remind myself that it's fine not everyone likes louis we're okay #this drives me crazy in the best way like y'know what? i love the cells scene in louis' route all of it even the stuff i used to rant about #even the stuff that used to piss me off now i'm just like 'no wait past cj was dumb she wasn't looking at it this way aaaaaaaa' sksksks #that was my tag ted talk about the cell scene thank you

[spamtoon]

i would take their poison

Sketch + Line Art for those Clicking Under the Cut(tm) (archival purposes honestly)

#moshi monsters #sweet tooth moshi monsters #experimentation i am COG AWFUL at digital dear goodness i was playing with coloring and transparency and all those fun digital doodads. #next time i probably wont have black outline or i'll do it differently. or i'll try well. not doing this. it sure was a process im #i'm an amateur everyone who masically only doodles. does the sketch look better than the final. kinda! but thats okay because im learning #and y'know what. sometimes in life you just need to draw faves no consequences #for how saturated a character they are i kinda feel like i pastelled things too muc and trapped myself with my convoluted layer setup but m #it was looking WEIRD with everything at full force #maybe the sparkles look dumb maybe the hair looks dumb and out of place and why i kinda made the lollipop a little funky too #uhh. first digital piece posted... ever? #the arm is SO fucky i am not that was. thats not what perspective is spam #yes this is what i spent a good chunk of today doing after i started working on coloring it and then. decided to go for it. #cooolrs a little inaccurate on the horns and such but man one of the biggest art things was like #i dont have to have everything at their perfect hex codes all the time. this would look way worse if i just. used their standard colors #yeah this is. instead of looking like its forward and to the right it kinda just looks like they have a Bigger hypno-lolly #especialy becase. i did not bother on the gloves and platforms i the sparkles work with 2 kinda sorta but you know #im practicing! i'm learning! i'll get better and learn how to do things more effectively! #anyway. sweet toof #though hey their arm looks even more fucked in the line art and sketch SO #note to future self have a Consistent Line Art Size so that if you feel like the line art looks like shit during coloring you dont have to #gamble on what size it was while changing it #sketch lollipop looks better i should have kept it small. but its fine. we'll get em next time boys (tm) #yes i know my gif post was so fancy and then the drawing is just THIS

[smile-files]

(tw for blood & gore!!!)

oh, so i am real!

#dandy's doodles #welcome home #welcome home wally #wally darling #kin #tw gore #gore tw #tw blood #blood tw #ask to tag #<- for anything else i missed!! #i'll be completely honest i have no idea what compelled me to draw this #i was just thinking... you know how people draw evil creepy bloody gory wally darlings? maybe i should do that. that sounds fun #like i was gonna draw him brandishing a knife and being all evil-like #but then i was like hm. maybe it'd be even creepier if it were his blood and guts spilling out on the floor y'know #cuz he's a puppet!! haha!!! he shouldn't have blood and guts!!!! he's so silly #anyway. for the record i am completely good and fine and lovely!!! #i just wanted to draw wally with guts :P

[front-facing-pokemon]

#meditite #i never understood this pokémon. what do folks call it? a little angry psychic onion baby? that tracks honestly #the diamond mouth is whatever and i always found myself like. using its name as a vocal stim when i was a kid #bc again this is one of the bitches that was a shadow pokémon in colosseum so i know it pretty well. but it's also like not my fave #it's *really* just out here. floats and is blue and maybe a fighting-type? or at least it turns into one when it evolves #lemme check #okay yeah it's fighting/psychic and medicham doesn't change types. honestly in my mind i still see these two as totally unrelated pokémon #they just don't look the same at all. i get the general continuity bc they have similar-ish vibes but they don't look. continuitous #that's not a word i know but it expresses my thoughts well i feel. y'know. continuitous #i'll have more to say for medicham bc team charm but for now it's just this onion baby

[omgafhsfanin2024]

Oh god is my fnafhs phase coming back. I have an AU Idea and it's very magical girl-y help (a Lil summary in the tags)

