#but i am speaking in terms of the character i'd like that to be clear

[moonfruito]

i can't stop thinking about genloss being a representation of being a content creator and how it relates to the last scene. "let me die. i don't want to keep doing this." the mask flashing on and off in morse code for sos. ranboo's asking for things to be over in terms of the performance that he's stuck in and wants to be freed from his role as a hero that everyone relies on, and simultaneously the person behind the performance doesn't want to keep existing with the pressure and responsibility of thousands watching him and waiting for him to entertain them. they're switching back and forth between the 'real' version of them and the performing version of them, and yet they're saying the same thing, over and over. because it doesn't matter which part of him is saying it. it's just a cry for help.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello. I am writing a character with intellectual disability, and I have found your posts about that really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to make them.

I am trying to do research and write him well, and I was hoping you could give me some advice on how to do that. My problem is that I would like to describe the way he speaks and the sound of his voice, but I'm not sure how to do that respectfully.

What I would like to describe is the way he takes a little longer to complete his sentences, needs more time than others do to plan what he's going to say, and pronounces some sounds a bit differently because of motor skills issues. I want to honor his unique voice and also help readers understand that he is noticeably disabled.

Are there any words or terms that would be really good/preferred to describe this sort of thing? And, on the other side, is there anything stereotypical or hurtful that should be avoided?

Thank you!

Hi!

I recommend our guide on writing speech disabilities!

In-dialogue, you can try showing him taking a break mid-sentence or using a lot of filler words/sounds to show that he's taking his time. You can spell them out in his speech, but I wouldn't overuse it - you can put more of them at the start, but later your readers will remember that that's how he talks, and occasional reminders should be enough.

It's important to remember that 1) ableists often mock the things I just mentioned, and 2) they're nonetheless real and real life people (me) talk with those patterns. I'd urge you to show them as just how he talks, not something that's inherently "annoying" or "child-like". Stray away from any sorts of infantilizing comparisons in general (that is, if he's not an actual child).

For him taking longer to plan what he is going to say, that's very real lol. How it shows (or doesn't show) will be very personal, I specifically tend to look up + fidget with my hands and people who know me can recognize that it means I'm trying to say something but need a moment (though strangers also often get it). But he can show it completely differently of course.

I don't think there's a consensus on what's the best way of "spelling out" someone's speech disability. My personal preference is leaving it out of the actual speech, but making it clear in the dialogue tags. It's also easier for readers who might have reading disabilities or not be native speakers of the language you write in. So you could make it clear there whether it's that he's slurring words, has a lisp, or stutters.

For terms, a lot of the accurate ones have also been used to mock how we talk. "Slow" would be the best example, "loud" would be there as well. A lot of us will talk slow, a lot will talk very loudly. I do the latter, and I know people who do both or neither. The key is to say it in a way that's neutral and not pass it off as some funny quirk or an outright gag. It's just a speech characteristic, the same way that someone could have a lower pitched voice, or speak very softly.

You can also show him struggling to follow the flow of the conversation. So sometimes it could be that he just loses the main topic and just asks what the discussion has been about (I do that all the time), or continues going on the subject that the other character(s) already moved on from.

Thanks for the ask and being thoughtful about it! I hope this helps

mod Sasza

[kerryweaverlesbian]

A friend of mine asked for advice on writing a poem so, I figured I'd share it more widely. This is how I personally tend to go through the process (although sometimes poems just come in a stream of consciousness and I'm like damn where'd you come from???)

This gets long so, under the cut

To me, a poem is circling around an idea through building a structure, so:

1. Figure out a key idea that connects two things together("smoke is a metaphor for hidden places" + "Mary Supernatural's relationship to motherhood" = "Mary Supernatural's hidden feelings about motherhood explored through the metaphor of a house fire")

OR a scene where something very sensory is happening ("eating a live octopus", "running on a cold day")

2. Write a short paragraph of whatever comes into my head as I think about that. Connections to other works, random lines, images, concepts. The ideas can be cliché and shit and not be used in the final piece!!

I'll do one rn for the octopus concept:

"What could the octopus be a metaphor for? Struggling to create a piece of work? Like how I rotate pieces of media around in my head for a while sometimes without getting a clear thought on them, as I am with Mouthwashing right now. The struggling kick of life. A life without hands, only senses. A constant reaching forever. Maybe a squid would be better, it releases cloudy ink...? But it's not as big as an octopus. Poem speaker confused between squid and octopus. The sensation of being strangled from the inside by the octopus tentacles. Fighting against yourself and your own instincts to give up. Tears forming as ideas form. Salt and copper. The tongue is kind of like a tentacle in itself. 'I swallow it, until it becomes mine'."

^ this helps solidify the ideas of the poem without having to battle through 3 or 4 drafts while looking at a blank page willing ideas to come out. Sometimes I just do that part in my head but it can be helpful to refer back.

What I love about poetry is that you can just skip to the exciting bit! You don't need a bunch of characters or scene descriptions or dialogue. It can all be the bit that makes you go hell yeah cool cool cool!! (<- guy who finds literary analysis cool)

3. Whichever of those ideas speak to you, use some to write a first stanza. The rhythm can be whatever sounds good in your head:

"I'm eating an octopus

(Live)

With gusto,

It's fighting me back but I bite."

So now we have an established rhythm! For this one it's

7 syllables [no comma]

(a short aside)

3 syllables,

8 syllables.

Now for the rest of the poem I can use that same rhythm, which keeps me focused. If you don't want to come up with your own rhythm, there's plenty of established poetry rhythms and rhyme schemes, if you google "types of poem" they will appear as if by magic. And of course you don't have to use a pattern at all. Again, this is just what I do.

To be clear, I don't tend to literally count out the syllables, you can feel what the rhythm is by saying the poem out loud (which you should do FREQUENTLY as you write to make sure the emPHAsis doesn't go ON the WRONG word). There's poetry terms for emphasis but I don't know them because I only did up to AS level poetry 😉

If you ever find the rhythm isn't working, change it. It's your poem. Do whatever you want. Changing the rhythm can also be used to show "this is a change/escalation in idea". It's a song with a bridge.

4. Keep talking about different parts of the metaphor in that structure:

"The tentacles writhing

(I chew, I chew)

A battle,

A hunt for the truth.

The hinge of my jaw

(It hurts, it hurts)

Unkindly,

I stick in my tooth."

^ I often slip into rhyming, this also helps not get stuck thinking of literally any word from the english language that could be used. As Monica from FRIENDS says, "rules help control the fun!"

"The [something] of muscle,

(My tongue? Its leg?)

My burden,

My begging for proof."

^ my close personal friend square brakets when I can't think of a description this instant! Wooo!

"[Some sort of 5th stanza that has an end rhyme for proof, maybe with the "salt and copper" concept?]

I'm eating an octopus

(Live)

But I'm winning

It's hard, but it's worth it, the fight."

^As you can see I added an extra syllable for the second to last line, you gotta just listen to your heart sometimes. When ending things I like to harken back to the beginning! It can be a little cheesey sometimes but that's okay, poems are allowed to be cheesey!

That's my general approach. Something that really, really helps with writing poetry is also... reading poetry. You get to experience a lot of rhythms and rhyme schemes and ways of talking about ideas and how different poets use the foundation of a poem to express their meanings. Reading this poem back, I was writing spontaneously but I can very clearly see influences of A A Milne (my mum's favourite poet!), The Jellyfish by Marianne Moore and my dear friend @lesbianjoannaharvelle 's poem I wish I could draw for the theme of wrestling with creativity. Our works are in conversation! Isn't that cool!!

Anyway. Kiss kiss.

[guppygiggles]

Alright, so...

For a while, I've been wanting to start an AU where all of my characters (As of writing: Casper, Avery, Finnegan (formerly Fishper), Darkside (name rework pending), and Null (complete redesign pending)) can interact. Below is a preview of that!

I am still planning on continuing my main fic with Casper + Avery (Like Real People Do), so don't worry that I have abandoned that project! I just wanted more creative freedom in terms of using my characters, so this AU is just meant to be a framework for that. This is meant to be more episodic, rather than a linear story like my fic.

