#AND im seeing some things they could have tweaked in their research and

[tchaikovskym]

me: oh my god my idea is so stupid i will never be a scientist what am i even doing

publication from two weeks ago where authors did almost exactly the same thing i thought of doing: hi

me:

me: oh my god i will never have an original idea in my life i will never be a scientist what am i even doing

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

Hi, 👋 I’m currently in a writer’s block but also trying to note down some writing exercises to get me into the groove again. Do you have any exercise tips for writers?

PS: I just heard a cover of My Immortal (original song by Evanescence) and immediately thought of Good Omens. My brain is also connecting every song with Good Omens. Help!😅

Anyways, I hope you have a fantastic day/night whenever you’ll answer this!😊

HELLO ANON MAGGOT HELLO IT'S THE NIGHT AND I'M ON BLACK COFFEE AND YOU HAVE PICKED THE RIGHT PERSON TO ASK I'VE BEEN INHALING BOOKS ON WRITING FOR ALMOST AS LONG AS I'VE ACTUALLY BEEN WRITING.

OKAY NOW LISTEN YOUR LIL EARS UP. I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU SOME EXERCISES, AND THEN I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU ADVICE FOR WRITER'S BLOCK. GOT IT? KAY LET'S GO WRITERS.

FIRST, WRITING EXERCISES.

NOTICING. NOTICING, NOTICING, NOTICING. LOOK AROUND YOU AT THE THINGS YOU SEE, THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW, THE TEXTURES YOU FEEL, THE SOUNDS YOU HEAR, EVERYTHING. AND THEN WRITE THEM DOWN. JUST KEEP DESCRIBING. YOUR BRAIN MAY NOT BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH FRESH MATERIAL RIGHT NOW, BUT IT CAN DESCRIBE THINGS. A BONUS, THIS WILL REALLY HELP THE QUALITY OF YOUR DESCRIPTIONS, SINCE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO PICK INTERESTING DETAILS AND KNOW WHAT TO LEAVE OUT.

STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS WRITING. THIS MAY BE A BIT HARDER, BUT JUST START WRITING ABOUT WHATEVER COMES TO YOUR HEADS. ANY THOUGHTS, PUT IT DOWN. DON'T BOTHER ABOUT THINGS LIKE PUNCTUATION OR GRAMMAR OR SENSE. JUST KEEP WRITING WHATEVER ARRIVES. IF THIS GETS HARD, YOU CAN MAYBE FIND A PROMPTING WORD TO GET YOU GOING. A BONUS, THIS WILL TRAIN YOUR WRITING TO BE MORE SPONTANEOUS AND NATURAL RATHER THAN ARTIFICIAL OR MANUFACTURED.

WRITE WITH A PURPOSE. PICK ANY INCIDENT FROM YOUR LIFE, SOMEONE ELSE'S, ANY INCIDENT WILL DO AS LONG AS YOU HAVE ENOUGH DETAILS OR CAN COME UP WITH THEM. NOW WRITE THAT INCIDENT DOWN THE WAY YOU WOULD DESCRIBE A SCENE IN A BOOK, BUT WITH A CATCH: FIRST THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO CONVEY. FOR EXAMPLE, IF THE SCENE IS JUST YOU BURNING BREAKFAST WAFFLES, COME UP WITH DIFFERENT PURPOSES. FIRST WRITE IT WITH THE PURPOSE OF CONVEYING YOUR CLUMSINESS TO THE READER. THEN REWRITE IT WITH THE PURPOSE OF DEFENDING YOURSELF AND BLAMING THE FAULTY STOVE. THEN REWRITE IT WITH THE PURPOSE OF CREATING A SENSE OF FEAR AND AN ATMOSPHERE OF HORROR. THEN REWRITE IT AS A COMEDY. A BONUS, THIS HELPS YOU FOCUS YOUR SCENES AND KNOW WHAT DETAILS TO GIVE ABOUT AN EVENT TO SERVE THE SCENE'S PURPOSE IN THE STORY.

OKAY I'VE GONE ON A LOT IDK MAYBE Y'ALL WANT ME TO SHARE MORE WRITING EXERCISES? SOME I'VE LEARNED AND SOME I COME UP WITH IT'S ALL WILD. IDK LET ME KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT. I NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT WRITING ONCE I START.

AS FOR YOUR WRITER'S BLOCK:

LEARN MORE. ROBERT MCKEE SAID IN HIS STORY THAT WRITER'S BLOCK IS MORE A LACK OF INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR STORY AND YOUR WORLD. DO MORE RESEARCH ABOUT YOUR WORLD, CHARACTERS, STORYLINE, ETC. TAKE THIS WITH A PINCH OF SALT I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO DOWN A RABBITHOLE OF RESEARCH AND NOT WRITE.

REVIST THE STORY AND PREMISE. ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU HAVE WRITER'S BLOCK. COULD IT BE BECAUSE THE STORY NO LONGER AFFECTS YOU AS DEEPLY OR IT ISN'T AS IMPORTANT TO YOU ANYMORE? ARE THERE THINGS YOU NEED TO TWEAK SO WRITING IT IS SOMETHING YOU CARE MORE ABOUT? THIS ISN'T ALWAYS THE CASE BUT STILL. IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STORY IT'S UNREASONABLE TO EXPECT ANYONE ELSE TO.

WRITE SCENES OUT OF ORDER. OKAY, THIS IS HOW I FINISHED THE FIRST DRAFT OF MY DEBUT NOVEL. I JUST WROTE WHATEVER SCENE I FELT LIKE WRITING AT THE TIME. DURING THE SECOND DRAFT I REWROTE THE ENTIRE THING IN ORDER. BUT THIS WAY I KNEW I CARED ABOUT THE SCENE I WAS WRITING AND IT WAS AUTHENTIC. JUST SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HELP.

THERE ARE MORE BUT IG THIS POST IS GETTING LONG I HOPE THIS HELPED ANON MAGGOT GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR WRITING!!!!!!! IM SORRY THIS IS IN CAPS LOCK IT COULDN'T BE HELPED. HAVE A LOVELY DAY AND MAY YOU WRITE MANY WORDS.

PS: ALSO MY IMMORTAL JUST REMINDS ME OF @patoslover'S CURSED MY IMMORTAL X GOOD OMENS FIC NOW HELP

[logically-asexual]

i dont like having Logan’s role be reduced to “oh this sounds like x work of x philosopher/psychologist/sociologist/whatever” about any dilemma Thomas has.

i think the writers should very much do that research, pick one or a few works (number depending on the complexity of the episode) to base the episode on, and then just. not bring up the authors or the papers at all (of course you must cite your sources, but they can do that in the description)

Thomas or Logan can directly quote them but it has to be short and concrete, something one could believe Thomas just has memorized. but none of that “in this situation there’s x study by x author that applies. it says this and this and this.”

i am no professional writer but taking Embarrassing Phases as an example im going to say what i would do instead.

i wouldn’t have Logan say anything about this Eriksson guy or whatever his name was. the structure of the episode would be the same, but every time it was Logan’s turn to speak he would think for a moment and come up with the same conclusion by himself. he doesn’t go “this reminds me of the described social crisis Industry vs Inferiority” and then explain. he can just think and to “well you compared yourself and you felt inferior, but… its also true that there were other things in your life that made you feel better. i think that… that balance let you stay humble while you explored new things.”

you know what i mean? even if it’s a little crazy that Logan comes up with such a conclusion so fast, i think it’s easier that we suspend our disbelief and just see Logan as very smart, rather than believe that Logan is omniscient and has all these studies memorized. 

an episode like Embarrassing Phases can stay the same and it’s just a matter of a little tweaks. for some other episodes this might represent more work, because one has to rethink Logan’s dialogues so they make sense and he just doesn’t drop this info whenever it’s useful, he has to have time to figure it out, even if it’s in a span of a couple seconds. but i think it’s worth it. for the quality and credibility of the character.

[idyllic-affections]

Hi there! So its been while since i last sent my ask. How are you aph? There seem to be a lot of posts, so im going to ask about the ones im interested about!

First, HI LIAN!!! I saw Lian and I LOVE THEM, They look so cool (btw great drawing btw) and i have so many questions!! 1. Is Lian a high elder? If they are, which ship are they from? (The high elders are the only ones who has visible dragon features, normal vidyadhara only have pointy elf ears) 2. Since they’re in erudition, What kind of research do they speacialize in? 3. WHAT IS THEIR BACKSTORY!!!

Second, why must you break my heart with Kaveh and his younger sibling like BRO. WHY YOU GOTTA BE LIKE THAT!!!!!!! God the angst is hard, but for some reason, i could see kaveh’s younger sibling getting along with wanderer because yk mommy issues and similar personality, although i think at first they didnt get along with wanderer hat guy since he injured Kaveh during the akademiya extravanganza thing and if they have similar personalities then they’re going butt heads with eachother. Still i think Wanderer can understand where kaveh’s younger sibling is coming from. Also am i wrong to say that Alhaitham might have inspired them to join Haravatat??? 👀

Third, uhhh so what happens if bots start following you? (Also how do you know its a bot?)

