#I’m gonna try and keep this strictly art but we’ll see how that goes

[madseaweedbrain]

Got diagnosed with a mental illness and am making a new pjo sideblog

[gb-patch]

Ask Answers: January 17th, 2021 (Part 1)

More ask answers! It’s gonna be a lot today, so we’re splitting it into two.

i love Cliff and Kyra's relationship so much ?? even though they had issues they managed to work things out and remain friends through the years! it's so refreshing over the narrative of people resenting each other after they break up.. im kind of curious tho , do they see each other strictly platonic now or is there still something lingering?

Aw, I’m glad to hear you like their relationship. Their feelings are very platonic now. Kyra views him as an ex and co-parent and then a friend as time goes on. Cliff does struggle not to think of her as still his family, even though he’s not romantically attracted anymore. But he’s knows it might be crossing a line to be that attached to a woman who divorced him and so he tries to let her just live her own life.

Can i ask just how tall Cove exactly is in Step 3? And will he be even TALLER in Step 4? My short heart cannot handle this. (Also this game is absolutely flawless and I haven't been able to stop thinking abt it since I played. Planning on getting the dlcs soon, y'all did SO WELL!!!!!!!!!) 

Haha, thank you very much.

Step 1: 4'1 feet Step 2: 5'4 feet Step 3: 6'0 feet Step 4: 6'4 feet 

Hey! So, I know Steam is having its fall sale/boxing day sale or something so i was wondering if you guys were gonna participate in that?? I was thinking of buying XOXO Droplets (the extended version) but i didnt want to do anything before there was a potential sale. May seem like an odd question, but I was genuinely curious. I can't wait to play the full game when i get it tho :D

I’m afraid we have some things we wanna fix in XOXO Droplets before really promoting it/pushing it with sales, so for now it won’t be participating in Steam sales. Hopefully we can update it soon.

Hello I'm still trying to get the CG for Step 2-3 and didn't see or get it when I told Cove of the deal in the Dinner moment like your guide says. I got the achievement but no CG. Is there another choice I'm suppsed to make after telling him?

Make sure you go back to the house with Cove after he leaves and don’t stay in your living room.

* don't be suspicious* *don't be suspicious*  ...Hi, there's another way to pay for the Our Life +18 dlc besides Patreon? Patreon have very limited payment options and I've been struggling with the platform. Anyways, thanks for the amazing game I hope I could support any way ^u^

Haha, right now there isn’t anything specific, but once it’s finished in a few months we’ll look into other hosting sites.

do you think we can get another our life dlc plzzz i would pay so much for it <3 i want to see their life together when they have kids or pets or just live with the two of them and i really want them to adopt kids too since jamie is adopted :)

I’m afraid we likely won’t. As much as we love OL: B&A, we’ve gotta start putting our whole effort into new projects soon. Maybe someday we could come back and do special new content, but it’d be quite awhile after all the planned DLCs have released.

How do you delete a save file? 

On PC or Mac you hover over a slot and hit the delete key, or you can go into the saved data folder and delete the files directly. On Android I’m afraid I don’t know. You can save over them with something else, though.

this is like. totally embarrassing and silly to ask but im dying here; i love cove so much i wanna climb that boy like a tree. so basically what im asking here is like. will the nsfw dlc have explicit stuff or is it more like an implied kinda situation? cuz i want some full on nsfw shit im so thirsty for cove and only this can satisfy me

It’s truly 18+ and explicit with nude art and straightforward descriptions of sexual acts. That’s why we can’t release it as part of the main game, haha. I’m glad you’re into Cove~

Hello! I've really been enjoying Our Life and am noticing some animation changes with the update! I just had a question though. In Step 2 we meet Jeremy but I was wondering if he was only meant to appear in Step 2 as a typical mean kid or is there more we don't know? 

Jeremy is a horrible pill in Our Life, but he is also a beloved romance option as a teenager in our other game XOXO Droplets. His personality is quite different once he grows up more. I imagine Cove and the MC would be pretty surprised.

Hi! i absolutely adore our life so far and I can't wait to continue supporting the game with the upcoming dlc drops! i was just wondering if y'all were planning on uploading any art for steam icons/the steam point shop in general<3 

Thank you! And we might. But we’re first trying to focus on making a new game update since there are still some improvements we have in mind.

I hope this question doesn’t come off weird but would Cove be the type of guy to memorize your period? I imagine he’d be the kind of best friend/boyfriend who would keep track of your cycle to support you during it or something like that 

We’d be shy about it at first and avoid mentioning what he was doing, but he would try to keep track of it based on any insight the MC gave him. The longer you’re with him, the more it could be just a normal thing the two openly talked about.

Hi there, how often do you do auditions? I am a voice actor and would love to be part of a project ?

We usually have auditions two to three times a year. Our next planned casting call will be for side character in Our Life Step 4.

Are the 5 moments included in the Derek and Baxter DLCs different from the normal Step 2 and 3 DLC? And will they focus exclusively on Derek and Baxter respectively? I was a little confused when I read the DLC FAQ. Thanks! 

Mostly they’ll be completely new Moments that star Derek or Baxter. Though, for example, Derek’s DLC will allow you to take him to the Soiree. If you go with Derek that will remove your ability to go with Cove in the Cove Step 2 DLC.

Sorry if you've already said this, but how will your character transfer over to the patreon exclusive NSFW DLC?  Can it access your game memory or will you select traits your character showed and choices you made from a list? 

It’s a standalone event that happens for MCs who are in a relationship with Cove and have been dating him for a while. Other details about the MC/their dynamic with Cove will just be picked in the event itself. It won’t try to take data from a specific save in the actual game.

I love your games, but currently only have an Android. When will you put your other games on android? 

I don’t know. They might not able to be formatted for Android very well, unfortunately. We’ll see how much time we’ve got later this year to try figuring it out.

Thank you so much for all the questions :D

[sanakoreanlangblr]

2021 Goals

Heyy! I’ve decided to put my goals for this year here, hoping that that might motivate me further, and maybe motivate someone else as well. Good luck everyone! And please take extra care of yourselves and your health, mental or otherwise! Everything else can wait.

