#SPECIFICALLY related to him and Leo in this because things get. complicated

[fowlaroundtown]

No Children by The Mountain Goats

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

DO NOT TAG AS A SHIP

[sirfrogsworth]

It's hard to be nostalgic about Tumblr without remembering my friend Tru.

Truett McGowan.

What a fantastic name.

We met each other because we were both tech geeks following Leo Laporte. He was the very first live streamer. Originally he hosted a TechTV cable show called The Screen Savers. But once G4 took over and focused more on video games, Leo's show was cancelled and he was looking for a new way to broadcast content.

So he built a studio near his home and created his own infrastructure in order to live stream video on the internet. He called his new show "This Week in Tech" or TWiT for short.

Along with his new streaming venture he created a TWiT community using an open source microblogging platform called Laconica. It was a form of Twitter that you could create specifically for a single community. Basically a custom niche Twitter feed. I was trying to be a web designer back then, so I created custom themes for Lacnonica.

This was my own personal theme for a website that I ended up never launching.

Leo called his custom Twitter, "The TWiT Army." And I was his graphic designer and webmaster. I made all of the cute little graphics for the website.

I also did fun holiday themes...

For the Thanksgiving theme, if you hovered over the Turkey it would change to being cooked.

I also took it upon myself to photoshop a little army helmet on the avatar of every single user of the site.

This was the zombie avatar I made for myself during Halloween.

The TWiT Army was also where I started posting my first attempts at Photoshop comedy. Many of them related to The TWiT Army.

And The TWiT Army is where I met Tru. He used a space invader avatar. I made him a couple of different versions.

You may have seen his avatar on the sidebar of my main Tumblr.

We became fast friends. We finished each other's jokes. We talked pretty much all day, every day. He loved Apple back then. I was strictly PC at the time. So we debated about that quite a bit. He would probably be astonished I have a MacBook and that I really love it too.

Our friendship lived in a little text box. We never talked outside of instant messages. But it was one of the most profound friendships of my life. I loved Tru just as much as any friend I've ever known in real life.

Tru started blogging on this brand new site called Tumblr. He reviewed apps for the iPod Touch. Not the iPhone, as that wasn't yet a thing.

I made the banner for his Tumblr.

He kept trying to get me to join Tumblr, but I was busy trying to create my own custom comedy website. But my site kept getting more and more complicated and I could never quite finish it. I was trying to arrange guest authors and create 3 months of content and I was always futzing with the theme and never happy with it.

I was getting frustrated that I could never launch my perfect comedy website and Tru suggested just making a Tumblr and posting funny stuff so I could be creative and have an outlet until my big site was ready to launch.

Little did I know Tumblr would end up being my big comedy website. Eventually I abandoned months of work and just stayed on Tumblr. All of my success here is pretty much because that little space invader pestered me to join when I was being stubborn.

Unfortunately, as some may have figured out already, the story gets sad from there. Tru mentioned briefly that he had a heart defect, but he never said it was serious. He acted like it was no big deal so I never thought too much about it.

We always talked through instant message and email, so we never exchanged phone numbers or addresses or anything like that. Tru was a very private person so he never even published an image of his face online. I only knew him as a space invader.

One day I woke up and sent him a message and got no reply. He usually woke up before me and answered as soon as I said hello. This had been our routine for nearly a year.

An hour went by. Two hours. Three hours.

It was odd for him not to respond for that long. I was really worried but all of my TWiT friends told me I was being paranoid. But there was a huge knot in my stomach telling me otherwise.

But then those hours turned into days. Days into weeks. Weeks into months. My worry grew exponentially as more time passed. I didn't know what to do. I tried finding his family. I even looked into hiring a private investigator. I don't know if I have ever felt a combination of depression & anxiety that intense.

In my heart, I knew what had happened. I knew that heart defect took his life. He was only 26 and it just didn't seem fair. But the not knowing for certain ravaged my mental health. Before all of this I had lost nearly 90 pounds and I gained it all back.

I think maybe a year or so later I found a friend of his who knew him in real life. They were finally able to confirm my suspicions. He passed away from his heart condition. That was my first real experience with grief. But I was so thankful for that bit of closure. I was finally able to let go of my anxiety and mourn him properly.

But Tru gave me such a wonderful gift. He pushed me to just start making things. To stop stalling and just create things to make people smile.

And you all probably know the rest from there.

[crayonnthief]

Sup, who's your favorite turtle, and why?

If I’m being REALLY specific, then 2007 raph.

This is due to him being my first favourite turtle ever. 2007 having been the first TMNT media I ever watched, when I was really young and is something I loved greatly.

I find a lot of depth within the film and love speaking on the complexity’s of the characters within the movie. (Raph and Leo’s complicated dynamic. You want to be pissed at Leo, sure he’s a hypocrite at many stages and lets his ego get in the way a few times, but you also need to understand his own self loathing. It was causing him to take out his anger on Raph putting up a front to be what he thought his family “needed”. Leo having deemed himself a “failure” and struggled to return because of that, seeing them “better without him” As well as raphs use of anger to mask emotions, clearly upset that Leo was gone for A YEAR longer then we was supposed to.

Caused so much heavy tension and stupid actions to occur. Leo could have been dead for all they knew having disappeared without a letter and the fact Leo did not address his absence clearly upset Raph, he was probably scared that he would note see his brother again, then Leo turns up and pretends like he never left? Raph wanted Leo to address the elephant in the room, but Leo never did. Not even by the end, they still seemed to dance around what happened, leading to an emotional tango. (There is much more I could go into. I could talk on and on about this movie)

Though I wish 2007 mikey and Donnie had more screen time, I actually LOVED 2007 Donnie (for some reason his voice actor just fit so well) plus the times he was on screen I found him funny, and if there was more complexity to the character shown, he would of 100% been my favourite.

But if I’m saying overall favourite turtle then My favourite is Donnie in most iterations.

It Varies sure 2012 Donnie, rise Donnie, 2003 Mikey, idw Donnie (I love metalhead ok. This might change the more I read) Mutant mayhem Donnie and 1987 raph (I’m not forgetting The last ronin, its just it’s focused on Mikey solely and I haven’t watched the Batman TMNT movie. I want too though)

(Tbh mm Donnie can be quite cringy but I just love his design sm)

I think I’m most attached to Donnie because of 2012 Donnie.

2012 was the first tv series I watched of TMNT (after 2007) and easily my favourite was Donnie. His loved for accuracy and fact, as well as overthinking and creativity, wanting structure and control, are things I relate to (not obsessing over a person though :/ that’s the only part I’m not a fan of, is Donnie’s crush on April and sure April did some questionable things but I don’t dislike her, cause people do dumb things sometimes)

I didn’t like her kissing him when he was FINALLY going to give up on her. But it was more a fault of poor writing (There is a lot of Poor writing in 2012 sadly)

Sorry for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes!

^^ im dyslexic please be kind.

[aroaceleovaldez]

I'm trying to make PJO ocs but I'm wondering how being someone being blessed and/or being a champion of a god works in the Riordanverse????

Ooooh yes I love this universe mechanics and think about it WAY too much. Okay, so there's generally two kinds of this we see: Best I can differentiate the two is like, Hera with Leo (what I would call "champions" or "blessings") versus Artemis with the Hunters or Hera/Juno with Jason (which is very complicated and kind of varies).

So with champions, the notable thing is generally that they're favored by the god in question, but boons are given to them individually over time or for singular moments. So specifically distributed power-ups. These are more common in general but also usually the individual in question being blessed does not have like, constant extra abilities at all times (unless whatever boon they were given extends for a long duration or is permanent). Examples of this include Hera raising Leo (less giving him boons and more just training him, though it is implied she possibly tried to make him immortal one time), Bellona with Reyna's family (before Hylla and Reyna were born), Hecate with Hazel, Athena with Reyna in BoO, etc etc. Whatever it is, the blessing is a one-time thing for just that moment, though generally it means the god favors the mortal in question enough to help them out from time to time or give them personal training. These boons can last longer though, again such as Hera trying to make Leo immortal.

The other instance is really interesting, because the best way I can describe it is basically divine adoption. This is what we see with Hera/Juno and Jason or the Hunters of Artemis. Based on what we've seen, the implication is that whichever god is "adopting" the mortal will have the same effects as a godly parent normally would, and may even supersede their original godly parent to a degree if applicable, at least as far as their prominent powers and auras are concerned (i.e.: Thalia is more a Hunter of Artemis than she is daughter of Zeus, ergo her aura no longer attracts monsters as much as it normally would), though usually if the mortal already has a godly parent or divine ancestor it just kind of behaves as if they have two. They'll end up with extra powers or abilities based on the god who favors/"adopted" them and these are theirs to do whatever with whenever they please, just like their normal powers. As far as we know this also cannot be fully revoked, given ex-Huntresses we've seen retaining some Artemis abilities. The Hunters are the standard example of this (they gain immortality, are implied to be able to understand at least their wolves if not other wildlife, get enhanced archery, tracking, and hunting skills, etc etc.) though Jason's my favorite example personally. Because we never really see Thalia use wind powers (only electricity), there is actually a very likely potential that Jason's wind/flying powers are from him being adopted by Juno/Hera, not Jupiter, and that Thalia doesn't have those abilities at all. This also tracks with Big 3 kids having fears/aversions relating to the elements of the other Big 3 - Percy is afraid of flying because of Zeus, Thalia is afraid of flying because of Hera. And it would also explain why Jason tends to favor wind/flight powers over his electricity.

And then Blessing of Ares/Mars is kind of confusing because it's technically not just an Ares/Mars kid thing? Ares/Mars can give that to anyone, we just only see it with Ares/Mars kids. It is very particularly Ares/Mars directly blessing them for that moment. So generally it falls into the first category.

Hope this helps!

[lostrealities0]

Hello! Couple weeks ago you sent me an ask about my interests, and I indicated that I might do the same at some point. I have thought of some questions, so I'm going to ask you them. There is of course no pressure to answer them, and infodumping is welcomed and encouraged.

(1) Which Scientific Field is your favorite, and Why? (If none perhaps consider listing your least favorite and why)

(2) What is your favorite thing about each of the turtles? (tmnt turtles, not regular ones) Whether it be a physical trait, a behavior, a mental trait, something in common with you, etc.

(3) Do you perhaps currently have or in the past have had a fun hobby you'd care to infodump about or simply declare your interest in?

