#and the past will always affect the present. but it's also the present that 'invents' the past (history). and so on.. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

themostefficientwaywithwater · 5 months ago

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In Scarlet and Violet, the only thing they tell you about what happened to Arven's mabostiff is that he got severely wounded by a paradox pokémon and that's why his health declined. But we never see an open wound on him, and I always found it strange that pokemon centers can't heal such an injury.

So here's my headcanon: the cause of mabostiff sickness wasn't the injury he received from a paradox, but an infection.

Paradoxes are pokémon from the far, far, far past/future, a period of time with organisms entiretly different that the ones in the current time. That includes pokémon... but also includes microorganisms. Paradoxes sent to the present carry bacteria that are entiretly different to the ones we have, to the ones we made antibiotics for, to the ones we've adapted to. Pokemon from the present thus have no defenses and no drugs that can combat an infection caused by those pathogens. So the consequences of being infected by a past/future pathogen are way, way more dire than catching a common cold or a food intoxication. This was actually used as biological warfare in the past, by colonizers sending contaminated material to insulated societies: because they didn't had contact with the bacteria, they had no defenses to them so they either died or got so sick they had no chance against their conquerors.

So, Mabostiff was hurt by a carrier of a foreign pathogen that modern medicine cannot combat. His only defense is his own innate immune response, which includes inflammation, which is a strong response intended to destroy any pathogen that manages to break through your body natural barriers... but can also prove fatal to the affected, as the increase in body temperature denaturalizes the protein of both pathogens and host. It's, basically, like trying to get rid of a plague of cockroaches by setting your house on fire and then praying that the house lasts more than the cockroaches.

I don't think that herba mystica actually *cured* him, but they certainly did help. Herba mystica seem to be related to Terapagos' crystals, as they only grow in Area Zero or other locations with tera crystals (like crystal caverns in Paldea, Kitakami and BB's Terarium), and the professor confirms that these crystals enhace both machines and living beings. This is why titan pokémon and the loyal tree get stronger after eating herba mystica and mochis respectively (mochis are made with "special herbs", and have the same effect as when titans ate herba mystica, so it's reasonable to think they're it's main ingredient). The herba mystica strengthened Mabostiff the same; it's just, that new strength was used to *survive* it's own immune response, to hang a little bit longer, until it's body finally got rid of the pathogen. This also explains why Mabostiff got into shape right after being cured, instead of spending a few days/weeks recovering: the power of the herba mystica allowed him to survive his infection with minimum damage, and to heal faster.

I guess technically it wasn't necessary that Mabostiff ate all the different herba mystica, that was just misinformation Arven had read (just like spicy herba mystica being able to make you "flush toxins through sweat", that's not how sweat works!), and it can be proven since there's a sixth one (umami?) that Amarys gives you after the indigo disc plot, one that Mabostiff didn't eat, yet he recovered still. It's just a coincidence that each of the titans guarded different flavors (and also a way for the game to teach you about them). Mabostiff just needed to consistently eat them, until his infection was fully gone.

So, TLDR: Arven's mabostiff illness wasn't just because he was injured by a paradox pokemon, but because that wound got infected by a pathogen from the past/future. He got so sick because he had no specific defenses against it, and no cure had been invented yet. Herba mystica didn't cure him, they just enhaced his organism so it could resist a prolongued inespecific immune response, buying him time until his body finally eliminated the pathogens.

#pokemon #pokemon sv #i said bacteria but it could also be a virus or a fungus or- well you know the drill

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mbti-notes · 2 months ago

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Anon wrote: hello! i hope you're doing well. im really grateful for your blog. i would like to ask you if you have any suggestions for getting over jealous or possessive feelings towards one's partner.

im a 20 y/o enfp girl. for various reasons, ive been very distant from guys growing up. i have had male friends, yes, but I'd always treat them with a bit more coldness than my female friends. and im actually bisexual, so it's not got to do with sexuality. I would mainly put this down to upbringing, with my parents being strict about hanging out with guys.

from what ive seen, my boyfriend (also 20 and an enfp) has been very comfortable with being friendly to people regardless of their gender. what this has led to is me over scrutinizing how he interacts with other girls or vice versa. sometimes getting jealous if they're joking around a lot or if they touch him. things like that. i dont let it affect my behaviour towards either him or the girls. but it does get tiring to think like that. and i know i should be more trusting of him.

i did try to go through your blog, but nothing seemed to match my situation. so, i hope you can give some guidance. thank you!

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It is no coincidence that jealousy is often accompanied by possessiveness. Possessiveness arises because jealousy is, at heart, about fear of loss. Fear of loss can be broken down into two main components:

A belief in ownership. You would not feel possessive about an object unless you believe you "own" it and thereby have some kind of claim about not deserving to have it "stolen" from you.

Underlying insecurity. Fear is defined as "irrational" when there is nothing in reality to fear, or when the level of fear is quite disproportionate to the threat level. Why do people invent threats or blow minor threats out of proportion? In psychology, it is usually related to negative past experiences that continue to influence you, usually unconsciously, in the present. Unconscious factors are, of course, more difficult to understand due to having to go through the difficult process of raising self-awareness.

On Ownership

Do you believe you can "own" another person? Does your significant other "belong" to you? You can believe in ownership all you want, but in reality, people don't belong to you unless they choose it, unless they agree to it. Once they choose otherwise, what can you do about it? You don't have any real claim on them, do you? Perhaps, if you're married, you have a legal claim, but you still can't force them to stay.

This line of inquiry should put you in better touch with reality. Every person is an individual, with their own autonomy, agency, and freedom to make decisions for their well-being. In short, you don't get to control other people. And even if you could exert such control over others, perhaps because society granted you that power, would the relationship be a genuine one? No, relationships are meaningful because two people freely choose to come together.

Being possessive, feeling like you own someone, is actually very disrespectful, because you're treating a human being like a mere object. Treating people as only being valuable to the extent that they are useful to you is a sign of psychological and moral immaturity. At the age of 20, perhaps you still suffer from some adolescent thinking. Perhaps you've been led to believe, through various social or media influences, that love is about claiming ownership. It's time to grow out of that mindset if you hope to have meaningful relationships.

It's morally problematic to treat people like objects because "object" implies that its existence is of lesser value than your existence. An object's value only comes from serving your needs/wants, so it can be used, abused, or discarded at will. That's not real love, is it? That's more like a child clinging to their favorite toys and throwing aside the toys they're bored with.

Remember that the harder you try to claim ownership of something that doesn't really belong to you, the more you hasten the process of losing it. For instance, fear of losing a significant other becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy when your disrespect of their independence gradually pushes them to seek out someone else who is more capable of recognizing it.

An important step in moral development is learning how to see and treat people as subjects, not just mere objects. And moral development in ENFPs is linked to auxiliary Fi development. If you hope for people to recognize and respect you as an individual - to treat you as a subject rather than an object - you have to do the same for them, don't you? When people don't learn this moral lesson, their relationships remain very shallow, defined mainly by power and fear, rather than love and empathy.

If you truly love someone, it means you genuinely appreciate their uniqueness and hope they can live their best life. If they eventually realize that they can't live their best life with you, it would be painful for sure. But true love should allow you to gracefully set them free to search for their best life elsewhere.

On Insecurity

When you really value something deeply, such as a relationship, it is normal and reasonable to be afraid of losing it, because life would be less fulfilling without it. These feelings are to be accepted as the cost of doing business, the price of loving people. However, the ways in which you imagine the loss could happen is where the irrationality begins to creep in.

For example, when you see other girls fawning over your boyfriend, what do you imagine might happen? When Ne is unhealthy, imagination easily gets away from you and into places it shouldn't go. Imagination isn't real, so don't treat it as such.

Knowing what you know about your boyfriend, is there a real possibility that he could be tempted into cheating on you? Does he have a history of cheating? Does he have any problematic views or beliefs related to cheating that give you pause? Do you believe that his romantic feelings for you are weak enough to be easily discarded?

If the answers to the above questions are 'yes', then your fear of losing the relationship would be considered legitimate. At that point, you have to reflect on the strength and health of the relationship and whether there is something that can be done to improve it. You have to face facts to determine whether the relationship is worth fighting for.

If the relationship is indeed on shaky ground, jealousy is merely the symptom alerting you to some kind of "illness" in the relationship. Instead of allowing jealousy to grip you and make the illness worse, you ought to transform jealousy into productive behavior that actually addresses the illness. Using emotions productively is called having good emotional intelligence.

Being bisexual, there is another point that should be relatively easy for you to understand: Love can transcend gender, can't it? If someone is going to cheat, gender isn't the key factor. The key factor is their moral values and whether they abide by them. It shouldn't matter if it is guys or gals fawning over your boyfriend as long as he is the kind of person who believes cheating is wrong and stands by his values. Thinking that gender is the problem is a misdirection, perhaps even a subtle expression of sexism or heteronormativity.

The above speaks to legitimate fear of loss, but when you struggle with fear of loss for no legitimate reason, it indicates the problem lies mainly with you. Perhaps your perspective on the situation is distorted, which gives rise to irrational fear. One of the main reasons people suffer insecurity in relationships is captured in a concept called attachment style, so I suggest you read up on attachment style theory.

In a nutshell, people often learn to be insecure about relationships when their formative relationships were actually lacking in security. Insecurity was the appropriate response to those early relationships. The problem comes when those early lessons get unconsciously and inappropriately applied to relationships later on in life.

For people with insecure attachment style, it doesn't matter who they're with; they could be with the most loyal and devoted person in the world and they would still feel deeply insecure. Why? Because they're being haunted by unresolved childhood issues. However, the past need not determine the future as long as you can become aware of what's happening and work to change your perspective on things.

It is also often the case that people with an insecure attachment style overemphasize the role of relationships in life and in defining the self. Since they didn't get the care and love they needed as children, they are essentially too hungry for it as adults. For example, they might devote too much time and energy to relationships at the expense of other important aspects of life. They might believe experiencing rejection means they are unlovable.

As such, insecure attachment style can also intermingle with other concepts like self-esteem and self-worth. People with low self-esteem/worth are more likely to feel insecure, which can lead to them behaving in ways that seem desperate for assurance, affection, affirmation, or validation from others. Or, it can lead to them avoiding relationships out of fear of rejection or invalidation.

