#also go read that journal it's seriously amazing

[gin-juice-tonic]

Hi! I really love your comics and the 80s ford sim! The time you took to make it is amazing and I like reading the dialogue you post :D I love seeing transfalls comics and just, the dialogue and scenarios are a comforting and funny read!

I was wondering if you have any advice or tips on how to write Ford? Have a wonderful day!

Hello, thank you for the nice words. I'm happy you like my things.

Instead of telling you my own beliefs about how Ford acts/talks specifically, I thought maybe I could break this advice down into something more general. At least to start. Writing for a pre-existing character to me is generally broken up into two big things: Their Personality Traits and their Manner of Speech.

When you are trying to figure out how to write someone, I think it would be helpful to think about things that really stand out in your memory that they either did or said, and then try to find commonalities between those things. And what they have in common may indicate a character trait or the way they talk.

If we were to use Ford as an example, some things I think of when I think of him are (under the cut):

The grin on his face when describing his very illegal infinity-sided die in DDmD, His "My face is on fire!" stunt from vs the Future, and his re-arranging of Fiddlefords cube in J3.

If we were to look at what these moments have in common, I would say they indicate Ford is a bit mischievous.

Another set: his "Princess Unattainabelle beckons you" from DDmD, his "Say Hop! It helps!" and "Your turn!" after using his magnet gun in vs the Future, and his general love of puns in the Journal.

I think these are all good examples of Ford's goofier side. That he's a playful guy.

Those would fall under the Character Traits half of writing him.

For the Manner of Speech bit, it helps to look at how certain lines are structured, or the context under which he says them. These examples will be a little longer due to being a whole line written out...

Set #1:

"On the dark, weird road I travel, I'm afraid you cannot follow. ...Welp! call me for dinner!" From DDmD

"If I rolled it, anything could happen. Our faces could melt into jelly. The world could turn into an egg! ...Or you could just roll an 8. Who knows." Also from DDmD

"So this is how the world ends, not with a Bang, but with a Boop-Boop." From Weird Part 1

All three of these lines have Ford speak in a manner that gives the feeling he is talking about something of some importance/seriousness. Only for him to end his line with something silly and tone breaking. He does this pretty often I feel. Or at least I'm guilty of overusing it, because I always find it funny lol.

Set #2:

"I like this kid! She's weird!" From Tale of Two Stans

"Your math is no match for my gun, you idiot!" From DDmD

"I can assure you if there's an owl in this bag he's long dead." From Last Mabelcorn

There's three different moods going on in these lines, happy, mad, and just kinda neutral. But personally I find them all to be instances of Ford speaking in a very frank manner.

Now, further context in this case is I think important here. This is sort of in a way a variation of the first set I mentioned, because outside of these lines Ford spends a lot of his dialogue speaking in a more formal, intellectual/eloquent way. So this is sort of another way he breaks his own tone.

Another notable piece of context about these three lines is they're all reactions to something said/done by someone else. (The first and third are after talking to Mabel, the second being a reaction to a threat from Probabilitor.)

So to put that all together, you get "Breaking his standard manner of speech, Ford (sometimes) reacts in a frank manner to other characters." Generally this happens as a joke.

So those are some examples. Of both the character trait thing and the speech pattern stuff. I did them as sets, but if an individual line or action feels prominent enough, you could analyze it by itself too.

Obviously there's a lot about Ford that this doesn't encompass, but I hope the method helps you think about how to portray what YOU see in Ford. And you do not have to follow the way I view him. "What lines/things stand out to you" is going to be different for person to person. Maybe you have other lines/ideas you find more defining for him, or maybe even viewing the same lines/ideas, you have different feelings of what they indicate. That's okay too.

[bladeofthenebula27]

2024 Fic Wrap Up 🥳

Round 'em up! All the 2024 fics into the pen 📝 Thank you to everyone who read and kudos'd 💖

Once again, a massive thanks to the Steve/Tony community and the Stony POTS discord for supporting me and making Stony so fun ❤️

---

🔵 Love makes fools of us all Rating: T Word Count: 3,682 Summary: “I am doing this to protect you. I rather take the ‘long may he reign’ part pretty seriously, unlike you.” Steve plucked at the material again. “And you could’ve told me your father’s jester was nearly half my height.”

The bells jingled when he huffed, making Tony’s smile wider.

"Where would be the fun in that, my love?” Tony murmured, grinning as he stepped in the great hall, the room falling silent at his presence.

Steve would do anything to protect his King - no matter how humiliating.

🔵 More Passion! More Energy! Rating: T Word Count: 4,044 Summary: “I’m telling you, this isn’t normal!” Tony huffed, hands gesturing way too much. “Steve isn’t some meathead, he’s sharp as anything. And I’ve dated guys who work out, I’ve never had one suggest we run the twenty blocks home after a five course dinner instead of letting me blow them in the limo!”

Tony is seeing an amazing guy he just can't get enough of - he just can't understand why Steve always insists on working out before they get it on.

*** Done as a little same prompt challenge with @kandisheek - you can find her's here

🔵 Stuck in a Rut Rating: E Word Count: 7,695 Summary: Captain America goes into a rut that's been a long time coming and SHIELD provides a professional omega to see him through it

🔵 Let Them Eat Cake Rating: T Word Count: 9,086 Summary: ‘Alright Marie Antoinette, let’s talk about why people without trust funds can’t always be going around dropping hundreds of dollars on a fancy fucking cake’

Steve is a popular baking vlogger who spends his days making vintage recipes and inspiring people to bake.

Until he's sent a video of a certain tech heir disrespecting the fine art of cake making and calls him out.

🔵 Wine and Dine Me Rating: E Word Count: 5,289 Summary: Four times Steve tries to convince Tony he's ready to put out + the one time it works 😏

🔵 Give me the luxuries of life Rating: M Word Count: 4,973 Summary: Four times Steve reluctantly dabbles in a little luxury + one time he leans into it wholeheartedly

🔵 A Correspondence Courtship (Art) Rating: G Summary: Omega Steve Rogers from Brooklyn, New York, places an ad in a reputable journal seeking a bondmate

🔵 My light in the darkness Rating: E Word Count: 4,635 Summary: Steve gets an unexpected nighttime visitor to his cabin in the woods

🔵 (Cat)Fish or Cut Bait Rating: T Word Count: 8,813 Summary: All the shots Steve showed him were of some six-foot model with dark artfully-styled hair, and the beginnings of a well kept moustache and goatee, and clothes that definitely cost more than their rent. He also always seemed to be standing in front of a gorgeous coastline, or some luxury, million-dollar house. And Steve wasn’t in a single one.

Which was when Sam realised this was all a scam. A harmless scam intended to raise Steve’s self-esteem, sure, but a scam nonetheless.

Sam's just happy that Steve's happy - even if his new guy is completely made up. Because surely Tony is too good to be true.

Right?

🔵 For the man who has everything Rating: M Word Count: 5,394 Summary: For their first Christmas together, Steve wants to be a great boyfriend and show Tony just how much he cares about him by getting the perfect gift.

But what’s he supposed to get for the guy who has everything?

🚒 And if you also enjoy the Firefighter Show, I wrote a little Buddie Omegaverse 🚒

🔴 Setting Off Sparks Rating: E Word Count: 12,205 Summary: Eddie was well aware he had a hot, sweet, gorgeous alpha best friend.

He just hadn’t really considered what that meant until he heard Buck railing an omega back to life in the back of their ambulance.

An incident on a call makes Eddie have a few realisations about Buck.

🔴 Fanning the Flames Rating: E Word Count: 15,387 Summary: The information around what hormones did to bonded alphas was pretty well-documented.

In short, everyone knew that alphas got more protective when their omegas were carrying and thus more vulnerable, and it was the sort of thing people liked to joke about when there was an announcement.

What they didn’t tell you was what happened if the alpha was already very protective, a first responder, and the hormones sent him into overdrive.

Buck and Eddie get ready to welcome a new addition to the family, with mostly foreseeable results.

[dudewheresmynug]

Rook's Hobbies

I've been tagged in so many amazing Rook games that I decided to make one!!

For this, I'm going to tag @rooks-dagger @dancing--lights @trashwithvariety @justanecho94 @herald-divine-hell @razzberrydazz and @zombiefishgirl. No pressure! I would love to learn more about what your Rooks enjoy 🥰

Obviously, the tag is also open to anyone else who would like to try it! Please let me know if you do!

Rules: Post a few of your Rook's hobbies and write an explanation (however long you'd like) describing why they enjoy them. Then, tag some other people to play!

Lydia Thorne

Reading

A lifelong hobby of hers, Lydia enjoys nothing more than getting into a good book. Surprisingly, she mostly engages with historical or magical texts. She's always looking to advance her magic, or learn something new, or understand something that unsettles her. It's uncommon for Lydia to fall into a storybook, but not unheard of. When she does find herself getting engrossed in a story, it's usually the sappiest romance she can find. Or, it's something action-packed and high-stakes. Reading is the only hobby Lydia has that she would hate to have interrupted. Honestly, she'll ignore the culprit at best, and throw something at worst. Her favorite book of all time is The History of the Grey, which, as the title suggests, is about the history of the Grey Wardens. She first read the book when she was a kid, and she ended up stealing it from the Circle library when the tower fell. She keeps it with her even at the lighthouse.

