#Age and reading level

[365momme]

Creating a Home Library: Inspire a Love for Reading in Your Children

As parents, one of the most valuable gifts we can give our children is a love for reading. Building a home library is not only an excellent investment in your child’s education but also a gateway to a world of imagination and knowledge. In this blog, we will guide you through the process of creating a captivating home library that will inspire your little ones to become lifelong readers. Photo…

[ronsenburg]

because I’m curious:

I’m primarily interested in your opinion as a reader (please answer the poll from that angle), but if you’re a writer and want to chime in on your experience writing from alternating POVs, that’s cool, too!

This could be alternating every chapter, every book, at seemingly random intervals… however you want to interpret it.

Explain in the tags, please!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Playdate in peril, the homosexual thoughts be upon ye.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[felassan]

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[ink-the-artist]

u been hit with the scambaiting craze too huh? I really like kitboga's vids, would recommend!

yessss i luv this animation someone made of one of his calls

[ammoniteflesh]

Inspired by this post (WHICH, BE WARNED, CONTAINS DA4 SPOILERS).

Varric is a writer. In all writing - but especially fiction - you really benefit from specificity. Small details. Individual circumstances. The reader's mind latches onto it much more effectively, that way.

Varric does not see the big picture. He sees specifics. He doesn't see the plight of mages, or the threat posed by magic. He sees his friend Hawke, and what they thought. Where Bartrand saw all of Orzammar, Varric just saw plates.

Varric doesn't believe in things. He doesn't care about ideology, he doesn't have a vision for the world. He believes in individuals. He cares about his friends.

Which is the real tragedy, right? Because the people Varric cares about... they *do* believe in things. They won't make Varric their yardstick for how the world should be. They won't choose Varric over their cause. They won't be content with how things are.

Being Varric Tethras is watching the people you care about turn away from you for reasons you will never comprehend.

[helga-grinduil]

can someone please explain to me how afo reveal 'absolves' nana and kotarou? i mean, nothing about nana's actions and etc changed with this reveal. literally zero. she still chose to keep ofa with herself instead of passing it on. she still sacrificed her own happiness for the sake of others and hurt her son by doing what was right. it only confirmed that what she did was for nothing.

afo didn't manipulate kotarou to hate heroes and didn't suggest being strict with tenko, he only encouraged him ALREADY being strict with tenko. and lord, okay, you can argue that kotarou's trauma was the result of afo hunting down and killing ofa holders (nana included) and their families, but we knew that since, like, forever. why did this become a deal breaker only now???

why are we taking afo's words about tomura having no agency literally? what is this, 2019???

[carlyraejepsans]

for real WHERE does the idea that [utdr humans] are nongendered so that "you can project on them" come from. their literal character arcs are about NOT being a blank slate to be filled in by the audience

i think i understand the assumption on some level for undertale, because there is a very intentional effort to make you identify with the "player character" in order to make your choices feel like your own (the beating heart of undertale's metanarrative lies in giving you an alternative path to violence against its enemies after all, and whether you're still willing to persue it for your own selfish reasons. YOUR agency is crucial).

of course, the cardinal plot twist of the main ending sweeps the rug from under your feet on that in every way, and frisk's individuality becomes, in turn, a tool to further UT's OTHER main theme: completionism as a form of diegetic violence within the story. replaying the game would steal frisk's life and happy ending from them for our own perverse sentimentality, emotionally forcing our hand away from the reset button.

i think their neutrality absolutely aids in that immersion. but also, there's this weird attitude by (mostly) cis fans where it being functional within the story makes it... somehow "editable" and "up to the player" as well? which is gross and shows their ass on how they approach gender neutrality in general lol.

but also like. there's plenty of neutral, non PCharacters in undertale and deltarune. even when undertale was just an earthbound fangame and the player immersion metanarrative was completely absent, toby still described frisk as a "young, androgynous person". sometimes characters are just neutral by design. it's not that hard to understand lol.

anyone who makes this argument for kris deltarune is braindead. nothing else to say about it.

[mishy-mashy]

I said this in a whole reblog, but just copy-pasting to a separate post because I think it'll give some reading comprehension and reblogs don't show up in the search feature.. again, I'm reiterating what I said in another post.

Go check out @demidokuriya 's post for this; OP's post made me put this all down in like. 20 minutes. Mind went vroom vroom cuz HEY THEY'RE ONTO SOMETHING.

