#but also it seems to change around depending on the app i use

[territorial-utopia]

✨👑⭐🪻🌺

[hazbinshusk]

I need more information on the overlords of hell, if only because I have this whole thing in my head about how they each stand in for the seven deadly sins, and I don't have one for sloth and I need it so my brain will brrr.

I know it's probably not a new idea, but here's my reasoning:

wrath - camilla carmine. she's a weapons dealer, powerful and running things (much in the same way that satan is running things - at least while lucifer is mia). she and satan also both have this whole restrained anger thing about them which I think is a great parallel (although she's got more control than he does).

lust - obviously valentino and his porn empire. now, he's a darker side of the idea of lust than our good boy ozzie. he leans more into the concept that lust without consent is greed (which ties into one of my other overlords later, you'll see), but his power absolutely lies in controlling what's 'sexy' - like how angel's work seems to be dependent more on val's kinks than what's popular with the pride ring.

envy - hear me out, but it's vox. he's constantly amassing this empire, this power, which, yeah, could be read as greed, but he's doing it because he wants what others have. he wants to be a one of the big dicks of hell, to beat camilla and zestial and especially alastor. vox creating the vees is a way to push himself above the others because he wants them to want what he has. his shows, his apps, his beef with alastor in stayed gone, everything is designed to make people like him more than the other overlords, especially alastor. hence the big smiles and posturing for audiences - he doesn't need to do that for power - he already has that. he does that because he wants to be respected/liked more than the others are. and alastor has that with the other overlords - zestial and rosie like him, camilla respects him (at least enough to speak to him like an equal). vox is looked down upon by the other overlords, and he envies that power alastor has.

pride - I feel like it's obvious it's alastor. he's so self-assured to the point that he's dismissive of everyone around him, especially those who could be seen as a threat. he goes up against adam, the most powerful of the exterminators, seemingly without any concern that he might not be strong enough to stop him (to the point where alastor isn't even armed with any angelic steel.He has some in the shield, but not even his little summoned creatures carry angelic weapons against adam). and to that point, pride is alastor's downfall there - if he'd been better prepared, he could have taken adam out. but he refused to use weapons provided by another overlord. he's threatened by lucifer (the actual sin of pride) because he can provide charlie with things alastor can't, and alastor being charlie's go-to for advice and protection and her hotel's needs are what gives him power in their relationship. it's what he needs for his ulterior motives to succeed. also, pride going head to head with pride is the most on point thing possible for the seven deadly sins.

gluttony - this feels a little lazy honestly, but rosie. but she's a cannibal, and what is cannibalism if not people throwing away all their reasoning for the joy of the feast?

greed - velvette. she's got a whole material wealth thing about her. fashion/social media overlord, the latter of which is always tied to overconsumption (hello, watch any of those grwm tiktoks where they have like, outfits for their stanley cups and twenty-three step hand care regimes where most of it is completely unnecessary). she and val are the only ones of the overlords we see consistently changing their outfits, and as I mentioned above, I see val tied into this sin, too. not just because of the outfits, but because of the love potions. ozzie calls them artificial bullshit, and we see ads in Hazbin that show that val and vel make and sell them. I also think husk would have been the overlord 'of greed' back before he lost his soul to alastor, which also fits into my headcanon that with velvette being the youngest of the overlords and having died around the 2000s/2010s (I think?), husk probably lost power before she acheived overlord status with the vees, maybe even before she died, seeing as the other residents of the hotel don't seem to know who he was in his past, so maybe it's been a while since he fell off the map.

sloth - ??? we don't really have one for sloth? I don't think the gambling overlord would have fit here, so I don't think it was husk. and we don't know enough about zestial or the others for them to fit but it doesn't feel like zestial's vibe? like, the closest we have is him not wanting to fight the angels, but that was for lack of information, rather than laziness.

so please, season two, solidify this idea for me because I love the symmetry of it and it's killing me that sloth is unfulfilled.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA For Snitching On My Brother?

tl;dr at the end, the submissions a bit long. sorry if this sounds like stupid teen drama, but i needed outside opinions. (tw for mentions of attempted suicide)

so for a bit of context here, me (14nb) and my brother (14m) both have Parental RestrictionsTM on our phones. In my opinion they are way more severe than they need to be. i am not allowed to have any social media at all, my mother barely tolerates discord. I cannot text anyone who is not my direct sibling or parent from 9pm at night to noon the next day and i cant use any "nonessential" apps during that time frame too. my brother has the same restrictions on his phone, but he has safari removed because my mother said he was playing "random internet games". however, he has found ways around this and ways around the app restrictions. i know how he does it. i really dont have any intention of telling our mother, its none of my business and i honestly dont care that much.

I recently moved to a new school. My brother and i were homeschooled prior to this during covid. And it was fine. We went to a homeschool co-op twice a week. A year ago we were both enrolled in Local Community College as dual enrollment students. A semester into that i was Not Vibing Well and ended up having a breakdown and getting a therapist. I would talk to her directly about this but i havent been able to see her in weeks due to scheduling conflicts. The workload seemed too much to me, there was no longer a distinction between School and Home. i felt like i was constantly on the clock, and i barely saw my friends. In addition to other factors at my co-op, I got very lonely. At that time the limits on my phone were 9pm-3pm (it was later edited to 9am to noon) . I cant remember exactly what happened, but i asked my mother to at least change the communication limits so that i could talk to my friends during the day. She said no, stating that I Do Not Need to Communicate With Friends During The School Day. i do not have a real “school day” i am at home basically 5/7 days of the week. And normal kids see their friends every day at school. The argument got dropped then.

Fast forward half a year, i felt increasingly lonely, out of place, bothersome, etc, at my co-op and have decided to try going to Local Public Highschool. This meant leaving my best friend (14f)  whom i love dearly (for the purposes of this post i will call her Z). Z is one of my favorite people in the whole world, we got platonically married, I lovingly refer to her as “my wife”, and i would genuinely die for her. She got a phone over the summer which means we have a better way to communicate, replacing discord as the primary communication system. Also at that time one of my best online friends fucked up their discord account somehow and the whole online group moved to text. there's about four of them? J, Other J, B, and L (ages vary from 12-16). I believe only B is directly relevant to this story but the others are worth mentioning. Additional context (tw for mentions of suicide from now on), all of those four are varyingly suicidal. B has attempted before, at least twice I believe. out of the group i am probably the most mentally stable.