Writing Poetry

Lydia keeps a few secret journals for poetry. This isn't a hobby she tends to share freely; instead, she's a bit embarrassed by it. That being said, she goes to lengths to keep this part of herself hidden. Lydia bought her first journal for her 24th birthday, her first birthday after joining the Order. She initially bought the journal because its design caught her eye, and she put it to good use! She would make bullet point lists about how she was doing, or what she was thinking (much like regular journaling). These eventually turned into lists about her surroundings, or recent events, and how they made her feel, and what they made her think and remember. She would also write about things she wanted to be able to reflect on in the future. From there, she slipped into the habit of writing poetry whenever she needed to process something. It was a great coping mechanism while she dealt with deep depression in the Order. Lydia will also write about her magic use or about her friends. Then, when she starts crushing on Neve, she writes about Neve. A lot. Likeee a lot a lot. And Davrin, a lot, after he dies.

Nature Walks/ Running

Lydia needs to be outdoors a LOT. Years of growing up in the circle made her less than a fan of being in enclosed spaces, especially for long periods. During those 7 years she spent living at home with her parents, after the Circle and before the Order, Lydia could often be found outside. She would hang around the farm, but she also had her little areas around Crestwood, which would be her refuge. She also enjoyed sleeping outside, which she would do as much as possible (as weather and parents allowed). Being in the Fade is...weird? It looks outsideish enough for Lydia to feel comfortable, but she still prefers not to sleep in her own room. She spends a LOT of time in Harding's room, actually. Davrin's "touching grass" trips are super helpful for her. In that same vein, Lydia really enjoys running. She's fast and has great stamina. She loves the rush she gets during and after a good run and loves the feeling of fresh air filling her lungs. She'd definitely be the type to sign up for multiple marathons a year. Lydia has definitely also challenged some (all) of her friends to races. Neve smokes her every damn time (seriously have you ever panned the camera up while running around with Neve in game? She's fast as fuck).

Baking Bread

This is a lesser-known hobby of Lydia's because she doesn't get to do it very often. Her father grew up working for his family's bakery (more of a flour mill that also baked and sold bread), so he's an expert at baking bread. Her mother has the skill, too. Baking bread was one of the ways Lydia's parents bonded with her when she came home from the Circle. It was a calm task with enough personal care put into it that Lydia could handle it without becoming overwhelmed. Lydia doesn't talk about this hobby because it reminds her of her parents, and she doesn't like to think about them. Baking bread becomes a happier hobby once she finally reunites with them. By extension, Lydia also enjoys cooking. Nothing is better than a hot and hearty dish, though she can slap a suitable meal together with whatever's lying around. She doesn't get much kitchen time, though, because Lucanis tends to cook nearly every day.

A Nice Game of (Drunk) Darts

Another one of Lydia's lesser-known hobbies, Lydia enjoys a nice competitive game of darts. As the section title suggests, it's even more fun for Lydia if she's had a few drinks. Lydia started playing darts during her time in the Order -- it was one of the games she and the other recruits would play to bond. Lydia is an alright shot on the regular. Drunk Lydia is either phenomenal or horrible, depending on the night. She's been known to throw the darts too hard or insist on getting an extra turn if she misses. She has also, on several occasions, gotten worked up enough over being heckled by other players that her magic has sparked. Unfortunately, my girl is competitive as all hell. She'll create extra challenges or rewards/punishments to make the game more interesting. She's not always a sore loser, but she can be! When she is, she's getting into shouting matches, or talking shit, or storming off in a huff. Still, she claims that the game relaxes her! Losing her favorite elemental orb in a match once has also taught her not to gamble.

Thank you for reading this (not so short) post! Can't wait to see what your Rooks enjoy <3

[genderfluid-culture-iss]

for the baby genderfluid tips!!

this could just be me lmao, but DO NOT donate your fem clothes if you feel masc for longer than usual. or vice versa.

keeping a gender journal is something that can be really helpful to actually look back on and see how it changes (and also have proof of fluidity for when you begin to think "hmm actually im just a trans girl. nothing else." no, you probably aren't. you felt completely boy/nonbinary/etc just a month ago, and thats okay.)

basically it can be really hard to embrace that your gender is not static, especially if your gender stays stable for a slightly longer period. it took me so long to stop rotating between "im a girl always" "no, im a boy always" "actually, im nonbinary always" to just admit im genderfluid.

also, make genderfluid content. you don't have to show it to anyone, but sometimes it can really help to make poetry or art or write a story about being fluid and your experience in particular. i have an easy avenue for this since i write fanfiction (haven't published any of it yet lmao) and i just hit my favorite characters with my genderfluid beam and go nuts

follow people who are genderfluid, read genderfluid books, maybe join a genderfluid discord server (there are barely any, so actually maybe make one), try to make genderfluid friends. you are not alone, even though it sometimes feels that way.

if you have plushies or anything similar, make them genderfluid. i have a genderfluid squishmallow who i use she/they pronouns for, and a little husky that switches between he/she. idk it just helps sometimes lol

some of us change gender daily, or multiple times a day. some of us change gender only a couple times a year, or even less. we're all different and that's fine.

tips for presentation:

if you have a day when you can't figure out gender, go neutral clothing-wise

take little things to ease dysphoria if you switch when you're out somewhere (ex. lipgloss, eyeliner, leather bracelet, etc)

if you can, get pronoun pins. seriously, get pronoun pins (or a colored bracelet for subtlety or if you're not out). you can wear multiple at a time, you can switch them whenever you need to. you aren't a burden if your pronouns change. you don't have to stick to they/them to be easy for people.

if you can, get a versatile hairstyle that you can make suit your gender no matter what. if you cant, try to get a hairstyle that makes you the least dysphoric overall.

if you are organized enough, separate your clothes based on gender/what you feel comfy wearing on different days. do not pressure yourself to fit stereotypes. some people can only feel comfortable in skirts when theyre boys, so they only wear skirts on boy days. do what works for you.

it's kinda complicated, but if you can expand your vocal range to sound more fem or masc depending on how you feel, it can help. alternatively, vocal train to make it more androgynous.

keep makeup wipes with you in case you need to take it off part way through being out. basically, make it as easy as possible to be able to change/tweak your presentation if necessary.

this could just be me, but having lots of hoodies in different colors and styles will save your life

sometimes you might have "blender days", which is what i call it when your gender feels like its in a blender in a bad way and you can't tell at all what it is, everything feels wrong, it's changing like every 10 minutes, etc. tbh on these days all i can do is put on sweats and a hoodie and feel dysphoric. listen to music if it helps. do a hobby.

non-clothing items can help a lot. a blue tshirt and jeans can be whatever you want it to be based on what you wear it with. (ex. sneakers/ballet flats, leather bracelet/sparkly necklace, baseball cap/eyeliner)

and lastly: YOU ARE AMAZING. keep being you, keep being incredible, and know that being genderfluid is a gift. be proud to be who you are, have fun, know that you are unique and special and wonderful!! we're ever-changing, and that's awesome. you are precious. i love you.

🩷🤍💜🖤💙

dont wanna link my tumblr, but my name is kiley if you want to attach a name to this!

Okay this is a lot more than I was expecting LMAO /pos

Thank you so much for this Kiley <33 I’ll start working on a masterpost with links to all this.

[lottiestudying]

hi lottie !! hope you're doing well 🤎

i'm in my third year of uni and the workload is seriously stressing me out. i was wondering if you had any neurodivergent-specific study tips as someone who's managed to graduate ! (i myself am lvl 2 autistic for context)

hi there!!

thanks for the q! i have l3 ASD, so hopefully these tips will help you 🤍 first of all just wanna say you’re doing amazing for getting this far, higher education is not built for autistic people.

organisation - so so so important. find a planning system that agrees with your brain. for me, it’s a 365 page daily planner (i use a hobonichi cousin avec). but for you it could be notion, a bullet journal (developed by someone with ADHD, don’t be fooled by the pretty spreads online, the actual method is very basic/minimal), a standard weekly planner, Google calendar, the notes app on your phone, etc.

routine - we thrive on routine!! make sure to have a study routine in place so you don’t fall behind. i always like to stay at least one week ahead of the content, so i do the next weeks class reading the week before.

give yourself enough time - make sure to give yourself enough time to complete assignments. this means starting super early in the semester. you see a lot of discourse online about doing assignments the night before it’s due, but this really won’t work for most autistic brains (maybe if you also have raging ADHD it might, but autism needs time).

disability support - if your uni has a disability office, reach out to them to see if you are eligible for any accomodations. accomodations i have include it being easier for me to get extensions, class attendance flexibility, extra time on quizzes & exams. these are the main ones i use every semester to keep me going.

generally, it’s better to do a little bit everyday then leave it all to the end. 2-4 hours a day, consistently, is better then a random 10 hour day that leaves you burnout for the next week.

i hope this is helpful. i can’t really give subject specific advice since i study in the social sciences and im not sure what you study, but i hope this is somewhat helpful even if it’s a bit general

[eiraeths]

do you guys want some of my cod 141 headcanons you’re getting them anyways

SOAP

-puts stuff in his mouth a lot to hold it when he runs out of hands (this includes when he’s making explosives, it stresses everyone out)

-gets cute aggression and bites people

-will also bite in a fight

-has bits and pieces of rubble from explosions that he thought looked pretty

-is feral, like he takes a hit to the face during a spar and grins with blood trickling into his mouth

-had a graffiti phase as a teen that never fully left and because of it he writes in all capital letters. this is great when they need something written down where no one can read it. (the 141 probably had a meeting where they went over how to read his handwriting)

-has dreams so realistic he wakes up confused wondering if it was a memory he forgot about even if it didn’t make sense

-military grade anger issues

-never fully grew out of his punk phase

-his childhood room was full of road signs and traffic cones

-is actually a hardass when it comes to training recruits (i think the proper term for privates in the sas is troopers but im calling them recruits cause that seems to be the term everyone uses)(everyone thought his bright attitude meant that he’s laid back and easygoing. no. he’s not. yall ever seen those videos of drill sergeants coming up with the most creative insults? thats him)

-randomly says “i am normal and can be trusted around military grade weapons”

-his journal from the og games is a must in the remaster sorry i don’t make the rules

GHOST

-can play guitar super fucking well, im talking full on fingerstyle ballads

-major staring problem, if he doesn’t want to talk to someone he’ll stare until they go away. sometimes stares at people for no reason. also stares when he wants something. he’s always watching.

