#I literally wrote in the instructions to be as mean as possible

[44-mr-midnight-44]

I bought an in-character letter from an Etsy shop for Mind @ Heart and I think it's the best thing I ever read /gen /silly /pos

"Yours condescendingly"

This man would preach intellectual enlightenment on Reddit and laugh at a third-grader for not being able to do physics

[anabetel35]

Honestly the best part about season 16 is not the fact that the ultimate technique for defeating the overlord are literally the lyrics to the theme song of the whole show, but the fact that the weekend whip canonically exists in Ninjago, bacuse in The Royal Blacksmiths, the ninja dance to it in the competition. Which means that all of the ninja knew the song through the vast majority of the series. And also that some random band managed to not only guess the correct combination of moves the ninja had to do in the correct order, but they also managed to make the song popular enough to the point where four (possibly) teenagers living in secluded places, namely a monastery out in the middle of nowhere, still knew about it and liked it enough to make it their song in a dancing/singing contest/talent show that meant a lot to one of their teammates.

[ceilidhtransing]

Having spent pretty much the entire year immersed in studying Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, and genocide more broadly, my heart is bursting with the need to stress how much you should take Project 2025 seriously. This is a long post but please stick with me.

Don't take this post as an attempt to concretely predict anything. We can't ever fully know the future and I think it's silly to say with total certainty “if Trump wins then America will become just like Nazi Germany” - not only because the future isn't written yet, but also because Germany under the Nazis was a very specific regime with its own quirks and peculiarities and I don't think that even a worst-case-scenario Trump regime would look exactly like Hitler's Germany. No two regimes ever look exactly alike: it would use the same colour palette as all far-right dictatorships but be constructed from a different medium, like what a watercolour is to an oil painting.

But just because Trump is a very different person from Hitler, and a worst-case-scenario Trump dictatorship would not literally be “Nazi Germany all over again”, that doesn't mean that what happened in Germany isn't instructive here. Forget the specifics of whether or not Trump as a dictator would organise a state identically to how the Nazis organised Germany or whatever; on a far broader and more relevant level, there is a distressing number of similarities. And too many people are falling into the same thought traps as they did then.

Please don't assume that Trump is “way too incompetent” to achieve what's in Project 2025 or Agenda 47. They said the same thing about Hitler. They said that there was no way this showman could govern effectively - holding big rallies and making speeches that get people riled up isn't the same as being good at running a functioning state and achieving what you want. The New York Times even wrote after he became Chancellor of Germany that this would only “let him expose to the German public his own futility”. And in many ways Hitler was pretty incompetent. But that didn't end up mattering. The greatest crime of the Nazi regime, the Holocaust, was masterminded mostly by a whole load of people besides Hitler, who were delegated the nitty-gritty task of actually orchestrating it. Hitler's personal incompetence didn't prevent war or genocide.

Please don't assume that Trump is “just a wacky nutcase” who “can't possibly be a real risk”. They said the same thing about Hitler. The mainstream media gave constant coverage to all the crazy extreme things Hitler said as if he was merely a bit of a joke and not a massive threat. The Nazis were quite happy with this. To quote Goebbels repeatedly in his diary, “The main thing is they're talking about us.”

Please don't assume that being in power will “moderate” Trump and that “of course he won't be able to do all the crazy stuff once he actually has to govern”. They said the same thing about Hitler. It was a common sentiment in the early 1930s that all the sensible politicians around him would force him to moderate his stances. Fritz von Papen, the last Chancellor of Weimar Germany, persuaded President Hindenburg to make Hitler the Chancellor by assuring him, “In a few months, we will have pushed [Hitler] so far into the corner that he will squeak.” It turns out that power doesn't “moderate” people who are openly talking about a dictatorship.

Please don't assume that there's any truth to the whole “Trump has nothing to do with Project 2025 and trying to link it to him is just liberal hysteria” line. They said the same thing about Hitler. People repeatedly asserted that Nazi street violence wasn't really representative of the party leadership; it wasn't representative of Hitler. He was even subpoenaed by a very brave lawyer in 1931 in a bid to prove that recent violence by Nazi stormtroopers was committed with the knowledge and encouragement of the party leadership, with part of the prosecution's argument hanging on a pamphlet by Goebbels that promised a violent overthrow of the state if the Nazis couldn't come to power legitimately. Surely no legal political party could be publishing that. In a successful attempt to escape criminal charges, Hitler repeatedly lied that the pamphlet was not official Nazi Party material and that he didn't know anything about it. No Trump didn't write it, no it isn't an official GOP manifesto, but the links between Project 2025 and Trump, the previous Trump administration, and Trump allies are extremely well documented. Just the other day, Project 2025 co-author Russell Vought was caught calling Trump's disavowals of the document “graduate-level politics” and saying, “what he's doing is just very, very conscious distancing himself from a brand ... he's in fact not even opposing himself to a particular policy.”

Please don't assume that “there's no way something like that could happen here; we're way too educated and advanced”. They said the same thing about Hitler. The Germany of the 1920s and 1930s was one of the most educated and most scientifically and industrially advanced nations in the world, and its cities were some of the most progressive in the world. People were stunned and horrified that it was in Germany of all places - Germany, land of music and art and science and literature! - that fascism took root. Germany's economic and social advancement didn't stop about 40% of its voters choosing the Nazis. It didn't stop them taking power.

Please don't assume that Project 2025 is “just a wishlist” and “not actually a serious plan”. They said the same thing about Hitler. As is hopefully very clear by now, plenty of people did not think that the Nazis were capable of, or would dare to try, putting into actual practice the horrific ideas about race that undergirded so much of their ideology. “I like Hitler; he talks sense economically and I think all this stuff about Jews is just bluff and bluster.” “Every party has a loony wing, right? You have to understand they're not serious when they talk about this stuff; they're just telling their base what they want to hear.” “God have you heard this crazy race science shit about head shapes and stuff? It's hilarious! I'm sure none of them at the top really believe that; there's no way they'd be that nuts.” When a group of people like this tells you what they believe and tells you what they want to do with power, believe them. No matter how ridiculous they seem, they're not joking.

In the words of Hans Litten, the lawyer who subpoenaed and cross-examined Hitler in that court case in 1931, “Don't listen to him; he's telling the truth.” Litten was arrested on the night of the Reichstag fire in 1933 and spent the rest of his life being tortured in concentration camps before dying in Dachau in 1938 at the age of 34.

A tyrannical dictatorship can often be seen coming a mile away. I don't want to imply for a second that what the Nazis did came as a surprise to everyone and couldn't possibly have been predicted. There were people who saw this coming in the 1920s and 1930s and tried to sound the alarm while they still had a chance. But they were too often in the minority, taking the threat seriously while others had convinced themselves that there was no need for concern because the Nazis wouldn't really do all the things they repeatedly talked about wanting to do. Everyone should have seen this coming, but too many people wanted to believe it couldn't be true.

Don't let this scare you. Let it energise you. Talk to the people in your life about Project 2025 and Agenda 47. Push back against people who assert that “they'd never actually do all that stuff” or “Trump didn't even write Project 2025” or “it's not a real plan, just a list of crazy shit to get the base riled up”. Have conversations with folks you know who are on the fence about voting or about who to vote for and who seem persuadable. Make sure you're registered to vote, and keep making sure, especially if you live in a red state where people keep mysteriously dropping off voter rolls.

Now, again, please don't read this as some confident prediction that Trump will be a Hitler figure. I want to stress that is a worst-case scenario. If a Trump presidency is what happens, I would much prefer the best-case scenario: that he spends four years fumbling around and not really accomplishing anything and then gives up power at the end without much of a fight. But it would also be a folly to be smugly overconfident that the worst-case scenario “won't” or “can't” happen. It could. It has happened before. There is no reason it couldn't happen again.

[these-conquered-woodlands]

severitus incorrect quotes in chronological order of how a severitus story would go part 2

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harry: God has let me live another day and I'm going to make it snape's problem.

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severus: I have met some of the most insufferable people. But then they met me.

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severus: I am in charge of this disaster! harry: I have a name, you know.

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Police Officer: You have the right to remain silent. harry: And I choose to waive that right! harry: *screaming*

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harry: You saved me! Why? severus: People would think I murdered you if I didn't.

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harry: If you spell skeletons backwards, it still spells skeletons. severus, deadpan: Well well, I can't wait for Halloween to see some snoteleks.

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harry: Oh just so you know, it's very muggy outside severus: severus: I swear, if I step outside and all of my mugs are on the front lawn- harry: *Sips tea from bowl*

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severus: ...Why did you draw a pentagram on the floor? harry: Your note told me to satanize the house before you returned. severus: severus: Sanitize. I wrote sanitize, Potter.