#basically y'know lily abby maggie toddy and mai? all the best girls? (ok except Abby maybe but I'll save her dw) #ok now imagine them as teen magical girls #a normal 2000's/2010's bff group who also kick ass in pretty dresses #now imagine mai and puppet being magical beings from another planet #kinda like the winx club characters that look completely human but they're fairies n stuff? there's a reason why the twins can look like- #Normal humans tho: their true form is a being like Maipett. they're two maipetts #BUT they can shapeshift to look just like any living beings they see #so they can very easily blend in with humans #now what are these beings? basically they're magical dudes that control the “Shadows”. evil spirits that can destroy life in pretty much- #any abitated planet in irreversible ways #one day some shadows breached from the maipetts control and directed themselves to earth as it was the closest living planet #so mai and Charlie as the strongest most able shadowseekers (group of specialized Maipetts with the mission to bring back Shadows to- #security in case of breaching) got a mission to go to earth find the shadows and bring them back. even destroy them if necessary #now what's the group mentioned earlier have to do with all this? #after saving lily from a shadow attack her and mai become “friends” (keep in mind Mai doesn't really know what friends even are) #but with time they do become very close #and since the shadows are never way too far from each other meaning that other shadows might be hiding in the same town Mai wanted to keep- #Lily safe. so she gave her a tiny rock that contains Maipett powers (Mai likes to keep them on her belt for decoration) and showed her- #basic attacks to at least keep Lily safe in case she gets attacked by a shadow and Mai happens to not be there #after a while tho Abby (Lily's roommate and childhood friend) finds out about her friends' powers and she thinks it's soo cool and things #but Lily and Mai especially aren't so cool about it cus pretty much all the situation is supposed to be a secret #so they and abby make a promise: Abby gets a magical gem and of course some lessons how to use it's powers and she keeps the secret #Abby agrees and she joins the group (that remains unnamed until the others join) #Toddy and Maggi were found by Charlie in the meantime. Charlie saved them both from a shadow attack and so Mai decided to give them- #magical rocks aswell with the deal that Charlie was the one to teach them about their powers this time #Toddy decides to name the group “The Shadowseekers” to reference mai and Charlie's literal job #and yeah they go on adventures around the city™ and sorroundings beating shadow's ass and learning to use their powers and work together #while also keeping the secret #idk it came up to me like some minutes ago #fnafhs

[fstbmp-a]

This is probably the 20th time I've written this out (one for every day really) but. I know I said that by the end of the month I'd probably remake the blog, however

I think I'm putting the blog on an indefinite hiatus.

I know, that's the sentence that's said right before a blog ceases to exist forever, but something here just isn't clicking anymore. I'm not enjoying my time, despite my absolute best efforts. That something that made me enjoy my time here is gone and I can't replicate it just by brute forcing it anymore.

Maybe someday I'll be back, I do love this place, my characters, y'all's characters, etc. Though, for now, I think I need to stop lying to myself that I can just keep doing new things to suddenly bring back my interest for this place. It's not going to happen.

Thank y'all for all the fun we've had and, hey, maybe I'll be back sooner rather than later, maybe in a month, a week, etc. I could back down from this before the end of the week even. I just needed to put it out there that I think I'm burnt out here.

#my kingdom ;; ooc #awawawa... it's not fun writing this and i keep backing down from doing so #there's so many versions of this sitting in my drafts #i think i need to just hit Post Now instead of “waiting to see how i feel” because it always loops back around to. this. #so y'know. yeah. fuck it. maybe this whole thing will be for nothing and i'll be back in just a few days #but yeah i. i think i need to just go for a bit and see what that brings #feel free to hmu for my discord. i'll still be around. and like i said it's more than likely that i'll be back sooner than later #but so long and thanks for all the fish until then!