Hope you have a great day/night btw!

(have you gotten my other ask about a trope idea i had about Archilles heel and a HSR x reader idea? I hope you dont mind me asking that)

- 🐱 Anon

OOODHSKSH i love talking about lian. i told my boyfriend about them last night. he had no idea what i was talking about BUT he listened anyway 🫶🫶

hsr spoilers utc. some of lian's details are still being tweaked and edited, so certain things may or may not change!

yes! lian is a high elder. you know how dan heng... does not really care about his past incarnation and his high elder-ship in general? lian was always a "I Do Not Want This Job" high elder, in most if not all of their incarnations. they're from the xianzhou zhuming originally, but have spent the last few hundred years on the luofu. dan feng's silly ass got them thrown in prison LMFAO lian spent many incarnations serving as a retainer for other high elders since they weren't particularly interested in guarding one of yaoshi's artifacts or leading a clan of their own or succeeding another high elder, but they still had some kind of duty and obligation that they had to fulfill. so. they did it by being a retainer.

well. many incarnations went by, and who was the most recent high elder who they served under? that's right. imbibitor lunae dan feng.

the difference between dan feng's relationship with them and their relationship with other high elders is that he ended up being like some kind of strange older brother figure to them, because almost immediately following their self-incarnation, they were placed under him as a retainer. so he--a bit older than them, probably 100-ish years older at the time--just had this little vidyadhara high elder kid following him around.

well. you know. things happened, and of course they supported him in his Sinful Behaviors and his Crimes. they got thrown in prison for an indefinite amount of time, which was a considerably more merciful punishment than dan feng's. anyway. jing yuan eventually lets them out (initially with the intention of returning them to prison, even if he felt like they deserved to be free) around the time blade and dan heng and yanqing have their interaction.

lian knows why he chose to free them briefly--jing yuan released them with the intention of using their loyalty to his and his companions' advantage, because he knew dan heng was around and he knew they would absolutely blitz anything that put him in danger, even if he is technically not dan feng. they tell the general off and run away when he initially releases them but they do pull through for him and the trailblazers during the fight with phantylia. and they apologize to him for telling him off bc they generally aren't that mean they're very kind and gentle actually and they're generally very logical and understanding of the nuances of situations. it's just that they were tired and angry :(

when dan heng's eternal banishment is lifted, so is their prison sentence.

but now the issue is lian doesn't really want to stay with the xianzhou alliance anymore. dan heng advises them to join the nameless (bro is like "i'm not dan feng" but has nightmares involving them that cause deeper and more stressful feelings which linger more than the other nightmares of his past life.....), to which they kindly--and a little shyly, still uncomfortable and unsure of how to interact with dan heng--accept... with welt's approval, of course.

and as an erudition pathstrider, they have always been fascinated by the universe and it's mysteries, but they haven't really had the chance to study that stuff in-depth until they joined the nameless. they're also quite skilled with mechanics and craftsmanship. they're from the zhuming after all! their skill is definitely not to be underestimated, even if they look too gentle and sweet to do any harm. himeko gets along with them very well and spends a lot of time just... talking with them, exchanging thoughts and perceptions about the universe.

lian hejehekshsksh <33

AJFMSJSKGAKAGAN YEAHHH a lot of you seemed to really enjoy that little brainrot kaiser and i had <3 wanderer and kaveh's younger sibling PLEASEEEE i definitely think the wanderer could understand them. and no, you're not wrong at all! alhaitham definitely inspired them to join haravatat.

i don't think anything bad really happens. i think it's just a personal preference to have real people following you HSNSHJFN.... the reason people always insist that new blogs customize their blog is because blank blogs (ones without a profile picture or banner or title) are ones that are indistinguishable from bots. basically, you can never know for sure, but blank blogs are kind of likely to be bots.

I DID GET YOUR ASK BTW it's okay!!!! dw about asking, i understand <33 i will reply soon!

[elephant-in-the-pride-parade]

12 and 14 please!

From the Unpublished Fic Asks? Sure! Lemme see..

12. How far have you planned ahead?

Usually this depends on how long the fic feels.

Feels like <20K I dont plan. I just start from whatever scene got me hooked and i spin the idea forward or back from there.

Feels like >20K. I usually write whatever scene got me hooked and then figure out the basic premise of every chapter. what are the major plot points i need to build out. I dont start writing anything else until I at least have all the tentative chapter titles and 1 big thing that will happen in them. Anything in the middle is usually pretty flexible but i need to know the ending or else i cant really get far.

Now where I get into trouble is fics like Out of Reach or Unbroken.

Out of Reach (Chakotay gets amnesia) I never thought it would get as long as it did and I had built it up to be quite big without knowing which ending i wanted. im still debating what i want there and how the characters can achieve it.

Unbroken (Basics rewrite) god i thought i had this one but the ending wound up being too vague. so that i had a hard time grasping the full shape of the story. and that's made writing the middle very complicated. i need the ending to make sense, have the gravity and impact that it needs to but that means the middle has to go just right. exploring that has been fun but definitely dont want to share more yet because i keep tweaking things.

14. Is there any unwritten/unpublished fics you planned on doing, but now you're feeling like you're gonna scrap those ideas?

Ive scrapped a lot recently...

mirrorverse-esque J/C. struggled with the characterization.

Pirates of the Caribbean AU J/C - it started as a killing game scenario but i really am not enthused by watching them lose. Then i thought it could be an interesting historical AU but the amount of research to give it the authenticity it deserves is more than I have time for. I think I'd still like to do it to see KJ Elizabeth Swanning all over the place. but maybe create it as its own unique holodeck adventure instead.

It's hard for me to say im truly scrapping any though because usually i canabalize the scrap heap and the ideas will wind up useful to some other fic. That was the case for my first Voyager fanfic. I envisioned Maquis Heart as a 3 part YOH alternate ending but while working on part 3 i realized i'd rather have it be the kick off for a longer story about what it was like reconnecting with Earth in Season 4. So i shelved that for later.

[n7punk]

okay fuck it, here’s the relevant info from some of the asks from the last 12 hours im deleting because this is getting so cluttered. under a cut because its just repeating what i’ve already posted about:

butch/femme refers to a sapphic’s (yes, all sapphics, do your research) gender presentation. this means clothes, makeup, hair, mannerisms, and even styles of speech. not everyone identifies with the scale, and as said previously, i dont think it really fits gender as we see it portrayed in etheria. furthermore, not everyone identifies with the scale, and sapphic relationships dont have to have “a femme” and “a butch”. one of more partners might not identify with the scale, or both might identify the same way.

in reference to adora’s femininity/wearing dresses: adora is happy with the dress she wears for princess prom. glimmer tries a variety of things in a montage. For some of the dresses, adora is obviously uncomfortable, and for others she is indifferent - she is focused on planning and isn’t actively bothered by the dresses so she just stays focused. the one she does end up with you can see her smiling and graciously bending down to let glimmer make a small tweak to her hair that doesn’t push her outside of her comfort zone. she found one that wasn’t too frilly, poofy, femme, etc. she even puts it back on for glimmer’s coronation. so like i said: adora is comfortable in the right dress, especially a dress that isn’t overly feminine. she wears a different dress of her own invention in the wish vision, showing she isn’t repulsed by the concept of dresses, though that dress is more about vulnerability than it is femininity. so yes, if you’re going to put a dress on them, put it on adora. catra is never shown in a dress once throughout the series. even horde prime gave her a bodysuit while all the clones wore robes.

i know there are people who headcannon adora as gnc or nb (hi, not knocking that, i am those things but i just don’t see her that way), but people can be those things and have long hair too. i KNOW butches with long hair and im in the process of growing out mine to have a ponytail undercut. i said it in the tags but if you legit think adora would ever cut her hair (unless its supposed to be a solidarity cut with catra, which i get) then you lack basic reading literacy. how much she cares about her hair is in pretty much every season (see, once again, hair envy with she-ra, the earliest mention off the top of my head is princess prom but its mentioned even before then im sure)

adora cares intensely about her hair, you can see it throughout the entire show, and there is no way she would ever cut it - not in canon, and so therefore she shouldn’t do it AUs either. and undercut with it still long up top I get because she can change things up while keeping her preferred style, but not short all around. hair seems to be one of the few ways in the horde cadets are generally allowed to express themselves. most cadets of one race/rank are wearing similar uniforms, but when it comes to hair, you have catra all untamed, rogelio’s ex-emo hair as a teen, lonnie’s undercut mohawk, adora’s ponytail and carefully-styled poof, etc. as such, you have adora never thinking about or changing her clothes, but caring a lot about her hair and its styling.