This year has been difficult for all of us. As for me, even now, the upcoming semester is a big question mark. Currently I’m studying in France, and this semester I was supposed to go on an exchange to Taiwan buuuut that’s not happening anymore, as it has been cancelled. So per my school’s requirements I need to find an internship in the place of expatriation, which is a pain now. And that basically just means I have no idea where I’m going to be in the coming year or what I’m gonna be doing ¯\_(��)_/¯ Sorry, needed to complain for a bit, as I am going absolutely insane with the stress…

Anywayyyy, I still hope I will be able to uphold most of these goals, wherever I will end up. I tried to not make them overly big, so that I won’t get burned out too fast. But I have a whole year for those, some of these have dates for which I could expect to finish but I will not keep to them very strictly. Whatever happens, happens :))

Also, sorry if there are any mistakes, English is not my first language!

Korean (A2 -> B1)

1. Do 100 lessons of grammar from the HowToStudyKorean website.

I’ve started a few grammar books but in the end decided to settle on this website as I like its explanations best, and it provides the most example sentences when introducing each point. A nice touch is also the fact that it includes a list of a number of new words before each chapter, which gives me some new vocabulary to learn :)

So far I’ve divided the grammar points introduced in lessons into „to learn”, „to revise”, „already know”, and turns out I have:

66 „to learn”

35 „to revise”

32 „already know”

So if I did 3 points a week, I should be done around August.

2. Read 2 little stories per week from “Easy Korean Reading for Beginners”.

There is 30 stories in the first one (I already did 5), so I should be done by the middle of April.

3. Do one chapter per week from “My first hanja guide”.

I just got this book for Christmas and haven’t had the time to fully go through it so we will see how it goes.

4. Do Anki at least three times a week.

Every day would be preferable but I know that would last like a week at most.

5. Have iTalki lesson at least once a week.

That one is not a problem as I have been doing one or two per week for the last year, but I would just like to keep it up.

6. Try writing at least twice a month, and at least 2 pages.

Yeahhh that one is a bit of a bother, as writing still takes me a long time so we will leave it a twice a month and see how it goes.

7. Watch one youtube video per week on Korean grammar or vocabulary.

Generally I would say my goal is to use Korean more, as I know quite a lot but when I’m speaking I tend to go towards the easier words and grammar, which is why I am thinking that writing more could help me. And also I really want to focus on learning vocabulary as that’s always been a pain for me, I’m more of a grammar lover :))

French (A2 -> hoping for upper B1/ beginning of B2)

1. Finish the intermediate grammar book. I’m currently doing „Grammaire Progressive du Français” Intermediate edition, for A2/B1.

The problem is that my grammar knowledge of french is a mess , so going through this book is a bit of an annoyance, as most chapters I technically know but each time I find some nuance I wasn’t aware of... therefore I need to go through it, even the chapters I would have assumed I know :|

So I divided the chapters the same way I did Korean, into „to learn”, „to revise”, „already know”, and I ended up with:

14 „to learn”

34 „to revise”

4 „already know”

So technically if I did 2 points a week, I should be done in June.

2. Read the two french books I got for Christmas (“Les aventures d’Alice au pays des merveilles” and “Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours”).

3. Read at least two of the Harry Potter books in French.

I have started the first one this week, and I can tell it’s gonna be a very very slow process. It’s the first book I’m reading in french so it’s a bit difficult and frustrating but hopefully it’ll get better as I go along.

4. Watch at least 4 french movies, with french subtitles.

5. Learn a french song.

6. Read one story per week from „French Stories for Beginners”.

These are quite easy, but they are a nice practice for switching to books later on.

I don’t know if I’m gonna keep this one in, depends on how much my reading of actual books will progress.

7. Get to point 5 on the Duolingo tree.

I use Duolingo mostly as a revision tool, so I’m not really going to focus on it much, but still want to keep it up.

8. Watch one YouTube video per week (on any topic).

9. Listen to two podcasts per month.

10. At least one iTalki lesson per week.

11. Do Anki at least 3 times a week.

I really need to listen to french more, as I’m good at reading and I usually understand that pretty well, and I’m not the worst as speaking, but I am absolutely terrible at listening :| So that’s a priority.

Chinese (tbh I don’t know...end of HSK1/Beginning of HSK2 -> let’s say the goal is HSK3 for this year)

1. Finish the book „Integrated Chinese”

I’m having a tough time to pick a book from which to learn but I guess for now I’ll continue with that one.

Again, I divided the points in the book to „to learn”, „to revise”, „already know”, and ended up with:

47 „to learn”

11 „to revise”

15 „already know”

So doing 2 a week I should be done in July.

2. Learn 15 characters a day

I am way behind on learning characters.. I remember the words well but I didn’t put enough time to learn the characters at the start and now that’s gonna be a bit annoying to catch up on :|

3. Finish the drama „Go Ahead”.

4. Watch 3 Chinese movies, with both English and Chinese subtitles.

5. Have one Italki lesson per week.

6. Learn a children song in Chinese

7. Watch one youtube video per week on grammar.

8. Do Anki twice a week.

Generally focus more on characters. My speaking isn’t terrible (well besides the tones), but I need to work on the grammar a bit more as I seem to mess up the structures quite frequently. I need to put more work outside of my lessons. Since I found out I’m actually not going to Taiwan this semester my motivation has fallen a bit, but on the other hand I now have more time to prepare for fall, at which point I will hopefully be able to go!

Personal

Read 20 books.

I have always loved reading but in the past two years the amount of books I’ve read has gone down, which upsets me a bit…  On the other hand the amount of fanfiction I’ve read is tremendous, so there’s that. However I would like to make more effort to read this year, especially since I’ve accumulated a huge pile of books over those few years.

2. Workout regularly.

Right now I’m at home, so that should be easy to do. I don’t really know what’s gonna happen this semester, so we’ll see what I’m going to do about that later.