[yaz-the-spaz]

I can't believe we waited 7 seasons for Buck to kiss a man and it wasn't even the person he literally legally shares a kid with

#buddie #911 #911 spoilers #i mean look I'm still happy it happened at all #and im still gonna support it cause I'm all for gay awakenings and buck deserves this shit so much cause clearly the girls weren't working #plus tommy seems great and i like him way better than most of the girls already (except maybe abby) #but all that said that doesn't mean im gonna support it with my full chest like i would buddie if it had actually happened #(i always kinda got the sense that ryan maybe wasn't fully comfortable playing a queer role where oliver was though #so if this is the best we get I'll take it) #at the end of the day i just want buck to be happy and with someone who truly cares about him who he can be his full self with #and if tommy turns out to be that person then i can absolutely grow to love him (almost) as much as i do eddie #(im still prob always gonna be a lil salty about buddie and what could've been but c'est la vie) #eta: coming back here to add that after watching some bts content that i had prev not seen i am now re-evaluating my stance on ryan lol #homeboy absolutely wants to kiss oliver. but y'know just like. for art. #bisexual buck

[recitedemise]

𝗚𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗵𝗶𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲. From his relationship with Mystra to his great mass of acquaintances, most have sidelined him to what he's worth. However, it's seldom for his character or the man that he is, and rather, instead, for what he has to offer. Gale, as Mystra knows, is a brilliant, razor-sharp mind. The best of the best, he's proclaimed several times. She had liked his talent, watched as he studied with obsessive passion, and knowing his fondness for all things Weave, saw a tireless, rampant, and immovable love. She wanted that loyalty. She was greedy for it. And knowing Gale nursed an appetite for awesome power, she, too, longed to keep him beneath her thumb. After all, this goddess, familiar with her ambitious wizards (see: Karsus), had no intention of sharing her arcane domain. Magic's her realm, not anyone else's, and though Gale was astonishing, half a diamond in the rough, she saw him less as promise and more subservience. That was what she saw. That was what he gave. And Mystra, fed full with it, didn't care who he was, didn't care who he could be, and damned who he's become. He's seldom been cared for, his one love--his greatest love!--having been a ruse, but being Mystra's favorite was still a badge of honor... and a title, of course, that was very known. In other words, the great Gale of Waterdeep was a means to an end. Friends and companionship were as genuine as Mystra for how better to meet her than to win the favor of her Chosen? This ambitious, skillful man was a golden ticket.

Very few people have asked to Gale Dekarios. Not many, to be honest, has cared to see him for who he really is, and with his heart embroidered right on his sleeve, one can't help but to think that a travesty.

#HEADCANON. #Anyway.......... More headcanons where I explore the depths of how shallow and self-serving Mystra is. #: ) And how Gale by his own admission didn't exactly have friends. #I imagine being eyed by Mystra would do that -- everyone just wants to know what you can give them instead. I think too there may have been #some that were maybe intimidated by Gale's title but lbr. Wizards are hubris fascination and greed. It's largely the latter I'm sure. #Also I know I'm very quiet today but I'll be real. Work was brutal today and even typing THIS was difficult. So replies? Maybe tomorrow. #Still going to try but y'know let's all temper expectations lmaoo.

[sysig]

Dorks

Starting with ZEX nad DAX! I moved them in by themselves first and had them fall in love and, forgot, to take any screenshots of it lol oops. They are In Love, but not committed :) I’m also really silly-pleased with how they turned out haha, using Zarla’s VUX retextures as well as these red horns and Namekian antennae haha - anything to make them just a little more alien!

Old man yaoi

Moved the Captain in and he immediately rolled a Want to flirt with ZEX lol. You’re so judgey Captain not like I intentionally made it so he and ZEX would be attracted to each other but not so much him and DAX cough

ZEX was also immediately enamoured lol, who would’ve guessed

Jinx! I ended up getting the Jealousy-negation potion because I want them all to get along ♥

Really. Right in front of DAX’s fear of getting burgled >:0

The Captain is always the little spoon, it’s the rules

He’s always the one sitting on others! It’s the rules!

