#But yeah there's so many resources and they're easy to find

[drdemonprince]

thanks for saying what you have about covert incest. I have this memory of my dad that I won't even type out cuz it's just horrible and I haven't been able to determine if it actually happened or if it's a memory of a dream I had but part of me thinks the former cuz I don't think I could've imagined something so horrible. and he died recently and I was determined to find some kind of physical evidence that it really happened but when my mom was moving she got rid of most of his stuff before I got there and I've been so pissed about it but not able to tell her or anyone why and it just reinforces my upset toward her cuz if it really happened then she didn't protect me and goes out of her way to protect him instead but in reading your posts I'm starting to think that whether it actually happened or not doesn't matter, the feelings are there and they're real and I ought to just treat it as though it really happened. anyway sorry to be vague, this has just been a huge weight on me and I feel like finding your blog on here has been such a blessing, especially cuz this has been weighing on me even more lately cuz I've been identifying as a butch lesbian for awhile but have been wondering if I'm actually a bi trans man and have been wanting to explore sexual experiences with queer men to find out if I'd enjoy it but have been really cautious about it and haven't really tried anything yet cuz I'm scared of what it might bring up in me and I'm autistic too so the whole dating and hookup thing is scary to me even without this memory shit and idk if queer men would be interested in me anyway. but yeah I'm gonna explore those resources you shared when I'm ready and I just wanted you to know you're making a difference even through sharing your experiences on your tumblr blog. and also just wanted to confess all this to somebody so thank you for that too

<3 thanks Anon.

Your feelings and traumatized reactions are real, and your vague sense of a memory almost certainly signals that Something was not Right in the dynamic with your father, and you can stand by that and care for yourself as someone whose boundaries have been trammeled upon even if you never get to know the exact facts of what happened. So much of childhood disappears down the memory hole, and there is no easy accounting for it, but as a therapist once wisely said to me, if a person has a fracture that's consistent with a violent attack, you can often see the effects and care for them even if you can't know exactly what happened there.

I'm glad you're feeling open to the idea of exploring your own sexuality and gender identity, too. There are absolutely queer men, both trans and cis, who will be interested in you, and you can move at the pace that works for you. Remember there are no rules to queer sexuality, that's the whole point -- so you never have to try anything you don't want to do. You can have a rich, fulfilling sex life with men that never involves PIV, if you aren't interested in that, or that is completely dependent upon a kink dynamic that isn't directly sexual. or you can just put yourself on the grindr grid and find some guy who wants to give you a massage or eat you out all day. There's so many kinds of very eager people out there, and so you can be as selective and as firm in your boundaries and vetting as you need to be! There's every kind of person out there. I have some guy in my Fetlife DMs right now who only wants to shave my body; another who only wants to jerk off while watching me smell leather. The world is abundant with funny little opportunities.

[doppelnatur]

So the Russian book linked above doesn't have audio so I'm just gonna leave some links for Russian

Website, basic course, with audio, it's sorted and prioritized quite well in my opinion makes it feel like you advance very fast without overwhelming you with difficult aspects of the language!

YouTube channel! Learning Russian in Russian! Neat explanations of a lot of grammar in very simple slow Russian with subtitles.

And then easy Russian listening on Spotify! This is quite simple frfr I started learning Russian literally this month and these are at least in parts comprehensible to me!!! It's probably more useful if you sign up and use their little quiz but i haven't done that.

Want to learn something new in 2022??

Absolute beginner adult ballet series (fabulous beginning teacher)

40 piano lessons for beginners (some of the best explanations for piano I’ve ever seen)

Excellent basic crochet video series

Basic knitting (probably the best how to knit video out there)

Pre-Free Figure Skate Levels A-D guides and practice activities (each video builds up with exercises to the actual moves!)

How to draw character faces video (very funny, surprisingly instructive?)

Another drawing character faces video

Literally my favorite art pose hack

Tutorial of how to make a whole ass Stardew Valley esque farming game in Gamemaker Studios 2??

Introduction to flying small aircrafts

French/Dutch/Fishtail braiding

Playing the guitar for beginners (well paced and excellent instructor)

Playing the violin for beginners (really good practical tips mixed in)

Color theory in digital art (not of the children’s hospital variety)

Retake classes you hated but now there’s zero stakes:

Calculus 1 (full semester class)

Learn basic statistics (free textbook)

Introduction to college physics (free textbook)

Introduction to accounting (free textbook)

Learn a language:

Ancient Greek

Latin

Spanish

German

Japanese (grammar guide) (for dummies)

French

Russian (pretty good cyrillic guide!)

[mist-the-wannabe-linguist]

So, Pern has limited resources for writing materials, illiteracy is common among people and there is strong oral tradition. Aside from songs this also means the Pernese people should have many proverbs. I know there are already some canon ones, but to spice things up a little I tried to translate some Czech proverbs and sayings and adapt them to fit Pern, which turned out to be a pretty fun exercise. If you have ideas for your own, do share! If you'd like to use any of mine in fics and such, feel free!

Here goes:

"don't provoke a (tunnel) snake with your bare foot" - don't tempt fate

"no Master Harper has ever fallen from the sky" - orig. "no scholar has ever fallen from the sky", no one is born an expert; it's okay to make mistakes

"once in a Long Interval" - orig. "once in a Hungarian year", same as "once in a blue moon"

"to make a herdbeast a Masterfarmer" - orig. "to make a billy goat the gardener", to make someone manage a task they're woefully unqualified for

"every rider praises his own dragon"/"every feline praises its own spots" - orig. "every fox praises its own tail", people tend to emphasize the virtues of whatever is dear to them, or whatever they're trying to sell

"to wheedle a clutch out of a green" - orig. "to wheedle a calf out of a heifer", to be very convincing; to charm someone into doing absolutely anything

"Weaver, stick to your yarns" - orig. "shoemaker, stick to your last", you should stick to things you truly understand

"yeah, and then the Harpers sang for him"/"and now tell the one about a talking wherry" - orig. "and they said they sang for him"/"and now the one about Little Red Riding Hood", said when you don't believe anything someone's just told you

"one about a wagon, the other about dragon" - orig. "one about a goat, the other about a cart", when people talk about completely different things while thinking they're on the same note

"after Threadfall, everyone is a Weyrleader" - orig. "after battle, everyone is a general", it's easy to criticize things in hindsight, especially for unqualified people

"a Smith's runnerbeast walks barefoot" - orig. "a blacksmith's horse walks barefoot", those who craft/sell a particular thing often don't have enough of it for themselves

"so the dragon can eat and the herdbeast remains whole" - orig. "so the wolf can eat and the goat remains whole", essentially "to have your cake and eat it too", a solution that deals with the unpleasant aspects while still benefiting you

"wait like a guardfowl for grain" - orig. "wait like a goose for grain", advice to be patient

"having cheek is better than owning a Hold" - orig. "having cheek is better than owning a Meierhof", being daring and impudent often gets you in better places than being rich

"a fire-lizard on your shoulder is better than a bronze/queen on the Sands" - orig. "a sparrow in your hand is better than a pigeon on the roof", it's better to be grateful for smaller things you already have than to hope for things you have no guarantee of getting

"who wants to beat a wher always finds a cane" - orig. "who wants to beat a dog always finds a cane", people who want to do harm always find a way to do so

"fast of wing, short of mind"/"he's like a green - fast of wing..." - orig. "fast of feet, short of mind", an impulsive person who doesn't think things through

"bubbly pies don't bake themselves"/"roasted wherries won't fly in your mouth" - orig. "kolache don't bake themselves"/"roasted pigeons won't fly in your mouth", if you want something, you have to work for it

"for a quarter-mark he'd let them drill through his knee" - when someone is willing to do anything for money, even at the cost of one's own wellbeing

"beauty without a good heart is like a house without door, a spring without water, a rider without a dragon" - physical appearance means nothing when the person is bad

"every Hold has bread with two crusts" - every place has good and bad things

"what has once left your mouth, not even a pair of draft beasts can pull back" - watch what you say because you can't take it back

"fish start to smell from the head" - when something isn't working, the problem is likely in upper management

"doesn't have to be a downpour, a drizzle is enough" - success doesn't have to come all at once

"smart ones need advice, dumb ones need a kick" - for some people a hint isn't enough, they need to be shown explicitly

"the heart won't ache for what the eyes can't see" - some things do less harm if they're kept secret; blissful ignorance is sometimes better

"sing the song of those who give you bread" - kind of like "don't bite the hand that feeds you"; if you take favors from someone, you should act in their favor too

"he who digs a hole for others often falls in himself" - essentially "hoist by his own petard"

"the tunic is closer than the coat" - people tend to focus on their own interests rather than the interests of wider society

"the scythe has hit a rock" - when someone encounters something beyond their competence

"repetition is the mother of wisdom" - essentially "practice makes perfect", but sounds fancier. could be especialy in connection to memorizing teaching songs

"don't fight fire that doesn't burn you" - mind your own business, don't try to fix other people's problems

"the sated don't believe the hungry" - privileged people tend not to believe others' misfortunes

"he's got butter on his head" - essentially "keeping skeletons in his closet"

"rough fabric needs rough patching" - being soft on nasty people will achieve nothing, you have to answer in the person's own language

"the cape goes where the wind blows" - when someone is too obedient, a blind follower. said as "he's kind of a 'the cape goes where the wind blows' kind of person"

"honey in his mouth, venom in his heart" - a charming, sweet-spoken, but malicious person

Edit: more in reblogs!

[catastrothy]

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to start rigging simple models and stuff?? i know basic live 2d but i really wanna make a new prettier model for myself!

ok so first of all i hate recommending joining discord servers BUT for better or worse the live2d community server is by far one of the best places to get resources, including a channel that's basically full of various tips n tricks.

there is also a LOT of good advice out there on twitter and i highly recommend following larger live2d artists cuz they're usually very happy to share any tutorials or tips

now then i will put down a bunch of shit i've bookmarked over the years under the cut here

lena's guide to making a very simple vtuber in 5 minutes (you should absolutely do an easy project first, something with not that many parts!!!!!)

nonon_yuno's basic mouth guide (this artist in particular posts a lot of tutorials)

nonon_yuno's slightly more complicated mouth guide and also how i learned how to add mouth toggles (so i can switch between :) and :3) (you do it by having a third parameter that you add after finishing the :) mouth. you don't HAVE to do :) type mouth first but i've found it's easier to edit afterwards)

Koziichu's mouth guide (this is the main guide I use)

Fennryn's guide to head XY angles

Cherrichu's $5 Live2d separation study file (also cherri is a fellow cringie RawrXD member and you should support her!!!)

Yoshinoart's guide to body X

Briatcookiebox's eye physics

Cat athenya's guide to animal ears

CutieDragon's guide to expressive animal ears

xaconite's guide to hair cutting

Kira Omori's guide to cutting Live2d models for beginners

Kira Omori's guide to hair and boob physics (Kira has a lot of good tutorials on her YT channel!)

i wasn't able to find an exact tweet about it BUT you can copy paste forms which makes doing XY angles a lot easier!!!! (ctrl shift c to copy and ctrl shift v to paste. apparently this is a pro feature only)

Cillia's live2d study model (make sure u read TOS! also it's paid (3000 yen) but well worth it for the study material)

CutieDragon's how to view animation in physics window

CutieDragon's way to add depth to your head turns

PeachnKey's way of making a tear animation

Moki's guide to animating tails

Koziichu's guide to getting the most out of your tracking

CutieDragon's guide to making expressions in VTube Studio (you still need to make the specific parameters in live2d itself)

Yoshinoart's guide to glue

Enma Akatsuki's guide to arms

BriatCookiebox's reminder that temporary path deformation exists (temp warp deformation also exists, amongst others)

Momoiro's guide to meshing objects to help them look more 3d

anyway that's all i can find off the top of my head but yeah. in my experience other live2d artists have been very welcoming in helping newbies out and that's why i specifically recommend the community discord!!!!!!!

