#combining 2 of my very different interests

[lunarriviera]

Hi! Hope you're doimg well! I wanted to ask, what do you do when you get stuck when writing? Like, I know I want to go from point A to point B, but I'm stuck at point A and not sure how to get to point B.

nonny i am busting in here all excitedly like the koolaid man at four in the god o’clock of the morning to answer this, because I ACTUALLY KNOW THIS ONE: 

the solution to this issue is, in fact, square brackets. like this: [???]

what? you say. how works this? you say. READ ON I WILL TELL YOU

so right now in the scene i’m trying to pull together/make into prose, from tattered drafts/sentences/allcaps/bullet points/etc., i have three things that need to happen: 1) police will search a suspect’s house, 2) one of them has to find something incriminating, 3) the suspect’s son has to burst in and cause a lot of trouble. those are my B points. but right now, i’m stuck at point A: shen yi and he rongyue are sitting in the car talking about feelings when they need to get out and go do their damn jobs. how do i get them to move. why aren’t they moving. why are they still sitting there talking, this isn’t brunch goddammit.

at this point as a writer, you get to make a decision: EITHER a) your idea about what needs to happen in this scene was all wrong, and the reason you’re “stuck” at point A is that maybe point A is actually a very interesting place for your characters to linger inside, and maybe they really need to be there a while longer, in case they have things to say or do. and point B maybe isn’t the point B you thought it was going to be, but it’s going to be something different (maybe shen yi and he rongyue realize they need backup, or they decide they’re going someplace else to do something different, instead).

OR: square brackets. it works like this. (and by the way i learned this from @seperis because she is literally a genius, thank you sep darling you should know saved my whole entire life.) here is some of my draft to illustrate:

[shen yi and he rongyue saying a bunch of words about feelings and things not related to the case they’re supposed to be investigating]

“I wonder,” said Shen Yi thoughtfully, “what would happen if you just asked her to go for a walk with you?”

[TK]

Shen Yi stopped in front of the painting and looked at it, at first out of habit, and then more closely, as he instinctively stepped back the correct distance to see both the whole canvas at once as well as its technique. From the other room, he could hear He Rongyue and [Name of Her Assistant] doing [something something something]. He still had on nitrile gloves, so he came closer again, to touch the varnish, feel along the grooves of the brushwork. He frowned. This wasn’t a reproduction—this was a genuine [name of painter redacted bc it’s a plot point and a surprise].

[TK]

“What the fuck are you people doing in my house?” came an aggrieved voice from the landing. Everyone turned to look up at the young man standing there, keys in one hand, a cup of iced coffee in the other. He was, Shen Yi realized, Huang Wei, and that was neither unexpected nor a particular problem, but the person with him was probably going to be a very particular problem indeed.

you can see how i gestured towards three different parts of this scene, even though i didn’t finish any of them here and have no idea what the connective tissue will be between them. and i did this by skipping huge wads of prose and just tossing in “[TK]” for now. ”TK” by the way is an abbreviation i learned while working for newspapers/magazines; journalists use it to mean “to come,” as in, “something important is missing here so i promise i will make a bunch of phone calls and get that detail/fact shoved in there before we go to press.” We use TK instead of TC because you can word-search TK and that letter combination isn’t in any english words (or at least very few; anyway i can’t think of any).

at some point, of course, you will have to fill in “[TK]” or rather, i will, here with all the stuff that’s missing—dialogue, action, and description, mostly; i tend not to summarize or use exposition much, but usually default to telling a story in-scene (a time-honored tradition in fanfic). but the beauty of TK and above all, the square brackets, is that you don’t bog down. you don’t go down a research rabbit hole because you can’t remember the name of He Rongyue’s assistant (Xiao something? Feng?) and you don’t wind yourself into knots figuring out how to get them out of the car and into the house. you keep moving, like a shark.

so if you’re stuck getting from A to B? stop trying to get from A to B. just SKIP there, skip to where you want to be. throw in “[something goes here]” so you remember to go back and add it later. if you have a general idea of what goes there, put that instead: “[somehow they get out of the car still talking and head inside. oh wait how do they break the door down. is jiang xue with them?]”—like that.

the trick with any piece of fic longer than, say, 7-8k, is NOT to get bogged down. anything with multiple scenes, really—even if you have, say, five scenes planned for your oneshot, you will find one really easy to write and then you’ll stare at the next one, which SHOULD be easy to write, for eleventy hours, sweating like that gif of jordan peele. don’t do that. just put “[this is the scene where chen fei throws a chair and ruan nanzhu says something cutting and walks out, and that’s the moment chen fei knows he actually likes the bastard.]” then skip! skip, skip. skip to the moment where you know the next thing that will happen! write that part instead! “it’s two years later and chen fei is furious, because he has to see that lovesick look on ruan nanzhu’s face whenever he thinks qiushi isn’t paying attention. the worst part is that lin qiushi is genuinely loveable, so chen fei can’t even hate him. he starts hiding in his room.” etc.

the thing about writing ANYTHING is not to lose momentum, not to get stuck in what novelist robert pirsig called “a gumption trap.” or, as alec baldwin’s character says in glengarry glen ross: always be closing. keep moving! don’t sit in one place too long or you really will get stuck. if you find yourself fussing with a paragraph, or adding more to a scene when you didn’t mean to add more instead of stopping and moving on, or pacing around the house irritated with yourself, drink a lot of very cold water and then SKIP.

skip to the part where you know what happens. if you don’t know what happens, either go for a long walk and think about what exactly Han Juwon or Naruto or Bob the Builder or Taylor Swift or Viktor Nikiforov or Wang Meng or whomstthefuckever would do/say in this situation. after about 15-20 minutes i’m usually either turning around to go home and write it down, or giving myself complicate mnemonics based on trees and street signs, so i have a chance of remembering what i just realized absolutely has to happen next in the story.

in conclusion:

1. [TK!] [square brackets are your friends!] [you can use them!] [to skip ahead!] [and leave a stuck spot BYYYYYEEEE hit da bricks] [and just go to a more pleasant spot where there’s a shady tree and some soft green grass to lie on]

2. …and then later when you take another pass through the document, on some day when you’re mentally fresher and maybe you haven’t read it for a couple days, you’ll find yourself adding a few sentences. or one sentence. or some words. it’s fine. it’s all fine. look we can’t all be out here writing a million words a year. some people do, sure. as writer annie dillard says, some people eat cars. but if you want to write something with some bite to it, some texture and grit and heft, you’re gonna endure some tortuous slowness and a lot of [TK]. so best start getting real comfortable with that now. if you wanted an easy hobby i have some difficult news for you, you picked the wrong fucking one.

3. the reward for your patience with yourself and your writing process will be all those times when you’re driving, showering, cooking, and/or DMing with bestie, and suddenly What's About To Happen Next will hit you like a bolt of lightning and nearly scalp you in the process. holy shit, you’ll say to yourself, stunned. i now know exactly who’s coming through the door with huang wei and it’s not at all who i thought it was. (this jolt of electricity is why people are pantsers, by the way. we suffer through our own cluelessness for an eternity, just to have that one shocking moment of godlike clarity. the crash usually sucks but the high is unbelievable.) (and i say this, but i always have an outline. i just usually mostly ignore it, because apparently my continued survival is predicated on the fact that imaginary people talk in my head and i just write down what they say.)

4. finally i have ABSOLUTELY written fics of every length just to get to One Particular Scene which i wrote first. i wrote the ending of my current long wip really early on, and everything leading up to it has just been me trying to figure out: okay, so what’s it going to take to get them there? in the words of george w. bush, whom i am not much given to quoting, you are the decider. you can decide to write your fic backwards if you want to! write C first and then go back and add B and at the very end A! no one will ever know, it’s between you and your drafts. then you can do what i do, and write an excessively long nervous a/n about it all, when you post.

this got long but tldr just remember: [tk]. love you have fun writing!!! <3 <3

[ender-of-the-sender]

Okay so I know its Scott and Pearl but...

Does this still count?

Autism Test

[connormoving]

i think itis funny in the past when i would list my interests as if i post abt them i donot post abt the shit im into rly Mainly bc im not rly Into Into anything anymore i occasionally watch or read or play something but i dont do fandom stuff rly much.... just sometimes i get brainworms

[vaspider]

Listen to me. Listen very carefully:

They are trying to wear you out.

They are trying to wear you out, and they own most major social media now, along with many major media outlets. The disinformation machine is cranking along. You are going to have to slow the fuck down and read things before you help them wear out other people, too.

So you just saw a post about a real scary bill, hunh? Republicans want to make it a capital offense to pet dogs and repeal The Sky Is Blue Act of 1793, declaring the new official color of the sky to be squant? Damn, that sounds scary.

Let's go look up this fictitious "Make The Sky Squant Again Act" on GovTracker* & on the official legislative tracker on congress.gov!

Well, let's see... GovTracker estimates it has a 1% chance of even getting out of committee and a 0% chance of being enacted, while congress.gov says this bill has 2 cosponsors who have been in the House and combined total of less than a month. The bill doesn't have any actual text, and it was referred to 5 different committees.