DAX caught them lol, he even walked away doing the “crazy” hand sign haha, I love the two of them looking at him as he goes hehe ♪

I was curious and there actually is a difference in what ZEX and the Captain are doing - ZEX is cuddling, the Captain is sitting (on ZEX lol)

These animations I swear ♥ The shy little duck the Captain does after a peck, so cute

Okay fine he can be the big spoon sometimes

Poor DAX got kicked out of bed haha

You’re fine writing in your diary like that? Haven’t you noticed the uh

I designed this house with infidelities in mind lol, just look behind you Captain! No there’s a wall in the way! Haha

#WPVG #WPTS2 #The Sims 2 #The Sims #SCII #Much less involved than the Talana set - if I hadn't forgotten the ZEX/DAX stuff maybe... #But I'm also still playing this household! A bit less focusedly more just seeing what happens for now #It's also kinda in the middle of/around Talana's - some things happened concurrently like getting robbed #Thus DAX still being mad about it when he went over to visit lol #Both of the VUX are currently employed but the human is not - something of a house husband at the moment lol #I'll get to him he's just a bit freshly moved in yet - I made him a cute studio loft so he has a bit of space for himself :) #He still crashed in ZEX's bed and kicked DAX out tho lol mean! #DAX is a dancer - pretty sure he fell asleep in his uniform haha #I think ZEX is in the Slacker career? This would be post-exile so y'know ♪ #He has other things to be doing! Like the Captain pfft #I really am rather pleased with how everyone turned out <3 I'll have to get some closeups at some point so you can see ZEX's smile lines! #I considered giving him the short cropped hair but the longer hair just looks so nice ahhh #I gave DAX the same for a moment but they were a little too difficult to tell apart even with the eyepatch haha #It's a shame the red horns count as ''glasses'' so they come off for certain outfits - I think I might be able to turn them back on hmm #The little colour contrast on VUX skin is so pretty! <3 #I had so much fun with all the decorations as well lol there are So many space pictures and wallpaper and bedsheets #All the doors are Star Trek doors! There's a UFO hanging model in the bedroom hehe <3 #The clean white futurism look is very fun to work in :)

[robinsnest2111]

maybe if I can finally get a grip on a normal sleep schedule I'll find more energy to do the things I usually like to do and find actual joy in them again 🤔

#OKAY Y'KNOW WHAT #i challenge myself to go to sleep before 2am tonight. #maybe i'll actually be able to do it if i frame it as a fun little challenge

[skrunksthatwunk]

fuck that last fight against nightmare boooooo this shit is actually so stupid and evil and i don't like it >:(

#it's. eugh. it's. FUCK #i don't like it it's so bad i've done it like 10 times now #eughhhhhhhghhhnghn #dmc #dmc1 #i still ahven't beaten it either.. sheeshhh #and i have to fight the stupid ice lizard things before a lot of the attempts too and half the time i can't dodge their jump thing because #i'm mid-combo so any indication of the wind-up to it can't actually be reacted to bc i'm busy getting hit or hitting #such that by the time the move is finished i literally can't get out of the way. often a roll isn't even enough range and they stand next t #each other so one roll's basically all i have time for anyway. sigh #whateverrr. this blows. this blows actual literal severe ass. ughhhhghh #dante. dante i believe in you i believe in us we can do this. but FUCK YOU NIGHTMARE YOU STUPID OOZE #arrrhghrhharzagraaaaa #sigh.. look the vulnerable points shouldn't only be available during 100% attacks in that area such that you take crazy damage if you #actually try to attack the part you have to attack before it goes away. and i've gotten so close ONLY FOR THE SECOND PHASE TO INITIATE AND #IMMEDIATELY KILL ME. BROOOOO WHAT ARE YOU DOINGG #look maybe i'm a pissbaby who's bad at video games but this pissbaby's got feelings #i should probably try a different weapon combo... sigh... #i did so bad on my alastor attempt that i've been using ifrit (i also like how fast the devil time is given the brevity of the weak spot's #appearances) but maybe sparda would be a better choice. but i like the devil trigger. i gotta listen to the song y'know. it's all about the #devil trigger babyy it's all about the devil time. and sparda's got nothing. maybe i should use that gun that looks like the goop #like. like is that a hint? idk i'd think if they were made of the same stuff it would be less effective #and i don't like that it seems to stunt your devil gauge. but if i'm using sparda anyway in for a penny in for a pound ig #whatever. rant over. i am. Calm (<- lying). so i'm gonna try again #and if i get mad again i'll do hw or something

[avisisisis]

