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tlgtw · 23 days

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Aside fromsoft, are there any fantasy game settings/stories you're into?

Like what was the first game that pulled you in and before you realized you were checking dialogue for inconsistencies?

Zoooooomg, I *wish* had any other answer for this but the first game that "pulled me in" indeed WAS a Fromsoft game; and it was Bloodborne.

This came around a few months after it came out, (Meaning I was 14.) and I'd wanted Bloodborne the whole time because of how wicked fucking awesome it looked. (even if perhaps I was a little too young for it.)

I can't remember how, but by some means or another leading up to or concurrently with Bloodborne's initial release I got into all the "Loretubers" from that time, as they're known now.

VaatiVidya of course--most likely he was the first person I ended up watching, but also the other ones. Like the one who wrote that big book about it basically called like "The Paleblood Hunt" or something, and a few others!

The most significant of which I can tell you for a fact was the 'late' Jerks Sans Frontieres.

Her videos shot straight into my spinal cord because she wasn't a summarizer. She, in a similar sense that I am now, was a detective.

At that point I was still purely an audience-member for that latent genre of YouTube videos. As the consumer I enjoyed all of them, but I liked her's best. And I must've rewatched each of her Bloodborne videos at least a half-dozen times before I finally got my hands on the game myself--for my 15th birthday--and I got *so* scared by my experience in Central Yharnam that I think it took me days to pick up the controller again the second time.

I legitimately considered returning it! It was my first FromSoft game. I'd never played something that just, say, *didn't* have background music all the time, for example. I remember it still, clear as day, how unnerving it was just walking around the early areas hearing just your footsteps and the background rumble and when I was unlucky the screaming sounds of the crows and other enemies.

Precisely, when I first came up that ladder to the Central Yharnam checkpoint, when I heard the scream of the Cleric Beast, it scared me out of my wits so goddamn hard that I stopped moving for like 15 seconds.

I was still *just* turned 15, but at that point I had watched all of Bloodborne over and over again like 80 times. I'd watched tutorials and build guides and cheese strats and weapon movesets and everything else I could about that game, before I finally got my hands on it. I thought I would be, at least, ultimately okay. Cause I would still know everything I'd have to do.

I was wrong.

But I did get through it, hahaha.

In-fact I ended up getting through it so hard that by the time I got my hands on the actual DLC, my main save file was in NG++. So the first time I beat The Old Hunters was in NG++.

Fortunately I was very grinded-up so I think ultimately the experience balanced out.

And nowadays I've beaten Bloodborne so many times that I have the entire level of Central Yharnam actually memorized. Until a few years ago could've draw an accurate map of it from memory (and I have).

With Bloodborne being my introduction, as it were, to the concept of Videogame Story Explained Videos, it was also my introduction to the concept of seriously reading a videogame's story in the first place.

What this wasn't, yet, was me actually going in *myself* to actually cross-reference item descriptions and dialogue, for my *own* understanding. You don't do that sorta thing unless you're specifically involved in discussion. And I was involved in *no* discussions in 2015, or 2016, or '17 or '18 or '19 or anything all the way up to until 2022, because online I have the tendencies of a weird hermit.

Although that is me exaggerating. In truth prior to my dealings with Elden Ring I had been a Redditor and I talked (argued) about the story details of Little Nightmares 1 and 2 (My favourite games.) on the subreddit for those games. By then I had already become the kind of person I am still now, most of all in my disinterest in finding any answers regarding a fictional story that can't account for every extant element... of that story. (As you've seen, and will see more of in Episode X of ERwSET. When an idea I have appears to conflict with work in subject, I drop the idea. And develop one that doesn't conflict with it instead. This is opposed to the alternative of making up reasons or justification to keep the initial idea regardless)

No doubt doing that instead would probably make me a lot more content to make money with... Personally, doing so isn't engaging to me, because I am already someone who writes fiction. And in my opinion, "Videogame Story Explained Videos" are fundamentally a non-fiction genre of video, and for me are more interesting in general when they conform to that, because they interface directly with the media itself, and the material that media's author's put into it. Rather than just the individual video creator's personal experience of that media, of that material.

In part this comes from my background as someone who writes poetry and fiction. Of course.

*Of course,* an author who writes and puts meanings into material themselves, finds themselves more interested dissecting the material and creative decisions of *other authors,* who do the same thing, as opposed to the material and creative decisions of just *other readers.* Who most of them don't--generally maintaining more humane professions and areas of expertise instead.

And probably this is rooted into my tendencies as a 'weird hermit,' too. But, from my perspective, if I wanted to see what a fellow member of the audience thinks are the inner working of this character or imagines regarding the off-screen elements of a story, I would read their fanfiction.

...

That is of course reductive, but I think saying it like that is really funny, so that's why I'll be still saying it xd.

"Everyone consumes, but not everyone makes," you could say. The same way there are less farmers than people in the world. There are less writers than readers in the world. When I analyze a work of fiction, underneath it all what I'm looking for is to see what decisions the authors made, for *their final product:* "What does that do?" "What does this do?" "If it was different, what would that make?" "What does this matter? Does it?"

"Would I do this too?"

And this interest excludes the question of 'why,' predominantly. I'm not interested so much in wanting to know 'why,' because the only way to learn that is if the author themselves actually decides to share "why." I'm interested just in what the final decisions "are."

"Why'd the author decide to make this character do this?" Well, maybe they were really hungry that day. Or maybe they saw an ad on TV. Or maybe they were talking to their friend about something unrelated and their friend happened to say a phrase in a peculiar and cool way and the author decided he wanted to make use of that, too. And everything else that encompasses the spectrum of the human experience.

"Why" is whatever it wants, it's not like it would change what the final product "is," right?

And of course this doesn't preclude the fact that author's can just *lie* about their motivations too. For that reason, actually trying to find out 'why' is generally an impossible task.

And I'm not interested in pursuing those/I'm not interested in not #winning.

Perhaps this, you could say, then, is the ultimate source of my attitude. Not in the way that it's why I actually decided to write and draw and voice and edit my 80% Elden Ring lore series and 15% weird cartoon; "Elden Ring Explained with Snake-Eyes Teieruji." I did all those for completely circumstantial reasons! (And I go into detail about them in Issue #0 of the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter.)

Nor even in how my show is... the way it is! 'Cause even that is just me being really really slow and meticulous, (as you've no doubt suffered) and anyone can act like that~!

But it is, perhaps, what made me come up with the idea of making such a show as ERwSET, at all, in the first place. (And you can also read about the *second* major exclusion in my recounting here from that same article in Newsletter #0, which was the Sekiro-related project for which Snake-Eyes Teieruji was actually created, that didn't end up going anywhere.)

You'd have be a pretty specific kind of chucklehead to actually think of doing, specifically all this; y'know?

But you may be surprised to learn that I'm normally not like this at all, when I play videogames. Most of my creative energy in such regards are channeled into my poetry, art, and fiction. When I eat games, or movies, or books or TV, I don't really feel a want to find out "exactly what the author did for this character" or "exactly what elements of this scene connect with another scene" because I guess, perhaps, I'm too occupied with enjoying myself...

Hm.

Well, maybe it'll be more accurate to say that what I'm presenting, "of myself" in ERwSET, is effectively extremely extremely scripted and deliberate.

I spend months writing my scripts. (sorry about that.) And those months include the meticulous cross-referencing and fact-checking that gives those videos their noticeable pow.

It's a large amount of *work,* that that is. The desk-jockeying kind. And it's not something that can just do itself when you're relaxing playing any game normally. (I'll never just stop what I'm doing while playing a game to fact-check whether I'm currently right about something, while I'm still in the middle of playing it.

For example in my first playthrough of Elden Ring: I wasn't actually sure how Marika's name was spelled until I had finished my first playthrough. That I wasn't sure if it was "Marika" or "Merika" at the time just legitimately didn't concern to me. I just didn't pay that close of attention whenever I passed a Church of Marika or whatever to actually remember how it spelled her name, afterwards.

I actually kept a journal to keep track of all of my sidequests and stuff for my first playthrough, too! So maybe here's another example, haha:

And here's one more dfbjkskjdbfbkjsdkjbfsjdsf. These are all things I actually wrote down in the middle of playing the game so reading these myself is really fucked up I just remember what I was doing when I wrote them:

What I'm referring to as 'the fucking castle' there is actually what I thought the Siofra Aquaduct was, the first time I saw it, hahaha. I was even a little bummed out when I actually got to it, I'll admit. I thought it was gonna be an entire dungeon.)

In any case;

The experience of *creating* something, and the experience of *consuming* something, are just fundamentally incomparable things.

You could never figure out how houses are built by just living in one, even if you lived in one for a really long time. Right?

It's that very sort of thing; in terms of cross-referencing dialogue and noting game-wide consistencies and inconsistencies for discrepancies and explanations, no playing a game inspired me do that, or could. It was my becoming an author of fiction that inspired me to do that, and my burgeoning desire to understand the decisions *other authors* made, for *their* fiction.

"I wanna know how to do that too." Right?

Eventually this desire lead to me writing poems instead.

Which lead to me (once I finally became good enough at writing to realize--as related in that poem I flashed from highschool in ERwSET1) disavowing the written word entirely! TOO limited for me, I though...!

Pictures have WAY more pow than words!!!

And that's how I got into drawing...

(which are like *way* more powerful than words, right, like it's not even comparable, the only thing words are up-to-down unbeatable at is, indeed, non-fiction... but also in being a trillion times faster than everything else to actually work with. I have returned to the written word, since then, as you might tell. And I'll tell you that writing also has one advantage that no other skill on Earth has--and that's you can practice it using only your head. Every other skill needs equipment, lit only needs words.)

...which is lead me to my foray *now;* the likes of 2-dimensional medias like video! (visual + audio)

:DDD

But that's maybe not the kind of question you were actually asking, either... so...

Y'know... maybe it actually *is* Elden Ring, that's what 'pulled me in'.

I'm pretty far-in-deep right now in this, aren't I? And I've certainly never been this deep in something before!

How... did I get here...!?

I talk all about this in Issue 0 of the Newsletter as well but it's because of how Elden Ring served to combined FromSoftware's skills in atmosphere, the acting of the characters, visuals + audio, and gameplay, with George RR Martin's skills in actually have a coherent plot to present with those elements.

I've stated so before so I'll say so again that earlier FromSoft games such as Bloodborne and (especially) Dark Souls 3 are, to *a* meaningful extent, "not worth" looking into closely from a narrative perspective. In the way that their stories were never purposely finished.

The Soulsborne games have the reputation of having stories that are predominantly based on vibes, and that's not by accident. They are based on vibes.

Gameplay, atmosphere, acting, etc. Those are things that dictate the vibes. But they're not precise. You can't find the definitive answer to a character motivation in their boss theme, that's music.

*Power,* of course, they have in spades, but obviously not any 'precision.'

As we know, Bloodborne had a lot of cut content. And Dark Souls 3.

And as a result of the same internal situations (i.e. real life reasons like time, budget, and workforce) that lead to all that content being cut, a number of the questions you would ask regarding the plot details in those games, literally do not have answers *in* those games.

The stories of Bloodborne and Dark Souls 3 are ambiguous. But not in the way that there are multiple answers: In the way that there are *no* answers.

Again, that isn't by accident. The games themselves are obviously, literally, finished products. It was deliberate decisions made during production to *remove* material communicating parts of the story, for variable reasons, from what would become the finished product.

Thus, leading to parts of "the story" being, for the reader; missing.

Most people will frame this as equivalent to "the audience deciding what the truth is." And I think this is completely inaccurate.

"The audience can choose what the truth is" is when there would be multiple possible answers. (Little Nightmares 1 and 2 are my favourite games.)

"The audience can *never* know what the truth is" is when there are no possible answers.

And in my opinion they are completely different narrative outcomes. They shouldn't be equated.

...

...not acknowledging, of course, the *massive* amount of subjective legwork the word 'possible' is doing there, with those vibes-based definitions:

"Possible" as in, coherent with what is (percieved to be) in the text... by the reader?

Or "possible" as in, literally possible to be imagined by someone... such as the reader, whoever that happens to be?

The topic is only more complex from there. (All into academia and shit tho I wouldn't know I'm an art school dropout.)

And... almost definitely that's also not what you asked, either...

Hm...

Well, I ask that you forgive me.

As for *why* Elden Ring was special to me, circumstantially, such that it lead to my actually making ERwSET, the explanation for that will remain in Issue 0 of the Members-Only Kinda-Monthly Newsletter.

As to *what* lead to me becoming this way, as you see before you? (Insane.) I hope I was able to answer it.

As for RECOMMENDATIONS, for games in general, that inspire ME, personally!?!?!? (Specifically, in the way that they inspired me to think about the setting and wonder about how things in there connect. These listing might look random but I'm positive they're exactly what you might mean in you including, specifically, what "settings" I'm into. Albeit, you are getting this from a poet. So... there is that as well. I hope if you end up looking into any of these that you do end up pleased with the experience.)

Hohokum (2014), for PS4 and PC

GRIS (2018), for basically everything

Bloodborne (2015), but note it standing directly *on* Elden Ring

Minute of Islands (2021) for PC and consoles

The surrealist artbook "Codex Serafinianus" by Italian artist Luigi Serafini (originally published in 1981, but still added to by him occasionally with an updated 40th anniversary edition having been released in 2021.)

