#but i think starting with a very basic base and not worring about details is helping me visualize what i want more

[deepfriedseagullfeet]

ok idk if yall notice a difference but im liking this re-do version much better

[autistic-shaiapouf]

Delete this if it's weird but your post about naming your blog after one of the royals guards from hxh reminded me of something. So I am part of a DID system and some of the alters have many traits/appearance of my abusers, including some with the same names. They'd do things that were harmful as a way of keeping everyone safe. Anyways, recently our host watched hxh and one of those parts really connected with Neferpitou going from this absolutely inhumane monster of sorts to slowly learning how empathy and compassion works and has now changed their name from their original name of our abuser they're based off to Pitou instead now. Anyways I'm happy for them and just wanted to share that with ya

I held onto this ask for a while bc I was debating how detailed I wanted my response to be, but I think this is a story I've been wanting to tell for a while and if there was ever a time to fully discuss this, it would be here; the naming and themeing extends to myself as well as my blog - I do go by the name Shai irl, though I'm a little picky with where I choose to use it over the name I've had for longer (Rigel). Before I go into any more detail, I want to congratulate you for that development! It sounds like a moment of positive growth, and I'm glad you got to experience that.

The short answer is that I've basically taken my experiences with dissociation and something that may be multiplicity and fully redirected it all into a sense of spirituality. My therapist had encouraged me to not pathologize it; I was just hammering at my own personal experiences and being fixated on feeling like something was wrong with me and needed to be fixed - normal people don't experience thoughts and feelings that don't belong to them. With that being said, a large part of my recovery work was/is with acceptance; I was forced to mask a lot of things while growing up (autism, physical disability, queerness, etc) and there was a huge push from my family to seem as "normal" as possible, and now I'm actively undoing that and my work with being in the otherkin community is a massive cornerstone of that work. I identified very heavily with shaiapouf and my therapist actually watched hxh so we could use pouf as a therapy tool for me. Me naming myself after him is a huge gesture of the love I was able to give myself via my coping process - recognizing him in my trauma, and working with him to recover.

The longer answer is that I've experienced dissociation that leans towards multiplicity for a number of years now, with aforementioned thoughts and feelings included. I never had any memory loss, and the experience of another person being with me wasn't well developed enough for the definition of an alter, so I felt stuck with an experience I had no words for and no way of relating to other people with similar experiences. I remember describing it as feeling possessed, like there was suddenly another consciousness present with my own. These experiences are a lot less intense now, and I attribute that to my acceptance of them instead of pushing them away in fear. It was a while before I said anything to my therapist and was genuinely mortified because it felt like something was very seriously wrong with me and I had to fix it at all costs (with the idea of needing to "fix" things that were "wrong" with me or my life being a repeating theme as well).

Over time, as I stopped pushing everything away, I was able to start seeing where the emotions and thoughts that came with the episodes (not necessarily triggering them) were coming from, but still struggled to accept them as my own when they felt so foreign. Acceptance has brought me a long way and we've now teased out that this is a massive way for me to process not just my trauma, but the grief accompanying it.

My therapist was the one who had initially suggested I take a spiritual approach to this, and I found that in the otherkin community, where, upon actually looking at the original contexts of some of the words used in the community, found things I'd been describing to my therapist over a year ago. I'd prior been fond of the idea of reincarnation and fully embraced it in this process. My first (and so far only) tattoo is of his wings, I'll carry him with me for the rest of my life; I derived one of my names from his own. This character has been highly influential in my life and I've fully embraced him for it. He means a lot of things to me - reflection of my own trauma, the power and rage I wish I could have demonstrated while in the process of being traumatized, the delicate masculinity I wish to have as a trans man, and much more I'm sure. A lot of my episodes seem to happen when helplessness kicks in, like something to help distance myself from my pain; I feel him in righteous fury when I know I deserve better. Not all of it is bad though, I had one while I was looking at Christmas lights a few months ago and felt like I was looking at the world for the first time, simple delight as if holding someone else's hand and showing them.

All in all, I thank you for sharing your story and for giving me a place to share some of mine.

[lilianade-comics]

Some additional thoughts + a detailed summary of the Aragon kidnapping incident, because I have this AU on the brain:

As an extension of the basic core vampire power system being blood based and hinging on consistent blood consumption, there is an antiquated "blood magic" system that is essentially high level, "learned" vampirism by which they can use blood to perform feats outside of the usual stuff. A lot of the rituals and incantations practiced by ancient vampires were lost over generations of slayings and book burnings. Vlad devoted years to studying this mostly lost art and has a few tricks in his arsenal that really spice up the lives of the people he doesn't like (Jack and Maddie). Glamours and full blown shapeshifting are both possible using blood magic.

The majority of active vampires in the world aren't any older than two or three hundred years old and most are relatively young, because the ones that are older are either sleeping or were slain during a near cataclysmic purge that happened a couple centuries ago. Vlad hasn't even cracked a hundred yet, but he is close.

Lots of people ask me about the nature of Vlad and Spectra's relationship in Stolen Sanguine, so here's a detailed explanation. When Vlad fled Jack and Maddie with baby Danielle, he eventually settled down far away and started over from scratch, because Jack and Maddie took the house and everything else in the "divorce" (they burned his castle down.) The village he chose as his territory neighbors Spectra's, and since she is easily the most social vampire around, she was quick to welcome check out Vlad. Upon learning his situation Spectra offered to share her resources and connections with him in exchange for his blood, among other things. Vlad is every bit the egotist, so under normal circumstances he would have shot her down because she's so clearly beneath his station. But these aren't normal circumstances. He's functionally broke and new in town and also has a baby to think of, so he reluctantly agrees to Spectra's deal for Dani's sake because he doesn't have the time to toil over business. But as time passes and Vlad becomes more self sufficient he never breaks his alliance with Spectra, because he recognizes that she's into him to a toxic degree and that makes her useful to him. Spectra is legitimately fond of Vlad because he's a complete mess and she finds mentally unwell men deliciously entertaining.

Maddie's dresses usually don't cover her neck on purpose. She likes to lure her prey closer. Jack is almost constantly wearing a cravat because "those gluttonous parasites aren't taking a bite out of THIS jugular." He hasn't really realized that the cravat never seems to dissuade vampires. If anything, Jack + the stupid cravat makes his neck a bigger target.

A more detailed summary of the Aragon incident and its surrounding context is as follows:

Count Aragon and his sister Dorathea are said to have consumed dragon blood at some point in the past, which has given them dragon abilities that surpass the average vampire. Aragon, as in canon, is dominant over Dora, who does his bidding. He's a bully who rules with an iron fist, and he's very well established in society both human and vampire and very high up the food chain.

Aragon's fondest hobby is stealing thralls from other vampires. He likes to assert power over his neighbors by taking their favorite toys, knowing that none of them are gutsy enough to cause a fuss over it. And if they are, he'll just crush them, or throw a bribe their way to shut them up. His favorite activity is holding "wedding feasts" in which he plays the role of the groom, and the unfortunate human the role of bride, or main course in this sense. He'll invite his peers to participate and turn the entire thing into a pretentious spectacle designed to remind everyone who's in charge. He effectively owns his own part of the world this way. There isn't a single vampire that likes Aragon at all, but a mere stolen thrall isn't worth the risk of dealing with him, even if that thrall was a favorite. Most of the vampires in the area are silently waiting for the day he finally pisses off the wrong person...

As it happens, it's been some time since Aragon's last wedding feast and he's starting to have cravings. As he looks through his list of potential options, he remembers that about four years ago, a newcomer moved into the area, and rumour has it he brought an unusual thrall with him. A very young child. Well, Aragon thinks, it's a tragedy I haven't welcomed them yet.

Danielle is playing under a tree a stone's throw from the manor. It's about ten o'clock in the morning when a blonde, cloak wearing woman approaches her with a kind smile. Little Danielle notices she has red eyes and sharp teeth, and while those traits would frighten any other child, they put her at ease. In just a few minutes, Dora is able to convince a trusting Dani to follow her-and the child does so eagerly, not noticing Dora's own reluctance.

Vlad glances out the window and when he doesn't see Dani a twinge of concern leads him to throw on a cloak and step out to look for her. Concern quickly spirals into panic. She isn't anywhere. She's gone like she never existed at all. She's not on the manor grounds, not in the village, not inside any structure in his territory. He tears the manor itself apart but no luck. Finally, he turns up on his neighbor's doorstep around noon, and Spectra is not even the least bit ruffled by Vlad's absolute calamitous meltdown, mostly because it woke her up from a very deep and restful slumber ("Good grief, dearie. It's midday. Some of us are still nocturnal, you know").

Vlad refrains from removing her head from her neck and explains the situation, to which Spectra reminds him that pets do have a tendency to run away sometimes, and no, Dani didn't somehow travel to her Auntie Spectra's house. This is not what Vlad wanted to hear. Fortunately for both of them, their healthy and respectful conversation is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a letter, one with a deep purple envelope and a wax dragon seal.

Spectra, of course, knows immediately the content of the letter and the identity of the sender, for she's been a guest at Aragon's wedding feasts before. She's not one to experience dread. Quite the contrary. Dread, especially dread belonging to others usually delights her. But that sudden invitation plus Vlad's missing pet could only mean that Count Aragon of blood-dragon fame has chosen a new bride, which certainly would upset her amusing dynamic with her neighbor. She opens the invitation while illuminating Vlad on her suspicions.

Vlad, being extremely calm and unbothered, has to be blocked from leaving while Spectra attempts to make him see reason. You cannot simply rush off to Aragon's castle and demand your human back, she explains, to which Vlad grasps her by the neck, leaning down to speak into her face, and calmly replies that as a matter of fact, he can and he will. Spectra says no, because he will lose his powers breaking in there and Aragon is too strong for most vampires even when they aren't powerless. If Vlad genuinely wants Danielle back, he'd be a fool to be so hasty. It would be much more advantageous for Vlad to attend the feast that night with Spectra as her chosen plus one, when he could enter with permission. Vlad is still furious, but he doesn't move for a moment, considering. Finally he snarls that he simply cannot wait all day to rescue her, not when she could be bitten at any moment leading up to the feast. But Spectra shakes her head because Aragon loves his traditions and rituals, and she knows Danielle would remain whole and safe from harm up until the moment she's presented to him in the banquet hall. So with great frustration, Vlad backs down and elects to wait for night to fall.

Vlad was aware of Aragon's existence before the repulsive reptile stole his daughter, but crucially, the days when Vlad would have happily made himself a problem in Aragon's circle unprompted were behind him. He was trying to live a quiet domestic life. He was trying not to look like a threat to the big fish in the pond. He wanted only to be left alone with Danielle and his little insignificant village in the middle of nowhere, safe from prying eyes or harming hands. Oh well, Vlad thinks with a grim little smirk, as he rifles through his medicine cabinet searching for a very specific item. There's nothing for it but the demonstrative approach.

They arrive at Aragon's castle at the scheduled time, make it past the servant checking invitations, and enter without trouble. Spectra leaves Vlad to his business and flits away to mingle with her peers. Privately, she's not sure what to expect from him tonight. She hopes he was serious about murdering Aragon over his silly obsession with his pet. That would easily be the most entertaining thing to ever happen at one of these tedious assemblies....if he can pull off such a feat, that is.

Aragon is seated at the head of the banquet hall's long table, and Vlad wastes no time stalking over to him. Aragon is momentarily surprised by Vlad's appearance and then quickly dismissive when he learns that he slipped in with one of the other guests. He hadn't meant for the victim of his intended slight to attend the feast, but it mattered little in the grand scheme of things. He brushes off Vlad's frosty-yet-playful opening lines and tells him he's busy and any reconciling of goods and property will have to wait until after the party. Vlad responds to this by wrenching Aragon's throne around to face him, and says that he's going to give him one very generous and undeserved chance to return Danielle immediately. I don't wait for sniveling little wyrms.

Aragon predictably laughs, genuinely amused and awed by his gall. He asks why Vlad cares so much. After all, Vlad can hardly claim she's his since it's obvious he must have kidnapped her from somewhere in the first place. Now she's simply in the clutches of a stronger figure. Then again, the child is barely more than a mouthful. Perhaps Vlad was waiting until she grew up?

Vlad shoves down the urge to kill him for another moment, because a point must be made. He's not very old, but he is very old fashioned, he tells Aragon. In fact, he's positively medieval in so many ways, a trait he's sure Aragon in particular can appreciate. It's considered polite, crucial even, to ask a bride's father if he approves of the marriage before the bride is spirited away, isn't it?

Aragon finally rises from his seat without any urgency. He starts to move away, and flippantly says Vlad can ask the girl's father himself, for all he cares. It won't affect the child's fate one iota. Now kindly find a seat and stay out of the way, or you can listen to the feast from the comfort of the moat.

Vlad snatches him by his collar, throws him onto the table, and comes very close to nailing him to it with one vicious thrust of a wooden stake--but Aragon is a serpent, and his reflexes make the average vampire's look dull. He rolls away and is on his feet again in a blink. He's genuinely startled, but chalks up this unprecedented attack to Vlad being new and ignorant. They have an audience of stunned vampires, fallen silent at the display. Dorathea watches from the sidelines, wide eyed, but she makes no attempt to intervene. Aragon and Vlad think the same thought at the same time: Excellent. I'll make an example out of this moron that will be talked about for centuries.

Aragon is very confident. His powers have transcended blood after he fed from a dragon, and he's stronger, faster, can breathe fire, and his skin is harder to puncture. There's no way Vlad can beat him in a physical altercation, he thinks. Vlad is just as confident, and also extremely pissed off. Aragon might be of draconic blood, but Vlad is smarter, better prepared, and more than anything, he's here for Danielle. Aragon could be a real dragon for all the difference it would make. He's going to kill everyone and everything that dares to harm her. And it just so happens he had on hand the exact thing he needs to beat Aragon.

