#SURELY there's a way to do this without having to add in the paragraph breaks manually

[nicodiangelato]

Here's what I do that helps me get stuff done on time without stressing myself sick:

Split tasks up into their bare, basic components. Then, make a checklist of each component. Planners are my best friends, because I have an easier time remembering to do something if I write it down.

I find it a lot easier for me, motivation wise, to get through an essay by writing :

"do research/ find sources,

find quotations and create citations,

create an outline,

write paragraph (1,2,3, etc.),

edit rough draft,

create final draft"

because I can check off each little part and still feel like I'm making real, tangible progress vs. just putting down "turn in essay by (deadline)" in my planner.

Then, figure out what's the absolute *bare minimum* you need to do each day (or any other incriment of time that fits your schedule) to meet your deadline. Whatever it is, make sure to add an extra day or two as padding, so you can meet that deadline even if something comes up. Don't be afraid of asking for extensions or setting up accomodations. Be realistic with your limitations and time constraints.

For example: I have 5 hours of lecture I need to get through over Thanksgiving break to meet a deadline. Over 6 days, I need to watch at least 45 mins of a lecture each day. For me, 45 of lecture time is doable over a day because I know I dont have to do it all in one sitting. Realistically, I know it will take me anywhere from 1-5 hours to watch and take notes for these 45 minutes of lecture, because I am preemptively assuming I will need to take some breaks in between.

Breaks: when I get bored, I dont fight it. Instead, I take time to pivot. This is particularly helpful when I find myself doing something I have no interest in, and my brain does not for any reason want to let me do it. I take the time to scroll aimlessly, but also to get a drink/eat/use the restroom. I'm actually writing this while on a hw break right now. And when I get back from my break, all my stuff is in the same place where I left it at my desk, so I have a much better time easing my way into being productive again. If I still don't wanna work on what I was before, I start working on something relatively quick & easy from my to do list that I *do* want to do and ride the wave of productivity I get from finishing that.

The last part: reward yourself for the small victories. Yes checking things off a to do list is fun, but so are stickers. My planners are FULL of gold stars, smiley faces, and cute character stickers. There's a reason teachers use them, they are amazing motivators.

There's a bunch of adhd advice out there that's like "people with adhd tend to work better under deadlines due to the anxiety so here are ways to artificially induce a stress response in order to get you to get work done" and it's like well what if I don't want to be stressed out all the time in order to function

[marlynnofmany]

Starseed Apples

“Here you go,” I said, putting down the last box. “Uncut fabric, plumbing supplies, and three cases with a fungus biohazard label. Do I even want to know what’s in those?” I cast a curious look at my fellow human as I handed over the signing pad. She was shorter and rounder than I was, dressed in a crisp uniform of a type I didn’t recognize. Big pockets everywhere.

She signed with a wry grin. “Those are dirt.”

“Dirt?” I repeated, looking around the admittedly spotless loading dock of this particular space station. “Dirt warrants a biohazard here?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” she said, handing the pad back. “Organic mulch that could contain anything from decomposed animals to fungus to poop? With uncountable amounts of bacterial life and potential germs? We’re lucky they only focused on the mold aspect!”

“Hm, good point,” I said.

Zhee, who was busy moving boxes off the hover sled, muttered something disparaging. I expected him to complain about how gross it all was, since he was always the first to point out when humans did something to offend his bug-alien sensibilities, but it sounded like he was griping about the strict station rules this time.

The human continued. “We have to keep a clean room between the greenhouse area and everything else. Even there, most things are in pots. We’ve got a great crop from Johnny Starseed right now!”

I’d heard that name before. “Oh, was he the one who sells little potted—”

“Apple trees, yeah,” she said. “Tiny and convenient, but they make an impressive number of apples as long as you feed ‘em quality dirt.” She bent down to pat a box.

Zhee finished freeing the sled. “Reasonable business plan,” he said, sounding almost complimentary.

“The guy named himself after Johnny Appleseed,” I told Zhee. “A human from centuries ago who got famous for traveling around and setting up apple orchards on Earth. Everybody likes a guy who brings food wherever he goes. And drink — I think some of those apples were supposed to be the cider variety.”

Zhee flicked his antennae. “Sounds like a very human thing to do,” he said drily.

“Have you tried the Starseed Reds?” the other human asked. “They’re very good.”

“No I haven’t, but I’d like to!” I said. “I’ve heard good things. I was kind of hoping to cross paths with him at some point. I wouldn’t mind a tiny apple tree in my quarters. Of course, the cat might get at it, and I’d probably have to find a grow lamp…”

She opened a boxy hip pocket, and pulled out the shiniest red apple I’d seen in a while. “Here you go.”

“Thank you!” I said, taking it eagerly. “That’s very generous!”

She waved it off. “Like I said, we’ve got a big crop. And I’ve got a different one that I’m saving for when I get off shift.” From another pocket, she produced a red apple with distinct orange stripes. “Which should be as soon as I get the supplies back to base.”

I laughed. “Is that the booze kind? I didn’t think those were real!”

“Oh yes,” she said with relish, putting it back in the pocket. “Starseed Cider Apples, no fermenting required!”

Zhee cocked his head, faceted eyes looking at both of us. “Poisonous apples?”

“Alcoholic apples,” I corrected, knowing full well that he considered that to be the same thing.

Zhee pushed the hover cart back toward the ship with a dramatic head tilt and antennae swirl. “Now that sounds like a human thing to do.”

“Well, you’re not wrong there,” I said with a smile. I thanked the other human and followed him, taking a bite of my non-alcoholic apple. It really was good.

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come!

[chimaerakitten]

Making my own post because my thoughts have strayed pretty far from the immediate topic but re: that “ace-friendly” AO3 tag poll

Most comments on that post I’ve seen are agreeing that it’s useless and infantalizing when it means “no sex” and a few comments have mentioned what they would want a tag like that to mean. Many of the ideas are good, but I think they still suffer from “wait what does Ace friendly even mean. Who decides” problem

Which is why I wouldn’t want to see “Ace-friendly” even with another meaning, but there’s a couple more specific tags I would like to see on a fic, once in a while:

Non-amatonormative depiction of romance — self-explanatory. I would love for something like this to be a searchable tag! I sometimes like reading romance, and would like there to be an easier way to find some that I am sure won’t be full of “now that we have kissed once, our relationship is so much more important than it was before, when we were merely friends forged in the fires of battle. Also we now no longer care about our other friends.”

Non-amatonormative Soulmate Worldbuilding — somewhat like the above, but specific to soulmate AUs, to delineate which ones don’t embed monogamous romance for everyone as a law of physics in their universe

[character] open to a-spec interpretation — for when you haven’t explicitly written an aro or ace character, but you also haven’t written anything that would contradict that, and you want to mention it.

Ace Character Not Subject to Interrogation — you have an Ace character. They exist as they want and do not have to justify it in narration or in dialogue to any other character. The same tag for Aro would also be nice.

Signposted Sex Scenes — some authors will leave notes like “hey if you want to skip the smut, it starts after the paragraph about the mushrooms and ends twelve paragraphs later.” It would be great to know if a fic does that! It can make it easier to approach a work, for whatever reason a person might hesitate, without making any assumptions why anyone might do that. (Sometimes I want to skip a sex scene just because I’m reading on my lunch break at work!)

There’s probably others that would be useful but I can’t think of any right now—feel free to add on if you like.

[celuere]

Can we have a part 3 to the Not Enough/Sweet dreams Arlecchino x reader fic where Reader finds out she's pregnant and has to break the news to Arlecchino? Maybe some cute stuff about Arlecchino taking care of pregnant reader, just a bunch of FLUFF

Pretty please🙏🙏🙏

Anon if you’re asking SO nicely how could I possible decline…

To be honest I thought about this for quite a while because I am actually not that sure about how Arle would receive the news. I don’t think she would react in a negative way and just… dip out but I also don’t think like she would spin you around in sheer happiness (only if you‘ve been actively trying ofc but that’s not the case here). So I thought about a more neutral reaction, not knowing what to make of the news at first. But trust me when I say that I tried to make it as fluffy as possible without going too much ooc

Bu Arle taking care of her pregnant wife? Sign me the FUCK up.

pairing: Arlecchino x pregnant!reader

context: look at anon request!

cw: pregnancy, a bit angsty at the beginning, so much fluff that you’re suffocating in it, idk what else to put here tbh, not proofread!

Also I wrote the paragraphs shorter on purpose since I wanted it to have more of hc look than a full length fic!

Two. You connected a lot of things with the number Two.

For once there was your husbands birthday. 22nd of August.

Then there was the second Fatui Harbinger. Dottore.

You always put two spoons of milk into your coffee.

You have two eyes, two arms, two hands, two legs, two and so on.

You never connected any negative feelings with the number two up until now.

Two lines.

There were two lines on the paper stripe you were currently holding in your hand.

You weren’t shaking. You weren’t crying. You weren’t hyperventilating.

You just stared. Stared down at the positive pregnancy test as all you could hear was the thrumming of your own heartbeat in your ears.

You were pregnant. Pregnant from your husband. Pregnant from the fourth Fatui Harbinger.

Pregnant from Peruere.

You suspected it for a few weeks now. The frequent morning sickness, the headaches, the sudden exhaustion washing over you at the weirdest moments, not being able to keep certain foods down for a longer period of time.

You weren’t surprised, really. But you were afraid.

Would she be happy? Would she tell you to not keep it? Would she yell at you? Would she be ecstatic? Despite being married for a good five years now, the topic of pregnancy and a family outside of the Hearth never once came up in the thousands of conversations you already had.

You had exactly no idea how Arlecchino would take the news.

And that scared you to death.

To add more salt into the wound, your husband was currently not even present. She took on a mission in Mondstadt two weeks ago, only returning this upcoming Saturday.