The way Casper and Avery meet in this AU is the same as in my fic, although the world itself is quite different. Unlike the main story, in this universe there are many non-human races other than cloud elementals.

I don't have a lot of the other details fleshed out yet, but I wrote a short fic below to formally introduce Fishper (whose name going forward will be Finnegan) and kind of allude to the relationship dynamics between him, Avery, and Casper.

That was probably more explanation than was needed. Oops! Anyway --

LOTS OF TICKLES AHEAD! Enjoy! 💙

+++++

"Hey, why do you call me that?"

"Hm? Call you what?"

"Fishper. I mean, not that I don't like it, but... I have a name."

We sat on the end of the pier, legs dangling between the wooden slats of the guardrail. Far beyond Avery's lighthouse, the sun was just starting to sink below the horizon, painting the summer sky in shades of pink and orange. It was difficult to believe that just a year ago, I had crashed my skateboard into the same railing, leading to my chance encounter with the cloudman.

Though the world was filled with all kinds of non-human races -- I was sitting next to a triton, after all -- it was the first time I'd ever met an elemental, especially one like him. Prior to meeting Avery, I'd never even heard of cloudfolk. I'd mostly kept company with other humans until that day; since then, I'd become acquainted with all kinds of races, including merfolk like Fish. The scaly humanoid had washed up on the rocky outcropping around Avery's lighthouse during a particularly bad storm, and had been taken in by the elemental until he recovered. What could I say -- the gentle scientist was practically a magnet for those in need! We'd only known each other for about a month, but the excitable guppy and I had become fast friends.

"Well, you couldn't speak for the first few days after we found you, so... I had to call you something! It was really Avery's idea, though; he said you were just like me, so he gave you a name like mine. You could've told me sooner that you had a name, though! What is it?" I turned to look at him. He was grinning, swinging his legs in time with the flopping of his huge tail against the pier's wooden boards. I was a little embarrassed that I knew almost nothing about his race; only that some non-human races didn't use traditional names, so I figured it was possible he didn't have one.

"Ehehe, I just liked that you gave me a nickname! My real name is Finnegan, but most people just call me Finn."

"Awww, that's cute! Very fitting for you, too." I smirked, reaching over to give a light tickle to his finned ear. He squealed, shaking his head as his ears fluttered.

"Eee-HEEE! Hehey!"

I snickered. He was great to play with; very sensitive, with big, bubbly reactions. His scales were soft, supple, and surprisingly warm to the touch. I never would've expected a fish to be cuddly, but as of the past week, he'd been sneaking into mine and Avery's bed at night for a snuggle when he couldn't sleep. Insomnia -- like many things, we shared that, too.

"What's wrong? I thought you liiiiiked being tickled~" I teased, sneaking a finger under his arm and wiggling a bit. He laughed, then -- loud and clear, his high, giggly howling riding above the sound of the waves. He flopped back onto the pier, squirming as I readjusted my position to get a better angle on him.

"EHEH-HEE!" He screeched as my fingers danced gently along his ribcage. Despite all his flailing, he did little to try and stop me.

"This shirt looks familiar. Oh, wait. That's because it's my shirt! You stole my clothes out of the dryer again, didn't you!" I admonished playfully, sliding my hands under his -- MY -- shirt to tickle his pale, soft belly. Given that it was the most tender spot on him (and the most ticklish, as far as I could tell), I took particular care not to hurt him, my fingertips lightly spidering over the surface as if gliding on ice.

He was quickly in hysterics, wriggling beneath my fingers like a... well. Like a fish!

"AHAHA-HEEE! I DOHOHOOO!"

"You do what, ticklefish?" I asked, grinning as I gently pinched along his sides.

"I-EHEEEE! I LIHIHIKE T-TIHIHICKLES!"

I blushed. I'd never known Finn to be shy... after all, he offered very little resistance when tickled, and had always seemed to enjoy it... but I wasn't expecting an outright admission. How did he do that...? Unprompted, and while being tickled, no less!

It took me a moment to realize I had stopped tickling, and he was staring at me, tears in the corners of his yellow eyes.

"Why'd you stop?" He asked, a curious smile showing off his jagged teeth. They were more than a little crooked, lending him an air that was a bit goofy, rather than menacing as most triton tended to be. The end of his tail wagged, thumping repeatedly against the wood.

"You want me to keep going...?" I asked, staring down at him with raised brows... and an affectionate smile of my own. Who could resist that?

"Ehehe, yeah! It's fun!" He raised his arms high and laid back, giving me full access to his torso, and making me blush even more. What kind of society had he grown up in, to foster such boldness?! I choked back my own fluster, trying to look impish and intimidating. I was the ler, after all... I couldn't fold over a little unexpected compliance!

"Alright, fishflake, you asked for it... literally." I giggled in spite of myself; it was too hard not to. Finn didn't seem to mind, though. He giggled right back, which was a relief, for me -- gosh, he was easy.

I lifted his -- again, my! -- shirt up, this time, exposing his belly to the dying light. The stars had begun to appear, and Avery would be expecting us home, soon.

"Last tickle, okay? This belly of yours needs dinner, soon," I said, gently patting his belly to the tune of more happy tittering. Then I went to work, skittering my digits all over his tummy again. I didn't spare his navel that time, either; my fingertip wiggled right into it, causing him to emit a gleeful shriek as he kicked his scaly feet.

"AAAAHAHA-HEEHEEEE!"

He squirmed, but it was easy to follow his movements, as his intention clearly wasn't to squirm away. My hands moved from the center of his belly to his sides, then began to crawl upward, counting along his ribs.

"How many ribs does a fish have? Maybe we should count and see."

"EEEEEE! I DOHOHNT KNOHOWWW!"

"One, two, three... oops! I lost count. Can't you stay still? Now I have to start over!"

"AAAHEHEE! I CAHAHAHAN'T!"

"Ooooone, twoooo, threee..." As I counted each rib, I lightly wiggled each one with the pads of my fingertips. This got plenty of howling from him -- it was a good thing we were alone on the pier, otherwise I was sure his loud cackling would have been quite the spectacle!

Despite how it clearly tickled, Finn somehow managed to keep his arms up. I had to hand it to him... he was even more resilient than me!

"How about here, Finny~?" I taunted, suddenly jumping from his ribs to his armpits. They were nearly as soft as his belly, pale and smooth beneath my whirling fingertips.

He squawked again, followed by a gale of laughter, his body tossing back and forth against the pier. To my astonishment... he still kept his arms up!

"Tickle, tickle... Cooooooochie coo, ticklefish! You're just ticklish all over, aren't you?" I continued to tease, giggling as he laughed uproariously, his gamine face flushed dark green with laughter. Slowing to a stop, I reached up and took his hands, pulling his arms down and helping him to sit up. He looked a bit dizzy, a tickle-drunk grin on his face. I chuckled, ruffling his hair.

"Come on, Avery's probably waiting to pick us up. If we don't hurry, I'm sure there will be a serious tickling for both of us after dinner." I shivered at the thought of an Avery tickling, getting to my feet and pulling Finn up with me. He wobbled a bit, and then righted himself, giggling.

"Ehehehe... that's fine by me~!"

[hetaliahyperfix]

Hetalia Headcanons: Nation Physiology- Death

Tw: Discussions about death and cultural destruction

In a previous post, I discussed both canon and headcanon ideas about how immortality works. Yet, how does a nation die? It certainly seems like they can endure a lot. Well, this post shall discuss what can and what cannot kill a nation.

Before we get any further though, I will need to discuss something very important if we are to understand this topic: nation vs state.

Nations and states are actually not synonyms of each other, despite many using them as such. In fact, the distinction is important enough for this discussion that I have decided to make sure we are all on the same page when it comes to the differences between them.

Instead of being long-winded though, I have actually put a very useful graph under the cut that will quickly compare the differences between the two:

(Third row from the bottom is wrong. I believe it is supposed to be "Not as stable as a nation" and "More stable than a state.")

