#I'm very pleased to have finally found a real example

[laurasimonsdaughter]

Guarding your name from the fae in folklore

The idea of fae stealing names is quite recent (I’m a big fan of new, modern folklore, x, y), but the idea that you have to guard your name so no one could (supernaturally) us it against you, is definitely a widespread folk belief. However, I’ve never encountered an actual folktale that says the fae or fairies in particular could have power over you if they knew your name. I’ve been looking for one for a long time (and if you know one please let me know!) but so far I’ve only come up with one example. So let's take a look:

The power of names

Like I said, the power of names is an old belief that shows up all over the world. Sometimes it’s linked with naming ceremonies like baptism. Sometimes hiding the name from others (witches, djinns, etc.) is what will protect you, sometimes the name itself will protect you (like being named after a saint or in reverence of a deity or spirit). Edward Clodd published a huge essay in 1898 investigating how widespread this name guarding practice is and how it links to folklore. Which, while obvioulsy dated, certainly gives an impression of how deep this belief goes (Tom Tit Tot; an essay on savage philosophy in folk-tale, Clodd, E., 1898).

Not all folk beliefs show up in folktales though and protagonists who refuse to tell their name are not a staple of European folklore, whether it concerns fae or other entities. In “The Soul Cages”, collected by T. Crofton Croker it’s even quite the opposite, as the protagonist and a firendly merrow deliberately call each other by their full names (Jack Dogherty and Coomara). And for ages I wasn't able to find a story that actually incorporated the belief of guarding your name against fae, until I read that huge essay.

Hiding your name from the fairies

In his book, Clodd mentions a single folktale in which it is mentioned that the fae are trying to learn someone’s real name. Sadly he does not tell it in full, but since it is the only real example of this concept I’ve able to find so far, I will give the full quote:

While these sheets are passing through the press, my friend Mr. W. B. Yeats hands me a letter from an Irish correspondent, who tells of a fairyhaunted old woman living in King's County. Her tormentors, whom she calls the "Fairy Band of Shinrone," come from Tipperary. They pelt her with invisible missiles, hurl abuse at her, and rail against her family, both the dead and the living, until she is driven well-nigh mad. And all this spite is manifested because they cannot find out her name, for if they could learn that, she would be in their power. Sometimes sarcasm or chaff is employed, and a nickname is given her to entrap her into telling her real name, — all which she freely talks about, often with fits of laughter. But the fairies trouble her most at night, coming in through the wall over her bed-head, which is no laughing matter; and then, being a good Protestant, she recites chapters and verses from the Bible to charm them away. And although she has been thus plagued for years, she still holds her own against the "band of Shinrone." (Clodd, 1889, p. 83-84).

This story fits the concept of keeping your name away from malicious fairies so you cannot truly fall under their power perfectly. Sadly I haven’t been able to find this story in Yeats’ own folklore collection, but it fulfills my criteria even so.

What I have been able to find many examples of, however, is the reverse trope. Namely that knowing a fairy’s name will give you power over them. I thought this only showed up in Rumplestiltskin-type stories, but it seems a little more widespread than that. Which is very exciting to me, and merits its own post. So stay tuned.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey, so you seem to be the the All Knowing in terms of twst. With Glorious Masquerade getting a rerun soon, I was looking at the cards.

So what the heck is up with Jamil's freaking hat? I'm sorry but I can't look at it without laughing. It looks so stupid. The closest thing I can think of that matches it is the combined crowns of upper and lower Egypt, but this is the equivalent of France so that can't be it.

While I’m flattered that people come to me with their questions, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that I’m just another TWST fan like you are! ^^ It’s stressful to be considered ��all knowing” or a fandom authority 💦 That puts a lot of pressure on me to speak on certain subjects or to interact in a certain way (since people might put too much stock into what I say), and then that ends up detracting from my enjoyment. I’d rather not be put on such a high pedestal, please and thank you.

Now, onto the question!

According to Rollo in 1-13 of Glorious Masquerade, the costumes the NRC students were gifted are “patterned after designs that are over 500 years old.”

If we extrapolate this to real life, the implication is that these costumes have roots in Renaissance era (14th century to 17th century) French fashion. Interestingly, Rollo’s own hat is similar to a tricorne, which was primarily worn in the 18th century… so technically, his hat is more “modern” than what the NRC students wear 😂

So I browsed through records of hats from the indicated period and guess what? I couldn’t find an exact match—though I did find a lot of hat designs that I found way sillier than what the NRC boys have. Like… sorry, what is THAT 😭

Some headwear which bears a vague similarity to Jamil’s hat are the Egyptian combined/double crown (the pschent), which Anon has already mentioned, and the French hood, which was worn by women in the 15th century.

The actual closest match I came across was the mitre, a liturgical headdresses worn by Roman Catholic officials. If you look at it from the front, it doesn’t look like much, but it definitely has the height of Jamil’s hat. But then look closer and you’ll realize the mitre does not have one single flap of fabric, but rather two.

If you take the front flap of a mitre and fold it back, you would probably get something very similar to what Jamil wears. (Note that the black part of the hat is NOT his hair, but is fabric that is part of the hat.)

Considering that Noble Bell College is styled like a cathedral and that the Renaissance era from which the Masquerade Dress clothing derives is characterized by the rediscovery of classical literature, art, and philosophy… perhaps it’s not so strange to see a hat borne of religious associations.

… Why did Jamil specifically get this hat? Not sure, I’m not religious myself so don’t ask me to psychoanalyze him from that angle 😂

The golden part securing the front is unusual and does not appear in French fashion of the time (at least not from what I could tell?). It’s styled like pschent but more likely is meant to be turban-like due to Jamil’s inspiration, Jafar, having the same feather sticking up in the middle of a bulbous hat. You’ll notice Jamil had a “feather” too, albeit metal:

To summarize, I think the design of Masquerade Dress Jamil’s hat borrows from multiple inspirations and not just one/old French fashion. Yana has stated before in a March 2023 interview with the Apple App Store that the cultures of Twisted Wonderland are unique and that the clothing that appears in the game are not “reinterpretations of existing costumes”. She seems to incorporate elements from both high fashion and from a variety of cultures to arrive at the final designs. For example, there are elements of many Nordic cultures in the Apple Pom outfits, and the Pomefiore uniform has a Japanese kimono-like silhouette despite the dorm being based on the the Evil Queen (originating from a German tale). I assume something similar happened when designing the Masquerade Dresses; Yana and co. wanted to combine elements and make something of their own.

Final comment I'll make, the shape of Jamil's hat looks like a kind of dumpling... It makes me hungry.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for yelling at my husband for spending "my" money for a part?

My husband stalks the actual AITA reddit so I am using my friend's account here as she has shown me these.

I (25m) have a husband, Liam (25m), and we have a daughter (just turned 2). When I first married Liam, I truly loved him, but I'm not sure now. We have ups and downs and I suffered from postpartum depression and I know Liam has said i was a handful then.

We are almost at five years of marriage. When we got married I had a job, which I left when me and Liam moved for his promotion across the country. Liam encouraged me to stay home and watch our dogs, which then translated to watching our daughter after we had her. I have tried to get a job multiple times, for example I had an interview and missed it because our car wouldn't start (Liam worked on it when he got home thst night and fixed it, but they wouldn't let me interview again). One time we all came down with covid. Just normal life things that occur.

Liam has discouraged me from getting a job, saying he makes enough to support us and wants me to be with our daughter. I do love being with her, but I feel unfulfilled and want to work. I tried to sell stuff online, but we decided it was too expensive to continue. Liam finally agreed for me to get a job, I got an interview and they offered me the job, but I just found out I am pregnant. The job is very labor intensive and my first pregnancy was not easy, Liam doesn't want me to accept and I am inclined not to, but I want to earn my own money.

Well, our heater unexpectedly went out and we had to pay for the part to fix it. Except, instead of using the joint account he used my account. Liam told me that it is his money and he can spend it how he pleases. I yelled at him that I would have money if I was able to get a job, and he told me I was being too hormonal because of the baby and needed to look at things logically. I told him to fuck off. I said some other things in anger, and I'll be honest i don't remember exactly what I said but i didnt think it was that bad, but Liam won't tell me. He says it was absolutely terrible and i must not love him to say what I did and that my brain fog is just me blaming the pregnancy. He has since slept in the guest room while I sleep in our room. I apologized for yelling but told him I still wanted a job, he says that isnt a real apology. AITA?

My friend says to add this here for context:

We have three accounts, they all are joint accounts. The first is a checking which is what we take our rent, bills, etc out of and what the part should have come out of. Then we have the first saving account which is his account. Then there is the second checking account which is considered mine. He puts money in it weekly for me to spend on groceries and our daughter. Anything extra I don't spend I get to keep.

What are these acronyms?

[x-on-the-calendar-business]

ryan ross iceberg explained (masterpost and tier 1)

tier 2, tier 3, tier 4, tier 5, tier 6, tier 7, tier 8

if somehow you have no idea how icebergs work/what they are, then i’ll give a tldr: it comes from the saying “it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” so basically, the entries at the top of the iceberg are the stuff the average person would know, and as you go deeper, the content becomes more obscure. for example, if you’re a more casual panic! fan, then a lot of the entries in the sky tier are more likely to be things you would know, whereas you’re probably only going to know the stuff at the very bottom if you’re an insane person (me).

i got most of the entries from this iceberg from a couple of others that i found on twitter, here and here [i]. i combined them, shifted some stuff around, and added some things to make this one. of course, a special thanks to the twitter users areyouIlooking and checkyesjuul for making the ones i used to create this one.

i also want to give a special shoutout to the tumblr blogs @pathetic-at-the-disco and @prettyoddfever because i got so much info from them for this iceberg and they are just incredible sources of information for panic! fans.

finally, i'm really hoping everything on this iceberg is correct; of course, i did my research and there was a lot of it i already knew. however, i was not actually there for presplit panic! so i can't speak off of firsthand accounts for a lot of things. with that being said, if something is wrong, or if there is something you think should be added, please feel free to let me know, and i will go back and edit the post.

enough introduction, let’s get started.

the sky (tier 1):

guitarist of panic!:

what he is most well known for. ryan was the original guitarist of panic! and one of the true founding members. he departed the band in 2009 with former bassist jon walker, which we’ll come back to later.

rosevest:

this refers to an iconic piece of clothing that ryan wore while they were touring their debut album, a fever you can’t sweat out. he wears it in live in denver as well.