School starts! I am already feeling a bit lonely due to leaving Z but we stay positive. I wake up for school at like 530 and check my phone at like 6:45. Woohoo a message from B! It was sent at 4 am. This is concerning. There is a glitch that i can use in order to view texts for between half a second and four seconds, it depends, and i use it. B’s message reads “Bye”. theres no fucking reason that they would be texting me goodbye at 4am in the morning unless they were going to kill themselves. I cannot properly view or respond to that text until noon, so eight hours. I wait to know if my friend is ok for eight hours, and at noon i check my phone again. In that time i’ve received messages from the groupchat. J, Other J, and L all received “bye” texts from B at around the same time period. After a few messages, we know B is ok, i dmed them privately and they responded both in ims and the gc. So they are ok. But i had to wait for eight hours to know that. Later that day i asked my mom if she had considered my proposal (i asked her a day or two before if she would at least turn off communication limits because it is also rather embarrassing to be honest to have to tell other people that oh i cant respond to your message right now, sorry my mom has limits on my phone :D. In addition i get anxious when i send a message that im nervous abt and it doesnt get responded to for hours so i hate leaving messages for longer than two hours). Once again, she said no. it goes against her Views As A Parent for me to have “unrestricted access” to my phone. She offered to add only Z to the list of people i can contact during the limits. This is better than nothing but Z texts more in the groupchat than she does in private messages so it wouldn’t work that well. We argued, it didnt work out, i got pissed off and we both went to bed. i very strongly feel that for like my mental health i need to be able to communicate with my friends better than i can at the moment. And i dont want to wake up to a message from a friend, have it be the last one they ever send, and not be able to respond for hours. 

Heres where the part where i could be an asshole comes in. (so sorry that that was really long i didnt know what parts would be needed as context and what were not so i just typed everything i think might be relevant). This isnt something that i am very strongly considering, as i truly dont want to fuck up my relationship with my brother and i love him a lot. I just want opinions on whether it would like be going too far i guess. I am considering offering a trade. I tell my mother how my brother has found ways around his limits, and she turns off the communication limits on my phone. WIBTA if i did that?

TL;DR: would i be the asshole if i snitched on how my brother got around some restrictions in exchange for me being able to communicate with my friends?

What are these acronyms?

[ros3ybabe]

What is your morning and night routine ?

So, I don't follow these to their exact details every single day, but these are my ideal routines that, at the very least, I try to accomplish some of these things every day. This is just what I've currently been doing, to keep this as honest as possible.

🩷 Morning Routine -

wake up, drink some water (typically about half a 16oz water bottle)

put on my sweatpants, use the bathroom, wash my hands

brush my teeth, wash my face, do my morning skincare routine (currently using Cerave Hydrating Face Wash, Vitamin C serum, a thick moisturizer, and a lightweight sunscreen, I also apply hyaluronic acid to my lips and lock it in with a layer of vaseline or aquaphor) - need to update my skincare routine on here

make my bed

plug in all my electronics to charge if I didn't do it the night before

sit at my desk, write in my guided journal

answer a journal prompt from the Daily Haloha app on my phone

I typically check my emails, social media's, etc around this time and drink a hot cup of coffee

depending on what I have to do that day, I'll get ready (what I wear depends on where I'm going - gym, only classes, work, etc)

do my hair and maybe some makeup (again, depends)

pack my bags accordingly (school stuff in backpack, work stuff in work bag, respective gym stuff in school bag - all depends on the day)

clear any dishes and unnecessary trash from my room/desk area

pop on my headphones, grab my keys, head to my destination

I did not include breakfast as i typically eat on campus, or i skip breakfast because im not hungry. Some morning i shower and then do the brsuh teeth and skincare but it depends. I will update my ideal day routine for winter break as I will not be working or going to school during that time. it'll be the perfect chance to work on myself <3

🩷 Night Routine -

(shower if i didn't shower earlier in the day)

change into sweatpants and a shirt to sleep in

brush my teeth, wash my face (double cleanse most nights, follow my routine for that night) - I use a skincare diary app to create my routines by day and I love it

complete my night guided journal

scroll my social media's for a little bit

plug in all my devices (except my watch, I wear that to track my sleep sometimes)

lay down, typically zoom call my boyfriend for a little bit

after the zoom call, I honestly watch asmr until I get super tired and then I switch off my iPad.

plug my phone in, take off my glasses, take a small drink of water, close my eyes and fall asleep.

I typically try to wake up between 4 and 6am, and I try to go to bed between 8 and 10pm, sometimes 11 if I plan to sleep in the next day. I didn't include journal prompts or reading as I do those throughout the day and don't count them as part of a set routine.

Will update soon with my ideal routine I want to follow for morning and night during my 6 week winter break! will include gym time, breakfast time, etc. I know these routines don't seem so girly and lovely, but as a stressed-out college junior, this is what I do. I try to be realistic on here, as much as I can.

til next time lovelies 🩷 and thank you for the ask!

[autumnslance]

Hi! I’ve been trying to make an introductory post for my WoL, but when I tried doing so freeform it ended up overly long and full of rambling. I’ve searched for templates all over the internet, but the only ones I can find are in the general style of D&D character sheets that include irrelevant information about stats while not properly dedicating space to the actual character traits. I saw the format you used for your OCs, and it seems to be about what I’m looking for. Is there any chance you could provide a blank template along those lines for me and others who might have the same problem?

Funnily, while I keep them all similar, I didn't have a template before now. Also reminds me I need to do some updating and revision on my own OCs, it's been awhile and they can use a refresh for character and plot updates.

I recommend making static pages over posts; easier to track and edit. I am a stickler for organization, so keep my pinned post to the bare basics with links to the profiles and other pages, to keep from stretching the post to a mile long, in part, and to keep the info where it's easily read and relevant. Also because mobile app view won't show one's theme and links, and the pinned post is more likely to be seen and accessible than a sidebar or menu.

I have tutorials on how to set a custom theme (and access full blog features) as well as how to create those static blog pages. Tumblr may have made some updates since, but the gist is the same, and the Help pages have newer details if necessary.

I do urge keeping colors and format simple, accessible, and reader friendly, including screen reader friendly. A row of asterisks or tildes as a separator line are usually individually read out by screen readers, as is the code used to make those fancy hard-to-read gothic letters folks use for "aesthetics." In a lot of my profiles, I split sections with images of the character (which should also use alt text if we're trying to be kind and inclusive, and it's to the point of a profile page anyway).

I think I will put the intro and template here in the post under a cut, and then in a Reply Comment add a link to the Google Doc version, cuz of how Tumblr is about external links. An actual blank copy-pasta is on the GDoc, what's below has some thought processes for each section for guidance.

This a pretty modular template, that can be added to or subtracted from as needed. Move descriptive blocks around as they seem more or less relevant for your OC, substitute things that make sense over things that don’t; this is just a starting point!