In canon, the characters are exclusively referred to as nations, not states. While these things can often coincide, they are not synonyms. I'd also argue that Hima does not use it as a synonym. The characters have been pretty consistently made to represent the nations, or the religious/cultural/ethnic parts of their respective groups (ex: France is not simply the modern borders of the nation-state in today's Europe, he represents the French people and their culture).

Nations have also been shown to almost universally exist before their state does. As an example, America was born before the official establishment of the United States of America (1776 or 1789). If America were simply a state and not a nation, this would not be the case.

This distinction here will actually be very important in understanding what can or cannot kill a nation going forward, so that is why I felt the need to make this distinction clear.

So, using both canon and history, this is what I came up with:

Nations very rarely, if ever, die from occupation. Just about every nation has been occupied at some point. Just as an example, the original strips took place during WW2 when Germany occupied the majority of Europe, yet all those European nations continued to exist. Russia occupied the Baltics as the Soviet Union yet they continued to exist. Vietnam was colonized by France until 1954, yet we wouldn't say she was only born in 1954. A more ancient example is Ancient Rome. We see that, when an empire conquered territories, those nations remained. When the Roman Empire occupied land in Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and various nations in Europe, all these nations still remained. At its height, the Roman Empire covered the majority of Europe, the Anatolian Peninsula, the Levant, parts of Arabia, and North Africa. Yet, I am positive all those nations in these areas continued to live but only as part of "his house," so to speak. In canon, characters who are occupied by foreign nations refer to it as living in the other nation's house (ex: the Baltics said they lived in "Russia's House" when they were part of the Soviet Union). Already, we can see why the distinction between state and nation is important. If they were states, they would not survive the occupation.

Territory changes rarely ever kill a nation. Nations in canon are constantly gaining and losing territory. This does not kill them. Even civil wars, despite popular headcanon belief, don't seem to kill nations. As an example, China is canonically over 4,000 years old. Yet, he has had his territory divided by civil wars hundreds of times over his history. In fact, it was such a prevalent thing, it even got its own term coined to describe it: the dynastic cycle. While this graph doesn't show it, you should keep in mind that each time it gets to the part where people revolt, the dynasty would often split into several different states. Here is a map of what this region looked like in 1936, right before WW2.

Loss of state or lack of state borders does not necessarily kill a nation. There is nothing in canon to indicate one way or the other, but I choose to believe that nations can exist even if they don't have official territory to call their own. To act like state borders are the only thing that determines a nation seems to deny the legitimacy of nations that were always nomadic or were forced into a nomadic life due to conquerors ousting them from their homeland. Native Americans groups were sometimes nomadic or were forced out of their home territory by the US government, yet I would not feel comfortable saying that means they weren't ever real nations (in the case of them always being nomadic) or that they ceased to exist as a nation of people (in the case of being forced from their homeland). There are/have been a lot of diasporas of people in the world who were either ousted from their homelands or always nomadic including the Native Americans, the Sami, the Romani, the Jews, the Ainu, the Aboriginal Australians, and more. All of these groups would have or still have either one or multiple personas for their groups, regardless of the fact that they didn't have a state to call their own for a long period of their history. Some of these groups have since been able to get state borders of their own (ex: the Cherokee Nation has a reservation covering multiple parts of Oklahoma). This is not the case for all these groups. This is because some of these groups either have no interest in a state of their own (the various Romani groups) or are interested, but have been denied (the Ainu). Also, the amount of personas they would have varies because not all of these terms refer to a single distinct group. For example, there would most likely be a single persona for the Ainu, but multiple for "Native America" as this term refers to over five hundred different nations native to North America that are around today, and each would most likely have their own persona.

So, with all of that being said, what can kill a nation? Simply put:

The destruction of a distinct national identity of a nation of people. This might seem self explanatory but it requires a bit more explanation. Basically, a nation can exist as long as their people do. "Existing" in this case refers to both physically existing and to culturally existing. So, for a nation to die, they either need to experience the complete destruction of their culture, or the complete death of all their people, or a combination of these two. Let's use a nation that canonically died: Ancient Rome. While I said that states don't need to exist to keep nations alive, they can often be intertwined with the national identity of a people so, in a case where nation-states are the same like Grandpa Rome, the destruction of the state can lead to the death of a persona. The fall of the Western Roman Empire brought about the collapse of the Roman identity (in the West, at least) and now, today, you will not meet someone who identifies with the language, religion, and culture of Rome. Nobody identifies as a Roman, at least none who were part of the original ancient culture that Grandpa Rome would have represented. Basically, his culture was effectively wiped out, so he died.

While a lack of state borders in itself won't kill, it can compound the problems that do kill a nation. If death is caused by the loss of a distinct cultural identity unique to that nation group of people, then states can often be very useful in maintaining these cultures. State borders are often founded around distinct nation groups or the formation of states can cause unique nation groups to rise up. So, while nations can exist without state borders, there is also no denying how important they can be with the formation and/or maintaining of national identities. So, while losing state borders in itself won't kill a Hetalia nation, it might lead to circumstances that can kill them aka, the death of their culture.

With all that being said, national identity can be a bit fluid. The culture of China during the Shang dynasty is not the same as the culture found in the People's Republic of China today, yet both are represented by the same persona. I think changes in cultures will not kill a nation as long as you can trace their culture's path pretty linearly and it progresses naturally. One really absurd example of this is Prussia. First he was the Teutonic Knights, then Prussia, and then West Germany. Those are some pretty big leaps (and honestly, I think they don't even make sense and only happened to keep him alive because he is a popular character).

All of this is to say that what ultimately kills a nation is the loss of their people and culture that represents their nation, the culture being the biggest factor.

A nation can die if their people completely assimilate with another culture, destroying their own distinctive national identity they represent. A nation can die if the people comprising their nation all perish, leaving no one left alive that was part of that distinct culture. A nation can die if their people go through a sudden and extreme enough change of cultural identity that they are basically a new group. A nation can die if they lose their state borders and, either gradually or suddenly, the people of the nation associated with that state loses their national identity.

A nation does not die from civil war as long as one or multiple of the states involved still represent the culture of the nation persona. A nation does not die from the loss of land, change of territory, or even complete loss of all land as long as a group exists that still holds onto the national identity associated with their nation persona. A nation does not die from occupation as long as the group occupied keeps a distinct sense of nationally identity associated with the nation persona.

Well, that's all. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also, if I got any history wrong, feel free to correct me. I did my best to research, but mistakes sometimes still happen.

[bestangelofall]

HI hope you are well! sorry if you’ve already done something like this and i’ve missed it, but i was wondering if you had any recommendations for people who want to get into black widow comics? i have very little marvel comic knowledge but your posts have made me want to read about black widow and i’m not sure where to start

Hi @strangesickness!! I am great :D and I hope you are well too :)

Also, hi anon who asked the same thing! I hope you're well too! I'll answer everything here.

Sorry for taking so long to reply to this... I was doing some reading and rereading of my own before making this post.

For a completionist reading list, I will refer to this link, which was recommended by someone here (I don't remember who, and I can't find my own post now 😭).

Note: I haven't read everything in that list, but I am randomly making my way through it. Also, I can speak more about Natasha's solos, so my rec list is mostly based on those.

In terms of personal preference and what I also consider important, I'd highlight the following: The Name of the Rose, Black Widow (2014) and Black Widow (2004).

The Name of the Rose

I think the last time I answered this question here, I recommended The Name of the Rose (Black Widow (2010) - #1-5, by Marjorie Liu) as a starting point, and I mostly still stand by that, in that if it's the only BW comic you'll ever read, read that one. I started with that one coming from the MCU, and I think it has everything that I like about Natasha: her protectiveness, ruthlessness, competence, and how much she *cares* about people and how that guides her actions. The art by Daniel Acuña is good too (though not my favorite, it serves the story well), but apart from the good characterization, what really shines is the prose itself. Some parts are very poetic, and I simply love the way Liu arranges words, I suppose.

This is my favorite comic book ever, and my only complaint is that Liu only wrote 5 issues of Black Widow and then never again... please bring her back!!!!

