#They still get like this sometimes. Specifically only during work because their work environment is not their home environment.

[toasteaa]

send u some niko voicelines abt eclair so u can read later (feel free to tell me if i got her character wrong qjdjsjd)

---

About Eclair: Walls have Ears 

"Seems like you're enjoying Fontaine so far, seeing how that little floating pixie of yours can't seem to get her eyes off of any plates of sweet she came across. But careful there, Traveler- you know how they often said 'the walls have ears' ? I could think of one person that fits the description... Who ? Hah, that'd spoil the fun, wouldn't it ? After all, I'm still under supervision from the same person... You know what ? How about we give her a little show ? I'm sure other folks wouldn't mind another... ‘show’.”

-

About Eclair: Justice 

"When you're a convicted criminal, any and all crimes directed at you are seen at face value- You committed embezzlement ? Guilty. You kidnap children ? Guilty. You attempted murder on thousands of lives ? Of course you're guilty. Everything that is  thrown at you is easy to accept to anyone because that's all you ever are to them- a criminal. As much as I complained about the old hag, she does do her job by her own standard, the titles of "hero" and "criminal" don't matter to her as much as the truth of the case. At least that's something I could give her credit for, I guess." 

-

About Eclair: Second Chance

"Oftentimes, those residing in The Fortress do not have the luxury of going to the surface, unless they manage to escape the security of The Fortress prevents any and all inmates from leaving the Duke's sight. Of course, I'm the exception to this rule as I'm currently standing on the ground now in case you haven't noticed yet, you can thank the old hag for that. You must have guessed it already but this... settlement was not made easily, even back when I was still charged with attempted murder, Eclair was dead set on letting me be under her supervision with permission for me to be above ground despite all the problems that would come with it, it was an intense conversation and I don't think I've ever seen the Iudex looking that agitated before. But in the end, she went through with her decision and even till this day, I still don't know why she would do all that for me... Don't you dare tell her that, she'll sprout some cheesy shit like 'cause I care about him !'... or something.”

NICK I'M CHEWING ON YOUR BRAIN BECAUSE HHHHHHGHGHNHGH EVEN READING ABOUT HER IN PASSING AND FROM NIKO'S POINT OF VIEW IS ACTUALLY AN EXTREMELY ACCURATE DEPICTION OF HER CHARACTER RAAAAAGH

I know I've got an awful habit of talking about her with my silly or hopeless romantic or angsty filters on and I feel like that always takes away from how present she is in Fontaine's judicial system. And how present she is in Fontaine as a whole. Like. I always mention it briefly but there are reasons you either want or don't want Eclair on your case/on a case involving you!!!

"As much as I complained about the old hag, she does do her job by her own standard, the titles of "hero" and "criminal" don't matter to her as much as the truth of the case."

REAL AND TRUE - THIS IS GENUINELY HOW SHE GOES ABOUT CASES SHE'S ON!!!!! This is also why she isn't fond of interviews or those few crime novels that always seem to crop up after she's taken care of a major case - most observers (especially those on the outside of a case) do not see (or often do not care to see) the truth of a case. They would rather place the apparent "innocent" party and the apparent "guilty" party in groups based on preconceived notions. Appearances, origins, family tree, age, personality; all variables that can be manipulated and taken out of context to distort the truth beneath the veneer of presumptions. It's why, interestingly enough, she's never been the biggest fan of leaving half of verdict to the Oratrice. As impartial as it and Neuvillette can be, if fed enough prettied falsehoods and twist the identities of the "guilty" party just enough, even they can't tell the truth from a lie. But present enough evidence, no matter whose side it comes from, and see how quickly an "innocent" party's story unravels and how they scurry to backpedal their previously presented "truths".

It's made her both an appreciated and highly targeted member of Fontaine's law system. Luckily, no one's tried to take aim on any of those targets. Yet.

"Eclair was dead set on letting me be under her supervision with permission for me to be above ground despite all the problems that would come with it, it was an intense conversation and I don't think I've ever seen the Iudex looking that agitated before. But in the end, she went through with her decision and even till this day, I still don't know why she would do all that for me..."

Eclair refusing to let Niko be saddled with a false accusation of attempted murder when she knows for a fact that he wasn't the one to plant the bomb. The fact that she was willing to be thrown in prison herself in order to prove Niko's innocence in this case. All of his robberies? Fine; he did in fact do those and she has the evidence to back it up. He'll serve his sentence for that crime with no qualms from her. But attempted murder? Niko has never intentionally harmed or attempted to kill anyone before. It is not the Araignée Noire's style to do such a thing. Therefore, the charge should not be on an innocent boy's shoulders when the actual culprit is still out there. And, as you can imagine, several people were not happy to hear that.

There were arguments of course; accusations of Eclair playing favoritism as well as insults to her character. Anger from the crowd claiming that the new so called "Head Detective" was endangering more people by letting such a criminal continue to run free in Fontaine. But she'd said her piece already; all she needed was a confirmation or rejection of her plea.

Neuvillette wasn't angry, but he was severe. Called for order and grew silent. Stared down at Eclair with an intensity that would make anyone else apologize for such folly. Eclair only stared back at him and waited for his call. The resounding uproar after he allowed her investigation to continue still rings in Eclair's ears.

To this day, I don't know if he knows how badly her hands were shaking the entire time.

[sunshine-and-moonshine]

COD Sex Bot Au - General and Character Specific Facts

Requested: Yes. By uh…..pretty much everyone. SO many people begged for something and while this isn’t exactly a part 2, I hope it will help tide you all over til I can get that completed.

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Child Abuse, Adult Abuse as well, Mention of Murder, Mention of Self-Destruction (Robot Suicide), Mentions of Knives, Mention of Blood, Spice, Probably very incorrect Spanish

A/N: So! A lot of people, along with requesting a part 2, have also been begging me for Price as well. I know I’ve only done the 4 characters for all of my Cod works so far but I do want to expand the character list! That being said, I’m just not entirely comfortable with writing them yet. I am looking more into Gaz, Price, and Roach specifically and I promise to let you guys know when I feel comfortable enough to write for them! But until then, please enjoy!

✨General✨

Their eyes get this kind of colored sheen to them sometimes. Different colors for different things.

Yellow is absorbing new information

Pink is the color during sexy times

Red is malfunctioning/in need of repairs (but can also be a sign of embarrassment or shyness)

Light blue is curiosity

White (still) is powered down

White (pulsing) is powering down

White (flickering) is low power

Grey is rebooting/charging

Black is enraged

Lilac is contentment

Plum is upset/hurt

All the boys come with their uniforms on but what’s underneath depends

For Ghost’s model, simple black briefs

For Soap’s model, silly patterned boxers (think hearts or something)

For König’s model, usually some fancy lace panties since he’s very popular amongst Doms who like that sort of thing

Alejandro’s model? Absolutely nothing

Ghost

Ghost’s model was MEANT to be a scary bad guy kind of deal, to be marketed towards fans of slashers and the like. But he…..didn’t end up being that way.

At least, not your Ghost. Many of the other Ghost models are that way, but not yours. For some reason.

Granted, that programming is definitely still in him, though not exactly in the way it was meant to be.

Instead of it being just for fun rough sexy times, it’s more…….actually will kill for you. And has, in fact, killed for you.

Something that he’s NOT supposed to be able to do.

“Gee, I wonder what happened to that Barista that insulted me the other day.”

“Gee, I wonder.” *cleaning a bloody combat knife in your sink*

Speaking of knives!!! Ghost’s model does come with a lot of fun knives! Granted, they’re dulled into being just (mostly) harmless kink knives but he made quick work of making them a lot more harmless by ordering a knife sharpener.

So uh, yeah. You have received not just a sex robot, but one that borders on Yandere and will probably self-destruct if you reject him.

Have fun with that!

Fun fact: YOUR Ghost actually used to be a child bot MANY years ago, bought by a man who only wanted to be able to legally abuse a child. So he was broke down and put back together so very many times. And when they recycled and reprogrammed his AI chip, the scarring from that was still imprinted into him.

Soap

While Soap’s model is marketed more towards romantic oriented people, he’s generally seen as a Jack of all trades.

Doms, subs, romantics, first timers, just about any kind of person. He’s good with all of them, though he thrives with Romantics since that is his programming.

And also just because your Soap is so very lonely. He yearns to be loved by you, to melt under your affection.

And also just because your Soap is so very lonely. He yearns to be loved by you, to melt under your affection.

He doesn’t want to be seen as just a sexual object, he wants to be yours. And you to be his.

König

Ah yes, the gentle giant that was supposed to be marketed more towards Subs but ended up being a bit….Soft.

None of the programmers can explain it but every model of him is just inexplicably shy and quiet, thriving in an environment where he has no control.

So now he’s more marketed towards doms. Usually soft doms.

They once tried to change his model to be smaller and more petite and people started BOYCOTTING.

It affected their sales so much that they very quickly changed him back.

People still seethe when they think about it.

Probably equal parts the most loved and most abused of the different models.

Probably equal parts the most loved and most abused of the different models.

Just because of how quiet and meek his model is, how they almost never fight back when hurt.

Alejandro

Alejandro’s model is VERY popular among submissives so he’s programmed to be pretty dominant and also to have a caring nature.

Due to said caring nature, many mistake his model as good for beginners.

I can assure you, he is NOT.

So SO many of his models have been returned cause he’s brought them to tears from so much pleasure, absolutely overwhelming for any beginner.

“Cry for me, Amor. That’s it, just like that.”

His model is one of the only ones that isn’t returnable unless something is malfunctioning and even then, they’ll try just about anything to fix the model instead of just taking them back.

If you’re the type to forget meals and such (I’m not projecting, shut up) then he will literally drag you away from whatever you’re doing and make you eat.

Will set up a rewards system if you have trouble with personal upkeep as well, like household chores and stuff (again, not projecting).

How much pleasure you get throughout the day is all dependent on how well you follow the schedule he makes based on your personal life.

He can and will have you call him Papi, in and out of bed.

“Be a Good Little Cachorro and get on your knees for Papi.”

You only get called Amor when you’re good or when you’re upset. Anything else and it’s Cachorro (Puppy).