Gorogoa (2017), for basically everything again

Child of Light (2014), also, for basically everything, somehow

Flower (2009), available on PC (and I really cannot overstate how important 'Flower' is to me, I didn't even know games could *be* like that, before I played this)

And of course, my all-time favourite book "The Vine That Ate the South" by the band The Legendary Shack Shakers's basically only actual member, JD Wilkes. (A book that has all-but baked itself into my genome since I first read it in highschool, and the additional 29 times I've read it since. 'Cause I have been counting. I voraciously recommend the Audible-licensed Recorded Books and RB Digital audiobook version; the narrator T. Ryder Smith's voice is a trillion bucks for that book.)

And y'know what I think I'm wanting to mirror this answer directly into the Kinda-Monthly Newsletter itself. Not all my readers follow me on Tumblr, even fewer'll be online at the right time as to actually *see* this post this before it's buried under everything else I'll post afterwards, and I've just spent the last few hours enjoying the hell out of myself writing all 3100 words of it, gyahahahhahaha!!

So, for those who aren't reading this!

Look forward towards seeing it the first time, in Issue #1 of the T-L-G-T-W Official Fanclub Members-Only Kinda-Monthly Newsletter. (The Issue that'll be available for free.)

My reader, I also hope you don't mind your ask ending up inspiring me to do this. But you might be the first of more, too.

So for now, going forward for any questions and answers such as these asked to me (even anonymously) on Tumblr blog, that activate me like this one has; *they* might just end up in the *next* Issue of the Newsletter, too...!

I can't say for certain I'll announce every that do, ahead of time.

But, maybe... you'll just be able to just... tell. Somehow.

#tlgtw ask #did not expect all of this to come out of me i will not lie #but... i guess I am just predilicted towards this kind of thing. too.#not even gonna lie I really loved writing this xd. Literally brightened up my day.#Thank you anonymous asker. I really appreciated your question.

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cirrus-grey · 9 months

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I have now finished watching Good Omens Season 2

If you haven't already, please block the tag "good omens spoilers" - I won't post anything else until Friday night at the earliest, but after that all bets are off.

@albertinesimonet, I did not manage a full liveblog but I did jot down my reactions after watching each episode, and those are compiled under the cut :)

(SPOILERS!)

Episode 1:

Holy flipping fuck are they actually making the ineffable husbands canon???

Okay.

Look.

I saw that it was trending alongside Supernatural and OFMD. I suspected it was going this way, and the season had ended with some sort of confession/immediate separation.

That did not prepare me for the season to open with Crowley saying "hello gorgeous" to a nebula and Aziraphale being disappointed that Crowley wasn't talking to him. Or for Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy to be playing while Crowley rushed to Aziraphale's aid, like-

This is a fanfic. This is a motherfucking fanfic, and I am pleased to say that my brain is processing it as such, a well-written but ultimately non-canon fanfic (*puts on my "I still have book!omens brainrot" shirt*) that just so happens to have been written by one of the original authors.

Anyway, outside of my snorting disbelief that the first ship that I ever shipped is apparently going canon in one 'verse, I do actually have some legitimate theories, which run as follows:

A. I know this season is the plot-bridge between the original novel and what would have been the sequel, and B. I know the sequel was going to involve the second coming of Christ, therefore C. I suspect this Resurrectionist group that kept getting hinted at in the promos is trying to bring Jesus back, Gabriel found out and tried to stop it, and that's why he lost his memories. I'm a tad bit surprised Heaven as a whole doesn't seem to be involved in the return of their special boy, but I guess we'll see how that plays out as the season goes along.

Episode 2:

Oh hey, I've read this one before! "It's ancient Biblical times and Crowley and Aziraphale are angsting about their orders and finding solace in each other's company" may have never gotten its own tag, but there are certainly enough fics about it that it could.

"Can I be a blue one?" Weird kids are the best.

So the Resurrectionist is a pub, not a group. Still think they have something to do with the second coming, but I'm open to being proven wrong.

Gotta say, I didn't expect Every Day to be plot-relevant. I knew they had it for the soundtrack, but I'm really liking this sort of spooky-mystery-music-mixup they've got going with it - love the way its incorporated into the end credits, too.

Totally down for master-thief Jane Austen, btw.

How many people are writing fics about Crowley and Aziraphale getting caught in a rainstorm and hiding under an awning even as I type...

Episode 3:

How to run a bookshop, a guide by A.J. Crowley: Carry large stacks of books around aimlessly and then toss them on the floor when you get bored.

I'm honestly surprised his awning plan nearly worked. Curses be upon weak awnings, I suppose.

I do like that the Bentley recognizes that it has to play nice with whichever one of its dads is in the driver's seat lol

Okay so they keep drawing attention to the fact that there's flies in the bookshop, and now Beelzebub is acting off. Are the flies like... telepathically communicating Gabriel's worldviews to them? Is that how they figured out he was there?

That bit he said when Crowley mentioned tempests is definitely from the Revelations. I unfortunately don't know enough about the Revelations to draw any new conclusions from this. I know they deal with the apocalypse and the antichrist, but that was S1 stuff so there must be something else...

(That bit definitely sounded like Rapture stuff though, just saying)

Lotta talk about people coming back from the dead, here. It's doing little to dissuade me from my idea that this is all related to the second coming. Their "little" miracle was strong enough to bring 25 people back? Okay. How did Gabriel add his own power to it... and who did he bring back? (Does 1 Jesus = 25 normal people?)

...Okay yeah I just googled it and the second coming (and the rapture) is definitely in Revelations. Apparently the appearance of the antichrist is its herald. *insert 'oh yeah it's all coming together' gif here*

...

Several-hours later addition: When they were talking about gravity Gabriel seemed upset that the book didn't stay where it was put, "it goes down." And that flies go up.

...did he "go down," turning into a human, and is Beelzebub "going up," and that's why they're so worried about finding Gabriel? Figure out what happened to him, so it doesn't happen to them as well? Hmm...

Episode 4:

"The rumors that you two are an item..." Yeah holy fuck they're actually doing this. I don't know why it keeps catching me by surprise??? I guess it's not like, the forefront of the plot, so every time it comes to the front it feels a bit like a new thing, but still.

Aziraphale's smug fucking little eyebrow raise at that "I didn't think you were his type." He's like yeah, and what do you know, hm?

Did not expect the entire episode to be backstory, but that was very cute, especially given how much people fixated on the church scene in S1. That little showcase of their trust, both of them worried it'll go wrong but still willing to try because they feel safe with each other. I like that they managed to keep the tension of the setting, that "I'm pointing a gun at my best friend and this could go horribly wrong" feeling, even when it's well-established that the worst that could happen is paperwork.

Also, Crowley trying really, really hard to give Aziraphale positive feedback on his magic tricks even when he knows they suck. That's true love, right there.

Another showcase of people coming back from the dead. We've had the kids getting "brought back" from shape-shifting, the "resurrectionists" digging up dead bodies, and now actual honest-to-god zombies. I am Sensing A Theme.

...are the zombies still around? What's-is-face the demon did say eternal undeath...

Aaaaaand there's going to be an army of demons dropping in on the local business association meeting. I hope Aziraphale has enough tea cakes for everyone.

Episode 5:

SEAMSTRESSES SHOUTOUT ITS A FUCKING DISCWORLD REFERENCE

I know most people are probably going wild over the Dr. Who references but. It's the seamstresses guild...

I'm sure Mrs. Sandwich and Rosie Palm would get along famously.

In other news wow they're just being blatant about the ineffableness of these husbands now, aren't they? The great thing about that is I'm watching it with my parents and I don't think either of them have clicked that it's going canon - like, they're just interpreting it as a running bit, 'haha isn't it funny that everyone keeps mistaking them as a couple' kind of thing. The same thing happened when I showed them OFMD, neither of them realized Ed and Stede were actually going to be a real canon thing until the kiss. I mean, maybe they've worked out that this is going somewhere by now? But I don't want to ask in case they haven't, because I'd love to see their reaction if it blindsides them.

I am Not Normal about the dancing. Aziraphale's giddy little grin when he drags Crowley to the floor? The fucking. Hand presses. I've probably read too much Jane Austen if I'm going this insane about them just pressing their palms together.

And just... that whole fucking scene. The amount of queer people - either queercoded or just flat-out obviously queer - is making my heart feel full. When Aziraphale referred to the magic shop owner's partner using 'they' before we met them I thought it was just, you know, being polite, he'd never met them and didn't want to assume, but then they showed up in person and folks were still using they and they were so obviously giving a huge middle finger to gender norms I just-

Man I need to watch more queer shows I love this feeling.

And the army of demons is more of a large crowd but, well, still threatening. I like the use of masks to hide demonic traits, clever costuming detail there.

But. My dudes. Don't split up, what the fuck are you doing? You've been here for all of human history, you know how stories go, surely you know things always go wrong when you split the party??? I love protective!crowley, I do, but my dude taking off to bring this mess to heaven's attention is not the way to go about saving your angel. And Aziraphale, buddy, I don't know what you're planning to summon there but I really don't think it's going to go well.

...Maybe he's planning to teleport himself, Gabriel, and the humans up to heaven, too, to get them away from the demon crowd. It would be funny if Crowley and what's their name, Muriel, step out of the elevator and Aziraphale is just. There already.

(I don't think that's gonna happen though. I think everything is just gonna get Worse)

Anyway sidenote Lottie if you've read this far, when Gabriel started talking about feeling like a house I immediately thought of you, I know that's a theme you like ♡

Episode 6:

Jesus Christ!

(Called it!)

So I got a lot of the details wrong, but I was spot on with my two big predictions from the beginning. (Hey that ending reminded me of OFMD and Supernatural, I've got a great idea, why don't we all blog about the three of them and get them trending together-)

Gotta say, I'd only given a passing thought to Gabriel and Beelzebub being a Thing, their shippers must be going wild.

I knew there was a reason they kept drawing attention to that fly.

*Spots fire extinguishers* "Hey is that a Magnus Archives ref-" *Is brutally murdered with a lead pipe before I can finish*

I actually kind of love that Nina and Maggie didn't get together at the end of it all? I had felt like it was all going a bit too fast for them and I'm so glad they acknowledged that. They've got time, now, to work things out, and I love that they left it with the certainty that they'd be there for each other in the future... but not quite yet.

Oh! Oh! Oh! And they fit in the halos-used-as-lethal-frisbees-sequence! That was fabulous, I want to see more exploding headgear.

...anyway I think that's all the little bits I wanted to mention before getting to the Main Event.

I'm actually... not all that devastated about that ending? Like, okay, my heart was breaking watching it, the miscommunication and assumptions leading to a dramatic separation, it's tragic and angsty and oh my god my ship kissed my first ever ship kissed they did it they did the thing-

But. Two seconds after the credits started rolling my mind was already flying to, "oh thank goodness, they've got a Source On The Inside now and they might actually have a shot at stopping the end of the world instead of, you know, being blindsided by it because no one in heaven or hell is talking to them"

Like, sure, major breakup here, Crowley's gonna be pissed and Aziraphale might have to do their silly little "I'm sorry" dance three or four times before they can actually get down to business, but I don't think there's a question that both of them still trust each other immensely and know they can rely on each other to help out in a pinch. They'll be walking on eggshells for a bit, but it's pretty obvious that Aziraphale wouldn't have taken the promotion if he'd known Crowley wasn't going to come with him and as soon as he manages to properly communicate that fact they'll be fine.

(Sidenote, this, right here, exemplifies the difference between Book!Aziraphale and TV!Aziraphale. Book!Aziraphale is way more cynical about the whole heaven-and-hell system, he'd never say "heaven's still the good guys," and he'd be very, very suspicious of a sudden promotion landing in his lap after such a tumultuous sequence of events. TV!Aziraphale might not be the sweet little innocent bean fandom makes him out to be, but damn is he naive compared to his book counterpart. Makes me wonder how much of the hypothetical sequel has to change to work with this plotline - I'd bet my ass he wasn’t an archangel in that one.)

Can Crowley... hear the soundtrack? "No nightingales" like how does he know that's significant? Sir you are breaking the fourth wall-

(And how powerful is he? He's a nobody in hell but he keeps stopping time and could access classified documents up in heaven, something made his and Aziraphale's miracle blow up and apparently it wasn't Gabriel, and he also just brought a whole ass dude back from the dead??? Maybe those "Crowley is Raphael" theorists from S1 had a point)

Anyway, to cap it all off: my current predictions for S3 are the aforementioned ineffable husbands makeup and subsequent spy shenanigans as they scramble to try to stop Apocalypse 2: Jesus Boogaloo; they fail and Jesus comes back, but instead of following the Great Plan he instead chooses to side with "all of humanity against all of heaven and hell" (maybe Adam shows up too to help out?); and Crowley, despite his repeated protests, actually does end up running a bookshop because he doesn't trust Muriel to do it properly.

I summation, yes I am still alive, and very excited for the next season, whenever it happens. Also I need gifsets of the dance scene and that kiss ASAP please and thank you.

#im posting this and then going to bed so ill answer any comments in the morning ♡#good omens tv #good omens spoilers #ineffable husbands #aziraphale #crowley #original post #my good omens stuff #<- good god i need to back-tag a lot of posts into that group

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jw-horror-stories · 5 months

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Oh, boy, let me think of some good stories. I was fortunate enough that my family never tried to pressure baptism on me (My grandfather did, but only once). I never got baptized because of this.

I also lucked out in that I don't have any creepy old man stories, or anything else of that nature.

I DO have trauma from they way they use the world 'homosexual'.

Once, when my sister was like, 5? She made a board game all by herself, using paper. It was called 'Run Away from the Demons and Go to Jesus.' There were some awesome stick figure demons. Jeezy Boy, however, did not make it into the picture.

My parents had a good sense of humor about it, though.