Note: BW2010 has another three issues and they are completely mid. Read them if you want, but I just want to make it clear that it's jarring to go from issues #1-5 to the rest of it lol, and i personally wouldn't recommend xD

Black Widow (2014)

If my complaint about The Name of the Rose is that it's too short, with Black Widow (2014) by Nathan Edmondson that is not an issue. This run is 20 issues long, and all of them are excellent! The characterization is spot-on, and once again, everything I love about Natasha is present here. Personally I think this is the run that goes deeper into her ethics, and the way Edmondson approaches the tragedy of her character and all the heartbreak and fucked-up-ness is very tasteful. Also, Liho (her cat) is in this run, and in a way that adds to her lore and characterization in a way that may be unexpected. Phil Noto's art is simply stunning (he's my favorite Natasha artist *by far*).

Personally, I consider The Name of the Rose and BW2014 *the* Black Widow comics, in terms of them being important and also good, but in a close third place comes Black Widow (2004).

Black Widow (2004)

Black Widow (2004) by Richard K. Morgan has some pretty important things of her lore appearing for the first time (I believe, anyone reading this please feel free to correct me) (like mind manipulation, more details about the Red Room, and interestingly, the pheromone thing from the BW movie comes from this comic too). I love the art style of Bill Sienkiewicz which is more artsy. Characterization-wise, what really shines here is the discussion of sexism. Defense of women is a huge thing for Natasha (you'll see that in The Name of the Rose and BW2014), but it's never as deeply discussed as it is here.

Now, there are other books that I liked, and that are solid, but that I simply don't find as good as the top tier books discussed above.

Black Widow (2016)

Black Widow (2016), by Chris Samnee and Mark Waid, is a fun run that has decent characterization but a somewhat repetitive plot (Natasha is on the run and all that, which I think both The Name of the Rose and BW2014 just do better... but then again, that's like, more than half her comics so it's not a completely fair complaint, I suppose). It has some Red Room lore, and I always love that. Samnee's art is really pretty to look at, too (some of the prettiest Nat is in this book, ngl). I definitely recommend it, because it's a solid run.

No Restraints Play (Black Widow 2019)

I recently read No Restraints Play, by Jen and Sylvia Soska, and I liked it a lot. I'd say it has a lot about what I love about Natasha that I already mentioned previously, but she's mentally less stable in this one, so compared to the rest of the recs here, she does more unhinged shit in this book (but not by much tbh... I think it's just the tone that gives that impression). I read it before reading Secret Empire and Tales of Suspense (discussed in more detail below), and I think that I didn't miss that much context that technically would be needed from those books.

Now, there's the section of "I like it because I ship Buckynat".

Captain America (2005)

Captain America (2005), by Ed Brubaker, is the book where Bucky comes back™. Natasha only appears from issue #27 onwards, so this is definitely a rec if are interested in the ship (although it is a very good run on its own, and obviously essential if you are interested in Bucky at all).

Winter Soldier (2012)

Winter Soldier (2012), by Ed Brubaker, features Natasha heavily, and while I don't love some of thing it does to her, I enjoy it for the ship and for the angst (it is also somewhat relevant for Natasha going forward, for example, the thing™ that happens here is referenced in Natasha's solos such as BW2014, but it isn't anything that you will be lost if you just google what happened if you want to skip this).

Moreover, books already mentioned previously, such as The Name of the Rose, BW2014 and BW2016 also have Buckynat content, but it's minor.

Apart from the three recs above, there are other comics that I really liked, though I can't say that all of them are exactly good.

Black Widow (1999) and Black Widow (2001)

So, are BW1999 and BW2001, by Devin Grayson, good? Ehhh. No. Specially in the case of BW1999 (the art of this one is also atrocious). Do they compel me? Immensely. I like these two because there's content of Natasha and Yelena being weird about each other. That's it. When I read them years ago I thought they were really mid *at best* (though I like the art style of BW2001 a lot), but on a reread a few months ago I got bitten by the Yelenat bug and developed a new appreciation for these minis.

Note: BW1999 is also Natasha's first solo, but in terms of characterization and lore it doesn't really establish a lot...

Secret Empire and Tales of Suspense

The gist is: Natasha dies in Secret Empire and then gets revived in tales of Suspense #103-104

I know most people hate Secret Empire. To be honest, I don't know a lot of Marvel beyond Natasha and some Bucky and Steve to hate on this properly, but the common complaint appears to be that everyone is OoC... except for Natasha.

I'm not gonna lie, I blorbo-read this one, asking "where is she" whenever Natasha wasn't in the panels xD (and I also read it because I want to write a meta-post and it seemed important for the theme I have in mind). All that being said, I think it has some *fantastic* Natasha moments... so make of that what you will.

Tales of Suspense #103-104 are incredibly fun, and I think it drops some incredibly fucked up bits of lore (that will likely never be explored to their full potential 😭), but it's not essential or anything...

And lastly, thing that I don't like but that might be important:

Black Widow: Deadly Origin

I personally don't like Black Widow: Deadly Origin, by Paul Cornell, but some people consider it to be important, as it does go into more detail about the Red Room and her backstory. It's not even that I dislike *what* happens in this book, but more that I don't think it was tastefully done (it's the misogyny). I think it all could have been handled better by another writer without even changing the events themselves. The art also doesn't help tbh. I would still recommend reading it for those Red Room bits and pieces, just maybe not as a priority.

Aaand that's all I have to recommend for now! I hope this is helpful and can make you take the dive into Black Widow comics, because Natasha is a fascinating character!

[bellabrady]

Hey! I want to say absolutely no hate here, you can think whatever you want about characters, I just want to make some points for you to consider! If it makes you change your mind, cool! If it doesn’t, well that follow button doesn’t need my finger on it since we clearly have different views :)

I am not going to be commenting on Chim begins since I haven’t watched it in a while, but I just finished rewatching Hen Begins and was discussing Bobby Begins Again with someone, so here we go.

In Hen Begins, Tommy is never hostile towards her. He doesn’t defend her from the captain, but he’s also a young gay man who is probably terrified of that same hate being turned to him. When Hen is doing her speech on the fire truck most of the crew has tightened jaws and seems mad, but Tommy seems relaxed and thoughtful. And at the end of the episode he tells Hen: “We would’ve done a sweep of the area eventually, but eventually would’ve been too late. Good job.” with a smile and then proceeds to shake her hand and pat her on the shoulder. It is also heavily implied that he was one of the people who left a complaint about the captain and his treatment. Everything about this episode screams a man who was keeping his head low and trying to slip under the radar, not a man trying to be hateful.

In Bobby Begins Again, they throw him a nice going away party. I don’t know about you, but I don’t tend to buy assholes who are rude to me a cake.

Then later Chimney is able to call him up and ask a favor that Tommy does without complaint, which makes it seem like they’re on good terms.

And in the most recent episodes, he steals a helicopter and lies to higher-ups, something that could easily get him fired and cause him to lose everything. Once again, I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t risk my job and my life (they were on a dangerous mission after all) for people I’m not good friends with.

Lastly, Buck does not strike me as the type to date someone who doesn’t like his friends, his family

Again, no hate, just giving you my observations

thank you for being so nice about this!

i do disagree, however. tommy was 100% hostile to hen in hen begins. ('new york bitchiness is a compliment?' for example, or him throwing gear at her feet so she'll tidy it up and barely sparing her a glance)

i also am simply not a fan of giving characters' past actions depth when it's very clear that back then, they weren't written with that depth in mind. i can promise you the writers did not write hen begins & chimney begins while thinking of tommy as a gay, closeted man. (yes, i'm aware there was that one jacob twilight joke but personally i think you might be giving the writers a little too much credit if you think that was planned forshadowing or something. it was just a silly scene)

furthermore, even if we do run with the whole 'tommy was afraid to speak up because he was afraid and closeted'...standing up against misogyny and racism has nothing to do with being closeted, since neither of those things are related to sexuality, so standing up against those things won't make anyone assume that you're gay. tommy being closeted isn't an excuse, in my opinion.

i'm also aware that the characters have forgiven tommy but i just...don't really care about that because in this show, everyone forgives everyone, constantly. buck forgave his parents and they have a good relationship now — that doesn't mean i have to forgive the buckley parents now too.

as for your last point, i'd argue taylor definitely wasn't the biggest fan of buck's friends and family and they weren't a huge fan of her either. but i also don't think that really matters here, since it's been established that tommy is good with hen and chim, so buck has no reason to assume there's bad blood. it once again boils down to the simple fact that i, as a viewer, do not have to forgive a character's actions simply because other characters did.

anyway, once again thank you for not being rude about this and i hope you have a nice day :)

(i hope my response doesn't come across as rude either)

[marzipanandminutiae]

As someone writing a book set in 1858, I often worry about how my writing will come off. I speak quite affectedly but not enough that my normal way of talking is mid-Victorian enough.

