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Challenge #8

Talk about your creative process.


This is actually something that I've been wondering if I need to improve on, especially when it comes to writing series. Specifically, how much of a series I should have planned out before I start posting it, although admittedly there have been a few times where I've intended something as a one-shot and then realised that actually I can't really leave the story where it is.

Also, this is a process specifically to Dark more than any of my other fandoms, but I realised I should probably make sure I have a full understanding of the original timeline before I try to change it. A moment of sheer frustration at Ulrich getting stuck in 1953 and being unable to rescue Mikkel from 1986 led me to write a scene where Ulrich did get to 1986, and it became clear I couldn't just leave it there. But at that point in season 1, I didn't have the whole context of how that whole family tree/timeline worked, or the reasons why the character Claudia just would not let the timeline deviate that way. So I now find myself with an ending I know has to happen, but that I was trying to avoid and that's just blocking me finishing the final chapter. Anyone remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books as kids? I'm seriously thinking about those now as I'm tempted to write the one ending where Claudia fixes the timeline her way or trying to work out if there's any way of incorporating the alternate universe characters into the timeline so the minimum of people actually get erased from existence and Ulrich and Mikkel get their happy ending.

Something I have often done is been determined to get a fic finished before the next episode of a show aired and canon could contradict it. This tends to be easier with one shots than series, although I've only ever had one dickhead trying to "correct" me over not incorporating context that hadn't aired at the time that chapter was posted. But since that was a known troll, they could shove their corrections where the sun didn't shine. If that does come up, I don't rewrite.

Sometimes it involves going back and watching old episodes, or even just checking facts on fandom wikis, to make sure I have my details correct. (Even if I sometimes wonder why I bother - for example, I was trying to find out whether Fringe's Peter Bishop's specific date of birth was ever confirmed, to see if it was feasible for a time travelling Daniel from Lost to have met Walter before Peter was born to give him the name. In the process, I managed to establish that Walter's father's date of death in 1944 doesn't make sense for Walter's birth in 1946, so decided that if the writers weren't going to worry about that, I'd roll with my idea whatever!)

As far as requests go, if I'm not doing it as part of an exchange, I'll only consider if we've interacted. Just my way of making sure I don't end up granting a request for aforementioned known troll, whose MO was to ask for requests then spam anyone who didn't take their (very specific) requests with insults.

But anyway, what I'm wondering if I need to do is try and do more planning in advance of any story likely to become a series before I start posting it. I have one now I'm trying to work out (School Spirits, a rewrite of season 2 where Mr Martin possesses someone other than who he actually does possess in canon) so I'm going to start with that.

⌈ Secret Post #6953 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01.



( More! )

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 32 secrets from Secret Submission Post #993.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Last week, I cut my finger pretty deeply while making food, and missed two days of work trying to give it time to heal (I bathe dogs for a living; I did not want to be sticking an open wound into dirty dog water). The third day, a dog broke my glasses and I had to leave early (I was able to mend them).

Yesterday, I woke up very sick, probably with the same punishing cold Will has. My job is pretty lenient about calling out, but gosh do I hate doing it this often. ;o; It always makes me nervous. My boss is super understanding but I don't want to take advantage of that. Oh well. ;3;

I'm painfully behind on Snowflake Challenge, to absolutely no one's surprise; I did the first one and stopped. XD; There are some that I want to go back and do, but I doubt I'll actually catch up. But that's okay! I want to do the animals/pet one. Speaking of which, I bought Dale's 4x2x2 (120 gallon) terrarium! It looks like it'll be a pretty easy build, and I have several things to add to it (although there are definitely more things I want to add, like some of the climbing vine, some fun rocks/slate, things like that. I'm hoping to get it built today, if I'm feeling better in the afternoon.

I read the first book of the Uriel Ventris series, Nightbringer, and it was delightful; Ventris is an adorable, pious, little murder machine, and I'm pretty sure literally every man he met wanted to top him. I immediately bought the second volume on thriftbooks (a lot of "older" Black Library books are out of print, so I have to search for them as well as be willing to part with more than a little bit of moola). We already own the third book (Will bought it a little while ago) so that should keep me busy for a while. I'm a very slow reader. XD;

This morning I went out, coffee in hand, to sit on the back step. It was very cold but peaceful. I heard the first birdsong of the day. <3 I'd read about how people with ADHD need to sit in the moment sometimes, no screens, no texts, nothing like that, and just allow themselves to be. It was very nice and I think I should start more days like this.

