#Another detail I don't know how to phrase to add

[pyrepostings]

Glasses in whump.

Whumpee who has them taken away/broken early into its long captivity.

Caretaker brings whumpee to get a new prescription after it is rescued, and oh the unintentional trauma triggers there.

Blood pressure cuff. Velcros on and pumps tighter and tighter with every heartbeat-

Things near its eyes, both sticks and paddles to cover them, the lights are suddenly off with a flashlight in its face.

Cold metal devices it's expected to press its face against. Smells like chemicals. Orders given on where to look. To hold still.

Whumpee takes the question of "what's the lowest line you can read?" As a test, and becomes noticeabley distressed when it 'fails'

Eyedrops. Drugs that change its ability to see. Sticky. Lashes clumping together. Hands on its face.

Then in the waiting room, either before the appointment or after while getting the prescription filled, all the glasses on the walls looking looking, staring, eyes watching. Everyone can see whumpee, whumper knows where it is.

This feeling is magnified if video or pictures of its torture were passed around or sold. Everyone can see your pain, the glasses on the walls say. Everyone can see everything you're doing wrong, all the rules you're breaking.

Choosing frames. Paralyzing decision or a gift of choice?

Does whumpee think it deserves the gift of sight?

Everything is too bright after. The new glasses make the world even blurrier as it adjusts.

But in the end, it's all worth it.

[jelloapocalypse]

Hi! I guess it’s ask time? Just wanted to say I think you’re one of the funniest people on YouTube; I have a playlist called ‘Emergency Funny’ and like half of it is just your videos.

I’m wondering, when you’re cold-reading a line, like in those streams of voice acting a video game while playing it, what are the small details, if any, that you look to to figure out how to read the line? I’m continually amazed how you manage to have near perfect delivery while never having read the line before. Sorry if this is worded confusingly I legit don’t know how to phrase it

This was sent months ago, but it's actually a very good question and talking about this might help people who like to voice games on stream get better at doing that.

For context, this is about our "fully-voiced" game playthroughs where we cold read an entire video game out loud.

One small thing I try to do that helps is pressing the "advance dialogue button" when the person speaking is about 65-70% of the way through their line. That way, if the next line is from the same character the actor has a chance to read it smoothly as though the lines were not separated at all.

If it turns out to be a different actor's line, this gives the new actor more time to skim the words as well as extra time for them to realize they're about to be speaking so they don't get caught off guard.

Doing this is actually kind of hard because every actor we work with reads at a different pace and the person actually playing the game has to keep that in mind. Oz, Vixen, Arim, and I can sight read most lines almost instantly. I've seen Oz and Vixen in particular read entire text boxes that were only onscreen for a couple frames. But, obviously, not everyone is that fast, so everyone gets different "advance the dialogue" speeds.

Ideally, if a game is well-written and the characters you're playing have a strong voice, you'll slowly fade into the character as you read them. You begin to feel the things they're saying rather than just reading words on a page. Once you hit that flow state, it becomes easier to process what they might logically say next. If you notice one of us make 2-3 errors in the span of just a few lines, it means we're probably not in that flow state.

Some games are also much easier to scan than others, usually because of their character poses.

A game like In Stars and Time has such incredible character portraits that you can usually tell the tone of the accompanying line within a few frames of a portrait change.

Loop (above) is an extremely suspicious and weird character, but voicing them was so much fun because I could always rely on the portraits and the font changes in the text to give me direction on how to play them accurately, even though I didn't actually know what their deal was until about halfway through our playthrough.

Coffee Talk also has very strong portraits that react in real time to the lines of dialogue. The framing can push characters smaller or larger in focus depending on how upset or meek they are, so it's very easy to react on sight and adjust accordingly.

Every time a game developer takes the time to painstakingly add portraits that match every single line, every time they add SFX to accentuate certain words, every time a font wiggles to tell you someone is speaking in a sing-songy way, that's all direction that the game's creators are giving you.

Another thing that helps is just media literacy. I think everyone on the channel is pretty good at that because, speaking frankly, I don't like hanging out with people who have bad media literacy, lmao.

The more media you consume, the easier it becomes to know how a story is going to go. Even a really well-written mystery usually has only 3-5 real options for an ending, and while you're reading games aloud it's a good practice to consider all of them equally so your reads make sense no matter what. You'll notice it's pretty rare something takes us entirely by surprise in a read-through.

Also, of note, it's much easier to notice specific foreshadowing and word choice in dialogue when you're reading it aloud as opposed to silently skimming.

A solid example is our fully-voiced playthrough of Trails From Zero, which actually happened on SurpriseRoundRPG a few years back and not my own Twitch or YouTube.

Minor spoilers, but the character above, Ernest, has some antagonistic interactions with your main party over the course of this game. He wants Ellie, the white-haired party member, to quit the police force (that's your group) and go back to working with him in the Mayor's office.

When Arim played this game solo he didn't really think much of this guy. However, when he played the game for us and we read it out loud, having lines like the one pictured above spoken aloud makes it kind of impossible not to notice that this man is a freak. Mo, his VA, ended up playing him as a manosphere incel weirdo because that's the vibe he was putting out, and, lo and behold, that's pretty much exactly the character he turned out to be.

There's a running theme on our channel where commenters are often surprised to see the game "play into our bits" and how we "accidentally predict things".

What's really happening is the reverse.

It's very, very rare that we decide to make up a bit from absolutely nothing. It's not a hard and fast rule, but I find we only make jokes and play up aspects of characters based on things that are already there. Hence that one time in Miles is a Robot when I said something awful and sexual as Ray Shields, Oz groaned, and I said "Hey man, I'll give him a different joke when the game gives me somethin' else to work with!" I didn't choose to make Ray awful and sexual all the time. That's just how he is, so that's the well we pulled bits from.

Because we only extrapolate from existing content and our "silly" versions of the characters onscreen are just exaggerated versions of what's really there, whenever the game gives us more info about them, the new stuff tends to be very in-line with the bits we've already been doing. It's not us being psychic. It's us being consistent!

It also helps that almost all the regulars on my channel have done professional voice work and have been doing some version of this for literally 10+ years. Practice makes perfect!

[maximumzombiecreator]

I would actually like to know what you consider the basics of improv to be! If nothing else, you phrase these things really well and in ways I haven't heard before, and I'm also aware there's a lot of things I don't know (I'm in a student run college improv group, our theory might be a bit lacking)

Be glad to. A lot of improv stuff is just oral tradition at this point, passed down in musty school drama rooms and community centers, so everyone has to pick it up somewhere. When I've taught people before, beyond the basic definition of what an improv scene looks like, I usually focus on a set of do's and don'ts.

Do's:

Make offers, and make them good offers. A good offer should be strong and elegant, like a power lifter in a ball gown.

Broadly speaking, I'd say the strength of an offer refers to how much it establishes about the scene, and how much what it establishes is different from a theoretical "default" scene. Typically, you think about how much an offer is establishing in terms of the questions words: who are the characters, what are they doing, where are they, etc. An offer that establishes "two characters who are old friends since high school meeting up at a coffee shop to catch up" is establishing a lot, but it's still a weak offer because it's such a typical scene. You're not adding much that can't just be taken for granted.

When I say a good offer should be elegant, I mean that it should be as compact as possible while still doing a lot. The typical inelegant offer is verbose and unnatural. A character walks into a scene and says, "Hey, big brother Billy, I hope you're recovering from the illness you've had for the last six months, ever since our father died," or some other expository nightmare.

So, the best offers are both. They create a lot of unique, interesting details about the scene, and they do it quickly. Let's say you stagger into the scene, miming carrying something under your arm, and say, "Doctor! I've been decapitated again!" In five words, you've established who you and another character are, where you are, and why, and you've implied a lot of very unusual details about the scene, world, and your character's history.

When thinking about elegant offers, it's also worth noting that a lot of offers that you should be making are physical. Depending on the type of improv you're doing, you might be physically embodying objects and the environment, and if you're doing background like that you can add a ton of detail that the audience can pick up without friction. But even if you're not, you can establish location through miming actions, you can create details about your character through how you walk and hold your body, you can endow others with traits through how you physically react to them.

That brings us to the next do: make strong character choices and enhance other actors' characters. People have written whole books on what comprises a "strong character" but for improv purposes I'd focus on three details: quirks, status, and connections.

Quirks are fairly straightforward: what makes this character unusual? Establishing character quirks is the focus of a lot of improv games and exercises, and the best quirks are quick to establish, significantly inform the character, and are handled with enough sincerity to make the character compelling rather than only funny.

Status refers to how powerful and important a character is. High status characters will command the room, low status characters will be ignored or mistreated. Status might shift over the course of a scene. The sheriff is a high status character until the king shows up, for example. Status might seem like an obvious thing to figure out from a character's role, but it's useful to play with it. What does a low status king look like? What does an employee-boss scene look like if you decide your employee is higher status than the boss?

Connections refer to the relationships between characters. This is going to drive scenes more than most other character details, and you almost always want to avoid unconnected characters. Choosing a connection to an existing character is a very good first choice when entering a scene, as it should immediately suggest a direction for the scene to take. This is also a reason to favour unusual connections. If two actors are in a scene where they're arguing about a fender bender they've been in, you could choose to enter as one of their friends, but it'll be far more dynamic if you choose a more unusual connection. What if you're one of their anger management therapists? Their boss? Their dominatrix?

In addition to creating your own character, you should add to other actors' characters. The main way you do this is endowment, giving the character traits through your offers. Direct endowment is when you simply ascribe them a trait. If you say, "Bill, you've been mayor for the last ten years," then you're obviously giving them the trait of "mayor." But there's also indirect endowment, where you add something to a character through part of how you react to them. If you flinch when another character moves suddenly, you're endowing them with the traits of being dangerous and erratic. If you speak to them very slowly and simply, you're implying something about how intelligent your character perceives them to be.

