Midnight Mass Studies

THE WIGGLES JUST RELEASED A SONG CALLED “WE’RE FRIENDS OF DOROTHY”??????

Hey, let's talk about anons like this, because I know some people haven't been in a position to see the patterns these play out in on broader scale and may indeed not spot the trap.

And it is a trap.

An ask like this has several purposes.

First, it uses social justice language in passive aggressive and manipulative ways to try to coerce a behavior. In this case, the desired behavior is usually for the recipent to participate in community shunning and/or harrassment. The language above is intended to put the recipient on the defensive where, in the haste to disassociate themself from the Bad Thing, they quickly disassociate themself from the bad person, often with no particular fact checking or evidence.

The message is also intended to create a sense of being surveilled and judged by an unknown amount of people with unknown amount of social power and an unknown amount of relevance to your life.

Notice that these asks are usually framed as if they are coming from a follower or potential follower, someone who is addressing you personally and who cares about your opinion and who your blog has an effect on. However this is usually.... very much not the case. If you've ever had the misfortune to watch a gossip campaign from like this from the outside, you will very quickly notice that messages like this get sent in mass batches to dozens and dozens of strangers. (You can often turn these up with a tumblr search, if you look.)

The sender does not know you and probably does not follow you. They have a person they don't like (possibly for their stated reason and possibly not), and they are going through the reblogs of a post from that blog and mass messaging *everyone* with a form letter. They will not see your response and they will probably never even see your blog again.

Which brings us to the second goal of whisper campaigns like this:

Notice that I blacked out the names above? That's because when the recipient answers anonymous asks like this, they provide a platform for the opinion on their blog. An anonymous message like this that gets posted doesn't just spread gossip and apply pressure to the recipient, it is spread to the recipient's entire community.

The *goal* is to get access to your community. The *goal* is to use you as a soapbox.

Is the information accurate? Did anyone check? Does the anon have an ulterior social motive? BIG SHRUG

If you go into the comments on one of these whisper campaigns you will see that *most people never bother to check.*

They assume good faith from a follower, they're off balance defending themselves, and they jump straight to conciliation.

It's a really, really effective form of social manipulation, and really really commonly misused.

2024/11 Bedroom Set - My Room

26 items

5-30 swathes

Base game compatible

I originally planned to create a little life series, but I have been really homesick lately, and for some reason, I won't be able to return to my own home for a short period of time. So I made this bedroom set based on my own room at home.

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Public on 2024/12/09

Preview on patreon

>>>Eearly access<<<

K. M. Alexander

Fantasy Map Brushes

Welcome to a project I call #NoBadMaps. Here you will find brush sets and tools to create fantasy maps that can add a touch of historical au

look at these cool map brushes i found!

burning text gif maker

heart locket gif maker

minecraft advancement maker

minecraft logo font text generator w/assorted textures and pride flags

windows error message maker (win1.0-win11)

FromSoftware image macro generator (elden ring Noun Verbed text)

image to 3d effect gif

vaporwave image generator

microsoft wordart maker (REALLY annoying to use on mobile)

you're welcome

I just finished reading Tevinter Nights and it's a shame how a lot of low income folks like me don’t have access to it or any of the other Dragon Age novels or the cookbook or the two editions of world of Thedas *sigh* I did put a photo of my cat right here though if you want to see how beautiful he is, please ignore the loose pdf files in the folder!

Also you can reblog this so more people can see the picture of my cat. And since there's nothing in this post relating to Dragon Age please don't tag it with anything related to Dragon Age because there's nothing related to Dragon Age in the folder I'm just putting it on a blog that is dedicated to Dragon Age because I love my cat

Are there any specific references you use while drawing? i can never seem to find anything good :/

you have to pay for these (which i think is more than fair considering all the different angles etc) but i usually use some from cubebrush for studies! JookpubStock also has free ones very often

Google Docs

National Clean Your Home Month

Welcome to NATIONAL CLEAN YOUR HOME MONTH The Manifesto Our motto: “If you can’t do a great thing, do a something.” What is it? Sam creat

November is coming and with it National Clean Your Home Month! I'm posting up a link now and will repost it around the end of October so people can explore, discuss, and plan.