This post is very disjointed bc it was written between a couple of days. I hope it all makes sense. ♥

Today is cloudy and cold.

I fed the birds.  A few sparrows approached as soon as I put seed in the fly-through feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I put out a fresh peanut suet cake.

I've seen a flock of sparrows and two male cardinals.

EDIT 1/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.
 

1a. I've bought the Stoorstålka "advanced" and "professional" kits after all, for practicing basic Baltic pickup with zero context.
( recent tries at weaving )

3. Weaving as a diversion has paused. The process of warping a second inkle attempt and weaving it off has shown me that my vast ignorance crosses understanding how something can function and getting one's fingers to do it at a strange angle. In sport-weight cotton yarn, most of my 2" = 5 cm band looks as neat and even as the stuff that Etsy-shop vloggers show themselves making on Instagram or TikTok; I'm a fumbling beginner with peripheral neuropathy only for starting and ending. Sew the ends under, and no one would see---but learning to make tidy starts and finishes is more than my current hands could endure.

I dipped back into weaving specifically to practice being a beginner at something. Having learned a few things since I was a knitting beginner (almost 20 years ago) regarding dexterity, mobility workarounds, how other people do various fibercrafts including forms of weaving, and how plant and animal fibers behave, the on-ramp for my hands-on weaving is quite short. Like, that's it, I'm already into an objectively intermediate stage, and my hands cannot do what would need doing there.


4. Crocheting has always been tougher on my joints than knitting, or rather, my best refinements over time of self-accommodation for each craft succeed better for knitting. Weaving at narrow output (tabletop, backstrap, inkle) demands less of any individual body part than crochet or knit because it's better distributed across many parts---but weaving wants specific actions that need fingers, not fingernail-substitution or the use of an external tool.

I can tie square and surgeon knots with my nails (lacking usual-range fingertip sensation), but the junk comm packets I wrote about a few years ago, whereby since #2020 my brain or central nervous system directs a limb to do something and it fails to report back timely, or CNS forgets momentarily that the limb exists---junk buildup is still a thing. Trying to weave more, doggedly doing more by eye, would mean accumulating more of a junk backlog than I have the capacity to expel (nap/resting self-accommodations). Weaving and laptop typing and food prep occupy the same bucket, just about. So, weaving drops out, at least for now.

(Knitting is still fine in moderation.)

closed

Today's prompt is: dream

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Challenge #9

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)

Post your answer to today's challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it.

Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Also, feel free to entice engagement by giving us a preview of what your post covers.

Given that I've read a romance novella recently (Courtney Milan's "The Pursuit Of..."), I've got romance tropes on the brain.

I like a slow burn. I remember once borrowing a book from the library and the main characters were having sex by page 50 and I was like "...". Yeah, that completely turned me off. The desire, the wanting, the longing is FUN! Jumping into bed that early misses out on a lot of the fun for me.

When I was younger, I liked "damsel in distress" tropes in romance novels, but I don't really have the patience for that these days. Because in those kind of books, too often the hero doesn't realize his feelings for the heroine UNTIL she gets herself into trouble, and that's kind of boring.

Looking at this list of tropes: My own writing has had the "mutual pining" trope, and yeah, I really dig that in a romance novel. I'm not opposed to "Enemies to Lovers" but it's not something I normally read these days, nor write. "Friends to Lovers"? yes, I like that, and I'm working on some more fics revolving around that theme.

I feel like a lot of my own fic is "Missing Scene" stuff (not that I've written much fic yet! but still). I try hard to fit my fic into the canon, either in the midst of it (as with my FFXII & FFXIV fic) or after it (as with my FFV fic). The thing is, canon usually means SO MUCH to me that I want to extend it. I don't feel I'm trying to fix it, more like... taking a thing that canon made me feel/think and running with it.

I'm not entirely sure I understand the definition of "crack" but I think I've written some? Both Best-Laid Plans & if you like it, then you should've put an earring on it (fics by me) are what I consider to be crack. Ridiculous situations that surprise the reader and make them laugh or smile.

I very much strongly identify with the "Fluff" nomenclature. Most of my fics are short, sweet little things. I have written angst but I'd much rather write happy things.

I like there being some humor in what I read/write. If I can crack up over my own work? BONUS. I think there's room for humor in most longer works, because life is NOT always dreary. Sometimes the funny happens, and that should be included.