[maaarshieee]

₊˚✧꒰"INTO THE SCRIBE'S MIND"꒱₊˚✧

⎯⎯ ୨ Chapter 1: Unspoken Truths ୧ ⎯⎯

ੈ📜˳ Alhaitham x Gn!Reader *ೃ༄

ੈ📜˳ 4.0k words ┊ Fluff *ೃ༄

ੈ📜˳ Masterlist | ITSM Masterlist *ೃ༄

bulletin board: from the author ˚ ༘🔖 ⋆｡˚

I love cherry magic! so much HDJSAD,, it has such a good plot imo,, so why not give the reader who has a hard time reading alhaitham to be able to read minds! the goddess of love saw their intense tension and alhaitham's crush and she decided to give them a push 😭😭 anyways i hope you like this series! i think im very fond of the idea,, have a great day/night!! also i hope you like the reader's personality... ty @baeshijima for the motivation, inspo and alhaitham brainrot.. oh yeah reader rlly hates alhaitham so uh, but dw relationship gets better in the few few chapters,, SORRY IF ITS BAD BUT I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTERS ARE BETTER,, I STRUGGLED WITH THE INTRO CHAP SO BAD, CHAP 2-5 HAS BETTER STRUCTURE

Out of all the people, it just had to be you.

You, who was just a mere matra servicing the people of Sumeru, a student who fairly did well in your first year at the Akademiya, only for your grades to plummet and barely, barely, passing enough to graduate, known for your sarcastic personality and your tendency to have abrupt outbursts, caught the attention of the Grand Scribe. Yes, you heard it right. Alhaitham likes you. Loves you.

Pause. How would you know? Let's run it back.

It was just another day doing your job, roaming around Sumeru City and keeping track of shady researchers here and there, then doing the occasional paperwork back at your office. Truthfully, it was boring. But since you graduated on unpleasant terms, with grades holding onto a thin thread, the Matra was the only work you could only apply to. If it wasn't the Matra, then you could've been working as a simple server at a restaurant or something. You've devoted your life to the path of knowledge and research, not ringing up orders in a café.

The sun was setting by the time you reached the House of Daena, the last stop for your daily patrols. There were only a few stragglers left in the spacious library, the lights dim, but bright enough to let people see and read. Only your footsteps can be heard through the massive shelves, doing the library a favor by rearranging the books and returning them to their proper shelves by category. The library has always been one of your favorite places throughout the entirety of Sumeru. It holds ancient information from all across Teyvat, despite books being the least sought resource these days.

But if there was one thing you hate about the House of Daena, it would be a certain someone who frequents the library and spends hours just roaming around, hiding behind shelves and reading in the most secluded spots. He just ruins the beautiful visage of the library with his unwanted presence and infuriating face.

People who know of the Grand Scribe, Alhaitham, would often complain about how he's so hard to find. That they'd have to ask around, only to be hit with dead ends since not a lot of people knew he exists. Well, you think they're just not looking hard enough. You see him everywhere! And you knew how much he disliked being outside and how he favored being inside isolated places, but somehow, you'd spot him here and there wherever you went. From the Grand Bazaar, where he's buying groceries, to Puspa Café, where he's eating lunch with his roommate, Kaveh (who would suspiciously spare you many glances while you take your order)— seriously, it's eerie to see him so much.

Or perhaps your deep hatred for him was so engraved in your brain that it made it easy for you to discern him in the midst of a crowd. But you refuse that fact and chose to believe that it was the gods punishing you for whatever you've done with his mere existence.

Only a select few have heard about him, and they would only give comments about his displeasing bluntness, but then praise him for his academic prowess. And unfortunately, you were one of them, graduating in the same batch as Alhaitham's and sharing most of your classes, though only seeing him briefly since he preferred to 'self-study'. So a lot of students who wanted to squeeze a few words from Alhaitham would come to you, asking for the scribe's location. You would roll your eyes, and shake your head but comply without any complaints, for it is your job to service the citizens of Sumeru, including the growing minds of the Akademiya.

And you absolutely abhor the fact that you'd always be right where he would be at every time of the day, as well as correctly assuming what he'd be doing at that place at that time. Reading, eating, doing paperwork— what the hell were you!? You're not his significant other, how the fuck do you know these things!? It's useful sometimes, yes, there are times when your boss would require your assistance in finding him for whatever he needed with the scribe, or you wanting to avoid him at all costs so you'd keep a mental note to not even step foot near where he'd be located at, you swear you could hear students whispering behind your back about a 'secret relationship' with him.

Absolutely not! Anyone who gets caught by your wrathful watch, spreading baseless rumors would get the scolding of their lives. Unfortunately, you can't arrest people with just rumors. That's just not a big offense.

Oh how much you loathed him, your jaw tensing immediately and your brows furrowed as soon as you saw him, sitting at his usual spot, piles of books on the table. Hearing your slow approach, eyeing the multitude of books on his table, he let you take what you could into your arms and begin your trek on returning them to their respective shelves. It was routine at this point. Alhaitham knew you dislike big piles of messes in places where messes shouldn't exist, and yet here he is, carelessly placing books wherever he could. So he made a habit of separating books he's finished reading, and books he's yet to read, so you could start putting them back right before you've made your way to the House of Daena, the last stop of your patrols.

Not a single word was exchanged between you, only a few glances at one another. At times like these, you wished you knew what was going through his head. Was he making fun of you inside his mind? Thinking of your past failures? Scheming something to simply ruin your day? The possibilities were incredibly endless, and it honestly gets under your skin how he could maintain such a neutral face when he could have the worst possible thoughts ever.

That night, you made an unconscious wish to the stars above; I wish I could read minds. You thought exasperatedly, observing Alhaitham in your peripheral vision, shuddering a little when you spot a small smile on his lips when he glances at you once more. Just so I could know if he's up to no good.

The next day, you awoke with a killer headache. It was so painful that you doubled over and fell off the comfort of your bed, groaning at the aching pains whilst you tried to blink away the sleepiness that clung to your eyes. Pressing on and getting on with your morning routine, putting on your uniform, and walking outside of your house, only to be fully awoken by a myriad of voices suddenly surging into your mind, shrieking and falling to your knees at the intense volumes, catching the attention of the people passing by your home.

Well, it just so happened that you acquired a rather special (not) ability from the gods! The power of telepathy! You'd think that having telepathy can increase your capabilities to be able to arrest more criminals since now you've got the capacity to read minds. While that is true, you've suspiciously become a much better detective for the past few days and it even caught the attention of General Mahatamra, who commended you for your exemplary performance, the cons of having telepathy completely overshadowed the pros. Going outside of your own home gives you endless headaches, hearing so many voices speaking over one another inside your head; louder and louder! It's so damn painful that you just want to squeeze your eyes shut, but you couldn't really do that since being a Matra literally requires you to be alert at all times.

Though the voices were merely hushed whispers of thoughts that were supposed to be unheard by everyone, secrets kept to themselves, whenever your eyes stare into a person's face for even a mere second, you would immediately intrude into one's thoughts and know every single thing they'd think in that moment, as well as past thoughts and memories if ever the person thought about it while you were peeking. So your 'exemplary performance' quickly dropped as the days went by, trying (and failing) to adapt to your newly attained power. It was hard to do your job while hearing so many voices while you did your patrols. You even started bringing a blindfold to help soothe your headache and gain a short moment of silence.

This brings us to your sudden revelations of Alhaitham ever since you've gained telepathy.

Heaving a heavy sigh, you held a stack of books in your arms, struggling a little due to its weight. You were to return the books to the House of Daena, seeing them being left in random places around the Akademiya, and the dates on the return cards were way overdue. Seriously, whoever left these out in the open, without care nor consideration to the library they borrowed them from will never hear the end of you once you get your hands on them. Just because hardback books were now considered not much of use now due to the Akasha System, it's still filled with valuable knowledge and information; a vast sea of resources that can be used for research! Relying on such a convenient device too much would just lose the integrity of pursuing wisdom! Sadly, not a lot share your views, nor even want to respect your opinion, so they would shun you for even mentioning it.

A small groan slipped from your lips as your arms and lower back began to ache, slightly wobbling your way to the House of Daena. The headache that refused to give you any relief never left you, only dissipating for brief moments before returning once you've stepped into an area where there was a person in your sight. Yeah, you were not fond of your telepathy. For some reason, the library was bustling with students tonight, even when the sun was beginning to set. Was it exam week already? Archons, your skull was practically rattling at the hundreds of whispers as you picked up your pace, attempting to avoid the many faces ahead of you. And as if your day couldn't get any worse, you bumped into him.

"You shouldn't be carrying all those by yourself."

As soon as his voice reached your ears, your eye twitched, refusing to even spare him a glimpse, and walked right past him, hoping that he'd just leave you alone for today. Of course, you'd happen to cross paths with the scribe, after all, he spends an awful lot of his time in the library, reading away. Honestly, the most you see of him is during his free time. Is he always that free? How come it seemed like he absolutely does nothing? It just makes your blood boil even further. But you could hear his footsteps trailing behind you, following you on your way to the House of Daena. Irritated, you huffed through your nose. "Leave me alone."

"You look like you could use some help," Alhaitham commented, eyeing the tall stack of thick books in your arms, a slight frown that you didn't notice tugging at his lips. You missed the way he put away the book he was reading back into his belt pouch and instead went closer to you, oblivious to the concern written all over his face. "You look like you're about to topple over."

A scoff was all you could muster as you scowled at his words, stopping in your tracks and turning to shoot him a glare, the grip on the books in your arms tightening so hard that your hands began to tremble, becoming further difficult for you to hold. Him, offering help? As if! If you didn't know better, he must've been thinking of some scheme inside his head, in the guise of trying to simply lend you a hand. You aren't weak. Not at all. Sure, the headache was unbearable, but you aren't completely helpless to it. Without further hesitation, your eyes bore into him, invading his most private thoughts.

"They look awfully tired. More than usual."

That caught you off guard so bad that shock overtook your features, and the anger that was always so prominent on your face vanished so fast that even Alhaitham was startled, only to blink and see your ever-so-furious expression back. Seeing him shake his head, he glanced back at the books, and back to your face, an unreadable look in his eyes. You... expected something else, honestly. The tone of his voice was gentle, laced with... worry? Wait, was that genuine?

"But they still look nice." A pause and you held your breath. "I guess I've grown fond of it ever since those bags under their eyes became more apparent during our days at the Akademiya. It completes their look." Then you noticed it. The subtle shift of his eyes, holding a sense of affection as he stares back at your glare, with hints of slight amusement at your temperament.

You almost dropped the stack of books you held in your arms, but Alhaitham caught them just in time, taking half of the stack with ease. Glancing at you for your reaction, you could tell that he was expecting you to shout at him, for getting mad at pitying you but you stayed quiet, weirdly staring at his face. Deep inside, you indeed did want to scream at him, growing envious at how he was carrying those heavy books like it was nothing, while you struggled to make your way to the House of Daena holding all of them. But you bit back your tongue, only giving him a curt nod of acknowledgement before turning your back on him once again, and rushing to the damn library. You realized he never had bad intentions in the first place, only approaching you due to honest consideration towards you.

Truly, you can't blame him for actually getting worried. You looked absolutely horrible, and your headaches were making it difficult to sleep through the pain. No matter how much pain reliever you take, it doesn't work. Staying at home for long periods of time would probably help, but you were not going to ask your boss for a leave without a proper reason.

Instead of insulting you, just as you suspected, he was complimenting you, reminiscing how you looked when you were both younger. Flashes of images of yourself halfway through your years studying at the Akademiya filled your head when you peered into the deep crevices of his mind, you and your silly student beret, growing bags under your eyes and messy hair.

