#because the deeper sections are quite deep

[hzdtrees]

Caves

[lychgate]

Echo brain comic?? My beloved?

this one's pretty new and id like to in the least get some segments drawn up if i can

i went balls deep in depth about my personal ideas of Echo's structure and how it works, it has much more writing rn then art lemme get some snippets:

tech and echo begin digging around in his wiring as echo's health has lately began to decline rapidly. Blood transfusions are becoming daily, exhaustion occurs much quicker, and newest to the issues are these seemingly random seizures. They've attempted many outside options at remedying the problem but it was becoming urgently clear that the only way to get answers would be to open up his system and understand exactly how his body operates from the inside out. Echo is mostly on edge because he fears finding the answer that is he's just doomed to die soon, and that his body was in no way sustainable outside of that fridge. He fears the idea of dying so much that he has manic considerations of being put back in some sort of stasis chamber. Death, which he never feared prior to the citadel, but now he's come to be you know uhhh quite traumatized from it. But he also hates the idea of that fridge!! caught between two terrible options, wowie here ill add some more breakdown of that in a read more if anyone is interested in paragraphs of bullshit:

as for a brief descriptor on the shit on his head and body, from this paragraph:

Tech: these rivets across your skull are not simple ports one can just plug into. They're a very unique structure, containing an extremely delicate, but long system of thin metallic fibers wiring throughout your brain. These 'rivets' then act as anchors to those metal fibers, which then respond to very specific electric signals that we can access at the nodes on the surface here. If the signals sent are not exact. Well. Echo: yeah I get it I get it.

and some write up on how Tech begins to diagnose the problem:

Eventually Tech will find his way into deeper functions of the brain, finding shortcuts that were already developed by the Techno Union scientists for the sake of their own equipment likely. Categorized sections for monitoring all sorts of chemicals and levels within Echo's body, most of which were left on an automatic function to regulate.

Tech begins to understand that the key issue is that this program, and these automatic functions, were fitted for exactly the stasis chamber Echo had been put in, and if they want to begin fixing Echos phsyical body, he would have to start going in and coding line for line, functions that pertain to the body on a sustainability outside that fridge. Some functions were completely turned off, being that Echo was getting fed certain synthesized chemicals thru the machine, his brain had to be telling itself NOT to produce said things naturally.

But it's all very finicky work that requires continuous maintenance and updates, not much unlike a patch update to any other computer program, except this is Echo's life. It's an impossible amount of code to do in any short time frame, and so Tech will begin splicing lines of code from similar organic droids with systems of similar complexity.

They handle these sessions once per week, giving time for Echo's body to catch up and adjust. At first he begins feeling some nausea, his heart rate starts rising, but he insists something feels good about it and urges Tech to keep going. Echo begins to feel warmth back in his body, his mood increases, after about a month hair begins to grow again, muscle mass fills in what once was skeletal limbs, nail beds regain a lively shine. Besides a few errors in updates like over producing a chemical or small bouts of insomnia, everything seems On Course.

and then:

So now we get into the meat of the drama, which is a lot of Echo mania and identity issues:

By this point Tech has outfitted much easier screw on parts so they can go in and out of this program faster (the set up previously was hours of work) so pulling that up he theorizes that he will have to do more then just reverse programs that the Techno Union set up. Tech now believes he'll have to create NEW systems, as the old program appears to be getting corrupted from all of Tech's editing. The seizures are, at this point to their best guess, coming from this. That parts of his brain are literally crashing, and soon he's going to start having more serious issues like bro is gonna just have a massive stroke at some point. Tech points that out all regular voice and Echo is just 'great im back in the mental swamp' Now that Echo's learned that he has corrupted files eating away at his brain, and that the chance of having a massive stroke is like inevitable, he's back to feeling like anxious shit. It doesn't help that this will take Tech a lot of time to figure out. Truthfully he's putting as much effort as he can into it, but this is when Echo begins to get Really mentally unwell. He's both worrying and also trying NOT to worry out of fear that it's going to complicate the program even more. Echo begins to have identity issues, coming to rely more on the mechanics then the organics that make him. He doesn't feel like a human with robot parts anymore, he feels like a robot with human parts.

and it keeps going like there's parts where echo is begging Tech to up programs on dopamine generation and Tech has to turn him down cause that would just be creating an addiction problem, situations where Echo starts trying to mess with his own brain, situations where he tries to kill Tech, its a lot of rambling but im not a writer, like i can't write for shit and I'd like to try and draw it instead

[owlhousetarot]

How do you keep it all running? You've inspired me to make my own deck based on a show I love, but how do you find these moments? Do you go in and analyze scenes from the show? Do they come to you in random thought? I just don't feel as organized or like it's coming together, so what's your process cause I get the feeling it would help me greatly.

OHHHHHH IVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ABOUT MY PROCESS ASSIGNING CARDS!!

First of all, that's so cool I've inspired you to make your own fandom deck! It's a really fun way to develop your artistic abilities and to analyze a piece of media, and I was definitely inspired by fandom decks that I've seen made by other people. Now for my ramble:

My process for assigning designs to all the cards took quite some time, and a great deal of thought. The first real "step" was to watch the show through like five times beforehand, which was easy because I had already done that by the time I decided to start this deck! It's important to have a good understanding of the characters, overall plot, and themes of the show to make sure your choices fit. It's also really helpful to take in analysis of these things from the fandom and not just yourself, because a lot of the time people will have identified themes or analyzed characters to a deeper extent or in ways you never would have thought to!

The next part of the process was learning the meanings of all the cards in a tarot deck. I was actually almost completely unfamiliar with tarot before starting this project, so this was a real from-the-ground-up scenario. The two websites I mainly refer to are Labyrinthos and Biddy Tarot, which both are based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot tradition--I didn't even know there were other types of decks before! Going through both of those websites, my first round of card assignments was based purely on my memory of the show, seeing what came to mind, if anything. There were a LOT of blank spots in my list at this point, especially in the minor arcana sections, and also a lot of initial choices that I would later change my mind about. Lots of ideas with question marks after them, and lots of cards that I listed multiple options for.

From there, it was a largely iterative process. I went back and forth watching the show and looking at the card definitions, building up my list over time, revising choices and adding ones where before I couldn't think of anything. Another resource that was really helpful at this stage was watching deck reviews/walkthroughs/deep dives on youtube. I'd especially like to shoutout Lisa Papez for her really thorough deep dives and for her Tarot for Beginners series--they gave me a much better understanding of the tarot, and a better sense of how and why to properly assign a character or scene to certain cards.

After a while, I had my list more or less complete, with at least one idea for each card. At this point I had already begun illustrating the major arcana, as those were the easiest to assign. Luckily for me, The Owl House really lends itself well to the tarot--The Fool, for example, was a no-brainer (as you might be able to tell from other TOH decks that exist out there). Now that I had a general game plan, I wanted to fine-tune my choices by taking into mind character balance and episode balance.

For character balance, I wanted to make sure that the amount of times a given character would be either the main focus or part of the focus of a given card would correlate to the size of their role in the show. Luz, of course, is the main character and features in every episode, so she is in nearly half the deck. Eda, King, Hunter, and the Hexsquad are also up there, with the rest of the cast trailing off from there. If I thought a certain character was either over- or under-represented, I would switch up certain cards or choose one option over another if I was considering multiple designs for a card. I was especially mindful that all the major characters would feature at least once in the major arcana, which led me to assigning the Chariot to Amity and Willow as a duo, and the Hanged Man to King. (The Chariot, if I may note, was one of the more difficult ones to assign in the majors. Not sure why, just not too many obvious choices came to me!)

Episode balance was a little trickier to nail down, as some episodes just have more significant moments than others do. Premiers and finales ended up with more cards than usual, as did the three season 3 specials. I tried to find at least one significant scene or character from each episode, but in the end there are four episodes that don't feature at all in this deck: Once Upon a Swap, Something Ventured Someone Framed, Really Small Problems, and Follies at the Coven Day Parade. Those are the decisions that come with the territory, though--I would rather have my card designs fit the definitions than potentially sacrificing a better choice for the sake of a less significant episode! In the end, I'm happy with the choices I've made, and I can't wait to get to all of them!

TLDR This is my general advice for designing your own fandom deck:

Familiarize yourself with the text. Analyze characters, plot points, and themes. Take inspiration from fandom analysis.

Familiarize yourself with the tarot. Consult multiple sources, and feel free to stretch the card definitions a bit if it makes sense to you (lookin' at you, two and three of wands).

Do a first pass-through from memory of the show, assigning designs as you go through the card definitions. Include multiple possibilities for those you're unsure about, or leave them blank for now.

Do a close-reading style watchthrough of the show, going through your unsure/blank cards after each episode to see if anything fits. If something better comes up for a card you were pretty sure about, add it as a possibility, or see if it could fit another card if you spin it a different way. Repeat this process until you've got a pretty full list.

Continue revising your list, keeping in mind character and episode balance. Are you under-representing your major characters? Over-representing more minor characters? Are you hitting most of the important scenes from the show/book/etc? Keeping these in mind will result in a well-rounded deck!

My final bit of advice: have fun with it! You can do whatever you want forever! There's a side character you're really fond of who appears more often than they should? Who cares! That one cool scene doesn't really fit any of the card definitions? Leave it out or make shit up! Maybe the design you choose really only fits the card's reversed definition and not the upright--that's perfectly fine! Assign that female character to one of the "male" court cards or vice versa! The tarot is not rigid; definitions are malleable and people's general understanding of the decks have shifted greatly over time. Every deck will have slightly different takes on what each of the cards mean, and yours will too. So go with what feels right!

[personastrologyhub]

The Journey Between What Was and What’s Next

So a little transparency post.

Right now, I’m at a transitional point in my life, and I love learning more and more about astrology because I realised how practical and fundamental it is in helping me understand myself better. I’m currently trying to really investigate and learn all there is about how each house manifests, looking into deeper interpretations of what we can learn about each part of life through the houses.