So you‘ve got four days to come up with a plan on how to break the announcement to her. And you hoped with all your heart that it wouldn’t destroy your marriage.

Over the timespan of the next few days until Arlecchino‘s arrival, the children of course noticed your changed demeanor. The tense look on your face, your often exhausted expressions, how you often excused yourself to the bathroom after shared meals, they even noticed that you stopped wearing clothes that highlighted the curves of your body, exchanging them with a warm cardigan instead. They knew something was off but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it.

And Father wasn’t spared any details of it when she arrived late in the afternoon on a quite rainy Saturday. As a result, Arlecchino observed the situation for her own better judgement.

Your greeting was as usual, a soft kiss onto her lips while your soft hands cupped the outlines of her face with the exception of one thing.

Your weren’t smiling into the kiss like you‘d always do. But that was no reason for her to already draw a conclusion, so she simply went along with it, taking your hand into hers and lead you to the living room so she could tell you all about her little trip to the Nation of Freedom.

Furthermore she noticed how you stopped changing in front of her, even going as far as to lock the bathroom door when taking a bath, how you were always up much earlier than her, often leaving the dinner table as soon as you were finished with the excuse of „still having to go through some paperwork“.

It weirded her out just as much as it worried her. What could you possibly be hiding from your Husband?

On the other side of the coin, you were completely distressed. You had no idea how to tell her, when the perfect timing would be- just the thought about telling her caused your heartrate to increase unhealthily fast. And the bump that was getting more and more visible as time went on, it was getting incredibly hard to conceal it.

So now you where sitting next to your Husband at a fancy gathering of the Fatui, not daring to take off your coat despite Arlecchino‘s insistence.

You were sweating to death but there was no way in hell you‘d expose your bump like that so you just endured and declined the multiple wine glasses that were offered to you and stuck to your simple glass of water.

And that’s when it dawned on Arlecchino, every little puzzle piece slowly coming together as she watched you bring the simple glass to your lips.

The concealing clothes, not changing in front of her, how you avoided any kind of intimacy ever since she arrived, your distaste for certain foods and the sounds of you hurling up your guts in the morning.

How could she be so dense to the obvious? How did she not notice anything sooner? What on earth did go wrong for her to not think about the possibility of a pregnancy?

And for the first time in her life, the Knave felt something in her stomach sink. Was that nervousness? Guilt? Whatever it was, she hated this feeling. Wanted to rip it right out with her own hands and burn it to ash.

A family? With you? Sure, this particular scenario crossed her mind quite a few times. The image of you carrying her child, accompanying you to doctors appointments, waking up in the early mornings for a baby. Her own baby.

But was she fit for that role? Was she fit to raise this child with you? What if she turned out to be just as bad as Mother? What if she failed you during the pregnancy? These new paths opening up in her mind where so incredibly overwhelming for her, she had to excuse herself quickly for a quick breather of fresh air.

You knew something was off by stiffness in her voice before she left for the balcony, you were following her footsteps not a few moments later.

The cold evening air made the hair on your neck stand up, forcing you to pull you coat tighter around your frame when you strode up to her. She had her back turned to you, head leaned back to gaze upon the moon shining down at the both of you, her hair almost glowing in the moonlight.

„Peru-”

„When did you find out?“, her words were soft. Hidden with a slightly sharp edge but you knew exactly what she meant. You figured that she’d eventually find out on her own but you couldn’t help but feel that wave of anxiety wash over you.

„Around three weeks ago… four days prior to your arrival… Peruere, I… I tried telling you so many times but I simply couldn’t bring myself to- we never discussed the possibility of a family and considering your work in the Fatui- I simply didn’t want to put another burden on your shoulders…“, the tears formed very much on their own, the wind now stinging in your eyes.

„You think that my wife being pregnant with my child would burden me?“, she now finally turned around, her face was like nothing you’d ever seen. There wasn’t coldness edged into her facial features. Nor anger or irritation.

It was disappointment.

She was disappointed in you. Was she that bad of a spouse? What made you believe that she‘d be angry with you for something you were both responsible for? Seriously, was there ever a point in your relationship when she was truly mad at you? Sure, you had your disagreements like ever other married couple but your Husband was never angry at you. Anger makes one impulsive. You should know that best.

„Thats not how I meant it- but a child? Is that something you can imagine, is that something you truly want?“, the desperation in your voice cut deep into her heart. You must’ve carried these words with you for so long now, she should’ve acted sooner.

She finally took a step towards you, „Do I look appalled? Do I look disgusted by the idea? Am I even angry with you? My love, you tell me if I want to take this path with you.“, the worries from earlier still plagued her mind but that was a discussion for later. All that mattered to her now was to soothe whatever doubts you had.

„I… I don’t know… we never talked about this- you are often away on missions, what about your reputation, what abou-”, you words were swallowed up by her soft lips being pressed against yours, her hands sneaking around your back to pull you in closer to her.

The kiss was soft, so full of love and affection and suddenly it wasn’t nearly as cold as mere moments ago.

Slowly, she parted your lips, leaning her forehead against yours. A gesture she always did to signal you to calm down, that everything is alright.

„Tu parles trop…“

„You talk too much…“

She made no comment when her thumb gently brushed away a tear that silently ran down your beautiful face. The both of you just stood there in each others arms, not moving, simply just enjoying the presence of the other.

„I‘m sorry for not telling you sooner… I couldn’t- I just didn’t know how…“, the words came out barely as whisper, almost swallowed up by the wind.

„My sweet… what did I just tell you about talking too much?“, she gently squeezed your hands, getting a chuckle out of you that warmed her heart.

„So you’re not mad with me?“

„Do I seem mad to you?“

„No… No not at all…“, you both shared another soft kiss with each other.

„Then there is you answer. Now please… stop hiding from me…“, carefully, she shoved the coat aside to take a closer look and oh boy, you might just shoot her right there.

The cute baby bump might just changed her brain chemistry for the rest of her life.

A faint blush crept up on your cheeks at her reaction. It was unusual for her to loose her composure so easily, „the Doctor said I’m at the end of my first trimester… would you like to have a feel…?“, weird to propose to her again, but yes. You didn’t have to tell her twice before her warm hand carefully ran over your visibly swollen belly, she might just touched Heavens Gates itself right now.

There wasn’t any words being exchanged between you. There was no need for that. The softness in her eyes was all that you needed.

Over the course of the next weeks, you got to witness a completely new side of your Husband and loved this one even more.

Arlecchino immediately got you one of these long pregnancy pillows so we’re as comfortable as possible in your sleep, always making sure you weren’t laying flat on your back

You weren’t even allowed to carry your own bag anymore. You even had to convince her to let her walk up the stairs without her assistance, she was just fretting way too much about you, you were pregnant and not sick, right?

She made it part of her bed routine to apply and gently massage your belly with a special lotion that she went out of her way for to get it from Bubu Pharmacy itself, you didn’t even dare to ask about the price.

Can’t take her hands off of your belly for the love of it. The sight is just so admirable to her, thinking about the little life that grew up inside your tummy was just so- mindblowing to her so and when the first kicks start to set in… she is a GONER. Beyond salvation. Don’t even try to speak her.

Mandatory nap time. She did her research way before your pregnancy and knows how much of a toll this lifechanging process will have on your body so she lets you nap whenever and wherever you want and even sometimes tucks you into the comfort of your bed when she thinks you‘ve been active for way too long. You need rest. Lots of rest.

Stops leaving the house for mere paperwork or negotiations after your five months in, those are to be held now in her home office in case something might happen or you need her and if that happens to be the case- she quite literally drops anything for you.

Literally thanks you every chance she gets for bringing your daughter into the world, often wrapping her arms around you from behind, hands gently lifting up the weight of your baby belly as she plants soft kisses on your neck while telling you how much of a strong woman you are and how grateful she is for you the carrying out her baby. She is far gone your honor.

Did you every think to meet the Knave in a course about birth preparations on a Friday evening? Now you have.

Literally doubles the security in- and outside of your house, always having someone at your disposal and even arranging a team of nurses. That is of course only if you are comfortable with a bunch midwives swarming around you 24/7.

Her worst ever fear would be to miss the birth. Nothing sounds as horrific to her as making you go through the traumatic experience of giving birth without her presence, it drives her nuts to a point where she even refuses to leave you alone for more than hour in the ast few weeks of pregnancy

Of course buys you pretty pregnancy clothes that fit your taste, wether it be something to hide your belly or rather highlight it, she buys it all.

You literally can’t have a conversation with her without her ass mentioning her pregnant wife. Childe is so sick of her atp.

I‘m so down bad for arle being a goner for her pregnant wife. I can’t stress this enough.

[performativezippers]

here's some random writing advice that i've found helpful, in no order, that i reserve the right to add to at any time:

no one says everything they're thinking. in dialogue, less is more. people don't speak in paragraphs, they speak in sentences, especially when they're not telling a story. let the dialogue be brief, and use interiority (thoughts) to show the reader all the things they aren't saying.

use physical cues to help the POV character understand what the non-POV character is thinking/feeling/not saying/lying about. For example, if we're in Jane's POV while Maura is talking, and Maura says "I'm fine," Jane can notice that her eyes are darting around like she's anxious, or she's crossed and uncrossed her arms, almost like she's nervous. there's no need to say MAURA SEEMS NERVOUS, let the reader get it from what Jane's picking up.

let the reader be curious—don't info dump—but don't frustrate them by giving so little that they don't know what's going on. this is a very very fine line sometimes, and betas can be really helpful for pointing it out until you've gotten the feel for it.

Use paragraph breaks, for the love of god.

Only italicize things that really and truly cannot be explained any other way. "What are you doing here?" for example doesn't need any italics. If you can't get the reader to understand what you mean without the italics, then, sure, use them. but SPARINGLY. use body language, interiority, other words, and dialogue tags (shouts, yells, whispers, cries, she says as her voice cracks) to get the reader what they need.