That image left a bitter taste in your mouth as it has undesirable memories attached to it, though you were more curious as to why Alhaitham could vividly remember how you looked back then. The image even projected you holding a book you usually had with you, a book that you still had on your own shelves of books at your home.

Finally, you've found a better use for your telepathy: Figuring out Alhaitham.

For the next few days, you've been with Alhaitham a lot more than usual. At first, the thought of being with him and conversing with him made you shudder, but you convinced yourself it would be worth it if it meant finding out what really goes through the arrogant scribe's head, and using it against him to get back at him after all those miserable years.

You wore different clothing, and accessories, cut your hair, and many more, and he would notice right away. "It looks nice on them and matches their eyes.", "It fits well with their physique.", "Oh, they look stunning.", "They got their nails painted. It's their favorite color." "That necklace... I think I can buy matching earrings...", or anything along those lines. It was truly startling to hear all of those coming from his mind whilst he had a blank face, but now that you could hear his thoughts, you're suddenly hyperaware of everything he does. From his closeness, the lingering gazes, and the rather fondness of his smile when his lips curve up, watching you scold a student breaking the rules in the middle of your walk towards the House of Daena.

Alhaitham was also very confused at your sudden increase in interactions for the past few days, but he was visibly pleased with it.

His thoughts were nothing but pure. Nothing dirty, nor any stains of malice. It was either him pondering what he'd do after he's finished with his responsibilities as the scribe, admiring you, or nothing at all. He was that simple. His mind was like a minimalistic room, bare and plain, but organized. A total reflection of who Alhaitham really was. Sure, he'd have speculations in his mind here and there, his thoughts churning and ticking like gears that were all connected and functioning flawlessly whenever he's approached with a problem, but everything else was very clean.

In other words; you were completely wrong about him. Whenever he speaks to a person, and would bluntly say something about them, it was just that. The honest truth, his general views, and beliefs. Cutting to the chase because he thinks that adding unnecessary words would hinder true progress, so he speaks his truth, and his truth only.

This completely shattered your view of him. Not once he had thought anything bad about you, just undoubtedly in love with you. Of course, it was such a difficult thing for you to process. You've hated Alhaitham for as long as you could remember, after what happened that day, he was the leading cause of your downfall. Can you really let it slide now you know one of his biggest weaknesses?

Mind in shambles (and still aching with grievous pain), you had to consult with one of your closest friends.

"So, let me summarize. You wished to have the ability to read minds for the sole reason to figure out what's going through Alhaitham's head, only for it to be granted the next day, which is why you look like you haven't slept in centuries. And now you found out that Alhaitham is just some guy who acts mysterious so people would leave him alone and that he's in love with you?"

Taking a sip from your tea, you nodded. "Yup," You saw Tighnari's ears twitch at your nonchalant response, brows furrowing with concern as he leaned towards you from across the table, pressing the back of his ungloved hand on your forehead. "Are you feeling okay? You know, not enough sleep would cause you to hallucinate—" Tighnari says, and you almost choke on your tea as he continues to speak, "Did you eat any suspicious-looking mushrooms on your way here?"

The faint smell of various flora wafted into your nose, your tense shoulders relaxing. It was very comfortable inside Tighnari's office. Homey and littered with organized messes all across the room. A basket filled with flora and mushrooms was on the table, an open book of records where Tighnari was recently writing, only to be left forgotten by your absurd words.

"Tighnari," Your stern tone made the fox pause, his eyes now focused on you as you pinch the bridge of his nose, a sigh leaving your lips. "I'm telling the truth. I can read minds just by looking at people." Tighnari's skepticism was reasonable, it's not every day you hear that one of your friends suddenly gained the ability to read minds due to their deep hatred of someone, so you'll just have to prove it to him. Disregarding the incredulous look on his face, you crossed your arms with a smug smirk on your lips.

A faint ringing noise crosses your mind as you read Tighnari's thoughts. "You were going to ask me to buy you some ingredients because you wanted to cook Cyno's favorite dish for tonight's dinner but you're missing some—"

Tighanri's ears flattened as his face was quick to flush, glaring at you as he swatted at your smug expression, soliciting a chuckle from you. "Okay, okay! You can read minds!" He huffed, shaking his head and hiding his reddening cheeks from you, glancing at the small list he had already pre-written and was about to give to you before you left. "How in Celestia did you manage to get that kind of power?" He frowned, grabbing his cup of tea and taking a long lip with a contemplative look on his face. You merely shrugged your chin on your palm.

"I'm stumped, I've been reading tirelessly about mind reading, even looking into the Akasha System for any clues, but I've got nothing to explain such a bizarre phenomenon." You grunted, obviously displeased at the results of your research, but gladly accepting the cookie Tighnari has offered to you.

"It's not as good as people make it in novels," A groan left you, rubbing your forehead to ease the pain. The tea Tighnari had prepared you helped a little bit, and being in his office, you were experiencing a rare moment of serenity. "At least I know what Alhaitham's thinking now. Makes it easier to get along with him, but doesn't make him less annoying though."

But Tighnari felt that something didn't feel right about you today. There was a mischievous glint in your eyes whenever you were lost in thought, a smirk on your lips that would instantly disappear once you remember you were not alone. Tighnari trusted his instincts and his instincts told him that you were up to no good.

With a soft tone of his voice, he called out your name, snapping you out of your thoughts. "Whatever you're planning, don't try." He warns, putting up a face you're rather familiar with. A face he always has whenever he's about to scold a reckless adventurer who ended up eating a poisonous mushroom in the forest. "You'll just end up hurting yourself even more in the end."

In the depths of your heart, you knew that Tighnari was correct. After all, as one of your friends, he only wants the best for you. And after discovering that Alhaitham wasn't some prick who thrives at other's struggles, it really made you hesitate on what you were planning to do. But at the back of your head, something dark festered throughout your mind, the anger you held slowly engulfing your thoughts completely. Your hatred towards Alhaitham was truly greater than anything you've felt.

Not taking his warning seriously, you rolled your eyes. "To be fair, he ruined my life." You defended yourself, narrowing your eyes at Tighnari, who could only frown at your statement. It was a grudge you could never let go of, a sore spot that you desperately wanted gone by getting back at Alhaitham in any way possible. And now you've been given an opportunity, surely, you'll never let it go, right? "Besides, if I did end up hurting Alhaitham, it wouldn't be that bad. He can find another love after he moved on from me, he's good-looking enough to get anyone he could ever want."

Your plans were simple enough. Play with his feelings, break his heart and finally gain the satisfaction you've been starved of for years. While it was truly malicious, you couldn't care less. You wanted to rid of that stone-cold visage of his and be replaced with something else. Would he even feel heartbroken once you reveal that you truly didn't love him back? Or would he just walk it off? Nevertheless, you just wanted to have a bit of entertainment for a little while. What's the harm in that?

Tighnari, who was very troubled by your decision, couldn't help but feel like something horribly bad was bound to unfold in the near future. He knew he should've tried harder to discourage your intentions towards Alhaitham, but there was no changing your mind at that point.

He just hopes it won't crash and burn in flames.

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[homeless202]

I’m new here and I absolutely love your type of blogs with analysis and meta and long texts~~

I was wondering—is Eunyung and Haejoon’s relationship the kind that could be interpreted as romantic?

first of all, welcome and ty! and sorry it took me so long to reply, i hope u're still around anon. now to answer ur question

i'll take this opportunity to share all my thoughts on the topic bc i have Many.

TLDR: it is possible to read it as romantic if you really want to, but it's not meant to (at least not as of right now in the story aka ch.224)

deep dive under the cut as to why

-> can Eunyung and Haejoon’s relationship be interpreted as romantic?

i like how you phrased that bc, the thing is, interpretation is very subjective. you're welcome and allowed to interpret things however you want, but in EY&HJ's case, i feel like you'd have to work a lil extra hard to get to that point.

-> is Eunyung and Haejoon’s relationship meant to be interpreted as romantic?

this one's easy bc no. objectively Not. the genre of No Home is drama and slice of life (and once upon a time, horror). even if they were to ever end up in a romantic relationship, that's not what the story is about.

when i ask myself what the author's intention is with this story, i'd say it's to (realistically) portray how a young person with trauma would navigate another young person's trauma. and showing how easy it is to unintentionally fuck it up for various reasons: lacking context as to what exactly said trauma is, generally not knowing how to navigate it, their own trauma getting in the way, lacking the necessary resources. take your pick.

think of it like "how should i carry someone else's baggage when i have my own to deal with?" while also keeping in mind they're kids; they often don't have enough experience to know how to help, and even when they know what the right thing to do is, they're not old enough to take (legal) action.

and especially, the most heart-breaking yet realistic thing, when you're just getting to know someone, you can't know everything about them. it's so easy to accidentally do or say sth that cuts or offends when it wasn't meant to. but when they've got their own issues, it's hard not to take it personally (eg. EY talking about HJ's parents without knowing his mom died not long ago in the beginning of the story).

-> what even is Eunyung and Haejoon’s relationship??

this one's so funny bc i have no idea how to answer and i'm convinced not even EY and HJ themselves would know how to answer. they're not really friends; they got off on the wrong foot and kept walking with two left feet way too much to call themselves friends. the things that pushed them together the most were the dorms (not anymore) and the same friend group (more or less since EY has multiple).

what fits them best i'd say is "the universe forced us together against our will and now we're stuck with one another altho we hate each other" (<- at least in the beginning) extended with the "misery loves company" sentiment. finding comfort in someone who gets it, even tho they only kinda get it but not really but it works out anyway except it doesn't <- THERE'S NO NAME FOR THAT *cry* they invented a new type of character dynamic smh (i've never read a pairing with so much (romantic) potential only to see them completely fuck up their chance so royally by the end of their interaction EVERY SINGLE TIME. like yeah, enemies to lovers whatever BUT NOT TO THAT LEVEL HOLY SHIT)

they've changed each other, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. they're compatible in the way they understand each other on a deeper level and incompatible in the way they don't.

...however...

this is how HJ thinks of EY: (and also what No Home is truly abt)

and this is how EY feels about HJ after EY found out HJ used to steal as well (aka that HJ isn't perfect like the stuck up bitch EY thought he was at first):

so...

<- -> EY's first impression of HJ was that he was looking down on him and sth like "does this guy have ulterior motives? or is he just that naive being so trusting?" until EY found out HJ wasn't that different from him. after that, EY started admiring HJ for still managing to achieve things in life despite the hardships he had to go through. the type of admiration that can easily (and sometimes does) slip into envy.

-

since the beginning, EY has helped HJ (or at least tried to) without him knowing. sometimes it worked out, sometimes not. most times EY tried doing sth nice for HJ was (from EY's perspective) in return to HJ trying to help him or doing nice things for him (which, again, sometimes worked out, sometimes not). EY was just paying back a debt to "this stubborn naive guy who keeps getting into trouble and butting into his business. gotta look out for this idiot or he might get scammed." (<- eg. when EY offered to get HJ's money back from his uncle)

he doesn't do it for credit or friendship or out of obligation, he's just doing what he thinks is the right thing bc he doesn't want to owe anyone anything. he can't accept people just genuinely being kind, genuinely caring and genuinely wanting to help. but he's been learning and slowly coming to terms with it.

-

<- -> HJ first wanted to try befriending EY despite not liking him bc, well, the guy did steal his wallet and stab him in their first interaction. after trying and failing at it multiple times, thanksgiving happened, and HJ started thinking of EY as his underclassman bc he realized EY's just a kid with issues and he should keep an eye on him (discretely bc EY hates pity).