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harry: Professor, professor! severus, sighing: What's wrong now? harry: Just because I’m calling doesn’t mean there’s a crisis. severus: Well then, why are you calling? harry: Well… There’s a crisis

-

harry, holding a scooter: sev- sir, can I go outside and play with this? severus, making dinner: Whatever. I'm not your parent or anything. harry, running outside: Thanks professor! severus, running out after him in a pink apron screaming: NOT ON THE STREET! STAY AWAY!

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harry: To make up for sending you into a fit of anguish and exasperation earlier, here, have a nice hot cup of tea! severus: It's cold. harry: A nice cup of tea. severus: It's horrible. harry: Cup of tea. severus: I'm not sure if this even is tea. harry: CUP.

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severus : I left instructions for everyone while I'm gone. harry: Mine just says "harry no." severus : I want you to apply it to every possible situation.

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harry: So I can either do something dumb that could very well get me injured or I can listen to Professor Snape and not do the thing, harry: Well there’s a clear right answer here. harry: *proceeds to throw five packs of mentos into a barrel full of diet coke*

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severus, looking at a photo of harry: I hate this photo. harry: I look so sweet in that photo! I’m smiling kindly. severus : You’re not smiling kindly; you look like you’re up to something. harry: Up to kindness.

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harry: *running towards snape with open arms* severus: *moves out of the way* harry: Hey, why'd you move?! severus: I thought you were going to attack me? harry: I was going to hug you! severus: ...Why would you hug me? harry: WHY WOULD I ATTACK YOU!?

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severus: What's this? harry, hugging severus: Affection! severus: Disgusting. severus: ...Do it again.

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harry: *Stubs toe* FUCK! severus: Mind your language! harry: What else am I supposed to say, “Woe is I”??? harry: You have to accept that swear words are necessary sometimes.

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severus : What happened?! harry: Do you want the long version or the short version? severus : Short? harry: Shit's fucked. severus : Okay, long. harry: Shit's very fucked.

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severus: Just be careful, Harry! harry: *heading out the door* I'm always careful, Severus! harry: It's everything around me that's careless.

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harry: What’s up? I’m back. severus: I literally saw you die. You died. You were dead harry: Death is a social construct.

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harry: ...And if I run at Severus, he will most certainly catch me in his arms. *spins around and sprints at Severus* Comin' in! severus: NOWAITI'MHOLDINGCOFFEEDON'TYOUFUCKINGDARE- *mug shatters, catches Harry*

[paradoxcase]

Gideon the Ninth audiobook, through to the end of Chapter 31

Cytherea is described as having "biscuit-colored curls" which I kind passed over the first time I was reading. She's described elsewhere as having light brown hair; American biscuits aren't any kind of brown, if they're made right, but Muir isn't American, either. In Britain, it's my understanding that "biscuit" refers to any hard flat cookie with a stamped design, but those come in all sorts of colors. Does "biscuit" mean a secret third thing in New Zealand?

Gideon says "it's stupid for a cavalier to watch their necromancer die" which I think sort of foreshadows Gideon rejecting Harrow's instruction to survive her

Gideon asks Cytherea why she came to Canaan House in the first place, and I feel like Cytherea's answer is about when she came the first time, nearly 10,000 years ago? She talks about how the Seventh wanted her to die beautifully and she though the Emperor had her best interests more at heart than they did

She says: "If they could figure out how to stop you when you're mostly cancer and just a little bit woman, they would" about the Seventh, but that's exactly what John did to her, isn't it?

And then: "I'll probably live forever, worse luck, whatever happened to One Flesh, One End?"

Palamedes pronounces "golem" exactly like "Gollum" and that amuses me

Harrow thought the secret to Lyctorhood was a secret power source in Canaan House they were supposed to discover - I guess to the extent that the consumed cavalier's soul is a power source, she wasn't exactly wrong

Camilla: "The last thing the Warden needs is an introduction to Lady Septimus" - pretty funny in retrospect

Palamedes after Harrow removes the plug Cytherea put on the Seventh lab's keyhole: "Did you hide the last key, too?" He was right about that

Colum is described as having a "perpetually scratchy voice" which I missed the first time, but it does match up with his voice here

Mayonnaise Uncle thinks Gideon's red hair might have come from the Third, which is I guess some extra information about the distribution of phenotypes in the Empire, but the only other redheaded House character we know of is G1deon (I almost wrote "Pyrrha") (who, ironically, is not biologically related to Gideon Nav unless he was like John's cousin or something). Mercy had "pink" hair, but I don't know if that means like, strawberry blond, or like, literally dyed pink. I guess it's been 10,000 years, so things might be a bit different now

Colum: "The next time we meet, I think it's likely one of us will die." Well, it wasn't the next time they met, since they both showed up to hear Cytherea tell a very fake story about why Protesilaus was already dead just after this, but I think it's the next time they are both in the same room together than Colum dies, so, yeah

Teacher says something about a "poor child" and Gideon doesn't know who he's referring to and I don't either even on the second readthrough. I guess it's possible that he's just talking nonsense, because he's a weird construct, but he's been saying things that consistently make sense in the current context throughout the whole book, so I don't really buy that

The scene where Corona is practicing with a sword and challenging Gideon to a duel feels kind of like she's anticipating being left behind by Ianthe and is trying to lean into the idea of becoming a cavalier after this, since she can't pretend to be a necromancer without Ianthe. We know from the Fourth teens that Ianthe has been sneaking into all the locked doors and reading the theorems at this point

When Naberius comes to collect her, he says "I won't tell her". I guess he means Ianthe?

Is that really how "beatified" is pronounced? I don't think I've ever heard it spoken before. Wiktionary seems to agree that it is

If I had listened to the audiobook first, I definitely would have misheard Gideon talking about "narking" on Harrow as "knocking" and been confused

Palamedes: "All I ask is that you put some pen and flimsy in my cell so I can start my memoirs." Yeah, that's not what you wrote when you were actually confined to the River bubble for months, haha

Narration: Suddenly [Cytherea] seemed impossibly old.

Cytherea claims that John was against soul siphoning. So, the thalergy siphoning that was a fundamental part of Mercy's challenge, and which the Second House uses regularly on enemies, is totally fine and cool, but Mayonnaise Uncle send Colum's soul away temporarily to generate power is wrong. You know, Mayonnaise Uncle is actually a lot more sympathetic on the second readthrough

Mayonnaise Uncle also really had Cytherea's number in this scene and no one listened to him, he was the only one saying that Cytherea was suspicious and everyone else was disgusted by this, including Judith. No wonder he was so sour in Harrow's River bubble

Harrow wants to use Protesilaus' head for necromancy and everyone else is unhappy about this. But this isn't strange for the Nine Houses - the Canaan House skeletons were made from the dead just like the Ninth skeletons were, and just like the Sixth skeletons were in Dr. Sex, not to mention Ianthe's use of Babs' body. Like, if we are going to start complaining about the desecration of dead bodies now, I think that starts to call into question the entire way that the Nine Houses uses necromancy and has been using it for the past 10,000 years. I'm not sure any of the other necromancers really have that high ground

Palamedes says Cytherea only has days left to live, she definitely giggles at that

In the pool scene, Harrow says that the calculations for the deaths of the 200 children were very precise, and that the babies contributed the most thanergy. Now I'm wondering if Gideon failing to die might have messed up those careful calculations in some way? Obviously Harrow was still born a powerful necromancer, and it still worked overall, but now I'm curious

Harrow about John's blood ward: "I knew it had to open for me" because she was the descendant of Anastasia. She never questioned that there might have been some other reason it opened

[tarakaybee]

I Was Right (Oxventure Wyrdwood Thoughts)

In the past on this extremely low follower blog of mine, I've talked about how I liked Oxventure for the first few sessions before it deteriorated into unstructured nonsense with no emotional stakes, no story, and no interesting gameplay and I stopped watching after they started to become repetitive, derivative, uninspired and a lot of other mean words. The reason that I fixated on its problems is because I genuinely thought everybody involved was extremely talented, I could vividly imagine a slightly better version that I would've loved, if only they had greater ambitions than just doing gags for six years like they were writing The Beano. I've been thinking on this a lot, but I remember that I quickly emotionally connected with the five player characters in the early campaign and some of the early NPCs, and my villain origin story for my many frustrations with Oxventure was that I felt embarrassed for emotionally investing myself when the campaign progressed and it became clear that there were never going to be any emotional consequences for anything.