(side note: the post i got this pic from is a very interesting look at their outfits from that tour so i would recommend checking it out here!) [ii]

good at makeup:

during the fever era, ryan was really well known for doing makeup looks, some elaborate. i’m inserting some examples here, but i’m also going to link a post that showcases more pics of the makeup looks he did. there are more that he did than just the ones shown in that post or here (like the god awful blue eyeshadow he did on that red carpet), and there were a lot of times he just did the classic black smudged eyeliner.

and the tumblr post as promised: the makeup styles ryan ross wore in summer 2006 [iii]

ryden:

oh boy, where do we even start with this one. there are actually going to be quite a bit of ryden references in this, but at the end i’ll link a masterpost for further reading (although most of it will be covered here). but to be keep it short and simple, ryden is the ship name for ryan ross and brendon urie. it was arguably one of the biggest ships in early 2000s bandom, as evidenced by the litany of fics written with them as a pairing. this ship (unfortunately) still lives on in people’s hearts today even though ryan and brendon don’t speak anymore.

also, i know it would seem to make more sense if their ship name was ryDON not ryDEN because of how brendon’s name is spelled, but the ship name comes from the mashing of their nicknames ryro and bden (which still doesn’t make any sense but i digress).

unfortunately, all of the ryden content on this iceberg will probably be long because i am a former rydennie (yes u can make fun of me for it go ahead) so i have a lot of knowledge on that ship. but trust me i know that ryden was not real.

“creative differences:”

this entry refers to the july 6th, 2009 split where ryan and jon left the band. the most cited reason for the split was musical differences, as stated in these interviews with brendon and spencer [iv]. however, most people believe the band actually split due to personal reasons since they basically all stopped speaking afterwards, and because of some comments jon made [v]. in fact, one MTV interview specifically singled out ryan and brendon as not getting along, but it has since been deleted [vi].

cheez wiz:

this references a clip from the pretty. odd. short-film called american valley [vii]. the video went viral circa 2015/2016 and became a huge meme in the bandom community, especially in the crankthatfrank yeemo fanbase (that sentence wasn’t in the bible). if you were a panic! fan during that time, you know the cheez wiz jokes were inescapable.

milk fic:

“ryan was kneeling in the bathtub…”

this is also unfortunate. to be blunt, this is a ryden fic in which brendon gives ryan an enema with milk. it catalyzed a trend of other shocking fics within the bandom sphere, such as the comb fic. it’s just cringy. sadly, it became so iconic that brendon knows about it and even made a vine referencing it [viii].

i would link it but i’m not going to because the author, druscila, is a pedophile. so there’s that.

onceler jokes:

i’m going to put a picture of the onceler, who is from the lorax, and ryan side by side. and that should explain this.

now let’s move on to the next tier.

tier 2

references:

[i] https://twitter.com/areyouiooking/status/1366887508441718790?s=46&t=srOJ3YueMMsx9_sm96odQQ, https://twitter.com/checkyesjuul/status/1368794897499615233?s=46&t=srOJ3YueMMsx9_sm96odQQ

[ii] https://prettyoddfever.tumblr.com/post/628882839458512896/panic-at-the-discos-2006-summer-tour-costumes

[iii] https://prettyoddfever.tumblr.com/post/629161631117656064/the-makeup-styles-ryan-ross-wore-in-summer-2006

[iv] https://patd.livejournal.com/2943372.html, https://patd.livejournal.com/2928377.html#cutid1

[v] https://oneweekoneband.tumblr.com/post/131968366779/jon-walker-and-ryan-ross-from-a-2009-interview-in

[vi] https://whisperdlullaby.livejournal.com/9051.html

[vii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBot_X9pquo

[viii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyWlisnfrm0

[mamirhodessxox]

Last Friday Night

Dashing!Cody Rhodes x Playboy Model Fem!Reader

Desc: It’s the 2010’s also known as the trashy dirty messy parties decade besides the 2000’s, Cody’s career was just going off along with his best-friends playboy model career, after a successful WWE Match Cody throws a large party at his house for celebration & It gets messy real fast

Contents: Alcohol, Foul Language, Smut, Fluff, Trashy parties, Douche bag cody in the house, DASHING CODY FUCKING RHODES CHAT, Gets STRAIGHT to the smut so enjoy

{~I'm very serious with you guys interacting with my writing!!!! it would make me so happy & excited, the more comments & reposts the more inspiration i have to write :) Votes and comments are strongly appreciated so please COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMEENNTTT the more comments the more content <3!!!~}

Cody was beyond full of himself, especially when he had this entire Dashing Cody Rhodes gig going on for him, The dashing part definitely got to him, Every goddamn person & their mother knew he was fine as fuck and so did he, his confidence being boosted as-well as his ego was apart of his character & success. He just won a goddamn championship & as his way of celebrating this Friday night? Turning the fuck up.

You & Cody had been best-friends since his early wrestling days within WWE which was the time you became a playboy model, you two were practically made for each other, the both of you being near each other had people questioning their sexuality, You were hot as fuck, he was hot as fuck, and you both knew it, who wouldn’t embrace themselves if they were as hot as you two?

Cody’s house was filled with flashing lights, drunk guests & loud obnoxious music & You knew you were at the right place when your driver started pulling into a neighborhood that sounded like a fucking rave.

You stepped out of the car & immediately Cody stepped out of his house & made his way towards you “The most important guest of the night finally arrives” he wraps his arm around your waist and walked you in while you laughed into his shoulder “Shut-up Cody you’re just saying that!” You & Cody had a strange dynamic that people automatically thought you dated, You two would hold hands everywhere, cling to each other, hell paparazzi found you two getting lunch one time with his hand comfortably against your ass. You two were once labeled as the decades IT couple no matter how many times one of you addressed you were “just friends” which was complete and utter bullshit.

Cody lead you to the kitchen and gave you a cup filled to the brim with alcohol just for you “Here you go doll-face, slow sips ‘kay?” You giggled nodding before kissing his cheek, you took a large sip of your beverage with him and hummed hooking your arms around his shoulder “y’did so good tonight in the ring Cody, I’m so proud of you” he smirked “Yeah? I won just for you gorgeous.” You smiled as you felt his breath fan over your lips, The party was such an obnoxious scene, Everyone was either drunk or bumping into you two about to get drunk or make dumb life choices, for example, You two went into the backyard where someone practically thundercunted themselves off of his roof and into the pool

And somehow SURVIVED? Cody laughed and took a swig out of his beer bottle before turning to you yelling over the music “Now, correct me if I’m wrong but I think we should go off somewhere more quiet, a little more intimate?” You smirked at the Idea & nodded while he set down his drink & lead you off inside his house & to his room.

All of this brought you to the current situation you were in now, getting sat on-top of the dresser in his room while he dug into your neck leaving hickey after hickey and tugged on your hair a bit as he stood in-between your legs, he pulled away and grabbed you by the jaw & slammed his lips against yours & even slipping his tongue last your lips while unbuckling his pants & pulling, “Anyone ever fucking tell you this is better than the goddamn playboy magazines I see you on everyday?” He teased while pulling away to rip off your shirt & bra, you couldn’t blame him rushing the situation since you were practically wet & aching for him

You sighed out as he pinched your nipples & bit at your neck while letting out a cocky laugh “Of course that fuckin’ turns you on, almost everything I do turns you on huh?” You let out a whine in response before nodding your head, You already looks disheveled, hair all sloppy, eyes glazed over, mouth parted, your hands clutched over his shoulders as you dug claw marks into his back while he would fondle your breasts & grin at you “Such a good damn girl for me aren’t you sweetheart?” He slid off his pants & took your panties off before aligning his cock with your entrance and holding onto your face while thrusting himself inside of you & letting out a guttural groan.

“So fucking tight f’me princess” He whimpered into your ear while you shoved your nose into the crook of his neck moaning, He slammed his hand against the wall behind you as he fucked further into you & filled you up to the hilt with his dick alone, You threw your head back letting out a loud moan before looking at him in the eyes “g-gonna fucking cum Cody!” You whimper out while he slapped your clit “It’s just that fucking easy for you isn’t it? All it takes is my cock to be inside of your pretty little pussy for more then 4 minutes & you already wanna cum and make a mess?” He mocked you while he started to pick up the pace.

You squealed and scratched his shoulders throwing your head back moaning “h-Holy shit cody!!” You felt like he was forcing you to your climax given the fact you felt that little feeling in your tummy, your body writhed against him while he continued fucking himself into you & rubbing your clit at a ridiculous place before sticking his tongue in your mouth & kissing you before groaning against your lips & spilling his cum inside of you while you had just hit your climax.

He held you close before picking you up & lying him down on his bed while he went to go grab a wet warm wash cloth but you teased him while wrapping around his blankets “Such a gentleman mr Rhodes” he looked over shrugging and chuckled “Only for the best.” He came back over to you & kissed the top off your head before cleaning you up “I think it’s safe to say you’re mine now sweetheart.” You laughed and tilted your head “Oh yeah? What makes you think that?” He looked at you scoffing “I just fucked you on my dresser shouldn’t that be enough for you?”