“walking with authority” isn’t masculine. adora walks with authority throughout the series because she has it. adora was always in favoured position - even when she was a cadet she was on track to become a force captain and could get away with things catra wasn’t allowed, as seen when they both break the rules and catra is exclusively blamed for it - and then she becomes she-ra, a powerful figure pretty much second only to queen angella, especially once the rebellion trusts her. catra, by contrast, was abused and punished. i guarantee you that shadow weaver could walk past adora dykespreading in the cafeteria and say nothing, and then walk past catra doing the same and lash her ankle, telling her to “sit up straight”. catra is a catgirl who walks with a different center of balance than adora does, so comparing their walking styles is kind of ridiculous (also, ascribing gender roles to walking styles is stupid, but people do it so i’ll digress). adora is soldier, barreling on ahead, whereas catra fights with a more acrobatic style. her entire style of movement is agility and stealth focused, and she is a soldier who has been training for those things her entire life, so of course it has bled over into the day-to-day way she holds her body.

[samwebsteruniblog]

Intervention and Interpretation

-Research and Experiments

The first thing we did after receiving the blog was a bunch of experimentations and workshops to get a better understanding of what the process is and how much there is to explore while creating a font. I had a few successful shapes and ideas however picking three to develop was challenging as I wanted to pick three that were totally different.

My design process consisted of sketches and using illustrator.

After picking my three I created some guides and I refined the analog work and the digital work to try and make the character more professional and polished. After this I went and created three letters for each font style, to help find the one that I would turn into a typeface.  

After picking my favourite font to create and after having my tutorial I wanted to research a bit more into how to create a font and what makes a font successful. I wanted to do this to get a better understanding and hopefully to learn a bit more to make this project easier as its the first type face I would have made.

After coming up with rules and a grid to work with I decided to sketch as many letters out so I had nice idea of how the typeface would look together and so when I went refine them I had a starting point.

I then went through and tried to create as many letters a I could, I found this very difficult so I couldn't get every letter but I tried to get enough to use for the project.

It was a lot of development and trial and error I went over the letters a lot to try and find my favourite variation of each. My end results are okay there are a few Im not 100% with but I need to focus on the poster and ad for instagram.

I then went through and created some concepts for a possible way to display my font, before doing this I looked at some typography posters to try and find some inspiration and to see how to make it look well done.

Using these I then tried to be experimental and create rough drafts of potential ideas, because I didn't have the full alphabet or other variations of the font I think being experimental we look the best and show off my font well.

Four experiments I will continue to play around before having an idea to develop and create my final poster with.

Some more poster development,

The poster I will be presenting is,

I wanted to show off all the letters without having to copy the few words they can make over and over as a poster I would say it does work however I would have loved to have had the time to create variations of the font and seen how a body copy could have worked and even if i explored colour a little bit to highlight parts of the poster, and for my carousel I used the same style to focus on letters and not words.

My final piece for instagram uses the same pixel ratio as each post would do I also decided to rearrange the letters and make it look different to the poster. The faint red lines indicate where the individual posts are.

The feedback I received was very helpful and it was to either take it to the extreme and be more experimental with the font or to take some things out and make it more consistent. I will be experimenting a bit more looking at other font artists and deciding which route to take it.

After researching the artist 

I decided to make some adjustments to my letters I didn't wanna go down the crazier more out there route I decided to try and make the letters feel more like one font to do this I went through a few letters that I felt needed some adjustments and I tweaked them. This was okay to do it took a lot of experimenting and trail and error to get to a place where I liked the letter more than when I started, the only one I couldn't adjust was the S this was very hard to do and every time I made a new form It wasn't as good so i decided to leave this how it was.

I then went over my carousel and poster and added in the new letters.

https://creativepro.com/what-makes-a-good-typeface/#:~:text=A%20well%2Ddesigned%20typeface%20will,%2C%20punctuation%2C%20and%20some%20symbols.&text=Related%20glyphs%20should%20be%20similar,be%20consistent%20in%20its%20inconsistencies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohe_JzKksvA

[urmomsstuntdouble]

i hope this helps you in your ranting/rambling mood! im curious about what hetalia canon you’d change, if any, and why. alternatively, what canon do you wish the fandom would pay more attention to?

1thanks for the ask! sorry this is so late btw, i sort of had to be Out and About today, but i do have many thoughts. i hope this is to your liking :)

 so the first thing that comes to mind is how infuriating the canon ages are. i dont think hima put very much thought into how ages work, or maybe he tweaked it to fit a specific character without considering the internal logic of the series at large. what he did was make it so that every character is about the same age during the modern day, and painted himself into a corner where ages need to be traced backwards from the present day, if that makes sense. like he wants everyone to be in their teens or 20s but not all countries are the same “age” if you can say that..idk, like how china and america could be confused for being the same age when china is like 25 times older than him. and this sort of results in some anachronisms (which, anachronisms and misinformation are inevitable when you try to personify countries because you’re just one person writing your interpretation of history and you have biases and whatnot, which is why its important for fans to DO YOUR RESEARCH) or just weird inconsistent stuff like america being the same age during the revolution as he is in the present day and also the entirity of chibitalia.

chibitalia makes absolutely no sense beyond a narrative perspective, and the narrative didnt even need children for it to be good. im also especially annoyed by chibitalia because it serves as proof that himaruya doesnt care about the internal logic of age in hetalia. factors such as “strength-” which i assume to mean military power- the economy, political stability, and cultural identity are what seem to be the driving forces behind the nations’ ages. so let’s take a look at chibitalia through those lenses. if we’re talking military power in the time frame of chibitalia, which im taking to be the early modern period (1500-1800), but it really could be When Fucking Ever during the hapsburg rule of northern italy. the papal states managed to organize and carry out several crusades to recapture jerusalem, and despite none of them being successful and also occasionally resulting in wars against the turks, it does take a lot to consistently organize and carry out that sort of military action without having what we today would consider a politically unified country. this is sort of acknowledged in canon, although its more of an offhanded mention thats brought up once and then never mentioned again, when turkey says that italy kicked his ass one time a couple hundred years ago. concerning the economy, italy’s economy during the early modern period was off the shits, actually. the whole. renaissance thing? although john green raises an interesting point of Did The Renaissance Actually Happen, its a convenient name for the time period, so we’re going with it. and especially where venice is concerned, seeing as venice was one of the wealthiest city states in the entire country, and i believe veneto still is. and then there’s political stability- this is an interesting one because it can be interpreted in different ways both in and out of the hetalia canon. for example, former soviet states are depicted as being younger, despite many of them being very old countries, and america and canada are depicted as babies during the colonial period- even though the colonies basically governed themselves with little oversight from the british crown. this also applies to moldova, who is referenced as being a fierce warrior by hungary when she’s a kid- about 1000 years ago- and is still depicted as being a 12 year old in the modern day. i think where chibitalia is concerned, hima used the control of northern italy by the hapsburg dynasty and the holy roman empire to mean that there was a lack of political strength for the northern italian city states, but! the final say in all matters belonged to the church. it had been like that for hundreds of years, and the church was very much not a design of the hre or the hapsburg dynasty. the church was kind of in greater control over the hre and the hapsburgs than the actual monarchs (until 1648) at some points, which i think would make italy a bit more politically strong than austria or hre. not that he’d be a whole adult or anything, more that they’d all be around the same age physically- or even that austria would be younger! and of course the italian cultural identity was long since formed. because of all that i dont think it makes any goddamn sense for italy to be a child- and of course this also applies to romano, who’s mostly representing naples and sicily. some things are different of course due to the north/south split, but most of this does apply to both. 

anyway, i also think that america’s age makes no sense. i love america as a teenager, i really do. teenagers scare the living shit out of me and america is teenagers. but the way that he ages is totally historically inaccurate. so he’s a child during the 7 years war? cool. why does he age like a regular human during the interwar period leading up to the revolutionary war? yes america was politically stable yes the south was filthy fucking rich off slave labor, but where’s the american cultural identity? nonexistent. the military might? there is no american military in 1750. so yes america should be a little older than a child, but he shouldn’t be the same adult he is in 1780 that he is in ww2 and in the modern day strips. i think this was done because it might be a lil fucked to have grown ass england be fighting a tween in the revolutionary war strips, although i say lean into that fucked-ness. of course thats just me, although i do think it might be more narratively impactful if arthur was an adult and alfred was a child during the revolutionary war strips, and more accurate. i think 11-14 is a good age, because at the time of the revolution, the states were more like their own countries, and no one particularly had an allegiance to america, they just had an allegiance against britain. people didnt really consider themselves americans over their state until after the war of 1812 (which ended in 1815), so him being middle-school aged at that point in time would really be interesting. kind of like an identity crisis, ya know? because it was, in all honesty, an identity crisis- who were the people of these united states (these united states is the og name)? n e whay, yeah. age is stupid and theres more characters i could talk about but id be here all night and i am tired! 

as for something i wish got more attention by fans, i think just all the weird shit. like they truly are Weird People, absolutely no sex appeal. anyway. im gonna go to sleep now, hope that was a cool answer! 