I think everybody should play D&D the way that they find fun, even if, no especially if it's a campaign that is being filmed and broadcast, but it irked me that they never engaged with a lot of the fun parts of the game, which are fun and designed specifically to be fun. I'm trying to not sound like I'm gatekeeping, I sincerely believe that they simply never read the books in any amount of detail and never became aware of the interesting parts and would've enjoyed it if they did, because I just don't see how you can be a fan of a game system if you have to remove more than half of the rules to enjoy yourself. I've long held the suspicion that when they started playing they were instructed by Johnny to not worry about understanding all of the rules right away, and the players held the belief for years that the rules were extremely complicated, when they continued to not learn them. Mike in particular makes jokes about how he doesn't understand the rules, like in the lead-up to Orbpocalypse Saga where Johnny explained what spell slots were, Mike made a joke about how the explanation would take several hours because it was so complicated despite the fact that it's literally just a few rows of boxes that you tick off when you spend them, the Paper Mario games have a more complex magic resource system than that and Mike is supposed to be a games journalist.

After not watching the main campaign for several years, I decided to give Oxventure Deadlands a try, and I was surprised that Andy ran a campaign where he was willing to say no sometimes, and sticks to a consistent emotional tone without sacrificing the all-important comedy, and I said on this very blog that if Johnny were to run a campaign in this style where the players were willing to take things seriously that would be absolutely perfect, because Johnny has established their strong storytelling chops in basically every way possible other than during Oxventure Prime.

And I was right!

They were all capable of the kind of D&D campaign I wanted to see, and thought would be more deep and enriching than just going for the cheapest gags every time, they decided to take that leap and Johnny just casually, offhandedly created one of the all-time best campaign settings in episode one of a new campaign. Oxventure Wyrdwood, based on only one episode is absolutely brilliant and everything I've wanted out of Oxventure for the past six years, the first time Johnny actually wrote a story in earnest it was so creative, so inspired, so rich with lore, and unlike some seasons of Dimension 20, they did it in a way that was concise.

All the players are great too:

Luke Dob was a seminal moment for me in my experience of the D&D hobby, the simple combination of half-orc and bard was such a brilliant combination that it inspired a five year long campaign in which I played a character inspired by that same combination. Happen is a very fun concept, I always love it when a player mixes and matches classes and backgrounds, Acolyte is an interesting background for a Ranger that gives Happen a lot of fun depth, and I enjoy the Cadence Dice system so far.

Jane I knew that Jane was going to go for the logical opposite of Prudence, I definitely called that Jane would be a Life Domain Cleric months and months ago. What I liked about Willowfine from the offset is that Jane doesn't play her superficially, she isn't just a healer, she is actually, genuinely kind, her first healing action being to save one of the episode's antagonists was a brilliant tone setting moment for the character and the campaign as a whole.

Ellen Like Jane, Ellen made a brilliant choice of playing against type for herself, but I really like that Ellen's way of playing an extremely selfish character is distinct from the way Jane did and has some obvious nuance to it. Prudence was obsessed with violence and evil magic and generally likes amusing herself, whereas Cressida seems to be more interested in her image and personal pride. Related, I don't think I would've called Prudence actually evil, she didn't do that many obviously selfish things when compared to say, Corazon, she was basically just a dramatic goth who likes the aesthetic of evil. In contrast, Cressida has a selfish motivation that is easier to accurately roleplay without becoming a liability to the party.

Andy It was very obvious that there was some secret gimmick to the way Andy was going to go about things and the way things turned out intrigues me greatly. He was the player that surprised me the most, I love the idea that Robin genuinely has a commoner's stat block until the evil side takes over. Aberrant Mind is a fun subclass, and it looks as though he gained Cure Wounds from his Magic Initiate subclass to fit into the witch aesthetic a little more.

Mike With Mike, this is where my one nitpick lies, I don't think Mike is the best roleplayer of the bunch. The fact that Mike doesn't understand extremely basic parts of the rules at this point has long stopped being funny and genuinely just reflects poorly on him. Why does he still not know how proficiency and attack modifiers work? It's literally a sum consisting of adding two single-digit numbers together, and it's a sum that you're supposed to write on your character sheet before playing to eliminate the brainwork of doing it mid-session. And if doing two minutes of homework to prepare your character sheet before playing a two-hour game of D&D is too much, why doesn't he just use D&D Beyond which adds the two numbers together for you? That's exactly how I learned it, and also the fact that I just read the rules recreationally because I thought that they were fun.

I was surprised that he read what Rage actually does, but then Mike gets confused when Johnny doesn't do the maths to half incoming damage for him, despite the fact that it's not Johnny's job to use Mike's character abilities for him. To put this as nicely as possible, I knew Mike was going to choose Barbarian because if you don't like the game system as Mike seems not to, you at least don't have to interact with it much if you choose the class with the fewest abilities possible. Mike seemed to shine the best in Blades in the Dark, which seems to be designed to have as few rolls as reasonably possible.

Roleplay-wise, I think Mike portrayed Lug as different enough from Egbert that I was happy with the character in concept, but like with his other characters, there is no second layer below the obvious quirks that are on the surface like everybody else demonstrated.

Johnny Johnny was always my biggest problem with Oxventure Prime, I found their DM philosophy and storytelling choices completely mystifying. Why when Luke established that Dob was looking for his sister did this plot get resolved offscreen by an NPC? Why when Andy said he was searching for a pirate treasure did Johnny forget about this plot for two real years and have Corazon find the bulk of it offscreen between episodes? Why did Johnny not write a plot or do any worldbuilding the entire first campaign when not having anything set in stone created massive problems in the final story arc when their farewell tour gets cut short because the players can't remember more than one notable location and only two NPCs? Why did Johnny constantly ask the players to roll for things that were not optional, and then when the player rolls low, just ignoring the result and saying they passed?

In this campaign, with a mere few months of doing actual legwork, in Oxventure Wyrdwood, Johnny crafted a beautiful, immersive and unique story setting. In the first boss fight at the end of the first session, the monster was consistently doing enough damage that it could have killed everybody other than Lug in one hit if they didn't fight smart, and fight smart they did, it made perfect sense for the monster to quickly go down when the other members of the Folkmoot arrived. There were a couple of rules-aberrations, but my problem isn't getting rules wrong, it's not using game mechanics and everybody was definitely engaging more with the gameplay and not treating it like an unwanted obligation this time I feel.

In addition, I love the "Magic Will Have Its Due" mechanic, it's not just cool sounding words that Johnny plastered over the marketing, it's an intrinsic part of the story, and therefore an intrinsic part of the gameplay. This is probably one of the only ways you could outright play anything resembling a horror campaign in D&D, where there isn't so much a consistent looming threat and the stakes take a different form. The main horror module in 5E, Curse of Strahd, is a very well designed story and game experiences, but the horror aspect pretty much doesn't exist in the gameplay after the players level up a few times.

I was cautiously optimistic before this first session, but now I'm actively excited in a way that I haven't been since Critical Role campaign two. I desperately hope this quality remains consistent throughout the remainder of this story. Also, I'm glad the episodes have proper titles and not things like "Water Wonderful World" or whatever.

[lollytea]

please please my dear tell me a story of one of Willow's murders

I'm gonna copy and paste down some of the idea from the DMs from a while ago. I'll only steal the messages I wrote, which is why they might look disorganised. Cuz I'm replying to something another person said. Anyway forgive it for being sloppy, you know how it is with DMs:

- We had the hc that having a galdorstone for a heart might tamper with Hunter's blood. Like the liquid would be imbued with an unstable amount of magic.

Its considered extremely dangerous to work with grimwalker blood. Raine and the rest of the lab experimented with a literal DROP that Hunter donated once and it made shit fucking explode. Its just WAY too much to handle.

But obviously, that's not gonna stop some people from trying to get a hold of it. It's considered extremely valuable. It will sell for SO MUCH at the night market.

Obviously anybody who's willing to risk everyone else's safety to get hold of an absolutely lethal substance and possibly harm/capture Hunter to bleed him dry, would obviously be an absolutely depraved awful person. Just vile.

However, people do not go after Hunter as often as one might think. It definitely happens every once in a while tho.

Willow is up early tending to her garden, letting Hunter sleep in an extra few hours before he has to go to work. She's taken the baby from her cradle so she doesnt cry and wake up Papa and now has her sleeping in a sling against Willow's chest, soothed by the sound of Mama's heartbeat.

Willow's whole garden abruptly shifts in a way only she can notice and she lifts her head, alerted to the apparent disturbance. She recognizes the signal. It means there's an intruder.

Willow approaches the back yard where there is a man who tried to break in by their window but was immediately snatched and restrained by vines.

Willow quickly deduces who he is by rooting around in his pockets and discovering his identifications, weapons, vials, ropes and sleep potions.

"Let me guess," Willow says softly. "You're here for my husband,"

Said husband continues to sleep on peacefully, as does the baby curled up against her breast. The baby doesn't wake because Willow's heartbeat remains steady.

The Boiling Isles doesn't have Coven Scouts anymore. There's no longer a police form. Meaning, it's easier to get away with crimes. You won't go to jail. However you might get slaughtered in cold blood if you pick the wrong target.

