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becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys · 11 months

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Okay every time I read one of your celtophobia posts I am filled with immediate and incandescent rage, enough to propulse the responsible idiots into space but not to bring them back again. I'm really sorry about the """""lecturer"""""" you had to sit through this morning, and any other instances that happen. Hugs.

That said, I am very worried of doing the same thing and want to make my utmost sure I don't, so I thought it'd be okay to ask someone from a language that has to fight for space for politeness tricks. Apologies if this is not okay!

Context: I'm from continental Europe, which means English is my second language (I speak three languages and a half ish, the half is in process, because #languagenerd). I'm moving to Ireland come September, and I'm absolutely terrified of offending the good Irish people when I don't know how to pronounce their names, surnames, street names, or anything else; or, worse, try and end up butchering them in the manner of the British.

Dilemma: How can I ask for help when pronouncing things in a delicate way? I was thinking of signing up to Irish courses once I'm there, but for now I'm panicking about the actual move so I can't get a head start with that because my brain space is limited, and other than watching YouTube videos with the most common Irish names/words ahead of arriving, I honestly don't know. I want to be culturally sensitive and make sure they feel respected and not Colonised, Part Three Hundred, but also they shouldn't have to bear the weight of my lack of cultural knowledge and Teach Me? Idk. Just thoughts.

Good question! I suppose it's a two-part procedure:

Step 1: Learn a pronunciation guide. By that I just mean get to grips with the alphabet, common phonemes, etc and how those are said. With something like Welsh it's super easy (because phonetic), something like English it's super hard (because not phonetic); Irish is a bit more complex than Welsh, but still more phonetic than English. You might not be able to get to a "perfect every time" place, but you can get yourself to a "right most times" place.

Step 2: If you encounter a name you aren't 100% sure of, offer your best educated guess when asking. This shows that you have done the work, you are making a genuine attempt, but you still have the humility to ask to make sure.

When I say "best educated guess", I mean it's clear that you're guessing based on a working knowledge of the language rules in question. In Welsh, for example, if someone asks me how to pronounce "Cymru", there is a world of difference between someone saying "Sim-roo" (based on English pronunciation rules transposed onto Welsh) and "Kim-ree" (based on Welsh pronunciation rules, they just forgot which pronunciation of 'y' to use for the syllable it's in.) If someone says to me "How do you say that? Sim-roo?" then I know they haven't attempted any prior learning (though points for being interested enough to ask.) But if they say "Am I right in thinking it's Kim-ree?" then I know they've made the effort themselves, they've done the work, they just have a carry error that's skewed the answer.

Plus, you may well be right! And will be right more and more often the longer you're in Ireland.

If it helps, there's an Irish pronunciation guide here that's pretty good (or was back when I used it), and teanglann.ie is a pretty good resource for this, as it's a dictionary that lets you hear the words aloud and explains grammatical uses. (Irish people please feel free to add any other resources to the notes if you feel so inclined!)

As a final note, mind, given that you don't have time atm to dedicate brain space to this, speaking as a Welsh person I would be absolutely fine with someone saying to me "Sorry, I haven't had chance to learn yet, how do I say this?", or some variant thereof. Or, frankly, anything that's just... a polite request, and not laughing about it. I would take a thousand instances of "How do I say that? Sim-roo?" over even one "I don't know how to say that, haha" because the former is still caring enough to ask. So don't panic! A polite request will see you right.

#asks #wales!#closed for cleaning on mondays #linguistics

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witchessrose · 3 months

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Hey, if you have multiplicity could you please spare the time? I'm a questioning system and desperately need input.

I know the internet can't diagnose me, but I'm hoping people who may know more could help steer me in the right direction, or at least affirm to me whether or not I should start the process of reaching out to doctors for a potential diagnosis. I just dont know who to talk to about this. And fear talking about it to people I know because I'm so afraid that I'm,,, faking it??

What I'm looking into right now is Partial DID or maybe even OSDD? Keep in mind I was diagnosed with autism about a month ago before I finally started really noticing/growing awareness of somethings ive been in denial of.

-For example the talking to "myself" and getting immediate responses

-Talking back and forth with "myself", sometimes accidentally speaking outloud without realizing it

-I previously believed myself to by psychic because often when I ask myself questions in my head "someone" will answer me, often with information I wasn't aware of myself. I am now questioning if I've ever actually been a medium...

- I thought this was my echolalia, and maybe it is (if ur an autistic system maybe u could tell me if u relate for reference?) But often my mind will repeat different names to me. To the point where it can be very frustrating and distracting. The two names they tell me the most, is Penelope and Jasmine.

- I have different versions of myself that help with different situations. There's also a mean one, which is one of the few versions of.. Me? In my head that I don't associate myself with. I don't see that one as me, the way I can see the other ones as me.

- I was recently diagnosed with a "cognitive dysfunction of unknown origins" which is basically my neurologists way of saying she has no idea why I have forms of amnesia. While I am always... Somewhat... Present, I rarely remember an entire week, let alone parts of the day. Down to conversations I'm in the middle of having. I also can't remember most of my childhood.

- I sometimes feel like im in a video game, and the world around me will start to feel very fake, and small, like I'm everywhere. And I'll have to very manually control my body. The other day this happened when I had to perform a function on a very mentally draining day. Go to the store. To me, I want to say, someone else helped bring me to the store, because I wasn't really there. But at the same time, I was. Its this that conflicts me, but I found out that sometimes a person can be stuck in front? And wonder if that's what I'm experiencing.

-When I get in those states I often describe it as "being in autopilot" I will complete entire tasks without being aware of any of the process or fully remembering it. I'll be there, I'll know if was done, but my body did it for me. Again, because its not complete amnesia, I wonder if this could actually just be me in autopilot.

There's a lot more but I feel like I'm dragging it, I don't want it to be too long because I'm really hoping for some actual responses.

I'm afraid that I've tricked myself. Or being inconsiderate to ddiagnosed systems with these questions in anyway? Its not like I'm determined to have it, I just want to know what's wrong(for lack of a better term) w me. I haven't told anyone about this, I just want to know if I'm imagining this all in my head, or if other systems can relate to any of this?

#partial did #did osdd #osdd #pdid system #dissociative identity disorder #actually dissociative #dissociative disorder #autistic system #actually did #questioning system #multiplicity

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highpriestofpalkism · 4 months

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Also, if I may ask, how do you interpret the Creation Trio + Arceus as deities? In other words, do you think they're benevolent and merciful or wrathful and quick to anger? For instance, the story of the human and the sword in D/P/Pt indicates that while they will certainly intimidate, they seem hesitant to kill, even in retaliation. On the other hand, in PMD and the anime, they seem all too eager to eliminate humans because of perceived slights.

Now! This sure is a question, because I've basically created my set of headcanons for all of the Creation family throughout the years, since they're one of my the main objects of my brainrot DJHDGD

To me, they all act differently, and also situationally.

Dialga is the most cynical one. He is benevolent and enacts the role and purpose Arceus gave him fully, and he can show warmer emotions such as gratefulness when in the right situations (PMD2 being the biggest example), but, normally, in my opinion Dialga is neutral at best and has a certain disregard for mortals at worst, thinking of them as mere droplets of water in the vast river of time; thus, he often ignores them and their troubles, unless they do trouble him directly, unless reverence and worship is shown to him. He can also be very merciless.

Palkia is instead pretty emotional. He's the kindest and warmest of the three, and appreciates mortals as their own unique microcosms that should be respected as such, and he offers thankfulness to those who worship him. However he can also turn out to be very ruthless and instinctive in what he's doing, and he doesn't stand when his dominion is messed with by someone or something (PMD2), often harbouring to brute force. Despite his naturally kind nature, he can turn out to be as solemn as Dialga when the situation requires it.

Giratina despises mortals, be it Pokémon or humans. He sees them as the "perfect creations of his father" whom he wants to destroy as vengeance for what has been done to him: not only banished, but also forgotten by all. While probably the most brutal of the three, he is still very subtle most times, being deceptive and persuading to mortals as to use them as means for his own schemes (Volo). For short, in his eyes mortals are just a means to an end, so easily fooled and tricked.