3. Eat better.

Meaning: cut down on sugar, eat more veggies and fruit.

4. Get a bit closer to my ideal weight

I’m not necessarily focusing on that this year as the previous one has been hell and really managed to deteriorate my mental health back to high school levels... but still hopefully working out a bit and eating less sugar, more veggies, I will be able to lose a tiny bit of weight. But overall I just want to focus on being a bit healthier.

5. Clean out my wardrobe

Sorry that’s a silly one but I’ve been getting to it for half a year now and I’m just too lazy to do that... maybe once I put it here I will have some motivation

6. Take care of my face and hair

So my sensitive skin hates wearing masks and needs extra care these days I need to really focus on it and baby it, to not go back to the awful red mess it was two months ago

As for my hair, I have kind of 3a curls which I haven’t been taking care of properly and plus I damaged them with hair dye (still I refuse to give up ginger hair, I blame Merida). So now during lockdown and quarantine season I finally had some time to read up on hair care of curls, and honestly after a month I can already see the difference, and well I hope for the best :)))

7. Get a tattoo

It’s something I’ve always put off since I either didn’t have the money or time. And now again both are problematic, so I will wait for the decision until I know what my school semester is going to be like. Maybe this time I will find a good moment! (Although honestly saving up for travelling after all this is over is also a great idea :))) )

8. Don’t go to sleep at 5

Yeah so during lockdown and because of online classes my sleeping schedule got so messed up I don’t even know what to do about it anymore. And while my goal isn’t to switch it to 10 pm, cutting it to 2 am at max would be nice

9. Watch 25 movies

10. Sell/donate the things that I don’t need

I’ve accumulated a huge pile of books, movies, CDs, Xbox games, art products - that I need to get rid of - and I’ve been saying that for like three years now, about the same pile of things. I will try to do that one this year!

I hope everyone’s 2021 will be a ton better than 2020! Keep fighting!

[winryofresembool]

503 week day 3: free choice

Aka Love Can Melt the Ice epilogue

A/N: So many times I’ve said “we are almost at the end”, but now we REALLY are there. This is it, guys. No more LCMTI after this. I love this story like it’s my baby. It’s my first long story, and it will always have a very special place in my heart. But now it’s time to let go. (For now. Because with the passion I have for this au, companion pieces or even a sequel might be a possibility in the future. But I can’t say anything official at this point.)

The biggest thank you ever to @criis55​, @automail-freak-and-alchemy-freak​, @randomlyopeneddictionary​, @roboticrainboots​, @kilmartin85 and EVERYONE else who has in some way encouraged me to continue this story. Without you guys, I would have given up a long time ago. I will always love and appreciate the nice words (and lovely art ;___;) you guys have given me more than you know, and I feel I can’t thank you enough. 

That being said, it’s time for this very self indu!gent epilogue. Please enjoy, and one last time (when it comes to this fic), let me know what you think! 

@503week

Previous chapters:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 pt 1, pt 2, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Companion pieces (note: these are all post Olympics happenings so reading the main fic first is recommended): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Words: 1500+ (sorry, it’s not long, but I feel it says everything important)

Genre: self indulgent fluff

Warnings: swearing, as usual

“Where are you taking me?” Winry asked curiously as Ed and she kept driving on roads that were unfamiliar to her. They were somewhere close to East City, but she had never visited this area, and had no idea what link Ed could possible have there.

“You will see soon enough! Just a little bit longer,” Ed answered, keeping his eyes strictly on the road to not give Winry any hints about their whereabouts.

“Fine. But if you are taking me to your team’s holiday party or something, I’m gonna say no thank you. The last time was definitely enough,” Winry huffed.

“No, this doesn’t have anything to do with them…” Ed shook his head. “Well, maybe a little, but no hockey playing jerks should be around this time.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Winry said, focusing on the landscape again. There was nothing but forests around them, and she didn’t understand what they would find in a place like that.

“Uh, no offense,” she said after they had driven a few more minutes, “but if you wanted to take me on a date or something, some nice East City restaurant would have done… This is a bit… far, don’t you think?”

“Who said something about a date?” Ed scowled. “No, I’m showing you a place that’s important to me… I haven’t been there in a long time…”

“Okay…” Winry said, unsurely. The puzzle pieces in her head still didn’t quite go together after that revelation.

She didn’t have to wonder much longer, though, because soon Ed stopped his car at the park of an old, faraway graveyard.

“Wha…” Finally the pieces started clicking to their rightful places. “Is this where…”

“Yeah, Nina was buried here. We, who knew her, thought it was what she would have liked… She really loved nature… so this is the definitely better than some modern big city cemetery…”

“I can’t say I knew her, but that makes sense…” Winry agreed.

Before long Ed found the grave he was looking for, and kneeled before it.

“Sorry that I haven’t visited in a while…” he started. “We have had a lot going on. My team got to the finals in Amestris’ hockey league, and we’ve also had some arrangements to do… You see, Winry and I are getting married soon. I guess you haven’t met her before, so I brought her with me.” He took Winry’s hand and pulled her closer to the grave.

“You think she hears what you’re saying?” Winry asked with confusion.

“Who knows,” Ed shrugged and left the topic at that. He turned his attention back to the tombstone. “Umh, there’s another thing I wanted to tell you, Nina. The foundation we named after you has already gained several million cenz… So it’s been a success! Dad has also helped us to promote it, and I’ve heard that so far the results have been good. The universities of Amestris are doing more research on mental issues like your father’s, finding new ways to help, and we have also done some co-work with the organization Winry gave her Olympic winning money for. We will make sure things will continue smoothly here and more kids will get help!”

“I think she’d be proud of you.” Winry smiled at her fiancé.

“Thank you,” Ed said and wrapped his arm around her waist.

“You know, I am proud of you too…” she continued. “Remember that boy who freaked out over the thought of possibly liking me? You are not the same person anymore.”

“A lot of it is thanks to you guys, though.”

“Give yourself some credit,” Winry nudged him gently. “You made the decision to let us in. No one else did.”