-

with time HJ has come to understand EY better by going after him whenever he ran off and slowly realized that EY does mean well and has his reasons (as fucked up as they might be sometimes). but his mentality abt EY is still "i gotta push him in the right direction cuz he's my underclassman and i unintentionally got attached to him (somehow??)" (also bc he knows EY already gave up on himself so he needs a lil help to find his way again. also also bc he knows EY is lowkey suicidal and he's scared it'll be his fault if sth happens) <- his care for EY comes from a protective/nurturing (/possibly maybe guilty) place which started when he realized EY was just a kid^^. in other words, HJ still bothers with EY out of a subconscious sense of responsibility/obligation in a way (a good way tho. or at least a way that gets better)

see, sth i struggle with is if HJ thinks he has to or wants to or thinks he should or can't just not help/care for EY. i can't exactly pinpoint where the sentiment is coming from. his face is too blank for me to read sometimes T_T

-

to summarize: HJ is EY's goal, what EY wishes he could've been. and EY is HJ's 'responsibility' so to speak (bc 'burden' doesn't quite fit since HJ is there for EY willingly) -> EY has a positive opinion of HJ while HJ has a neutral opinion of EY (which is also gradually getting better)

note1: i think HJ's intention (maybe subconsciously) was to be to EY what HJ's upperclassman was to him. aka someone who's there when you need it and can help guide you. it would explain why HJ kept chasing after EY despite not really having a reason to and EY repeatedly rejecting HJ's care/help.

note2: i also believe the 'upper-under-classman' relationship dynamic fits them the best atm bc it also matches the way the story often singles EY out as he's the only second year (aka younger) of the 6 MCs.

-> Romance in No Home?

another thing i should mention is that No Home rarely leaves things open for interpretation. the deepest arguments EY&HJ had were always spelled out for us, to make us understand exactly what the problem was, and how there isn't a good guy and a bad guy. it's just two people with issuesTM.

from what we've seen in the story up to this point, i couldn't pick out a moment where i'd go "here! that's romantic! that's the moment they realized SomeThing!" yk

when it comes to romance specifically, i feel like a handful of opportunities were missed. there are scenes which could've easily been written trough a rosy lens but simply weren't.

exhibit A:

HJ was speechless bc "wow this mf really is actively picking a fight with an authority figure. i gotta make sure things don't escalate" not bc "hoLY sHiT hE's PreTTy. all his fangirls are on to something". however, this only becomes more clear when you keep reading the next few chapters, so i understand how you could interpret it as the latter.

exhibit B:

here they got so close and the moment was so deep bc "woaa he said he believes me. no one's said to me that before!". unfortunately, EY was panicking too much for it to mean something bc of the guilt he felt for HJ trusting someone so undeserving of trust like EY.

exhibit C:

this is maybe the closest we got to romantic between these two. i think this might be the only (or at least first) ever deep interaction between them that didn't end in a fight or misunderstanding. is it meant to be romantic tho? -> ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-> what do i think?

first, full transparency: i went into reading this story fully expecting it to be a BL and for EY&HJ to end up together. but the more i kept on reading, the more i got the ick thinking about them being in a (romantic) relationship bc, at least from what we've seen so far in the story, their relationship would be so ToxicTM (which i personally don't enjoy reading).

as they are right now, i wouldn't want them to be together like that. like, honestly, you still can't really consider these two even friends; they just tolerate each other if the stars align correctly (altho, i'll admit, their relationship is gradually getting better!!). every big argument they had i thought "god, there's no coming back from that. i'd cut ties so quickly if was them wtf". i still don't know how they managed to keep on interacting, props to them ig.

there's a lot of unresolved issues between them. and a lot of resentment which would not bode well in a romantic relationship. the smallest argument would turn explosive and they'd be, at best, in an on&off type of relationship. they both have the power to break the other and neither would be afraid to use it. they have a lot of history together, which is not always pleasant, so if they ever were to go the romantic route, it would have to be a long way to go.

technically, i could see them in a romantic relationship if they both went to therapy first and talked out all the baggage they're carrying (both individual and shared). realistically tho, what i think will happen at the end of No Home is that either they never cross paths again after high school ends (which would absolutely break my heart Wanan pls don't), or they somehow (unintentionally) end up living together bc they both desperately needed a roommate to pay rent (which would be a hilarious fucking gag LMAO). just, HJ going to uni/work and EY doing his own thing (prolly an actor) while still cohabiting together; hanging out to watch a movie before bed <- (whether platonic or romantic being left up for interpretation)

<- -> in conclusion, from what we've seen up to this point, their relationship is mainly upper-under-classman; reluctant (maybe) friends who tolerate each other but also care (too) deeply. they've changed each other, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. in some ways they're compatible and in others they're not.

all this being said, their relationship is improving and romance between EY&HJ is not impossible, just rather unlikely imo. but, again, interpretation is subjective and u're welcome to read their relationship however you want.

[femmesandhoney]

Hey I hope this isn't too annoying of an ask, but literally how are you so happy at college? You're like the student I want to be, you're always posting on here about your classes and you're so engaged and seem so into it. Every semester for me is just another couple months of the time passing and panicking. I'm either completely paralyzed in bed or I'm crying in bed. Like, how do you seem so good at this?

it's not all sunshine and rainbows believe me. even my best friend has told me i come off as someone who "has it all figured out", but i often do not feel the same lol, i miss assignments, i stress out and procrastinate until the last minute, i get drained from all the work mentally and physically. all the regular college shit. outside of that tho, i legitimately love learning and interacting with others who are interested in what i like and who i can learn from. that's usually what keeps me happy! i love the people i meet in my classes, i like group discussions, i like being introduced to new things, i love my profs and take all the classes i can with them. generally, im just friendly w people in my classes and that makes me enjoy going to them, and i take classes i enjoy, and if they're reqs i don't care for, i always try to take something out of the experience.

some people do not find learning for the sake of learning fun, but i do, which makes even the roughest days okay, but that doesn't mean the tedious and demanding aspects of college curricula do not wear me down too. i decided to wait to go to grad school bc im exhausted! i am tired and need a break from always having another damn assignment to do and another article to read 😭 those things are taxing, and i already have bad self discipline habits, so you can imagine i often make stuff harder for myself than they need to be. the only reason i get good grades is bc im smart and have a relatively easy time understanding the subjects i study. if i take anything outside my favorite academic areas, like say the natural resources class i took a few years ago, that shit had me crying every damn day lmao.

so yeah, i just enjoy learning for learning sake, but also i like academia and going thru the motions of a classroom experience is fun to me for all the reasons i listed, including the fact i want to be a college professor and just enjoy that atmosphere a lot. i would wager if you're constantly frustrated by your college experience, maybe analyze a bit deeper on what you most dislike? is it specific profs, the people in ur classes, the subject material itself? if theres anything you can try and control to make it more agreeable for you, always take the opportunity, tho ik its not always possible. im lucky that all my areas of study have naturally wonderful people drawn to them (especially the international studies students!), but ik some majors can draw less nice people sometimes :( which can make ur experience harder than it should be. or some people legitimately do not enjoy the institutions that are schools and what they traditionally demand from a person, which is completely understandable. my best friend didn't go to college bc she barely graduated high school bc she hated attending and never turned in her hw. some people just do not thrive in such strict school environments for many reasons. but whatever your case is, i hope you have easier semesters in the future if you continue, no one should ever be so stressed from a class that they cry over it. i think thats a failure of a class and a professor when that occurs, and a sign of a bad class/prof rather than a bad student.

[faeriekit]

Hello!

I was wondering, how does working in a library looks like? Is it fun? What responsibilities are there? Would you mind telling about it?

YES I want to talk about the library!! Always and any time!! Ask me any library questions and I will be excited to answer them!!

I will say that any experience in any library will depend on what role you were hired to fill. I would have a vastly different experience if I was hired to work in a college library with students, or in a medical library with student doctors, or in a law library, or in a private library or in an archive...There are lots of roles librarians fill, and each one is unique!

I, however, took every child psychology class my undergrad would let me, and now I work with the tiny babies! 🥰❤ (And the medium babies, and the preschoolers, and the kindergartners...)

I work in a public library, which means we serve a certain geographical area, and I work with a certain age group, which happens to be birth through K ages, which means that my role is to support the reading habits, language acquisition skills, and local educational efforts in town and in our school district for all the kids who fit that age group. Therefore, my responsibilities are to:

Manage the collection! This means that I make sure we're getting hot new kids books in, [especially kids books with huge educational value (ask me about how we judge this sometime)], that all the gross old busted books are tossed summarily, and that they fit our library's mission statement. Since I work with the little kids, I manage the Picture Book section, the Board Book section, the Early Reader section, the read-along books (CD books or chip-reading books), and sometimes the audiobooks and the kid tablets. I also have to know about the chapter books, graphic novels, nonfiction books, and tween/teen books, since kids will ask me about them at the youth services desk, but I don't manage those collections.

Provide programming! Librarians usually have a specialty in...something. Everyone finds their niche. It's guaranteed. This may be because most librarians are secretly neurodivergent but also because it's great to be good at something and have people learn to expect it. Some people are great at research in certain topics or know a lot about local resources or can lead certain craft programs that may be specialty only. Since I work with babies, My role is to provide a lot of storytime programs, age-appropriate craft programs, and help facilitate outside performers in the library to provide educational things I can't. (Ex. I don't know sign language, so I can't do sign language storytime. We hire someone to to this for us since it's not an easy thing to branch out.)

Perform outreach! Outreach is what it's called when the librarian shows up at your school and says "you know we have sonic comics, right?" And kids are like 'YOU HAVE SONIC??' And we're like, 'yeah, we have Dogman too'. Outreach can take many forms— Adult Services librarians might head to a community home or the food pantry or nursing homes to check out books and make library cards, but Youth Services librarians usually go to community centers, parks, and most importantly, schools! This is so that we can preach the good word of library cards to kids at an age where they can learn the values of never paying for books but still being voracious readers. Want a million books at home? Check out ten at a time, and you'll hardly ever run dry!

Now...is it fun?

I mean. I think so? I love my job; I get to see babies every day, I get to recommend the books I read as kids to kids now, and give them the hot new books when they need something more modern; I get to tell moms to stop being so weird about their kids' reading habits and just let them read comics, no, really, it has a massive impact on their willingness to fall in love with reading; I get to tell kids that they can get to pick out their own sticker if they clean up the toys when they're done playing (HUGE for them); I was trained to sing since I was yea high, and I love picture books as an art form, so planning storytimes is super fun and exciting for me! On the other hand, I'm basically performing half hour mini-shows once a week— or maybe even multiple times a week on outreach weeks— and have to have them scheduled months and months in advance before they're actually designed, and each one is new and untested. Every week. The performance anxiety can be unreal, even when I love what I'm doing. I love gossip, but I actually get overstimulated in rooms with a lot of active people for a long time, so some on-desk days can be stressful. People will harass you about changes upper admin make, but you're the one on the desk, do you're the one they yell at. My coworkers are all amazing and I love them, and that's pretty lucky, haha. The kids who see me come to their school ALL come up to me to tell me I visited ("I know, I was there! What book did you like the most?") and ask after the books and resources I showed them while I was there. I show them books and things from my childhood, things that are about to disappear. We sing songs older than some of the parents are and songs released last year. All things are give and take.

And sometimes on empty desk shifts, I write fanfic. So. ✨👍🏽📚

I would say that if you're interested in libraries, volunteer at your local one. A lot of things librarians will tell you about will sort of get washed aside when we try to infodump everything to you when you get your card. I'll be like "WE HAVE FREE WIFI HOTSPOTS AND MUSEUM PASSES" and people will be cleaning out their ears like "huh? What'd you say? Whatever." Volunteering is a great way to get out on the floor and get to know all the services public libraries offer. I got a two year degree in two years of working part-time and full-time, and now I make construction paper crafts for kids! I needed a Masters degree for that! Whack. Anyway being a librarian is like doing whatever you want and giving out freebies all at the same time, as long as you also do your homework and make sure your large collection of books is nice and clean and functional.