(4) [Very very very optional cuz I don't know what you're comfortable telling the internet] How's life treating you?

Have a Wonderful Day and/or Night!

Hi!! Sorry for taking a while, the past couple of days were pretty busy 😅 Thank you so much for the questions!

1. My favorite scientific field is biopsychology! I love learning about the nervous system and how the body works. I've always enjoyed psychology but actually knowing what is happening on the inside is fascinating to me. I like understanding what causes certain reactions. Even though emotions are often seen as an illogical thing, they actually can be quite logical.

2. I was going to answer for both Rottmnt and Mutant Mayhem (as those were the only versions I've seen), but decided that would be too long. Instead, you shall have my answers for Rottmnt.

Raph: Oooooh this is a hard one. I love everything about his design, especially his snaggletooth. However, I think my favorite thing about his is how gentle and sweet he is. Kind of a side note but I love how the portray him. He is an antithesis to toxic masculinity and they don't make it a big deal. All his hobbies and traits are treated like normal, because they are! I'm not great with words so I'm struggling a bit to translate my thoughts, but I hope that made sense.

Mikey: My favorite thing about him is easily his different personas. I love how blunt Dr Delicate Touch is, and the seminar with Dr Feelings? I was having a blast. I love how he finds ways to express different sides of him, while still being himself.

Donnie: ...Do I have to choose one? I love his personality, his design, his tech. Everything about him is my favorite. If I had to choose... My favorite aspects of him is his genuine laugh and how silly he can be. Two clips that replay in my head all the time is when he imitates Mrs. Cuddles and starts laughing, and when he yells "sad face emoji!"

Leo: I relate to him way to much. His insecurities, how he copes and presents himself....yeah this hits home pretty closely. I also love how confident he is. Yes, a portion of it is a facade, but I believe there is a lot that is genuine. I don't think I can choose something specific, so I will cheat and say that his personality is my favorite thing about him.

3. Somewhat recently, I acquired an interest in creating languages. As a kid, I loved codes and made a substitution cipher with it's own letters but I didn't think making an actual language was possible. However, about a year ago I came across an instagram reel about a girl who created her own language. This introduced me to conlang.

Since then, I've been working on a language on and off. While making a conlang doesn't necessarily have to be hard, I am a masochist (/j) and decided make things more difficult. For example, instead of staying with a base 10 system, my language has a base 13 system. There are different symbols in replace of capitals, each used in certain situations. I always make jokes about how complicated and hard it can be but in the end, I do have a lot of fun with it.

4. Big picture: life is pretty good. As you saw, I just graduated. I'm enrolled in my college classes for next year, two of which I'm really excited for. I also will be getting my license in a month after years of having my permit.

Little picture: I am very tired. I had family visit last week, which meant I had to be around people the whole time. I'm an introvert who has the house to himself for most of the day, everyday. Additionally, I don't like it when normal changes, especially when it's at home. As much as I love family, I always dread when they visit.

Everything is good now though :)

[crystalsenergy]

problems in love: placements that bother 💔😥

pic not mine.

"These walls were made to open up I came to show you what I've got And I hope you love me And I hope you love me"

- Sir Archer - These Walls

through astrology i believe it's possible to look at the points that bring discomfort and frustration to us; placements that, if not taken care of, can generate fears, bad feelings in the future and even very large internal blocks. i see that there are some planets and asteroids that naturally bring us some kind of duty, something that we'll have to improve, mature in, and/or something that we'll feel more frustrated with or that somehow and for some reason can upset us more easily. thinking about it, i decided to put together in a single post the positions that can bring more inconvenience in relation to specific points. i'll do this with other points/issues in our life: health, self-esteem, and so on.

In this post i bring placements that bring discomfort in relation to: love relationships and everything that involves love.

1) look at the position you have on your chart and try to go deeper into it, understanding if it bothers you, if it impacts other areas of your life, trying to reflect and seeking self-knowledge. always respecting your own time and limit.

2) i've inserted the placements here to list them, but i'll also bring some notes on them, even if briefly.

in general, placements/aspects may show similarities. but they also differ in some things.

☁ Saturn in Leo: the person who has this placement can have many difficulties in accepting praise, gifts, attention, and as much as some people think that this is not related to the idea of ​​feeling loved, yes, it does. small gestures are part of the primary source of love: gestures of attention, praise, the feeling of loyalty, appreciation, remembering the person. all of this involves love, because through these gestures the person can feel loved. with this placement, the person runs away from having contacts like that and at the same time can feel very lacking in these things. it may be that bad feelings around the ego itself influence the area of ​​love.

☁ Saturn in 5th house: this placement is similar to Saturn in Leo, and brings a strong feeling that the person is 'fate', destined to suffer in love. it can bring complications even to relax, the person has difficulty feeling able to receive love, and may not believe very much in his/her potential in a relationship. in more complicated cases, it can generate in the individual the denial that someone is liking him/her, and that person can self-sabotage too much, running away from more concrete relationships for fear of getting hurt.

☁ Chiron in Libra: this placement brings a lot of pain in love relationships. the tricky thing i notice about Chiron is that it doesn't always need someone's action, something direct and made for the native, for the person to feel affected. often the fear and the wound is something so strong that even without realizing it and without a direct and active attitude from someone, the person feels bad when faced with the idea of a loving relationship. even if it's in the unconscious of that person's personality, this discomfort can exist with great force. it may also be that the person thinks that he/she isn't loved for who he/she really is. interpersonal relationships can hurt more than expected.

☁ Chiron in 7th house: similarly to the previous position, this one also brings many wounds with the idea of ​​loving and being loved. people with this placement may have a feeling that romantic relationships are far from being a fairy tale, especially for them. it may be that the native lives under a feeling that love is something that will be best experienced by others, and that even marriage can't be happy. the person needs to understand that we are the ones who create our own story, along with the person we CHOOSE to date, and that nothing is deterministic. it may be that past experiences or even a parent's divorce influence this negative idea.

☁ Saturn in the 7th house: this placement is similar to the aspect i mention below, however, it also has its peculiarities. Saturn in the 7th house represents a person who is more shy and closed in love, who can indeed have a series of reassurances regarding this very important area in our life, and who tends to have a greater sense of control over this area of ​​life. the person can take time to relate, and have a lot of trouble starting relationships and feel able to get involved with someone. there is more control over feelings and expressions of love, which can hide a more fragile and sensitive person, but who demonstrates the opposite through a defense mechanism.

☁ Venus square Saturn: this is the most tense aspect you can have between the two planets. Venus square Saturn represents many things: from a weakness in the idea of ​​self-worth and feelings that one isn't loved enough to an extreme rigidity and selectivity in love relationships, which in reality only mask a fear of relating. to understand some dynamics of tense positions and aspects, we need to understand that a person who has a weakness won't always tend to desperately seek something/someone for that part that feels they lack. the results of these disharmonies can be varied, depending on each one. there are people with this aspect who are very fragile to any possibility that the person isn't loving them, others feel that they are too uncomfortable to others, that they aren't able to receive this feeling so good in a reciprocal way. others are highly demanding, as the fear of being hurt is hidden behind a wall of defense between person and potential love partners. all of this can happen in different ways, but one thing is certain with this aspect: it brings some kind of discomfort that is directly related to love relationships.

☁ Venus opposite Saturn: through this aspect the person may feel that he/she must run from the idea of ​​love, may have a lot of aversion to all of this, love, showing feelings, and from the outside he/she may pass a very rigid idea of ​​love, an air of disinterest. however, deep down there may be a person who doesn't feel capable of throwing him/herself into it for fear of not receiving what deep down he/she wants.

☁ Venus conjunct Saturn: this aspect can also bring the same effects mentioned above for opposition and square, with the difference of being much more malleable and easier to deal with. at times the native may have feelings that he/she is inadequate for love, the idea of ​​self-worth may be more fragile, so that difficult situations and disappointments may affect this, but it's an aspect that tends to have less influence if other parts of the chart are more positive.

☁ Venus opposite Chiron: this is as difficult as Venus with Saturn. this is because Chiron is an asteroid of pain and wounds, which unlike Saturn has greater difficulties in applying the teachings to itself. it's a pain that takes longer to heal, longer cycles to close over time. Saturn requires work and effort, it also brings pain and discomfort, but it can facilitate the work of consciousness because it's more concrete, requires discipline, that the person assumes their weaknesses and is responsible for themselves. Venus in opposition to Chiron represents a pain in love that can generate behaviors to run away from love contacts, making the person someone who avoids relationships because they have a great fragility and wound with the idea that they can be loved and fulfilled by someone. the bigger problem lies in the fact that, first, the person denies this to him/herself.

☁ Venus square Chiron: aspect of a lot of tension and problems with love. many wounds and extreme emotional fragility. it may be that the person even enters into romantic relationships, but somehow they are hurt and this is marked as a tattoo, keeping them from trying other relationships in the future. here the person denies to him/herself much of what Venusian issues involve: love, self-worth, care, and replaces this in his/her head with ideas of automatic rejection of others, of bothering and not adding to people's lives. this is a very wrong notion of him/herself, and this needs to be studied in order to understand why the person feels so inadequate in love.

☁ Chiron in 5th house: this placement creates a great feeling that the person doesn't deserve to receive love, attention, care. she/he can't demand that from anyone. the problem is that Chiron brings a big sense of what to do with that kind of frustration, so the person deep down knows how to deal with it a lot, but only when it comes to others. when it comes to her/himself the person can't apply the very dear and true premises that others teach: we all deserve love; it's okay to demand something from someone; it's normal to want something, no matter how small it is.

☁ Chiron in Leo: ego issues that can generate a lot of defensiveness when the person feels threatened and not valued/understood. as there is within oneself the strong idea of ​​not being ideal for receiving love, attention, care, appreciation, among other things, the person is much more fragile internally and tends to demand few things in love relationships. this is a problem, as we must know what we deserve and what we don't deserve in love.

we all deserve to be loved. but remember that we generally accept the love we believe we deserve. what kind of love do you think you deserve?

remember that being aware of something is halfway there.