Putting it all together, the last big thing to do is build up. There can be a temptation in improv to build out, to add new details to scenes that sort of sprawl outward from the original premise. Try to avoid that. When you add new details, make them ones that build on the existing details. Instead of adding new tensions or conflicts, raise the stakes of existing ones. Reincorporate and re-contextualize things that have already been established. Incorporate audience suggestions repeatedly, using them to colour other offers.

Don'ts:

No blocking. This is the one even people who don't know improv know. If someone adds something to the scene, go with it. Don't reject or ignore offers, incorporate and build on them.

No wimping. Whatever the scene is, whatever your character is, whatever offers are made, fully commit. Bring all your energy to it. If someone says your character is on fire, don't just stop, drop, and roll and then go back to whatever else was going on. That's wimping. Be the most on fire that you can be.

No dithering. When you're in a scene, always be adding to it or moving it forward. Saying something that just fills space, at best makes a joke, and doesn't add to the scene is bad form, it doesn't give other actors anything new to work with. If you're dithering, you're forcing other actors to pick up the slack. This is called "gagging" if you're being funny by not adding to the scene, and is a great way to be popular with the audience and have everyone else hate you, don't be that person.

Don't make yourself look good at the expense of your scene partners. It's okay to get laughs at the expense of other characters, but not at the expense of other actors. Help others get into the scene, develop their characters, and give them things to respond to, add onto their offers.

Related to the above, don't steal the spotlight. If there's a scene going on that you're not the focus of, you should be trying to figure out how to enhance what's going on. Everyone can tell when an actor can't bear to be in a supporting role, and it's not a cute look.

More than anything, don't betray the trust of other performers. All theatre requires trust, but improv requires so much trust. If you lose that trust, you're done, you've got nothing.

[poisonlove]

Thoughtless sex | w.a

Y/n is Tyler’s sister, a blood bond that was supposed to bring harmony, but the tumultuous past continues to cast a shadow over them. Wednesday doesn’t seem to care about this detail and ignoring her conscience decides to turn off her sexual desires with the girl Galpin

Will they manage this intricate web of feelings without disrupting their lives forever?

Warning: 18+

"Yes... continue" she said biting her lips hard. I clung more to her thighs and stuck my tongue in her privacy.

We were in the woods away from prying eyes.

"Shit!" Wednesday moans biting her lower lip, closing her eyes. I smiled and kissed her inner lips gently, releasing a stream of saliva that connects her to my mouth. With one hand, I made rotating movements around her clitoris, causing Addams' sighs to become heavier. My hand was completely covered with her fluids, I leaned over and left another kiss on the bundle of nerves.

I licked with my tongue the excitement I had on my lips. I put my lips back around her clitoris and stuck two fingers inside her.

With the corner of my eye I saw Wednesday’s knuckles turn completely white, squeezing the car seat in need

The moans echoed in the car.

The walls of Addams narrowed around my fingers and I realized it was coming.  Wednesday put her hands in my hair and put more pressure on her intimacy. I kept licking and penetrating.

Her back arches more.

" IF..." moans and arching fingers I found her G-spot. Mostly twin. -"Fuck!" exclaims.

Her hips moved more and I increased the rhythm of the lick. As I stopped penetrating her, I put my fingers in her mouth, sucking her nectar.

" Look at me" I exclaim with a small smile, ceasing to lick her delicious intimacy. With difficulty she put the weight on her arms and looked at me excitedly.

She was covered in sweat and her lower lip was caught between her teeth. I took her legs and invited her to rest on my shoulders, giving me more access to her privacy. Without looking away, I licked again and saw that Wednesday moved the weight on one arm, the other stretched it and put her hand between my hair. 

Wednesday moves her hips again.

Moaning.

"Fuck!. Yes.." whispers.

Her eyes turned white with excitement. She turned her attention back to me.

"Y/N" exclaims with difficulty.

" I’m.. to... " murmurs with difficulty and does not even finish pronouncing the phrase I feel her excitement pouring into my mouth.

I ate the excess.

Wednesday moves swiftly to fix her skirt, glancing at herself in the rearview mirror of the car.

I wipe my mouth, slightly incredulous at Wednesday's gesture, and sigh audibly.

"What's going on?" Addams mumbles weakly, looking at me with boredom.

"Do we always have to see each other in these circumstances?" I ask curiously, leaning against the seat.

"Between us, it's just sex," Wednesday frowns.

"I know... but do we always have to do it in this car? Maybe we could meet somewhere else, maybe in my room or yours," I murmur absentmindedly, biting my lower lip.

"Some things are off-limits, too many risks," Wednesday confesses venomously. "Plus, I don't want Enid to suspect," she adds coldly. "She hates the fact that you're Tyler's sister," she admits.

Tension in the car increases as Wednesday's words hang in the air.

Wednesday Addams' eyes are truly a wonder. They have a mysterious and seductive color, a deep and vibrant black hue that seems to capture the light fascinatingly. They are piercing eyes capable of expressing a wide range of emotions, from a seductive and provocative gaze to a cold and distant one. They are the eyes of a woman who knows how to use her charm to her advantage and who hides intriguing secrets.

I visibly get angry.

"I know Tyler was horrible to you, but I'm not like him... I'm genuinely interested in you, Wed," I murmur with a hurt tone, reaching out to her.

Wednesday moves away quickly.

"I don't want to be seen in public with someone like you," she confesses, looking at me defiantly.

I nervously smile and simply shake my head.

"Fine, I don't want to be seen with a shallow and unpleasant girl," I admit, and Wednesday looks at me seriously.

"Between us, it's over," I confess seriously.

"Well, then we're done, useless," she looks at me defiantly. Wednesday swallows and gets out of my car.

"To leave and to end are the same thing," I shout as I watch Wednesday walk towards her rooms.

Anger and disappointment overwhelm me as I drive away from the scene, making it clear that this story has come to an end.

"No more casual sex," I whisper to the air as I start my car.

(...)

The morning sun painted the sky with golden hues as Yoko and I walked through Nevermore's ancient gate, heading to our next class at the academy. The leaves of the trees, now dressed in autumn colors, danced lightly in the air.

"So, Y/n... what class do we have now?" Yoko yawned and adjusted her sunglasses.

"We have art history," I replied, smiling, flipping through the schedule. "It will be interesting."

Yoko stretched and nodded, ready to face the next part of the academic day. As we headed towards the classroom, the campus buzzed with student energy.

"And tell me..." Yoko murmured with a hint of curiosity. "Why didn't you tell me you're with someone?" she asked, playfully revealing her fangs.

"W-What?" I stammered, panicking and shaking my head. "Y/n, if you want to keep it a secret that you're with someone, at least cover the hickies," she said mischievously, and my cheeks turned red.

I spotted Wednesday in the distance, walking carefree with Enid. I felt sad and neglected, as if my role in her life had become invisible. It was as if a piece of my heart shattered seeing that my presence didn't seem to matter to her anymore. I wanted to call out to her, to make her notice me, but something held me back, leaving me with an emptiness and a sadness that tightened my chest.

"Hey," Yoko called, snapping her fingers and catching my attention.

She gave me a shy smile and hugged me, wrapping an arm around my neck as we walked together.

"I was distracted... sorry," I said with sadness, trying to hide my unease behind a forced smile. "Let's go," I continued, forcing a happier expression.

Addams gave me a quick glance, a flash of interest or perhaps something more complex, before walking decisively towards the building entrance.

I felt increasingly involved in this intricate situation, as if I were trapped in a web of complicated relationships. The sadness continued to burn inside me, but I tried to focus on the present moment, trying to overcome this discomfort that undermined my confidence.

Walking beside Yoko, I took a deep breath and prepared to face the day.

"Hey, sorry..." Yoko bit her lower lip slightly, visibly concerned. "I just remembered I have to meet Bianca," she confessed quickly.

I sighed, realizing that the situation forced me to separate from her, even if only for a while. Yoko gave me a apologetic smile and a kiss on the cheek before heading towards Bianca, the queen of this school.

I watched her go, feeling a mix of loneliness and determination.

I put on my headphones, trying to isolate myself from the surrounding world as I climbed the stairs. I had to cross the deserted and abandoned corridor. My heart was racing, the tension in the air palpable.

Suddenly, two hands grabbed my collar with firmness, pulling me abruptly into the rarely frequented bathrooms. A shiver ran down my spine, and my eyes met Wednesday's black irises. Her gaze seemed penetrating, dark, and enigmatic.

I stood still, caught between fear and curiosity.

Wednesday's hands firmly grabbed my pants' belt, making me tense, as she approached my neck with determination. I looked confused, unable to understand what was happening.

"What are you doing?" I asked uncertainly, trying to ignore the confusion that overwhelmed me.

Wednesday looked at me seriously, without answering, before leaning further and pressing her cold lips against mine. A shiver ran down my spine, and for a moment, instinct made me respond to the kiss.

But reason prevailed.

I finally found the strength to break that kiss, my heart beating fast, and my breath short.

"We're done, Wednesday," I managed to say decisively, trying to convey my feelings.

But she held my neck firmly, pushing me again towards her for a needy kiss.

"I don't like to fight, okay?  Can we keep fucking" she whispered calmly, her hands still around my neck.

I was astonished, my mouth opened to say something but remained speechless. Wednesday swiftly moved to my neck, starting to leave sloppy kisses on it.

I felt trapped in a whirlwind of conflicting emotions, desire conflicting with confusion and the need to express what I really wanted.

I timidly returned the kiss, still confused but drawn to that intense energy. Wednesday genuinely smiled against my lips, a smile that seemed to carry a strange mix of pleasure and torment.

My heart was beating fast.

The bathroom door swung open with a dull noise, and in a panic, I turned my eyes towards the person responsible.