Ed started feeling a bit awkward, like every time he had to talk about his emotions, so he decided to change the topic:

“Uh, hey, wanna get something to eat? I don’t know about you, but at least I’m starting to get hungry.”

“Sure, why not.” Winry crouched down in front of the grave one more time, taking a flower from her hair that she had put there earlier that day and setting it in front of the stone. “Bye, Nina. It was nice to meet you.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Ed promised, giving the grave one final glance before they left the graveyard hand in hand.

…

“Have you heard about Al lately?” Winry asked as they sat down to eat ice cream in the sun. Before Ed had picked her up from the East City station, she had been spending a couple of weeks in Rush Valley seeing her old friends, so the two of them had a lot to catch up on.

“Oh yeah, he called a couple of days ago,” Ed remembered. “He claims the Xingese hockey league is better than ours, but I think he has other reasons why he’s enjoying himself so much there…”

“Are just jealous that he’s doing so well without you around?” Winry teased.

“Why would I be jealous?” Ed frowned. “I have the best team and the best job and the best…”

“Soon to be wife?” Winry asked with a glint in her eye.

“I was gonna say mechanic, but that goes too.”

“I suppose I can accept that answer. So, tell me, what’s that mechanic like?”

“Well, she can be a real pain in my ass when she complains about me not oiling my arm often enough…” Ed said as if the oiling was the worst thing he knew.

“Watch it!” Winry put her soft ice cream close to Ed’s nose, threatening to mess his face with it if he continued that game.

“… BUT I know she does that only because she cares about me, and she’s also ridiculously hot, and makes me happier… and I can’t wait to marry her.” He spooned a little bit of his ice cream from its cone with his finger and wiped it on her nose tip. Then he leaned forward and pecked the ice cream off her nose.

“Are you definitely the Edward Elric I’ve known since I was a kid?” Winry asked half seriously, half flustered by his words. “Where have you learned to become that… smooth?”

“I’ve always been smooth,” Ed claimed.

“You so have not.”

“Fine. I guess watching Al with Mei has it perks,” he finally admitted.

“Well, thank you, Alphonse and Mei, for making my fiancé a sweet talker. Anyway! Did Al say how he and Mei are doing? Are they living together yet?”

“Mei’s dad seems to be a little reluctant to let his daughter go, but Al is optimistic that they will manage to win him over eventually. From what I’ve heard, they seem to be getting along pretty well because he loves hockey too.”

“That’s good. I hope everything will go work out well for them.”

“Me too. Hey, did I tell you that Captain Bastard finally asked Riza out?” Ed asked. For the past week he had gotten about a hundred messages on his phone about the bet he and Roy had made about Roy’s love life. According to Roy’s messages, Ed would be 520 cenz poorer soon.

“He did?! Oh my goodness, that’s so great!” Winry exclaimed. “I’m so happy for Riza, she’s been waiting for it to happen so long.”

“I know, it was about fucking time.”

“Ed. Poor word choice.” Winry gave him an unimpressed look.

“Oh, hush. You never complain when I…”

“Lalalala!!!” Winry covered her ears with her hands, preventing Ed from finishing his sentence. He quieted down, and suddenly his face turned serious.

“Hey, I’ve been thinking… Everyone’s kinda moving forward, and…” he started hesitantly.

“Yeah? I mean, we are too. We are getting married soon, in case you didn’t remember,” Winry noted, continuing to lick her ice cream like she wasn’t curious about what he had to say.

“I remember just fine. I’m trying to say that… I might be ready to take the next step too.” Ed’s face was about as red as back when he had first started to realize he had feelings for Winry.

“What’s the next step?” Winry asked. She enjoyed making him struggle a bit.

“My income is good, and you are finishing your studies soon, and are also doing well financially…”

“What are you trying to say?” Winry was already having a hard time hiding her curiosity and excitement over what he might ask.

“What would you say if we tried?” Ed finally blurted.

“Tried what?”

“To get a baby of our own, of course!” came out of Ed’s mouth louder than he had wished.

“Are you… are you sure?” Winry asked, her eyes almost as big as plate. “I mean, I’d love to, but… are you ready for that? I mean, with what happened…”

“Winry. I am sure. I’ve been thinking about it for a long while. I know that there will be challenging moments, but I also know we are strong enough to get over them. I would love to. Have a baby with you.”

“In that case… YES!” What was left of the ice cream flew on the road when Winry jumped to hug Ed fiercely. “I always wanted to… but I didn’t want to push it…” Winry mumbled against his shirt, and Ed thought he could feel it getting a bit wet.

“Why are you crying?”

“Happy tears, Ed…” she whispered and leaned to kiss him.

[insanetwocubes]

So.... every lyke little bit of... viral piece of information. You need to take into account how it makes people feel (by understanding how if makes you feel).

If the feeling necessitates a certain course of action, you need to provide lyke a suggested call to action that you think will work decided on research and facts.

If it provides a necessity for inaction (there is no war in ba sing se) you need to look into that and evaluate if that is progressive.

Uhm one thing though.

If you always have a call to action isn't that like a perpetual feeling of things not being good enough?

Maybe the course of action can be something like praise and encouragment to continue positive action. Maybe it can be an important piece of study to find out how to recreate the course of action.

And could just be asking the course of action to just listen and feel empathy or gain more information on the world. But you have to vet that information so you know it is accurate. And add more sources for people to find more info on the subject.

Uhm. Either way, I'm not gonna lie, it's manipulating people. But if a lack of regulation is gonna lead to fascism, I think this is a sign something needs to be done.

Not that a central source of regulation is necessary. I think moving to a decentralized form of self-regulation is the future. Since more and more problems, especially mental health problems are best solved on a case by case basis.

Also maybe if we have a higher contrast of what helpful posts look like versus unhelpful posts, we can train people to better instinctually know what kind of info to trust.

This is obviously one of those unhelpful posts lmao. Everything on this blog is. This is a mental health blog. It's not for the public, it's for feelings, not fact or action.