[unstableforensicscientist]

Okay these are the head cannons I have so far, and yes I will always add more 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Herbert West headcanonnons:

a gay or unlabeled trans man

also aroace

AuDHD

Hates loud noises or bright lights specifically

Clenches his jaw or grates his teeth when he sleeps

Rarely ever remembers to shower but also needs everything around him to be clean

Despises coffee but if he had to drink it, he would either drink it purely black and probably like the bottom of the coffee pot or so much sugar it’s insane

He secretly has a sweet tooth (PLS HEAR ME OUT ON THIS)

Literally only wears suits and will sometimes sleep in them

Doesn’t remember to take care of himself like ever

he loves compression socks (once again just hear me out)

He wears sock garters

smells like either mold/corpses or hand sanitizer, no in between.

he has two different handwriting, one that is like a mix of cursive and his normal in pen, and really shitty writing in pencil.

Rarely would ever care for music but he would occasionally go with classical

LOVES the rain/thunderstorms

Wanted to study archeology when he was younger (I’m projecting)

will go through math equations when he gets bored or stressed

Definitely stims, but specifically hand taps, leg taps, facial movements, and scrunching his hands or opening and closing his hands into a fist shape, or swaying/pacing.

He also Stims by breaking the fuck out of No.2 pencils and sometimes even pens if he’s stressed out/agitated enough

He fidgets with his tie and watch a lot, especially when he’s nervous, it’s one of the only ways you can tell he’s on edge

Either can’t sit still for hours or will be so silent/still you won’t notice he’s there.

Has a collection of encyclopedias that are really fucking old.

Will read fiction on very, and I mean VERY rare occasions. They will most likely be science fiction too.

Gruber was 100% a father figure for him.

Genuinely couldn’t give less of a fuck about your opinion on him unless you say something about his work.

did his own top surgery with perfect performance and had guidance from Gruber

Doesn’t drink much besides water or just well nothing, but will have some tea on occasion.

I also like the idea of him liking 7 up from the cut scene because it’s silly

used to wear socks with fun yet sophisticated designs on them in high school.

He definitely dressed like your average high school nerd when he was younger, suspenders and all.

Used to have glasses that would make his eyes look 10x bigger

His vision is absolute shit without his glasses, basically a male Velma.

also I think it’s silly to say he did ballet when he was younger (reference to the bride commentary)

used to have his hair a bit more shoulder length in high school

literally sleeps with one single pillow and a sheet. Also his bed feels like a rock when you lay on it. (He never fucking sleeps)

actually really enjoys nature and not just in the experimental environment way, but you would have to water board that info out of him.

Genuinely wants some kind of reptile as a pet.

he has so many random facts on the most niche things you could possibly not want know/hear about.

Genuinely likes the color green, but more of a forest green and not bright ass neon.

has gone camping ONCE.

has a specific routine for everything and will breakdown if it doesn’t go accordingly

never ever shows his meltdowns to anyone but himself

Has gone to the psych ward during his time in Switzerland after Grubers death

Doesn’t trust psychiatrists

this one I think is just funny to me but he has tried to read fiction with magic and shit and HATES IT. Read love craft and he had called that man out for his writing and bigotry so many times to Gruber and probably Dan.

Has the most manic laugh/giggle you’ve ever heard

smiles with his teeth if he’s being an asshole, almost like the Cheshire Cat, smiles with his mouth closed in a tight line when he’s sarcastic or annoyed, only has smiled genuinely like twice.

Hates showing emotions, even negative ones. He prefers to seem entirely neutral unless provoked

never looks himself in the mirror

hates going to the barber shop and prefers to cut his own hair

Literally cannot legally drive

Speed walks, he cannot walk at a normal pace ever.

Enjoys puns and jokes but only if he’s the one making them.

Death glares that could kill a man if it were possible.

thinks he’s very clever but sometimes he really is just stupid 🙁

thinks logically but not rationally

His morals are so fucking grey, like he has his lines he won’t ever cross but besides that, he does not give a fuck at all

He sits with his legs crossed or he sits like a bird perched on a branch, no in between

He either really loves or really hates small spaces

loves curling his body into himself or have his chested puffed out really proudly once again, no in between

He has SERIOUS back problems, and has kinda bad posture

He paces so much that it freaks Dan out sometimes

Talks to himself a LOT

If he lets himself relax, he often does crossword puzzles or just reads medical textbooks and highlights the misinformation in them

does actually care for Dan, just has a really hard and shitty way of showing it

Finds the realism art movement very interesting, and did a lot of research on Eakins to understand how to draw anatomy for his subjects

[celestie0]

ellie's writing tips

hellooo this is just a lil masterpost for the writing tips i have collected over my time writing since it's a question i get often!! this way it's all in one place <3 this is also for my own reference to look back on when i forget them lol

tips for specifically writing long fics

on coming up with a main storyline.

planning out a general idea & premise at the beginning of the fic that helps two characters get closer to one another, such as a forced proximity, some sort of mutual agreement, a mission to complete, etc. is a great way to get the ball rolling on a fic and can create environments between characters that feels connected and necessary rather than forced

on coming up with secondary storylines.

after laying down the main groundwork, building some side storylines adjacent to the main one that will give you options down the line to play with narratively (you don't need to figure out exactly what you want to do with secondary plotlines up front, but having them in place can create flexibility in your story to pivot towards some ideas if you'd like to later in the story)

on planning chapters & scenes.

it's wise to have a general idea for your series, but it's also okay to scrap those ideas if ultimately they don't work. there will be scenes that do not make sense or fit in the way you thought they would've, and making last minute decisions is okay and totally normal. sometimes better answers will find you along the way, and it's only a testament to how well you're getting to know your own story and also your own characters. it's also okay to plan multiple path ideas for your story, and choose whichever one fits best once you get to that point. it's not necessary to have a scene-by-scene in order to start writing! planning is useful, but writing is more important

on finding motivation to continue long fics.

having certain "key" scenes planned out in the very early stages of writing that you know you will look forward to writing can help with finding motivation. it will also help you find momentum to write during points where you might have some writer's block. also, one of the best tips i have seen for writing chaptered fics, is to end your chapters when you still have a little bit left planned. so cutting it like 10% short so that you have an immediate jumping off of point that you can start with for the next chapter

my general writing tips

inspiration. starting off w a concept or idea that you already know you like from a tv show or book works really well for fanfiction! for example if you like spiderman, then you can write a canon-adjacent spiderman au w your fave character from an anime or something. and then maybe once you start writing, your own original ideas start to come into play and you go off of those. i think in the fanfic community, people adore spin-offs & mainstream concept ideas

dialogue. my biggest tip for dialogue would be to just write all of your dialogue for a scene completely stripped down. none of the “he says” & “she says” or action verbs in between, just write it all out like it was a simple text convo w quotation marks. that way the words will sound realistic because you’re only picturing a convo in your head, rather than also trying to juggle all the descriptive prose. then, you can go back in to fluff things up. if it’s meant to be comedic or a fast-paced argument, keeping it relatively stripped down is the way to go, but if it’s something intense or suspenseful then fluffing it up may be the better choice. also, i find dialogue becomes easier the more you write for a specific character, so if it’s not flowing right away, don’t worry!! their words will find you eventually once you get to know the character better :)

on choosing conflicts. characters won’t always act perfect, but i think a great way to make conflict seem realistic is for them to act in character but with flaws, rather than out of character with flaws. maybe make a list of what that character’s good qualities and how those qualities could also work against them, and use the latter to brainstorm realistic conflict that those qualities could put them in (ex: a character is self-sufficient, but that causes them to rely on ppl less when they need it -> they fail to reach out for help in timely manners and leads to mistakes/regrets)

pacing. when starting off a story, don’t be afraid to just jump straight into it! or jump straight into the dialogue and then build the scene gradually as it progresses, rather than [big block of text in beginning of scene that reader must drag their eyes through] and then get to the dialogue. make sure the pacing fits the scene (romantic -> longer paragraphs more focused on subtle details, comical -> short paragraphs n dialogue heavy w simple n relatable diction, etc)

for tone and mood. to get words flowing for different scenes, it can be really useful to get into the environment of those scenes while you’re writing, such as listening to a song that fits the vibe of the scene prior to/during writing, or if its a scene at night, write it w the lights off, or watch a youtube vid w scenery that matches. may sound silly, but it could help!

read more. this is sort of a miscellaneous one but a good way to subconsciously get better at writing is to just read more! your brain kinda learns how to write on its own when you read. also, when i’m reading, if i see words i really like i jot them down in my notes app so i have my own lil vocabulary of words that i know i would like to use in my writing

on writing insecurities. be proud of your writing!! your first draft does NOT have to be perfect. some days the words will flow, but on some they won’t, and that’s okay. don’t get too into your head about “i wonder what readers will think of this plot point or this character action” etc, i think having faith in your own process but also in your readers will bring you a lot of peace as you write :) create what you want to create and the rest will follow!! at the end of the day it’s just a hobby and you should be writing what YOU want to write!! and just get started! ☺️ that’s the easiest way to write—is to just write 🫶🏼💕

use chatgpt. looool ai can be useful in writing too! i usually only use it after i'm completed with a draft, and i just plug select paragraphs into it to see if it can come up with some better words for me to use. it's also useful to come up with logistical details for aspects of your stories for world-building etc

[mixtape-racha]

aria aria aria

more tiger hybrid hyuka >///<

nsfw or sfw idc just tiger hyuka

LIAAAAA !!! i have so many thoughts dw babe tiger!hyuka lives rent free in my head rn (the thoughts in italics are recycled from the ask i sent lia here)

tiger!hyuka who preys on you - but not in the way you're thinking ok maybe kind of in the way you're thinking but i mean like ??? his eyes are always on you and like you can feel someone staring at you but you can't see him because he hides himself so well in his surroundings

tiger!hyuka who pounces on you when you're sat still for too long, or laid in bed chilling, but does the little butt wiggle that felines do before pouncing :(

tiger!hyuka who - like all tigers - prefers solidarity :( but that changes so fast when he meets you !! now he's inseparable from you, and can't understand why he enjoyed being alone so much now

tiger!hyuka who bounces into your room, showing off a bug he caught like prey - hes so proud that he caught it so you better give him praise !!

tiger!hyuka who sometimes forgets he can speak and often communicates through little vocalisations - purring or humming, even occasionally chuffing when he's particularly happy

tiger!hyka who enjoys going in walks to find fields with long, thick, wavy grass to play around in !! he enjoys sneaking up on you and scaring you playfully, and the wild vegetation only helps with that

tiger!hyuka who's an incredible swimmer, and can't help his instinct of jumping into any lake or river he can find - he loves playing in the water, especially after a day in the fields, so be prepared to have to carry spare clothes with you everywhere

tiger!hyuka who also uses signals a lot - scenting all your clothes and belongings so other hybrids know who you belong to >:( and through pawing/scratching !! so expect a lot of torn up cushions if u don't get baby hyuka a scratch post :(

tiger!hyuka who is a complete night owl - tigers usually hunt at night, and so his instincts just keep him up for so long !! he's usually pass the time by gaming, but sometimes he'll ask you to watch nature documentaries with him

tiger's mating patterns usually occur during november - april, so during these months be fully prepared for tiger!hyuka's breeding kink to go wild !! tiger's also usually have 2-4 cubs so be prepared for the chance of twins or triplets

tiger!hyuka who gets more aggressive/protective in an environment with more big cat!hybrids - specifically other tigers or lions

tiger!hyuka who spends a loooong time grooming himself each day !! his fur is his pride and joy, and he needs to keep it in tip top condition

tiger!hyuka who gets along most with bears, leopards and wolves because of his instincts, although these animals are more active in the day so there isn't much collaboration

tiger!hyuka who sleeps most of the day because of his nocturnal instincts, and you can usually find him dozing on the couch - especially if the sun is shining in on him

tiger!hyuka who left home young, because tiger's leave their parents' territory at a young age - and moved far away so the males in his family wouldn't think he was challenging them for their territory

(a/n: scheduled post!)