That fictitious bill and a hundred others like it are quite literally not worth your time, and more than that, continuing to wring your hands about it and tell other people about the scary scary squant sky bill only does their work for them. It scares people, it makes them spend time and energy on it, and it wears them out. It is a legislative Gish Gallop, meant to throw so many things at people that we can't keep up.

Even calling or messaging your Rep in this case means their staffer has to waste time responding to you and letting you know that Representative Buttzonheads definitely won't support making petting dogs a capital offense, a thing that will never, ever happen regardless.

Staying engaged in this environment is going to require protecting your heart and protecting your energy, yes, but also protecting the energy of others. This is why WWII propaganda posters also included ones taking people to task for spreading panicky rumors and undermining morale.

Do you know why most observant Jews don't eat chicken and dairy together, even though the ban is on red meat and dairy together bc you're not supposed to cook the calf in the milk of its mother?** It's not because we think that chicken might secretly lactate or Just Because. It's because the rabbis decided that if I'm sitting out in public and eating turkey and cheese together, someone might glance at the turkey and mistake it for red meat and think, "oh, well, I know that Spider is a good Jew, there must have been a change, or maybe I can just justify it to myself that if Spider does it, it must be permissible to bend the rules just that much." And I would then be accidentally leading my fellow Jew astray. We are responsible for being even more careful for the sake of others than we are for ourselves.

It's the same principle here. We need to really be careful about the information we are spreading and check things past reading a news site. Is it true? Is it relevant? Is it meaningful? Is the news site one I recognize? Can I find meaningful independent corroboration on another site, which is to say, if I find an article about it on a second site, is it just quoting or rephrasing this site?

Yeah, that is a lot. But that's how we keep them from using us to lead our fellows astray.

*GovTracker is an independent site. They explain their methodology in their About section.

**I cannot say enough how I am not at this time interested in going on a Jewish Side Quest About Dietary Laws on this post. Usually, I love it, but hold off this time, please, y'all. Let's stay on target this once.

[inhonoredglory]

Aziraphale’s Choice, the Job Connection, and Michael Sheen’s Morality

Update: Michael Sheen liked this post on Twitter, so I'm fairly certain there is a lot of validity to it.

I’ve had time to process Aziraphale’s choice at the end of Season 2. And I think only blaming the religious trauma misses something important in Aziraphale’s character. I think what happened was also Aziraphale’s own conscious choice––as a growth from his trauma, in fact. Hear me out.

Since November 2022 I’ve been haunted by something Michael Sheen said at the MCM London Comic Con. At the Q&A, someone asked him about which fantasy creature he enjoyed playing most and Michael (bless him, truly) veered on a tangent about angels and goodness and how, specifically,

We as a society tend to sort of undervalue goodness. It’s sort of seen as sort of somehow weak and a bit nimby and “oh it’s nice.” And I think to be good takes enormous reserves of courage and stamina. I mean, you have to look the dark in the face to be truly good and to be truly of the light…. The idea that goodness is somehow lesser and less interesting and not as kind of muscular and as passionate and as fierce as evil somehow and darkness, I think is nonsense. The idea of being able to portray an angel, a being of love. I love seeing the things people have put online about angels being ferocious creatures, and I love that. I think that’s a really good representation of what goodness can be, what it should be, I suppose.

I was looking forward to BAMF!Aziraphale all season long, and I think that’s what we got in the end. Remember Neil said that the Job minisode was important for Aziraphale’s story. Remember how Aziraphale sat on that rock and reconciled to himself that he MUST go to Hell, because he lied and thwarted the will of God. He believed that––truly, honestly, with the faith of a child, but the bravery of a soldier.

Aziraphale, a being of love with more goodness than all of Heaven combined, believed he needed to walk through the Gates of Hell because it was the Right Thing to do. (Like Job, he didn’t understand his sin but believed he needed to sacrifice his happiness to do the Right Thing.)

That’s why we saw Aziraphale as a soldier this season: the bookshop battle, the halo. But yes, the ending as well.

Because Aziraphale never wanted to go to Heaven, and he never wanted to go there without Crowley.

But it was Crowley who taught him that he could, even SHOULD, act when his moral heart told him something was wrong. While Crowley was willing to run away and let the world burn, it was Aziraphale (in that bandstand at the end of the world) who stood his ground and said No. We can make a difference. We can save everyone.

And Aziraphale knew he could not give up the ace up his sleeve (his position as an angel) to talk to God and make them see the truth in his heart.

I was messed up by Ineffable Bureaucracy (Boxfly) getting their happy ending when our Ineffable Husbands didn’t, but I see now that them running away served to prove something to Aziraphale. (And I am fully convinced that Gabriel and Beelzebub saw the example of the Ineffables at the Not-pocalypse and took inspiration from them for choosing to ditch their respective sides)

But my point is that Aziraphale saw them, and in some ways, they looked like him and Crowley. And he saw how Gabriel, the biggest bully in Heaven, was also like him in a way (a being capable of love) and also just a child when he wasn’t influenced by the poison of Heaven. Muriel, too, wasn’t a bad person. The Metatron also seemed to have grown more flexible with his morality (from Aziraphale's perspective). Like Earth, Heaven was shades of (light?) gray.

Aziraphale is too good an angel not to believe in hope. Or forgiveness (something he’s very good at it).

Aziraphale has been scarred by Heaven all his life. But with the cracks in Heaven’s armor (cracks he and Crowley helped create), Aziraphale is seeing something else. A chance to change them. They did terrible things to him, but he is better than them, and because of Crowley, he feels ready to face them.

(Will it work? Can Heaven change, institutionally? Probably not, but I can't blame Aziraphale for trying.)

At the cafe, the Metatron said something big was coming in the Great Plan. Aziraphale knows how trapped he had felt when he didn’t have God’s ear the first time something huge happened in the Big Plan. He can’t take a chance again to risk the world by not having a foot in the door of Heaven. That’s why we saw individual human deaths (or the threat of death) so much more this season: Elspeth, Wee Morag, Job’s children, the 1940s magician. Aziraphale almost killed a child when he couldn’t get through to God, and he’s not going through that again.

“We could make a difference.” We could save everyone.

Remember what Michael Sheen said about courage and doing good––and having to “look the dark in the face to be truly good.” That’s what happened when Aziraphale was willing to go to Hell for his actions. That’s what happened when he decided he had to go to Heaven, where he had been abused and belittled and made to feel small. He decided to willingly go into the Lion’s Den, to face his abusers and his anxiety, to make them better so that they would not try to destroy the world again.

Him, just one angel. He needed Crowley to be there with him, to help him be brave, to ask the questions that Heaven needed to hear, to tell them God was wrong. Crowley is the inspiration that drives Aziraphale’s change, Crowley is the engine that fuels Aziraphale’s courage.

But then Crowley tells him that going to Heaven is stupid. That they don’t need Heaven. And he’s right. Aziraphale knows he’s right.

Aziraphale doesn’t need Heaven; Heaven needs him. They just don’t know how much they need him, or how much humanity needs him there, too. (If everyone who ran for office was corrupt, how can the system change?)

Terry Pratchett (in the Discworld book, Small Gods) is scathing of God, organized religion, and the corrupt people religion empowers, but he is sympathetic to the individual who has real, pure faith and a good heart. In fact, the everyman protagonist of Small Gods is a better person than the god he serves, and in the end, he ends up changing the church to be better, more open-minded, and more humanist than god could ever do alone.

Aziraphale is willing to go to the darkest places to do the Right Thing, and Heaven is no exception. When Crowley says that Heaven is toxic, that’s exactly why Aziraphale knows he needs to go there. “You’re exactly is different from my exactly.”

____

In the aftermath of Trump's election in the US, Brexit happened in 2018. Michael Sheen felt compelled to figure out what was going on in his country after this shock. But he was living in Los Angeles with Sarah Silverman at the time, and she also wanted to become more politically active in the US.

Sheen: “I felt a responsibility to do something, but it [meant] coming back [to Britain] – which was difficult for us, because we were very important to each other. But we both acknowledge that each of us had to do what we needed to do.” In the end, they split up and Michael moved back to the UK.

Sometimes doing the Right Thing means sacrificing your own happiness. Sometimes it means going to Hell. Sometimes it means going to Heaven. Sometimes it means losing a relationship.

And that’s why what happened in the end was so difficult for Aziraphale. Because he loves Crowley desperately. He wants to be together. He wanted that kiss for thousands of years. He knows that taking command of Heaven means they would never again have to bow to the demands of a God they couldn’t understand, or run from a Hell who still came after them. They could change the rules of the game.

And he’s still going to do that. But it hurts him that he has to do that alone.

[lady-protector]

and that's a wrap on my tarot series! the upright majors, at least. there may be others sometime in the future if I am seized by a combination of insanity and hyperfixation once again.

you might notice a few cards are a bit (or in the case of the fool and alternate chariot, a lot) different! I did a few retakes for consistency/style.

below the read more I've included a bunch of notes about symbolism and reasoning behind my choices if that interests you!