You laughed with him as he climbed in the bed with you ignoring the loud music & music surrounding the house & wrapped you around his arms while you fell asleep.

By the time you woke up the next morning you were more than hungover, in-fact, you were positive you were hot by a sledge hammer, You sat up groaning pushing your hair out of your face & huffing while Cody walked in with breakfast “Wakey wakey eggs and bakey” he plopped a plate on your lap while you rubbed your eyes glaring at him “I feel like I got ran over by a semi-truck.” He hummed “Well aren’t you just a little ray of sunshine!” You held up your middle finger & took a sip of the coffee he handed you “fuck you” he shrugged and set your plate of food on the night stand “Geez again? Wow you must REALLY be feeling me huh?”

You groaned out in annoyance and got up out of bed putting your clothes from last night “You’re not very funny codes.” He grinned and handed you a hairbrush “I’m fucking hilarious what are you on about.” You walked off to the bathroom but felt a quick smack on your ass and looked back to Cody walking off with a laugh.

Thank fucking god you did this on a Friday night because you were a hot mess.

🏷️ list: @ginswife @coolpastelartshoe @greatkoalawizard @cokolin044 @kotoriarlert @alicerosejensen @bunnybot55 @agent-dessis-posts @adollonyourshelf @valkyrurr @alyyaanna @niknakbucks92 @mini-rhodes @southerngirl41

xtripleiiix’s Masterlist

[curio-queries]

I’m loving your production breakdown posts, they are so interesting and insightful.

I think you mentioned it maybe in the first ep breakdown but it was about expenses. I just thought it was interesting in ep4 when JK mentioned at the chicken place, paying in cash, and he solely has this conversation with Tae, not Jimin. Would there be an arrangement do you think? Or was that scene cut and he’d have asked Jimin too? I’ve noticed in comparison to Bv where they were usually only allowed a certain amount of money between them, with one usually being in control, or a sum for a task, in AYS, Jimin and JK have been whipping out their cards, be it their own or a company card, in Big Dicks store, in Walmart etc.

I just found it interesting

Hi anon,

The finance bits are interesting in the most boring corporate sense if that makes any sense. 😅 Trust me on this. Let's dive in:

In my opinion, it really boils down to two concerns: taxes and sponsorships. Taxes to insure the company receives every possible benefit for every dollar they spend. Sponsorships because some brands can have fussy rules about how individuals interact with their product and especially any competitor's products while they have an active agreement.

Obviously I have no actual insight onto how the finances and budget were managed for any of these specific shows and I know absolutely nothing of the intricacies of taxes in South Korea but in the US, there are many regulations when it comes to how companies can claim expenditures for tax breaks.

Every company that has had me travel for work has gone to a lot of trouble to insure that I was aware of exactly all of the requirements on my part regarding expenditures. I'm 100% sure all of the BTS members are aware of their requirements as well so I don't particularly think there's any motive other than as a cute convo for the moment between JK and V. Imo, the only reason it made it to the final cut was JKs endearing tone in his response.

Let's go through some examples though:

Receipts: in both AYS and Bon Voyage, we see the members be very specific in getting Receipts. JM and JK talk about it as they're leaving Walmart. In BV, it's all of the shenanigans with the money pouch they acquired in Malta and continued using in New Zealand. This is usually documentation required for any operation that's going to be claimed as a business expense for tax purposes.

Personal Spending: off the top of my head I can think of several clear instances where we know that the members are using their own money for purchases we see them make on the shows. In Run BTS ep.70 in Toronto, JK pays for the member's clothing purchases himself. In BV4, JM pays for the member's clothing himself a couple of times (remember the drama of his lost wallet? 😅)

Budget as Content: BV 1 & 2 mostly only include finances as part of the game-ification of the show. The members had to earn money as an allowance for the activities and determine the best ways to spend it. (I do vaguely remember some members wanting to negotiate for more when buying souvenirs? Was that just in the extra scenes? It's been so long, I've been holding off on rewatching until I'm done with my Run series).

Thankfully, the success of BTS has basically nixed the budget games. I think the last time we saw something like this were the Run episodes of a hotel staycation? But the prices were ficticious and not necessarily about real-world spending but rather determining the secret number to not exceed. (If I'm misremembering and there are more recent examples, please share!) Imo, it would just be too tone-deaf to continue portraying the members in that context. I know we all joke about them being broke millionaires, but there's a reason why celebrity game shows always make it clear that the money involved is for charity.

Anyway, back to AYS, the interesting bit to me is wondering about the inclusion of Taehyung from a budget standpoint. How was that reconciled? None of us can possibly know the answer, but it's interesting to think about. Some costs wouldn't have changed at all with one extra participant, like the house rental, or booking the climbing gym or yacht tour. But there were a few extra concessions, getting the extra mattress likely was more a logistics headache on short notice rather than an impact to the budget. And most Korean meals are served family-style so there honestly isn't a huge difference cost-wise. Except maybe the omakase. That I can imagine was noticeably more expensive with an added individual.

But really, the most expensive item per person would likely have been travel. Did someone say Tae was already in Jeju prior to filming? If he wasn't, did the show cover his flights like they would have JK, JM, and the crew? Or is the budget on these shows big enough that it was just another drop in a bucket? Also, the intent likely was for JK to zip around on the motorbike and JM to be on the scooter. I'm curious if they weren't logistically able to get another such vehicle with the short notice or if the budget/sponsorship constraint didn't allow for a third one the day. Or it could be that the scooter exists because of the 3 member count and production thought one of them could be JKs backpack. That bike has the space for it. But perhaps the difficulty to get coverage and/or converse wasn't appealing. Or maybe there just wasn't a third radio-enabled helmet prepared?

I know the various shippers are using this in their arguments. I'd like to firmly state that I am not building a case for either side here. Go do that on your own and leave me out of it. Lol.

There are so many questions and it's interesting to theorize how the finances could have impacted the development of the show. Maybe we'll get some more insight with the remaining episodes and bonus footage but I doubt it. Finances don't usually make for engaging content.

Thanks again for the ask! It's one of the points I want to discuss when I start doing my BV and ITS posts but who knows when that will be!

[avatarofcuriousity]

Why YOU Should Vote For Solomon In The 2022 RAD Popularity Contest!

YOU. YES, YOU! YOU are sleeping on Solomon!

He doesn't like that, MC.

So I am making this post as a fellow Solomon enjoyer!

1. Much Character And Development (Very Cool!)

Solomon is an immortal sorcerer. So, he's not a demon or angle. He's different like that, a bit quirky if you will.

He's lived a long time. He's very lonely. The RAD program was finally a place where he could find his found family. Doesn't that make you feel bad? Don't you think he deserves more love to compensate for his very much lonely life? I am guilt tripping you, you are being held at gunpoint, MC...

To elaborate more on his character, please allow me direct you to these AMAZING posts (that are actually serious and put things in way better words than I ever could lol) to explain why he's SUCH much character.

@books-and-catears Quick read of his Birthday Event and all the details of how amazing he is!

@3vocatio 's Analysis Of Why Solomon is a Consistently Written Character AND The Devs FAV (CANON???) (REAL, NOT CLICKBAIT) (😱) (😍)

@yourboyhack 's reblog of Solomon's B-day Character Card and how it mentions the obvious and is so very based

2. He Just Loves You So Very Much

As evident by his constant praise and affection! You're his darling apprentice and is very proud of you! 💙

Example shown here in @books-and-catears post!

He is absolutely your soulmate, MC. No, I'm not gaslighting you, MC, what do you mean?

He is determined to show you how much he loves you! He's open and honest. All he wants is to be sincere with you, as also evident by ANOTHER @books-and-catears post (They're so fucking based, one of the biggest Solomon appreciaters ever) and @he-calls-me-kitten 's reblog!

Conclusion?

Solomon is a very amazing and fantastic character. Especially after his Birthday Event, it's clearer than ever he's one of the best written characters! He deserves much more fans and appreciation. And the Devs ESPECIALLY deserve to know how much we adore his character! And even if you STILL don't like him or prefer another character?

Do it for the bit. That's right. If nothing I said reached you, at least do it for the funny.

And THAT is why you should vote for Solomon in the 2022 RAD Popularity Contest!

VOTE NOW!:

(NOTE: You can vote as many times as you'd like! (If you go into Incognito Mode 😏👀) Vote your true fav, but I encourage you to go vote for Solomon as MANY times as you can in Incognito and go HAM.)