Lately, I’ve been exploring the 1st House with a lot of focus on the Ascendant. We already know that the Ascendant represents the lens through which we experience the world, so I won't get into detail about what it means assuming that we all know but nevertheless, I was looking into text and work from Howard Sasportas and I really love his perspective of the Ascendent describing it as the "maze" we navigate, which also holds clues to finding our way out. Out to greatness, and out to our sun, where we shine.

For example, as a Scorpio Ascendant, which you probably guessed, the moment I mentioned (investigate). I know there’s an association with uncovering truth. I have always been about trying to find out how things work and digging deeper, uncovering doors that people would rather leave closed.

The lens through which I see the world can sometimes be of depth, sometimes secrecy, but most importantly, it's through transformation. For me, my path involves, investigating my own inner fears and shadows, bringing them to the surface and then truly transforming by letting go of habits that no longer serve me and coming face to face with my own devil.

Doing so requires me to go deeper, to surrender and let go of control and trusting that things will work out for me, and that sometimes, things need to be destroyed so that you can rebuild.

There's a connection there, between the Ascendant and how we experience new beginnings —not just literal birth but every new phase, chapter, or transition in life will bring about or evoke the Ascendent. In the book, "The Houses" he suggests that early life experiences, particularly around birth, set the tone for how we approach these moments. For example, Capricorn/Saturn Ascendants may feel cautious or hesitant, rooted in early struggles or responsibilities tied to Saturnian energy.

Scorpio Rising on the other hand, are often marked by physical, emotional, or situational crises—a dramatic or difficult entrance into the world, may approach things with suspicion, lack of trust and the need to control everything.

I thought this was fascinating, and went to investigate and uncovered that during my birth, there was a real tussle between life and death for both my mother and me. When the doctors were delivering me, I was breached so they had to do a Emergency C section then things were going wrong and my heartbeat was raised, the process was so frantic that they accidentally dislocated my shoulder as i was being pulled out. My first baby pictures shows me in the hospital wearing a little baby sling. It’s fascinating how astrology can provide insights like this.

So for me as Scorpio is ruled by Pluto (modern) and Mars (traditional), both associated with transformation, survival, and regeneration.

Approach to New Beginnings:

Transitions for me often involve endings first—a symbolic death before rebirth.

Every new era in my life resonates with my instinct to dig deep, transform, and emerge stronger, much like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes.

Starting this blog for me was really hard. IT WAS quite literally a tussle between my old self, thinking "will people want to read this, I'm not good enough or more knowledgeable enough than the other astrologers bloggers here and my new self that wants to rise into this new version of me where I am doing what I love to do. I snuggled immensely with cautiousness and inability to just let go and trust that it will all work out.

The Role of Intensity and Regeneration:

Scorpio Rising thrives in situations that push them to evolve. They may unconsciously attract or create circumstances that force them to confront their limits and grow.

Each new phase in life echoes the qualities of the Ascendant and the issues tied to our first house. These echoes are like subconscious patterns imprinted at birth that reawaken during transitions.

Aries Ascendant

Maze Created: Life is seen as a battleground where action, courage, and decisiveness are necessary. They interpret life as a place that rewards boldness and initiative.

Birth Symbolism: Often associated with quick or eventful births, Aries Ascendants may have entered the world energetically, perhaps as fighters, literally or figuratively.

Transitions: They approach new beginnings with enthusiasm but can rush headlong into situations without full consideration, often learning through trial and error.

Way Out: They must learn patience and strategy, realizing that not every situation requires immediate action or confrontation.

Taurus Ascendant

Maze Created: Life is seen as a place to seek security, comfort, and stability. They create patterns focused on holding onto what they have.

Birth Symbolism: Taurus Ascendants may have had slower, steadier births or situations where grounding and perseverance were required.

Transitions: They approach new phases cautiously, preferring to ensure stability before taking risks. They may resist change, needing time to feel secure in new beginnings.

Way Out: They must embrace change and let go of attachment to material and emotional security, learning that true stability comes from within.

For someone with Scorpio Rising, the story of their birth—literal or metaphorical—might hold keys to understanding their life’s themes. How do you feel about transitions? Do they mirror the intensity or struggle associated with birth? Are new beginnings met with a sense of profound transformation, or is there resistance tied to fear of change?

Understanding these patterns can offer deep insight into how we meet life and find ways to break free from the "maze" we’ve constructed.

[notallwonder]

thinking again about cme 17x06. as one does.

Spoilers.

I wasn't going to post because I wrote this in a sort of fugue state after staying up super late watching the ep over and over when it first dropped. but I like having a record of what I was thinking, such as it is.

Esp about the brief discussion of BAUgate, and how jj specifically says her beef is that emily wasn’t honest with “...us, with *me*”. emily’s “I am” is earnest, but she’s on a slightly different page than JJ cuz she follows that with “honestly, I want to quit”. Emily’s still drowning in her feelings about how the job is fucking her up, jj’s just over here trying to be real with her about their relationship. And it really sounds like there’s more to the “it’s about being honest with *me*” than just BAUgate. Like….is JJ wanting more honesty about whatever the fuck happened to them? It’s not a huge stretch. I love AJ Cook's performance. when I first got into the jemily of it all with cm I was very focused on Emily but as time has passed and I've watched and rewatched, it's become clearer that JJ a huge engine driving what makes jemily interesting to me.

I’ve seen folks theorize that Emily’s knowledge of BAUgate is what caused the perceived distance between her & JJ in s16, but I personally don’t fully buy into that. Emily became unit chief in 2017ish, and section chief presumably sometime in 2020-2022. It’s unclear when she was briefed on BAUgate. She tells Luke about it like it’s mostly a done deal she inherited the problem/information, the issue was apparently dealt with, and she made a judgment call about informing them. But as he pointed out, you know once it’s on the Internet it lives forever. She’s can't be naive about that. And I think she's glossing over it a bit to try to calm him down. We’ve been given no indication that Rossi had this info, though he probably knew broad strokes, and he was UC for some amount of time. My guess is she was briefed in detail on BAUgate when she became SC. So I guess BAUgate could be a component of s16 tension with JJ, especially insofar as this is a big unspoken thing that Emily has shouldered alone in order to shelter her team/friends, and is potentially emblematic of a larger pattern of Emily withholding information and not feeling free to be open with JJ as a friend because of her professional responsibilities. But I think if we take their distance seriously it has to go deeper than this one thing. Because the weirdness between them goes back further than evolution. It’s also in the way JJ chose to fuck off to New Orleans instead of taking over as UC as Emily planned. [where does this fit in the “we don’t quit” narrative that JJ spins?]. It’s in the way we don’t know exactly why JJ & Will decided to move back to Virginia. It’s in the way some awkwardness, resentment, isolation, hurt, whatever brewed between them during the pandemic years (and before!), and perhaps unspoken history made it difficult for them to be normal with one another on a personal level.

To me, the weirdness of their interactions in s16 is most egregious in the lack of direct comfort/interaction after JJ & Luke were blown up in the shipping container. And maybe a little in the fact that Emily so happily greeted Will, of all people, when they all returned from California (made me laugh so hard my god). But the relative stiffness of their interactions has been consistent since season 12/13, I think (thinking about the what ifs/if onlys convo). As though one or both of them were making an effort to be professional but not too personal, or keep it benign and surface level because dealing openly with whatever they had going on deep down would be too painful.

I’m so glad this convo happened in a more relaxed setting. They were going to have a talk at the office! it would have been more buttoned up, might have even played more into the underlying tension between them. It wouldn’t have been JJ trying to keep Emily from quitting. Could have been harder for Emily to really hear all of what JJ was saying to her, in that environment.

Speaking of all of what JJ was saying. !!!

I agree this is a confession of love. And it’s fucking beautiful. It’s JJ being vulnerable about how much Emily’s presence in her life means to her. JJ’s telling Emily that they are stronger than their predecessors in part *because they have been a source of strength for each other, for years.* Paris, the miscarriage, yes. And, and. JJ is and has always been so strong as an individual. But Emily was also JJ’s quiet strength in Georgia, the hospital waiting room, the stalking case, the bank robbery, in Reid & Penelope’s abduction, in East Allegheny. JJ saw and believed in Emily’s humanity - her hidden dreams - from early days. She pulled her through those bleak 7 months in exile. How many times has JJ taken the sting out of Emily's mood like she did on the jet in 11x19 Tribute? JJ is making herself a source of strength for Emily, right here in this conversation (*make* them fire you!, don’t just roll over). They have such a history of mutuality: of comradery, kindness, deep care, showing up. It’s not romantic in name but can easily be read that way. It’s *really* fucking romantic, even if it’s platonic. Do you know what I mean???????

I’m obsessed with AJ Cook’s choices throughout. OBSESSED.

The way JJ pauses for that moment after “it gives me you”, making steady eye contact, letting it really sink in. She got brave, and it landed. Then she kind of rolls her eyes at herself, maybe a little annoyed at the tears starting to come, maybe a little embarrassed that she’s letting this truth out into the world.

And the “Always.” Dropping eye contact, retreating from the moment a bit. A bit afraid to watch Emily’s reaction - but also she does very deliberately look directly at Emily again for a split second! That “Always” has carried a torch, for a very long time. That “Always” at least never admitted to Emily how much it hurt when she left. How much the distance has hurt.