Also. Weed out all the racist books. "What but racist book #2 was my favorite! :(" Don't care. I work with early childhood education and baby books. If a kid sees that, their self esteem could be harmed irrevocably. Dump it.

Other roles in public libraries are different: you could work in circulation, collection development, marketing, tech services, adult services... But this is what I do! 💜📚💜

[tetedurfarm]

That’s ok, in that case what would you suggest? Mini rexes?

Also yeah that list would be awesome if it isn’t a bother lol

mini rex are great but depending on where you are they're VERY competitive. i know a lot of MR people in washington and unless you have money to drop on some real good rabbits i wouldn't start there either haha.

in general, these things are gonna be pretty regional depending on how competitive you want to get and how much disposable income you have to throw at rabbits. going to shows can get you a better idea of what's around and what's popular.

in general though i like to point people to breeds like californian, new zealand, and florida white when they're starting. boring? yes. but they are easy to find, usually very typey, and a barn full of rabbits that all look alike will really teach you how to look at the body rather than the colours, which is probably THE most important fundamental skill.

fur breeds like satin/mini satin, rex/mini rex, silver fox, etc. can be very typey but the fur is an added difficulty that can be fun to some and absolutely brutal for others. people tend to love fur breeds (because who doesn't want to drown in rex fur) so they can be quite competitive, and often the act of breeding will ruin fur quality, especially in does (something to do with hormones and the fact that does pull fur for nests.) satins/mini satins also have the added bonus of having really horrible personalities.

Woolies, angora, and fuzzy lops require a LOT of grooming and that may be fun for some and really intimidating for others. If it's not done appropriately it can lead to matting and wool block so not really something you can slack on. also, most wool breeds don't have a lot of meat since all their nutritional resources go into fur production.

my favourite little guy with an added Thing to make it interesting though is dutch. they're a marked breed, which can be really frustrating, but they're also very easy to tell at birth if they're worth growing out. they're compact, generally very typey, and also make really great little meat bricks (which is nice for all those culls you'll be doing if you aren't doing it in the nest.) unfortunately in washington there is basically zero competition.

i am not very familiar with the upright/running breeds so i can't really comment on those, except that in general full-arch may not be beginner friendly due to their space requirements, high strung personalities, and the fact that most of them are marked breeds.

as i said before i also don't touch dwarf breeds in general but in my area holland lops are so popular that they'll often have a judge doing nothing BUT that breed at local shows. netherlands and lionheads are also really popular. i have no idea how difficult they are to show necessarily, i just know how many i see at any given local lol. i like papillons a lot but they're still a little difficult to find, and brittania petites are demons in physical form, but they are pretty typey and seem easy to find.

mandolin is another group i'm not super familiar with but from what i understand they are not hard to show just difficult to find. most of them are also pretty big and can have difficult housing requirements due to their size. big bunnies don't make as much meat, grow slower, and don't live as long so keep that in mind.

and of course i have not forgotten about the most perfect animal in the world: the himalayan. truly the ideal shape. the ideal size. the ideal "personality", if you can call it that. i think everyone needs a himalayan in their life. unfortunately though they don't have a lot of meat on them.

the other two cylindrical breeds, holicers and czech frosties, are having new/rare breed difficulties despite how pretty and meaty they are.

ultimately like...any breed is good. but if you have never bred rabbits and definitely haven't shown before, some are easier to get involved in than others. i started in mini lops and standard rex and i almost quit showing altogether because rex frustrated me so much lol. shifting to different breeds helped me realise the type of showing i enjoy doing (i am not particularly competitive though i enjoy having a little competition - but mostly the Projects are what i enjoy when it comes to rabbits) and the breeds that clicked with me. now, i ended up with two really awful ones, but i now have experience with spicy rabbits and have the knowledge and experience to know how to move forward with the project of hotots, which is very fun for me.

there aren't a lot of resources out there on how to get started and what you're looking for in showing rabbits unless you're in 4H, ARBA youth clubs, or are lucky enough to find a mentor. making it easy on yourself at first is the way to go (or at least have on easy and one harder breed.) that being said, i'm trying really hard to build some non-discord resources for people, especially adults, who are new to rabbits to help them. because genuinely, it's hard out there for us.

this was a real essay but clearly i love infodumping about rabbits and i have onions about showing as someone who started in my mid-20s.

anyway please get into rabbits

[inventors-fair]

Vehicle Commentary: Tinkering Around

Wow, I didn't expect almost thirty entries to this one. I probably should've gotten more commentary done while I was breaking down my week, but hey, no time like the present to get into writing about these vehicles. And vehicles are a weird bunch! They're more recent than a lot of things in Magic comparatively, but not so recent that they haven't been established as powerful cards. A little weirdness can go a long way; we've seen weird things done before, and the variety of ways that people interpreted that are much appreciated.

If there's any lesson this week, it's to keep in mind the power level of vehicles and how they function compared to other cards. I think some of these cards were a little more resource-intensive than were perhaps intended, and some that just didn't function in the way that vehicles WANT to function. What makes a good vehicle? Versatility and interaction with the board. The repeatable power level that can be slightly higher than a normal creature, but that comes with its own complexities. What are they? Well, why don't we find out.

JUDGE PICKS are cards that have a special aspect I'd like to showcase, or that just touched me in some manner I thought was worth pointing out. Let's get down to the showroom floor!

@bread-into-toast — Enigma Engine

I love the aspect where investigating wakes up the engine. It being a clue itself is also relevant, or at least it would be fine mechanically. As a common, it's reasonable that the power level of this card offensively would be not the absolute greatest, although if you can investigate consistently it would be more powerful. Ish. But again, having the clues lead the vehicle along makes sense here.

The question is, what is this a clue towards? The mystery of this machine and the ghosts is a pretty obvious reference, and like, I'm okay with that callback. It's not striking a particular sense of affinity but I know that it would matter for other people and that's all well and good. Beyond the reference, I question what the relevance to the world is. Spirits on Innistrad have evaded me a little bit in terms of, like, goals beyond being spooky, but that's on me. There's an inherent discrepancy between what it means to be scoobying and doobying around the town and what the flavor of this card is working towards.

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@coolcoolcooltighttightight — Riveteers Bulldozer

New Capenna is the name of the city and not the plane, if I recall. Right? Ravnica being a plane-wide city is one thing, but I suppose it makes sense to have more "development" in other areas. I'm not sure that I jive with the dark comedy presented here. Displacement is a rough subject, and this feels almost...toony. Sometimes Magic can get away with that; here, I don't think the flavor and subject are hitting my funny bone.

Mechanically, though, it's fine. Razing the land and getting counters calls back to Gitrog archetypes, and with trample, this card is a rare that can get out of hand pretty quickly. I appreciate the commitment to the two-color combination, because I don't recall there being too many enemy-color specifics on Capenna, and they would've allowed for slightly more flexible deckbuilding, or perhaps new decks to emerge. One of my students managed a black/white deck when we drafted it, and that was awesome to see. What else could've been possible? Yeah, no, sturdy and powerful. Just missing the mark with flavor, IMO.

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@corporalotherbear — Soulskipper

This is what I was talking about with the activations and abilities. This card could be a pretty awesome finisher, and even though there's no way to crew it, its requirements are easier to activate by jamming creatures in the late game and having an ability that's fairly easy to turn on. I feel that it would be easier to get yourself in a rough position than to get your opponents in that same jam unless you're a VERY aggressive deck. Still, hey, it's a cheap card, aggression can be its bread and butter.

It could be, anyway. I really don't know if I would ever play this card because of the chances that it would be just a weak topdeck, or that the activation would be bad in the late-game unless you can get a board presence. I guess getting a board presence wouldn't be too hard, though. Nontoken death is one of those things that we just have to have these days too. As an uncommon, it's reasonable that this card would fill some role in a vehicle deck. I still don't know if/when I'd pick it just because getting it high enough to be a powerful creature means a lot of things will have to have died. Y'know? How big does the Soulskipper get reasonable? Great name, by the way, love what you've done with that.

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@dabudder — Omenpath Luggage

I feel that there's an intersection of "weird" and "silly" that people crossed wires with here, and sometimes, it ended up working out. The jury in my brain is deliberating on this one. I'm baffled by the implication that omenpaths are commonplace enough to have a thriving tourist market for them, because it makes sense in a pseudo-parodic capitalist critique way, but is that something that I'm actually down for? I really don't know if the concept and the content are meeting me halfway. Plus, motorized suitcases as a vehicle are already funny. That honestly could've carried the card.

As a card, though, I like this as a little aggro-treasure anywhere-in-the-game card. You can always use a few treasures, right? Souveniers turning into treasures are a funny enough image, and I do like the concept of the battlefield being its own kind of omenpath. There's nothing wrong with the stats or abilities here, and this is a fine red vehicle that's strong enough for its place in the pack. I like how you can sacrifice it through some XYZ ability even when it's not a creature, too, even though it's most likely gonna get combat'd.

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@demimonde-semigoddess — Oversize Loader (JUDGE PICK)

Forklift certification indeed. Yes, here we are, and this card is...one of the few that makes me chuckle with its flavor text. The card itself carries the joke, and that's honestly fine—it goes for one thing and does it well. Whether or not this would be something they'd put in a pack, I honestly doubt it, but the joke itself is worth it. If it had some different kind of reference, would the mechanics stand up? It's a good question, because those stats are nothing to laugh at.

What is the prevalence of pilots on New Capenna, world-wise or set-wise, or at least what could they be in a world where this kind of card would be printed? ... Sorry, I got distracted because the aspect of this card losing vigilance after being crewed by an uncertified creature made me laugh again. Look, folks: if you're gonna do a funny card, this is the way to commit. That's why I had to make this a last-minute judge pick. Sounds good? Alright, moving on. This card's a little too silly to be serious but it wants to be nothing else so who am I to tell it what to do. Making me actually laugh with these things ain't easy.

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@dimestoretajic — Well-Waxed Plank (JUDGE PICK)

Making me sorta nostalgic for the era of EA putting out good sports games isn't easy either. The fact that this can be a snowboard or surfboard brings to mind the equipment vs. vehicle debates that unicycles had, except almost more so. Let's back up for a second. While I like this card a lot, this probably shouldn't be common except in a Horizonsesque set (and even then). What kind of world would want this card, y'know? Snow lands would have to be relevant, and it's a slightly aggressive card that's looking for Islands as a possibility. It's got a lot of text comparatively, and vehicles are already on the higher end of complexity because of a natural activated ability.

And yet I think this falls into the "weird" category of vehicles as a perfect little reference. Am I still nostalgic? Yes, and this one plays to the judge a little bit. Can anyone deny that the idea is still cool? Magic has never ventured into that kind of territory before, not really. Tony Hawk's Pro Tour, y'know? I think I'm losing the plot a little bit. It's not impossible to have this be somewhere in a Magic world; surfboards are just one of those things, maybe snowboards less so, and vehicles are still part of the game in an inherently modern sense, so. I think I just feel compelled to defend a non-engine uniquely cool card.

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@hanavesinauttija — Darksteel Dragster

Which plane, out of the planes that we currently know, would have something akin to a DMV? My vote is actually for Ravnica and the Azorius. Crumple zones... Alright, look. I would love to spend the next half an hour in another tab looking up the history of crumple zones and crash testing for vehicles, but I don't have that kind of time and I'm already behind on commentary. Curse you! I'll figure it later, but regardless, the flavor text is almost pithy but funny enough to make me wave it away. Funny that this is the second card so far that I've noticed that has omenpaths as a major factor.