[olderthannetfic]

been ages since I've read Percy Jackson (I stopped reading RR's stuff after the Kane Chronicles so I can't speak on the Magnus Chase series either) and while with adult hindsight some stuff could for sure be called stereotypical or problematic, all the characters were still like... characters? RR clearly cared about them while writing them so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Leo was also a grease monkey who was constantly tinkering with machines and stuff and I can't remember he being particularly flirty in the way the Latino stereotype typically plays out, just maybe more interested in girls in general than other male characters (who usually had specific love interests at that point while Leo's came in late in the series) and was well liked by a few girls in return (which, Percy also got quite a few admirers as well). Piper, while the Cherokee stuff was also sometimes stereotypical according to people who know more than me, stole stuff because her dad was super rich and it was a way to get his attention so the klepto stuff was not related to her being Cherokee.

(also if we're talking rep, RR did great in terms of non-normative family and parents as well. Most characters came from single parent or mixed family households or no parents at all. Lots of characters have complicated relationships with their parents, ranging from neglect to abuse to parents who can't be good parents despite trying to great parents in bad situations to dead parents, there's a lot of variety there and the effects of parenthood is a huge presence in his books)

I'm not saying it was all good. Just that the characters themselves were given a lot more than just a stereotype even though sometimes they did enter that territory. It feels like RR accidentally fell into that stuff while trying to give legitimate representation that actually addressed the heritage of his characters rather than just saying they were X and then never having it effect their characters or the story which would be its own problem. He clearly put in a lot of effort, it's just this is what you risk when you actually try to write diverse characters--you make mistakes. We can still critique it but it's by far better than a lot of children's authors who duck the issue by having none or only background representation. The end result isn't perfect but RR's books have an incredibly diverse cast made up of compelling characters the intended audience can relate to. Also that anon was also weirdly fixated on the characters finding each other attractive which was a thing almost always noted by the POV character as far back as when Percy was the only narrator so idk how that's relevant.

(Also complaining about a fictional book series for children butchering several mythologies--that's the entire point? It's a fun creative "Greek/Egyptian/Norse gods exist in the modern day" romp that draws inspiration from mythology but retells them with a modern twist and in funny ways kids will pay attention to. It's not entirely accurate but the Greek Gods are living above the Empire State Building)

--

Yeah, they seem not only very upset at teen sexuality but convinced that I will agree with them, which... Hahaha.

[overheard-at-camp-half-blood]

A Rant About Heroes of Olympus Character Arcs.

Just as a warning most of this is negative, but I put the names in big bold letters, in case you want to skip. I do have some controversial opinions in here, specifically towards Percy and Annabeth, and their relationship, but I don’t think I’m negative towards their actual characters... I more so critique how it could have been written better.

I do still love the series, and even though I poke fun at Rick a bit, I still like him as a writer (though I recognize the problematic elements in this story). These are my own opinions on the books, and I’m sorry if I criticize your character in ways you don’t like.

Also, I may do another post about some other problematic elements, so be on the lookout for that.

Percy

Let’s start with Percy, shall we? After all, he is the one who started it all, and he was the one who introduced us to this world. If I’m being extremely honest, and I know I’m going to get hate for this, but I think Percy’s arc should have ended in the first series. He could have still remained a major character in this series, but I think as far as his main arc went, it wrapped up better in the first series, because I feel like this series added nothing to his arc.

I mean, he and Annabeth went through some majorly traumatic shit in The House of Hades, and then nothing was done about it, and I feel like it would just be better had it not happened. Besides I have some major issues with how his relationship with Annabeth played out.

Annabeth

I was really excited for Annabeth, and I did like her arc in MoA. It seemed like a good continuation of her arc in the first series, where Annabeth wanted to prove herself to everyone else, and now she wanted to prove herself to... well, herself. The arc had potential, and I really enjoyed seeing her arc in MoA, but as I said, I didn’t like how her and Percy’s relationship ship played out.

Now, let me preface this by saying that I am NOT anti-Percabeth, in fact, I do post a lot about it on this blog, but I am critical of how Rick writes established relationships. Perhaps it is because I’m older, so therefore my mind is more critical of these sorts of things.

I love Percabeth, but I really dislike their codependency.... I mean Annabeth’s arc in MoA was great because there was a focus on her relationship with Percy, but it was still about her. And yeah, I understand they’ve been through a lot together, but I really don’t like how their development was dependent on each other.

The reason why I put this under Annabeth and not Percy is because for me, it was much worse for Annabeth, because this was our first time getting this from her perspective. We got to see Percy develop through his own eyes, but we never really got the same for Annabeth. Most of Annabeth’s development was through Percy’s eyes, which was why I was so excited that Annabeth was getting her own POV.

And it was great in MoA! But after that, it honestly felt to me that her story was more about her relationship with Percy, than Annabeth herself.

Jason

Jason was doomed from the beginning.

That’s the main issue, is in the beginning, he was literally a blank slate, and while we were worried about the mystery of his character, there was really no way for us to know who he was as a person, because HE didn’t even know. So, as he was introduced at the same time as Piper and Leo, he didn’t get the same development as Piper and Leo. As we learned the other two’s backstories, and how those backstories represent who they are in the current story.

And the thing is, when we finally DID find out who he was, it was too late to do anything with it, because the story ended. I think by the time Blood of Olympus rolled around, and we did learn more about him... a lot of people had no interest in him.

That being said, I love fanon Jason, and I didn’t like how he was treated in the Trials of Apollo series.

Piper

Piper... I have a very complicated relationship with Piper. I kind of wrote this several times, because I couldn’t quite pinpoint my issues with Piper, and she is such a controversial character for whatever reason, and whatever I say will be perceived as me hating on her. That is not the case. I like the idea of Piper’s character, though I can agree she, as well as the other Aphrodite children, are written with sexist tropes, which is another post.

My main issue with Piper is that most of her development happens off the page. In the first few books, she her charmspeak is shown getting her in a lot of trouble, and she often lacks confidence when using it. My issue is the resolution for this happens mainly off the page.

A huge internal conflict with Piper is her lack of self confidence, which is something that I personally can relate to, but we never see her develop that confidence, we’re just told that it happened. Like she worked with Hazel and Annabeth on xyz, so suddenly she is much better and confident in her abilities of xyz. This kind of made her hard for me to connect with her in general, because it seems like most of her struggles happened off page.

This isn’t even just with her overall character; it’s with her relationship with other characters. We do see her friendship with Leo develop to some extent, but that’s because they already had an established friendship before the series started. Her other relationships? Jason and Piper went from barely knowing each other to dating between books. We never saw her friendship with Annabeth develop. She apparently was friends with Hazel, but that happened off the page.

Now, this happened to each character to some degree, but I think Piper got hit the hardest with the “tell, don’t show,” thing. I do think that because a lot of people didn’t like Piper, and imo, most of the criticisms were bullshit, Rick tried to overcompensate by trying to force development on her, without doing the work of showing us her development.

Leo

To be honest, his wasn’t as bad as others, but I feel like more people were disappointed, because he was a relatable fan-favorite. His arc went wrong for the exact opposite reasons as Piper’s, as there was legitimately a lot of development on the page, and he had a good arc set up, but Rick literally forgot everything that initially made his character so likeable to the audience.

So, here’s my thing with Leo’s arc; it was really good for the first three books, as Rick did develop him while leaving room for more development in new books. He also had a consistent arc; in The Lost Hero his arc was about his inferiority complex, which was directly connected to his trauma. He never felt like he had a home, and never felt like he belonged.

This was the direction I was hoping they would go with the “seventh wheel” storyline; meaning, yeah, he’s the only one in the seven who’s not in a relationship, but why does this bother him so much? Because, I don’t think it was the fact that he was in a relationship, I think it was trauma.

I so badly wanted the seventh wheel plot line to be an extension of what happened in TLH, but it became ignored, and it just seemed like a reason to put him in a relationship.

I’m not going to sit here and say that Leo shouldn’t have been in a relationship (though I will say I had an issue with Caleo), but I will say that I hate how a relationship was supposed to solve his feelings of inferiority- when it’s clearly indicated that Leo had those feelings because of trauma. A relationship can’t reverse years of trauma.

I also thought it would be so much more impactful if Leo made his sacrifice because of his feelings of inferiority, then perhaps the resurrection happens through one of his friends.

Hazel

I fucking hate how little Hazel (and Frank) were written into the series, especially considering she was one of my favorite new characters introduced in HoO. I also think she had the most potential, and her backstory was the most intriguing of the seven.

Why the hell was she not in the books more? Rick literally wrote a whole ass book in the series that mostly centered around the two already developed characters of the series, but he couldn’t give Hazel and Frank more POVs?

I don’t have anything to say about Hazel’s arc, because she barely HAD one, at least not after her initial one in SoN. The Sammy arc was made about Leo, which I get to some extent, as they sort of have a connection through Sammy. That being said, Leo never actually knew Sammy, and I feel like the flashback scene would have been so much more impactful from Hazel’s POV.

The biggest issue with that is it didn’t really feel like a way to develop any of the characters, but it was used as a way to justify a love triangle... that was barely even a love triangle.

In conclusion, Hazel was screwed over.

Frank

Frank, oh I have some things to say about the writing of Frank’s character, because my issue with Frank’s writing is a combination of the off-the-page development that happened with Piper, and the lack of POVs issue with Hazel, but to different degrees. Most of my issues with this comes from between Heroes of Olympus and Trials of Apollo

See, I do think his lack of POVs contributing to his lack of character development, you know what pisses me off?

The fire stick thing was a HUGE part of his character arc. It caused him legitimate fear and partially affected his relationship to some of the others (coughLeocough). And the resolution? Happened between series, and it’s literally mentioned in passing. What the fuck, Rick?

I don’t know, to me, it just seemed like a betrayal to his whole character arc, because we saw him struggle so much because of this, and the resolution just happened off page? I can just rant about how annoyed I am by that, because it just felt like Rick realized he forgot about Frank, and resolved his whole internal conflict off the page.

Nico

I love Nico! But, of course, I do have my criticisms of his character.

First of all, I really enjoyed how we got his point of view in Heroes of Olympus, but I really just wish he was part of the seven to begin with, for a number of reasons. First of all, it just makes sense- it’s indicated that he is the only demigod who knows about both camps... so wouldn’t it make sense that he would be part of the plan to reunite them? Don’t get me wrong, he does play a big role in this anyways, but it’s kind of weird that he just knows, and nobody thinks, “Hey, maybe we should include Nico!”

Another huge issue I had, was Nico’s coming out scene was in Jason’s point of view... which I get, because I’m reality, he wasn’t one of the seven... but it just seems fucked up? I mean I like headcanons of Nico and Jason’s friendship, but the unfortunate truth is... they didn’t actually know each other.