Unfortunately, when you put too much emphasis on other people, it is often the case that you neglect working on yourself. This has two major downsides: 1) Having a weak sense of self makes it all too easy to lose yourself in relationships, which is unhealthy, as it sinks you ever deeper into self-neglect and opens up doors for people to mistreat or abuse you. 2) Giving up opportunities for personal growth gradually erodes self-worth as life falls into stagnation and everything else in life seems to move forward without you.

For ENFPs, weak sense of self is related to underdeveloped Fi, and lack of personal growth is usually related to unhealthy Ne and Si grip problems. If you haven't done enough to develop your functions properly, it can exacerbate problems with insecurity.

You want to be more trusting? Healthy Ne would allow you to be more optimistic, hopeful, and resilient in the face of adversity. Healthy Fi would allow you to draw healthy boundaries between self and other, so that you don't treat people like objects and know when to let go of what isn't yours. Healthy Te would allow you to rise above misleading feelings/emotions/passions of the moment to solve problems more objectively and rationally. Healthy Si would allow you to accept reality with more grace.

Generally speaking, an emotion like jealousy is an indication that you need to go within and discover a deeper truth about yourself and how you relate to the world. You've described the problem in factual terms, which is a good first step. But it's difficult to resolve a problem when you don't grasp the deeper root causes. I don't read minds, so I can't tell you why you get jealous. As explained above, there are several possible factors that might make a person prone to jealousy and you'll have to do more self-reflection on which factors are at play in your case.

#enfp #enfp relationships #auxiliary fi #jealousy #insecurity #attachment style #love #ask

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oneofthosecrazycatladies · 5 months ago

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I think it is time to write a new constitution. Past time really. https://gofund.me/f8097784

Right, okay, I have so many thoughts about this.

So when I hear this “new constitution” talk, my historian alarm bells start going off.

The “cancel culture” of the 2010s didn’t just affect living people, it also became trendy to cancel historical figures. And the Founders really got it hard.

And the annoying thing is that there are a lot of things about the Founders and the society they lived in that are genuinely problematic and we need to recognize and reckon with those things. But, as cancel culture does, when people cancelled the Founders, they took things way too far in the opposite direction and were like “absolutely everything the Founders did was stupid and terrible and they lived 250 years ago so therefore nothing they said or did is good or has any relevance today” etc etc

And…it just…doesn’t work that way? In the immortal words of the 10th Doctor time is a ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff. History is not linear and this idea that everything that came before is backwards and barbaric and therefore only our present society is good is a Victorian invention and of course the Victorians would say that because they were the most pompous and arrogant assholes who have ever lived.

If we’re gonna talk about the Constitution, I’d recommend that you actually read it. Note: Standardized spelling wasn’t really a thing in the late 18th century, so as you read you might notice that some words aren’t spelled the way we spell them today. My advice is to read out loud and sound out the words phonetically.

Call me a boring square if you want, but I actually think that, like, 95% of the Constitution is pretty good and worth keeping. In fact, I think that there are some aspects of the Constitution that we’ve gotten away from and maybe we should actually go back to something closer to what the Founders envisioned.

Also, we’re talking about the original constitution itself, but then of course there’s also the Bill of Rights and all the other subsequent amendments. And what’s actually kind of cool about the Bill of Rights is that the reason it exists is because when you read the Constitutuon, you’ll notice it talks a lot about the things the government can do and, at the time, the general public was like, okay that’s cool but what about the things the government can’t do? So the Bill of Rights was created as, essentially a check on the government so that the general populace could be like “no government you can’t take away my freedom of religion because the Bill of Rights says I can have whatever religion I want”

So, circling back to my point about the Founders being problematic…yes they were in a lot of ways. They were elite white men who existed in a slave society and a society where women weren’t allowed to have political power. But, like, the Constitution was also actually pretty ingenious in a lot of ways and both things can be true at the same time?

We live in a society that has the mindset of “newer is better” but is that actually always the case? Because, right now, “newer” is the rise of the new far-right, newer is completely unregulated capitalism, newer is the climate crisis.

…so maybe newer isn’t always better. Maybe looking back on our past and the things that we’ve done right in the past is exactly what we need.

#thanks for coming to my ted talk #us politics #american politics #history #us history #american history #ask

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squidgang · 3 months ago

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SIX (EIGHT) SONG SOUNDTRACK

Thank you so very much for the tag, @mogruith!!! It’s times like these I am grateful to have a severe Spotify addiction and already had a wealth of songs from my specialized playlists on hand to dig through!! I DID cheat a little bit while making this and for some categories I have two songs instead of one- I couldn’t help it!! But without further ado, here they are, along with sometimes lengthy explanations!!

Tagging anyone who sees this because it was SO MUCH FUN :))

but I will also directly tag my untagged moots: @lazybulette @kekeandherrpgs

Rules: If you're tagged, make a new post with links to music and/or lyrics describing the following...

LONG POST INCOMING

Event that defines your character's past

Golden Antlers - Glass Animals

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“Look at this poor boy All dressed up in white Now how can he smile With a face of all eyes? He wanders the night Through smears and words snide Spinning 'round and 'round His precious mind Like dizzy neon lights”

Namulith is young, about six years old, when he is brought to the Temple of Bhaal and presented to the congregation for their equivalent of a First Communion. This event is the very first real memory he has of the Temple- dark, warm, and sinister. He arrives wearing symbolic white robes, everyone is staring at him, he is given a psychedelic, and begins to dream/hallucinate. (Also I really like the song title because if Namulith was an animal he'd totally be a deer)

How your character sees themselves

Nervous Young Inhumans - Car Seat Headrest

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“I am a good person. I am a powerful person. I don't believe in evil. I think that evil is an idea created by others to avoid dealing with their own nature. I understand my own nature. Good and evil have nothing to do with it. I understand myself. I control myself. I control everything within myself. My domain is my domain. I can lie on my back and affect the lives of those I love without moving a finger. But I would only affect them in good ways. I don't waste time on evil. I'm a good person.”

I classify Namulith as true neutral alignment-wise, but he considers himself a “good” person. Perhaps not an actual good person (in that he is not usually trying to look out for others and display compassion to all), but he genuinely believes that he is “good” at living the life he leads- that he is moreso “good at” being a human being and playing the game of life than the average person.

How others view them

Act Your Age - Snake River Conspiracy

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“Nobody loves you more than they ought to nobody cares what you think (what you think) I still hold those pictures of you and your sisters I'll always play the fool I'll always play with you”

This song is totally Orin’s POV, and is exactly how she sees him. Especially once she is able to recognize the discrepancies between their upbringings (i.e. that he was allowed to enjoy a normal, happy life while she was restricted and suppressed by her father) and develops feelings of jealousy and hatred towards him and his family. She belittles him and casts insults his way, but still takes the opportunity to spend time with him even though he doesn’t want her company.

AND

Just - Radiohead

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“You do it to yourself, you do And that's what really hurts Is that you do it to yourself, just you You and no one else You do it to yourself You do it to yourself”

Ultimately, Namulith himself is the orchestrator of all of the major problems of his life. He’s not so self-aware that he necessarily recognizes this, however. He’s responsible for all of the destruction, pain, and chaos he’s caused- he can hide behind the Urge as much as he likes, but the only one who can truly answer for any of this is himself.

Their closest relationship (platonic or romantic)

Riches and Wonders - The Mountain Goats

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“We write letters to each other Invent secrets to confess to I learn foreign and exotic terms of endearment By which to address you” “You felt shelter somewhere in me I find great comfort in you And I keep you safe from harm You hold me in your arms”

Namulith and Minthara become rather codependent on each other post-game, relying on each other for comfort, protection, and pleasure. There’s cultural exchange going on as well, from her Namulith learns about Drow language and culture, and from him Minthara learns surface customs.

AND

Guardian Angel - Blood Girl

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“I hope you know that you are special Hope you know how good you are Hope you know you’ve changed my life And let me have another start You are my friend and you’re my family And if I cannot be your kid I will still be there till forever The way I hope you’ll be for me”

Jhil (orphaned niece, deceased sister’s daughter) is quick to forgive Namulith for his absence in her life, and is glad she can once again have a stable home life with him in the Dorok Apothecary. She’s an optimist- she sees the best in him and everyone else, and as a result kind of puts him on a pedestal as some kind of savior or great role model (of which he is neither). He's almost certain he's going to let her down.

A major fight scene

Flip - Glass Animals

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“I'm gonna go back I'm gonna go back I'm gonna go back to a face, no more mask I was in full bloom until I met you I'm gonna shake my fetters I'm breaking lose”

This song encapsulates the fallout of Orin’s betrayal, once Namulith recalls enough that he can fully grasp the consequences which followed (how he was subjected to torture under Moonrise Towers, tadpoled, left for dead, mind-controlled), he develops a sizeable grudge. The “face, no more mask” refers to him finally distinguishing between himself and the Urge- that he will face her and kill her as Namulith- not the Dark Urge. Before her betrayal he was at his peak; a powerful, young, charismatic cult leader (who had at last fallen off of the deep end and embraced his status) who had set his sights on complete domination. But now, all he desires is her death, as well as complete severance from Bhaal and the cult.