So important things to keep in mind. Accuracy to reality, what is progressive for humans to believe, and the call to action whether it's to support something or learn something.

Something I read in an article likened the ability to publish on social media to being a proffessional news publisher. If you post and even reblog on tumblr or retweet on twitter, you are ethically resposible for the effect your posts and reblogs have on your followers. It is your responsibility if you mislead or are not transparent about the purpose of your blog.

Well okay. You are way past overthinking this and making it all the way undoable. What are the minimal steps here?

The minimal steps start with regulating yourself before you try to change the world. If you see something that makes you feel any type of emotion strong enough to reblog, notice your feeling and remember that this is the feeling you are passing on to your followers. If the feeling makes it harder for you to move on you need to provide a course of action to mitigate that negative effect. You either find a solution or a plausible source for a solution. Either to the problem that the article is about or how to resolve your emotions should someone else share your reaction. If the emotion helps you move on with your day or even encourages you, your suggested course of action is to spread the word by reblogging the post. Reblogging the post is an already implied suggestion through the platform so you don't have to add anything other than reblogging it yourself.

This applies to tools and posts that are already informative. Be careful when it comes to good news, though. Some of it is normalizing bad situations and discourages action. Things like "Teachers donate their holidays so dad can be with his sick daughter" is actually bad news about how the dad would've lost his job if he took off to visit his sick daughter without the other teachers helping. That's just one example. Some More News did an episode on it.

Cute animals doing cute things doesn't fall under this category so the call to action there is to just share the good feelings. I hope this makes sense.

Works of art and fiction is obviously fair play for mindlessness. The only course of action there is to continue to be entertained and maybe if inspiration does hit you, take advantage of that energy to create something yourself. Same goes for stim videos and other things that calm you down that are not lyke news about the world y'know. If something you see in fiction makes you mad or feel negatively, that's lyke a start to a whole new article. I mean I guess you can do research into how to resolve your feelings but I would leave that as strictly optional since the effect of fiction is usually to entertain you first, which is a positive feeling and any other feelings are secondary.

But if a work of fiction makes you re evaluate the world, this is the time to make your own post and share your research if you think it will make the world better suited for you.

Speaking of personal experiences and personal posts. This is where things get hairy. It is very important to share your own experience of life. No one is going to know what's going on in your head if you don't say it. It sometimes impossible to solve your own problems without putting them into words. And often times the times that we need to say something is mutually exclusive from the times that provide solutions. In cases of those posts, I would suggest to make an effort to separate venting and call of action. When you're venting, your call of action to your audience is to listen and empathize or sometimes ask for more information or help. This is where transparency of your blog comes in. If you make it clear that a post on your blog is venting, fewer negative reactions will come to it. However if you muddy the lines of venting and a call to action without thinking critically or providing accurate information, this is where communities regress. If you make a post that follows the lines of "this person did a thing and it triggered me therefore all people should stop doing that action." There are very few instances where you can get specific enough with your call to action that it doesn't have a negative effect that you can't percieve at first. If you aren't doing the research and really looking into solutions, you aren't thinking critically, you're thinking emotionally.

Basic emotional regulation strategies involve finding and using tools that help you contol the effect your emotions have on you in a healthy and sustainable way. An unhealthy way of dealing with emotions is falling into a generalization fallacy. If you muddy your venting by making your call to action a generalization of a certain type of people, you are spreading an unhealthy and unsustainable fallacy on your audience. Since it's an unhealthy strategy, it regresses the community.

Like I said. Most things that have to do with mental health are best dealt with on a case by case basis. Yes, it's more work. But imo a healthy community is worth the work.

What about memes?

Good point. So what we know so far is that memes hold an opinion of their own. A meme of something is a commentary on it.

Are they fiction or non-fiction?

Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.

So lyke a joke, right? It's commentary, but also it's entertainment.

Not everything that is entertainment is fiction.

Obviously lyke a meme like reposting in the wrong neighborhood is pure fiction. Just a funny sequence of imagery and songs. But there is a type of meme that is a commentary on the real word. Even if it uses fiction to state that commentary. We'll see what exactly to do about those. The ones that are pure art and fiction are mindless. But if something is a commentary on the real world, take very much care to pay attention to which facts it takes for granted and if those facts are accurate and if those facts are progressive for humans to believe in.

But then going back to art. A lot of art is commentary. Lyke videos and stuff.

Then same thing applies. You evaluate which biases and assumptions the commentary relies upon and if it's actually helpful to believe in the implications of such art.

Uhm we'll see if I come up with any more kind of guidelines. Again this is written just for me. Even if it doesn't sound like it. This just helps put my thoughts together.

~Flare

[comicteaparty]

December 17th-December 23rd, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from December 17th, 2018 to December 23rd, 2018.  The chat focused on Lovespells by Ryan & Sage.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Lovespells by Ryan & Sage~! (http://lovespellscomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 23rd to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Do you believe that Esther will eventually confess her feelings to Maria? What do you think it will take for that to happen given Ether’s shyness about it?

QUESTION 4. Given some further hints, do you believe Maria’s own feelings towards Esther are changing? How do you think Maria would react to a confession from Esther? Would a confession ruin their friendship?

snuffysam

only at the end of chapter 4, but loving it so far! here's my current answers... 1. definitely the scene at the end of chapter 4 where Maria asks Esther for more lessons/to hang out as friends. We already know what Maria's there for ahead of time, and I eat dramatic irony like that for breakfast. Also, the reactions of Maria's friends who see Esther's obvious crush. 2. Hmmmm Maria. She's this super cheesy knight type, and that's me babey.