I see these as broad strokes; a quick introduction and general overview of your character, meant to give an at-a-glance idea of who they are. It’s handy for other writers and artists, and even oneself for keeping track of some details. I recommend practicing succinct writing here; these blocks should each stay between 100-300 words or thereabouts. Use links to other pages and tags to point toward longer details and stories (and keep them handy for yourself!). It also makes it much easier when you want to revise things when characterization marches forward, or if you want to retcon something entirely.

But these are all just my opinions and ideas on how I approach OC profiles after making them in some form or another for about a quarter century. Make it as long or short as it needs to be, change it up, go nuts, I ain’t your mom, and so on 😉

-

Statistics: The basics; barebones, at-a-glance stat blocks, handy for quick reference. Can be added to or shortened as needed. If a stat starts to word wrap on a standard screen, trim it and move that extra detail to the “Description” paragraph below the list.

Race: (for FF14 fantasy possibilities) Nationality: (or Ethnicity, whatever works. Where are they from, as that helps shape them?) Height: (both feet/inches and centimeters are handy here) Eyes: Build: (I prefer this to weight, as that’s ridiculously variable depending on one’s build, which is more important visually anyway; are they broad, stocky, skinny, muscular, stringy, etc) Hair: (color, type, texture, preferred lengths and styling) Skin: (sometimes I fold scars into here, if there’s nothing too outstanding) Scars: Voice: (how do they sound?) Nameday: Age: (depends on your personal timeline for your OCs, but I recommend an age range over specifics; mid-20s, 25-35, late teens, a little over a century, etc. Less updating and fits with the handwaved time bubble anyway) Disciplines: (what are their main job[s]? The adventuring or professional skills they’ve learned?) Hobbies: Birthplace: Current Home: Occupation: (Their actual day job, different from or part of their disciplines?) Signature Items: (A particular weapon? A piece of jewelry? Always wear a specific coat?)

Description: A very short "immediate impressions" type description; what would someone "on the street" see when meeting/looking at your character on a typical day? Taking some of the info from the stats but then how you want those barebone facts to be seen; is the OC elegant, or rough? Expensive clothes or simple attire? Any particular smells, or sounds? I recommend around 100 words.

Biography: Very brief, general overview of the backstory that led them to the point where they become a story protagonist (adventurer, the WoL, or other roleplay archetype). Don't have to go into great detail, keep it short and simple; it's a blurb that sets up how they got here in broad strokes. I think my longest bio is around 300 words, and it probably shouldn’t go over that here.

To get more details, one can always link to specific stories, or to a tag. I have multiple OCs, so I might make my tags something like "Aeryn Backstory" or "Iyna Lore" or "Punchy History" or some combo thereof (I usually try to keep them consistent though for ease).

Persona: What face do they present to the world? How are they perceived by the public, acquaintances, coworkers, family, actual friends? Some of these answers will be the same, some may change depending on if and how they code switch in various social situations.

From there, what lies underneath the surface? What are some general internal attitudes, traits, feelings?

A hundred words for outward demeanor and another one hundred for innermost self ought to cover the general broad strokes.

Romance: If so inclined, details about the OC's relationship details; sexual and romantic orientations, relationship history, current situations, how they view and approach intimacy (or not!).

Links to relationship tags or stories or art can work well here, too.

Echo: Does the OC have an Echo at all? Is it a "typical" Echo, or do they have some special abilities, some things they're better at than others? How does it affect them, how do they feel about it?

This is another section that may be a free space section to remove or swap to something else relevant to the character.

Hobbies: The stuff outside of work and heroics. Ways they relax, special interests, side jobs, things they enjoy, and so on. This can be an expansion of the listing in the stat block, or you can cut out one or the other to avoid redundancy.

Companions: What’s their chocobo like, or do they have another favored mount? What pet(s) do they have? Are they practically a Disney Princess? Have a familiar? Do they prefer arcane entities? Technological constructs? Or do they eschew companions entirely?

How to find the OC in game: This is where I list things like realm and data center, and addresses for the FC house and personal house or apartment. Not necessary if you don't want folks to go looking.

Links: The links can be scattered through the post in relevant sections, or gathered together here. I tend to put my basic tag for the character, if I have an aesthetic tag for them, their story tags, any links to art references or other miscellaneous items I want easily found for myself and others. I often put this close to the top if a profile is longer and I want those links to be quick referenced.

OOC: Any particular notes one wants to make about the character from a meta perspective. Can also be combined with the Links.

[sid-the-sandwich]

Wanderous Whereabouts X Tomodachi Life

This is part 7 of features I think they should add to the game, this one is expanding on the Wanderous Whereabout app in-game; I personally do like the concept of the app, it is meant to add life to the game, to make the boys seem more than just 2d paper-thin characters... but I don't think they achieved this just because of how limited it is.

You can only check in on MC's room and even then, most events are locked behind story chapters, so if you are unable to get through the lessons, you won't ever use this app; for example, I'm on chapter 8 (becuz I'm currently focused on the OG game) so I never check in on Wanderous Whereabouts unless I have enough Karma points to buy one of the few Items,

So how to remedy this? i have 3 main points:

Link the Ingame app to the time

The ability to go into other rooms (they are already rendered ingame as seen in the Demon Zoom calls)

Make the interactions more frequent (it doesnt have to require voice acting)

One simple change i'd make is that i'd say simply make the game more linked to the actual time; this opens a plethora of options already. The game already knows what time of the day it is wherever you play, so why not have the characters act according to the time.

in the morning, let the brothers be the only ones in the house and let them wake up at different times, e.g Lucifer and Asmo wake up early, Satan and Beel wake at some point between 9am and 12pm but Mammon, Levi and Belphie wake up past noon. The brothers who are awake will go for breakfast and the sleeping brothers will miss breakfast for lunch instead.

In daytime let the boys hang around the house, sitting in each other's rooms, annoying each other. they could quietly watch a movie or be chasing each other around a room like Levi chasing Mammon for his money. Beel could pop into the kitchen every hour to check for food but if we help on the fridge mission, Beel will just look at the sign on the fridge that has a sheep on it; but if we don't do the mission, then Beel will be eating in the kitchen. The dateables will also arrive at the house during the day and then we will be able to interact with them.

during the day we can interact with the brothers depending on what they are doing, like we can draw on Belphie's sleeping face, we see what Game Levi is playing and play minigames like tic-tac-toe or rock paper scissors with Mammon who will bet us for money. We can give food to Beel and Give items like fans and calming cats to cool down Satan. There can be a minigame to decorate Asmo's nails exactly how he says (like Simon-Says). With Lucifer, we watch over him while he works.