-would be interested in getting into blacksmithing if he didn’t grow up poor and hates spending money on himself that isn’t out of necessity (seriously you need like 30k to start a forge)

-can and will obsess over damascus patterns in blades (i feel like his favorite pattern would be fish bone or those really complicated mosaic patterns. he gets soap into it too by showing him fireball patterns)

-never grew out of echolalia and because of this is amazing at mimicking noises (he mimicks smoke alarm battery low noises and phone chimes to troll people sometimes.)

-road rage, but its quiet fuming comments that make you grip the oh shit handle for dear life (“you better turn off your fucking highbeams or i can’t be blamed for the head on collision that’s about to happen”)(no one can tell if he’s serious or not)

-hates tin foil, hearing it or touching it makes him clench his jaw because it feels like he can feel it in his teeth

-secret sweet tooth, but it comes and goes. sometimes he’s disgusted by anything sweeter than white bread and other times he can fuck up an entire box of lil debbie cakes

-can hand sew efficiently and fast as fuck

-his favorite type of blanket is a heavy quilt

GAZ

-is aggressively hydrated and is one of those people who carry around those big 128 oz water bottles

-gets competitive over karaoke (it took him months to convince everyone to join and he only got the idea after finding out soap wanted to be in a band as a teen and that he spent days learning how to properly vocal fry)

-says WOO! when he’s super fucking excited (will throw his arms up as well if soap is around because the two of them are an echo chamber of emotion)(the WOO! might actually be canon theres a voice line in warzone)

-probably the most up to date on modern fashion trends (get this man a long cashmere coat he deserves it)

-he does own a bedazzled cap he found at a gas station though (it’s hideous)

-elaborate skin care routine (he’s conned everyone to have some sort of routine. especially ghost. he got so concerned when it hit him that ghost was always wearing the eyeblack)

PRICE

-listens to black label society (i won’t budge on this its not even a head canon to me anymore its fact it was revealed to me in a dream)

-plays solitaire (he’s a very high level and it took him less than a year to get there. no one knows where he found the time to play for that long)

-drives a manual and shames people who don’t know how to work a stick

-literature nerd (im talking all the classics and philosophy books this man can get his hands on)

-discovered tennessee moonshine and has thought about it ever since

-smacks people on the back of the head when they’re doing something stupid

-if anyone makes a negative comment on his facial hair he gives them the dirtiest side eye

GEN/MULTI

-gaz and soap carry those big contractor waterproof sharpies and leave gaz was here or soap was here everywhere they go (this stemmed from soap’s graffiti phase and gaz turned it into a competition. they once got into a competition on who could leave the most signs until price called them muppets and confiscated their sharpies)

-ghost put soap in air jail once, it was very effective

-gaz and soap go to the gym together and take photos in the mirrors after they’re done (somewhere there’s a photo of the time they got ghost to join and they even got him to flex an arm)

-ghost and soap are professional assholes to each other.

-none of the 141 are allowed play card games and gamble with each other because they’re all dirty charlatans

-price tried to stop smoking only once and carried around gum and peppermints. ghost stole the peppermints and soap wouldn’t stop asking for gum

-gaz and ghost are the only ones who really try to adhere to the lights out rule. price and soap can be seen drinking coffee throughout the day

-all of them can hold a grudge for life

-ghost clears his throat loudly when any of them smoke by him. or stares. depends on the say

-if any of the smokers see another outside smoking and decides to join them it turns into a drawn out conversation about the most mundane topics

-the 141 can have full conversations of pure sarcasm nons

[calangolengo]

I am asking for HC for Mute Dipper or Little or Big Dipper AU's. These Gravity Falls AU's are interesting.

You ask, you get it!

I had never thought of a mute!Dipper anes because I always kind of hoped his parents would be responsible enough not to let it happen, but here are some headcanons I made for this scenario.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dipper was born the younger twin and that seemed to have been the rule of his life for as long as he could remember, the youngest, the smallest, the slowest, the most antisocial. Not being the most talkative ended up quickly making it onto the list as well, after all his sister did enough talking for both of them.

His parents sent him to a pediatric speech therapist on the school's recommendation and to some pediatric doctors as well. The result was always the same, that he needed to be encouraged to talk, to socialize and to do group activities. For a while this helped, children are very sociable when they want to be and having his sister by his side helped too. Dipper started to talk more at home, with Mabel and his parents.

Things had changed at school. Children, despite being sociable, were also very susceptible to making cruel comments when they met people who were different from them. Not even his super sociable sister seemed to be doing better than him, which made him sad, but still comforted him. At least he wasn't alone, he still had his sister to talk to.

The older he got, the more he realized he was different from the people around him, preferring to keep to himself, studying and reading at home instead of running around, talking only to teachers or his family, keeping his head down and avoiding older children. Speaking only when asked and not drawing attention to himself. His parents seemed too busy to notice that one of their children was falling into an old habit.

When his parents decided to inform him at the beginning of the summer that he and his sister would be spending not only their vacation but also their birthday in some hidden place in the country with some relative they had never even heard of before, Dipper seriously considered running away from home. It wasn't in his plans to spend three months with a complete stranger who might be interested in talking to him, until then few words and Mabel's help had made him go unnoticed at home and at school, but in a completely new environment? He was in serious trouble.

When he arrived in Gravity Falls and met his grunkle Stan the urge to run away was still strong, the man seemed very interested in giving Dipper a hard time or at least making him work without expecting anything in return, but by the end of the week he had the journal, had fought gnomes and earned a resentment from Stan, who actually acted as if Dipper's moments of silence didn't even bother him and was content with his few words and with Mabel filling the gaps between them.

He'd started talking more over the summer, his muteness showing up more when he was stressed, scared, or overwhelmed by the day's events, and every time Grunkle Stan acted like it was just something natural for him to do, filling the silences with answers he thought the boy would say or simply requesting responses in the form of nods. It felt right to Dipper, it felt like acceptance.

When the author of the diaries himself emerged from that portal in the basement it seemed to be the craziest and most overstimulating day of his short life. He could barely form words, his mind racing all over the place, he asked more questions of that adult than he could remember ever asking any adult, talking to his great-uncle Ford was different, it was like talking to Mabel only better, although he didn't understand Dipper's silences as well as the others when Dipper couldn't speak anymore he was still amazing to be around.

After Weirdmageddon Dipper thought he was fine, he and his sister got on the bus feeling like they weren't really going home but to their parents' house, leaving the people who understood and accepted him completely behind and heading towards the place where he didn't seem to be completely accepted. The first week went well, he and Mabel unpacking and getting ready for the new school year, but as soon as classes started he noticed he was back to square one, as if he was wearing old clothes that no longer fit him. The people around him didn't seem to see his growth or be happy for him.

He didn't want to, but being silent in the most diverse situations seemed to be becoming normal again. Luckily he wasn't alone, Mabel Grunkle Stan and Great-Uncle Ford were there, even if only on video calls, with them he could be silent and be heard, his sister was still by his side filling his silences, he would be fine. It was a matter of training, of finding his tribe and staying in touch with the people who cared.

He would be fine, he had his family by his side, even if he remained silent again he knew he would be accepted by them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope this is interesting to you, I found it quite fun to imagine a scenario for Dipper, although I wouldn't want to add too much trauma to his past since the summer was traumatic enough for a 12 year old.

[mexicanpadfoot]

2024 Fanfic Journal

I tried, gimme a star sticker please ⭐️

Last year was fun because not only I joined the Marauders fandom and stopped experiencing happiness, I also tried my hand at being a ✨thoughtful journaling girlie✨ which obviously didn’t last long lol. But regardless of my lack of artistic skills, I sorta finished my calendar overview!

These are not all the fics I read, they’re only the long-ish ones (over 40k I believe) that could count as a book if someone asked me why I spend four hours a day reading. I read the fantabulous amount of 124 fics and books, mostly fics, during the year. Each square in the calendar represents a day, so I can recall how much I read that day.