3. Yes, and it will be an accident.

4. Just from what I've seen so far, Maria's feelings towards Esther have changed. The relationship started out super professional from Maria's point of view (Esther is just helping her level up her magic. strictly teacher/student) but now she sees Esther as a friend. At this point... I don't think Maria would find a new tutor after the confession like Esther thinks, she's too professional for that. But it may put a dent in their friendship if the feelings aren't reciprocated.

decademic

omg, blitzed through it again because I love these slow burn lesbians and their wonderful relationship~ honestly couldn't ask for more! the art's amazing, the story is paced so well, the panels honestly are on par with paranatural levels of forethought and care, just ooo! I love them!!! onto the questions... 1: oh gosh, I can barely choose! the first meeting, when Maria shows up at Esther's house with her friends and they see how oblivious Maria is, the critical hit scene...throw a dart, I love it. 2: I'm gonna have to say Esther, she's so relatable by nature, and her actions are so pure intentioned. the love potion instead of elixer moment was such a cute nod, I got heart eyes and pledged my soul immediately. 3: I want Esther to start to confess, but Maria stops her and confesses instead! cue teary eyes and a first real kiss~ 4: Maria needs to identify this feeling as love; real love, before anything in the relationship can move forward at all. therefore, there has to be some realization on Maria's side sooner than later to make it work. Esther would probably chicken out halfway through the confession and confuse them both, which is why I'm gunning for Maria to do it~

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What do you think happened to Esther in the past that caused a healing spell to give her a permanent mana siphon? Do you believe Esther will reveal whatever happened to Maria? What might be the consequences of Esther telling her or keeping it secret?

decademic

gosh, good question...

so I guess 5: Esther hasn't been holding back, per se, about her affliction, she was upfront about it to the nurse, and has answered Maria's questions, so I don't think it's a 'secret', but more of a bit of backstory that may be a bit hard to relive. none of this answers the question of what the affliction is but I'm sure that'll be addressed, I'm sure of it

snuffysam

I don't think it's anything particularly sinister or mysterious, just, like... some uncommon disease. like magic polio.

though i suppose it either has to be something difficult to explain or something with a big stigma attached to it?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Do you think we’ll see the paladin who scolded Maria at the tournament again? Why do you think he seemed particularly critical of Maria? What role might he have to play in Maria’s life (and Esther’s by association)?

RebelVampire

1) i really enjoyed the scene where maria was with her friends and referred to esther as lovely and all maria's friends are like O/////O. i enjoyed it not only for the significant character development maria is showing, but also the sheer comedy in how oblivious maria is to anything to do with love. 2) maria. i like her intense honesty that is balanced by her flawed obliviousness to a lot of the things around her. i think its a combination that makes her extremely endearing as a character. 3) i think the clock is ticking. esther is clearly terrible at hiding it and stuffing her feelings down. and i think one day maria is gonna be like "i love this thing" and esther is gonna be like "oh yeah i love that thing almost as much as i love you." like maybe not that exactly, but i dont think esther will overcome shyness. i think its gonna be a pure mortification accident moment cause esther will be lost in her own brain thoughts.

4) maria's feelings are definitely changing. no doubt about it. as for a reaction to esther's confession...honestly maria is so dense i wouldnt be surprised if she just could comprehend a love confession. gets told "i love you" and shes like "i love you too....youre a dear friend." once she realizes though, i kind of feel like shell...limbo turn down esther and tell esther shes not sure how she feels. then decide and couple will be created. as for ruining their friendship, eh, therell be tension maybe? not friendship ruining tho cause maria is just too nice for that. 5) I'm gonna assume that it was some sort of injury to be honest. cause esther did mention wanting to be an adventurer and i could see esther being overenthusiastic and trying something dangerous and winding up permanently injured because of it. or poisoned maybe. thats also an option. but regardless the curitive magic came with a price. i think esther will tell maria the full story someday, and i think it will bring her and maria closer. and consequently cause maria to get ultra defensive against those questioning esther's honor. 6) i do think we'll see that paladin again, and boy am i looking forward to it. i want to know more about him cause i think the dynamic hed have with maria would be awesome. i think as far as role goes, he might be the one to challenge how maria handles herself as a knight and her general love obliviousness. because maria's friends and esther all kind of either find it endearing, support her, or just accept that is part of her. whereas i think this paladin could be the one to ask her if she isnt hurting others by being so oblivious to love while constantly giving everything of herself. or something like that.

snuffysam

ok i'm caught up i'm not sure about the paladin. because yeah maria's friends aren't exactly helping move this relationship forward but... why would the paladin do any better? he just seems like a jerk to me.

maybe he shows up again and gives maria something extra to vent about to esther?

also, apparently his name is marcus? at least that's what the cast page seems to say, it's hard to tell without pictures lol

thisintermezzo

I co-write this comic and aklsjdkjhffjk it's so cool to see people actually seriously talk about it??? Thank you so much for this. We almost never get actual responses--which is pretty normal for most comics; feedback is just hard to get, haha--so this is super novel and hugely appreciated. If you want to ask me anything, please feel free. Otherwise, I'm just going to spectate here and there. (Also, now that I have Discord again, I can try to similarly contribute to chats about people's comics!!)

snuffysam

welcome! this is a really cute comic! if I may ask a question - what was originally on this page?: http://lovespellscomic.com/post/162477687227/hey-this-post-may-contain-adult-content-so-weve

it was after a bunch of guest comics so i'm guessing it was another guest comic? but tumblr deleted it so i have no idea

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Do you believe Esther’s magic tutelage of Maria will pay off at a critical juncture at some point? How might Esther’s own skills change due to contact with Maria? How might their changing relationship affect their professional lives?

thisintermezzo

I can't tell, haha. I actually don't know what the page before that is, even, since the "back" button is gone. Tumblr is lame and didn't notify us of any of the flagged posts, so I have no clue what else has gotten randomly deleted. :U Tapas would have it all, though.

Thanks for letting us know, though! o/

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. Do you think Maria’s friends will play a role in Esther and Maria’s budding relationship? If so, what role will they play and how might their own relationships with Maria change?