~ I’ve been through hell in this job but it brought us together (I love you). You’ve kept me going through awful things (I love you). Of course I’ll support you whatever you decide (I love you). I’ll always support you even when you leave me (I love you). You’ve left me before and it hurt and it didn’t stop me from loving you (I love you). Please hang on; please stay; please come back to me (I love you, I love you, I love you). ~

*gentle screaming*

And, oh my god, Emily’s reactions. Emily had no idea this conversation was going to go where it did. Immediately defensive when JJ mentions Paris - she’s still in the part of the game where she’s protesting being convinced to stay, and Paris feels like a low blow. The way she crumples into “oh goddammit” when JJ brings up the miscarriage. Oh now it’s clear this is going deeper. Like, WHAT is the full story there??!! JJ was pregnant when she came to Emily’s rescue, right? So the attack and miscarriage happened while Emily was tucked away in Paris. We know JJ was Emily’s only(?) connection to her real life in that period, and here’s confirmation that Emily was a lifeline for JJ during that time as well, perhaps implying that she wasn’t confiding in her husband, at least not fully. You know how JJ tends to keep the hard things to herself, and she was forced to keep secrets for her safety and Emily’s safety. But she shared this with Emily. Maybe Emily had to push her (she “didn’t quit” on JJ), but they were already both in the dark, so to speak, so JJ could let herself lean on that support without bringing that darkness into her home life. Emily’s “goddammit” to me sounds like: memories of grief upon grief upon desperate isolation. Sounds like: I put those memories away and it took something out of me to do it. Sounds like: That was when their love for each other deepened, grew richer and more complex. That was when something more might have started to bloom between them, some doomed but lovely unnamed thing. And then it was locked away. And JJ has the audacity to acknowledge it? Now? Emily’s been spiraling about what’s the point of fighting this battle, when I feel like I’m losing myself? And JJ calls up the memory of this awful, bleak time when they both felt horrendously lost and they *got each other through it.* I mean. I MEAN

I love Emily’s shocked reaction as JJ’s confession lands. Either Emily’s feelings never breached the platonic barrier (not my interpretation!), or she put away the possibility years ago and did her damnedest to not look back. You can see her wheels turning, her uncertainty about what JJ’s revealed, her wanting to tread carefully. And when Rossi texts and she has to make a choice? JJ’s looking at her with those big blue eyes. Time to table the full depth of the moment. Sprinkle in a little bravado. The thing about being an adult is, you still have to go to all hands meetings while you’re having an earth shattering realization.

……..

Another thing about “it gives me you.” JJ has probably resigned herself to the fact that working at the BAU is the only way she gets to “have” this much of Emily. It’s part of why she came back from New Orleans, even if never acknowledged or articulated.

You know it’s a good scene when it makes me want to watch a bunch of other scenes. Even scenes I hate. Like…I want to revisit Reid talking Emily off the ledge, the truth or dare confession (loathsome!), the scene where Emily decides to stay on as UC in s12 (love this one). The Forever People (Mr Macbeth my beloved).

Honestly maybe JJ’s poly and she doesn’t know it, hasn’t let herself consider it. She’s evidently got a lot of love to give. And that needn’t be framed as some kind of betrayal of her vows or callous carelessness with her friend’s hearts, not to my mind. Plus, like, three cheers for letting your love for someone simply be what it is, however amorphous or uncategorizable, however little you can or want to act on it.

*******

Oh my god I’ve watched this scene over and over and over. I have total brain worms about it. I feel insane. I forgot to eat lunch and dinner

*******

Jennifer Jareau. This is AJ Cook’s season, it’s her show now. I am all the way in forever and ever

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when CME socials started posting Jemily stuff and AJ said “ultimate Jemily moment” and Paget lightly teased……I just laughed. Like, okay, sure, ancient CBS procedural. Sure, my little carousel of disappointments. Sure. LOL. After all these years, they are not going to go there, and I wouldn’t even want them to.

I did not in a million years expect them to crack open the door like this. I still don’t think they’re going to break up JJ & Will. I am not expecting a Jemily kiss. But after this episode - the pathway to such a thing is clearer than it was. And now I think if they did choose to go there, they could maybe (maybe!!) even do it well. Shocking development. Has a lot to do with AJ's performance tbh. The writing is fine, despite the way it seems to twist the facts of canon around bts reality. But she's the one laying JJ's heart bare.

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.

.

If this is it, the full extent of JJ’s and Emily’s scenes together this season (which would be weird!), I will still walk away with warm feelings. I’m honestly feeling so grateful for the way this episode gave them room to honor the history of these characters.

Grab your keys. Let’s fuckin’ roll.

[billlydear]

For your requests , would I please be able to request something where Reader is a fellow lifeguard with Billy? + They have a more hidden relationship going on, and all the kids and the other women are a little suspicious? ♡

Only if your requests are open, of course!

LUNCH BREAK - BILLY HARGROVE X READER

W.C 442 - REQUEST - MASTERLIST - CREDIT TO GIF OWNER

Hauling toddlers out of the deep end seems to be your life's work. There are signs posted every three meters, WARNING: Deeper than 3 feet past this point. Must know how to swim.

And yet, every ten minutes, another gaggle of floaty-clad babies paddle over into the deep water and their parents do nothing.

You've got one now, hooked under your arm. The little girl babbles happily up at you despite the glare on your face directed towards her mother, and you stalk over to her chair with wet feet that slap against the pavement roughly.

"Your daughter is going to drown," You drawl, dropping Holly off with her dazed mother, "I know you hate your husband but that's no excuse to kill his offspring."

You don't give her or her friends time to process what you'd said, rushing off to the tower on the opposite side of the pool. You scale the ladder with ease, but when your foot slips one one of the rungs, Billy's hand shoots out to tighten over your hand.

"Jesus, are you oka-"

"Stop being so alluring," You huff, and it doesn't help that you're face-level with his exposed, sweat-beaded, muscled thighs, "You're gonna cause an accident. These mothers are too busy staring at you to pay attention to their kids, and if I have to fish another sticky-fingered brat out of the 8-foot section, I'll quit."

He chuckles deep in his chest, the sound warm as he tucks a stray piece of hair behind your ear.

"Easy," He soothes, shifting in his seat, "I can't help it, this is just me."

"You could put on a shirt," You grumble, "But if you're not going to, I think I deserve a kiss for every kid I save today because of your- your boobs."

"Deal," He snickers, his eyes flicking to your own chest, "We rotate in twenty. let's take our lunch break in the locker room."

"Boys' this time," You nod, already starting your descent down the ladder, "I don't want my friends' moms to see me naked again!"

Said mothers watch you enviously as you stomp back over to the deep end, glaring at a three-year-old until they rush back to shallow waters. You swear Karen Wheeler tries tripping you as you walk past her chair, but you dodge it skillfully. You know that she'll hear you and Billy taking your 'lunch break' later when she strips out of the bathing suit she'd bought for your boyfriend to ogle. And she'll definitely think about it as she leaves with her daughter in her day clothes, a reminder of the miserable man who'd given her both.

[glacierruler]

Patton Sanders Analysis

Taglist: @januscorner @pandagobrr @icycove @cutebisexualmess @oatmeal-stans-the-trash-rat

@part-time-zombie

Post Under the Read More, it is long!

This is an analysis of Patton Sanders. Putting this here right now, I relate to Patton Sanders a lot. This is of the official episodes, and not the Asides!

Patton Sanders is Thomas’s morality and emotions.

Very important distinction is that he is Thomas’s morality not The Morality. He is not the arbiter of right and wrong, he is the aspect of Thomas that was raised a certain way to believe that certain things were right or wrong.

Within the first episode, Patton is acting as Morality first. This is important because that’s how he always seems to act as first. He always tries to be Morality and then emotions. However, this is not beneficial.

In the first episode he asks Thomas, “What positive impacts do you inevitably hope to bring to this world?”

Thomas is surprised by this, as it seems that Morality is more of a comic relief character in the beginning in his eyes. While probably due to the fact that the series was not initially supposed to be more than a few episodes long iirc, it can also be taken another way. It’s a way to show that Patton is smarter, and does think a lot deeper than how he appears to. Because he’s always trying to be happy (as happy is a good emotion. We’ll get into emotions and morality in a bit). However, when Thomas notes that it is surprising for Patton to say something like that, Patton points to his and Logan’s glasses, noticing that they’re the same.

Why does he do this? What could he possibly gain from doing this? I believe this is because he doesn’t wish to be seen as the deep philosophical side, but as the Happy Pappy Patton (something he says in a later episode). Being deep like this could effect how the other sides see him, and (like all the sides) doesn’t want to be seen that way.

There are a few other things to note in the first episode, when talking about his flaws, Patton says, “you can be a bit selfish with your food and your other belongings.” Which is notably something that Thomas does, but in the section where they talk about his good attributes, the moral side states “you believe there’s good in everyone,” which is something that Thomas thinks. And it’s our first clue to just how hard on Thomas, and himself, that Patton really is. If you can say something you’re doing wrong morally but can’t say an action that you’re taking to do something correct, it begs the question, how hard are you one yourself?

Morality is learned, it is not something you’re born just knowing right off the bat. This is important, because it’s important to keep in mind that Patton’s views are Thomas’s views on morality.

In A New Year of Lying to Myself… In Song!!! Morality and Logic butt heads, Patton is attempting to use his sway over Thomas to have him learn to cook more, while Logan wants him to learn something new. Patton doesn’t seem to quite believe it when Logan tells him that Thomas has “cooked in the kitchen plenty of times” since the WAY TOO ADULT (way too adult), and asks for proof. And I’m struck with why, since Thomas is them wouldn’t Patton be able to see Thomas cooking? While Logan is Logic and contains information Thomas learns, like cooking (therefore it making sense that Logan would be perhaps a little more aware than Patton), Patton is at the forefront of Thomas’s morality. And he had deemed it morally good for Thomas to cook. It would be completely reasonable to assume that Patton would be aware of that. Unless the only reason he deemed it morally correct is because, and I’m quoting to the best of my ability since this is said when Roman, Patton, and Logan are speaking over each other, “The basic essential things, that you need to learn to seriously become an adult to succeed at adulting.” (Again, very much trying to hear what he was saying in order to get this quote, I may be slightly off on what he said). Based on this, he views it as something everyone who is an adult does and knows how to do. Which very much reminds me of how neurodivergents like myself mask. We don’t know how to do something and so we’re hard on ourselves for not being able to do it, yet it’s something that otherwise isn’t important to us or how we function. I think this is Patton’s views on Thomas cooking. He believes it essential to how Thomas can take care of and survive on his own, which is why it’s morally correct to learn, however it isn’t actually something he deems important enough to pay attention to.