[msmargaretmurry]

hi i’m sorry super random question — i love your writing, and i was wondering if you had any fav books to recommend? i’m trying to read more lately!! thank you so much!!! 💖

no apologies necessary and thank you so much!! yay for reading more! i have so many books i love and usually i would try to tailor recommendations to someone's interests so i will just try to give a little smorgasbord here.

under the cut please find a very long list of recs; i hope there are a few that sound appealing to you! if there are things you like to have content warnings for and can't tell from the goodreads listing, feel free to message me to ask! 💕

literary/contemporary fiction

beartown by fredrik backman: this is the hockey novel, imo. somehow backman captures everything hockey is — violence, entitlement, racism, privilege, misogyny — while still writing a breathtaking story about people who love the sport and people who unwillingly get caught up in its wake. there are two sequels, which i haven't read yet solely because i'm afraid of how many feelings they'll make me feel.

the secret history by donna tartt: yes, the og dark academia book. moody, atmospheric, and pretentious, i feel like it's a you-love-it-or-hate-it, and i love it. a delicious critique of elitist academia even while filled with morsels for classics-loving nerds. fantastic, deeply fucked-up characters.

station eleven by emily st john mandell: not sure if reading this during a pandemic was the best idea, but it certainly added something to the experience. i love emily st john mandell's prose, and the post-pandemic-apocalypse world she builds feels simultaneously fantastical and painfully real.

evvie drake starts over by linda holmes: this is the perfect example of what i want in a contemporary romance novel. deeply character-driven, sweet, achy, lovely.

historical fiction

in memoriam by alice winn: oh man oh man. we read this one for book club last month and it blew me away. brutal, devastating, romantic.

how much of these hills is gold by c pam zhang: really loved how this book brought a new lens to the American western/frontier story, loved how it blended Chinese mythology into the story, loved how it unflinchingly did race and gender in ways that felt both illuminating and historically true.

the island of sea women by lisa see: i love lisa see's historical fiction because she does a shitload of research and weaves it into her stories in ways that don't feel like infodumping. on top of her being an excellent writer, i always feel like i've learned something.

the book thief by markus zusak: just a masterclass in point of view. made me ugly cry in public.

the nickel boys by colson whitehead: i mean, colson whitehead is just so good. harrowing, atmospheric, and smart, the characters and story feel absolutely real in the best and worst ways.

fantasy/sci-fi

the radiant emperor duology by shelley parker-chan: man, this duology is one of the best fucking things i've read in the past few years. kind of an alternate-history 14th-century china, now with more magic and more gender. brutal and delicious. morally gray everything.

the farseer trilogy and the liveship traders trilogy by robin hobb: these were my favorite books as a teen and i've recently been rereading them (i'm finally on the third book of the second trilogy!) and having such a good time. structurally they're very classic high fantasy but i think hobb is so fucking good at worldbuilding and characters.

the left hand of darkness by ursula k. leguin: look, it's a classic for a reason! i will say if you start it and you feel kind of lost: stick with it, slow down, and be patient. the pov character is a stranger in a strange land and you feel every bit of that. another masterclass in point of view.

tuyo by rachel neumeier: i love reccing this book because it's just a random self-published fantasy novel that one of the gals in my book club found somehow and it wound up being super fun? the worldbuilding is fun, the culture clash is tense (and fun), and i feel like the concept of a "tuyo" could do numbers as a fanfic trope if people got on board!

the thief by megan whalen turner: another great book for pov!!! just a really fun and satisfying read (and pretty short, if you need something short!). the rest of the series is also very good and worth reading but none of it hit quite as hard for me as this first book, possibly because the first book is just so excellent.

young adult/middle grade

on the come up by angie thomas: this is specifically an audiobook rec. i'm sure this book is also good reading with your eyes, but it's about a teen girl who wants to be a rapper, and i think being able to hear the rhythm of the language, esp the rapping itself, makes for a fantastic audiobook experience.

the westing game by ellen raskin: another classic for a reason!! one of the smartest books out there, a joy to read for the first time at any age.

michigan vs the boys by carrie s. allen: the thing is, i usually i find first person present tense so annoying it's nigh unreadable, but i found this book about a teen girl having to play on her high school's boys' hockey team after they cut funding to the girls' program so charming and compulsively readable. bonus points that the author really knows her hockey!

darius the great is not okay by adib khorram: even just thinking about this book puts a lump in my throat lmao. just a beautiful coming of age story that deals with identity and depression and belonging and family and more.

the loneliest girl in the universe by lauren james: pretty sure i tore through this book in one sitting. great sci-fi setting and sense of creeping dread.

a wrinkle in time by madeleine l'engle: another classic for a reason, lol. including it on this list because it is actually my favorite book. l'engle has such a special touch with writing — it's so full of heart. as a kid one of the things i loved about this book was that it didn't dumb any of its sophisticated worldbuilding and characterization down for me, which i think is a great lesson for a writer.

memoir-ish

they can't kill us until they kills us by hanif abdurraqib: hanif is the GOAT and i recommend anything he's written, but this book of essays about music, culture, and hanif's life is easily my favorite of his work.

a ghost in the throat by doireann ní ghríofa: stunningly original mix of personal essay, poetry, history — i'm not even sure how to describe it. but it floored me.

in the dream house by carmen maria machado: speaking of creeping dread!!! many people have said many smart things about how good this book is so i will simply say they are all extremely correct.

sports nonfiction

the boys in the boat by daniel james brown: a gorgeously written love letter to rowing juxtaposed hauntingly against the rise of hitler. i have not seen the movie, but there's no way it could be as good as the book.

bottom of the 33rd by dan barry: possibly this is a baseball book for baseball people, but i loved every meandering moment of this lovingly written microhistory of the longest baseball game ever played.

the last best league by jim collins: another baseball book, sorry, baseball books are so good. this one's about the amateur league on cape cod where the best college players play in the summer. a great august read imo.

impossible owls: essays by brian phillips: a sprawling book of sportswriting from a former grantland writer. i read it five years ago and still think about it sometimes

other nonfiction

forget the alamo by bryan burrough, chris tomlinson, & jason standford: i made myself pick only ONE history nonfiction for this list because otherwise we'd be here all day. but this one is so good, especially if you're interested in the making and unmaking of american mythology.

empire of pain by patrick radden keefe: i do actually recommend anything prk writes, but this book on the sacklers' evil pharmaceutical empire is both timely and exhaustively reported. another audiobook rec as well, because prk reads it himself and you can hear the disdain in his voice.

because internet: understanding the new rules of language by gretchen mcculloch: really fun read about the development of online dialect and language! at five entire years old it's already a smidge out of date, but still so enjoyable.

[tocomplainfriend]

Responding to your post about fiction affecting reality: very well-written post and that’s something I agree with wholeheartedly!

Full disclosure: I am a Vivz supporter and don’t really interact with the critique community because of negative past experience (hence the anon), but I really liked your post as it was well-researched and brought up a lot of points that I did agree on. Mostly that, as you evidenced, “it’s just fiction” isn’t a great argument for poorly portraying a serious concept when there can be tangible consequences for that portrayal. And you gave some really striking examples.

In terms of Hazbin, it is not that I believe that Val’s portrayal as an abuser (and consequently Angel’s as a victim) lacks any impact, but instead that it adds a positive one. This isn’t something I’ve researched so the evidence I have of this is personal experience, but as you said in your post that media can affect real life I felt inspired to add to that conversation with how it personally affected me.

So I was aware rationally that a common result of abuse/SA is hypersexuality, like I’d seen that on psychology blogs and such but never really understood it. I’m ashamed to say I thought it was a little weird and very rare. Hazbin was what finally challenged that notion with me. Being able to see how abuse looks and attribute those events to Angel’s actions step-by-step made something click in my head. I even remember that shortly after seeing that episode, I apologized to one of my friends (a survivor themselves) over some judgmental comments I’d recently made over hypersexuality. Said friend also watched Hazbin with me and it’s the reason they talk more openly to me now and we’re a lot closer. Val’s “stupid” behavior in the show and mentioned in Vivz’s comments did not lessen the impact that episode had on me, or make it unbelievable to me that Val could be manipulative. If anything I understand more now that abusers don’t always appear as psychopathic masterminds. And I know my friend finds comments like the Mean Girls one funny and they tell me it’s empowering to make fun of Val’s incompetence.

That’s not the only positive influence Hazbin’s had on me, but the most relevant to your post, I believe. It’s the reason I’m often a skeptic on most criticisms, because my lived experience tends to go against them. You said the negative impact of Val was that people are drawing fetish art of him, but the only time I ever see that art is within critic’s posts. It never shows up in my regular feed, so it looks to me like he’s equally as fetishized as every other character; the unfortunate inevitability of the internet. I can’t say I’ve seen anyone post about stories like mine about learning to understand survivors, but I have heard positive stories from survivors themselves in person and online which lead me to believe that the positive impact outweighs the negative.

Fiction has real impact, very true. But consider that might be a good thing in this case.

Thanks for being respectful!

TW: Rape, SA

I'm a victim of SA myself and that's why I wrote all of this post. If you got something positive out of this piece of media, that's great. Same with victims that saw potion and were okay with it- that valid as much as the people that didn't like it at all. I recommend watching many others shows yourself (or movies, books, whatever) will help you out with sorts of topics in bigger ways. I understand you feel like you got something good out if (and I'm glad) but I do need to say, this is minimal in comparison to other media you could consume regarding the topic!

I personally suffer with Hypersexuality, and the treatment in the show (and merch and otherwise) I found completely wrong. Even if you got to a good understatement of the topic, please put research into it (also outside Tumblr for that matter! There are better places to find stuff about!). Thank you also for admitting your faults over your treatment of hypersexuality and apologizing for it. Many people will never let themselves grasp this concept, so thank you.

If you took Valentino's comparison to Mean Girls or Powerpuff Girl as a way of making fun of him, that's you. I found it, personally, terrible. Specially cause many comments regarding that (that I put on the post) were people actively disregarding the topic at hand. Saying that Valentino is just a karen, or He is Bubbles coded, feels so out of the realm of everything (the last one didn't feel like making fun of him). I don't like the comparison of an active sexual predator to a mean high school girl or a kinder garden girl that's regarded as bubblely or dumb. Feel like you should reach into his actions over It feels diminishing to me and other people (who also complained about this themselves).

People should be extremely careful of what they portray about this topic in media. Other stuff written in Hazbin or Helluva Boss regarding R-pe jokes also is extremely disgusting to me. Never forget that if you think this portrayal is ok, one episode apart it's a gang r-pe jokes towards Sir Pen... and an r-pe joke towards Moxxie in Spring Brakers. Which I find extremely disrespectful to do and adds to r-pe culture as much as any other r-pe jokes (general or towards men) in media. Especially when they want to portray it in a serious way with Angel, where was that energy then? (Don't say Viv didn't write that, she liked a tweet about the Sir pen joke, and the spring braker is written by Viv and Brandon.)

Also, about manipulation:

The tweet right below says that "He isn't manipulating them" because he is too stupid to do so. Responding "The Vees are just meangirls" it's crazy to me.