(the archive for the chat on Psychteria is up! @CalimonGraal https://comicteaparty.com/post/181287718835/december-10th-december-16th-2018-ctp-archive)

RebelVampire

@snuffysam sometimes strangers are more helpful than friends in certain contexts. cause friends can come with a lot of biases. but eh it was just a thought

7) I def hope esther's magic tutelage pays off. Though not sure when since the tournament seemed like the most dangerous thing to happen so far. but if maria goes on a mission for sure shes gonna be pulling out that crit move esther taught her and save the day. albeit alternatively i could also seeing it going the opposite. wherein maria tries and fails hardcore. and then esther has to hug and comfort her and tell maria its okay. as for esther's skills, i actually think any change is gonna be less related to magic and more esther is gonna learn like how to express her feelings better or something. but this is something i dont forsee happening until they get together. 8) i dont think the friends are gonna help. rather, i think after maria and esther get together maybe that theyre gonna hurt the relationship in a way. in that theyll get jelly of maria spending more and more time with esther. cause while maria sees esther a lot, theres clearly more freetime maria has she could spend with esther instead of her friends. and i could see maria doing that cause as nice as maria is, shes extremely inexperienced in this area. so i think shed put esther first way too hardcore at first and the friends would have to say whoa there hold your horses. i think at the end itll strengthen their bonds though cause itd give maria a better understanding of some of the experiences her friends have maybe. idk. im spitballing.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. If Esther and Maria do date, how do you believe that will go? What relationship obstacles might the two have to overcome in order to make their relationship work? How will the change affect the course of the story?

Delphina

Oh noooo, cute magical girl AND lawful good swordy girl having adorable crushes on each other. I might have to jump into this one.

1. My anime roots are showing, but I love a good "you don't have to refer to me with honorifics" scene. Also any time Maria carries sleepy Esther around is adorable.

2. Maria's hard not to like. I'm also a sucker for strong intense ladies who wanna do the right thing always.

I'm not so great with the speculation-type questions, but it's a great comic and I'm looking forward to what happens and hope that things go smoothly in both the romantic and magical arenas! The writing is very sweet and pure and the character designs and great environments complement them nicely. Really can tell there's a lot of love in this story!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

Delphina

I really enjoyed the part where Esther was explaining her sketches about adventuring to Maria. Esther has mostly been a reactive character - she gets orders and reacts, she's asked for help by Maria and she reacts, she sees some kids in trouble and she reacts, she gets low on MP and reacts. But that was the first time we saw what she wanted for herself, and how she views her role, and it really helped make her feel real and more proactive. I hope we see more of what Esther wants and who she is in the future!

RebelVampire

9) I think they'll have to deal with the usual relationship challenges. balancing work life, balancing other friendships, accepting that maybe they dont know each other as well as they think they might. but i think theyll manage. esther especially i think is gonna have to learn to be more open like how she was about her desire to be an adventurer. 10) I'm looking forward to seeing paladin returning and revealing why he's in this story in the first place and butting heads with maria. and then esther being "it's okay baby hes just a big ol' meanie"

snuffysam

i just really want to see more of the comic. it's super cute, the characters all lovable... i need more.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Lovespells this week! Please also give a special thank you to Ryan & Sage for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Lovespells, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://lovespellscomic.com/

Ryan & Sage’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lovespells

Ryan & Sage’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/lovespells

Lovespells’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lovespellscomic

[jenmedsbookreviews]

My view this week. Well… Not strictly true as I didn’t make it anywhere near Brixton or Victoria. But I was in London for a very flying visit to look at some industrial units. What a truly glamorous life I lead right? My Thursday consisted of – drive to Ponders End (via Starbucks) – spend five minutes looking at an industrial unit. Spend an hour driving to Kingsbury, in NW London (via Costa Coffee) – spend five minutes looking at an industrial unit. Drive to Hayes – spend five minutes looking at an industrial unit. Drive home (via Starbucks). Exciting stuff huh?

The only real benefit of driving around aimlessly, apart from being able to stock up on copious amounts of coffee and blackberry mojito green tea lemonade (non alcoholic), is that I also get to listen to audio books. As I was driving for around seven hours I managed to get most of the way through a whole book, which I finished off by reading when I got home. Tidy.

I’m just starting to get into my major project now with the first training sessions for our ‘super users’ next week. I forgot to tell them that they need to wear their underpants over their trousers so I guess that’s something we’ll have to cover off in housekeeping before the session starts…

Three days of that and then I get a very long weekend off because I am going to Harrogate. Right now I am neither excited or nervous about this fact. I am kind of apathetic. I think because I am so damned busy I have no time, thankfully, to be anything but. I still have the sort of feeling of dread buried somewhere deep inside, but I’ll worry about that surfacing again on Thursday morning as I say goodbye to the poochie. Or rather as I am packing as I probably won’t get round to it much before then… It’s just four days at a book festival. It is going to be fine. I think.

So. Bookwise, this week I’ve been quite productive. Sort of. Didn’t get much reading done until Wednesday as I had blog posts to catch up on, reviews to write, and that pesky chapter three in my thriller spoof – Killer – to complete. Even so, I’ve managed to get through four books thanks to my impromptu road trip on Thursday so it could be worse. I even got book post! Yup. I am loved once more. Two fabulous little parcels winging their way to me courtesy of Penguin and Head of Zeus. First up was The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond. I also received Behind Her Back by Jane Lythell.

Purchase wise I’ve been quite restrained. Sort of. I did a cheeky pre-order of Patricia Gibney’s third Lottie Parker novel, The Lost Child, as well as ordering a bit of a curve ball book, Wicked Grind by J Kenner (one of my guilty pleasures). Inspired by Emma Mitchell, I made a random purchase of the following: Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms, Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang, Oxford Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms. Maybe I can inject a little more variety into my ‘thriller’. Or then again, perhaps not. And it was only while I was reading the ARC that I realised I hadn’t actually pre-ordered All The Wicked Girls by Chris Whitaker, which I have since remedied.

Only one ARC downloaded from Netgalley, The Lost Wife by Anna Mansell and no new audible this week so that, ladies and gents, was it.

…

Books I have read

The Lost Wife by Anna Mansell

Fans of Sheila O’Flanagan, Amanda Prowse and Kelly Rimmer will love The Lost Wife, the compelling story of a woman’s deepest secrets, and the friends and family who must learn to live without her.