Also Patton already has an aversion to lying in this episode. He doesn’t try to seem positive and upbeat in this, or attempt to be gracious to Thomas about New Years goals. He just agrees, not wanting to lie as that’s wrong but not seeing anything positive he could say in Thomas’s defence (which again, leads me to believe he is extremely hard on Thomas and in turn himself. This is corroborated in other episodes as well).

Thankfully Logic, Morality, and Princey reach an agreement of small goals that Thomas could make in that episode. (Which solves that episode’s problems, but not Thomas’s of being hard on himself, this is something I hope to revisit.)

One of the first times Patton encourages Roman, from what I’ve seen, is in I’M IN A DISNEY SHOW!! (I’m in a disney show!!) This is because Roman is excited about the fact that Thomas was in a disney show, despite being there himself. He was achieving his hopes and dreams, and Roman was excited. Virgil tells him “You were there… princey, we’re both factors of his personality.” This prompts Patton to tell Anxiety to let Roman express his emotions. While I agree with the sentiment, I think this is the first we see of the sense of emotions and morality feed into the ego. Which will end up being a problem (As we will discuss later in this essay).

Patton then proceeds to tell Thomas that “I just want to support you in everything you do. Plus I saw you had some leftover pizza?” While I completely believe the sentiment of that first statement is true, by saying he wants pizza right after he is undermining that first statement. And I think that’s because he only cares to the point of where Thomas is happy when it comes to Thomas’s hopes and dreams. (This is because he Morality and Emotions, this is Not because he Unsympathetic, I want to make this clear. While I am being critical of Patton, I am in no way shape or form calling him unsympathetic!) This interaction is proof that while Patton wants Thomas to be happy and morally in the right when it comes to how he’s happy he doesn’t seem to care.

In The MIND vs. The HEART (The Mind vs. The Heart) is when we get the confirmation that Morality is also deeper emotions and empathy.

I think that this bit of diologue from Thomas himself illustrates Patton’s constant struggle. “Dad guy. You  encourage me to do what’s right and strive to do the most good in this world that I possibly can. And I appreciate that. But a lot of times I spread myself too thin. I also tend to make others a priority over me, and their feelings a priority over mine.” Patton is Morality, he has learned to put other’s emotions over his own. He has learned to put other people before him.

Another problem I believe Patton to have is not listening to others because he believes himself to always be in the right. He is morality after all, he knows what he’s doing, he believes that his default is to be good so therefore he is good. So in a lot of the videos, whenever he’s not specifically addressed, or has some sort of stake in it he tends to go off and do his own thing. If Thomas isn’t feeling bad, and if he isn’t doing something that is deemed morally wrong by Patton, then what is Patton supposed to do.

However, as seen in all of this, he is also Thomas’s emotions. He is not just how Thomas views right and wrong, but how he feels in each and every situation. Having to handle not only what’s right and wrong, but Thomas’s emotions is a hard job. But it’s the job he has. And he can’t be wrong, because if he’s wrong, if he’s in the wrong. Then Thomas is, and then Thomas is a bad person, in Pattons point of view. While one of Patton’s fears might be spiders, I believe an even greater one is if he was wrong the whole time, if because he was wrong and Thomas was wrong, that he led Thomas to be a bad person. And this is only really brought to the front by Janus. While the others tell Patton he’s being too hard on Thomas, Janus shows it in the form of Frog Patton hurting Thomas. I think one of the reasons it’s so hard for Patton to understand this is because he doesn’t want to be anything other than Thomas’s Happy Pappy Patton. Nothing more than the morality and positive emotions that keep Thomas upbeat. If he’s anything other than that then he believes he’s failed as a side. He solves the tinier problems without addressing the bigger ones because he didn’t understand what exactly he was doing wrong.

Yes, he had been told he was being overbearing, spreading Thomas too thin. But he was never told how detrimental that was, how wrong for Thomas it was. He just knew that he and Logan butted heads about it a lot because of Thomas’s schedule. After all, he can’t be wrong, he’s the moral side, the side that knows right and wrong. And Roman, Virgil, and Logan all enhance this idea so much! In Growing Up, they tell Patton to stick to knowing the difference between right and wrong, and then go and ask him for help. They consistently tear Patton down to Just Morality or Just Emotions depending on the video. And at the beginning of the series they barely listen to him as is. I think this fundamentally changes in both MOVING ON (Moving On) parts 1 and 2. This is where they start to realize he’s not just Morality or Happy Emotions. But Morality and All of Thomas’s Emotions in general.

“I feel guilty for still feeling this way for so long.” Patton doesn’t like feeling horrible, especially not for long periods of time. Possibly because he’s been taught that negative emotions are bad, possibly because it makes Thomas feel bad and he feels guilty. But with him being Morality as well… It makes it so that negative emotions feed into the Thomas Is Doing Something Wrong complex, meaning he has to figure out what’s going on and sort that out while dealing with, you guessed it, emotions! It’s a loop, a repeating pattern of events that he doesn’t know how to stop, and It Is Of My Opinion that that is because while Morality is something learned, after a while it feels like something that is engrained into your being.

There is also a habit of whenever Roman is feeling down or bruised of Patton going to and helping him. Which isn’t necessarily bad, however we don’t see the other sides do this nearly as often. In Am I ORIGINAL? (Am I Original?) Patton is the first to reassure Roman that content doesn’t have to be original, after Thomas tells him that he could never disappoint him. And then, in the very next episode, Patton is the only one reassuring Princey after his ego has been bruised. And I think this really sets up a sideline of Patton being there for Roman and helping him out, which makes Roman really rely on him a lot. This is also emphasized in The Sanders Sides 12 SIDES OF CHRISTMAS (The Sanders Sides 12 Sides Of Christmas), when all the sides are getting onto Roman’s song lyric for Virgil, and Patton has to be the one to tell all of them to be nice to the princely side. (Janus also uses this fact in Can Lying Be Good, to try to get Roman to side with him). Now this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if your source of ego is getting fed by only one facet of your personality that can end up being a devastating blow when that part is proven to be faulty or wrong.

While there have been attempts to reign Patton in, I don’t think he fully understood that how hard he was being on Thomas was ultimately harming him. As none of them were nearly bad as the events that transpired to get us to the Selfishness vs Selflessness and Putting Other’s First. “Roman I thought you fought for honor? Why are you pushing Thomas to be dishonest?” This is what Patton says to Roman about possibly lying to his friend’s to go to the callback. This seems inconsequential, but I wonder if Roman would have made the same decision had Patton not said that. In Putting Other’s First, Janus and Patton butt heads, arguing about Morality and Why People Should Do Things. And Roman takes Patton’s side. I think this is due to the fact that while he knew Thomas wouldn’t be happy at the wedding, he also ‘knew’ that it was the right thing to do because Patton is (Thomas’s) Morality, and Patton has to be right about this. Not only that but Patton has been there for him time and time again and he wanted to return the favor. Be a prince.

Yet Patton learned, by turning into a frog, that he was hurting Thomas. That while he might be doing what he believes to be Morally Correct, because of his actions, his beliefs, Thomas was being hurt. And he realized that what Janus was saying was true, and he was able to visualize just how badly he was hurting Thomas. But with how it ended up going down, it came at the expense of hurting Roman, of (I believe unintentionally) shattering the ego.

As per my first(not nearly as extensive) analysis, I said “Patton absolutely believes going to the wedding was the correct choice, but Thomas had been excited to be fulfilling his dreams of being an actor. And so the excitement of his friends getting married was dampened by the fact that he missed out on what could’ve been a dream job. And not only that, but now because Thomas is bummed about missing this opportunity, Patton feels guilty about the disappointment, because his friends are getting married and he should be happy and even excited about it. But he isn’t. And so, while morally Thomas did the right thing(according to Patton), because he isn’t happy about what’s happened, that essentially traps Patton in this circle of guilt. Guilt for the choice that Thomas made not making Thomas happy; and guilt for being at Lee and Mary-Lee’s wedding to celebrate and not being ecstatic for them.”

[owfwandotherstuff]

My take on the ow voice headcanon (Japanese dub edition)

Most of them are taken from sample clips, and it's more like "they could play the role" than "they do play the role", actually none of them make sense

Iggy

Definitely an “every protagonist these days” type voice, but not “a hero in apprentice” kind of one

Which means you can dig down the large mine of actors, and you must dig down the large mine of actors

So I think it’s fine

Genzou

Forget the “crackly” part. The market doesn’t have the section and everyone sounds like a photoshopped skin

It was hard to find someone who can play a chubby man and sounds deep but doesn’t sound like seven-foot tall, not young but doesn’t sound like sixty years old (or actually sixty years old)

The VA is quite versatile, and this clip is the only sample of him acting in a thick-deep range

Orlam

I was looking up a sample of a lowered, naturally high-pitched voice with a squeaky tone, and I found the latter clip. I thought it’s neat and checked the other samples of the VA

He’s telling a dirty joke in the former clip, and in one of the other clips that isn't included in the video, he says, “It’s hard to date only one woman" "I have a European-styled philosophy. There's only two important things in life: wine and women” I burst out laughing

Gidget

An upper-middle-range voice in non-anime is a lower-middle-range voice in anime

The VA plays a lot of boy roles, and in the latter clip she’s acting as a boy or acting very boyish, so the voice could lean toward androgynous

Bucks

The VA did Katie from Mitchells vs. Machines, which is a rare example of a female protagonist who keeps the same tone as the original, and her sample clip has what I needed

Hunar

I think Hunar’s voice sounds a bit deep (for an anime standard) and has some maturity

Cecil

Sounds clear and handsome, an every protagonist type but “acting in deeper range” kind of voice, like, you know

Jerry

I chose a legend because I think it’s okay to make rabbits sound old

The clip is taken from Jujutsu Kaisen because his sample clip doesn’t have his iconic squeaky falsetto

[imustbenuts]

Dragons, Snakes, and the Missing Link

tl;dr The Missing Link is the Naga deity from Buddhism/Hinduism. (featuring jesus ichiban)

lowercase bc im tired today...

has anyone ever wondered how similar looking eastern dragons and snakes are?

the eastern dragon originates from china tradition, and is associated with the heavens, rain, thunder, fortune, strength and benevolence. it is also associated with whimsicality, being that the heavens and nature tend to be very whimsical when it came to the lives of people.