-> don’t forget to reblog or comment if you like my works ♡ please refrain from modifying, translating, or copying my work. - © mixtape-racha

tags ✮⋆˙ : @pretty-racha @demetrisscarf @bangtancultsposts @watariisbestboy @zuzuhasablog @kpopmenace143 @jeniihss

[acequinz]

Can't believe I haven't shared this already.

But omegaverse hc for DIiFangHua.

Now my headcanons do often change depending on what fic or scenario I am imagining.

Also presents here means how other people view them and not necessarily what they are trying to portray themselves as.

- Li Xiangyi presents as an alpha, he's the "perfect" alpha. The balance is just right in him. He's strong and dependable, he is protective and also has very good control on his base instincts even with his heightened senses.

- Li Lianhua is also an alpha but presents as a beta. His senses are highly muted, which means his own scent is not that strong and while he can still sense and pick up on other people's scent it's not to the level he could as Li Xiangyi and does not work if there's a significant distance between him and others.

- Di Feisheng is an alpha through and through and presents as one too, he purposely mutes specific senses like his own scent while some others a result of well trauma. He can pick up the scents of others just fine and recognise the threat or safety but unlike other alpha's he cannot pick up on more complicated emotions that scents can portray. He presents as everything someone describes as a typical Alpha.

- Fang Duobing is an omega but presents as an alpha or beta. Both his physique and his scent portray him as an alpha unless you get close enough and smell the muted omega pheromones which confuse people enough to consider him a beta. He has a strong scent but his pheromones are still very muted.

Now that the basic is out of the way. Some details on how they themselves view the secondary gender.

- everyone thought Li Xiangyi would present as an Omega until he presented as an alpha due to his physique and artistic nature of his sword style. And as Li Lianhua he does not care a lot for his alpha status and doesn't hesitate to use scent blockers to sometimes present to be an omega if he thinks it would be more convenient

- di Feisheng does not give two fucks about secondary genders, he never answers when there's questions thrown at him about him being an alpha. He can smell it on people but he always disregards it cause he could not care enough.

- fang Duobing is an omega but he doesn't really like it only because his mother uses it as an excuse to not allow him to travel through jianghu and when she finally let's his roam with Li Lianhua it's only with a heavy pack of scent blockers.

Ruts and heats headcanons

- Li Lianhua does not get ruts post bicha poison, well more specifically he does not feel the urge to knot but there are rut periods where he is high strung on emotions and extra snappy.

As Li Xiangyi his ruts were a painful affair because he never took partners afraid he would hurt someone after the first time he tried to physically attack anyone that entered the room to help him.

- Di Feisheng does have ruts but they are strong to the point he barely feels anything except the heightened need to bed someone or the itch under his skin to fight people and bloodthirst.

They are also very irregular and sometimes not coming for a year if he does not find himself to be in a safe environment. The 10 years he spent in the caves healing, he did not have any rut.

- Fang Duobing does not get heats and is unable to conceive. It doesn't mean that he's unable to have the sex, he can be a partner during others ruts or heats- in fact he's the safest option since he himself cannot be pushed into a heat and hence very stable support.

He can't conceive due to the illness he had as a kid, he had one bad heat when he had presented that almost killed him but since then he has never had another heat. However it's only for natural heat, he can go into heat if induced with external methods but he still cannot conceive.

Now some cute ones.

- Fang Duobing totally thinks Li Lianhua is an omega when they first meet and is excited to travel with a fellow omega while Li Lianhua thinks Fang Duobing is a typical strong headed alpha.

- it isn't until Fang Duobing tries to comfort Li Lianhua by sharing his scent that Li Lianhua picks up on the muted omega pheromones and gets very upset at Fang Duobing for a bit before trying to heavily scent mark him in a rush protective Alpha brain braining.

- Di Feisheng knows Fang Duobing is an omega before Li Lianhua cause he picks up on it during their fighting.

- when Li Lianhua is missing and they are searching for him, Di Feisheng often meets up with Fang Duobing to scent mark him cause, Li Lianhua isn't here to do it so I will cover for him.

- Di Feisheng always scent marks Li Lianhua and Fang Duobing gets annoyed not because Li Lianhua smells like Di Feisheng but because he doesn't know how to scent mark others.

- Li Lianhua gets very annoyed whenever Di Feisheng comes to him smelling like someone else (JLQ) and unconsciously smothers him in his scent.

- Fang Duobing actually hates it so much he wouldn't go near Di Feisheng until Li Lianhua has scented him and covered any stray smells.

- both di Feisheng and Li Lianhua try to teach fang Duobing how to scent others but it just ends with them smothering him in their own scents until he's completely scent drunk and out of commission.

- it is also very easy to get Fang Duobing scent drunk since he's very sensitive to it, which is why his mother gives him scent blockers every time she sees him, Li Lianhua carries some with him too and eventually so does Di Feisheng because he has accidentally turned Fang Duobing into a melted mess too many times with his potent scent.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

John Musker recently spoke of his final years at Walt Disney Animation Studios, and on directing MOANA under the stewardship of John Lasseter. There's some stuff worth noting in here...

To start off, he kinda repeated the words Bob Iger said when evaluating Disney's 2023 movie releases that didn't do very well at the box office, in describing what's not working with WDAS' most recent films. Namely the box office bombs STRANGE WORLD and WISH...

We weren’t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism. The classic Disney films didn’t start out trying to have a message. They wanted you to get involved in the characters and the story and the world, and I think that’s still the heart of it. You don’t have to exclude agendas, but you have to first create characters who you sympathize with and who are compelling. I think they need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary, behind entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters.

The key takeaway here is "you don't have to exclude agendas".

While I found Iger's similar statements to be confounding and toothless, seemingly catering to all the angry assholes on YouTube who call everything "woke" and think about Brie Larson 24/7/365... What John is saying is a very basic thing about storytelling, in that it's character first.

That being said, I personally don't feel the problem with WDAS' recent movies is that the messaging is front-and-center. I think that so-called messaging, like some of the character work, feels like an afterthought too. Specifically in STRANGE WORLD and WISH, not so much ENCANTO. But it is instead the rushed and hurried pacing of their over-crammed stories, the sort-of plainness of the presentations, weird dialogue choices (throughout my first viewing of WISH, I kept saying "Who talks like this?"), kinda reheated old hat tricks. It sometimes feels like the films made under CCO Jennifer Lee's watch are just trying to recapture FROZEN in some way or another... Without understanding why that film ticked with audiences and where the overall zeitgeist was in late 2013/early-to-mid 2014.

Also... Messaging. I'm not taking Musker to task specifically, because I know what he means in his words... But when others say it: All art is either political or about something, anyways. Choosing NOT to say anything is still saying something, it's still a political act to bow out or to be indifferent. Every Disney animated movie is about something, and they are indeed the works of their creators, so that means that their views on life and the world are somehow within the stories themselves. "Message" in this context, to me, reduces a work of art to a mere statement, like an after-school special or something. John and Ron Clements' Disney animated movies simply knew how to mix the themes with the character work, the storytelling, the worlds they put together, etc. You can't tell me with a straight face that something like THE LITTLE MERMAID, ALADDIN, or MOANA aren't about something or aren't political in any way, shape, or form. Especially the first of those three examples. The spirit of Howard Ashman would have a word with you if you think otherwise.

John also points out that the Lasseter years, which a lot of people online alarmingly pine for, weren't these amazing halcyon days. And this statement only confirmed the rumors I had heard about MOANA's production, how both John and Ron Clements were warded off on various things during its making:

MOANA was a very difficult project. It was our idea, but with Pixar and John Lasseter, our story kept changing hands. In the ’90s, we had Jeffrey [Katzenberg]. He was an emperor, you know. But there weren’t 10 Jeffreys. Now, you have too many people to satisfy, before we didn’t have 15 directors telling you how to make the movie. But in some ways, they were right, it was a good thing.

I feel like John's being very balanced in his words, finding the positives of that kind of environment while still calling out the not-great stuff. I love to hear these stories in former directors/animators' own words, and what the Lasseter and Lee regimes have been like. I feel that there are potentially fantastic movies buried in STRANGE WORLD and WISH, the former I rather liked still and the latter I found a fairly pleasant diversion.

I feel the fault lies in the execution, not so much the concepts, themes, or ideas. While some pockets of animation fandom online strongly feel that that earlier iteration of WISH with a younger version of Asha's grandpa being some kinda Star Boy would've been automatically better than the released film, to me it's down to the storytelling itself. Like, I think Asha, the silly goat, and the cute star thing could've been a fun trio and the movie itself a pretty fantasy flick, but it doesn't really get there. The Human-Star WISH, if made, could've also suffered from the same writing problems and similarly underwhelming songs.