In the evening, the brothers will sit down for dinner and then go back to their rooms or hang out together once again; the dateables will also leave one by one until it gets to about 11pm irl time when they will all leave immediatly.

In the nighttime, the brothers will fall asleep one by one in their respective rooms, Belphie will be the first to sleep, Asmo and Lucifer will be next, then Beel and Satan, then Mammon and Levi last. Levi would sleep at like 4am.

the place would be more interactive, if we touch a boy while they are doing something, they would grumble or complain. they could talk to us asking us to check to see what they are thinking or what they last ate. they might ask questions about themselves that we need to answer correctly to get intimacy points. the brothers may also complain about their day or say random stuff in general.

and the best part we can now pet them in 3D!

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

you seem really organized. are you? if yes, have you always been this way? how does one get to this point of discipline?

I'd say I'm pretty organized. I don't know if I've always been this way or if I was forced to be this way. XD Probably both. But organized looks different for everyone. I can share some things I do, though.

Everything has a designated place. I always remember where everything is if it goes back to the same place.

Use any spare time. When I have a free ten minutes (or any amount of downtime), I will use it to clear my surroundings. Even if it's as small as putting my pens in order or putting away a few things, it prevents a big mess from ever happening.

When putting things away, things I use most often are placed in easy reach. If I want to use something more often, I will move it to the front.

I am always altering my organization for optimization rather than aesthetics. I am neat, but it is more important for me to use my things. If I want to use something more often, I will make it more accessible.

Tasks are in order of priority and efficiency. I will do multiple tasks at once if I think it is most efficient - sometimes with my two hands doing two different things. I have mental checkpoints to double check to make sure I didn't miss anything. And, of course, I have priorities of each day and focus on doing those things first.

I use alarms if something is time sensitive. These days you can change alarm sounds on your clock app to customize the type of sound to alert you of different things. Most of the time I don't need it, but it's a good habit to get into. Inevitably, I will get old and will be glad I already thought to do this.

Plan ahead for your future self. I do this a lot. If I purchased a bulk meal, I will separate it to meal-sized portions and store them that way so I only need to reheat a portion instead of having to lug the whole thing out. I will order products from soonest to expire in the front to latest in the back. When I go to my stash for a replacement, I already know the stuff closest to the front needs to be used first. I can also see if I'm running out depending on how empty the space left is.

I have a good memory. I generally don't need to write things down. I will use post-its / memo pads / notes app if I want to make a list (usually for groceries, addresses, etc). I always think in order of priority. If something doesn't need my attention right now, I'll make a mental note or stick a post-it somewhere I remember to remind myself (or set an alarm on my phone) to do it later.

Rely on your strengths and supplement your weaknesses. If you need to write things down to remember them, having list notepads in handy places or purchasing a planner can work for you. Just because I don't do it doesn't mean you shouldn't. I also don't live a very busy life. My current system works for now but might not in the future which is why I'm always thinking of future ways I can adapt. There are lots of planning styles out there you can research and experiment with to make your own perfect one. If your time is very important, try time blocking. If you need to be more flexible, utilize technology (Notion, Google calendar, other pre-installed apps on your phone, etc) to reposition things if needed. Most people carry their phone around all the time; technology might be the way to go nowadays (although for students, maybe keeping a paper copy is needed in case you can't use your phone in class). Set up routines for what is fixed in your life (work, school, etc) and keep it realistic. If you're not a morning person, prep the night before (ex: meals / outfit / things you need and place it all in your leaving path so you can just pick up and go). If you are a morning person, you can batch tasks for the allotted time you have before you start your day (sleep early to prepare well for your morning routine). Keep in mind how long it takes you to do something - not how quickly you wish you could do things XD but the actual realistic time.

If you have a system in place, keep what works and change what doesn't. Don't wait. Just do it. Most of the time you can tweak a little something to make it a teeny bit easier for you. Likewise, don't overhaul things that already work for you simply because it seems inefficient to others. There's the whole "do something for 30 days and it becomes a habit", but, in my experience, things don't become habits unless you make it easy for yourself and it feels easy for you. Think about the life you lead and the life you ant to lead. You don't need to be everyone else. You only need to be you.

Some people don't need to be as organized because they like life's spontaneity. Some people need to be organized despite their nature because they have deadlines (mostly talking about school here) and so they adopt a system but discard it later (when they graduate). In this case, it can be difficult so I recommend both having a useful system that also makes you happy as you use it. Buy stationery that suit your style and make you smile. Using digital planning tools opens up even more options (including free ones) - if you need those BTS meme photos in your daily schedule to keep your spirits up throughout the day, by all means, add 'em in.

Also, if you are interested in living with someone, find someone who has the same definition of "messy" and "clean" as you. Don't police them on how they're doing it, but the end result should be the same. It'll make for a more harmonious environment, fr. Bonus if they like doing the tasks you personally hate and if you like doing the tasks they personally hate.

[bigwolfgums]

𝚆𝚎 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝙸𝚝- 707/Main Character

𝙷𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚝, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑- 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚊 𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚄𝙽𝙺𝙽𝙾𝚆𝙽.

❥𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙼𝙲 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚞𝚙 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚂𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚕𝚢 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛.

𝚠𝚌: 587

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙵𝚘𝚞𝚛

Waking up in Rika’s apartment was as expected to MC- She immediately freaked out.

Opening her eyes to a new ceiling was scary at first. Actually, at first she thought it was a dream. Who could blame her; with the day she had prior it might as well be. This was anything but a dream though.

The fridge was completely empty. Seeing that the last time it was being used was a year and a half ago, MC was glad it was empty.

‘I at least need chips.’ MC closed the fridge door, cutting off the cool breeze coming from the air system inside. She slid over to the kitchen counter where she left her phone while on her adventure to find breakfast. 

10:09AM

‘When have I ever been up this early? What am I even doing?’

MC realized that she doesn’t even have the wifi password to this place. What would her mother say, walking into a random person's house based on some dude's opinion from an unknown number. Actually, if she told her mother this, she would probably believe her without a second thought. 

‘I've done weirder, following a random man would maybe be in the top five.’ MC thought while opening the RFA app. Her thumb hovered over the app as if she was scared to click it, that clicking it made the situation officially real. 

After a moment she pressed down on the screen and the screen quickly changed to a new, different home screen. 

RFA was at the top of the screen. She could see four different sections she could go on: one for the main chat, one for private messaging, one for calls, and one for emails. Under the RFA title at the top was a picture of each member with a status attached once you clicked on their profile.

Everyone had a picture of themselves as their picture, other than Seven. MC smiled at his dumb chicken avatar.