Blood magic is largely a lost art. Some spells remain known and common, such as glamours, but a lot of the ancient, powerful, and unorthodox ones were forgotten or destroyed centuries ago. Dragon's Bane, similarly, is an exceedingly rare fireproof plant said to be one of the only materials that can kill the winged beasts. The odds of anyone being uniquely skilled in forgotten vampiric magic and in possession of Dragon's Bane is extremely low. But Vlad prides himself on being an odds-defying nightmare, and so he doesn't bother to get out of the way when Aragon launches a fireball right at him. When the flames clear, he's just fine--granted, his clothes are bit singed, but it worked; and Aragon looks uncertain for the first time.

Dragon's Bane is very good for the skin, Vlad says conversationally, though in truth he'd actually injected the stuff directly into his bloodstream before arriving. He's burning blood while functionally high on magic anti-dragon juice. Hope Aragon doesn't mind.

Aragon does mind, but there's nothing he can do about it but try to kill Vlad before Vlad kills him. If he's quick about it, maybe he can overwhelm him. A fight ensues. Spectra observes the tables being knocked over with a hidden grin as she sips her blood-wine and remarks to the vampires around her, "He's my plus one."

At some point, Aragon appeals to his sister for help because things aren't looking too good for him. Dora seems torn; but after years of being kicked and berated by her brother she hesitates to come to his aid. Then there's the matter of the little girl, and while Dora is no saint, she dislikes being made to lure her brother's brides to their destruction. So her eyes harden and she turns her face away, and Aragon gets no help from his sister in the end.

Vlad stabs him more times than anyone was able to count. It was a bit excessive, and most witnesses got the feeling after a certain point the violence was purely for show. When Vlad drops the remains of a splintered stake on the ground and finally directs a half-mad look in Dorathea's direction she's quick to retrieve Danielle from a side room. She's been made to sleep, but otherwise is totally unharmed. Truthfully, Dora has no idea what Vlad will do to her, or if he even knows she's the one who kidnapped Dani. But after she places the child in his arms it's obvious he couldn't care less about her. You're a sensible woman, he remarks snidely, and that's that.

It's customary in the rare event of a vampire murdering another vampire to formally claim the kill in front of witnesses, thereby assuming the right to take the victim's property and land. Vlad pointedly doesn't do this. A mere five years previously he would have in a heartbeat, but he didn't kill Aragon for his possessions, and he's perfectly satisfied with the reputation of a lunatic if it means everyone is too afraid of him to even glance in Dani's direction. Dora assumes the position of Countess after her brother's death and she and Vlad haven't spoken since.

Dani....now knows not to talk to strangers. Not long after this incident, Vlad gifts her a pendant that contains a tiny sliver of his soul, so if she's ever taken from him again, he'll be able to act with far more efficiency.

Stolen Sanguine World-Building Dump

@taptrial2 asked and ye shall receive. What follows is a mass information pit for my Vlad Cleavage AU Danny Phantom vampire AU, Stolen Sanguine. This post will just be about world-building, the storyline will be covered separately.

The time period and culture influences are deliberately vague, but it's pseudo-Victorian, pseudo-fantasy, pseudo-pre Industrial Rev with no consistent clothing styles beyond the vampires being obnoxiously slutty.

Vampires live among humans and the ones that live the longest and thrive the most are the rich and powerful, highly immoral ones. Common people who are turned and not willing to become gluttonous murderers are usually swiftly dispatched by hunters. Being turned involves intent on the part of the vampire, and venom is the agent. New vampires are not common or accidental (unless you're Danny) because in general vampires like the status quo and creating more competition for territory isn't in anyone's best interest. Vampire on vampire murders aren't common for the same reasons. Vlad, however, is an insane little freak and has killed his own kind before. To drastically paraphrase one notable instance is Aragon, who once decided he'd pick on the new guy in town by kidnapping his four year old and turning her into his vampire bride. Vlad stabbed Aragon about three dozen times, recovered Dani safe and sound, and no one has bothered them since.

Society is entering an era where the general populace at large is becoming more collectively aware of the existence of vampires and other paranormal folk and it's more difficult to work in the shadows than it used to be. Hunters are becoming more mainstream, and while vampires have always placed emphasis on securing wealth and power, it's now more critical to have those societal protections in place.

Generally speaking, vampires are almost exclusively loners and not social with each other. This is mostly because every vampire believes that other vampires are insufferable, and they are the singular delightful exception. Penelope Spectra, Vlad's neighbor and ally, is an outlier, as she is very social for a vampire and often holds parties. She herself lives with Bertrand, whom she turned some years ago.

The vampiric power system revolves around blood. By consuming human blood, vampires regularly renew their immortality and their enhanced strength and healing. Vampiric blood itself is also endowed with certain powers, as it remains tied to the soul of the vampire even after it leaves their body. There's a culture of blood jewelry given as gifts to favorite thralls as a mark of ownership.

To say vampires merely consume blood is to ignore the whole reality. It's not just the blood, it's what the blood contains, that is, the vitality or life of the individual. Every time a vampire feeds off of someone they consume a bit of that person's life and soul. It's an active parasitic relationship that brings only misery to the consumed. Animal blood will keep a vampire alive, but it won't grant them the powers they rely on and it won't fully satisfy their hunger. Danny is doing his best, but he's basically starving himself.

A human that a vampire frequently feeds on turns into a thrall. Thralls are sickly, clingy and basically brainwashed into being willing juice boxes. You don't want to become one. Some vampires will keep them in their houses because it's very convenient. Vlad has his blood supply imported, because he's got a daughter to think of.

Vampiric weaknesses include sunlight, which burns them, and the need to be invited into dwellings or suffer the loss of their powers. There are ways to circumvent both weaknesses, however, and Vlad has found ways around both during his years of experimentation. The only way to kill a vampire is to destroy their heart, so the classic wooden stake is the weapon of choice for hunters. Jack and Maddie are particularly creative with their weaponry, though.

The GIW exist here, as a sort of white-tunic wearing anti-vampire cult/organization. Their designs are pending further thought, because white robes and hoods have some unfortunate connotations I'd prefer to avoid.

Werewolves and dragons exist here, but they're mostly mentioned in passing and also because I think it would be amusing if Danielle tried to date a werewolf prince while Vlad makes semi-serious plans to turn the poor boy into a rug if the relationship goes awry.

There is a Vampire King, but he's been sealed away in eternal slumber because he's more trouble than he's worth. Vampires will go through long periods of sleep every so often if things are going poorly for them, and it usually involves a coffin and a hidden crypt. They are of course, nocturnal beings, but they don't have to sleep as much as humans and Vlad is committed to raising Danielle diurnally. This causes some problems for him, but he's extremely stubborn and refuses to let the sun get between him and his daughter.

Other vampires consider Vlad to be completely out of his mind after the unfortunate Aragon incident. It's not normal to adopt your lunch. Spectra thinks Vlad's obvious mental illness is very attractive and she likes watching him kill people.

Vlad lived in a proper spooky castle before acquiring Danielle, but after he fled Jack and Maddie he moved extremely far away and settled into a smaller but no less creepy manor outside of a small rural village. Danielle is by no means forbidden from visiting the village and Vlad encourages the townsfolk to allow their children to befriend/suck up to her on a regular basis. Sometimes this involves blatant extortion, such as the time Vlad forcibly invited (kidnapped) a select handful of children and their trembling mothers to attend Danielle's birthday party.

Vlad likes to gaslight the people living in the village outside of his manor. They're all 95% sure he's a vampire, because he certainly couldn't look or act any more like one, but Vlad vehemently denies it. Danielle is accustomed to doing the same, and in reality she is actually the most compelling evidence that Vlad ISN'T a vampire. Because what vampire has a happy, healthy, bite-wound free child in their care?

[btsandvmin]

Ask: Reply - 2021.03.18

I don’t know what might be the best way to go about asks, but for now I’ll try to answer asks as they come and when I can/want to I’ll collect them together in a post instead of answering indivudually. I’ve seen other Vminie blogs with similar formats and have done a few collection posts like this before, and it really seems to be the easiest way to digest your questions.

Let’s go through what you’ve sent me today as I finally opened up this blog for asks again. :)

Topics:

Ask 1 - Vmin’s emotional connection vs ship moments Ask 2 - KTH1 and creative control Ask 3 - What makes a ship big? Ask 4 - Thoughts on Tae/kook’s relationship (+ edit on other post) Ask 5 - When did they first mention the dumpling fight? Ask 6 - A little about me and my big analysis Ask 7-9 - Thank yous and nice things

Thank you all for waiting. <3 Read more under the cut.

Ask 1 -  Vmin’s emotional connection vs ship moments

I agree with you. I might not look at other ships as focused as I do with Vmin, but I would guess no other ship comes close to how much Vmin have shown their emotional intimacy in many ways over the years. Not to mention how many times even BTS themselves point out Vmin’s bond as special. Not to mention to begin with we shouldn’t be insecure about their bond based on their interactions with others. We should judge Vmin based on how they interact with each other.

All members have skinship (though some more than others), but both Jimin and Tae are super comfortable with touching, sometimes even with strangers. Looking at moments you can ship all ships, and there are even those that believe their ship to be real for almost all ships in BTS at this point. Why? Well because if you focus on your ship and put emphasis on the moments between them as bigger or more important, you can find “proof” for anything. Because that’s just how close and shipworthy all of the dynamics in BTS are. They all love each other, and shippers can find their own preferred love amongst them. 

I think we also need to remember all the things Vmin has CONFIRMED that other shippers try to prove with their own ships. How is tae/kook hugging or ji/kook cuddling supposed to make me feel insecure about Vmin when they have that too AND call each other soulmates in a song that made one of their procucers cry and other things like Namjoon getting goosebumps thinking about their bond? Taehyung cried reading his letter to Jimin and Jimin said no other member would likely truly understand why he cried. Taehyung has called Jimin the warmest person he knows and his one and only best friend. AND AGAIN, SOULMATE. The years of material we have show us again and again how important they are to each other and how they grow and work hard together to make their bond even stronger.

Vminies, please appriciate what we have because we are spoiled.

Ask 2 - KTH1 and creative control

Honestly this is a difficult one. The thing is that we know that likely to some degree Big Hit will always be involved with what the boys do and release. But I also think their freedom to express themselves is better than most idol companies, and BTS whole brand is to be as genuine as possible. As for what Tae would be asked to tone down is hard to say exactly, but we do know that Yoongi and Namjoon (and other members) have been pretty dark and honest in their lyrics. I know from a Vmin perspective it could be something either LGBT+ or even directly Vmin related, but there isn’t enough to go on for me to make a good guess. We literally just know that he was told to tone it down. It doesn’t even have to be about the subjects or lyrics, even though that does seem the most likely. But we do know that Taehyung wants to release something that reflect him and that he can be proud of, so I am sure no matter what we get they will be his honest feelings. I am very excited and a bit scared thinking about Tae’s mixtape if I am being honest.

That being said, I think there could be lines that they should be careful not to cross. I think it’s possible with Taehyung’s personality who “doesn’t beat around the bush” that he might want to express more than what might be appropriate. Not just from Big Hit’s perspective but for his own sake. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Tae is an idiot who doesn’t know what’s good for him. I just think at times he might be rebellious against his own better judement because it is something so important to him. For me talking about the Christmas song is partly such a moment, but I still think he was careful and ambiguous enough about it, even though he allowed himself to complain. Still, I am sure if it is about sexuality or even a relationship he knows the risks of being too open about it and would likely understand the need to be careful, or tone things down, if that was the case. A mixtape/album is not something done rashly or in the moment, so no matter what we get I am sure it will have been checked and considered by Tae and by Big Hit.

So basically I suppose the delay could be about creative control but mostly I really think it’s about Taehyung wanting to do well and writing when he feels like it without pressure. Which I feel is a very healthy approach by him honestly. We know mixtapes takes time and we know how Hobi felt about his first one, so I really think we should just give him time and I am sure we will get something amazing.

Ask 3 - What makes a ship big?

Aaaaaaw~! Thank you so much for your love and compliments. I feel like am very lacking in many areas still, but regardless I am glad my posts are appriciated. If I can bring a smile to anyones’ face that is an acomplishment to be proud of. Thank you. <3

As for what makes a ship big or not is of course quite subjective. For me at this point I would say ALL BTS ships are big ships. Not comparing them to each other but just by the huge amount of fans they all have. (I hope you don’t have to learn the pain or liking a rare-pair from a small fandom T-T). Almost all the ships in BTS even have analysis and people who believe in them, and I think that is partly an effect of size as well. That being said I think the bigger a ship is the easier it is for it to grow more. Which is why it is no surprise a lot of BTS ships that were popular right at the start are still the biggest ones now. But with more material and more fans there comes communities focused on their own ship, and they all grow as they get more moments. Vmin too have had a few times when they blow up for a while and gather new curious shippers. Friends is clearly a great example of this. Even Sweet Night seem to be something of a turning point for some to start shipping Vmin. All ships will grown in size with each passing year as we are always given new material. Even if a ship doesn’t get a lot, it will likely get enough to keep fans engaged.

For me I would say the loudest and the most agressive are often the biggest  (more bad apples the bigger the basket you know) and I think we can see some size indications by what ships trend more often etc. Ships can also be big in different ways and in different forums... Like how ji/kookers have taken tumblr as their platform while tae/kookers seem to be on youtube comments a lot.

All in all I don’t think size matters much though. Especially not with BTS where all ships get a lot of material and has their own fans who create for, share and dicuss about their pair. Popularity to me is not really something I think too much about, and honestly I think the way only the most popular pairs seem to get attention in the form of “worry” etc. is very telling. If JK and Hobi share a bed and cuddle and celebrate JK’s BD together, or Hobi post them having a picknick outside their house at night no one bats an eye... But if it was JK with one of Vmin? Confirmed to be dating and all other shippers get worried. 

Going into detail why ships gets big is a different conversation though. :P I hope I understood your ask correctly. Basically I consider all BTS ships as more or less big (perhaps with the exception of 2seok).

Ask 4 - Thoughts on Tae/kook’s relationship

So I got two Tae/kook asks today, seemingly because Tae/kook has had a lot of moments recently. I deleted the first one, but this one I feel is safe enough to share. I’ve talked about tae/kook before... (HERE for example) and I stand by that now too. I don’t have to dismiss other ships to feel confident about Vmin’s love for each other.