Arceus, instead, is generally emotionally far from the mortal world, but they love their own creations and cares for them from the distance, as they watch over all (PMD2, Legends). They're not very prone to anger, but rather tends to resolve conflict with intricancies behind the scenes as to solve the universe's biggest problems. Regarding the mainline universe, they originally thought of Pokémon as the only creatures to inhabit this world, as humans were born as a "mistake of evolution"; but once the Ancient Hero of Hisuian mythos proved human dignity to them by challenging them in a friendly match, Arceus got that Pokémon and humans deserved equal respect, and even more did deserve the bond between them

I hope I haven't been too long with this DJDGDHDHDH, I know these are mostly headcanons and don't have much concrete proof in the games (be it DPPT, PLA or PMD), but I've grown to imagine them as their own characters, and with such personalities! I hope I answered your question in a satisfying way ♥️😭🙏

#arcy's shit #arcy's headcanons #headcanons #pokemon #creation trio #arceus #dialga #palkia #giratina

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sol-consort · 4 months

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Repost of an ask I accidentally deleted.

Pov: You're a turian discovering this new sapient species broadcasting their whole location to the galaxy very loudly and decide to go down to investigate the humans.

Humans are like a rubber ball, which is what the first contact war proved. The harder you throw them, the harder they bounce back, and the next thing you know, all of your loyal turian population are sending creepy fanmail letters to the cute human news reporters.

The fact that we express joy by showing our teeth probably is something that never sat well with the turians ever, huh?

Also POV: you're the Councillors meeting the human team sent to you trying to convince you on why they should have an embassy right next door and please let them in the citidal please please please please please please-

We Don't bite .Often. We are silly little guys let us in come on. We have been STARVED for any galactic connections. Please we were this close to blowing each other up with nuclear weapons.

Ignore that last bit. Hahaha. Ha. So let us in! Friends! We are friends, let's be friends now. Tell us how you guys reproduce and what you eat. We have cats! We have chocolate, and we have produced more porn than a single human can consume in their lifetime! We have everything you need so let us join the partyyyy.

We've brought beer :) You don't have that, right? Let us in, and we will give you all the food we've made.

Humans annoying their way into getting an embassy so soon is very hilarious.

Because you know damn well that our politicians played the first contact war card and guilt tripped the council into letting us sit on the big kids' table after the turian bullied us to hell and back. We brought the waterworks and pretended they really hurt our feelings just to get the shiny human embassy office.

It didn't matter that they threw us in some random office next to the elcor and the embassies food court. You know damn well none of the humans stayed on the office and they're constantly annoying their neighbour embassies or the citidal tower instead.

Hell, we even stooped so low to accept being called the council's new favourite pet race just so we can get all the benefits and jumpstart our integration into the galaxy.

Constantly asking questions. Constantly touching things. Constantly asking to eat this and drink that without regards to if it will kill us or not.

That's how they found out humans had the most diverse genetics btw, before they could get any tests done on the humans with viable results, they found the said humans eating everything they come across and updating a google docs sheet of things they tried that haven't killed them yet.

The doc is shared between all the humans on the Citidal, and everyone adds their updates. Some even tried inedible stuff just to see, because what if space plastic is different than our plastic? Sure, they ended up in emergency care, but it was so worth it.

The humans are very impatient, and the other races quickly learned. They want something done, and they want to do it now, and they want to get the gratification immediately! They make the salarians look like monks despite their short life spans

In the span of a year, earth humans were sending in job applications to different colonies and planets, ones they haven't even visited yet.

By the span of 5 years, humans successfully spread through the galaxy and you always find one nearby. It's harder not to spot a human than it is to spot them.

How do you find out if the person wearing this armour is an asari or a human? Simple, just wait.

The human will announce it themselves by doing some dumb shit like twirling the loaded gun in their hand to do a really sick trick they saw on the human social media app, tiktok.

Udina was a little shit, yes, but you know that man was knocking on the councillors' doors every day at 3am. to show them his powerpoint presentation on why humans deserve a seat on the council.

Humans fit wherever you put them. They eat everything, they can handle most temperatures. they only need oxygen and some sleep, and they're good to go!

It's hard for the aliens to predict just what type of human any given one of us they meet could be.

There's just too many to keep track of. The most rude person and the nicest person a turian have met are both humans.

They want to see the stars, they want to take pictures, they want to stare at pretty sunsets on different planets and they want to speak to aliens, hug them and learn more about them

They're burning bright like a star, wanting so much all the time. It's intimidating to the other races how hungry humans are for information and connection that they come across as a bully. Their friendly nature gets misunderstood and their kind gestures gets questioned for ulterior motives.

Because humans love helping, it's in our genetic code as a tribal species. We love feeling useful for the tribe and fulfilling others needs. We love giving someone a sip of our drink, opening the door for someone else, picking up a stray empty can and throwing it in the trash.

Going on useful fetch missions just to see someone else smile, hearing a stranger vent because we have been there, smiling at people we make eye contact with, giving compliments and laughing at jokes we overheard from strangers.

We are social, be it online or offline. We love others, we love loving others and we want others to love us back. Each human is so different yet so similar, some of us will feel more at home with the aliens than with other humans while others might not even stomach leaving earth

We are also...kinda of feral in a way? We don't notice it because we're surrounded by humans.

But if you look closely, so many of our traits are animalistic and could be perceived as scary by an alien that had thousands of years to evolve past them. Our hardware is still relatively new, and an update won't come for a long time.

The hugging. the yelling, the dancing, playing tag. games of chase. We evolved from predetors, our eyes are trained to follow a single target precisely.

Rough playing with your friends, enjoying throwing objects and catching it like a ball, enjoying tearing through food with our teeth. Hell we look like predators, we act like ones too.

We're not like worker bees, like turians who always give their all to everything they do.

No, we preserve energy, then lunge at our target the second it's gaurd falls down. A persistent predator that wears you down rather than overpowering you like a krogan

Btw, Korgans evolved from prey because of where their eyes are placed. Only predetors have forward facing eyes to focus on a single thing, the wider one's vision is the more likely they used to be a prey animal.

Side note, but Krogans would probably taste kinda good bc of that, predators' meat evolves to be shrivled and bitter. While Krogans have a literal hump full of food nutrition! Turians would taste bad unless chicken in that case... CHICKEN.

So do you think Hanar and Drell find it adorable that we used to be aquatic?

Anyway so-

In a single decade, humanity successfully integrated fully into the galaxy and joined the Andromeda project to explore the new one. We're like the opposite of hanar. So many other races achieved less than half of what we did in ten times the amount of years

Because we need social contact, it's vital for our survival as much as the sun is. It's our drive for exploring and hoping for aliens, for some other race out there we could befriend and learn about.

New things give us such a rush of dopamine and we're constantly chasing it with stars in our eyes.

In a way, the aliens probably felt the most special after meeting the humans. To have a race so interested in you and learning about you and appreciating your culture. To have thousands if not millions of humans ready to dedicate their lives to documenting you just because you happened to be the prettiest race in their eyes.

Like I'd gladly throw my life away to study the Drell.

And we things other races don't! We party harder funny enough.

A turian mentions it in ME2. How most alcoholic beverages everyone uses today, was invented by humans. How it seems like humans found out every intoxication there is and let it spread like wildfire to others. Out endless libraries of music, the videogames we've made, the art, the instruments we play.

And a Salarian mentions how human food is their favourite. Don't the Hanar also like our sushi? funny enough.

We're infectious. Easily accept anyone and everyone into our groups if we happened to click with them, we even befriended the animals on our planets enough to care for them like our own children.

#☆humans #☆human kink #☆Drell #☆Hanar #☆Turians #☆krogans #☆fluff

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lildohnut · 2 years

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squishmoon gif making tips & tricks 🌙

this is a basic tips & tricks post for how I make my gifs. I am sure there are probably easier and better ways to do things, but this is how I have been doing it and I am lazy so I've basically got it down to a few clicks by setting up actions to do most of the work so if that sounds like something you might like - read on!