Willow thinks about strangling him until his organs pop but she decides against it.

She won't kill him.

Instead she smothers his mouth shut in vines so he can't scream. (The two loves of her life are sleeping ssshhhh)

She sprouts the plants that Hunter was always deeply fascinated with. The ones that sizzle and boil and devour flesh.

She has it slither up the intruders body, leeching against his left leg, his right arm, his back, his collarbone. The acidic spit stings like a nightmare. It takes chunks out of him.

He'll live. He's in immense pain and no healing magic will ever fix that but he'll survive. He'll never forget the mistake he made in threatening her family tho.

Willow lets him go and sends him off. She gives him very firm instructions.

"Your friends, partners, whoever put this stupid idea in your head, you go back and you tell them I went easy on you. Consider yourself a warning to them. You will never attempt to touch that man. Do you understand me?"

- I like the thought she wouldn't have tortured him quite so severely if they didn't have a baby. Like No. You won't touch her husband. You won't touch her baby's Papa. They're starting a family together and she will melt you from the inside out if you try to get in their way

- As soon as she fucking renders a guy to a gasping wreck because of the excruciating pain she put him through, she calmly strolls back into the house, into their room and sits down by her husband.

She pecks his lips and she hears him groan.

"It's about time you woke up," She says, tenderly brushing back his hair.

Eyes still closed, Hunter raises a hand and searches around for hers. He finds it and presses her palm against his cheek.

"Okay...I'm up...I'm up...." He mumbles, still half asleep.

He has no idea. And he probably won't. He's not adverse to his wife *handling* problems like these. He just asks that she not tell him the details. Makes him nauseous

- It's the reason she has absolutely no mercy. Her methods are not only ruthless but strategic. There are people who want to harm her husband and she wants them feeling just as helpless, haunted and traumatized by her actions as she was in that graveyard all those years ago.

She needs them scared of her. She need them to shit themselves in fear over the IDEA of ever going near Hunter again. She kills some intruders. But mostly she mangles them and sends them running so people understand the kind of pain she could put them through too.

She wants them scared. Because *she's* scared. She's scared of being the princess who loses the prince. So she becomes the fire breathing dragon instead.

She often wants to hold him in her arms for a very long time. Even if he's reading or carving or typing some fanfic on his laptop she'll cuddle him from behind. He doesn't always know what she needs comfort from but he's familiar with how she acts when she needs it. So he let's her hold him

Its when Hunter is holding their baby in his arms, talking softly to her, allowing her to seize hold of his finger, that Willow is like "We are going to have a happy peaceful future together if it kills me"

- Willow gets no joy out of killing people but it doesn't make her uncomfortable in the way that it does to Hunter.

When Willow was little and her powers were out of control, she always worried that one day she could seriously hurt somebody and not mean to.

But that's not the case anymore. Sometimes she kills somebody. And she *does* mean to. Everything that's keeping Willow sane and stable and in control of herself are her friends and family. Meaning she will do whatever it takes to strike down any threat to them. She doesn't CARE. She realizes that some people are beyond redemption and if she kills, she kills.

Hunter, meanwhile, has reservations about killing, no matter how vile the person is. Like he is absolutely capable of it. He's strong and tough and powerful. HOWEVER the grimwalker trauma is rooted deep. Its a really troubling thought to shake off, knowing you were literally *constructed* to slaughter witches. It's an act of defiance that he never sheds a witch's blood *once.* If he's ever forced to, it would probably send him spiraling. But like. He's not all "nooo Willow everybody deserves to live." He understands killing as self defense. He just doesn't want to be the one doing it. If he's ever around when Willow has to do it, he turns the other way so he doesn't have to see.

[cleolinda]

Weekend links

My posts

A repost of something silly/spooky I wrote for The Toast a million years ago: "Babysitting Instructions."

The $5 level on the Patreon is live, which means you can read "I Grew Up in a Haunted House and I Didn't Notice" (a true story in which I was pursued by a Chocula and possibly possessed) now before I post it here in a couple of days.

I was the Bravest Girl about preventive health care.

It has come to my attention that BPAL has a licensed Junji Ito (!) collection, kicking off with "Tomie" as the first perfume. If they don't come out with a "This Is My Hole" fragrance, I don't even know what we're doing here.

“What happened to the Jimmy C. demon story in the unexplained experience thread?” A classic Reddit thread.

Reblogs of interest

Strikes and unions: THE WRITERS GUILD WON

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, one of my favorite books as a kid

"Hi y'all, it’s Chronomaster42, the only Youtuber with the ability to travel through, and control, time and space, here with another taste test"

"Meanwhile Belogarth the Registered PCA is chowing down on back pain"

Beautiful costumes from the 2022 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing

Video

"My cat will try to eat literally anything"

One cat’s existential crisis

Sauron but it's Donald Trump (trust me)

Sitting down is serious business

A pro gymnast and a stunt woman: very different skills

The sacred texts

A repository of Tumblr folk stories

Anakin Skywalker as toast

but bread is NOT part of a skeleton's natural diet

One cat’s existential crisis

I can't write. And that's everyone else's problem!

Personal tag of the week

#cat crimes

[self-indulgent-paw-patrol]

Hey, where do you think Ryder's parents are? It's been confirmed (though I can't remember where, it was on some kind of social media) that Ryder's parents are around somewhere, but where??? Do you think they approved of him leading a team of rescue pups? I wonder how they react when they hear news about rescues, especially the really dangerous ones. I mean, he's been inside an active volcano (Ultimate Rescue: Pups Save the Tigers) trapped in the Lookout as it was rocketed towards outer space (Mighty Pups tv movie) inside a poorly built and unstable skyscraper during a crazy storm that ultimately collapsed with him still inside (PAW Patrol: The Movie) nearly crushed by a meteor AND a firetruck in the same week (PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie) dealt with multiple super powered evil doers that threatened the well being of the whole town on SEVERAL occasions (every Mighty Pups episode) and faced off against a fellow kid genius that wanted to and was capable of leveling the whole town and teleporting everyone to the moon in order to turn it into her own city (All Paws On Deck) just to name a few, imagine hearing on the news that your kid went on a life-threatening rescue mission and it's not even the first time and you know it won't be the last, that must be terrifying. You know, Adventure Bay's local news must be crazy. Hold on, in those rescues where all of Adventure Bay was in danger that means Ryder's parents were also at risk, unless they don't live in Adventure Bay which is VERY unlikely, I wonder how Ryder felt about that, must've been scary for him.

Look, ONE THING I CAN SAY FOR SURE. Wherever Ryder's parents are, they SURE AS HELL ARE NOT IN ADVENTURE BAY.

They very probably approved of him becoming a Rescue Team leader, which makes me believe they might be rescuers themselves! This boy couldn't have learned all his rescue knowledge AND everything else he knows on his own without having firsthand experience with at least one thing while studying the others. His parents must be either into vehicle engineering, building engineering or rescues, he's learned one thing by osmosis and the other he had as a hobby until he decided to put the two together and get to work.

But as much as they might have approved of that, I really doubt they live in Adventure Bay or even in Adventure City for that matter.

Guess who wrote a long post again LMAO but you did give me PLENTY fuel for that, SOOOOOO XDDD

First of all, there's exactly this problem of being worried about someone when they put themselves in dangerous situations and it's increased tenfold if it's someone who's closely related to you. For Ryder to be able to work the way he does, he literally can NOT do it anywhere close to his family - he would get worried about them and it would make him possibly lose focus. He already has to worry and care for all his pups, which is a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. If ANYTHING happens to any of the pups, it'll be ON HIS ACCOUNT: He's the one directing them, instructing them on what to do, training them, sending them out in missions and dangerous rescues. He's already responsible for their safety and lives as it is, he can't afford worrying about his family too.

And then there's the other side of it: His family would ALSO worry about him, just like you said! He's literally ten years old in the show. He's not even a teenager yet! If his family would be anywhere nearby, be it his parents or any other relatives, they would be worried ALL THE TIME. Ryder has gone into extremely dangerous situations several times, he has risked his own life for his pups and/or for people he's been rescuing a few times as well, both movies being EXCELLENT examples for this. You cannot look me in the eye and say his parents or relatives wouldn't worry WORSE than Chase did in the first movie when he saw Humdinger's tower collapsing, knowing Ryder was in there. Now imagine watching the news and finding out last night's meteor shower freaking blew up the very headquarters tower your son was using AT THAT EXACT MOMENT to watch said meteor shower.

Now add the fact that, knowing he works with rescues, if something dangerous IS happening, they CANNOT try to contact him just to know if he's okay or not- because if he's okay, he can't afford stopping to answer them as he WILL BE WORKING. They can't reach for him to not make his line busy in case someone needs to call him for help, and to not distract him from his job. Any distractions could cost them Ryder's life, or maybe one of the pup's lives. Ryder has his pups as part of his family, so to lose one of them would be just as devastating for him and for nearly every resident in Adventure Bay.