About "You said the negative impact of Val was that people are drawing fetish art of him, but the only time I ever see that art is within critic’s posts. It never shows up in my regular feed"

Val has being fetishized by the crew itself! The person (who is not an SA/r-pe victim said by themselves, who has being open of shipping ValxAngel and being into r-pe porn) is the one that produce the whole poison part of the episode (also based on his previously non canon ValxAngel comic). You could also go throught the people Viv's responds and likes and it's mutuals with, and they also do the same thing as this crew-member (Raph). Congrats that it doesn't appear in your timeline, tho. If this art appears in a critic post, it is because it's being criticized or brought up to make a point.

[It's not on my blog yet, but I don't like receiving double ask in the inbox, specially of anons! Sorry. I don't know if it's the same person or not, and I don't want to end up receiving 5 asks in my inbox again.]

[sonic-gallery]

Another World Ogiri September 2023 [What are Rouge and Omega doing...? ]

★Example

I was told that my apology was 30% insufficient.

Two characters appear every month in surprising outfits and situations! Let's enjoy Ogiri together with illustrations that will make your imagination run wild!

This time, Rouge, who is working on ikebana in a dignified kimono, and Omega, who is wearing a hakama, are appearing, looking on with awe! What is Rouge's purpose in arranging steel flowers beautifully?

What kind of lines or narration would you use?

You can style it based on the atmosphere and world view of the two of you in the game, or you can create a bold arrangement! In the example, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to express the very unique instructions...but it's OK to use such free-spirited jokes!

Please enjoy it and tweet with the tag "#Isekai Ogiri" on Twitter (X) ♪

We will introduce the good ones in a reply from Sonic's official Twitter (X) account.

We are looking forward to your fun Ogiri posts!

Act9: “Just like me”

...Once upon a time in the Warring States era.

An evil light emitted by a sinister iron ark that flew from the sky. What bursts forth from the red-purple light is the ``Karakurihana'', an iron ayakashi.

The sharp leaves cut through armor, and the buds of fiery flowers sprinkle hellfire... The folk grasses of the world are terrified by the raging Karakuri flowers.

The only person who can control the turmoil of Karakurihana is the most honorable and powerful warrior...his name is Omega.

The founder, Omega, found ``beauty'' in the life of a flower that single-mindedly seeks a deadly fight, and gave it life as a mechanical samurai.The founder, Omega, named it ``Senka.''

This is the beginning of the ``Omega style of Senkado'', where Senka compete against each other and the winner is considered to be the true beauty.

And the time is modern...

Omega-style Senka Arrangement boasts a history of hundreds of years.

Due to the severity of the training, not a single disciple has yet appeared... Among the many disciples is an up-and-coming bat beauty, Rouge the Bat. ....?

＜＜Dogagagaga! >>

"That's it! It's a violation to have three layers of heavy weapons!"

``Senkado begins with every human being, and there is no violation or foul play on the battlefield.''

Rouge's Senka can do nothing against the rain of bullets fired from Omega's Senka.

Omega's Senka is overwhelming as it continues its onslaught with an abundance of firearm-type contraption flowers. With a final blow of the sharp leaf, Rouge's Senka is cut in two. The winner was decided easily.

Rouge's Senkado begins and ends with beauty.

Dressed in a gorgeous kimono herself, she gives instructions to Senka one after another and fights brilliantly as one human flower, so that her clothes don't wear out in the slightest after the match. That's her style.

Now, among the Omega-style disciples, there was no one who could compete with Rouge, but all they could do was scatter their flowers and leaves in front of Omega... Today's practice match also had a disastrous result.

Perhaps unable to see Rouge depressed, Omega pulls out a pair of scissors that emit a strong glow from his pocket.

"Disclose mission rewards"

"that's......!"

It is the ``Vajra Stone Flower Scissors'' that are awarded only to those who have passed on.

Rouge's real goal is to obtain these scissors. This was the driving force behind all her efforts.

The sparkle of the large diamond on the handle...how beautiful. I can't help but sigh.

"Be even more diligent!"

Rouge regained her energy for a moment when she saw the rare treasure, but Omega's words brought her back to reality and her shoulders slumped again.

......A trudging walk home in the twilight.

Every day of training, I have put in an unprecedented amount of effort for the sake of scissors... Even though I keep running, the goal is still getting farther and farther away. Rouge let out a huge sigh of despair, but suddenly stopped as she felt something strange.

Yes, right now, I'm very unconventional. What are you so serious about?

She stared up at the moon for a few seconds or minutes... Rouge let out a short sigh and smiled mischievously.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have it in a beautiful way, just like me?”

A few moments later. On a different note, there is Kougyokuen, a fabric made of mechanical flowers that was once built by sealing off the place where the ark from heaven crashed.

There, Omega was seen firing heavy weapons and cutting down the flowers, and Rouge was supporting him.

＜＜Zugagagagaga...! >>

Kougyokuen is not just a ``karakuri flower production area''. It is also an isolation facility that confines the ferocious Karakurihana, and requires periodic ``thinning.''

In exchange for her help, Rouge was allowed to see the scissors kept in the back again. The purpose is nothing more than a preview of storage security.

"Incineration! Cutting down! Karakuri flowers are eliminated!"

As Omega knocks down the attacking Karakurihana one after another, Rouge can't help but smile when she sees his Senkadou.

And we arrived at the innermost part of Kogyokuen...

There, the coveted pair of scissors was enshrined in a covered but wind-swept gazebo, shining brightly.

An overwhelming presence that does not fade even in the dark. The blade, which is transparent like ice, diffuses the slightest light and shines in rainbow colors. When Rouge instinctively reaches for the scissors that are left unprotected...

Hidden Senka placed on both sides of the scissors are activated! In an instant, the ivy grew and covered the scissors.

"Protected by strict security"

“Hmm.”

Rouge looked impressed, but from her point of view, this kind of security was playing tricks on children. It seemed like it would be easy to break through. Even on her way home after leaving Omega, Rouge continues to walk with her, grinning. Enough security checks already. At that moment when I thought, "She's already going to sneak in tonight..."

This time, the hardships I had gone through and the frustration of losing to Omega were now welling up in my heart.

"...Hmph"

It's not my style to keep losing and get upset.

I want scissors and I want to win against Omega. As a greedy person, I can't give up on either!

What should I do...

Rouge suddenly looked up at the sky and noticed that the Karakuri flowers that Omega had decimated by gunfire were dancing lightly in the sky. Karakurihana is a flying type that is considered unsuitable for Senka, who fights directly across from her...

At that moment, Rouge murmurs, ``It's surprisingly easy to fly,'' and has a great inspiration.

"...This is it!"

Rouge grabbed one and headed home excitedly.

On the day of the Kaiden exam. In the center of Kogyokuen, the innermost part of the dojo at the foot of the ancient "Ark" ruins...

In a magnificent hall with 12 tatami mats and 300 tatami mats, Rouge and Omega were solemnly and fiercely living out their Senka. and......

＜＜Boooo~! >>

The sound of a conch shell signals the start of the match.

＜＜Bushuuuuu! >>

At the very beginning of the opening, Rouge's Senka releases smokescreen seeds and obstructs visibility! At the same time, take a defensive stance and prepare for Omega's onslaught.

"Smoke screen jamming detected. No problems."

Omega's Senka pays no heed to this and rains down suppression fire from the sky.

＜＜Dogadogadoga! >>

Rouge's Senka endures through the smoke screen, but is definitely exhausted. But...the moment the smoke cleared, Omega was shocked by the sight before her eyes.

There were two Senka of Rouge...one of them was holding the "Vajra Stone Flower Scissors" high in the sky.

“Soreha!?”

"Security at Kougyokuen is for personal use only... You read that right! The treasure is Itadaki♪"

At the very beginning of the episode, Rouge separated Senka under the cover of that smoke screen, and instructed her clones using flying Karakurihana to steal the scissors.

"Rekai, fun...!"

Omega blinks at the unexpected event. An instant love was born there.

＜＜Gakkiin! >>

Rouge's Senka's powerful blow pierces Omega's Senka's vital point, inflicting a fatal wound.

"Unacceptable! Violation of match regulations! Foul!"

"Oh? Once the match started, there were no violations or fouls, right?"

Immediately after that, her two Senka flew with leaves and merged in the air. If you hold the scissors in the upper position, you will be able to capture Omega's Senka within range.

"Do whatever you want and get everything you want...! That's my Omega style!"

The next thing Omega saw was Rouge's dignified straight sitting position staring at the battlefield with an undisturbed demeanor... Rouge's Senka with her back cutting Omega's Senka in two with a single blow of her scissors. It was a brave figure.

＜＜---Kin! >>

"...Stunning."

A quiet dojo. ...A new kind of "beauty" was born here.

"Rouge, license pass and pass."

"I did it! I have to come! I like Iemoto who understand what I'm talking about♪"

Rouge plays like a little girl with scissors and a license letter in hand. The scissors had been stolen during a match, but now they were purely hers.

However, after achieving her dream, Rouge also realized that there was no longer any reason for her to stay here.

"Well, I don't care about titles or anything like that...If I get what I'm getting, I'll be too happy to go to such a seedy dojo."

Rouge muttered that and started walking away, but as if reading her thoughts, Omega took something out of her pocket.

"Second mission reward. Red stone flower scissors..."

The fiery shine of the ruby ​​captivated Rouge's heart... She quickly turned around and instantly approached Omega, saying:

"...Tell me the details."

The "Legendary Seven Scissors" passed down in the Omega style.

Rouge, the new master teacher, took on the responsibility of sealing Kougyokuen, and while she and Omega sometimes struggled, they continued to improve each other's beauty until they had all the scissors in their hands... ..

This is the beginning of the golden age of Omega-style Senkado.

"Following the red ball..."

"The Senka battle was fun, Tails! Rouge and Omega were so cool! They have to be like that!"