"What are you doing here?" could be "what on earth are you doing here?" (aka, i have no fucking idea why you're here, my dude)

"What are you doing here?" could be "i told you to stay out of this, lucy! what are you doing here?" (aka, lucy you specifically should not be here)

"What are you doing here?" could be "jesus, you scared the shit out of me! I thought you were at the front! what are you doing here?" (aka, i'm not surprised to see you, but i'm surprised to see you HERE what the fuck)

Don't head hop. Know who's POV you're in and STAY IN IT until the chapter break, scene change that's clearly indicated by ***, whatever. if this is challenge, try writing in first person to get in the habit of only knowing what your POV character knows. There is, of course, 3rd person omniscient narration, but it's really fucking hard to pull off and honestly I recommend staying away from it entirely. Most things you'll read are written in first or close 3rd, and that's not an accident.

Let your characters move around in space. let them notice the things around them.

If Kate walks into a room, i'll probably list what she sees in order of importance, unless it's a big reveal. i'll add voice to that so you'll know i did it on purpose.

in order of appearance: "the body lies in the middle of the big, wide room. the ceiling must be twenty feet up, and there are plenty of windows, the way the light catches the falling dust mites looks more like a church than a crime scene."

with reveal/voice: "Kate bursts into the room and immediately skids to a stop. it's too bright, all white walls and high windows. it looks like the kind of room you'd put a WeWork in, or maybe a super expensive soulcycle. normally Kate would be itching for a paint roller and some blueprints, but today she ignores the terrible architectural choices, choosing to focus instead on the dead body congealing in a puddle of dark brown blood in the middle of the floor."

try to have an internal plot/obstacle (alex can't be honest with maggie about their relationship because she hasn't told her that her sister is superhero) and external plot/obstacle (there is a serial killer targeting aliens in national city, and all three women are on his radar). Best practice is for them to intersect and create layered, complex problems (maggie can't understand why alex is so fucking freaked out about this serial killer in the first act; yes, crime is bad, but like, it's their job? why won't alex TALK to her? where does she keep running off to in secret? does alex even actually want to be with her??)

Everything should have: tension, stakes, obstacles. Try not to make all of that hinge on a misunderstanding or one person being too chicken to confess their feelings. that gets boring and frustrating for the reader.

If you need to make a calendar, make one. If you need a cast list, write one. keep yourself on track.

introduce new original characters slowly. give them one name (first and last is usually not necessary at the start). give us one or two things to remember about them. Jenna is the producer of the tv show. Jenna is mean. the next time she comes back, call her "jenna the producer." then the next time you can hint to her role, like "jenna has her big clipboard and is shouting at everyone to get the fucking cameras ready." if jenna doesn't come back again, don't name her. be kind to your readers who forget things, and help them out by limiting the named cast to people who need to be named. if they don't show up until halfway through, don't introduce them until halfway through. for fanfic, obviously this is easier because we know everyone, but still, please. only have the people in the scene who need to be there. huge scenes with 5-8+ characters present are a MESS.

if your character has two best friends who fill the same role, cut one. streamline so i as the reader have less to keep track of.

banter can be fun to write, but dialogue without movement, choreography, internal thoughts, lies, physical cues, and plot movement gets really boring to read. if a scene is skippable, ask yourself what would make it essential, and add that.

every conversation should do at least two things. things can be:

move the plot forward

deepen, change, or complexify an existing relationship

create tension (plot, romance, etc)

explore stakes

attempt to get over the obstacle

FOR EXAMPLE: Helena and Myka almost kissing when they shouldn't because Helena is with Some Dude? yes! that's romantic tension and attempting to get over the obstacle (some dude). Myka rambling to claudia about almost kissing helena for 3 pages: no! That does nothing on this list. the event already happened, and a long debrief about it isn't interesting to the reader. Let Myka ruminate while she's doing one of the other things. and by ruminate, i mean KEEP A LIGHT TOUCH HERE, ruminating is very very easy to make boring and maudlin. trust your reader; be subtle about it.

[pleaseeeimjustagirl]

Reinvent Yourself In 2024

The new year Is almost here and it is time for us to lock in on our goals babes! This upcoming year is a fresh start so whatever has happened this year that hasn’t benefitted you can be left behind and what was beneficial we will take into the new year. I know many of us are on self-improvement journeys and working on connecting with our higher selves. This is my guide to help us reinvent ourselves<3

Takeaways from this year 

♡ Reflect on this year. Did you face any hardships? What growth did you have? Have you made any new friends? Write down how your year has been so far and the takeaways from this year the good and the bad.

♡ Look back on your goals. What goals did you set for this year and did you achieve them? If you didn’t achieve all your goals it is okay to take them with you into 2024 if they align with your higher self.

♡ Accept this year for what it was. This year has happened and maybe it did not go the way you thought it did or maybe it did but either way come to terms with what has happened this year release it and go into the new year with a clean slate.

What does your higher self look like?

These are important questions to ask yourself when trying to reinvent yourself. The person that you want to become who is she? What does she do for a living? Where does she go? What does she eat? What are her hobbies? Who are her friends? I advise that you write down an outline of your higher self answer all of the questions and add anything else that you think of. Script out her daily habits and schedule. You can write a paragraph or more it is all up to you babes<3.

Setting goals for the new year

♡ Write out your goals for the new year. Be specific are you trying to lose weight? Learn a new language? Get your driver's license. Go back to school? Whatever your goals are big and small just make sure to write them out and make sure they are realistic and attainable.

♡ Create a vision board. Vision boards are super important it is always good to have a visual of your goals and higher self. You can create a physical vision board using magazines/printed-out images and craft supplies. Or you can create a digital vision board using Canva/Pinterest. Keep your vision board in a place where you will see it every day my vision board is on my MacBook because I use it every day I'm using it right now to type this post so ill have my goals always in front of me.

What you need to let go of 

♡ Scarcity mindset. Believe in yourself and your goals. There is enough room for everyone to be successful even you! You can read my blog post on how to have an abundance mindset for more details<3.

♡ Social media. Take a break all of that scrolling isn’t healthy. Social media can take up a lot of our time without realizing it. If you can, look at how much of your screen time you spend weekly on social media. 

♡ Learn to enjoy your own company. "This year is all about your personal growth. Sometimes, we tend to use other people as shields to avoid facing reality and to feel safe. However, you need to learn how to enjoy your own company. Try out different hobbies until you find the ones you like and enjoy.”

♡ Negative self-talk. You have to be your biggest cheerleader this year. So learn to speak kindly to yourself through affirmations and gratitude journaling. When you have a negative thought about yourself combat it with two nice thoughts. And remember when you are being mean to yourself you're being mean to the child version of you.

♡ People pleasing. This year is about you babes! Put your waist and needs first. Stop people pleasing at the cost of your comfort. To achieve greatness you need to put yourself first. I'm not saying to be extremely selfish no of course not. But do not do things that make you uncomfortable to make someone else comfortable.

♡ Friendships that do not serve you. If you are in a friendship that is toxic or you feel undervalued and do not see the benefit from the friendship end it now. Do not take people who do not align with your higher self into the new year they will drag you down. Don't completely ghost the person but surely distance yourself and move from friends to more acquaintances.

♡ Masculine Energy. We need to rest in our femininity this year. And felinity looks different for everyone aesthetically but I'm talking about resting in that soft energy and letting our femininity ooze out this year.

My final thoughts  

♡ There will be people and habits that you will have to leave in 2023 and that is okay 

♡ Be kind to yourself! Talk to yourself with love this year and focus on bettering your mental health. If you need to go to therapy invest in therapy, read the self-help books, and have fun this year don’t be super strict on yourself.

♡ Be very intentional this year about where you go, who you hang out with, what you eat, and so on.

You can start planning for the new year now if you haven’t already we have a couple of days till New Year's Eve (12/31 my birthdayyy i’m turning 21 im super exciteddd). I'm so happy to be going into the new year with you girlies and I can’t wait to see what this year bring us<3.

New year book recommendations

♡ “The 12 Week Year” by Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington. I highly recommend this book helps us break our year into 4 quarters so you can effectively achieve your new year goals.

♡ “The Mountain Is You” by Brianna Wiest I've recommended this book in my You’re Postponing Your Dream Life blog post. This book is perfect for anyone dealing with self-sabotage I've been reading it and I love it the author opens you up to a different view of self-sabotage. 

♡ “Atomic Habits” by James Clear is the perfect book for any of my girlies who want to be able to build and maintain habits. I highly recommend it because the habits that our higher selves have are usually habits we don’t have in this book, the author teaches you how to accomplish more by doing less.

♡ "How to Survive Your Childhood Now That You're an Adult: A Path to Authenticity and Awakening,” by Ira Israel this book is for my babes who have childhood trauma and would like to heal those wounds in the new year. The author explains how to let go of negative habits, thoughts, and behaviors that may have developed in childhood.

[three-fulm-thaumaturd]

Dawn? Trailed.

Finished Dawntrail MSQ tonight. Assorted scattershot (and spoiler-heavy) thoughts under the RM.

-I came to DT without much preexisting hype or emotional investment. All I wanted out of this expansion was to have a break from being the main character who has to save the multiverse from extinction, again, and to have some cool scenery to look at and some banger music, and we sure got that!

-There are a lot of things about how this expansion was written that didn't effortlessly or instinctively emotionally appeal to me in specific, but that are, when I think about them, really good, solid workmanlike choices re: how to construct a video game narrative.

-I know J-media tournament arcs are “well worn” in the same sense that the Grand Canyon or the Marianas Trench are, but they provide a plausible pretext for the things that MMOs are set up to do. Better than a host of supposedly highly-realized and virtuous precursor beings insisting that we repeatedly justify our existence by fighting, for sure.