Now for the Hall of Fame! 🪄

These fics are my personal crème de la crème that I either read or reread during 2024. I’ll go out on a limb and recommend every single one of them because they’re outstanding, pieces of literary perfection, holy scripture. Of course I just started out with the Marauders in 2024, but there’s also some S-tier Dramione in there. Here are the links, in no particular order because, how could I?

Chew me up but don’t spit me out by damagecontrol.jpg, Jegulus.

Stripper!Regulus and Sugar Daddy James? Latino James, who makes me feral? Black brothers angst? Gender discoveries, euphoria, found family, drama because of course, and also great smut? This fix was like if Nic waddled into my brain, wringed out the story I didn’t deserve but 1000% needed, and clicked post. Also the epilogue is in Jalisco, Mexico, where I’m from? Insane 20/10.

But what a way to go by R33sesPieces, Wolfstar.

I believe this is Crack treated seriously? ITS SO GOOD! Remus is a serial murderer, he marries nasty rich old dudes and offs them. His next target? Sirius Black, of course. Except Sirius totally knows and it turns him on? Murder attempts as foreplay should be added to the tags. It’s funny. It’s hot. It has idiots in love that are trying to kill each other. The side characters are up to no good either. It’s amazing. Also, Reese is a delight, their notes and answers to comments are so thoughtful and make me feel like I’m reading something my friend wrote.

Dear Your Holiness by MollyMaryMarie, Wolfstar, some Jily.

This fic gave me total Fleabag season 2 vibes. If that isn’t enough to sell you on it, Priest!Remus and Seductress-from-hell!Sirius should. The slow burn slow burns soooo good, there are discussions of religion, identity and doubt in a way that wrapped my little deconstructed from religion heart in a warm blanket, but it’s also half secret identity, half texting fic? It’s to die for!

Only the Brave by Solmussa, Jegulus, Wolfstar.

I don’t think I need to tell you about Only the Brave. It’s dark. It’s heart-wrenching. Regulus is a certified badass in this. James, as always, is a simp for that man. It has one of my favorite “Sirius finds out” in the whole universe. The characters feel like adults, like people, not just characters, you know? Incredible. I actively fight my tbr every day to go back in and reread.

Crimson Rivers by bizarrestars, Jegulus, Wolfstar, Dorlene.

I actually resisted reading this one for the longest time (five months is a long time, they said) because crossovers have never really been my thing. BOY WHAT A DISSERVICE. The Hunger Games is an amazing series and Harry Potter is not, but damn does Zar deliver. I really know my Hunger Games lore and still I was on the edge of my seat. I went through so much pain. It’s beautiful. Also, James with a knife kink? Hilarious.

Circle of the sphinx by SanguisDominia, Dramione.

A new pureblood terrorist group on the rise, a stuck Potions Mistress and teacher at Hogwarts Hermione, a secret society that protects its members identity with strange, obscure magic, vampires, grand balls and Hermione having to learn how to ride a broom? This consumed me for four days, I ignored all my other responsibilities. The reveals? The animagus secrets? That one murder omg iykyk?

BLOODY, SLUTTY AND PATHETIC by WhatMurdah, Dramione.

Holy shit this was hot. Bantery. Believable. Grown adult characters dealing with a shitty Marriage Law. But there’s also Black family magic going on, bribery, fuckery, Theodore Nott being a little shit, Neville being a badass Plant DaddyTM. It’s so fun, they even gaslight the press in this. 11/10.

Love and other historical accidents by PacificRimbaud, Dramione.

Time travel Regency(ish) AU! Wearing cravats! Pretending to be siblings! leeching off a poor old man Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 claim is their cousin! I ADORE the cousin with all my heart. Messing around with Time Turners! Scandalizing the ton! Broom racing! Petty Jealousy! Take your pick, it’s all done perfectly in this. I found it so dammingly endearing. I hold it close to my heart.

Divination for skeptics by OlivieBlake, Dramione, PottNott.

I’m a depressed bitch, humor isn’t usually my thing. This one made me CACKLE so much I had to get my inhaler. Best banter ever. Everyone is deranged in this. The PottNott is not what you’re expecting but also it’s exactly what you think you’ll get after reading a couple pages. Theo attempts to rob Gringotts just to get Harry’s attention. It has one of my favorite confession scenes ever.

Draco Malfoy and the Mortyfing Ordeal of Being in Love by isthisselfcare, Dramione.

Another classic I’ve reread so many times. Killer nuns, lycanthropy, toodling about the country side, human on mushroom violence. Also Brigitte got mainstream published? So proud of that girlie.

Final thoughts 🕺🏻

Im excited to do this again now that I’ve got an idea of what it actually entails, and now that I’ve read most of the very popular fics in the fandom. I’m having a blast reading smaller authors and discovering more amazing works. I’m delving into other fandoms also and reading WIPs with more hope and strength because damn it’s hard but also authors are the backbone of the community and they deserve to be hyped while they write, for free, for us!

This year I’ll be using erins_escapism ‘s fanfic tracker spreadsheet as well to document shorter fics I read as well. It’s incredibly well done, check them out on instagram if you’re curious!

I’d love any recs you’d like to share, specifically Drarry and wlw ships that are not Dorlene, for some reason I just don’t vibe with those two girlies. And if you see something too freaky no you didn’t, thank you very mucho.

Don’t like, don’t read, support creators, break a leg, you know the drill. I download most if not all of what I read so if you need help finding something or getting a file, send me a message :)

Love you, funny people on the internet that sometimes like what I post 🩷✨

[moooncats]

✿ Pick A Card : Why do your friends love you? ✿

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✿ 1: Black Mushroom: Grace | Felxibility. ✿

Woooow, okay okay so first off, you are very a go with the flow type of person. Imagine a koi fish just sailing through a mellow stream, unbothered and serene. Your friends admire that a lot from you because they know you are very easy going and even if plans change last minute you really are still full send. Lmao! I'm hearing that they think you're very zen. Pile 1 you may meditate or journal and your friends can really see a difference compared to other people they hang out with. You are very cool to them. They rarely ever see you being mad or making a scene, you are very gentle with your words and actions and your friends appreciate that a lot. I'm hearing you are always the first one they think to message when it comes to plans cause they already know what you're going to say lol. Also do you do yoga? Sorry kinda random, but you may be more athletic and your friends also love that cause they have more things to do with you yuhhh. (:

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✿ 2: Red Kitty Shroom: Support | Engagement. ✿

Oh wowzaaa, okay okay so like, you are very friendly pile two lmfao. This pile may have a signifigant other or is married, if not that's okay just a little message I'm hearing. Even if you don't believe it, you have a lot of friends and aquantences. Side note: I'm hearing secret admirers as well bwahaha. You are the life of the party. Like even if you feel like you're a wallflower you fit right in when it comes to conversating with others, stopping to smell the roses, or even saying hi to dog's being walked by a random stranger. Your friends adore that! They feel like you keep your heart open even when it comes to talking with random strangers. You always make the time to make the day a little bit more interesting than average. Boredom is not a problem you have because you know a vast ammount of people who will give you their time of day. You may be popular online or in real life. Im also getting Magician vibes from this pile and if you didn't notice it's associated with the Air sign Gemini (the twins and this is pile 2 brehhh xD) And if your not popular or don't feel it, truuuust me people know your name (big flex yuhh). Your friends appreciate you a lot! They also enjoy meeting your other friends as well. So don't shy away from making your socialite group bigger! (:

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✿ 3: Fisherman Kitty: Wholeness | Earnestness. ✿

Omg hiiii introverts! Wether it was on purpose, or not- Unlike pile 2, your friends appreciate that you are the type to not just let anyone into their aura. You feel at whole, just by yourself and you prefer not to give away from a half filled cup. It's giving me strong hermit vibes. You may do shadow work often or journal, take time to relax, make yourself happy- your friends noticed and they appreciate having such a wonderful person who actually loves themselves and puts themselves first. They have seen so many people lose themselves on the account of other people and it can be a real vibe downer. It is also extremely draining. You are the exact opposite of that. Seriously I'm hearing "that shit is contagious!" Lmaooo you have some goofy ass friends pile 3. You are very sencere when you talk with them and they appreciate that. You may be the type to say something along the lines of "I have some food in my bag for you, but not the type you can eat, its food for thought." Bruuuh on some Erykah Badu shit. Your words are prolofic af. Your friends appreciate your wisdom and stories that you tell them. I'm hearing "Continue being the amazing earth angel that you are". (:

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Thanks for taking the time to read my first ever PAC I appreciate all of you guys. Let me know if I should make more yuhhh. This is pretty fun, I love spreading positivity. (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)

*I do not own any of the photos or gif's nyaa!*

ʕ￫ᴥ￩ʔ

[crackerjackalopegames]

Things I Liked: April to June 2025

Welcome to another installment of Things I Liked! Since the last one, I’ve written a Design Diary on Temporal Breach, the video game I made at the end of Year 2 of University; I also uploaded my Year 2 essay: An Exploration of Player Elimination in Multiplayer Games, and I’m really happy with that, so give it a read! I also wrote quite a personal and political essay about Inspector Calls, and the current state of trans and disabled rights in the UK, that was really hard to write so I’d appreciate a lot of love for it. And finally, I wrote something a bit more journalism-y, talking about My Favourite Demos From Steam Next Fest Summer 2025! Outside of writing I’ve also added a highlights page to the blog, so check that out for a recap of all the writing I’m most proud of! Without further ado, let’s get to these recommendations for things I’ve liked since April!