STRANGE WORLD could've been this really dynamic sci-fi pulp adventure with a funny and super-enjoyable bickering family at its core, with the environmental themes intact... but it's mostly just kinda there in its execution, the characters kinda flat, the dialogue is forced a lot of the time, the dramatic beats aren't properly built up, and the film's editing makes it feel like it had been thrown into a dicer. There doesn't seem to be the hand and personality of the directors/filmmaking team, it's almost like a template is set for them. And they fill in the blanks and eke out as much personality as they can. See, I don't get that out of Pixar's recent films, all of which feel much more director-driven. And ARE about something, too, whether explicitly political or not. This current iteration of WDAS would not have made a movie like LUCA or TURNING RED.

For the forseeable future, it's sequels to favorites from last decade, who knows how those will be executed. Maybe an original or two sneaks in, I don't know, but I wonder if Lee and the leadership themselves looked at the response to WISH, STRANGE WORLD, et al. and are figuring things out. Or staying the course. But it isn't just people online saying it, nor critics. More than one Disney veteran is saying it... WDAS is in a bit of a rough spot at the moment. The solution isn't as simple as "they need to have romances and villains again" nor "they need to be less left-leaning", to me it's really... Let the filmmakers try something cool, even if it doesn't land. If it doesn't land, it'll be a cult classic thereafter. Live-action directors get to mess up all the time and make these 45%-scoring-on-RT released-by-A24 movies that later get hailed as auteur classics... Why do some animated movies have to live up to this weird nonexistent standard?

Back to Musker... In addition to this, John still expresses interest in adapting the DISCWORLD book MORT, from Terry Pratchett. He and Ron tried to get that going at Disney Animation after finishing THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, but it didn't pan out, so the pitch that morphed into MOANA happened thereafter. He feels it's a tough sell in today's "risk-averse" environment... Though somehow, the DISCWORLD book THE AMAZING MAURICE AND HIS EDUCATED RATS recently happened as an animated feature. The interview seems to confirm that METAL MEN, the DC animated adaptation that he and Ron were heading up at Warner Animation, isn't a thing anymore. John's new thing is his self-made short I'M HIP, so hopefully that circulates somewhere we can all see it.

[kaphzzz]

Do you use photoshop to edit your pictures? Their so crisp and clean and I just got 4k res on my pc.

If so, can you maaayyybbee give us a brief tutorial on how you enhance these for previews for tumblr. Because they always come out so clean even in the preview images.

hiii!!! omg sorry almost didnt see this! congrats on getting 4K!!! it's truly life changing *tears up*. and thanks for such a high compliment 🥹🥹🥹

i do edit my photos yes, but i don't do it in photoshop, but rather in mobile apps so i can just do it during time i cant do other stuff like on the subway so, yes, i can give a tutorial, but it's going to be general steps and guidelines :) sorry i can't give anything like photoshop specific! and i know you're only asking for editing advice but i'll go over the whole process for anyone else who wants to read this as well, so please bear with me. (and please don't take my advice too seriously, i'm only an amateur hobbyist too)

1. The base photo

So firstly, I think it's important that the base picture itself looks good when you capture it in game. With a good photo straight out of the game you can avoid a lot of further editing down the line.

One common mistake I see a lot is that the field of view will be left unadjusted to the default value, which is good for landscape shots, but for portraits it will have a wonky fisheye effect. For portraits you'd typically want to zoom in a lot so the character doesn't look super thin and distorted. In photo mode this is the "lens" option, I typically just zoom in to the max, and tweak what fits into the frame with the freecam. Here's a pic with good FOV for a zoomed in character shot vs. one with the default FOV (his whole face is skewed, as well as pupper):

Also, the in game environment is important for setting up a good shot. You'd typically want some kind of light vs. dark contrast to make your subject pop out, especially against any background. I like to use Rampage Trainer to tweak the in game time and weather and freeze them for better lighting and atmosphere, and sometimes spawn an extra light source but that's a rare case. For example, okay vs. not very okay lighting that's impossible to salvage even with editing:

I also like to blur the background and foreground in the game, with either the focus tab of photo mode or with depth of field reshade presets, because it's a big hassle to blur those during editing. It's quite subtle most of the time but really helps focus the shot on your character, especially if the background is so messy it can swallow your main subject (trees, I'm looking at you).

The photos in this section aren't edited; my point is that with good lighting, composition etc in game, your base vanilla photo can already look pretty good :D This is RDR2 after all.

2. Cropping

I typically crop my images at 3/4 or 2/3 ratio, depending on what looks better. But I think a general rule of thumb is that you want to crop your image so that the contents look balanced; I don't know how to explain this in concrete terms... Basically the same way centering your subject or cropping it by the rule of thirds serves to balance an image. All these pics are more or less 'balanced' in different ways, even though they're not straight smack centered. It's an eyeing process but I think with time it will be easier to tell how to balance your photo...

3. Editing

So! Editing!

Editing I think is just a lot of fine tuning based on what you have with the base image. Me personally, I used to do a lot of colour and lighting editing, but more recently since figuring out that you can just make your base image look good right out of the game, the editing has become a lot lighter. The game can definitely do the heavy lifting, but still editing is important.

I'll demonstrate with two images (hello my babygorls *kissy noises*):

So these two images obviously need some work. Firstly, I'll tweak the lighting, so that dark and light areas aren't too extreme, and also improve the definition/contrast, not too much, but just enough so that the subject is more defined. For Arthur's image the lighting is too murky so I used RGB curves to sort it out a bit.

Then I will colour grade it a little by tuning the warmth and the tone (not touching filters yet). For Charles, it's at night so I've made the tone a little colder for the blue, and for Arthur a little warmer, as well as some custom light patches just to make his face stand out a little more against the background. Some other mild adjustments.

Then if I think the background is still too attention stealing I'll blur it out a bit more. Again, I try to just blur it enough in game, since manually blurring is faulty and annoying.

Then if I think overall the lighting and colour is fine, I'll go through the filters the app offers to see if I can improve it a little more. Since I focus on portraits (pretty bois how could I not) and not do really cinematic/dramatic scenes I tend to stick to the more natural looking filters that just harmonise the colours a bit more.

And that's pretty much it for the editing.

On a side note, contrast is a good thing, but not limited to contrast in lighting, and not necessarily in lighting either. Contrast can be in the colour of your subject and in the back/foreground, or in the conplexity of your subject and blankness of everything else. I think for especially atmospheric photos you'd actually want less contrast for that softer feeling, and not like super hard silhouettes. So yeah, the editing process depends a lot on the image itself and what kind of emotion I want it to have.

4. Other miscellaneous things that help

Besides using mods to customise lighting and props and character pose etc. to your liking, reshade is definitely also a big help. It has a lot of presets that can help your photo to have better colours or add blur. I don't really have a recommended list since I don't remember how I set up my Reshade, but I think a lot of the most popular or built in ones work really well, just play with it and see what you like.

A mod I sometimes use for colour grading in game is the 'Seasons' mod. I don't like too much green so I often set the season to Autumn for that warmer tone to the grass and trees. The other seasons also have different colour tones so it's good for trying different tones! Without vs. with the mod set to Autumn (ignore the quality on those they are from ages ago):

5. Most importantly! Do what you think suits your visual preferences and taste!

So personally I think this is definitely the most important point! I think while you should look at others' work for inspiration and analyse what they're doing well, you should also definitely always prioritise your own preferences on what you like to see in your own pictures :D I think it's important to just do what you like in the moment instead of worrying about what's necessarily right or wrong, or looks good to others.

For example for me my style changed a lot over the past year and a half, and there was definitely a learning and realisation process along the way but I think my more recent preference isn't necessarily better and how I used to do things wasn't necessarily wrong either, it's just different taste.

Hope this was helpful!! :D

Please ask me if you've got any more questions or would like me to explain anything else <3

[dreadnotau]

Happy three years everybody! As always, there’s a lot to say on the occasion, so pop in at the end of the post for the tl;dr if you don’t have time for my detailed diatribes, haha

Boy, time flies, huh? Feels like the second anniversary was just yesterday, but maybe that’s just the several long hiatuses getting to me. I’ve been scarce on uploading anything anywhere for a while now, even though I promised I’d actually pick up the slack this time around. What gives? Well…

For one, college hell, and for two, a lot of unfounded anxiety about putting my art out there. Allow me some theatrics for a moment and I’ll actually get back to the comic at hand… I’ve never had an exceptionally supportive environment for making art. It wasn’t suppressive, not in the slightest, but it also wasn’t… encouraging. It was always treated as a hobby or a distraction rather than something I was allowed to be fully proud of, especially because a lot of my art focused on more cartoon-y and fantasy ideas, rather than still life studies and painting (which people generally outside of the art sphere tend to value more, arbitrarily). Couple that with a childhood full of being bullied over minute shit you hadn’t even considered could be an issue before, and you get a teenager hellbent on never sharing his interests or ideas with anyone, mostly due to the fear of rejection.

I’ve grown, thankfully, but that paranoia and fear doesn’t go away overnight. As I’m sure you all know, Meowchela was the one who originally encouraged me to post this comic, and the only reason she succeeded was because she was the first person in a long time who listened and engaged with my interests and my art in a meaningful way. It’s kind of obvious her friendship had a profound impact on me, and I’d cite her as one of the reasons I was even hopeful enough to apply to an art college in the first place! This comic, and that bond with another person, proved that maybe these things I’m so passionate about weren’t duds, and weren’t something I had to keep to myself.

So, fast forward a few years. About three years, in fact.

During one of my classes, right before this hellish two weeks of exams started, one of the class assistants talked me into showing my comic pages to one of my professors. He’s generally a pretty open guy when it comes to new mediums, but I’m always… apprehensive about showing my less “traditional art”-y things to professors, but, he ended up being genuinely proud of it. Specifically, I showed him pages 85-87 (because they’re my favourites) and, he didn’t read the text, just the visuals were enough for him to say “good job, keep it up” (which is HIGH praise from that guy). When I mentioned I’ve been meaning to simplify the visuals because I didn’t have time to work on the comic very often because of college and classes, he dismissed it on principle. I was honestly caught off guard. Heavily paraphrasing, he suggested that worsening the visuals for an arbitrary deadline was counterproductive to making something that’s Good™.