-Being Wuk Lamat's mentor/emotional support Eorzean/800 pound gorilla was an interesting conceit. I think the writers carried off "non-protagonist PC" fairly well, and I've played other games where that was tried and didn't work (lookin at you SWtOR, re: KotFE). Lamat'yi feels like a more competently-written version of Stormblood-era Lyse. She's got both a core personality that remains consistent and a trajectory of increasing competence and maturity. I think she's well constructed as a protag/viewpoint character: she's primed to like things and people, her ethos of addressing conflict by seeking understanding and consensus is a good pretext to deliver exposition, and she feels/empathizes intensely but doesn't get stuck on her own emotional reactions. I wouldn’t say I effortlessly enjoy her as a character, especially early on when the writing leans hard into her immaturity and desperation to be liked and to prove herself, but I understand and respect what that’s for. It’s no different than Naruto or early-OT Luke Skywalker.

-I like the variety of Central/South American cultural inspo (Aztec, Quechua, Yucatec Maya, Pueblo, etc), we got in the setting and culture for this xpac, and the conception of Tural as a very racially/culturally heterogeneous place where power comes from the aggregate of a complicated network of relationships that have to be negotiated on an ongoing basis. It's not zero-sum, and finding solutions that benefit everyone is hard but worthwhile.

-I was excited to be able to bring Krile, my favorite Scion, along this time. I feel like the ShB/EW A-team had enough presence to appeal to people who like them and not so much that they upstaged the new characters or the change of scenery.

-I think there was effort to add cinematographic interest to the many, dense cutscenes other than wide-angle shot/reverse-shot over paragraphs of text. Some of the camera angles (switching between the faces of my minimum-height lalafell and 2m+ Wuk Lamat) and long shots of characters' expressions resulted in...sometimes-intentional uncanniness and unintentional comedy. This probably was not the devs' intention (their intention was probably a performance with emotional subtlety that the graphics overhaul alas still doesn't permit), but my instinctive read was that it felt like unnecessary padding/stalling for time.

-Re: other stuff that felt like it unnecessarily lengthened the playtime and the amount of text to read, sometimes I resent that it feels like I'm being not just spoon-fed, but bottle-fed plot and character beats that are not complicated or hard to understand. Then I see people evincing failure to comprehend what they're reading elsewhere on the internet and understand why it's done that way. :\

-There's basically one trademark Ishikawa conflict: Local man driven to extremes by inability/unwillingness to come to terms with loss, aging, and death. There's also one trademark Ishikawa sin that characterizes all of the ShB-and-after antagonists: a delusional insistence on harming the living to feed the dead. Those come up so consistently that her style is instantly recognizable...and I wonder some about what she's experienced or how she's doing.

-The hairpin turn in the plot about 2/3 of the way in and the by-now very familiar tropes aren't my narrative jam at all, but it was engaging enough to mostly keep my attention until the end. I'm beyond weary of Ascians/Ancients and shard math, so I'm glad those things were referenced (and there's some interesting stuff to chew on re: Lalafell history in particular) but not focal.

-I'm a little mad, because my pre-Heritage-Found speculation that El Dorado was going to turn out to actually be an aetherologic Superfund site (which would explain the security, the giants charging in and coming back dead, sick, or unable to reproduce, the teratogenic effects on eg Blessed Siblings etc and the fight for control of it as a putative military asset) seemed to have a lot of fun possibilities. I guess you could argue that Living Memory might be a very abstracted nod in that direction.

-*Queen Sphene*? Really, you couldn’t have named her anything at all else???

-I'm not at all satisfied that "he felt overshadowed by his father's accomplishments and wanted to prove his worth independent of his unusual heritage" is sufficient justification for how Zoraal Ja was, especially prior to his first contact with Alexandria. I figured based on his behavior and Krile's remarks, that he had to be Tempered, or affected by an equivalent kind of magical compulsion.

-The final trial, and to a lesser extent the last dungeon are an unmitigated (and unmitigatable until mods become available again) accessibility nightmare if you're photosensitive or prone to motion sickness. I hoped the devs would take the feedback they got from the ShB alliance raid series under consideration but they sure didn't give a shit. Guess I'm not doing roulettes for a while.

[kroosluvr]

someone on twt asked for royal trio tennis playing styles so i will think out loud for several paragraphs under the cut:

PLAYSTYLE

GORO AKECHI. the son of masayoshi shido, one of the best players of all time, so he has big shoes to fill. however he didn't learn from shido himself and was instead passed around various intl academies before settling in at shujin tennis academy. as a lefty he uses it to his advantage: his spin serve is killer and he's a menace with backhand slices and drop shots. he's not one to rush the net and only cleans up with volleys if his opponent is basically off the court already. though not PATIENT by any means, he's very very consistent and i think he seeks to wear you down quickly at the beginning of the match: you get the feeling that "oh shit this guy's an absolute wall, i can't counter this, it's hopeless" so that he can rake in the games from there. i think you have to go into a match with REALLY high confidence otherwise he'll break you pretty fast he also does passive aggressive mind games i.e. instead of passing u the ball to serve he hits em to the corner so u have to go fetch them. doing quick water breaks or none at all if he's winning so you're forced to rush. asking "are you sure?" on linecalls where it was DEFINITELY out just to make you second-guess yourself. he doesn't cheat, though, obviously,that's leagues beneath him, but he'll do little things to break your concentration in a match so there's already a high bar to vault over if u even want a CHANCE at beating goro akechi, but if you get on his nerves somehow then you can crack him from there. someone like akira's unpredictability and flippantness on the court without much sense of planning probably gets under his skin really quick

AKIRA KURUSU. wildcard....... he played a lot of sports growing up, baseball, soccer, track, basketball, u name it basically, but picked up tennis at around age 13 and Somehow was extremely good at it, and immediately scouted and currently training at shujin tennis academy. his athletic and naturally competitive nature means he's naturally really attuned to the nature of Competitive Sport: aka, if he's down, no big deal he'll just fight like hell to get back up. one of the things in tennis is that u can spiral real easily: losing a few points can turn into losing a few games then the match, however, that doesn't phase akira which is his biggest strength. he's really good at Wiping The Slate Clean and starting from scratch if he's down. he's really good at swapping strategies: he can be the moonballer, he can be the 25-ball-rallier, he can be the serve-and-volley menace. etc. and he can do this on the fly without any reluctance. the biggest thing apart from goro and sumi is that he's having FUN. he loves being on the court no matter what, the competition part is secondhand. meanwhile goro and sumi are really really wrapped up in their issues with tennis so the kinda Mind emptiness akira has puts him a step ahead (which they're envious of slash HOW DOES HE DO IT? slash working towards it) SO YEAH hes highly adaptable and fluid in his game style. though, ofc, he tends towards Flashier stuff (which can easily surprise his opponents) so i'd say he's a big fan of cross-cross-down-the-line and such patterns. deep rallies then sudden drop shot and while ur scrambling he beats u to the net. stuff like that. second serve on the first serve. etc. another thing is that his parents are pretty absent (different than the way goro is) i.e. they just dgaf about him entirely, no matter what he does, even if hes good at tennis. (while w goro at least shido would acknowledge him since shido is so far in the limelight). so i think this adds to his adaptability - he doesn't feel constrained the same way goro and sumi do, by their family relationships akira's also one to chat up his opponent mid match LMAO he's not even trying to distract them or play them like that but he's just a friendly happy go lucky guy in the end his thinking is "i hate to lose" so he just keeps playing and keeps winning. it's simple like that

SUMIRE YOSHIZAWA. younger sister of kasumi, she started rhythmic gymnastics w her at a baby age but even from a young age she could tell kasumi was going to outshine her. because of her own timidness holding her back, her own reverence of her sister, she could tell she'd never truly have the willpower/confidence/steadfastness to reach out and be Better than kasumi. because what she really wants is to imprint her name on the world - she doesn't want to be yknow. "kasumi and sumire" she wants to stand on her own, something she doesn't feel she can do if she keeps on with gymnastics. SO SHE SWITCHES TRACKS TO TENNIS another independent sort of sport where you're also scrutinized in the limelight and etc. it'd be difficult to learn this late in the game (age 11ish maybe.) but she's steeled herself and shes determined and READY. it was a biiig decision for her but her parents+kasumi were basically like ok <3 yay<3 and she doesnt reveal how insecure she was about all of that and living in kasumi's shadow and etc. she only confides in akira abt this later down the line (and then goro) her game is really like yknow textbook GOOD like all her shots are impeccable and perfect and really technically perfect. super impressive all around. i dont think she has any specific shots/plays that make her stand out, but her game speaks for itself already in how consistent she is and how steadfast she seems on the court (though inside she's lowk nervous) i think her game might be "predictable" just because of how pristine and mechanically she learned it, but the thing is her form and aim is just so flawless that even if you do know whats coming next you cant counter it all the time actually if anything i think she'd have a killer fast first serve. like CRAZY powerful i think she's not naturally "good" at tennis the way akira and goro are so she works 10x as hard to remedy it. more than just the physical/technical component, getting her mental right is the hard and most important part. when she gets deep into a match sometimes her brain gets the better of her, so in longlong matches she oftentimes loses so that's the current thing she's working on.

PUBLICITY

as with pro tennis comes PUBLICITY and BRAND DEALS and INTERVIEWS and MODELING and ETC

goro dgaf about that but if he's more Famous then he'd be more shoved into shido's face so he goes along with sponsorships and interviews and magazine covers even tho he lowkey hates it.

He doesn't do the detective prince thing here bc he doesn't need to be. he's outwardly bitter and pissed off and snappy the way we know him

akira and sumi are his biggest fans tho always collecting his brand deals and magazines and stuff. they also help tutor him in english so he can do interviews better LMAOO though he's really eyeroll about it

akira and sumi both are good with the publicicty aspect as opposed to goro. sumi, striving to become an intl star, expects it and trains herself for it in spite of her social anxieties. akira, well, is akira and is totally made for the limelight

this causes some sort of internal distress? in goro. he can't quite place it but he feels strange standing alongside them..... something like that. like, of course he wants to take the tennis world by storm, but in the way that he can rub it in shidos face. not really this... aspect? he's not sure what to do with this.