I vividly remember reading a Watchtower article discussing a man who had a 'homosexual lifestyle' before coming into 'the truth'. He prayed to God and it went away tho!!! Prommy!!!!

(I feel so bad for him and I hope he realizes he doesn't have to do that.)

If I get anymore crazy stories, I'll let you know (I'm a minor and am stilled being brought every Sunday).

As soon as I sent that last ask I remembered a story! I had to listen to a talk given by a brother who clearly did NOT research evolution outside of the JW publications. He said (all in his talk about EVOLUTION): - There is NO evidence for evolution. None. Not even a bit. Not a single piece. Nada. - The sun will never run out of (quote) "fuel". (I don't remember how this tied in at all. Chances are it didn't.) - If bees died there would NO POLLINATORS. AT ALL. No more bees; no more anything!!!! (He literally said that without bees no flowers would ever be pollinated. Man has not seen a butterfly. Tragic.) - AI stands for AUTOMATED INFORMATION. (He did mean actual AI, he used this talking point as a 'gotchya' because humans cannot come close to creating a brain. Therefore: God.) - Evolution is being taught EXACTLY THE SAME as it was 60 years ago. (Tell me you've never looked into it without telling me you've never look into it.) The only difference is when HE was a kid it was a THEORY but now it's taught as a FACT. (No???) - Things NEVER crash in space because GOD is guiding them! (???? Man said this DURING a meteor shower btw) - Ants are NOT STRONG. (What. What are you talking about.) In the same line as the previous note he DID say elephants are strong. This is evidence of god's POWER. (I nearly had to leave the room. Elephants are evidence of god's power but ANTS are not???) This was all in one 45 minute talk. He bounced from point to point so much that it was too hard to follow and he just said straight-up untrue things half the time. If it wasn't so infuriating, it would have been funny.

Hoo boi, lots to unpack here, so let me just get everything done in one ultimate post.

The first part about the homosexuality, all I can say is that more likely than not the article you mentioned was most likely fictitious, or at least greatly embellished (probably involved a slightly girly man, or a slightly boyish woman, all that GNC shit they don't like).

And now, that 45 minute indoctrination session talk you heard.

There is NO evidence for evolution - yeah we were always at war with Eurasia. Okay, not quite that level of Orwell, but it's still bad. And also laughably stupid.

The sun will never run out of (quote) "fuel". - all part of a large over-arching narrative of "god has god powers so sun is forever and so is humans"

If bees died there would NO POLLINATORS - nevermind the butterflies for a moment, if such a cataclysmic mass extinction of bees did happen, flowers that do not need pollination would overtake the gene pool, and oh look, evolution. Those that survive the new conditions would take over. Funny that.

AI stands for AUTOMATED INFORMATION - I keep reading AI as "Accuracy International". Hey, if he can put in irrelevant nonsense then so can I. Only difference is I'm not pulling any bullshit here. Look them up, pretty cool, but autistic infodumping will have to wait.

Evolution is being taught EXACTLY THE SAME as it was 60 years ago - You can tell roughly how old this speaker was. Hey gramps, your information is pretty outdated, have you finally switched over to Windows 98 yet?

Things NEVER crash in space because GOD is guiding them! - Oh okay, so his knowledge of magnetic fields would imply that he's yet to discover the automobile. Or that it costs more than $5 a day for a good living wage. Does he even know about the Printing Press?

Ants are NOT STRONG - ok boomer

ngl it was actually kinda fun to respond to those talking points, just because of how utterly absurd it all is. I find that laughing at it rather than trying to understand the reasoning is ultimately better for one's mental health.

-Mod Degurechaff, needs more shit to respond to

#mod degurechaff #jehovah's witnesses #jwhs #jehovah's witness #jehovah's witness horror stories #submission

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candy8448 · 4 months

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I took a peak back into the warrior cats fandom and there is some exciting stuff going on i cant wait!

First, arc 9 has been confirmed, and they're contemplating returning to the old forest territory and setting it between DOTC and TPB which is so exciting! Dotc is my favorite arc and the old territories are my favorite, and starting with a fresh slate again will be so good for the series i think ut really needs this. I cant wait for it if it happens (would need to catch up on a starless clan tho first)

New ivypool super edition is anounced (Ivypool's heart) and its set during book 6 of ASC. Ivypool is one of my favorites so this is cool!

Okay... but for the real exciting thing:

THE GRAPHIC NOVEL ART IS SO SO SO GOOD I LOVE IT O MY I WANT IT! I stopped reading the books for a while but when this was announced i was truly excited and im gonna get it when it releases. I think this is the closest to the movie we will get

Here is the link to the preview

Also on another note, the new ultimate guide art is so pretty and shiny

Also can i say, the merch is getting way better! I never thought i'd see the day! Go look in the merch shop, there are some really neat looking things

As always, the minis were always the best items but this series i think looks the best yet. We finally get a Lionblaze and Hollyleaf (after 2 jayfeather ones) and they look so nice

I love leapoardstar and tallstar's designs here, it really does look like them! I think i would buy tgese two if i were to buy any of them

Shadowsight looks meh, i never cared for the character either but dovewing's design looks so cute! Also! GREEN EYES! (I have no idea where this debate is now but its still funny to me)

The mug does look really good, its textured and bainted in just the right way. Tbh i wouldn't buy it myself but it looks really good

The T-Shirts!!! They look so nice!! Done away with the "i am scourge" minis shirts we have really nice looking stuff! As a windclan member i want that shirt so badly, it looks the best out of the new clan shirt designs and the first one looks so adorable!

Tbh i love this plush, sure they did do mapleshade kinda bad but she looks like a gremlin and i love that! It resonates with me!

Bro is warriors actually getting good again? :000 0.0

#i do a little ramble #warriors #warrior cats erin hunter #warrior cats #WC

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dragoneyes618 · 1 year

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A few years ago, I was trying to get my sister to read Warriors.

Well, I say “trying.” I had actually succeeded very well, and was now doing my best to get her to read the books in order so she wouldn’t spoil anything for herself, unlike what I did. (The first book I read was Enter the Clans. The second was The Ultimate Guide.)

So my goal was to get her all the books in order, stop her from reading them out of order, stop her from reading the last page first, and stop her from reading spoilers online.

Except that this was around the time A Vision of Shadows was coming out, and I was reading that.

“Hey!” my sister said shortly after finishing Leafpool’s Wish, catching a glimpse of the back cover of the Apprentice’s Quest. “That says “Alderpaw, son of Bramblestar and Squirrelflight!’ I thought Squirrelflight couldn’t have kits!”

“Um.” I thought fast. “It...er....Yellowfang said she would never have kits of her own. She didn’t say anything about one kit.”

“Oh,” my sister said. “Okay.” And I hoped she wouldn’t notice that Alderpaw’s father had been referred to as Bramblestar.

Postscript:

“Hey!” My sister said a couple of weeks later, googling Squirreflight despite my numerous entreaties not to. “This says Squirrelflight’s kits are Alderpaw and Sparkpaw and Dandelionkit and Juniperkit! She does have kits! But-”

“Go read the books in order!” I shooed her towards Omen of the Stars.

Well, I did my best.

#warrior cats #squirrelflight #alderheart

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kiunlo · 1 year

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Bird Identification guide for beginners!

Hello there! My name is Ash, and this is my guide to identifying birds as a beginner! Please keep in mind that this is not THE ultimate best ever way of figuring out how to identify birds, these are just the things that have helped me personally as someone who has only been identifying birds for about a year/two years (I didn’t bother to count okay?), and who was very recently also a beginner and having a hard time trying to figure out which birds are what! This goes over pretty much EVERY single little thing that’s helped me, so this might be a long post lmao. I hope it helps somebody out!

Also, as a note, I’ve mostly used Australian birds as examples because I’m Australian and most knowledgeable about Australian birds, however there is no reason that these techniques can’t work for birds all over the world!

Step 1: Getting to know your local birds!

The first step to being able to identify birds that you see in your daily life, is to first understand what birds actually live near you in the first place! This can be a bit tricky at first, because not every single town in the world is going to have a 100% accurate list of birds that live in the area, and some places might not even have a list at all! The best thing for you to do is to start reading books or articles about birds that live in your state, country, city etc. This means going to the library and finding some bird field guides, or perusing through bird lists online (searching up “birds of new york” for example, is a great start). For an example of what I personally did, I borrowed a book from my local library called “Readers Digest: Complete Book of Australian Birds” that had a MASSIVE list of most birds that live in Australia, and I wrote down all of the birds that I definitely recognised as birds that I had seen before in my area, including the super common and easy to spot birds such as magpies, crows and kookaburras!

I would usually recommend a bird field guide as a physical book, ebook, illegally downloaded pdf or whatever if you can, because most of those field guides will have maps attached to every single bird, showing you exactly where their usual range is, which if you went for a country-wide bird book like I did, is very helpful in narrowing down which birds most likely live in your local area, that you can eventually look out for! These books also tell you what they eat, where they nest, when they migrate, etc. which can be helpful if instead of trying to ID a bird, you are actively searching for a specific species of bird to take photos of!

Step 2: Have a camera and/or notepad on you at all times

If you are super duper determined to identify a bird, the best thing you can do is take a photo or video of the bird. Videos are usually better because if the bird decides to make a sound, that will be an extra piece of information that you can use to better identify the bird. The second best thing, if you are too poor to own a camera or you have other reasons for why having a camera on you is unfeasible, is to have a physical small little notepad on you with a pen or pencil, to write down the the things about the bird that you’re seeing, or if you feel like it, to draw a little doodle of the bird you see (no matter how “bad” the drawing is!)

And when I say keep a camera or notepad on you at all times, I really mean it! Because the times when I have seen or heard a strange ass bird that I have struggled to identify, I have never had a camera on me, and it has ALWAYS been to my detriment when it comes to attempting to identify a bird. Again, the second best thing to do is to draw the bird the moment that you see it! It doesn’t have to be perfect, as long as you get the general shape of the body and beak relatively close, it’s better than no picture at all!

Do not beat yourself up about not being able to follow this step, or deciding that TODAY you will not see a cool bird and also you are busy and therefor you won’t need your camera or notepad on you when you go out (the time that you will usually see a cool bird lmao), because we have all been there (me included....so many times). It just means that identifying the bird will be a bit more difficult- BUT, it is not impossible!

Step 3: So you saw a bird...what now?

If you saw a bird in your local area, you may be entitled to financial compensation. Haha just kidding. Those birds aren’t going to pay for the emotional damage you took trying to identify its ass.

But for real. What now? Well, if you took a photo and/or video of it, or you drew a basic drawing of it, congratulations! You just skipped the really fucking hard part. If you didn’t take a photo or video, or was unable to because it was too fast or you didn’t have your camera or notepad on you (again, don’t beat yourself up about it), the second best thing you can do is observe and memorise it’s most basic features and behaviours. This will help you figure out what type of bird you have.

WHAT KIND OF BEAK IS THAT?

The beak is one of the most important parts of a bird, because it uses that thing to eat and stuff. The shape of a birds beak can tell you what type of bird it is and what it eats, and this piece of information alone can literally tell you SO much about the bird, without even having to properly identify it. The picture below will help you to understand the different types of bird beaks and what they’re used for.

IS THE BIRD IN THE WATER?

If the answer is yes, you have just narrowed down your bird by a shit ton. Whether it’s just a wader or a full time water-loving bird, you’ll find that searching through a list of waterfowl that live in your area is a lot easier than searching through every single bird that lives in your area ever.

WHAT COLOUR IS IT?

Now, you don’t have to memorise every single colour that is on the body of the bird, especially with a bird that has 5 or more colours on its feathers, but memorising the most prominent feather colours, the beak colour, and the leg colour will be very helpful! If you can see the eyes of the bird, memorising the eye colour could be very helpful too, as birds can sometimes have very unique eye colours not seen in most other animals, which can significantly aid in bird identification- especially if its eyes are a bright blue or a red colour!

SHAPE AND SIZE?

Is your bird big or small? Is it fat or skinny? Does it have a weirdly long neck? Did you see its neck stretch out like crazy and then it went back to its normal size like nothing ever happened? Does it have long legs or short ones? Are its feet fucking weird? These are the questions you have to ask yourself when observing a bird.

WHAT WAS IT DOING?

Did you see it eat something? Was it doing a weird mating dance in another birds general direction? Was it swooping or hunting another animal (or another bird)? Did it display any odd or unique behaviours? Write that down! That’s seriously important information! Especially the eating part!

DID IT MAKE A NOISE?

If it didn’t, then you can skip this part! If it did, however, and you did not get a recording of it, that’s okay. But you will need to use your ultra super duper brain powers and do everything in your power to remember that shit to the best of your ability (which can be tricky as hell and can lead to you misidentifying a bird if the bird call is all you have to go off of).

Step 4: Research time!

Now that you have taken the photo/video of your bird, done a little doodle, or simply memorised and written down everything you can about your birdy, now it’s time to get down to business and actually do some research.

The first thing you need to do is the most simple thing ever, which can be done for most well recognised birds: Type in the description of your bird into google. Yes, I am serious. Sometimes typing in “black bird with red eyes and red beak waterfowl [STATE OR COUNTRY NAME]” is all you need to do to find the identity of your bird! If this worked for you, congratulations! You were lucky this time....but you might not be lucky next time! If this fails to work, there are still plenty of other options, and while these can be kinda tedious and time consuming, it is worth it in the end!

There are two websites which can be really helpful if you have some type of idea of what bird you’re looking for, but simply looking up the description didn’t work: Wikipedia, and Xeno-Canto. These are especially helpful if you use them together.