I don't do AUs, really. I haven't read much fanfic myself yet, but the idea of reading my favorite characters in alternate settings just doesn't appeal to me. Like I said above: I want to see canon extended, not transformed.

Given that I read so rarely these days, it's a wonder to me that I even have a sense of what I like and dislike. I'm hoping to read more this year, of both traditional published works and fanfic. But yeah, these are some things that draw me.

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threesentenceficathon is back! (And the first post is already on 43 pages of comments. Amazing.)

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Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.


This Week's Question: What are your crafting goals for 2026?


If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

All fics: 3x drama, 1x novel, 1x rpf. :) (There were also other Guardian and Guardian-adjacent works created for fandomtrees, including but not limited to gifts I received, so check out the collection. :D)

The Arrangement (604 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Arranged Marriage, Alternate Black-Cloaked Envoy | Hei Pao Shi Identity Reveal, Early in Canon, but vaguely after episode 8, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Summary: "If I had never met you, I'd say that Hei Lao-ge is far more than I would ever deserve. And he is, but I have met you, and—"

Shen Wei swallows, and Zhao Yunlan feels the sudden need to backpedal. "I don't mean that I would propose to you right now. I just wish we had more time."

Twice (331 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: set between the Envoy reveal and the time loop reveal, Secrets, Reveals, Tenderness, Kissing
Summary: "Shen Wei-ah... Have we really met before?"

I'll Do It (313 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ye Zun & Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei & Ye Zun & Zhao Yunlan, Background Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Characters: Ye Zun (Guardian), Zhao Yunlan
Additional Tags: Ye Olde Haixing Era, Hair Braiding, Trauma Recovery, Ye Zun is rescued and safe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Friendships, LanZun can be read as pre-relationship or platonic
Summary: "Gege did this for me," Ye Zun says, trying to sound offhanded but clearly gauging Zhao Yunlan's reaction. "I bet he has never done anything like this for you."

For Now (343 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian - priest
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Shen San/Shen Wei (Guardian), Da Qing & Shen San & Shen Wei (Guardian)
Characters: Shen Wei (Guardian), Shen San (Guardian), Da Qing (Guardian)
Additional Tags: Domestic, Cuddling & Snuggling, Bittersweet, Not-So-Accidental Cat Acquisition
Summary: "Yao-xiong, look what I found! This little fellow just followed me home, I couldn't possibly say no."

Skilled (344 words) by facethestrange
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV 2018) RPF, Chinese Actor RPF
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Bai Yu/Zhu Yilong
Characters: Bai Yu (Actor), Zhu Yilong
Additional Tags: Interview, Implied Sexual Content, Light-Hearted, Long-ge has many skills that occasionally make Bai Yu distracted and one-track-minded, Established Relationship
Summary: A thousand thoughts per second cross Bai Yu's mind, none of them relevant— No, most of them are extremely relevant. Alas, none of them are appropriate during a live interview.

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Posted by Alex Fuller

https://rpgamer.com/2026/01/rpgamer-round-up-january-11-january-18/

https://rpgamer.com/?p=182842

Welcome to the latest edition of RPGamer’s round-up column, where we look back at some of the articles that we have posted over the intervening period. This article is designed to give reminders of some interesting content and stories that our readers might have missed.

 

  

---

Editorial Content

• RPGamer’s Personal Top 3s of 2025

As we work our way through January, we bring back our regular awards prelude. Once again, some of staff members picked out their personal top threes of the last year.

• Pokémon Legends: Z-A Review

Michael Baker offers a review of Pokémon Legends: Z-A as the series returns to Kalos’s Lumiose City. In this fair City of the Lights, from gardened heights to deepest gloam, in zones of green and red do trainers tread, and fearsome beasts do roam.

• Angeline Era Deep Look

Analgesic Productions’s latest title Angeline Era is an action adventure built on the back of the classic bumpslash system. Alex Fuller finds that while it might not be for everyone, those interested in its challenges will find an addictive and rewarding gameplay loop.

---

Major News

• Arthurian-Inspired Management RPG Sovereign Tower Announced

Developer WILD WITS and publisher Curve Games have announced Sovereign Tower. Billed as a story-driven Round Table management RPG, it is planned to release on Steam this August.

• Tenshi no Uta: The Angel Verse Collection Released in English

Edia has released the Tenshi no Uta: The Angel Verse Collection in English. The releases of the early 1990s previously Japan-only PC-Engine Super CD-ROM² titles are available on Switch.