Sonic was in a good mood as he watched the unexpected match from behind the bushes in Kogyokuen. Tails, who loves mecha, will also follow.

"That's right, Sonic! By the way, 'Karakurihana' seems to be a strange version of Eggman's mecha, but how does it understand its creator's orders? ...And more importantly... ...!”

Realizing an important fact, Tails returns to his serious expression and shows Sonic the readings on the energy detector in his hand.

"Look! This energy reaction. This energy wavelength...is the aftermath of the Phantom Ruby's energy!"

...``Phantom Ruby''.

It is a mysterious stone that has the power to influence the brains of living things, implant a powerful virtual reality, and twist the world. It was lost after the previous battle with Eggman's army and was supposed to have disappeared from this world...

"Energy is being emitted from this botanical garden in all directions. I'm sure there will be such a huge reaction in the aftermath all over the world...I mean..."

Sonic jumped up and landed on the Ark in the center of Kogyokuen, then grinned and continued:

"This ark is the epicenter of the incident...is that so?"

An ominous wind blows through, rustling the leaves of the contraption flower beneath their feet, and Tails, who was already investigating inside the ark, continues.

"Yeah! This ark was also a strange transformation of Eggman's battleship! I found a part that looked like a capacitor, but it had a powerful energy reaction left behind. I'm sure it was activated during the previous battle. I think the Phantom Ruby's energy was still being charged...I 'm sure Eggman made the most of it in some way!

Tails excitedly raises his head all at once. But, but..., I thought, my shoulders slumped again.

“However, this situation that is currently occurring in the world is a little different from virtual reality, and there is no way such a disparate situation could occur with a single activation... There are still so many things I don't understand.Hmm, sorry. ......”

Tails crouched down with his head in his hands.

Sonic couldn't help but feel tired, thinking that he had gotten used to sitting down so his skirt wouldn't get dirty, but when he jumped down from the top of the ark and sat next to Tails, he patted him on the shoulder and cheered him up with a smile. Masu.

"What are you talking about, Tails? It's like you know everything now!"

"...!?"

"The fact that this is ground zero means that the opposite side of the planet from here is the least affected by the energy, right? If Eggman isn't here, then shouldn't he be on that side?"

"......a!"

"If you don't understand anything else, just ask Eggman himself!"

"Oh, that's right...! I'm sorry, I'm alone and depressed again..."

"No problem, Tails! I wouldn't know anything without you. I'm counting on you!"

With that said, Sonic quickly stood up and clicked his heels, and Tails also hurriedly got ready. Why is it that I always feel happy when I'm with Sonic?

I'm sure this incident will be resolved successfully...

Confidence that rises up even though there is no solid basis for it. Tails' expression was no longer gloomy as he enthusiastically started running after Sonic.

"Now wait, Eggman! No matter where you're hiding, I won't let you escape!"

[wanderingblindly]

PLEASE give me rules of engagement director’s cut. i need it biblically

AAAAAH thank you!!!! I haven't gotten to talk about this fic before, I think, so let us commence the info dump <33333

The Origins

I've always been a fake dating trope fan, but I've never had an idea that made it feel like my story, you know? But I've always wanted to try!

While I was procrastinating on cleaning my apartment, I randomly thought of this dialogue, directly copied from my planning document:

“If we do this, we need to make some rules” “Max we live together, I’m sure it’ll be fine” “WE NEED RULES CHARLES”

My brain immediately latched on to it, and the fic was born like... two hours later hahah

My Favorite Bits

Ok so this is one of my favorite lines for the DUMBEST reason:

“Are women not…? Is it these women, or?” His voice sounded tight. They hadn’t discussed Max’s sexuality before. Actually, if Max thought about it, they never really discussed Charles’s, either. He was pretty sure Charles stayed the night at a few different women's’ flats during uni, but that was little more than speculation.  ... “That’s fine, of course. Anything is. Fine, I mean.” Charles stuttered, his cheeks still slightly pink.  “Doesn’t solve the problem though, does it?”

Was it vaguely inspired by BBC's Sherlock? Yes it was. Would anyone have noticed if I didn't confess to my sins? No.

More seriously, I also really enjoyed this little scene:

They always ate breakfast together.  Max always woke up first to get started on washing the fruit, and Charles always stumbled out of his bedroom in a state of total disarray about fifteen minutes later – hair sticking up, sweatshirt off one shoulder, pajama pants low across his hips, glasses nearly askew. They would eat breakfast together, Max happily talking about his to-dos and Charles diligently humming and nodding along as necessary. They’d get dressed, they’d walk out the door together. Max always locked it, Charles always lost his keys in the depths of his bag before he left the house.   It was easy and understandable. It was theirs. 

While the rest of the story, up until this point, has hinted at the routines baked into this domesticity, I loved how this scene used that to highlight why Max found the situation so alarming. They have a distinct rhythm -- an easy cadence that I tried to mimic in the very basic structure of the paragraph -- that's so noticeable when it's disturbed.

It also shows how much Max notices about Charles, even before he realizes why. To know someone well enough that even the slightest change in timing throws a red flag is just hmmmm I love it lol

And finally, one of my last favorite scenes:

“You’re still wearing your ring,” Max pointed out rather unhelpfully. Charles let out a bleak laugh, devoid of his usual eye-crinkling warmth.  “You picked it out for me,” He shrugged, leaving something unspoken in the air. Max didn’t do well with unspoken, with reading between the lines. He tried to breathe it into his lungs, find the meaning Charles left out. Speak it. 

The confession was just so full of "Max is trying his best and he doesn't entirely understand what he's done wrong but he'll do absolutely anything for him and Charles to just go back to the way it was before please please please". This line in particular highlights how much of this is Max desperately trying to understand what Charles really needs from him -- even though the answer ends up being nothing he expected.

Random Fun Lore

As always, this fic is full of random things from my actual life (for no real reason other than I'm unoriginal and boring). Some examples are:

Max's MD's summer party in the countryside: YES I have to go to this every year, YES I do get splashed by my coworkers, and YES there is far too much alcohol lol (although I do not partake like Max did but hey)

Full Recovery Mode: the very specific mug and the very specific tea that Max puts together for Charles is absolutely based on my real life (liter sized Japanese mug my beloved)

[thelordofgifs]

Writing Year Wrapped

Thank you for the tag @eilinelsghost - what a lovely idea!

3 Favourite Fics You've Written This Year

the fairest stars (T, 78k, in progress). So much of myself has gone into this fic since I started writing it all the way back in February. I love all the characters (Maedhros and Maglor my beloveds!!), I love how much it's taught me about plot and structure and evil cliffhangers, and I love sharing it with all my wonderful kind enthusiastic readers!

Ilimbë (T, 15k, complete). This was a new venture for me, both genre and ship-wise, but it was just so much FUN. I like writing things that make me feel clever, and this is probably my most unabashedly pretentious fic. But also baby Fëanor is everything to me now.

in the breaking (G, 2k, complete). I used to call this my best m&m fic, although tfs is probably my best m&m fic. But in the breaking is still one of my favourite explorations of their tragic tender codependent dynamic.

3 Fics That Stretched You the Most

Inflection (G, 10k, complete). This one was SO hard to write - getting the first draft out was very much blood, sweat and tears. The nuances of the kidnap fam dynamic are very hard to get right, balancing the canonical love with Elrond and Elros' genuine trauma. I'm still not entirely sure I got it quite to my satisfaction, but I'm pleased with the final result all the same.

the fairest stars. Yes I'm listing it twice. I'm very fond of tfs, but plotting it out can be SO hard sometimes (which is one of the reasons why part 31 is taking a while to write). I just counted and there are TEN separate plot threads to keep track of at the moment, which is... a Lot.

the salt of the sea (E, 2k, complete). Shoutout to my first proper smut! Definitely a new venture for me (I hadn't written this pairing before, either). People were very kind about it, though.

3 Favourite Lines You've Written

Maedhros has never loved anyone without making of them a god – it is all tangled together in his mind, worship with affection, ardour with idolatry. (tfs, part 29)

To love Maedhros, he has long known, is to grieve him. (tfs, part 22)

Fëanor had never been kissed before. It took him a moment to respond, but then he found he was kissing Nerdanel back and it was the easiest, most familiar thing in the world; her messy curls were brushing his face and one of her strong sure hands had travelled down to rest against the small of his back and there was nothing that had ever been more real than the warmth of her pressed against him; she was certainty itself, as solid as marble, no crafted thing to be shaped and changed, but a maker and a preserver and a promise of forever; and her mouth against his was hot and sweet and golden as the taste of a Laurelin-ripened peach. (Ilimbë)

3 Characters You Enjoyed Writing (that surprised you)

Lúthien! I didn't have many thoughts about her before starting tfs, but she's one of my favourite characters in it now, and so essential to the themes of the story.

Fëanor was a struggle to wrap my head around initially: in my opinion one of the biggest flaws of all those that follow, for example, is the way Fëanor only appears at the edges of the narrative, when I could really have stood to flesh his relationship with Fingolfin out a lot more. Writing Ilimbë really helped me gain a much better understanding of what makes him tick, which was very satisfying, and I do think his characterisation is one of the biggest strengths of that fic.

gonna cheat slightly for the third one and say all my little baby OCs from the glassmaker! OC-centric fic isn't something I'd tried before, but I'm very fond of them now.

3 Unexpected Inspirations

Maedhros' hair in in the breaking is this whole important thematic thing, but the truth is. I also have very long and silky hair and it is a PAIN to deal with. You cannot picture the number of times I have sat on my bed at 1am furiously yanking a hairbrush through it and gone "DID it take long hours to brush out to smoothness again? you fucking bet." Sadly I do not have a codependently devoted sibling to tenderly brush my hair for me, so I have to do it myself.

tfs was initally inspired by some tumblr discourse about Beren and Lúthien's motivations in stealing the Silmaril! which I think is kind of neat. It strikes me as very indicative of the collaborative nature of fandom: a couple of people have a debate, and then someone else goes away and writes fic about it, and then people draw art of the fic... and on the cycle goes.

an ancient song is a very small little ficlet, but it was also inspired by some tags on a tumblr post! Always fun when that happens.