Wikipedia is good because it will have a huge list of all birds that are known to live in your country. Xeno-Canto is good because it is a website dedicated to bird calls all over the world, of every single bird to ever exist (and even ones that are extinct!) And it MOST IMPORTANTLY, has a map of where the bird can be found, which is helpful when ruling out birds that are somewhat similar to the bird you’re looking for, but actually live on the other side of the country (therefor, it’s not your bird!)

The first step towards figuring out the specific species that your bird belongs to, is to figure out what type of bird it is, which you can do by observing the shape and size of the bird, alongside it’s beak shape (which we took a small look at in step 3). Here are some silhouettes of different bird types.

And now, below is an example of how I would find a specific bird through trail, error, and ruling out birds that are NOT the bird I’m looking for.

Lets say that the bird I’m looking for was in the water, and was clearly some type of duck or goose, but I couldn’t really tell which one because it was a bit far away. That means that I’m looking for SOME type of waterfowl. I will then go to Wikipedia to look up a list of ALL birds in Australia, and then go down into the “ducks, geese and waterfowl” section, where I will find a list of all waterfowl in Australia. I will then click on each link for each waterfowl, to get a quick look at the image of the waterfowl. If it looks nothing like my bird, I rule that bird out. If I do find a bird that looks very similar to the one I saw or took a photo of, then I will type in the name of the bird into Xeno-Canto, and look at the map area section, to see exactly where this birds natural range is. If it’s shown to be in an area that is nowhere near where I saw the bird, then I rule that bird out too! If I find a bird that matches what I saw, and it’s in the same area that I live in, then, if I heard the bird make a sound, I will usually listen to the bird calls found beneath the map section, and see if it matches. If not, then I will continue to listen to that birds calls, because guess what, birds can and do make a variety of different sounds based on the situation! Once I’m truly sure this bird is not making the correct calls at all, then I will tentatively rule it out.

If, after all of this, I finally find a bird that seems to match the look, area and sound of the bird I initially saw, I will write the name of the bird down and KEEP GOING down the list of waterfowl until I reach the end, because there is always a chance that there is a bird that better matches the appearance, sound and location of the bird I saw. Once I have 1 or more bird names written down, then it’s up to me to chose which bird best matches the bird that I saw.

You might not get a 100% for sure identification, especially if some of the birds in your local area are sorta similar to each other, and that’s okay, but going through this whole process will help you to improve your birdy research skills, and you’ll get faster and faster at it over time, and you’ll start to memorise common birds often found in your local area by during this research.

IMPORTANT NOTES BEFORE I CONTINUE

Sometimes, female birds and male birds look different to each other! Sometimes, young birds look different to adult birds! Sometimes a bird in breeding plumage looks different to a bird that isn’t in breeding plumage! You might even get lucky and see a bird with a rare colour mutation, meaning that the bird does not look like how the rest of the species normally does! You must keep this in mind when trying to identify a bird, because sometimes these birdies will throw you these types of curve-balls at you without you even knowing. Here are some examples below of some birds that look different to each other, despite being the same species!

Step 5: If all else fails, ask somebody who knows stuff about birds

Sometimes the best way to figure out the identity of a bird is to ask somebody else who knows more shit about birds then you do! For me, I usually ask my mum since she knows a lot of stuff about birds. For you, that could be somebody on the internet, or a friend you know who is a birdwatcher, or some blog on tumblr that specialises in knowing shit about birds. With more people and more perspectives at your disposal, you are a lot more likely to get the true identification of the mysterious bird you are trying to identify! Just don’t be pushy, rude or demanding! Always be polite :)

Step 6: I am going to make you identify a bird now. LOOK AT MY BIRD, BOY (gender neutral).

I bet you didn’t think I was going to quiz you on the knowledge I just imparted onto you, but I absolutely am going to do that. I will be using “obscure” Australian birds that most non-Australians won’t know about, since I know that most people that’ll read this will probably not be Australian, therefore you will likely have never seen these birds before, meaning that you will actually have to use the techniques I have told you about. If you are Australian and are into birds, you will have an advantage over everyone else (lmao). The only hint you will be given is that...these birds are found in Australia :)

DO NOT go looking into the notes for answers unless you truly are having a tough time, I really want you to try and figure this out on your own! But also I can’t tell you what to do lol. I just want you to give it your best shot, alright? Are you ready? Okay, here we go!

BIRD NUMBER 1

BIRD NUMBER 2

BIRD NUMBER 3

Did you manage to identify the birds? If so, congrats on using your newly acquired bird researching skills! If not, that's okay. After all, it's a skill that must be honed, not one that you automatically gain!

The End!

I hope you enjoyed my beginners guide to identifying birds! These are not the only techniques you can use to identify birds, there are plenty of websites, tools, books etc. that can help you out with identifying birds, but these are the ways that have best helped me out when I’ve been confused about the identity of a bird. If you’re better than me at identifying birds, feel free to add your own additions that have helped you to become better at IDing birds! The more information the merrier <3

#birdblr #bird watching #bird identification #bird guide #birders #birdies #ash's personal tag

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laceyrowland · 1 year

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2022 Readings Wrapped Part I

This year I decided to participate in the Ultimate Book Nerd Challenge put on by the Boise Public Library. 50 books in 50 categories in one year.

I completed the challenge in August.

I'm a textbook overachiever.

As of writing this, I've read 77 books in 2022. I'm set to read a couple more by the end of the year, to hopefully end on a nice round number.

For those of you wondering how the heck I did it, here are some of my "secrets" to reading a lot of books:

Audiobooks 100% count as reading. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I listen to them when I walk, when I'm cooking, exercising, and sometimes when I'm doing tasks that don't require a lot of attention at work. Also, roadtrips. I don't recommend audiobooks for short car trips if only because it is hard to follow a plot when you're constantly stopping and starting. If that's something you're into, then go for it.

Graphic novels, comic books, poetry collections, novellas - these also count as books. I like to keep a nice balance of shorties and fat books in my reading practice. It's okay to read little quickies. Reading is reading.

Actually make time for reading. When I put it on my to-do list and made it a priority, I got the reading done. If at first it feels like a chore, keep at it and let your brain be tricked into the habit. It'll eventually kick in, I swear. It also helps to pick something that really grips you. Which brings me to my final tip...

Be ruthless with the 30-page rule. Life is too short to be reading what you feel obligated to read. If you want to read trash, go for it. No one has to know. If you don't want to read The Classics, don't. There are millions of better books out there. Don't let what you "should" read get in the way of what you want to read. If it doesn't blow your hair back in the first 30 pages, don't feel bad for putting it down and maybe never coming back to it. Not every book is written for every person. The book will be read, even if it's not by you. Let it go.

And now, for Part I of The List. Here's what I read January through March of 2022:

The Guide to Superhuman Strength - Alison Bechdel*

Proxima Centauri - Farel Dalrymple

This is How I Disappear - Mirion Malle

How to Read Nature - Tristan Gooley

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake - Aimee Bender*

New Kid - Jerry Craft*

Redbone - Christian Staebler

Dear Ijeawele - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Undoing Depression - Richard O'Connor*

Intimacies - Katie Kitamura*

Yellow Bird - Sierra Crane Murdoch*

People from My Neighborhood - Hiromi Kawakami

The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K Dick

The Mist - Ragnar Jonasson

Imagine Wanting Only This - Kirsten Radtke*

The Art of Living - Thich Nhat Hanh

Trust Exercise - Susan Choi*

The Longer We Were There - Steven Moore*

Between the World and Me - Ta-Nahesi Coates*

Red at the Bone - Jacqueline Woodson

Good Talk - Mira Jacob

Stay tuned for Part II!

*Books that blew my hair back.

#books #booknerd #reading #reading challenge #read in 2022

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yuki-boshi · 2 years

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Kuro no Kiseki II Crimson Sin - Chapter 2 Side B English Summary

Table of Contents:

Prologue

Intermission 1

Chapter 1 Side A

Chapter 1 Side B

Chapter 2 Side A

Chapter 2 Side B

Intermission 2

Chapter 3 Part 1

Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter 3 Part 3

Finale

March 5th, Towa is a teacher at Aramis High and the students ask about her life as a Thors Academy teacher. She says it’s not that much different from a regular High School. Though she says that most of her graduates ended up in the military but she’s the OG.

Towa was assigned to Aramis High in the beginning of the school year due to her interest in wanting to know more about the neighboring foreign countries as part of an international exchange. Agnes adds on that Towa also works for a famous NGO (Non government organization) too. Towa introduces two new short-term exchange students to the class, and shocking everyone, it’s Swin and Nadia. Swin explains they’re exchange students from Remiferia and the students start to immediately ship them asking what their relationship is. Towa talks about the upcoming festival and the class goes on lunch break.

Agnes and the two discuss in the hallway. Swin explains that he has a lot of connections and the short term study is actually legit, and so is the procedure for getting in to Aramis. Agnes asks why Aramis, and Nadia says she always wanted to go at least once and experience classmates and dozing off in class.

Agnes asks if they’ve never been in school before, and Swin explains that since he was indoctrinated in Garden since he was a kid, he didn’t even go to Sunday School while Nadia says she’s done countless infiltration missions. Agnes is touched by this and promises to be a good guide for them to enjoy school.

In a flashback, Agnes receives a strange e-mail from “C” claiming that they need to go to Aramis to uncover the truth of the tragedy. Nadia says it’s the same name that terrorized Erebonia twice and asks if Agnes has received a message from C before. She says she received one to be on her toes during Revolution Day in Kuro 1. Swin clarifies what Nadia was saying about C and that it’s actually two people who went by the name, and they’re friends with the second one.

Back in present day, Agnes gives a tour for the two. Sidetalk has Nadia asking about a statue which is Aramis Gainsborough, the founder. Nadia says he isn’t as cute as Su-chan.

The group meets Roscoe, who introduces a card game called Seven Hearts. I literally don’t know how the game works, I tried reading the tutorial several times but I didn’t get it but I won the match so ahah.

The group go out to the courtyard. The two like how serene the school is. Agnes explains to the right is the auditorium and on the left is the clubroom building where every room has a club. And the school also has a basketball court. Back in the school building, the group gets lunch with Na-chan overwhelmed by the selection of choices but ultimately settles for stew. The group talk aout the red Hollow, Altera, and how the two were put in life threatening situations. Agnes wonders if Van is okay and Nadia frames as a beautiful girl separated from her lover. Agnes asks her to stop teasing her while Swin tells her to eat already.

The group go up to the student council room, formally meeting Agnes’s friends, Odette and Albert. They notice Renne isn’t there, and Nadia wants to say hi to her at one point. Albert says she should be back next week. Swin asks if the festival is going to be held in the middle of next month because he sees the school being in a rush. Albert asks them to check the suggestion box outside the room, which is basically the 4spg for the chapter.

-----

Sidequest 1

The first request is from Ariya who wants them to help her collect overdue books so she can use them for the school festival exhibit. Primarily she wants a space to have an introduction to its founder Aramis and the Calvard’s Revolution to be a Republic. She asks to collect three books. One from Donatello, a second year. And the second from Julian and Shinyon.

Donatello gives them the biography of Aramis. Agnes gives a backstory about Aramis being an artist and a key player in the Calvard Revolution that occurred 100 years ago. Donatello reveals he was late to return it because he was embarrassed he actually wrote on the book and couldn’t get a new copy of the book in time. Agnes suggests to just tell Ariya because she will understand.

The group goes to Shinyon who has a biography of General Ulgar Atkinson. She claims that after watching “GLORIA” a movie that was published last year. she was interested in learning more about him. Shinyon found it relatable because of the General’s struggles against racism since he was mixed and how time has changed since then, but racism hasn’t. Nadia claims that she will personally harm anyone who hurts Shinyon.

The group talks to Julian who says he did return it, but forgot he checked it out again and lent it to his friend who was supposed to return it on his behalf. The book is about Sina Dirk. Agnes deduces he lent it to Lyle who is in the hallways. Lyle returns the book.

Ariya talks about a script (fourth book) she wants to find which involves a person in the Calvard Revolution by the name of August the Thinker. Agnes seems to have an idea where to find this lost book as it was lost eight years ago. But it turns out the last group to have rented the books out was the former student coundil from eight years ago, aka Rene, Elaine, and Van. Nadia says it basically makes sense it got lost if Van is involved. The group go to the student council room but can’t find it. But Agnes has an idea that maybe Federica, the former Student Council Prez might know.

They ask her, but she feels like she shouldn’t be helping out “Bright’s crew” but says that Mr. Powell might know as he was the homeroom teacher for the group eight years ago. He doesn’t know, but tells the group to talk to the school nurse, Matilda. Matilda actually has it and the group is shocked to find that the script was penned by Van.

----

The group go see Towa who says it’s been two years since the Crossbell Incident. Swin asks if she knows anything about the first C sent an e-mail to the group recently. She calls him by his real name, aka Crow, and is surprised that he sent an e-mail before collecting herself, saying she doesn’t know or think so because Crow abandoned that name and has no reason to use it. Na-chan agrees and thanks Towa. Just then, the bell rings.

If you did the sidequests, the previous people with the late books say bye to the group. The group decide to go into the Auber district.

But just before, a new floor In the Marchen Garden is available. Finding a terminal, Celis and Rion formally join the party there.

----

Sidequest 2

Now to the Auber district! Just kidding, there’s actually a suggestion box quest from Roscoe complaining about low sales regarding sports drinks and nutritional supplements. He wants the group to talk to someone who used to buy a lot of the products in the store but has stopped dropping by recently.

They go to the auditorium to ask Sasha who mentions that the basketball club has been quiet for the boys lately as if something happened that prevents them from practicing as much. The boys tell the group that there was a prank that prevents the club and the group go to talk to the manager, only certain people have access to the keys. The manager asks the group to speak to Sonia-sensei.