I use windows and photoshop cc 2022 for making my gifs. I also use caps (captured using potplayer and in jpg format) so once you have your caps ready, just import them into photoshop as normal.

RESIZING YOUR GIFS

the first thing I do when I import my caps is crop it down - and as I said, i'm lazy so I have all of my regular sizes saved so I can just select them. as you can see - they are all +2px larger than the tumblr dimensions and that is because if you ever see that weird little white border you sometimes get when making gifs? if you remove pixels off you won't get that so when cropping it's essential to add some pixels so that you have some to crop off (I hope that makes sense!)

these are my settings for scaling my images down.

MAKING YOUR GIF

as i said, i'm lazy - so once I have cropped my caps to whatever size I want, all I do is click on my action and let it do it's thing. I have it set where it sharpens and converts back to timeline with the 0.05 time delay so you don't have to reopen your gifs in photoshop again and save them.

the two windows that pop up are to allow you to adjust the settings if you wish - if you like it just click ok and it will continue on.

you can download the action pack here (you can just add more actions for resizing to suit your dimensions or do it manually by going to canvas and -2px when you are done making your gif before saving) there are two settings - one for 4k/HD and the other for HD where the sharpening is a little softer.

obviously, the higher quality the source footage, the better your gif looks. i tend to work with 1080p downloads and I rip my own blurays and save them at around 4GB per 40 minute episodes and 12-15GB for films. sometimes more depending on the length of the film.

external hard drives are your friends. if you are going to be giffing stuff often, keep them saved there. I have a ton of externals (which are in dire need of organisation) but it's so much quicker to have stuff at hand than needing to download each time you want to gif.

as for trailers - you get far higher quality using the trailers posted to the apple trailer site than youtube. so check there if you can get it. i use this site to download them and it does make a difference.

SAVING YOUR GIF

it's all down to personal preference what you like - but I use these settings when saving my gifs. you can play around with diffusion, pattern and noise etc to find what you think looks best for you. just remember that your gif must be under 10MB or else it won't upload to tumblr.

EXAMPLES

here are some examples of more gifs made using the sharpen action.

and this is the above moon knight gif, but using the slightly less sharper setting. sometimes it's best to test out both on footage you haven't used before to see which you prefer.

i hope this helped and if you have any questions my askbox is open! a like if you download the action would also be very appreciated.

#photoshop tutorial #gif tutorial #sharpen action #gif action #completeresources #allresources #photoshop help #onlyresources #mine #tutorial #action

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somebodytolove31 · 11 months

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Midsommar is not a "good for her" movie, but it's understandable that people think that

Content warnings for: cult stuff, discussions of heavy topics such as rape, suicide and grooming, a lot of gaslighting

So I watched Midsommar recently, it's good, it has it's flaws (which I will talk about in a later post probably) but it's a solid 8/10 for me

One of the first things I do when I watch a movie is see what the internet thinks about it. I enjoy seeing the reviews of other people and funny memes and whatever else I can find. So imagine my surprise when I found out that people think Midsommar is a "good for her" movie

And like, no???

For those who aren't aware, a "good for her" movie is, as the term implies, a movie with a woman protagonist that makes you go "good for her" when it finishes, think for example of Knives Out, usually movies like these involve the protagonist in question cheating the system to get what they want, even if it's done on a morally (or legally) gray way. People classify Midsommar as a "good for her" movie because of the ending, in which the main character burns down her shitty boyfriend inside a bear

If you haven't watched the movie you may probably think "oh wow, well that's a good ending right?", and out of context, yes, in context however? this action is the representation of her leaving her life behind and joining a murder cult

From that fact you now may think "well how the fuck do people think that's a good ending?", but here's the thing, Midsommar does a great job at deceiving the audience into thinking the cult is not that bad, and the main way of doing this is through the main character we talked about, Dani.

At the start of the movie, Dani is in one of the lowest points of her life, her family has just died because of her sister’s suicide, she is in a shitty relationship, and it is implied that she has mental health issues of her own. Through the course of the movie however, she is helped by the cult, they offer her a “peaceful” place to be in while she grieves, she is often complimented, and they even burn down her abusive boyfriend by the end. From her perspective, this place has done nothing but help her, even if it’s done in non-traditional ways.

Except they don’t. Everything they do is simply a way to brainwash her into becoming a part of their community and use her. The cult still murdered 5 innocent people, they still forced Dani’s boyfriend to "mate" with a minor, they still make people kill themselves when they turn 72, they still inbreed, they still drug you without consent.

If this movie was played out through the point of view of anyone else, it would be seen as a horrifying tale of a death cult tricking a friend into becoming one of them, but it’s because of the emotional position Dani is in that we see them as saviors.

Even I was brainwashed by them in one scene, the one where Dani sees her boyfriend "cheating" on her and has a panic attack (a link for those who haven't seen the movie and are curious). Panic attacks are something I suffer from often, it’s gotten better with therapy, but it’s still horrible when I experience it, so when I saw the women of the cult gather around Dani, caressing her and screaming with her, my first thought was “wow, I wish I had a group like that, people that would scream with me when I’m feeling horrible”, it wasn’t until I really thought about the scene later on that I realized, wait, that scene wasn’t good! they are not helping her, they are just acting as if they know her pain, they are simply shifting Dani’s hopelessness to anger even though they're the ones that caused the hopelessness in the first place

This is a tactic not only used by cults, but by many people who want to indoctrinate you, as a simple example, think of all of those alpha male channels that play into the insecurities of men to tell them that women are the problem.

This is why people think the ending is a happy ending, their fear is shifted to anger, and they feel relieved when Chris is burned, just as the cult did with Dani

TL,DR: no one is immune to propaganda, so be on the look out for ways people might want to indoctrinate you

#midsommar #media analysis #movie analysis #you're not immune to propaganda #good for her #good for her movie

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salt-cedar · 6 months

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I haven't finished BES yet and it's really good but one thing that has royally pissed me off is madame Kaji. Like, nothing about her and what she does in her episode makes sense.

First of all, the way this show depicts prostitution is either childishly naive or very disingenious. There is this whole monologue about desires and about how knowing one's desires is the key to knowing your soul and purpose... set in a brothel? Like, the message is cool and deep and all but not when it is about paying people to endure your fucking self-reflection journey. Prostitutes are not consensual participants of the sex. The money exchanged are not a gift or a token of appreciation, they are to buy consent - which by definition makes it not consent anymore. Sex with prostitutes is not a mutual connection where they both open up and explore themselves and each other. While madame Kaji is monologuing we are shown different scenes from this supposedly kinky brothel. We see a prostitute writing on one man's body; another client being slapped and then having a threesome with a woman and a man; then we see shibari performed on a man by a woman. Conviniently all three activities are being done to a male client by a prostitute, not vice versa. Do you honestly think that the majority of income of brothels is generated by men paying to be subjected to things? Not by paying for subjecting mostly women to all sorts of actions, most of them humiliating and violent? And in a brothel famous for their special services, don't you think that this would be much more disturbing? But then it wouldn't fit the pretty narrative I guess.

But back to madame Kaji. After all, this monologue is performed by her for a supposed client, it can very well be not representative of her true opinion (although too bad that she seems to trick the series' audience as well). Her story about meeting Kinuyo is nonsence. I'm so sick of a trope of wise and protective madame on TV, istg. A madame is a pimp!!! They are the same! This show for some reason condemns pimps as "flesh traders" while completely leaving madames out of it and it's insane. A madame is a slave owner. The pay that prostitutes historically recieved in a brothel is symbolic. A madame is not here to care for them and protect them, she is there to manage them and often could be more harsh and unforgiving than a pimp because she either has a background in prostitution or is constantly at risk to fall back into it. She is a class traitor who's survival depends on how well she grooms and primps other women for abuse. But a girl sold to madame Kaji's establishment tells her she doesn't want to deal with men, and madam Kaji is like, ok girlie, no probs? WHAT? Does this imply that all the other girls... want to deal with the men 100% of the time? Or do they take vacations and breaks depending on the mood? Didn't seem like it by the interactions that we've seen.