3 WIPs You're Excited About in the Upcoming Year

Ooh, now I feel like I'm committing to having these finished in the next year...

The Unburied: the longfic I am very slowly working on, and managed to put 20k words towards in November. It follows Fingon as he crosses the Helcaraxë and Maglor as he rules in Mithrim, ending with the first rising of the Sun. I am excited about this fic, but it's an ambitious project and very challenging! Also my brain can't really handle working on two different longfics at once, so it's on the backburner until tfs is finished, and who knows when that will be tbh.

boats against the current: another rather old WIP that is complicated and difficult to plot out. This one is the "Maedhros doesn't swear the Oath" AU. Still very attached to the idea! Maybe I'll get somewhere with it soon.

sore must be the storm: my shortest WIP! Surely I can sit down and finish it in the next few weeks (I have been saying, for months). Just some (messy and complicated) russingon after Fingolfin's death.

3 People Tagged to Share Theirs

No-pressure tags for

@searchingforserendipity25

@that-angry-noldo

@welcomingdisaster!

[breed-the-stars]

Hot writing tip to make your erotica so much better!

Your writing is going great. Things are steamy and hot. The story is reaching it's literal climax-

Hold up.

Pause.

You have a character who's about to orgasm? Then consider the following;

There are many different ways to experience an orgasm, and not just in the way the orgasm is achieved.

Let's say you have Jean, who's having sex with Terry. Terry is a very energetic lover, and is hitting all of Jean's pleasure points very quickly one after the other. Jean experiences a very sudden orgasm that seizes their muscles entirely.

Once again you have Jean, but this time Jean is having sex with Drew. Drew takes their time, but Jean is enjoying themselves just as much as with Terry. When Jean does orgasm, it's one that's a slow build and a wonderful release.

How would you describe the physical effects of both of these orgasms? What muscles are moving, what body parts are reacting, how prominent is the sound of one's heartbeat? And so on.

(If you noticed that the names are gender neutral, it's because that yes both vaginas and penises can experience different types of orgasms. It's not exclusive to either.)

(And obviously if your character has something other than human genitalia *gestures to the monster fuckers* then that's your cue to really get into the nit and gritty!)

The word itself "orgasm" (and the other words that mean it) is a double edged sword. Your reader might look at it and think "Oh so it's [reader's idea of a standard orgasm]" and might not be able to imagine something that deviates from that idea, even if you then go on to describe the specifics. You have to be smart about when you use the word, and why.

You just spent [insert number here] words describing all that juicy buildup, don't shoot yourself in the foot by skimping out on your climax.

Need some spicy examples? Sure thing!

With an aching breath Trevor felt it, the unmistakable lurch as his body fought against the high. Just a little longer. He just had to hold on a little longer-

He screamed, nails hooking at flesh as he trembled, unable to stop as pulse after euphoric pulse echoed throughout his body. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop himself.

Here's an example without the word ever being used. If an orgasm implies even an ounce of pleasure, then it counteracts the main focus in this scene, so it's completely avoided for this one instance.

"More- please I need-!"

Zoey gasped as her body started singing, her heart rushing every drop of blood throughout her body, warming every fiber inside her the same way her dearest had done. Zoey barely registered her legs had found their new home, locked tightly around her lover's waist. She was too enthralled by how right it felt, offering her own body as a home for her love.

They chuckled, smiling at how doped up Zoey looked right about now, "I'm guessing you came?"

She blissfully nodded.

Here it's used for comedic effect, to under exaggerate what Zoey experienced. Whatever preconceived idea you might have about coming, it's probably not quite like what Zoey just felt.

Now that you've gotten that first climax described, you've given your reader something to think back on if you decide to have multiple orgasms in a single session.

From here you can use the term when appropriate, just remember the classic "show don't tell" rule. If something specific is happening during these other orgasms, let your ready in on those juicy details!

Ken came for the last time that night, feeling his balls struggling to release their final spurts.

But maybe you have a story where the first time someone orgasms isn't that important, like it's a blink and you miss it blowjob or something. The real climax is only much later, and it'll be one to pay attention to.

Then that's when the word is to your benefit!

As Monica psyched herself up for the day, she stepped past the shower curtain and thought about that lovely woman from last week. With her deft fingers it didn't take long to feel an orgasm wash through her, the shower cleaning away any evidence.

Much later, Monica thanked whatever gods had cared to listen. No longer was the woman from her thoughts trapped in her mind. She was here, pressed against Monica, cooing pleasantly. Unlike this morning, Monica wanted this to last. She could feel herself wanting to just cross that razor's edge, let herself go.

And she would.

Soon.

Very soon.

And by God she did.

Hopefully this helps you out, or that you enjoyed reading through the example snippets.

[citrusella-flugpucker]

An idea about ways to change the way the geoglyphs quest works which will Totally Please Everyone™

...What do you mean, you can't please everyone?

So, I said in December that I wanted to make a post about a game mechanic change in Tears of the Kingdom that could make everyone happy with regards to the delivery of the geoglyphs' story points.

I, for instance, liked finding them in whatever order and did not find it negatively affected my experience of the story, but some other people found they didn't like that the "correct" (read: chronological) order wasn't enforced.

I had an idea that could fix that, and it centers on a lot of conditionals, and to start off, I'm going to describe it using one already extant story progress condition a lot of people probably have never encountered. (But plenty of people probably have.)

You get this text box if you manage to arrive at the pedestal while having not started the regional phenomena main quest. (Even if you got the paraglider. It's linked to starting Regional Phenomena.)

(I spent two hours trying and failing to glitch into the room with a clip from above before finally giving up and trying precarious ascend instead because I didn't wanna steal a shot of this off a YouTuber. Everyone clap

Also, I was going to include other images but brain doesn't want to alt text right now so)

So, anyway, the idea I had is that you see this sort of text box (not that EXACT box, it's only an example), but only in certain scenarios. Imagine, if you will:

Prior to arriving at geoglyph #1, everyone--if they try to interact with another geoglyph--sees a message like, "You don't yet know how to interact with this." or something.

Then you get to #1 where Impa is waiting for you as she does in the actual game (this is where all the other images would have gone if I included them here XP). She gives you the spiel, you go up in the balloon, and some of her text is changed from the actual game in a way that suggests that when you examine again and actually have it work, you realize it involves recall, yada yada (the actual interaction with the tear doesn't change from canon, I just wanted the text to change so there's a story reason you "know" what to do now). Impa shows up after you view it, as she canonically does.

Here's where things are really changed up: While she still brings up going to the Forgotten Temple, she very much telegraphs to the player that if they go there, they will get answers as to the order, so that people will be even clearer than the actual game that they can find the map and order there (though maybe not being that direct about it when presenting this dialog to the player as it would be to say "there will be a map and pictures there"). Then, like in the real game, she suggests Link make his way there as well... BUT then a dialogue option comes up.

Will you meet me at the Forgotten Temple as soon as possible?

[Sure!] [I can manage on my own. 🅱]

And then, just in case you were spamming B, pressing that will trigger a confirmation.

Are you sure? I suspect there is important information about the geoglyphs there.

[Okay, I'll come.] [Maybe later. 🅱]

No matter which one you select, the quest is added regardless just like normal (albeit perhaps with slightly different flavor text depending on whether you agreed to the meeting or not).

If you hit B and reject all attempts to go "immediately" then the game works as it does currently: The quest is granted, all geoglyphs instantly respond to you in whatever order you approach them in, Impa goes to the Forgotten Temple, etc.

If you ever hit A on the top option, the quest is granted and you're not immediately transported there or anything, but until you arrive at the Forgotten Temple, a flag is set and all geoglyphs respond by producing a Not Yet box saying something like "You remember that you promised to meet Impa in the Forgotten Temple."

So you head to the Forgotten Temple. Regardless of whether you agreed to come or came later, just like in canon, Impa's there, you find the map and order on the wall. Some of the in-game interactions happen, but instead of Impa suggesting you take a picture (or perhaps, instead of her only suggesting you take a picture), she says something that allows you to have the order be enforced. Maybe it's writing from a book she read about the geoglyphs or something, since it's established in canon she read about the Dragon's Tears somewhere. Maybe it's connected to you taking a picture with a quest ❗ on it with the Purah Pad (though this would require you to have completed a different quest first to get the camera. oof.). But somehow, this order is imparted to you so that Link himself knows it in game.

If you reject the enforced order, you're still free to take a picture like in canon, but the flag preventing you from investigating geoglyphs is cleared and you can access them in any order just like if you'd rejected going to the temple immediately when Impa asked at tear 1.

If you agree to enforced order, the flag preventing investigating the glyphs at all is unset, and a different flag that says you chose to enforce the order is set instead. Then, if you approach a geoglyph that's not next in chronological order, the game presents a box saying something to the effect of "This doesn't look like the next geoglyph..." Maybe it's not a strict enforcement, and so when you get this box, you also get dialogue options of "Look anyway." or "Leave it alone for now." Just in case you agreed to the enforcement and then went "wait, I don't like this".

Also considered the idea that unlocking the sensor on the Purah Pad would grant you, in addition to shrines and compendium entries, the ability to track geoglyphs (maybe with changes in which geoglyphs it alerts to, dependent on if you're in enforced order or not--i.e. unenforced alerts to all, enforced only alerts to next). But that also felt like it might be too handholdy? IDK.