I have no more worries. By virtue of using "How do you do" instead of "Hello" (extremely casually of course) I am already 700× better than that writer.

Also I'd heard of that book and was on the fence, the dresses on the cover being... well an attempt was made, at least... and hoped the inside would be better. Very glad I haven't bought it at all, I would have combusted into flames

Here's the thing- I can accept some anachronistic language, especially in the right setting. We're NOT living in the 19th century, nor does anyone currently alive have memories of it. No matter how much you immerse yourself in literature or letters, you're not going to get it perfect. And for some people it's a stylistic thing; if you make that clear, I can roll with it. On top of that, some terms are older than people think. I didn't get annoyed when a character said "fake" in the text, because that dates back to at least 1775 as an adjective, 1812 as a verb (albeit meaning "to rob" rather than "to pretend"), and 1851 as a noun.

But in this book, it's just. So blatant. And the book isn't comedy or satire. This author really said "I'm going to write a novel set in 1857 and make no attempt whatsoever to get the dialogue right" because...it was too much effort? She just doesn't like the way people talked back then and wanted it to be #relatable? I have no idea.

[paper-cuts-and-fresh-bruises]

So I thought I'd make a post on this as it's been a minute since the season 3 trailer dropped and what I'll be talking about was something that was making the rounds and I thought I'd say something when the craze had died down; but amongst the various topics of conversation, weirdly Colin's virginity seems to have come up, along with the general nature of his sexual experience. So be warned I'm going to be referring to spoilers at points from what's been posted by others on here and on Reddit, I'll leave a gap between this paragraph and the next so there you go, read at your own discretion. (note: post may be long, whoops)

So even if you've remained away from spoilers and seen only the trailer and other official promo stuff, it's clear that Colin has returned from his travel's more experienced this time in more ways than one, namely it is clear that he has been deflowered (kind of hate this term but I couldn't think of something else), and beyond that he's then also become particularly experienced in the bedroom and in the ways of charming women and such. I've seen some people say that they wished he'd still been a virgin more so because they would've found the dynamic of both him and Penelope being virgins something interesting to see as a shift from dynamics of previous seasons, and whilst I don't necessarily hate that, what's disturbed me is the way other people have had such a visceral reaction to Colin having any involvement with any other woman ever and getting ridiculously angry; which is funny when really they should be seen as interesting points of character development. In episode 1 of season 3 he returns home obviously looking as he does now and there's the whole sequence of the dropped glove that he picks up and kisses the hand of the lady in question it belongs to, Colin has returned feeling he has a solid sense of himself but also thinks himself untethered to the necessity of connection in order to engage in sex or even just flirtation, but this is important as the season progresses. In episode 2 from what I've read, he visits a brothel in which he pays for the services of a woman who works there, everything goes fine, I don't know exactly how much we will see of that encounter but it'll probably be enough; also to note, the source of this information stated very clearly that this interaction and a following one in episode 4 do not bear significance or even compare on what we will get with Polin in terms of an array of content that this season delivers.

Speaking of episode 4, reportedly he goes again but this time he's unable to engage as well as he did before and without a doubt this is due to Penelope. Additionally, this is an interesting look at sex in terms of it just being for gratification, and sex in terms of connection, a means to an end versus an act of love. In previous seasons, the depiction of brothels/sex work establishments doesn't really bear the same importance plot wise (side note I am not nor should you go shaming these people in that line of work as it's one that deserved respect like any other, it is simply functioning as a part of the conversation here), unlike here where I think that it's really important as it show's Colin's inner need for connection in order for it to work, because when he was away he probably had no issues getting his kicks because he convinced himself this felt right and back home would be no different, but that only lasts briefly and why you may ask? because the friend who he'd left and returned to transforms from a woman only in name to a woman in fully realised form, from a wallflower into an Emerald, and this kicks into gear the real maturity he needed to gain, realising from not just her appearance but the other qualities she possesses and the ways in which he is both attached and attracted to her, that she is who he has truly loved this whole time, he just needed to get out of his own head. It should also be pointed out that in the show, Colin has always drifted with finding himself let alone sorting out his feelings, so it is highly likely whilst he was technically violating polite society rules with his interactions with Penelope and this should've fired something off in his brain, that it caused him instead to think this is simply something that someone does with a friend they value highly versus being a by-product of his underlying feelings that he has with no one else. And as such, whereas Penelope was the one pining before, now he will be the one doing so and he's no longer on the pedestal he was previously so they'll be on even ground to start something real.

On a quick note, this is a friends to lovers ship but I want to make it clear, especially with men and women dynamics, that not all friends are going to have this trajectory whether we're talking about characters or irl people; friends to lovers tropes should be understood as two people who's connection starts with friendship and there's always a sense it could be something more whether or not both parties are consciously aware and it's to do with how they explore that, and is NOT in any way the case that these friends can somehow never be just friends with a strong connection, case and point Penelope and Morgan from Criminal Minds, close friends and nothing more and they're great.

Something also to say is that the obsession with Colin's sexual experience is just as bad as they way women are treated for their sexual experience, it creates this weird value and attributes a weird rating system of respect to something that's not our business, as well as fetishizing what people do or don't do with their bodies and making assumptions about their activities, so you know maybe we should agree to not do that. Beyond that, how about we actually watch what happens instead of spiralling out of control about this stuff. Also, if I see anyone who aren't fans of this ship to begin with, just leave, you're wasting energy on something that you literally don't need to be, do what the rest of us do and exit out and invest your time in what you actually enjoy instead of festering hate.

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Ange, as usual I come with my post-episode thoughts-

This episode was quite good, I say that of course meaning it was pretty good, all things considering in terms of the character developmental issues we've all been highlighting so far. I know that generally after every episode airs we all talk about the shitty mistakes the show's made, myself included, and the way things could've been better handled, but I thought this week, I'd try and say some more positive things-

The acting, superb, as usual. Ryan Condal may be full of shit, but boy do these actors make do with what they've been given.

Aemond speaking High Valyrian? Yes, I did giggle and blush, it was hot as FUCK

Seeing Sunfyre, and that little moment where Aegon smiled with his dragon, I wished we could've seen more of their bond. Aemond serving cunt while fighting. Sir? You're slaying dragons (and possibly your brother) and you're serving cunt?

I like Alys so far, actually, seeing more of her makes me more curious to see her interact with Aemond

Daemon in Aemond Targaryen dress-up

Another Milly cameo.

Gwayne Hightower serving cunt

There are more, but these come to mind. Naturally, of course, I had my issues, but the usually are a continuation of what I had issues with before, such as-

The greens basically hating each other

The non-existent brotherly relationship between Aegon and Aemond

Helaena erasure, Jaehaera erasure, Maelor erasure (What, no Daeron mention?)

This episode made it more clear the angle being taken, that Rhaenyra is some form of the righteous, morally correct side, and the greens are the villains, versus both sides being morally complex, and the characters having good and bad traits, for example Aegon caring for his family, yet he's obviously not the best ruler Aemond being loyal to his brother, yet clearly ambitious, Rhaenyra actually being selfish, not just some saviour-esque figure. This angle annoys me because it takes away from what is in my opinion a key aspect of the story in the books, which is that all of these people are complex, do good and horrible things, and this is a war of succession, not this whole thing about Rhaenyra finally going to war because of the song of ice and fire, and all what Viserys told her.