Sinners

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners was AMAZING. Like, really amazing. Like, redefines the potential of cinema amazing. Like, caught the cultural zeitgeist in a way we haven’t seen in ages amazing. Michael B. Jordan absolutely kills it as twins Smoke and Stack, Miles Caton blew me away with his debut performance as Sammie. I’ll say that again: debut performance! I couldn’t believe that when I first found out! Sinners has so much that I love in it, blues and folk music, electric guitar stings, themes of legacy and ancestry (check out my game ABODE for more of that!), vampires, Michael B. Jordan, and, of course, Michael B. Jordan. If you somehow still haven’t seen it after all the buzz, please do everything you can to watch it. Sinners is an all-timer for sure.

Saints

Saints by Amy Jeffs is a really interesting book retelling various stories from the medieval cult of saints (though the stories are set as far back as the first century). A thing I love about books about myths and folklore is that they alternate between telling fictional stories and analysing them as real cultural objects, and I love the way that Jeffs writes both sides of it. The book jumps between famous saints (like George, David and Nicholas) and more obscure ones (like Uncumber, Ia and Cosmas and Damian, my personal favourite). Overall I really enjoyed this book, though it took me a while to finish (I started it in December!)

SolidArf

Other than Saints and Sinners, I’ve fallen quite deep into games writing and essays this season. I discovered a number of more obscure video essayists, including SolidArf. I first discovered them with their video What I Learned Photographing NPCs in Tears of the Kingdom, an hour-long exploration of TotK’s NPCs and how they’ve changed since Breath of the Wild. It covers character design, writing and quests to create a pretty comprehensive analysis of how Hyrule has changed between the two games. It gave me a greater appreciation for photo modes in games and I quickly went on to watch another of their videos, What I Learned Photographing NPCs in Spider-Man (2018). This is a very similar video that also features a pretty robust review of Spider-Man’s photo mode. It made me realise how little discussion I generally see about photo modes in games, but they’re constantly growing in popularity as a feature. While the Tears of the Kingdom video is sitting pretty on 180k views, looking through Arf’s channel, there are some seriously slept on videos here. Both Art and the Environment in Concrete Genie and Hollow Knight's Loneliest Levels are sitting at under 1,000 views. It’s criminal! Concrete Genie is also a massively underappreciated game that I played a couple years back, so definitely check that out too! Arf also occasionally makes Micro Essays for The Essay Library, which are cross-posted on their channel. Each of these videos comes in between 80 and 90 seconds long, an amazing feat of writing in my opinion. They feel reminiscent of conversations I’ve had with friends over Discord: here’s a thought, it’s not long enough to go on the blog, and I don’t feel the need to say more. So check out some of my favourites: Representing Monsoon in Games, Chants of Sennaar Micro-Essay: Language and Discomfort, and Russian Doll Micro-Essay: Becoming Someone Else. 

Incidental Mythology

Incidental Mythology has been another great, tiny video essayist who I’ve discovered these last couple months. I was introduced to them with Taskmaster and Intelligence, when it came out in May, which is a great analysis of how the UK panel show Taskmaster challenges conventional ideas of intelligence. I used to be a huge fan of Taskmaster and I’ve been getting back into it watching the whole way through with my partner (we’re up to season 11, nearly caught up to when I dropped off), so it was lovely to see such a silly show analysed in a genuine way. I also really enjoyed their video The Chthulucene | Princess Mononoke and Lord of the Rings as Critique of the Anthropocene, I’m a big fan of both of those pieces of media for how they present the world as non-human centric, which is exactly what the Chthulucene is all about. Finally, I want to recommend Spiritfarer and the Sociology of Grief. Spiritfarer is one of those games that deeply affected me and fundamentally changed how I think about games and the world. I’m glad to see it getting the attention it deserves.

Filmmakers Without Cameras

I bought Filmmakers Without Cameras: The Trilogy from Peregrine Coast Press at UK Games Expo 2023, not too long after it came out. The book is an amazing collection of essays about games, films and culture by a huge collection of writers. Some of my favourites from the book include: ‘Playing Hades or- what it’s like to sit with inadequacy’ by Sydney Bollinger; ‘This War of Mariupol’s’ by Oleksandr Derevianchenko, which is about This War of Mine and Ukraine; and ‘High School Musical: A Communist Reading’ by Megan Dobbyn. The book is absolutely gorgeously laid out, with amazing art from all contributors (special shoutout to the piece for the aforementioned Hades essay by Heidi Ostell, and the piece for Eurothug4000’s ‘The Virtual Home of Hub Worlds’ by Matt Miles). The book is currently 40% off at Peregrine Coast Press (I believe for clearance? It’s been on sale for a while now), so pick it up while you can!

Stealth Crossword

Play it for free on Itch.io here!

It’s been a while since a game has made me laugh out loud at how clever it is, but ComputerJames’ Stealth Crossword got me from the opening scene. As the name implies, Stealth Crossword is a crossword game with stealth mechanics. It’s stupid, it’s genius, I love it. You are presented with a crossword and must walk the letters into the correct slots, avoiding the sightline of the guards in your path. This game is so funny, both because of its silly concept and hilarious writing. I won’t spoil the details, but the perspective switch was hilarious. Check it out!

Links

Lots of links this week! Enjoy:

From 2014, Austin Walker’s Real Human Beings: Shadow of Mordor, Watch Dogs and the New NPC. This is a fascinating article that takes a deeply profound turn, it’s about video game NPCs, violence, supremacy, race, and orcs.

Back in February, Hendrik ten Napel wrote about Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts, Sword Opera and failing when it matters.

Curious Archive asks What Happens After a God Despairs? 

A.A. Voigt discusses Jess Levine’s Going Rogue and Star Wars' Cynical Rebels.

LegalKimchi talks about D&D's Missing Monster: Man.

Quinns Quest is back reviewing Delta Green & the module Impossible Landscapes

Gestalitist comes up with a great new character advancement mechanic in We Haven’t Said Everything About Character Advancement Yet. It reminded me a little of Daggerheart's experiences, which have been taking up a space in my brain for a little while now.

Snow writes A Love Letter to Hardcase, this one’s really beautiful.

Last Train to Brooklyn is an actual play of Last Train to Bremen played on the New York Subway. An amazing piece of performance art that really pushes the boundaries of the actual play medium. I loved it. 

Let me know what you’ve been enjoying this season! I'm on Bluesky ‪@crackerjackalope.bsky.social‬ and Tumblr @crackerjackalopegames!

See you soon,

CJ

Check out more from my blog at Jackalope Mail:

And share this post at: https://jackalope-mail.neocities.org/posts/2025-07-01-TIL-Apr-Jun-2025!

[that-dumb-blond]

I have some thoughts on the first Scythe book that I need to scream into the abyss about. Spoilers for all of the Scythe books ahead

-I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated before how well Curie haunts the narrative of these books. She is the first Scythe we hear from, the first journal we read, and the second Scythe Citra and Roman meet. She haunts the narrative before she even arrives, the same as how in the book people hear of her before meeting her.

-The opening line. THE OPENING LINE. “We must, by law, keep a record of the innocents we kill”. What a BANGER line from Shusherman. It hints at the scythe commandments, it’s a terrifying line if you don’t know why scythes kill, it sounds amazing!

-The second opening line. THE SECOND OPENING LINE. “The scythe arrived late on a cold November afternoon”. Not only is it inanely atmospheric, it also fits well with the previous opening. We know Scythes kill, and now one has shown up at our protagonists door. It’s terrifying, it’s beautiful, it’s poetic.

- This is our first introduction to Scythe Faraday and it does NOT disappoint. He’s described by his robe first, which signifies him being a a Scythe. This shows how people view Scythes, and how Faraday views himself : Scythe first, human second. His robe is described as like the white “flowing robes of Renaissance angels”. Religion is mainly focused with this book on the Tonists, but I view the Scythes as their own religion. Religion was made first to reassure people about Death, after all. Why not the new givers of it be worshipped like angels or gods. They’re powerful enough.

- His features are described amazingly too. “Dark eyes that seemed themselves almost to be weapons” This really shows how every part of him is devoted to being a Scythe. Devoted to violence.

-And as SOON as we get the terrifying part of him out of the way, he becomes his truly human, ridiculous self. He was on a gleaning, smelled some delicious bread, decided to stop by and not tell the people there that he’s not going to glean them. There are times where you can tell that being a Scythe for as long as he has means that even though he is very kind, he can be an asshole and get away with it.

-Introduction to Patron Historics which deserve a full post so I will not go into them here!

-There’s a football card version for Scythes. They’ve managed to literally monetise death, well played Shusterman, well played.

-There’s so much world building in this chapter, but turning the corner is briefly mention, and so is immunity. It’s not all Scythe stuff.