Speaking of 707, she needed the wifi password. She debated for a while whether or not to

 call him, would it be too weird? She did just meet him, but with everything that has happened after a moment it seemed trivial. 

“Hello, Hello, Hello! Your superman of everything on the internet is here!”

MC exhaled and threw her nose chuckling a bit, how is he happy this early?

“Well, Superman, it seems I'm your damsel in distress this fine morning.”

“Well. MC, I, God Seven, will scour high and low to find what blights you. Now, what is this trying task you have for me?”

“The wifi password.”

“The wifi password? That’s all?”

“Oh! And where is the nearest shop? There is no food here and I need my morning fill of soda and chips. It would be nice to have wifi to play LOLOL too. I promised Yoosung.”

“Oh. My. God. A woman after my own heart. Are you single?”

“Hmm, that depends on if you can give me the wifi password.”

“It’s the alphabet backwards but without the R, F, and A.”

“Wow, that is insanely clever, you must be smart 707”

“I wanted it to be ‘123XD420’ but Rika said no.”

“Now that sounds more like you.”

“Wow, you already know me so well, we are meant to be!”

“Mhm, also the shop?”

“Oh, right around the corner, maybe a few blocks away?”

“Thank you very much, lover boy.”

“No problem, my damsel in distress. Now, I must get back to my tiring work. See ya!”

“Alright, bye!”

[callsignspark]

Ik this isnt part of the ask game, but would you consider showing us how you outline in Trello?? It looks so freaking effective!

I have been waiting for someone to ask me this question. thank you so so so so much you’re going to regret asking lmao

so as I said before I use Trello - a free cloud based project management tool - to outline and write my fics (and also for my to do list and my Christmas present shopping and vacation planning and literally everything) because, to be 100% honest with you, I have no chill. I have never been relaxed about anything. ever. not a single day in my life. and therefore I marinate on fic ideas in my mind for months (sometimes years!) before I start doing anything with them. this is my process I use for everything I write and we’re using Mar[r]y Me as my example!

the first thing is the idea. I get an idea and I word vomit vibes into the closest thing (notes app, google doc, scribbling into my work notebook, texting a friend) and then I marinate on the idea. I first had the idea for Mar[r]y Me on January 25, 2023. it went through several iterations as I shaped what it was going to be and below is what I sent to Jordan in June 2023 and it’s the basis for the story we’ve all been following. (or mostly, it’s changed quite a bit since then.)

once I’m ready to start writing I create a board in Trello. think of a board like a white board, you then add “cards” which I think of as sticky notes except with a lot more features. also my process is the same no matter if it’s a one shot or a multi chapter fic, it just depends if it gets its own board or it goes into my one shot board. (which is filled with ideas waiting to be written lol) anyway. this is the Mar[r]y Me board!

for a multi chapter fic like this each chapter gets a card in the IN PROGRESS list (they move to the right as things get written/posted). each card follows a template: title, due date (loosely assigned to get an idea of what a posting schedule may look like), a label (always being with need to plan), and a checklist. also the chapter outline - obviously.

before I get into the outline, I use the labels as a nice visual representation of what the status of everything is. as the screenshot below shows, the each writing stage has its own color (and I use the color blind color schemes so I get the fun patterns too!) and it gets changed as we go along. it helps me know at a quick glance where everything is at the moment.

I also love the checklist feature, see below. which basically has all the steps I need to follow once I have a chapter written and ready for final editing. it may seem like overkill but I work long hours and you’d be amazed at how easily my brain forgets things lmao. so this ensures nothing is missed when I’m getting ready to post.

now onto the outline. my outline goes from something super basic, to a few bullet points, to an in depth summary of what’s going to be written. using chapter one as an example of this progression.

1. this is the og outline for the whole story. just a dream and a vibe and one sentence. literally.

2. the expanded outline for chapter one

3. just a small section of the final outline I used to write the chapter. a lot of my final outline ends up being actual sentences that I use in the final draft, I basically write the chapter in bullet points and unfinished sentences.

4. I use the very expanded outline to write the actual chapter. following along bullet point by bullet point. an example from chapter 9 since that’s what I’m writing rn.

5. once everything is written, all the bullet points have been used up or ignored, I transfer it into google docs and read it to myself, editing as I go. once I’m happy with my final rough draft I use grammarly to idiot check things because I’m an engineer not an English major. then I start using the checklist (teaser posting, creating tumblr post, etc.) and then the worst part. I walk around my home office and I read the entire chapter out loud to myself and make final edits as I go. is it excruciating to have to listen to myself speak the flirting I’ve just written out loud? yes. have I made myself cry multiple times? yes. do I find a lot of rough spots and smooth them out? yes. that’s usually done on Thursday nights.

6. from there it’s all final editing and formatting and scheduling the final post. I also have to create the accompanying recipe post for Mar[r]y Me so I do that too. and we post on Fridays! sometimes I share the google doc link with friends so they get an advanced copy of the chapter and sometimes they get to be surprised with everyone else (I’m running behind schedule and don’t have time to share it lmao)

it’s a lot of work for something I’m producing for free but I genuinely love it so much and it helps me keep everything straight. there would be so many lost ideas and abandoned thoughts if I didn’t do it this way. it’s crazy that this the first fic I’ve ever written and that I’ll probably be close to 90k words by the time it’s finished.

if you’ve made it this far thank you for indulging my very intense brain and it’s processes. I love the community we’ve created here on this blog and I’m so excited to keep writing and sharing. and I especially want to give a big thank you to my very good friends Ames, Alexa, and Jordan. Mar[r]y Me would not be the story it is without them and I can’t thank you enough for your love and encouragement during this story.

[georgieluz]

Dou you think that Netflix streaming The Band of Brothers and The Pacific expand our little fandom? If it expands what changes happen? Will be the changes in good way or bad way?

i think it depends on if they throw it on the front page or if they just add it and you have to come across it yourself. i do think more people will discover it and enjoy it. i think we may see a few more blogs popping up but i don't know if it'll be on as big a scale as other fandoms, or for newer shows. if they promote it a lot and have it splashed across the main page then i think we'd definitely see a lot of people talking about it (mostly on twitter though, rather than here)

if we do end up with a mass expanding of the fandom, i think it could go either way. it's always nice to have a few more people around and i'm always down for welcoming new people into the fandom. i think it'll be worse over on twitter, rather than here. i find that when netflix adds shows, the new people flock to twitter to talk about it first. but then again, they may go there looking for hbo war fans and find it empty, so they may go looking further and figure that tumblr is their only real option, since it does feel like we're the only place with an interactive hbo war fandom. but maybe all the new fans will congregate over there and there'll be twitter hbo fans and tumblr hbo fans and not much crossover or overlap between us.