And that is not to mention that also a lot of things Kaji does are plainly stupid. Let's say, she felt sentimental about Kinuyo, ok. She then leaves the young, pretty and fragile girl by her side, knowing very well what town they are in and what business they are in. She "spares" Kinuyo but actually leaves her very vulnerable in a very dangerous place. What happened next was really a question of time.

The worst offender is, of course, the order that she gives to Mizu. It's played off as something touching and dramatic, when in reality it's stupid and cruel. First of all, by ordering to kill Kinuyo instead of the mob boss, Kaji endangered everyone, including Kinuyo and herself. The dude was a mob boss, if he suddenly got killed, I'm sure there are too many parties interested in that to really lead back to Kaji's brothel. But by ordering to kill Kinuyo she might as well leave him a note with her name and legal address. Again, there was no way for this to end any differently than it did. Then, the reason for the order is to "free Kinuyo from her suffering" because Kaji feels that she failed her. Assuming for some reason that Kinuyo would want to be set free this way (which she didn't, as we know). I can give the showrunners at least this: I find it very plausible that a madame would pay her debts at the expense other woman. Therefore I don't find it touching, I am disgusted.

So that's one time Kaji has endangered her establishment and all the girls that she supposedly cares for. But she actually does it three times in one episode. After placing a hella obvious order on Kinuyo's life she immediately proceeds to tell Mizu the secret entrance to the Fowler's palace, which she knows because she and her prostitutes use it when he summons them. She, among many characters, is sure that Mizu will find her death there, but even if she did, wouldn't an attempt prompt an investigation of where exactly this blue eyed vigilante learned about the secret gate? And isn't there only one source to learn this, again, making Kaji's role in this really obvious? (Plus, Mizu was seen in her brothel and with her by many people). That's Kaji endangering herself and everyone around her second time per episode.

And then, the third time she did when she accepted Akumi, knowing very well on sight that she is nobility. That is mind-numbingly stupid, like, I'm starting to think Kaji is braindead at this point. She investigates nothing about Akumi, specifically about her family and whether they are alive and stuff. Because a) if they are alive and searching for her, and find her "ruined" by Kaji, that might as well be the end of her brothel. Maybe a bit less violent than from the hand of Fowler or that mob boss, or maybe more. She doesn't know and doesn't care to find out. And b) the show once again forgets that a madame is not your friendly auntie who may be a bit lewd but overall has a heart of gold. The profit that she could make selling Akemi is not comparable to the reward for getting her back to her parent(s) and swearing silence to them! Kaji would've been the first person to sell her out, both for her own safety and profit!!!

She is easily the worst written character in the show, and overall so bad that it made me somewhat reconsider watching till the end.

#blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai spoilers #blue eye samurai critique

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sflow-er · 10 months

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After reading The Magic Trick You Didn't See, the essay by @ariaste, I've got some thoughts on Maggie and Nina (well, mostly Maggie) that I kind of want to write down to make sense of them. I'm putting them under the cut to spare anyone who isn't interested in GO2 or hasn't seen it yet and doesn't want to be spoiled.

[Before I start rambling, I want to stress that I haven't really been active enough in the GO tag to know if a similar theory has already been presented. Also, I realise I could be way off the mark here, this is pure speculation!]

So to recap the basic premise of the essay mentioned above, much of what we see in GO2 could have been altered by the Metatron using the Book of Life, aka. the Chekov's gun that never went off. I'm not sure if I subscribe to every aspect of that theory (for example, I do think that wee Morag really died, and that it's possible Aziraphale only started drinking alcohol in the 1900s, although I'll admit some of the bits where he turns it down are harder to explain than others).

What I do fully agree on is that Maggie often feels more like a character than a real person in this fictional world. Something about her just feels off. The essay cites many great examples, such as her abrupt mood swings and her uncanny valley reactions (especially her line at the ball, about how suddenly knowing the steps is "just what we do", and her zoning out right before the demons attack and then suddenly starting to antagonise them).

Anyway, this got me thinking. If Maggie was a character written by the Metatron, why and when would he have started writing her in the first place?

Well, what if there was cleanup to be done after Adam fixed things at the end of GO1? All the events of that week were altered, but what about everything that happened before? Because that's the thing that jumps out to me about his line to the Devil: "You're not my father, and you never were." Meaning he also altered the past.

Which begs the question, if Adam was never the Antichrist, what became of The Chattering Order of St Beryl? Did it ever exist at all? Did Hastur still destroy the convent and kill most of the nuns? After all, the book says their sole purpose in existing was to deliver the Antichrist - who never was, as of the end of GO1.

Keep in mind that the burning of the convent happened eleven years before the events of GO1. I assume there would be a lot more paperwork involved in bringing to life people who already moved on from the earthly plain over a decade ago. They wouldn't even have a life to come back to, which is where the Book of Life could come in.

Now, I know Neil has said that Maggie and Nina are not the same people as Sister Theresa and (Sister) Mary in GO1...but that would still hold true even if they were just altered versions of themselves.

I'm not sure about Mary/Nina. It's possible that Adam himself changed her, as she was still alive at the time of the shift. Maybe her parents didn't raise her as Satanist after all (as they did in the book), or they didn't give her a biblical name like Mary, or she changed it. Or perhaps Nina was always her real name, but she became Mary when she took her vows and kept it when she became Mary Hodges. Perhaps this is what her life would have looked like if she never joined the Order.

It's also just as possible that she really is a different person who simply looks the same, much like Beelzebub is the same person who simply looks different. Either way, she remains a real human person.

As for Theresa/Maggie... Well, we don't know how she was raised, or if Theresa was her real name, or anything else really. I don't think that matters as much either, because the main point is that she already died 11 years ago.

It's mentioned time and again that people can't just be resurrected willy-nilly, and it's left quite unclear how Adam's powers worked, exactly. Perhaps God told the Metatron to smooth over the ripples (after all, the whole thing was part of Her plan all along, and She usually leaves it to the angels to implement Her plans). The Metatron then decided it was easier to make up new characters based on the people who died years ago than to truly bring them back to life, much like the angels in the Job minisode figured that giving him seven new children was even better than resurrecting the old three.

And since the Metatron was creating Maggie anyway and had the power to write her a completely different life, why not take the chance to also place her close to Aziraphale? The Metatron plays a much more intricate game than most of the angels, and he's extremely committed to seeing the plans through. Surely it would occur to him to keep tabs on the dangerous rebel who consorted with a demon and played a big part in stopping the first part of Armageddon, in case the two of them tried to meddle in the second part as well.

So, by a few strokes of the Metatron's heavenly pen (or keyboard), Aziraphale is suddenly Maggie's landlord in GO2. Of course, it's normal for shows to introduce new characters by making existing ones act like they were there all along...but if we accept the premise that Maggie isn't actually real, Aziraphale never even mentioning his tenant when the bookshop burned down and the world was about to end in GO1 definitely works in our favour.

Anyway. I'm not sure how serious I even am about this theory - it only just came to me this morning, and I wanted to write it down to get it out of my head. So if you disagree or think it's too farfetched, that's totally fair!

#good omens #good omens theory #good omens spoilers #good omens season 2 #good omens season 2 spoilers #good omens 2 #good omens 2 spoilers #maggie good omens #metatron good omens #nina good omens #not yr

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ntls-24722 · 10 months

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God please, I want to marry all your DJ designs

That question for all of the DJs

Will you merry me Mr music man ?💍

Not:(LOVE YEAR ART)

#DJ MM LOVER FOR LIFE

THANK YOU BOOK AGARGARGAGH🦀

but as for the proposal...

this is an ambitious ask to answer, because of right now, there are 62.5 DJMMs out of the list of 86 Music Men and counting i have

and i am going to personally go on the mission to draw... each of their responses.

But I should probably eliminate the ones that are taken just to make this easier since it'll just be a hard "no,I'm taken" and Deejay Memento Mori + Meeboop are kids, so they're also eliminated, which leaves us with.... 44.

like... slightly more manageable.

I haven't talked about a lot of these guys, So I'll put a little desc for each!

Without further ado

"Will you marry me?"