(tag for individual card posts)

0. The Fool: Ardbert was really the only choice for this one. He's our stand-in, our shard, our mirror. Feo Ul is included partially because of lore (they are my co-WoL's shard on the First) and also because they also fit the themes of adventure and new beginnings and exploration. Most of the cards I played pretty loose on the posing vs traditional depictions, but this one I wanted to hew a little closer, which is why he's on a cliff with a foot hanging over the edge a bit, with his axe standing in for the bindle. This is my second attempt at the card -- the first was in Il Mheg, but I moved it to Kholusia (Ardbert's home) and dawn to more closely symbolize that it's the beginning of something. Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 8/10, posing Feo Ul was annoying.

1. The Magician: This card could have had several subjects, chief among them Alphinaud or a more modern G'raha, but I settled on Alisaie a) because the other two cards I had in mind for her (Chariot and Justice) were already taken, and b) the card's focus on physical magic and depicting the "tools of the trade" reminded me a lot of Angelo's creation! So that's why she's here, and why I set the card in Matoya's Relict, among the tools of magicians who came before (Matoya, Y'shtola). I retook the shot because I was unsatisfied with the blurriness/the way the light covered her face in the first one. Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 5/10, simple pose but working with Impact's spell effect complicated things.

2. The High Priestess: Another that I never questioned who would appear on it. Y'shtola's arc is entirely about uncovering forbidden, secret knowledge and wisdom, so she fits beautifully. The blue-white orb and the purple staff depict duality between dark and light, and how Y'shtola walks in two worlds, seeing things that are beyond sight, standing before an altar/holy place to the Night's Blessed. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 2/10. Premade pose, knew where I wanted to place her -- the only thing was finding a prop for her off hand.

3. The Empress: Hoo boy did Minfi give me some trouble. I knew that I wanted our Antecedent, who provides both authority and care for the Scions, to represent the Empress, but I struggled to find a depiction that wasn't, well, boring. Minfilia is deeply linked with the Solar, and I didn't want to lean too hard into Word of the Mother/Hydaelyn territory, so I settled on a triple goddess-like idea. Attempts: 3. Difficulty: 6/10. Not mechanically difficult, just conceptually.

4. The Emperor: Another one that I knew who I wanted but struggled with the concept. Haurchefant is very much emblematic of the stability, structure, and masculinity provided by the Emperor, but it wasn't until I decided to add his equally-Emperor-coded father that things settled into place. Together, Edmont and Haurchefant evoke the image of father and son as well as king and knight, filling both major male authority roles that the Emperor exemplifies. Attempts: 4. Difficulty: 6/10. Same as the Empress.

5. The Hierophant: this one was one of the hardest to choose a subject for -- the WoL's allies are largely a bunch of revolutionary firebrands, and I disagree HEAVILY with the popular choice of placing Aymeric here. So I landed on Alphinaud -- out of the Scions, he is the one most concerned with tradition and the "right" way to do things, with formal education and structure. He wants to bring Sharlayan into the modern day, not upend the institutions that raised him and that he very much still respects, much like how he still respects his very traditionally Hierophant-coded father. So I placed him in his family home with a sort of smug look since he can be a pretentious little shit sometimes (affectionate). The spell effect is from Kardia, and I paid special attention to having the shapes align perfectly with the lines in the background, to give a sense of stability and order to the shot, especially contrasted with Alisaie's more dynamic and chaotic depiction. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 4/10, entirely in alignment.

6. The Lovers: Hrasevelgr and Saint Shiva are a great choice for depicting the Lovers as two people, but no one does the Lovers in one subject better than Ysayle. Invoking the spirit of a woman who died for love in order to bring harmony to her people, but it truly being her own power and her own choice the whole time... it's great. Her pose is her transformation/summoning pose, turned into a gesture of affection, which I was particularly proud of. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 3/10, posing monsters is always a little funky.

7. The Chariot: This one has two options -- my co-WoL, Marz, and Tataru/Cid/Nero for the NPC variant. All 4 characters share a singular drive and refusal to let anything stop them once they've set their mind to something, and the 3 NPCs have the added benefit of being associated with a literal "chariot" in the form of airship design. Marz's place on Shadowkeeper has some lore associations (Cylva is her shard on the 13th) as well as being a void mirror to Kaede's sin eater shot. For both I wanted to have dynamic poses to evoke the activity of the card. Attempts: 1 (Marz), 2 (NPCs). Difficulty: 3/10 for both, no major hurdles once the lovely @/karoiseka pointed me at an airship in NG+.

8. Justice: The heart of the Justice card is its emphasis on truth, and no character in FFXIV is more committed to truth even in the face of great suffering than Aymeric de Borel. Because of this, the shot is taken at the top of the Vault, where he confronted his father over his concealment of the truth of the Dragonsong War. The card is usually depicted with a woman holding a sword and balanced scales -- Aymeric is holding his sword in a pose used in statues in the Pillars, and the symmetry of the shot/light and shadow split down the middle is meant to give the feeling of balance. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 1/10. I knew my concept, location, and shader before I even went in, and it came out exactly like I wanted.

9. The Hermit: Originally I had Urianger for this card, who still fits well, but when I moved him to Wheel of Fortune, there was a clear second choice: The Exarch. He even resembles the Hermit, with his cloak and staff, holding himself in isolation and possessing secret knowledge with which he guides the party. G'raha has grown out of this role as of Endwalker, but the Exarch fits it to a tee. I wanted to show his longing to return through his body language and reaching out for the portal that shows him the world he is set apart from. Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 4/10. Nothing major but did have to do two entirely separate cards lmao.

10. The Wheel of Fortune: The one I struggled with the most, conceptually. At first I had a more abstract choice, with the 3 starting city state leaders and Tataru, in a sort of "fate leads to the Scions" idea. But then I remembered that Urianger is a fortune teller who uses a wheel-like weapon with a literal wheel of cards, and, well. Yeah. The man is intimately associated with fate and choice, and the choice to place him on the moon is intentional, to separate him from his more secretive depictions in HW/ShB. He is the one who prepares our second option (flight) while giving us the choice to make our first (fight). Attempts: 2. Difficulty: 7/10. He's up on a high ledge that's not normally accessible and that's always a pain in the ass.

11. Strength: The one that started it all. The original shot of Kaede contained some layer elements I wasn't happy with so I ended up retaking it to better cohere with the others. Strength is about confidence and inner strength "leashing" power, symbolized by the woman and the tamed lion, and there's exactly one good lion model in XIV -- Forgiven Cruelty. It also has the fun side meaning of Kaede conquering and wielding the light that almost killed her. For Moenbryda's, I went with something simple -- her axe to symbolize her strength, but with her archon mark and the Sharlayan Thaliak statue prominently featured, emphasizing her intelligence. Attempts: 2 (Kaede), 1 (Moenbryda). Difficulty: 6/10. Kaede's was straightforward enough (though I had to wait an annoyingly long time for the sky to shift colors correctly), but Moenbryda's involved me floating her up on a building so i could get Thaliak in the shot correctly.

12. The Hanged Man: Holy moly this one was a PAIN IN THE ASS. I knew from the minute I started this what I wanted to do with it -- Lahabrea holding Thancred's ankle as he reaches for Minfilia. The Hanged Man is one that I felt it was especially important to mimic the iconic pose on the card, and this was how I decided to do it, but it took me over an hour and a half to accomplish. Anyway, the Zodiark idol stands in for the Tree of Life, which I really liked. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 10/10. Absolutely infuriating to have to pose 3 actors in three dimensional space like that.

13. Death: I only ever considered Estinien for this card. It stands for transformation and change, for shedding the old to make way for the new, and I chose to depict that by having his old corrupted drachen mail posed behind him like a shadow or an abandoned husk. He has left the hate and the rage behind, but the helmet is meant to symbolize that he always remembers it, and carries it with him so that he can do better. His lance is also vaguely reminiscent of the traditional Death scythe. That spot in Coerthas is where he challenges you in the early DRG quests while controlled by Nidhogg, as well as being just visually striking. Attempts: 1, but it took a while. Difficulty: 9/10. The ground is very much not flat, the helmet is on a minion, and I had to change angles and locations a few times.

14. Temperance: I briefly considered Hythlodaeus here, but Krile fits very well. Calm, competent, but unsure of her own worth. I chose Eureka Hydatos both for its importance to Krile as well as its easily accessible water -- instead of pouring from a cup, Krile is looking at her reflection. This one came together so quickly and easily. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 1/10. In and out of Eureka in less than 20 minutes.

15. The Tower: Originally, before I reshuffled, G'raha was going to be the Tower simply because I didn't know where to put him, and I couldn't think of an ally who is ultimately a destructive force, but it always bothered me because he truly didn't fit. Meteion, though -- despite her innocence and unwillingness, is THE destructive force within Endwalker's story. This card had the highest hurdles -- I had to get 7 friends to help me queue for Endsinger and then leave, and I almost couldn't get my tools to load Meteion in properly. After that it was smooth sailing, however. I used the whole lockout timer, but this was only the 4th shot I took, and it's one of my personal favorites. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 4/10, purely for queuing.