(They also reblogged the post with some hint to some behind the scenes of what led to the ideas if you wanna check that out)

Look below at how, when Mineta told AFO to spare Tokoyami, AFO specifically went "..."

He remembers Jirou and thinks, The braying howls of the weak...

He was going to take Tokoyami's Quirk. He took Hawks'. But after Mineta pleaded with him, AFO just straight-up left and didn't take anyone else's Quirk.

AFO saw Yoichi in Mineta.

These scenes are near-identical to each other.

Mineta and Yoichi (at that time) are both much smaller than the normal person at their age

They're both hurt, yet dragged themselves up from the ground to throw something at AFO, to get his attention and make their voice

Both are considered weak, even if they have a Quirk (Mineta's Pop-Off and Yoichi's undeveloped Factor)

The fact that Yoichi got AFO's attention here by throwing a can at him, while Mineta got his attention by throwing a Pop-Off ball; and it stuck.

Mineta's call for his attention landed and actually stuck to AFO. This is unlike when Yoichi and his can bounced off, and AFO kicked him, not listening to him; AFO listened to Mineta and left Tokoyami alone, technically doing what Mineta wanted—to not hurt this person.

AFO just went on to hurt more people away from Mineta's [Yoichi's] eyes so the small weakling wouldn't see.

Yoichi and Mineta both cried to AFO to not hurt in his ways, when AFO was intent on stealing people's Quirks

AFO even stole Hawks' Quirk during this time.

He had time to steal Hawks' Quirk, and though he could've tossed him to the side, he let Hawks stand in his way.

He had the energy. Right after this event, he flew off and left the scene. But he didn't go for Tokoyami immediately.

And this let Mineta play his part, and remind AFO of Yoichi.

"A putrid, festering Quirk Factor."

That sounds like Yoichi, AFO.

".. such garbage."

Hey hey hey, what did Yoichi throw at him when they were kids?

A discarded can. Garbage.

This chapter (385) where AFO listens to Mineta is literally called [A Youthful Urge].

Mineta told AFO to take his Pop-Off (hurt him) instead. But last time, AFO hurt Yoichi by kicking him; this time, AFO not only listened to Mineta to not hurt Tokoyami, but didn't touch Mineta at all.

Even though this time, Mineta [Yoichi] offered to take that place of suffering.

Yoichi didn't do that back then. AFO just turned on little Yoichi anyway.

Yoichi through his whole existence is literally [the braying howls of the weak]. AFO acknowledges he's weak and idealistic, yet he still loves him.

Side note about this panel, I think it's interesting that in this vision, this was the first time we saw Yoichi's eyes: when he was being defiant, despite being pushed down by someone much stronger than him.

Really characteristic of him, honestly. Yoichi's soft-spoken and frail, but it's always reiterated that Yoichi had a powerful will against his stronger big brother.

Mineta at this moment reminded him too much of Yoichi, because the two scenes are near-identical to each other. Parallels, really.

Reiterating something from OP's post that I reblogged this from;

"The reminder of his brother made him uncomfortable, so he hurried away."

AFO didn't want to hurt Yoichi again.

[realbeefman]

wanting to apply for a job that i am absolutely underqualified for but remembering that men on average apply for jobs if they only meet 50% of the qualifications while women typically only apply if they meet ALL the qualifications so i just need to man up. really.

[nikolas-ghostbusters-fixation]

Something I've been thinking a lot about lately is how everyone thought Egon had gone insane. What Happened that made them think that. They've fought a gigantic Stay Puft Marshmellow Man TWICE (counting the 2009 video game because iirc it's canon? Correct me if I'm wrong), fought an interdimensional god, fought a blood thirsty ruler that killed thousands and was hated by all that was trapped in a painting (and managed to get in to beat him by making THE STATUE OF LIBERTY start walking down the street with slime that reacted purely based on vibes), found an underground abandoned transit system full of the moodslime, had a bathtub try to eat Dana and her baby, fought a giant murderous black widow lady, fought the fisherman ghost who turned an entire hotel floor into the bottom of a ocean, and that's not even mentioning them getting trapped on an island that randomly raised up from underwater that had been abandoned for decades created by Ivor Shandor who worshipped Gozer. So what did he do or say that made everyone else think he'd gone insane?? All I can think is maybe he was acting strange / eratic before, but he's always been like that to some degree.