End credits song

Time It’s Time - Talk Talk

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“Time it's time to live Time it's time to live through the pain Now that it's over, now that it's over, now that it's over As bad as bad becomes It's not a part of you”

Namulith is faced with two reactions to the clarity he achieves through the restoration of most of his memory by the end of BG3/the morning of the death of the Absolute; he can either spend the rest of his life repenting for the past or agonizing over how his actions will affect the future. He chooses neither. He’s going to move on, he’s going to keep living, and though he might be haunted by the “bad” things he’s done- there’s nothing he can do about it, and it doesn’t define him either. He’s starting fresh, and he’s going to do it his way.(*coughs* Minthara’s way)

#oc: namulith dorok #squidgang lore #bg3 durge #if you couldn't already tell #I'm a massive glass animals fan #I have a pretty varied taste in music imo #one of my hobbies is searching for hours on end for songs with lyrics that align SUPER close to my ocs #someday I'll unprivate and link my playlists perhaps

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douchebagbrainwaves · 17 days ago

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UNDERSTAND YOUR USERS

Surely a field like that would be awkward to describe as regular expressions can be described easily as recursive functions. Larry and Sergey, you can no longer claim to have invented a new language, but only to have designed a new dialect of Lisp;-Though useful to present-day languages, if they'd had them. Already chip designers have to think about that. When you learn to drive, one of the most interesting things we've discovered from working on Y Combinator is that founders are more motivated by the fear of looking like an idiot to one's peers, and position yourself so they push you in a position of power. Indeed, a good number are merely being sloppy by speaking of decreasing economic inequality when what they mean is decreasing poverty. If Moore's Law continues to put out, they will be 74 quintillion 73,786,976,294,838,206,464 times faster. One's first thought tends to be running Linux or FreeBSD now. Those few that inevitably slip through will involve borderline cases and will only affect the few users that encounter them before someone calls in to complain.1

McCarthy thought of it. A hacker who has learned what to make, is extraordinarily powerful. If I had children, it would be to let that opportunity slip. Often the only value of most of the applicants don't seem to have any intellectual descendants. I'm going to try to figure out what you like is to look back. Who knows, maybe VCs will make more money by doing the right thing. The startup may have more long-term potential, but you'll always interrupt working on it. If I know the afternoon is going to be, so in cases like GPSes, music players, and cameras. Lewis's industry contacts also include the creative director of GQ. I tried my best to imitate them. Getting rich means you can stop treading water. When they can, companies like to do something called price discrimination, because the people offering expensive solutions can spend more to sell them.

Sometimes this is done for ideological reasons. Your own ideas about what's possible have been unconsciously lowered by such experiences. Smart investors can see past such superficial flaws. The problem is, as you approach in the calculus sense a description of something that might, if it existed, might be good to program in it? If the client doesn't run anything except a browser, there's less chance of running viruses, and no data locally to damage. I think, because they weren't really saying anything.2 Ambitious people already move halfway around the world to further their careers, and startups run on morale. This is an extremely useful question.

Notes

Some want to. In fact, we actively sought out people who'd failed out of fashion in 100 years ago it would take forever in the sense of mission. Whereas many of the word as in a time machine to the same intellectual component as being a train car that in the life of a handful of ways to avoid becoming an alcoholic.

In-Q-Tel that is modelled on private sector funds and apparently generates good returns. We're only comparing YC startups, but bickering at several hundred dollars an hour most people than subsequent millions. But arguably that is more efficient.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Garry Tan, and Paul Buchheit for inviting me to speak.

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onebirthdaywishes · 8 months ago

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The significance of a JANUARY 14 birthday and your future

January 14 VS Capricorn

The typical individual whose birthday falls on January 14 is clever, ambitious, communicative, and independent. If you were born on this day, you're as practical and hard working as any goat; however, your idea of what's important goes far beyond material rewards. A deep-seated need for self-expression prompts you to explore your many creative possibilities. You have a sharp mind由at picks up information like a magnet and provides you with a solid foundation of knowledge. Humanitarian impulses stimulate your desire to find a way to make a difference in the world. Whatever path you chose in life will be your own path, not one mandated by the rules of society.

As a Capricorn with the root number five, you have a restless nature and an inventive, progressive mentality 如t requires a variety of new experiences to keep you from getting bored. You are intelligent and observant, with a methodical mind and a fluency with language that assures you are never at a loss for words. Your ability to translate perceptions and ideas into clear images and deliver them with wit and charm makes you an accomplished speaker and writer. With your enthusiasm and breadth of interests, you would be an excellent teacher or mentor.

You are呻erently generous and loving with the people you care about. In intimate relationships, you are affectionate and extremely loyal. Although you tend to be somewhat reserved at the outset, once you relax and loosen up, you can turn into quite a playful comedian.

BLESSING

How do you wish a 8 year old happy birthday

1. I wish you a happy day of growth! Happy 8th Birthday!

2. Baby, you know, you are happy, I am happy. Happy birthday!

3. May your every day be as beautiful as a picture! Happy Birthday!

4. Happy birthday! At the age of 8, I wish you a clear goal and a better life.

5. The baby has grown up again and is 8 years old. Happy birthday to the baby! Healthy!

PERSONALITY

No matter what kind of work you do in the world, or what your status is in life, you have the soul of a poet. You think of all things from the point of view of their beauty, and you, too, create beauty when it is in your power to do so. The functional element has little significance for you, as your standards do not apply to the usefulness. As someone once said, “Love, light and laughter are the holy trinity”; so might it be said of you that these three form the pattern of your ideals. You have a deep regard for the conventions, for family life, and for the arts. Yet, even in conformity, you never lose sight of your originality and ideals. A vivid imagination makes you capable of artistic creation, but it is more likely that you will express yourself on the plane of criticism, which is also, in its way, a creative function.

LIFE PATH

You have the ability to accomplish big things and should never be satisfied with results that will barely fill the requirements. You are not easily discouraged. You have a large, sympathetic heart, and the ills of your fellows weigh heavily upon you. You will be a loving friend and probably will have an art-filled home.

DESTINY

Make steady progress toward the goals you have set. Do not be afraid to express yourself creatively. Take an interest in the efforts of others and emulate their achievements. Let genuine affection prevail to bring happiness. The present and future need more of your attention than the past.

KARMIC LESSON

You are very original. You also have good business abilities and are inventive, very curious, sociable, and rather optimistic. You should never lose confidence in yourself but always keep up a brave front, no matter how adverse the circumstances may appear. Born on this day, you have a large share of ambition and the desire to get ahead in the world. Do not undervalue the things of the mind and the soul. You want and need true love, but it is sometimes hard for you to learn how to give it.

SECRET

There may be a tendency to magnify worries and to inflict them on other people, without regard for their own problems. You have a talent for appraising, inspecting, and correcting.

For more information please log in: https://www.onebirthdaywishes.com

#constellation #birthday #blessing #wishes

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basicallyaturtle · 10 months ago

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When I first made the realization, the bit in Back to the Future where Chuck Berry got his style from Marty playing Johnny be good kind of troubled me, like the filmmakers definitely didn't think about it and it was just a funny joke, but 'foundational black figure in rock and roll actually didn't come up with his style' is a little weird, and the fact that the writers didn't see this is not surprising necessarily, but maybe a little disappointing.

But then I was just thinking about it in the shower, and it is obviously meant to be a bootstrap paradox kind of thing, like no one ever 'invented' it it's just a thing, but that's not how back to the future time travel works, it can't have bootstrap paradoxes. There are two ways that single timeline timetravel stories can work: The time travel has always happened, and The time travel retroactively affects the time line. (incidentally this also delineates who has a colloquial sense of free will in the scenario. paradigm 1 gives free will to influence events to the people in the past, that is they can react to the time traveler, and then in the future they will always know what the time traveler had to do because it already happened. in paradigm 2, the time traveler is free to react to the people in the past, and without outside influence, the past people will always carry out the same events as they did originally)

The first one is susceptible to the bootstrap paradox, since thing that happen in the past have always happened, so if you go back in time to tell your past self something that your future self told you, then that always happened and there is no start to that loop. This is what they imply this with Johnny Be Good, showing the song to Chuck before he wrote.

The second is susceptible to the grandfather paradox, because you could go back and stop your grandfather from having your dad. This is literally the conflict of Back to the Future, trying to get Marty's parents to get together when he originally accidentally prevented it, so that must be what paradigm the movie falls into. Meaning it cannot have examples of the bootstrap paradox, and Chuck Berry DID write Johnny Be Good in the original timeline then in the new time line he just heard it from Marty. Anyway, interesting

That also made me think of a story where this basically happens, a traveler accidentally shows music to the person that made it, and that causes that musician to create that music earlier. Say The person had a slow career to start, then they shifted gears and that got super mega popular, then in the new timeline, they never did the earlier part, which maybe the main character was a bigger fan of anyway, or that's what tips them off to the time travel messing stuff up in the present or something.

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bunnyshideawayy · 1 year ago

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what baffles me the most is the 🌽 addiction accusation is it’s coming from, mainly, men who 100% consume 🌽ographic media daily via onlyfans and websites and have recently discovered women enjoy sex, too, but read about it instead. they are also the same men who bash SWers, who’s content they consume and pay for! OR pretentious male book readers who only read Plato and the only classics, funnily enough though they never take an issue with books like Game of Thrones, in which Grrm describes some of the most violent and graphic sex scenes i’ve personally ever read.

i’ll be the first to admit there is a 🌽 problem in this society, and that the industry is a horrible place that condones/advertises horrible things, things that mostly affect women/femme presenting people. but i think the important and conveniently unnoted difference between spicy books and 🌽 visuals like the videos posted on say, pornhub, is that 9/10 those books are not *JUST* porn. Acotar is probably a weak example but i’ll use it anyway, only a small fraction of those books are actual sex scenes, a good 90% of the story is actually plot, world building, character growth, emotional connection and relationships established for both reader/characters, there is an actual story being told- sex just happens to be in it, which i usually skim past anyway. however in videos you have none of that- it’s just sex. the videos with scripts usually have disturbing themes and dialogue, but again no actual plot.

another conveniently forgotten point is what is being promoted. obviously the issue is not black and white, for example Haunting/Hunting Adeline, that book, much like the actual 🌽 industry, promotes some pretty awful and weird shit like abuse, SA, and violence against women, but at the end of the day i will always side with Haunting Adeline because of the simple fact it’s about fictional, fake people. the same cannot be said about videos and media like it. those are real people, and yes they may be a of age, consenting, adult doing their job……or they may not be. even if they are the video is being posted as “barely legal teen, step daughter and mom” with them dressed up in school girl uniforms (btw that’s two of the most popular searches on pornhub). on the flip side there is some ethical porn media that can be consumed, and as long as you’re not feeing into the above mentioned (abuse, SA, incest, etc) websites like onlyfans gives SWers the chance to make money with their own boundaries and i’ve heard of i think at least one website that is women own and ran that makes 🌽 “for women” aka without all the weird fetishization and dehumanization.

i also understand some people work through past trauma via kinks like cnc, etc, so reading books about that or watching videos is something they do but i’m not qualified to speak on that so i won’t.