i used to be part of the f1 fandom over on the (ex)bird app and all the dudebros kicked off when new fans came after watching drive to survive, but it really wasn't bad. in fact, it was nice to see new people fall in love with different drivers and the sport. like imagine watching someone become obsessed with doc roe for the first time? or become completely unhinged because winnix will NOT stop flirting with each other in every damn episode, or they notice webgott's chemistry and write a massive post screaming about them for the first time. it might just be really fun to see. people seemed to enjoy me liveposting my first watch of the pacific, so maybe it'll just be a lot of fun things like that when new people come? i know that with a huge amount of new people comes the higher chance for drama and bad eggs, but i do think we've got something special here which will be hard to ruin. the f1 fandom on twitter was already a complete mess with drama every single day and just generally being a horrible place to spend your time, so it's really not comparable with our fandom here, but that experience did make me realise that even if there's a lot more new people, they tend to adapt to the specific ways of the fandom they're entering, rather than disrupting it.

maybe i'm just being optimistic and they'll come and burn our fandom to the ground but i'm choosing to look on the bright side.

alternatively, i was also in the tennis fandom and we had a huge influx of new people and it got really really toxic and pretty much ended the original cute little thing we had going on so :)

ultimately, i think it could go either way (good or bad) but whether it'll be a big noticeable change here on tumblr depends on whether netflix gives it all the bells and whistles when it adds it to the site and whether new fans find each other on twitter first or not.

also it's only going to be on us netflix and no where else apparently. obviously the usa is fucking huge so it's still y'know, impactful, but yeah, just a small thing to note?

it'll be interesting when it finally does happen though, maybe we should make a bingo card of predictions lmao

[dan-the-adiposer]

I wrote up general descriptions for Housamo/Tokyo Afterschool Summoners version of the characters from Winx Club

ブルーム "Bloom" (Real name: 愛川 龍子 "Ryuuto Aikawa"):

A child saved from a fire, Bloom grew up as a relatively normal girl with adoptive parents. That is until she became acquainted with the App and discovered that she herself is a transient and no-one knew until now. Her sacred artefact is a butterfly badge. Her role is 'The Seal' and her rule is 'Willpower'. Her rule necessitates that as long as she still has the will to live, she can survive and stay conscious through anything, even mutilation.

ステラ "Stella":

A transient from the world of Eden, she's known for a bubbly personality and affiliation with light and mirrors. Her caretakers were people she bounced between and had very different styles of mentorship, representing the sun and the moon respectively. She was sent to Tokyo, and now using the App, she's decided to consolidate all she's learnt and shine brighter than either of they can alone. Her sacred artefact is a mirror. Her role is 'The Royal' and her rule is 'Reflection'. Her rule reflects any and all aspects of herself and her opponent and depending on either of their mental states, they can fight in tandom with them or against them.

フローラ "Flora" (Real name: カルヴァーリョ 藤子 "Fujiko Carvalho"):

Flora is Brazilian diaspora living into Tokyo. She's known for being kind-hearted and soft, but is also a stickler for rules and a bit stuck up when it comes to her studies. She's empathetic and comes from a small family, her, her parents and a little sister. Her sacred artefact is a quill. Her role is 'The Survivalist' and her rule is of 'Cycles'. Her rule makes it so that every action will cycle all the way back to its beginning, like the change of the seasons. A punch will eventually lead its way back to its own initiation, somehow.

ムサ "Musa":

A transient from the world of Hourai/Penglai, she's known for being tomboyish and has a tendency to keep to herself. She lost her mother during Penglai's famine and showed up in Tokyo with a newfound fervour to build up a life using her musical dreams. She seeks to spread her world's musical traditions whilst taking inspirations from J-Rock to make a new sound. Her sacred artefact is a whalebone whistle. Her role is 'The Stone Heart' and her rule is of 'Vibrations'. Using the whistle, she can generate vibrations in the air that come out as an assortment of noises, along with also acting as fields that can veer opponents off-course.

テクナ "Tecna":

A transient from the world of Utopia, she's known for seeming outwardly emotionless and struggles in showing vulnerability. Despite the high technological advancement of Utopia, she still experienced a general distance from people in youth. She arrived in Tokyo mostly of her own volition, wanting to get out of the stifling atmosphere. Her sacred artefact is a communicator. Her role is 'The Oracle' and her rule is 'Chain Reaction'. Her rule conflicts with Flora's, being that all events in a battle will cause butterfly effects that will not be predicted. This may spawn an exception if they were ever to fight.

アイシャ "Aisha":

A transient from Garo Demana. Aisha is known for her go-getter attitude and sporty nature, whilst keeping in touch with her feminine side. She has a love for dancing and desires a real connection with the world around her. There aren't an abundance of water-affiliated folks in her homeworld, so now in Tokyo, she wishes to connect with the water more. She grew up rather isolated, and eventually grew a distaste for the constant upholding of etiquette. Her sacred artefact is a beaded bracelet. Her role is 'The Raindancer' and her rule is 'Vitality'. The rule gives her and her opponent(s) energy boosts, but doesn't heal either. It can be useful if used correctly.

[alltimefail-sims]

May I ask how you edit cas screenshots and what apps you use?

Yes, of course!!

The only program I use is the free online photo editor "Photopea."

First I open my image and sharpen it (Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen). Then I'll crop it to the size I want: for CAS screenshots that's usually 500 x 720, but it could change depending on what I feel looks best. (Note that your monitor size might change what looks good for you, so just find what you like best!) After that I always set the exposure to 0.40 (Image > Adjustments > Exposure... > Exposure: .40). Then I will change the contrast. The contrast number depends on the sim, but usually I do somewhere around 20 (Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast > Contrast: 20).

Finally I soften the image: I set surface blur settings both at 4 (Filter > Blur > Surface Blur > Radius 4 and Threshold 4) and then I do Gaussian Blur settings at .1 px (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur > Radius: .1 px). This final step is similar to adding "Topaz Clean" in Photoshop, and it just makes the image look really smooth and cohesive, in my opinion.

Also, I just want to note that I use this CAS lighting (Cas_L), have the game graphics set to the highest settings, and have edge smoothing and laptop mode turned off!

I know that seems like a lot of steps and words, but I promise it's intentionally very simple in practice! I'm not tech savvy at all and had no experience with digital editing prior to making my simblr, but this process came together after a lot of trial and error and cobbling together what much more experienced/talented simblrs were doing (lmao).