I don't know. It's something that I've been thinking about. The correct answer is 'it's not that deep and they needed a reason that the others weren't together anymore and weren't aware of Egons death or know what was going on,' but also. What Was He Saying that prompted everyone, including Ray, to think he lost his mind when he'd been right almost every time before that.

I'm genuinely so curious as to what he was up to before this. What was he doing. What insane idea was working on prior to this or was he even working on anything at all??

Also want to clarify this post isn't negative 😭 I really love the newer movies and their lore / the newer storyline / characters, I just like thinking about small stupid things like this. Gives me something to think about / speculate about / figure out an answer to.

[nostalgia-tblr]

"are people not into that?" i ask, after posting my weird niche shit to the internet, despite knowing it to be weird niche shit.

[skinreflectsthesun]

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[bonebabbles]

Slash's Famous Scene

Here we are, lads. Everyone's favorite scene in the totally best arc of WC. The one where Slash pins a pregnant woman to the ground and licks her face, while threatening her fetuses and cutting her cheek open so Clear Sky can have more man pain.

So far I've been using "fridging" as synonymous with the brutal killing of a female character to advance a male character's arc; but I do want to remind everyone that the term "fridging" describes disproportionate violence done to women in the service of their husband/brother/father/son's arcs. It doesn't HAVE to be death; it can also be battery, maiming, depowering, or sexual assault.

So far, 8 women have died to serve male arcs, most of them for Clear Sky specifically. Fluttering Bird, Bright Stream, Storm, Misty, Bumble, Turtle Tail, Rainswept Flower, and Petal. Now Star Flower gets sexually harassed and kidnapped, bringing the arc's fridge total to 9.

Anyway content warning, obviously. It's still Warrior Cats and doesn't get too graphic, but this bag contains a dead dove.

First, Clear Sky gets another toesucking from the ghost of his wife who died after leaving his controlling ass. Specifically, after he threw his disabled brother out of his Clan, and after his lust for seeing random people (including his brother) get mauled at the border resulted in the death of Fox.

She tells him that his behavior never drove anyone away, it was all totally not his fault. I'm waiting for a laugh track and it never comes. The apologetics in this arc are unrivaled.

Then, Clear Sky wakes up and his pregnant wife is not next to him. So he goes looking for her and sees her being flanked by Slash and his memorable minions, Grunt 1 and Grunt 2. Star Flower is so possessed by fear that she doesn't move.

They REALLY need to sell that Slash is TRUE evil, PURE evil, because of the wet fart that is Clear Sky's redemption arc. They're saying that Clear Sky ISN'T bad, because he is not this. A dirty, sadistic monster who coos evilly about how he's going to hurt the kittens in his wife's belly and cruelly twitches his whiskers.

(as a petty side detail, please also note that this passage cannot even keep Slash's fur color straight. Behold, a cat so evil that he cannot even remain a brown tabby! He turns gray when he commits nefarious deeds! Ashfurification included!)

Star Flower is the one being pinned to the ground and having her face cut open as Slash screams about how she promised her father she'd be his mate, but this scene is about Clear Sky's distress. Star Flower is an object to this narrative, which these two men are in conflict over.

The pinning, the violence, the sexual implications, are being done to make Slash as monstrous as possible to contrast to Clear Sky. Slash doesn't kill anyone, so the narrative needs to make you SO UPSET your emotions are thrown into overdrive, so you'll accept how truly terrible he is.

The simple truth that this rancid book is trying to make you ignore, is that Clear Sky is exponentially more deadly. He has caused harm so unspeakable that they have to describe his bloody murders in passive voice. They "died" now, instead of "were killed," and the violent system he created is presented as "making up" for the trauma he's caused to the survivors.

"Pushing his muzzle close to her injured cheek, he licked the blood from her fur with a long, lingering lap."

Think critically about the characters they are presenting and the actions they make them do. None of these are real people. They are writing choices. They have portrayed Slash as a perverted, domineering, child-abusing savage, so Clear Sky the Settler can look good in comparison.

then Star Flower gets dragged off, kicking and struggling, feeble and completely unable to defend herself as clear sky thinks about how she might die along with his fetuses.

Obviously Clear Sky is so very stressed out by all this and needs to blow off some steam, so he smacks the nearest woman and starts screeching about how Star Flower is more loyal than the son he abuses

The first thing he does after the Slash event was physically assault the nearest woman. I can't... I don't have the words. Are you seeing this. Do you see what I am fucking dealing with. literally the first woman he sees.