My best guess, it's just that. Wherever they are, Ryder's parents are NOT in Adventure Bay, NOT in Adventure City and NOT in Foggy Bottom. They're probably States away, or whatever to name a longer distance. Maybe they're somewhere from USA East Coast even, who knows.

Ryder probably chose Adventure Bay to live and start the Paw Patrol exactly for these reasons: Very far away place, small town where he could start easy. Slowly and steadily, he's been expanding the Patrol over to other locations and becoming famous enough to be called for action in other countries/kingdoms too.

Back home he's learned firsthand a lot of several different specialties for rescue jobs so he could teach his future team, or at least give them a start, so they could study further on their own afterwards. And living far, they can keep in touch occasionally whenever they're not at work, and they can't interfere with his job.

If I lived close to my 10 years old son who works rescuing people with the help of a bunch of dogs and I would hear he's going off into extremely dangerous situations, no matter how much I say I'd trust those dogs with my life (because I am nearly 30 and not ashamed to say I really would), my mother instinct would scream louder than reason and I'd physically hold him back and yell at him to think about his own safety for fucking once in his life too.

It's better they're VERY FAR. For their own sake, for Ryder's sake and for the pups' sake too.

Now with that being said, someone please write a fanfic where Ryder and the Paw Patrol get called for a big search & rescue work in the very city where Ryder's parents are living, after some kind of disaster hit it. Yes, I'm throwing gasoline on the wildfire here, go wild. That would be an interesting topic to explore and write about.

[carabinerofficial]

I wrote a little story about sappy romantic butch4butch sex first thing in the morning. I'm posting it because cringe is dead. Enjoy!

=♥️=

When I come back in you don’t notice me right away. So to get your attention I sneak up behind you & wrap my arms around your waist & kiss your neck & nuzzle you all sweetly. And it takes a second for you to realize that hard thing is my strap rubbing against you. You gasp & moan a little, you try to laugh it off but I know I’ve caught you.

I see you in the kitchen in the morning setting up the coffee maker (making enough for me to have extra cause you’re so considerate). I’m just in my boxers and the ribbed tank I sleep in. You’re wearing nothing but my shirt from yesterday & boxer briefs. My shirt is a little big on you, so it rides up sometimes though because I'm flat, but you have tits. So I get to see a bit of hairy midriff when you reach for something in the cupboard. Your boxer briefs make your thighs & ass look amazing. Literally you look so good I feel like I'm gonna faint. (And I will assume you’re still feeling kinda sore from me marathon fucking you last night but in that nice post workout way.)

I say hi & good morning, and when you say hi back & smile at me I feel like the vibe is right and I’m gonna go for it. So I pretend like I’m going to the bathroom to shave or whatever but really I go get my strap from the bedroom & lube it up.

When I come back in you don’t notice me right away. So to get your attention I sneak up behind you & wrap my arms around your waist & kiss your neck & nuzzle you all sweetly. And it takes a second for you to realize that hard thing is my strap rubbing against you. You gasp & moan a little, you try to laugh it off but I know I’ve caught you.

I turn you around & pin you against the counter & kiss you til you cant breathe. I let you go and I tell you (nice but authoritative) to be a good boy & go bend over on the table for me. You go over all flustered and move the cups & dishes out of the way while I stare at you, and you know I’m staring at you. I say you’re so sweet for wanting to make me breakfast but I gotta have you for a minute first.

when you bend over and prep yourself for me I get a glimpse of how flushed your face is and your soft tits smushed on the table and I feel totally crazy. When I get behind you, I push the hem of my shirt (on you) up to almost your shoulder blades and run my hands down your back, and I can tell you got a shiver up your spine cause you squirm and breathe in sharply. I say you must’ve known how insane it would make me to see you wearing my shirt, and you get sarcastic & feign innocence. I bet you knew but you’re a bit of a himbo sometimes so who knows.

I start pulling your boxers down, and I touch you as much as possible while I’m taking them off, kissing your ass & the back of your legs. (I’m kneeling for you a little and I love you but definitely don’t get confused about who’s boss.) I toss your boxers away on the floor.

I hold onto the back of your head, grip your hair, not tugging hard enough to be painful, just positioning you how I want you. I instruct you to spread your legs a little more, to relax.

When I slide my strap inside you I go slow at first. I know from experience you can handle all of it but I kinda like being mean & acting like you can’t. I say sorry baby my strap is soooo huge, I’ll go easy on you, poor little guy, I bet the whole thing would be too much for you. You whine and tell me to stop being such a dick but I can hear a laugh in your voice. I stop that laugh in its tracks when I go in suddenly all at once, right up to the hilt. I’m pounding you so hard & so fast you’re hanging onto the creaking table for dear life.

I lose control & start rambling & like I always do. calling you handsome & gorgeous and telling you what a good boy you are. Saying a prettyboy like you deserves to get fucked & satisfied & loved on. Saying you’re my girl, you’re mine, telling you how much I love you and how good it feels to fuck you. Your legs get so wobbly you can’t even stand up, but that’s okay because I grab you by the hips and lift you up, without even needing to stop. You half speak half moan about how strong I am. You just say yes to everything. You sigh about how big and deep my strap is, like I don’t already know, but to be fair I bet you can’t think about anything else. You moan my name over & over. Then you start frantically saying how close you are & begging me not to stop. To be honest I don’t know if I’d be able to now, I could literally just keep rawing you senseless all day long. (I get distracted for just a second wondering if you’re gonna be recovered enough to go again later).

You make a such an undignified noise when you cum and it just makes my stomach do backflips. You slump down on the table, dizzy & satisfied. I don’t stop thrusting right away, keeping you there for a minute, cause I can’t help myself.

But I find the willpower to pull out & let you go freshen up. You give me a lil kiss & thank me first though. (Don’t think I don’t notice how you’re walking unsteady.)

While you’re in the shower I clean off & put my strap away. I start the coffee maker, then I get to making breakfast for us. My butch shouldn’t have to after doing all that for me. 💕

[blaaaaask]

I tried out one of those personality quizzes and got INTJ-T.

Didn't even realize they had that extra letter.

Anyone else take one of these and you're like 'Well, that certainly explains a lot.'

Quote from the website:

Some personality types are drawn to jobs that require nonstop teamwork and interaction, but INTJs tend to prefer positions that offer independence. By working alone or in small groups, they can make the most of their creativity without constant interruptions from curious coworkers or second-guessing supervisors. They really do believe that if they want something done right, they’d better do it themselves.

End quote.

So, this leads me to a kind of funny story. I quit my desk job about a year ago because they wanted to change remote workers(3+ years) to "hybrid" (aka, slowly change us from our remote positions to in-office for X amount of days. I'm not stupid, I know eventually this would lead to going back to full time in-office. This is just them slowly boiling the frog.)

I, of course, resisted. Sent emails, had meetings, jumped through 100 different hoops. It was literally causing me so much stress that my doctor was trying to recommend anxiety meds (please note, the anxiety was not there until this stupid debacle happened?) I would write/tell HR endless reasons why I could not return to in-office working any longer (pre COVID times), but each person I had to talk to never read half the crap I wrote. And they kept saying 'well, would it be fair though?' Which, I pointed this out, that there were numerous people in various departments who were men who were within similar driving distances as myself who were staying remote and were not being questioned. But I, as a female, and all the female coworkers I had talked to, were facing the same requests.

I didn't want to be 'that girl' that pointed things like that out, but uh, it felt like a glaring oversight.

My department head had also just changed, and instead of having a boss who was eager to help me (he said as long as you're working, do whatever works.) New boss was like 'you need to follow the rules, I am not going to support you.'

So, with the issue sitting before me of 'do I follow their rules just because it pays well?' or 'do I leave, and pursue something I love?'

I quit.

I put in two weeks, which was hellish but freeing.

I have not looked back. My department was ultra small, so it felt sad to drop the ball on them like that, but I am not to be fucked around with. And I have put everything into my art here, my writing, and trying to build my own income. It is going slow (as in, I am making nothing right now) but what can I say? I absolutely love what I'm doing now.

Will I need to go back into reality at some point and get another job? It's possible.

Am I going to keep trucking away otherwise? You bet.

Moral of the story: Fuck those fucking fuckers, hahaha. But seriously, if you have found a means to work in an environment that works for you, do NOT feel like you have to change it!!

As I told them in my emails: if you're getting into gardening, and you have multitude of plants with varying needs, you tend to them following those instructions. Some need direct light. Some need dark spaces. Some like it hot. Some like it cold. You cannot uproot all your plants and put it into one box because 'it is easier to water that way.' You will kill off some of your most unique plants this way. You will end up with all of the same plants.