I really can't handle the whole Aemond betraying Aegon thing. Both teams are flawed, yet the show makes it look like only team green is. Look forward to your thoughts too <3

-🦋 anon

Alright. I am here to dump my thoughts! Thank you for returning each week for this, I adore you for it!

I have made my peace with the deviation from the source material. I have a better time watching if I treat it as a separate piece of media.

Daemon is basically useless at this point, just tripping balls at Harrenhal and achieving absolutely fuck all. Having said that, I am enjoying the hallucination scenes, and Alys's character is so, so interesting. I love what Gayle has done with her.

I am growing a little frustrated with Rhaenyra's approach. I get that she wants to be a peaceful ruler, and to avoid war, but war is happening right under her nose. It's good to see some discord being sewn among Team Black - them playing the picture perfect, grieving family while the Greens are at each other's throats was beginning to grate on me a little. Jace's frustration was really well acted and totally believable.

I enjoyed the meeting of the small council - I feel like Aemond got his own back for Aegon humiliating him in the brothel. I do feel for Aegon though, he is being ignored and discarded by his family, and I feel if there was a little more cohesiveness then he wouldn't behave so rashly.

I really felt the absence of both Otto and Helaena this episode.

I teared up seeing the scenes between Rhaenys and Meleys, and Aegon and Sunfyre, knowing what was to come. I cried at Rhaenys's death. Seeing the light go out of Meleys's eyes broke me.

I don't think what Aemond did to Aegon was premeditated, he was simply frustrated and wanted to get him out of the way, so he couldn't cause any further problems. His means for doing so were incredibly extreme though!

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. I am hopeful the rest of the season will be much better in the second half.

[dross-the-fish]

I saw your LO post and something stuck out to me. Most people focus on Hades as a love interest but you made the case that Persephone isn't wife material and I wondered if you could elaborate on that.

I presume you're talking about this post.

I stand by what I said.

This pink teenager isn't wife material, no adult over the age of 25 should look twice at her. This is because this character is functionally a child.

She's technically the physical equivalent of 19 but feels alarmingly younger than that because of her background and upbringing. Hades is supposedly in his 40's and has a full time job and his own assets. At my age and current life stage I'm actually a lot closer to where he's at than I am where she is and I cannot fathom what her appeal would be to anyone outside of her age group.

What is the allure? Is it the way adding her as a household driver would skyrocket someone's car insurance? Is it the way they'd pretty much be guaranteed to have to finish raising her? Instead of coming home after busting your ass at work and having another grown-up to talk to, you'd have to go through the emotional labor of having to play parent/teacher to this child who probably doesn't know how to write a resume and has never had to experience the mental, physical and financial burden of running a household. If you were to date someone like Persephone you'd have to be ok with never getting any kind of mental, emotional, or financial reciprocity because she's not equipped to function in an adult relationship as an equal partner.

That's a HUGE thing and when you get to be my age you will care about these things a lot more than you care about the frivolous "dating" elements that tend to be the focus of younger people's relationships.

Persephone would be incapable of relating to a character like Hades in any meaningful way and while it's cute, I guess, that she's "nice", nice isn't enough of a foundation to build a long term relationship. Due to her lack of age and experience she's not capable of giving advice or even actual comfort if someone had to come to her with typical adult concerns. At best she'd maybe be able to give empty sympathy and, I'll tell you right now, empty sympathy gets old fast.

A very long time ago I dated someone who was my age but at a totally different phase of life and it was a huge mistake. I'd try to talk to her about my job or an apartment I was considering renting and she'd just give me this glazed look like I was speaking another language. The only things I could talk to her about were media or college so when I needed to talk to another grown-up about the very real things I was going through (feelings of inadequacy at my job, concern over financial stability, finding affordable housing) I had NO ONE, because she had never had to worry about any of those things and couldn't comprehend how serious these concerns were. I think the last straw was when I wanted to go do something and she had to ask her parents for money and permission first.

We were both 22 and I had already had a job and my own car for 3 years and the idea of asking my parents for money or permission to do anything seemed ludicrous.

To be clear I don't blame her for that, everyone grows at a different rate and some people get to certain stages later than others, but it did really highlight that this wasn't a person I should continue to date and not someone I could ever feel like I was on equal footing with because she still lived and behaved like a teenager. We were the same age, but sometimes I felt like I was taking on a role that should have been filled by her parents and nothing kills a romantic mood like feeling like the only adult in the room is you.

So yeah, someone like Persephone shouldn't even be trying to start serious relationships, she should be learning how to navigate through life with her peers, people who are also still learning crucial life lessons. But that's not what's going to happen. There's something incredibly gross about the fact that the one who's going to have to teach her how to be a functional adult is the 40 year old man who's eventually going to marry her.

[huntunderironskies]

If (hypothetically speaking) a guy (not necessarily me, but whoever's doing it would definitely be very smart and handsome) were to make a game about were-creatures (guess what it's inspired by) in an urban fantasy setting (ft. a lot of fighting on both the social and physical front and sick-ass powers), how would you like the player characters to be handled in terms of mechanics?

For context: I'm planning on doing a splat type deal (like a character class if this somehow breaches containment from my normal sphere) with your species being your splat. This will determine powers and other benefits you'll have access to. Uncertain if it'll function on an x/y splat axis, this is still very early development phases and honestly I need to hack out just how I'm going to handle everything before we get to that step. I'm torn on whether or not I like the idea but I feel like the secondary solution here is to just do both.

And to be clear, I am very set on having a monster secret society here. I don't like the idea of them being individualistic or isolated, so having the splats be culturally cohesive in some way is very important to me. I'm also somewhat set on having a medium-to-high crunch system here, rules-lite monsters has been done a bit more extensively than I'd like. This will almost definitely be an in-house system as well.

So, with that said, here is my cost-benefit analysis for the three options. You might have to pitch me the secret fourth thing but I promise I will at least consider those.

Folkloric Archetypes

As you are probably very aware if you've heard me talk for more than five minutes, I really like religious studies. It's very easy to come up with general roles that certain animals can play within human folklore and mythology. Tricksters, warriors, psychopomps, and so on. The idea here is you get fairly abstract powers (like being able to talk to ghosts if you're a psychopomp) and get to roughly pick what species you might be that fits into that general archetype.

Bonuses: Permits a very wide variety of potential animal species. Lots of wiggle room in terms of what species can be what and I could just give general examples. Allows people to use their own animal species I might not have thought of.

Drawbacks: Extremely difficult to give broad archetypes any specific lore focus or concentrated society. My preference is towards simulationist systems and it'd be very hard to come up with ways to handle form bonuses since that will absolutely be a thing, what's the fun of a shapeshifter system if you don't get to literally go beast mode? Not as much room to expand on roles either since there's far less you can do with general archetypes.

Species-by-Species Case

Kind of self-explanatory. You get a grab bag of well-known species heavily associated with shapeshifting (wolves, hyenas, cats, bears, possibly seals, et cetera) and pick one you like. You'll still get at least some abstract powers, though.

Bonuses: Lends itself well to mid-to-high crunch simulationist thing. Easy to incorporate actual fun facts about what the animal in question is capable of and make those innate abilities. Easier to justify in an urban fantasy setting as having inspired various folklore bits IRL, meaning they feel like they have a natural place in the setting. A lot easier to justify each group having highly specific cultural practices, making the options feel more unique.

Drawbacks: Way less freeform in terms of character options, meaning player options are more limited. Simulationist usually means tons of tweaking stats and having to fuss over game balance while remaining somewhat realistic, so lots of cognitive overhead for the designer, who may or may not be me.

Both (usage of an x/y splat axis?)

Yeah. My first thought is that in this case the species splat would be like..."giant predator" or "stealth ambusher" or whatever, and then you have a cultural splat that's more like what your folklore role is (so the whole "trickster" or "psychopomp" thing.)

Bonuses: Best of both worlds...? Maybe?