In fact, Nico wasn’t really that close to any of the seven- he was probably closest to Percy, and even he didn’t know that much about him at times. It just felt weird, not only seeing Nico come out in someone else’s POV, but in a POV of someone he barely even knew.

Also the fact he was forced to come out... I see the intentions, but it’s just not a good look.

Reyna

Reyna... don’t have any issues against Reyna, other than I wish we had more time with her before the last book. She was such an interesting character and I needed more of her.

[ladyherenya]

Books read in September

I had a moment of intense self-centredness and, internally, wailed: Why isn’t the world filled with more books that appeal exactly to me??? 

I’ve concluded that it’s like I have an inner story-troll sitting inside me shouting: Tell me a story! I try to appease it by presenting it with books, one at a time, and seeing how it reacts. 

Favourite cover: Flyaway.

Reread: The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley. (I also reread From All False Doctrine at least twice.)

Also read: The Disastrous Début of Agatha Tremain by Stephanie Burgis and Snow Day by Andrea K Höst.

Still reading: The Time-Traveling Popcorn Ball by Aster Glenn Gray and The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett,

Next up: I have borrowed The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, Taking Down Evelyn Tait by Poppy Nwosu, and Between Silk and Cyanide: A Code Maker’s War, 1941-45 by Leo Marks. And maybe I’ll finally get around to The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams?

*

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakroborty (narrated by Soneela Nankani): I think this Middle East-inspired fantasy was just not the story I was in the headspace for -- it was longer, with more complicated worldbuilding and fewer answers. Possibly I’d have followed the political intrigue of Daevabad better had I read this in one gulp (I got halfway through the 20-hour-long audiobook before it was due back and I read other books before picking up the ebook). I liked the two protagonists, enough that I’m curious about what happens to them next, but the second book is 23 hours long and undoubtedly won’t resolve everything either. Maybe another day.

Tuyo by Rachel Neumeier: Ryo is left as a “tuyo” -- a sacrifice to be killed by an enemy -- as a sign that his tribe will withdraw from the Ugaro’s war with the Lau. But his captor doesn’t want to kill him, he wants Ryo to help him stop the war. Neumeier effectively creates tension between people who are polite, honest and honourable, and shows an intriguing relationship, defined by mutual respect, fealty and something more familial. There’s also some unusual magically-defying-physics-as-we-know-it worldbuilding but apparently I was far more interested in the character dynamics. I enjoyed this. Sequel, please?

From All False Doctrine by Alice Degan: My favourite book this year! Toronto, August 1925. Elsa Nordqvist, who hopes to write her MA thesis on a recently-discovered Greek manuscript, is at the beach with a friend when they meet two foster-brothers. This meeting deftly sets up everything which follows. The cover says “A Love Story” but this is also like a cross between a Golden-Age mystery novel and a fairytale retelling, with bonus academia and Anglicanism. I really like how much these characters value their friendships, their lively, intelligent and often honest conversations, and the way the romance unfolds. It also feels like a story written just for me and a hard one to review because my reaction has been very personal.

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark (narrated by Julian Thomas): Set in the same city as A Dead Djinn in Cairo, this novella follows two agents from the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities as they investigate a possessed tram car. The world-building is vivid and cleverly, thoughtfully, imaginative. But, perhaps because of the mood I’m in and because this story isn’t interested in exploring the personal lives of its detectives, I have no feelings about this.

The Angel of Crows by Katherine Addison: Sherlock Holmes wingfic involving Jack the Ripper murders. Not what I’m looking for in a Holmes retelling. But I was sufficiently intrigued by something the author wrote. I really like Crow and Dr Doyle (arguably more than their original counterparts). My interest wavered a bit during the second half. It closely mimics the style and structure of the original mysteries in many ways and that’s not my favourite style. I wanted fewer cases to solve, and more of Crow and Doyle interactions. I liked the ending, enough to be glad that I hadn’t given up halfway through.

Making Friends with Alice Dyson by Poppy Nsowu: Australian YA. Alice plans to spend her final year of high school staying invisible and studying hard, but is thrown into the spotlight after someone posts a video of her dancing with Teddy Taualai. I loved how intensely this captures Alice’s emotions and perspective, and how the story explores that people have different emotions, perspectives and needs. Alice seems to me like someone who might be on the autism spectrum -- and whether or not that’s what the author intended, it’s great to see characters like her represented. I wish it had unpacked her relationship with her parents more, but that didn’t negate how much I enjoyed this. 

Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han (narrated by Laura Knight Keating): I can’t remember why, after I read To all the boys I’ve loved before and P.S. I still love you in 2017, I decided against reading the third book. It turned out to be my favourite. I loved it! I had a different experience of finishing high school and applying for university, but I find Lara Jean’s perspective intensely relatable: she has strong opinions about aesthetics; she’s nostalgic, introspective, stressed by uncertainty; she enjoys spending time at home with her family. I liked how this book captures her wonder at the intimacy of knowing another person well, and how, although she sometimes worries about their future, she has very few doubts about Peter himself. I haven’t come across very many YA novels in which a teenage girl is so secure being in a relationship. 

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley:  After her sister dies, Eva stays with family friends in Cornwall, where she and Katrina spent summers years ago. I wasn’t expecting time-travel. I like time-travel stories, and I like how Kearsley handles it here. Eva’s choices make sense, given her situation, and the story emphasises that, even though she cannot control when she travels in time, there are still many choices she can actively make. So Eva becomes fascinated with 1715, because of the people she meets there and the relationships they develop... but I wanted to spend more time in the present-day Trelowarth, with its rose gardens and new tea room.

Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings: After she receives a mysterious note, nineteen year old Bettina flouts her mother’s rules for ladylike behaviour and embarks on a roadtrip with a couple of forgotten friends in search of her brothers, who disappeared three years ago. I loved some of the descriptions, especially seeing a rural Australian setting for this sort of fantasy. Jennings creates a wonderfully eerie atmosphere and the mystery kept me reading. However, the folktale parts of the story are dark, uncomfortably so. Very successfully Gothic, just ultimately not really my brand of Gothic.

The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan: There’s something so incredibly soft about this romance -- yet at the same time, it’s about two people who work fiercely towards their goals, worry about things, and are acutely aware of the discrimination they and other they love face as Chinese people in late 19th century England. Chloe and Jeremy’s relationship is characterised by banter and gentle teasing that reveals just well they know and accept and care about each other. Moreover, they have friends and relatives -- and a community -- who are supportive. I really enjoyed reading this and appreciated how low-angst it is.

The Threefold Tie by Aster Glenn Gray: Very tender. The characters convinced me that they were capable of communicating honesty with each other and making an unconventional relationship work. I liked the prose, which is no great surprise. 

Hamster Princess: Whiskerella by Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher): This time, adventure finds Harriet at home: her parents are throwing a masked ball so she can “meet some nice young princes without terrifying them”. But the princes are all preoccupied with a beautiful stranger, and Harriet is distracted by the mystery: who is this hamster, how did she get in without an invitation and what sort of magic is behind her glass slippers?  I think this is my favourite of Harriet’s adventures (so far). I loved the humour in this one.

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer: When Echo finds her missing father unconscious and half-frozen in the woods, she is given a choice by the white wolf. A retelling of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” with elements from “Beauty and the Beast” and “Tam Lin” thrown in, this has so many things which appeal to me, including an unexpected and wonderful library. Yet I found it frustrating and slow; the prose and the characters are rather straightforward, and I predicted nearly all the twists (bar the finale). But I believe that this tale could delight a younger, or a less critical reader.

The Disastrous Début of Agatha Tremain by Stephanie Burgis: In the two years since she turned sixteen and dismissed her governess, Agatha has been free to disregard ladylike behaviour, studying the books in her father’s library and teach herself magic. But then her aunt arrives and insists upon Agatha making a social début. This novelette is another story that I suspect I’d like more if it had been longer, if some of its ideas had been expanded upon and some of the relationships been given more space to develop. Agatha’s aunt and her motivations were unexpected, and I wasn’t entirely comfortable or satisfied with how that was resolved.

Snow Day by Andrea K. Höst: This novelette takes place after the Touchstone trilogy, more specifically after In Arcadia. Two outsiders get to see Cass and her family on Snow Day, and reveal a bit about their upbringing on Kolar.  This feels very much like fanfiction which just happens to be written by the author. It is fun to see familiar characters through others’ eyes and the expanded worldbuilding is interesting, but as a narrative, it seemed somewhat incomplete. (Maybe she’s planning something more with these characters?)

[faerune]

all of storytime & basics for vera 🧡🦾

Age, Birthday, Star Sign 27! She was born July 29th, 2050 and that makes her a Leo!

Gender Identity Cis lady!

Orientation and Relationship status Bisexual and as of a ~month or so post-game taken by Thotty Silverhand

Race and Ethnicity Mexican and russian (only about a quarter because her dad was mixed too)!

Height and Body type 5′10 and as Ms. Stallion puts it curvy, wavy, big titties, lil' waist 😌 

Headcanon VA I love Eiza’s voice but I also love canon f!V so I’d say a mix between the two would be perfect.

Occupation Mercenary and solo for a majority of her life! As of post-game she’s a nomad part of the Aldecaldo clan and is a gunslinger for them.

Weapon of Choice Pistols! She loves a pretty pistol. But pretty much any kind of nice gun she digs but she finds pistols to be her Thing.

Hometown and current residence Heywood, Watson, Night City babey! Currently living on the road!

Do they have any markings, piercings or scars? Yes! She has a bunch of piercings on her ears but none anywhere else, lots of scars on her body from various fuckery gone wrong and a ton of tattoos. Most notable tattoos are her mother’s date of death, a really pretty brightly colored tiger, twin pistols on her hips, Johnny’s dumbass tattoo, and a quote from For Whom The Bell Tolls for Jackie.

Do they have any notable features, like horns, tails, or so on? Haha no. Other than that, she dyes her hair pretty often (pink, blonde, etc) and of course she’s got pretty glowy orange eyes when she’s messing around with her holo.

Own any pets? Nah. I can’t see her adopting the canon cat either just because like...she’s going to die so soon and leave that poor thing unattended. I can see her giving it to Judy lmao.

Have any kids? NO. And I refuse to let myself rationalize her having babies I will not succumb to my baby fever.

Can they cook? Can they bake? Lmao no. Vera is comically bad at both. There’s a reason why she lives on street food and fast food.