Why are women so much prettier than men. Like it might be the lesbian in me but I genuinely feel more attracted to women than I do with men. I just don't find them good looking. They have to have some very specific appearance for me to like them (physically)

And in TV I always feel more drawn to women. When I see a drawing of a femenine character I always go “oh wow, she's really pretty!” and then get disappointed when I find out it's actually a man?? Like I still find him pretty, but the fact that it's a man just makes them less appealing to me

A male character needs to have a very good character arc (and, IRL, they need to have an extremely likeable personality) for me to have a ‘fictional crush’ on him. Meanwhile, all a girl needs to do is have a cool design

#the ‘fictional crush’ is more like ‘o shit they're hot’ instead of an actual crush #they're not even crushes (i'm aroace and find being in love with people i don't even know or y'know. FICTIONAL CHARACTERS weird) #what i mean is #if i see a man who is really shitty i'll just leave it at that. however if it's a woman i'll go “i mean i hate her but she IS handsome” #like. physically i feel more attracted to women #romantically? no. no one. i genuinely can't picture myself in a relationship with anymore #trust me i've tried #i'll go “holy shit i want to kiss this person” but then actually picture ME kissing them and be like “yeah no nvm” #i think i like the IDEA of being romantically invonved with someone #if i picture myself kissing someone in the 3rd person then i'll be like “hey that's not so bad! maybe i do like them!” #but then i do it in 1rst person. like ME kissing THEM. me imagining MY lips touching THEIR lips #and then it just doesn't work for me #but women are still SO pretty #so basically i feel physically drawn to them but won't be romantically involved with them because i'm aro #huh #lesbian #aromantic #lgbtq+ #women #women are pretty #girls #don't mind me just me sorting out my thoughts on relationships #women are beautiful man. like..BEAUTIFUL #even women that are considered “ugly” #i don't know why. even if they're supposed to be “ugly” i'll still find them pretty #but not with men #i don't find men attractive. like. at all #i just realized i typed anymore instead of anyone #fuck everything life is meaningless

[woulddieforloki]

LOKI SEASON TWO COMING ONTO DISNEY+ ON OCTOBER 6, 2023! HOW DO YOU FEEL?

I'M SO READY BUT ALSO NOT AT ALL EMOTIONALLY PREPARED BUT ALSO I NEED IT TO COME OUT TODAY AHHHHHHH

#I'm also not financially prepared #I'm trying to save for a trip to disneyland when i graduate next year (or probably a year after than once i have my first real nursing job) #so I've told myself that I'm only allowed to buy new funko pops if they're either Loki or Wanda (or Cassie Lang when she comes out) #but we just got blacklight ragnarok loki and thor 1 jotun loki with the casket which is already too many lokis in a short period #so what am i gonna do when i have the entire season two to buy? #i doubt my brodinsons shelf is even gonna fit them if it's half as many as season one #I'm also trying to be good and not buy more pins #but I've been collecting disney pins foe almost 13 years now and if and when they release loki s2 pins #I'll have no choice but to buy them to add to my marvel pin board y'know? #sorry this is so rambly #i have a pharmacology exam to take and im procrastinating #I'm gonna go do that now #maybe #unless i dont #look i have an ask #loki series

[front-facing-pokemon]

#cascoon #it's like silcoon‚ but purple and pointy! desperately trying to remember how this one comes about. i'm gonna seem like a fake pokémon fan #i know silcoon and cascoon are both evolutions of wurmple. but i don't remember what the criteria are. is it a gender thing? hold on google #oh. it's just. some hidden personality value. so it's effectively random #y'know what. i think that's better than it being a gender thing. shoutout. but it could be considerably more interesting #maybe i'm just conditioned by the hitmonline to think that every evolution criteria has to be stupid and obscure and insane #or finizen At All #or all the stupid-ass trade evos. do not like trade evos. i do Not like trade evos! i have said this before but i will keep saying it #i just realized i called cascoon purple and pointy as though silcoon was not pointy. i'm not with it at all this morning #i just woke up‚ y'all. can you tell. can you tell i'm not sentient yet. i have to go to work in like an hour and a half and i am Not ready #anyway. i'm gonna get this guy up in the queue and dustox and then take my meds. see you guys in the dustox post #this must look so weird to y'all. since dustox is gonna be either multiple hours or a whole Day after cascoon #but i queue up two to three pokémon at once every morning to keep a good backlog in the queue in case one morning i miss it #which has happened before. it's saved my ass before. and i'm gonna need to use it at the beginning of july #sneak peek for you guys. i'll be heading out of town on june 30th to go to the other side of the country for work. so i won't be around #any posts you see from june 30th to july 4th are gonna be like super duper queued in advance. and i probably won't be able to answer asks #or anything like that. i dunno if i'll do a formal announcement bc no one will even notice but for you dear reader #who read this deep into my mile-long cascoon tags. you now know that i will be out of town from june 30th to july 4th #use this power wisely….