-Faraday determines he wants to apprentice Citra from the point she says “Why are you doing this? If you’re here to glean one of us, just get it over with and stop torturing us!”. He knows from that point that she’s make a good Scythe because she points out his unkindness and assholishness. I don’t think he went looking for an apprentice, I think he’s just an asshole, but he certainly found one .

- He was a number one asshole for getting a knife out and PRACTCING SLICING SOMEONE UP WITH IT. Seeing him do that is so funny when you’re reading it, it’s just so ridiculous, but it would be TERRIFYING living it. Like, THIS is the guy that’s gonna glean us? Seriously?

-In the first chapter, there is an exchange that echos through the rest of the book.

FARADAY : You see through the facades of the world, Citra Terranova. You’d make a good Scythe.

CITRA : I’d never want to be one.

FARADAY : That. Is the first requirement

Every time I read it I get chills.

-Another Dickish Faraday moment, no matter the wonderful symbolism is him BRINGING THE KNIFE BACK TO THEM. After he gleaned their neighbour. And just. Telling the teenage girl to keep it? I don’t blame Citra for throwing it away.

I’ll come back at some point with chapter two!

[guxciestone]

— self-love. ❞

(pick a pile reading)

‎🕷️✧

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self-love and self-acceptance is very important. i hope you can take this reading very seriously and perhaps even find this accurate and learn some things about yourself. if you need any encouragement on why you deserved to be loved, check this post out! hopefully that helps. i hope you’re having a good day ♡

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✧ pile 1 ✧

how do you see yourself?

- There’s this idea of seeing yourself as someone who cannot love others. You might be what others call a “commitaphobe”. You might struggle with intimacy or getting close to others because you believe it is too much work, or perhaps you are afraid of what comes with it and what the other person will think of you. You might think that you aren’t worth getting to know, and if anyone did then they’d be turned off . This goes from your friends to your family to even your romantic relationships. You might be the type to think that love isn’t for you, which is not true. You view yourself as someone who is only worthy of it for the short-term and nothing more. For some of you, you might be a player or you like to get around. There’s also this vibe of not respecting yourself and your own boundaries.

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why don’t you prioritize your own needs?

- You might be a huge people-pleaser. You serve to please others before yourself. You might be used to being around brash, abusive, controlling and arrogant individuals, so you are used to submitting to others. You could struggle with standing up for yourself at times too. I’m seeing a significant figure like a parent that could be an example of this in your life. There’s also attachment issues for a few of you, perhaps to this particular parent. Or even a particular partner. For some of you, you might be in a relationship where your boyfriend/girlfriend isn’t treating you with the utmost respect and could be very condescending and careless.

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how can you show yourself that you are worthy?

- You need to learn to listen to yourself. If your soul or body is telling you what you want, you give yourself what you want before you give anything to anybody else. Most importantly, you need to trust yourself and others. If you know someone is a good person and truly wants to care for you and get to know you, don’t push them away and be flighty. Listen to them and get to know them back. I’m also hearing take it slow if that is what makes you comfortable. I feel that most of you also struggle with overthinking things to the point where you self-sabotage yourself from good connections. Taking deep breaths, meditating, or even journaling can get your head in a good place before you make any serious decision.

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how can you be more authentic?

- For a certain group, you might be obsessed with materialism. You love nice things and you love feeling as though you have nice things. Who doesn’t? But you might be someone who likes to play an image of someone who has it all. I believe this is telling you to stop. You don’t need to have the nicest car, house, or clothes to be loved and admired by people. You are more than all of that. Show who you really are behind all of that. I’m sure you’re an amazing person. For others, you might struggle with truly committing to people because perhaps you have this idealized version of how intimacy and love should be. Love isn’t perfect, and you need to realize that. There’s going to be ups and downs. Stop running away at the slightest inconvenience, and you’ll be surprised how amazing love really is. Learn to be more comfortable expressing your emotions too. People around you probably think you’re nonchalant because you barely like showing how you feel. A few of you could also struggle with gambling too.

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what is something you need to let go of?

- You need to let go of your ego. That ego that stops you from experiencing true love and intimacy. You have this character of not needing love, not needing friends, not needing anyone—when in reality, we all need love. We are humans. We are social creatures. We thrive off of togetherness. You think that showing that you are capable of being on your own entirely will prove yourself to others, but it only pushes others away more and honestly it scares them. Truth is, this ego is only trying to hide fear. That fear of showing who you really are and possible being judged for it. There’s nothing to hide and prove. Just let go of that pride and let others in. Love is a gamble. When you open yourself up, you either get rejected or they’ll open themselves up to you, but I promise you it’s always worth it.

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what is something you need to acknowledge?

- You cannot avoid disasters. You cannot reverse troubles, problems, and hick-ups in your relationships. Again, love isn’t perfect. We aren’t perfect. Additionally, you definitely cannot have the good without the bad and vice versa. It’s okay if your friend or siblings talk to you about how you need to open up to them more. They just want to communicate with you so that your relationship with them can thrive. It doesn’t mean they hate your guts and don’t like you. Please stop climbing into your little hole when someone tries to communicate with you about an issue. I promise you the bad parts are always worth it for the good parts.

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a message from your spirit guides/higher self

- It’s time for you to step into a new chapter in your life where you are aware of the challenges, know what is out there for you in regards to connections, and be your authentic self. I feel you’ve always known all of this, you just struggled with taking that first leap into the unexpected. Again, life and love is a gamble. You’ll never know what you get, but the bad is always worth it for the good.

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‎ ‎

✧ pile 2 ✧

how do you see yourself?

- You could see yourself as someone who is vulnerable. You might believe that you are a pushover and it’s easy for others to take advantage of you, which leads you to feeling pretty worthless and insecure. At the same time, you can be guarded. You are someone who is stubborn and always seem to have a chip on your shoulder towards people. You could struggle with letting go of the past or forgiving people. There’s this energy of feeling as though the world is against you or is out to get you. You are defensive about who you let see your natural self out of a fear of being taken advantage of or judged. There might be times where you are aware of how vulnerable you are and you try to stand up for yourself but it only comes out as extreme aggression. It feels like you are just trying to survive in the world where everyone is against you.

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why don’t you prioritize your own needs?

- For a group of you, you may have dealt with relationships in which you were always cheated, taken advantage of, betrayed, or embarrassed by someone. There’s a possibility of a toxic friendship or an abusive/tyrannical romantic partner. You are so used to this feeling of worthiness and having to stay in the shadow of the people you love, you aren’t comfortable with lifting yourself up and giving you what you want or need. You also seem to refuse to move on from these connections, and you have this belief that everyone you deal with will be this way with you. You’re stuck in the past which allows you to keep repeating these destructive patterns of depriving yourself of your needs.

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how can you show yourself you are worthy?

- Firstly, there needs to be a realization—you need to move on. You need to move on by forgiving the people who hurt you. Not for them, but for you to carry on with your life. It’s going to be difficult. It’s going to take some uncomfortable moments and a reconciliation with your past, but it’ll be worth it. You need to accept that this is your past. It’s not going to determine your future and the people you meet at all. I also feel you need to cry. There’s so much built-up emotion from the pain you’ve consumed. All of this sadness and betrayal turned into anger towards anyone and everyone you know, and you need to release it. Signing into therapy, journaling, or self-soothing meditations could help.

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how can you be more authentic?

- You are familiar with thinking of the past, but it is more important to think of the present and future. Think of who you are now after moving on, and think about who you want to become in the future. All the way up to now, you’ve been lacking in personal development and progress due to focusing on what already happened. It’s time to set goals for yourself in regards to your self-love, career, and true connections to see what life holds for you. It’s time to stop pitying and find what truly makes you happy and satisfied.

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what is something you need to let go?

- You need to let go of your personal ideologies you’ve made about people over time. Not everyone is a bad person, and not everyone is someone that is to not be trusted. It is time to let new people have a chance to see into your world. I’m also hearing that if there is someone or some people in your life right now who are trying to becoming your friends, you should let them. They’ll introduce you to a spontaneous world you’ve never been in before. You might go to parties, bars, and be more social often.

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what is something you need to acknowledge?

- You need to acknowledge that your life turns in the favor of your thoughts. If you believe in the positive and abundant, then that is what it’ll be. You are not a burden or a curse to this world. You deserve happiness, peace, and love just like anyone else. You’ll soon see that your outer world will change according to your self-image. Good people are going to start coming into your life.

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messages from your spirit guides/higher self

- There’s one distinct person who you need to cut off from your life completely. It could be someone you refuse to let go of, and you might know you need to do so. There’s this promise that if you do, your life will improve much more. This could be a masculine figure—a father figure, friend, or someone you are romantically involved with. They seem like someone who serves no purpose in your life and are just dead weight. They could also place unnecessary burdens on you.

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✧ pile 3 ✧

how do you see yourself?

- You could see yourself as someone who needs to be saved or need to be swept off of their own feet. You have this victim mentality occurring. You could feel that you aren’t as fortunate as most people. Perhaps you are in the working class or a part of a minority. There’s this feeling of having the burden of struggling and waiting for someone to come help you. You also kind of feel left out in the cold. This perception of yourself could make you someone who is incredibly hardworking but yet has this pitiful mentality of “I’ve been through the worst and I’m used to the worst.”

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why don’t you prioritize your own needs?