[vyvesvi]

updated top albums list + recommended tracks from each bc im bored lol

*tentatively* in order

unnatural - wjsn | recommended songs: all of them (especially unnatural, supermoon, and yalla) except for rewind | skips: just rewind bc ballad /// im not sure what style to call this album but they really made such a smash, its crazy that it came out so early in the year and no gg is touching it (album wise). literally the only complaints i have are the obligatory ballad (that they always do bc they can all sing lmfao), the album cover/title (dont love the cover design and i dont love when the album name is the tt name, except in certain circumstances (a full album (especially where the title isnt necessarily from the title track) like montero) or when it's a single album (the inverse of this being rsq's prequel which couldve just been called colorfull since that was the only damn song 😐)). i also was disappointed with the outfits for last dance but that's peripheral.

timeabout, - yukika | recommended songs: insomnia & secret | skips: none /// okay to keep it very real im genuinely scared that she'll never surpass soul lady. i love, and i mean LOVE timeabout, but soul lady was on another plane of existence. like she could've held that album a little bit

the other side of the moon - gwsn | recommended songs: like it hot, starry night, i cant breathe | skips: i sing, depending on my mood /// i dont have much commentary tbh,this is just a very solid mini idk. id like to see a fusion of i cant breathe/tweaks/after the bloom/burn, maybe on their next mini. i love their brighter stuff but maybe a darker concept next (halloween cb pls pls pls)

montero - lil nas x | lowkey too soon for me to pick recommended songs but i'll say montero, scoop, lost in the citadel, sun goes down, and am i dreaming for now. will update! | skips: none /// i cant say that this is this year's sawayama bc sawayama was kinda more like a collection of really strong singles? whereas i feel like these songs shine as an album. i dont even know what to say except that im soooo surprised and impressed because i didnt know that this is the type of music he made???? like he raps but theres a lot of singing? not like belting but definitely not rapping. its kinda...alt ish? in some places? if i had to use ine genre to describe the whole album id probably say alt pop? idk but whatever it is it's definitely working

hide & seek - purple kiss | recommended songs: zombie & so why (tbh all of them) | 2am and zzzz depend on my mood but theyre def not full skips /// no bad song on the album this is crazy....i might rerank since i just listened to it for the first time but as of now idk, its good im just super impressed. ponzona wasnt for me but this cb theyre really doing all the things, lovr tht for them

produced by: [myself] - onlyoneof | recommended songs: coy & night flight | question mark depends on my mood /// im still mad at them (read: 8d) sooooo...idk. i can’t really listen to their music rn. but this mini is still good

play game: holiday - weeekly | recommended songs: check it out, weekend, holiday party | i like memories of summer rain and la luna but it depends on my mood /// very cohesive mini, def their best overall imo! not much to say, but i hope jiyoon gets well soon TTTT

enchant - orbit | recommended songs: gokurakuchouka & never gonna get away but also all of them except flor lunar | skips: flor lunar is nice but boring /// i need kpoppies to get into it im tired of being here alone cmon y’all

set - woodz | recommended songs: feel like | skips: none /// i prefer his bright tracks but this mini was solid as usual. where is the full album tho seungyoun hmmm????

guess who - itzy | recommended songs: sorry not sorry, tennis (0:0), kidding me | skips: in the morning, occasionally wild wild west /// i remember being very surprised that i liked this album, especially given that i dont like mitm. not anything groundbreaking but still solid. i think the naming of tennis (0:0) was really clever

intersection: trace - bae173 | recommended songs: green light, loved you | skips: none (sometimes the intro tho) /// honestly their music is really good??? mbk just hasn’t promoted them well, i feel like they make it a little hard to stan...i really appreciate that they’re not doing the stereotypical hard bg concept thing

lilac - iu | recommended songs: coin, flu, ah puh, troll | skips: honestly id have to relisten, some of the songs a lil boring but idr them at the moment

hello future - nct dream | recommended songs: hello future, life is still going on | skips: idr tbh, probably hot sauce though //// was very surprised that i liked this album, but the outro of hello future really got me after a few listens so i had to check it out. very decent!

killa - mirae | recommended songs: killa, sweet dreams, 1 thing | skips: none really but all of the bsides are a little mid tbh /// i will be 1000% honest in saying that the three reasons this allbum made this list are 1.) killa (the tt), 2.) none of the songs are bad, 3.) lien’s vocals. something about lien....he really just sells whatever song he’s on. his belting >>>>>>>>>>>. he makes their music very enjoyable to listen to, next in that department would be junhyuk. based on their most recent cb, siyoung and khael also contribute a lot as well. shame that the rest of the cb album kinda does nothing for me idk. random but i would really like a gg to cover higher and/or killa

& - loona | recommended songs: ur, ptt | skips: a different night, dance on my own /// these r my girls but this is not their best. ur is wonderful though, and ptt is addicting somehow. wow and be honest are fine but really not their best. i like wow’s choreo tho! 

albums im excited to listen to (no particular order):

last year was weird volume 3, tkay maidza (i’ve already listened to a bunch of it but i need to sit and just listen to the whole thing)

troubled paradise, slayyter (same as above, but i didn’t even realize it came out this year, i thought it was old for some reason lol)

jo1, challenger (every song of theirs i hear i like pretty much so i need to take an organized look at them lmfao)

jo1, stranger (same as above)

only lovers left, woodz (duhhh its woodz. not out yet but im excited! i do prefer his brighter concepts and this def isn’t that. he says its not gonna be like what he’s done before but the title and concept photo that’s out rn is giving lift up)

the book of us: negentropy - chaos swallowed up in love, day6 (the title kinda bored me but we’ll see. also sungjin’s gone so.....................we’ll see.)

ancient dreams in a modern land, marina (i barely got past venus fly trap because its soooooo good. i’ve listened to a little after that but the songs i heard didn’t really compare. i have to give it a shot tho)

the chaos chapter: fight or escape, txt (i liked the blue hour mini so i need to give them a chance i suppose)

333, tinashe (i just feel like i should idk)

honorable mentions (no particular order):

blue hour, txt - discovered this year, came out last year. retroactively makes the 2020 albums list bc whew the market research that went into that thing paid off

hula hoop/ starseed ~kakusei~, loona (why tf does the album not have a name) - duhhh loona + synths = a smash. in fact like i said when it dropped i dont even wanna call them loona anymore. this is kongetsu no shoujo!!! this isn’t on my top albums list because im counting as two songs and my limit is 3. i might add it anyways lmfao. we’ll see

ugly beauty, jolin tsai - discovered this year, came out in 2018. i just really like jolin tsai idk. i had only heard that album w play and i’m not yours, both are iconic but the production quality sounds...low? like its older but ik they’re not *that* old. either way, ugly beauty does everything i wanted it to - dramatic, vocals, rapping, boa vibes...jolin tsai is a queen what can i say

also, there are of course a ton of singles that i love as well, this is albums only though lmfao. i have no idea if i could even attempt to organize the singles lol

[bawkrya]

ok so im just gonna pick at fr from a web designer pov because looking at this site on mobile will drive me into madness if they don’t fix it at some point. The rest of this post will go under a read more because it’s both super long and image heavy.

before i hit mobile though, I’m going to point out some things i just don’t personally like in general with the site design (and yes i am conscious that they are slowly updating to a new look)

this will come as a shock to no one, if you’ve seen previous web design related posts by others anyways, but i cant. stand this menu

[ID: A cropped screenshot of Flight Rising’s Main Menu]

fr, understandably, has a shit ton of links. it’s a petsite with lore and all that, whatever. The thing that bothers me specifically is the length of links and where some are placed.

1. i BELIEVE this counts as an accessibility issue where longer links kinda trap shorter links, goes into misclicks to other pages in the site, etc. etc.  2. i don’t think. the search link should be under library personally ? Maybe make it its own category. 

Dev Tracker & Media could go under this category, possibly add separate links to forum, player, and dragon searches with updated formatting

Dressing Room and Scrying Workshop could go under the “Play” category 

Forums can be it’s own category with possible subcategories being: Announcements & News, Help Center, and Flight specific discussion forum, maybe more 

Library category could then just be: Which Waystone, World Map, Game Database, and Encyclopedia.

Support should be it’s own category.