Wednesday still had her hands around my neck, her obvious state revealing what we were doing. Addams stood there, breathing heavily, her braids unkempt.

"But what the fuck..." Enid exclaimed, her mouth wide open in disbelief.

A sense of embarrassment and dismay overwhelmed me. I felt as if I had been caught in something forbidden and shameful. The words seemed to get stuck in my throat as I tried to find explanations that eluded me.

Everything plummeted in an instant. The consequences of this situation will be unavoidable.

Damn.

[into-the-feniverse]

Finished reading Trigun/TriMax a couple days ago and have been feverishly trying to piece together a timeline, so here’s the result of that ✨

EDIT: as of 3/13/24 this has been UPDATED

For a more detailed timeline (with vol/ch marks): google sheet

Full res of the graphic (& other resources): bit.l/trigunresources

Notes & rest of the timeline under the cut!

Edits as of 3/13/24

The detailed spreadsheet is organized and color coded! If you'd like a more concise breakdown of events/see some of my reasoning behind certain time stamps feel free to skim through that

Changed where in the timeline the Maylene and Wolfwood events happened (originally where I had placed them would have made Maylene like 6 when she and Wolfwood reunited which is NOT correct)

moved where in the timeline Knives started collecting the GungHo Guns (at latest he started in 0090 (20 years before 0110) since it's noted that Monev has been training in a cellar for the past 20 years

Moved where Knives initially tracked down Conrad (felt like it needed to happen at least a decade before July)

Changed up some of the months (personally, I don't think the Ark launched in December, since that'd put Milly and Meryl's arrival to the colony in July, which wouldn't make sense. So I placed the ark launch in October which of course offset some of the other month stand ins)

Added an earth year for when Knives and Vash are born. The explanation is I think at minimum there was at least a 2 year period between them and Tesla (since Rem was around for that whole process). I do think it was more than that, but that’s the earliest possible year I think it could have happened. Personally I’m more in the camp of 5-10 years, but def not 50 like in tristamp

Old Notes:

If you see any typos or phrase inconsistencies: no you don’t 💕 (😭)

Blue text can be completely ignored, that’s just kinda my personal preference/wild guesstimating of when “exactly” those events happened

Blue lines can also be ignored, they’re also just rough guesstimates on where exactly in the timeline these could have happened

The distance of the lines from one another doesn’t really mean anything, I started trying to follow a system to notate when things happened really close together but it was//// not consistently done ngl

Fun fact: by the time Wolfwood leaves the orphanage Meryl is 18! And she was 14 at the time of July’s destruction

Additional fun fact: Brad is 17 when he and sensei meet up with Vash in the Factioned city (which I think is absolutely RIDICULOUS), and we know this because he was 4 the one/last time he had met Vash and it’s been 13 years since

It was noted by Karen, one of Meryl’s coworkers, that she and Milly had been on assignment with Vash for about 4 months. (Might be that they were out searching for him during that time as well, but I’m choosing to interpret it as they were actually with him for that amount of time)

I’m also working on a 98 timeline for comparison (but more like just sequence of events cause I don’t think I have the patience to sift through the lore quite as much… mainly making it just to clarify how the anime delineates from the manga)

I am//::: feeling v unhinged after this and feel like it could be improved/i need to do a more thorough read, but I’m calling it quits for now before I actually go insane (but hopefully some people will find it somewhat helpful!)

Also: if anybody has any notes to add or clarifications/corrections I would be more than happy to hear them 👂

[lover-of-skellies]

Rambles about heavy subjects under the cut

So uhhhhhh

I never thought I'd have to make a post like this, because it just feels weird and I'm not sure what to do or how to phrase things, but

My grandpa died yesterday. I wasn't there when my mom received the call from the hospital, I just heard about it from my sister. My sister and I were never really all that close with him because of some issues within the family, and our mom wasn't too close with him for a while either, but she'd made amends with him. She'd go see him, pick him up for holiday dinners and gatherings so he could be with us and be a part of the family again, and then she'd take him home. He was a diabetic, so she'd even taken on reminding him to take his meds and things, whenever he was with us. I can't tell you how many times she went to the little bar where he liked to go sing karaoke every Tuesday night (I believe. I think it was Tuesday, but it could've been another day of the week, too)

Even though my sister and I weren't really ever close with him, he meant practically the world to our mom. She's been talking to some people, since he didn't have a will or anything written up. His passing was sudden and unexpected, so now everyone's scrambling to figure out the details for what to do with him

We don't have a lot of money. Sometimes it's hard scraping by, as is. My mom works at a hospital, my sister started working at a pet store, and I'm fighting with the social security people to try getting disability. I've been denied probably 3 times already, but I'm still trying my hardest to get through to them

The cheapest option for funeral stuff for my grandpa is cremation, but even then, that's $3000. We don't have that kind of money. His girlfriend's pastor chipped in maybe $500, I think, but beyond that, I'm not sure. I feel like I need to do something to help this situation, since my mom absolutely doesn't need this financial issue on her shoulders. She has a lot to worry about already as things currently stand, and I feel bad that I can't do more for her, but. All I can do is this. Making a post, rambling about the situation, and maybe asking if people could consider donating a little to my Ko-Fi

Donations would help a lot tbh, and I think my current donation goal was set to like... $200 - $250, something like that, but. It's a start. There are some things in my shop you can buy, I'm gonna try to add more soon, and I have commissions open, even though I haven't drawn in ages

I feel really icky about doing this and asking for donations, because I know that for a lot of us, money is tight, and I understand that things aren't cheap anymore. $300 used to get you a heaping cart of groceries that'd last a while, but now, it barely covers enough to last 2 weeks

I.... don't really know how to finish this post off, or how to properly close it, so. Again, donations would be greatly appreciated and it'd help a lot, and I'd be so, so grateful for every cent of it. It's not an obligatory thing by any means. You don't HAVE to donate, and if you can't afford to, I completely understand

[otomes-world]

Interviewing witnesses

In the end, I'm still not sure about the outcome, but I don't want to delete or keep this post in drafts. If the characters don't look like themselves, I apologize. I haven't written dialogue for a long time. Just let me know and I'll add the OOC tag Prologue

Chasing two birds is not your style. Of course, you could have limited yourself to general information, briefly write about everything that was happening. However, your internal professionalism and the desire to do everything right, since you had already get half of payment, did their job. You decided to focus on one rumor and process it as well as you could. After all, the client did not specify what exactly and about whom they wanted to know.

Voluntarily getting involved in matters concerning royal families was like trying on the role of a beast tamer. The same one who stuck head into the open mouth of a lion or a tiger. In this case, a lion or a dragon. Not a very attractive prospect.

So you took the path that promised all the juiciest details, regardless of where the investigation led you. Whose rumor sounded the most interesting of all? Of course, about the head of Octavinelle, a young student from a decent family, consistently ranking high in grades and owning a thriving business on the college campus.

Whose deputy and his twin brother did different jobs.

The Coral Sea had long attracted with its mystery, a culture completely different from others. To contribute and become the discoverer of its secrets sounded too attractive to refuse.

Following the target directly was the last and most reckless thing to do. Of course, this way you could collect more reliable information from the first person, but the risks also increased many times over. There was no point in burning extra candles.

In addition, no one was stopping you from changing direction in case of failure and trying to find out about another rumor. For example, Ashengrotto himself. The secret that lay behind the promise to fulfill any desires was a sure-fire lottery ticket for any journalist. It's a pity that you didn't have your own publishing house. How exactly the customer was going to dispose of the received material was entirely their right. Your work ended exactly at the moment of handing over the treasured envelope.

The investigation began surprisingly standardly. Classic phrases thrown here and there to get a random student to talk didn't give you anything you hadn't heard.

A model student

Polite with teachers and others

Always with a friendly smile on face

However, keeping in mind the ingrained phrase 'the quietest ones turn out to be maniacs', you refused to give in. There was definitely more to this than met the eye. Of course, it was too early to talk about criminal inclinations, but there was a grain of truth in every rumor. To single it out from a ton of lies was the true reward.

"Huh? Leech?" Ace, whom you decided to pester during your joint punishment, reacted very characteristically. "If twins deliver what is left of you to Riddle, I will not grieve. What were you thinking-.. No, you weren't thinking at all"

"You sounds like I'm about to get into something dangerous," casually waving your brush so that excess paint flew to the sides, you gave Trappola an eloquent look.

"Don't do that here, I'm just curious," the boy parodied your voice, deliberately batting his eyelashes. "Save that crap for the head. The very last time you asked about Kingscholar-senpai, you returned to Heartslabyul flying by having received a kick in the ass"

Another swing, this time more directed, made Ace jump back, dodging the flying drops.

"Said the one who walked around the college with an anemone on his head."

"That's in the past--!"

"So what happened?"

The first year let out a sigh full of irritation, putting his hands on his hips and looking at you as if you were the embodiment of the word "problem". He could make any face he wanted if it meant he would open his mouth and tell you the details.

"There were so many students involved in this situation, but no one talked about it. Yuu is silent as well. What's the reason?" Each question was accompanied by a step forward, forcing Ace to take one step back. "Was it the principal's decision? Or is the content so embarrassing that you and Deuce agreed to never talk about it again?"

"How this--" Trappola tripped over a stone and fell with a loud thud. You tried your best to suppress a caustic grin, continuing to act like an eccentric student. "Ugh! If you're so interested, go pester Leech yourself. I refuse to participate in this, no-no-no. Get up and go find trouble yourself."

Blowing a strand of hair that fell into your eyes, you straightened up, looking at the almost painted roses. So the role of a exentric student didn't work. Well, it wasn't a great loss. You just need to choose a different type. One that won't arouse suspicion and won't contradict the current one.

Throwing the brush into the bucket of paint, you walked steadily to change, ignoring Ace's indignant cries.