"DOES THAT FEEL LIKE AN ACT??" He bellowed like a fucking wifebeater at the girl whose face is bleeding because he cut her in a fit of rage. That's fine as long as you don't lustfully lick it afterwards I guess!!!

[noirandchocolate]

I mentioned my Master Kohga's father in tags on another post, so now this post is my headcanons about how succession to the position of Master works in the Yiga Clan.

The short answer is, it's inherited, but it isn't automatic/doesn't have to be.

The Clan is not a monarchy (ewww, they would say!), and while they do have great "allegiance to their Master" according to Creating a Champion, the Master isn't thought of as a ruler. (I also do not hc that the Yiga are a "cult," and mine are certainly not a cult where they worship Master Kohga (either the specific guy in AoC/BotW/TotK or the "Master" as a concept/post held by many.)) They absolutely do not believe in a divine right to rule (that's stupid annoying Hylian nonsense and one of the things they rebelled against in the first place), and they also don't think that simply because a person is the scion of the particular bloodline/family that currently holds the Master position, they must necessarily be the best candidate for the job. I dunno, I just really don't think that a group that formed in opposition to an oppressive monarchy that betrayed them would keep a family in power forever in a similar monarchical system just because they're that family, or would let someone keep the position indefinitely if that person was genuinely horrifyingly bad at the job.

That said, the Master also can't be said to truly be a "first among equals" or "democratic"-type position. The Clan does treat its Masters special. They follow them, they protect them especially, they'll do their bidding loyally according to each leader's personal style (some like to be pampered--*coughcurrentKohgacough*--while others are more austere--currentKohga's father's mother's father for example). A Master Kohga expects orders to be followed. They ("Master" is a gender-neutral term and position) have a Right Hand and certainly take advice from others within the Clan, but ultimately they hold the final say on things, with all the power and all the responsibility that entails. Basically, what the Master says, goes.

Until it doesn't.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, ha! Better go back to the "usually inherited, but isn't automatic" part, because this post is about succession headcanons!

So, there typically will be a presumptive "heir" to the position and name of Master Kohga, and it is usually the current Master's first child. However, a subsequent kiddo might distinguish themself in a leadership/martial prowess/etc.kind of way and surpass their sibling into the heirship. If the Master doesn't have a child yet, the presumptive heir might be a sibling or other close relation. "Child" includes adopted kids, too, if that isn't obvious. Yiga children are raised communally, and it's considered a huge honor (/understatement of the century) if the Master thinks your kid is amazing enough to officially adopt and train to take over. A Master may also consider their Right Hand their heir. Nevertheless, traditionally it's the Master's first child, and barring one of these more unusual circumstances (and others I could go on listing--keep in mind the Clan has existed for 10,000 years), that's who'll be getting raised and trained up to take the position eventually.

Still, unlike with Hyrule's monarchy (and arguably most Earth monarchies), the Master position doesn't immediately pass to the heir upon the previous Master's death. As I said, there isn't some magical divine spark or quality that the Yiga believe transfers from one Master to the next. Instead, there is an interim period during which the Clan prepares for and holds funerary rites for the old Master and the heir...undertakes several trials and rituals to prove their worthiness for the position.

These include multiple types of challenges from hardcore meditation (as in, no food or water, very ascetic like the old Sheikah monks trained), to arcane skill demonstrations, to a trek up through the Highlands to retrieve a hidden object (somewhat similar to Blademaster candidates' journey to place bananas at the frog statues), to successfully leading a stealth raid on a Gerudo or Hylian settlement, to...well the big showy one is slaying a Molduga solo. That's the final test, a literal and symbolic showing that the heir is capable of protecting the Clan from even the biggest of natural threats. So, with all of that, it's not completely a given that the heir will succeed at becoming Master! Most do. They're raised for it, as I said. But they're not just handed the leadership role because they're a very special baby, like Hylian monarchs and nobles are. They earn it. Ultimately, what all of the tests show is that the heir is willing to go to great lengths of various types for the Clan--the underlying message beyond the shows of strength, fortitude and skill is "I do this because I am dedicated to all of you."

Once all those trials are complete, the now fully-realized heir is tattooed with a giant, red Inverted Eye on their back. (The upper "teardrop" starts at the base of the neck and from there the Eye spreads across the shoulders and back--it's big. And while most Yiga will have the Eye tattooed somewhere on their person, only the Master can have it, or any other tattoo for that matter, in red.) Their new mask is crafted, and unlike all other Yiga masks that are purely smoothed-down wood, the Master's mask has a thin overlay of bone--from the Molduga they defeated. Following that, there's an Ascension ceremony during which the title of Master and name of Kohga are officially conferred.