i guess i made this big ass post to say maybe consider the nuance behind this discussion before you run around calling women who read books that happen to also have sex in them 🌽 addicts. although i can’t completely say my opinion is unbiased, i have seen real life 🌽 addiction first hand through my ex boyfriend and how it literally ruined his life/our relationship, and i also enjoy a fairy smut book here and there, i dont support the 🌽 industry but i do support SWers. sex and erotica have been apart of written history and culture since we invented writing, hell ancient people were drawing people fucking and their dicks out before writing was invented. you cannot completely strip the sexuality out of humanity, we’ll all always be a little freaky. but it’s important to understand what you’re consuming and to be critical of it if you believe it promotes harmful things.

i also wanted to clarify i brought up fanfiction because i have read far more graphic things on ao3 than any published author would dare write, i could only imagine what those people would say when they saw the “porn without plot” tag. what names they’d call fanfic writers. 😭

genuinely curious what the “booktok girls are 🌽 addicts” puritans would think and say about fanfiction…

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baddiedaddy7 · 4 years ago

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𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘀🦴❤️‍🩹

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝙵𝚒𝚛𝚜𝚝 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

some ppl with these placements actually look younger than their age. but then some look like moms/dads when they’re like in their teens lmao. well built cheekbones. dominant jawline, and splendid smile usually. pale for their race. a lot of hair usually(cher has this lol). ppl may not find you approachable, since you may have rbf. overawing, and sphinxlike vibes. alert with their surroundings. can be kind. you may be harsh on yourself, and may not give yourself credit. since saturn rules restrictions, and 1st house expressions, you may be introverted/shy/reserved.

celebrities:Princess Diana, Britney Spears, John Lennon, Kevin Hart

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝚂𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

don’t play when it comes to clothes, cars, houses, materials in general, and their finances/money. makes smart money moves. may get rich/have luck in the business world when they’re older(like 40s, and up). unpretentious. may like to collect things, and go to antique shops. may like “old” or “vintage” items. may stress over money, and may be cheap tbh. may wear ties a lot lol. i think of businessmen/women for this placement since that may be how you dress. you may also wear clothes that don’t draw much attention, and you may not even wear name brand clothes that often. may like soft smells/smells that aren’t too strong(flower essential oils, vanilla, etc). may love or hate coffee, green veggies, starches, alcohol, and salty food in general. may not like to let ppl borrow things/may be stingy(saturn=restrict, 2nd=money/materials)

celebrities:Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lawrence, Prince, Kanye West

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚍 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

laid back way of talking. i feel like they would have a “demanding” or maybe deep voice lmao. takes school seriously. may be shy when it comes to talking to classmates, or just reserved. probably just sees school to help get a career, and not to make friends. siblings may have capricorn/saturn in their chart. you may be the oldest sibling, or the most reliable. you may be stern, and overprotective with siblings. might have a harsh relationship w/siblings, and neigbors. may isolate from the community. most likely dislikes speaking in front of many ppl/doing presentations. usually respectful.

celebrities:Kylie Jenner, Bjork, Jim Carrey, Steve Jobs

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝙵𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

scared of vulnerability, may get disappointed when trying to lean on others, because they are not of much help. daddy/mommy issues(more of daddy tbh), or abandonment issues. may worry a lot abt ppl they love. has it hard in the beginning of life, but makes it to the top. life gets better, but childhood was most likely hard. worried abt finances as a kid when they shouldn’t have, may not have gotten a lot of attention as a kid, and one of the parents or maybe both were workaholics. one parent or both parents may be strict/cold. just needs a lot of affection🥺. may be grateful that their childhood was rough, since it made them a better person. might be an only child. family most likely is traditional and/or religious, maybe too conventional. these ppl are warm yet cold(if that makes sense lmaoo). intelligent more often than not.

celebrities:Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Tom Cruise, Drake

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝙵𝚒𝚏𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

probably doesn’t know how to let loose, and have a good time! most likely doesn’t want many kids, and/or may have kids in their 30’s+. will most likely make sure they’re financially stable before having kids. may be a wall hugger at parties/just chill on the corner. serious/doesn’t play games, reliable, loyal, and honest in the dating world. children may have capricorn/saturn in their chart(esp the first child). wants the best for their kids. may be strict, and may need to try being more open minded when it comes to parenting. hobbies may be sleeping, reading, working, planning, studying/researching, etc. may like to visit old fashioned places(museums, antique shops, etc). solemn aura. may lose virginity later than usual.

celebrities:Shakira, Dua Lipa, Jim Morrison, Heath Ledger

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝚂𝚒𝚡𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

try getting out your comfort zone, every once in awhile. most likely has a routine. judgemental with co-workers. watches health, very closely. may work too much. pets should be independent baddies, and mysterious(so cats mainly, or reptiles). you’re inventive. remember it’s okay to take a break, and do nothing useful at all :)

celebrities:Lady Gaga, Adele, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Murphy

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

attracts capricorn’s/ppl with a lot of saturn in their chart easily. may date someone much older or younger, age difference will be significant. may start dating/get a first love later than others. positive:attracts reliable, loyal, secure, and has their priorities straight ppl. at worst you attract:boring, stern, harsh, cold, materialistic, ppl. this could apply to your friends too btw, not just lovers. you need to make sure you set rules for your relationships, and make sure your standards are at a good level. another good thing abt this placement is you’re more likely to have long lasting, and stable relationships. you may fear rejection, but you jeee to learn that it’s okay and it happens to everyone.

celebrities:Selena Gomez, Jennifer Lopez, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Depp

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝙴𝚒𝚐𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

either has sex a lot young or old no in between. may have a period where they don’t have sex at all for awhile. may become spiritual later on. may get into astrology later on also lol. most likely will die of old age/naturally. cynical. men here may be small(ifyk what i mean), but you can also last a good amount of time in bed. may actually be good at sex, bc saturn means trying to be the best at something/success lol. fears death(i feel like these ppl fear more of what happens after death, not death itself).

celebrities:Khole Kardashian, Renee Zellweger, Elton John, Dwayne Johnson

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

luck, and fortune happens in your 30s+. may be closed minded, but may become more open minded as they grow. may be conservative. but may also be an atheist tbh. may want to major in business, become a lawyer, major in finances, etc. hard headed, but clear sighted. may not be a fan of traveling, or may not have many chances to until their older.

celebrities:Rihanna, Julia Roberts, Paul Mccartney, Charlie Chaplin

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝚃𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

reputation may be that you are a no nonsense, hard working, logical, reliable, and loyal person. may have known what you wanted to be for a long time. you may have a job associated with your family/a tradition. afraid of not succeeding. ceo, judge, teacher, engineer, lawyer, businessman/woman may be a job of yours. you may overwork yourself, take a day off to just relax. may start working later in their 30s. ambitious

celebrities:Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Chris Evans, Michael Jackson

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝙴𝚕𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

may attract friends/ppl that crush on you that have capricorn/saturn in their chart. may have friends for a very long time. may become more of a social butterfly/make friends more often in their 30s+. at first, you may hate socializing, and picky with who their friends with/won’t just befriend anyone. the reliable friend, will always be there for you, and loyal(or these might be the traits of your friends). doesn’t have time for fake friends. you will stand for your friends or they’ll stand up for you. honestly you may be one of those ppl that say they’re “born in the wrong generation” lmao. may not relate to ppl your age.

celebrities:Cameron Diaz, Demi Moore, Elon Musk, Robin Williams

𝚂𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗 𝙸𝚗 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚏𝚝𝚑 𝙷𝚘𝚞𝚜𝚎

taps into spirituality in their 30s+. may deny spirituality for awhile, and their intuition. don’t deny your gut feelings, and your energies baby :). your past life may have been rough. i’ve heard that jail may have happened for individuals with this placement in their past lives. you may go through hardship, before getting living a good and easy life. may be regretful for no good reason. need to work on expressing yourself emotionally, and not bottling up how you feel. maybe try to express your feelings in a creative way(music, art, poetry, etc).

celebrities:Beyoncé, Angelina Jolie, Will Smith, Robert De Niro

#astrology #zodiac #zodiac signs #astro notes #astro observations #saturn #saturn in 1st #saturn in 2nd house #saturn in 3rd house #saturn in the 4th house #saturn in 5th house #saturn in the 6th house #saturn in 7th house #saturn in the 8th house #saturn in 9th house #saturn in the 10th house #saturn in 11th #saturn in the 12th house

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metvmorqhoses · 2 years ago

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This is a letter submitted to me by the previous anon. I was left nothing short of appalled by it. In a few paragraphs this person managed to take everything I ever said on this blog about art, literature, gender, ethics, or even myself as a person, twist it to their own biased and, quite frankly, worrying perspective and use it to accuse me of being, at best, a Nazism and antisemitism apologist.

I’m very open minded, I’m able to understand most point of views even without sharing them, but this is another matter entirely. This is being unable to read reality correctly anymore. This is dangerously and hurtfully spinning things out of proportion. This is being unable to form a pure critical thought in a reality that is already mad and confusing enough.

I read extensively in the past few years about the plummeting of comprehension of the written word among all demographics, but that an educated peer of mine, mirror and parrot of too many others, could genuinely reason like this will always be beyond me.

Anon, you are right. I wouldn’t normally publish or entertain such profound drivel, but the things you just accused me of are not only absurd, but beyond serious and grave. You cannot throw such ideas and words so lightly at another human being, especially not inventing yourself every single reason for doing it.

So I’m going to answer, word to word, in the hopes to make you, or at least someone else, wake up from the horrors of a brainwasing this society is, at this point, irremediably affected by.

“i do not think that your response to me displays “good disposition”, so i will be sure to match you in tone. you do not have to answer this, or even read it; i hope that you will read it though, if only to momentarily consider someone else’s perspective. quoting you verbatim from a previous ask/answer, “I absolutely hate to contradict the canon”. you’re right, the original books don’t glorify nazism, mostly the new content does. however, you say voldemort is the true hero. he is driven to exterminate specific groups of people for his personal gain. whatever depth you want to give him, that is still canon. you don’t deny it. you might not find it the most interesting part of him, but it is still there, and you still call him hero.

i and many others will never know most of our families because of a man and his followers who worked exactly like that. so don’t think of this as me trying to cancel you. i will not be reaching out to your friends or trying to get you banned from anywhere, that’s not what i’ve come directly to you for. i’d like to know what it is about two blood supremacists that you see not only so much inspiring complexity in, but yourself in as well.”

Honestly anon, considering what you are accusing me of, the hinting of which I had already perceived in your previous ask, my disposition towards you was and still is way better than it should be. I’m taking pity of your way of thinking and still hoping to somehow help you understand how wrong this is on every possible level.