This is actually a pretty dark card, yeesh. Blood on the windshield is... Yeah, maybe there could be another way to show this without depicting a fatal car accident, but the vibe is there. Having it be able to be crewed by an indestructible creature would be fun, too, wouldn't it? I digress, though. Darksteel is a strange material. Would inhabitants of Mirrodin not keep things like that in mind? Let's back up, AGAIN-again. Mechanically, this is a heck of a rare, and I do like it, because of how it could take over games if you have the creatures to make it happen and are willing to let it go. Being chump-blocked would be fun for you too. Perhaps I'd have made it a 5/2, just for that little extra kick of possible toughness to keep your creatures around. The reference makes sense, though, so I feel that.

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@helloijustreadyourpost — Pedal-Powered Assault Copter

Ah, but it's always gonna stop. This is a silly card and I appreciate it immensely. The world for it would possibly be... I actually would like to take a few guesses from other folks. It would have to be a world that's got somewhat of a silly bend, or at least a place for that levity. Is this possibly powered by goblins? Or maybe kids with a knack for invention? How advanced technologically would it have to be? I have the feeling that this card eschews these questions in favor of the joke that comes with the card, and you know what, it's not a laugh-out-loud humor, but it's well-constructed. Unlike this vehicle's propulsion system.

The manner in which this card brings the idea into the physical world of exerting creatures is both funny and thoughtful. You have a powerful flying creature, but you have to more seriously think about your resources in order to use it. Totally fair! You have this cobbled vehicle that an inventor of sorts made that tires people out because of its inefficient system. Also very fair! And the flavor text is the kind of concise, well-written aside that I want to say is just where it should be. Really, if there's any major critique, it's that this card's self-awareness makes it hard to gel for me in Magic's multiverse. The elements are almost there but not quite in a way that makes me able to place it.

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@horsecrash — Skaberen Skiff

This card is one that I'm certain could have been an uncommon and without the kicker keyword. Is it good? Well, yeah, absolutely. In the early game you have a decently strong vehicle, and in the later game you have a cheap powerful creature for blue that uses blue's strengths. I'm comparing this to something like Meldweb Strider, though, and while that's a case of needing to have those environmental resources, this card isn't as far off from that power level.

Flavorfully, though, this is the SECOND seafaring vessel in this contest that happens to be partially made of corpses, which is... Well, two nickels is two nickels, put those over someone's eyes and move on. It's delightfully Innistradian, because of course someone is going to make a zombie boat. This card really is fine conceptually, and the living metal counter is one we'll see later that's a delightful case of me remembering a mechanic I'd forgotten about that people have used in awesome ways. Downing the rarity to uncommon and having this just be an ETB trigger would've made this one a wee bit more focused, I think. Interesting that you also used the Phyrexian callback; it makes sense to have the "living" and "metal" parts come together. Good choice.

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@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Possessed Carriage

The choice to make this a common is interesting. Could it be? I honestly wonder... You know what, I can see the argument. Sometimes you just need an anti-human card and this one fits the bill. It's not so powerful as to be unbeatable, and it's a specific situation where you're probably going to have a couple in the sideboard in a draft deck. Innistrad is full of non-humans as well, right? Maybe in too many numbers it would be too powerful, and spirit tokens would make this easier than not, but U/W Spirits with ground blockers could use this for annoying big humans. Hm. It's a heck of a question.

The other heck of the question is how aware you are that there was a Runaway Carriage in Shadows Over Innistrad, heh. There have been more than a few carriages in that world over time, and this one feels like we're almost kinda treading old ground but with a different mechanical bend. And the uniqueness of this is fine! I don't think we needed the flavor text with this much text on it, though, and the art direction is specific enough that you can fit everything into one frame and it would be fine. This card's not bad, y'know? It's a bit hindered by its predecessors and is beholden to Innistrad's past possessed carriages, though—plus the human-density of Innistrad. There are a lot of things to hit!

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@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Roaring Motor-Hunter (JUDGE PICK)

What the heck is going on here. Is this a world of living vehicles vaguely shaped like animals that hunt and eat each other in a grotesque bastardization of the natural order? Where cars hunt motorcycles? Unless there is a whole other world in which this happens, I'm baffled, impressed, humored, and totally lost. This is such a wholly weird take on this prompt and while I would never imagine this being a viable place for Magic to go, I'm down for the concept from just an imagination perspective. You've kinda won this contest in that right.

The card itself is standard enough that it's simply Really Good in every sense. There was a similarly-costed card earlier that had a similar feeling of goodness, yeah? Well! With this card, the text broth (as opposed to the denser keyword soup) is easily grokable, the power level is on point, and there we have it. This card's still weird, don't get me wrong, I want to emphasize that you've situated this card in a way that it's absolutely weird—but damn if it ain't done right. Fantastic flavor text as well, top-notch. Makes me want to do another flavor-text-kinda contest now.

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@phyrexiandreadthot — The Pan-District Express

Any official guild could agree on it, anyway. I kept my eyes on this card and I have to say, it's honestly really neat and one of those cards that would be close to print. They've printed some cards in this vein, but this ability is unique enough that either it's a surprise they haven't printed it OR there's a card with a similar-ish ability that I just can't remember for some reason. Brago's the closest my brain can conjure and that's not remotely the same.

The fun part is how you can return things untapped after they've crewed this creature, and that incentivises a different kind of blocking for this card as an attacker, but also you can just get value from random ETBs which is totally fine as well. I believe the "Crew 1" would go underneath the trigger, and that the trigger should say "up to one target creature that crewed it this turn," but that's about all I got. One has to wonder, though, if the Gruul or even Selesnya would be okay with this sort of thing. Gruul is obvious, but would the Selesnyans allow trains out of their secret places? Hm...

Azorius would be enforcing some strict timetables and make sure everyone gets there on time. Dimir would use the trains as places to vanish, probably, for a quick getaway. The Rakdos would be causing some nasty explosions, but train stations make good places for show adverts. Gruul is opposed to these things coming near their wild places. Selesnya, like I said, are cool with the transport but easy come, easy go. Orzhov fares are going to be wildly hiked. The Golgari will be excellent at an under-city transport system. Simic mages will mostly complain that they can't bring their pets (an Indrik-ostrich acid-blooded dinosaur) on board. The Izzet build trains faster than the speed of Anything. The Boros... Well, they have Skyknights.

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@railway-covidae — Mizzium Weirdwagon

I do like the twist you used for the Nivmagus effect, and that changes this card into one that almost makes Izzet vehicles into something; the ones from War of the Spark left a lot to be disappointed about. I think, unfortunately, that the Treasure creation as you've intended is a little harder to make happen. Because, like, you'd have wanted it to look at the wagon before it got the counters, right? And that's...just not viable, I don't think, not in a way that groks well. Or if you meant that that spell would make Treasures if it had greater power AFTER the counters, I get that, but the wording is weird.

Weird, weird indeed. I do like this card and I think I grok it! It might have been easier to consolidate the kind of variables that would've made it read better. Also, I'm curious what this card is depicting precisely. Is this just a wagon full of weirds? A wagon shaped like weirds? A wagon that happens to be propelled or created by weirds? I love weirds, and, well, I just kinda realized that I named this contest in the tags in that manner, so that's fun. But regardless. Great concept, but I'm not sure what that middle part is doing, and would have loved to know what you visualized.

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@reaperfromtheabyss — Saddled Boulder (JUDGE PICK)

This card, on the other hand, is remarkably easy to visualize for a number of reasons. As a vehicle, it's on the defining side where it's almost like belief that it IS a vehicle blocks out any semantic arguments against it. This is the kind of in-Magic humor that's both expected and welcome, and I'm all for it, honestly. Goblins are my favorite little guys, not just when they're there and they look funny, but when they're actively trying. We'll slip back into the comfortable shoes of little gremlins because look, it's a rock! I grok the rock.

The question then becomes what this does for Goblins that changes the formula. Goblins are usually expendable go-wide cards, but this is a single big trampler. Honestly, in the mirror match this would be a pretty funny card, and additionally, it forces the biggest-butt blockers to have to deal with this before it gets out of hand, and then next turn it opens up the swinging path. You do have to tap all your goblins, but weren't you going to do that anyway? I actually really like how this card plays with expectations of play style. Having a trampling-haster ain't so bad in any archetype, but Goblins make it that much more interesting. I really like this one the more I think about it.

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@sparkyyoungupstart — Floodburst Rescuer

This one's a curious one. Fire rescue in New Capenna is something I hadn't really thought about, but we'll get back to that after the mechanics. The question is why an artifact is being a color-hoser effect, and it's an interesting case where this card could've been blue or white, but isn't. Why is that? Having vigilance and reach are both very cool (rescue + ladder), so that groks. Saving one of your creatures from a red effect and/or allowing it to bring through an attacker into the red zone (anti-red zone?) is fair. Why NOT make it colored, though? I don't know if contemporary sensibilities would want that to happen.

They would appreciate the flavor and ability combinations, though. It brings together the realities of how these city operations would be represented on cards in a way that's not just big smashy tank-like things. You've lost me with the flavor text, though. It's supposed to be funny, and the visual is still funny if you don't think about the reality that the card's built, but it's lacking in the verisimilitude that the rest of the card is trying to emulate—and it's kinda obviously a joke, which is fine in some spheres, but it's not even trying to hide. Maybe it's worth a guffaw, but we take ourselves deadly seriously here at the Fair. No humor allowed. No laughter. ... I'd say that that's a joke, but now I don't know if I'm allowed to.

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@spooky-bard — Ramshackle Junk-Bike (JUDGE PICK)

This is a card that does its best to revel in verisimilitude, on the other hand. Would you believe that I was just reading up on rickshaws? This is only tangential, but you have this quick-and-easy transport system, and then hey, the bike comes through. I think that this card is asking for a lot to make itself happen mechanically. It's big, though, and I gotta wonder how much size matters. What kind of situation would allow for you to sacrifice a lot of artifacts? With Oni-Cult Anvil, this card becomes such a pain in the butt. I'm obviously limiting myself to Neon Dynasty cards. Maybe that's the wrong mindset, but this fits the bill.

You gotta let things fall apart sometimes, or you can continuously build onto the bike in order to keep it running. Greasefang knows this, yeah? She's seen the streets of Kamigawa, she's a biker rat, she's down and dirty and a rat of the people, as it were. This card is oddly poignant and I'm not sure what to make of that! Sheesh. In Magic, the downtrodden masses aren't represented in the same way as the powerful warriors. There are the mechs, and then there are the junk-bikes. And that representation is... I dunno, I'm not sure what to feel, but I feel something. Isn't that worth it in the end? How many cards can do this? Would it be okay to have a set where every single card has some implication of struggle, triumph, vulnerability, humanity? ... Maybe I've been writing too long. We're in the brain-mushy philosophy stage.

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@squeezyboi — Snowplow

This card is SILLY and makes me MAD. Mad as in crazy. Crazy about snowplowing, that is! But yeah I don't think this card would ever see the light of day and that's alright because it's, again, genuinely funny. You push the snow over to an opponent, and now you can plow your way to victory. As they say. Hm. Look, I won't wax too much flavorfully, but again, I wonder where on earth you'd see this card, and by Earth I mean the multiverse. Ravnica in the winter? Kaladesh's mountainous region? I can't imagine it, and sometimes that's still fun. Compared to the cards that strike the balance of reality, it makes me cross my arms and go "pffft," but it's not trying to be a world-based card.

Instead, it's trying to push snow somewhere. If you're running snow lands, then all the more power to you. This card being unblockable at the expense of a one-turn land-drawback means you're giving up resources for resources and I don't think it's entirely worth it. Drawing two cards, maybe, but even then. Pushing things around is fun! Giving up your lands is such a drawback in any format except for the most focused tryhard combo decks that lose to other tryharder combo decks, as well as everything else. It's a one-turn fun-turn card but does it do anything? If you've ever been mana-screwed in limited, you already know the answer to that.