Can they sing? Can they dance? Vera isn’t a bad singer but it usually only happens when she’s alone or when she’s very drunk and singing with others. She loves to dance and is good at it. She’s a club rat at heart.

Can they drive? Yes, very well to the point where she’s hopping onto sidewalks and squeezing through cars during traffic. Luckily, Night City c*ps have more than enough on their hands so she rarely has gotten trouble. She prefers bikes to cars especially since the traffic in the city can be so bad. And she loves the wind in her hair.

Can they fight? Yes! She prefers ranged but her father taught her hand to hand when she was younger and she sometimes sparred with Jackie (not with Vik he’s too much for her lmao). Vera doesn’t have much constitution so she can’t last very long esp against bigger opponents but she relies on being fast and taking people by surprise.

Have any special keepsakes? Other than the bullet necklace that she chucks the minute she leaves night city...not that I can think of. Johnny’s gun possibly. I’m thinking he might let her just keep it.

What’s their family like? Who’s in it? What’s their relationship with them? Complicated and dead. Vera was an only child. Her father was a Russian gunrunner when Heywood was a mix of the Valentinos and Russian mob warring over the streets. She had a complex relationship with him.  He was who she predominantly lived with due to her mother’s problems with addiction and owed debts. Vera was his pride and joy but he also emotionally and physically abused her in the name of making her strong enough to survive Night City. He taught her how to shoot, how to fight to not trust corpos and c*ps, how to work the streets, etc. Hitting and abuse was a common punishment for her doing things she shouldn’t...even just being a kid. Vera never really knew what she was going to get with him - praise or a fist. She wanted his approval so, so badly. Growing up in Night City isn’t exactly a walk in the park and she was exposed to a lot of awful things too young and her father was one of those reasons why. He was the one who encouraged her to shoot her first person.

Her mother was a joytoy and not on good terms with her father. She struggled a lot with mental illness namely addiction. Vera would live with her/have visitation with her every so often but it was always back and forth when her mother would relapse. One of her most prominently emotional memories Johnny sees when they merge is when she visited her mother once after an overdose. 

Her mother loved her very much. Adored her. Vera realizes after a lot of misdirected anger and resentment of her mother that she was a victim. It’s why she has so much stake in Evelyn’s rescue.

Are they literate? Did they go to school? How long? What level? Vera is literate! She’s not exactly about to read Shakespeare but she gets by! She did go to school and just barely graduated highschool. After that, nothing else. School of hardknocks was the name of the game in the Volakov household.

What was childhood like? Unstable is the best way I can describe it. Even with all the violence and awfulness in her life she did have good moments. Worked on cars with her friends after school when they hung out at the mechanics shop. Broke windows and snuck into abandoned buildings. Bought the cheapest chili dogs from the street and sat on the curb shooting the shit with her friends. Padre was a pretty big influence on her too - him knowing her mother through distant relation. Her mother often took her to church when Vera was with her and Vera always looked forward to talking to Padre and the other attendees. 

What was adolescence like? Lmao also unstable and wild. Vera was a rebellious kid and hid it well from her father (seemed like he taught her too well). Drank and picked up smoking but specifically stayed away from hard drugs. Dated and broke up and got very bad at relationships. Prioritized school a lot less. Started participating in street racing!

What’s their current main conflict / what do they do to tackle this conflict / how have they changed over time? (I just smooshed these together) Throughout 2077, I’d say that Vera is faced with the breakdown of a lot of her idealism. She’s slowly coming to terms with the fact that Night City isn’t how it is supposed to be. Johnny confuses her some. Vera hates corps and c*ps but it has always been an avoid and fuck over instead of change type of attitude. Growing up in Night City she just has always accepted how it is.

She also learns to value her life and impact on the people around her. Vera so wants to be a big name, a drink at Afterlife, a legend. But then she meets all these people who she looked up to and sees how much they have suffered because of Night City and that drive to fame. Johnny died for his cause and his legacy and all that he was left with was the permanent damage he had done to the people who cared for him and an unmarked grave.

Vera grows less idealistic, more paranoid and realistic. She grows tired. She questions if what she has been fighting for in this awful city is really worth it. Night City has consumed so many people - Jackie, Johnny, Alt, her mother, Evelyn...

Judy leaving Night City and telling her that she’s never felt more free, River’s sister commenting that since River left the force he has never been happier....they all impact her and make her think.

Finally, it hits her that being important to the people she cares about and even having an impact on those around her is enough of a legacy for her. She finally breaks free of how cancerous and black night city is and values her life and a chance at a fresh start.

And fucking leaves!!! Cherishes her new found family and her relationship with Johnny. They grow together and piece together who they think they are out of their bullshit personas they both crafted to protect themselves in Night City.

[awastelandheart]

Sebastian’s personality analyzed through his theory-crafted natal chart, in game dialogue & conclusion included: The perspective of an experienced astrologer.

PART TWO: MOON SIGN. SEE PART ONE: SUN SIGN.

i apologize in advance to any leo moons i unintentionally read to filth in this post.

          so, in my last post i talked about Sebastian’s sun sign. to those who don’t know much about astrology, i’ll take a second at the beginning of this post to explain what a moon sign is   &   recap my opinions on the other post. to the people who know enough about astrology to already understand this much   &   have read the first installment, feel free to skip ahead !

          there is far more to astrology than just the first sign that almost everyone knows about themselves. the second most basic concept to astrology is that each typical planet   ( moon, mars, mercury, etc )   influences different aspects of our personality in unique ways depending on what constellation   ( read: sign )   they were in when a person was born. in my last post i talked about Sebastian’s sun sign, which i headcanon as Capricorn. 

          key sentences from my last post:

Capricorn is an earth sign, reveling in stability with a handful of almost toxic traits to display if that stability isn’t achieved. between their earthly reliability   &   love of practicality, Capricorns are viewed as the traditional fathers of the zodiac sphere. they guard their values of yesteryear close to their chest. anything too different is cast far away from themselves. a Capricorn’s independence is almost panic charged in this way. they so dearly want to be seen as capable that they will shred their own livelihood as a price. they are masters at self control for it, each having taught themselves the art of stoicism from a young age. Capricorns are at best, friendly in a superficial way. knowing their loneliness is created by their own hands but never knowing how to move passed their own cold   &   distant heart to enact any change necessary to improve their relationships. something that is often associated with Capricorns   &   the other earth signs is the act of earning money. Capricorns crave for their income to be stable   &   plentiful in order to provide for their loved ones, or for the more lonely Capricorns, to provide for themselves.

          our sun signs are the most rudimentary of our personality descriptors. it’s an accessible way of understanding ourselves as the position usually hosts our mannerisms   &   ambition. from there, the planets get more niche. our moon sign, which is the position i’ll be talking about in this post, homes our emotional experiences. where this planet is describes how we approach our emotions, how we process   &   cope with them. questions that this position answers are about what we need to feel secure in life   &   how we respond to emotional challenges. our moon sign is the universal experience of knowing what we mean but not being able to articulate it. so in this post i’ll be talking about Sebastian’s nuanced experience. 

          Sebastian’s main struggle is with feeling angry over his family’s neglect   &   Maru’s clear favoritism. aside from a couple instances like his snowgoon lines, we don’t actually see very much tangible favoritism. because of this, i think Sebastian has very sensitive emotions   &   maybe even a fragile ego to boot. it would be less that Demetrius   &   Robin actually treat him unfairly   &   more that he just feels this way;   that on an emotional level, it’s something perceptible but not explainable. Sebastian’s experience with his family’s neglect is less moments that he can list off or define   &   more in the subtleties. i’m not saying he doesn’t get treated unfairly at times, he most definitely does, but to other people these slights may seem superficial;   for Sebastian, they are deeply wounding.

          leo is a fire sign with the modality of fixed. many people assume that fire signs are always extroverted   &   loud, however it can be quite the opposite. this element is more about passion for their interests, innate creativity,   &   how quickly their moods fizzle out. the emotions of a fire sign come fast   &   burn through just as quickly, often leaving some form of destruction in the wake of their excitement. fixed signs are always slightly obsessive about the things that pique their interest. like a dog’s locked jaw, they end up spending more time than other people on one activity. off the top of my head, this is exactly how concernedape describes Sebastian in his dev update #12, saying;   “ he tends to get deeply absorbed in computer games, comic books,   &   sci-fi novels,   &   will sometimes spend great lengths of time pursuing these hobbies alone in his room. ”

          leo specifically is a very intelligent   &   creative sign. their interests are usually a bit nerdier than most in modern times since high fantasy lends well to a unique blend of intellectualism   &   creativity. leo moons tie their emotions to what they create   &   can be very defensive about their interests. others opinions, if differing to their own, can result in a damaged relationship. as a result, leo moons more than most tend to surround themselves with people they find relatable. i find the fact that, unlike with other bachelors, when you answer ‘incorrectly’ to Sebastian asking you your opinion on things, the system actively deducts friendship points, indicating that by not agreeing with him, you’re damaging your relationship.

          when it comes to their friend groups, leo tends to be in charge, whether by force or charm. there’s a duality to leo moons that pegs them as both the overbearing   &   pushy friend that has an opinion on everything   &   the friend that offers structure   &   inspiration to plans or events. it’s natural for a leo position to enjoy attention but more sensitive ones will prefer it only from loved ones   &   those they’re comfortable around. another canon instance to support this deduction is how Sebastian mentions that he enjoys having friends, but has a hard time being around people. he clearly enjoys attention, or else Maru’s favoritism wouldn’t eat at him so much as well, but is too much of an introvert to seek it out from anyone but those he’s comfortable around   ( ie;   Sam   &   Abby ).

          leo moon is a rather emotional position, requiring lots of love   &   care in order to function well. they feel slighted easily   &   console themselves with bouts of sulking as a result. being conscious of their appearance   &   what people think of them often means this sulking won’t happen in public but will be saved for their alone time. for more healthy leo moons, these bouts pass quickly, resulting in a healed ego   &   the ability to ‘get back out there.’ however for leo moons who feel neglected   &   unloved frequently, this brooding may become apart of their personality. anyone who spends more than a moment interacting with Sebastian in game will probably describe him as seeming like the brooding type   --   in one of his first interactions with the player, he delivers an almost poetic yet depressing line that insinuates he spends a lot of time thinking to himself.

          so, in summary, i believe Sebastian has a Leo moon because he shares many qualities with how astrologers perceive the position. he is complicated & a man with a lot of internal conflict   --   someone who enjoys all things extroverted but due to his sensitive emotions, has developed a guarded personality to compensate. of course this is all just my personal interpretation, but i hope this was an interesting read   &   shed some light on the kind of person Sebastian is !