Tae/kook has always had a very physical and playful dynamic. Even when Tae changed and toned down this side of him we got moments where he played with JK or they hugged or cuddled close. I do see a little change now after ITS but mostly in that Tae seems to initiate more, not that it looks different in nature. I think when Tae changed his dynamic with JK lost a lot of it’s “main focus” as Tae wasn’t as playful. Look at JK with Jin as a comparison and I think JK in general is drawn to hang with people who are happy and fun to tease. 

Anyways, about their bond I do think tae/kook are close but as grown men they don’t have the same relationship that they used to when they were younger. They simply grew up and their dynamics changed. They haven’t had a lot of more serious conversations, but I think now that distance have become a little shorter after ITS. I think Tae/kook has a great bond that is underrated by many in the fandom but overrated greatly by their shippers. They clearly love each other and have fun with each other and can be very comfortable physically. 

But are they as close as Vmin? Personally I really doubt it. And even if Tae/kook would be real why should that have any impact on Vmin? Surely you wouldn’t think they are together but cheating or something drastic like that. I am also not sure why you would be particularly worried about tae/kook based on physical interactions alone though... I mean, both Hope/kook, Tae/jin, Ji/kook and Vmin also have a loooot of very intimate looking moments if you ask me.

You don’t have to worry about Vmin. If Tae has gushed about Jimin being special to him from 2013 to 2020 I don’t see why 2021 would be any different.

I also got a reply to this post where I mentioned the tae/kook ask I deleted. I must first say that it was my mistake to write JK’s lips and not his lip mole. I have edited the post to make clear he talked about the mole and not the lips.

Either way, thank you anon for giving perspective and adding your thoughts to the moments. Not to mention moments like this happen for all members and I don’t think we can draw any strong conclusions from them saying another members is sexy or something similar. But yeah, people pick and choose what they will remember, and often focusing on the negative will leave a bigger impact than the positive.

Ask 5 - When did they first mention the dumpling fight?

Hi and don’t worry. I honestly think a lot of Vminies don’t know about this because the first time was such a small moment not many would pay attention and remember it. We knew about it since 2016 where Tae offhandedly mentioned him and Jimin fighting about dumplings once.

I don’t even have the actual source for the first time Tae mentioned it, but it was all the way back in July 2016 in an interview with @star1 magazine, so we know it happened before that.

Then Tae got asked about it on a post it during a BST era fansign as well. Also, did you know the reason they fought was 💜?

Yeah.... Let’s just say I am not surprised at all to hear their dumpling fight having more meaning than first let on. As with most things brought up in the lyrics of Friends it’s something we already knew about since before. I also talked about this in my post Vmin analysis - “Friends”. (Though at that point we hadn’t heard them speak much about it and didn’t know how big of a deal it seemed to be.) It makes me wonder if the other things they talk about in the lyrics might also have more meaning than we know. 

Personally I think the reason we even got them talking about the dumpling incident so much is thanks to JK in the carpool karaoke. When asked what Vmin would fight about he was the one who mentioned dumplings and likely brought more attention to it than if it would simply have remained as one of the many lyrical anecdotes in the song. I am glad we got to know more, because honestly the dumpling incident seems to have been a pivotal moment in Vmin’s relationship.

Ask 6 - A little about me and my big analysis

Hi and thank you so much for the lovely compliments. Trying to consider all kinds of possibilities I feel should be obvious if you truly want to analyse something, but sadly I think when it comes to observing real people and being invested emotionally that becomes really difficult. Me too have to hold myself back a lot, because in the end there is always going to be room for error. And if I am wrong, who will be hurt? Likely all of you who listen to me and take my words into consideration. So I rather be upfront about the risk of being wrong than to speak too confidently and accidentally ending up misleading someone. I am really so happy and proud over Vminies who can stand back and not become delusional despite everything we actually have (this includes myself, because it’s not always easy to not get caught up in theories).

As for who I am it’s of course ok to ask. I am from Sweden and is 30 years old. (English isn’t my native language so I hope you forgive my mistakes, I know I have a lot of them in my posts). I’ve been a BTS fan since 2016 and Vmin fan almost since the start. I have been a fan of other groups long before BTS too and was pretty deep into the Japanese idol culture before fell for K-pop. For some additional info I also work with marketing and project managing and have a degree in conflict resolution. Thanks for being curious about me. :)

About my big analysis I am working on it still, and of course I hope to post it as soon as I can. I am a bit hesistant in bringing attention to some things though, as I have seen some of my previous theories and speculations be regarded as fact. I don’t want Vminies to run with my interpretations in a way that make them confident in Vmin being real. So yeah, I do want to post it, but I am also a bit worried what reactions it might get. I try very hard to remind you all that my theories are only speculations and we won’t know anything for sure (unless it would be confirmed). It still isn’t finished yet though, but I’ll keep working hard.

Ask 7 -  Thank you for the fic rec

Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it. I haven’t had too much time to catch up on reading and just added a lot from my bookmarks, but good thing it was so appriciated by you all. Vmin writers truly are amazing aren’t they? :) 

(And don’t worry about me getting bad asks. I think I would have quit a long time ago if I let them bother me too much.)

Ask 8 - Just a very sweet anon

Thank you! I’m ok. Not great, but ok. Life goes on, you know? But I feel like I finally have the energy to blog again, and honestly that feels pretty great. It feels like I’ve been gone forever, but I hope you will still enjoy my musings and thoughts as you send me questions and I write new posts. :3

Ask 9 - The whole world is different from yesterday~ Just with your joy~

Omg what a sweet thing to say, thank you so much, you are putting a big smile on my face right now. I am glad you enjoy and understand my thoughts so much. I know many of you have missed my thoughts and even asked me when I would open my asks again, and so much always happen with Vmin too... (There is literally enough material to write books about them.) Thank you for waiting and being so understanding. I am happy to be back too. <3

Thank you everyone for you asks and I hope you liked this new format. :) I’ll try to keep it up and if you have any thoughts and opinions feel free to share them.

[aesudan-kholin]

Elhokar (I have no idea who he is) for the send me a character post

preamble for you who is my Lazytown mutual (a brief introduction to Elhokar Kholin):

- Stormlight Archive is a fantasy series but there are no elves or conventional wizards or other things you typically associate with fantasy as a genre, the magic system is hard meaning it is based off a firm set of rules. the books are very long but i love them more than anything. it is extremely well written and detailed

- Alethkar is where Elhokar is from. he is the king of Alethkar which is a country in Roshar (the continent). Alethkar is kind of based of medieval mongolia but theres lots of differences but like technology era thats where they are

- Elhokar is a shit-ass king in a Warren G Harding sort of way which is to say lots of people think he's a nice guy at a personal level but he's stupid as hell and ends up surrounding himself with corrupt people who use him to change legislation and other various abuses of power and he is just not good at understanding for himself what is a Good thing and what is a Bad thing and ends up doing plenty of bad things sometimes feeling its bad but doing it anyway

- Elhokar is extremely paranoid of assassins and the anxiety can get in the way of a lot of things, but other times he is very reckless in making decisions and that blows up in his face a lot too

- he's. i don't know if he's a good or a bad person i've tried to figure it out but i haven't yet. stormlight archive is a book full of morally grey characters and he's not outstandingly bad or good in comparison he's just sort of there

- In My Brain like i could pull evidence from the books and try and make a case for it but In My Brain he is gay and also has some gender stuff going on

First impression - i hated him. this does not really mean much though because i hated everyone when i first read the way of kings (first book of series). i made a deal with my brother that he would learn aleinn um jolin on the piano (which he DIDN'T btw) if i read the first book of his favorite book series and i was like jesus fuck this book is long ugh better start chugging through it. i didn't think i liked reading or fantasy or long books and it took me until about halfway through to stop hating it and start reading it for the sake of reading it. but until then i hated Everyone in the books except kaladin because i felt really bad for him. after i slipped the slide from being begrudgingly hooked to liking it to being obsessed i didnt care about elhokar very much for the first readthrough. i was played like the first reader fiddle. i was mad at him when i was supposed to be mad and i was happy and sad when i was supposed to be those things. nothing special going on there

Impression now - this man is my science project my research project my test subject i think about him every day and night and his oddities. i talk about him very often. he is very fun to play around with so i do. he did good things he did bad things but he was cut off before his trajectory could continue and so i like wondering about the parts we didnt get to see, the before, the after, the in betweens even since he never had a POV.

Favorite moment - So many things I could go for here. if we're talking sheer amount of time talking about one event, its the words of radiance sanderlanche aka wor 80 and 82, for various reasons that are due to it being HILARIOUS and it also being a REALLY important turning point for his character. i also talk about him getting transgenderized in ob 61 a lot too because well im just very glad it happened like there was absolutely no reason for it to and yet it did so I'll Take It. there are a lot of elhokar moments i like though

Idea for a story - one that's been rattling around my brain for months that i never wrote was The Adventures of Lalai the Scribe, which basically lalai is elhokar's scribe and every chapter would be her dealing with having to scribe some stupid ass thing elhokar wants written down it would be very non serious and stupid and just fun then later it deals with how she got fired after the way of kings and what she does after

Unpopular opinion - i don't know what you people believe about elhokar so i don't know whats unpopular or not large scale trust me i've tried to figure out the fandom views as well but for the most part its just a lot of either pointing out obvious stuff or making a theory or interpretation that can be disproved with quotes from the book and most things that are not that are like sure ok i suppose. im gonna disagree with the part of the fandom who are elhokar apologists and also the way the book frames him and his actions as in no way being his fault. the books also do a weird amount of making comparisons of him to a "child" or a "boy" and i think that rubbed off on some people so im also gonna say elhokar is not your """"baby"""" or your """"son"""" or whatever he is a 27 year old man stop being weird about him (though on this platform at least it seems to have died down which is good). im also going to disagree with people who say he's irredeemable and terrible and no good evil etc etc IF they are not like this about every person who is as bad or worse than him. YES he killed 2 innocent people. but if you're chill with dalinar then i dont want to hear it. if you're chill with raboniel i don't want to hear it. if you're making a fuss about elhokar but are a okay with navani then you're not doing it because he's a bad person you're doing it because you don't like him. which you're allowed to do!!! but let's not pretend you're making an argument from a moral basis when its clearly from a personal opinion on his personality just admit you're dunking on him because you don't like him and not because he's exceptionally terrible. so that's 2 based on what i've seen from #elhokar apologists and #elhokar haters

Favorite relationship - all his relationships are interesting and i like analyzing them all but the one that easily gives me the most entertainment is his relationship with kaladin. they are so weird. i can't stop staring at it.

Favorite headcanon - other than the sexuality and gender ones uhhh see this is hard because the line between headcanon and how-i-interpret-the-text can be thin but for something i have no proof for he draws and/or has drawn in his spare time in secret i mean i guess i could pull one piece of evidence for that but i think it still counts as a hc

[leahazel]

7KPP MBTI - over-long and completely unedited meta

I’m just copy/pasting this from my notes software with no editing. If you’re brave enough to read the whole thing, more power to you. It’s about 3K words all in all.

I was in a doctor's waiting room this morning (I have the flu and I was waiting for a chest x-ray) and while I waited, I was thinking about some recent thoughts I had about D&F, and how they've changed my mind on some MBTI typings I've had for the 7KPP NPCs. I've been musing on the MBTI subject on and off for as long as I've been playing the game (first post here: https://leahazel.tumblr.com/post/126655090075/congratulations-on-the-kickstarter-also-if), and I've typed most of my own MCs and other OCs. In fact, for some of them, their MBTI and enneagram types are pretty central to their character arc.

But some characters are more well-developed than others, and some are quite difficult to type. And, of course, impressions are subjective. Since I'm fluish and too tired to actually write any fanfic (I have several unfinished), I might as well do a proper post of all my typings.

If I were at full strength, I'd so a whole resources section with links about what MBTI is and how it works. Since I'm not, I'll give the bare minimum background. MBTI is a personality typing system based on Jungian cognitive function theory. You can find everything from official descriptions written by professionals, to jokey quizzes and Tumblr memes, all over the internet. My favorite fannish MBTI account is @funkymbtifiction. I love their character typings and I rely on them for nuanced takes on the different types.

Without getting too much into my typing philosophy, here are the 7KPP NPCs, grouped somewhat arbitrarily.

Introverted sensing types

The four types marked SJ use the introverted sensing function as either their primary or auxiliary cognitive function. Stereotypically, Si-using types are hidebound, dutiful and traditional, reliable but also stubborn and rigid. Certainly unhealthy SJ types act like this a lot of the time. More mature, healthier people of the same types have access to all of Si's strengths -- an eye for detail, conscientious work ethic, a strong sense of honor -- while being aware of their weaknesses, and compensating for them.

ISTJ - Cordelia and Jasper are both ISTJ types. They share some of the same strengths and vulnerabilities. Both are very emotionally contained, but have difficulty expressing affection openly. At the same time, they have a strong moral compass and inner sense of right and wrong. This is typical of the Te/Fi function pair in the secondary/tertiary positions. Both of them have personal dilemmas and character journeys revolving around the tension between tradition and novelty. When frustrated or at a loss, they're prone to retreating into loops of rumination (Si-Fi loop), or spiraling into anxiety about future possibilities and everything that can possibly go wrong (inferior Ne). Cordelia is the more stable of the two. When we meet Jasper, he's already in the midst of a personal crisis. I suspect Sayra is also an ISTJ and generally write her with this type in mind, but not enough is known of her to pin her type down.

ISFJ - Penelope and Ria are both ISFJ types. Both of them are kind, gentle and helpful as ISFJs often (stereotypically) are, and are prone to putting other people's needs ahead of their own, as Fe-users often are. ISFJs thrive on the power of friendship and community, and excel at promoting harmony for the benefit of all. Disharmony, cruelty and rudeness make them anxious and upset, but they also possess hidden reservoirs of both fortitude and courage, especially in defense of others. As Si-users, they have a keen appreciation for the aesthetics of small, everyday details, and as Fe-users, they feel a strong need to put up a persona that reflects what others expect of them. When their desires are at odds with group harmony, they can struggle to assert themselves. Both Penelope and Ria have character arcs that show them to be strongly motivated by a sense of justice and fairness, being stronger than they initially appear to be, and willing to come into conflict with established mores when necessary.