OTHER NOTES

sumi and goro are both highly superstitious and have a solid routine that they ALWAYS adhere to. i.e. goro always practices vs the ball machine the night before. sumi always rewatches rio iwasaki's killer 2016 matchpoint before matches. sumi never wears tennis shoes anywhere other than the court. goro never drinks other gatorade colors besides yellow.

meanwhile u could call akira up 3 mins before and be like hey matchtime and he'd be like ok<3 yay<3

sumi and goro also both analyze their opponents before matches i.e. looking up their ranking and stats and extrapolating stuff frm there while akira is like "oh narukami? from uhhhh. gekkoukan? no. yasogami? ohhh haha thats fun i dont think i played him before :3"

to me at least sumi doesn't come off as naturally competitive the way akira and goro are, inherently: i think she wants to be GOOD, and maybe (in this au) she wants to be Better than kasumi, to gain recognition, to stand on her own two feet: etc. but maybe she doesnt have the inherent Means to get there so that's a lot of what she gains from being friends with akira and goro, to get insight into their mindsets

akira and goro are doubles partners (for better or for worse) (it works great some days and horribly the next. you never know) they dont Seriously compete in doubles though, theyre both singles players to the end.

akira and goro switch off being sumi's mixed doubles partners. she doesn't really play doubles at all i think

sumi is the one who watches pro tennis the most. goro and akira don't really keep up

they all go to shujin academy but kinda half-homeschooled bc as pro players they dont have time for full-time school. theyre also traveling a lot so yeah

goro ties his hair in a low ponytail on the court, sometimes pins his bangs back. akira's hair is too short to tie back, i imagine he pins it back or wears a headband a la rafael nadal

sumi wears a visor! and contacts. akira wears contacts too but sometimes he wears glasses when hes silly goofy

mishima is a sports reporter LMAOOO well theyre all highschool age here so he's a Wannabe sports reporter.

it's also common knowledge that goro is shido's son btw. and goro's mom is dead also. i think only akira and sumi know abt like. his hatred and resentment towards his dad tho

ALSO they all idolize rio iwasaki bc i said so. shes prob like the coolest tennis player of the decade and also woah shes from gekkoukan thats cRAZYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! hamuko is her wife too. tennis coach ham:3 or smth

i think akira's story is then catalyzed later down the line by an injury - that he can heal from, but it forces him to seriously look at tennis and say for certain "ok this is my dream and this is something i want to devote my life to" the way sumi and goro are already devoted to

[inairbinad]

also would take words about demi Eddie!

SO I was gonna just write out a little paragraph or two...and then I did the whole thing. Or an abridged version, at least. I may expand on this someday but for now, enjoy some demi!Eddie.

Eddie’s always known he’s different. Not just because he’s the town freak, or because his tastes tend to differ from almost everyone else’s, or even that he realizes he thinks boys can be just as pretty as girls, if not prettier. Sure, all of that makes him objectively different from the herd of followers that he he’s surround by in a small town like Hawkins.

It takes him a little longer to realize there’s another kind of different to add to his already overflowing plate, though.

Because sure, he can appreciate the way a cheerleader’s skirt swishes around her thighs, or the way the sweat glistens on the jockiest guys’ arms in gym class. And yeah, when he first sees Nancy Wheeler shooting at something with that fierce gleam in her eye, it’s objectively attractive… in a terrifying sort of way.

But Eddie’s very rarely ever wanted to do anything about it. Not until he gets to know someone first, at least. He needs that first spark to burrow deep, for feelings to take root and claw away at him until he can’t not have someone. Except every time Eddie gets to know a crush in any real way, it becomes abundantly clear that his feelings are unrequited, or it takes long enough to realize all he really feels is a platonic sort of love now, anyway.

Flirting is still fun, Eddie thinks. Getting to know new people, to make them blush or flutter their lashes while he learned about their little quirks and dreams and what made them tick? That lit him up like fireworks on the Fourth of July. But so rarely does any of it ever turn into anything deep enough to warrant desire. So few had ever ignited that something more in him—that undeniable gut feeling of want and need and oh god why aren’t we kissing right now?

The few times Eddie actually has managed to feel that way, to develop a deep enough connection to dig into his marrow and let the love and attraction and desire break free? Well, those haven’t turned out so well for him, historically.

He wants so badly to want. For someone to want him just as much. He wants sex to not be going through the motions, getting it over with just so he could say he had, to not feel weird or vaguely wrong every time he tries.

Eddie needs to not want to run.

Instead it’s always that initial rush of this person is so cool, and oh they’re also pretty, then maybe if I get to know them, they’ll finally be someone I can be with, be the person I want to rip my clothes off for.

And they never have been.

Until Steve.

Steve awakens something in Eddie that he genuinely didn’t think existed, a ferocious kind of hunger that is almost always awake and demanding. He needs to touch Steve, needs Steve to touch him and make him feel like the world is spinning off its axis with every heated glance.

He needs to kiss Steve, to slide their tongues together and roam his hands all over Steve’s chest and give Steve every kind of pleasure he’d ever dreamed of and then some.

Steve comes around and all of a sudden Eddie is consumed by fire.

The moans he pulls out of Steve with his mouth don’t just turn Eddie on, they twist his soul. Contort his heart in ways he knows can’t be healthy or normal, but when has Eddie ever wanted to be normal anyway? He’d rather sink deep into this feeling, so raw and intoxicating and utterly new for him that he doesn’t know how to deal with it besides to dive in headfirst. Because Eddie’s been in love before, but no one has ever loved him back. But Steve does, by some strange twist of fate.

And Steve’s love…it’s something so much more than he ever bargained for. It’s a soft sweater in the middle of a crisp fall afternoon, that first taste of your favorite home cooked meal after going without for a while. The way Steve loves is all-encompassing, wild and loyal and unwavering.

Eddie can’t get enough. He’s probably getting ahead of himself, probably letting those feelings he always imagined latch on to his senses and and run away with them, threatening never to let go. But he never wants to let go of Steve, anyway, so where’s the harm, really?

So maybe Eddie’s a little bit weird for how he loves, how he wants—but Steve takes the weird and cradles it, nourishes it and cherishes it as though he wouldn’t want Eddie any other way.

And he proves it every single day.

They're sprawled out in Eddie's bed one afternoon, all lazy strokes and soft kisses and passing the time just being together. Then Steve chuckles a little to himself before asking outright.

“Who are those for?” Steve asks, sly and knowing smile on his face as he nods towards the wall.

The handcuffs. Eddie can't even be bothered to blush, because he knows why Steve is asking.

The cuffs have hung there for ages, because Eddie has been prepared and waiting for this. He’s known he’s a freak for years, knows all the kinks that come with living in his funny little brain. He’s just been dreaming of the right person wandering into his life, for the stars to align enough for them to want to use them.

So without a trace of doubt in his voice, Eddie smiles back and says, “You, baby.”

[my-taintedheart]

Life is Strange: Double Exposure..

honest review + comparison to LiS1!!

Also light spoiler warning!! If anyone wants it I will be explaining the plot. (it’s crazy confusing but i’ll try to help everyone get it)!! <3 if you want me to make a version without all the spoilers please tell me and I will!!

Key point I almost forgot to add, I chose Chloe died— I can’t see them breaking up and I can’t handle the mischaracterisation of her character either. (I will be playing the ‘We broke up’ pathway but because I just finished the game I wanna let it marinate). If you would like me to do a review on that (or just Chloe) I will, but please be patient!!

there are heavy spoilers in the paragraph about Safi’s character so be careful!!

I finished Life is Strange: Double Exposure the other night and I thought because they finally released the full game and some people (me) didn’t get Life is Strange (the first game) until a while after it’d released, I thought that you should know whether or not to get the game. I think with a game that costs as much as DE you definitely have to take reviews into consideration before spending that much money on a game that you might not like.

First of all, the plot. I thought in the early released 2 chapters I had a grasp on what was happening (I was wrong) the last 3 chapters completely lost me and I could barely put together the pieces of the plot without straining my head trying to understand— the plot could’ve been amazing but I feel as if it’s wasted potential considering that they didn’t need Max Caulfield to be the main character and she’s only there so it’ll be a ‘sequel’ but what i’ve noticed is that it isn’t an actual sequel to LiS1, my reasons for this are: the fact that the only thing connecting the two games are Max and her powers and Victoria Chase posting on Crosstalk.

Next of all, the romance options— I feel like Deck Nine were pushing romance way to much, which is most definitely shown in the game— so many characters were flirting with Max (I get it, she is unbelievably fine.) but I feel like it was too much— the smash or pass game with Vinh is just pushing it too much, yeah I get some adults may do that but it was giving high school and considering Max is pushing (or is?) 30, I felt like it was really childish for a bunch of middle aged/ young adults which is my reason for passing everyone (my heart belongs to Chloe..). I feel like even after friend-zoning Amanda and not drinking with Vinh they still continue to flirt with Max, which I find quite annoying since either of them can’t get the hint she isn’t available— the most annoying thing is that Vinh and Amanda aren’t even into Max like that, Amanda is trying to hide her feelings for Gwen (honestly real) and Vinh is still in love with Safi AND sleeping with Reggie who he later ends up getting with (i’m pretty sure..). No offence to Amanda or Vinh but I got the romantically disentangled badge (Romance neither Vinh or Amanda) because I feel like yes, Max deserves to love again but I don’t feel like in the 10 (?) years after Chloe died she would choose right after her friend (Safi) dies to start dating??