1. Clavier! Sorry, it's a little hard for her to imagine marrying anyone after she killed her girlfriend on the day said girlfriend was going to propose to her. That's what being a religious fanatic drove her to do, not out of a devotion to a god, but in order to ensure herself an afterlife. The concept of a soul and a supposed afterlife for everything with a soul for someone without a soul and has seen nothing after her death, is very troubling

2. Lieutenant Armadillum is a requested MM based off of the prompt of just. "rolly polly." So I made her a part of security. With all those armored plates I wasn't sure what else she could be. She can be nice, but she takes everything literally, or as an order, and has a problem with volume control. Congrats to you and your new, loud wife

3. Walbergi/The Entertainer Piece... um. Hmm. I was almost not going to put him here because I would think he's more similar to MM than DJMM but him alongside the next two are actually just pieces of DJMM, all his jobs just assigned to their own Music Men. Walbergi (and the eliminated singer duo Lovebugz, which namely are taken) Are composers/musicians, but Walbergi is specifically a mantis entertainer that has the entire dancefloor as his wings. He is also really arrogant and feels superior to everyone around him... including you. Sorry.

4. The Security piece is, to some degree, also arrogant. At least he's quieter. He's the bouncer, and he has accepted your request, but with his constant desire and and usually ready opprotunity to beat the tar out of things he's around, I'm not entirely sure if that's a good thing.

5. Custodian Piece! He's the janitor and he's very lonely since he spends most of his time in the tunnels and slithering across the floor to clean it, he's kind of a people pleaser and would be over the moon to be proposed to. I'm not sure if he's good for hugs considering his entire underside is a mop. he recplaces it often, he showers yes, but he is also a full time custodian... i'm not sure if the feeling of hugging a damp wet mop would ideal

6. Polybius. um. Not sure what to say? He's haunted, he's enourmous, and he's single, and ready to mingle (htough, take caution, because he might be trying to trick you into playing a game and hypnotising you. or something.) Gamer bf?

Blood and organ exposure (more like an organ diagram, ish) below the cut!

7. The masquerader. Now we're getting into the SOS lore section of the list. This guy was the first success in shapeshifting, and could've been a lot more if he didn't try to escape by killing and taking the identity of a researcher. It almost worked, but he messed up the eyes. Typically, you only have 1 pupil in each, not 3. He was shot dead the moment his back was turned, and totally died. He doesn't like humans... at all. Sorry.

8. The entertainer does, though! He's the one survivor of the brain surgery done to instill robotic motions and an "algorithm" for their behavior. He died not due to surgery, but being left to starve to death, but in his lifetime he was able to figure out that the scientists in the Oort Cloud are not there on their own will, and he convinced the Vanessa of SOS to do something about it. Nonetheless, he doesn't have the same resentment, and he accepts your proposal, mostly due to having no idea what marriage is.

9. In SOS, the mastering of shapeshifting was a detrimental time for the creations of the Oort cloud, as now they could make living concept art. While some were whimsical re-imaginings of what the final product could be, like a more welcoming and humanoid "bee" design, some were made for shits and giggles, which is a horrifying concept when someone has to live through being a living product of "shits and giggles." Nonetheless, this bee is a queen bee, made her own hive, and does not want any other royalty around, especially not human royalty.

10. Dolomedes is another weird concept, less based off an idea but from a pre-designed mask - a fisherman... who has no idea what a fish is. His head is in the clouds, and he accepts the proposal.

11. Lucorum is not just any member of the queen's hive, but the queen's personal guard and is the loud and proud bestie of Dolomedes. That being said, she cares few for any other people. Sorry.

12. This is just one individual from a massive colony of asexually reproducting failures for shapeshifting - instead of exhibiting changes to themselves, they literally have a new person grow out of them that instead exhibits those changes. Most of them don't feel romantic attraction - And due to human trauma like 99% of anything from the Oortcloud, none of them would accept the offer.

13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. Volupe's polycule may be a very open relationship, but none of them at least even know you. The council has decided not to accept the proposal.

This will be continued soon. I just need a while to draw + write the rest (ToT)

#ntls-24722 #djmm #dj music man #(almost) daily music man #THE PROPOSAL THREAD #there are so many inconsistencies #and this ask was in no way intended to be answered this way #but i have started this mission #and by god i'm going to finish it

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cardhoarder · 8 months

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Since there don't appear to be much stuff for wizard101 Halloween in the fanwork space I ended up coming up with my own ideas that is roughly 4/5 outline and 1/5 headcanon for a possible story. I probably won't write it but I would still like if people added their own ideas or something so I could talk about it with others. I put it under the readmore because it's kinda big.

wizard101 Halloween

happens after wizard city is cleared out but before going to krokotopia.

YW= young wizard Ey/Em

pre-halloween- YW sees the preparations some of their classmates are making and asks about them (use penny dreadful as a character here for introducing it) there is a weird similarity yet difference with the traditions. maybe question that. YW is told about the pumpkins and the phrases and also reminded to go bobbing for apples going to the pumpkins is also spread out throughout the whole month so that the wizard can go through everywhere.it can also function as a way to encourage new students to explore the rest of wizaed city if they haven't already. also the pumpkins give out candy or equivalent.(based on mental state maybe?)(headcanon?: the candy dissapears at the end of the month so it's encouraged to do your trick or treating befire then)then its October and people start putting out their pumpkins and decorations and also, Jack appears. seeing something new pop up that is clearly unusual and not yet being tired of magical stuff, YW goes to talk eith them and starts on the quests. ey take a bit to figure out how to catch the ghosts but manage after a few days. (headcanon that this experience is basically the first experience ey have with monstrology). [check if jack is known by the people in his dialogue or not]. YW does only one quest a day at most because there is no rush. also catching ghosts is actually pretty hard and they will often only get a few each day. then one of their friends mentions having seen them all around wizard city recently to which YW responds with casually mentioning that ey're helping Jack out. this gets a response of surpise because (ey're friend wasn't aware that jack was more than a myth(insert myth joke here)/ey're friend didn't know that he gave out quests). ey continues the quests and some of ey's friends join them on the way and so they can get their own candy. this makes catching the ghosts a lot easier. on some of these days the request to defeat the boss in a tower is given so ey go with one of their friends to the tower and win after a tough fight. then ey've done pretry much everything so Jack congratulates em and gives a gift of some sort (maybe something ghostly aligned?). then em relaxes for a few days and catches up on homework and stuff before eir friends invite em to go trick or treating with them [can either stop here or show a few scenes of trick or treating]

Also, the streets of wizard city are clear of mobs after defeating the minions of malistaire so there is no worry about those.

headcanon: the dueling circle is the first magic every aspiring wizards learns and is what marks them as such as opposed to many other things they could be with magic. it is a circle specialized for summoning and dueling purposes and makes using and directing magic a lot easier.

#wizard101 halloween #wizard101 fandom #wizard 101

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utilitycaster · 2 years

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Hi hi! This actually isn’t a critical role specific question from me, but you said you’ve been a DM, and I was wondering if you have any tips or tricks for beginners at running a table?

Thank you!

So, DM-ing is a lot of things and it's hard to give a succinct summary so feel free to narrow it down, but here's a few things I have found useful that I haven't found easily elsewhere, or are particularly good notes from things I've watched/read. (For fans of actual play - Matt did some DM tips for G&S back in the day and obviously the GMs of Exandria Roundtable with him, Brennan, and Aabria is good; Brennan's Adventuring Academy is also good and can be listened to as a podcast if that's easier, as can Dungeon Court on NADDPod. The last one isn't explicitly GM tips but Murph is probably the GM whose style I try to emulate most and there's a lot amidst the wacky questions that is worth keeping in mind about how to approach problems as a DM). Also, I failed to keep up with Three Black Halflings but they also had good DM-ing tips.

Don't be scared to say no. Don't be too rigid, but sometimes you are going to have to give a flat no. A lot of people won't do this because they're nonconfrontational or have absorbed too much of the "D&D is fun! Do whatever you want!" philosophy and haven't actually considered that a lot of people do want structure, that one player constantly trying to break the game isn't fun for anyone else at the table, and because the only things the players know about the world and how it works is what comes out of your mouth, you need to provide a consistency within said world. Also sometimes people will be like "can I be this broken-ass build I found on Reddit that deals 700 damage per round but requires a deliberately unintuitive misread of the rules" and you can just be like "nope!" and save everyone a lot of annoyance.