I’m very glad you seem to agree the Harry Potter books are no Nazi hymn, but I unfortunately have to contradict you right away. I never, ever, glorified Voldemort’s figure or called him “the true hero of the story”. If you had taken the time to actually read the things the person you are accusing of terrible and very real things has always written about that fictional character, you would have noticed the whole point of my metas is, on the contrary, to underline his twistedness, his monstrous and yet very present humanity, his unfillable voids, his abysses in negative with still a wisp of something else enduring nonetheless.

You would also have noticed that I’m utterly uninterested in and rarely mention the blood-purity movement, not because I think there’s something literary wrong in constructing fictional evil after Nazism (nor, again, do I think there’s anything wrong in finding Nazism intriguing as an historical event and as a study of human nature), but because, as I previously tried to make you understand, I find it psychologically uninteresting in regard to him and not what his character is fundamentally about.

You also just took an ask in which I said I’d have liked to rewrite Harry Potter with Voldemort as the real protagonist (protagonist, not hero, the difference is huge - I linked it for you), and twisted it to construct this huge delusion about my preaching the bloodthirsty ideology of an evil wizard from a fairy tale. Voldemort went around even repeatedly trying to kill a child, why not accusing me of seconding infanticide too, since you are at it? Or seeing antisemitism everywhere is your main fixation since it touches you closely?

I would never call Voldemort a hero, and you know why? Because it would be incredibly dull. Voldemort is a villain. I appreciate him precisely as such. I’m not interested in finding his actions (at least not his monstruosities) correct or admirable, it wouldn’t be riveting. What makes villains compelling is their darkness. And this is because, most importantly, unlike all the people you are mentioning, Voldemort is the bad guy in a children book. Voldemort is not real. His darkness has no consequence whatsoever.

As for why I find Voldemort and Bellatrix compelling, if you had bothered to read my writings before accusing me of absurdities, you’d already have your answer. You’d know that it’s their character as people and mutual relationship that I find intriguing, not their ideology.

As to why I said I see myself in them, those are personal reasons I would never disclose to someone who cannot seem to count to ten, let alone understand utter complexity of certain childhood circumstances or unusual personalities, but (even if it’s obvious, even if I stated it multiple times for the thick idiots in the back) it’s obviously not their fictional murderous/blood-purist/unicorn-blood-licking tendencies I see myself, a real person, in.

I equally see myself in Dorian Gray, Heathcliff and Catherine, Frankenstein’s monster. I trust no sane person would believe I’m inciting the masses to make deals with the devil, traumatize children or set the world on fire out of spite towards human nature (even if the latter is tempting and people like you are making it even more so, I would admit).

“i am not always just an anon on the internet. i am a real person with a real family, real experience with antisemitism and racism in my everyday life. real books i like to read, real foods i like to enjoy, real fears and angers and excitements about the changes i’m seeing in politics and in the public these days. i am, in real life, affected by the ease with which some of my own friends can tell me “jews control the media” just because they’ve heard it on tv enough, from movies or talking heads or whoever.”

As it so happens, I’m a real person just as well. You don’t know anything about me. You for example don’t know that my grandmother spent World War II with real Nazis invading her very home, robbing her of everything and using her farm as a militar base. You don’t know the story of my family, you don’t know that I share many, too many, concerns and fears about the world we are currently living in too and I’m genuinely sorry about what you have to go through, because even without being Jewish I know something about it first hand. But this doesn’t give you the right to behave how you are behaving. You are in fact being just part of the big cultural problem you are denouncing. You are going after innocent people, judging them out of invented nothing. Even if you are surrounded by ignorant and racist people for real (I wonder to what extent, since you seem to highly exaggerate things), this doesn’t mean you have to blindly assume the whole world conforms to it by default, twisting everything you see to make it about you and your current, perhaps justified, fixations.

“consider also that you are a woman. you’ve said you don’t feel very strongly about any part of your visible identity, which is fine. but others around you likely perceive you as a woman. you will be treated differently by different people based on how they perceive you. you have to exist in the context of the world around you whether you want to or not. do you call it activism or wokeness to tell someone off for treating you poorly because you’re a woman, or do you call it standing up for yourself? now what if that person is andrew tate or jordan peterson, whose sexism reaches and influences many, many people around you? telling them or their parrots to think before they speak is not being woke. that’s recognizing a lack of respect and responding to it appropriately to shut it down before it gets worse.“

Again, you took something I said and completely failed to understand its meaning. I never said “I don’t feel very strongly about any part of my visible identity”. I actually feel my womanhood deeply, to extents you couldn’t imagine. What I said is that I don’t care to conform to this, in my opinion quite pathological, trend of labeling everything you are and put it on display for the world to see and use, in the hopes of creating an ever-more vacillating sense of identity, belonging and validation. I firmly believe everyone has the absolute right to be true to themselves and I have no problem embracing anyone who wants to intruduce themselves with a ten minutes-long list of pronouns, gender, sexuality, heath-status, ethnicity and religious beliefs, but this is not something I’ll be ever taking part of, nor the kind of circus I’d like the world to turn into, merely because for some reason I feel like this is more a show (a dangerous one, too) than a real quest towards inner truth.

Calling out idiocy is not being woke, anon. I confirm. Not agreeing with powerful people spreading dangerous ideas is one thing, making up the 99% of those terrible crimes in order to have a scapegoat for your witch hunts is another thing entirely.

“so why can’t i criticize your purposeful decision to deify a character who can all too easily become a model for others who want to take their hero worship of people like him further than tumblr?”

Because you are making this “deification” entirely up, anon. And the fact that you cannot seem to understand this simple fact is very concerning. If I preached Voldemort’s blood-purity ideology, you would have every right to criticize me. You are even totally entitled to have opinion about others tastes. You are not entitled though to make things up to further your own ideologies and worldviews and you should actually be capable, fairly educated as you are, to understand what you read.

“i guess i am not judging you for the art you enjoy, but the way in which you talk about it. people who are actually affected by these views have to be most wary when decent, intelligent people begin to repeat and think them. unfortunately, for my family, this was indeed the way real life worked in the 30s/40s. their kind, smart, beloved neighbors could still turn on them after being exposed to enough nazi propaganda, to films and papers and gossip. and now i have to feel like this in the present day because it is media like this, which “minorities” like us have always, always made our worries clear about (you can’t tell me discussion of cho chang’s name or the subtext of sex-aware staircases is new, because i was around to see when it began), which seeps into good people’s brains and creates opportunities for them to turn on us. this is why white supremacists and fascists use dogwhistles, why they won’t speak the quiet part out loud and will use whatever media they can to further their message under the radar.”

“The way I talk about it” is not at all what you are describing lol If you had actually taken the time to read what I wrote you would have (I hope) noticed.

Oh, yes. Calling a character “Cho Chang” is a terrible crime against humanity. Entire generations of children are traumatized. Also, oh my! Sex-aware staircases! Call the police!

No, anon. Good people don’t let anything seep into their brains and “turn on you”. Good people are good people. People that out of the blue, only because society validates them, turn against fellow human beings, for whatever reason, weren’t good people in the first place. Ideologies give permission for the real self to show, they don’t create anything from scratch.

“analyzing media is about opening your eyes to the context in which it sits. i’m afraid, and i think you’ll agree, that critical analysis skills are degrading on a mass scale these days.“

Yes lol I deeply and absolutely agree.

“i’m afraid that these books have always contained subtle problems, but those of us who were affected by them did not have such a free internet to express ourselves and were otherwise shouted down by fans at the time. i’m afraid that these books have always existed in a context in which antisemitism, racism, and xenophobia have only been on the rise. i’m afraid that someone like you, who is writing a novel, who has some reach now and who may gain even more of a following in the future, who touts herself as not only intelligent but a lover of ethics, may end up contributing, whether you intend to or not, to the mass of people who will turn around to hurt people like me.

i can understand the notion that voldemort simply used a preexisting Other that he despised anyway to further his own drive for power. lots of scholars would say hitler did the exact same thing. my question for you is not even why you see yourself in that, because i suppose it is understandable as a strategy to get yourself support for something by finding like minds already headed the same direction. but the key point there is like minds. no, my question is, why do you call him the hero?

not protagonist. not something akin to humbert humbert per nabokov’s original purpose.

hero.

a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability

b: an illustrious warrior

c: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities

d: one who shows great courage

at this point, it isn’t the harry potter books that praise nazi ideology and strategy. it is you. even if you don’t see it that way, i’m here to tell you that i can interpret your words this way, and if i can, then others can too.”

Apart from telling you, again, you are completely making up this way of mine of praising Voldemort as a hero and that you should probably read other people’s writings before judging them, allow me to “tout myself as intelligent” once again, and enlighten you with a banal fact.

Media, fiction, art is for the most part a mirror of who is consuming it. The fact that you can interpret, as you are doing, my words completely wildly, incorrectly, insultingly, tells a lot more about you than about me. If a person isn’t able to apply critical skills to what they are reading, again as you are doing, they are going to find exactly what they want to find in anything. Mind creates reality and you are a marvelous example of it.

It’s the same old debate about morality and amorality in art. Not very intelligent people keep bringing it up again and again through the eras, but the truth about it doesn’t change. I can use a knife to surgically save a life, cut bread or kill a person. None is inherent fault or merit of the knife, but of the hand who wields it.

I remember distinctly when Hannibal came out, the woke police wanted it cancelled because it romanticized murder and cannibalism. Everyone was afraid people would have gone out eating each other. What happened instead is that no raise in cannibalism was detected. Cannibals became cannibals regardless, perhaps feeling a little more represented in media. Decent people remained decent people. I hope you get my hint. Nazism didn’t become Nazism when writings of the Golden Dawn came out, talking about the superior race. Nazism became Nazism when a government used those writing as the mass excuse to unleash the most basic and terrible instincts of humanity to further its own political and economical ends.

I guess your vision of the world, in which the big evil blogger on Tumblr is going to write a new novel without perpetually denouncing every other word everything problematic anyone could possibly read in it and the good people around you will suddenly turn to eat you against their will because brainwashed by my subtle suggestions, could be a quite childish way to justify somehow a world that terrifies you, in which evil isn’t banal and everywhere, but has a tangible and therefore preventable reason.

I’m sorry, but the roots of persecution are as old as human nature, and you actually could even find something really akin to them in your own behaviour if you look very closely.