Like LiS1, Double Exposure took around 10 hours to finish the full game, I don’t really mind that because I had nothing to do anyways— the difference is that in LiS1 it didn’t really feel like 10 hours, it had such a steady flow that I got lost in and totally forgot time existed for those 10 hours. Whereas with Double Exposure it felt like time was slowed (in a bad way) and felt 2x longer than the 10 hours that I played, which would make sense for a game that Deck Nine produced because I felt the exact same way with Before the Storm. In my opinion it took so long to finish even though it was the same amount of time I spent on LiS1, I was bored and I just wanted it to be over with— and the fun and exciting feeling that LiS1 filled me with was severely lacking in Double Exposure.

The characters, where do I get started? First on my list:

Max, the main character of the game— she has changed so much in comparison to the girl she used to be in LiS1 but that’s understandable, almost a decade (I think?) later your bound to change even a little. I like how they kept her PTSD from The Dark Room which is shown in the last episode (I won’t spoil), I also like how they kept her nervous aspects but also made her a more confident character which is both shown when Amanda comes over to comfort her and Max says ‘I could eat you under the table’ without realising what it means until she says it, to which she (obviously) get super awkward about when she realises.

Next, Amanda honestly I feel like she was a super nice character and had okay writing which was sadly wasted potential because she (like most of the others) was a character around only to be a romance option for Max and lacked a true personality that didn’t revolve around romance or trying to flirt with Max (even after I friend-zoned Amanda..).

Next: Vinh, the fact that he had more of a personality and character than most of the other characters is disappointing because it’s also wasted potential, coincidentally wasted on guess what? Him only being an important (kinda) character, so he could also be a romance option is disappointing due that he was a (relatively) relatable character for some players. Sadly like Amanda, his whole personality revolved around trying to get into Max’s pants and the fact that he was in love with Safi— and at the same time sleeping around with Reggie.

Heavy spoilers below!! (Skip if you don’t wanna be spoiled)

Next: Safi, honestly her whole character was beyond confusing I mean there isn’t much I can say that could make sense without all the context— but I liked her, her character was probably one of the only characters that had character (if that makes sense?) her backstory was lacking in a way that Chloe’s wasn’t. (I’ll explain how I think they’re connected.) Also, her entire character was wasted on her confusing super-villain trope, all I got was that her Dad left and her Mom was in a bad mental state, her Mom tried to prove that she didn’t need Safi’s Dad’s help to do something right so she pressured Safi to be perfect to the point where Safi broke and became able to shape-shift into somebody else (which nobody, until Max knew about)— and she spiralled out of control after she found out her Mother cancelled her book deal (which was about Maya) and caused a storm because she lost control of her powers (like Max).

Last but not least, my comparison to LiS1– the main difference between Life is Strange and Double Exposure would be the producers: Life is Strange was produced by DONTNOD, correct me if I’m wrong who was fired by Deck Nine after they bought the Life is Strange name— Double Exposure was produced by Deck Nine (sadly) which was shown in the way the game/ characters were presented and produced. What I am the most mad about is how I feel like Deck Nine didn’t try with Double Exposure and only rode off Life is Strange and the nostalgia that comes with it along with Max Caulfield’s name. What I think is the worst joke of all is Chloe: the mischaracterisation, demonisation or just all together the lack of her character. Yes, I get that they may break up, but after everything they’ve been through? Also, the only reason they ‘broke up’ was because Deck Nine hated Chloe because she and Max were a more popular ship in LiS and they treasure Chloe and Rachel because they originate from their game (Before the Storm, which Deck Nine not DONTNOD produced) and are just salty that DONTNOD was praised for one of the best wlw ships in show and game history (my opinion!!) and didn’t want to bring either of her 2 voice actors back to voice her..

Sorry, now this is the last!! What I’ve noticed about Double Exposure the most are the many similarities between the characters, for example: Chloe and Safi. Safi resembles Chloe in many ways such as— her personality, her want for revenge and yet her want to sacrifice herself so that the others she has hurt can live and survive the storm that in theory was caused by her: Safi causes the storm after she spirals out of control of her powers and Chloe (indirectly) causes the storm after Max saves her from getting shot in the bathroom from Nathan Prescott.

Maya, Safi and Max remind me so heavily of Rachel, Chloe and Max— Max is trying so hard to save Safi/ Chloe and trying to prevent their deaths while they’re still stuck on their dead or missing ex-girlfriend/ friend who is no longer in the picture but is always still talked about by them and many others (Rachel and Maya are constantly haunting the narrative).

Vinh and Nathan, there are so many noticeable similarities between the two— the only difference being their financial status and their mental state. Their personalities, how they act, how Vinh made a false statement after Maya died about her mental health and how Nathan ended up overdosing Rachel on accident. Both try to prove themselves, to show that they aren’t their parents and they’re more than just who their parents think they’ll turn out to be. For example: Nathan, accidentally overdoses Rachel (who was his friend, or trusted him enough to take drugs with him) in an attempt to prove himself to Mark Jefferson— and Vinh makes a false statement about Maya’s mental health (who he was supposedly friends with), and was talked about to of ‘followed them around like a puppy’ (the ‘them’ being Safi and Maya). So he can prove himself to Yasmin (Safi’s mother) and have a stable job because he knows that he won’t make it far as an actor and wants a stable fallback plan so he won’t end up working at his parent’s liquor store.

Amanda and Warren, at first I thought of how Amanda reminds me of Chloe but then I realised she is more like Warren in a way, crushing on Max— and even after getting friend-zoned they both still wanted to be close to Max. One of the only differences is that Warren was in love with Max and Amanda was in love with Gwen (I’m pretty sure?), also another difference is Amanda’s personality is more of a mixture of Chloe’s punk-ness and Warren’s sweetness.

I think (for now) the final similarity between the games I have noticed is how the ending of Double Exposure is not original at all. I mean, Double Exposure is an exact carbon copy of the first Life is Strange game— yes I know Double Exposure is a sequel to the first game but that isn’t an excuse for it to be the same game just a different confusing plot, even the characters and the ending were unoriginal. It’s disappointing how this game is so expensive just for the characters and ending to be almost the same as the first game. I mean come on, you have to choose between the town being destroyed and not killing your best friend who you tried so hard to not let end up dying just for you to have to choose— sound familiar? Yeah, it’s the same ending as LiS: You have to choose between the town, rewinding time through a photo to when Nathan shot Chloe and not rewinding time so that you don’t cause the storm trying to save her from that moment on— or choose Chloe and let the town get destroyed because you vowed to never leave her, after (clearly) falling in love with her as you play as Max. Even the way Max goes back in DE to the moment before she shoots Safi is the same as she used to go back before you Max uses her powers to save Chloe. A photo, be more original?

I can’t believe they are so salty towards a fictional character (Chloe) that they would try and replace her with another character (Safi) who severely lacks the emotional depth and writing that Chloe has. Even replicating the ‘Bae or Bay’ ending with Max and Safi? They’re trying so hard to replace Chloe just because they don’t like her but I know that they can’t undo 9 full years of falling in love with Max and Chloe (pricefield), by just remaking the ending with Safi and Max and trying to push their ship on using just so their game can qualify as LGBTQ+ so they can make more money.

In conclusion, wait until it’s on sale at least to waste your money on this game— not only did they make us wait almost an entire decade for a pricefield or After the Storm (Basically a game that included pricefield and what happened after the storm) related game sequel but they piggybacked off LiS and Max Caulfield’s names to squeeze the last drops of money out of a project (started by DONTNOD) that was supposed to share their art style and their story without using it for money, as far as I’m concerned Double Exposure is not canon due to the fact it’s an obvious cash grab with multiple bugs and glitches that show that the game was rushed. I mean, there are multiple reports of layoffs a week before the game is released and how rushed it is.

I don’t think Double Exposure could ever compare to LiS I mean seriously after I’d finished Life is Strange , I sat there sobbing for like a whole hour I mean I was just shocked because just— wow. I think Life is Strange was the first game (or even thing) to make me feel like a different person— like it had changed me in some inexplicable way and all I knew was and now is that I love Life is Strange and nothing will ever change that. Whereas Double Exposure I just finished it and went: ‘meh, I’m just gonna watch some YouTube’— also like Before the Storm (also produced by Deck Nine) I finished the game and was just bored, in absolutely no way did it have the same effect on me that the first Life is Strange game did.

[thana-topsy]

Hello! I hope this isn't too much of a loaded question, but do you have any general tips for writing? I'd like to give fanfic writing a shot at some point.

Not at all! I'm always happy to talk shop about writing! As far as general tips go, there are some things that I think everyone could benefit from, so I'll try to condense my opinions and suggestions into A Numbered List. (We'll limit it to 5 suggestions for now).

Read Actively I mean this in the sense of really chewing on whatever it is you're reading. Dig into the meat of That One Paragraph and look for things you enjoy, things that tickle your brain. I'll give an example from something I read recently, which is our lovely @kookaburra1701's newest story "Aristeia" "They crested the final hillock; Mor Khazgur dominated the shallow valley below. When she had been younger, Borgakh had often imagined the longhouse was a lazy cat asleep on a bright green rug, curled up against the rocks of the Druadach Mountains. When the stronghold’s goats were pastured in the glade, they played the role of mice scurrying about under the cat’s nose." I was just ENAMORED by this passage. The whimsy, the rhythm of some the repeating consonants -- stronghold's goats, glade -- and just the imagery it drummed up, reminding me of those fanciful imaginings of my own childhood. So don't just read a lot, but read actively. Read works that inspire you, authors that impress you, and subject matter that's similar to the type of stuff you want to be writing. And think about why you like the things your like, and draw that inspiration into your own writing. Imitate your heroes until you're no longer imitating and it's just how you write.