• Hytale Gets Early Access Release

After its sandbox RPG Hytale was cancelled by Riot Games last year, Hypixel Studios’s founders were able to re-purchase the game and resume work on it. The studio has now given it an Early Access release on PC.

• Sea of Stars Coming to Mobile in April

Playdigious announced that Sabotage Studio’s Sea of Stars is coming to mobile. The turn-based RPG will arrive on iOS and Android in April.

• Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Shows Vocations, Vicious Monsters

Square Enix released some new information and screenshots for Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. The update covers the game’s vocation system and vicious monsters.

• New World: Aeternum to Shut Down in January 2027

In November, Amazon Games announced that new content development for New World: Aeternum had ceased but that the game would continue to run through 2026. However, it won’t continue for much longer than that.

 

   

 

Other News

• Echoes of Elysium Early Access Release Set for End of January
• Celestial Return Releasing This Spring
• Frosthaven New Early Access Update Launching Next Week
• Dark Deity 1+2 Limited Physical Releases Announced
• Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties Shows Yet More Side Content
• Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road Next Major Update, Mobile Title Inazuma Eleven: Cross Announced
• Where Winds Meet Gets Version 1.2 Update
• Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch Version 1.2 Update Available
• The Life and Suffering of Prince Jerian Kickstarter Campaign Announced
• Aniimo Second Closed Beta Launching Later This Month

Media and New Releases

• Cassette Boy Out on PC and Consoles
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot’s DAIMA DLC Part 2 Out Now
• Code Vein II Receives Nine-Minute Overview Trailer
• Code Vein II Spotlights The Blinded Resurgence Offspring
• Arknights: Endfield Prepares for Release with New Trailers
• No Rest for the Wicked Receives Multiplayer Update Trailer
• GreedFall II: The Dying World Developer Video Discusses Language Creation
• Elflock Showcases Gameplay
• New Release Round-Up (January 15, 2025)

<input ... >

The post RPGamer Round-Up: January 11 – January 18 appeared first on RPGamer.

https://rpgamer.com/2026/01/rpgamer-round-up-january-11-january-18/

https://rpgamer.com/?p=182842

Posted by Alex Fuller

https://rpgamer.com/2026/01/zenon-gryfgote-performs-for-latest-code-vein-ii-character-trailer/

https://rpgamer.com/?p=182836

Bandai Namco released the next character trailer for action RPG Code Vein II. The latest video introduces newest partner character Zenon Gryfgote. A genius researcher whose discoveries proved to be the foundations behind Revenants, he ended researching forbidden subjects and was sentenced to ten thousand years imprisoned in the Insula Carcere.

A follow-up to 2019 action RPG Code Vein, Code Vein II is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity’s existence is hanging by a thread. The sudden emergence of a threat known as the Luna Rapacis has seen Revenants — humans with supernatural abilities that come at the cost of severe bloodlust — transformed into creatures called Horrors. It sees the player travel back 100 years to the past with the assistance of a mysterious girl called Lou MagMell to try and rewrite the fate of the world. The game will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on January 30, 2026, with a character creation demo to be released a week earlier.

 

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The post Zenon Gryfgote Performs for Latest Code Vein II Character Trailer appeared first on RPGamer.

https://rpgamer.com/2026/01/zenon-gryfgote-performs-for-latest-code-vein-ii-character-trailer/

https://rpgamer.com/?p=182836

Posted by Alex Fuller

https://rpgamer.com/2026/01/the-seven-deadly-sins-origin-pushed-to-march/

https://rpgamer.com/?p=182834

Netmarble announced that it has pushed the release for free-to-play open-world action RPG The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin from January 2026 to March 2026. The announcement comes as the development team seeks to address issues brought up during the game’s closed beta test in November 2025. Improvements include adjustments to the game’s control, combat system, and user interface, with more details on the planned changes available on the game’s official website.

The Seven Deadly Sins is a fantasy series set on the continent of Britannia, where a group called the Holy Knights have taken tyrannical control of the Liones Kingdom. It sees a group called the Seven Deadly Sins, who were disbanded after apparently trying to overthrow the king, reunite to help liberate Liones. The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin features a multiverse-based original storyline. Players unlock heroes from The Seven Deadly Sins and Four Knights of the Apocalypse to customize their combat style and shape their own adventure. It will be available for PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android.

 

<input ... >

The post The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin Pushed to March appeared first on RPGamer.

https://rpgamer.com/2026/01/the-seven-deadly-sins-origin-pushed-to-march/

https://rpgamer.com/?p=182834

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