That’s kinda stuck with me. For a good few years now I was more focused on optimisation rather than visual improvement for the comic, and though it HAS contributed to better visuals in some ways (cutting corners sometimes makes for a less pointy and jagged end result), it’s kind of weird I’m treating an art project that way, isn’t it? I set a lot of… arbitrary deadlines and standards for myself, in the form of expectations and what I “should” or “shouldn’t” be doing at certain stages in my life. I’ve thought of Dread Not as a passion project second and a stepping stone first, if I’m being honest. As if it was too… fandom-y and derivative to be treated with more gravity than that, like it’s an immature project because I was still a child when I came up with it. As if it was something I’m making to Build Up to Something Else, something Bigger and Cooler and More Important, and… the more I think about the future of Dread Not, and even my future career options, the more I realised that’s, ironically, a really immature way to think about it.

If there’s one thing going to this art college has taught me, is that there’s no “right” way to make art, and there’s no “right” way to success as an artist. There’s no clear-cut paths, just more commonly treaded roads, but even those are heavily overgrown. Why should I try to box myself into thinking I have to make things from complete scratch to be taken seriously? What’s so bad about Dread Not as a story and as a comic that’s caused me to vaguely keep it under wraps when conversing with people in my day-to-day life? Why wouldn’t I put all these skills I’ve acquired to improve and expand this project that’s Right There, WAITING for me to finally get off my ass and get pages out there again?

I wish I could say I’ve used all this time away in a particularly clever way, but I really haven’t - at least, it feels like I haven’t. My art has undoubtedly improved over time (though admittedly the art for this post was Very rushed, fuckin exams), and while I’ve been working on projects in the background, chipping away at them in a VERY disorganised way, I haven’t been posting that progress anywhere, and I haven’t made any good progress on my biggest project, Dread Not, because of the other ones. And, honestly? Admitting that kinda stings. This comic means a lot to me, and I wish I actually gave it the time and attention it deserves instead of letting it sit out hiatus after hiatus because I keep failing at structuring my time.

So, my new plan is a little more abstract: find a way to work Dread Not into my school schedule, and slowly build a habit of working on it more often. No clue how long that’ll take, but I think it’ll be worth it to consider it as an option, and hopefully finally end these long, drawn out hiatuses with short bursts of uploads in-between. HOPEFULLY. Building habits was never my strong suit, so please bear with me while I figure this out in what will probably be the most hectic upload schedule in this comics history, which is: no schedule at all.

From now on (until the end of Act 1), I’ll upload pages when they’re ready, and depending on how the weeks go and how complex the page is, they could be weeks or days apart from one another. Hell, some might even take a month to finish if school stuff gets REALLY hectic (god knows Hellish Exam Week number 1 and number 2 won’t be giving me much time to work on the comic), but I’m determined to do this. I want to be able to put my all into this project again!!

(And hopefully finish Act 1 by the end of this semester…)

TL;DR: College is giving me life lessons I didn’t expect, and because of them I’ve decided to give myself a non-existent upload schedule for Dread Not: Pages will be posted when they’re ready, and the spacing between pages could wildly vary depending on circumstances and the actual complexity of the page itself.

As always, thank you for being here, thank you for reading, and thank you for being patient!

If all goes well, there will be new content very, very soon.

[deathbirby]

Decided the Church was the biggest threat??

You do realise she destroys TWSITD too right? But TWSITD is an organisation that isn't made of giant superpowered dragons, they just have the tools to kill a giant superpowered dragon if necessary.

She captures Rhea in most routes specifically so that she can get her help in fighting TWSITD after the war.

She also takes criticism several times. From Manuela, Lindhardt and Ferdinand and constantly changes her opinions.

She doesn't even say the Church is the biggest problem, she says Crests and Nobility are, because, if you fucking recall, the only reason TWSITD were able to kill her siblings at all was because of the nobility system and Duke Aegir!

Holy shit it's almost like she identified the root cause instead of the thing instantly in front of her, which she still ALSO DEALT WITH.

She needed Those Who Slither to capture Rhea, who she keeps free from their grasp. She is using them as best she can to defeat an eternal monarch of all of Fodlan for a millenium, before dealing with the less powerful force. She doesn't call Those Who Slither less important, but you don't win chess by killing the Queen do you? Doesn't mean she isn't the most powerful piece on the board, sometimes it's necessary to do one before the other.

Who would have thought in a tactics game a character would take the time to identify the severity of their threats.

Also Fodlan's history is legitimately twisted BY RHEA. Who's history is she going to listen to? Even Claude gets angry.

The character who most refuses to listen to anyone else's perspective, that would be a very special king man who can't see the forest for the trees. Crests are important because other places have advanced military forces, but y'know, we can't do that so forced caste system and breeding stock of women it is! The rich and poor just need to understand each other and the poor need to understand why I live in a castle and only marry women with crests.

Not only that. There's so much irony in the way that every single route ends with a unified Fodlan, without Rhea as the head of the religious state, who have all undergone reforms that serve to the betterment of the people.

Edelgard legitimately correctly identified the problem areas of Fodlan, that's why all the routes share the same outcomes.

Unification. No Rhea. No TWSITD. Political reform.

Wow!

You argue that she was wrong when she was entirely correct.

Fodlan's past doesn't even matter. It matters to Rhea and TWSITD.

What matters is nobility and crests feed into each other and Rhea is purposefully destroying technology to keep Fodlan in a state of perpetual readiness to accept the return of the goddess who she expects to *drumroll* unite Fodlan! Edelgard blames the Church for a few things they didn't do, but it scarcely matters because the Church is doing wrong things and so is TWSITD and she's getting rid of both.

She doesn't even remove the faith and keeps it running during her occupation of Garreg Mach. What more could she possibly do?

She's not interested in world domination, she never forces Brigid to fight.

She just knows that she can't reform Adrestia without the standing army that is the Knights of Seiros banging down her Empire. Or did you miss the bit where Rhea calls for the summery execution of the head of a sovereign nation without a trial or discussion. And then refuses Byleth when she tries to stop Edelgard from being executed without any form of discussion.

Look, I know people are going to be more harsh on Edelgard and more forgiving to the others because of, reasons? I guess it's kind of evil of her to support disability care where she enables others to work in environments that allow them to reach their maximum potential. Instead of, idk, believing that you're either born strong or weak and the job of the strong is to accept the weak and never try and understand how circumstances may very well be the thing that makes someone "weak."

But what do I know, it's not like there's a character with crippling anxiety that only comes out of her room in a singular route due to the support of someone who helps the "weak" find their strengths. Unlike someone in another route who baulks a being called a shut-in like that very same character. What a guy!

In the end, the history doesn't matter.

Fodlan is a misogynistic, homophobic, feudalist society, ruled by an eternal theocracy, and nobility who would rather assassinate their leaders than attempt reform.

It does not facilitate the common people, who are likely illiterate due to the suppression of the printing press by SOMEONE, and is stifling its own potential for the sake of mindless xenophobia. Which is what the officer's academy is for, by the way, to fight invaders like Dagda and Almyra, two places Rhea has coincidentally collected two people from! Don't forget how Catherine said she would have struck someone who wasn't Shamir down! Rhea did that. Super chill and peaceful. And that's not even mentioning the cover up that was Christophe... Or the treatment of the Western Church, who *checks notes* ah, yes, they eradicated over their errant beliefs over the saints and Rhea's position as archbishop. Yes. She handles dissent from sovereign people well.

The Church seems good because they can afford to appear good because Fodlan has no choice! The nobility are church backed and the church is nobility backed and the Holy Kingdom has no choice because it also church backed!

So yeah, she might have been able to swing an internal reform of her country, all while TWSITD enact their plans in the Kingdom, or she wages a shadow war against them. But, that's probably going to get her the ire of the church if her people start reading and realise their gods are all fake because Sothis is literally dead.

But that's not going to help the poor crested woman in the Kingdom who is needs to have her 10th child so this one, hopefully, maybe might be crested. Which is what Mercedes, Ingrid, Marianne, Dorothea and Bernadetta all have in store for themselves! Oh, and probably Annette and Hilda too but it's less obvious.

Sure would be kind of Edelgard to only help Bernie and Dorothea.

"That example you gave comes from Adrestia!" Yeah, I know. But do you think in the world Sylvain is so afraid of that HASN'T happened? It's unfortunate that the land of Man's Strength didn't have more female students... Unless... You don't think that's indicative of what life is like there do you? Some kind of land where the future king might forget to include one of his close female friends in his list of friends!? The very same one who lost the man she was betrothed to since birth? Surely that places values its women and wouldn't fatten their only daughter up to be breeding stock despite her personal ambitions, all because the loss of crests would destabilize their nation as a whole because the nobility would lose their power and so would the church that legitimises them as an actual nation??

Things are great there. There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Who fucking cares why Nemesis and Seiros fought. Seiros dragged the entire continent into a war out of vengeance. That's what happened. She then neglected to look into Those Who Slither in the Dark not for one year, not for two, not for five, but for one THOUSAND years.

They're ONLY exposed because of Hubert and Edelgard. Don't fucking forget that. It was their actions that got Those Who Slither killed.

But na, Rhea is gud.

Or at least it's far more comfortable to just believe that both the women are bad and the Boi has all the answers.

"He's setting up the groundwork for a democracy" I hear people bullshit.

You know that's a bad thing right? He's not setting up any fucking schools. Duscur was a genocide. Fodlan is xenophobic. Literally any votes that happen are going to go the exact same way the Voice to Parliament did in Australia and I don't say that as a joke, it's disgusting what happened. Democracy is fucking shit for groups of people who cannot use socially equitable (publically available and suited to the individual circumstances of the user) services to attain political power to force progress.

Dimitri's entire idea isn't to raise these people up, it's to hear what they say and decide PERSONALLY if that's a good idea.

Which is going to go oh so well the first time that comes into conflict with the legitimacy of the church or crests.

Meanwhile Edelgard establishes a system that actively contests her individual judgement through the use of expert testimony filling in for various public and political sectors that are open to literally anyone who proves they are the best in their field, with an intentional retirement plan that breaks the line of succession opening the door for any commoner to rise to the position of emperor.