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@stupidstupidratcreatures — Containment Caboose

Every time you want to make this card powerful, you have to give up a three-power creature to do so. After a certain point, that just becomes untenable, right? How many of those creatures do you have in your deck? What kind of construction means that you have the ability to give those up? Relying on them to power the caboose means that in the end you'll probably run out of creatures to fuel it; eventually you'll be stuck with a very powerful blocker that gets rid of all your other blockers. However, I can see the argument for this card eventually being so big that it HAS to be blocked; if it just doesn't get blocked, though, your opponents can swing in, because you'll have to spend your blocking resources on cards that'll crew the Caboose.

Is this card cool conceptually? Yes, absolutely, and there's a back-and-forth to be argued where this card could play alright. I currently don't see a way forward for that and it's hard to really find a middle ground as it is. But, there are options for getting your own creatures back, perhaps, or making the power of the Caboose's other effects make that exile worthwhile. I dunno, however you do that is up to you, but I wouldn't have this in a mythic slot. A risky rare, perhaps, but not a mythic. I love having a beefy train. This execution is complex and ultimately hard to balance. Props for making me think, though, because I want this KIND of effect to work and play well.

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@tavi-en-astra — Marching Market

I'm glad I caught the little "R" in the corner, because I was gonna say, that's a heck of a complex common you got there. Anyway! There's the situation where you have to have some kind of discard to make it animate, and you get extra discard through combat damage, but that discard doesn't re-animate the market, so how do you get it going in the first place? It's an odd card that feels like it should have you do something for the discard, and then the discard allows for optional animation, but the effects are reversed, kind of, and I don't grok how to get this card going.

As a flavorful card, and as a land, you have quite an interesting combination. Nobody else did a land, and the way that you've made it flavored makes sense! It could've been just an artifact, and yet, here we are—the markets can go either way. What does that do mechanically? That's another question I'm not sure the card answers: why a land besides the flavor? Maybe in the right environment, I can see how the discarding would be a little better. Without that context, you can see how we're a little bit lost here. The heart is in the right place—how can the gameplay lead to a more intuitive conclusion for how this card works overall?

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@wifeswarmacademy — Goblin War Balloon

I kinda already imagined this card looking like a toad even without the art description, not gonna lie. So everything already makes sense! I think that the throwback cards are appreciated, and even though this contest could've wanted a future-adjacent idea, I do appreciate the way this card flies into our hearts. Goblins finally finagled something that could be used in warfare that honors their ancestors. I wonder what a patchwork toad would look like, if the goblins have any sense of aesthetics in that sense.

I also wonder if this card's a little too powerful, actually. You can sacrifice some pretty big stuff and then swing in for four, and with big enough creatures you can just have a flier that takes out other fliers or offers trades with immense flexibility. Perhaps this could be a 3/3 rare, genuinely. Plus, it's a blocking death as well—so many ways to deal massive amounts of damage. Am I being too paranoid about this? "Any target" is nastier than it may seem, genuinely. Toning down the power level in some ways on a flying body would be a safer bet.

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@wildcardgamez — Nazukai, Enigma Engine

And we're bookending this contest with cards that have "Enigma Engine." Why can't I hold all these nickles?! It's such a good name chunk, though. Where did it come from? I actually designed an example with "Enigma" in the name, too, but we didn't post examples this week, so there you go. Anyway—this card. I feel this is another case where "Until end of turn, Nazukai gains your choice of..." would be more intuitive than what we've got right now.

That said, it's pretty darn powerful. It's a shame that the pilots are required. I get it, though, flavorfully, kind of. Does it really make the gameplay better if it's a more-or-less useless card without a pilot? Vehicles are already borderline useless without other creatures on board; what's the ratio of vehicles to other cards that you'd want in a deck, really? I'm still not sure. We're not quite there, though, or at least I don't believe so—I mean not at the point where this card is fully viable/polished. There's gotta be a way to ensure that it can DO something, because what good is the slot? However that would happen is up to you. If you wanna keep the pilot restriction, ask what this card could do to have a presence on the battlefield when pilots are in short supply.

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We're all out of gas for this week. Tune in soon! @abelzumi

[thyandrawrites]

is crocheting something easy to get into and do you have any tips on how to start I really like your work

Hi and thank you! Yeah, I find crochet pretty easy to get into. You don't need many supplies to begin, just yarn and a matching hook, and if you have access to youtube, it's full of tutorials on how to get started as well as how to do the basic crochet stitches. I learned with yt too so it's def not as hard as it might seem from the outside! You just have to practice. On yt there are also a lot of beginner-friendly patterns that go very slow and are easy to follow along as you make something. I checked out a bunch back in the day.

Be prepared, at first it's normal to skip stitches. Everyone does when they're still learning! But you'll get better with practice. My tips are the following:

- choose a thicker yarn to start with. Thin yarn is both harder to work with and makes the stitches harder to tell apart. There's advantages to using wool and advantages to using cotton, so you might wanna experiment what works best for you. I used acrylic because natural fibers split more easily, but they might be easier for you since they lack the distinct fuzziness of synthetic fibers

- if you can, consider investing in ergonomic crochet hooks or hooks with grips/handles. As a beginner, your tension will be super tight until you learn to relax it, and tight tension + a regular aluminum/steel hook can make crocheting uncomfortable or straight up painful after you do it long enough. Hooks with silicone/plastic handles are a lot easier on your wrist, allow you to crochet for much longer with 0 pain, and prevent carpal tunnel to boot! Def worth the extra penny imho. You don't need to get a whole set, just one that matches your practice yarn will suffice, and then you can upgrade if you need

- on the topic of matching yarn and hooks, yarn labels usually specify a recommended hook size, in case you don't know where to start. Those work best for crocheting clothing, but they're not hard rules. You can go higher or lower if you find that your stitches are too loose or too tight

- choose something easy and straightfoward for your first project! Don't go with a... Sweater or a blanket as your first, lol. My first was a pair of fingerless gloves. They were two rectangles (easy enough) folded in half and joined along the seam 😂

- stitch markers are you best friends! They help you remember the beginning of a row/round, which can be lifesaving if you are forgetful / easily distracted like me. They also help you keep count of your stitch number without counting each stitch one by one every single time. You don't need the fancy stitch markers either. Bobby pins and paper clippers work perfectly too!

- [edit cause I forgot to mention this] the way you hold your hook and your yarn varies from crocheter to crocheter. If you try to follow what you see in a tutorial and it doesn't work for you, you're not necessarily doing something wrong. That method might just not be for you. Find a different tutorial and try again. Personally, I can't crochet at all if I wrap yarn more than once on the finger that holds the tension, yet this method works for other people. Similarly, I can't crochet by holding my hook like a toothbrush. I need to hold it like a pen. Took me watching a ton of videos before realizing that old school rules are BS

Oh and before I end this ask, here's a masterpost with info and resources that I reblogged a while back! It might help you get started

[kafus]

i used to think that there was no way i could have did because the only versions of it that i ever saw getting talked about were the horror movie's "there's normal me and then there's EVIL me" version and the 13 year old's "i get to be the most valid kinnie even though i have no trauma and no other side effects" version, but after reading your posts about did i've been really questioning whether i may have a disorder similar to it. i've had so many symptoms that i explained away as just "bad memory" or "different sides of me" but it's gotten to the point where it's significantly impacting my life; hours or entire days will just go missing and i have to re-read my old messages to find out what i was doing before. i want to do more research into it but it's extremely hard to find good resources online, and proper medical papers are very difficult for me to parse no matter how many times i re-read them. do you know any good places to learn?

god yeah i've been there. it took a lot of encouragement from my GF at the time years ago to seek out medical help and get a DID diagnosis, after like years of denying it because i thought my trauma "wasn't severe enough" and thought that if i had DID i should be having that stereotypical horror movie presentation of the disorder. obviously i do not think this way anymore lol

i'm assuming from the way you've worded this message that seeking help from a medical professional isn't an option for you, though if it is, seeing a trauma or dissociation specialist would be my first recommendation for sure. on the other hand... Hmmm

if you really struggle with medical language/professional papers on the subject that knocks out a lot of the resources i DO like, and some of the more common ones like did-research.org are... flawed to say the least asfkfsdl (though still an OK baseline, if you're really starting from knowing nothing it's not a terrible resource, just be critical)

even though it isn't all about DID specifically, you may benefit from "The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma" by Bessel van der Kolk. it's been a long time since i've read it but from what i remember it's a very good book about trauma and isn't overwhelmingly medical or hard to read. at the end of the day, whether or not you have DID specifically is less important than recognizing the concerning and difficult amnesia/trauma symptoms you're experiencing and trying to care for yourself, so i think a general trauma book like that could still be of use. (i probably shouldn't link it here but there are pretty easy ways to find this book online)

i'm pretty picky about resources so i'm trying to think of what else. here's a few other things i like sharing with people:

DID Myths and Misconceptions from Beauty After Bruises for dispelling a lot of common. well. myths and misconceptions lol. while mostly targeted towards onlookers and not people questioning it's still good to remember as someone questioning DID that you don't have to live up to these myths to be real

the Many Voices newsletter is a newsletter that ran from 1989-2012 for people with DID (or MPD as it was called when the newsletter began lmao). you can click the Newsletter button on the left to access all the entries. they're full of reader-submitted content and also discussion from medical professionals - even though some of it is outdated, it's a window into lived experience from people with DID before Social Media or even really the Internet and i personally find it incredibly validating + just interesting tbh

My experience of living with dissociative identity disorder: denial by Carolyn Spring is a good read for if you're suffering from denial yourself tbh.

anyway this is getting pretty long but i hope at least something here was useful HSDJFKSDF i'll leave off saying that regardless of what you have (i don't know you and it would be irresponsible to armchair diagnose you or something) that does sound Pretty Damn Concerning and if i were someone that knew you IRL i'd be concerned and trying to get you in to see someone about dissociative amnesia so i think your concerns are warranted and ur not crazy or something. Also wishing you well and things are going to be okay i promise <3

[lost-in-the-pink-mist]

6, 12, 30, 31, 49, 50 and 79 for the ask game?

6. Is there a battle nexus? Is it a respected facility or operated by criminals?

Yes there is a battle nexus! In terms of respectability and the legality its a little iffy. The battle nexus is an underground yokai fighting ring, run by Big Mama and connected to her hotel chain. The issue is that its a yokai owned, run, and visited business, and yokai societies that are so closely connected to human society, like those in New York, aren't able to be closely organized enough to have things like "laws", only "rules", and there's no one to enforce those rules really, people only follow them for the sake of self preservation (exposing the yokai world to humans would royally fuck them over)

But back to the facility itself. Mama does technically do things "ethically", as long as you thoroughly read your contract with her before signing. There is no way to get out of the contract once its signed though (poor Hueso, he'a a prime example of this. He isn't involved in the fighting ring but still, he knows better than most how much a Big Mama contract can ruin your life). The fighting itself is brutal, the only limitation is that you can't kill (Mama would lose so many fighters and potential signees if she allowed that), its an absolute bloodbath in there. Aside from the terrifying fighting, painful and potentially permanently disabling injuries, and the inescapable contract though, the life of a battle nexus fighter is pretty great, Big Mama knows how to make her show ponies want to prance, y'know? They all get private rooms in her hotel chain (unless they try to escape), and a large amount of luxuries (unless they try to hurt staff or guests), and they can live pretty good lives (unless you hurt one of her children. That is the only way you'll escape a contract early. Some have purposefully chosen to go this way though.)

12. What is the main villain's motivation?

The Krang want to enslave the planet and use its residents and its resources to make more bodies for themselves! They're a hivemind (just one mind, last hivemind of the species, entirely by choice on their part) who are practically immortal as long as they keep getting new bodies, and having a lot of them makes enslaving planets much easier (they don't like to keep the bodies of those they've enslaved, too cramped, and its been proven that some species can escape and cause problems). They've learned in the past that a loud hostile takeover (especially without adequate numbers) can cause annoyances like "rebellions", and one species in particular, the Salamanderians, even managed to build a resistance to their control and force them off the planet, so yeah, slow and subtle. And the easiest way to do that is find the planets most compatible mind, one that could work as a conduit, if they can get into this mind and spread through the population through them, takeover is a piece of cake.