Have a session zero; make sure the party makes sense for each other and for the world and story. Also make sure whatever other tools you use work for everyone. I've said this before but: I play over Discord and I'm often looking at my notes. I'm not going to see someone throw a red card if they're uncomfortable, so I tell my players at the beginning that they will need to speak up if they're uncomfortable, and it's worked out well. Some meta advice on what other DM-ing advice to take: do not listen to the wack jobs who say there is only one way to run a table and that it is coincidentally theirs. Find something that genuinely works for your entire group, what you want, and how you play.

Things to set in the session zero: basic world/party comp including if there's any classes/races/subclasses that don't make sense for said world; absolute no-gos for players (ie, the trigger/this isn't fun for me list) and how you will handle discomfort that arises in the game; house rules. I don't believe in doing most house rules early on - play things generally as written or at least intended until you find something that your group needs that isn't in the standard rules - but I do usually play with Matt's resurrection rules rather than the standard D&D ones but I check with the players first about this.

I think Aabria said she usually plans around the length of the session for each session, and this is pretty reasonable. When I've done significantly less planning than that it's been rough, and usually I don't find that I need significantly more.

Everyone always says "if it's your first time DM-ing, use a module" and like, no one ever does, but consider doing so. It is way easier.

Mistakes happen and don't be too hard on yourself! But also if things are going super off the rails or your players seem very confused, or if the players make a wild but valid choice, it is ok to take a break. You're human; you can say "hey, I'm worried we're not on the same page" or "hey, you did something cool but also I did not prep for that, give me 10 minutes."

CR ratings are really more vague suggestions. I've used kobold fight club to try to build encounters but also I think it's helpful to just accept your first few encounters might be kind of weak, and scale things from there once you get a better feel.

The best part of the GM Roundtable was all of them but notably Brennan talking about how the goal of a DM is to guide the players towards the most interesting resolution because solving things too quickly isn't a story.

It's ok to be on rails. Don't force people outright into choices, but you can guide people towards something specific; a full sandbox-y world is really hard to do. This is also why modules are good because that expectation is set.

Reward good RP. It doesn't need to be mechanical rewards (though someone who's been making consistently interesting and dedicated choices deserves an occasional treat, imo) but if you have players who aren't just running through the basic rules but are actively making creative choices or doing excellent character work and engaging with your world, at the very least make sure they get rewarded with good story.

You are a player too; this is what D&D Court from NADDPod is very good at hammering home. You want to make it a good time for the players! You're also doing TONS more work and if a voice is wrecking your throat, if a topic makes you uncomfortable, or if the party is refusing to follow plot hooks, have a conversation. I think a lot of advice skews either really heavily towards "everything is for the players and you should sacrifice yourself for them and anything less is selfish and mean" or else "the DM is god and if the players don't make the right choice then that's their fault" and neither is correct. You're a player; you're also doing more work. If your plot doesn't interest anyone, then no one's going to have fun, so revisit (and perhaps run a longer/more extensive session zero and do a post mortem, because you are allowed to want to run a specific type of story but you might have needed to be clearer with the players); if an NPC is hard to play you can come up with a reason to change them a bit to make it easier; and if a topic makes you uncomfortable, you're also allowed to throw the metaphorical red card.

Really, I think the biggest theme for all of the above is "don't be afraid to stop and talk if things are in any way not working; do not let a fear of confrontation or breaking immersion set you down a path where no one is having fun."

This was all more on the order of general philosophy so again if you have specifics on like, how to pick monsters or whatever, feel free to ask those, but I find there's often a lot of advice on those specifics and much less on the above. Good luck!

#answered #fearne-and-fire #d&d #long post

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engie-ivy · 7 months

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Hello! Just had a question

How do you manage to write so much? I want to write more but I never seem to make time for it or find inspiration

Do you have any tips or tricks?

Thanks :))

Hi!

Thank you for your question!

Oh, I actually always feel like I'm writing too little😋 I often get ideas that I do not end up writing, and I have plans on how to continue A Far Cry From Perfect that I really want to write, but still haven't gotten myself to do, because I keep prioritizing the oneshots😅 I think it's because the oneshots are more... instant gratification? You post a complete fic and are curious what people will think, but a chapter from my WIP usually takes me a lot longer.

I think I manage to write a lot because it's just really my hobby? Whenever I have a night or a weekend to myself, sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee, or while watching TV, or while traveling by train, I just love writing. I guess it also helps that I'm alone a lot, so I can more easily find moments to write.

As for inspiration, I suppose I just think of Sirius way too much😂, so I keep imagine scenarios in my mind. That's actually something I've always done, and then a couple of years ago I started to write them down.

I do not think this helped much, but maybe it helped a bit? In any case, you can always reach out!

#thank you for your message!

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jeanharlowseyebrows · 7 months

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twenty questions for fic writers

tagged by @raylangivins, thank you!!! i've never done one of these and it was fun to think about.

How many works do you have on ao3? so i've actually had like. a lot of ao3 accounts. some of which are still around and some that i have sent on to greener pastures. my 1d fic is #gone but not forgotten <3. for simplicity's sake i'm just going to do my current ao3 account even though all of the works on it are very Indie and Niche and therefore not super widely read. all that being said: 9.

What’s your total ao3 word count? 38,034

What fandoms do you write for? i'm not really like a super single fandom driven writer, if that makes sense. i don't tend to write and write and write continuously for the same fandom. like traditionally i will have one (1) idea per fandom and once it happens then it's done. i've written more yellowjackets fic than any other fandom, but i think that's because there are so many characters and i can muster one fucked up little scenario for each of them. also there are far more fandoms represented in my google docs than what i've published on ao3.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? well. taking into consideration that i don’t really have many kudos on any of my stories (again. niche. indie.), these are the top 5:

something holy (the borgias) soft as cotton, tender as kiss (the haunting of hill house) at every mouth his teeth a sinner champ’d (yellowjackets) princess diana (yellowjackets) the scaffolding of the human body (yellowjackets)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? i always try to! for one, i don't really get that many, so it's easy to reply, and i do really like talking about writing and hearing what people liked, what they didn't like, etc. one of my favorite things to do as a reader is to leave long as shit wordy ass comments on stories i've really enjoyed and i really enjoy when people do that for my stories too. it's just cool to hear what stood out to someone, what they really enjoyed, what they felt. it's rewarding to get feedback and i don't want someone to feel like they've left me a comment and i've ignored them.

What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? ummmmmmm i would say most of them lean towards angsty/bittersweet? love with claws and teeth (yellowjackets) is probably the most angsty lol sorry taissa turner </3

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? again none of them are really… like… overjoyed. one might be tricked by something holy but in my mind, what lurks around the corner for them is Not Good and therefore the ending is not necessarily NOT happy but that's only because they haven't gotten to the unhappiness yet.

Do you get hate on fics? i haven’t yet but it would certainly be intriguing interesting and compelling if i did.

Do you write smut? rarely. like i try but it’s not my strong suit so i don't do it very often. also i wouldn't say the majority of my fic like. needs it? i'm not typically writing the kind of fic where one might expect explicit sex.

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? i write crossovers in my mind and nowhere else. actually i did publish a crossover as a kid on ff dot net and it was stand by me/the outsiders and i specifically remember a scene taking place in a junkyard and people jumping off the tops of junked cars. so obviously it was very normal and good.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? i don’t think so but who knows. the internet is a vast place.

Have you ever had a fic translated? i don’t think so! but it would be fun if i did!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? not really, i don't think i would be very good at it. i am far too attached to the sound of my own voice and also i'm bossy and particular

What’s your all-time favorite ship? this is just too difficult of a question. i've read sooooooooo many ships across soooooooooo many fandoms. like i'll literally read anything i'm not picky. probably my most frequently read ships are like the big standards - deancas, stevebucky, etc. - but that's just because they're very available.