Also just random tldr: Fuck office jobs. And office culture.

Okay thanks for reading my rant. :)

[positivlyfocused]

How The Hidden Power Of Words Destroys The Daring Life

Not long ago, a client offered an excellent metaphor. They were curious about something we talked about in our session. Curiosity is a great place to be. Curiosity will take one very close to the Charmed Life I write about.

Fascination is better. So is amazement. But those emotions naturally show up as clients create more and more evidence. More and more evidence validating everything I tell them in their Positively Focused sessions. Before they know it, the evidence piles up so high, they find themselves in fascination and amazement. Fascination and amazement turn to wonder not long after that. That’s because when one realizes they are worthy of all they desire, and they see those desires happening, wonder becomes the lens through which they experience life.

But I digress. Let’s get back to that client’s metaphor. It’s really instructive.

Clarity in a metaphor

Here’s what they wrote:

“Just want to make sure I understood…if we think of the barrier between conscious and subconscious as the surface of the ocean with the air being conscious thought and water being subconscious thought, then these little doubts and fears that briefly surface in the conscious mind are like icebergs, with the little bit on top one perceives and the huge mass of it (i.e., the momentum) still lurking below, even after one thinks they got a handle on it. Is this a more-or-less apt metaphor?”

The ice berg metaphor gets used often in describing consciousness. Same goes for oceans. So my client’s metaphor was unsurprising. The metaphor itself is mostly accurate.

But we humans over exaggerate what’s going on in life. We also bring that tendency to examining nonphysical, which “consciousness” is. Often, when we do over exaggerate, we do so in a negative direction. In other words, we catastrophize life.

Language often contributes to the catastrophization. Language is powerful. Words we choose literally shapes our experience. You’ll see what I mean by taking a deeper look at my client’s metaphor.

Limits put on the limitless

The words “conscious” and “subconscious”, taken together, offer an example of how language can limit experience. When people use these words, they create two things out of something that actually is one thing. It seems there’s a “conscious” part of us. It’s that part of our awareness we’re aware of it. We’re conscious of it. Then there’s the “subconscious” part. We’re aware we have it. But we apparently can’t consciously access it.

So there’s a part of us we can access. And there’s a part we can’t. Between those two, apparently, a barrier exists. Our consciousness cannot pierce that barrier, which is what keeps the “sub” in subconscious.

^^The words we use have great power. They literally create our limits. (Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash)

But there is no actual separation between what people call “conscious” and “subconscious”. There is no barrier between the two. And there really isn’t even “two”. What does exist is our ability perceive all of what’s there, or not. Inability to perceive doesn’t necessarily mean a barrier blocks our ability to perceive. Inability to perceive only means we can’t perceive. We’re not able to. That’s not the same as “cannot”.

In Positively Focused sessions, clients learn to reunite their “conscious” and “subconscious”. Again, they were never separate to begin with. But our beliefs impose a division that’s not there. In doing so those beliefs limit what’s possible.

In our sessions, clients gradually realize everything is possible. Self-imposed limitations relax then. When that happens, one’s human awareness allows more and more, deeper, conscious awareness. This is why a Positively Focused practice includes dreamwork. We train our awareness to expand through to deeper levels of that awareness.

The results are profound.

Making life more serious than it is

Of course, expanding, deepening awareness takes place in physical too. It’s what causes clients to become more bold about life. We become more daring. More authentic. Which is something our Broader Perspective wants. Because of that, we feel a tremendous sense of adventure about life. Adventure and joy, pleasure and fun richly colors our life.

Self-imposed limits can block deeper self-awareness. After all, something existing in the “subconscious” implies we can’t access it. But nothing exists beyond our access. If we can ask the question, we can know the answer. That opens profound implications for self-awareness.

The other interesting thing about my client’s metaphor is it introduces drama and ominousness to the affair. That “huge mass” lurking beyond our perceptions stands ready to upend our plans. And we can’t access it so what do we do?

The reality is, nothing like that is happening. Seriousness, drama, and dire consequences are human constructs. Nothing “serious” happens in our lives. Even when it looks like it is, that’s our interpretation. And any interpretation can change. That’s what clients learn. And when they do, their life gets way better.

That’s why I use “Belief Constellation” instead of common metaphors explaining consciousness. For, as with constellations in the sky, our consciousness and everything in it is all visible…if we’re willing to connect the dots between feelings and thoughts, then other thoughts connected to that, and then other thoughts connected to that, then other thoughts connected…etc. Nothing is hidden from us. It’s all available to see, revel in, then create more of what we want.

But enjoying that means learning how to do it deliberately and consciously. Including how we speak about our experience.

Want to know more? Let’s talk.

[eruditetyro]

depending on the type of grant, on top of all the points mentioned above, you may have requirements such as letters of community support, backup documentation like the organization's audited unqualified annual financial statements, an organizational chart or resumes of key personnel associated with the project, a description of how the organization will comply with various regulations, which for infrastructure projects includes labor laws, environmental protections, historical protections, and any dig-once or other policies of the municipality and any high-level mapping or plans of the project.

they might also have to deal with permitting, which is obtaining permission from various governmental bodies to do the thing you want to do on the land you want to do it on, which, along with compliance with environmental and historical preservation laws, can take a while. you might have both state and local processes there. also, if you want to build on native land, you very much do need permission from the tribe on that land.

once you obtain the grant, for large projects, there is of course the grant agreement/contracting phase, where sometimes exactly what you wrote in the application is included as an exhibit of what you agreed to do with the money, and sometimes the body giving out the money negotiates with you to change the scope of the project prior to you both signing.

with grant compliance/reporting, sometimes all that's required is the closeout report referred to above, but sometimes there's annual, semiannual, and/or quarterly reporting to be done, and also sometimes grants are reimbursement-only, so you have to basically do an expense report requesting funds be reimbursed typically on an ad hoc or monthly basis.

if you're in grants management, you likely are going to deal with both the application phase of the program (reading 200 copies of the same thing) and the compliance phase of the program (reading every report and reimbursement request, for programs that have reimbursement requests).

municipalities and the like may sometimes put out things called RFPs, RFIs, or RFAs (requests for proposals, information, or applications), which are sort of like grants in that all three, like a grant, give you instructions on what all you're supposed to submit to have a chance at the money, and they are reviewed in a similar way. if proposal/grant writing is super unfamiliar to you, it's basically literally the same as filling out any university or scholarship application.

there are specialized consultants that some businesses and organizations hire to write grants for them: this is fun because you basically just figure out what information the application asks for, and then what of that you actually have to figure out how to squeeze out of the client in as few questions as possible (clients don't like being asked questions), and what of it you can simply make up using census data and whatnot.

some grant programs/RFPs/etc will just have a portal like your college applications. some will want you to email some stuff somewhere. some require three paper copies to be sent with a stamped self-addressed return envelope and a CD or flash drive of accompanying files included.

anyway. this means if you're writing a fantasy story with a fantasy grant program, you could absolutely have them require, like, proof that your adventurer or scientist or whatever has the experience needed to take on the project in the form of a scrap of cloth upon which the wizard who resides at the top of the treacherous mountain has written their approval of your mettle and your secret name, as well as a letter from the local orphanage talking about the time you saved all the children from a terrible fire. and then fantasy consultants who have to say "I literally cannot visit the wizard on your behalf, that would be fraud. I CAN however write a form letter for you to sign and send to the orphanage director requesting they send a letter to the palace extolling your wondrous deeds. would you like that? I'll have that over to you before EOW."

We don’t talk enough about how fanfiction writers love to give character large amounts of non-specific paperwork they hate doing

[lizstaysinneverland]

Last one!! I probably won't be making any more of these since I want to write for other fandoms but perhaps if inspiration hits me with a good prompt for twst I may wrote one again...

Another Halloween request from my deactivated account.

"Hey, I just saw that the askbox is open. I would like to ask for an mc who is an absolute Halloween lover and for him, Halloween is like a second Christmas. For this reason, he also wants to set up a haunted house. Please a scenario with Diasomnia!"

You and the Diasomnia squad transform the Ramshackle dorm into a Haunted House on Halloween.

“HUH??”, the four of them voiced their confusion in unison. You just told them they had to help you turn Ramshackle into a haunted house, standing before them with several bags full of binders and posters to show them all your ideas.

After you explained to them how Halloween means the world to you and hearing about the upcoming Night Raven College Halloween festival, you really wanted to contribute by turning your dorm into a haunted house, or mansion to be precise. Your excitement slowly creeping onto them, infecting everyone to a degree to be excited about this as well, wanting to help you now. You also explained that you managed to persuade Headmaster Crowley to agree to this, although he will not take any responsibility if something goes wrong. But to be honest, you didn’t expect him to and you were confident in your organization skills.