The goal of "NaClYoHo" is not actually to end up with a clean home; it's to spend the month of November addressing what you’d like to change about your living space. Each day (or however often you want) you can put on some kind of media -- a podcast, a playlist, a movie -- and clean, organize, sort, or work on your to-do list until the media is over or you run out of steam.

The link above goes to the "Manifesto" where you can learn more about the ideas behind the project, plus find links to interesting aspects of previous years. You know you want to find out what a To Viking list is!

This year I've decided not to do a signup sheet, but I have gone through past years' sheets and created THE BIG DOCUMENT OF:

Google Docs

NaClYoHo Resources

THE BIG DOCUMENT OF.... Content! This is all courtesy of past Salty Pirates. Sam has not vetted any of this, but nothing came across to him

At this document you can find a massive list of media that past participants suggest, along with ideas for how to clean, tips for cleaning and self-care, and product recommendations.

Prepare yourselves, my salty pirate comrades! The month approaches!

That last post reminds me, I've been meaning to do this up for a while.

An incomplete list of games I personally recommend as a narrative dev from a "Gosh I loved their narrative design and these aren't AAA" perspective, some of which are on sale in that celebration:

Mutazione: "A mutant soap opera where small-town gossip meets the supernatural. Explore the Mutazione community as Kai as she cares for her ailing grandfather. Discover magical gardens, new friends & old secrets. They can survive an apocalyptic meteor strike, but can they survive their small-town drama?" I adore this game. It has lingered with me since I played it in 2019. The character writing is excellent, and the structure of the narrative is delightful. A gem that deserves to be far more widely known.

Amarantus: "Arik's been told two things all his life: a tyrant is ruling the country, and somebody needs to do something. Now forced to flee his house after a midnight attack, his parents captured and his house torched—maybe somebody means you. It's time to gather a party, head to the capital, and take the Lord down. Along the journey, this crew of old friends and new strangers will grow closer—or further apart—as your choices guide Arik to win friends, make enemies, play matchmaker, and break hearts. Romance is not guaranteed: messiness is." (Disclaimer: friend of a friend made this) Amarantus is a deeply gripping visual novel, which plays with the format in a very compelling way. The worldbuilding is intricate, the characters incredibly human and incredibly messy, and it rewards multiple playthroughs to develop a deeper understanding of the overall situation. I would also strongly rec If Not Us, by the same developer, for the same reasons.

Sunshine Shuffle: (Disclaimer: friends made this) "Play cards with a group of adorable animal friends who robbed the largest bank on the Eastern Seaboard 12 years ago, and are willing to let you decorate their boat in return for not being executed by the mafia." Sunshine Shuffle is not for everyone, but it uses the structure of the poker games to deliver the narrative with a controlled pace that has really gripping emergent tension. The character writing is as ever the strongest part of the experience, and I think this is one of the more niche Strange Scaffold titles but it's also my personal favourite.

Roadwarden: "Roadwarden is an illustrated text-based RPG that uses isometric pixel art and combines mechanics borrowed from RPGs, Visual Novels, adventure games and interactive fiction." Roadwarden is at the time of writing $5.39NZD and you should play it. Please play Roadwarden. It's a ridiculously ambitious project, sprawling and lush with some cutting choice branches that had me get up and physically go pace around as I thought through the ethical ramifications as well as the roleplay ones.

Citizen Sleeper: "Roleplaying in the ruins of interplanetary capitalism. Live the life of an escaped worker, washed-up on a lawless station at the edge of an interstellar society. Inspired by the flexibility and freedom of TTRPGs, explore the station, choose your friends, escape your past and change your future." I adore Citizen Sleeper, another incredibly ambitious project that is able to get away with everything it does thanks to the heavy stylization (you will notice a trend here). I can't wait to play the sequel, I find this one hard to talk about because I never want to risk spoiling anything about it. Just an absolute treat. Left me feeling uplifted and hollowed out in equal measure at times. Big wins for fungi fans also.