One thing on the shop category, and i hesitate to say this because im not CONFIDENT on this one, but I’m not sure Custom Skins exactly fits? or at least, it should be Purchase Gems -> Marketplace -> Custom Skins, not between crossroads and festive favors

Merch should probably go under purchase gems, and they should maybe uhh..... i guess change the name for it overall? because 1. “merch” alone does NOT look good with its placement, 2. its another actual money purchase thing and I think those should go on the same page

Along with that, in putting merch under that page, they could put previews of the merch with a button to go purchase instead of immediately going to their merch site (which to begin with it should open in a new tab if its going to a separate site?!!)

then this is a mix of both not liking it on laptop OR mobile, 

[ID: A cropped image of Flight Rising’s Clan Home page. The Bestiary link has a bright red box highlighting it]

Obviously these pages are old, but the graphics need to be updated, and there needs to be graphics for every link in the category-- seeing with this category alone there isn’t a graphic for the Bestiary already. On top of this they need to be in link order preferably. if they had a normal dropdown menu for mobile, mobile users wouldn’t be able to access the bestiary unless FR wanted to be STUPID and do further dropdown menus w their 200 links which would be STUPID and CLUTTERED

also in my opinion the Messages link isn’t necessary since we have the button at the top. If they put it there as an excuse for accessibility, they can just. add text to the buttons. like here’s a scuffed mockup but. 

[ID: Screenshot of Flight Rising’s Messages, Friend Requests, and Alerts icons edited to have Messages, Friends, and Alerts written next to the icons]

for the friends tab, they could prolly add friend requests at the top like they do for baldwin alerts, then have an online status thing for friends below with buttons to PM, trade, delete friend, etc. I think you’re already able to disable the online status thing with page visibility? but like, make those options separate if you dont wanna block off your entire page, but dont want to be seen online.

For mobile, they can just make the icons bigger.

then. i THINK. last thing on laptop site. 

[ID: A screenshot of Flight Rising’s Social Media links with old Logos to YouTube, Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, and DeviantArt]

update these fucking icons they are personally killing me, none of these logos are in use anymore (ALSO UPDATE THE TUMBLR THEME JESUS CHRIST)

ok now for mobile. what this post was originally for.

-

as you all know, if you visit this site on mobile, there is literally no form of a mobile version for it. It is just a condensed version of the computer version of the site which is...Very Bad! 

Most of a sites visitors are going to be through mobile, i forget the exact percentage, but like it’s almost a given that people more readily have their phones with them than their laptop or tablet (which. im not going to bother with the tablet version, you can apply both computer and mobile criticisms to the site). in fact a lot of my time on FR is through mobile since I’m not at home 24/7 and I don’t tote my laptop around. Playing this game through it’s mobile site is Not Fun! 

I like, won’t be too pissy or anything bc like. it’s a petsite and I’m making this post for fun. but also like it was made in 2014? 2013? so I’m not going to be u kno. angry. but it nearing the point of ten years with this site and there still isn’t a mobile friendly version. that is lazy. If anything, if they wanted a site update to be the anniversary thing, they should’ve made that update be

Mobile update as primary thing, because designing the site for mobile is a shit ton of work with the amt of pages they have to work through.

Dragon Profile page update (*LOUD SIGH*)

Clan page update

Hoard update (i have thoughts on this too but i wont dive into it this post)

Purchase Gems page update

Dev Tracker update

Forums update

“but that’s a lot to update” well. that wouldve made the anniversary being a website update considerably more worth it, because in my opinion having the dragon profile pages be the ONLY thing to happen during the anniversary was a waste and a bad decision, because other website updates are just. normal whatever updates. it made the anniversary SUPER underwhelming especially bc the past ones (to my knowledge) have only been major game mechanic updates like the eye & ancients update and i believe? the color wheel expansion was an anniversary thing? someone can correct me on that I haven’t played this game as long as most LMAO

as for how i personally would situate the mobile site. shitty graphic time, bc im not putting too much effort into this (warning this will be LONG)

[ID: Image 1. A crudely put together screenshot of the top half of a Mobile View of Flight Rising with comments on either side. It ends with the Latest News segments “Riot of Rot” and “Hoard & Vault Revamp”

Comment 1, Left side: “no banner make it a solid color that matches the burger menu. size the logo correctly etc. Comment 2, Right side: “burger menu w ONLY the categories, goes to the homepages of the categories” Comment 3, Right side: “TWO latest news posts, maybe a button to go see earlier news (which may b something to add to comp too)” Comment 4, Right side: “center dates and comments maybe idfk”

At the bottom of the image there is an added “button” that says “more updates button”]

[ID: Image 2. The bottom half of the mobile view with comments on the left side. There is a put together white box that has the Plague Flight Logo and “plage dom !” written in it. Below it are the Site Status, Random Dragon, and Exalt Bonuses boxes from the site. Underneath that is a red box with “ad space” in the center, with a red footer at the bottom.

The footer contains, “social media! (specifally made icons for site)”, “better formatted links”, and “copyright”.

Comment 1: “idk what they would caption it but the flashy can go here.” Comment 2: “ONE site status update if they keep this format” Comment 3: “probably center these links. i dont know what they use to build the site but im sure you can make icons for social media on just about anything unless this is all handcoded. just. make small icons it takes two seconds and you can copy+paste”]

i dont even want to THINK about how the lair and all that would look on mobile, it was a chore doing the home page alone SOBS

anyways, in ref to these images though--

this is just slapped together and definitely wouldn’t be a final draft, it could use some tweaking

the flashy i refer to is the box that’s above the user box that says what flight is in dom, what festival is going on, etc.

when i mention building the site and “you can make icons for social media on just about anything” im referring to wordpress, wix, whatever is used to format the site. I really only have experience with wordpress thru elementor and divi (so far) so im not CERTAIN about other places but I feel it would be pretty common to have that tool. if not, making icons (or snatching some) is rlly not that hard, probably only costly depending on what their webdesigner(s) charge for icons

I’m not like certain on who does what, how the webdesigner(s) work with/price this site, etc. etc. this is just. going off of my own knowledge. and in general this whole post is my own knowledge abt shit i did no further research to FRs team specifically 

i think this is basically it, i’ll reblog with more if i think of anything, but feel free to add things yourself or in general discuss things. again this post was made for fun so im not taking it seriously or demanding for these changes to be made, just personal annoyances and preferences.

This is also my first time doing picture IDs for a post so if I need to correct anything or the like let me know and I’ll edit it in the post!

[gothamcityneedsme]

Hey, how ya doing? I was wondering what your headcanons are for Joker's parents, considering they never contact him. And also if it was you, how would you rewrite Akechi's story arc? Sorry if you talked about these already, I couldn't find anything.

@bakahimesama oh hi!  I’m good! :)

I haven’t actually posted much of my own content about persona 5 because i wasn’t on tumblr when i played it!  (I took a year off tumblr back then lol).

TBH I don’t find the question of Joker’s parents one that is very compelling to answer--since they feature, literally almost not at all (it feels like p4 protag gets more detail than even Joker, even though his stuff is barebones too), I feel like the only option is for them to be, basically, totally absent.  They somehow raised a son who has a strong sense of morality and justice, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything about them, especially when he was kicked out from being with them.  And thusly, I see them as sort of boring empty people that don’t *really* care about their son and would rather he not be troublesome.  But they aren’t so controlling as to stop him from doing what he wants to do, but when he’s an embarrassment they will send him away.  But they don’t contact him to berate or check on him, so once again, I don’t think they *really* care.

I enjoy the au some people have worked with, with Tatsuya and Jun from p2 being his parents, but I would work with that concept very differently from how I’ve seen it done (tho I haven’t checked in on those for awhile, interest kinda died).

And if I were writing about Akechi, I don’t actually think there’s much I would change.  I suppose I would alter the whole part of p5 in general where it’s revealed that the PTs knew the whole time about him, I would just tweak that, make it happen a little later and a little less literal forced dramatic irony.  I knew the instant it happened that Akechi could hear Morgana, but I know not every player realized that, so I’m not sure if I would change that bit of foreshadowing or not--but I would at least make it so that the PTs didn’t notice, not at that part.

I also didn’t want Akechi to be the traitor while playing, it was too obvious (both from the previous foreshadowing, his role in the story, AND his gameplay abilities--he’s way too overpowered to keep lmao).  I actually REALLY wanted the traitor to be Haru--because her character felt too simple lmao.  And if that were the case, Akechi gets a little more messy, because he wouldn’t be on their side either, but he wouldn’t have been perhaps exactly the traitor--or maybe both he and Haru would be, I’m not sure.  But.  I’m not sure what I would actually change.  I like most of how p5 functions (and criticism for me honestly often goes towards the translation b/c some aspects are clearer in japanese context).  I guess part of my satisfaction with him comes from the fact that he made me do a lot of research on bastard children in Japan and what the foster care system is like, and with that context and a few other things, he becomes very easy to understand.  To me, at least.  So I actually end up quite pleased with him.

lkjlkfsd this is really rambly and not very interesting I’m afraid.  I haven’t actually written anything about p5 and im not super inspired to.

Akeddi notwithstanding.