Drawbacks: Not sure how to handle the way shapeshifter culture would work here. Justifying something like a trickster bear seems like it would be difficult which could lead to some incongruities. oh god so many powers to make

[the-only-authority]

Authority,

You are the last person I have yet to send an apology to. This was on purpose. If I'm going to be honest, you are actually extremely intimidating and therefore the most anxiety-inducing when I have wronged you. Which I have. Repeatedly.

Much of the points here are the same as Suggestion's, though I will repeat them anyway for clarity. ("Or I will live, or bathe my dying honour in the blood, shall make it live again..." For some reason, I keep thinking of that quote when I talk to you. Maybe it is fitting here.)

Repeatedly -- in fact, from the very beginning -- I have assassinated your character, disgracing and ridiculing you with no reason to do so whatsoever. Admittedly, I do find it difficult to navigate what you would and would not find disrespectful. But by this point, I should be able to understand the general fact that my ignominy is highly dishonourable. I know our stubborn attitudes may clash at times, but regardless of this, I should know by now to not question you on these sorts of matters.

Furthermore, like Suggestion, I should *not* have allowed myself to fall into that trap of disregarding how you would have felt to have seen an impostor taking on your mannerisms and making extremely violating claims; and I should have owned up to what I had done earlier on to prevent this from simmering for so long. That was horrible and absolutely revolting of me to do.

I am thankful that you did not List me for this. I'd like to be able to stay off that list. If there is anything I can do to have my name cleared, anything I can do to pay reparations for my transgressions, please. I give you the same offer I presented to Suggestion; say the words and I will complete the task given to the best of my ability.

I should also note that I'm extremely thankful for the support you have cast my way. Not just in recent -- by taking one of my entries off the List after I confronted Rhetoric, by defending my temporary stint as a Psyche skill (even if that was a stupid idea) even against your second-in-command, by encouraging me to remember how to do my job in order to help Savoir Faire -- but also in general. I still think of your guarding during my shut-down, back during the secret admirer debacle, you know. I am in complete debt to you. I'm serious about this. I feel horrible for my behaviour in light of this.

I don't expect you to accept any apologies here; all I seek is to form a foundation for me to build respect in your eyes back up again. (Hopefully this hasn't been too grovel-y for that. My words here are honest. I have learned from my previous bouts of miscommunication with others.)

I hope that eventually we will be on speaking terms once more. I have made a pledge to improve my behaviour and intend to enact this moving forward.

Trick-or-treat, Authority.

With all due respect, @in-omni-scientia

I can respect someone owning up to their mistakes, even if your groveling here makes it hard in your specific case. I suppose, as you pointed out, that just comes with the territory of speaking to me, as I am of intimidating statue and mind.

Furthermore, I am nothing but merciful - you must have noticed, that I have allowed dialogue between us in the past days - more than you deserved at that point.

When I support you, I do my job. You should remember doing yours even in situation where you get... distracted.

You are not getting off the List competely. I will take this into account, however. There have to be some calculations, considering that you messaged me "last", however.

As a show of good will I am going to use the text editing tools recently discovered by me to give criticism on your meandering, lengthy letter:

Authority,

You are the last person I have yet to send an apology to. This was on purpose. If I'm going to be honest, you are actually extremely intimidating and therefore the most anxiety-inducing when I have wronged you. Which I have. Repeatedly.

Much of the points here are the same as Suggestion's, though I will repeat them anyway for clarity. ("Or I will live, or bathe my dying honour in the blood, shall make it live again..." For some reason, I keep thinking of that quote when I talk to you. Maybe it is fitting here.)

Repeatedly -- in fact, from the very beginning -- I have assassinated your character, disgracing and ridiculing you with no reason to do so whatsoever. Admittedly, I do find it difficult to navigate what you would and would not find disrespectful. But by this point, I should be able to understand the general fact that my ignominy is highly dishonourable. I know our stubborn attitudes may clash at times, but regardless of this, I should know by now to not question you on these sorts of matters.

Furthermore, like Suggestion, I should *not* have allowed myself to fall into that trap of disregarding how you would have felt to have seen an impostor taking on your mannerisms and making extremely violating claims; and I should have owned up to what I had done earlier on to prevent this from simmering for so long. That was horrible and absolutely revolting of me to do.

I am thankful that you did not List me for this. I'd like to be able to stay off that list. If there is anything I can do to have my name cleared, anything I can do to pay reparations for my transgressions, please. I give you the same offer I presented to Suggestion; say the words and I will complete the task given to the best of my ability.

I should also note that I'm extremely thankful for the support you have cast my way. Not just in recent -- by taking one of my entries off the List after I confronted Rhetoric, by defending my temporary stint as a Psyche skill (even if that was a stupid idea) even against your second-in-command, by encouraging me to remember how to do my job in order to help Savoir Faire -- but also in general. I still think of your guarding during my shut-down, back during the secret admirer debacle, you know. I am in complete debt to you. I'm serious about this. I feel horrible for my behaviour in light of this.

I don't expect you to accept any apologies here; all I seek is to form a foundation for me to build respect in your eyes back up again. (Hopefully this hasn't been too grovel-y for that. My words here are honest. I have learned from my previous bouts of miscommunication with others.)

I hope that eventually we will be on speaking terms once more. I have made a pledge to improve my behaviour and intend to enact this moving forward.

Trick-or-treat, Authority.

With all due respect, @in-omni-scientia

[crackedpumpkin]

Ohmygod bro good job getting your coffee cause I would’ve barely survived that too!!! Good looking people in general really just be paralyzing people for some reason 😭

Cafe hopping really is fun tho, now that I think about it I have a similar story too with fumbling words. I went to this craft store for the first time and was tryna look for string cause I wanted to make those necklace bottle things, I asked the two people working in English, and since they had a hard time communicating with me they literally ran to another working person then running back to find me in the small shop! I didn’t get string in the end but I got the bottle! Could’ve avoided that if I just spoke my native language- but I didn’t cause adults (the older ones in my family) usually made fun of me for it 😭

The little moments really make the big things!! Both of you, amazing writers, no lie. I’ve been thinking of writing too so is it okay if I ask what the advice was? /nf

Michael gets arc’d! No more chip docking! But genuinely based of you to put that much care into your characters and stories 💖

Yes please I didn’t even know fruit-ade is an actual word- I was just making things up-

i aspire to one day be that pretty.

Please the way I wheezed- fr though, never be afraid to speak your own native language! My second language is Chinese and I am horrible at speaking it under pressure. I even got laughed at by my boss - that's how bad it was lmaooo, but honestly i don't really care. I'm just happy it makes people smile and laugh at it alongside me^^

As for the advice given by blake, it was focusing about the small things that led up to the big moment! This is purely my own interpretation though, but essentially always justify their actions. For example, if i make babes fall for miles outta nowhere then it's a little sudden, right? There's gotta be some form of catalyst that caused it in the first place.

Especially in the situation theyre currently in. Neither are entirely sure what they are yet, besides employer and employee. Before even progressing to being lovers and stuff they gotta form some kinda bond first, right? So the main thing for me was how to justify each step in their relationship.

Aka, is it reasonable for them to warm up to each other by this stage?? Or are they still on rocky terms with each other? It's honestly a fun challenge for me to write, because it gives me a chance to put myself in their shoes more thoroughly.

Even irl, there's gotta be a catalyst to make you fall for someone in the first place, right? Maybe one day you notice their eyes are really nice, or maybe you like the way their laugh sounds. Even before that, it's the little things that they do to make you feel safe in the first place :) relationships dont form overnight, after all~

"i would need to read the full thing through but a good rule of thumb for progression is either feeling it out and reasoning through if their reactions make sense or making it clear that time has passed between chapters and giving it a little suspension of disbelief" - @buthowboutno-spamming

bro, when you start writing please tag me in it!! I would love to read your work, and i know you can do it!! Honestly take it from me - dont take things too seriously. Writing is meant to be fun, not stressful. Like, when blank canvas started out it was just for shits and giggles and goofy and fun. thats what i was aiming for the whole time, and i wanted people who read my fic to hopefully smile or even do the lil nose huff thing we all do when we find something on the internet funny ^^

I'll add on a little advice of my own - feel free to ignore it lolol, but essentially:

I find it really helpful to have some form of plan or outline for your fic. Mine s constantly being adjusted, but it helps so much when you write your chapter and maybe realize oh wait iwanna do this here and do that there, and you know where everything should go like a puzzle piece! Something else I'd say is that there doesnt always have to be drama lmao, sometimes a sweet heartwarming fic is enough. You're enough.