ESTJ - General Falon is an ESTJ, and I believe he's the only one out of the characters I've named here (there are some characters that I don't feel I know enough about to type). As Falon is a minor character and not very well-developed, he adheres closely to ESTJ stereotypes and doesn't provide much nuance. He's driven by duty and honor and values tradition, hierarchy and efficiency. When driven out of his comfort zone he becomes easily flustered. He has a hard time seeing things from other people's point of view, is weak at diplomacy, and his discourse style lacks tact. Many traits that are typical of the extroverted thinking function.

ESFJ - Emmett and Lisle are both ESFJ types, and both pretty typical, although in slightly different ways. Here's the controversial part: I now think Jarrod is also an ESFJ, and I'll explain why, but I want to start with the simpler, more linear characterization.

ESFJ types use extroverted feeling as their leading cognitive function. It's a powerful emotional function that excels at both reading people's behavior and intentions, and reflecting that behavior back at them. Fe-dom types, when healthy, switch handily between personas appropriate to their surroundings, they know how to read the room's mood, and when they want to influence people, they know how to form an argument that's tailored to their conversation partner. On the downside, Fe-users can get lost in their masks or lose sight of their own goals, because they read other people's desires so readily. When supported by Si, introverted sensing, their desire for stability and continuity can hinder them from considering the possibilities of positive change. They can be cautious to a fault. Lisle is a typical ESFJ and his difficulty in opening up about negative emotions can be attributed his the Fe-driven desire to promote social harmony above all. Emmett does not initially seem like an SJ type or a J type at all, because judging types are not usually perceived as being as open-minded and easy-going as he is. This however is more of an adaptation to the circumstances his family life thrust him into, not by his own decision, and Emmett several times expresses a desire for a more stable home and family life.

Now, about Jarrod. On the face of it, his behavior is more consistent with a thinking type than a feeling type. He has no patience for anything soft or tender, he's quite aggressive and demanding, comfortable handing out orders. These are behaviors associated especially with extroverted thinking, which would make one think he should be an ESTJ or ENTJ. Likely ESTJ, since he shows a clear preference for a stable subjective sensory environment, typical of an Si-user. In fact, I'd initially typed him as ESTJ and I was comfortable with that typing until recently. However! You can't type a character based only on a type's weaknesses. If he's really an ESTJ, he should have an ESTJ's strengths, too. Looking at General Falon, he might be hidebound and inflexible, but he's also hard-working, efficient, and has the kind of natural air of authority that's so useful to a general. Jarrod yells at servants, but struggles to get them to obey his orders. He's not very organized or efficient, and can't manage to wake up on time even with a battery of servants at his disposal. The only sphere he shows any discipline in at all is his physical training. He's... not very smart, and his week one dialogue shows a lack of basic strategic understanding, quite aside from being tragically ill-informed. Jarrod doesn't act like an ESTJ, he acts like someone trying to be an ESTJ and failing, badly.

In MBTI circles, a lot is made of statistics that show that thinking types are disproportionately men, and feeling types are disproportionately female. This affects a lot of people's self-typing, because it introduces bias. Gender norms in the 7KPP universe are based on our own, and while we haven't seen a lot of direct evidence of the idea that men are inherently more logical and less emotional than women... it's not implausible that this belief is just as common in the Seven Kingdoms as it is in reality. Jarrod's particular flavor of "rationality" looks a lot more like the rationalization of a feeling type, in the grip of his inferior thinking function. The Si/Ne function pair still fits, and so ESFJ is my conclusion. I would elaborate and say that the mimicking abilities  of extroverted feeling as a dominant function are especially suited to a young person attempting to emulate a stronger personality in order to gain acceptance and social cachet.

...Wow. That was long.

Extroverted sensing types:

SPs, sensing perceiving types, are very different from sensing judging types. The sensory cognitive function they use is extroverted, less subjective and personal than Si, more grounded in external reality. This makes them more flexible but also more disorganized. Part of the reason why so many cast members are Si-users is because the Summit itself is such a socially rigid environment, where perceiving types in general are less likely to fit in. Se-users especially are more impulsive and that's reflected well in the two main SP types in the cast, Hamin and Anaele. Both of them struggle with the strictures of the Summit's schedule and rigid behavioral codes, and are constantly seeking outlets for their enormous physical and social energy.

Aly has said explicitly that Hamin is an ESFP, and that tracks. His superficial behavior is driven overwhelmingly by the demands of the energetic Se function, which demands a lot of attention and forms most of his public persona, his reputation. His quieter, more hidden side is emotionally driven and has a strong moral core looking for an outlet, both in terms of his desire to do right in the world, and in terms of his strong interpersonal relationships. Subtler still, you can see the signs of his tertiary function, Te, in his leadership ability and his efficiency in accomplishing tasks -- as long as he deems them important enough to be worth his attention (Fi-Te). Thinking about the future makes him anxious, because his future-oriented inferior Ni function is weak and under-developed. That's the main thrust of his personal character arc.

I went back and forth on Anaele, but eventually typed her as an ESTP. ESTP and ESFP types can appear similar some of the time, simply because the leading function is so extroverted it can overwhelm the expression of the auxiliary function, especially in public. Ana's Ti function isn't always super obvious, but her tertiary Fe is evident in her constantly struggling with the idea of social consensus and social responsibility. Her reputation and the reputation of her warriors is important to her, as is Skalt's standing among the kingdoms and her standing with her mother. At the same time, she resents the need to fit in and to conform herself to other people's ideas about who she is and how she should behave. She also has some of the positive aspects of tertiary Fe, she can be charming and reassuring and supportive, and generally has a good grasp of how to influence the mood of the room, when she's willing to put in the effort. Her insistence on speaking with Skaltic cadences even though she knows they sound wrong to the speakers of the common language is exactly the kind of stubborn oppositional behavior typical of ESTPs who like to provoke a reaction, without necessarily thinking through what they're provoking.

Jaslen and Blain are also probably ESP types, but I'm not confident about their typing, at least not enough to pin a specific type.

Introverted intuition types:

NJ types are targets for all sorts of stereotypes and mystification in MBTI communities. In fiction, they often appear as extraordinary characters, world-changing types, great heroes or villains or even mentors. The Ni function is described as being big picture oriented, very abstract, intuitive and futuristic. Judging intuitives sometimes seem to be reaching for "a target no one else can see", which is probably why they're often seen as being intellectual or artistic geniuses. Or, at least, really good at faking it. NJ types in the 7KPP universe are usually characters who are hiding important secrets, mostly about things bigger than themselves. They're driven by great conviction and not easily derailed from their plans.

ENFJ: Aly has stated that this is her type and also Clarmont's type, and in fact a significant part of his characterization seems to revolve around it. Feeling types are more ethically-driven than thinking types, at least stereotypically, and Clarmont is not an exception. He has a vision for the future that he's willing to sacrifice for. He has deep convictions, but he's also able to dine and dance with his mortal enemies, without betraying his true thoughts or feelings. In fact, he so excels at hiding his intentions that the Matchmaker makes a point of remarking on it.

INFJ: Look, I know I just said that feeling types are ethical, but the prototypical INFJ in the 7KPP verse is Gisette. It's easiest to explain by contrasting her with Avalie. Both Gisette and Avalie show certain common traits: they are contained, composed, ambitious, manipulative, and unscrupulous. They both know how to pull people's strings and like peeking inside people's heads to see through to their true intentions. The difference is, the way they do it is different. Avalie is a thinking type, and she operates like a chess player. She sets people in scenarios that cause them to reveal themselves. Gisette is an INFJ, and her auxiliary function is extroverted feeling. To execute her grand vision (Ni), she manipulates people through social convention, using gossip to tear down reputations and carefully curating her own public image. Gisette's weak one event is absolutely typical of an amoral FE-user. She doesn't hesitate to use the power of social convention to position people according to her needs. He tertiary Ti function shines through in her tactical thinking skills, and her inferior Se function is apparent in her love of fashion, as well as her ability to pounce on opportunities when her carefully laid plans go awry.

As a side note, I believe that Countess Yvette is also an INFJ, but it's harder to gather evidence for it, since she has a fairly minor role, all in all.

INTJ: Avalie and Woodly are both INTJs. INTJ is often touted as the chessmaster type, and it makes perfect sense as a type for people who prefer pulling strings in the background, as opposed to openly passing out orders, like General Falon. Not much more to be said about that, except that the manifestation of INTJ functions can be affected by social convention. Avalie is an attractive young woman and Woodly is an older man who is much more socially established, and naturally this affects how agreeably they interact with others. Thinking types are not stereotypically known as being particularly polite or graceful, in the social sense. But, the introverted intuition function is very calculating, and the extroverted thinking function is results-driven. With time, a woman with a TJ type can learn to mimic behaviors that create the illusion of the feminine softness that's expected of her. Avalie in particular does this very well.

ENTJ: My second controversial typing, I insist that Zarad is an ENTJ. The persona he puts up is that of an ESFP, like Hamin, but as his opening narration says, no one whose reputation is that consistent can be exactly what he seems. Zarad's public persona, that of the careless flirt and black sheep, is a bit too much of a textbook description of an ESFP. It lacks the depth and nuance of Hamin's internal conflict. Putting up an elaborate facade for years on end is not something that an Fi-user, like an ESFP, is typically proficient in. A judging type is more likely to succeed at this, specifically either an Fe-dom or a Te-dom. The reason why I zeroed in on ENTJ for his true type, is that ENTJs and ESFPs have the same cognitive functions, but in a different stacking. This commonality would allow Zarad to more effectively access the thought process that would be typical of the type he's assuming -- it's all there under the surface, it's just not his natural, instinctual behavior. I also think part of the reason that he and Hamin collaborate so well is that they're not the same type, but rather they complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. The confounding factor is that the difference between Hamin and Zarad is not just in type, but in environment. Hamin definitely couldn't maintain the type of long-term deceit that Zarad engages in, but maybe an ESFP who was raised in the secretive and backstabbing Corvali imperial court could.

Extroverted intuitive function:

The only NP type in the cast, as far as I can tell, is Lyon. He is canonically an INTP, which Aly has confirmed is based on several of her family members. His introverted thinking function fixates on the idea of an internal, consistent and logical inner world, at the cost of interacting with the messy and subjective outer world. This causes him to rationalize emotional behavior patterns and close himself off. As part of his character arc, the auxiliary function of extroverted intuition opens up possibilities for him, because what Ne excels at most is offering up lots of alternative explanations based on existing parameters. For example, "what if not everyone hates me?" or, "what if sometimes things actually go right?" I'm being sarcastic about this because I'm an Ne-user myself, so I'm allowed.

Odds and ends:

Minor characters like Imogen and Mrs. White don't have types, because we don't know them well enough. Specifically, we don't get to contrast their typical, healthy behavior with their behavior under stress. Kade, Leala and Greer don't yet have types or enough characterization for typing, but based on my intuition and what I've learned about Aly's writing, I have preliminary predictions. Leala is probably an ESFP like Hamin. Greer is most likely an INTP, or else possibly an ISTJ or even ESTJ. I would guess that she's an introvert, but as her leading function is definitely a thinking one (as her blunt speaking style reveals), Te-dom is also a possibility. Kade is a bit of a wild card, but I'm placing bets on either ISTP or ENTP, just for the sake of novelty.

Among my own problem princesses, I have an assortment of at least three quarters of the types. Least represented are the FP types, excepting Princess Felicity, who's an ENFP, and widow Selene, who's an ISFP. If you add in the supporting OCs, they really run the gamut.

[docfuture]

Princess, part 1

     [This story is a prequel, set several years before The Fall of Doc Future, when Flicker is 16.  There are a few minor changes in continuity from the serialized versions of Fall and Skybreaker's Call, for reasons explained here (spoilers if you haven't read Fall and Call.)  Link to the latest chapter of The Maker’s Ark is here, and links to some of my other work are here.  Planning to update this at least once a week until it's done--next update is set to be up by October 19th.]

      When Flicker had formally started her career as a superhero, Doc Future had expressed reservations about her ability in two areas.  Not her power, technique, knowledge, or motivation, but two mundane, almost trivial seeming skills.  Flicker hadn't thought they would cause any major problems.       They did.       The skills were triage and pacing.  What to prioritize when she couldn't get to everything, when to stop, and when not to even go on call for the day because she hadn't recovered enough yet.       For someone who could respond to any emergency, anywhere in the world, they were essential.  She'd eventually dealt with the triage issue by setting general priorities and letting Doc's Database handle the rest--because that let her concentrate on pacing.  Which was still a problem.  One that was manageable, but not always well managed.       Because knowing that people somewhere were dying or getting hurt because she wasn't willing or able to push just a little further... bothered her.  A lot.       The problem wasn't a lack of time--she couldn't literally make time, but she could sure stretch it.  She could think at up to a million times human subjective speed, and move even faster.  But she eventually needed to slow down again to stay sane.  So her bottlenecks were the things she couldn't speed through, like long-term memory organization and biological recovery.  She still pushed--she was fast at them by human standards.  By her own, she was glacially slow.  And biological recovery--downtime while body and brain chemistry caught up with everything she'd done at speed--often felt like shirking responsibility, even when she desperately needed it.       She'd finished her active patrol shift for the day after hitting her stop threshold.  She'd saved lives.  That helped a little.  The estimated number of lives she saved had three digits.  That helped a little, too.  Neither of those helped as much as it hurt that the number was smaller than yesterday.  But she'd learned; keep pushing too long and her judgement and health suffered.       There were other things she needed to learn, too.  Continuing her education was one of the few things that let her recover at human speed without feeling guilty, and she had access to Doc's Database, which was, among other things, the best reference library in the world.  So Flicker had picked up a wide and detailed, if idiosyncratic, base of knowledge.  Learning and recovery were what she was doing now.  While on disaster watch, because her sense of duty wouldn't let her ignore the world's problems completely.  That was an occupational hazard for superheroes.       She was reading and tracing references on some subjects she found interesting, though not particularly pleasant.  Which felt appropriate, because her new Database threshold algorithm wasn't very pleasant either.  But it let her help with the worst events even when she was on the ragged edge of burnout.  She needed the structure, otherwise she wouldn't reliably stop; it was too easy to keep going down the global incident priority list from the Database doing 'just one more thing'.  There were always more things--her speed and the Database's realtime intel gathering and analysis meant she could intervene in a significant chunk of all accidents, fires, industrial mishaps, and assorted violence in the world.  And wipe herself out in ten minutes.  So limits were necessary.       As was what she was learning.       *****       Two days ago...       "Doc, I need advice on my next research topic," said Flicker.  "It's practical, not academic.  And I got several Database warnings and an advisory about where I was going to start."       Doc Future put down the scanner and pushed his goggles up on his forehead.  They were in his lab.  It was cluttered, as it usually was when he was working.  They had their differences, but Doc always made time for her sudden interruptions, and his suggestions were often helpful.  And he rarely tried to push any topic that wasn't vital.  Flicker didn't know if that was what normal humans needed in a parent, but it was what she needed.       "An advisory?  What topic?" he asked.       "Politics," said Flicker.  "I've screwed up too much because I don't understand it, and I haven't learned better because I dislike it.  But I need to."       "Reasonable," said Doc.       "The advisory was to talk to you if you had time.  I did a Database search for a good book to start learning the foundations of applied political science from, and got a list of suggestions.  And I did another search for useful guides for someone who has power but is still naive and doesn't want to get people killed out of ignorance.  And I got another list."       Flicker paused.  "One book was on both lists.  And the first warning was about the importance of context, proper translation, and annotations."       "One moment," said Doc.  Then, to the air:  "Database, command, pizza and drinks, break room."       "Acknowledged," came from the nearest lab speaker.       "Um," said Flicker.  "You don't need to drop everything--"       "Priorities," said Doc.  He shut down the scanner and a data recorder, then headed for the door.       Flicker frowned.  "How did you know I skipped lunch?"       Doc smiled crookedly.  "I didn't.  But there will be enough for both of us."