16. The Devil: Addiction, obsession, and control -- Zenos was the only answer for this card. I included Zero as well, despite intending this to be a primarily 6.0 and earlier set, to represent the humans bound in chains to the Devil, using the way she's pinned between Zenos and the scythe to symbolize that she's trapped. Afterward I realized this exact shot and character choice would have also worked quite well for the Tower, as well, but I ultimately prefer the Devil for him. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 3/10. Came together surprisingly easily, despite the fact that I had to make Zero's hat touch pose myself.

17. The Star: Symbolizing hope and new life, I can think of no one better suited than Ryne and the Empty. Ryne herself was given her own new life when Minfilia passed on her power, and the ability to make her own destiny -- and she used that power to revitalize a barren wasteland. My first version of this shot had a photoshopped in central star, but I decided to revisit the concept with an in game effect for the star instead. Helios provided what I needed, with the fun extra benefit of some additional rainbows (happy pride!). Attempts: 3. Difficulty: 3/10. Nothing crazy beyond trying to find a good angle to get the star in the shot, as well as Eden and the rainbow crystal. Second attempt I messed up the framing and had to redo it again.

18. The Moon: The card of dreams, fear, anxiety, and secrets, Gaia is perfect here (and a lovely companion to Ryne as the Star), though I did briefly consider Urianger as well. I wanted to have Gaia on the sand, with the moon hanging between the crystal walls of the Empty above her, but the angles would NOT cooperate to allow me to get the moon in the shot. So, levitation was the only answer. Fortunately it suits Gaia well, especially the distance that it evokes. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 6/10. I hate midair posing.

19. The Sun: Another card that sprang fully formed into my mind. Joy and fulfillment is symbolized by Lyse enjoying the morning light in a free Ala Mhigo, thinking of Papalymo. It also allowed me to get both of these very different characters into a single card, as they are very much a package deal, though I did consider Papalymo for the Hierophant as well. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 2/10. Came together very quickly.

20. Judgement: The last two cards of the Major Arcana are very high concept, with very lofty ideals, so they felt hard to pin down. I thought of doing both my WoLs here, or maybe Elidibus with his three forms for light, dark, and balance. But ultimately I ended up on Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus, as the sort of "final judgement" before the battle with the endsinger, the last step before everything ends. Their literal rebirth, the resolution of Emet-Selch's conflict with the WoL, the not-redemption but understanding reached, our efforts judged worthy -- it all just seemed to fit. The card design is simple but I hope the colors and emotion of the scene carry the weight of the arcana. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 2/10. No major roadblocks.

21. The World: At last we arrive at the end, not only the last posted but the last taken as well. I always knew I wanted Venat/Hydaelyn for this card, as she is the literal heart of our world, as well as an Azem who has reached the end of her journey, as Ardbert was one who was at the beginning of his all the way back at the Fool. But when I didn't use Elidibus anywhere else, I decided to add him here as well, since he also served as the heart of the star for a time. Light and dark united together, watching over Etheirys. The one who destroyed our world in order to save it, and the one who saved our world only to try to destroy it. Perfect symmetry, a completion of the circle. Attempts: 1. Difficulty: 9/10. I had to stitch together 3 separate screenshots in photoshop, with the fore and backgrounds cut apart so I could control the opacities separately. Probably the card that took me the longest, but it was worth it.

[dannyriccsystem]

can i have 18 & 35 with jack doohan please :D i love your writing sm <3

YOU CALL THE SHOTS, BABE. I JUST WANNA BE YOURS.

1K SPECIAL - JD7

Comparing hand sizes + Size difference

SUMMARY: Painting with Jack when things get a little steamy!

WORD COUNT: 1.1K

WARNINGS: Smut, Size difference, P in V

FEATURING: Jack Doohan x Reader

NOTE: My poor Jack :( Very happy for Franco but also very sad for him. I hope he gets more opportunities in the future! Also. He’s so hot. Me and the 2 other JD7 fans cheered

YOU SAT BEHIND TWO HALF-PAINTED CANVASES, Jack was seated right beside you. Your painting classes you signed up for got canceled, so you decided to have an at-home painting date instead. You were both making two halves of the same scene so that they could later be combined to complete the full image. Except, well… Yours looked nice, and Jack’s was— He tried, that’s for sure.

Your shoulders brushed together domestically, and when you turned your head, you couldn’t help but giggle. He had wasted no time adorning his half with race-cars and superheroes… Although they looked quite messy. You didn’t expect much more from your beloved.

“Are you laughing at me?” He asked, his face broken out into a huge grin. You covered your mouth politely, shaking your head ‘no,’ despite the fact you were giggling foolishly. “Yes you are!” He nudged you softly.

“It just looks… Different!” You turned backs to your canvas, carefully gripping the small brush to add detail to the grass and trees. You could feel his eyes on you, nearly burning a hole through your soul.

Before you could question his staring, he answered your question for you. “Your hands are so small,” He pointed out. So that’s what he was looking at!

“Really? That’s the move you’re making?” You teased as you playfully rolled your eyes. He wasn’t as sly as he thought he was.

“It’s not a move, just an observation!” He defended, paint covered hands up in the air. It was all over him, actually. His hands, his face, his clothes. Dry paint tainted him. “Here, look.” Jack held his hand up, waiting for you to press it against yours.

You waited long enough to be classified as defiant, and then huffed as you raised your hand, putting them palm-to-palm. Indeed, his were quite a bit larger than yours, which made your stubborn soul roll around in its future grave. “Yeah, well maybe you just have freakishly large monster hands.”

He laughed, a melodic sound. You loved the sound of Jack’s laugh— It was perfection summed up. “No way.” He slowly intertwined your fingers. Neither of you missed the way his fingers nearly engulfed yours, your delicate palms drowning in his calloused ones. “I win.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Your eyes flitted up to his, and your heart skipped a beat at the sight of him staring at you already. Jack raised a brow, taking note of the way your lips fell agape and the way your breath seemed to hitch. Interesting.

He reeled your intertwined hands back, and shifted around to placed your palm flat against his chest. Through layers of thick pectoral muscle, you could faintly feel the pounding of his heart. Jack tugged your wrist, and you moved with compliant ease, falling into place upon his lap. Your paintings had been long forgotten now, because all you were thinking about was your legs straddling his, and his erection pressed to your shorts.

“So it was a move,” You mumbled as you leaned in. He tilted his head, lips touching yours with feather-like pressure, the plush surface breezing against your own. He smirked, eyes fluttering shut as you placed your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

“Maybe.”

His tongue brushed against your lips lightly, drawing them apart just enough to move his against yours. Each series of kisses was filled with passion, and a slowly-developed hunger. It wasn’t obvious until he started to pull your hips down onto him, gently grinding his hardening dick against the curve of your ass.

“You use that on everyone?” You whispered, pulling back to look into his eyes.

“No, only you.” He placed a hand on the back of your head, keeping you still as he kissed along your jawline. “Only ever you.”

Satisfied with his answer, you decided he could take what he wanted. You slowly stripped your clothes off, starting with your shirt over your head. Your neck was flecked with dried paint, as well as your arms. The sight made him laugh, quietly under his breath.

“Beautiful,” He spoke sincerely, kissing the place right between your breasts at the very peak. He worked at peeling away his own layers, matching your bare nakedness. He, too, was covered in paint of his own. Soft pink and blue, the colors of the car he had slapped onto his canvas carelessly.

Your eyes drifted down, breath caught in your throat at the sight before your eyes. He was long and thick, probably the biggest you had seen. The sight was astounding, but also a little worrisome. Would he even fit? And what were you supposed to do if he didn’t? “Jack,” You began, eyebrows knitted together. He hummed, tilting your head back to look at him once more. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”

He tittered tenderly, shaking his head. “I’ll go slow,” He replied as a promise. “If it hurts, just tell me.”

You seemed hesitant, but eventually you nodded. If you couldn’t trust Jack, you couldn’t trust anyone, so you took the risk and gave him the okay to proceed. He stayed true to his promise, slipping just the tip in past your folds. He groaned already, enjoying the sensation of you squeezing him. When your face, previously contorted with both pain and pleasure, finally relaxed, Jack continued to push himself in.

He groaned beneath his breath, burying his face in your breasts as you sank down onto his thick cock. “Shit,” You whispered, gripping his shoulders for support. He was massive, and the poor guy only got about two-thirds of the way in before you had to stop him. “I’m full,” You mumbled shyly.

“Oh.” The tips of his ears were tinged a light rosy pink. He knew his size was impressive, but he wasn’t quite expecting that. “Okay…”

Thunder cracked outside, muffling the sounds of your combined moans as you rode his cock, taking your time. Each movement drew out a huff or a grunt from your boyfriend, who was sucking softly on your nipples to stifle the whiny sounds he was making. For such an impressive size, he sure did just melt beneath you.

Every gasp and kiss pushed you higher and higher. You finally reached your peak, eyes twitching as you came around his achy cock. He finally released a breath he had been holding in, carefully lifting you off of him so he could cum onto your bare stomach. He painted two things tonight: you and a canvas.