Jade Leech's image was a perfect cover for your next step in gathering more personal information. Of course, who could blame you for "suddenly realizing you're in love"? Many people. Especially the trio of first years, looking at you as if you've finally lost your mind. As if Riddle's punishments had knocked out the last functioning brain cells from your head.

Now the other students, looking at you added new labels "Idiot in Love" and "Love is Really Blind". Even though at first you wanted to quietly and peacefully collect material and disappear, a new wave of rumors about you untied your hands. Reputation was a small price to pay for freedom of action.

To be honest, you didn't doubt for a second that Leech knew about everything. As an experienced detective, you noticed things that others usually turned a blind eye to. How his polite smile never left his face, but his eyes narrowed into knowing slits, forcing you to re-check the mask on your face. Perhaps he was amused by your performance, or perhaps he simply did not consider you worthy of attention. A hindrance that could exist exactly until it began to interfere into his deals.

However, as long as he did not come personally, you could let him think whatever he wanted.

"Who else," you allowed a smile to bloom on your face. "You probably know about my… feelings. How embarrassing," you continued to play the student in love, touching your cheeks with your hands and looking away. "I want to prepare a gift for your vice-leader. Could you answer me a few questions? If you don't mind, of course!"

"I'm sorry, please wait!" You were pursuing another goal. This time it was Octavinelle A student. He looked like an easy target and was unlikely to blab too much.

"Y-yes?" The boy looked around nervously, but fortunately stopped. "Are you talking to me?"

"Me? Y-you mean me?" The boy glanced down the empty corridor once more, and then his eyes widened in fear. "S-sorry, I'll go!"

You let the mask fall from your face for a moment, watching the student run away, as if he was afraid for his life. Feeling movement behind you, you turned around abruptly. There stood Jade himself with a grin. He smiled like that only when talking to Azul or Floyd, planning something what you were trying so hard to find out.

"Good afternoon," you tried to smooth over the previous reaction. "Can I help you with something?"

"Aren't you the one who needs my help, Name-san?" The tone of his voice was soft and calm, but the sparkle in his eyes gave away something completely different. "You wanted to talk about me or should I say about us. Please, correct me if I'm wrong."

"Oh, but you're absolutely right!" It was too late to retreat, if you had to play the role, then until the very end. "Speaking so directly is beyond my strength, forgive me for having such a weak heart. I swear, I was planning anything bad! Really!"

"By searching for and collecting information about me?" He took a step forward while you forced yourself to stand still. "Interviewing your classmates and other students?"

"I just wanted to get to know you better," it wasn't really a lie. "I didn't think it was right to bother you with such trifles. I apologize if I caused you any inconvenience with my actions."

You looked down guiltily at the floor, secretly hoping that your acting was good enough. You mentally ran through the possible outcomes of events in your head. If he convincingly asked you to stop, even better. You would have to revise your role and add a few details, but nothing complicated.

What? For a second, you lost control of your facial expression again, allowing genuine surprise to show.

"I admit honestly, you really added troubles to my plate," you allowed yourself to glance at the young man who continued to tower over you. Contrary to popular belief, this was the first time you were standing so close, and therefore his height made you feel very small. "If you were so interested in me, instead of being content with information from others, you could have approached me personally."

"What do you mean?"

The phrase was said more for the sake of it, to buy some time and come up with a solution.

"Oh, it's so sudden," you touched your cheeks with your hands again, hiding your darting gaze. "This is a joke, right? You're not going to play with a fragile heart in love, are you?"

"Fufufu," Jade only chuckled, touching his chin with hand and baring sharp teeth in a smile, while everything inside you went cold. "You, let me remind, mentioned to others your little crush, am I right?" You nodded mechanically. "What if I express my desire, just like yours, to get to know you better?"

A gloved hand took one of your palms away from your face, forcing you to straighten up and look forward. It was a miracle you didn't snatch it away that second, allowing him to hold your hand and even brush his lips against it in a light kiss.

"Is that enough to dispel all your fears, Name-san?"

There was an unspoken, 'you add another one,' hanging in the air, but you forced yourself to smile as if he had said the sweetest thing in the world. You glanced back furtively, horrified at how long his shadow was, and how it had completely swallowed up yours.

The question of whether you should continue farce for the sake of work remained open.

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

Miles' Drawings Compilation

Sure you don't, champ?

Okay, this will be less of an analysis, and more of a collection of frames showing the drawings of Miles; I will also take notes of how many times someone appears, appearance and other details.

Let's dive in!

For this, I would looking for frames on 3 times on the movie; his sketchbook at the beginning, the wall on the subway, and his sketchbook again in Gwen's hands this time around.

We start with Miles drawing on this sketchbook.

Okay, while looking for frames I realized that some pages weren't completely show or were just being flipped, I captured as much as I could, but again, I am not doing this in any professional fashion, just pressing pause a bunch of times at half speed.

Complete Pages

First Page we see, Gwen is front and centre in a page solely dedicated to her.

For the appearance of this shot, I am pretty sure this is based on Gwen going down the portal, the last time he saw her.

Gwen appearances: 1

Gwen is the taking most of the page, but Aaron is here too, alive and looking just like another dude, as he remembers him.

There is some lettering around in the other pages, tho is hard to see.

We have one mysterious person that is mostly being obscured by Miles's head, so it will go as undefined character.

Some ketches of a street.

Gwen appearances: 2

Undefined character: 1

Aaron appearances: 1

Landscapes: 1

Lettering: 2

Okay! At first appearance, Gwen is only taking a quarter of the page; we also have Noir's first appearance, and Miles doing some Lettering, and finally some light doodles close to the spine.

Gwen appearances: 3

Undefined character: 1

Aaron appearances: 1

Landscapes: 1

Noir: 1

Lettering: 3

Doodles: 1

Okay! This entire a mostly Gwen only page, there is some words there but I think that would be more calligraphy than lettering, but would count it as lettering to not have too many numbers to keep track of.

And to give some chance to other things to score points.

Gwen appearances: 4

Undefined character: 1

Aaron appearances: 1

Landscapes: 1

Noir: 1

Lettering: 5

Doodles: 2

Once more Gwen is the biggest thing on the screen, but we have more people this time around! Thought Rio and Jeff some to be just sketches with lineart while he is putting full color to Gwen. Another point for lettering and doodle, which also, isn't that such an adorable little alien?

Gwen appearances: 5

Undefined character: 1

Aaron appearances: 1

Landscapes: 1

Noir: 1

Lettering: 3

Doodles: 3

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Once again Gwen is the bigger piece, but is also Peter's first appearance! I wonder how he would feel knowing it took this long for him to show up here.

Gwen appearances: 6

Undefined character: 1

Aaron appearances: 1

Landscapes: 2

Noir: 1

Lettering: 3

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 1

Double whammy this time around, Gwen appears big on the top corner, but also on the other page, apparently dancing. We also have a small hooded figure that I think may be Miles himself but I am not sure, and 2 people who I can't be sure who they are, so I will have those last three as Undefined characters, and finally, some more landscapes.

Gwen appearances: 8

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 1

Landscapes: 3

Noir: 1

Lettering: 4

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 1

Gwen being at the top of the page is not surprising at this rate, but I had also realized now that until this point, every drawing Miles has been actively working on has been Gwen's, except for the second page. I may add the total number at the end of this post because I am already counting a lot of things already.

Some lettering and Landscapes are here as well.

Gwen appearances: 9

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 1

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 1

Lettering: 5

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 1

Not only Aaron comes back, with Miles writing "Rest in Power," on it, I found this detail interesting because this phrase is also used a lot for people who struggled with systematic oppression; which there is a big chance was Aaron's case.

In the comics, Aaron and Jeff were criminals initially, with Jeff reforming once he became a father. We aren't sure what exactly is Jeff and Aaron's backstory in this universe; but I wouldn't discard the possibility that it was the same; with Aaron feeling he may had no other option not just because he already started this path, but because he couldn't get out due to circumstances.

Aside of this, we have another two drawings of Gwen.

We also have a drawing of Miles fighting against Dr. Oct, I wonder if this is suppose to represent the battle at the collider, or a new fight he may had with her.

Gwen appearances: 10

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 2

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 1

Lettering: 6

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 1

Miles: 1

Gwen is taking most of the page in this one, but we also have Peni's first appearance alongside her first robot. Also, on top of Gwen it says a small note of "Buy more Red!"

Gwen appearances: 11

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 2

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 1

Lettering: 6

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 1

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 1

And Noir is back! You know, considering he was the second one to appear, and the first to reappear, I wonder if Miles liked Noir that much, or maybe he is going it as art study of some sorts, since he is quite literally void of color.

Gren Goblin Appears! I didn't even register this before, I guess it does leave you with an impression.

Gwen appearances: 12

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 2

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 2

Lettering: 6

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 1

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 1

Green Goblin: 1

(FINALLY! This page goes on so quickly it took me multiple times to get it, jeez if anybody has a better idea of how to capture frames, please tell me in an ask or something please.)

Okay! So multiple people this time around, we can see Gwen a couple of times (because of course,) Noir is back (and I think my theory of this being black and white study is becoming stronger,) and on the other page we can see that Peter B is back again. Some equations as well, perhaps he needed to do it on the fly? Seems off to use his sketch book for this but oh well.

Gwen appearances: 14

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 2

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 3

Lettering: 7

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 2

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 1

Green Goblin: 1

The following pages were the ones I couldn't get complete because they were obscured when full on display, or there was never a chance on that shot to seeing the entire page.

Half Pages

On this one, we see this is the top part of page three, which is another Gwen drawing, surprise surprise. This means now she went for being in a quarter of the page to taking half the page.