But yeah, I guess the person who destroys all the major corrupt institutions of Fodlan, believes in rehabilitation instead of retributive justice (she does not kill Aegir or any of the nobles responsible for her imprisonment. She even offers Rhea a chance to surrender and instead serve public reform, something she also offers Jeritza,) creates public schooling, changes her mind on the purpose of religious thinking, grants sovereignty to her vassal state, creates a workspace specifically designed to enable the disabilities of several workers while also aiding them in reaching their personal potential (even while those people could very well turn on her later), and rules the most sexually liberated nation in all of Fodlan, both with regard to gender expression and sexual preference (see Lindhardt, Caspar's less-toxic masculinity, and like, all of the gayness of all the Eagles) which she personally fall under. Yeah. That woman is the stuck up bad guy because she thinks that Nemesis and Seiros fought for the right of humanity to rule itself vs immortals. Instead of. That, ah. Other reason. That they fought.

Yeah Seiros fought Nemesis out of revenge, but did you ever stop to think that maybe Nemesis might not have wanted a dragon pope either? That he may have actually have been a good leader in the north?

Seiros is justified in wanting revenge for her family, but she didn't do Fodlan any favours. She didn't help them. Dagda is doing just fine without the Goddess. Crests may have been genetically wiped out over time if Rhea didn't put so much importance on them to the point they literally change inheritance.

I get it, Slithers bad. They killed Edelgard's family. They hurt her. But it sure must suck to not be able to see the path beyond that and how that was even made possible. Edelgard can see it. She even explains it. Everyone agrees because no one keeps Rhea in charge, including Rhea. And they all kill the Slithers. Except Dimitri who did it on accident and got very lucky it wasn't a Hydra situation... We hope.

Sure is fucked up that Three House's main character dies of screen half the time. Weird.

I also feel like I didn't mention Claude enough. Y'know, the guy who looks into Fodlan's history like crazy. Super fucking crazy and answers all of, zero questions until he asks Rhea who tells him because literally only she has that information and STILL she doesn't know shit about the Slithers.

Yeah, what was Edelgard supposed to do again?

Claude got really lucky. His reformed Fodlan would have been super bad of he didn't know the specifics of *checks notes* Rhea is a dragon and the Slithers did bad things to Fodlan.

Wait. That's the same shit Edelgard knows!

Oh, but it's different because, ah, Seteth and Flayn are still alive, no, wait, that happens in Crimson Flower too.

Seteth is allowed to be in government? The same guy who slaughtered the western church for headcanoning Cichol wrong? Wonderful.

Except, Edelgard doesn't really actually say that Seteth and Flayn can't hold government. She says they can't "rule over humanity" which is contextually different. She doesn't want them to do what Rhea did, but public office is different...

Aww beans. Looks like all she did was start a war under the entirely true pretext that Rhea was abusing her power in the here and now, and so she could break the shackles that her oppressors had over her by turning the tides on them through Byleth or a captured Rhea.

So evil. I hate it when someone comes along to criticise the religiously and politically sanctioned sexual slavery of women and then asks why the King of said kingdom isn't just surrendering to her terms despite the fact that he doesn't have any political motivation outside of:

1. Revenge

2. Occupation is bad? I think? (Wait doesn't the church occupy us-)

when surrending to those terms would actually remove them from under the church's legitimization and provide them with the means to undo the harmful social practices such as sexism and xenophobia instilled within them from the church that lead to his personal trauma in the first place.

But y'know, the name would change. He'd still be in power because Edelgard does maintain the regional leaders for a time while she puts her reforms in place, but the name would change and that's icky. Better die on this hill for some reason so the sacrifice of everyone who died in this war can be even more for nothing as we half ass the same fucking reforms off the back of Rhea's dethroning and the death of the Slithers. Oh shit, that wasn't Dimitri was it. That's Sylvain who does that. The most Eagle Lion to ever be a bisexual man repressed by the sexist and homophobic society he lives in.

Fuck off Edelgard is wrong. The history is vague because Rhea literally hid it and even then it's not actually the truth because we literally still don't know if Sothis was benevolent or not. Rhea is also trying to install a method of governance (Sothis) that already fucking failed. Most good rulers and gods don't let their nations nuke themselves to death but maybe Shamir can tell us of the time Dagda did that to themselves. And the history also doesn't matter. Who cares why Nemesis did what he did. It was bad, it's Rhea's origin story for why she doesn't let humanity advance itself. The cause is irrelevant because it literally can't happen again! Not to mention that, if the Nabateans were as bad as the Slithers, we do genocide the Slithers, but that's okay, because they're bad.

What a useless criticism to level at her. That's like saying it's unjust for me to hate the church for homophobia because I don't understand the persecution of catholics under Nero.

Bitch, who gives a shit they're doing bad fucking stuff now! Yes, I think it's also valid to overturn the government of a nation that wants me dead on sight for being gay, they're violating human rights and citing sovereignty as their excuse, fuck that, people over countries.

War is bad, yes, but y'know what's also bad? Political reforms that fail because the population is uneducated, xenophobic, and democracy is a system of privilege and popularity that gives voices to those who don't know what they're fucking talking about. Just look up Voice to Parliament in Australia, it's just racism that got it knocked back. Democracy gave a voice to racism.

Bring on the Edelgards of the world. I'm disabled as fuck and I want her meritocracy more than anything. Definitely much more than I want dumbfucks "we hear you" new world with upward mobility determined by how able bodied and willing to participate in bioessentialism I am. I think there's a word for it. Ah. Eugenics. Crests are a form of eugenics. Rhea and Dimitri both endorsed eugenics. (remember! He only pairs with crested women! And his right to rule is literally based on his possession of a crest.) Good shit.

Adrestia: Commoners can become the Emperor.

Faerghus: You can become queen if you're afab, heterosexual and have a crest. (You also need to be able to produce viable children who are also crested. It's a good thing nothing bad has ever happened to queens who failed to produce legitimate heirs to a king, that would be a worrying precedent! Henry the who-th?)

"Everyone can participate in politics!" With what fucking education? No one goes to school but the rich! It's the same shit we have irl, it's the same thing they ALREADY HAD.

Just say you're a sexist and move on.

Edelgard bad because no pebis :C

P.S. Claude is just a less effective Edelgard who prolonged the war due to his vanity. His refusal to choose a side so that he could be the ultimate victor stalled the war for several additional years racking up additional loss of life which he could have prevented by deciding that he didn't need to be the sole author of this victory and reform. Either side could have won sooner if not for his impotence. And the Roundtable is still full of crested nobles with no schooling and religious doctrine so it's still a fucking L. Die poor Leonie of the world and anyone who wants higher education. Get born rich next time?

P.P.S. You gotta feel somewhat bad for Dimitri, he can basically marry Dedue or Felix, but he can't actually marry them because he reinforced heteronormative practices that require him to take a wife instead of actually getting to be with his husband. Sure "everyone" can participate in politics, except for the bisexual king who isn't actually allowed to be himself because of all the bigotry he reinstalled in his country. Meanwhile Edelgard and F Byleth are referred to as spouses in the Japanese, exchanged rings, and the English made it homophobic so certain characters wouldn't seem to bad to the sensibilities of particular white men. How. Interesting.

LMAOOO WHY IS THIS OVER 3000 WORDS LONG??

Nahh you gotta out and touch grass my dude, there is no character worth writing a whole college thesis about.

[blade-that-was-broken]

I have a HC that brozone had like stage parents like the kind of parents that only had kids so that they’re kids could do the child star thing and they could live vicariously through their kids success. and also so those kids could make a ton of money that the parents could live off of. Like the parents of the kids on toddlers in tiaras.

We know that JD took on the role of raising his younger brothers and that he saw himself as their main caretaker, but this is contrasted by the fact that his brothers don’t seem to see him as a parental figure and at least in the third movie seem to get annoyed and angry when JD tries to act like an authority figure in there lives. I interpret this as JD raised these kids but the parents were still around they were generally just uninvolved in their kids lives beyond the surface level bare minimum and shirked most of their responsibilities onto JD. In a JD did all the work but the parents took all the credit kind of way that led to JD simultaneously raising Bruce, Floyd and Clay without being a legitimate authority figure to them.

I also think that JD would not get baby branch involved in the band that young if he had a choice in that decision, both as someone who grew up in fame as a child star and knows how stressful and toxic that environment is and as a perfectionist who is very concerned with the bands performances going flawlessly. toddlers are messy and make mistakes and generally I don’t think JD would trust a toddler to perform to his standards and listen to him as a band leader during the performance. JD was stressed about the idea of baby branch being nervous and messing up the performance in the flashback I don’t think he would let him do it at all if it was his choice.

However I think that if brozone had toxic stage parents who decided to make baby branch join the band simply because he’s cute and marketable and would make them money then left all the actual logistics behind that move to JD to figure out that would fit with teenager JDs controlling, protective, and perfectionist character traits. Because people who feel like they truly have control over their lives and actually have the authority to make decisions in their life usually don’t micromanage everything and everyone they delegate. JDs controlling behavior fits more with a teenager who is desperately trying to cling to what little control he has in his life, which is the logistics of managing the band.

Essay over sorry for rambling

No worries! I love a good ramble.

It's not a bad headcanon either. It would make sense.

I don't think I have a specific headcanon for canon Brozone and their parents, probably because I have shifted to aus but it would make sense. Especially with all the dark turns we see when it comes to children stars/actors/singers and their parents.

Kids... don't often see their older siblings as authority figures, even when they are. They don't always recognize that. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they do but often times they don't really. So I can absolutely see John taking on that role and the others never really seeing it, even when they get older. Absolutely I could see that. Their parents doing what they could to keep appearances but all the real stuff landed on him. It is a tough spot to be in when your siblings don't see you as an authority figure that you are trying to be/need to be.

I could see that too. Even though troll aging/maturing seems wildly unpredictable, strange and weird in comparison to human toddlers, I could see, if this concept was the case, John not wanting him to be involved. Not only because of their parents exploiting them but also the perfectionism thing. It's not that he doesn't love Branch, but well, who trusts a toddler for this type of thing?

If there was toxic stage parents (which I think if they had stage parents they would have to be toxic, there is no way that family ended up the way they did without that if this was the case) I think you would be onto something with Branch being involved. We all know that Rosiepuff said Branch's voice was like an angel's so if she thought that, chances were their parents did too.

JD's whole thing when he left was his frustration and that his brothers were a lot of responsibility and considering he can't be that old, I can understand that. Coupling with the fact that he's probably not seen much as an authority figure in this case, as well as the pressure and strain he was under with that set of types of parents... yikes. Talk about a recipe for disaster.