[mystacoceti]

from “The Essay as Form”, Theodor Adorno

“Destined to see what is illuminated, not the light.” Goethe, Pandora

That in Germany the essay is condemned as a hybrid, that the form has no compelling tradition, that its emphatic demands are met only intermittently—all this has been said, and censured, often enough. “The essay form has not yet, today, travelled the road to independence which its sister, poetry, covered long ago; the road of development from a primitive, undifferentiated unity with science, ethics, and art.” [1] But neither discomfort with this situation nor discomfort with the mentality that reacts to it by fencing off art as a preserve for irrationality, equating knowledge with organized science, and excluding anything that does not fit that antithesis as impure, has changed anything in the prejudice customary here in Germany. Even today, to praise someone as an écrivain is enough to keep him out of academia. Despite the telling insights that Simmel and the young Lukács, Kassner and Benjamin entrusted to the essay as speculation on specific, culturally pre-formed objects, [2] the academic guild accepts as philosophy only what is clothed in the dignity of the universal and the enduring—and perhaps today the originary. It gets involved with particular cultural artifacts only to the extent to which they can be used to exemplify universal categories, or to the extent to which the particular becomes transparent when seen in terms of them. The stubbornness with which this schema survives would be as puzzling as the emotions attached to it if it were not fed by motives stronger than the painful memory of the lack of cultivation in a culture in which the homme de lettres is practically unknown. In Germany the essay arouses resistance because it evokes intellectual freedom. since the failure of an Enlightenment that has been lukewarm since Leibniz, even under present-day conditions of formal freedom, that intellectual freedom has never quite developed but has always been ready to proclaim its subordination to external authorities as its real concern. The essay, however, does not let its domain be prescribed for it. Instead of accomplishing something scientifically or creating something artistically, its efforts reflect the leisure of a childlike person who has no qualms about taking his inspiration from what others have done before him. The essay reflects what is loved and hated instead of presenting the mind as creation ex nihilo on the model of an unrestrained work ethic. Luck and play are essential to it. It starts not with Adam and Eve but with what it wants to talk about; it says what occurs to it in that context and stops when it feels finished rather than when there is nothing to say. Hence it is classified a trivial endeavor. Its concepts are not derived from a first principle, nor do they fill out to become ultimate principles. Its interpretations are not philologically definitive and conscientious; in principle they are over-interpretations—according to the mechanized verdict of the vigilant intellect that hires out to stupidity as a watchdog against the mind. Out of fear of negativity, the subject’s efforts to penetrate what hides behind the facade  under the name of objectivity are branded as irrelevant. It’s much simpler than that, we are told. The person who interprets instead of accepting what is given and classifying it is marked with the yellow star of one who squanders his intelligence in impotent speculation, reading things in where there is nothing to interpret. A man with his feet on the ground or a man with his head in the clouds—those are the alternatives. But letting oneself be terrorized by the prohibition against saying more than was meant right then and there means complying with the false conceptions that people and things harbor concerning themselves. Interpretation then becomes nothing but removing an outer shell to find what the author wanted to say, or possibly the individual psychological impulses to which the phenomenon points. but since it is scarcely possible to determine what someone may have though or felt at any particular point, nothing essential is to be gained through such insights. The author’s impulses are extinguished in the objective substance they seize hold of. In order to be disclosed, however, the objective wealth of meanings encapsulated in every intellectual phenomenon demands of the recipient the same spontaneity of subjective fantasy that is castigated in the name of objective discipline. Nothing can be interpreted out of something that is not interpreted into it at the same time. the criteria for such interpretations are its compatibility with the text and with itself, and its power to give voice to the elements of the object in conjunction with one another. In this, the essay has something like an aesthetic autonomy that is easily accused of being simply derived from art, although it is distinguished from art by its medium, concepts, and by its claim to a truth devoid of aesthetic semblance. Lukács failed to recognize this when he called the essay an art form in a letter to Leo Popper that introduces Soul and Form. [3] But the positivist maxim according to which what is written about art may in no way lay claim to artistic presentation, that is, autonomy of form, is not better. Here as elsewhere, the general positivist tendency to set every possible object, as an object of research, in stark opposition to the subject, does not go beyond mere separation of form and content—for one can hardly speak of aesthetic matters unaesthetically, devoid of resemblance to the subject matter, without falling into philistinism and losing touch with the object a priori. In positivist practice, the content, once fixed on the model of the protocol sentence, is supposed to be neutral with respect to its presentation, which is supposed to be conventional and not determined by the subject. To the instinct of scientific purism, every expressive impulse in the presentation jeopardizes an objectivity that supposedly leaps forth when the subject has been removed. It thereby jeopardizes the authenticity of the object, which is all the better established the less it relies on support from the form, despite the fact that the criterion of from is whether it delivers the object pure and without admixture. In its allergy to forms as mere accidental attributes, the spirit of science and scholarship [Wissenschaft] comes to resemble that of rigid dogmatism. Positivism’s irresponsibly sloppy language fancies that it documents responsibility in its object, and reflection on intellectual matters becomes the privilege of the mindless.

Non of these offspring of resentment are pure falsehood. If the essay declines to begin by deriving cultural works from something underlying them, it embroils itself all too eagerly in the cultural enterprise promoting the prominence, success, and prestige of marketable products. Fictionalized biographies and all the related commercial writing that depend on them are not mere products of degeneration; they are a permanent temptation for a form whose suspiciousness of false profundity does not protect it form turning into slick superficiality. This can be seen even in Sainte-Beuve, from whom the genre of the modern essay derives. In products like Herbert Eulenberg’s biographical silhouettes, the German prototype of a flood of cultural trash, and down to films about Rembrandt, Toulouse-Lautrec and the Bible, this involvements has promoted the neutralization of cultural works to commodities, a process that in recent intellectual history has irresistibly taken hold of what the Eastern bloc ignominiously calls “the heritage.” The process is perhaps most obvious in Stefan Zweig, who produced several sophisticated essays in his youth and ended up descending to the psychology of the creative individual in his book on Balzac. This kind of writing does not criticize abstract fundamental concepts, aconceptual data, or habituated cliches; instead, it presupposes them, implicitly but by the same token with all the more complicity. The refuse of interpretive psychology is fused with current categories from the Weltanschauung of the cultural philistine, categories like “personality” or “the irrational.” Such essays confuse themselves with the same feuilleton with which the enemies of the essay from confuse it. Forcibly separated from the discipline of academic unfreedom, intellectual freedom itself becomes unfree and serves the socially performed needs of its clientele. Irresponsibility, itself an aspect of all truth that does not exhaust itself in responsibility to the status quo, then justifies itself to the needs of established consciousness; bad essays are just as conformist as bad dissertations. Responsibility, however, respects not only authorities and committees, but also the object itself.

[1] Georg Lukács, “On the Nature and Form of the Essay,” in Soul and Form, translated by Anna Bostock, p. 13.

[2] Ibid. p. 10: “The essay is always concerned with something already formed, or at best, with something that has been; it is part of its essence that it does not draw something new out of an empty vacuum, but only gives a new order to such things as once lived. And because he only newly orders them, not forming something new out of the formless, he is bound to them; he must always speak ‘the truth’ about them, find, that is, the expression of their essence.”

[3] Cf. ibid., pp. 1 - 18.

[comicteaparty]

March 30th-April 5th, 2020 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from   March 30th, 2020 to April 5th, 2020.  The chat focused on  Crypts and Cantrips by Kieran Thompson.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Crypts and Cantrips by Kieran Thompson~! (http://cryptsandcantrips.kytri.net/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace until April 5th, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Discussions are freeform, but we do offer discussion prompts in the pins for those who’d like to have them. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic! Whether you finish the comic or can only read a few pages, everyone is welcome to join and chat with us!

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 1

1. What did you like about the beginning of the comic?

2. What has been your favorite moment in the comic (so far)?

3. Who is your favorite character?

4. Which characters do like seeing interact the most?

5. What is something you like about the art? If you have a favorite illustration, please share it!

6. What is a theme you like that the comic explores?

7. What do you like about the comic’s story or overall related content?

8. Overall, what do you think the comic’s strengths are?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Just starting the first chapter...hmm, what is the establishment hiding, that they're so against the idea of making new maps?

And I'm intrigued by the idea of a society that's frankly & cheerfully accepting of trans people, but also, doesn't know that lesbians exist? Or has a fixation on a super-narrow PIV-specific idea of virginity. Or both? If the issue was "this person can't be allowed to get pregnant before the arranged marriage or it would be A Scandal," that would be a logical reason to divide up which sexy things are "safe" vs. which aren't, but it isn't framed that way...

Okay, end-of-the-chapter blurb says that is what it's about. It's just odd that the dialogue was coy about "the issue is pregnancy" while being so blunt about other things. (I was just reading another comic with a trans princess character, and wow, what an awkward plot twist that could lead to. "So, the good news is, there wasn't an accidental pregnancy in the direction you were afraid of, but...")

"I made a fantasy trope in this comic work the way I wish it worked in a certain other canon" is such a great motivator.

Geez, this kid's only been adventuring for 5 minutes before someone gets murdered in front of him. Poor guy.

...on the bright side, oh good, the princess is aware that lesbians exist.

Loving this axolotl dragon art. http://cryptsandcantrips.kytri.net/comic/chapter-3-extras-17/

And the orca dragon that follows.

Have now read through the Dramatic Twist. Not gonna go into details for the sake of other first-time readers, but it's more complicated than these plots usually seem to get in fantasy settings, and I'm into it.

warriorneedsfood

I like the comic. The relationships are fun to watch develop. I found the character introductions a little awkward with the announcement of their various types of sexuality. But after establishing them, I found their personalities interesting and was looking forward to reading more.