Gwen appearances: 15

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 2

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 3

Lettering: 7

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 2

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 1

Green Goblin: 1

This one was hard to get, but we can see that before his hand got on top of the drawing, there was a doodle not just of Aaron, but Aaron as the Prowler!

Gwen appearances: 15

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 3

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 3

Lettering: 7

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 2

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 1

Green Goblin: 1

And finally, of course our final doodle of this sequence would be a big, beautiful close up of Gwen. Honestly his memory is impressive.

Gwen appearances: 16

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 3

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 3

Lettering: 7

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 2

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 1

Green Goblin: 1

With that, we go to the next part, the wall!

Mural

Since this one Miles just adding more drawings and such, there is really one frame to analyze. I could in theory talk about who he draws first and in which order, but I decided not to in hopes I can include all drawings in one post without hitting the limit of pics.

Is a big difficult to see everything, specially if seem in one go, so I did a breakdown of each character here.

The wall is interesting because unlike the Notebook, everyone except Aaron appears an equal amount of times, while Aaron only appears 2 times instead of 3, I found interesting how Miles drawn him both as the uncle he remembered, and the Prowler. I think even if he was technically a bad guy, Miles preferred to remember his uncle for the enterity of who he was, the good at the bad.

Also, front at centre we have Gwen, Aaron and Peter for the most part, which were also important key players last movie.

And I just notice, but this is the first time Ham appears in Miles's drawings! He is also the last one; huh, maybe not too much into cartoony art style?

Gwen appearances: 19

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 5

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 6

Lettering: 7

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 5

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 4

Green Goblin: 1

Ham: 3

Miles Notebook in Gwen's Hands.

. . .

I wasn't sure if they were going to show different drawings when Gwen had the books in her hands, I thought it was worth taking a look in case something was different, but it would make sense to just use the ones they already showcased.

What I did not expect, was to catch a continuity error.

Notice it yet? The page on the left actually had those exact same drawings on a right page earlier, in fact that page was suppose to come after the page on the right,

This is not really the first continuity error I had caught, I thought of doing a post about it, but with the news of the overworked animators I felt almost like an insult point out the mistakes when they were already working overtime to finish this movie. Perhaps at one point in the future when things had calmed down.

And if the last paragraph didn't made it clear enough: I don't want to hear anything against the animators for any possible mistakes I may point out or not in the future, I had dealt with far bigger bullshit than this and all things consider the people working on this movie deserve an award for multiple reasons.

With that out of the way, I came to see that actually, Ham DOES appear in the notebook! Miles shoulders made him difficult to see him as well as the explosion, but here he is!

Gwen appearances: 19

Undefined character: 4

Aaron appearances: 5

Landscapes: 5

Noir: 6

Lettering: 7

Doodles: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Peter: 5

Miles: 1

Peni and SP//dr: 4

Green Goblin: 1

Ham: 4

And here we have the only drawings that didn't appear before, which is of course, another big one with Gwen on it.

Also, we had seen Miles do some lettering, but, is it just me or this is the first time he has done it with her name?

On the other page we have a bus ticket, that upon closer inspection, is the Hudson Valley ticket from the last movie! This one in particular seems to be going TO Brooklyn, which means this is the ticket he had for when he, Gwen and Peter were coming back. No wonder he keep that one!

There is also a last mysterious person I have no idea who may be, I think maybe Genki? I don't remember his hair being that long but maybe it was like that at point? Will be put as a mysterious person in the final tally.

Final countdown.

Okay! The numbers may be a bit off, and I guess one could argue how many things could count as doodles/lettering, but the results seems to be this!

Gwen: 20

Lettering: 9

Noir: 6

Aaron: 5

Peter: 5

Undefined character: 5

Landscapes: 5

Doodles: 4

Peni and SP//dr: 4

Ham: 4

Rio: 1

Jeff: 1

Miles: 1

Green Goblin: 1

Miles's parents tied up with Green Goblin in appearances, which is kind of funny, but I guess he doesn't spend that much time with his parents, and he has them always in his corner so is not like he misses them like the rest. Green Goblin was probably because it could be interesting to draw.

Then we have Ham and Peni on the lower end of characters that appear, this makes sense since they didn't interact that much with Miles inthe last movie.

Landscape, Doodles and Undefined Characters come after it on the numbers, but I don't think there is much to talk about those.

Peter and Aaron being tied isn't that surprising all things consider, what it is surprised is that Noir of all people appeared more than them; I insist it can be explained by Miles trying to do black and white drawings.

Lettering is the second thing that appears the most, this number can varied depending if you lump together Grafitti style with Caligraphy or not, or even on the fact that there were some words that I didn't count for this. I think is safe to say the number would still be high one way or another.

But nothing is topping Gwen, who appears AT LEAST, 20 times in Miles's drawings.

Wow.

And Gwen is still the one who won the poll in who has crushing harder, and the worst part is that even with this number she winning makes sense.

They are both so stupid for each other, I love it.

Well, this post was more work than I expected, but it was a lot of fun either way, and this pics will be useful for references later.

I encourage people to reblog this post specially since I believe regardless if you ship Ghostflower or not, this information can come handy for anyone interested in the contents of the notebook or for fic reasons.

Thanks for reading and stay awesome!

[naffeclipse]

I saw all those harpy Penguin posts and was like "I wonder if I could help or add something" when I noticed you wanted a name for it. Idk if you already have one but here is the essence of it I have so far in general.

Cardinal Instinct, or also words or phrases and concepts such as Nature vs Nuture, Core Instincts, Celestial Alingment, Harmonic Convergence.

Cardinal because it means most important or fundamental, and it is an aspect of the Zodiac signs with Cardinal, Fixed and Muted nature's based on the cycles of seasons and their phases of the start, the intrinsic bulk and the transitional conclusion.

It also is a play on Carnal, similar to how Apex Polarity is both a play on the phrase Apex Predator and Polarity with Polar, or maybe even also just with the Poles. It is also a reference to Cardinal directions, which are the defined and known directions on a compass, they are the familiar and known paths that are often taken because they form our understanding of the world and everything in it. But although they are the most formal they are most certainly not the only ways.

This references how Eclipse and PenguinHarpy!Y/N are both following their Instincts but also are in a situation where they are coming into question. They are both trying to care for the babies, but Penguin Y/N shouldn't by the technical detail of them not being Harpies but Orca Mer young, while it makes more sense for Eclipse to be compelled to tend to them. But Eclipse Is also bending the situation when he refrains from just following that direct line of instinct, naturally arriving at the typical bloody conclusion.

While nurture is what compelled our Harpy Y/N to take these 2 baby mers under their wings literally, it's up to Eclipse to either follow the vein straight to the scent of blood at the end or deviate from nature's course and answer in kind. The heart flows both in and out, and it's nature is as entrenched in its deep and darker reaches as it is swathed in the warmer and brighter patterns where the light touches.

But we all know at the end of the day if Eclipse gets what he wants he's taking a birdie home along with the two newly adopted children.

On another note I also did ponder over the concept of Sun and Moon being in the same universe as Apex Polarity, and my interpretation/idea was Sun being a Beluga and Moon being a Narwhal. Beluga fits Sun's personality quite a bit, but I will admit I cannot imagine how the heck you'd be able to fit that goofy-ass horn on Moon. I just wanted to mention this for the mental image of magical sea unicorn Moon and musical sea canary Sun for fun.

I love Cardinal Instinct! It flows well, has lots of thought and meaning behind it, and mirrors the structure name of Apex Polarity! I'd love to use that for the AU title if you don't mind!!! The dynamics of Orca!Eclipse and Penguin Harpy!Y/N are so well defined and explored within a few paragraphs, I'm in awe!

(He's absolutely taking a birdie home along with his babies)

That's so cute!!! A natural musical ability and a beautiful white and yellow tipped tail for Sun, and a majestic tusk for Moon with a tail of deep blue mottled with white markings like stars! I'm pondering some kind of sea shell or maybe even twisting his tusk into a head cap instead of a large canine tooth.

Regardless, these two would be much more mild-mannered with our lovely photographer, though no less interested in Y/N.

Excellent thoughts all around; I'm chewing on your every word!

[autistichrlady]

The Cover Letter Toolbox

Or, how to write cover letters while autistic.

One of the autistic traits I have is difficulties with what's called "expressive language" - I don't think in words, and putting my thoughts into words takes a lot of time and effort. For me, going straight from a blank page to a full sentence that makes sense is difficult, and making that sentence sound professional is even harder. So I came up with a way to avoid starting from a blank page. This is what I do instead.

When I've read a job posting and decided I want to apply, I start by making a list of qualifications and things from the job posting that I have or can do, just a list of words or short phrases like

Customer service experience Scheduling Microsoft Office

Then I go under each of those list items and make it into a full sentence.

Customer service experience: I have five years of experience in customer service.

Once I have the most basic version of that sentence, I think about details that I can add to it. The point of a cover letter is two things-

to summarize the things from your resume that are relevant to this job, so the person doing the hiring doesn't have to read the whole thing and connect the dots themselves.

to add details and explain things that might not be in your resume.

So some details that I want to add here are that I didn't just talk to customers myself for five years, for part of that time I was a manager responsible for training other people to give good customer service. And I was good at that- we always got good results on our customer surveys, and we also always hit our goals for stuff like signing people up for the loyalty program. So now I've got a second sentence:

As the [job title] with [company], I trained our entire team on how to best serve our customers and helped ensure that my location had the best results in the region for customer loyalty.

Another thing from the job posting that I want to address with this bit is that the job I'm applying for involves helping people over the phone a lot. So I want them to know that even though my experience is in a different environment (retail instead of an office front desk) I did still have to answer phone calls and help people over the phone. This is the type of detail that's not in my resume and that someone wouldn't necessarily guess, but I really did answer a lot of phone calls working in retail.