Thanks to Agnes quick thinking, she learns that the Master Key can access both gender’s clubrooms. Swin comments wondering if this is a trait that she picked up from Van or is she just that cunning herself despite her appearance. Agnes responds that she’s been influenced by Van. They figure out that it’s to prevent the boys from practicing from overexerting themselves and think it has to be the girls doing it. (Third and first choice). They confront the female basketball manager assistant. She fell in love with the boy who hurt himself but still pushed himself, so she had to do this in order to get him to stop hurting himself since he wouldn’t listen. Choices are to keep it a secret from the male members or get her to confess.

Sidequest 3

The other sidequest is to go into the sewers and kill a monster, requested by the Bracer guild actually.

-----

Progressing the main story, the group goes to the Council room where Odette and Albert created a list of activities for Swin and Nadia to do. As they head home, an explosion occurs and Odette and Albert are killed. Agnes screams out and she gets sent backward in time.

The group go to the science room, telling Odette and Albert to not go. When in the room, side talk has Swin comment saying the room has so much equipment to worry about. They find a bomb in the back room and disarm it. The culprit turns out to be Ronald Giffith.

Inspector Daswani appears and tells the group that Ronald’s motive was against Renne as he wanted the people to lose faith in the current student council president. Ronald was a former elite who was expelled from school due to continued harassment against Renne.

Afterward, the group wonder what C’s message meant about uncovering the truth at Aramis. They wonder if C knows of the future. They go to the dorms where Agnes calls Renne and tells her of what occurred.

-----

Free roaming occurs and at Riverside, an optional non-blue marker event is there. If you check in with Bermotti, you can find Towa talking to him. She will say that she actually relies on him for information. Plus she says the alcohol is good. There’s talks about Calvard and Erebonia’s relationship being strained but Bermotti says it’s thanks to Class VII’s part in repairing the relationship between both countries. Towa mentions in particular that Rean is overexerting himself trying his best. Swin mentions that he doesn’t know the Ashen Chevalier that well.

In Riverside, you can also find Alvis who says he can’t believe he’s going on a business trip to Crossbell.

Another missable scene is with Hermes and Hendrick in front of the cinema in Tyrells. She applauds the Spriggans for handling the bombing incident and they should probably invest in bulletproof vests and stuff.

Another missable scene is in Center Station Street at the Bracer Guild. Zin mentions that he’s been swamped with an upcoming big project and wishes Fie could give him a hand.

Another missable scene is Agnes going to the police building in Saiden where Nate reveals parents are saying the police are useless in handling substance abuse.

In Triton mall you can find Sasha out with a man named Edward where she asks if he’s going to go ask out Sonia, the sports manager from the sidequest. You can also find Bracer Regina and Elaine having a drink. Swin accidentally tells her about knowing she and Van used to be a part of the Student Council, and he mentions that Vile has a file on Elaine left for Swin to NOT mention anything about the past.

In Center Marche, you can find Makino and Shannon from Side A and their store “Fishing Goods Store Cancer”. Going in as the group, Makino and Shannon talk about playing the lottery and getting the funds to go on a trip for fishing and Swin thinks to himself fishing must be a bitter hobby. Nadia says their enthusiasm matches Crossbell and Erebonia and the duo realize that you’re there and gives you fishing bait.

Additionally, at the bar, you can find Marielle talking to Ferdinand and trading information. It’s revealed that the stock price of the Quincy Parlor went down since the end of last year’s events (Elaine’s father owned companies.) Ferdinand says it’s strange that a recent investor has been buying up everything in a short period of time.

Sidequest 4

The first sidequest of the night is in Center Marche with Kaina who is worried about Lashkar. Swin recognizes her as a former resident of Creil who had survived. They moved to Center Marche where things have been going well, but Lashkar has never quite adjusted fully and regressed a week prior to the request. Na-chan thinks he might just be mentally unstable. Kaina is asking the group to look into it because he came home injured and gave her the cold shoulder.

Kaina directs to Yazan, a merchant. He says that a lot of Middle East people have been acting strange and it might have to do with the underworld. Afterward, the group go to Sister Keela in Riverside’s Church who explains it might have to do with Nero the cat who was owned by Annie and her family, and Nero was suspected to have died with a lot of people in Creil village. But last month, a cat resembling Nero appeared. Lashkar has been on a goose chase that maybe Nero lived. At the Bracer Guild in Center Station Street, Old Man Hazel and Zin provide information that a Bracer named Gray has already been working on the case and gives them the information he had collected.

The information suggests that there might be drugs involved because Lashkar was involved in a fight with an older person and Gray reported it as impossible for someone of their size to be capable of it.

The group go to the subway at Riverside and are greeted by Gray at the entrance. They work together and upon entering the subway, Gray says he can’t use his Xipha to detect biological life repsonses because of the area. They find Javid of the Zahat, a group of mid-ranking jaegars in the Middle East. Agnes recognizes them as the group that was defeated in the first match in Oracion.

Defeating them, they hit and run and take Lashkar. The group comments Gray is more suited to being an assassin than a Bracer with how sneaky he was in saving the boy. The group is then surrounded by jaegar reinforcements but the the Bracers consisting of Rahad, Regina, and Alvis appear to save the group. Even though Lashkar was saved, his bitterness at his own inability to grow stronger makes him cry. Gray tries to relate by telling Lashkar that even though his parents were killed by Almata, he still strives to go back on the right path. Everyone but Agnes seems to have been aware of this truth. Gray gives the boy a handcraft amulet made by Annie bearing the Bracer crest on it causing him to break down.

They take the boy to a room in a building and Rahad applies treatment to the boy. Elaine and Zin also arrive, thanking the Spriggans. Alvis is surprised Rahad knows of a way to detoxify drugs out of the body. Rahad is offended that Alvis thought he just a musclehead.

The group is presented with taking the boy to an ordinary hospital or the back-alley doctor. Choosing the back-alley doctor will have Alvis upset, but everyone agrees that it might be the best choice since Lashkar needs to face reality and needs to get better.

Zin puts together that Ley Arnold, a former Bracer that was killed spying on Almata is Gray’s sister. He admits to it , but Elaine claims she already knew he forged his background and Agnes fully understands why Gray said he could relate to Lashkar now. Gray, upset, asks why the guild kept him around if they knew his motive was revenge against Almata and he lied about everything. Zin and Elaine say that the way he is now, he’s been honest as he could be for the task at hand because that’s what Bracers are about. Zin asks what he wants to be and Gray says he wants to be a Bracer.

Sidequest 5

The other sidequest is to go into Risette’s Battle Simulator and destroy a big monster.

----

Back in the main story, the group head to Van’s office and start tidying up.

The next day, the group goes to school but find it taken over by a group of men who are anti-immigrants, spouting about needing Calvard to become pure again. Shinyon, Elijah, and Ariya are held hostage.

Towa arrives to negotiate, claiming to be part of the Zemuria Opinion, and offers to push their worries to the Board. The leader agrees and says he will release half of the students and keep the rest hostage because they need to make their ideals known to the world.

Just as they were about to released, one of the terrorist disagrees with the idea of negotiations and aims his gun at Shinyon but Towa runs to protect her and is shot through the chest. Shinyon is also killed. Swin kills the Leader, and Agnes listens to Towa’s last words apologizing to Agnes while thinking of Crow and Rean and the other Class VII members.

Time rewinds to the previous night and the group instead of tidying up the office decide to infiltrate the school. They discover that one of the contractors arrives at a suspicious time with a huge truck. They overhear the man call himself “Trowa”. He makes his way to the third floor of Aramis and is defeated by the group. The group then lures the terrorists into the building and are all picked off by the group. Though Swin swears that there should’ve been eight culprits but they only found 7.

Agnes calls the CID to arrest them, and Cody who was watching the former President back in Longlai in the first game also makes an appearance with Kaela.

The next morning, the group come to school super early, surprising Towa who comments on this. The group is happy to see Towa alive and well, confusing her.

Swin is stabbed by a student and it turns out that ex-Garden members are still after “3” and “9”. Thankfully, Renne returns from her trip a week early to aid the group and Swin reveals he’s still alive because he wore a blade-proof vest underneath his school uniform. Upon further inspection, the students that attacked them are dolls than Simulacrums.

They deduce that the email from C has something to do with Aramis specifically and not Aramis High and they investigate the statue in the courtyard to find that there’s signs of it being moved. They find the unlock mechanism from the Aramis statue in the school. Afterward, they are able to move the Aramis statue in the courtyard revealing stairs that go underneath the school.

As they’re about to go down, more of the human dolls attack, but Rene and the CID forces to come to their aid. The group go down to the stairs with Kincaid joining them. In the sidetalk, Rene mentions the ruins looks really old and medieval. Renne responds saying that this must have existed before the school was built and if we keep investigating further, we will discover the true identity of the place.

They discover a hideout that was used over a hundred years ago during the Calvard Revolution. They reach the basement and find Demi-Grendels and Altera. Renne prevents Altera from escaping by sealing off all the net connections in the ruin.

Swin and Nadia talk to Altera, realizing that it isn’t just a Hollow that stole Lapis’s power as they once thought, but that they feel Lapis inside of her, her will, because she is her. They explain that Grendel-Zolga needed an AI on par with Mare to transform into Grendel, and the only one close enough to Mare was an AI with the highly advanced Elysium Code, aka Lapis. Lapis struggles, but a cloaked figure causes her to shut down and reboot, in addition to erasing her memories from the past five minutes and dismisses her.

The cloaked figure refers to himself as the Garden Master, a title that nobody seems to be aware of, and engages in battle with everyone. Swin asks where he learned that fighting style, and the Garden Master reveals that he’s “Ace of Swords”, someone who should have been dead already. He also summons Grendel-Zolga to his aid. The battle ends, and he retreats when Kincaid has the CID storm the room.

#kuro no kiseki 2 #kuro no kiseki #kuro no kiseki ii #trails series #kiseki series #summary

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trickster-whim · 2 years

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When I enter a Goodwill I become possessed by the spirit of someone with a much fatter wallet than I have (⁠ﾉﾟ⁠0ﾟ⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠~

Like usual, under a cut just for length. I talk too much lmao.

The first thing I found was the American Girl Ultimate Visual Guide, published by DK in 2016. Actually, a lot of the stuff I found at the store was from 2016. Kinda weird.

The book is obviously a little dated by now, but I just love guides and collections! I haven't done more than flip through it, but it's adorable. (Marisol ftw)

This book was juuust heavy enough to be an absolute pain as I walked around the rest of the store with it (especially because my arm still hurt from my vaccine).

Anyway, out of order I also found a little Wacom Bamboo Pen(?) that cost $6.50. A bit pricey for thrift store, but if it works okay, I'll be happy. My old Wacom (I don't know the models sry) met its unfortunate end in a "Wait, is this water bottle not waterproof?!" incident, and I've been using a pretty-okay-but-could-be-better Huion since. Wacom just feels nice to draw on ✨

I also found a little zip pouch that looks like a comp book, because I see comp books and purchase immediately, and a copy of Bruce Coville's Odder Than Ever.

Bruce Coville is definitely up there in my favorite short story writers of all time, and I love the Odd series, but this one's been vandalised :/ If you're familiar with Coville, he has a short story called "Am I Blue?" which is a slightly-outdated-by-now story about a kid being bullied for being gay, and the whole thing is crossed out and has six-pointed stars drawn over parts. Can't imagine why (⁠눈⁠‸⁠눈⁠) And again, I'm not sure the story holds up terribly well nowadays, but as a queer kid growing up in the 90s/2000s, I appreciated it when I first read it (in an anthology of the same name, actually). I might see if I can erase the pencil at all, since it's mine now, but still. The book looks great otherwise. Just the gay-positive story. Hm.

Moving on!!

Posters! There were a bunch of posters, mostly superheroes, which doesn't interest me, but I thought this Pokémon 20th anniversary one was pretty dang cute. There was an Avatar poster in the same sleeve, so 2 for $1.50? Sure! I'll probably give that one to my sister, though, since I *cough* only watched a few episodes *cough*

Now onto the bags! One bag was mostly doll clothes, in a mix of sizes. Almost none of them had tags, but there was a mix of Our Generation/AG-sized clothes (including a fabulous Battat jacket), a few Barbie-sized dresses and bottoms (including bell-bottoms that say "Peace and Love" lmao), and one Madame Alexander dress (the only one with a tag).

In that bag was also a mini beanie baby platypus (I have a few, but it's so cute, I can take another) and a Poopsie Surprise... shark... thing? I think it's name is Hammer, judging by ebay searches, but I've never had one before. Its head is green, and its bottom is blue, and I don't know why the color is so different. Worse than that, though, is that it is a spitter toy filled with thick red slime, which as someone with emetophobia was... challenging. Especially because the red slime looked like [redacted because TMI lmfao]. It's moderately cute, so it'll sit on my shelf probably, but also ew.

Next up, Frights Camera Action Clawdeen! She came with almost everything (and her hands switched, which seems to be pretty common with secondhand Monster High), and is in pretty good condition. It's been a while since I found a Monster High doll in the wild, so hell yeah.

I also got two pairs of shoes and two unpaired shoes, as well as some random stuff and also jacks.

This weekend, mom wants to check some Goodwills for a trench coat (they're dressing up as their favorite book characters where she works and she wants to be Dresden), so we'll see if we find anything else fun or cool. It's been so hit-or-miss lately, literally who knows??

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spectrumtacular · 2 years

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2. Top 5 books of all time?