(originates from china, kind... of. bc theres more to this chinese origin. more under the cut)

further, it is said that should an emperor witness a dragon, they are guaranteed to be a good ruler and bring an era of peace and prosperity. this is effectively an approval from the heavens, ie, the Mandate of Heaven, and was as useful as the Divine Right of Kings argument for why rulers should rule.

its not too surprising that kiryu ends up also having a say in choosing Daigo or Terada as successors. (although he might have fucked up with terada, but Daigo became someone who is a good fit if not for the overwhelming odds stacked against him... theres also an arguement that kiryu wasn't quite Like A Dragon just yet in y1.)

so dragons are super duper important. and kiryu the character embodies what a dragon is, cool!

but then, we have... majima. who has the snake as a secondary motif of his irezumi, and i think has a secondary possible role that hasnt been pointed out yet in EN afaik

so, ive done some digging for why people think majima has the snake motif, and one possible explanation is that snakes are associated with immortality, a messenger to the heavens, which does fit majima. juxtaposed to the short bloomed sakura in his irezumi, it reads like a very elaborate art piece with layers of too many meaning, majima is fascinating. anyway.

this article goes into even deeper details why snakes are popularly paired up with the hannya mask, but are kind of vague about it:

what i want to zero in is... this word: Naga.

to understand why the dragon is linked to naga, i need to explain 2 things. what the heck is a naga, and how buddhism traveled.

what's a naga?

a naga is this.... not the guy sitting in the middle, that's buddha. but the multi-headed serpent itself:

so okay. this section is a very short summary and are worth reading more on your own, but here's the run down.

nagas are a class of serpent deity originating from hinduism. buddhism came due to a multitude of factors including rejecting hinduism's social caste system. as a result, it shares many deities with hinduism, including naga.

nagas can be depicted as multiheaded or single headed, and can transform between and in-between their snake and human form. nagas are based on cobras. in south and southeast asia, the naga is often depicted with a flap around the neck as characteristic of a cobra. or sometimes without the flap at all even.

this also means in some interpretations, nagas are as dangerous as they are benevolent/beneficial to humans (probably with the correct aptitude). this duality of good but bad if pissed off isn't at all exclusive to nagas, but in fact rather common with this sphere of deities. (sound familiar?)

in buddhism, the most well known one is Mucalinda, who protects and shelters buddha in his meditation to attain enlightenment. hence all those pictures above

interestingly, their abode is the deep, deep waters. :)

they are a very, very important deity in buddhism due to their strong and close role to buddha, but because buddhism frames gods as just other higher beings trying to escape the cycle of samsara, the nagas are seen as a protector rather than be a god to worship. cool? ok.

journey to the... far eastern japan

for how buddhism traveled, its something like this (source):

something to be clear about with this: buddhism did not arrive in japan without alteration. where ever buddhism traveled, it got reinterpreted as it moved on, absorbing local folklore and myth in the process, and then splashed about back and forth before hitting japan's shores. (but the scriptures was imported in its original form to my understanding. so the colloquial understanding is different from india's own.)

and hence why buddhism in japan is specifically called shinto buddhism: its a special blend.

with the case of nagas specifically, they seem to have entered china, and got mixed with the eastern dragon, and then passed onto korea and japan. some folklore of the dragon are also said to originally be stories about nagas, which we can see with the still present association with water and some divine knowledge.

but, the nagas by this point have lost their human form and gained bitty limbs and whiskers and claws and now soar through the skies rather than stay on the ground. or look a little goofy even.

(this dancing toothless dragon took off on douyin. i can attest to and confirm how much the chinese love goofy ass looking dragons)

in the chinese language, the sanskrit word naga was actually translated as dragon as well. hence all this mixing and remixing of things in the colloquial. notably also there was a chinese emperor known as Emperor Wu of Liang who was so fascinated with buddhism that he imported and promoted the religion, and likely appropriated aspects of the naga and mixed it with the dragon.

(i uh had to google in chinese to check and there was more than 1 article using the word dragon for naga. so nice to be a bye-lingual👍)

another important thing, japan already has their own big snake myths such as the yamato no orochi and tsuchinoko, but as for how influenced these are with buddhism is a bit of a toss up. there's definitely an exchange of sorts but its genuinely hard to tell where the line is.

so to summarize it all up

nagas are cobras to snakes to dragons.

both the chinese dragon and naga share similarities of being nasty when upset, and beneficial and benevolent to those they choose.

but, where the dragons are associated with the heavens and rain, the snakes are associated closer to the earth. both share an affinity with water.

effectively, cobras/snakes are the base for nagas, and nagas are the base for chinese dragons. so. majima's snake is like a stealth dragon.

but where the eastern dragon (kiryu) gives approval and disappears willy nilly, the naga (majima) stays and protect to the death.

meaning, kiryu is like a dragon, and majima may have always been like a dragon all along too B). theres also further theming with yin yang with these two, with kiryu being the passionate fire and majima being the naturing water. but thats a whole other detour. this post is getting long and insane enough as it is

oh, but buddhism isnt buddhism without the enlightened buddha. so while i havent played 3-6 yet i bet its this daigo guy whose name literally means Big Enlightenment.

大悟

you cant tell me hes got a irezumi of some buddhism/hinduism deity acala and have a name heavily associated with buddhist wisdom for no reason. and that he got effectively put into the position of the emperor of the kanto yakuza.

and given aaaaaall that ive written about above in regards to the intended function of these mythological deities/creatures, daigo fits the position of either emperor or buddha to a T.

now, a little personal opinion here, but it seems like RGG began rejecting the classism that comes along with the emperor system and really embraced the buddhist roots more as time goes on.

i say this bc even though i mentioned buddhism coming about partially as a rejection of the caste system, the social structure in old and current china and japan still has strong classism, rooted and continuing off old myth and religion (blame those old rulers for this). we see these in the theme of rgg and how even in the yakuza world theres a clear hierarchy, and in 7's civilian theres a clear undesired class of people.

then there's ichiban who keeps rejecting all of those judgey nonsense

ichibannnnn

interestingly theres also the bit where ichiban got handpicked by kiryu as well as a successor of sorts:

and also kiryu telling majima explicitly to support ichiban after hes gone in IW in that scene. theres also some little fun bits about how ichiban is framed as jesus christ:

and that according to some buddhist interpretation, jesus christ qualifies as Big Enlightened buddha material

so. uh. yeah.

majima is going to play a significant role in 9 i think.

idk how to conclude this but. i understand the writer and im going fucking insane as you might have noticed about 7/10 through this long post. anyway thanks for reading. become nuts with me.

[sirensea14]

Sona redesignnnn‼️

Siren the Mother

This is quite out of the blue buuut i wanted my sona to be more fish accurate so here she is

And...

Oh my shit, i have references i only noticed just now (my mind just subconsciously put them)

I'll yap about it and no one can stop me

The dots under and above the eyes are a reference to what i did on my Masskara (mask for a festival: Masskara festival) the day we performed it (so many sections were there and and we were the last to perform i think, so i had time to decorate a bit lol)

That diamond on her forehead is a reference to tsunade/sakura's diamon mark (forgot whats it called but it was one of my favorite powers as a kid)

Her always-floating-up hair is kinda an indirect reference to my previous version when angry (or possibly my oc who can control her hair like tentacles, i wont tell anything abt her tho)

The 4 urchins are a reference to my country's flag: 3 stars (3 visible urchins ) and the sun (1 hidden urchin) Filipino pride🗿🇵🇭

My sona in IM still remains the same, only difference is the hair, but im too lazy to edit it so meh proceeds to forget my sona in batdr as a cutout, anti-heroine, NMT and EF au, etc etc shit that ive done when i still had time to do art. Nahh i will never redo those shit, unless my future self decides to lol

Blank version ig

Also, i adjusted her scale color because she lurks on the dark deep waters more compared to my prev sona design. And by dark deep depths, i mean by the angler fish type of depths, or maybe deeper. Other than that, dont interact with that creature, she'll either steal your soul (literally) or slice your throat (if lazy)

[falllpoutboy]

Yo tarot reader # 2 here and this one’s going to be long.

I’ve done some reading for only some of the questions. If you find that your inquiry isn’t below, I kindly ask that you give me time to get around doing them and maybe the strength too (tarot reading can be quite tiring, sorry 😭)

Without further adieu:

🍀’s view on 🦈 /🐍 (this topic was from the comment section iirc)

Let me preface this by saying �� is more hurt than she lets on

On the surface she thinks it’s selfish cause when 🦈 and 🐍’s “relationship” finally ends, it’ll have a less than positive impact on the show and the dynamics of the team. So she’s trying to focus on the side that she’s upset because it’ll affect everyone and the two aren’t being mindful of the cast and crew who’ve worked hard

On the deeper end, 🍀 kinda sees that 🦈’s confession to her (as read previously by OG tarot reader) wasn’t serious at all. She has feelings for him but she’s keeping it from getting deep and now she thinks she did the right thing. However, digging deeper, she feels like she’s now the one with unrequited feelings for him. “He moved on so quick,” is one thing I get. It’s painful stuff and she hasn’t really dug into yet cause she thinks she’s not as affected or hurt but the cards say otherwise.