[desertbroad]

kaj + (inverted) tropes: part two! * * i don’t know all the actual Official TM names for these tropes, so most are made up. also, you might notice the regular trope list (part 1 of this headcanon) is significantly longer. this is because kaj has a few main inverted tropes but tons more regular ones, since tropes are like atoms: they make up everything. i just wanted to focus on the few inversions that created her character and let the rest come naturally! under a read more for length. ** also as of 7/6/19 part one isn’t done yet. yes i know please don’t shame me ok IM GETTING TO IT

fridged woman (aka back from the dead)—

for this one i took inspiration from laura moon from american gods, with a few tweaks (love neil gaiman, but some of the things about her character are...a bit squicky). unlike a good number of women in media, kaj isn’t shoved over gently and pronounced dead so that a man can grow from her pain. in fact, she’s shot in the head twice, pronounced dead, & buried. while her “death” means more pain and character development for the characters surrounding her, it means pain and character development for her, too. truth be told, she survives a hell of a lot more than any average person should, especially one with her low luck stat. half of this is the fun and wacky way new vegas’ world works (obviously, no real person could survive all this), but also because of her good ol’ courier determination. things that should’ve fridged kaj but haven’t include: two shots to the head, numerous combat scrapes, being stabbed, having her brain/heart/spine removed, having a bomb collar attached to her neck, killing an entire fortification of trained legionnaires, stepping on landmines, etc etc. the courier is pretty much the bruce willis of fallout.

world ending vengeance—

specifically applies to certain characters. while most others who piss kaj off get the full brunt of her wrath (see: caesar, mr. house, elijah, general oliver, ulysses), benny, along with dr. mobius & the think tank & mcnamara*, get a pass. in fact, she lets him go not once or twice, but on three separate occasions, even knowing he’s likely to betray her again. the reason why? not even kaj knows. some people speculate it’s because she likes him / slept with him (incorrect; she liked house to a degree, and slept with caesar); others speculate it’s because they’re so similar (also incorrect; she shared an alarming number of similarities with ulysses & elijah). the theory that comes closest to the truth is that she pities him. it fits in line her past behavior with mobius & the think tank, who were physically unable to see the effects of their actions and thus were spared a horrible fate. likewise, kaj seems to have judged benny to be innocent in her own personal court, and though he continues to be a thorn in her side again and again, she refuses to “sentence” him for anything. it helps his cause that his plan helped her take over vegas, and he created yes man, one of the only living beings she’s ever fully trusted. also a slight inversion of kaj’s maneater / black widow trope; the one person she truly should seduce and kill, she doesn’t.

that said, benny doesn’t get away from their encounters without any punishment—after narrowly escaping being crucified, both kaj and benny have matching rope burns around their wrists. it’s her morbid idea of a joke.

*mcnamara doesn’t fit within this trope, but kaj spares the bos for veronica & christine’s sake, despite yes man’s warnings. also for the off chance that they might convert to being her allies (they don’t, and this choice helps lend itself to more BOS trouble all over the wasteland).

white man cowboy—

kind of a simple inversion that’s been done before, but an important one and one that i like a lot. for starters, the “john wayne” cowboy is a bastardization of a history that was made up of ethnic minorities and whitewashed for hollywood aesthetic (also fuck you john wayne). while none of my research has come up with anything about women of color or nonbinary people in the western scene, only moc (whether this is intentional or not, i’m not sure), i still wanted to write kaj as non-male. frankly, this is because i wanted her to be an inversion of tired tropes, and that included being a debonair, byronic woman / non gender conforming hero (think gentleman jack) instead of a debonair, byronic white dude. we’ve got 20 of those for every fleshed out woman/enby on screen, lbr. kaj is also a femme fatale, but only by coincidence; she’s more of a wandering heart breaker than a necessarily dangerous woman, much like many of the heroes on screen.

i also find that non-men of color are one of the most underrepresented minorities in fiction—even media that celebrates diversity simplifies them down (hamilton), or centers their narrative and entire purpose around a man (hamilton, again). nevermind nonbinary people / trans folk. for that reason, i wanted kaj’s story to be about a woman of color / someone who doesn’t conform to expectations and doesn’t allow herself to be put in the sidelines for a white person or a male to lead her life. and regardless of whether a woman filling this swaggering, womanizing cowboy role is accurate to history or not, fallout’s setting lends itself an air of exaggeration, so i felt it was appropriate to include her here, instead of arguing with people over whether someone like her existed in actual history (my suspicions say yes, and that these people have simply been erased from the narrative for the convenience of certain people’s feelings, but still).

smarter than you look / deadly doctor (this one actually has a tvtropes page! look it up!)—

from the deadly doctor page : ‘ surely the ultimate example of the morally ambiguous doctorate. one reason for this is due to all his/her training : while having advanced knowledge on the human body can be used to save people, it also gives all the knowledge on how to injure and kill people with minimal effort by knowing all the body's weak points. some more sympathetic examples equate to the medical version of a well-intentioned extremist, who may certainly have good (or at least sympathetic/understandable) intentions but ruthless medical ethics. ’

one of the most important things kaj took from her thorough education is medical training—unable to depend on anyone after being traumatized, trusting any doctor who happened along to treat her illnesses was out of the question. she was also smart enough to know the original kaj wouldn’t be around to heal her up forever. thus, she began her training as a self preservation instinct; but over time, as she grew and relearned how to be compassionate and empathetic, she decided to use healing for good, too. trained as a young girl by the original kaj, and then later trained officially as a combat medic by the ncr, kaj has spent a countless amount of hours inside army tents, healing wounds and assisting doctors with tough cases. she even keeps a medical bag on her person for exactly that sort of situation (especially since supplies in the mojave aren’t exactly easy to dig up). though she’s a big scientist in general (the big mt saw to that), medicine is her specialty. she’s even stitched up her own wounds, though it’s not something she particularly enjoys (it takes a lot of whiskey and something for her to bite down on).

for reference, consider this scene of anton from no country for old men (TW: he’s performing self surgery, so it’s pretty gruesome). though both anton and kaj’s lifestyles are rough and even sadistic at times, they both still have medical training—if not to protect others, then to at least protect themselves. and like anton, it shows kaj’s inability to trust anyone with her most important commodity: herself. this makes her surgery in the big empty doubly as horrifying, given she took specific pains for something like this to not happen. it’s why she refuses to leave without all of her organs (also, stubbornness). all of this is just one of the ways kaj is way more ... well, everything than she looks. which leads into...

underestimate me if you dare, aka femme fatale (sort of?)—

though fallout prides itself on being a soft reset on the world, people’s perceptions of minorities are still ... iffy, due to real world influences by the creators. thus, the people around kaj often jump to assumptions about her based on her identity—mostly, that she’s weak. once, it offended her, but now it’s a perception that she encourages. after all, she’s not flat out strong like your usual hero, but is more of a hamlet-type; smart, perceptive, fast, and willing to strike from the shadows. it’s hard to do any of that if you’re putting on a big performance about your power (though admittedly, she’s been known to go big or go home if she’s planning on killing everyone; if she’s not faking nice and telling you what you wanna hear, trouble’s ahead).

of course, the reality is that kaj is a powerhouse. but these perceptions about her supposed weakness are why posing as a legion member is so easy—those who think she’s weak underestimate her or keep their distance, which gives her leave to do what she wants. she’s viewed more like a pet than a person by most, and though it frustrates her at times to pretend, it also gives her leave to do more, than if she were to simply pose as a man.

all that said, kaj doesn’t exactly qualify as a femme fatale. most of her lovers are just information givers, and they escape from their interaction unharmed. kaj killing her bed mates is actually less likely than her just sparing them and letting them go, none the wiser. of course, you kill one tyrant (maybe two or three) and suddenly you’re a black widow—

[liquidstar]

are any of your ocs coded first nations, native american, or indigenous latino? :o

i have around 12 different sort of provinces for the story that are each more or less loosely based on different parts of the world or different cultures, out of those the water and ice ones are based on hawaiian and inuit cultures respectively (with some slight russian inspiration in other aspects but thats not as major). and of course there are ocs from both of those, including the heirs that both go to HA as students. there are also ones that are central and south american based but since those are based after pretty much entire continents with a lot more cultures they require more work

i dont have all 12 provinces fully developed, i need to set aside time for research and development for ideas, and i dont really have that time as of rn. the last thing i want to do is make them without proper care for the cultures theyd be based on. like i said the inspiration is mostly loose so it can also fit into the setting, and theres a lot of combinations going on (ex. theres no “english” province, rather the metal one is a combination of multiple western european counties). the only ones i have figured out completely are the main (capital) one and the mediterranean-based one, the former because its where the story mostly takes place and the latter because i dont need to put any research into it since im already from there, i could pretty much figure that one out on the spot (also yes its air at not water, a lot of these are based on environment and the mediterranean may have oceans but its also very alpine, besides water was taken)

of course that being said im always open to input, kind of like how i asked my lgbt followers a while back what they do and dont like seeing (or wish they had seen at all), and since its a work in progress things can still be changed and tweaked. even the number of provinces may change based on where i am with them rn. also i feel like i should mention, none of these places are based on their element (like atla) but those are just placeholder names i have for right now based on what magic the family that rules them uses. the people for the most part can use whatever magic they want. i have name a couple name ideas for right now but i dont know how many will stick !