- You don’t prioritize your own needs because you are too in your head about things. When you are overthinking, you subtly discourage yourself from taking care of yourself because you feel it’s not worth it due to your status or whatever societal construct you feel is holding you back. For some of you, there could be some underlying insecurities regarding your race, gender, or social class. You are also someone who take things very seriously. You are someone who is always on the defense and ready to attack anyone who you feel threatened by.

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how can you show yourself that you are worthy?

- There’s this utter bitterness I feel coming from you—bitterness towards the people who you feel have an advantage over you. I would love to tell you right now that you cannot fight hate with hate, it only makes the situation worse. I’m hearing “balance” and “fairness”. You need to respect others, at least the people who haven’t shown any source of animosity towards you. You also get a bit unmotivated when you are looking at others prosper. You should learn to encourage others in order to encourage yourself. Lifting up others makes you feel ten times better about yourself. Looking at others, especially the people you love, prosper will encourage you to do better. There’s also no need to be defensive at times. I’m getting that being less defensive and accepting will bring in new people in your life who will give you opportunities to go after your goals.

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how can you be more authentic?

- You have this strong desire to “go against the grain” all the time. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to do that anymore. It is okay if you happen to want to do something that others happen to criticize others for, that’s you. Striving to oppose everyone just to stand out or prove a point gets stressful after a while. Do what you want without your socially constructed ego getting in the way of it.

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what is something you need to let go of?

- There might be particular goal you have in mind that you truly don’t want to follow through with. Your ego is what is making you go after this goal. You need to let go of that goal because that isn’t what you really desire. If this is a particular career that was forced upon you by your parents or society, most definitely drop it. Follow your true passions. I’m also feeling that you need to quit your current job for some reason.

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what is something you need to acknowledge?

- You need to acknowledge that the world isn’t fair at times. Sometimes you won’t get what you exactly want because society has made it to where not everything is made for us. However, create with what you have. Make the best out of what you have, and you are guaranteed success and happiness.

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messages from spirit guides/higher self

- It is important to stop putting yourself down. You’re much more than what people say you are. I’m hearing that you know yourself better than anyone, and you know you are more. Take the time to cry. But don’t cry for long, because I feel you might have a tendency to fall deeper into the pit when you sulk too much in your emotions.

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‎✧ pile 4 ✧

how do you see yourself?

- There’s a sense of confusion in how you view yourself. Perhaps that most of you struggle with your identity and knowing who you are as a person. There could be the possibility that a lot of you use other’s perceptions of you to define who you are, which isn’t healthy. You could be the type of person who receives judgment from others and takes it to heart. You don’t take criticism easily, you’re very sensitive too (there is nothing wrong with that, by the way. please don’t bash yourself for having feelings) You don’t have a clear sense of self-identity, hence you don’t have a clear sense of self-worth. You could be someone who is also a bit selfless too, but in a detrimental way. You could be used to others having the attention and appreciation. You might be the type to avoid being in the spotlight due to the fear of being judged or being perceived as selfish. You are an incredibly humble person though, but it’s okay to shine once in a while. You could also see yourself as someone who is a bit chaotic and all-over-the-place. Your might be confused about a lot of things about yourself—like what you want, what are your goals, etc.

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why don’t you prioritize your own needs?

- You do not prioritize your own needs because there is a fear of feeling selfish. You believe that putting yourself over others means you are careless and reckless, which is not true. It is okay to look after yourself. You’re here to survive and live the best life possible for yourself, of course you’re in the center of your own world. You could be easy to control and manipulated into doing the opposite of what you should. Perhaps you have friends who persuade you to help them with their problems instead of the other way around for example. I’m also getting the vibe of someone in this pile being in a relationship or connection with someone where they are being handled like they cannot make decisions for themselves. It seems to me you need to take back control of your life in some way, in some area of your life. For some of you, it could be a career; for the other group of you, your identity and ability to make your own choices.

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how can you show yourself that you are worthy?

- You can show yourself that you are worthy by appreciating yourself more, and letting others appreciate you more. It is okay for the attention or spotlight to be on you. If there is something you feel there is worth congratulating for, then best believe it is. Let everyone see you for a minute, let yourself see you for a minute and clap for yourself. This will also help with self-confidence. I’m also feeling you should try to invest in new hobbies. Find what makes you happy. I feel you are so used to dealing with others, you don’t spend time to learn more about yourself. This is the time. Go out to the park, buy a new pet, or start creating art. Have fun and get to know yourself more through your interests.

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how can you be more authentic?

- You can be more authentic by taking more risks and truly going after what you want unapologetically. You might have certain goals you’ve always wanted to accomplish but self-sabotage or insecure thinking may gotten in your way. Most of the things you want to do have been halted due to your unsure mindset. In order to truly know what it is you want to do, you need to stop thinking, go for it, and take that risk instead. I’m also getting that some of you want to travel or start a business venture. I suggest you go for it and don’t think twice.

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what is something you need to let go of?

- You need to let go of this constant need of serving others. I understand you’re humble and giving, which is great. However, sometimes it can be a bit exhausting considering the fact that you are going to need to serve yourself at the same time too. Once again, it is okay to focus on and provide for yourself once in a while. There’s no need to feel shame for that whatsoever. You are not meant to serve others like a maid or slave, you’re a human being who deserves comfort and security just as much as anyone else. Believe it.

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what is something you need to acknowledge?

- You need to acknowledge that you are not inherently “better�� than others just because you are selfless and giving towards others. You might have a tendency of looking at people who have a good sense of self as individuals who don’t care about others when in reality you are too invested in others to know that you should be caring for yourself as well. You need to acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with focusing on yourself just as much as there is nothing wrong with caring for others. There can be a balance. It seems to me that you feel this way about these types of people because you are rather envious of the fact that they can shamelessly check up in themselves while you can’t, and also the feeling that being selfless is the “right” thing to be. Both sides can good or bad in their way.

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messages from your spirit guides/higher selves

- There seems to be financial or mental hardships in your life right now. Your guides or higher self is calling for you to pay attention to this. This matters the most right now. It’s time for you to take the attention away from others and focus on getting what is tearing down built back up again. Some of you could have lost a job or could be going through a depressive season right now. It is okay to seek a financial advisor or a therapist too. It is okay to talk to others about your issues. Make sure it is people you can trust and confide in, people who won’t take advantage of your insecurities.

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[dragonrider9905]

If you could get to know and/or write with another writer (or more) who would it be?

Hi Anon!!!!!

Thank you SO much for the ask!!!!! This is such a fun one, and I appreciate you thought to send it my way!!!!!

Hoooooo boi, there are SO many cool people on here and AO3, I hope I get them all because SO many people deserve an honorable mention at least. There are also many artists who'd I'd be honored to have work collaborated with.

*Quick disclaimer, I may not tag everyone because I work long hours so if I've forgotten you, it isn't intentional, my brain is just stupid. So I shall begin!!!!

First and foremost, my dear writing friend @eclec-tech. She is literally the coolest. Her stories?!?!?!? Some of the best AU and OCs I've ever read. I will love and ship Tech/Phee, but Miran Threst has first place in my heart for Tech (even over my own OC!) She's read a lot of my work, encouraged me so much in the beginning of my time writing and even now when I get very disheartened with my progress. She's the reason I'm here on Tumblr! Her stories are just so cool. And she's a cool person.

Of course there is my bestie @photogirl894 🥰she shares my innate love for Hunter and the Bad Batch. Her ideas are SO fun and she's so fun to chat with. I've read a lot of her work before we met and I fangirled from a distance til she invited me to chat. I'm still so in awe of just talking to her, it'd be a dream to write something with her.

@apocalyp-tech-a is a moot I'd love to get to know more. Her work is freakn amazing!!!!! I know we share a love of many things, especially poetry. Her things never disappoint. Her Tech anthologies blow me away. She's so sweet and humble too.

@lizartgurl (or @jedipoodoo) I hold in awe for her medieval Batchers. I'd love to get to know her a bit more and I'D BE SO DOWN to write something with her sometime. Goodness, Hunter is beautiful on his own but BAM medieval Hunter? Just made him so much more so. She's been an inspiration to me and my own writing.

@arctrooper69 is SOOOO fun to work with!!!! She wrote "As Iron Sharpens Iron" and asked me to beta read. IT'S SO FREAKN FUN to work with her as we add fine details to her already freakn amazing story! (seriously folks, go check it out)

@carolinetano7567 has some amazing stuff I've loved seeing on here and I know we share a love of the Batch and Wingfeather! It'd be fun to collaborate someday.

@trapezequeen is such a fun presence on here too. We've discussed story ideas and it's always so fun!!!!!

Quick break to shoutout people I don't know if they're on here or not -- my great friend who I write "Hunter's Stress Journal" with, Ghost Cookie, SlimTech, Yazstar, kaydear, Cuthian, and a few other Ao3 authors I majorly fangirl over their works.

@ghostofskywalker has so many fun ideas and so many cool works and is always so sweet when I submit requests. I'm always awestruck by the work. Not to mention all the cool exchanges Ghost puts together? Those are always so much fun and so cool to participate in.

Of course there's dear @masterjedilenaaa, one of the first writers I discovered in fanfiction. I am always awestruck by the amount of detail and fine work done in all of the requests I've submitted. I think I'd faint if she'd ask me to collab.