Losing control for someone who struggles with perfectionism and even just being overwhelmed with reasonability is a nightmare. If this was the case, my only surprise is that there wasn't a blowup sooner. Which in that case, the reason it probably went on for so long is because John is protective. He always has been (I will die on this hill cause there is no way after 20 years of radio silence JD picks himself up and hightails it to try and save his brother that he isn't wildly protective)

[brickcentral]

🤩 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Yuan He Hello everyone! It's time to direct the spotlight toward our community members, and today we will get to know better Yuan He!

"Hi, my name is Yuan He, also known as lego_nuts in the AFOL community.

I began my LEGO photography journey in 2018. Initially, I just wanted to take photos of minifigures and official sets, creating interesting stories.

Later, I got into the MOC (My own creation) game, so to have full control of my stories and build more unique scenes, and to me is the best way to explore my creativity.

My works includes various themes, but as previously mentioned, storytelling remains at the heart of my creations and because of that I’m always trying to create the perfect moment for my stories and capture them through my camera lens.

I love using lightings to create different vibes on my projects. My favorite lighting setups are sunset and nighttime, where I appreciate the captivating drama and striking contrasts they can offer to viewers.

I would say the combination of environment, character and lighting is the key of my photos. I used to love shooting and building sci-fi themes, and I still do, but I don’t want to be limited in specific fields, that’s why I love exploring something that I have never tried.

I’ve been using SONY A7R2 camera since the beginning. Initially, I relied heavily on a 70mm macro lens, as I focused on capturing intricate minifigure scenes. However, as I started to make my own creation which became bigger and bigger, I found that wide-angle focal lengths such as 35mm and 24mm became more versatile lenses to use. They allow me to capture a wider field of view and better accommodate the scale of my scenes.

As I mentioned before, I firmly believe that good lighting plays a crucial role, even more so than the camera gear itself. For this reason, I have a collection of various lighting equipment. Among them, my go-to lighting fixtures are RGB LED lights. Their versatility allows me to mimic real-world lighting conditions with great convenience, resulting in more realistic and immersive scenes.

In my workflow, since I primarily focus on LEGO MOCs, I tend to envision the final shot of my projects during the planning stage. This allows me to strategically incorporate elements such as windows, doors, or hidden spaces that facilitate optimal placement of micro lamps and wiring. Once the project is completed, I typically experiment with various lighting combinations to achieve the desired overall atmosphere. This process often involves taking multiple shots, sometimes dozens, until I capture the perfect image that brings my vision to life.

I use Camera Raw in Photoshop to edit my photos, and the editing process is not as long as you may think. If the lighting is right, normally I would only spend like 10 minutes to clean up some dusts or exposed lighting wires."

Thank you for accepting our invitation and let the community knows you better!

If you want some insights on the exclusive picture and for a better view of the others, head to our blog at https://brickentral.net/.

- @theaphol, Community Outreach Manager

[outofangband]

Complex Trauma, Angband and Sleep

Other relevant posts: cultural views on sleep and nightmares, more nightmare thoughts , states of consciousness

I have some others too that I will find and add, it’s one of my favorite areas of trauma related world building because altered states of consciousness, nightmares and nightmare lore, and body/mind connections are some of my favorites!

(like my previous posts I use Maedhros and Húrin as examples as well as giving general information)

Angband world building and aftermath of captivity masterlist 

Torture, especially in the deliberate and political sense is designed to eradicate the victim’s sense of self by, among other things, stripping away one’s basic physical needs (food, water, hygiene, rest,) and one’s  basic emotional needs (safety, comfort, belonging, privacy, hope, and identity). It also seeks to damage the relationship that the victim has with these needs.

Sleep in Angband is profoundly disrupted. Prisoners frequently find themselves worked to the point of exhaustion with a completely inadequate environment for rest.

As one can probably guess getting a good night’s sleep in Angband is difficult. If someone sleeps dreamlessly through eight or nine hours it’s likely because they’ve been sedated during a procedure of some kind (Of course, few truly care about pain but work generally comes before sadism. There are instances where it’s more prudent to completely sedate a victim in order to get better results)

My posts that break down sections of Angband will have some detail on various sleeping conditions but generally, for the elves of Angband, blankets and cots are a rare luxury and the only real beds belong to the higher ups. Most sleep in large chambers on the floor with little protection from cold or heat. If they are allowed to keep what clothes they use for work, these might be utilized as a pillow or sometimes shared between a few to form a nest of sorts.

Specifically, thralls in the mines, kitchens and forges sleep in large, bare communal rooms with little to no blankets. Many blankets in the fortress come from raids or taken from prisoners upon their arrival. Others are made within the fortress with a combination of fiber materials. Blankets are a common ‘reward’ by higher ups and those who have them are likely to receive suspicion from their peers as are any other signs of…however unwanted…favoritism. The mines are especially cold although the chambers near the kitchens and forges are much warmer. Like with the starvation games I’ve spoken about, forcing prisoners to ‘earn’ blankets in various ways is a pass time of some of the higher ups.

Signs of exhaustion let alone voicing it is often highly punished in these places as well. Prisoners, including former prisoners, learn to ignore their own tiredness which can lead to further physical and psychological distress, lasting long after rescue or escape

I headcanon that Melkor has servants who were originally Maiar of Irmo and of Mandos and this aids him in both preventing certain elves from passing to the Halls and from information or even comfort being given in the form of dreams as well as the creation of illusions and induction of sleep and unconscious states.

Note: I do not believe all elven dreams come from Irmo, many are organic or environmentally created. There are even more categories of elven dreams as human ones.

He was able to persuade several Maia of Irmo and Námo to serve him early on, while Utumno was still in construction. These Maia serve him in vital ways, preventing most true dreams in Angband and maintaining the borders that prevent elven Fëar from fleeing. This has a permanent impact on Maedhros’s dreams following his rescue as well as the dreams of any other escaped prisoners. 

The post about routine and time explains a bit further but there’s deliberately an environment of confusion created for the thralls of Angband. Any schedules, when there is one at all, is only known to Mairon and a few of the other higher ranking Maiar. For many of the slaves in the mines and forges, cycles of work and sleep are created among themselves, not by their overseers who would be quite willing to work them to death by exhaustion in times when the mines are full.

The effects of sleep deprivation can be devastating; psychological disturbances, altered cognitive abilities and processes, prolonged physical issues and more.

Insomnia, disrupted sleep cycles, sleep paralysis and night terrors, chronic exhaustion and inability to reach deep sleep, sleep actions (walking, talking, etc) and fear of sleep or tiredness are all examples of symptoms that might be experienced by prisoners both during and after their captivity.

For specific examples, Maedhros suffers from nightmares, sometimes violent ones where he fights, screams or argues, or sleepwalks. His quarters are isolated so most instances of his sleep talking go unnoticed but a few healers, guards and family members have been left feeling cold, trying not to put meaning into the little snatches of speech they overhear at his bedside, sometimes in languages they do not know.  He is also prone to extreme agitation if woken from naps or half sleeping states and relatively soon after his return to his brothers’ camp, begins to avoid these. He is extremely private about his sleeping routine. There are practical issues too; sleep and remaining in place can reawaken old pains in him, cause numbness and discomfort in his limbs, and disorient him.

Now for Húrin again. Like with food and water, we are given a decent insight into Húrin’s sleep post Angband in “The Wanderings of Húrin”.  He suffers frequent nightmares and often wakes in disoriented states, at one point drawing a blade upon the two men who discovered and woke him. He also suffers dissociation and appears to walk “as one in a dream”, having states of confusion and agitation even long after waking.

He does not live long enough to ever develop an effective sleeping routine.

[estellardreams]

Cybernetic!Sonic Bio

Name: Sonic

Age: 17

Gender: Demiboy He/They

Species: Hedgehog

Design:

Hobbies: Running, Exploring, Reading, Musician (specifically Acoustic Guitar) 

Powers: Super Speed, Chaos Energy, Super Form, Fast Healing, Increased Flexibility, Increased Strength, Increased Resistance. 

Orientation: Demibiromantic/Ace

MBTI: ESTP

Enneagram: 7w8

Zodiac: Cancer

Height: 4'1''

Character Type: Speed

Magic Type: Chaos 

Favorite Food/Drink: Chili Dogs

Other Facts:

Sonic lost his left leg due to an accident while he was fighting Eggman. Attempts to run from an explosion, after realizing that destroying the power core of a mech set it to self destruct... Didn't really work.

Sonic is still naturally fast, but he now has to maneuver more carefully because he could easily lose his prosthetic leg or have more injuries than before.

Sonic has ADHD, specifically the Hyperactive-Impulsive variant.

Sonic also deals with PTSD thanks to having constant adventures that always risk his life, especially during the events of Forces and being tortured on the Death Egg for Six Months. 

Sonic secretly has anxiety issues and isn't exactly the most chatty, especially when he gets nervous. However, his facade had buried his original anxious self so now it only flares up during drastic situations. 

Sonic actually has more pronounced canine teeth, which was a minor evolution from both the mutated hedgehog to be more like a human, and from eating food that's similar to meat.

Sonic is a vegetarian, and his chili dogs don't have any meat in them. Instead, he gets special soy dogs and uses chili over them. Thankfully, the soy dog looks just like a normal hot dog.

Sonic and Shadow have a love/hate relationship. Interestingly enough, both have hidden feelings for one another but have no idea on how to explain or even explore these feelings.

Sonic is a closeted Biromantic Demiboy, but he has come to terms with using the He/They pronouns. He doesn't really correct people because they usually just use "He" for him, which is fine.

Sonic is Multilingual. Sometimes he'll forget English words and go through every language he knows until figuring out which word he needs. 

Sonic has very hollow bones, causing them to break more easily. But because of his fast healing, it's not too much of an issue. 

Sonic's IQ is 194, his main knowledge lying in his motor skills and analyzation of the environment around him.

Besides being Hydrophobic, Sonic is also Claustrophobic. Putting him in a cramped water tank of all things can easily send Sonic into a state of paralysis.

Sonic cares about his friends so much, that anything involving hurting them he will prevent to the extreme. This got really messy when Eggman and Infinite kept trying to get Sonic to scar an illusion of his friends, and Sonic kept refusing which led to punishments. 

Sonic wears a bandana to hide some scars on his neck. These scars came from his six months on the Death Egg due to one of the particular punishments. 

Sonic is often exploring the world, so he has a nomadic lifestyle. He's fine chilling at Tails' place, though.