Speaking of which, as you were climbing off of him, legs slightly wobbly, you kicked over one of the cans of paint, sending it sprawling across the tiled floor.

You both blinked in surprise before erupting into laughter. “Of course,” He jests, shaking his head. It was good to know that intimacy didn’t put a barrier between your humorous moments.

[ricedeity]

wanted to yap a little bit about my SV2 vimalion design process as i wait for my arm to recover from drawing all those fullbodies o(*￣▽￣*)ブ part 1 of ????

i have always loooooved vocaloid update designs, v4 update era was my Absolute Favorite, so when sv2 was announced, against my better judgement, i was absolutely determined to make "update" designs for all (checking) 28 ?? vimalion sv designs. ough

there were a few things i wanted to achieve:

i wanted the SV2 designs to feel more like a unified ensemble

i wanted it to be obvious from an immediate glance whether you were looking at a SV1 or SV2 design

i wanted to leave flexibility for new future SV2 (only) designs in the future

vimalion sv1 designs were largely "neutral colors (black, white) + key colors", so for sv2, i reduced this down to "dark neutrals (black, grey) + key colors, with a gradient". it does make everyone look a little bit emo, and some sv1 designs (like weishu) didn't have any light neutrals which kind of makes them fail point 2, but i think overall it worked out pretty well :')

i also gave everyone newwww hairstyles ^_^ because it's fun. but i made sure they were all hairstyles that didn't change the length or cut of the hair cuz i like the idea of them being able to switch between these designs at will lol

(also, i added an extra line to the logo. for Synth V Two)

but the main challenge of this premise is that there are many vimalion designs i simply feel like i nailed on the first shot. i simply think that some of the vimalion designs are Perfect. also some of them i made like, literally only months ago. so i can't really go a miku v4 or longya v4 route of trying to "improve" or "modernize" them with only slight adjustments.

to this end, my approach was more along the lines of v4 flower: take the same original Vision, but turn it into a different direction*

i feel like this approach lets each iteration have its own identity, and since i don't want the SV2 designs to be replacement for the SV1s but rather just New Additional Designs If You Want Them, i felt like it was the right approach :-)

*i know v4 flower was just based off a genderbend fanart but bear with me for the sake of my design theory lol

anyways, i haven't really talked publicly about the direction/themes/motifs/Visions for the vimalion dt designs, so i thought it'd be fun to identify them and talk about how i did them in a different flavor for their sv2 designs! some are a bit more interesting than others haha

Saki: the og, very first AI voicebank... so i wanted her to feel very Lowkey, very Tutorial Character. nonplayable secretary in the idol game vibe. so my vision for her is "chic sexy office lady", which i did with a sexy little tube top- fully out for her SV1 and buttoned up under her blazer (but still w some skin showing under) for SV2- combined w sexy officewear (it's just normal officewear?)

Qing Su: she and saki were the only faceless vocals for a while, so when people made fan designs they often made them reaaaally complex. so i wanted qing su to be elegant but simple: "marine fashion + hanfu". hence the sailor collar :-) SV2 has her showing more skin but i feel like it's like a "walk in the ocean" vibe. she's also got a bit of a lace subtheme in SV1 so i brought that back in SV2 with the gloves to kind of echo the "elegance" vibe of the long skirt.

also! back when letter vocals were only 1 letter i also tried to incorporate the letter into their designs... this didn't last long, but it did stick for qingsu- in her SV1 design, the combination of her bun and the hair stick make a Q shape. i reprised this in spirit for SV2 with the hair loop + ponytail also making a Q shape :-)

Ryo: his vision is "street fashion + modernized traditional japanese". for his SV1 i gave him a little half kimono thing, kinda samurai reminiscent... SV2 i gave him a haori instead (though i brought the kimono sleeves back for vibes) + hakama pants. also, his hair is based off kenshi yonezu, so i just picked another kenshi hairstyle for SV2 lol

Kevin: i felt bad for english voicebanks not having traditional fashion motifs to pull from like the japanese and chinese ones. i figured steampunk is the closest thing to immediately recognizable English Fashion Culture, so that's why the english voicebanks have steampunk elements. and thusly as the first English voicebank his vision was just "steampunk guy". i brought back the K-shaped neck thing from one of Kevin's earlier design iterations because it's sooooo good. and then i put the goggles on his head because they annoy me around his neck. that's basically all i have to say for him.

mo chen: his vision is "cute menswear + chinese fashion", or more succinctly "match qingsu" LOL. i couldnt really get him to matchsies super close w qingsu anymore though so i swapped out his wendy collar so he could have an elegant sweater vest over chinese collar moment. his hair is in a loop to match his sister but maybe it can look like the O from his logo if you want.

an xiao: his vision is "elevated high fashion suit". it was a very dramatic weird bodysuit moment for SV1 but SV2 looks a bit more like a normal high fashion suit LOL. also his tits gotta be out. also idk he gives me "suit + sneaker" vibes right? dont you agree? (holding a microphone up to you) hey

feng yi: she was the first one i earnestly designed with "VIMALION" in mind rather than just one-off designs, so i went a little bit too crazy with giving her motifs. i guess her vision theme is "han lolita-ish?" but she also had subthemes of clouds, ribbons, that weird criss-cross thing on her wrists... plus her main theme of ginkgo... anyways. i took the fluff under her skirt that served as a "cloud" vision and gave it to her as a fashionable little shawl for SV2. i swapped the zettai ryoukai of her arms and legs (thigh socks -> opera gloves, bare arms -> bare legs) just cuz?? i also made her colors closer to what they actually are LOL

weina: her vision is "phoenix goddess". i regretted giving her a bird theme when ling wan came out and was actually bird themed HAHA. but for SV2 i just did another angle on this vision, though maybe a little more elegantly this time... hers probably feels the most like a "level up". you can't tell in her key art but her cape is still wing shaped i promise.

----

okay i'll do the others in another part another time!! my arm hurts goodnight

[maoam]

Naruto most likely sees how the world around him works, and it affects his behaviour, especially since he craves for acceptance.

Notice the difference in his reaction when another guy says he likes him in part 1 vs part 2.

(Sorry for a bit poor quality, it was difficult to find an accurate translation, most were viz translations which didn't convey this convo very well). In part 1 he's just annoyed, because he doesn't like Kankurou as a person. He didn't even think about that "I like you" could have certain other implications. But in part 2 he's straight up creeped out by Kakashi saying the same thing, eventhough the meaning and intention is the same in both.

Naruto's reaction to Kurama mentioning his kiss with Sasuke was also way too over the top. Like really comical. Naruto was putting on a show in front of everyone. But whenever he's with Sasuke, he forgets all about this, he is fine with waxing poetry to Sasuke, or Sasuke being close to him...

My guess is since he went through puberty he also learned things about himself and thus started to become more sensitive to such things. Thus internalized homophobia.

Take this scene for example. He seems a bit uncomfortable being there. Sai was probably made to be like this (inappropriate, talking about p*nis all the time, being compared to Sasuke, challenging Naruto about his fixation on Sasuke) so Kishi could introduce more such themes into the manga. He's rather clever about this.

Another guess (it could be both combined) would be that since Jiraiya is so aggressively straight man (to the point he has to introduce himself by saying he's not into men lol) living with him for those years during the timeskip could have affected Naruto's mindset even more. But it's funny how Kishi keeps stressing over and over how Naruto finds Jiraiya's er*tic books boring. Also unlike Jiraiya who peeps on women for p*rverted reasons, Naruto does it as a prank, and in order to practice his oiroke no jutsu. Kishi is trying to show how they are different. I remember on one discussion forum one guy actually brought up he noticed Naruto's changed behaviour after he came back with Jiraiya! Like that he was even more gay and more sensitive to gay things. See, other people notice too.

Then he calls Konohamaru's boy-on-boy jutsu "nasty". Naturally, it's a shonen, Naruto can't have a comically interested reaction like Sakura to something like that, it wouldn't fly. Thus the internalized homophobia. But I also think he didn't want to see Sasuke who he's possessive over being with Sai like that lol. And Naruto really isn't one to talk considering what he came up with later.

Look how proud he looks. Little hypocrite. He's been working on those twink bods more than rasengan lol. Kishi wasn't very subtle with that comment. Also Kishi fought for this moment with his editors for YEARS because he just really needed to write this down. It was just that important to him...

Of course Naruto's repression comes up when it comes to Sasuke as well. Here he admits Sasuke is attractive, but then immediately backpedals on it. His real feelings just slipped.

Later, he was thinking about Sasuke, his mind consumed by Sasuke, but when Sakura and Sai appear his whole body language changes and he immediately claims he was thinking about a date with Sakura. He didn't want to be vulnerable nor let anyone know about his real feelings at the moment. He is hiding behind a heterosexual facade.