‘An incredible, beautiful story of loss, love, forgiveness, moving on, overcoming grief, redemption and above all, hope.’ Renita D’Silva

When Ellie Moran passes away, she leaves her newborn son and husband Ed behind her. Their marriage was perfect, their lives everything they had hoped for. So why was Ellie keeping secrets from Ed?

Knowing he can never ask his wife the truth, Ed is struggling to cope. When the secrets threaten to tear his whole family apart, Ed turns to Rachel, the one person who sees him as more than just Ellie’s widower.

But then Rachel discovers something Ellie was hiding, something that would break Ed’s heart. Can Rachel help Ed to find peace without the wife he lost – and a second chance at happiness?

This was a last minute pick as I am taking part in the blog tour but an absolute cracking read. His family torn apart by loss and suspicion, Ed Moran really needs a friend which he finds in nursery worker Rachel. But in trying to help Ed come to terms with what happened, Rachel makes a grave error, one which may be unforgivable. Occasionally heart wrenching and often tender this book was a welcome break from my usual crime and thriller spree. I’ll be sharing my thoughts at the end of the month, but in the meantime you can pre-order the book here.

…

The One by John Marrs

How far would you go to find THE ONE?

One simple mouth swab is all it takes. A quick DNA test to find your perfect partner – the one you’re genetically made for.

A decade after scientists discover everyone has a gene they share with just one other person, millions have taken the test, desperate to find true love. Now, five more people meet their Match. But even soul mates have secrets. And some are more shocking – and deadlier – than others…

So. I’m way behind the curve on this one. It’s one I’ve had on my Netgalley TBR for a long time and I thought I may as well make the most of my road trip and start to clear some of that backlog. So, I downloaded the audio and off I went. Now this was an intriguing read for me. I am overwhelmingly sceptical about the concept of people finding ‘the one’. Of there being that super spark which goes beyond anything experienced with any other partner, so this book kind of tapped into that scepticism and kept be suitably entertained. You’ll have to wait a while for my thoughts on the book but you can bag yourself a copy right here.

…

All The Wicked Girls by Chris Whitaker

‘Raine sometimes complains that nothing exciting is ever gonna happen in Grace again. Daddy told her careful what you wish for.’

Everyone loves Summer Ryan. A model student and musical prodigy, she’s a ray of light in the struggling small town of Grace, Alabama – especially compared to her troubled sister, Raine. Then Summer goes missing.

Grace is already simmering, and with this new tragedy the police have their hands full keeping the peace. Only Raine throws herself into the search, supported by a most unlikely ally.

But perhaps there was always more to Summer than met the eye . . .

For fans of The Roanoke Girls and Fargo, All the Wicked Girls is a gripping crime novel with a huge heart from an exceptional talent.

Now it is no secret that I really loved Chris Whitaker’s debut novel, Tall Oaks. It was my top read of 2016 and is one I recommend to anyone who asks me which books they absolutely must read. So book two had a lot to live up to. And did it? Well I’m not going to say too much as my review will be out closer to publication but Mr Whitaker truly does have a talent for capturing the spirit of small town America, for creating a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere alongside a compelling and consuming story. And characterisations… You don;t get the full on Manny experience, but the friendship between Noah, Purv and Raine was brilliantly observed. So yeah. I liked it. You can pre-order your own copy here.

…

The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan

One man is dead.

But thousands were his victims.

Can a single murder avenge that of many?

Scarborough Bluffs, Toronto: the body of Christopher Drayton is found at the foot of the cliffs. Muslim Detective Esa Khattak, head of the Community Policing Unit, and his partner Rachel Getty are called in to investigate. As the secrets of Drayton’s role in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide of Bosnian Muslims surface, the harrowing significance of his death makes it difficult to remain objective. In a community haunted by the atrocities of war, anyone could be a suspect. And when the victim is a man with so many deaths to his name, could it be that justice has at long last been served?

In this important debut novel, Ausma Zehanat Khan has written a compelling and provocative mystery exploring the complexities of identity, loss, and redemption.

Winner of the Barry Award, Arthur Ellis Award, and Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best First Novel.

I’ve been itching to read this book since receiving it from No Exit Press last month. I’m on the blog tour next week so you won’t have long to wait for my thoughts. Not always a comfortable subject to read about, it touches upon one of the darkest periods in recent European history. As I’ve literally only just finished reading, I’m going to sit and digest it a little while before writing my review. In the meantime, order yourself a copy of the book here.

…

So that’s it. Four books. Not too shabby. Not sure this will be as productive a week as Harrogate is likely to impinge on my reading a touch… I’ll give it a shot though and the travel means valuable audio book time so perhaps I can squeeze in at least a couple of titles by Sunday….

Busy week on the blog with a mix of reviews, book love and blog tours as per the norm.

Review: Cragside by L.J. Ross

#BlogTour Guest Post: Spark Out by Nick Rippington

#BookLove: Linda Hill

Killer: Chapter Three (or ‘I did warn you – these are actually getting worse…’)

#Blogtour review: The Stolen Girls by Patricia Gibney

#BlogTour Review: Dying To Live by Michael Stanley

Guest Review: Bored of the Rings by Rich Amooi

#BookLove: Catherine Kullman

Review: Nowhere Child by Rachel Abbott

The week ahead is once more pretty busy. I have more book love, blog tours and reviews to share. I start the week with a guest post from Malcolm Hollingdrake as part of the Dying Art blog tour. On Wednesday I’m finally able to share my review of The Other Twin by Lucy V Hay and on Friday I am thrilled to be opening the blog tour for Chris Curran’s new book, Her Deadly Secret. I have a little book love from Katherine Sunderland and Jane Cable and if I get time, maybe an update or two from Harrogate (but don’t hold your breath…)

And that’s it. Have a fabulous week of bookishness all. See you next week.

JL

Rewind, recap: weekly update w/e 16/07/17 My view this week. Well... Not strictly true as I didn't make it anywhere near Brixton or Victoria.