@ladysongmaster is SUCH a cool person!!!!!! and all of the amazing stories she writes?!?!?!?! pleeeeeeease colllabing with her would be mindblowing!!!!!!

I'd love to get to know @moonstrider9904 more. I've seen a lot of her posts and she's so fun to interact with!!!!!

@klmwrites has so many different, COOOOL, like freakn cool, ideas. All of the ones I've read have left me at the edge of my seat, needing, wanting more. To work with someone so amazing and creative?!?!?! I think I'd just be too awestruck.

I have to have at least an honorable mention for @techs-stitches and @ovaa-bi-bia. They've been SO supportive of me in the past. I don't know if they write, but I love seeing their posts and getting to know them.

@frostycatblr-fandom-files is a favorite pop up of mine too. I love seeing the artwork and the stories!!!!!!! Collabing would be fun!!!!

@imabeautifulbutterfly is such an amazing, sweet, person!!!!! And the creativity?!?!?!?! the beauty with which she writes?!?!?! I would LOVE to collaborate with her. She's been a beautiful soul and a great friend <3 She might be last on the list but CERTAINLY not the least!!!! <3

Gee, I know there are more, but like my disclaimer earlier stated, my brain isn't at full steam.

So in short...a lot of people XD Thanks for taking the time to read my long winded response :) and for asking!!!! 🥰❤️

[wiltking]

Hello, this is probably a silly question but how did you get so good at writing? I've read you fics and they're amazing, even just a simple sentence you say sounds great. (I mean it sincerely) I want to improve my writing and my english along the line, what did you do? Or do you have any recommendations?

oh gosh i still feel like a baby writer with so much to learn. but i think the thing that helped me the most is learning how to read books from a writer's perspective. especially my favorite books. i mean really taking them apart piece by piece and figuring out why they come off as such good books to me. story structure, word choice, yes even something as simple as sentence. why do i think this book is so good? why is this character so memorable to me? in what way was this incredible line set up to have such a great impact? why do i continue to think about these books even years later?

these are the things I think about while I read. and its especially helpful during a reread when you already know the whole story of a book and can pay closer attention to things like setup and delivery.

this isn't reserved for 'objectively' well written or technically complex books, either. i've said many times that nora sakavic's all for the game series was the most formative to me when i was trying to seriously get into writing. and i always hear people expressing that the writing in those books isn't the greatest. respectfully i disagree, but even if people don't think they're well written there's a reason why those books are so beloved. the intense passion that radiates off the page even during some of the most insane ideas is just one of those things.

more recently i've been doing some research while i work on my horror writing by turning to some of my favorite fantasy / dark fiction writers. resuming my reread of the hexslinger series by gemma files is part of that, because those books were also extremely formative, and reading kissing carrion by the same author last year really made me think for the first time ok, maybe i can write flowery queer horror too. because those stories really resonated with me, and i think about the ending of the hexslinger series constantly. for years. it literally haunts me. but the reason why the ending is so impactful is all the build up that leads up to it. and the way the relationships are written. and the balance of love and horror and genuine connections and the deepest betrayals and... anyway i've kind of been going through her writing with a fine tooth comb to try and understand why she's inspired me for sooo many years.

elizabeth bear's edda of burdens; another formative piece of writing for me, despite me also having some issues with it. i'd love to reread it soon too but don't exactly have the time when i'm in full writing mode, so the other day i just took apart the intro to by the mountain bound in my reading journal. by copying down the first three paragraphs, underlining my favorite lines, and writing some notes about them. my notes aren't anything profound, i was just appreciating the wolfish way mingan is described in the littlest ways that are also so integral to him, and the pretty words chosen to describe the season. the way he's set up as different and 'other' from the very first page even with something as innocent as choosing to daydream. it's all stuff i try to appreciate and learn from.

i don't use my writing journal often (because its easier to type my thoughts here, tbh) but i generally use it to collect quotes i like (and always try to leave some notes about why i like each quote). the other day i also jotted down the opening sentences to some folk tales because its relevant to what i'm working on, and i wanted to study what important information they chose to lead with to set the tone of a story.

tldr; examine your favorite books from a writing perspective. try to understand the choices that were made on both a grand scale (story structure) and little details (word choice, descriptions, paragraph flow). and always try to write your passions even if its weird!! especially if it's weird. you've got this <3

[yodomi-nikki]

It's the end of October and I've been addicted to warhammer for 2 months now… I get bored easily, even with characters I thought I loved, I get bored after 3 days of sucking up all the cues and lore, it's really amazing that I can buy books and models and still not lose interest. What a vast world!

Going back to my diary, my first exposure to lore was on August 21. After reading the rough world setting of 40k on a subculture wiki in my native language, I was hooked, I wrote at the time, "I can either join the Genestealer cult and look forward to the end times, or I can leave it all to the Nurgle gods." I wrote down at the time. From then on, my journal entries abruptly began and ended with headcanons about the servants of the Naguru God, the insertion of a synopsis of lewd writing, the rise of tamurkhan and kazyk, and my surprise and delight when I learned that the GUO and the human witches had a child. Steady corruption.

I don't know how to compete with the hordes of porn/reader delusions and warhammer romance that fly in from outer space above all else, with one book after another to read, one topic after another to worry about, and I want to move on with my games and painting. I feel like the only thing left in the world is warhammer. I am getting more and more into it, and I am taking the steps to write about the Naguru gods and their servants on social networking sites in my native language and being ignored.

No, seriously, how are warhammer fans coping with such a situation where there are too many things to get their hands on?

And I also see it spelled kazyk, kayzk, but he is handsome, dedicated, and holds the noble office of knight. I'm thinking now that the Gopher can impregnate a human witch. It seems to say in the AoS novel that Lotbringers can also reproduce. I have been reading it but have not gotten to it yet. I think that if a person who is predestined to be a daemon can reproduce, there is no reason why a man who has the title of knight, recognized by God, should not be able to reproduce. Looking at his btw3 wonderful model, with its meaningful seam in the crotch area, I don't think it's impossible.

[kissmythedas]

Well I was going to upload this to the Rook's Roost community but I didn't realize tumblr won't let you post from a side blog so... oh well.

Template by Otherpigeon

Extra Notes:

Love Languages: Isabella has never been in a relationship for, never even had a crush on anyone before, so she doesn't really have a specific love language that she gives. Naturally her giving and receiving love language would be touch and time, but it's not difficult for her to provide the others if she feels her partner has a need for preference for them. She's also not used to receiving to receiving gifts or affirmations, so it's very easy for Lucanis to fluster her with these. Lucanis is not big on affirmations. It's not that he doesn't give them ever, it's just a main language of his. He believes actions always speak louder than words.

Sleep in: It's more Isabella is likely to go to bed late. Like it's practically morning late, as she tends to get distracted and lose track of time easily. She'll finally crawl into bed at 4 or 5 in the morning and sleep a few hours before getting up a little later than everyone else, but not too long. Only gets slightly more sleep than Lucanis.

Burn Dinner: Isabella isn't a bad cook per se, at least not like Harding (sorry Harding, nothing person but those poor potatoes...) but nobody really taught her how to cook, so she spent a lot of years eating purely for survival and not enjoyment. Lots of raw salads and unseasoned soups (she boiled a bunch of vegetables in a pot with just water and called it dinner, it was sufficient). Lucanis was baffled having to teach her about seasoning when she asked why his food tasted so amazing, and he taught her the joys of good food.

Hog the bed: Okay it's not necessarily that she hogs the bed, just that they both tend to cuddle closely a lot of the bed doesn't even get used. She used to sleep like the dead, literally, on her back with her arms folded across her chest. She didn't even know she did it until Harding asked about it. When she starts sleeping in the same bed as Lucanis though her body with seek him out, roll completely across the mattress until she can pull him against her. He's even caught her sleep walking a couple times to find him when he got up early to prep breakfast. He'd have to continue while she held him and leaned against his back or he'd have to give up on breakfast and walk her back to bed and lay with her until she settled back down.

Start a fight: Neither one is likely to start a fight with each other, even if a disagreement or argument started to form between them they're very quick to work it out between them. After spending so much time with Varric and other big personalities in the veilguard though, Issy is more likely to cause a scene just out of principle, most likely defending someone, while Lucanis would either stay out of others problems or deal with things more quietly. Alas, he is there to help clean up her messes.

Blanket fort: Okay this one feels self explanatory enough but just throwing it out there that Issy also didn't get much of a childhood, but she doesn't have the trauma associated to it like Lucanis. So she's definitely doing all kinds of silly things like this to appease an inner child she didn't even realize was there, and encourages Lucanis to join her shenanigans, to loosen up and have fun together. It's quite healing for the both of them.

Read conspiracies: Issy seriously never read a fiction book until she was 28 and started travelling with Varric. Until then every book she read was non-fiction, text books, theories and journals. She spent her life just studying and didn't even realize how fun fiction could be until she got her hands on Hard in Hightown. So Lucanis is definitely the most likely to read conspiracies, but he doesn't really believe in them. Kind of like how he enjoys romance novels, sometimes he is amused with the absurdity of what he's reading and simply finds them entertaining now and then.