[qqueenofhades]

You have given such great advice to so many, so I want to ask you my strange question. I have to write a story . . . a long one . . . a memoir . . . about this terrible thing that happened, that was overcome by grit pretty much, and lead to changes for the better in society. I've been putting it off for 5 years now, and need to do it. For reasons. I already have an interested publisher but am hesitant to get into this world I know nothing about. Any advice? Any good memoirs out there you love?

Oh wow. First of all, that sounds like a lot, and good for you for tackling it. I’m not sure how much I can say to your situation specifically, but I’ll see what I can do?

First, and while this may be obvious: write it only if you feel like you can in fact really do it. If you feel like you should do it, but don’t want to, or are still not ready for it or whatever, then it will be a huge drag on you, and it won’t be as good as it could be, and it sounds like a project on this scale should be done when you’re ready to commit serious time and attention to it. Maybe you’re in fact ready but need a push to get going, in which case great! Consider yourself gently nudged and greatly encouraged. But I’m also a believer that things have their place and season, so if you need a little more time, even though it’s already been five years, you should take that. On the other hand, if you know you’re ready to do it but just are having trouble breaking the procrastinating cycle, then find some way to ease yourself in. You can’t think about writing the whole thing at once, it will probably go through many rounds of revisions and edits, and you’re not going to end up with a finished project on day one. As someone who just finished a PhD dissertation that took three years, still has some final stuff to be added, and underwent COUNTLESS rewrites/critiques/edits/reworkings along the way, I know what a slog it is. But you can’t think of The End Result on day 1. Write parts of it, or scenes, or ideas, or lines. Whatever you need to start moving yourself into that space and to make tangible progress on it.

Next, I have had my run-around with the traditional agent/editor/publisher thing, though in the realm of fiction rather than memoirs, and it’s really frustrating, takes forever, and seems to involve endless effort and submission for very little result. If you already have an interested publisher: great! That will save you a whole lot of time and struggle in terms of finding who is going to give a platform to this once you’re done. Is this someone you feel like you can work with? Do they understand the project and are they willing to commit to working with you (rather than over you or around you) for the time that it will take to tell the story? You should still ask yourself these questions, since they’re not your ONLY option. If it was a case where they’re an okay fit but maybe not the best, or you wanted things tweaked, or didn’t know if you would feel comfortable with the working relationship, or anything – you still have the right to shop around. That is, if you’re not already physically under contract/have a deadline/etc. Before you do sign anything, see if you can find a lawyer friend or family member, or someone with experience in that department, to read it for you. Read it yourself too, of course, but also get an expert eye on it if possible.

With memoirs, and especially ones which apparently deal with sensitive topics like this one, there’s also a question of ethics. Are you going to change/conceal the names of real people you write about? Are there personally identifiable details or situations you can’t disclose? Are there possible legal restrictions about what you can say and how? I am a scholar, so my approach to do things like this is by evidence and documentary and citations, but that might not be your style. Nonetheless, there will be a reasonable expectation on the part of your readers that you are presenting them with a factual account of things that happened. There have been several high-profile cases recently where best-selling memoirs were discovered to have been partly or entirely fictionalised. Which…. is fine, if you’re writing fiction, but if this is marketed as a memoir and contains a claim to biographical or factual accuracy, how are you going to organise and present the materials you are working with, even if just for your own benefit? Unlike in an academic monograph, you don’t have to give a list of citations at the end, but even if you’re writing from your own memory about things that happened to you (presumably), there are going to be things you don’t remember/don’t know about/etc. Is there a way to provide supporting evidence to your reader? Were there news articles written about it? Is there somewhere else they can go apart from you, in other words, to verify this account?

If you’re interviewing people or including substantial portions that represent the thoughts/words of others, you’ll also want to make that clear and have some kind of system for referencing. Journalists would also advise you to use audio recorders when interviewing in a formal context, so you can go back and check words later (and also have physical proof if there’s ever any question about what was said). You also have to provide your subjects with some assurance that their words and views will be represented accurately, which may necessitate some kind of brief legal document or waiver for them to sign to give you permission to do that (and once again, about having a paper trail for your own benefit and legal protection). Once again, if you have a lawyer you can consult about this somewhere, especially someone who’s used to this kind of work, that would be helpful. I am not one and therefore am not going to give any kind of legal advice, but I can say that it could be definitely something for you to look into, and might help you feel more confident about what can be used and how.

I’m trying to think if there’s anything else I can say off the top of my head. I obviously write a certain kind of rigorously researched nonfiction with my academic stuff, though that’s not the same as personal memoir. I do think organisation, preparation, and general attention to starting off on a solid foot will help you, and like I said, you’re not expected to have it all written immediately. Some drafts or notes or outlines of the whole thing, however rough and subject to revision, will also help you.

Good luck!

[mistyeyedpea]

I've been feeling so stuck lately.

I ran a fever today, which honestly isn't unusual for me since I get low grade fevers from time to time. My body likes to freak out on me. Because I dont have a ln actual diagnosis for what I go through I feel like it drives me a bit nuts. I tell doctors what I can remember, but honestly I've lived.my whole life thinking most of the things I felt and experienced were normal and doctors are so uninterested, unmotivated and unwilling it makes the mundane task seem so painful. Its even more painful when you tell them for years you have these symptoms and they only write down what they think is necessary enough to explore. The rest is dismissed as being anxious, paranoid, dramatic... its ironic isn't it? How you go to get help and these very people continue to perpetuate the pain and suffering you go through. I wouldn't go down such spirals if I had answers.

The craziest part is when you have been doing research all your life, and having lived experience with chronic physical and mental conditions... but because I appear fine on the outside, to someone who doesn't know a this about me.... to deny me is absurd. I wouldn't designate a label that isn't meant for me, but this ableism in the medic field... it needs to stop. The stigmas need to stop. Doctors need to understand that its okay to not have all the answers. Whats not okay is harming them further by gaslighting, invalidating peoples lived experiences. Where is the compassion?

We as patients, as people, can be highly aware of our issues where as some arent. I happen to be someone who's highly self aware. I observe everything from sensations to what and how I feel... I monitor my own person. I once saw a post that said "having anxiety is being hyperspace of your own existence" and they really hit the nail on the head there. I feel my anxiety stems from be being highly sensitive to what I feel and my surroundings.. I feel anxiety is just a symptom of other conditions...

It drives me crazy that I am only realizing how many signs were missed. How did people not notice? I had to learn to adapt all my life on my own... immersed in it day by day I learned to survive. It hurts me almost everyday. Im learning to let go of this feeling. This feeling that I was a victim of the system that couldn't understand me, rejected me. It made it harder to understand myself throughout the years. But now I understand..

I know that as the years go by and im alive i learn more, and I know that doctors do too.

Despite all I have been through, and still continue to go though, I push through this painful existence hoping one day, ill actually be seen. And that ill be in the hands of a doctor who won't judge me when I tell them my concerns... cause I have many.

I literally stayed up all night the other night cause I couldn't sleep.. trying to remember to document articles of research I find trying to keep them saved on favorites. I often forget how to find the favorites page so I started a notes with the links.

I started doing this in the event a doctor tries to get smart with me... I truly don't have the patience or bandwidth for it anymore. They dont do it in a nice way. They do it in a condescending way. At least the people ive dealt with..

I am a person who was born female so naturally... this is fucking oppressive as is.

I tried talking to my mom about me being Autistic and having adhd, and how im finally accepting it because for years I had "episodes" which i now know, were fucking meltdowns.

I could go on about it, but I dont want to get off topic.

My mother asked me "wow so you finally got diagnosed?"

The last time I went to an Evaluation the man I met with was a total douche who told me I was a hypochondriac had conversion disorder and my anxiety was what was causing everything... He also went off my previous diagnosis and asked me very broad questions about their symptoms to which I replied yes or no... I met with this man for less than 20 minutes and he literally went off my old diagnosis.

He knew nothing about me other than what we talked about and my previous medical records. He made stigmatizing statements when I told him about my body pains and how its possible fibromyalgia, he said he doesnt diagnose women til their thirties.

When I mentioned that I suspect im autistic he basically laughed in my face and told me im not autistic and if I want to see "the autism room" so I can "see" what "autism looks like"

I didn't contact these people back for a long time after that because it took so long to process.... medical gaslighting is real. And gaslighting in itself is insidious as it makes our imposter syndrome so much worse. We question our own existence and realities which attributes to even more mental and physical anguish... psychologically so damaging and these people have no idea.

I think I may have a case with them.. but anyways...