[crest-of-gautier]

got the badges for gone fission evp 400 + evp 600 yesterday! .52 gal, l-3 nozzlenose, dread wringer, and squiffer make for quite the synergistic team!

my peak was EVP 810 (appx 300-310% HL). my high score of 151 eggs was obtained somewhere in evp 300...? i'm pretty satisfied with how it went, even if i didn't get HLM or 9s.

some thoughts/reflections on good freelancing teams/traits to develop when trying to rank up in evp under the cut:

i think grinding this rotation was pretty fun- all of the weapons have excellent mobility and i think they cover for each other really well! the l-3 was not my favorite weapon going into it but i think i really enjoyed the accuracy and mobility of it, so it's a bit more favorable for me now :)

i ended up reaching a skill wall in EVP 760-780 where i could not get past wave 2 or 3 (usually for quota related reasons, the quota is BRUTAL! we'd miss it by like 4-5 ish... ofc this partially relates to how well bosses are handled).

the grind for evp was a mix of freelance and grouping up (freelance for 230 -> 440s, grouping up for 440 - 750~, and then testing myself in freelance for that last bit).

i enjoyed the bits of freelance i did, and from my playtime i think these were some of the key traits/practices that indicate "good salmon run skills" to me:

players that know their weapons role(s) and target the appropriate salmonid (but also being willing to break that when priority targets haven't been taken care of)

knowing when a teammate needs help (with a boss or being revived) or when the teammate has a situation under control (e.g. someone's already on the fishstick, you can do something else)

proactive use of specials when problem targets appear, preferably with no overlap (e.g. tri-strike and inkjet activated on the same flyfishes is not the best)

using specials like booyah bomb, triple splashdown, and reefslider to clear basket area in the last 30 seconds to help eggs get in (especially important past evp 600)

teams that paint the walls first thing (especially whoever had the dread wringer). all interior walls for fission can be painted within the first 10 seconds imo

forwarding eggs closer to the basket after splatting static bosses (throwing one egg, and then swimming up with one)

players with good judgment; knowing when to lure (mostly for initial boss spawns), and knowing when to leave the big shot cannon

being able to figure out which directions snatchers come from and what eggs they can help you collect

i think these practices all stem from having good awareness and being able to collect information about the shift. it helps with making snappy quick-fire decisions, and it just gets more important the higher up in EVP you go. camera positioning/control is essential for this (you can't figure out where bosses/teammates are if your back is turned to them).

for me, every 7-10 seconds, i like to rotate my camera around to the opposite side of where i'm currently looking to make sure there isn't any bosses i'm missing. i'm hardly in one place longer than 5-10 seconds and i try to always be on the move. the spawn direction where salmonids come from are always changing, so it's essential to rotate around the map proactively rather than reactively. i think this also helps a lot with shotcalling in groups too (since you can be someone else's pair of eyes).

other than boss spawns/teammate locations (for revives), i think it's also important to notice when certain bosses haven't been taken care of for prolonged periods of time too, so that a special can be popped. to me it's usually a sign that someone whose ill equipped to deal with that boss has been forced to deal with them because the people with the "right" weapon are focused on something else... (no fault to them, of course, everyone has different priorities and you can't always communicate clearly in freelance)

in situations where squiffers were chased by a pack of scrappers, perhaps a booyah bomb or splashdown can be popped to help if you don't have the time to stun and splat them manually. maybe the fish sticks were left unattended by the shooters, so a triple inkstrike or a crab/inkjet shot can help clear them out.