I also added a little bit of Flavor, so it's not just assisting customers, it's "welcoming, respectful assistance". Yes, I did try like five different words there before picking these ones. Usually I look back to the job posting and pick something that relates to what they've said they want. But I find it a lot easier to figure out details like this after I have the basic structure.

This is what I ended up with for my Bit About Customer Service:

I have five years of experience in customer service, providing welcoming, respectful assistance to customers over the phone and in person. As the [job title] with [company], I trained our entire team on how to best serve our customers and helped ensure that my location had the best results in the region for customer loyalty.

If I really wanted to add a lot of detail, I'd put numbers in here- how big "our entire team" was, what the "best results" were and how we were measuring it. But the position I'm applying for is with a small organization, and probably doesn't involve measuring sales in the same way, so I decided not to add that. If I was applying for another retail job, I'd include those things.

I repeat this same process with each of the qualifications from my list, copy-paste each of those bits in order of how important they are, and then I need an opening and a closing. For the opening, I start by stating the obvious.

Dear hiring manager, I am applying for/interested in/etc. [this position]

and then I apply my school-essay-writing techniques and do a one-sentence preview of the qualifications I just got done writing about.

I am confident I have the customer service skills, computer expertise and organized mindset to excel in this position.

For the closing, this job posting specifically mentioned putting your contact information in your cover letter, so I did that, and then I like to thank them for looking at my application because that's a nice polite note to end on.

I can be reached at [contact info]. Thank you for taking the time to consider my application, and I look forward to hearing from you. [signature]

Extra Bonus Brownie Points:

Go to their company website and add something that shows you have looked at their company website. Like yes, the main reason you're applying for this job is it's available and you need money, but besides that, there's gotta be something at least a little interesting about this company that might be cool if you get to work for them. In this case they had a whole big section about charities they donate to and how they get involved in their local community, so I added this right before my closing:

[this company's] contributions to charities such as [things from their website] are truly admirable. I've grown to love [this city] since moving here, and I would be honored to be part of an organization that does so much to contribute to the community.

Now wait before you go here's the important part:

I don't delete any of this stuff.

I copy/paste out the finished bits into a new document to send to the recruiter, but I keep that list of qualifications with sentences under each one.

Now I have a document with a list of qualifications I have and nice professional-sounding descriptions of those qualifications, and for the next cover letter I write, I can reuse them if they're relevant, so I don't have to redo all this work of making words make sense. If I decide to change them a little bit for the next job, I'll keep the new version next to the old one under the same heading. I also keep my openings and closings.

I used to have a big file like this but I apparently didn't back it up before my old computer died, so I'm having to re-create it, but you guys this saves me so much time I would otherwise spend staring at a blinking cursor. And it's easier than saving the full finished cover letter and trying to pull sentences out of it, because all the Bits are already organized by topic. (And it lowers the risk of accidentally copy-pasting the wrong company's name.)

I <3 my cover letter workbox.

[wingsoverlagos]

Lewisohn's Little Mysteries

I should be posting the next piece dissecting the Mark Lewisohn/Kim Bennett/Parlophone contract saga--it's in the works, I promise! @mythserene and I are typing and scheming and typing some more--but most of my time has been put towards checking a zillion citations, and I wanted to share a little something before my next proper piece. The zillion-checked-citations will hopefully be available in some form soon; enjoy this as a snack to hold you over 'til dinner.

As we know, Mark Lewisohn likes to bust a myth, tear down our preconceived notions, and shed light into the murky corners of Beatles history (source: Mark Lewisohn.) But there's another pattern I've noticed while checking his citations: he likes to inject a little ambiguity every now and then where perfect clarity is possible.

I've run across a few cases of this--I'll try to dig those out and add them later--but I was struck by this example from The Best of Fellas (2002), Spencer Leigh's biography of Bob Wooler. Lewisohn sets up a little mystery, writes that there's something we simply don't know--all the while, the source is perfectly clear.

Tune In 18-46 vs. Leigh 2002 p.147

This section discusses the Beatles' plans to not pay Allan Williams a percentage for their second string of gigs in Hamburg. From Tune In:

Paul tells Bob Wooler they won't be paying Allan Williams commission; Paul adds that he suspects Wooler will tell Williams, as the two are friends. Wooler agrees--yep, he's going to tell Williams. Then Lewisohn introduces his petite paranthetical mystery: "(It isn't clear if or when Wooler did, however.)"

Now, from The Best of Fellas (this, like much of the book, is told through a quote by Bob Wooler himself):

To quote Wooler, "I did tell Allan and he was fuming about this." If you're struggling with the subtlety and intricacy of this quote (hi, Mark!), I'll reiterate the key phrase: "I did tell Allan." Sure, he doesn't give an exact date or anything, but from the general context, we can assume it occurred around the same time.

Why? Why does he do this? He had to actively write out that it "wasn't clear" if Bob told Allan about the Beatles' financial scheme. It would have been simpler (and more correct) to not write that. This is very strange behavior! Though I have a better understanding of Lewisohn than when I started, I still don't get why he does things like this--why introduce this ambiguity to the record when the answer is in your source, in the very same paragraph?

Also strange: that bracketed "to me" at the start of the quote. “Paul said [to me], ‘I suppose you’re going to tell your mate…’” Using brackets to clarify ambiguity in a quote is fine, but where is the ambiguity here? If someone says, “Paul said, ‘You’re going to…’” it is understood that Paul is talking to the speaker. Lewisohn even says, in the sentence before the quote, “Bob Wooler later related how Paul told him that…” There isn’t a shred of ambiguity here. Don’t amend a quote if you don’t have to! Let the words speak for themselves!

Sources:

Leigh S. 2002. The Best Of Fellas: The Story of Bob Wooler, Liverpool’s First D.J. Liverpool: Drivegreen Publications Ltd. 264p. Accessed online 2024 Apr 23. Available from: https://archive.org/details/bestoffellasstor0000leig/mode/2up

Lewisohn M. 2013. The Beatles: All These Years Vol. 1: Tune In. New York (NY): Crown Archetype. [ebook]

[mewling-central]

I wanted to give a more in depth example of how I'd go about translating something into Collective Seraphic, as I feel it'll give a better understanding on the syntax. So today I'm gonna walk you through translating two sentences; one from English to Seraphic, and another from Seraphic to English. I'm going to explain the grammar in detail, and explain the semantics behind a typical Seraphic sentence.

This is the sentence I'll be translating from English to Seraphic:

"I wanted to go, but my parents wouldn't let me."

Starting word-for-word, the word for "I" is zāfl. Seraphic has pronoun equivalents called "pro-forms". They act similarly to pronouns, standing in for another noun, although they will change their class to agree with the class of the nouns they're replacing. They aren't used nearly as often as in English, only really used when you don't know the name of someone or something, or if you feel you've been repeating that name too often. The pro-form zāfl is the proximal demonstrative fl declined into the Solar noun class, which is used for people, so in this way zāfl literally means "this person", but it contextually is meant to be understood as the first person pro-form "I" or "me".

For the verb "to go", it's a bit more complicated. Expressing motion, especially intentional motion, is usually done by adding the resultative prefix nd- to the patient noun (the one taking the action), and using some preposition of motion. You can think of it, since the resultative describes "becoming" or "happening" or a change in state, as if you're "becoming" someone in a new direction. Like your state of being is changing from being someone that's over here to being someone that's over there. Movement isn't really seen as an action, but as a process. You can use your legs to walk, but it doesn't matter what you use to move, you just do. So in this way you would use the procedural phrases nd() xel- or nd() fān- which literally mean "to become towards" and "to become away from". The phrases for "to go" and "to come" are interchangeable, and mostly rely on context. I think of it more being like "to proceed". Like, if you wanna say "I will go", then both "I proceed towards there" and "I proceed from here" are both semantically the same, it's all personal choice. In our example sentence, "wanted to go" implies a meaning where "wanted to go there" seems more contextually sensible. So we'll use the word voxl which means "over there" and have the full phrase as nd() xel-voxl. Since what's going is ourselves, the subject would take the procedural prefix.

nedZafl xel-voxl

This clause is incomplete though, as the procedural is currently declined into the infinitive, making the meaning something more along the lines of "I to go" which is nonsensical on its own. So in order to express "wanted to go", well need to do two things: firstly, we put it in a past tense. The speaker is talking about the action as if it happened a while before their present conversation, so we won't use the recent past, and they aren't speaking as if the desire to go has been completed or is no longer applicable, so we won't use the pluperfect or discontinuous past. That means we should put it in the remote past, making our sentence out as this:

ŋ̄ğōdZafl xel-voxl

Now the meaning is "I went a while ago". The second word we need to add is the word for "wanted". You would do this by adding one of the six modal particles at the beginning of the clause. In this case to express "to want" or "to need", expressing desire or intent, you'd use the volitive particle tcān. With this the first clause is fully complete:

Tcān ŋ̄ğōdzafl xel-voxl

"I wanted to go", or more literally "This person intended a while ago to become towards over there".