The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante: "A narrative-driven hardcore RPG set in a gritty world ruled by real but unrelenting gods. Set out on a challenging lifetime journey, where every choice has a price and entails consequences. Will you become an inquisitor, a judge, or conspire against the old order? Dare to decide!" Another incredibly ambitious RPG project and one that haunts me deeply. Punishing, fascinating, with excellent character writing and immense replayability. I've done at least 9 runs of this game. I am chomping at the bit for the sequel. If you like exploring fictional theology, you'll potentially have a fantastic time over here.

Murders on the Yangtze River: ""Murders on Yangtze River" is an Ace Attorney-like detective game that takes you on a journey through early 20th century China as you solve a series of intriguing cases. Use your logical reasoning and deduction skills to uncover clues, interrogate suspects, and solve the mysteries." One of my recent favourites. Plays with the format in a very refreshing way, has rock solid mystery writing, and provides also an educational encylopedia to provide historic context around a lot of the things that come up! I've so far convinced at least 7 people to play it, and not a one has regretted that choice.

Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane: "In Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane, you play as a defense attorney who practices law in a world of fantasy and wizards. You must defend clients accused of various crimes committed using magic and use the rules of magic to prove them innocent." Far more directly than the last title in this list, TCAA is directly influenced by AA in an absolutely undeniable way, borrowing from the stylistic presentation of that series near 1:1 at times. However, beyond that aesthetic presentation is rich mystery writing that plays with its premise in a really fun way. You're basically playing as a lawyer in a D&D setting, and using the written spell descriptions in the cases. I found myself wishing they went in a little harder on that at times, but it's a really really fun ride that has some interesting innovations. I'm looking forward to the next project from this team immensely. Only a couple of frustration points based around needing to use very specific phrasing to progress.

Mouthwashing: "The five crew members of the Tulpar are stranded in the empty reaches of space, shrouded in perpetual sunset. God is not watching." If you haven't heard of Mouthwashing at this point, you should. Absolutely stellar. Only game that's ever made me dig out video editing software so I could assemble a private personal chronological viewing experience. Really hard to talk about without spoiling the whole thing. Not a light playthrough.

Wandering Sword: "Wandering Sword is a Chinese martial-arts RPG where you play a young swordsman caught up in a feud and nearly dies. Escaping the event puts you on the path of pursuing the highest form of martial arts and exploring the pugilistic world to become the great hero you are always destined to be." Ohhhh my god I love this game. It's vast. Dizzyingly ambitious for a debut RPG. Yuwen Yi is a fantastic authored protagonist and I would die and kill for him. I need to play the DLC and cry some more. The combat system is incredibly fun. I undid hours of progress to save my favourite rat man from destruction. I saved another man's life by not liking him.

The Rewinder: "The Rewinder is an adventure puzzle game based on Chinese mythology. You play as Yun, the last known Rewinder, who can communicate with spirits and explore other people's memories to alter the past" Absolutely stunning presentation on this one. A relatively short experience, but very compelling. Did make me do math, which I personally needed help for, but I loved the story it told and how it did it.

Dragon Age Writing References

Been meaning to pull this together for a while.  If you know anything good that I’ve missed, stick ‘em on the end!  I’ll reblog in a while with additions.

Dragon Age Wiki–first-stop resource for basic character and plot information, class and area info, and a lot of codices from all three games.

An Illustrated Timeline of Thedosian History–What it says on the tin, put together by @penbrydd.

Travel Times:

Ferelden travel: distances and times–DA: O specific areas, also includes interesting discussion of forced-march speeds

More travel time ideas including Inquisition areas

Thedosian Titles–Ranks and titles in Thedas, as taken from the tabletop rpg guides.

Thedosian slurs–a compilation of derogatory terms used by various Thedosian peoples.

Thedosian calendar–Thedosian dates and holidays with a speculative matchup of the Gregorian equivalents.

Human names–information on naming in Thedosian human cultures.

Qunari, dwarven, and elven names–some information and examples for each group.

How old everyone is in Inquisition–answers or best estimates using in-game or WoT information.

War Table spreadsheet–all the War Table missions, options, and outcomes.

Dragon Age Meta Nexus–a collection of meta posts drawn from Tumblr with standardized tags to facilitate search.  Fairly new.