Again, the little moments matter, right? That's why in chapter five i just kinda did a little hangout session :)

And omg when i say i am thrilled to write michael's character arc fr. an eureka moment hit me outta nowhere and immediately i RAN to tell @theblindhag because she has been honestly nothig but supportive and an absolutely lovely human bean. Which also kinda reminds me: having a good friend listen to all the crazy ideas in your head is so amazing fr, and i hope you have/will find that friend. Honestly, feel free to send in asks whenever - id be more than happy to have a chat or chill out!

I'll make a post on the fruitade soon, its like 1am where i am rn lmao. keep your eyes peeled for it anon!! it's the actual easiest to make, trust.

As a little bonus extra, allow me to share a little moment from upcoming chapters :)

[vase]

Writing Tip #2: Getting Started, Part Two - The Fourth Pillar

Hello again! I want to thank everyone for the phenomenal amount of support my last post received. I'm really hoping to keep this momentum up, and I'm very thankful that so many people are having as much fun as I am.

As always, it's time for our next venture into the wonderful world of writing. Last time, we discussed character, plot, and setting. Next, I'd like to delve into what I personally consider the fourth important pillar alongside these. This fourth pillar is prose!

In writing, prose is meant to describe the manner of which a writer writes. Think of it as the writer's own personal style. Prose is specific to what is literally on the page. Prose dictates specifically the word choice, sentence length variation, grammar choices, and diction of the author. While communities around this are virile, an author need not worry if their prose is strictly "good", rather that it is consistent and fitting.

Typically, when a person (mostly literature students, because no one else gives a shit about prose) refers to "good prose", they will refer to the works of classic authors like Austen or Melville. "Good prose" tends to be filed under the same vein of books that non-literature students complain about, the ones that harp on about descriptions of a tree for an hour. This prose is praised because it excels in imagery--these hour long tree descriptions use excessive verbiage to paint an excessively clear picture of the surroundings. Often, the word choice of the author is what lends it its praise. Our average author, again, need not worry. One does not need to harp on about a tree for an hour to be good at prose. It is better, instead, to be fitting.

[ ID: MOTHER died today. Or, maybe, yesterday; I can't be sure. The telegram from the Home says: YOUR MOTHER PASSED AWAY. FUNERAL TOMORROW. DEEP SYMPATHY. Which leaves the matter doubtful; it could have been yesterday. ]

What precedes is an excerpt from Albert Camus's ever iconic 'The Stranger', in one of its many translations. While the original word choice is lost in translation (from dastardly French), the intent and prose of Camus is obediently transcribed by loyal translators. The main character of The Stranger, Meursault, is a man who thinks in a very objective and brisk sense. This bleeds into the prose of the book itself. Here, it would only kneecap Camus and The Stranger if the book indulged in the flowery, purple prose (term used to describe prose that is syrupy and poetic) of other notable classics, because it would go against the main character's worldview.

It's not necessarily important that your prose uses amazing words and the perfect Austenian writing, but rather that it matches the story. If your narrator character is a preteen girl, she's not going to describe things as 'Kafkaesque' (unless she's the coolest teen girl ever). Experimenting with prose is especially fun in multiple POV stories, with the possibility of different characters speaking or recounting things differently. Just as I recommended writing exercises previously when building characters, writing multiple POVs with different prose on purpose is a good way to build skill in prose. Everyone has their own specific 'prose', but developing your prose is an excellent idea, especially before writing the first draft of your project. Just like a drawing style, whereas everyone has their own style, it's better to learn to draw motion, backgrounds, and shadows before starting drawing your webcomic.

In a first person perspective novel, the prose of the book should be close to the way the narrator character speaks in dialogue, unless there's a specific reason otherwise (ie. the character is a spy and speaks differently to the people around them than they would regularly, or something along that vein). Multiple POV third person novels may also see a shift in prose depending on who is being followed, but they don't always need one. In fact, a dramatic shift may be a bit jarring for readers in these instances. Third person omniscient books need not a prose specific to the central character per se, but this brings in the topic of audience. A book with a story aimed at preteen audiences probably shouldn't use advanced prose, as it may be difficult for the preteen audiences to follow. A writer's prose, however, should be flexible enough to shift from genre-to-genre, reading level to reading level.

Don't believe me? Try it! A great way to practice prose, especially in this sense, would be to write the same general passage for different audiences: first as a children's book, then as a YA book, then as an adult book, and maybe even as an Austenian classic. A great way to practice prose and strengthen characters would be to write the same scene from many different character's perspectives, and incorporating the character's quirks into the prose. Personally, as well, I'm going to recommend writing poetry, especially rhyming poetry. Poetry challenges writers to use thinner perimeters to build word choice and intent.

Thanks everyone for reading once again! I know prose isn't a topic many find super interesting, and I'm sorry to disappoint those who were looking for a character writing or a worldbuilding tip. I promise, next time. Happy writing, prose apprentices, and thanks again for being along for the ride.

[nitewrighter]

Saw you share that Cillian Murphy post and say you saw Oppenheimer - what were your thoughts on it? Also, did you see it in theatres/IMAX or just at home?

Personally I saw it twice - in IMAX on opening weekend and later with my mom in a normal theatre - and I remember just kinda feeling simultaneously empty and overwhelmed after the first viewing. Felt like I just needed to sit outside and let it wash over me for a bit.

Also, speaking of movies and the fact it’s Oscar season: have you seen Killers of the Flower Moon? Feels like something you’d find interesting.

Argh sorry for taking so long to answer this, but I was like, "Ah, I'll watch Killers of the Flower Moon and then I'll answer this :3" but I STILL haven't seen Killers of the Flower Moon and it's *totally* on my list but it's also 3 hours and kind of depressing so it's tough to set a time aside for it. Ironically I was able to get my fam to watch Oppenheimer, which means I've watched Oppenheimer twice now (AND YES THE NONLINEAR STORYTELLING HITS SO GOOD ON THE SECOND WATCH). I've had to watch it at home both times though. I wish I could have seen it in theaters---I want that sensory assault SO BAD.

But yeah overall I really love the composition of it--it takes you a minute to understand that the use of color is meant to indicate the differences in perspective, but again, it's really obvious on the second watch so you're able to pick up so much more.

Both times I rolled my eyes SO HARD at the framing of the "I am become death" quote because... I mean... really? It's just such a wanky part in SO many contexts.

I do think like, there's A LOT of people involved and like... I feel like the Chevalier incident, even if it was this very important indicting event for Oppenheimer, was kind of clumsily handled--because like, you just have Chevalier as a guy at this party but then it's like "Oh this is a guy Oppie trusts enough to leave his kid with for a few days" but also it isn't clear enough to the viewer that this *is* Chevalier until it's all "Chevalier Chevalier Chevalier" at the security clearance hearing. And I think that's partially to drive home the fact that from Oppenheimer's perspective, a lot of card-carrying communists of the day were just... friends and coworkers, but you as the viewer are stuck going, "Wait, who???"

I thought Emily Blunt was stunning and it's a very complex role--it's a movie that's very aware of its own marginalization of women as it's happening, and I'm glad that you have this moment at the end where she's the one who holds onto the rage and the grudges, almost not just on Oppenheimer's behalf, but her own--like she's just as frustrated at Oppenheimer playing the martyr.

I was getting MAJOR Stanley Tucci vibes with RDJ in that movie, but he also just had a very good simmering darkness to him. I LOVED Ryan Gosling's Ken but I think in terms of like, full-on transformation rather than just riding the high of being a character, I'd pick Robert Downey Jr. for best supporting actor for the Oscars this year. But also I still need to see Poor Things so... *shrug*

Also Jack Quaid as Richard Feynman had me like "My boy!!! That's my boy!!!" And I loved Rami Malek as well.