That's how it was with the current Master Kohga; his father was Master, he was the heir and (briefly) the Right Hand, he received all kinds of special training starting in childhood in addition to the usual martial arts stuff most Yiga learn, he completed all the trials, and he ascended to the position upon his dad's death just as expected. He "inherited the name Kohga" as stated in Creating a Champion, just like his father, grandmother, great-grandfather, and every other Master back to the very first Chief.*

Anyway, next for the "what the Master says goes until it doesn't" part I was cryptic about at the start of the post. You might think the kind of system I've described where the "heir" isn't always a Master's first child and that first child can be replaced etc., would cause just as much resentment and strife as a monarchy (I mean think of how many kings assassinated heirs to take their places irl). But again, the Clan is not a monarchy and they in fact have a formal method for those who want to assert a claim to the Master position against the heir.

As a culture, the Clan tends to be very much about maintaining internal peace because it's them against the whole rest of the world basically. So while sure, we see individual members in the games (TotK especially) complaining and having rivalries and being a lil' bitchy, ultimately they're quite cohesive and "ride or die" with each other and the group as a whole. So since the idea is to have a Master who will take care of and lead the Clan, a first child who'd rather do something else or who's a total klutz with a weapon is in most cases unlikely to be vendetta-level mad if their parent chooses their sibling as the heir. The fact that the heir doesn't have to be the Master's child at all also takes care of situations where a Master dies and their kid is still...a kid. A sibling to the deceased Master can step in and take the position, or someone else entirely can...okay here's the procedure.

The heir and even the Master can be Challenged.

Most instances of this happening occur in the above scenario: the old Master's chosen heir is still a child, and there's a sort of stylized "challenge" where that other relative or the Right Hand or someone else the Clan would agree is better than a literal ten-year-old (or whatever) to lead, declares their intent to take the tests instead and ascend to become Master. Less frequently, it can occur where the chosen heir is of-age but can't complete the requisite tests and someone else steps forward who can.

Least frequently, because as previously stated the Clan is pretty harmonious internally and generally loves its heirs and trusts its Masters' judgment, someone can Challenge the heir by attempting to undertake the tests as well. If both succeed, they will then battle it out. Not to the death! But to the defeat.

Similarly, at any time, anyone can attempt to Challenge a Master. This is incredibly rare, even across a history of 10,000 years. The Yiga are very loyal to their Masters! I was being clickbait-y with that ominous sentence before my readmore cut! However, they have the Challenge as a failsafe procedure for when a Master is, let us say...really shit at it. Acting like an utterly abusive despot, completely shirking all responsibility, repeatedly and unnecessarily/stupidly getting a lot of Clan members killed, that kind of thing. Generally a complete failure to the spirit of being a Master. The Challenge in that case consists not only of a battle, but also of a referendum in which all Clan members (anonymously) vote. If the challenger wins, they'll still have to undertake the trials to become Master. As I said, this is like, vanishingly uncommon, especially in more recent times.

For all that they're a bunch of shadowy assassins, the Clan prefers a peaceful transition of power because that kind of cohesion keeps them safest. The current Kohga's bloodline through his father has held the Master position for 800 years (keep in mind though, Sheikah-blooded folk live a long time), and his bloodline through his mother held it for several hundred before that. Still and all, every individual Master accepted the risk of the trials and the responsibility of the position. They've all been considered special, and been adored and waited on and obeyed by their Clan, but they all...

Well, one of our dear Best Guy Master Kohga's clearest, most impacting memories from his childhood is his Nana's final words to him and his father, on her deathbed:

"Go, and be Masters, my children. They will serve you, and they will love you, if you will serve them, and love them, and lead them."

As much as Kohga is theatrical, and hugely self-confident with a moon-sized ego, and loves napping and delegating chores...even with all of that window-dressing type sillygoofy personality stuff... He does care deeply for his Clan and his allegiance to everyone in it is just as great as their allegiance to him. As we see in AoC, when things get serious he will put his life on the line for them.

Just as expected of any great Master Kohga.

And he is certainly beloved for it.

[overtake]

admitting ur a larrie and saying it brought you to your current ship is such a brave personal choice. this comment should be an official diagnosis in the dsm-5.