I hope this was helpful! ❤️

[1892]

what camera do you use? and do you have any photography tips?

yes. assuming you are JUST starting photography, here are some things you can do. 8 onward are for if you want to do candids like i do specifically.

do some research. youtube good beginner cameras, google around, search for the right camera for What you want to do.

get the camera. save up, or if you have the money get one. i shoot on a very simple nikon d3200, and i swear by nikon products. mine is basically a point and shoot, but you can change settings in every way that matters. i have a 35 mm lens that i use religiously, if you want a nicer camera to start, just be sure you find a youtube tutorial to figure out settings, etc.

get a 128 GB memory card and two batteries. you need a backup.

learn the rule of thirds and the golden spiral, both will help you with good composition to start. learn the rules before you break them.

look at other people's photos. i am very inspired by nan goldin, josh kern, and vivian maier. try to find a style you like, and then try to emulate it. i started out doing street and candid photography, and i've stayed in that space as i've improved because it's what i love. i can do still, posed shots, but i prefer to do in the moment stuff. just a personal style thing, which you can develop over time.

take. lots. of. photos. of everything. find non-human subjects and try to give them a sense of style and emotion, whatever feels best to you. find human subjects, and either pose or do candids depending on what you like!

take your camera wherever you go when you can. take your camera when you hang out with your friends, when you go out in public, when you take a walk

when photographing a subject, try to take a few photos of the same movement, usually for me if i take 3 photos within the span of a few seconds, the second pic will turn out.

try to learn what movement in people looks like, when there are natural pauses, capture that when you can.

make yourself a little bit invisible with the camera, if people are super conscious of the pics being taken and perform for the camera, some authenticity is lost. it's not impossible that a photo of someone looking at the camera turns out good though!!!! if you can capture a natural expression, sometimes eye contact with the viewer can be really powerful

look at your own photos and analyze them heavily. learn to pick out good and bad ones

ask other people for their input on your work! others can give their subjective opinions just as you have yours: it is very helpful to have friends or peers review and look at your work from an outside POV

find good light sources, this one seems obvious but when doing candids it's more difficult. try to find light sources facing your subjects, obviously, but you can also use alternative light sources for greater effect. lamplight, for example, has a lot of personality to it!

try to capture your environment as well as the people in it. giving visual context to what people are seeing (or not, and eliminating the space as a choice) is helpful

crop your shit when you need to

if you want to edit your photos, i am not your guy. i don't edit my pics, except sometimes on my phone i have an app called afterlight that is incredible for lightening up images, color overlay, it has touch tools if you want to illuminate just part of an image, etc. convenient to have on your phone

have fun!!!!

[misc-obeyme]

Nightbringer: Initial Thoughts

I have a lot of thoughts about Nightbringer, but I don't want to have one massive crazy post, so I'm gonna break it up a bit.

This first post is about the general gameplay, nothing story related. So there aren't any spoilers, just my thoughts on the app and updates.

Ruri☆Tunes

I LOVE IT. Listen, Ruri is adorable. I am right there with Levi. Like if this was a real anime, I would absolutely watch it. She's so cute! Did you guys see the background for Lesson 7 where there's a Ruri themed Miss Em doll? The cuteness nearly killed me.

The rhythm game itself is HARD. At first I didn't realize that you need to tap the actual objects. So by switching the controls to up and down, then turning my phone, and tapping the actual objects as they hit the line, I got WAY BETTER. I reblogged a post about this I think yesterday? It explains it better and thanks to that, the levels are now pretty fun.

I love the songs, of course, though some of the remixes are a little funky. But I loooove all the graphics! The lil donuts! And the lil demon chibis! And Luke's chihuahua! Oh yes and my favorite thing ever is Asmo's little "hai!" when he jumps over one of those green puddles. It's so cute.

Overall, I much prefer this to the dance battles. That being said, the levels are not really any easier than the OG. I was hoping we wouldn’t need to have a bunch of crazy high leveled cards to get through the story, buuuut it’s really looking like that might still be the way of it. I mean to be fair, the whole point of this is to make money so...

I don’t really hold it against them. I mean I do but I also don’t lol. The story is good enough that I can look past the money making motives. However I will say that this is just the case for me personally. I am lucky enough to have a little bit of disposable income to spend on apps, but I know a lot of players don’t.

Moving on before this becomes a rant about the evils of capitalism…

Wanderers Whereabouts

It sure is… something… Aside from the horrors of 3D models, I don't understand why they're playing sports in MC's room. Would it have been that much of an issue to give us an outdoor space as well as an indoor one? At least let them play sports in a field or something, you know?

My favorite ones so far have been when there's multiple demons in there, though. The way they interact with each other is so cute. And even though I find the whole thing a tiny bit weird, I DO like hearing their voices and seeing their interactions. Plus they do some really cute things when you give them an MC plushie.

But I think we all agree that the best part is watching Levi chase Mammon around on the map.

Fab Snap

This is supposed to be like TikTok, right? Once again I'm not a fan of the 3D models, which is probably due to the whole uncanny valley thing. However, I do still enjoy the shenanigans because what the fuck are those guys even doing? I'm sure you've all seen the musical chairs situation. I did like the one with Luke doing the snack test thing and you can hear Simeon who is recording the video. It's definitely cute to see them doing fun little things like that.

Everything else...

... seems to be the same except for some updated graphics and such. The story interface still has the 2D sprites thankfully and as far as I can tell, it works exactly the same as the OG. I've seen some people saying they're worried about the options changing the story, but they don't anymore than they did before. I think that's just their way of saying you get intimacy points with different characters depending on the options you choose. As far as I can tell, nothing seems to be any different on that end?

I love that they have entirely new special guest and home screen dialogue. The special guest dialogue especially seems more lovey and flirty than the OG. Solomon straight up says he loves you if you get the full heart reaction. You can still get annoyed reactions, though. From what I can tell, the reactions are the same as the OG app. If you get an S, it's the same as if you got three stars in the dance battle. I'm not sure about if you get lower than a B... but the three star reactions seemed to work for S, A, and B.

Also, I looooooove Karasu. I hope we get more Karasu beyond the tutorial, but I don't know if that's actually going to happen. I'm sure many of us will now refer to Mammon as Noodle Boy, though, because c'mon, that's excellent.

Okay there’s more I could talk about, but this post is already long lol. I like the mix of familiar stuff and new stuff. So far, I’m enjoying all of this. Stay tuned for posts about the story itself because there are so many thoughts.

I am also happy to receive any asks about your opinions on all of these things or if you have actual questions or anything else, of course.