What’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will? realistically most of them. i finish maaaaaaaaybe 10% of the things I start.

What are your writing strengths? i really enjoy my own close third person narration lmao. also i think i’m good at like taking little details and creating a scene. otherwise known as imagery (#writing)

What are your writing weaknesses? cannot for the life of me come up with a plot ever

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? it's not something that's necessarily come up for me but if i did it, i would want to know someone who spoke whatever language it was who could help me make it seem very natural and well-placed. i would be extremely reluctant to try like a google translate type thing.

First fandom you wrote for? 1986 classic stand by me, which i just went to my old fanfic dot net account to double check. published in 2006 lmfao

Favorite fic you’ve written? i don’t know if it’s my favorite but i think devotional was kind of a departure for me and maybe stands out for that reason. i still really like the writing style. it’s more sparse than i usually tend towards and also written in present tense, which isn't usual for me. i just think it’s kind of evocative and lyrical and nice and it'd be fun if more people read it lmao

tagging @elliecreed @haniawritesthings @chasingfictions @r-osehips

#writing #sorry if anyone i tagged already did this and also sorry if it's weird to tag when we don't really talk.......#i just wanted to tag people who i know write!#these tagging games are like a specific tumblr brand of anxiety. What Is The Etiquette

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safyresky · 9 months

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Always

Summary: During their stay with the Amazons, Dite asks Jacqueline an (admittedly loaded) question. Or: The day Jacqueline fell very very hard for Dite and had 0 idea for a solid 300 years.

---

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" Jacqueline blinked once, very slowly, before coming back down to earth. "Oh! Yeah, absolutely. What's up?"

Dite bit her lip, pulling her braid forward and petting it. She frowned, her wings fluttering anxiously. "So like, it's a bit of a weird question. Maybe. Um, I think maybe you may not want to answer it? I think it's crossing a few boundaries but like. These past few months with you have been really, really fun!"

Jacqueline laughed. "I like that your idea of fun involves a whole lot of violence."

"We're learning ancient fighting techniques from the Amazons themselves! It's GREAT knowledge to have and absolutely EYE OPENING and we are rocking these outfits!"

"I like the detail in the chest plates," Jacqueline said, poking hers. There were swirls and ferns all over it, snowflakes twirling about at the edges of the details. "And there's some cool tricks we're learning too!"

"YEAH! It's FUN!" Dite said, hands up in the air, wings mirroring her.

Jacqueline laughed, loudly and from the heart. Her eyes lit up; the wind gently blew her loose hairs back, the thawed tresses lifting in the breeze.

"I've seen this whole different side of you," Dite sighed, looking up fondly and stretching out her legs. The waves crashed on the shore, the surf almost hitting their feet. "It's so…free! And full of joy! I never knew you were this…happy?"

"You said that like it was a question."

"It’s not the word I wanted. It's just…whenever we’ve met at work, when you got back from um. Your…"

"Recovery?"

"Is that what it was?"

Jacqueline looked thoughtful for a moment, shrugging. "You could say that, yeah. That and being like, way too small to go to important meetings like that on my own."

"You’re still small."

Snow hit her leg; she laughed, grabbing what she could before it melted and plopping it right on the sprite's head.

The sprite laughed, grinning up at the goddess beside her. A big, toothy grin that stretched from ear to ear. She lifted her hand, a pile of snow appearing in her palm, and plopped it on top of her head.

"Plop!" she said, still wearing that goofy grin.

Dite laughed. "Is that even comfortable?"

"Is for me! Cold doesn't bug me at all," she said with a warm smile, the snow already melting down her back.

"You’re so silly. And goofy! I like that a lot! I like that I got to meet this side of you. You’re always so…reserved during summits, and during our legate meetings, you’re not as reserved but you’re still a little. Y'know. Cautious, I guess. But here, as we've been hanging out and learning and vacationing sort of, it's this whole new you I've met! But like, it's not a new you. I think it actually is you and you’re very careful to guard your you. What I'm trying to say is, I think you're the most fun person I have ever met and I cannot express enough how much it means to me that you shared yourself with me!"

Jacqueline blinked, feeling her face getting very hot as she flushed. AGAIN. What was it about this girl that made her get all blushy and uncomfortably warm? She felt like she was gonna burst into flames.

"Oh, I've flustered you again, haven't I? I'm sorry."

"It’s okay! I'm not very…I don’t really…um. I don’t have a lot of friends? Most of them have died because, y'know, humans and stuff," she scratched the back of her neck, frowning thoughtfully. "I think that takes a toll after a while, you know? And it gets easier, but also…it doesn't. And I'm not. I don't. It's. Hmm. I don’t have a bad rep, but I'm kinda stuck under a not so great one and a lot of magibeans tend to uh, assume the worst. But you…you don't! You didn't. There's only been one other person in my life who's done that, and it still kinda throws me off every so often."

"Oh?" Dite asked, trying to ignore the little itty bitty pang of jealousy that suddenly turned up. "Who's that?"

"Bernard? Santa's arch elf?"

"Oh! He's nice! I like him," she said with a fond smile. "You're friends?"

"I think so! I'd say we hang out a lot but like, mostly I go bother him when I'm feeling down or something crazy happens that I'm too afraid to tell my parents about," she said, pulling her legs up and hugging them. "He's always been very sweet and nice with me, and lately he's been snarky and I'm kind of liking it, actually! It's different! More fun."

Dite was relieved to feel it wasn't in a like-like way (pros to being Cupid's Legate and also daughter, she suspected). "Banter's fun."

"It kind of is!"

In the distance, the clatter of swords on shields rang out. The waves kept crashing, seagulls squawking high above them.

"Why are you alone?" she asked, pulling up her own legs.

"What do you mean?"

Dite let out a puff of air, her breath blowing a stray hair off her face. "They didn't tell us what happened. Just that something had happened, and we wouldn't be seeing you for a bit. Then you came back from your recovery, and you were alone. Forgive me if I'm crossing boundaries; I don’t mean to. And maybe I'm way off base with where we're at, and I shouldn't ask at all! But I'm gonna. The question I wanted to ask you was about all…that. What happened?"

Somehow, the sprite managed to make herself even tinier. She hugged her legs tighter, burrowing her nose between her knees. She looked so sad; so hurt.

Dite immediately felt a pang of regret.

"I'm so sorry, I shouldn’t have asked! I didn’t mean to ruin the mood."

"Oh, it's okay," Jacqueline replied. "You didn't bring down the mood." She shifted her head, forehead still on her arms, but eyes looking right into Dite's now. "My brother left."

"Oh," Dite said.

"Yeah. From what I've been told, it was probably a long time coming. Nobody thought it'd be as…explosive as it was, though. He got into a big fight with our Dad, and our Mom had to separate them. Elements went flying. Stuff was freezing. He whipped up this MAHOOSIVE storm," she leaned back, throwing her arms to the sides, palms out. "It tanked all of Crystal Springs for like, a week. Transportation was out all around."

"That must've been scary."

"I imagine it was. You see, um. I was a little bit unconscious. A lot maybe."

"Oh?"

"If you hear about what happened the day he left, everyone will tell you about the big old storm. It was bad! Ice storms are the nastiest. They freeze everything all while causing whiteout conditions. You can't see or go anywhere and the wind makes drifts and it's sucky conditions all around."

"Even for someone like you?"

"Actually they're kinda fun for someone like me. But this one wasn't. They talk about the storm all the time; and there were a couple of casualties. They were all healed, of course," she added quickly, sticking out a hand as if to reassure.

"Of course. The Springs."

Her fingers curled in; she brought her hand right back to her side. "Right. Yes. The Springs. Healed them. Once they were accessible, of course. And most everyone was able to handle their injuries until then."

"Nobody died."

"Somebody almost did."

"Who?"

Jacqueline looked over at Dite, a tinge of fear in her eyes.

"You?!"

She nodded.

"Oh no," Dite said, breathlessly. She put her hand up to her mouth, eyes wide and watery.

"Are you crying?"

"Not yet," she blubbered. "What happened? Are you okay? You almost died?!"