Anyway, this is my attempt at a best-of-both-worlds between people who want to be guided through parts of the story in a specific order and people who really don't care/don't think the variable order is a detriment and maybe just want to hit things efficiently while they're crossing the map doing other things.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[cyrusthedragon]

Okay, I know this post will read only one man and his dog, but I really need to write down all my thoughts on season 4, and just keep it structured. If you're interested in discussing it - you're always welcome!

HUGE SPOILERS BELOW, CHAPTER 1/2

Word count: 1,057

Includes: Vicky Neuman, Zoe, Kimiko, Frenchie, Hughie, Hughie's mum

1. Victoria Neuman + Zoe

First of all, I really need to appreciate this intro cuz, excuse my goddamn french, Vicky Newman is HER. Vicky Neuman is absolutely HER, I'm really looking forward to her character development. I honestly don't think she's a villain, she's just an antagonist, but a very good one. She is not a bad person in any particular way, she has an Idea in her, she has a Meaning, she has Reasons and Motivation. More Neuman please, especially in GEN V. Thanks.

Like Vicky, her daughter is also a scary ass Supe, but unlike Vicky, who's a bloodbender, Zoe's powers hardly can be used for anything good. Some headcanons here:

While Vicky thought that she was the monster because of her “terrible” abilities, she, by injecting her already grown-up daughter CompV, somehow created a real monster. She stupidly turned her child into a freak, who will be very difficult to accept by society, because her... superpower is something that u often see in nightmares. And it’s unlikely that the typical "don’t judge a book by its cover" slogans will be enough to accept that someone can pierce your mouth while kissing you with their four...tentacles? Whatever they are. I personally find them cute, btw, but in The Boys Universe, I'm not sure ppl will accept Zoe. Zoe, forgive your mom. She's not thinking rationally when she's worried about you.

It is also very much worth thinking abt her willingness to kill without any questions asked. That was definitely not her first murder. Vicky could use her power, as a politician perhaps, and bring victims to Zoe so that she could kill them and get used to it.

2. Kimiko

These are just very beautiful shots that I want to share with yall. First - Zoe tore off Kimiko's hand, it just grew back :D I love this scene for its absolute absurdity. God bless Karen Fukuhara. + Demonstrated that Annie can fly, also a good introduction to new abilities! Well done!

Secondly, I ADORE Frenchie's reaction here, it just shows so much love he has for her: Kimiko's face literally peeled away, she REATTACHED IT, and Frenchie, her platonic soulmate, at first was confused af, and then he UNIRONICALLY SMILED to his girl being literally unkillable. I feel you, Serge, I love her too!

Kimiko is very balanced. Information about her comes up every season, and each time there is enough information left to theorize but be satisfied. She's small and cute, like a mouse. She loves girly stuff like doing hair, wearing jewelry, and dressing up. She’s all about having fun and smiles a lot. Her gentle, kind personality totally contrasts with her powers of mega strength and near-immortality from regeneration. She was raised to defend and attack, but her empathetic nature is well shown in the smallest details.

For example, new information: Kimiko gets wasted super fast. I adore her.

3. Frenchie

Next to Kimiko, literally being her soulmate (i fuckin' can't believe that we're so lucky that in addition to the chaos of dicks and murders, we also have the genuine, platonic love between a man and a woman AT FIRST SIGHT), is Frenchie. We've already seen he's bi; this isn't the first rodeo, but now he shows it ON THE SCREEN, HURRAY, COMRADES. I'm very proud of him, he's my baby 🥹 we finally, with the help of his new love interest, found out about all the murders he committed when he worked for Little Nina and even before that. Frenchie is a very balanced character, just like Kimiko, you learn a little about his life in each season, and each time enough to build theories and be satisfied. I wanna know how to write like that.

My favorite things about Frenchie are his wild love affairs and his doglike loyalty. He's got an unbelievable knack for forming strong platonic (with Cherie also sexual, but you get the point) bonds with women, who end up adoring him. Probably because he has a heart of gold and doesn't act like a jerk. He also sincerely tries to be better. C'mon now, he's doing his best! All the love for my boy.

4. Hughie

Hughie loses the only person who has been with him his whole life. His father was a great, excellent parent. But it’s time for Hughie to stand on his own two feet and become at least a little bit the main character - which means, eh, i guess rest in peace, Mr Campbell?... If this doesn't happen, I'll be overjoyed. Although besides pushing Hughie to mature, the coma plot also provides a chance for us to learn about his mother. His dad is in a coma - won't she come? Here we learn a lot of interesting things about our babyboy.

Hughie's emotional outburst when he sees his mum for the first time since he was just a kid is very realistic and I love everything in here, including the cast choice. Because Hughie is a spitting image of his mother. This kind of attention to details makes me wanna chew Kripke's brains off.

Hughie is very similar to his mother: in speech, in movements, in facial expressions. For some reason I really like this. He, like his mother, has tenderness and a steely core, they are both very stubborn. Although he also has a note of “cowardice” from his father, his desire to push forward and that decision in the first episode to go help Butcher and take revenge on Reggie were just visible sides of his mother’s character.

Not gonna say that was the original idea, but I think Hughie saw Butcher in his mother. Because 'I'm not made to be a father'. And he realized that Butcher was almost just like she was. At least it seems to me that way. That being like Butcher is... normal. Ppl do fear being parents. And this is currently the best representation of postpartum depression, very realistic shit, Kripke, I'll stuff your brains into a Thanksgiving turkey. With all love and respect.

If you've made it this far, congratulations, you're a survivor! If suddenly s/o wants to be tagged in the second part of this review (well, sort of), write in the comments and I’ll tag you!

[milkweedman]

HI! I'm buying a niddy-noddy but can't figure out what size - I'm seeing tons of sizes but does it actually matter? I spin using a drop spindle if that affects it!

Yes and no. You can wind your yarn into a skein on any size niddy noddy (or as I'm sure you know, on the backs of chairs, on your arm, around a book, etc) and it'll work just fine.

As far as I've ever been aware, there's only two things to consider when picking a niddy noddy size: how big your skeins usually are, and whether you want to do math.

Skein Size

If you've ever tried to wind what you thought was a decent sized chunk of yarn around a very large object, you've probably noticed that you ended up with a very disproportionate skein--long and skinny. Or the opposite--if you've tried to wind a lot of yarn around a small object, you may have found that you couldn't even fold it in half to finish it off, because it was too thick.

Those are pretty extreme examples, but they're the reason it matters. If you tend to spin small skeins, a small niddy noddy will make them look better as a skein. If you tend to spin huge skeins, a big niddy noddy will ensure you don't have to wrestle with your yarn at the end.

One thing to note is that you can wind around only two arms instead of all 4, like so:

(Image Source)

... following the path of the red line rather than the blue yarn actually on it. This is what I do for miniskeins on my average sized niddy noddy. So you can get a proportional smaller skein out of a bigger niddy noddy, but you can't get a proportional bigger skein out of a smaller niddy noddy. Your only recourse then is to split it into multiple skeins (or find something bigger to wind it around, ig).

So, my 2 yard niddy noddy (and since yards and meters are close enough to not matter in this discussion, please mentally substitute meters if that's your unit of measurement) makes a good skein out of 4 ounces (110 grams) of yarn--that's pretty much the ideal size niddy noddy for that amount. If your skeins are more like 2 ounces/55grams, a 1 yard niddy noddy might be ideal for you. If they're more like 6 ounces/170 grams, a 3 yard niddy noddy would probably be great. There are of course lots of niddy noddys that are fractions or mixed numbers of yards as well, which brings me to the other consideration:

Math

Niddy noddys are a little more ergonomic to wrap yarn around than most things, but their real feature is eliminating math. On my 2 yard niddy noddy, if my skein has 100 strands, then it's 200 yards. I never need to do any math--it's just count the strands, multiply by two.

A 1 yard niddy noddy is even better there--no multiplying ! The number of strands you have is the number of yards you have. Easy as pie.

A 30 inch/76 cm niddy noddy, though--or any niddy noddy that is not 1, 2, or 3 yards (if you are in the US, or meters elsewhere--and it's important to not accidentally end up with a yard niddy noddy if you don't use yards, because then you have to convert your final number into meters--which is of course math) is Lots Of Math. If I've got 100 strands on a 30 inch niddy noddy, that's 3,000 inches, which is... idk man, I'm not even checking that. 100 strands on a 76 cm niddy noddy isn't so bad--7,600 cm is obviously 76 meters, but what about 129 yards, hm ? What then ?

If you're scoffing and saying you love math and this deprives you of beloved math, then you should definitely get a non-whole number niddy noddy, because that won't cause issues for you. And if you carry your phone everywhere and can't realistically conceive of a scenario in which the above would inconvenience you, that's fine too !

If, however, you don't want to look for your phone or do math in your head every time you finish a skein, a niddy noddy in whole numbers of either yards or meters (whichever measurement system you actually use, as I said earlier) will eliminate math from your skeining.

--

So, in terms of size you as a drop spindle user (unless you use it in a way that results in 4 ounce/110 grams skeins) would probably get the nicest looking and most balanced skeins from a 1 yard or meter niddy noddy. And in terms of math that's also the 'absolutely zero math' niddy noddy, so for most people that's ideal ! You'd also be fine on a 2 yard niddy noddy (as far as I can tell, these are the 'standard' size for wheel users*, who almost all have niddy noddys or some other tool for winding yarn) but your skeins will look perennially skinny, even if it's a pretty big skein for you. If you think you're gonna get a wheel soon, or you've been eyeing those plying spindles, then a 2 yard would give you some room for expanding, too. Anything bigger than that is really only useful for people who frequently spin big skeins--such as those whose jumbo flyer on their wheel is just their everyday flyer.

Hope this helps !

*edit: had forgotten about the antique wheels with small bobbins and/or only one bobbin. In that case the appearance of the skein is gonna benefit from a smaller niddy noddy, because it yields smaller skeins. But again... it's just aesthetic.