     "How is your pacing management going?" asked Doc, after his first slice of pizza.       "It's okay when I spend at least some time working with Jetgirl or Journeyman.  But she hit a long run of stuff I couldn't help with, then went on vacation, and Journeyman has been away dealing with that interdimensional magician thing again."       Flicker looked away.  "I had to do something about that fire in Lagos.  There wasn't anyone else; Virago was in Sudan, the Saharan was in Mali, and the fire department was stuck in traffic.  I trashed the building, but it all would have burned anyway, and I got the people out, so..."       She stopped and took a breath before starting again.  "Yeah.  Pacing is still a problem.  I set the off-duty interrupt thresholds even higher.  I hate doing it, though.  It feels like turning my back on the world--I get this angry helpless feeling.  Like the last time I tried to study how politics works.  But if I'm feeling that way anyway, I might as well deal with something important that I've been avoiding."       "I've been known to do that," said Doc.  "Jumping Spider calls it cage match coping.  Not ideal, but..."       "But we don't live in an ideal world," she finished.  Doc's standard response to her unanswerable 'but why' questions when she was younger.  "So, what's special about this book?  Other than the fact that the author's name has become a synonym for scheming?"       "Well," said Doc, "you were going to run into it eventually, because I encouraged you to consult historical sources if they're useful.  The Prince is still germane in ways Newton's Principia is not, it's far shorter and more readable, and it was written colloquially, in the style of a guide.  Machiavelli had personal, directly relevant experience--and a dark sense of humor.  But it's been five hundred years.  You do need that context.  Also, later reactions to it by others, and their distortions of it, can be illuminating."       "You seem to know a lot about it," said Flicker.       "Yes."  Doc waited for Flicker to finish a slice of pizza before continuing.  "Given your current stressors, I'd like to test something, if you're up for it."       "Possibly..."       "You've mentioned occasionally your frustration with my reluctance to conduct further experiments involving your high speed mind."       "Yeah.  I get the dangerous part, but ignorance is dangerous, too."       "There are always tradeoffs," said Doc.  "So I'd like you to speed up, skim The Prince--skip the background and any translator editorializing for now--summarize your impressions, then slow back down and compare them with your normal speed reaction."       "I won't retain much more than the summary unless I reread it at normal speed."       "You were going to do that anyway.  And it's short."       "Okay."       Flicker sped up, loaded the book into her visor, linked it to the virtual keyboard interface in the gloves of her costume, and started reading. "Yuck," she said after finishing and slowing down.  "Gratuitous misogyny right near the end.  That was obnoxious."       "Yes.  Welcome to a primary source from the Renaissance," said Doc.  "Any reaction discrepancy?"       "No, it was yuck at high speed, and still yuck when I slowed down.  Initial impressions... The book reads like an overly wordy 'Dictatorship for Dummies'.  I found it kind of uneven.  The case studies of unpleasant stuff that worked, at least for a while, were interesting.  Sounded like he was arguing against people who said it wouldn't.  His advice about things you shouldn't do was a lot more convincing than most of his advice about what you should do instead--there were some pretty dubious generalizations.  He seemed a lot better at specific topics where he had evidence--I liked that his advice about building fortresses was basically 'It depends'.  Some of his generalizations were pretty good, though; sociological rules that seem obvious."       "They weren't obvious when he wrote about them."       "Ah.  There was one part where I think he was trolling, but I don't know who."       "What was that?"       "Well, there was this long sentence with eleven conditionals over whether you should use this one guy as an example.  Sounded like Machiavelli was trolling people who didn't like the guy."       "He was known to troll.  But I believe the passage in question was driving home the point that you should not ignore evidence, even if it was generated by someone you don't like.  He was quite aware his views would annoy people.  It's also worth noting that The Prince was a work in progress, and not published during his lifetime.  It's not clear how close the versions we have are to what he intended to be final.  He died rather suddenly."  Doc took a sip of coffee and studied her.  "How coordinated was your normal speed reaction with your high speed one?"       "Pretty well.  As much as with anything else.  So... What does that tell you?  What were you testing?"       "Whether there were any warning signs of ethical inconsistency between the two parts of your mind.  Reading The Prince for the first time was an opportunity to test for that."       Flicker frowned.  "But it's not about ethics, it's about how to succeed as an autocrat.  It's notably ethics-free.  I thought that was the point?"       "Well, your consistency is a good sign."  Doc paused, with the look he got when he was estimating how long a lecture she'd be willing to sit still for.       "Go ahead," she said.  "You think this is important, and I already expected it to be unpleasant.  And we have food.  I'm not going anywhere unless a crisis alarm hits."       Doc snorted.  "All right.  Keep in mind that this is my summary, based on my own experience and judgement, and I'm leaving out a lot."       "Granted.  Go."       "The Prince was written as a how-to book, and rather bluntly pointed out problems with trying to base political actions on any then-current dogma or ethical systems.  That was implicitly a new ethical position, and very controversial.  Before Machiavelli, there were two main families of ethics in Western philosophy--deontology and virtue ethics.  After him, there were three, although there was quite a bit of thrashing around while various versions of the new one got elaborated and argued about.  You didn't notice the ethics in The Prince because it's a consequentialist book, you were educated as a consequentialist, and you're more likely to spot things you disagree with when skimming."       Flicker sighed.  "I understand consequentialism, but those others only seem to get talked about in connection with philosophy or religion, and the signal to noise ratio of that stuff is so low."       "That is a problem, yes," said Doc.  "Wild oversimplification incoming.  Something bad happens because someone screwed up.  What's their excuse?"       He waved a hand.  "If they say 'I meant well', they're appealing to virtue ethics.  If they say 'I followed the rules', that's deontology.  And if they say 'My plan failed', that's consequentialism."       "Ahh.  Now that's useful.  I wish...  Hang on."  She frowned again, then sped up to think and check some references in the Database.  It was a long subjective time before she slowed down again.       "I think I have an ethical problem.  Several problems.  I'm not sure if they're ethical, but they are problems.  Is the Volunteer a deontologist?"       "You could ask him."       "Doc."       "It's not a trivial question to answer.  His views have evolved.  He was raised as one, just like he was raised as a human.  He does have certain fixed principles, but he considers taking consequences into account as a moral imperative."  Doc smiled.  "Complicates the categories a bit.  And he doesn't expect people to try to emulate everything he does.  If nothing else, because most people aren't bulletproof and can't fly."       "Here's the problem," said Flicker.  "I learned ethics from you, and you're a consequentialist.  But I've been using him as a moral example.  I assumed that was okay because you get along.  Now, maybe not so much.  Is it?"       "I thought it was likely to require adjustments on your part as you grew up.  I also thought you'd talk to one of us if it became a problem.  You weren't particularly receptive to theoretical ethics discussion, so I focused on more immediate concerns.  Like discouraging any tendencies you might have towards impulsive mass destruction."       "Yeah."  Flicker looked down.  "Can deontology, like... sneak up on you?  Can rules that you started using for practical reasons or because you thought they were good fallbacks start acquiring moral baggage without you realizing it?"       "Oh yes.  Happens all the time.  Rules are easy to teach, easy to learn, and easy to reinforce.  And most people learn some form of rule-based morality as children, so it's familiar.  That's one reason that the Volunteer is so careful about what he says.  A lot of people look up to him, but others have been trying to twist the meaning of what he does to fit their own agenda since...  Well, it started to get bad in the fifties, and has never really gotten better."       "You didn't teach me that way.  Your rules always came with explanations.  Or even stories.  And I could use the Database scenario analyzer to explore just why something would be bad."       Doc nodded.  "You were an extreme case.  I didn't see any alternative to teaching you consequentialism as soon as we could reliably communicate, because of the amount of power you have.  Database access and your ability to speed up to think helped make it more practical.  And I think, based on your negative reaction to external rules without what you view as adequate justification, that somewhere in your missing memories prior to age nine, someone, or several someones, tried to impose a rule system on you."       "Yeah..."  Flicker watched the server bot refill her pop and add an ice cube as she thought.  "But when I come up with the rule myself, like by watching the Volunteer, and it matches my consequence evaluation enough, I start just accepting it.  And if it involves an emotional reaction when I'm at human speed, but consequences that are hard to evaluate fully without speeding up, it seems to sometimes pick up a moral value; I feel guilty if I try to ignore it.  I think that's why the feeling that I'm not doing my duty if I don't help out somewhere every day, even if I'm wiped, is so hard to shake."       "That's plausible.  It may be a consequence of whatever mechanism synchronizes moral judgement between the two parts of your mind; that's why I wanted to check on it."       Flicker looked back at him.  "Is this book likely to make my problems worse?"       "I don't think so."  Doc scratched his chin.  "But I do think your history and judgement synchronization are likely to be partly responsible for why you find reading about or discussing politics or ethics so unpleasant."       "Great.  I really wish I could talk to a human psychologist without putting a huge target on their back."       "Unlikely after what happened during the Lost Years.  And for any remotely safe intervention, they would need either training in a specialty that doesn't exist or years of experience with you."       "I'd settle for a smart generalist with personal experience in human emulation.  But that rules out most humans.  And I can't do a real Database search for one because of the privacy restrictions."       "The Database is frightening enough even with those restrictions.  But..."  Doc frowned and tapped at his handcomp.  "There, I set up a Database thread to analyze what a minimally intrusive search for someone appropriate for you to talk to might look like.  You'd need to think carefully about what you're looking for, and you wouldn't be able to access any of the raw data or decision process, even by override.  It still might not be practical.  You can discuss it with the Database integrity AI."       "Okay.  I'll talk to DASI about it."  Doc strongly disapproved of anthropomorphization of the Database.  But he was willing to let Flicker talk to DASI--the Database Algorithm Security and Integrity AI--for mental health reasons, so she was careful to maintain the distinction.       Doc started on another slice of pizza, and Flicker leaned back in her chair.       "In the meantime," she said, "I'll do a proper read of The Prince, and context on Machiavelli, and see if I can figure out why a consequentialist would write a handbook for autocrats."       Another crooked smile from Doc.  "He liked Florence a lot."       *****       Now.       Flicker had found the book and background material sometimes jarring and often depressing.  But it wasn't boring, and a few bits were full of insight.  Like: "...how one lives is so far distant from how one ought to live, that he who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation; for a man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil."       She did not understand how anyone could interpret that as 'The end justifies the means'.  But a lot of people apparently had.  Flicker saw it as making clear that neither the world, nor people, nor you, were perfect, and if you didn't pay attention to that you were going to get in trouble--but it didn't justify anything.  You needed to get that somewhere else, if at all.       She wondered if any of the superheroes who died during the Lost Years had thought that acknowledging imperfection was equivalent to abandoning their principles.       She jumped back to a passage she'd read over and over.  Superheroes weren't political leaders, but there was definitely something there.  Still, it seemed a little... off.       "Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with."       Flicker wasn't sure about that.  The Volunteer was loved a lot and feared a little.  Virago and Nighthaunt were both feared a lot and loved a little.  All were successful, in different ways.       But safety didn't mean the same thing to her as it did to Machiavelli, and she wasn't sure how much that mattered.  She was still thinking about that when a special alarm flashed.       Flicker was off-duty, and still at Yellow endurance status--she hadn't fully recovered from her most recent shift.  But she had a short list of personal priority interrupts for the Database.  At the top was 'reckless speedster'.  And a crisis analysis appeared on her visor, right after the alarm:       Event:  Shockwave generation.  Building, infrastructure, and vehicle damage.  Probable injuries, potentially life-threatening.       Location:  Rome, Italy.       Tags:  Severe, ongoing, casualties, assessment lag.       Cause (extrapolated):  83%:  Hermes.  14%:  Unknown speedster.  3%:  Other.       Flicker was already in costume, and had sped up her mind.  Now she sped up her body and virtual typed a response.       Database, command, assign event cause neutralization to me.  Alert Doc, Box crisis intake, local emergency response, Interpol.  Start continuous updates by available channels, breadth over depth, cascading priority interrupts.       Acknowledged.       She sent further queries, ones that would take longer for the Database to answer, as she headed for the equipment bay.  Duty called.