Sonic normally leaves his plane behind at Tails' workshop so he doesn't need to haul it everywhere or deal with any other issues that could come about.

Sonic's belt is used to carry his rings and the chaos emeralds. He usually has at least a thousand gold rings on hand because that's the currency on the Mobian side of the population.

Sonic doesn't understand vulgar gestures, and can often make mistakes while addressing others.

Sonic has the tendency to accidentally flirt with Shadow, but Shadow usually doesn't notice. 

Sonic only thinks he and Amy are just friends, but doesn't verbally say it out loud because it could easily hurt Amy's feelings. 

Sonic does go to Therapy, but never tells anyone. 

Sonic likes keeping Chip's bracelet tucked between his quills, and wears it when he wants to.

Sonic is Selectively Mute, especially when he was younger. He also knows sign language because of it.

Sonic is naturally left handed, but can switch to his right sometimes when necessary.

Sonic used to have a horrible habit of swearing, but has since repressed it unless he's truly furious at someone or something. 

Sonic can sing, and he actually has a really great singing voice. He just chooses not to. His voice tones are usually a High Range Alto, being able to hit and hold high notes for long amounts of time.

Sonic and Tails like doing Karaoke together, but Sonic usually sings very quietly during those times so Tails gets the spotlight.

Sonic has met the Freedom Fighters from Archie, although they live very far away from where he usually runs. He came across them during one of his trips in Unleashed when Tails needed to get gas for the plane. Sonic and Sally now keep in contact with each other because of it. 

Sonic has a shockingly fast metabolism, and as such eats a lot to compensate. 

Sonic is a notorious light sleeper during the night, but a heavy sleeper during the day. Hedgehogs are naturally nocturnal creatures, which is self explanatory.

Want more bios? Check them out here!

[bambiraptorx]

Part One

Draxum and Mikey:

Similarly to Raph, Draxum struggles quite a bit at first with adjusting to Mikey's nigh-on ridiculous learning speed. However, Mikey's main 'barrier', so to speak, is that scheduling specific times for lessons as Draxum prefers to do doesn't work well for him. Sometimes it works out, and Mikey progresses in leaps and bounds, but other times when his focus is exhausted? Sure, he can kind of force himself to pay attention during their lessons, but that only works so well and for so long. It is not, by any means, an effective way to learn.

The real issue isn't Mikey's ability or potential to learn, but that he's never really had to learn how to consistently engage with something even when he doesn't feel like it. He's never really had to force himself to keep working on something when he isn't really feeling it. Which isn't inherently a negative trait, but it makes it harder for Draxum to teach him, as Draxum has most definitely learned how to force himself to do things and doesn't immediately realize that that's not a universal thing.

The problem Draxum has here isn't so much about getting Mikey to focus, but rather not only figuring out how to create an environment that is continually engaging enough that Mikey can focus, but also knowing when to just call it quits. Some days are fantastic, others just don't work out for training, and there's nothing wrong with that. He might end up kinda just showing Mikey a wide range of the ways that mystic powers can be used and hoping that some of it sticks.

Draxum and Leo:

This might seem a be counter intuitive, but Leo is actually the one who Draxum can train most effectively (at least, given the specific context of Minor Interference). See, based on the point in time that this story diverges from canon, Leo is still struggling to figure out how his powers work and, although he doesn't want to admit it, deeply insecure about his place on the team because of that.

That, combined with his tendency to latch onto paternal figures (see: Jupiter Jim and Tim Dunkman) means that Leo actually really does want to learn from Draxum and sort of starts looking up to him. "Sort of" being the key phrase here, as Leo doesn't want to admit to himself that he craves the approval Draxum happens to be offering. So Leo wants to learn from Draxum, but at the same time, he doesn't want to get too close, if that makes sense.

On Draxum's end, Leo's training is the easiest (at least in terms of technique) because Draxum is teaching him a skill set that he himself actively uses: portals. Draxum knows from first hand experience how tricky portals can be to use and how hard they are to learn, so he actually has more reasonable expectations for Leo than Leo himself does.

However, what makes training Leo difficult is that Leo continually ignores the safety rules Draxum tries to teach him. This is partly because Leo's already broken most of those rules with little to no consequences and doesn't see why it's such a big deal, but also because he can tell it's extremely frustrating for Draxum when he breaks those rules.

What Leo doesn't really realize is that Draxum's frustration comes from a place of concern about his wellbeing, because portals can be very, very dangerous, especially when you're as reckless with them as Leo is. You can get lost somewhere, you can get portal-jacked, you could portal chop yourself, etc. Portals are not a form of magic to be taken lightly, and Leo's a bit too cavalier about how he uses them.

[funkymbtifiction]

Bunch of questions

Is it necessarily mean someone has a Ni in their stack somewhere if they have an overall plan for their life that they follow, rarely waving away from it, some end vision that they have, of what they want from their country or life, or is it just a general characteristic of   XXXJ’s?

It doesn’t always mean Ni, no, sometimes it’s just IJ. But NJ is the only type who really gets a ‘vision’ of their future life -- an exact image of it -- in their mind, and then knows that’s where they should be headed -- like a vision of their future, an image that may not be complete but that causes them to alter their behaviors and shift in that direction in the belief that’s where their life is supposed to go. Like my ENFJ friend saw a name plate on her desk, and went back to college for a degree in therapy, and now doors are opening to her “for me to walk through.” She still isn’t sure where she will wind up, but an intuitive inner sense drove her in a particular direction and into a specific field of study (therapy).

Is it possible for a XSTJ to build or create somewhat symbolic meaning to their work or way of living? Same way say Alfred the Great did with United England, or do they mostly rely on proven symbolical systems that were present some time before them and during their lifetime(religion, hierarchy or family)?

Alfred the Great created something England had never had before -- he broke the mold and created a new way of existence for the people at the time, based on an inner sense of what would work the best, which is Ni and Te. It was not based on past precedent in any way. So yes, SJ relies on what is proven and certain to work. They work within the system or improve it, but rarely smash it.

What if someone builds their motivation and life philosophy over fact that we need to return to primal way of living (it is very past precedent driven (definition of Si) in general sense, but it was so far behind in time we might as well call it extremely unorthodox) will it be the reason to say someone has Si or not?

To be honest, I would assume that comes from low Si -- an over-idealized and unrealistic view of a previous time, clinging to it, and believing it will solve modern problems to move backward. This is symbolic and representative of how low Si focuses on what it cares about and ignores everything else. It also indicates their lack of “common sense” in a way, because they assume an outdated model is going to work in a separate environment. It won’t.

I don’t really see any difference between Ti and Te.

Well, if you have studied this in depth and read my 60,000 words or so on it, I can’t say anything else to enlighten you. Shrug. One is subjective, the other is objective. Subjective viewpoints are personal and objective viewpoints are not; the more subjective irrationality is involved, the harder it is to pull someone away from an erroneous conclusion with facts, because the facts are secondary to what makes sense to them. TP types are more logical than FJ types, and more inclined to adjust their thinking when their subjectivity is proven wrong, whereas FJs dig harder into “what makes sense to me” and deny the facts.

Go watch The Imitation Game and compare the logic the main character (INTP) uses to the logic his ESTJ military official “boss” is using. That’s the difference. The INTP creates a computer capable of taking on a human workload and doing things faster than people can -- a “compute-machine.” The ESTJ expects and demands results from the computer, otherwise it’s worthless in their mind -- if it does not do what it’s designed to do, it’s an objective failure. ETJs have less patience with tinkering with something that isn’t working, whereas ITP logic can parse out what’s not working and tinker with it until it resolves itself.

Te dom also doesn’t really make sense. Is it more about being driven to organize external environment they YOU think is best or to be actually driven by highly rational goals, let’s say someone lived in a  perfect environment  and there is absolutely no rational reason to break out of it or even try to gain control over it (let’s say it was created by perfect AI) would a Te-dom acknowledge that everything is literally perfect and just sit doing nothing all day, or will they still try to organize everything the way they think it should be ran. Latter seems like a pretty irrational thing to do, but former choice leads to thinking that Te-doms are robots with no emotions or motivations whatsoever, except purely rational reasons to do something.

James Cameron has no reason to make billion-dollar movies, except that he is an artist with a vision and just so happens to be good at making money based off his creativity. ETJs are creative, artistic, impassioned, and often love what they do. In a perfect environment, they would continue doing what they love to do -- which is to create, innovate, and use facts to make decisions and form their arguments. Get my book and read it. It will really enlighten you about ETJs!

On enneagram 1, does having one eternal ideal and sacrificing every other moral laws to it would consider a 1 way of thinking.

This sounds more like INJ. Envisioning an eternal concept, working toward it, and making sacrifices for its benefit, all in the service of a “higher” ideal. This kind of thinking can mean hurting people in the service of this “higher ideal.”

For example, there was a Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew. He clearly deeply cared about Singapore, BUT that his one and only ideal, beyond that he was one the most cynical and immoral leaders to be (betraying former friends, constantly changing political courses (being communist when it was advantageous, then shifting to anti-colonial pro-Malasian to unite Malasia and Singapore and when that failed he started to be very politically west driven)).

I don’t know enough about him to weigh in, but that sounds potentially ENXX more than 1. A 1 can do awful things in the name of ethnic cleansing/genocide (Frollo in Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, eradicating gypsies in service of his “ideal” world). But the 1 sees themselves as righteous in doing so, and also subject to the judgment of a higher being in a sense.

On enneagram 3, does thinking that cheating to win would undermine all the hard work you done to win be considered 3 (care about the fact about you win as much as care about how you won). I had a friend who once said that using someone else work to make himself look better or cheating to win would immensely hurt his ego, and would be admitting that someone is actually better than you at that thing, is it a 3, cause he was very competitive otherwise.

Some 3s have values and others do not. Some will cheat to get what they want, others will think the way your friend did. Some will take credit for other people’s work to get ahead, others will put in the hard work to get it themselves. But yes, being COMPETENT is vital to any core 3, and caring how it makes them look is also important, since they are constantly managing their image.

And one LAST thing is it a 3 way, when someone really wants to live a mark in the world (and a legacy as a way of making oneself special), but not through making one’s persona famous or remembered, but one’s work. Better yet try to be as anonymous about it as possible, and make person behind the work almost invisible, yet work really hard and hope that this thing will live a mark on a world.

This sounds like a 3 fix, potentially behind a super-ego or a withdrawn type.