But sometimes Naruto doesn't even think of backpedaling on it. He is with his supposed "crush" yet unlike anyone else who would try to get closer or maybe flirt, he is just thinking about Sasuke. This is actually a moment that made many people raise their eyebrows. Including people who didn't like narusasu, or people who didn't ship anything. Specifically because it's written like a clickbait, as in Naruto says "he is happy" and Sakura going "huh?" and because she's his supposed crush who is taking care of him as I said most readers would expect next page have Naruto say something that would emphasize his crush on Sakura. But no, he goes on about Sasuke. No matter how much ss/nh insist we see gay everywhere, many other people picked up on Kishi's writing at many points during the story. But anyway, even with the internalized homophobia, Naruto's love for Sasuke is so strong he can say crazy things about Sasuke to other people and to Sasuke himself that things like "I'm starting to like you" (a completely average thing to say to another person) can't compare to, and still be unbothered by it.

Finally there is the interaction with Minato. Naruto wants to look good in front of his dad so he hesitantly agrees Sakura is his girlfriend, despite how in the previous arc we were shown that Naruto knew Sakura still likes Sasuke, and was angry at her when she tried to confess to him. So he is obviously not serious about Sakura being his girlfriend, but he is saying it to Minato hesitantly. Yet when his dad is leaving he doesn't want to lie anymore.... but he's also hesitant about admitting he hasn't found a girl like his mom wanted.

About the last part, I think it's referring to the armadillo scene? I think it was Kishi's typical humour, like how Naruto saw Haku in makeup and feminine clothing, and assumed Haku was a girl, but then was told Haku is a boy and went "oh okay, I didn't know that kind of thing existed". Here there was instead an armadillo that somehow looked like it was wearing makeup (??? idek or at least looked feminine) and since Naruto needed to write down whether the animals were boys or girls (a ridiculous cover up mission they made up to hide the war was going on from Naruto lol) but then it was flipped over with everyone else and Naruto saw its p*nis and went "even if heaven and earth switched places, a male is still a male". I guess Kishi likes this kind of thing lol... his d*ck jokes...

I know it says "the world might flip over" here but I know it's actually that proverb "even if heaven and earth switched places" that's often used in Japanese.

EDIT: this got flagggged by tumblr so I had to edit sus words.

[vampireghostlawyer]

hyper analyzing the daanelise photo because i have problems

ok first of all, i'm really interested in the overall posing. the posing and arrangement here is more similar to a lot of victorian family portraits than more modern, 1940s ones, but i think that's probably a conscious choice. miro tends to show a more victorian aesthetic with daan pretty often (his clothes for example), and i'm not sure if it's because daan's character was originally victorian himself, or if there's another reason.

ALSO, daan looks uncomfortable, which is interesting. we know from his inner dialogue that he genuinely loved elise, so i wonder what's making him look so unhappy about getting a photo together. maybe this is an early photo of them and daan is more traumatized from his past than the version of him we see in game? or maybe this is shortly before he left for war? I'm also wondering about his hand being tucked away like that. My first thought was some sort of injury, but obviously Daan doesn't start the game with one and he never mentions one either. It's his dominant hand too, I wonder if that's significant. Very possible i'm just over analyzing.

DAAN'S OUTFIT! So i'm pretty sure this is daan's outfit he wears in termina, just with the jacket removed? I always found him not wearing a jacket interesting, because I feel like he would, but this makes me think his outfit did have a jacket, he just lost it or got rid of it for some reason. I wonder if he put on this outfit for a specific reason before going to prehevil? maybe this photo was taken for a special event and he's trying to commemorate it?

ok the eleephant in the room: daan's hair. it's so curly!!!! he looks so cute. obviously in game, his hair is pretty straight, with a bit of wave. so either he curled it here, or this is his natural hair texture and he straightens it usually. really interesting either way. the 1930s (when im assuming this was taken) was a big time of experimentation for men with hair, so him curling it doesn't feel too far fetched, especially since he has such a defined part, which makes me think his hair is pretty heavily styled here. ALSO, his part is on a different side! ik there's a popular theory that he uses his hair to cover the eyepatch, and it seems like that is gaining credence.

ELISEEEEEE!!! our first glimpse of human elise!!!!!!!!! she is so cute i love her. 1.) looks like her gap tooth was confirmed, which as a truther i am happy 😌, 2.) seems like she always wore the dark lipstick. this was common in the 40s, but less so in the 30s iirc. Also, I wonder if she is the reason daan wears the lipstick too? I know miro has kind of refused to confirm or deny if daan wears makeup, but he's got purple lips so.

ALSO I love that she looks kind of dorky. she's so happy to be there and beaming and her hair's kinda messy, i love her. i have always been a huge fan of elise being a bit of a nerd so this makes me happy. i like that daan is trying to mog and she just looks like ( ˶ˆᗜˆ˵ )

also, something that @omnidraconia pointed out on another post that i find really interesting is that all of the other sulfur cultists are bald, but elise still has hair in her stitches sprites, which makes it seem like she may have sewn her hair in for appearance reasons (combined with her being really easy to persuade in dialogue, and the fact that the same dialogue makes her look somewhat insecure). i think an additional piece of evidence for this is the fact that she has noticable eyebrows in this picture, but her sulfur cult version doesnt.

it makes me wonder if this version of elise is also insecure.

UAGH. ANYWAY. i have so many thoughts.

[redsugarx]

Hanfu in Components: General Garment Terms (pt1)

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Attempting to sort of reboot the hanfu in components thing I wrote for Newhanfu a while back in a better organized way, so I guess this is a series? Purpose is to provide a more systematic way for people to learn about hanfu terminology, which is extremely complicated and constantly changing, but has mostly settled into some agreed upon definitions among the hanfu community.

Note: This is probably going to make the most sense for people who have already been interested in hanfu for a little while but don't know the technical terms for what they're seeing in the pretty pictures. If you're just starting out this might be a little overwhelming, especially since hanfu vernacular has variations based on what time period you're talking about and stuff like that! But of course feel free to look at it anyway :>

Here are terms that you'll see a lot when referring to a general type of garment. These are the equivalents to 'shirt,' 'skirt,' 'pants' etc. in English, where it's telling you broadly what kind of a garment it is, but not really any details about its style or what it might look like. I will structure my definition headers as (traditional character)/(simplified character)/(pinyin)(tone) going forward. Also using images from Cloud9 as much as I can bc I don't wanna deal with citing image sources lol, shoutout to our models

WORDS ACTUALLY JUST MEANING "CLOTHING"

衣/衣/yi1 - General term for clothing. More often than not refers to a top/shirt or a robe, but can refer to clothing in general as well, especially in modern usage. The yi radical looks like this: "衤" Basically if a character has that symbol on the left, it’s probably related to clothing in some way.

服/服/fu2 - Also a general term for clothing. Slightly more formal/technical in tone imo. Usually combined with 衣 for 衣服 (more casual everyday way of saying clothing) or with 裝 for 服裝 (more formal way of saying clothing). Think the difference in tone between ‘clothes’ vs. ‘attire.’

TOPS (the clothing kind) & ROBES

衫/衫/shan1 - Shirt, unlined. Refers to a shirt/blouse in modern usage. Within hanfu, refers to a top (usually short, but sometimes long) that is unlined.

襖/袄/ao3 - Jacket/lined top. Refers to a parka-style jacket in modern usage (棉襖）. Within hanfu, refers to a top that is lined, typically on the thicker side. Can be long or short. More often than not it is worn as an outer layer.

袍/袍/pao2 - Robe. Refers to a top whose length extends past the knee. Usually robes are lined, but that’s not a requirement to be considered a robe. There is overlap with 衫/襖; aka a garment can be both a 袍 and a 衫 (long unlined robe) or a 袍 and an 襖 (lined robe), but not an 襖 and a 衫 (somehow lined and unlined at the same time, disobeys the laws of physics and logic, possibly quantum entity). 

深衣/深衣/shen1 yi1 - Literally ’deep clothing,’ also can be translated as robe, but more specific in that shenyi will typically be made up of a ‘top part’ and a ‘skirt part’ that are sewn together at the waist, rather than just being a really long top.

褙子/褙子/bei4 zi0 - Outer layer. Harder to define because it can refer to very different things depending on what dynasty you’re looking at. General rule though, it’s almost always an outer layer on a woman’s outfit.

BOTTOMS (the clothing kind)

裙/裙/qun2 - Skirt. Generally any garment that wraps around a person’s torso and covers the legs. 

褲/裤/ku4 - Pants/trousers. Similar to skirt except there are dedicated channels for each leg, aka there’s some separation happening at the crotch. Can be open or closed crotch, almost always worn under a skirt or robe.