RebelVampire

What I liked about the beginning of the comic is kind of just how quickly it starts world-building with stuff like the issue of discrimination in the market or just the general name dropping of stuff. All of it felt pretty natural, and as I consider world-building vitally important for fantasy, I really liked the comic didn't hide its punches. My favorite moment was actually when the stranger on the road said "please come help my wagon" and then it devolved into them being attacked. This is like one of the most stereotypical fantasy things to happen, but that's kind of why I liked it. It added familiar comfort food with all the new stuff, and I liked just having something like that 100% met my expectations for what was about to happen. My favorite character right now is definitely Taneli. I love just how sweet and accepting she is. But I also kind of like she's just really...not entirely capable because she's lived the sheltered palace life and not gotten out much. Usually that's something I'd find annoying, but something about Taneli just makes it work so I absolutely adore how overall innocent she is even in spite of being stuck in an arranged marriage. I like seeing Kitov and Taneli interact the most. They have a beautiful, touching, and supportive relationship going on and I like how theyre similar in regards to world experience. It doesn't make it feel like either of them is somehow superior or has the upperhand, so it's just communication between equals.

RebelVampire

As for the art, I really like the character designs. They aren't overly complicated, but are each very unique as well, and I think overall they got that right fantasy DnD vibe to them that just really suits the story being told. I kind of like that the story is exploring the theme of duty and arranged marriages. Usually when it comes to arranged marriage, 90% of stories write protagonists that do everything in their power to escape and express their individuality and freedom. But I like that this story is kind of exploring the idea of duty and how we as people deal with the concept. I also just in general like it's exploring the political things surrounding it. Like I love that frank conversation Taneli had with the king about marrying him for the kid to become the ruler, and he was completely unoffended seeming. This was just a real refreshing approach since as much as I love freedom, I also love talking about when duty needs to override freedom. As for what I like about the comic's story is that this really feels like a tabletop campaign. So many stories claim to be tabletop rpg-like, but they really deviate from the feel I imagine when I think of such a story. So I kind of like that this comic captures that spirit of adventure perfectly. As for the comic's overall strengths, for me it's just kind of the whole fantasy package. Between the art, the world-building, story's feel of being a tabletop, I think the comic is like the epitome of high fantasy and hits all the notes I personally believe high fantasies need to hit. So if someone said fantasy comic, this would be at the top of the list for a comic I would think of.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 2

9. Why do you think King Rishor was murdered, and why was Taneli seemingly framed in the process? Also, how do you think Leo got involved in everything, and how big of a role do you think he had in the plot?

10. What do you think will happen to Kitov and company as they search for answers and try to avoid capture? Will the group be able to find Leo, and if so, will that be enough to clear their names of suspicion?

11. Given Kitov and Taneli are both similar in regards to their experience levels, how do you think the events of the story will change them and their perspectives on the world? In what ways do you think they’ll remain the same?

12. How do you think the world itself will be affected by King Rishor’s death? Could it escalate into a war, or might Minash Turgal change for the worse? How will this affect characters like Lirre who helps Kitov and company out?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

RebelVampire

I get the impression King Rishor was probably murdered for two reasons. Once, to destabilize the country/kingdom/w/e you wanna call it, and two to start some sort of war (hence why you frame Taneli). Leo I think is just the pawn of someone else. In some ways, I kind of feel like Leo is a victim of great pain and that pain was somehow manipulated for nefarious means. As for Kitov and company, I think they'll find Leo, but heck no will that clear them of suspicion. You can't just escape and have no consequences or continued suspicion. That will not play into their favor. SO they're gonna have to just dig deeper and deeper into the plot and still run from the law at every turn. Though I do kind of feel they'll wind up back home at some point and find out things are bad there too somehow. As for the world itself, since I already mentioned this, I do think there's gonna be war brewing. Maybe not get to the point where it happens, but people will be scrambling around to prevent it and there'll probably be lots of angry people causing havoc in Minash Turgal cause these are the sorts of things where people need someone to blame. I think Lirre will probably be fine because I don't want to think about bad things happening to Lirre O_O Finally, regarding Kitov and Taneli changing. I think they're both gonna gain some smarts from this. I feel like Kitov could learn some more street smarts and learn that not every nice seeming person is a good person and that it's okay to distrust people you just met. Meanwhile, I think Taneli is just gonna learn the struggles normal people go through outside of the sheltered life she's lived, and that she'll be much wiser when it comes to politics. However, I think they'll both remain lovely people who are sweet and have that twinkle in their eye.

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I feel like the murder of King Rishor was foreshadowed on this page: https://cryptsandcantrips.kytri.net/comic/twelve-4/ With the whole "obviously the people like me, because if they didn't, they'd vote to replace me" bit. Like, sure, that's true on a country-wide scale... but votes are majority rule, not unanimous. And sometimes... the smaller group of people who disagree with you can be very vocal.

Comic Tea Party

DISCUSSION PROMPTS – PART 3

13. What are you most looking forward to seeing in regards to the comic?

14. Any final words of encouragement for the comic?

Don’t feel inspired by the prompts? Feel free to discuss anything else that interested you!

Erin Ptah (BICP | Leif & Thorn)

Taneli's my favorite too. She's very sheltered, but her heart's in the right place and she's adjusting as fast as she can, and she's active and enthusiastic which is great for plot motion. Plus, she gets the best clothes. I like the worldbuilding of "actually, our country has all kinds of mold-breaking things like non-hereditary elected rulers and public transportation." Here's hoping it catches on more widely. Leo's plotting is...complicated. Escorting the Princess gave him a great opportunity to get close for the assassination, and since he had the stuff in the luggage, it seems like he was plotting it the whole time. But the fact that Taneli was a Princess at all was supposed to be a secret from everyone except Kitov, right? The others were all surprised when it came out. Was it a plan that only came together when he arrived, and the poison was just planted to frame the others? Or was the poison in the luggage all along, and the secrecy of the whole mission was compromised from the beginning? Unrelated, I thought the sexual-orientation references were well-done. It's not like the whole cast sat in a circle and announced a list of identities each -- it came up naturally in one conversation with a few people, and they mentioned the parts of their experience that were relevant. Also really liked "masculinization potion." Some of the trans-related vocabulary stuck out from the rest of the dialogue, but this feels natural -- like, of course, those are the words a Medieval D&D Fantasy Person would use for it.

RebelVampire

What I'm most looking forward to seeing in the comic is probably just more of the plot revealed as to why assassinate the king and finding the whole motivation behind everything. Just because I'm hoping it opens up more questions to explore and also helps build the world. My final words are simply that this is a lovely comic with likeable characters and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes in terms of plot since the plot has definitely caught my interest.

Kytri

Hi, uh this is my first post here. I'm the writer/artist of Crypts and Cantrips. The week is over in about half an hour in my time zone, and I just wanted to stop in and say thanks for including my comic and for everyone's kind words.

My comics tend not to spark much discussion or feedback so it was a really nice change of pace.

Comic Tea Party

BOOK CLUB END!

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

Read and Comment: http://cryptsandcantrips.Kytri.net/

Kieran’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Kytri

Kieran’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/itsKytri

Kieran’s itch.io Store: https://Kytri.itch.io/

Kieran’s Teepublic page: https://www.teepublic.com/user/Kytri

Kieran’s TWITTER: https://twitter.com/Kytri

[mukamibabe]

Hi! Can I get a match up, please?

*(a bit of a TW ahead)

I’m a short, very slender female and have struggled with anorexia/anorexia-bulimia for a very big part of my life that still lingers. I love music, my favorite genres being alternative and indie rock. I also love learning and really enjoy researching. I really value sincerity and compassion, making me a bit of a hopeless romantic. I’m more of a pessimistic realist, making me very rational and always trying to look at things objectively, even though I’m sometimes very sensitive and fragile when it comes to emotions and feelings. I have many trust issues from past experiences and tend to bottle up a lot, making it hard for the people that do truly love and care about me. Very quiet and shy, mainly because I’m a pretty big introvert and experience a lot of anxiety, even though I seem very calm and laid back. When people get to know me, they get to find out about my sarcastic and silly side. I’m very caring and sweet, wanting to always help the people I truly love and care for. I also have a strong need for freedom that I strongly hold onto. My favorite animals are cats, having a small kitty in my home as well. Generally I dislike people who are very conventional, refuse to think and/or are closed-minded. MBTI type: INFJ, although a lot more of an Ni-Ti one, since I tend to overthink and isolate myself more often than not. Zodiac sign: Leo, Aquarius moon and rising. Appearance - feminine, pale white skin and a small round face, plump pinkish lips, small nose and big dark hazel eyes. Above shoulder length hair, dark wavy brown.

(Thank you very much in advance! Wish you a great day 💕)

ok please excuse me if this comes out weird,, I’ve never answered any match ups like this (not that it’s a problem!! the longer the better!) anyways, onto your match lol I match you with Yuma Mukami!  Ok. So firstly, Yuma isn’t too understanding about your eating disorder, as food was something he never really had,, so he’s a little annoyed, but he won’t yell at you for it. He will however always make sure you are eating, and are staying healthy. If you have specific fruits or vegetables you like to eat, he will be sure to share some with you, and is willing to grow more for you, as well as teach you about all of his plants. Also, your music taste is a bonus,, I imagine he’d like those types of music a lot. He’s not really fond of your shyness, as we know he has a temper, but he is willing to try to be patient. It’s not that he doesn’t like shy people, it’s more so if you keep to yourself whenever you’re around him. In his eyes, you are a complicated person, but that’s what makes him want to get to know you better. You two might clash at first, but eventually you two will get close, and Yuma will be nicer to you. He just genuinely likes you as a person, you’re just really interesting to him. He relates to your need for freedom, and he’s willing to give you your freedom, as long as you’re not going to completely leave him. Also, Cats. He doesn’t show that he likes cats, because ‘that’s Kou’s thing’, but Yuma likes animals a lot, so he’d be pretty happy if he ever gets to see your kitten.  In conclusion, Yuma and you seem to share the same values and interests, so I can see you two hitting it off, but Yuma’s a bold guy, and isn’t afraid to say what he wants, even if you’re his lover. 

[vio1315]

Kreig Cecilia and Kusuma

Full Name: Kreig of [snowland country name]Gender and Sexuality: Male, straight (potentially asexual but idk if I’ll ever make that canon)Ethnicity/Species: Human with about 10% harpy blood

Birthplace and Birthdate: In the country I’ve been calling snowland on here. The dating of this place means it’d be like 82X of the fourth era or some crap, so I'mma say he’s like in his 40s or soHaven’t figured out the calendar system beond the years yet though, so I super dunno month/day (not even an equivalent) Fall or winter bday feels okay… maybe even spring….