So you went into the living room to spread out the material and ideas you compiled ever since you heard of the festival. You gave your presentation of how the haunted house needs to be decorated. You will have some scarecrow at the graveyard and some spiderwebs decorating the house. The interior needs to be changed into an abandoned house again, so you will have to put fake dust in there and put all the lights away and instead change them to candles and so forth, your ideas are endless, even asking to “borrow” some students from Diasomnia to act as the undead and crazy people, scaring the visitors with bloody performances, literally and jump scares because who doesn’t love that! You also ask them to use some magic to make the eyes of the portraits following the visitors and other such stuff like playing with the light and making scary faces appear in them. Of course, you will also be there and spook the visitors.

Spending the whole day explaining the whole concept to them and asking for their opinion on what is actually possible to do and their input on things. Lilia is the most invested one, with Malleus seeing this as a great opportunity to learn more about human customs and Silver and Sebek just going along with it because of them both, they do slightly enjoy it although not admitting so.

Days later, after a lot of hard work and a LOT of frustration, where Lilia had to calm you down and unintentionally scare you with him trying to make you some feel-good food, the haunted house was set and ready to go. Admiring the view and basking in the joy of the Halloween spirit. “Huh, guess all your ideas came to fruition, but with your precise instructions and your burning passion for this project, I had no doubt about it becoming so magnificent!”, Lilia states with an amused tone.

You sprint over to welcome the first visitor, it was Malleus. “What are you doing here? You already know the ins and outs of it...”, you ask confused. He gets surprised and tells you he wanted to experience it as a visitor nonetheless and see the fruits of your hard labor firsthand. You get a bit excited, being praised by not only Lilia but Malleus as well. You know you did an amazing job but having your efforts acknowledges by others feels great. Malleus walks further into the building when Sebek comes running to you. “Have you seen Young Master??”, Sebek looks with astonishing speed through the room. “Yes, he is here as a visitor of the haunted house, he just went further in.”, showing him the direction with your hand. “AH, why didn’t you alert me?... Oh, before I forget next time do not sue the Young Lord to help you out, he has a lot to do and should not be distracted by you human...but you did a great job...”, he tells you before rushing off. You sigh, they all have such intense personalities, but you guess that is part of their charm. Suddenly you hear some noise behind you, you turn to see Silver has been sleeping sitting on the floor but somehow managed to fall sideways and making a broom fall on the floor. You have to struggle to hold in your laughter, seeing him still sleep peacefully despite the ruckus he made. You decide to wake him and ask him why he is sleeping right here. “I wanted to follow my duty of being Malleus guard but he said he needed to go in there alone and I should just wait here for him to come out. It’s really comfortable despite the creepy setting so don’t worry. But I am impressed by the work you’ve done, this place looks so different and your creativity has no limits....perhaps you could teach me sometime?”. You laugh involuntarily, telling him you appreciate the compliment but there is not much to teach him, creativity will come on its own, there is no trick to it.

Hours pass by and the clock strikes midnight, implying Halloween is now over and you all have to return to your respective dorms, you thank everyone. As you watch them leave, you can’t help but wish Halloween could be celebrated for just as long as Christmas...Looking longingly at your now empty dorm, deciding to leave the decoration be for a bit longer before walking back to your room and going to sleep.

[seokjinsonlyone]

this is how i think it’d go if you went to visit bts at work and gave them a little peck on the lips

namjoon:

you’d probably walk into his studio and he’d be at his desk headphones in playing back some beat or revising some lyrics

you’d come up behind him and wrap your arms around his neck effectively stealing his attention away from the track

and that’s when you’d place a nice little peck on his lips

but that wouldn’t be enough for him so before you could even fully break apart he’d already be chasing your lips

he’d roll his chair around to properly face you placing one hand at the back of your neck bringing you back to him immediately slipping his tongue in your mouth

what once was a cute little greeting turned into a sensual experience as he gently massaged your tongue with his

and when he felt like he had his fill of you for the time being he pulled back, smiling, dimples on full display and said “hey, baby.”

the depth of his voice would send shivers down your spine and you would settle into his lap wrapping your arms around his neck picking up where he left off just bc he was done didn’t mean you were

seokjin:

you’d probably end up at hybe headquarters after seokjin called you when he was done with his day to get dinner together

you’d call him to let him know you’re outside and within a minute he’d be in your car

you’d lean over the center console to give him a peck to which he’d immediately complain

“woooowww i’ve been at work all day and that’s all i get”

you’d swallow down the urge to tell him that he not the only one that work in favor of rolling your eyes and pressing your lips to his again for a little longer

that wouldn’t be enough for him though “just one more,” he’d request.

“one more.”

“one more.”

he knew that asking for a kiss from you was a dangerous game

could feel it in the way he melted against you

could tell by the way he seriously thought about giving you one of his rolex watches you jokingly said you’d steal and sell

or one of his cars you said you’d steal and sell

thought about giving you the world just for one more kiss

yoongi:

with yoongi you’d probably enter his studio (he’s always in the studio) with the code he gave you

which the fact that you were the only one other than himself that had the code did inexplicable things to your heart you couldn’t really delve into without feeling like you were gonna explode

anyway you’d walk in the room and he already knew it was you like you said you were the only other one who could freely enter and he’d be at his monitor doing whatever producers do

“hey just gimme one sec”

and you knew how that one went sometimes it was actually just a few seconds sometimes it was a few hours until you had his attention but you didn’t mind you ain’t have anything else to do just wanted some company

you didn’t wanna disturb him too much but you couldn’t help yourself so you walked to him turned his head to face you and quickly kissed him before recoiling to the couch a few feet away

10-15 minutes later he was summoning you over to him, pulling you into his lap, and using his thumb and index finger to trap your chin bringing your lips back to his for a proper kiss

you sighed contentedly afterwards laying your head on top of his as he wrapped his arms around your waist, showing you what he was working on

hoseok:

hobi was usually a super organized person liked for everything to have a place and everything to be in that place

but you were his little chaos and organization was definitely not his top priority when he was with you taking second place to soaking up every ounce of your presence in whichever way you would allow him

so really it was no surprise when he texted you asking if you’d seen his little notebook where he wrote his lyrics and whatever other ideas or thoughts popped into his head

it took a bit of searching to find but you had it and he was very fortunate you liked him it was the only reason you were willing to drop it off before work

you made sure to let him know he was the reason you looked ugly today the trip to his office severely cutting your usual routine and he made sure to let you know that a) you were beautiful no matter what and b) he would make it up to you

it was only your second time at the new building your first time was when he invited you along for their first look at the hybe insight museum so it was safe to say you had absolutely no idea where you were going despite the detailed instructions one of the staff gave you upon entry if you hadn’t run into taehyun you probably would’ve been running around that building for another hour

you were thoroughly unamused with the situation but hobi looked so cute and sheepish when you entered the practice room wrapping his arms around you immediately alternating between expressing his gratitude and regretfulness that you couldn’t help but press a small kiss to his mouth

an action you instantly regretted bc a) it caused him to start pressing kisses all over your face in return b) it caused an eruption of various forms of shouting from the six other boys you failed to notice upon entry

you pushed at his chest as heat flooded your body from embarrassment preparing to leave you were going to be late for work “be good” you told him personally before shouting “have fun!” at the other members

jimin:

your days off hardly coincided with jimin’s days off mostly bc he never really had days off always had to go in for one thing or another

but his days weren’t always jam packed some days like today he had a meeting in the morning and a meeting in the evening and not much else to do besides that

and he was the absolute worst at entertaining himself always needed to find someone else’s business to get into and as the object of his affection you were always his first choice

he tried not to bother you too much when you were busy though no matter how clingy he was and he was awfully clingy

if you two weren’t able to be joined at the hip in your free time you were definitely on the phone and if he wasn’t the object of your affection as well you would’ve started ignoring him a long time ago as it stands he was the best company

anyway he knew you were off today and had no plans other than finding a new anime to start so naturally when he found himself bored out of his mind he was in your ear purring down the line for you to come to him

it didn’t take too much convincing your attention span wasn’t on your side so you couldn’t really get into anything and even though you literally saw jimin yesterday you missed him :\

it’s why you didn’t hesitate to land a peck on his lips upon meeting him again and latching onto his arm firmly as he led you to one of the small practice rooms they had

“so tell me about your day”

you looked him over suspiciously he had that mischievous glint in his eye so you knew he was up to something

and you were right you weren’t more than two sentences in to your answer before he was pressing his lips to yours in a long lingering kiss

“i’m sorry continue”