Next: Part 2

[comp6841]

Cryptocurrencies (1/3)

What are they?

They are essentially a form of electronic money which rely on the underlying blockchain technology to make them decentralised and immutable. This means that anyone any use their computer / money to contribute towards the networks security which in turn means that we don’t have a central authority in control. The problems associated with centralisation are clear (they are ‘single points of failure’ in security) and they provide a means to control how users may spend their money (i.e. anti-freedom).

Each user in a network typically has a (public, private) key pairing which gives them ownership of the address. In order to move funds out of an address, they need to sign a transaction with the private key and include a public key address to send them to. Since we don’t have a central authority (’idealistically’), the process of sending funds from User A to User B is almost considered ‘direct’.

What are the different types?

Before we go into how they work, I think it’s important to distinguish the different types. The original sort is known as proof-of-work, where miners dedicate their processing / GPU power towards solving a mathematical problem which will add a block to the chain; the first computer to solve for this hash is given the reward for their work. In order to fake a ‘single block’ in the network, you would need to have more computing power than 51% of the network.

In the case of proof-of-stake, an algorithm will choose a block creator based on the size of their stake and its age, as well as a random element. In order to fake a ‘single block’ in the network, you would need to own 51% of the cryptocurrency. The reward given is primarily based off the transactions fees.

There is also another one called DPoS which I consider a less-decentralised version of PoS which reduces the stakers down to a more limited-group (used by EOS, for example). The idea is that everyone in the network can use their currency to vote on ‘witnesses’ to secure the network. The ‘witnesses’ are those who receive the highest number of votes (100 in the case of EOS) receive a one-off payment (backup block-producers) and a portion of these (21 in the case of EOS) become block producers. They essentially rotate amongst the circle who will produce the next block. Voting is an ongoing process, so people can move their votes around whenever, and voting strength decays over time (need to re-vote).

(Aside) Calculating Merkle Roots

Think of a Merkle root as a summary of all the transactions in a block; you start with the bottom leaves as all the transactions in the block. Then you hash them all with the algorithm to get n/2 hashes; you repeat this process until you get a hash representative of all the transactions. The way in which the hashing is done also means the order of the transactions cannot be tampered with. There actually used to be a bug with this structure back in 2012 where you could DoS Bitcoin by duplicating transactions in a Merkle tree.

How does PoW work?

Since Bitcoin is the most prominent cryptocurrency of this type, I will use it to explain the details behind PoW. The basic idea is that we have a series of blocks each containing headers of the following form:

Version (4 bytes) - version of the software being used

Previous Block Hash (32 bytes) - hash of the previous block header

Transaction Merkle Root (32 bytes) - merkle root of the transactions to be included in the block

Time (4 bytes) - timestamp of when the block is being produced

Bits (4 bytes) - compact form of the target, which the generated block hash must be less than or equal to (to be valid); it is a special floating point where leading byte is base 256 (lowest 5 bits only used) and the other 3 bytes are the fractional component

Nonce (4 bytes) - unique number which is modified to change the overall block hash

The hashing algorithm used in the case of Bitcoin is SHA-256. The essential idea behind mining is that we are repeatedly calculating SHA256(SHA256(Header)), modifying the nonce each time, until we get a hash satisfying the target. You probably noticed that they double hash; this is so we can avoid length-extension attacks. I thought I would try and grab the current target, but I could only find the difficulty which sits at 9,064,159,826,491. The formula for it is:

Difficulty = Original Target / Target (i.e. Target = Original Target / Difficulty)

Now the original target for Bitcoin is:

Now from the formula above you can clearly see that as the difficulty rises, the hexadecimal value for the target is going to shrink and we are going to essentially get more leading 0s. This means there will be less SHA-256 hashes satisfying the criteria and thus you need to do a larger amount of work to mine a block.

Now once a miner finds a corresponding hash, they broadcast it to the rest of the network. They will then individually verify that it is correct and the miners will then start searching for the hash for the next block. The transactions included in the block are based on what have been propagated around the network and received by the node at the miner.

What if two miners determine a hash at the same time?

This was the case that immediately crossed my mind and I wondered who would get the reward in this case; as a side note, this circumstance is actually quite unlikely. Basically what will happen is that each of the two miners will broadcast their block to the rest of the network; let’s say around half of the network receives from Miner A first and the other half from Miner B. The nodes which are miners will begin trying to calculate the next block based on the block they received first; the idea is that we will resolve the dispute by seeing which chain can calculate the next block first.

Now let’s say that someone in the Miner A chain is able to calculate the hash for the 2nd block first; they can then broadcast this to the rest of the network. The other nodes and miners will realise this chain is longer than the other and will abandon the Miner B chain (miners will switch to the longest chain to continue work). The disregarded blocks in chain B are known as orphaned blocks.

How do miners get paid?

When they are searching for an appropriate hash for a block, they include a special type of transaction in the block. It is known as a generation transaction (only 1 allowed per block) and transfers an amount equivalent to the set reward and fees of the block into an address inserted by the miner. It’s worth noting that as part of the protocol, a miner is unable to use the funds for 120 blocks; this is a double-spend protection for the case in which we have a series of orphaned blocks.

What is the main difference between PoS and PoW?

The main difference between the two types of protocols is the method in which we choose the next block producer - in PoW it is based on a competitive computationally intensive hashing process, where as in PoS it is based on a ‘random’ selective algorithm based on stake size and age. There still isn’t any particularly well-known and tested proof-of-concepts for PoS, so I think it’s a bit early to be sprouting on about the benefits over traditional methods.

The obvious benefit is related to electricity usage; the fact that PoW burns through so much power in this competitive process is problematic. In fact it uses as much electricity as all of Austria, and the energy required on average for a single transaction, could power around 20 US households for a day.

Why aren’t we all using PoS then?

Some of the issues related to PoS relate to the fact that we don’t have an opportunity cost in support two different chains in other protocols - in PoW when two chains form, miners are forced to pick a chain to dedicate their hash power to (i.e. they can’t use the same hash power on both chains). In PoS, the ‘miners’ (which we considered ‘stakers’) can potentially vote on both chains. A number of protocols have proposed solutions to this problem including:

CASPER - evidence can be submitted of users voting on the wrong protocol, leading to a penalty

Peercoin - clients use the chain with the greatest coin age staked as the main chain (i.e. no. of coins x age for every stake)

NXT - combination of cumulative difficulty and only have transaction-fee based rewards

The other main issue faced with implementations of PoS is long-range attacks - the idea that the initial group of stakers of a chain can go back and revive an earlier version of the chain where they have majority stake. Since we don’t have the computationally intensive time-restrictions associated with PoW we can make the chain long in a very short period of time. One common method of resolving this issue is by only allowing blocks within a certain range of being disputed; although this creates an issue when we have nodes restarting after a period of time, or nodes starting up for the first time.

This issue is commonly known as “weak subjectivity” - it essentially means that a node coming online for the first time has to ask a “trusted” source what the hash of the valid chain is. This completely undermines the ‘trustless’ nature of the blockchain. Some of the methods to combat include:

Casper - dependence on “trusted nodes” to broadcast the correct block hash

Peercoin - broadcasting the hash of the main chain on a daily basis

NXT - ignoring the problem because it is low probability and the developers are ‘confident’ that no significant portion will try and stake a long-range attack in the past

[toaarcan]

“Why are you even here?!”- A spot of RWBY Analysis

So, in the wake of Volume 5 and today’s soundtrack release tearing our Bee-shipping hearts out of our chests, we’re starting to get a picture of where the show is headed.

I’m not going to give an in-depth analysis of ‘All That Matters’ myself. It’s already been done better than I ever could several times over. I will cover the bases, though, just for context, in case this is somehow the first post on the subject you’ve found.

1) Yang is absolutely heartbroken by Blake leaving. We kinda knew this already but this is absolute confirmation.

2) Yang thinks Blake doesn’t care about her in the same way, which is erroneous, but she doesn’t know and gaaaahh, someone give the poor girl a hug, she needs it.

3) Despite believing that Blake doesn’t love her, Yang will willingly deal with the pain this causes her, just to have Blake around, because that’s All That Matters to her.

That should cover it, I think.

Alright, so now we know that endgame Bees is absolutely a thing. Like where is the show going to go from here except in the BumbleBY direction? This is a path that we’ve been headed down since Volume 3 at the latest, probably since Volume 1 if the little animation details that have been pointed out from those episodes are anything to go by. And they are, because in an animated medium, corpsing is not a thing. Any expression or body language the character makes is entirely within the animator’s hands.

So, we’re headed in the direction of Bees, but that means I’m going to have to address the elephant, or rather monkey, in the room.

Yeah, I’m going to be the guy that brings up Sun.

Now, before I go any further, I want to clear the air. I don’t hate Sun. I think he’s a decent character, he’s had some great scenes and moments, and he’s not awful comic relief, though I don’t find him very funny. 

No, I’m bringing him up because I’m starting to question why he’s even around.

Y’see, back when V3 dropped, I was convinced that we were going to get Blacksun/Eclipse first, and then BumbleBY after that. I was also convinced that Sun was going to get offed by Adam ahead of the final battle between BY and the punchable edgelord himself.

There’s this part in Journey to the West wherein Sun Wukong (Yes, RT didn’t change the name at all, and yes, that does bother me more than it should) fights a Bull Demon King, and we know that RT likes to put little allusions to the cast’s inspirations into the show, like Jaune’s tormentor being named after Cardinal Winchester, Yang fighting both a dude in a bear mask and a group of Ursa, Ruby’s association with Beowolves, Pyrrha taking an arrow to her Achilles’ tendon during her last stand, etc. 

There would also be reason enough for Sun and Adam to fight. Not just because of their mutual thing for Blake, but also because of their differing ideologies. Adam despises humanity and his rage over the way the Faunus have been treated has made him into the monster he is today. Meanwhile, Sun is very friendly with humans and is even on a team with three of them, while appearing to be completely oblivious of the Faunus’ plight entirely, somehow. Trust me, I’ll be getting back to that. 

In Journey to the West, the Monkey King wins this battle, because he is a staggeringly powerful character who is basically unstoppable, even for actual gods. In RWBY? Well, RT has shown that just because they make references to the myths in which their characters draw basis, doesn’t mean they’re going to follow those to a T.

At the tail end of Volume 3, the general assumption was that Adam was going to be built up as an unstoppable threat, that Blake and Yang would have to take down together. Now, after Volume 5, it’s clear that I, and everyone else, was wrong. Adam’s power in V3 has been revealed to be a case of him using Blake’s fear and Yang’s rage to his advantage, maintaining control of the situation and using that to dominate them in combat. When Blake confronts him in V5, she has all the control and isn’t afraid of him, so he has no power over her and loses the fight.

Because it was assumed that Adam would be built up, I thought that the best way for this to escalate was to have him make good on his threat to “destroy everyone that Blake loves”, or at least start. And given that it wasn’t going to be one of the main four, and he has nothing to do with JNR, the only obvious option was Sun, which, tied in with the above, made it all add up into a further tragedy.

Now, I’m not so sure. With the SS BumbleBY already at full steam, and Adam’s role being a different one that what I expected, I’m less confident that my theory of “Blake and Sun hook up, Adam kills Sun, Yang and Blake defeat Adam, Yang helps Blake heal, Blake and Yang hook up” is going to come to fruition. I feel like we’re headed straight for BY hookup and that’s that, and the show seems to support that.

That, then, brings me back to the title, and my question as to why Sun was even added to the show in the first place.

It seems as though Sun’s primary role in the show is to give Blake someone to talk to when she’s running away from RWY. Both times, at the end of V1 and all through V4 and most of V5, this results in exposition about the plight of the Faunus, the birth and corruption of the White Fang, etc. Now I don’t think this is bad writing. In fact I would prefer if characters took the time to discuss the history and lore as part of the show itself rather than having the WoR shorts. However, in this specific case, having Blake explain this detail to Sun, rather than to RWY or JNPR, has the unfortunate side effect of making Sun look like a total ignoramus when it comes to his own history and the prejudices that the people around him have against him.

Now, if Sun had spent his entire life somewhere like Vale, where Faunus discrimination is lower, I could somewhat see this. It would still make him totally oblivious of the White Fang itself, which would be weird, but still. However, Sun is a student from Haven Academy, and Mistral is supposed to be second only to Atlas for Faunus rights issues. 

Sun’s other character trait is his crush on Blake, but given the dearth of Blacksun content across Volume 5, the heavy BumbleBY content in the same volume, and the soundtrack providing not just a new Bees song (Which retroactively confirms ‘Wings’ as another Bees song for the four people who weren’t already convinced) but also no Blacksun song, well, doesn’t look like that’s going anywhere.

Ultimately, we end up with a character that, if I’m being quite blunt with y’all, needn’t have even existed in the first place if Volume 1 had been a little better written.

For the Volume 4-5 stuff, Blake has Ghira and Kali to talk to, and more scenes if those three together would’ve been great.

For Volume 1, have Blake run away and ditch her bow, as-in the show. Then focus on RWY and Penny trying to find her, learning that there’s a White Fang group in the town and discover that Blake is heading for their rendez-vous point on her own.

Build up the suspense as this progresses- Why is Blake looking for the White Fang? Is she possibly trying to rejoin them in some form? When they get there, they find Blake surrounded and trying to stop Roman and his new allies, at which point the three jump in to back her up, and beat up the goons together, while Penny takes out the Bullhead and covers them. Penny should also reveal her weapons when nobody is looking at her, for obvious reasons. 

Blake can then explain the origin and corruption of the White Fang to her teammates, and also part of her reason for leaving.

It’s an unfortunate state of affairs for Sun. He feels more like a plot device whose purpose has been fulfilled. Hopefully when he returns (Because I doubt he’s going to Atlas. If they’re taking anyone from the Menagerie/White Fang plot it should be Ilia), they’ll have figured out a proper role for him in the show.

[chasmfriend]

I am still not entirely sure how to put most of this into words. I won’t give a blow-by-blow account of all of my thoughts and reactions -- just the upsetting parts. The ones that almost made me give up on the series, and the ones that haunt me still. Much of it is deeply personal and I worry about being so vulnerable in this space, but I’m going to try anyway.