Obviously there's a lot of other terms too but I'll get to them with time! Still a full time student, still learning about hanfu, blah blah blah. But yeah especially the more specific terms I will probably cover in a later post. Hope this is interesting enough for now :>

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[bloodyinkandquill]

Venomshank x Reader who’s immune to his bite

another venomshank request yippee, this will likely be rather short we shall see, OH YEAH, my last one is now outdated due to us now knowing that to fly bro just uses his bird but oh well, ignore that lmao

- The first time you met the deity of decay (hc) was a terrifying moment, you thought you were about to die, after all you had heard the tales of his feral nature, so when you came across him without his mask and green dripping form his mouth you figured you were done for, you’d become a zombie and your life was over

- So when after being bitten nothing happened, you both stared at your arm, that he was still bitten into mind you, for a solid minute straight, it was so shocking that it somehow snapped him out of his feral period at it, he’d never encountered anyone immune to his bite, barring his siblings, he was so confused in fact he let go and bit you again, he hates when he turns people but he just had to make sure he was understanding what was going on

- Once he let go the second time he seemed to sober up fully, whistling and an oddly large bird flying in carrying his mask, he slipped it back on before apologizing to you for biting you, all that combined probably made for the most confusing 2 minutes of your life all things considered

- That led to him wanting to talk to you, he asked you many many questions first revolving around the bite but they then morphed into just questions about yourself instead, he found you fascinating, and not just the being immune to him thing, just in general, he’s met thousands of inphernals before but you were something special, in his eyes at least, and well one conversation one day led to a different another, and next thing you know you’re in a relationship with the deity you thought was about to kill you (if this is bad sue me i’m tired and trying my best)

- As opposed to other mortals Venomshank’s known, you’re the one he’s not had to worry about his greatest fear, he loves his son, and he tells you it very often, but he has a nagging deep dark fear that one day he won’t have his mask on around him and he will loose him, but with you, that isn’t a problem, for once he can have his mask off around a mortal without fear of turning them to an undead creature, it’s a breath of fresh air for him, literally

- Because of this he also feels comfortable enough to jokingly give you little love nibbles, since he knows they can’t hurt you, we’ll turn you into a zombie, they can still hurt if he bites too hard, but it’s nice in his opinion, even if you swat him away because it tickles after a minute or two

- He is far more comfortable kissing you as well, since he knows with his oddly shaped mouth the threat of kissing someone and accidentally grazing them with his canine is a possibility he’s also relieved he can kiss you as much as he wants and it won’t be an issue, you’d think for a centuries old deity he’d be more demure when it comes to affection but he does not care in the slightest, he will be kissing you any opportunity he gets, even if your busy, have your hands full, are asleep, he’s kissing your forehead, hands, neck, lips, cheeks, it’s just such a new experience to him, and he adores it, almost as much as he adores you yourself

- Being the only inphernal to ever taste his feral… saliva? And live to recount it means you’re the only person to ever walk the inphinity and know what it tastes like, the texture is like acid but since you’re immune it almost dulls down into the equivalent of drinking a monster, carbonated and kinda like battery acid, it’s an interesting taste that’s for sure

yup midnight has passed, i’ll update the thing then work on my final request, which will definitely be the longest since it’s uh general x reader hcs… actually on second thought ill work on it in the morning, im tired and have a few things to do tomorrow and i can just add it to the cue after i finish, yeah that’ll work, let me just get everything else ready and then ill go to bed

[k-hippie]

LET'S TALK ABOUT WALLS & THE K-FAKTORY : HUGE UPDATE :)

For our 500th post, we really had to make something special ... So here we go !

We just finished to post on our website both direct x11 update of our walls and the release of brand new walls :) for a total of 80 walls ... Proof we do not make overrides only :D

OH NO ! A BIT OF MATHS HERE ...

Before the direct x11 update, quality walls were calculated on a base of 1 tile ( 256px ) so we were used to create 3 sizes for each wall ( 768 - 1024 -1280 ) ...

I scratched a long time my head to search a good soluce to keep the best quality possible ... When you make a very maxis match wall, flat style and so on, you use the same sizes than maxis : 512px ( for 768/3 tiles ) - 512px ( for 1024/4 tiles ) - 1024px ( for 1280/5 tiles )

The problem when you make more realistic walls, ( and even more with bricks and minerals, stone, wood and so on ) is that all textures are stretched as hell : 512 -> 768 - 512 -> 1024 - 1024 -> 1280

We finally decided to make 1 no-destructive size of 1024px for all 3 sizes ... in order to be 100% compliant with direct x11 :)

We tested. It is not at all more heavy than our previous direct x9 walls :) and it stretches the tall wall size from only 0.25, which means a few pixels only, same than maxis, and for the short & medium size, the result is much more fine, far away from the maxis match stretch ;) Here some examples :

WALLS EVERYWHERE ...

Here are some new walls and new re-work texturing we made recently, meaning downloadable on our website but not yet released ... until now of course :)

Wood Cottage Botanika Walls set 1-2-3 : Those are 3 sets of low paneling wood walls with peaceful wallpapers. For your cosy cottage.

Wood Flower Walls set 1 : Full wood walls with spring/summer leaves painted upon. Those ones are truly beautiful. Perfect for summer. The orange one may even be good for Halloween. Try it is adopt it :D

Mosaic Pool Walls sets 1&2 : Those ones are on our website for a long time now. We updated the texture pixels to get a cleaner result, without destroying the vintage grain ;) the fish is not included ...

Paper Noise Fabric Walls set 1 : This one is a re-combined set of 2 older sets ... We took the best of both and made a new set. Cool.

Wood Breeze Walls set 1 : A Classic summer wood shutter style for your outside/inside walls ... Perfect for a patio. What else ?

Wood Classic-Panel Walls set 1 : A very classic style of panels which could be perfect for your own private library ... True wood, based upon true panels ... what are you waiting for ? :D

Wood Tri-Wood Walls set 1 : An easy full wood structure and a good style of panels for your shops. Contemporary without any too much touch. Soft and cosy indeed !

Wood Westside Walls set 1 : Another full wood style of panels. And when we say full wood, we really mean true wood. Quality of life and style guaranteed ;)

... And here are some of the ones we re-made during our updates :)

Do not forget to have a visit to the k-Faktory ! We have 70 different sorts of concrete, numerous bricks, many many mineral lime walls and some really cool metal walls too. You won't regret it :D And as always, quality is privileged over quantity ... true wood, true masonry, true stone ;)

Well, what more about the k-Faktory ?

A huge update of many things and stuff inside the sims4 k-faktory such as :

many new sets of walls ( yes! )

the Wicked Bookcase ( really )

some new furniture ( a few )

the Photonik Windows update

I invite you to get a cosy promenade along of our 14 pages of things and stuff, have a look and who knows ? You may find some packages which could interest your Sims ;) And we advice strongly to update the Photonik 44 windows in order to avoid glitches we found recently. We remade ALL the meshes, and some based on a new ea model ... gosh, it took a really hard working time for these ones ! ;)

Well, I have to stop now :D Lack of place for the pictures and too much talk for a single post :) Have a cool journey on tech-hippie websites, and more : have fun ! See you soon for the coming k-707 new batch of available expansions ( Strangerville, Chestnut Ridge, Komorebi ) :)

ALL the Downloads : here

...

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Heey, hope this finds you well! Can you make writing notes about psychoses? I'm really interested about writing about my OC's mental state, thanks!

Writing Notes: Psychosis

Defining "Psychosis"

Psychosis - a collection of symptoms that affect the mind, where there has been some loss of contact with reality. During an episode of psychosis, a person’s thoughts and perceptions are disrupted and they may have difficulty recognizing what is real and what is not.

The 3 Main Symptoms of psychosis are:

hallucinations – where a person hears, sees and, in some cases, feels, smells or tastes things that do not exist outside their mind but can feel very real to the person affected by them; a common hallucination is hearing voices

delusions – where a person has strong beliefs that are not shared by others; a common delusion is someone believing there's a conspiracy to harm them

disordered thinking and speaking - a person's thoughts and ideas come very quickly, which can make their speech fast and confusing

The combination of hallucinations and delusional thinking can cause severe distress and a change in behaviour.

Experiencing the symptoms of psychosis is often referred to as having a psychotic episode.

Psychosis occurs when a person loses contact with reality. The person may:

Have false beliefs about what is taking place, or who one is (delusions)

See or hear things that are not there (hallucinations)

It is an abnormal mental state involving significant problems with reality testing.

Characterized by serious impairments or disruptions in the most fundamental higher brain functions:

perception,

cognition and cognitive processing, and

emotions or affect

as manifested in behavioral phenomena, such as:

delusions,

hallucinations, and

significantly disorganized speech

Psychosis is most likely to occur in young adults and is quite common.

Around 3 out of every 100 young people will experience a psychotic episode.

Most make a full recovery from the experience.

Psychosis can happen to anyone.

An episode of psychosis is treatable, and it is possible to recover.

It is widely accepted that the earlier people get help the better the outcome.

25% of people who develop psychosis will never have another episode, another 50% may have more than one episode but will be able to live normal lives.

Some people who develop psychosis may need ongoing support and treatment throughout their lives.

Historically: psychosis referred to any severe mental disorder that significantly interferes with functioning and ability to perform activities essential to daily living.

First Episode Psychosis

Refers to the first time someone experiences psychotic symptoms or a psychotic episode.

People experiencing a first episode may not understand what is happening.

The symptoms can be highly disturbing and unfamiliar, leaving the person confused and distressed.

Unfortunately, negative myths and stereotypes about mental illness and psychosis in particular are still common in the community.