Guilty Pleasures: Judging people with friends. Like can you envision a bunch of dads with beers talking crap about foreign policy makers or something? Yeah that’s kinda his thing. He sees nothing wrong with it though

Phobias: Oh dude. He’s so tough… hm, I bet he’s like one of those people who couldn’t handle being made useless in some way. If he knew he was losing brain functionality and was gonna end up in a vegetative state, I think he’d ask his son or someone similar to kill him. Probably his wife actually. He trusts her to do it, and do it when the time is right for it

What They Would Be Famous For: He’s a king, so like…. okay but more specifically he’ll be remembered as a very strong leader. Like in 500 years he’ll still be taught about. He has navigated wars and foreign relations with unparalleled skill, and he’ll certainly get credit in finally securing the alliance with [mainland]

What They Would Get Arrested For: Lol, in modern times? Maybe like some visits from CPS, but nothing would come of that. Maybe assault, if I HAD to pick. But I’ll be honest, dude’s goal in life is to be as legalistic as possible, so it’s tough

OC You Ship Them With: I honestly don’t. He’s married to Heiwa, and they kind of hate each other a little, but also respect each other and similar, and I very much enjoy the weirdness that is their relationship. Ship though? No.

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Hmmm… I mean I can think of some villain OCs, but honestly that’s it. As much as Skye and Marth dislike him, they would never hurt him. Not intentionally. I think when they were first married, it could have been Heiwa, but no longer.

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Documentaries, biographies, non fiction type stuff. He’s more likely to go for stuff he can learn practical things from though. Strategies and stuff. He’s a workaholic.

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Romance probably annoys him on some level. But anything where the leader character sacrifices themselves for an underling would enrage him. “It’s bad leadership”

Talents and/or Powers: Dude is great with strategy and combat. He’s smart/cunning despite his drawbacks.

Why Someone Might Love Them: He does what’s necessary and doesn’t let Anything distract him from serving his people. He doesn’t shy away from self sacrifice for what he believes is the greater good, and he falls under the ‘a jerk, but he’s right’ very often

Why Someone Might Hate Them: He’s a jerk. His methods often don’t achieve the ends he believes they will, especially in his personal relationships. He’s far too harsh and legalistic, even going beyond what’s necessary

How They Change: Kreig is not a man who changes Much. His biggest change is in the slow shift of how he views his son. As someone who’s worth existing. The fact that this strongly correlates to him physically getting stronger is something of a shame, because really, that’s the smallest portion of what contributes. Though in his own way, he always did care for his son, it just has never and will never be more important than their country.

Why You Love Them: What can I say? He’s got the internal strength of a bear. Dude could saw off his own legs for the sake of his country. There’s something to respect there, especially given he’s not even crazy or anything like most such characters.

Full Name: Cecilia… Ward? (Still deciding last name honestly)Gender and Sexuality: Female, straightEthnicity/Species: Based off an Amazon woman. Dark skinned.Birthplace and Birthdate: In the desert east of mainland, their great enemies. Birthdate is not hugely important. Not even a spoiler to say she’s dead honestly. When she died? Maybe around 27??

Guilty Pleasures: Mm, showing people up probably. Proving someone wrong, that kind of thing. It’s not about being right so much as pulling the rug from under people. This isn’t majorly apparent in her personality, she’s just got a slight chip on her shoulder

Phobias: Word of her wherabouts being sent back home

What They Would Be Famous For: Sadly enough? The fact that she married and had a child with someone of a certain race who is very hated among her people

What They Would Get Arrested For: That marriage if she ever went back to her country, honestly. But by todays standards? Well, could see her getting into a fight and accidentally going a tad too far, even if it was initially self defense. Whoops. But honestly she’s actually very well restrained, but that’s a lot to do with that she moved to a country where people are Extremely racist against her, and she kind of has no choice but to deal

OC You Ship Them With: Leo

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Hmm, of the good guys… uhh? Honestly if she was alive she’d be pretty well liked among those who didn’t care about her race. Which by the time of the story is a lot more people than when she was aroundBut one of the bad guys actually is her murderer so l o lYou know, once upon a time the most likely would have been Dalton (Marth’s dad) honestly?? He’s actuually the least racist dude in general, but man that war was sommething

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Maan, she’d probably enjoy stupid spectacle movies just fine, but in books go for pretty phlisophical stuff. Like if something was 100% allegory and got mildly, but underhandedly preachy? She’d love that actually.But mostly she would enjoy realistic fiction I think, especially involving humble characters or similar.Without realizing it she’d def have her favs be farmer characters who loved their animals type of vibe. You know the vibe.

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Hmm… Love triangles, and probably when the strawman comes and pesters the Innocents and so they just gotta beat up the strawman. No other choice

Talents and/or Powers: Has extra strength due to her race. Has some pretty alright skills with a sword, and basic magic knowledge.

Why Someone Might Love Them: Girl takes about as little crap as you can in her situation. She’s fairly prideful but really sticks to what she believes in, even when it hurts her pride. Even when it leads to her living in a foreign country where she’s hated

Why Someone Might Hate Them: Prideful. At the start, her pride and chip on her shoulder nature can especially override her kind nature.

How They Change: Becomes a lot more empathetic and undertsanding. Doesn’t get very caught up in her own life and is able to see people a bit more accurately. Overcomes some of her own racism. Becomes a lot stronger in a more real way which is less defensive.

Why You Love Them: She’s a very prequel kind of character, but I appreciate that she’s a fairly simple and straightforward person. Like she’s not dumb, she just sees no use in complicating things. Though she sees things a bit skewed and biased at times, she learns and grows and will admit to when she’s wrong. But she’ll stand by when she’s right even when she’s the literal only one who is

Full Name: Kusuma RitterGender and Sexuality: Female, straightEthnicity/Species: Also that amazon based race, dark skinned (you know how to pick em)Birthplace and Birthdate: In mainland. Due to the nature of post story, it encompasses a lot of ages. But basically she’s introduced when she’s 12

Guilty Pleasures: Roughhousing, showing how fantastically awesome she is to everyone, or even just one person

Phobias: People breaking into the house

What They Would Be Famous For: Coolest kid on your block. When she’s older? Maybe coolest guard in the district

What They Would Get Arrested For: Assault lol. Resisting arrest would be tacked on

OC You Ship Them With: None, also due to the nature of post story. Honestly if I did ship her, it’d probs end up being with Soren, but they’re like adoptive siblings, so I try to just let them be siblings (it’s better that way)

OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Soren lol, at least when they first meet. Racism isn’t fixed yet me boyos.

Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Action. No doubt. Bring on the one liners.

Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Hmm… honestly romance sub plots in general. She hates when cool action stuff has to come to a halt to develop (or more likely fail to develop, but still force awkward scenes) a relationship.She doesn’t hate romance per se, just in these moments especially

Talents and/or Powers: Bonus strength, decent with sword (as much as a 12 year old can be)

Why Someone Might Love Them: Honestly she’s just a cool 12 year old. Half of what sh says and does wouldn’t be out of place with sunglasses. But she’s also a protective older sister. Catch her using her free time to help with baby care

Why Someone Might Hate Them: She’s a bit obnoxious at times. A bit self important and cocky. It can be a bit clear to older peeps that she’s hiding some insecurities. She can hold a grudge and be Too blunt at times, lashing out in frustration when she has to deal with Soren at first (racism right back ya heck)

How They Change: Forgets any of those racist ideas she had, because Soren’s a weirdo, but he’s not evil. Becomes a bit more secure, so her defensive bluntness goes down, though her sarcasm goes way up. Her empathy and general love of people increases, though she also just develops better EQ in general. She can sense when people are eying her funny or talking behind her back, though she never lets it get to her. Honestly she just becomes the picture of confidence. Kinda Flynn Rider acting?? But legit.Why You Love Them: She’s pretty mature for her age despite it all. She steps up when things need doing without hesitation, but all while maintaining her attitude. Despite what happened to her, she never seems super traumatized or any such thing. It’s a bit hidden, but a lot just comes from how she deals with things too. She tends to work through her problems in an actually healthy way without tons of guiddance, though she ends up really thriving with it. But honestly she’s just sassy without being too blind to where peoples lines are, so stops herself short of being annoying with it. A good girl

[leo-culture-technology]

Random general question but is reverse engineering comparability a thing? Like is it possible to look at a chart, figure out a bunch of ideal aspects for a partner, then fill out a full placement chart for them and pull a range of birth dates from it? 🤔 Always wondered if it could technically get so specific lol. Idk much about astrology but it's fun reading about it

Thanks ❤️

Well I know you can pick out birthday numbers using numerology, though I don't know how to do that personally. It's not really as specific as you say since most aspects occur between multiple combinations. E.g. Leo could be trine with sag or Aries, it could also be trine with the signs that neighbour those depending on specific degrees. Aspects can't actually be assigned to entire signs in the way I do for the readings I do on here, it actually relates to the specific angle between the placements. E.g. a trine is 120° (with around a +/- 5 margin) so if a Leo is at like 23°, and a sag is at like 3°, then they wouldn't actually be trine, because the angle is only 100°. Equally, if Leo is at like 2°, scorpio at 2° would be square (90°), but Scorpio at like 29° would have an angle of 116°, which would be trine.

It's important to note that the way I do compatibility readings on here involves a lot of generalisations, this sacrifices accuracy for the sake of ease, that's why I offer paid readings where I do things properly bc I don't do things properly here fhdjdjskdndj

I also think it's more complicated than picking ideal aspects, because it's about the balance and how things interact. Squares aren't always a bad thing, they can be stimulating, but too many create conflict. Equally, sextiles are really nice harmonious aspects that create ease and comfort. Too many make a relationship dull and too same-y and uninteresting. That balance can be achieved in all manner of combinations, so there really is no single "best" option that's better than all others, if that makes sense.

In a general sense I could be like, for an easy example, imo skz Chan would suit someone with some earth in their venus/mars, because of his Scorpio Venus and because his Libra stellium could perhaps use some grounding at times, but the person really also ought to have some similar air influence to be able to keep up with his mind. I would personally say Taurus/Gemini energy would both be good for him in a partner, for a variety of reasons. These are opinions though, and other astrologers might disagree, it's very subjective I think.

The point is I think there are too many options, and I think astrology as a study is too subjective, for precise predictions to be made beyond "these signs would probably suit them", and the birth date predictions via numerology that I mentioned, though those are only dates, not like months or anything.