This is raw and very long.

(Despite how this will sound, I did not hate the book. This doesn’t capture all of my feelings towards it. Sometime I’ll talk about the things that I loved as well. There are many of those.)

Oathbringer reactions in detail below the cut. SPOILERS for the entire book.

When I first read The Way of Kings, I was thrilled to find an accurate portrayal of living with depression. The way Kaladin’s mind lies to him, the way that even if external things are going well, it doesn’t really change his mood. It’s not a cure. He can’t always control when he stumbles. That spoke to me, and is the main reason why that book became my favorite.

Then Words of Radiance came along. I found myself identifying with Shallan’s avoidance strategies as well, but instead of feeling happy about that, I was furious with her. I’ve worked hard to stop being avoidant and learn to deal with difficulty, and seeing those same behaviors in someone who is NOT learning to be better, only better ways of not facing things, really angered me. I’ve talked at length about her character and my frustrations with her.

So, when Oathbringer started with Shallan getting worse instead of suddenly being all fixed, I was delighted. She hadn’t earned a way out of the mess, after all, through one moment of confession at the end of WoR -- it should take time and effort to fix. Watching her fall to pieces because of her fragmenting herself gave me joy because it makes so much sense.

Then there’s Chapter 82, where Shallan talks with Wit in Muri’s house.

I know the place Shallan is. I know the regret and self-hatred she’s feeling. Not because I’ve been responsible for multiple deaths, but her emotional state rang true to me. It’s familiar.

Then this:

WIt stepped over to Shallan, then quietly folded his arms around her. She trembled, then twisted, burying her face in his shirt.

“You’re not a monster, Shallan,” Wit whispered. “Oh, child. The world is monstrous at times, and there are those who would have you believe that you are terrible by association.”

“I am.”

“No. For you see, it flows the other direction. You are not worse for your association with the world, but it is better for its association with you.”

I was moved by Wit’s concern. But he is wrong. Shallan IS actually worse for her association with the world. It is beating her up. She can’t handle it well. He acknowledged that earlier, and then downplays it here.

After that, Wit continues the story. He explains that “beyond the Wall was God’s light.”

The light brought hardship but also illumination. Wit justifies this by asking if Shallan would rather go back to not being able to see.

She says NO.

Aauggh. This is so frustrating to me.

Any avoidant person would so much rather go back to the time before light, because they are so focused on trying to escape the hardship that the sacrifice of the learning would actually be a good trade to them. I’m not saying it’s the correct perspective, but it is much more accurate psychologically than Shallan instantly deciding that The Suffering Is All Worth It, based on a few words from a tricksy not-Herald.

I have no complaints about Wit telling her to accept her failures and herself. There’s really not much else to do; we can’t change who we are and what we’ve done (which is a major theme of this book). Nothing to do other than accept it and keep trying to do better.

I hope this doesn’t end up being an instant fix for Shallan. This and her later conversation with Adolin felt so...inadequate to me.

I’m going to touch briefly on Dalinar’s character arc before I get to where I nearly gave up reading the Stormlight Archive altogether. He had escaped being haunted by his past as a way for him to grow into being a better person (this is brilliant -- well done, Cultivation), then his memories returned when he was able to deal with them. He was pained, but accepted the responsibility for what he’d done, accepted the pain as the cost for his actions, swore the next Ideal, and Ascended. So wonderful. I couldn’t identify with his path at all, but I applauded that it worked for him.

That’s a little dishonest. I’m honestly mad at Dalinar for figuring it out. He’s a totally different kind of person from Shallan, and from me, and he’s the kind who could figure this out a bit more easily. Following along with his recovered memories, seeing him crippled by the pain and regret, was brutal for me. Because I empathize with the pain but haven’t found the resolution, so when the characters work things out, I don’t always follow along with them and then I find their ability to figure it out and find peace, frustrating. It’s a shadow of a possibility for me, leaves me with the pain of the struggle without the catharsis. Instead of triumphant, I end up melancholy and kind of jealous.

A few days after I finished the book, I told my husband about what I was experiencing. He is much wiser than me, and doesn’t have the tendency towards avoidance that I have; he encourages me to be honest and face things. What he said in response to everything I tearfully told him, was so close to what Dalinar actually did in the book, that it annoyed me. (We both laughed about this.)

So, that was basically where I was as I read through to the end of the book. Very strong reactions, lots of rawness and pain.

What I should have done was stop reading for a few days. I should have spent some time getting back on my feet. The last thing I should have done was keep reading.

But when you’re in the middle of the avalanche, you don’t have a choice. I didn’t know what was ahead. I couldn’t have known, though I feel like I should have known better. I was not in a good place to deal with it.

Reminder that second only to Kaladin, my favorite Stormlight character is Renarin. I love his quiet steadiness, how supportive he is, how determined to do the right thing...

Renarin Kholin was a liar. He was no Truthwatcher.

...I could not believe it. This went against so much that I had believed in that my heart cracked and I got ANGRY. Did Brandon actually expect me to go along with this?...

It was such a deep betrayal that it tore me right out of the book. I didn’t care what was going on with Lift or Szeth or Kaladin. The Renarin parts were so far between, but I was frantic to get to them.

I was sure I was going to see Renarin, my lovely sweet boy, turned into an enemy and killed by Jasnah. I cannot describe how mad I was at Brandon for this.

We had been promised a Renarin POV in the book. And this is how it began:

Renarin Kholin knew he wasn’t actually a Knight Radiant.

WHAT. Just...what…

Everything was falling apart in me. This was not the world I thought it was.

I was sure in those moments that if Renarin died by Jasnah’s hand, I was done. I was not willing to grow so attached to a character I saw so much value in, only to have it ripped away.

I’ve read Sanderson before. I know that characters aren’t always as they appear. This was so different. I didn’t know I had this line drawn in me, and I felt that if Brandon crossed over it, I didn’t care to keep reading, because the risks were too high. It was too deep a cut.

I kept reading.

Jasnah didn’t kill Renarin. Brandon stepped right up to that line but didn’t step over it.

I suppose I should feel like it’s all okay then, but that unexpected rise of emotion, the horror and anger, I can’t explain what that did to me as a reader. The disillusionment persisted. The book ended, with moments where I should have felt triumph, but I was still reeling.

Did I like the book? It was a good book, I think, with lots of amazing parts. Teft’s journey was great. Kaladin’s not finding the Fourth Ideal was fantastic (I should probably explain this at some point). But I hated the experience of reading Oathbringer. It was dark and confused and left me angry and full of pain.  It brought up far too much feeling without resolving it. I don’t blame the book itself; it’s how it resonated with me on a personal level.

I am sure my perspective will be a bit clearer with rereads. Already, with several days of processing this monster, I feel better than I initially did towards it. But it was not the journey I had imagined.

[aurelliocheek]

A Year of Rain: Writing Strategies

How to build a new world for an RTS Game.

So, you wanna write this? A question I’ve been waiting for. When Nick, the captain of our daring endeavor, approached me, A Year Of Rain was supposed to become a Fantasy RTS based on a well-known IP; and to be honest, I was more than fine with that. See, I like that IP, I am very familiar with it and just from a cerebral logistics standpoint, I’ve always been comfortable settling in an established system and give it my own spin. All I’d have to do was looking for one of the more ­obscure places and events of that world, work with that foundation, and tell an interesting tale.

Which I did. Vigorously.

Then we had to discard that approach. The world for our game would not be an established one. We needed to build it from scratch, every nook and cranny. And here’s how we did that, or rather, my first-time experiences with RTS narrative design and maybe some survival tips on how to navigate that minefield.

Super rough worldbuilding draft.

A new IP. Well… We took that turn of events in stride. After all, even if existing worldbuilding provides you with nomenclature, systems, a fan base and many more convenient tools in your box, it’s all double-edged: you can’t slip on lore, the systems restrain you, while gameplay and game design boundaries are sneaking up from behind. You also owe the fans maximum accuracy anyway to avoid alienation. Put like this, building your own world from scratch sounds a lot more appealing, doesn’t it? It’s a gorgeous blooming field of nearly endless possibilities and free of any veto you wouldn’t give yourself.

Right…?

The whole world in your hands I’ve done this for plenty tabletops and homebrew Pen & Paper systems. It’s important to have an interesting world for an interesting tale you want to tell. Doing this for a very specifically tagged game is a different beast altogether. To keep the field analogy going, when first thinking about a world for a Fantasy RTS game, I felt like I arrived a week after the harvest.

Staring into the abyss of fantasy intertextuality made me uncomfortable right from the start, when I was asking myself: ‘What kind of world is this going to be?’

Creating a new, compelling world for an RTS game is a challenge.

Standard globe, massive Midlandia continent where all the people hang out and fight each other or whatever? It’s been done – ad nauseam and to death.

A shattered world, with drifting pieces and… Shit, this has been done. Pocket dimension? Done. Flat, you could say, a disc-like world? Yeah, good luck.

Okay, but what if it has layers like an onion… Septerra Core? Who even remembers that?! I do, it was a very charming game, actually. Anyway, a world needs people. People are easy! Species, races, cultures, there are so many cool fantasy folks… which… have all been utilized to exhaustion.

Even as I am writing this, a game cropped up that is so eerily similar to the core ideas I eventually developed for my world and story that it snaps the credibility of parallel evolution and makes me reconsider my general stance on psychic spies. I came to terms with the notion long before that announcement, but it confirmed my take on worldbuilding I had to adapt if I wanted to keep my sanity: There are many, many worlds out there and chances are high you won’t reinvent the wheel. Take solace in the fact that you can craft a very efficient, aesthetically pleasing wheel!

For here comes the twist: Intertextuality is a good thing. Since I’m throwing that word around like I think I know what it means, here’s what it is… “The relationship between texts, especially literary ones.”

It’s the reason why references work. For example, why Pride & Prejudice & Zombies exists, and you still get what that title implies. It’s why Banner Saga doesn’t need to explain the language, cultural setting, or apparel of the world they created because we have read about or seen media featuring Vikings. Darkest Dungeon draws a lot of its appeal from weird fiction, gothic and cosmic horror and you understand that connection. It’s why many people love it when fictional characters or worlds reference the real world, or pop culture or even quote from other ­movies and works of literature. ­Because we get what that means. Because it’s a nod to what we, and probably the creator of that fiction, love (the latter being strictly speaking an allusion, but it fits under the same umbrella, bear with me here). In broad strokes, it means that people understand connections and baselines without your explanation, because someone, at some point, did a very similar thing and established a widely known convention with it.

Yes, we’ve made a papercraft map.

It seems like the bane of innovation You may feel like everything has been done already, or even get conflicted because a line you wrote is similar or identical to something that already exists. However, just like tropes, archetypes, and cliché, it’s a boon for your world’s foundation if you swing it with precision. Best case, whatever you decide: On a very basic level, your audience will have a fond connotation to many of the things you do. There’s a catch, of course. You’ll need a lot of lipstick for your intertextual pig. The real work for me started after laying the foundation when I decided what type of world I wanted and who populated it. Both choices, at a glance, weren’t too special, admittedly.

What I hoped made them special was thoroughly fleshing out every race, species, and culture, applying some twists here and there… I tried generating credible systems and all the bones and beams that not only support the worldbuilding but also telegraph and highlight what made this world compelling, comfortably familiar, yet also refreshing.

You can do a lot if you stick to some fantasy guns and bolster them with nuances. In A Year Of Rain, for example, dwarves are the most competent spellcasters and considering how this world is designed, it even makes sense, though it’s not something you see very often. And it escalated pretty easily from there: What are the consequences for other species? What is their strategy? And how would that other adjacent fantasy race act or evolve and so on? I did that for, I think, 16 species concepts and there was a point when there were more connections and ideas than I actually wanted.

After fleshing out all the cultural dynamics, historical angles, rules of magic, justifying dwarven rune-powered railguns, establishing how many terabytes of memories a sentient fungus could store compared to divine lichen and what kind of weed lizardfolk prefer to smoke, I was finally ready to apply all this to the game itself.

Or not.

Strategic Writing Turns out, an RTS has comparatively limited narrative space. I would go as far as to call it claustrophobic. Design and format of an RTS tend to isolate the parts of the world you build. You have one single map at a time to establish whatever you want to transport narratively. And you only get one shot, because there usually is, by design, no backtracking.

It’s fair to assume that’s one reason why this genre often struggles with thorough worldbuilding and story in its campaign and multiplayer. Everything you can show, tell and narrate has to fit in roughly 15-30 minutes of tiny people murdering each other in real time. Then, you move on to the next area where, you guessed it, you train tiny people and have them murder each other for 15-30 minutes.

There is little room to breathe, or significantly manipulate the game flow, or show the inhabitants of your world doing anything other than fighting and killing to do more fighting and killing. That’s where the majority of anything you’ll write will be focused on. The units you command have no narrative agenda, almost no space to reflect on what they’re doing or want to do; they fight and die and obey the great cursor.

“But Blizzard!” you say?

Campaign is a different horse. It’s easier there. You can, to a certain degree, pace what happens, insert cutscenes and design a fantasy, a goal, and establish what drives this narrative… And at least your characters get to talk and express opinions, motivation, broader personality and all that, so: Yes, Blizzard cracked the code in most of their campaigns and will probably remain on that throne till the flippin’ sun burns out. But looking at virtually all other RTS games, there’s a trend to keep the world simple, the greater worldbuilding or story potential unexplored (Warlords RTS, Grey Goo) or exaggerate other aspects enough that they tilt from ludicrous to awesome and thus make for a satisfying campy story (looking at you, Command & Conquer). There’s a reason why even master craftsmen like the folks at Blizzard preach the mantra: Gameplay first in RTS.

All that doesn’t mean you can’t tell a compelling story, it doesn’t mean you can’t build a fantastic world, but it means that it may feel awkward at first. It’s a much greater challenge than in an RPG, an adventure or something similar where you can weave both things easier into a nice colorful ­tapestry. For our game, there is no after-mission hub to talk to characters, no codex to look up things like history and lore, no audio logs, books or scrolls, no close-up first- or third-person perspective to do advanced intrinsic storytelling. RTS has a fast, relentless pace. Your opponent, be it a human or AI, won’t wait for you to absorb subjects declared second priority like a narrative or worldbuilding details. So, whatever you tell is ideally right there when you play.