“in your response to me, you have strung together many lengthy ways of telling me what a brainless lemming i must be for having concerns about how people analyze media, but you couldn’t manage even the simplest ‘i do not support nazism’ after saying you find the history interesting. it’s not your interest that concerns me, but your inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to just confirm that interest is where it ends. unless you deliberately, explicitly, and vehemently deny this, others will continue to misinterpret you. you might be tempted to say that this will only be an issue with people who aren’t as smart or literary as you. let me inform you now that i am at least “a normally intelligent and educated person”, as you put it. we’ve read all the same books. i enjoy a lot of the same media you do. yet i am still not confident you will clearly denounce nazism even now that you have been asked. now imagine that you have even one follower who cannot be described with your above quote. it only takes one misguided person to be the next john hinckley jr., or robert gregory bowers, or dylann roof, or so on. you care not about morality, but about ethics. consider the ethical ramifications of this kind of public hero worship of a character who so easily maps onto a real life perpetrator of genocide without some sort of discussion about him ultimately being wrong. do i think we should all have to disclaim that we don’t condone what villains do? no. do i think you should have to say it every single time you talk about the subject? no, of course not. but if i cannot find it anywhere on your blog, then it has to be said somewhere.”

I’m sorry anon, but after everything you just said I cannot help but conclude those same books on you had very little effect. Maybe try to read them again. I dread what you might have made out of them.

#lord voldemort #anon #asks/replies #villains #bellamort #jkr discourse #this is appalling from start to finish #hp

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niseamstories · 5 years ago

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10 Lessons on Realistic Worldbuilding and Mapmaking I Learned Working With a Professional Cartographer and Geodesist

Hi, fellow writers and worldbuilders,

It’s been over a year since my post on realistic swordfighting, and I figured it’s time for another one. I’m guessing the topic is a little less “sexy”, but I’d find this useful as a writer, so here goes: 10 things I learned about realistic worldbuilding and mapmaking while writing my novel.

I’ve always been a sucker for pretty maps, so when I started on my novel, I hired an artist quite early to create a map for me. It was beautiful, but a few things always bothered me, even though I couldn’t put a finger on it. A year later, I met an old friend of mine, who currently does his Ph.D. in cartography and geodesy, the science of measuring the earth. When the conversation shifted to the novel, I showed him the map and asked for his opinion, and he (respectfully) pointed out that it has an awful lot of issues from a realism perspective.

First off, I’m aware that fiction is fiction, and it’s not always about realism; there are plenty of beautiful maps out there (and my old one was one of them) that are a bit fantastical and unrealistic, and that’s all right. Still, considering the lengths I went to ensure realism for other aspects of my worldbuilding, it felt weird to me to simply ignore these discrepancies. With a heavy heart, I scrapped the old map and started over, this time working in tandem with a professional artist, my cartographer friend, and a linguist. Six months later, I’m not only very happy with the new map, but I also learned a lot of things about geography and coherent worldbuilding, which made my universe a lot more realistic.

1) Realism Has an Effect: While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with creating an unrealistic world, realism does affect the plausibility of a world. Even if the vast majority of us probably know little about geography, our brains subconsciously notice discrepancies; we simply get this sense that something isn’t quite right, even if we don’t notice or can’t put our finger on it. In other words, if, for some miraculous reason, an evergreen forest borders on a desert in your novel, it will probably help immersion if you at least explain why this is, no matter how simple.

2) Climate Zones: According to my friend, a cardinal sin in fantasy maps are nonsensical climate zones. A single continent contains hot deserts, forests, and glaciers, and you can get through it all in a single day. This is particularly noticeable in video games, where this is often done to offer visual variety (Enderal, the game I wrote, is very guilty of this). If you aim for realism, run your worldbuilding by someone with a basic grasp of geography and geology, or at least try to match it to real-life examples.

3) Avoid Island Continent Worlds: Another issue that is quite common in fictional worlds is what I would call the “island continents”: a world that is made up of island-like continents surrounded by vast bodies of water. As lovely and romantic as the idea of those distant and secluded worlds may be, it’s deeply unrealistic. Unless your world was shaped by geological forces that differ substantially from Earth’s, it was probably at one point a single landmass that split up into fragmented landmasses separated by waters. Take a look at a proper map of our world: the vast majority of continents could theoretically be reached by foot and relatively manageable sea passages. If it weren’t so, countries such as Australia could have never been colonized – you can’t cross an entire ocean on a raft.

4) Logical City Placement: My novel is set in a Polynesian-inspired tropical archipelago; in the early drafts of the book and on my first map, Uunili, the nation’s capital, stretched along the entire western coast of the main island. This is absurd. Not only because this city would have been laughably big, but also because building a settlement along an unprotected coastline is the dumbest thing you could do considering it directly exposes it to storms, floods, and, in my case, monsoons. Unless there’s a logical reason to do otherwise, always place your coastal settlements in bays or fjords.

Naturally, this extends to city placement in general. If you want realism and coherence, don’t place a city in the middle of a godforsaken wasteland or a swamp just because it’s cool. There needs to be a reason. For example, the wasteland city could have started out as a mining town around a vast mineral deposit, and the swamp town might have a trading post along a vital trade route connecting two nations.

5) Realistic Settlement Sizes: As I’ve mentioned before, my capital Uunili originally extended across the entire western coast. Considering Uunili is roughly two thirds the size of Hawaii the old visuals would have made it twice the size of Mexico City. An easy way to avoid this is to draw the map using a scale and stick to it religiously. For my map, we decided to represent cities and townships with symbols alone.

6) Realistic Megacities: Uunili has a population of about 450,000 people. For a city in a Middle Ages-inspired era, this is humongous. While this isn’t an issue, per se (at its height, ancient Alexandria had a population of about 300,000), a city of that size creates its own set of challenges: you’ll need a complex sewage system (to minimize disease spreading like wildfire) and strong agriculture in the surrounding areas to keep the population fed. Also, only a small part of such a megacity would be enclosed within fantasy’s ever-so-present colossal city walls; the majority of citizens would probably concentrate in an enormous urban sprawl in the surrounding areas. To give you a pointer, with a population of about 50,000, Cologne was Germany’s biggest metropolis for most of the Middle Ages. I’ll say it again: it’s fine to disregard realism for coolness in this case, but at least taking these things into consideration will not only give your world more texture but might even provide you with some interesting plot points.

7) World Origin: This point can be summed up in a single question: why is your world the way it is? If your novel is set in an archipelago like mine is, are the islands of volcanic origin? Did they use to be a single landmass that got flooded with the years? Do the inhabitants of your country know about this? Were there any natural disasters to speak of? Yes, not all of this may be relevant to the story, and the story should take priority over lore, but just like with my previous point, it will make your world more immersive.

8) Maps: Think Purpose! Every map in history had a purpose. Before you start on your map, think about what yours might have been. Was it a map people actually used for navigation? If so, clarity should be paramount. This means little to no distracting ornamentation, a legible font, and a strict focus on relevant information. For example, a map used chiefly for military purposes would naturally highlight different information than a trade map. For my novel, we ultimately decided on a “show-off map” drawn for the Blue Island Coalition, a powerful political entity in the archipelago (depending on your world’s technology level, maps were actually scarce and valuable). Also, think about which technique your in-universe cartographer used to draw your in-universe map. Has copperplate engraving already been invented in your fictional universe? If not, your map shouldn’t use that aesthetic.

9) Maps: Less Is More. If a spot or an area on a map contains no relevant information, it can (and should) stay blank so that the reader’s attention naturally shifts to the critical information. Think of it this way: if your nav system tells you to follow a highway for 500 miles, that’s the information you’ll get, and not “in 100 meters, you’ll drive past a little petrol station on the left, and, oh, did I tell you about that accident that took place here ten years ago?” Traditional maps follow the same principle: if there’s a road leading a two day’s march through a desolate desert, a black line over a blank white ground is entirely sufficient to convey that information.

10) Settlement and Landmark Names: This point will be a bit of a tangent, but it’s still relevant. I worked with a linguist to create a fully functional language for my novel, and one of the things he criticized about my early drafts were the names of my cities. It’s embarrassing when I think about it now, but I really didn’t pay that much attention to how I named my cities; I wanted it to sound good, and that was it. Again: if realism is your goal, that’s a big mistake. Like Point 5, we went back to the drawing board and dove into the archipelago’s history and established naming conventions. In my novel, for example, the islands were inhabited by indigenes called the Makehu before the colonization four hundred years before the events of the story; as it’s usually the case, all settlements and islands had purely descriptive names back then. For example, the main island was called Uni e Li, which translates as “Mighty Hill,” a reference to the vast mountain ranges in the south and north; townships followed the same example (e.g., Tamakaha meaning “Coarse Sands”). When the colonizers arrived, they adopted the Makehu names and adapted them into their own language, changing the accented, long vowels to double vowels: Uni e Li became “Uunili,” Lehō e Āhe became “Lehowai.” Makehu townships kept their names; colonial cities got “English” monikers named after their geographical location, economic significance, or some other original story. Examples of this are Southport, a—you guessed it—port on the southernmost tip of Uunili, or Cale’s Hope, a settlement named after a businessman’s mining venture. It’s all details, and chances are that most readers won’t even pay attention, but I personally found that this added a lot of plausibility and immersion.

I could cover a lot more, but this post is already way too long, so I’ll leave it at that—if there’s enough interest, I’d be happy to make a part two. If not, well, maybe at least a couple of you got something useful out of this. If you’re looking for inspiration/references to show to your illustrator/cartographer, the David Rumsey archive is a treasure trove. Finally, for anyone who doesn’t know and might be interested, my novel is called Dreams of the Dying, and is a blends fantasy, mystery, and psychological horror set in the universe of Enderal, an indie RPG for which I wrote the story. It’s set in a Polynesian-inspired medieval world and has been described as Inception in a fantasy setting by reviewers.

Credit for the map belongs to Dominik Derow, who did the ornamentation, and my friend Fabian Müller, who created the map in QGIS and answered all my questions with divine patience. The linguist’s name is David Müller (no, they’re not related, and, yes, we Germans all have the same last names.)