The word for "but" is cnets. In the phrase "my parents", you wouldn't need to translate "my", as it's implied from context that you're referring to your own parents, so you would just use the word for "parent" which is zōxō. "Parenting" is a bit complicated in seraph culture, so I'm using deciding to translate it under the context of human culture. Thus I'd be referring to two parents, and would put this into the dual and not the plural, making it now zōxōc. Leaving us with this so far:

cnets zōxōc

For the phrase "wouldn't let me", we gotta break it down again. The procedural phrase for "to let" or "to allow" or "to give permission" is azr() in-ut'ēn which literally translates as "to act freely" or "to act unrestrained". Since "I" am the one who's being given permission, the actional prefix would decline onto zāfl, giving us:

cnets zōxōc in-ut'ēn ezrezafl

Once again we need to decline this into a tense that fits "would let me", which is a bit harder to do. In English this conjugation is called the future-in-the-past and it describes a past action that occured in the future from the reference of the speaker in the past. So in order to express that we'll first add the future-simple auxiliary copula t'enr before the procedural noun:

cnets zōxōc in-ut'en t'enr ezrezafl

We can leave the procedural noun in the infinitive when we use an auxiliary copula. Now it reads "but my parents will let me", as the future-simple copula describes a future action regardless of whether it will happen soon or eventually. Normally we would leave this as is, but since we want to emphasize that this is in the past, we'll need to decline the procedural noun into a past tense. For this I'll use the remote past again since I already used it in the first part of the sentence, and seeing as we're talking about generally the same time period it'd seem more fitting to use the same tense.

cnets zōxōc in-ut'ēn t'enr eğrezafl

Finally we'll put this whole phrase into the negative so "would let me" becomes "wouldn't let me". The main way it's done is to take the first syllable of the procedural noun and invert it's tone. high tone becomes low tone, low becomes high, rising becomes falling, and falling becomes rising. So eğrezafl will become ēğrezafl instead. Additionally, you could also add the negative particle tu at the beginning of the clause. This is the more formal, standard way of indicating negation, usually you would use the particle in colloquial everyday speech except for emphasis or clarification. In this case, I do want to emphasize the parents not giving permission, so I'll add. That gives us the full clause:

cnets tu zōxōc in-ut'ēn t'enr ēğrezafl

Combining this with the previous clause, the final phrase will be this:

Tcān ŋ̄ğōdzafl xel-voxl, cnets tu zōxōc in-ut'ēn t'enr ēğrezafl.

"I wanted to go, but my parents wouldn't let me." Or more literally, "This person intended a while ago to become towards there, but both of (my) parents would not act on this person freely." Now that I've shown how to go from English to Seraphic, let's do it the other way around.

For this part, this is the sentence that we'll be translating:

Tu zāsl īzl ēdrayuln ojnzn nun ēdzt'u pi-lizt'n pr̄-yuln cu-zāsl.

We already know that tu is the modal particle for negation, so this clause must be in the negative. The next word zāsl is the second person pro-form in the singular, so it means. "you", and since it's near the beginning of the clause and not declined into a procedural we know that this is the subject of the clause. Īzl is the auxiliary copula for the progressive aspect, it describes an action that's happening at the very moment of speaking. It's the equivalent to putting "-ing" at the end of a verb in English. And the word ēdrayuln contains the procedural "ēdra-", which is the actional declined into the infinitive since it's being modified by an auxiliary copula. The actional describes an action or performance that the agent does onto the patient. The first syllable is also a high tone, which constrasts with its usual pronunciation or a low tone, so this and the presence of the negative particle reaffirms that this clause is in the negative. So far all of this together can be understood as such:

You are not doing...

But we still don't know what is not being done. So we have to see what the procedural is attatched to, and we see the noun yuln, which is the plural form of the noun yul meaning "action" or "deed". The final word of this clause is ojnzn, the plural of ojn which means "wrong" or "incorrect". Adjectives agree with the nouns they modify in number, so in total this means "wrong actions". Putting it all together, the first clause can be read as:

You are not doing wrong actions

The next clause once again starts with a modal particle. This modal particle, nun, is the conditional particle. It describes something that the speaker believes will happen under certain conditions. It's equivalent to English "if" or sometimes "when", so the clause is being presented as a condition. The next word is ēdzt'u. This is the procedural noun, the noun declined with a procedural suffix, and being that this is at the beginning of the clause we know it's acting as the subject, and thus this clause is either passive or intransitive. The procedural prefix being used is ed-, the resultative in the present tense. But the tone is high, being contrastive, so once again we know that this clause is in the negative. Since there is already a modal particle on this clause, the negative particle can't be used and we have to rely solely on procedural tone. The noun attached to the procedural is zt'u, which is the inflected form of tsu, meaning "no one" or "nobody". In Seraphic, words starting with affricates like "ts", "pf", "kx", or "tc" will usually become "zt'", "vp'", "ğk'", and "jt'" when a prefix is attached to them. Purely just a result of historic sound changes. Also, although the procedural is in the negative, the presence of the indefinite pronoun "nobody" actually means the clause is meant to be read in the positive. Seraphic allows double negatives, and actually requires the procedural to be put into the negative when a negative noun is used. So given all of that information, the clause so far can be translated as this:

if nobody becomes...

The next term is pi-lizt'n which means "with (an) idea". Since this prepositional phrase is the closest to the procedural noun, we can assume this is the lexical phrase that completes the whole procedural phrase. Thus, the full phrase would be ēdzt'u pi-lizt'n which literally translates as "nobody becomes with (an) idea" as in "nobody becomes (the same) nobody that is with/has an idea". This is the procedural phrase for "to understand", to not have an idea of a topic and then suddenly having an idea of that topic. It's a change in state from "not knowing" to "knowing", thus the phrase can now be read as:

if nobody understands...

The following phrase is pr̄-yuln. Pr̄ is the dative preposition, it describes an argument that isn't solely affected by an action, but benefits from it. It's the "to" in "I gave my mail to him". In a passive or transitive clause, the patient becomes the subject and what would've been the subject is instead downgraded to the dative. In this case, pr̄ can be read as "to" but given the context of this clause it'd be easier to translate it as "about". Of course yuln means "actions", so all together the clause is now:

if nobody becomes with (an) idea about (the) actions...

Or more accurately

if nobody understands the actions...

The final words are cu-zāsl, which mean "of you". So together the full clause becomes this:

if nobody understands the actions of you.

And together with the first clause our final sentence is read as this:

You are not doing the wrongs actions if nobody understands the actions of you.

Or you could also rephrase it like this:

You aren't doing it wrong if no one knows what you're doing.

So, ipso facto, tl;dr, in summary and conclusion, that's kinda my thought process when translating sentences into and from Seraphic. I hope anything I said made a lick of sense, this whole grammar and syntax is pretty experimental for me so if you made it this far you get a gold star 🌟. Congrats I'm so proud of you. Anyways thanks for reading buh-bye.

[highlordofkrypton]

Writing - Drafting Process

Clearly, I am avoiding actually writing by talking about writing. I was thinking about the drafting process today, and maybe this can help someone! For me, this process applies specifically to long stories to which I already know the conclusion, not my oneshots or update-as-I-go fics.

Honestly, I only found out that I write this way after my first fanfic. It's something that I do naturally, but with all the fun writing discussions I got to participate in lately, it was a fun exercise to actually break down what I do. It might sound daunting, but I promise that it's not as formal as you think!

I'm absolute a ✨vibes✨ writer, the drafting process is mostly for consistency and making sure I get to the end!

There are many ways to write, so for those who might still be looking for their process or those looking for something new, hopefully this can inspire you.

DRAFT 0: OUTLINE

For larger stories, I always get a surge of inspiration. I usually create a DUMP document where I dump all my ideas. At the very top of the document, I create an outline with the major story segments and then whenever I think of a scene, I add into that outline.

For example, my outline for my ACOTAR Prequel was created in chronological order, but also by location.

I would also start by adding:

The scenes that come to mind and I have muse to write

The necessary scenes that are either fundamental to character development or plot development

The transitional scenes

So, in that order, I can get a pretty decent idea of what I need to get done.

I also always make character sheets when I write. Not in a formal way, but just a page where I dump anything that I wrote in the story so I remember word for word what I said. That or I'll color code highlight, but a character dump is easier.

It's absolute chaos, but I prefer ideas to be as raw as possible. I'm an emotional writer, so I want to be reminded of it the way it came to me.

DRAFT 1: SKELETON /JUST WRITE

The writing starts here for me. The goal is to just write. Don't think, don't question, just write and depending on what medium you're using, drop a comment with notes for your future self to come back to. Sometimes, I'll even add a line between sections that I don't want to write to say "COME BACK AND INSERT TRANSITIONAL SCENE", highlight it or mark it in red.

More often than not, I'll start by writing out the scenes that appear in my mind vividly. For example, in Wildflowers, the first scene I ever wrote was actually Chapter 4. I knew that I wanted to write out Hybern Castle and if you read the scene completely, it was barely edited because it came to me so strongly.

Then, once I've finished writing the "muse driven" scenes, I start writing by importance.

Do not worry about about fleshing out the story. That will come later.

If I'm struggling with finishing, then I usually tag in a beta reader who's job at this point is to answer one question and one question only: "Is this good?" I think a more accurate phrasing would be -- Am I on the right track for this story? I'll do another post for how I work with my beta.

DRAFT 2: FLESH OUT THE STORY

At this point, I only focus on the story and character development. Don't worry about the little details. For long stories, I might choose to print the story out because it helps refresh and reset my brain. It's also easier to read/annotate hundreds of pages this way.

Read through your story once.

Add notes to where you feel the story needs to flow better, either add transitional scenes, or something that need to add or hinder to your character.

Write out the scenes.

Bring in the beta and ask: "Story-wise, is there anything missing? Is there anything about the character that needs to be clarified?"

For example, a question that came up for Wildflowers is why would Tamlin be different from his abusive father and his siblings? He wasn't. Not at the beginning. He would have been raised to look down on humans, so in the second draft, I went back and thought of scenes that would help inform his choice to empathize with humans.

DRAFT 3: SELECTIVE READ / EDITING

Calling this draft 3 is tentative because you may choose to do multiple drafts of this section. Once I've gotten most of the story down, I will pick one element that I want to focus on editing. I will do a read through and annotate what needs to be fixed for each "element".

For example, I might want to check the consistency of the character physical descriptions, so I will read once focusing ONLY on pieces of writing that contain that. Then, maybe I wanna go back and make sure Rhysand's voice is sassy enough. Another read through focusing ONLY on his dialogue.