Some rules and tools you know still apply accordingly. For example, each of our units has 17 standard response lines. You better believe I tried to cram as much character as I could in there, tried my best to give them personality you can relate to in a few clicks and with allusions to the world around them.

Daedalic’s development team is building the A Year Of Rain world.

Then there are our phenomenal art, design, sound and SFX people Worldbuilding is, of course, not only writing. How characters look, what gear they carry, how their magic or tools of trade manifest and interact, their body language, animation, and voice work… all that blasts open a welcome breach into the walls you run into with an RTS, just like with any other game. Though the world is delivered in chunks in this genre, you can still do plenty of environmental storytelling, be it through biomes, architecture, weather, or ambient sounds and how the whole palette interconnects through the game. The tools are there; they just need lots of attention. The more you have prepared, the better. Whatever you came up with, whatever your vision is, don’t use a crowbar. Listen to the other departments and let them work their magic, even, or especially when that means letting go of your brainchild because they came up with a cooler solution. I’m a writer. What the hell do I know about shapes and the right visual impact, or the finer points of ability synergies and level design? Try to trust people as they trust you.

This is a good time to point out that 50% of all my conceptual resources won’t make it directly into the game. Some things are just too intricate/niche and have no business being there considering the very tight space that’s rightfully conceded to the gameplay. Adjust that percentage further north, actually, since some visual ideas don’t make good silhouettes for in-game models, because they’d be too small, too noisy or just a pain to animate you could never justify. It’s fine, though. Compare it to an actor who’s told to come up with a backstory for a bunch of tiny props on their costume. They’ll never get any big reference in the movie, but they help the actor getting into the role.

As I’ve mentioned, the characters’ role is basically to fight and die, above all else. It creates a dissonance, intuitively. Telling war stories is no hard sell, but it adds a new layer to the worldbuilding itself. Is this a new conflict? Where will you locate it? Is it a flashpoint or a global affair, and how much sense does that make? How do you plan for the future, i.e., at the end of your campaign, is your world fixed or broken, and where does it go from there? Or is it even beyond fixing and stays in a constant, vicious cycle of warfare?

The one luxury I had here was that I got to have my cake and eat it too: I made a world that’s broken, and I elected to focus on one conflict on a very specific piece of land. It leaves enough breathing room to tease a much bigger playground around the elaborate nice sandbox we’ll ship with this game.

Narrative Design for an RTS is a wild ride. And despite the pinch of salt in the lines above I definitely enjoy the chance I’ve been given with this. This article is honestly a slapdash work of professional opinion, advise, and direct dirty development experience. It’s a rough field guide for those treading these grounds for the first time, informative entertainment, or a good foundation for discussion.

See you in that world we’ve built, if you’re so inclined!

Ben Kuhn

Ben Kuhn is a writer and narrative designer at Daedalic Entertainment. Seven years sailing for Daedalic, mostly as a translator, dialogue writer, and voice director, packing a Master of Arts in English literature and creative writing acquired at the University of Bremen and Maynooth. Signed up due to his love of the medium and good stories and continues to be happy about that choice.

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[x57thea]

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Get the photo editor for Windows 10 free download for amateurs and pros with many useful features and simple photo editor for Windows 10 for PC and pros to powerful edit an image. Brighten a picture is simple with the cool new photo editor for Computer. Download here free this photo editor for quick and intelligent blur a photo. If the horizon line in a picture is not degree, one of my personal petty annoyances in photography is. Occasionally if we are taken up in the second, this essential guideline is forgotten yet fortunately is that modifying your shots with the photo editor to make them level is likewise really easily done. Adjusting the electronic camera at the edge of the boat dock suggested that the photo was not level that is notably notable to the sight whenever the picture has actually a plainly identified perspective line, such as the seashore. The leveling method is segment of the output technique, as well as you can just spin the photo to match. A grate will certainly seem to assist you acquire the alignment appropriate while you utilize the photo editor for Windows 10. Focusing an image is a really simple job that will certainly get just a few moments, resulting in a much more aesthetically charming pic. In some cases while we take a picture, parts of the image might end up being darker than we really want. We refer to the brighter locations of the picture as darkness, and also the brilliant locations of the photo as highlights. Comparison is concerning accentuating the variation between the light as well as darker sections of the image. Increasing the contrast of a photograph can drastically improve the aesthetic influence in which has, by creating the boundaries between those dark as well as light components clearer. Coloring modification is one more essential part of the photo editor for Windows 10. We can adjust image color scheme in every type of ways, starting with altering the whole heat of the photo like how blue or yellow it appears, to independently changing the hue as well as concentration of details shades within an image. We only wish to cover a few very simple color scheme corrections you can easily utilize to help to make your pictures nothing but a little more aesthetically highly effective. The most effective technique to change the color or texture related to a picture is definitely with the saturation gadget from the photo editor. This transforms the appeal of every single color or texture in a picture to help make it much more as well as less condensed. Just like lots of modify, the trick is actually to get a good balance way too much shading the pictures often tends to look rather unusual. Color photos can easily be actually truly efficient, and of program light as well as black is an outstanding choosing for every type of scenarios, in certain, portraits, and particular surroundings views.

In some cases there can be a thing inside a picture that you actually do not really intend to be there, such as a disturbing pimple on someone's nose. That is very simple to remove in all the major photo editor for Windows 10. It is actually no problem to get rid of any kind of things out of an image but the photo editor for Windows 10 works very well on distinctive, very small items that are probably closed in by consistent color tones. This is due to the fact that the heal device needs to change the area you want to remove with another thing, and also this works best when it has an area close by that looks comparable. For example, bright spot on a face is bordered by a great deal of likewise colored skin, so the heal tool can easily compute what to replace the bright spot based on the bordering location. That is probably just because the photo editor needs to repair the spot you wish to remove with another thing, and this does work ideal when it has a spot nearby that looks the same. Photo editor for Windows 10 has become really complicated and also impressive and it is usually feasible to adjust images so they change into entirely various out of the initial. There certainly are definitely loads of photo editor as well as http://johnathanxoqw641.bearsfanteamshop.com/photo-editor-for-windows-10-to-retouch-a-picture wide ranges of ways of achieving the very same or comparable final results. The intention most for many pictures I publish procedure is actually to help make all of them look as all-natural as possible. I think this is an outstanding point to start off, even if you intend to go on as well as create more unique looking photographs. Hue variation within a photo shot is among the primary issues. The eyes can normally see a broader variety of coloration than your cam able to make. The meaning of image editing and enhancing is the act of changing a picture, simply put. But this is simplifying a subject that is really intricate. You can typically implement simple image modifying strategies like photos sharpening rather easily and quickly but intricate methods and electronic editing and enhancing may require photo editor for Windows 10 and even more skill. Photo editor for Windows 10 is a tool that anyone able to use to control as well as enhance photos. Since images have a raising variety of usages, numerous services are finding techniques to reuse pictures and work with them on countless media. Additional info about scale photos with the photo editor for Windows 10 free download or brand-new photo editor for photographers for very easy edit photos or comfortable color mode. Photo editor for Windows 10 for PC or edit pictures software to rotate images. Download photo editor for Windows 10 for experts or software to edit a picture to cut pictures and color correction.

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Mastery Journal Program Reflection

I had quite a number of goals when I began this course and I am happy to say that I have been able to achieve most of them. These goals were, but not limited to: Go through a self-awareness and development process Learn tips from online videos. Explore effective decision-making processes Place myself in situations where my decisions leave an impression. Invest in and manage relationships to achieve business goals. Develop qualities necessary to be an executive leader in today’s entertainment business field. 

Project and Team Management was awesome. I am glad to have completed this journey far from the level I was when I began. The skills and tips I have learned have enabled me to become more efficient, time conscious and more grounded. I learned that you have to develop a plan from beginning to end on paper before actually testing it out. Once that is done, the physical aspect is a lot easier since you have worked on it during pre-planning. Not just going through the whole project but knowing and pointing out the possible risks involved in project management. it is one thing to have an idea, it is another to put it on paper and it is a whole different ball game to see it actually materialize. Look for quick wins. Think about how you can adjust your project schedules to deliver value early because that’s what really matters – stakeholder value. 

I also learned that in order to have a successful project, I need an able and well-equipped team. That makes the workload lighter, makes the job easier and helps deliver high-quality services and product. Duong this time to team management study, I learned that people are made differently and we are to come to an understanding if we want to succeed at whatever project we set out to do. I believe the information I learned during this period has helped me have a better understanding of people and how to get the best that would work with my vision.

The month of learning in Business Storytelling and Brand development class has been an enlightening one. I have learned a lot that I hope to immerse in my film production business. I always wanted to know how the big brands did it, making themselves widely known all around the world and I believe my time in this class has proved effective in learning what it is they had going for them that I can incorporate to my own career and field. 

Being able to know what the real idea behind brands and logos have also helped a lot. Designing my own website was a step I would not have taken any time soon, but with the help of this class, I am able to say I have begun my journey into expanding my brand. Knowing the real meaning of branding and applying it to my work will ensure my results are flawless as they can be. The book recommended for this course by Marty Neumeier, “The Brand Gap”, also played a role in understanding what all this brand and business chant is really all about. This taught me the importance of creativity, collaboration, and individuality. Being able to sell your brand to others and stay relevant while doing it.

I have learned how to manage my finances from the Entertainment Business Finance. I learned the basic financial concepts such as opportunity costs, income, expenditure, taxes, interest rate and others. I also learned what business ownership means and how to develop a business plan. I learned how to make a financial statement, analyzing income statements and what business ratios mean. I learned about the different business ratios and how to break even. I learned what a working capital is and how to manage inventory, among a host of other important topics.

 All the concepts and formulas I’ve learned from this course are things I will definitely be using for a long time in my business. They are also information I can teach others under me so they too can succeed in their chosen fields. No matter what is, I believe finances play a role in everyone’s life, whether they manage a business or not. We all have to calculate at some point. And I believe now, having been equipped with the information I have, I will be able to make a difference starting from my business, onto my clients and other fellow business owners. 

It has been a great time of learning in this Negotiation and Deal-Making course. I have learned a lot that I believe I will use in my present and future endeavors. During the course, I was able to learn the different communication styles, its characteristics and how to relate to the other different styles, which will enable the flow of communication during negotiations in the future. 

During this course, I learned the various negotiation concepts and how they are beneficial during a negotiation. Concepts like the mutual benefit, bargaining position, neutral criteria and lots more. I was able to understand the fundamental positions during a negotiation and the basic concepts. We did not just learn these concepts on theory, but we were opportune to have some practical examples of different negotiation scenarios, which helped us apply the terms and techniques taught during the course and understand them better. This course was engaging and very insightful and I believe I have learned a lot that I can use in my field of entertainment, teaching and helping others too.

Through the Product and Artist Management course, I have learned and understood important aspects of Entertainment business that now make a lot of sense. It was quite an engaging and productive course. Through this course, I learned the different types of leadership styles such as Authoritative, Coaching, Affiliative, and Coercive styles. I also learned how best to apply the different ones to suit different situations and come out with a positive result, showing the basic and best traits of a good leader. One fun thing I was quite happy to learn was how to create an infographic poster. This was interesting to work on. I also discovered the different agencies, different management styles and how best to determine which works better for me as an upcoming player in the field. I was able to review news articles relating to my field and have a better understanding of what is being faced out there in the film industry, a field I am currently based in. 

During the course, I was able to develop a product packet for a film and this showed me the basic starting ingredient for successful campaigns as well. Knowing your target audience and whom you are catering for as a business. From the asynchronous lectures, I learned what show business is really about and that knowing your audience is something important to note when creating content or a product for the audience. 

I have also learned how to manage a product and artist and how to protect my creative side through Advanced Entertainment Law and lots of other useful tips and processes needed to further my career. I must say my journey through Advanced Entertainment Law has been very informative. I began the course expecting to learn basic knowledge but I have received and understood way more than I had hoped for when I first began this course. It became an exciting journey right after the first discussion post! From the first discussion post on knowing where and how to get good entertainment law information to learn about the different types of liabilities in the industry, and how I can apply them to my field and make others aware as well. 

The key concept that really stood out to me from this course was being able to know the difference between copyright laws and trademark laws. Also, knowing what the different categories of intellectual property are and how to protect them. These are concepts that are easily confused and knowing which was which and how to apply it in this entertainment industry I am going into is something I am very pleased about.

From Entertainment Media Publishing and Distribution, I have learned what kind of creative agents exists, the best way to present my creative content to an agent and how to create enough awareness so big distribution companies are more likely to pick my creative product/content. 

Go through a self-awareness and development process Learn tips from online videos. Explore effective decision-making processes Place myself in situations where my decisions leave an impression. Invest in and manage relationships to achieve business goals. Develop qualities necessary to be an executive leader in today’s entertainment business field. 

The Business Plan Development course was quite extensive and informative. I really have learned a lot in my one month in this class. My original goal was to understand what a business plan actually is and when and why we use it. Also, I wanted to know what it is comprised of and what makes it successful. I had always seen these big business corporations talk about these plans and make what seemed like a big deal out of them but, I was glad that this is what this course was going to expound on and finally I would get to understand what the fuss has been about. 

I am glad to say that this course definitely met my goals because I am glad to say I now am able to comfortably talk about what business plans are without seeming like it’s alien talk. The course was very detailed and touched what I believe are the important aspects of business plan development. I had very little to no insight on what a business plan is all about. I may have had glimpses of what a business plan may look like but I had no deep knowledge of how to put one together or what was involved. It is sure to say now that I have a wider and detailed understanding of what it all entails, my skill and insight of business plans had definitely improved during the course of this program. 

In the course of going through these classes from the past few months, I have learned the types of leadership styles and how best I can apply them to each situation I encounter from the Leadership course. 

I will apply the things learned to my career by using them in my day-to-day work life and also share this information around with those I work with so we can all be enlightened and create a stress-free working environment that is productive and vibrant as well.