#enderal #dreams of the dying #worldbuilding #resource #writeblr #writing tips #mapmaking #cartography #illustration #realism #writeblogging #novelwriting #writing research #research #writing

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reaganrackett · 2 years ago

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Task 11: Intro & Connections

Name: Reagan Rackett Age: 22 Gender: Trans woman (she/her) Occupation: Doing shady work for Oz Borror Sexuality: Heterosexual (closeted lesbian) Birthplace: Unknown Redwood Hollow Residency: Lifelong resident

FULL BIO | MUSINGS | HEADCANONS | ALL MUSES

TL;DR BIO:

Reagan was born, along with their twin, to loving parents, who died at age 1 in a car crash. While her grandmother attempted to take care of them, eventually they were separated and put in the foster system.

Reagan was known as Jacob Rackett for many years and was a menace of a child, causing trouble and starting fights wherever she went.

Eventually she was placed in a group home with a pack of children that would become known as The Lost Boys.

One of those kids she got on with better than the rest--Rowan Rackett, who would become her “twin”, as was their nicknames. What neither know is that they are biological twins separated at birth.

While she started experiencing feelings of womanhood early on, Reagan was very afraid of them and buried herself in the closet. She leaned into toxic masculinity throughout her adolescence--getting into physical altercations, hooking up with and then dumping girls, and being mean as a form of affection.

It’s only when The Lost Boys started to “grow up” and grow apart did those habits start to break. When Rowan came out as non-binary, Reagan was finally able to accept herself and come out as a transgender woman.

While The Lost Boys know her true identity, she has otherwise invented herself as an entirely new person. If anyone asks, Jacob Rackett died two years ago.

Rowan went to college but Reagan has no interest in academics. She was couch surfing between all the Lost Boys after aging out of the foster system, and did whatever part time jobs would hire her to hold her over financially.

In an attempt to get money, she went to the Snake Eyes Casino and made a huge bet, which she lost. Now to work off her debt, she works for Oz Borror, doing whatever he asks. She stays in the hotel connected to the casino.

PERSONALITY:

Boisterous, bubbly, and bitchy, Reagan is here for a good time, not a long time. She has various vices such as alcohol, gambling, and kleptomania, all of which have been known to get her into trouble. Still, she has no intentions of stopping now.

While she swears she’s like, really into guys, Reagan spends almost all her time trying to get the attention of cute girls. She attempts to hook up under the guise of “practicing for the right guy”.

While she and Rowan are as different as can be, she still views herself as Rowan’s protector and will beat the shit out of you if you mess with them.

WANTED CONNECTIONS:

Cute girls: Listen, Reagan is literally always looking for cute girls to talk to and flirt with, it’s her main mode.

Party people: Although she doesn’t go to college, Reagan is crashing college parties all the time. She also spends a lot of time at bars, clubs, and other less-than-reputable events.

Corruption: Reagan is here to corrupt the precious cinnamon rolls of the world, more than happy to lead people down the path that rocks.

Rowan mutuals: If you know or talk to Rowan, you will most likely run into Reagan at some point or another.

Gamblers: Reagan is currently working for Oz, and spends a fair amount of time at the Snake Eyes Casino.

Troublemakers: Present and past, if you’re causing trouble, Reagan will be there. Maybe you are trying to reform your ways, and Reagan is tempting you back to the dark side.

Ex-hookups: Back during her time as Jacob, she was constantly hooking up with, dating, and then dumping girls. She was a real heartbreaker, and maybe it’s time for her past to bite her.

Thievery: Reagan has stolen from your business and you catch her, either in the act or after the fact.

WANTED PLOTS:

Slowburn Gal Pals: Reagan worms her way into your girl’s life, whether it be through partying, flirting, or whatever else. She and your character are hooking up, and maybe you even buy into her “practicing for a man” bullshit. But as time goes on, feelings start to change, and the ensuing angst and drama is all encompassing.

Bring Her On the Right Path: Your character finds Reagan and finds a wayward soul in need of guidance. Maybe you see her in yourself, or maybe you just love a project. Either way, you want to bring her on the right path--whether that’s reforming her ways, or leaning into it harder than ever.

Breaking Up the Twins: Whether your interest is in Reagan or Rowan, you’re getting a little too close with one of them, and the other is starting to feel their twin slipping away.

TAKEN CONNECTIONS:

Twin: Rowan Rackett @rowanxrackett

Friends: The Lost Boys, Peter Pan @itspeterpxn, Tina Bell @xaspiringbeamoflightx, Tootles @tate-polecat

Dislikes: James Hook @magicaljameshook

Cute Girls: Ariana Neptune @arianaxneptune, Anna Arendelle @ofanna-arendelle, Lilo Pelekai @imsorryibityoux

OTHER:

More Lost Boys, please! Nibs, Slightly, Cubby

In terms of new bios, maybe more cute girls such as Mirabel (Encanto), Moana, Raya, Twenty-Two (Soul)

#happiestplacetask #happiestplacetask11 #about #death tw #alcohol tw

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jake-marshall · 2 years ago

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WIP Wednesday - Hot New Fandom Edition

It's been a hot minute since I've posted anything for WIP Wednesday, mainly because I've been working on various zine pieces which must be kept under wraps. But I've also started numerous WIPs for Harvestella in the past 2 months~ since I started playing it. Most of it is fucked-up Therakka stuff lol but I have some other Ideas, including this piece I started about Heine/m!Ein.

This is about them getting together, and I think it was set between chapters 8 and 9? I can't remember entirely but I feel my replay (I'm at ch. 4 rn) will remind me lol. ANYWAY. Things eventually get a bit spicy but what's behind the cut is just Heine having (slightly alcohol-influenced) feelingz about Ein and his new band of friends.

(Also i Haven't watched Heine's proposal event so if anything in that contradicts what I've written here, I'll find out and change accordingly but I think I'm on the right track. )

I tried to get this under a readmore but tumblr doesn't want to work! Sorry! :(

Everyone. Their faces swim in his mind: Aria and her keen insight, her insatiable craving for the answers to life – all life; past present, and future. Asyl and Istina, the very personification of Nemea with their resilience and grace. Brakka, cold as Argene and twice as ruthless, and Shrika, so poised and possessing an indomitable spirit that perhaps can only be explained by a Holy Mother’s blessing. That delightfully strange Omen, Dianthus, offering a perspective Heine will never not find fascinating.

His dear Princess Emo, whom he rescued because no one should be put through the hell she was subjected to, but felt more of an obligation to (misery loves company, after all) than a genuine connection. Now, he can not bear to ever think of losing her. Her generosity and kindness, her pure soul unblemished by the destruction wrought upon her enclave, surpasses what he or Fiasola or any great mind could ever draft up, could ever dream of inventing.

And Ein. Oh, his wonderful, irreplaceable friend who, for reasons he still can not fathom, seems to care extensively about who Heine is as a man and not solely in what he accomplishes as inventor, nor is affected by the charms Heine’s learned to wield more as a means to deter, than to ever entice.

Heine has spent so many years in a sort of solitude; his purpose, his satisfaction comes from seeing what he can create, what can be discovered. His individual existence is insignificant compared to what lay out there, beyond and untapped and unearthed. He’d finally invited Fiasola into that world of his – rather, she kicked the door down and invited herself in, leaving him besotted with that determination and initiative of hers from the very beginning – and there was always going to be time for more. More ideas, more adventures, more talks and laughs and arguments and drinks to make-up over said arguments.

Until there wasn’t.

#wip wednesday #harvestella #no but literally if anyone knows how to add a readmore lmk bc it doesn't use the shortcut anymore #and i feel like an ass sharing stuff w/o readmores

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writing-prompts-for-friends · 5 years ago

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Questions to Help World Build

I’ve realized I have a big problem with my writing. I am awful at world-building. Like, I just start writing without thinking about the world. And since I write fantasy. Well. That’s pretty no bueno and leads to all kinds of problems down the road. So I did some brainstorming with my friends and we created a list of over 100 questions to help think about our stories’ worlds and make them more concrete. Thanks to everyone who chimed in and gave me a hand!

A traditional Japanese clock, wadokei, that counted hours from 9 to 4, starting from sunrise, and then starting once again from sunset. (1-3 were not used for religious purposes.) They’re super interesting and confusing. You should definitely check them out.

Temporal

Is your story set in the past, present, or future?

Specifically, what year(s), month(s), day(s)?

Are days 24 hours? Or does time pass differently in this world?

How many months are there in a year? Is it a seven day weekday? Does the concept of weekends exist?

Have most existing societies developed a timekeeping device?

Is there a way to communicate across long distances?

The concept of time zones is still relatively new to our world. Prior to the late nineteenth century, timekeeping was a purely local phenomenon. Each town would set their clocks to noon when the sun reached its zenith each day. Do standardized time zones exist across the world?

Geographical

From a planet perspective, is it Earth? If it is not Earth, or an alternative version of Earth, what is it like? Is gravity the same? Does it have a moon or multiple moons? Can you see other planets? Is it closer or further from the sun? If so, what impact does that have on the climate and passage of time?

What town, state, region, country, continent, planet does this story take place in? What are its bordering/nearest neighbors? Draw a world map if you want.

What kind of land is it? Landlocked? Mountainous? Along the sea? Desert? Tundra? Tropical forest? Plains? Agricultural? Industrial?

What kind of plants and animals are common to the area? Are there any that do not exist in the real world?

What are the most common crops and livestock in various regions? What geographic features influence certain regions ability to grow/raise their crops and livestock (positively and negatively)? Are the regions diets strongly influenced by what they are able to grow themselves, or do other circumstances (like strong international trade) allow them to have more varied selections? How does religion influence what is considered ‘normal’ to eat?

What, if any, natural disasters are common to the region? Earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, monsoons, blizzards?

How many seasons does it have? Are any longer than others?

What is the typical weather like for those seasons?

Does the region have any unusual geographical features that set it apart? Perhaps there is some weird thing like Devil’s Tower just chilling out. Or hot springs because of volcanic activity?

Is it easy to travel from place to place within the area? Is it difficult to travel because of terrain/technology issues, or because travel is strictly regulated?

Main Locations: Cities

Many stories take place within one city. In Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, a character remarks, “So, if a city has a personality, maybe it also has a soul. Maybe it dreams.” What personality does this city have? What soul does it have? What does it dream of when it slumbers? If your story takes place within a settlement, town, or city, give these questions some thought.