Yes it’s a huge obstacle for 🍀 in reconciling the friendship with 🦈, to answer the question. Based on the reading above, she thinks he’s just fooling her or pulling tricks on her. The intensity of his words when he told her how he feels for her doesn’t match his recent actions. She knows he’s unpredictable and mercurial but she’s wondering if he’s a liar too or just switched his attention to her to fill his “boredom.” Keep in mind she only started thinking this when 🐍 got in the picture. From the previous readings, 🍀 said no to 🦈 out of her own walls and fears but now she’s overthinking everything because of 🐍 (who’s actually the rebound and the bandaid to 🦈’s pain over 🍀 rejecting him but 🍀 doesn’t know that)

I pulled a card for the solution on how 🦈 & 🍀 can work towards being friends again and 🍀 is kind of on her way, with introspection and time apart. However there are some obstacles which is why the timeline is kind of long. Time isn’t of the essence anyway and they need to take it slow. I asked if J2 (sorry I know but I had to clarify) is involved and not in the sense that he feeds on shit talking the 🦈 / 🐍 thing cause he doesn’t know much but I’m getting the sense that he feeds into 🍀’s tendency to isolate. She does need alone time but J2’s presence is not helpful all around, regardless of the 🦈/ 🐍 hullabaloo.

Is 🍀 thinking of being friends with 🐍 again? She’s 50/50 about it. On one hand that was her close friend but she knows she won’t be able to unsee what she knows. I asked if 🍀 is aware that there’s a pr thing and the answer I got is she doesn’t want to believe in it. But then again how successful she is in not wanting to is up for debate. Going back to the cards pulled for topics 2-4 above, 🍀 can’t help but think they did all that for pr if they really did so it hurts more cause it’s a move that doesn’t resonate with her as a person.

Do 🍀 and 🦈 flirt?

Oh hell yes and they enjoy it, especially her but she’s more coy about it tho he picks up on it (and also her trying to not show it as much) and he likes it. FLIRT CIRCLE is all I can say. Like THRIVING from it. At some point both probably looked forward going to work to flirt than to actually work.

Have they crossed the line (kissing, etc)?

Um yes after so much temptation. 🍀 kind of felt bad but more so because she liked it way more than she thought she would or would allow herself to. I asked the extent of it and it was until kissing only. Dare I say it happened only once but that was like THE ONE.

Anything more intimate between them hasn’t happened out of respect for one another and the bond they have but not without any hardships. Struggle bus for these two to resist and so far it’s working because 🍀 has withdrawn and 🦈 can’t do anything about it (well he sort of did with his I love you we should be together speech for 🍀 but that caused her to pull away so all he can do is respect that)

🦈 first impression of 🍀 

🍀 is such a breath of fresh air for 🦈

Like he asks her “what planet did you come from?” Out of wonder and awe

I get him thinking “manna from heaven” like 🍀 is “heaven sent”

Something in 🦈 shifted when he first saw her and then starting to get to know her, he felt something different and completely new to him

🍀 first impression of 🦈 

Oh my god she just knew 🦈 was gonna cause an upheaval of everything she thought she knew

“This guy can break my heart”

“He can take me places I’ve never been”

When did 🦈 first catching feelings for 🍀 

Messy, he was still married/his separation with his ex wife was still not a conversation (but it seems there was already trouble in paradise)

They had this one particular conversation (out of many) that went deeper than usual that just solidified all the feels he had for her that had been brewing and from then on he was like “wow, this is it. She’s it.”

Someone asked when 🦈’s feelings for 🍀 went from platonic to romantic and it was super early. It might have never been platonic from the get go.

He also did his fair share of denying it because of his status at that time. 

When did 🍀 start catching feelings for 🦈 

She went through a difficult thing and 🦈 was there for her

“This is the kind of support I want and need”

🍀 never thought someone would get what she was experiencing and how she felt but 🦈 did and it was like meeting someone you knew from a previous life like she didn’t have to explain herself at all.

I asked a bonus for this, who fell really fell first like acknowledged it to themselves. Guys it was 🍀 but ofc she the queen of hiding it or even denying it until she gave in a little.

what do the cast think, have they noticed 🦈 & 🍀’s vibes, what tipped them off

Ebon

Is the one who knows the most

Wants the two to practice good judgment 

He’s the balancer for both of them (without getting involved as much as possible vibes?)

He wants them to be wise about it not just for the rest of the team but he’s actually rooting for them

Big brother vibes who’s 20% pragmatic and 80% shipping them

Liza

Is aware cause the two aren’t slick 😂

Doesn’t want to get involved or know more

She thinks she’s too old for all this

Lionel

Knows about it but doesn’t want to talk about or address the elephant in the room

Encouraging but not as adept at navigating it like Ebon who manages to be the wise advisor without actually stating the obvious about 🦈 & 🍀’s situation(ship)

So he just doesn’t really talk about it but hopes for the best and he thinks it can do the two good to be together at some point

Storer

Surprisingly was one of the first to clock it?!

He’s more focused on the show’s wellbeing and set environment so he doesn’t want it cause of the obvious problems if it goes haywire (good luck with 🦈 and 🐍 tho cause that’s a ticking time bomb, but there’s a sense that he’s not too pressed about that for whatever reason)

He’s not oblivious to the chemistry between 🦈 & 🍀 that bled into their fictional characters

Welcome back 💕 and thanks everyone ✨

this is…. all of this is… i can’t even 😭😭😭

[rueitae]

I've just come back into the fandom after a few years and I stumbled onto your player teacher au and I am Obsessed and in fact I love everything you've written but teacher player lives in my head rent free. And I just wanted you to know that.. have a good day 💜

Thank you so much. I meant to answer this a long time ago but the family got hit with colds.

From the bottom of my heart thank you. Teacher AU has a place in my heart forever. As a thanks, here’s a teaser for the direction I want to go with it:

“What?”

Twin shrieks in a distinct Boston accent echo through Player’s surround sound, so much so that the hacker winces and presses the hotkey on his keyboard to turn down the volume just a notch or five. Zack sounds utterly confused and Ivy carries the intense rage of a cat denied its morning meal.

Maybe Player should not have started out so bluntly.

“They have no idea who I am,” Player emphasizes to the team on the other end of the video call. Ashamedly, he briefly looks away. “At least, I don’t think they do. Otherwise they never would have let me leave, right?” he finishes with nervous laughter.

Immediately upon arriving home, he’d texted Carmen to organize a team meeting. Urgent. Then spent the next hour combing every square inch of his apartment, looking for bugged mics or cameras. Part of him worries his rudimentary skills in that department might have caused him to miss something. He wishes Carmen were here. In person.

There is a long, long sigh from Shadowsan’s section of the screen. The man closes his eyes tightly as if attempting to will away a headache. “My former colleagues have never been the kind to quit.” He opens his eyes and he looks already ten years older. Tired. “VILE has remained successfully hidden for eight centuries, until now. The Faculty will not be content to be known as the ones who saw its downfall.”

“Which is why this situation is perfect,” Player adds animatedly. He holds his hands in front of him, where they itch to do…something. Anything for those kids. For his team. To take down VILE for good before they can do any more harm. “VILE doesn’t know my face. They don’t even know I exist. I’m literally the perfect spy.”

A light cough takes Player’s attention to the other ACME agents on this call.

“Spies undergo years of intense training for dangerous situations such as this one,” Julia says carefully. She wears her business casual today rather than her ACME uniform. Not on official business, yet, Player supposes. She looks as if she’s at her desk at home.“I did not teach you any of it in your graduate classes.”

“We have enough simply knowing Tigress is there,” Devineaux adds. He attempts to casually lean over Julia’s shoulder. “Should we not just…go get them?” the agent shrugs his arms to the left as if ready to go get the keys and go to the car.

“I’m with Devineaux,” Ivy pipes up. The rage contained within her eyes looks as if a volcano is about to erupt. “VILE’s done enough. Let’s nab ‘em quick. Like you said, Player. They wouldn’t even know we’re coming.”

Player sighs, settling deeper into his chair, feeling defeated already that the team is not on his side. “Because it’s not just the academy students this time around. VILE’s starting them earlier. I’ll be teaching fourteen year olds. If I stay undercover, we can find out for sure who all from VILE is there, lure them into a trap for ACME, all without risking the students getting hurt.”

The call goes silent, then. Player wonders if the others can feel it too, the proverbial elephant in the room. The one person who hasn’t spoken yet is the one person who Player values the opinion of over all else. If Carmen shoots down this idea, then that’s it.

She sits in her mother’s office, Player can tell. The full set of her Russian nesting dolls is on the bookshelf behind her, along with several mother-daughter pictures, and one father-daughter picture. Carmen leans back in the chair, as if deep in thought. There are wrinkles under her eyes as well, looking far too tired. Player’s heart hurts for her. She doesn’t deserve this.

Finally, she looks him in the eye. “I don’t like this, Player.” It isn’t a firm answer, but it's an honest one. Her voice feels more like a plea, one for him not to convince her that this is their best option.

Player can’t oblige. “I don’t like it either, but it really is our best shot, Red. We’ve been given an in. We really can’t ignore it.”

“Jules is right,” Carmen comes back with. “You’re a hacker, Player. This is a whole different kind of spy work.”

“All I have to do is teach geography,” Player states clearly.

“For VILE,” Carmen states just as clearly. But her eyes quickly become overcast, building into a storm. “You’d be teaching for VILE.”

[sunny6677]

ALRIGHT!! DYLANS TURN

@rebootgrimm

Full Name: Dylan Ocean Smith.

Age: 14-15 when he first arrives, 16-17 at the end of his story.

Gender: Transgender Male.

Sexuality: Bisexual with a female preference.

Birth date: January 21st.

He's both Greek and Welsh in my opinion—knowing both English and Greek, but he's also currently learning Korean.