"Not yet," she repeated with a laugh, pulling her hair forward. She reached up, her fingers gently making their way through the braid and taking it apart. It was already falling; her hair did not like staying back. "I got caught in the crossfire."

"You went after him?"

She nodded. "I was small, you know? I had no idea what was going on but I knew that sometimes he'd do bad things. And it seemed like this was one of those times. It got really loud downstairs and he was late for our snow date so I went to see what was happening and found the downstairs hall an absolute ice rink, and Mom and Dad in the kitchen, hurt. Not moving. Awake! Talking, but stuck. My brother left. I followed him out. Words were said, and he hurt me."

"Not with words."

"No. I mean they hurt too, of course. But no." She sighed, her hand absentmindedly drifting to her midsection. "They've taught us about all sorts of weaponry here. Your bracelet is so full of charms now," she pointed to it, Dite lifting her wrist. The charms clinked together. "But they haven't taught us about one of the most dangerous weapons. Ice. I can shape it into anything," she said, a glowing palm coming up.

In it, a solid cube appeared. "I can make it round. Square. Soft. Hard..." As she spoke, the ice in her palm shifted, matching the shapes she was listing, and then the textures. "Sharp."

In her hand, the ice shifted; it poked outwards, growing sharp. "And if it's sharp enough, and thrown with enough force, well…"

Lifting her arm the way they had been taught with the javelins just last week, she launched the icicle. It hit the ground with a sharp shtick, sticking itself deep into the sand. It twanged, briefly shuddering before stilling and beginning to melt.

"He stabbed you."

"Three times."

"Oh god."

"I know. One minute I was looking up at him, telling him not to go, not to leave me. The next, a glow; then something sharp, and then everything went black. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in the Springs, looking into my mom's eyes. I've never heard her sob the way she did when I woke up. I've also never been squished as hard as I was by her after that."

Dite giggled. Her eyes widened. "Oh! I'm so sorry I should not have laughed--"

"It’s okay. I like your laugh. And it is kind of funny. The squishy bit, not the stabby bit."

"No, that's not funny at all!"

"I've got some sick scars now," she said. "You've seen them, I'm sure."

"I had noticed them, yeah. Gosh, I'm so sorry, Jacqueline. That's…a lot. And you were so small!"

"Apparently I still am," she joked, a thumb idly flicking away the wet under her eyes.

"You may be tiny but you are so, so tall to me. I mean, to go through all that, and do everything you've done to get here to this point? To survive? That's amazing."

"You think?"

"I know."

The lapsed into silence again. Dite's right wing hovered above Jacqueline, the goddess thoughtful.

"Do you miss him?"

Jacqueline stilled.

Dite glanced her way, concerned she had maybe turned herself to ice. But she hadn’t! She had just stopped idly swaying. Tears filled her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.

"So much," she admitted, the rest of the words smothered under a sob that clawed its way up her throat.

Dite's wing fell, encompassing the sprite and pulling her close. She shuffled in the sand, moving closer to Jacqueline and throwing her arms around her, bringing her in tightly. She did what her Mom did whenever Dite felt down; rubbed her back gently. Kept her wings around them. Murmured nice things in her ear like there there, let it all out. That's it. You'll feel better after a good cry, and so on.

The sprite uncurled, burying herself in Dite's chest plate. Droplets of wet began to appear in the sand around them, the poor thing shaking with how hard she was crying.

She didn't know how long they sat there. How long she held her little buddy. A silly little name that Jacqueline had laughed at, but now, Dite was thinking, maybe wasn't really...accurate? Appropriate? Whatever the word, it didn't feel right anymore.

The sun began to set, the glow of dusk reflecting in the sea. At some point as the sun went down, Jacqueline's shudders slowed, until finally she lifted her head off the chest plate. She sniffled, curling up against Dite's side until she could rest her head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. That was embarrassing. I didn't think I'd…gah! I'm sorry!"

"Don’t be! I asked. I'm sorry for bringing it up. I should've been a bit more tactful, maybe. I didn’t realize how traumatic…"

"Nobody does. Nobody ever asked. And nobody's really explained things to me, either."

"Is that why the wall?"

She nodded against her arm. "It's easier to interact with other magibeans if I keep myself on my toes. Easier to not get hurt if I shrug it off and carry on."

"Armour."

"Yeah. Speaking of…sorry about yours. It’s covered in Jacqueline gobber. I can buff it out."

Dite laughed. "It’s okay! Really," she said, squishing the sprite's shoulders in a very feathery side hug. "Thank you for telling me. I know you said you have Bernard, but if you ever want a change of pace, you can come to me, if you'd like."

"…would I get hugs like this?"

"Oh my gods absoLUTELY! I love hugs! And you seem like you need them."

Jacqueline snorted, snot going flying. "Oh, that was gross! Ew! Sorry!"

Dite laughed. "Snots happen."

"Thank you for asking," Jacqueline said, adjusting herself to sit more comfortably alongside Dite.

"Thank you for telling."

"Thank you for listening."

"Always."

#diteline #crystal springs #smile shots #dani writes #i was up SO LATE writing this lil idea!!!#it was tickling my brain a bunch lol #fun facts: jacquie is about 1600 ish here. so like. 16/17 in human years! dite is ????? bc she is a god and is like. ageless. sorta.#she looks like a young adult and only starts visibly aging after marrying jacqueline #bc she wants to get old with her! (which is at a very slow rate compared to humans lol)#fun facts round 2: a select amount of people actually know about the stabby bit of the dod #legates didn't fully know; legends were told. mn knew a week after it happened; blinter and jacquie knew from the get go of course. jack to #obvi lol #the seasons found out same time as MN and generally anyone who knows either learnt it from them. mn. or the cold front themselves #the general magical populous just knows that she was a casualty #amongst the many in the springs being treated for storm-related injuries once they could get through!#ANYWAY plz enjoy the diteline fluff! i sure fucking did #the comfort! the fluff! the BLORBOS!#screaming in the club. september is deffs giving diteline vibes

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thecaffeinebookwarrior · 1 year

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Hullo! I've been following you for quite some time, and a lot of your tips and tricks have been so helpful to me. I have completed a queer fantasy novel, but lately, my original plan of traditionally publishing it has been frightening me for numerous reasons. I know you've mentioned some online places to publish short stories before, but do you have some references/tips on how to self publish a novel? I really don't care about money or even fame - I just want to get my book out into the world so people can enjoy it. Thanks!

Thanks for asking, I really appreciate it!

It's interesting, over the years I become less inclined to answer questions from a position of authority, and more inclined to share my thoughts as a fellow student. The more I learn, the more I realize how little I know!

I have an approach to publishing that works really well for where I'm at currently: for my longer work (short stories, novellas, and articles) I most often publish traditionally, and for my very short work (micro and flash fiction, poems, very short prose, etc.) I most often self publish via social media or my personal blog.

I don't yet have any personal experience with publishing novels, traditionally or self-published, because I haven't done it yet! The longest work I published is a novella, which is longer than a typical short story but significantly shorter than a novel. I do have several novels that I'm "sitting on," because I haven't decided how I want to publish them yet.

I came close to traditionally publishing one, and actually signed a contract, only to realize that the publisher wasn't right for me; I asked for my rights back, and they were thankfully very nice about it. Even though I still love that book and intend to publish it, there's no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision, because the thought of publishing it "wrong" was nothing short of panic-inducing. Moreover, my writing and ability to portray characters has improved a lot since that attempt.

All this to say, I may have experience in publishing stories and articles, but when it comes to publishing novels, I'm very much in the same boat as you! I'm still feeling it out, and using my short story publication experiences as a way of gaining experience.

That being said, I will link you to someone who has been very successful with self-publishing, @jennamoreci, whose videos I often watch when contemplating if that path is right for some of my novels. Here is her playlist on publishing and marketing, which lays everything out very thoroughly.

I will likely put together a list of novel self-publishing resources sometime over the next couple of weeks, with the disclaimer that I can't yet personally attest to their efficacy. Nevertheless, it will probably also help me to have all the resources in one place as well!

In the meantime, here's to both of us learning what works for us, and how to share our characters with the world! Happy writing!

#publishing #my thoughts

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