Okay that's a really tough one and narrowing it down to only five was very taxing emotionally so thank you for that 😭. Not counting comics or graphic novels in here because that would be too much emotional turmoil for one day.

Anyway my absolute favourite book is The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!! Say what you will about the Brits but they really went off with their dry humour. 10000000/10 funny engaging relatable Arthur Dent is just like me fr.

Next I'm gonna say Catch-22; I love a good antiwar satire and this is the greatest of them all. It's biting, it's funny, it's downright tragic, Heller's circular prose is absolutely magnificent, and the section on Dunbar's philosophy re: skeet-shooting lives rent-free in my mind.

Haven't repped any CanLit yet so third I'll say The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong, a darkly comic memoir about Wong's family's mental health struggles. I will never forgive CBC's Canada Reads for eliminating it on the first day back whenever it was competing, 2019 I think 😤. Either way it's been my favourite Canada Reads book so far, and my favourite memoir.

Gonna veer away from comedy next and say The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which won that Pulitzer for a reason. Really gripping work of historical fiction, plus I love superhero comics so it's rad to find a great book about the golden age.

Last but not least is a dead tie between Casino Royale and From Russia With Love; I'm a sucker for James Bond spy action, and though the books are sexist and racist and homophobic and steeped in Cold War politics and actually kinda bad they're also incredibly fun and incredibly readable. I'm obsessed, would not recommend.

Special shoutout to the books considered for but ultimately cut from the shortlist: Good Omens, Dracula, The Odyssey, The Hobbit, No Great Mischief, 1984, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Rebecca, The Martian Chronicles, and the other 007 books except The Spy Who Loved Me and Live and Let Die (like they all suck but those two SUCK).

#ask game

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of-foolish-and-wise · 3 years

Text

a uni survival guide: tips from a phd

if there's one thing i know about, it's college. i've done it, i've taught it, i've lived and breathed it. these tips are for first years in particular, but honestly for everybody. i think it's so important for people to have balanced lives in these years -- academics are not everything. you know what didn't help me in the real world when i was afraid i wouldn't live through it? my fancy college note-taking format. you know what did help me? the friends i made there who i knew would get on a plane and fly across the country in a matter of hours if i told them i needed them.

academic

- figure out where class is held ahead of time: don't be that kid who's late on day one, i beg of you

- use the writing center: especially for basic grammatical editing, which a lot of professors don't have time to mark on papers

- speak up in class: talking through ideas helps you work through them, and asking questions about something you don't understand can open up great lines of conversation

- find a regular schedule that works for you and stick to it: my college schedule was morning free time, class, lunch, class, practice, homework. that consistency was a life-saver

- keep a planner: it's so important to have a central place to track deadlines, assignments, and engagements

- annotate your reading: when you're stressing about a paper topic, being able to go back to what you've highlighted and written in the margins is a life-saver

- color-code your coursework: i use the same color highlighter, pen, and notebook for any given class. it's super helpful

- if you can't focus while studying with friends, don't: i reserved group studying for days when i didn't have important work because i can't be in a room with other people without talking to them. if your school has one, the quiet floor of the library is your best friend

- treat yourself to a "fun" class: art was always my place to just sit back and chill, a way to end the night all zen in the darkroom instead of conjugating russian verbs in a fluorescent-lit cinderblock prison. for you, it could be gym, it could be pottery, it could be some random course about, like, the history of cooking or something -- explore!

- profs are people too: don't be too nervous around them. also, know that if you're struggling -- even b/c of something in your personal life -- you can admit it, and they'll almost always understand why you missed a deadline or bombed a test

- go to office hours: it's the only way to get to know professors in big courses, and it's so helpful for both your grades and learning how to navigate relationships with authority figures

social

- don't let academia keep you from your friends: it's a case-by-case basis, but sometimes it's okay to let the reading slide and spend time with friends. i graduated seven years ago and my college group text still talks every day. that's so much more important to me than the fact that i never finished brideshead revisited

- joining a club is one of the best ways to make friends: i played ultimate frisbee through college and it was the source of so many lasting relationships, as well as the way i met all my local friends when i was abroad

- say yes to things you don't know if you'll like: you'll surprise yourself. me? turns out i love drinking games. and theme parties. and skinny dipping. and rock climbing

- don't be that person who looks down on their peers for partying: honestly? that person kind of sucks. you don't have to party if you don't want to, but actually, a lot of those people are super nice and also good at school -- don't just write them off!

- show up for your friends: go to their games, their concerts, their art shows, their standup nights. show them that what matters to them matters to you, too

- set aside a night to do a group activity with others: whether your vibe is wednesday night trivia, a weekly "terrible movie" showing, or a get-high-and-watch-nature-documentaries-type thing, these are great ways to liven up the week and de-stress

- this is a great time to figure out who from high school really matters to you: you don't have to force relationships that were built mostly on convenience if there are friends at uni with whom you click more. people you became friends with purely based on the coincidence of where your parents lived do not have to be your forever friends. they can be! but they don't have to be

personal

- don't expect too much of yourself: a 4.0 is not the end-all, be-all. if your family or somebody tells you it is, tell them to call me, and i will personally talk some sense into them

- take advantage of university support services: mental health counseling, free yoga classes, multi-cultural societies, etc

- drink water: please, please don't get kidney stones in the middle of the semester, says the girl who got kidney stones in the middle of the semester

- let yourself take breaks: if you need to lie to a professor and say you're sick when really you're just feeling down and you need to sit in bed and watch a movie, that's totally valid

- don't freak about individual assignments: my students come to me freaking over a B+ and i tell them, honey, no job interviewer is ever going to ask you about your second paper from communications 101. i wish i'd known that

- go see speakers if there's someone interesting coming to campus: these talks are always cooler than you expect. i'll never get over the fact that i didn't go see anita hill when she came to my undergrad

- do your laundry on the same night every week: i can't explain why this is so helpful but it really is

- keep up on the news and the memes: read the school paper, the school blog, the memes page -- college politics and inside jokes are fun and convoluted and fascinating

- set the groundwork for long-term self-care: all of the above is really just to say -- university isn't just for learning about the french revolution, it's also about learning how to balance, how to handle failure, how to ask for help, how to make a salad that doesn't totally suck, etc

#uni #university #university tips #fresher #freshers #freshman year #freshmen #first year #first year tips #uni tips #college tips #college #studyblr #studying #academia #of foolish and wise #fresher tips #college masterpost #study masterpost

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shycoconutt · 3 years

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I Need You (Kakashi x Reader Smut)

A/n: Oh boy do I got some smutty smut for you. This is my first time writing smut and I think I did okay! Please let me know what you think and, as always, feel free to send some requests my way! 🤍

Summary: You find yourself unbelievably horny waiting for Kakashi to get home from work. The night goes exactly as planned.

Word Count: 4200

Warnings: NSFW ( minors, there's the door -> 🚪), fem!reader, vaginal sex, rough sex, doggy style, cunnilingus

Gods, why am I so horny?

Sat in the reading chair in the corner of your and Kakashi’s bedroom, you find yourself unable to focus on the new novel you picked up at the bookstore this morning. Each time you try to focus on the words in front of you, your eyes start to drift off the page and fall on your bed across the room. The bed where Kakashi and you have had sex now maybe a dozen times. You two have been platonic partners for years, but it wasn’t until recently where you both allowed your feelings to blossom into romance. Some would say that your relationship with Kakashi came on fast, but those who say that don’t truly know either of you.

After the war, and after keeping your feelings for each other bottled down for years, Kakashi took you on a vacation to a quaint village on the outskirts of Konoha. During your stay, you two could finally relax and find comfort in each other. The future seemed less uncertain, and you allowed yourself to open up in ways you never had before. You both knew you loved each other, that you were meant for each other, but the stress of war and the lack of knowledge that either of you would come out alive prevented anything from happening. The last thing either of you wanted to do was take the other’s heart six feet under.

It was the third night on the trip when he proposed to you. Kakashi and you were naked together in the natural hot spring, embracing each other in the water. The words he spoke to you that night are etched in your brain, never to be forgotten.

“My whole life I’ve been fighting; fighting for Konoha, fighting for my team, fighting for our friends, fighting my demons, fighting the truth, and fighting the feelings I have for you. I never understood why it was so hard to escape you, but it isn’t until now where I finally understand. Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever had to do. Our love is so natural, so pure. It pains me to know that our reality has muddled it for so long. You are the best thing that’s ever come into my life, and the gods only know how thankful I am that you have been by my side through it all. Everything I’ve ever gone through, every challenge I’ve had to overcome, you’ve guided me along the way. I used to think I was undeserving of your love, but now that we both are standing here, bruised and battered by our past, I realize that it was always supposed to be this way. You and me. Forever.”

That was the night you and Kakashi shared your first kiss. The night you first held each other in a naked embrace. The night you touched the skin normally concealed under each other's clothes. The night you trailed kisses down his chest, to his stomach, his hip, and up his shaft. The night you grabbed him in your hand and stroked him while looking into his eyes. The night you felt his tongue draw across your nipples. The night you felt him suck and nibble at your neck. The night you felt his fingers, god his fingers, trace up your wet heat to rub onto your most sensitive spot. The night he held onto your hip and slid into your tenderness. The night you whispered sweet nothings in each other's ears while he pumped into you. The night you made love, four times.

It’s been a week since your mini-vacation of ultimate bliss. Immediately after arriving back to the village, you both moved out of your individual apartments and moved into the Hatake estate, per Kakashi’s request. When you asked him if this is truly what he wanted, he assured you that this was the place he wanted to make a home with you and your future children. He also liked that the estate is largely removed from the Hokage tower, where he will be spending the majority of his time in the future. Renovations are far from over, but your bedroom was the first area of the house to be set up. It’s your shared sanctuary, and to be completely honest, you’ve never felt more at home.

The only word to describe this week between you and Kakashi is passionate. Even with opposite schedules, you both make time for one another every day. You’ve been insanely busy at your new job that you acquired post-war, spearheading the mental health resource center for war veterans and shinobi still in active duty. Kakashi is busy shadowing Tsunade while she sorts out post-war rehabilitation plans for the village. This is your first day off and, unfortunately, Kakashi is out doing future Hokage duties. Though frustrating, both of you are super understanding of each other's roles in this village and you respect that time with each other may be limited in the coming years. That’s why any chance you get, you both check in on each other throughout your day. Whether it’s offering to take his ninken on a walk while he’s in the office, or him bringing you breakfast when you get to work, you find opportunities to be present in each other’s daily lives.

The evenings, however, are a whole other story. Both of you are usually home a little after eight, and you’ve adapted to having late dinners with each other. After cleaning up, the rest of the evening is spent wrapped up in each other. One thing you weren’t expecting about being with Kakashi is that he is constantly touching you when you are alone together. His hands are either on your thighs, wrapped in your hair, caressing your face, squeezing your arms, massaging your shoulders, touching your lips, or any other way he can get them on you. You crave his touch, so to say that you enjoy this side of him is an understatement. Not only does Kakashi adore touching you, he also adores being touched.

Touching leads to caressing, caressing leads to groping, and groping leads to passionate lovemaking.

Well, geez (y/n), maybe if you stopped daydreaming about Kakashi’s hands all over you then you wouldn’t be this goddamn horny.

Here’s the thing with you and Kakashi’s newfound sex life. You are in the early stages. All the sex you have is all about romance, making up for the lost time, and finally expressing your feelings with your body. It’s amazing and you wouldn’t change your lovemaking for the world.

But right now, you don’t desire lovemaking. You desire rough, animalistic, dirty, dirty sex.

The kind of sex that makes you shudder in desire and fear.

The kind of sex that makes in between your legs sore the next day.

Realizing you’ve been daydreaming for the past fifteen minutes, you close your novel shut and toss it aside. You look over at the clock on your nightstand to find that it’s almost time for Kakashi to be home. Usually, you would already be cooking something up for dinner, but you have a feeling that any food you make would just get cold. Eating is not your priority right now, Kakashi is.

A devious smile forms at your lips when you consider what you plan on doing with him when he walks through the front door. Should you take him right there? Get down on your knees and beg for him? Run a warm, candle-lit bath? Put whip cream on your tits and tell him that you’re his dinner? All great options, but none are really representative of how much you need him.

In one swift movement, you are up off your chair and running towards your closet. He could be here any minute and there’s no time to waste. Once there, you take in how disorganized your closet is. You have yet to unpack any of your clothes, as all you’ve worn the past week is your jonin uniform and your pajamas. Rummaging through the boxes sprawled out on the floor, you finally find which box you are looking for. The box looks like any other box, but written on the side in marker is the word intimates.

Bingo.

One might think you are a sex fiend with all the lingerie you own, but that is far from reality. The truth is, lingerie has always made you feel sexy. Most of all, it’s just so pretty. You love the power it gives you. You love the fact that no one knows that some days you are wearing the world’s skimpiest lingerie underneath your uniform. It’s like you have an edge on someone that they don't even realize. Also, when you did happen to end up in bed with a man, you were over-prepared. The look on their faces when you stripped off your clothes was priceless. It was your way of telling them that you expected them to want you.

There are way too many options to choose from, and you find yourself starting to panic as time passes on. You know you’re overthinking this as, honestly, Kakashi would love anything you put on. Some things you know about Kakashi are that his favorite color is blue, he loves your thighs and is obsessed with how soft your skin is. Therefore, you should obviously go for the baby blue lace and silk set. It includes a lace balconette bra, a thong connected to thigh garters, and a silk robe to go over the top. After putting it on and taking a look at yourself in the mirror, you knew you made the right choice.