Dylan likes horses, horse-riding, the beach, and also just the ocean in general and the life within it. He dislikes sea pollution, people treating sea creatures badly—and also horses badly, and he.. dislikes snakes for some reason, though specifically because they tend to attack him a lot or always show up around him.

I like to imagine he has a dumb little tattoo of a sea horse on his upper left shoulder—

Dylan is very outgoing, loyal, and generally very goofy. But at the same time, it's very easy to piss him off if you mess with his friends, and he can actually be quite protective of them. But when pushed too far, he can become terrifyingly violent—and not even realize how far he's going until way later or til someone stops him. He also experiences rapid mood swings, and easily forgets about stuff a lot. He can also jump to conclusions very easily, and can go back and forth from being impulsive, to not impulsive at all.

Dylan likes going to the beach, collecting seashells, taking care of fishes, and he used to go fishing—but he always felt bad for 'no reason', and eventually stopped after a while.

Dylan works at a small pet store a little before he goes to camp, and resumes his job anytime he comes back from it. But he works mainly in the 'fish or sea creature' section of the store.

Dylan is actually very strong and fast despite his size, and is very quick to act or think. But his anger can get the best of him sometimes and make him forget to think logically, or to do something more beneficial. He can also be quite oblivious at times.

He usually dresses like a surfer dude, and has a very squeaky and outgoing voice—but it can become VERY low and intimidating when he's pissed off. He's allergic to snakes, so that's probably the reason why he hates them so much deep down, though he's never been bitten by one and has always managed to avoid them—he also canonically has ADHD and autism! And he's interested in becoming a marine biologist one day.

I imagine he lives in a small, but slightly poor house or apartment near the beach somewhere in town (he lives in the same place as Thora btw, or maybe he doesn't? I'm trying to decide). He says "Whaaaaaattttt?" a lot for some reason, and giggles a lot whenever he speaks if he's in a good mood. He's a bit afraid of the deeper parts if the sea even if it interests him, specifically the creatures there though. And again, he has a phobia of snakes. He has a good habit of trying to pay attention when somethings important since it shows he cares. But he has a bad habit of assuming things way to quickly or getting a bit too protective of his friends.

He has more expressive mannerisms, like gesturing widely with his hands or slamming his fists against something—and he also tends to like to pretend he's stabbing something for some reason? And also likes to pretend he has a magic staff. He's very intelligent even though some people treat him like he isn't, and is especially interested in sea life. He has a bit of a chaotic and random sense of humor, and goofs off a lot. He usually has very stupid solutions to things unless it's serious—if angry enough, they're usually very irrational solutions instead. He can usually recognize when people are upset, but has an awkward time comforting others. He's very extroverted, and hates when people are generally bitchy to him or those he cares about. His most prized possession is a little fishing rod that he kept even when he stopped fishing, just because it's one of the first gifts his mortal dad gave to him (he has two dads btw—cuz mlm real).

His favorite food is celery, and his favorite drinks is water (unsurprisingly)—usually any kind though, including literal ocean water cuz he's kind of a weirdo(/aff). He tends to smell like water or just the beach in general. He plans on visiting one particular gigantic ass aquarium one day, and also just heading out to sea to see all the wild life. And he usually spends the mornings doing a big stretch, yawning, taking a look out at the beach from his window, and then immediately turning on music and getting ready. He doesn't play any sports, but he does jog a lot. He can beat people at arm wrestles very easily. And he also snores very, very loudly—or very quietly—it usually depends.

He strongly believes that no one, and I mean no one, should be allowed to hurt those he cares for. And believes that if anyone even dares to try, he has the right to beat them up if he wants, no matter if his friends were in the wrong or not. Unless his friends did something he considers more serious, but still—he is externally optimistic, but can be pessimistic when he's upset. And he has a slightly bad image of himself because he truly believes he's just some guy, and it gets worse later on when his abilities lead to him doing some pretty terrible damage or acting more angrily than he should.

His main motivation in life is to just explore and live his life to the fullest. He thinks that he must get to know every little part of life while he's still here. Though one of his darker secrets is that he punched a kid in the face when he thought they were bullying his friend, when it turns out, said friend was bullying them—and he had an argument with said friend after that led to their friendship ending. But the kid he punched never really forgave him, and while he understands how they felt, he for some reason can't comprehend the fact that maybe they don't have to forgive him, and experiences a lot of internal conflict over this. His biggest dream is to just discover something great and be recognized for it. And one of his goals is to find a new sea creature. His deepest fear is not being able to protect his friends and family from something dangerous, or possibly losing all of them and being powerless to do anything about it. He has an external conflict with forgiveness a lot, and can't comprehend that some people just don't have to forgive him, and that he doesn't have to forgive some people. And internally, he starts to see himself as messed up and as a monster due to some of the things he does while protecting his friends.

His deepest regret is not going on a trip that he was going to go on with his cousin, who he used to be very close with—but his cousin died whenever they went on the trip. And now he feels like he should have done something to protect them, or should have gone so maybe he could have died instead of them or found our what killed them, because they still don't know how his cousin died and just found her body somewhere. This is part of the reason why he's so protective of those he still has. Deep down, he desired to just be finally content with everything in his life, or to find some sort of fulfillment. And he's externally pressured by his very friendly but protective mortal dad, who is just as afraid of losing him as he is afraid of losing everyone else around him. He's the most insecure about whether or not he's really strong deep down. His greatest joy is his friends, his family, and the sea itself. And his worst nightmare is being taken away from his loved ones, or dying without being able to say goodbye to them. I imagine he becomes a marine biologist in the future, a navy officer, or perhaps just a sailor at sea.

He's usually very happy. Oh, and he has a secret handshake with his little brother, which is just a very complicated fist bump. His father was also very supportive of him when he decided he wanted to transition, along with everyone else in his family, and while Poseidon is a bit confused later on when he finally sees him again, he accepts it since he's had plenty of kids and someone being Trans isn't anything new. Dylan also isn't very creative.

Dylan is actually friends with Thora, or even best friends with her in fact. Though they live on different parts of town and usually have to walk a long distance to see eachother. They only have one class together, and Dylan has a job, so they have little time to hang out unless she's seeing him at his work. They're both very protective of eachother though. And Dylan becomes friends with Amoria later on.

Thora and Dylan's dynamic would be best described as 'overly serious, done with everyone's shit, and protective as fuck + goofy goober who the serious one usually tries to protect, but can be equally protective in turn'. I may draw something to show off their dynamic one I finish everyone's designs lol.

Dylan is disliked by Athena of course, and he's very awkward around her. And he dislikes Medusa just cuz it later turns out she's the one sending snakes on him, due to some curse that she's inflicted on him that has to do with the prophecy about the twenty heroes.

Dylan abilities include: Literally being able to travel on makeshift water horses—or being able to travel inside of a water horse or teleport through water horses, summoning gigantic ass waves or being able to control the ocean in whatever way he pleases, being able to drown people by simply not letting them out of the water or manipulating the water to not let them out, teleporting through waves, having his own little staff that Poseidon gave to him as a gift that he can send charges of ocean through or stab any divine creature with (and also kill them with), being able to cause literally earthquakes and gigantic storms, etc etc.

One of his instances of protecting his friends I thought of was basically: Thora and Amoria get kidnapped and taken on a ship, while Dylan is forced to find them. He angrily summons a water horse, runs all across the ocean til he finds the ship, and once he finds it—he rises out of the water and starts beating the hell out of everyone on the ship with his natural element. But even when he gets his friends back, he tries to make them apologize to see if they'll show any remorse. They either don't, or their apology is fucking terrible. But either way, he decides to not spare them, and drowns most of them in a rush of waves before leaving. He probably gets in trouble for this, and maybe even put on trial, but somehow lives despite this, and is heavily scolded by Poseidon after.

[space-blue]

Speedpaint + quick tut on how I do Na'vi skin/stripes with video and screenshots

Here's the video to go along, but I'll go step by step with screenshots

We start with a base layer for the skin. I make a clip layer on top and be sure to also fill it the same base blue, because otherwise the blending properties of the brushes won't apply.

This is meant to be low detail so I won't give it too much colour, but I make the throat and centre of the face lighter, the eyes and ears pink/redder.

Then it's time to decide on light direction/angle and how it affects geometry. Doing a little of that really helps, but you don't have to paint the way I did there... Got lost in the sauce.

Add another clip layer on top, set it to multiply, and get started.

There are many ways to do stripes. I do mine entirely by hand, in a style of painting and erasing with the same brush but inverted. It's a lot like sculpting. Doing everything by hand guarantees a lack of uniformity. See the video for this step.

Now that I'm happy with the look I have, I UNCLIP the layer of stripes, revealing the places I went beyond the skin. That's fine.

Add a layer on top of Stripes. Clip it to stripe.

Right click on Stripe layer. Click "selection from layer > create selection"

Now you have a bar under the selection with shortcuts we're going to use.

Reduce the selection. The amount of pixels depends on the size of your drawing. Play around!

Now inverst the selection. So you're not drawing inside of it but outside of it only.

Select the multiply layer on top of the Stripes.

Paint in! In the reference above I used a deep purple to highlight what it should look like, but obviously you want a light blue.

Tweak colour and transparency of that layer as needed!

Then I use a blur brush (I prefer Maablur Brush, it's free iirc), and the soft eraser, in various areas so it's not entirely uniform.

See what the stripes look like on these people :

Q is quite dark with less light inside some sections. Meanwhile Neteyam has a very thin dark lining around his face stripes :

They're generally pretty desaturated. Body stripes also seem to be much more blurry in general :

Anyway, MERGE that multiple layer to the Stripe layer. CLIP the Stripe layer back to the skin.

Now it's time to erase or blur as you wish. I tend to erase around the nose, cheeks and throat.

Even Metkayina have that erased quality :

I add sanhi on a layer set to "add glow" and pick a teal colour. I either do it manually in pencil or with a dot brush.