I learned to live in this mind. In this body. In this life to the best of my knowledge and abilities. I have to remind myself its not my fault im chronically overwhelmed or feeling behind. Im coming to terms to the fact that I am disabled. I hate to limit myself, but I have to acknowledge this in order to accept myself and release the internalized abelism.

I have to accept that I never was and never will be like other people and that's okay.

I also need reminder that being diagnosed doesn't make you (autistic). Being (autistic) makes you (autistic).

I put autistic in parentheses because you can literally change it out and tweak it to fit almost any medical condition and it holds true.

Anyways im signing off. I think I've done enough ranting for the night.

Perhaps I'll rant again and plunge deeper. I try to not give to many details but as a neurodivergent person I can't help but go on tangents at times. I'll forget what I thought if I dont write them down, so letting my brain puke words is the best mental exercise I can give myself.

If I do end up seeing a therapist, it makes it alot easier to sort myself.

I have also been trying to orient my mind with art. I try to think of the art I can make .. but when the time comes, im blank. All these ideas for my mind to run into a wall...

Sometimes I wish I had a therapist as a friend.. or a psychiatrist.

It would be good to have someone invested in you the way a friend would ... signing off

[alexpoulservice]

Online Marketing Success

Online Marketing Success Requires Key Elements

As the years pass by the web-based showcasing world develops enormously and there is an expanding number of individuals who need to get into internet advertising. However, much of the time a few people truly don't have a clue what that implies or the stuff. There are such countless things that go under the generally Online Marketing tree that on the off chance that you addressed a hundred diverse "Web Marketers" and asked them what they do, you would presumably find a hundred distinct solutions. The vast majority of us struggle in any event, attempting to clarify what it is we do to inquisitive personalities.

In its definition, web-based showcasing is the arrangement and advancement of items and administrations on the web. It consolidates the inventive and specialized parts of promoting: plan, improvement, publicizing, and deals. Since the start of the web and web crawlers, web utilization has quickly and consistently expanded since the 80s/90s. The day by day common number of web look has expanded a ton from just shy of 10,000 in the last part of the 90s to well more than 4 billion in the previous year. That count's up to in excess of a trillion web look through a year with simply Google without help from anyone else!

Individuals are doing educational hunts, yet looks for items/benefits as well. This implies that most customers get some answers concerning the items and organizations they purchase and work with basic through the web. In any case, most internet searcher clients normally just spotlight on the primary page of list items - commonly the best five outcomes. Taking into account that increasingly more business is led online consistently, it implies that opposition for these positions has developed and that they have significant incentive to astute entrepreneurs. It has gotten to the meaningful part where rivalry in neighborhood, public, or worldwide business sectors requires a reliable solid online presence. Picking up and keeping a situation on the principal page of SERPs (web crawler results pages) impact individuals to confide in the strength, expertise, and validity of your business/administration.

Internet Marketing Success is made out of a number of various things like website design enhancement, PPC, web-based media, and online advertising are only a couple of them. These procedures, when executed appropriately and successfully, work as one to support site permeability with a definitive objective of expanding transformations. Change is the outcome you need for a guest to your site to make a buy, call, download, total a structure, and so forth It is whatever outcome-based objective you have set for your site.

Along these lines, in this post, I will give you some data and knowledge about a portion of the normal things you would have to learn and do if you somehow managed to begin your own internet promoting business.

Here are only a portion of the things you ought to learn and dominate to turn out to be acceptable at web-based promoting...

Website design enhancement

Website design enhancement (Search Engine Optimization) will give you the long haul with the objective to expand popularity, visibility, authority, importance, and in the outcome more transformations. Search engine optimization could be an entire course without help from anyone else. There are a lot of digital books, sites, courses, and sites devoted basically to SEO preparation. It is critical and a gigantic piece of what most promoting and advertising experts do in their customary everyday schedule. There are a great many web advertisers who spend in a real sense for a long time doing SEO and that's it. It can require some investment to dominate the cycle/ideal the various procedures out there. Additionally, it is continually changing, so keeping steady over everything can be truly debilitating. Each great web advertiser can have SEO as their principal forte and still be discovering some new information consistently.

A piece of SEO is the improvement of a site's substance and structure. The main thing to recollect when leading this is to compose and assemble a site for clients, not web crawlers. It is the fundamental objective of an internet searcher is to show its clients pertinent outcomes. Their innovation is continually progressing and has gotten much better at perceiving bad quality sites where the sole object is to get hits and be manipulative at that point punish them. This implies that the trouble with which a site is controlled and the nature of its substance are significant factors in acquiring perceivability on the significant web indexes.

Website composition

Before you begin promoting and advertising anything on the web or construct an internet showcasing business, you need to have a site or some likeness thereof. There are a lot of apparatuses and assets accessible, (for example, Word Press) that will help construct a site for you. In any case, it actually takes some effort to figure out how to utilize those apparatuses and really get a site assembled in the manner in which you need it. Indeed, even the most youngster inviting frameworks have an expectation to absorb information and can set aside some effort to set up. At that point, you should get familiar with some coding to make changes in specific places and redo your site past the essential topics/formats that site manufacturers incorporate.

What's more, remember about DNS settings, area enrollments, settings changes, framework introduces, content transfers, and so on Those things likewise set aside some effort to do and expect you to figure out how to do them. There's a ton that goes into building a site and it's only one piece of being a web-based promoting expert.

Composing Content

This is one thing that can occupy a LOT of time in the day by day schedule of pretty much most web advertiser. The quality written substance makes all the difference in the realm of promoting and advertising. You need it for pretty much all that you do. It doesn't make a difference in the event that you are developing a static webpage, refreshing a blog, advertising locales, composing articles, reacting to messages, conveying your bulletin, answering to remarks, taking an interest in gatherings, duplicate composition, etc... You will compose and keeping in touch with some more. It's about substance in the web world so prepare to destroy numerous consoles on your PC!

Contributing to a blog

The Internet has undoubtedly moved towards websites in recent years and will probably keep on doing as such until they are the dominating power in the online world. Writing for a blog is an exceptionally fundamental piece of web-based advertising from numerous points of view. Contingent upon your business norms, it can truly be exceptionally fundamental to progress on the web. It is useful for making a brand for yourself, getting your substance out to the web, assisting with spreading your image, developing an after, or you can bring in cash from your blog as it were. A few advertisers exclusively acquire their entire livelihoods off of writing for a blog. Albeit, much of the time, they are normally known as a blogger.

Web-based Media Marketing

I realize you may have accounts with Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Plus, and conceivably a couple of others. On the off chance that you don't, at that point, you absolutely know somebody near you who does. Indeed, a normal web advertiser will have those profiles in addition to another 10 or at least 20 records on other online media destinations that they need to oversee.

Consider how long you spend on those locales consistently. It's not hard for an hour or more to pass without seeing it. Furthermore, you are just utilizing them to stay aware of family, companions, and what's going on in and out of town. Web advertisers do the entirety of that, in addition, to utilize them to coordinate with business partners and prospects, keep up on our industry, spread the word about our substance, and for other showcasing reasons.

Being an online media specialist and doing all the web-based media advertising and refreshing for organizations is something numerous individuals do as a full-time business. It can occupy a great deal of time, yet somehow internet advertising geniuses needs to press it into their everyday schedule alongside around 1,000 distinct things.

Pay Per Click

At the point when you search something on Google you will see there are typically a few advertisements at the top over the natural rankings and a pinnacle of them on the correct side close to the natural outcomes. They look a great deal like the ordinary outcomes yet are somewhat unique. PPC is paid promotions that show through Google AdWords. At the point when someone says PPC promotions this is the thing that they are alluding to, despite the fact that there is actually a wide range of types of PPC. An individual offers explicit watchwords to get a promotion shown and afterward they pay for each snap they jump on the advertisement.

This technique is extremely well known with online advertisers and different organizations that sell items or administrations on the web. The catchphrase research, set up, and the executives take a ton of time, exertion, and expertise. You can squander a ton of cash on the off chance that you simply hurl your advertisement and let it go. Top PPC geniuses' can go through quite a while testing, tweaking, and learning their frameworks to dominate Adwords and make their missions the most beneficial.

Email Marketing

Email showcasing is just structure up top-notch of email endorsers, making a trust worth relationship with individuals so they join your rundown, sending them great helpful substance/assets, keeping them refreshed on the most recent news in the specialty they are keen on or about your business and sending a wide range of other data. One well known saying in the IM world is, "the cash is in the rundown" and there is a great deal of truth to that. In any case, it tends to be somewhat hard to fabricate a productive rundown and as an online advertiser, you may be investing a great deal of energy culminating this expertise.

Item Creation

Item creation is something immense that online advertisers do is make data items, for example, digital books, alongside business administrations, SEO, enrollment locales, Online Marketing instruments, etc. This stuff can set aside a long effort to create contingent upon what it is. Pretty much every site or electronic help you use, or digital book you read, were made by a type of internet promoting master somehow.