[continuations]

India Impressions (2023)

I just returned from a week-long trip to India. Most of this trip was meeting entrepreneurs and investors centered around spending time with the team from Bolt in Bangalore (a USV portfolio company). This was my second time in India, following a family vacation in 2015. Here are some observations from my visit:

First, the mood in the country feels optimistic and assertive. People I spoke to, not just from the tech ecosystem, but also drivers, tour guides, waiters, students, and professors, all seemed excited and energized. There was a distinct sense of India emerging as a global powerhouse that has the potential to rival China. As it turns out quite a few government policies are aimed at protecting Indian industrial growth and separating it from China (including the recent ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps). Also, if you haven't seen it yet, I recommend watching the movie RRR. It is a "muscular" embodiment of the spirit that I encountered that based on my admittedly unscientific polling was much liked by younger people there (and hardly watched by older ones).

Second, air pollution in Delhi was as bad as I remembered it and in Mumbai way worse. Mumbai now appears to be on par with Delhi. For example, here is a picture taken from the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, which is en route from the airport, where you can barely see the high rise buildings of the city across the bay.

Third, there is an insane amount of construction everywhere. Not just new buildings going up but also new sewer lines, elevated highways, and rail systems. Most of these were yet to be completed but it is clear that the country is on a major infrastructure spree. Some of these projects are extremely ambitious, such as the new coastal road for Mumbai.

Fourth, traffic is even more dysfunctional than I remember it and distances are measured in time, not miles. Depending on the time of day, it can easily take one hour to get somewhere that would be ten minutes away without traffic. This is true for all the big cities I went to visit on this trip (Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore). I don't really understand how people can plan for attending in person meetings but I suppose one gets used to it. I wound up taking one meeting simply in a car en route to the next one.

Fifth, in venture capital there are now many local funds, meaning funds that are not branded offshoots of US funds, such as Sequoia India. I spent time with the team from Prime Venture Partners (co-investors in Bolt) and Good Capital among others. It is great to see that in addition to software focused funds there are also ones focused on agtech/food (e.g. Omnivore) and deep tech (e.g. Navam Capital). Interestingly all the ones I talked to have only offshore LPs. There is not yet a broad India LP base other than a few family offices and regulations within India are apparently quite cumbersome, so the funds are domiciled in the US or in Mauritius.

Sixth, the "India Stack" is enabling a ton of innovation and deserves to be more widely known outside of India (US regulators should take note). In particular, the availability of a verified digital identity and of unified payments interfaces is incredibly helpful in the creation of new online and offline experiences, such as paying for a charge on the Bolt charging network. This infrastructure creates a much more level playing field and is very startup friendly. Add to this incredibly cheap data plans and you have the foundations for a massive digitally led transformation.

Seventh, India is finally recognizing the importance of the climate crisis both as a threat and as an opportunity. India is already experiencing extreme temperatures in some parts of the country on a regular basis (the opening of Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry for the Future extrapolates what that might lead to). India is also dependent on sufficient rainfall during the Monsoon season and those patterns are changing also (this is part of the plot of Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock). As far as opportunity goes, India recently discovered a major lithium deposit, which means that a key natural resource for the EV transition exists locally (unlike oil which has to be imported). India has started to accelerate EV adoption by offering subsidies.

All in all this trip has made me bullish on India. Over the coming years I would not be surprised if we wind up with more investments from USV there, assuming we can find companies that are a fit with our investment theses. In the meantime, I will look for some public market opportunities for my personal portfolio.

[onemillionbuttholes]

one million buttholes

and you know. no one really asked for this, I myself am not sure this is something i even want to be doing or maintaining. just like, stream of thoughts. I never really got into journaling in a capacity that could be helpful or meaningful, despite actually having the want to do so. and is that a pen to paper thing? is it a pen to hand thing, in the physical sense (if its not a bic .7 easy glide, don't even try it near me) or just a continuity thing of holding myself accountable. maybe all 3. irrelevant now, though. we're trying this.

since reading more books, and writing more with izzy, i've been playing around with the idea of writing more. more so train of though, journaling, but only because that seems more natural, easier to begin with what's already going on in your head. but im also playing w the idea of creative fiction. after the flood when I was helping my mom clean and save stuff from her basement, i stumbled across a lot of my old high school stories and papers. frankly, i did very well. Reminded me of the imaginative way i used to think about things (still think about things?) ive been mulling around the idea in my mind that i'm a romantic, creative person. sounds so cringe, actually vain to write that down. but if I force myself to listen to what great minds have been saying; that cringe is freedom, that cringe is the opposite to happiness, I can allow myself to sit with these grandiose thoughts. I can ask myself if i was that girl who was creative, more romantic and artsy; what would i be doing? would i be creating more? well, probably, easily. and actually, that aligns with the goals i already have for myself anyways. spend less time doom scrolling (rant about social media will be later, surely) and more time stimulating my hands and mind. to quote julia, and whoever said it first i guess; an idle mind is the devils playground. doom scrolling is the easiest solution, but too fucking addictive. and horrible for you in every way; I'm going to compare it to nicotine. (not opiods, everyone loooves to use opiods to example addiction. but they're expensive and very hard to buy pure, and considering the fentanyl crisis; i wouldn't exactly consider them "easy." so; doom scrolling: nicotine. feels great in the moment, you do way more than you mean to when you pick it up, and feel like shit the moment you stop, and for a few hours afterwards, up until you start to miss it. cycle repeats. yes, i am trying to stop vaping! thanks

anyways, back on track. someone once said 'do not destroy the part of you that's cringe, destroy the part that cringes.' that sentence quite frankly changed my life. accepting the cringe things about yourself is to accept things that make you happy despite overwhelming noise that you should feel shame or otherwise different. i would even argue 75% of that noise comes from your own self judgement! not that I should be talking about fandom at work, but you get what i mean. we are the ones holding ourselves ack from true, ecstatic happiness and freedom. i'm in a world right now (2025, canada, educated, financially stable) that uniquely i can do and be whatever i want. and i choose to feel shame about things that make me happy??? girlfriend actually wtf. that is shameful, to not take opportunities others would kill to have.

tdlr; i think i'm going to start writing. i want to start writing. im thinking maybe a rant like this a day, a week? just to get the energy out, stimulate the juices. depends how much i like typing on my phone within the tumblr app or else this is really never going to happen on work days. meh, never say never. and regarding the onemillionbuttholes; it's a url i saved actually 13 years ago, when i was really active on tumblr in high school and thought it was the funniest shit like, ever, and it would be my claim to tumblr fame. i tried this morning to make a new blog for writing purposes, but every url i tried out (nooneasked, actuallynooneasked, uselessrambling) was 1) already taken and 2) im realizing now, super self deprecating! huh. funny that. so, i already had this butthole blog, untouched since 2011. why not use what we already have? if its not broke don't fix it.