Final tweaks of saturation and transparency, maybe playing around with "add" or "multiply" layers for quick highlights on top of everything or deeper shadows.

That's it! That's how I always do stripes, no matter how rendered the skin underneath. Elias needs more work before he's done, but it's a good preview, I hope.

[system-of-a-feather]

Related to the last post, but as someone whose gone relatively far with DID recovery - DID recovery is a long journey and process with a long expected time needed to be in therapy to "recover" that sometimes is a life long thing - some people with DID will always be in therapy for their life

And at least from personal experience, that often is interpreted as "I will never be happy and I have to work extraordinarily hard to be ok in life, i have to get help all the time to get what others get without any help"

But with where I am at currently, I realize it is a lot less of "I am so broken I need years of treatment to look even remotely ok" and a lot more of "There is A LOT of things in my life that my past has made a mess of that I have grown used to and accustomed to living with, and because of that, there are SO many ways my life could improve and get better - of course it would take years to not only make my life okay but to make it Flourish."

Cause in the midst of the early stages of healing, all you want is for peace and for things to stop hurting and it can be very easy to perceive the healing journey as one of just trying to get back and "be okay" because that IS where you start

But what you are actually doing is often (save for the very earliest stages usually) not "making yourself okay" but identifying and finding things in your life that could improve your life and make it better for you.

Early on, finding those areas tend to be in places others never had to worry about and are heavily motivated by a need to not feel pain, but later on, it just becomes a deep skill and insight into "what things don't serve me and what things from my childhood and past have lead me into directions that don't make me happy or don't make me as happy as I want" which really is something the average person deals with as well around their young adult ages to their early (general) adulthood.

I was having trouble wording this part of the explanation, so I'll just embrace it being a bit not-flowing, but with DID and C-PTSD you start at a much much shittier starting point than the average person, and that sucks that FUCKING sucks, but it also leaves you to have MUCH MUCH MUCH more room for growth and improvement than the "average person". You start lower, but you can really experience so much more growth that will in turn form a basis for deep insight and overall happiness in life compared to those that didn't start on Hard Mode.

Either way, I'm loosing my flow of thought, so Ill just share a related section from A Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki that I really liked that relates to this:

In our scripture it is said that there are four kinds of horses -- an excellent one, and not so good ones, and bad horse. The best horse will run before it sees the shadow of the whip. That is the best one. The second one will run just before the whip reaches his skin. The third one will run when it feels pain on his body. The fourth one will run after the pain penetrates into the marrow of his bone. That is the worst one. When we hear this story, perhaps everyone wants to be a good horse -- the best horse. Even if it is impossible to be the best one we want to be the second best. That is quite usual understanding of horse. But actually when we sit you will understand whether we are the best horse or the not-so-good ones. Here we have some problem in understanding of Zen. Zen is not the practice to be the best horse. If you think so -- if you understand Zen as a kind of practice to be a best horse you will have a problem -- big problem. That is not the right understanding of Zen. Actually, if you practice right Zen, whether you are the best horse or worst one doesn't matter. That is not the point. If you think of the mercy of Buddha, what do you think the Buddha will feel? He will be more sympathetic with the worst one rather than with the best one. So if you have the right understanding of Zen, or deeper understanding, worst horse should be most valuable horse. And because of the imperfect character of ourselves we have to express our inmost feeling through our imperfect body and characters. Usually those who can sit physically perfect take more time to obtain the marrow of Zen -- the true taste of Zen -- actual feeling of Zen. Those who find a great difficulty in practice of Zen will find more meaning of Zen. So sometimes I think the best horse is the worst horse and the worst horse is the best one. Sometimes. If you study calligraphy, usually those who are not so clever will become best calligraphers, and those who are very clever at his hand will find great difficulty to attain excellent calligraphy. That is quite usual in our art and religion. So we cannot say, "He is good," or "he is bad." The posture we take is not the same. For someone it is impossible to take this posture. Even though he cannot take right posture he can practice Zen in its true sense. In our everyday life we are always ashamed of our self -- reflecting what we are doing. Some student wrote me saying, "You sent me a calendar, and I am trying to follow the good message of the calendar, and I find the calendar undaunted by failure." The calendar is a calendar of failure.

[awakenedsalamander]

Hey so as a new DM getting into WoD (coming from D&D and Cyberpunk) where would you recommend starting for reading up on Mage?

I’ve got both VtM and HtR and there good sourcebooks but I’ve been told Mage has all the ‘deeper’ lore. I just don’t know where to start.

[Note: I answered this question in typical long-winded fashion, so you can skip to the numbered list at the end for a somewhat shorter summary of how I’d get into Mage, if you prefer. Also, this is my own opinion— I can’t promise it’ll work, but I know it worked for me, at least when I started actually doing it intentionally.]

This is a relatable problem!

So, I got into Mage by picking up pieces of the lore from a distance over the course of a couple years, and then diving into the M20 corebook while they were offering it for free during the pandemic. I read the intro, then skimmed the book, with a focus on parts I was interested in, and over the course of the past three years I’ve read almost all of it by now. It’s almost 700 pages of weird, dense material and while if I wanted to I could have gotten all of it read much quicker, it still would have been quite the task, which is not ideal for a game.

Alright, how should you do it then?

Okay, first, put aside the notion of “deeper” lore at least for the moment. Don’t let the fans of Mage who wax lyrical about how important and wild and vast the implications of the Ascension books are. While Mage does get pretty out there, it does not and should not overshadow the other games. Gehenna’s still coming, for instance, don’t let the incident with what was *maybe* the Ravnos Antediluvian take away from that.

Seriously though, it’s easy to get intimidated by certain Mage fans. They can be kind of a snobby crowd, frankly, and not just in the fun pretentious way. Enjoy it at you own pace, those guys think they know the game— nah. A lot of them just know the metaplot, and that does not a game make.

Approach Mage more like an all you can eat buffet, and you’re getting from it what you want. As much or as little, as big or as small, as focused or as broad as makes sense for your interests. You take the parts you want as you like, and go from there. There’ll be time for the rest when you’ve found your footing.

So, if I were to do it all over…

1st— Get ready to take the plunge—but carefully, and with some intent. Steel yourself with some deep breaths, and grab a book to get started with. I do actually recommend the 20th Anniversary Edition to get started, but it is a lot, so if you’re worried about getting distracted or overwhelmed, Revised should work too. (I personally think Revised is just a bit too limited in its take on the setting, but that’s really subjective.) Don’t start reading quite yet, though, just pick the book you want to start with.

2nd— Be ready to ask questions. I’m putting this up early not because you’ll necessarily have questions immediately, but it’s always intimidating to be confused and have questions, so just know that there are folks in the community who will be polite in answering questions.

I’ve had luck with r/WhiteWolfRPG in the past, but I haven’t dipped in there for a while so they may have gotten worse. The Onyx Path forums are generally fairly nice, though. And here on Tumblr I have to think there are people, though I’m new here. Still, I can speak for myself and say— I love questions!

3rd— Alright, here’s what I’d do now. Read the first chapter or so, enough that you know what this setting even is, and then it’s time to find the parts that you are interested in specifically. For example, I’m really into alchemy, hermeticism, that kind of ceremonial magic, and mashing that into a modern setting— playing someone trying to do this old school classical wizardry in the 21st century, basically. So I’d jump into the relevant sections of M20– I’d read about the Traditions, the faction most into old school magic, then read specifically about the Order of Hermes, the Verbena, maybe a few other factions like the Children of Knowledge and the Hollow Ones, and go to any linked relevant sections I’m interested in, such as the write-ups for Alchemy and High Ritual Magick in M20. I would recommend doing something similar. If you don’t know where to start at all, I’d recommend looking at paradigms, the Orphans, and maybe Avatars. That’ll give you the kind of basic introduction a newly-Awakened mage would get. Also, probably stay away from the Umbra for now. It’s got a ratio of weirdness-to-size that makes it a tricky thing to grasp, at least at first.

At this point you might still be confused, just cause it’s a lot to reckon with, but you should be grounded in the details that you plan on working with. You’re building the foundation, hopefully in a way that’s not too confusing.

4th— Something I find helpful for getting to know a game is making my own character, so when you’re comfortable with that notion, I’d suggedt getting a character sheet and finding the section for character creation, then going through it and filling out that sheet as needed. You may never play this character, but in doing so you’re getting a feel for how the mechanics and setting interact, and you’ll probably start to get some knowledge of the basic Mage-specific rules. If you’re like me, you’ll naturally be curious enough to check out those sections, but even if not you’ll still learn more.

5th— Now I’d say to just widen out from where you are. This may take the form of just reading the whole damned thing now, straight through, but for me with M20 that was still kinda scary. There’s just so much. So I read about the things I felt that I knew about, but only vaguely. The Technocratic Union, the nature of Paradox, how paradigm works mechanically, Avatars, that sort of thing. At this point you’ll likely be familiar with your corner of the setting and get a view of how it fits into the wider whole. If you’re feeling ambitious, you might jump into some crossover stuff— what happens if a mage drinks vampire blood, or how werewolves and the Awakened fight over Caerns/Nodes… I was a little overcautious about weaving in the larger World of Darkness when I was getting started, but I know that’s how some new players get a foothold.

(Optional 6th— On that note, I find Mage is a lot easier to run if you’ve gotten some experience with other WoD games. Maybe run a one-shot of one of them, or even a quick mini-chronicle, just so you know the basic rules and find your grove for Storytelling in the setting. You might feel you’re ready to just dive into Mage, and you might be! But I learned that I needed more practice, so just a word of advice.)

I wish you the best of luck! You’re stepping into some weird and wonderful stuff— magic, mystery, and madness, all that— and it takes some time. I hope you enjoy your journey, and remember, it’s never wrong to have questions.

Other than that…

You’re ready.

It’s time to Awaken. Begin walking your Path.