“um...” your attention span really wasn’t with you and it was hard to retrace your train of thought with your lips tingling and the hairs on the back of your neck raised

you eventually found your mental footing and continued speaking about your day which had more or less turned into you ranting about haikyuu when again mid sentence he captured your lips between his own one hand tracing up and down your spine while the other held your head into place so he could lick into your mouth just the way he liked

“go on” he panted slightly breathless once you finally broke apart

“jimin...” you whined

he giggled at his own antics loved riling you up found it so cute how you couldn’t even try to keep the dreamy look off your face “you like me so much don’t you?” he asked with a self assured grin etched onto his face

you did

taehyung:

sometimes he felt so sorry to you hated cancelling on you because something came up or another thing ran over time

you were always cool with it tho never made a huge fuss of it which he was forever grateful for bc he really did love his job

but he really loved you too

he had to cancel three separate times just this week alone and he was missing you something bad

and even though he really wanted to take you out and do something nice for you like you deserved at this point he just wanted to see you

missed seeing you in person and having you in his arms

that’s how you found yourself on a bench tucked into a quiet corner of the upper garden at a table chairs side by side his hands toying with yours as you caught him up on your week so far

he was kinda obsessed with you and you loved it because having his undivided attention felt so so good

so you couldn’t help but close the gap, briefly pressing your lips to his

the slight blush that took over his cheeks had an insane amount of serotonin flooding your brain you loved him so much

even more so when he surpassed his bout of shyness and unabashedly brought you closer to him and attempted to make up for a week’s worth of lost kisses

jungkook:

sometimes life got busy for the both of you and even though you meant to meet up it just didn’t happen

but once you finished your work week you made it your mission to see him as soon as possible

you’d texted him when you got off and he told you he was finishing vocal practice then going to workout which left you with enough time to stop home and freshen up before he was done

as expected his trainer told you he was in the shower when you popped up so you decided to wait in the hallway for him to come out

“heeeeey what are you doing here”

you looked up from your phone to see your slightly damp very buff boyfriend grinning down at you

almost instantly you were hugging him arms wrapped around his waist before pulling back slightly pecking him on the lips

which set something off inside jungkook a shock ran down his body just from the feeling of your lips pressed against his

“let’s hang out” you agreed immediately “i just need to grab something from my studio first”

he laced your hands together dragging you alongside him and as soon as you entered the room he had you pinned against the door hands on your hips kissing you with far greater ferocity than you could have anticipated

and it’s like jungkook knew he missed you but he didn’t realize just how much until he had you in his arms your lips on his

kissing you felt like home and his introverted self never wanted to leave the house couldn’t even help the groan that escaped the back of his throat as you took control of the kiss and made a mental note to remember to never deprive himself of this pleasure again

one of his hands slid down your thigh lifting your leg until you got the hint to wrap both of them around his waist allowing him to show off his strength and grope you at the same time

“jk,” you said breathlessly, breaking the kiss

his lips were chasing yours the second you broke contact he didn’t care about breathing when a fire was spreading through his body

you indulged him for a few more seconds before breaking apart again

this time his lips traveled down your neck kissing and sucking until you were making the prettiest sounds for him

you felt like you were going to explode his hands were squeezing your butt and his lips were on your neck and you were going to explode

“jk...” you whined again tugging lightly at the hair on the nape of his neck

he made his way back up your neck pressing a hard kiss on your cheek before gently nudging your nose with his “hmmm?”

and suddenly you were staring directly into his eyes big and pretty and filled with stars shining just for you

you were going to explode “let’s get out of here”

[symposiumxiv]

Katabasis - A Descent Into the Underworld

If you're interested, this post will follow up a little on this post, and to a smaller extent this one, making some loose connections from things I found interesting.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katabasis:

The trip to the underworld is a mytheme of comparative mythology found in a diverse number of religions from around the world. The hero or upper-world deity journeys to the underworld or to the land of the dead and returns, often with a quest-object or a loved one, or with heightened knowledge. The ability to enter the realm of the dead while still alive, and to return, is a proof of the classical hero's exceptional status as more than mortal. A deity who returns from the underworld demonstrates eschatological themes such as the cyclical nature of time and existence, or the defeat of death and the possibility of immortality.

Katabasis is the epic convention of the hero's trip into the underworld. In Greek mythology, for example, Orpheus enters the underworld in order to bring Eurydice back to the world of the living.

Most katabases take place in a supernatural underworld, such as Hades or Hell — as in Nekyia, the 11th book of the Odyssey, which describes Odysseus's descent to the underworld. However, katabasis can also refer to a journey through other dystopic areas, like those Odysseus encounters on his 10-year journey back from Troy to Ithaca. Pilar Serrano allows the term katabasis to encompass brief or chronic stays in the underworld, including those of Lazarus, and Castor and Pollux. In this case, however, the katabasis must be followed by an anabasis (a going or marching up) in order to be considered a true katabasis instead of a death.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphism_(religion):

When the deceased arrives in the underworld, he is expected to confront obstacles. He must take care not to drink of Lethe ("Forgetfulness"), but of the pool of Mnemosyne ("Memory").

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethe:

In Classical Greek, the word lethe (λήθη) literally means "oblivion", "forgetfulness", or "concealment". It is related to the Greek word for "truth", aletheia (ἀλήθεια), which through the privative alpha literally means "un-forgetfulness" or "un-concealment".

The shades of the dead were required to drink the waters of the Lethe in order to forget their earthly life. In the Aeneid (VI.703-751), Virgil writes that it is only when the dead have had their memories erased by the Lethe that they may be reincarnated.

Role in religion and philosophy

Some ancient Greeks believed that souls were made to drink from the river before being reincarnated, so that they would not remember their past lives. The Myth of Er in Book X of Plato's Republic tells of the dead arriving at a barren waste called the "plain of Lethe", through which the river Ameles ("careless") runs. "Of this they were all obliged to drink a certain quantity," Plato wrote, "and those who were not saved by wisdom drank more than was necessary; and each one as he drank forgot all things." A few mystery religions taught the existence of another river, the Mnemosyne; those who drank from the Mnemosyne would remember everything and attain omniscience. Initiates were taught that they would receive a choice of rivers to drink from after death, and to drink from Mnemosyne instead of Lethe.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totenpass:

Totenpass (plural Totenpässe) is a German term sometimes used for inscribed tablets or metal leaves found in burials primarily of those presumed to be initiates into Orphic, Dionysiac, and some ancient Egyptian and Semitic religions. The term may be understood in English as a "passport for the dead". The so-called Orphic gold tablets are perhaps the best-known example.

Totenpässe are placed on or near the body as a phylactery, or rolled and inserted into a capsule often worn around the neck as an amulet. The inscription instructs the initiate on how to navigate the afterlife, including directions for avoiding hazards in the landscape of the dead and formulaic responses to the underworld judges.

You will find on the right in Hades' halls a spring, and by it stands a ghostly cypress-tree, where the dead souls descending wash away their lives. Do not even draw nigh this spring. Further on you will find chill water flowing from the pool of Memory: over this stand guardians. They will ask you with keen mind what is your quest in the gloom of deadly Hades. They will ask you for what reason you have come. Tell them the whole truth straight out. Say: 'I am the son of Earth and starry Heaven, but of Heaven is my birth: this you know yourselves. I am parched with thirst and perishing: give me quickly chill water flowing from the pool of Memory.' Assuredly the kings of the underworld take pity on you, and will themselves give you water from the spring divine; then you, when you have drunk, traverse the holy path which other initiates and bacchants tread in glory. After that you will rule amongst the other heroes.

After Sora and Riku close the Door to Darkness, and Kairi tearfully completes the drawing in the cave, the very next shot is a sideways pan of cypress trees.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupressus_sempervirens:

In classical antiquity, the cypress was a symbol of mourning and in the modern era it remains the principal cemetery tree in both the Muslim world and Europe. In the classical tradition, the cypress was associated with death and the underworld because it failed to regenerate when cut back too severely. Athenian households in mourning were garlanded with boughs of cypress. Cypress was used to fumigate the air during cremations. It was among the plants that were suitable for making wreaths to adorn statues of Pluto, the classical ruler of the underworld.

In an almost cheeky way, Pluto struts across the screen. I can only guess if the play on Pluto was intentional.

Now, I don't think Sora, Donald, and Goofy are "dead" here lol, but more like they've just been reincarnated into their next journey, which will proceed as Chain of Memories as they search for Riku and The King. Note that Donald and Goofy are wearing their normal clothes, signifying a change/rebirth.

I'd say a "katabasis" occurs in every Kingdom Hearts game, hence the journey. They usually end with the main characters bringing their loved ones home, or at least with some kind of new knowledge gained.

So the next katabasis will take place in Quadratum as Riku looks to retrieve Sora. I wonder if Sora's necklace will function in a similar way to the totenpass, guiding him to recall important memories... What new knowledge will be gained?