Accept Constructive Criticism This one is always a challenge in the beginning. The Ego is a powerful little devil, and it'll try to confuse you. It'll tell you that your value is tied to the words on the page. But I'm here to tell you that YOU are NOT the words on the page. Take an objective stance on your prose and your plot. Everyone starts somewhere and (hopefully) nobody ever stops learning or improving. NOTE: Notice I said constructive criticism. This does not mean you should let people tear your work into shreds in bad faith. Listen to people who want to see you improve and also find joy in the craft of writing.

Read Your Writing Out Loud This is kind of self-explanatory. You'll get a really good feel for your own rhythm and flow VERY easily this way. And you'll catch almost any mistakes right away.

Cut All Unnecessary Words This is getting into the technical side of things, but why not? One of the first books I read on the craft of writing (whose title unfortunately escapes my mind at the moment) contained this advice, and it is STILL something I struggle with. Obviously, when you have a character with a specific voice, sometimes they get flowery in their internal speech and observations. I'll use Aiden as an example: "The fort loomed over them, massive and severe. Aiden attempted to judge the architecture and found he wasn’t quite sure what race or nation could have possibly built it. Or when it was built, for that matter. Second era, perhaps? The design seemed more Breton than Nord: austere, angular, and formal. But so close to the Velothi mountains, it could have been Imperial."  I bolded words that don't actually add anything of value to the descriptions here. We lose nothing by cutting them out. But they're how Aiden thinks about the world around him. So I keep them to give shape to his internal processing. I'd say to try to write without these kinds of flavor words first, then start adding them in. Learn the rules before you break them, or break the habit before it becomes the ONLY way you write.

Write Every Day This one is tough in the beginning, but it's so crucial to becoming a better writer. WRITE. EVERY. DAY. Even if it's just 200 words, do it. Make it your little morning ritual or evening wind-down. Pick a time that's just for you and your words. Close all your tabs, put your phone on silent, and just write. Be alone with the world that you are trying to create. And soon enough, you'll find that you can't go a day without writing something. And what a joy that is.

That's my list! I hope you found these tips useful! I also recommend reading books on the craft of writing, too.

Best of luck on your journey! You have infinite possibilities before you.

[ohandcounting]

Oblivion Theory / Pile of Snow Theory by WandyDoodles / @wandydoodles

Oblivion Theory link

It's a good read! Go read it! It's way faster than 190 pages looks like because the font is big and plenty of pictures too. Almost like reading a comic book level of difficulty to focus, I like it a lot. My specific thoughts below the read more

I think this is potentially dead on for at least the symbolism that's going on, though it's still probable to me that there is also an "in-universe" angel. I'm also not sure if I agree with the assumption that the red soul we pilot is special beyond it being a human soul either? Like, there's no reason (YET) to believe that a different human couldn't also seal fountains just from their soul being able to float around in dark worlds like ours does. (like the Susie jail escape, Ferris wheel, literally every battle, etc.) Like, they could just be a magician like those dudes who did a big magic barrier in Deltarune.

On the ending thoughts: I was going to add that Sans' could be talking about Flowey, but...No. Flowey hasn't revealed himself to anyone except us in this timeline. How the hell would he know our type if not from something that happens in DR?! I never noticed it before! Flowey does explain other dialog, like "our reports showing timelines jumping around" and what not even if you did Geno first run/on a true reset. It's why I never thought about it before.

The proposal for The Vessel being The Knight seems very, hard to believe at first. I'm still not settled on it myself, but: The Vessel could be mistaken for Kris if they throw on a hood maybe? "There's that creepy Kris going to the library. We're used to our 1 human in town!" With a lot of characters showing a knowledge on what's going to happen (like Jevil) they might just know when to go do things already without raising suspicion. Only appearing when Kris wouldn't, and/or slipping by without people seeing. It's interesting to me that they never bothered addressing that tbh. I wonder if it's just something they couldn't explain well so rather than bringing it up, they're just hoping we explain it ourselves/wait for new chapter dialog to confirm this.

I am 100% sold on the knight not wanting to end the world though, I've been calling it the "Conspiracy Theory Theory" where the Bad Guy™ is not the Bad Guy™ but rather someone trying to make us Stronger so we can help fight The Really Bad Guy™ (like Kill La Kill kind of[the 10th anniversary was recent, so it's just the only example I can think of atm.]) It gets that ridiculous name because I believe MANY characters are in on it, including Kris themselves, Ralsei, The Red Soul, The Knight, Goner Maker Sequence Voices 1 & 2, Mystery Man, Geoff, Gaster, etc. Pretty much everyone who could be except Susie.

The save file analysis is wrong I feel? When Flowey takes over the save file, that is a veteran with literal near-godlike powers who knows how to manipulate saves. He hasn't had control for 9999:99 yet, despite what the timer shows. That info could be missing for Kris because we weren't there when it was made, what we use to see save file information shows what's missing because it literally doesn't know how long Kris has had that save nor where it was made. We get to see the name because we're in their body though. Like we see empty save files, and they're just empty. After a true reset? It's just empty, just like erasing a file in Deltarune. Kris having ANY information means something more than "just to establish you as a separate entity even harder than Undertale." Especially if the cut intro of Susie trying to wake us up is still hinting towards something like a timeloop being canon. (instead of being cut because it's not longer true)

Save file part 2 break in paragraph for easier reading: It might also be because Kris doesn't have the soul they made that save with anymore, if you're a Kris Is Toy Knife Kid Equivalent Truther like me.

It also falls for the trap of thinking what Chara says at the end of genocide is strictly a metanarrative statement, not something Chara believes will be possible. In a game where characters consistently say things that apply both in and out of universe, which I've never liked. Like Flowey after restarting the game after in TPE talking to both: 1.) us in the meta, but believes he is giving his parting words to 2.) Chara IN universe.

But like everything with depth, people are gonna make mistakes. Especially mistakes they don't think are mistakes and are much simpler answers without constant "catches" and clarifications. It's kind of like explaining King Crimson to people, where I'm the only person to do it right. (not a serious statement)

They also point to Mettaton's nebulous "Ratings" when mentioning the amount of monsters in the underground, instead of the echo flower where it's stated there's literally thousands of monsters??? This is something I see people do all the time?

[bettsfic]

1. The glory is amazing! So glad you’re watching it.

2. I was wondering. Do you have any tips or know of any maybe “odd” ways in which people approach writing scenes? Ive scene some people start with dialogue first, or plot the scene and then fill things in. I just want to know more ways of approaching it. I had it in my mind that “everyone” sits down and writes the scene completely (with dialogue, setting description, internal thoughts, etc…) from beginning to end, that it was the only approach.

oh my god, i had an actual dream that i responded to this ask and then opened my inbox to find i had not. i'm sure what i said in my dream is probably way cooler than what i can do in reality but that's the story of my life, really.

there are definitely times where i can write out a scene with all the stuff in it and it comes out pretty well. but there are also plenty of times where all i know is that A Thing Has To Happen.

a good place to start is just to write down the thing that has to happen. a lot of people skip little steps like this but when you're stuck, writing down what you know is always a good place to start. so something like,

character A and character B develop mutual animosity and become enemies.

so the next question is, how? then you write that down in the same fashion.

character A refers to B with an array of colorful pet names and B finds it condescending.

(yes this is a fic i'm writing right now.)

from there, you go into more detail, until it reads like a full summary of the scene.

character A calls character B "honey" without thinking, because he's the kind of person who uses pet names. B points out this is condescending. A is aghast; he finds it a charming aspect of his personality. who doesn't enjoy a little casual affection? B does not enjoy casual affection. she tells him to cut that shit out.

and so on, until you've got a good grasp of what happens. then you take that summary and put it in the voice of your narrator, which may not be so different than your summary paragraph.

he called her "honey" without thinking. she told him that was condescending. he was aghast--wasn't that a charming aspect of his personality? who doesn't enjoy a little casual affection? cut that shit out, she told him.

from there, you can start to expand and add detail. you could break out the dialogue first, or maybe do some scene setting in the form of establishing where they are, when it happens, who incites the conversation and how, etc. and you just keep going until you're happy with it.

i don't write every scene like this, but it's my go-to method when i'm breaking out particularly tough plot points.

[tigers1o1]

Hello FNC GUY!

I'm a big ol enjoyer of your works and was wondering if you had any tips on scene writing? I feel as though in my own writing I reuse names and pronouns too often, and I fear it makes my sentence structure redundant and boring. I've never done an ask before so I sure hope I'm doing this right! Anyways hope you have a good one, I look forward to seeing more of your works!! :D

I’m assuming you’re referring specifically to character interactions and dialogue to which i have a very good pointer actually!!!

So in my own writing, i tend to stick to the omnipotent limited (3rd person, but a specific kind) perspective. Which is basically to say i pick a character and the narrator knows everything going on inside that characters head and how that character is perceiving the world but its not 1st person and its not the characters’ thoughts directly. i think this is an important context to note for my pointer bc writing styles and the way you write character interactions can be very heavily dependent on your point of view/ perspective.

Now, one of the most common “beginner” techniques i usually see goes something like this

(Snippet from one of my wips)

Notice how little substance there is. It’s just dialogue and a couple actions. This gives your writing a really distant feel, like we arent actually in the scene with the characters, right? And what we want is substance and for the scene to contain life, instead of that sterile feeling.

And this is where the pov comes into play. For that snippet, I’ve chosen Lizzie as the main character (also note how that doesnt really show up). So to make that interaction have more depth, whag i do is i consider a few things

What is Lizzie feeling? What is her reaction to the words/interaction?

What specific details is Lizzie noticing about her surroundings and the actions of the other character? (If the main character doesnt notice something, don’t include it unless you’re using a different kind of pov bc in THIS, the narrator is omnipotent but they are limited, they only know what the character knows)

What is Lizzie doing?