I find this method is really great because it allows you to work on that specific element rather than getting overwhelmed with everything to fix.

These are what I usually read through if you're looking for ideas:

Character descriptions

Lore elements

Dialogue

Smut

Show vs. Tell

Tense (past vs. present)

Relationship depth (especially for side characters)

One would think this is where I would add foreshadowing but I'm not that organized of a writer. Again, I just go with the ✨vibes✨ and it usually works out.

DRAFT 4: FINAL EDIT

I call this the final edit because I will probably write forever if you let me. In this draft, I focus on proofreading, grammar, sentence structure and clarity of the writing itself.

Yes, there are typos that usually escape and haunt you forever especially if you're a binder like me.

I also get my beta to help me with this as a second set of eyes, especially to give me feedback on stylistic choices.

I don't know if this helped anyone, but this was fun to write! I like doing guides and thinking about stuff, so yeah, this is usually my process. It takes about 2-3 months if I'm locked and loaded focus-wise.

Let me know if you have questions, I'm happy to help!

[zeroducks-2]

💜 Eobarry!

💜 surprise kiss / impulsive kiss

(imagine this happens at the end of The Flash Age, but Iris isn't there and August keeps his hands to himself <3)

«Good team-up, guys. See you later.» Thawne says amicably enough, raising his hand in a gesture of goodbye. As if they weren't all still breathless for having run from a world which was decaying right under their feet.

«Hey. Wait a second...» Barry surges up as if to grab his arm, side-stepping August, but stops just shy of touching his Reverse. «No need to keep running, let's take a breather.» He tries, and doesn't really understand the way Thawne's expression grows dark, the corners of his mouth curling downwards.

«So that you can get an opening and toss me back in one of your prisons? I'll pass.»

Barry did not expect to hear that and it almost makes him recoil. He feels righteous anger bubbling up - yes, this man should be behind bars and for so many good reasons, but no, it was not in Barry's intention to sort of ambush him to incapacitate and imprison him. He never even thought about it.

«Would that be my style?» He asks back, offering a half smile in an attempt to keep everything on amicable tones. «You did the right thing, Eobard. And then came back for us, without strings attached.» He takes a tentative step forward. «And our truce is still on anyway. Stay a minute, tell me about what happened with Chris... I want to know the details of how it went down.»

The other speedster's expression twitches and his posture grows minutely more tense. He seems to be hesitant on both what to do and what to say, but that's alright, Barry can allow him a minute.

«He's right, Barry. We should make sure he ends up in jail.» August chimes in, arms crossed and his scowl visible from the ripped bits of his mask. «I am grateful for his help, but now you're acting like one good action would make him a reformed man. Have you somehow forgotten he killed your mother...?»

«What?» Barry snaps, wide-eyed as he looks back at August. «This is not about what happened in the past, it's about what happened today.» He ends up saying in the steadiest tone he can manage. «Wasn't it for him, we wouldn't even be here having this conversation.»

«So you'd forgive him, just like that?» August looks between frustrated and incredulous. «You tossed me in jail without a second thought, and now claim you're going to let this guy go?»

«You...» You killed children for no reason, Barry wants to say but refrains, that's not the point. This isn't about who's guilty and who isn't, it's something else entirely.

«You should listen to him, Barry.» Eobard observes placidly, a smile on his face and his pose now relaxed, which is not what Barry expected to see. «I don't belong with heroes. You made damn sure I never would.»

He feels another twinge of resentment at that, but before he can phrase a retort the other speedster is upon him, closing the small distance by pulling Barry against himself. Then their lips are crashing together, Barry's breath is stuck in his throat, and Thawne's palm is cradling his nape.

«But thank you for today. It was fun.» Eobard adds quietly enough it's just for them to hear, disentangling Barry's fingers from how they were gripping the front of his suit.

«Wait-!» He tries again but the other speedster has bolted away already, and Barry is left with the inexplicable urge to run after him, and August's nonplussed expression.

kiss ask game here!

[paper-is-paper]

(Big Spoilers for DOTF)

Sooo I sat down and read the entirety of Daughter of a Thousand Faces over the course of a few days. Since the series is on indefinite hiatus, I wanted to note down some plot threads that have yet to be resolved or addressed in season 1.

This series has taken over my brain and I don't know what to do with all these thoughts swimming in my brain. (elaborated thoughts below the cut and are numbered)

What is Swallowtail? is he a demon? a cultivator? or maybe secret third option (butterfly maybe)?

Why is Swallowtail so protective of Yuhua to the point where he's been ensuring that any potential suitors have been having "accidents"?

Why did Chu Tian choose to save Yuhua? He could have let her die and then boom no more blood pact, he's free to do whatever he wants with no restrictions. (1)

What's the butterfly lady (Hong Yang) going to do with Yuhua's severed finger?

What happens to the Ox Lady (Qing Yu)? Will she join Chu Tian? or will this be a moment of growth for Chu Tian? (2)

What is up with Shen Yitian? (3) and what happened to the rest of the true cultivators?

What does Leng Feng being a dragon prince mean for the careful balance between our main cast? How will he react to the fact that Yuhua killed one of his older brothers and now wears his face upon impromptu fox demon?

What did Leng Feng want to asks Yuhua?

Will Yuhua and Chu Tian resolve their conflict after the death of the fox demon? (I feel like the answer to this is obvious)

What is the ichor that some of the demons have been drinking? Who is the "master" behind its distribution? Where are they getting it from? (4)

Who has been sending the creepy letters to the A-Qing, A-Ying, and Co.?

What will become of Kai's Grandma? and will she ever find out that the real Kai is dead?

What role does Shen Chun have in the future?

Have Yuling and Yuhua come to a mutual understanding or is their relationship still antagonistic?

What are the details of Yuhua's mother's crimes? How might they tie with other elements of the plot?

What does war with the Bull Clan mean for our motley crew?

How will everyone react to Chu Tian and Yuhua's relationship?

(1) In the behind the scenes in chapter 42, Velinxi mentions that whether Chu Tian cares about Yuhua is debatable. I personally lean heavily towards the explanation that he does care about Yuhua, but I also think it's not impossible that it's an act or that he keeps her alive and trains her for more long-term goals. Either way, I fully agree the guy is definitely a bad influence.

(2) Chu Tian is convinced that Qiao Yu will eventually call for him and maybe join him. My prediction is that something will happen to her village that will then make her turn to Chu Tian for help or out of desperation. The other (less likely) alternative is that Chu Tian is wrong and Qiao Yu's continued rejection of him till her death shakes him so much that it sparks a growth in character growth for him. I also think that it could be a mix of both.

(3) This guy is hella sus. As @canary0 points out:

"...[Yuhua's] dad has to know, right? He knew what the only thing down there was. He had to have known what the only thing down there was. He had to have known what the only way to get back up and out would be."

I think that Shen Yitian is embodying the phrase "keep your friends close but your enemies closer" by asking Yuhua to stay closer to the family when she emerges from the well at the beginning of the series.

(4) I have a few ideas about this ichor, and I think it's related to Chu Tian in one way or another. It's the wrong color to be just Chu Tian's blood because his is red, but the glowing yellow eyes with slit pupils is a little too much of a coincidence to not be a deliberate creative choice.

Okay I have a lot more to talk about, but I want to cut this one off here otherwise we will be here forever. Please add some more questions if I missed anything, I absolutely adore this series and I can't wait to see a continuation of this story. In the meantime, I can chew on the mysteries of season 1.

[butchdarling]

Hi, thanks for all your IDs! I'm new to Tumblr and want to write IDs. Are there etiquettes that I should take note of, like which posts to write IDs for and which not to? Any tags I should look out for? I came from Reddit and I'm aware that not all users want to have IDs on their posts, there's probably something similar here.

Hi, first of all you're very welcome for the descriptions! It's always nice to hear that my efforts are appreciated :)

Ideally, any post with images should also have a description for those images. Any post that doesn't already have an ID in the original post is one that's appropriate to add a description to. Even if someone else already wrote a description in a reblog, you're allowed to write your own if you want to. I personally haven't encountered anyone who has been upset when I've written a description? I think that's more an individual thing than something specific to a certain type of post.

There's not a consensus on what format works best for image descriptions, but alt text or plain text (not colored and normal size) directly below the image in the body of the post are generally considered the most accessible. Alt text tends to work better for screen readers, and plain text works better for some people who need descriptions but don't use screen readers. I personally use alt text for posts with a lot of images and plain text for posts with only a few. I've also seen people put a short description in alt text and a more detailed one in body text.

Other etiquette includes indicating when a description starts and ends. I use brackets and start and end with [ID / End ID] but some other formats I’ve seen include “Start ID / End ID” of “Image description / End image description” and being objective in your descriptions. If you're describing a picture of a dog as a "cute puppy," you're telling the reader what to think instead of letting them come to their own conclusion.

As for tags I know some people like to sort their posts as “described” for posts with IDs and “undescribed” or “no ID” for posts without. I find most of my descriptions either from people I follow or from looking in the notes of specific posts as opposed to searching tags so I'm not much help there, but here is a link to a post listing a whole bunch of accounts that make image descriptions.

There isn't really one way to write image descriptions because people have different accessibility needs, but even a simple description is better than no description. The basic format I usually go with is this:

[ID: A (type of image, painting, photo, etc) of (subject; if it's fan art I like to include the source) doing (action, this can really be as detailed or as simple as you want.) End ID]

In general, I go with more simple descriptions for comedic posts and more detailed ones for art. My number one tip is to follow people who write and reblog descriptions and to read them! I've picked up a lot of formats and phrases I use a lot in descriptions from people I follow.

If you're looking for more resources, I’m going to point you towards my mutual Kay @pathos-logical ‘s accessibility tag that has a bunch of good posts on how to write descriptions. You're also welcome to send me another ask or DM me if you'd like ^^