awareness also extends to meeting quota, which imo involves paying attention to the timer + where eggs are located. i find that it's nice to check in with the timer/quota at 50s and 30s respectively so that you can start forwarding eggs closer to basket. and when everyone's going crazy about quota not being met i try to make sure i'm not overstepping anyone else's egg pile so that no one goes "wait no thats the egg that i wanted to pick up fuck i have to go back and get a different one."

i think this is why sometimes playing in groups is easier. if you have more sets of eyes that you can communicate with, it alleviates the need to have awareness of "everything" (provided that you can comms effectively). someone can be attuned to different things (e.g. my friend always tells us where snatchers come from and if they're good, i'm personally attuned to where people need to be revived, etc.). you also know what specials you have access to, unlike in freelance where you're not sure what others have until they use them.

the other part of completing shifts successfully (to me) is being mechanically sound with your movement, mostly in regards to how you use the terrain (walls) to get around the map and escape situations. the more you play a map the more you'll figure out how you can move around on it.

some examples, using the location callouts from salmonrun.ink: there were a few times i'd go on the harbor but i could escape any salmonids in the bridge area by climbing the walls there and squidrolling out as needed. sometimes on high tide i would swim from the perch to the left plat.

sub-strafing is also good to know too, especially when you want to rapidly collect the basket eggs at the end. i still need to integrate it into other parts of my gameplay, but it's helpful!

uh. this was way longer than intended because i have WAY too many thoughts about salmon run. TL;DR: The key to succeeding your shifts is having good awareness which comes from good information collecting practices, and having the mechanical skill to act on that awareness without hesitation.

there's definitely a lot that goes on in sensory overload the game™, so it will take time to build these muscles and reaction times. i think while at every rank of salmon run you may face a wall of "i'm overwhelmed by the bosses," the exact fix needed to get past it usually varies, so it's important to figure out what information you were missing or what actions you could've taken (more efficient movement or special usage, usually).

or if you're struggling with quota, try to practice forwarding eggs or take a look where snatchers come from (even if people splat them, it's still a good practice 2 develop for later evp. source: i don't fucking do it and it's biting me in the ass)

and most importantly, recognize when you're in the midst of a loss streak/skill wall, so that you can take a break and focus on other things that energize you! even if there's a certain goal you want to meet, grinding for higher levels of EVP and getting better at the game can be a very exhausting process. you can always come back to the grind later, whether if it's after a 30 minute break, or just a different rotation!

#splatoon 3 #lizz.jpg #lizz.txt #i did like 93 jobs of this rotation if anyone is curious. average waves cleared 2.2. point card was 31315p #im so normal about salmon run this is my favorite mode in the game that even though i have 2x the hours of my friend she's higher leveled- #in the pvp multiplayer than i am (but also she uses exp tickets and i dont because im a money enjoyer) #honestly i do wonder what i could've done differently with evp 740ish bc i could NOT stick around with a group WHICH IS SO FAIR #though it is a little disorienting to go between 300 to 320 HL with every new group of people HAHA #i do think it's the snatchers i gotta pay more attention to but damn idk when they spawn lol #and maybe my specials could get more value for them. i never go a shift without using them but idk #i think there's also been a lot of dying in general. like 3-5 deaths for everyone so it's def a movement/not keeping up with boss issue #in some form...? so maybe if i get to the point where my specials are back to proactive use and not 'for surviving this first wave' #i'll be golden and good to go for 9s... still very valuable learning experience though! #it would have definitely been easier to get to 9s if i reached certain evp ranks earlier to play with more experienced people but #where is the learning in that? LOL. i just feel like you're really forced 2 confront what you suck at when all the 'good people' are- #already at 9s or some higher VP y'know. and then when you get booted down to a lower VP for the next roto. it feels so much easier #and its like wait! maybe i'm okay at this game actually #anyway i don't think i'll be playing salmon for extended period of time for the next week otherwise im gonna be tetris effect'd LOL