Before finding a comfortable spot on the bed, you quickly grab some baby oil and rub it all over your body. The oil will allow Kakashi to slide his hands all over you effortlessly, which is exactly what you need. Satisfied, you grab your book and lay on top of your made bed. You weren’t planning on actually reading, but you think your casualness while wearing such a sexy outfit will have Kakashi’s head spinning.

So there you were, belly down, ass out, feet intertwined, book in hand, when you heard the lock click and the front door open. Perfect timing.

You could hear Kakashi kick off his shoes and take off his vest as he walked into your home. Usually, you would be standing in the kitchen where he would come and give you a warm embrace and kiss you until you told him that he has to eat dinner. But, you're not there, and you can sense his confusion.

“Where’s my babygirl?” Kakashi’s voice projects throughout the house, a hint of concern in his voice. You smile at the thought of the pout that’s probably on his face right now.

“Sorry sweetheart, I’ve been caught up in my new book. I’m in the bedroom,” you call back to him.

You hear what sounds like a sigh of relief as his footsteps make their way down your hallway in the direction of your bedroom, the sounds of pieces of his uniform dropping off of him every few steps. You make sure to keep your head turned to the door so you can take in his reaction to your state.

“Oh, the new book you got this morning? How is it? Let me guess, you already finished-”

An indescribable feeling shoots through your whole body as Kakashi enters your bedroom. He just finished pulling his mask down his face, as his hand is still caught to the fabric pooling around his neck. With a smile on your face, you soak in his expression as he’s stood in the entrance of your room, a deep blush forming on his cheeks and his mouth still agape in mid-sentence. His eyes dart back and forth from your face to the bottom of your ass that’s hanging out of your silk robe.

Damn, you really did that (y/n).

“What’s wrong, Kashi?” You say in the most innocent voice you can muster. You bat your eyelashes and flip over to sit up so he can get a good look at you. You let your book drop off the bed and land on the floor.

There’s another pause before Kakashi slowly walks towards you on the bed. Without speaking, he reaches a hand out to you. You take it and he pulls you up so you're kneeling on the bed as he stands in front of you. His dark eyes bore into yours as both of his hands drop to your thighs. Slowly, he grazes them up over your hips, your waist, up the sides of your breasts, to wrap around the back of your neck. You can feel the hairs on your skin stand in anticipation. With his hands still wrapped around you, he brings his head down to you and grazes his mouth on your jawline. From there he plants small kisses up the side of your face until he reaches your ear where he nibbles before speaking to you in a strained, low tone.

“You’re a very dangerous woman, (y/n).”

He must have felt you shudder because you could feel him smile against your cheek. Standing up straight again, Kakashi’s hands drop to the tie of your robe around your waist.

“May I?” he asks, giving you the sexiest look you’ve ever seen. Kakashi has been so effortlessly attractive since you met when you were young. Having these intimate moments with him almost seems surreal.

“Of course, Hatake,” you smile up at him.

Taking the tie in his hands, he starts to unravel the knot keeping your robe together. Once loose, he lets it fall over your shoulders and off your body completely.

After a few moments taking in the sight of you, Kakashi lets out a deep sigh and shakes his head.

“You’re so out of my league,” he confesses to you.

You let out a small giggle.

“Absolutely not,” you protest.

Without missing a beat, Kakashi grabs on to you and tosses you back on the bed so you are laying down underneath him. One of his hands wraps around the back of your head while the other cups your breast. Pulling the fabric of your bra down, he kneads your nipple between his thumb and pointer finger. One of his knees lands in between your legs and he brings it up to press on to you. You can’t help the moan that escapes as you feel him all around you.

“So what’s the deal?” Kakashi teases. “I leave you alone in the house for one day and I come back to this?” He looks down at your body and back up again. “Where did you get this outfit, hm?”

“Oh baby,” you start teasing him back, “I guess one thing you don’t know about me yet is that I wear lingerie like this all the time.”

“Oh really?” he questions.

“Yep, all the time.” You smirk at what you’re about to say next. “Actually, remember that one time we were stationed together in the Earth country for a month for that S-rank assassination mission?”

Kakashi nods, confused where you’re going with this story.

“We let our guards down and almost hooked up the last night before we came back to the village.”

“I remember.”

“Well,” you pause for effect, “guess what I was wearing underneath my uniform that night?”

Kakashi remains silent, brows furrowed waiting for you. You smile at him deviously as you say your answer.

“This.”

Kakashi lets out what can only be described as an aroused, defeated groan when you utter your confession. He quickly comes back down and your mouths crash together in a heated frenzy. It isn’t until now when you realize that his bulge is hard against your leg, asking to be broken free from the confinement of his pants. While making out, you reach down and slip your hand under his waistband and grab onto his throbbing cock, stroking it in your hand. Although rock hard, the skin of his cock is soft and velvety.

Kakashi moans in your mouth when you make contact with him, but quickly escapes your grasp and gets up off of you. Sprawled out on the bed, you watch him strip down naked in front of you, starting with his shirt, then his pants and briefs. His body is truly something to marvel at, as decades of being a ninja have carved his body into perfection. You love the way his member slaps against his lower stomach when he pulls it from its confinement, excited and eager for you. He stands for a moment, contemplating what to do with you.

“I don’t want to take that pretty outfit off of you just yet. I guess I’ll just have to work around it for now,” Kakashi says as he stands at the end of the bed. Grabbing your ankles, he pulls you towards him and bends your legs upward until your knees meet your chest. Holding both of your legs up with one hand, he takes the other and spanks your ass cheek with a loud slap. You whimper from the sting while he rubs the mark he left. Kakashi sucks in another loud breath.

“Ugh, (y/n), you look so good for me.”

Before you can respond, Kakashi takes your thong and slides it over so you are exposed to him. Getting down on his knees, he brings his face to your glistening cunt and flattens his tongue against it. There he gives you one long lick up your slit to taste you. A moan erupts from him as your wetness meets his taste buds.

“You’re already so wet for me baby,” Kakashi breathes before going in to suck on you.

“I’ve been thinking about you all day,” you confess through your moans. “I only get this wet for you.”

“That’s because you're mine and mine only.”

Kakashi takes his time with you, almost as if this is his last meal on earth and he wants to savor it. He’s delicate in some moments and fierce in others. Incorporating his fingers, he slides them into you and curves them up to hit your g-spot repeatedly while eating you. Your hand instinctively cradles his face while the other intertwines with his silver locks. You start to feel tightness in your lower stomach as he brings you close to climax. The sound of his moans muffled inside you is enough to send you over the edge.

“Kakashi, baby, I’m gonna-”

“Come for me, baby,” Kakashi nods, giving you permission to let go.

Letting go of Kakashi, you grip onto the sheets around you, feeling the tightness build and drop out of you. Closing your eyes, the waves of ecstasy ripple throughout your body causing you to scream out in pleasure. Riding with you, Kakashi slowly continues to work you through your climax, cleaning up whatever juices spill over.

“Good girl,” He says to you while bringing your legs back down onto the bed. Slowly, he kisses up your thighs while hooking onto your thong, bringing it down off of them. While he does this, you reach around and unclasp your bra, throwing it aside. Once the thong is thrown aside as well, Kakashi lifts himself off the floor and flips you over so you're laying on your stomach, another smack landing on your ass cheek. The high from your orgasm is immediately replaced with anticipation for what he plans on doing to you next.

You feel Kakashi’s naked body slide on top of you until he's flush against your skin, his body completely enveloping yours. Once his face is level with yours, and his cock is hard against your backside, he brushes your hair away from your face.

“Are you ready for me?” Kakashi whispers into your ear.

You nod into the mattress, chest rising and falling with every strained breath.

“You need to use your words, (y/n),” Kakashi scolds you while tucking your hair behind your ear.

“I need you, Kakashi. Please, I need you.” Your words come out as a plea, not being able to take his absence any longer.

You feel Kakashi’s weight lift off of you as he reaches around your waist and lifts it up so your ass is tilted upwards. From there you can feel him position his tip at your entrance, slowly rubbing it up and down to spread your wetness.

“Please, Kashi, I need your cock inside me,” you beg.

Without further hesitation, you feel every inch of him slide into your folds until he’s bottomed out inside you. The feeling of him deep within you sends you into euphoria and you can feel yourself tighten around him.

“Fuck, you feel so good,” Kakashi whispers.

Starting off slow, he pumps into you with control. You feel pleasure and pain as Kakashi kisses your neck while grabbing onto your hair. After each thrust you feel him going faster and harder, your bodies smacking against each other. To gain more leverage, he lifts off of you and brings you up onto your hands and knees. With his hand gripping your shoulder, he pumps into you with ferocity.

“For years I’ve touched myself thinking about getting to fuck you like this baby. You’re so beautiful and so good to me. Everything about your body draws me to you,” Kakashi says in between moans. You feel him start to twitch inside you, his thrusts getting more out of control. You look over your shoulder and meet his gaze.

“We deserve this baby. You deserve this. Give me everything.” You both know your words mean more than just sex, and Kakashi relishes them.

Lifting you up by your neck, Kakashi brings you toward him so you're both kneeling while he continues thrusting inside of you. He brings one hand around your front to circle your clit and the other cups your breast. Your hands lift up behind you to grab onto his face. Turning your head to him, you kiss him with every ounce of passion you have left. This new position is hitting you at your core and you can feel yourself tighten again. Kakashi must have felt it too, as he broke free from your mouth to tilt his head back in pleasure. Without exchanging words, you know you both are at your limit.

With a few last staggering thrusts, both of you reach climax in unison. Feeling yourself go limp, Kakashi wraps his arms around you to keep you steady. You feel streams of his hot semen pool inside of your contracting walls. With Kakashi’s moans singing in your ear, you can’t help but smirk at his vulnerability. With him still inside, you hold onto each other, trying to catch your breaths. After a few beats, you both begin to laugh at your exasperated states.

“Stay here, I’m going to get a towel,” Kakashi says while shifting out of you. After pulling a towel from the cupboard in your bathroom, Kakashi brings it to you and cleans up between your legs. Before you have time to move, Kakashi picks you up bridal style and spins you around in his arms.

You scream and start to laugh as he plants kisses all over your face. “Kakashi!”

“Hm?” he hums in your ear, pretending he didn’t just lift you with little to no effort.

Holding you up with one arm, he grabs a blanket off the bed and carries you to the chair in the corner of your room. There he sits down and places you sideways on his lap so you’re facing each other. He then takes the blanket and wraps it around you both so you can stay warm while cuddling each other. Kakashi has always had a knack for knowing exactly what you want at any given moment.

“I thought we could get some inspiration for our next round,” Kakashi says with a smirk as he pulls out a copy of Icha Icha Tactics from underneath the cushion.

“What? How did that get there?” you laugh.

“Oh, I have multiple copies of these everywhere,” he jokes, waving the book in the air.

You laugh and lightly hit his chest. Tucking the blanket up closer to your face, you lay your head down on Kakashi’s shoulder while he flips open to a page in the book.

Before he starts to read to you, Kakashi lifts your chin to kiss you. Every time your lips touch his, flashes of your joint past enters your mind. Although it was hard, and you faced many difficult trials on the way, you are forever thankful that you were both able to live long enough to experience these moments. You took care of each other, lifted each other up when they were in the dirt, and now you can finally share the love you’ve always held for each other. You wouldn’t change any of it. After your kiss, before pulling away from you, Kakashi looks deep into your eyes.

“I love you, (y/n).”

You smile up at him, tears brimming in your eyes.

“I love you too, Kakashi. Forever.”

A/n cont.: Well, whattdaya think? :)

#kakashi #kakashi hatake #kakashi fanfic #kakashi fanfiction #kakashi x reader #hatake kakashi #kakashi imagine #naruto fanfiction #kakashi x you #kakashi x y/n #kakashi one shot #kakashi x yn #kakashi sensei #kakashi smut #kakashi hatake smut

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earlgreytea68 · 1 year

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I posted 905 times in 2022

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I tagged 587 of my posts in 2022

Only 35% of my posts had no tags

#fall out boy - 252 posts

#bandom - 249 posts

#fob - 248 posts

#peterick - 181 posts

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Longest Tag: 133 characters

#we were having a conversation about how the creature in frankenstein is described as so revolting that nobody can bear to look at him

My Top Posts in 2022:

I have never really understood what this saying means? What kind of woman is this? Like, if the devil is upset you're awake, is it because you're the kind of woman who's incredibly pious?? If they mean that you're a rebellious woman, wouldn't the devil be happy you're awake? Are we just meant to think that you're a woman who everyone says, "oh, she's such a deeply, profoundly good woman" about? In which case why have this thing about the devil to get that point across? I just feel like if someone said this was the kind of woman I was, I would have no idea how to take it. Is it a compliment or an insult lol

151 notes - Posted November 12, 2022

I Read Bruen So You Wouldn’t Have To

You might not know this about me, but in my spare time, I’m kind-of-sort-of a U.S. lawyer. I have a law degree, at least. So sometimes maybe you want to know how a lawyer would read some of these Supreme Court cases. So I read the recent Second Amendment gun control case called Bruen, so you wouldn’t have to. And trust me, you should be grateful for that, because the majority opinion is a 60-page slog through the esoterica of some random British law from, like, the British Civil War era???? And then some stuff that “the Western Territories” did??? Because this is apparently how we make “law” in this country now.

In theory, the case is about a law -- more than a hundred years old -- under which New York requires people to show a reason why they should be given a license to carry a weapon concealed in public. The question is whether New York is able to make such a law (even though, again, the law has been the books since 1911).