It just so happens that the Hamato family line are the last yokai-human compatible link, even witches (yokai-human hybrids, not at all uncommon) aren't good enough, it has to be a Hamato. And unknown to anyone who isn't from the Bad End timeline, the perfect Hamato is Angie (Michelangelo)

30. Is there a Venus?/31. Is there a Jennika?

Yes! Two of a trio! Venus, Jennika, and Lita, are the only survivors of the Bad End timeline, and they're the kids of Lee (and our OC Julie), Raph (and Mona Lisa), and Angie! They, along with Usagi, are at the core of the chaos in season 2, where the present Hamato family have to prove to the Time Court that they will properly take in the future children and bind them to their timeline (not an easy thing for Angie, as zeir daughter is.....well there's a few major ethical dilemmas with her creation)

49. Are the turtles the same species?/50. Are the turtles the same age?

Nope and nope!

Lee is the oldest, 15 in the prologue and 23 in season 2, and she's a spotted turtle.

Angie and Donnie, the twins, are next, 14 in the prologue and 22 in season 2, Angie being the older twin and Donnie being the younger twin, they're pink bellied sideneck turtles!

And Raph is the baby, 13 in the prologue and 21 in season 2, they're a white morph Mississippi map turtle!

78. Tell us something you want to share about your au/iteration!

Hard to think of one specific thing, but we really wanna emphasize the farmhouse arc! Sooooo many big things happen in this arc, including the mutation of one character, the introduction of a certain baby girl, the end of the coma arc + recovery from said comas, and the introduction of the yokai ocean cave village! So many events to talk about, it makes it hard to talk about the events themselves!

[brandwhorestarscream]

What kinds of troubles does minimus end up getting into because of his double life?

And how many of the little ones inherited more of the mini-con genes? Three? two?

Ok actually gonna answer this in reverse order. Idk how many babies took on the minicon form, but I'd guess they're less than half, just cuz. Well. Runts of every species often struggle, even in the womb. I know being a minicon and being a runt are not the same thing, but think about it. In the womb, say there's 5 bitties. The bigger ones, aka the ones with Roddy's alt mode, would be constantly sucking up a large percentage of all available resources, be it building materials for their bodies or actual energy from their carrier's fuel. The smaller one(s) will only be left with scraps, thereby lessening their chance to actually make it to birth as a healthy newborn. Granted, yes, minicons are smaller and so will need less of the total fill, but it's still not optimal condition for babbies to grow 🥺 of the litter, I'd say only one or two are Minimus sized.

As for the kinds of things Minimus gets up to 🤭 well! Lemme tell you, being a dad is much harder than he thought it would be. Children need discipline and attention, right? Easy enough. He's dealt with young upcoming recruits before, and boot camp surely can't be more taxing than minding toddlers, right? It's basically the same thing.

Uhhhh, yeah. No it's fucking not.

He was not prepared for how absolutely ragged these kids are running him. They have so much energy, and is it any wonder why?! They guzzle down more fuel than any grown adult he's ever seen! The bitties can outdrink him and their mother both! It's like their tanks are just bottomless pits and it leaves them bouncing off the walls for hours! He asks Rodimus what he puts in their energon because surely these kids are hopped up some kind of additive! There's no way they're this rambunctious, right?!

And Rodimus, the slagger, just laughs at him. Welcome to life with quintuplet babies! Just be grateful they aren't identical. Minimus definitely shivers at that comment 🤭

But despite his original reservations and complete awe at their craziness, he's actually a pretty good dad. He's perfect hugging size, great for gently patting at owies and then getting flustered when a sniffling bab demands he kiss it better, like mama does. He gets down on the floor to play with them, he lets them drag him along like a doll in their games of pretend, and he's more than happy to sit quietly for coloring time. He sheepishly asks Rodimus to teach him how to make their favorite snacks, and his first outing with the family is just a simple trip to the park, and try as he might, he can't keep a serious face watching the babs tumble and run and play. One of them swoops in to grab him and suddenly the smallest daddy at the park finds himself chasing his own kids on the jungle gym and through the tubes. He's never heard their babies laugh like that, and it's the first time one of them squeaks out a, "Love you dada!"

He helps Rodimus carry them back home that night, tho he can only manage the teo tiny ones, Roddy's grateful for the help.

He also gets into all sorts of messes, learns about how difficult baby bath time can be, has his first panic with little bumps and bruises and viruses, etc, etc. All while dodging state officials and the entirety of the council, making up lie after lie after lie and creating the most complicated webs for his alter ego.

He knows he shouldn't, he knows he should stop. He knows he should tell Rodimus the truth, but... he doesn't want to. Being Minimus, being a normal person, being a sire who's only responsibility is protecting those bitties' smiles? That feels way better than being Magnus ever has. He's content to keep living this lie forever, though it probably won't last

[cnl0400]

I agree, archive as much as you can. Any changes they make doesn’t have to be announced. It’s in their terms of service. That’s why I can’t trust them, because who knows what’ll happen.

I wished they would just add them to lonely devil. It’s a OG birthday event, it’s not like it’s going to affect OG, and they don’t have to add them to NB.

There are too many cards too that are lost because they are nightmare, or special event cards. If only they’ll allow these cards back, because that’s lots of stories that have barely been read. So much content behind paywall.

They’re trying to rebrand and be more child friendly. I just finished reading all of Asmodeus’s bday event in NB. It doesn’t have the same vibes as OG birthday events. It’s sad that they are just pumping out content, and making it so bland that i didn’t get excited.

Yeah, I honestly wish to start recording some OG cards in the next weeks because I get very anxious at the thought that they're going to shut down OG at any Moment (unfortunely I'm both a student and work part time, so I don't have a lot of time in my hands right now 🥲 I'm waiting to get out of college so I have time) I have even entertained the thought of uploading this stuff to YouTube or some kind of drive but... Since what happened to the blog that used to post resources from the game (or the other edit blog) I'm a bit scared lol, I always like to share what I find interesing in the Main Story/cards, for the people that can't advance but Solmare doing things like that makes It a bit discouraging 🥲 I don't want to lose this blog, where else I'm going to complain about stuff? Twitter? I rather be death

And yeah, as greedy as they may seen, Solmare Is actually alergic to making money, putting these events on Lonely Devil feels like a no-brainer, even making revivals of past Nightmare banners? It's obviously that a lot of people want these cards, it's easy money with barely moving a finger, but of course the plan Is that they want people to move to NB... But I mean, even If that's the plan, I don't like the thought of all that stuff being lost... Unfortunely, this Is why Live Service games suck so much, every year we have a lot of gacha games doing the most stupid desisions know to man (like the whole Love Live situation with SIF2)

The funniest thing about trying to rebrand Obey Me as a more child friendly game Is that that's clearly not what the player base want... I don't know why they did that survey in the first place If they where going to ignore It, I can asure you that the most common complain (besides the game being expensive) Is that the game doesn't take itself seriously enough. You have to wonder... Who Is this trying to appeal? I haven't read the Asmodeus event but for some forsaken reason It feels like they always write Asmo events as If they had a gun pointed at their heads, which sucks so much, since Asmo Is one of my favorites 🥲 I really want to see what goes on in the writers room, why are they making these desisions? Who Is this game for now? Kid are not playing Obey Me, and kids don't have the money to put in these kind of games, in the race of appealing to the most people posible, they're driving away the demographic that can actually spend money in the game

[kimium]

I asked @m34gs what she thinks the Twisted Wonderland house warden's favourite video games are. She answered in this ask and prompted me to give my thoughts. So, here I am!

Here are a few ground rules: I'm going to pick games I've personally played or had experience with. Also, if a game is in a series and I think they're very similar, I'm listing them together.

The House Warden's Favourite Video Game

Riddle - Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland

Wow, I'm really outing myself with how many Kirby games I've played, huh? Well, I'm not sorry. When I was a child I LOVED Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland. I loved the simple world design, the fun, easy mechanics, and the bright colours/music. It's also a fast game. Even as a child I think I beat it in like six hours. Anyways, I think Riddle would enjoy this game for those reasons. It's something he can lose himself in briefly and have fun. I know there are probably better Kirby games out there and newer ones at that, but the childhood nostalgia wins in the end.

Leona - Tetris

I really love your pick of Mahjong for Leona. Honestly, the desire to just go "yeah, what M34GS said" or pick another tactical game like Chess, Checkers, or even Go. But, I decided Tetris is also a good pick for Leona. As you said, Leona isn't one to care too much about video games, so he isn't going for one with story... like I do. He needs a low risk game with just enough puzzling. So, Tetris. It's fun to arrange things, does require some level of strategy, and is very satisfying when you win. Leona can also put it away at any time, so this means he can nap when he's bored or done.

Azul - Don't Starve Together

While I sort of wanted to pick a murder mystery game with Azul, Don't Starve Together has resource management. Which, I think is right up Azul's alley. Sure, the game has a "survive in the wild" vibe, but Azul is there trying to optimize his strategy, gather everything, and not die. He can also play with Jade and Floyd if he wishes, but there is a high chance those two would sabotage him. Azul will take that risk though, and I think those three would have a lot of fun. It's also a casual game, so he can put it away without worry of story or progress.

Kalim - Harvest Moon (any of them)

I agree that Kalim deserves a relaxing, slow game, without much conflict or objectives in it. While I think a game franchise like Animal Crossing also works, since I've never played an Animal Crossing game myself, I'm picking Harvest Moon. I think Kalim would find it very fun to build his farm, befriend the locals, solve whatever problem is occurring, and marry his favourite NPC. I didn't pick a specific Harvest Moon game simply because I only have experience with two: the original and The Tale of Two Towns (I think... I can't check right now). Besides, Harvest Moon all has the same "flavour" so to speak, so I don't think me specifically stating which game is necessary.

Vil - Super Smash Bros (any of them)

I agree that Vil would love a co-op game that he can play with his close friends. I also agree it has to be easy and with low stakes. Sure, SSBs has "meta units" and an entire competitive video game scene with the game, but I think Vil would play this as a party game. It's casual with everyone just picking their favourite characters and stage. There may be some sabotage (a must) and items on (deadly) but in the end, everyone is just playing to have a good time. Who Vil mains is up to you.

Idia - TWEWY/Neo TWEWY

The urge to pick a mobile game like Genshin Impact or an open world game like BoTW or TotK is high, but I want to avoid gacha games in my list and... I've never played BoTW or TotK. Sorry. So, I picked a personal favourite of mine: The World Ends with You and the sequel. I picked this because I think Idia is the kind of person who gets into the story of a game and enjoy the characters. TWEWY has some amazing characters, great story, amazing music, and of course, the essence of Shibuya packaged into the entire game. I also think Idia would love the game play, enjoying swapping his pins out for better ones, and enjoy the extra challenge modes.

Malleus - Pokemon Yellow/Red/Blue (or Green)

Okay, here is the problem: I think any sort of pet simulator game is great for Malleus, however, I dislike pet simulator games. I'm here for story and lore... which I think is the opposite for Malleus. But here is the thing while Pokemon has a narrative and many components it started off super simple: go around and catch Pokemon and go to the gyms. While newer Pokemon games have introduced so many things like Beauty Contests or an open world design, I think the old games are perfect for Malleus. He'd enjoy creating his team and nicknaming them. I bet he'd be delighted to learn that there are dragon type Pokemon in the world too. Sure, he may struggle with some more "meta" components but at least in the older games we didn't have Mega Evolution or newer Gens and BST to worry about.

There you have it! I hope you like my list! I had fun picking the titles while also trying to keep in line with the characters!