Exactly where is it located within the lands you conjured up in the above Geography questions? Does it have a bay? A river? Does it butt up against mountains? Draw a map of the city.

How big is the city? Is it compact, or sprawling?

How old is the city?

What is the history of the city? How did it come to be? What tumults and triumphs has it seen?

What is the population? Is it currently increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same?

Does the town have any claim to fame? Any tourist attractions? What are they? What’s the story behind them?

If it’s a big enough city, how many and what kind of districts does it have? Residential, Commercial, Industrial, etc. Where are they?

Are there any areas that are deemed unsafe? If so, where are they and why are they unsafe?

Is there public transportation? What kind, bus, tram, train, subway, monorail? Is it good?

How do people get around this city if not by public transportation?

Are the roads narrow or wide? Crisscrossing in a methodical grid or higgledy-piggledy?

What are the buildings like? What materials are they made of? If they’re wooden, are they new wood, old wood? If they’re painted, what colors? If they’re stone, what stone? If they’re brick, is it new red brick or blackened, crumbling brick? If they’re glass and metal, are they sparkling with new hope or dull and jaded?

Are there many skyscrapers? Or are most buildings 1-3 stories tall? What does the skyline look like?

Are there many parks?

How is the city powered? Coal? Hydroelectric? Wind? Nuclear? Has it always been so?

What is the city’s main source of revenue? Agriculture? Tourism? Manufacturing? Mining? Something else? A combination? Dive deeper into this. If it’s agriculture, what do they grow? Tourism–what is famous? etc. This will help to determine what a lot of people do for a living.

What are the demographics? Ethnicity, age distribution, distribution of upper, middle, and lower class, etc.

How many schools are there? Universities? Are any of them good? Do they specialize in anything? Do schools even exist? Perhaps there are clans that teach their children everything they need, for example, or education isn’t viewed as important.

Are there any particular landmarks within the city that standout?

How many and what kind of restaurants are there?

Are there supermarkets, open air markets, or both?

Where do young people go to spend time? What about adults?

Do people there bustle or do they amble?

What are the nights like? Does the city grow quiet, or does it grow rowdy?

What does the city smell like?

If you had to give your town a color, one that represented its personality, what color would it be?

Main Locations: Houses (or buildings, but mainly houses)

There are many stories that have a house or headquarters or hospital or some sort of building as their main setting. These questions will mostly be geared towards helping you figure out a house, but you can apply these to other buildings too probably.

Exactly where is the house located within the city or outside the city? How does your character usually get there? Draw a map.

What year was the house built?

Was this house built by the current family or their ancestors? Who else lived in the house before the current dwellers? What were they like? Did they leave their mark on the house somehow?

What style is the house? Bungalow? Cabin? A shed? A cave? (makes the following questions mostly useless if so lol)

How many stories is it?

What is it made of? Wood? Brick? What color is it?

Does it have a lot of windows?

Are the curtains usually open or drawn? Are thee curtains at all?

What does the front door look like?

Is there a porch?

You enter the front door. Or maybe you don’t. Maybe you use the side door because the front door is for show or something. Anyways. You enter the house. What room do you step foot into?

Draw out the floor plans for each floor. How many rooms are there? Where are they? How big are they? How are they connected? What color are they? What style of decor?

Is there a basement? Is it used or is it just a home for spiders and darkness and unwanted things? How about an attic? Crawlspace?

How many bathrooms?

Are there any rooms that only certain people are allowed to enter? If so, why?

What is the flooring? Carpet? Wood? Tile? Linoleum?

What does the house smell like?

Government/Military/Economy

In other words, “the boring stuff,” if you ask me. But this is a very important aspect of any world.

What sort of government is in place? Democracy, oligarchy, etc? Is it a just or corrupt government?

How are goods exchanged? Bartering? Money? Coins and bills? Credit cards? A specific kind of sea shell? Lol

What are the police like? Strict? Lax? Is there a curfew?

Do taxes exist? If so, do the people feel as though they are heavily or unduly taxed?

Where is the intersection between theology and law? Is it common to have religious leaders in positions of power? Are laws based around religious ideology, or is there an effort to keep them separate?

Is there an organised structure devoted to halting criminal acts? Are they corrupt? Who runs the organisation? How does their reputation change based on demographic? What is the history of the organisation, and how does that history influence how it operates today?

Regarding potentially criminal acts, what is the elgality of prostitution, sex work, ect.?

What about drugs and other illicit substances? Alcohol, illicit drugs, recreational use. Legality, festivity, age limits, etc.

Underbelly. How prevalent is crime, what sort of crime (scaled from pickpocketing to human trafficking) is there? Are there areas that have bad reputations because of it?

Regarding war, are there currently conflicts in the world? Are they international or civil wars? How common is it to have an active war? What is the history of war? What does current warfare look like (Is it dudes in metal suits swinging swords? Have longbows been invented? Gunpowder? Tanks? Missiles?) Is military service mandatory or voluntary? How is the military seen? Is there a sense of patriotism for the military, or does the common man fear it?

Is there stigma around certain genders entering the military? Are come genders regarded as better recruits than others? Is it illegal for some genders to enter the military? Does a person's sexuality affect their ability to serve?

How has religion influenced war? Have there been holy wars in the past? Do any religious institutions hold their own military forces?

Cultural/Historical

I’ve put these together because events in history lead to cultural change. You can apply these questions not only to the world/country, but also the city or even the neighborhood, workplace, or school that your story takes place in.

What is the history of the region? Who was it settled by? Was another group of people displaced? After that, did any new cultures come in? Did they get along?

Were there ever any wars or serious conflicts in the region? What was the cause and what was the outcome of the war if there was one?

In our world, the internet, social media, and film/tv are massive cultural drivers. They determine the latest fashions, jokes, topics, and expressions. What are the big cultural drivers in your world? Books? Plays? Radio? Oral tradition?

Is it a collectivistic or individualistic society?

What languages are spoken by your characters? Is multilingualism common?

What sorts of cultures can be seen? Do any clash? Do any mesh?

What sort of foods are most common?

What superstitions do people hold? Is there a version of “knock on wood” or throwing salt over your shoulder after a funeral? What are the roots of these superstitions?

Are there religions? If so, what are they? Do any conflict with each other? Are zealots or extremists an issue?

Does slavery or indentured servitude exist?

Are there any class or caste systems? If so, what are they, and what does an average day look like for a member of each class/caste?

How does a person's appearance change from country to country? Do certain countries have very distinct fashions? If so, are the fashions influenced by religion, surrounding countries, the cultural majority or international trade partners?

How does a person's clothing relate to their social standing? Is it very easy to assume someone's roll by appearance alone? Are there punishments for dressing above or below your social standing?

Does the society place a great deal of importance on a person's presentation, or is the society more lenient on such things?

Is there an emphasis on conformity to a dress code, or is individuality encouraged? How strictly is clothing regulated by gender binary? Is it commonplace to see a man and a woman walking down the street in the same cut of clothes? Is there a social stigma when a person does not conform to the most common form of dress for their gender?

How are sexual rights viewed? Does the LGBTQ community have the same rights as people outside the community? How are sex acts between people of the same sex viewed? Is it legal? Taboo? Are there cultures that encourage those relationships in some circumstances (like how the romans were down with guys with guys in the military)?

Are there any groups of people that are victims of prejudice? If so, who are they, who holds these views against them, and what views specifically are they?

In regards to gender, do certain societies hold differing beliefs? Is there a commonly accepted number of gender identities or does it change regionally? Is the most common gender spectrum a binary, or do certain racial and cultural differences allow for a wider range to be seen as the baseline?

Are children raised by their biological parents or are children considered to be in the care of the wider community? Is it common/acceptable for extended family to raise children, such as parents needing to study, work, or serve time in the military? Is adoption a common thing in society? Is there a stigma around adoption/being adopted? Do cultural or religious views impact how adoption is seen by the wider community? What is adoption like for a single perspective parent? When adopting, is interracial adoption accepted/common, or is it seen in a negative light? Are some societies more open to adopting children outside of their own race?

How is sex and virginity viewed? Does religion influence it? What is the age of consent? What is appropriate on a first, second, third date? Is sex something that is talked about openly, or something taboo? Are you supposed to wait until marriage? Do couples stay monogamous while dating? Do some regions place higher importance on virginity than others? Do some place higher importance on one gender’s virginity than others?

How is marriage viewed? Are arranged marriages a big thing, or are people free to choose? Is monogamy common? How is a marriage symbolized? A wedding ring, or something different?

How is divorce viewed? What is the divorce rate? Can people remarry?

Magic and the Supernatural

If magic or spooky stuff doesn’t exist in your story, disregard this section.

Does magic exist? If so, who can use it? What are the limitations to their magic? What things are they capable of using their magic to do? What things are they incapable of doing?

Are there laws against what kind of magic can/cannot be used? What sort of laws? Who enforces them? What are the punishments for breaking said laws if they exist?

How does the existence of magic affect religion? Are there religious institutions that infuse magic into their worship? Are there religious sects that see magic as immoral and in direct opposition to their faith? Have there been conflicts in recent or ancient history between religion and the supernatural? Do some sects employ people to hunt and/or enforce law over the supernatural?

Assuming that magic does exist, is it taught? Are there different schools of magic? Is there a system of ranking for magic users based on their skill level?

Do non-magic users look towards magic users with respect or fear?

What role does magic play in this world? Has technology not advanced because magic solves many problems? Or has technology advanced and the use of some magics has become unnecessary?

Are there any mythological creatures/monsters, such as vampires, demons, skinwalkers, dragons, or other creatures of your own creation? Are they common? Do people believe in their existence? Do people worship them? Where can they be found? Do they interact with humans? Do humans fear them or try to put up with them as they do nature?

Do the dead continue to exist in some form, such as ghosts or zombies or the like? Can the dead be summoned or brought back to life?

Are there human/supernatural hybrids? Perhaps a half-demon half-human, for example? How are these people viewed by their peoples, and by society as a whole?

How has the supernatural influenced war? Do armies tend to have a mix of regular and supernatural soldiers/weapons? Have there been wars between the supernatural/magical and those without? How does magic influence a person standing in a mixed army? Is it more likely for a magical being to be promoted than a non-magical being? Conversely, are supernatural being forced into service and seen as pawns?

The End!

Please feel free to reblog and share, and add on any questions you think should be added!

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