I think getting into specifics can help, so long as you dont go overboard with them (but thats also dependent on your writing style)

So heres the actual snippet in the way i write usually

Lets break it down

P1- the setting is described, even if briefly. There is a descriptive quality accompanying the dialogue (rang out). Direct cause and effect, which ties the characters’ actions together making the scene feel more grounded in itself and connect than just a string of actions. Lizzie’s action is said, once again with a quality descriptor (laughed sharply)

P2- Lizzie is already the most recent subject, so using “she” here is less repetitive than her name again. I didnt say “she said” or “she replied” or anything to that effect because the reader KNOWS it was said, that’s indicated by the quotation marks; instead, try describing an action of the character speaking, or if its the main character, their reaction/feelings (which i did both here).

P3- “the other” is used to indicate that we’re talking about ava, but the subject (and main character) is still lizzie, which lets us use “she” again to refer to lizzie without getting overly repetitive or confusing the two “she”s in this context. Again, an action of the speaker is described to more realistically cement what is being said into the setting of the scene, and by describing the character’s action, it gives the dialogue itself more life than had it been the only focus of the paragraph.

So the big takeaways i guess are:

“She said” is redundant in most contexts, we KNOW she said something bc of the quotes. Instead, describe an action or emotion that accompanies the dialogue.

Make sure you know your narrator’s perspective /pov as well as tense, because the way you add detail will change

Pay attention to the way you interact with the world. What do you notice about your surroundings? How are you reacting to them emotionally? These introspections can help a LOT bc writing is a reflection of our own experiences, so if you’re noticing something about your environment, your characters probably would too

[khaire-traveler]

you get enough asks of people with similar questions and i told myself i wouldn’t add to the list, but i’m rly struggling rn.

i’ve been an active hellenistic polytheist for 3 years now, and an apollo worshiper for around 2.

yet, i haven’t really felt a connection to apollo for a year now. anytime i pray to him, it feels hollow.

i know that the advice people typically give is to move on, but i feel like then it’d be a waste. its quite terrible of me to say, but ive spent so much money and time setting up such a dedicated altar just for it to collect dust.

any ideas or advice? no worries if not. have a lovely day my friend :]

Hey, Max, thank you for the ask! I apologize for the delay.

So, I originally wrote a whole ass post that had paragraphs of information, suggestions, and advice, but Tumblr hates me and decided to just crash and not save literally any of it. 🙃 I'm hoping I can give you good information regardless of this setback. Also, please don't feel bad about asking questions; I honestly enjoy it, especially since some information can be hard to come by. All my information is merely advice and suggestions based on my own experience, but I hope it's helpful to you - and maybe even others - regardless.

The first thing I'll do is share some links that could be helpful for you. This one talks a bit about Deity Disconnect™ - something that I feel I can safely say has happened to every pagan and polytheist. Sometimes faith and spirituality come in waves, ebbing in and out as naturally as the ocean, but it doesn't always mean that a deity has left us. If you'd like to try reconnecting with Apollo through bonding activities and the like, this link and that link both lead to posts that mention some ways you can bond with a deity. Although I'm not sure if any of these will be helpful to you, I hope that they are. 🧡

I feel it's also important to mention that many devotees of Apollo find it difficult to connect with him during the winter. For me, I feel the feeling of disconnect begin as early as the middle of Fall and stay as late as the very beginning of Spring. Many attribute this to the myth of Apollo leaving for Hyperborea and leaving his seat in Delphi for Dionysus to temporarily take over. If you've been trying to reconnect during Winter, or even potentially Fall, the disconnect from Apollo may feel even stronger than usual because of this. I would wait to readdress this issue with him until Spring rolls around, personally, just in case this disconnect could be contributing to your problem at all.

Along with all that, I'm inclined to ask whether you've addressed this topic with him directly. Have you been able to communicate with Apollo directly about this and get his thoughts? In my experience, deities will typically let you know if they're stepping away, rather than yoinking away super suddenly and without a given cause (or at the very least, they are more than willing to provide a reason if you ask them); this tends to be especially true when it comes to deities you've been very close with in the past. If you haven't already, I'd highly encourage you to speak with Apollo in a format that allows him to provide a response to your questions, such as divination or meditation.

I do also have to say that sometimes deities leave but return later. It's entirely possible he is simply taking a break or stepping away temporarily. Maybe he feels you need to focus on other deities more at this time or he has simply taught all he can (or all that's relevant) at the moment. He could return full force later on in your life, be it a few days from now or a few years. This is something I'd ask him about specifically in order to clarify his intentions.

Ok, but what if he really is leaving and doing so in a more permanent fashion? Well, in that case, I encourage you to do whatever feels right for you. Take down his altar, or leave it up; it's entirely your choice. Even when deities leave our lives, they never truly leave, and most of the time, if we need a deity's help, we are still welcome to call upon their aid, even if they've "left". It's also possible that he is still ok with you worshipping or venerating him, even if he does choose to step away. There are some deities that I mostly just venerate but don't do much else past that, and that's perfectly ok. Sometimes it just feels nice to acknowledge a deity and show them appreciation, even if you're not particularly close to them. These are all things you need to have a direct conversation with Apollo about, however, as I cannot speak for him or what he is comfortable with.

Although it can feel like a waste of time, energy, and hell even money, please do remember that it is never truly a waste if your relationship to Apollo meant something - and still means something - to you. You put genuine time, love, and care into the altar you created, and regardless of what happens going forward, I'm sure he still appreciates that. It's important to know that when a deity feels the need to step away, it's not because they stop caring for you or the time you've spent together; they simply feel it's in your best interest for them to be more distant for the time being, but regardless, they are still there. They are still present in the world and life around you. Apollo can still be felt in the warmth of the sun on your skin and the rush of excitement you feel when the beat of music reverberates in your chest. He is still near, even if he feels far. He is still there, even if he feels absent. These are not things you're required to focus on or even acknowledge, however, if it makes you uncomfortable or you'd rather terminate your relationship with Apollo. I just figure it may be comforting to hear.

If the following doesn't apply to you at all or you simply disagree with my perspective, please feel free to completely disregard all this; it's heavily based on my own personal experience and beliefs. Do you work with Apollo or worship him? I know it sounds rather silly and somewhat ridiculous to ask, but I have personally noticed a significant change in my deity relationships when I focused more on worship than work. I have noticed that, a lot of times, deity work can end in that deity eventually departing because the things you're working on can eventually be resolved or improved enough that you no longer need them. To me, personally, deity worship often has a more permanent meaning, although that obviously doesn't ring true for everyone. If you were doing deity work with Apollo, it's entirely possible that he feels he's helped you the best he can with whatever you originally reached out about and has decided that you no longer need his assistance or guidance. If that's the case (which it obviously could not be), then you can absolutely ask him if he's comfortable switching your relationship to something that is more long-term worship based rather than short-term "please assist me with this specific thing" based. And since I'm sure someone will mention it, I do want to acknowledge that there is nuance in every type of deity relationship, and you can absolutely have a long-term "deity work" based relationship and a short-term "deity worship" based relationship. There are exceptions to everything, and everything contains nuance and complexity. I don't want to discount either of those things; this is just me sharing something based on my personal understanding, and no one has to take me at face-value.

Anyway, I hope I was able to answer your question and give you some suggestions or advice that helps. Regardless, I hope you're able to figure this situation out and that Apollo can address you more directly about it. I wish you the best on your spiritual journey. Take care, and have a good day/night. 🧡

[truearchangel]

🚢🦌🔪

@radioiaci Simple Ship Meme. Inu / you've reached the Mun!

do i ship our characters together?: yes | no | not yet but maybe soon

would i like to ship with you?: yes | maybe, i'm willing to try | no

type of relationship i could see: childhood or high school sweethearts | exes | engaged | married | long-term relationship | crushes | unrequited love | fling | long distance | online relationship | just dating | new relationship | toxic lovers | friends with benefits

tropes i'd enjoy writing for them: friends to lovers | enemies to lovers | exes to lovers | fake relationship / dating | forbidden love | grumpy and sunshine | star-crossed lovers | surprise pregnancy | second chance | soulmates | amnesia / mistaken identity | forced proximity | secret relationship | slow burn relationship

would i rather plot first or jump right in and see where it goes?: develop their relationship first | jump right in | something in between ( what specifically? )

what now?: let's plot something | send me shippy memes | i'll send you shippy memes | write me a random starter | i'll write you a random starter | need the added option for just seeing where this goes.

anything else i want you to know about me / my character / my shipping habits: ( put whatever you want here )

I'm still getting a read for your Alastor in particular and I of course read your bio; (Most “shipping” relationships will be something in the realm of queer platonic), to be honest I have absolutely no idea what a queer platonic relationship means, which adds to the above answers in particular of "I'm not sure maybe?" Knowing how he'll react to certain things is what plays into it too. When Michael broke down the explaination of the "shadow" and Alastor's magic / his relationship with it I had no idea what he would react with though I had anticipated some anger involved. I was quite surprised when I didn't recieve that, to he honest, and more just a grumpy sulking LOL.

Alastor can be a very difficult character to ship in general, everyone has a different interpretation of how he experiences romance / attraction as aroace is a scale with different branches. Without talking about that I really feel things can be quite hard to interrpret. Michael in particular I play him on the demiromantic/sexual scale which means he does have to develop a connection to someone before any sort of feelings hit him in the face like a brick.

I of course love their interactions so far, and I do enjoy the way you write him. I feel like his reactions are genuine and I can really get an understanding of his character and where he comes from. You're very detailed in his perspective and his reaction which does make it clear why he's acting the way he is and how he's taking Michael's words, something really important for me I love breaking down a characters mental perspective (god that is probably so obvious when I ramble for paragraphs Michael's own thoughts). But given what we've done so far I don't believe he's particularly FOND of Michael LOL. Which is understandable and Michael is somewhere on the fence in particular when it comes to him.

ANYWAY THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS SO FAR. I HOPE THIS MADE SENSE?