The majority opinion answers this question, as I said, by literally spending 60 pages telling me what Oliver Cromwell thought about gun control. You think maybe I’m exaggerating? I am not. I am very much not. You might not care very much about what Oliver Cromwell thought about gun control as a reason for guiding 21st-century U.S. legislation, and I wouldn’t blame you, so I’m not going to walk you through the 800 years of history that the majority opinion provides in great detail. (Seriously, it starts with the Magna Carta, and frankly I’m surprised we didn’t try to figure out how the very first humans handled “very big stick” and “very heavy stone” control.)

I say that in theory this case is about a New York law, because in actuality what this case is about is part of this term’s concerted effort to establish originalism as the only permissible way to interpret laws in this country. And what’s astonishing is...how absolutely terrible it is. How blatantly it shows that originalism is nothing more than a fancy word for “words mean whatever I say they mean.” Like, it doesn’t even try to hide that. The assertions that the case makes, flat-out, are pretty astonishing.

The holding of the case (meaning: the ultimate conclusion) is that courts must “assess whether modern firearms regulations are consistent with the Second Amendment’s text and historical understanding.” Uh-huh. We cannot regulate guns unless people in the eighteenth century would have been okay with the regulation. And how do we know what people in the eighteenth century were okay with? In theory, this question is supposed to be answered by looking at ~~history. I put that in sarcasm font, because...yeah. Even the majority opinion acknowledges that “historical analysis can sometimes be difficult and nuanced,” but, it insists, it’s “more legitimate” than any other way of deciding what laws the country can establish. Yes, relying on made-up stuff about the Founding Fathers is, the court has concluded, the most legitimate way to pass a law.

This is all an elaborate piece of theater that means absolutely nothing, as the opinion itself literally acknowledges:

To paraphrase: The respondents must prove that the law in question would have been passed by other people in history. To do so, the respondents provide 700 years’ worth of examples. But, the court says, “not all history is created equal.” What a turn of phrase, huh? Indeed, it is not.

Again, the opinion isn’t even shy about how originalism is just a series of moving targets that you will never be able to hit because there’s a foregone conclusion. The respondents give the Court a bunch of stuff on English history. And maybe, you might say, that’s not super-relevant to American law. Except that, in a previous Second Amendment originalism case, the originalists then were all about the English law and the English ancestors blah blah blah. So the respondents come in with all this English law stuff and here the majority opinion wrinkles its nose and says, “We find that ambiguous.”

See the full post

173 notes - Posted July 5, 2022

I have a question that I hope won’t cause offence, because it is genuine and not meant to be leading or shaming or anything like that.

I love, love, love your series “Swan Song”, and partly that’s because I love music and band culture and well-written fic. So I should read your Peterick stuff right? Because it’s different characters, but still music and band culture and well-written fic, and I already know I love your fic and writing style.

My concern is this: although I am of the generation who feels that everyone should write what they like, if you don’t like something, you shouldn’t read it, and there is no justification for forcing one person’s personal moral boundaries on the wider population *in fiction writing* (obvs in terms of real life actions, real people have to be forced to toe a certain moral line. Obviously. Just not in fic.). I am not sure how I feel about RPF. I mean, I feel people should write what they want, that’s not in question. However, I want to read your fic, but I’m not sure how I feel about reading RPF.

I think what I’m asking is, how do you look at the ethics of RPF - of writing real people with real names, lives, connections, internet access - as fictional characters? How do you reassure yourself that you’re definitely writing fiction and not being weird or presumptuous about the real celebs? Again, I want to be clear, I’m asking this because I love your writing and I really want to be convinced by your ethical argument, so that I can read your band fic without feeling ethically itchy and uncomfortable. I know there’s a ton of holier-than-thou shaming, but I genuinely am not trying to do that.

No pressure to answer if you are over this discussion, I would just like to know, if you feel like answering.

Hello! This is not offensive to me and I'm totally happy to answer this. I am old enough to remember endless RPF discourse on LJ, let me tell you.

First let me say -- I'm with you: People should write what they want to write and other people should read what they want to read.

How did I come around to RPF? Tbh, it started when I realized that, well, it's EVERYWHERE. My favorite movie, for instance, is "The Social Network." That is RPF: a fictional construct around the lives of real people. "The Social Network" lost the Oscar to "The King's Speech," which is more RPF: fictional construct around the lives of real people. And it's not like that year was an outlier: Every year, many of the movies nominated for Best Picture Oscars are fictional stories shaped around real people. So, for instance, last year we had "Judas and the Black Messiah," "Mank," "The Trial of the Chicago 7." This year in the running we have "Tick, Tick...Boom!," "King Richard," "Being the Ricardos." If you define RPF as "fiction about real people," then all of these fit. None of these are exactly true, nor are they even trying to be. And they're not only perfectly legal, they are lauded and held up and admired as virtuoso storytelling.

Once I realized exactly *how pervasive* RPF is, the less I felt guilty about the fic edition of it, because I think fic writers are constantly made to feel lesser in all of their art, and this seemed like another version of it to me.

Now there are lots of lines people draw about RPF: Some are more okay with it if the people are dead, so, for instance, "The Gilded Age" is okay. But as the above examples make clear, non-fic RPF doesn't limit itself to dead people. Nor does it de-sexify these people, such that non-fic RPF is chaste. There's certainly sex lurking in "The Crown."

So, I personally decided that if I was going to be okay with non-fic RPF, if I was going to think "The Social Network" was genius, if I was going to watch "The Crown," then I wasn't going to treat fic RPF differently. Again, everyone can make a different choice for themselves! That might not be persuasive at all! But you asked how I came to my decision, and that was how.

I draw a line myself in what I write and in what I'm comfortable reading. I don't write about their RL kids or partners and I don't tend to read about them, either. But I think that's because of the second part of your question: I am not actually writing about either one of them, and I know that. I am writing about them as archetypes of a certain type of character. So the real details of their lives aren't important to me. They're just inspiration. (I assume this is how the people who write non-fic RPF view it as well, incidentally. Like, I assume they don't think they've written the *actual* conversation Prince Charles and Princess Diana had about Camilla. They're just using what they know to write character archetypes. "The Trial of the Chicago 7" ends with this powerful moment and I looked it up and it was completely made-up lol.)

Now, can there be people who blur the line between fiction and reality, and think that what they are writing is real? Yes, but I think that in that case the fic is a symptom and not a cause. I think the majority of people who write and read RPF don't get confused. In fact, much of the time fic RPF is much more deliberately, outrageously fictional than non-fic RPF, which often pretends to be telling some version of the truth. And to me that makes it, in its way, somewhat less potentially offensive than non-fic RPF, in that it is not often touted as being about exposing these people's inner lives.

Writing fiction about real people is actually one of our pervasive ways of telling stories. We've done it forever, and we've praised it forever. "Here are real people who lived, let me tell you about all their drama," said Dante and Shakespeare and Chaucer. (Sorry, my degree was heavily Western-literature-based.) This New Yorker article described Virginia Woolf as "describ[ing] the impulse to imagine the private lives of others as the art of the young—a matter of survival—and of the novelist, who never tires of this work, who sees an old woman crying in a railway car and begins to imagine her inner life."

So anyway. You may never be comfortable with fic RPF, and that is totally okay, not everyone is or has to be. But this was my journey to it.

230 notes - Posted January 28, 2022

There are a whole plethora of reasons why Elon Musk is Not A Nice Person and why I don’t want his takeover of Twitter to be a success (which is sad, because I otherwise like Twitter and miss it terribly), but among them is this phenomenon whereby he fired his employees for not wanting to accept his deranged, abusive, demanding terms of employment...and now people are being encouraged to go work for him FOR FREE because it’s such a “great opportunity” and he’s such a great person to learn from and blah bah blah

No. NO. We cannot have Elon Musk make a success of Twitter by firing paid employees to hire unpaid interns, argh argh argh!!

321 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

So, a thing I was thinking about FOB8, is I’m pretty sure they don’t have any contractual obligations at this point, right? Like, they finished their contract with Island when Mania came out and the last we heard from them, they were happy not to have a label and they were just going to go it on their own. And I haven’t heard anything different, and the length of time it took them to come out with this album leads me to believe that yeah, they don’t have any kind of label breathing down their neck.

So, for one thing, I’m so deeply curious and excited for this album that presumably is exactly what they want it to be because they didn’t have any other cooks in the kitchen but them and who they specifically invited.

But, for another thing, that means that their crack publicity team of, like, Pete Wentz, his teenage son, and a squirrel are running this album’s promotion and I can’t stop laughing over what a wild ride I expect this to be. like.

Pete Wentz circa 2018 in many, many, MANY interviews: We are very excited not to have any record label contracts anymore! We’re going to be free and clear to do every crazy thing we want to do!!!!! The sky is the limit!!1!!!1!!!! UNLEASHED FALL OUT BOY TIME!!!!!11!!!!!!

Pete Wentz in 2022: Let’s take out a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune.

542 notes - Posted November 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #long post

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jenomark · 3 years

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Can you do Nct dreams reaction to the reader (female if you don’t mind?) being insecure if their face while having sex.

Mark: It was your first time having sex, so it was natural that both of you were nervous. Mark's fingers touched you gently, brushing against your skin like he was afraid to tear it. You opened your legs and felt his weight on top of you. He peered down at you, and you resisted the urge to throw your arm over your face. "Is everything okay?" Mark asked, in tune with your emotions. "Yeah, I'm fine." you said. Feeling not quite convinced, Mark looked into your eyes a little longer. He kissed your neck and all along your jawline before parting your legs and guiding his cock. "Are you sure?" he asked, before entering you. "You seem....off." Mark's expression was so warm that you began to feel more comfortable. Your insecurities melted away, as your eyes began to trace the outline of his little square teeth. You shook your head, the bad thoughts moving out, and wrapped your legs around Mark's waist. "I'm more than sure." you said.

Renjun: He made a move to kiss your cheek but you moved your face to the side so that he couldn't. It wasn't the best decision, seeing as how Renjun's cock was inches inside of you. You opened your mouth to come up with some excuse that he would understand but, ultimately, decided on the truth. "My skin isn't in the best shape today. I don't want you to kiss me when I feel ugly." you said. Renjun stopped thrusting and looked down at you. "I think you look beautiful." he said sincerely. He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. "And I would be happy to kiss you everywhere." Feeling shocked by his words, he then asked you to trust him. You felt him slip out of you. Breathless, you let him kiss you all over your face, each kiss sweeter than the last. But he didn't stop there. Renjun kissed down your chest, your stomach, your inner thigh, and literally every inch of glistening skin he could find, before meeting your eyes again. "Like I said, beautiful. " he said, smiling radiantly.

Jeno: Riding Jeno made your thighs quiver. His body was so powerful, that being on top of him made your bones seem to vibrate. You held his hands as you moved, careful not to let his cock slip out of you. He was addicting. Feeling him inside of you made you want him, body and soul. You could feel yourself getting worked up enough to come, so you tilted your chin up to the ceiling so he didn't have to see your hideous orgasm face. At the same time, Jeno let go of your hand and used his fingers to claim your chin and point it back down until you looked him in the eyes. You wanted to tell him that you looked ugly, to open your mouth and speak your truth, but Jeno seemed to read what was on your mind. "You're beautiful." he said. "Let me see you." Unable to keep the grin from your face, you locked eyes with him until you came, your face twisting with a pleasure that Jeno was intoxicated by.

Haechan: You turned the bedside lamp off. Haechan turned it back on it. It went on like that forever, until you had given up. "We never have sex with the lights on." he said, stroking your cheek. "Is there something wrong with me?" Immediately, you opened your mouth to tell him no, that there was and would never be anything wrong with me. He sat between your legs, not fully believing you. "What is it then?" You held his hand in yours and very quietly said, "I think my face is ugly when I come. Actually, I think it's ugly all of the time." Hearing that, Haechan let out a laugh that immediately made you want to shrink into yourself. "Ugly?" he asked. "You're not ugly. You're incredibly sexy, and you're all mine." Haechan released his hand from yours and kept his eyes trained on your face as his hand started pulling aside your underwear. "Mine." he repeated, sinking his long fingers inside of you.

Jaemin: He was skilled at going down on you. Jaemin liked to take his time to really look at you and listen to how well your body responded. His fingers and tongue worked in unison, each one driving you to the edge after only a few minutes of pleasure. He also liked to gloat in his handiwork, looking up every so often to watch your face with his mouth over your clit. "Oh...fuck." you said, covering your face with your hands. Jaemin stopped what he was doing, reached up and moved your hands from your face. "Don't," you said, chuckling. "I look stupid when I come." Jaemin let out a deep "Mmm, no you don't." before enclosing his mouth over your pussy. He sucked and teased you, your body trying it's best not to thrash around wildly. He took your hands and pinned them on either side of you, and you let him, your eyes burning into his every time he made eye contact.

Chenle: You and Chenle liked to fuck. After you were finished, and both of you had rested, you were back at it again. "This time," you said. "I want you to fuck me from behind." Chenle, holding his hard cock, seemed surprised. "I love that position, but I love looking at your face even more." he said. You were already on all fours, your body waiting for him. His hand found its way to your back, his fingertips leaving a whisper down your spine. "I maybe don't love you looking at my face." you said. You turned around and sat on your ass in front of him, looking at how saddened his expression had become. "Why not?" he asked. "There is nothing wrong with that." You didn't want to argue, and you didn't know how to properly explain it to him. Feeling backed into a corner, Chenle suddenly changed his face with a smile. "That's okay." he said, softening his voice. "I respect how you feel." Before you could feel relieved, Chenle used his finger to signal that you should turn around and get back on all fours, a cocky smile that also signaled you were about to get the best fuck of your life on his face.

*I am not quite comfortable writing about Jisung yet.

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