A psychotic episode occurs in 3 phases. The length of each phase varies from person to person:

Phase 1: Prodome (psychosis syndrome)

The early signs may be vague and hardly noticeable. There may be changes in the way some people describe their feelings, thoughts and perceptions, which may become more difficult over time. Each person’s experience will differ and not everyone will experience all of the following "common signs":

Reduced concentration

Decreased motivation

Depressed mood

Sleep disturbance

Anxiety

Social withdrawal

Suspiciousness

Deterioration in functioning

Withdrawal from family and friends

Odd beliefs/magical thinking

[Magical thinking - the belief that events or the behavior of others can be influenced by one’s thoughts, wishes, or rituals. Magical thinking is typical of children up to 4 or 5 years of age, after which reality thinking begins to predominate.]

Phase 2: Acute

The acute phase is when the symptoms of psychosis begin to emerge.

It is also known as the "critical period."

Clear psychotic symptoms are experienced, such as hallucinations, delusions or confused thinking.

During this phase, the person experiencing psychosis can become extremely distressed by what is happening to them or behave in a manner that is so out of character that family members can become extremely concerned and may start to seek help. Before this stage the individual may have been experiencing a more gradual decline.

Phase 3: Recovery

With effective treatment most people will recover from their first episode of psychosis and may never have another episode.

It is important to remember that psychosis is a treatable condition and if help is sought early, an individual may never suffer another episode.

Initially, some of the symptoms that are apparent in the acute phase may linger in the recovery phase but with appropriate treatment most people successfully recover and return to their normal, everyday lives.

Some Symptoms of Psychosis

A person with psychosis may have any of the following:

Disorganized thought and speech

False beliefs that are not based on reality (delusions), especially unfounded fear or suspicion

Hearing, seeing, or feeling things that are not there (hallucinations)

Thoughts that "jump" between unrelated topics (disordered thinking)

What does psychosis look like? Responding to things, losing track of thoughts, appearing frightened or being very sure of things which don’t seem to be true, some people are more withdrawn, or their personality seems different. Big changes in behaviour and ability to do their usual activities.

Each person who experiences psychosis will have a unique experience and combination of symptoms, which may include:

Hearing, seeing, smelling, feeling or tasting things that other people don’t (sometimes called hallucinations)

Feeling unsafe and that people are working against you, or trying to harm you

Believing that you have special powers or abilities

Noticing patterns or feeling that things have a special significance for you (such as believing a famous song has been written about you or an event in the news has been caused by you)

Finding it hard to follow conversations, getting muddled in your thoughts or when speaking

Feeling that your thoughts have been removed or tampered with, or that someone else is in control of your body

Some people also become quite withdrawn and experience loss of motivation and emotions

When experiencing psychosis, people often struggle with their relationships, daily activities, school or work.

Some people, when told they have psychosis, worry that they might have a long-term mental illness like schizophrenia.

It’s important to know that psychosis can happen for all sorts of different reasons and having an episode doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have another or that you will have a long-term problem.

Psychotic symptoms typically include changes in thinking, mood and behavior. Symptoms vary from person to person and may change over time. Some of the more characteristic symptoms can be grouped into 5 categories:

Confused Thinking: Thoughts become muddled or confused. The person may not make sense when speaking. The person may have difficulty concentrating, following a conversation or remembering things. His or her mind may race or appear to be processing information in slow motion.

False Beliefs: False beliefs, known as delusions, are common. The person can be so convinced of the reality of their delusion that no amount of logical argument can dissuade them. For example, they may believe the police are watching them, or they might think they are receiving special messages from the television, radio or newspaper.

Hallucinations: In psychosis, the person sees, hears, feels, smells or tastes something that is not actually there. For example, they may hear voices which no one else can hear, or see things which aren’t there. Things may taste or smell as if they are bad or even poisoned.

Changed feelings: How someone feels may change for no apparent reason. They may feel strange and cut off from the world. Mood swings are common and they may feel unusually excited or depressed. A person’s emotions feel dampened and they may show less emotion to those around them.

Changed behavior: People with psychosis may behave differently from the way they usually do. They may be extremely active or lethargic. They may laugh inappropriately or become angry or upset without apparent cause. Often, changes in behavior are associated with the symptoms already described above. For example, a person believing they are in danger may call the police. Someone who believes he is Jesus Christ may spend the day preaching in the streets. A person may stop eating because they are concerned that the food is poisoned, or have trouble sleeping because they are scared.

The symptoms of psychosis are often categorized as either “positive” or “negative.”

Positive symptoms are those that add to or distort the person’s normal functioning. They include:

delusions (false beliefs that are firmly held and are out of keeping with the person’s culture)

hallucinations (hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling or feeling something that is not actually there)

disorganized speech, thoughts or behaviour (e.g., switching rapidly between subjects in speaking; finding it hard to concentrate or follow a conversation; being unable to complete everyday tasks).

Negative symptoms involve normal functioning becoming lost or reduced. They may include:

restricted emotional and facial expression

restricted speech and verbal fluency

difficulty with generating ideas or thoughts

reduced ability to begin tasks

reduced socialization and motivation.

Other symptoms may include:

cognitive symptoms, such as difficulties with attention, concentration and memory

mood changes

suicidal thoughts or behaviours

substance abuse

sleep disturbances.

Possible Causes of Psychosis

Medical problems that can cause psychosis include:

Alcohol and certain illegal drugs, both during use and during withdrawal

Brain diseases, such as Parkinson disease and Huntington disease

Brain tumors or cysts

Dementia (including Alzheimer disease)

HIV and other infections that affect the brain

Some prescription drugs, such as steroids and stimulants

Some types of epilepsy

Stroke

Psychosis may also be found in:

Most people with schizophrenia

Some people with bipolar disorder (manic-depressive) or severe depression

Some personality disorders

Assessment

Psychiatric evaluation and testing are used to diagnose the cause of the psychosis. Laboratory testing and brain scans may not be needed, but sometimes can help pinpoint the diagnosis. Tests may include:

Blood tests for abnormal electrolyte and hormone levels

Blood tests for syphilis and other infections

Drug screens

MRI of the brain

Clinician-Rated Dimensions of Psychosis Symptom Severity. The American Psychiatric Association is offering a number of “emerging measures” for further research and clinical evaluation.

These patient assessment measures were developed to be administered at the initial patient interview and to monitor treatment progress.

They should be used in research and evaluation as potentially useful tools to enhance clinical decision-making and not as the sole basis for making a clinical diagnosis.

Treatment

Depends on the cause of the psychosis.

Care in a hospital is often needed to ensure the person's safety.

Antipsychotic drugs, which reduce hallucinations and delusions and improve thinking and behavior, are helpful.

Psychosis can prevent people from functioning normally and caring for themselves.

Left untreated, people can sometimes harm themselves or others.

Prevention depends on the cause. For example, avoiding alcohol prevents psychosis caused by alcohol use.

Coordinated specialty care consists of multiple components:

Individual or group psychotherapy is tailored to a person’s recovery goals. Cognitive and behavioral therapies focus on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to build resilience and cope with aspects of psychosis while maintaining and achieving personal goals.

Family support and education programs teach family members about psychosis as well as coping, communication, and problem-solving skills. Family members who are informed and involved are more prepared to help loved ones through the recovery process.

Medication management (also called pharmacotherapy) means tailoring medication to a person’s specific needs by selecting the appropriate type and dose of medication to help reduce psychosis symptoms. Like all medications, antipsychotic medications have risks and benefits. People should talk with a health care provider about side effects, medication costs, and dosage preferences (daily pill or monthly injection).

Supported employment and education services focus on return to work or school, using the support of a coach to help people achieve their goals.

Case management provides opportunities for people with psychosis to work with a case manager to address practical problems and improve access to needed support services.

How well a person does depends on the cause of the psychosis.

If the cause can be corrected, the outlook is often good. In this case, treatment with antipsychotic medicine may be brief.

Some chronic conditions, such as schizophrenia, may need lifelong treatment with antipsychotic drugs to control symptoms.

Early Intervention

Research has found that early intervention is beneficial for patients and loved ones for the following reasons:

Less treatment resistance and lower risk of relapse

Reduced risk for suicide

Reduced disruptions to work or school attendance

Retention of social skills and support

Decreased need for hospitalization

More rapid recovery and better prognosis

Reduced family disruption and distress

A person will often show changes in their behavior before psychosis develops. Behavioral warning signs for psychosis include:

Suspiciousness, paranoid ideas, or uneasiness with others

Trouble thinking clearly and logically

Withdrawing socially and spending a lot more time alone

Unusual or overly intense ideas, strange feelings, or a lack of feelings

Decline in self-care or personal hygiene

Disruption of sleep, including difficulty falling asleep and reduced sleep time

Difficulty telling reality from fantasy

Confused speech or trouble communicating

Sudden drop in grades or job performance

Alongside these symptoms, a person with psychosis may also experience more general changes in behavior that include:

Emotional disruption

Anxiety

Lack of motivation

Difficulty functioning overall

In some cases, a person experiencing a psychotic episode may behave in confusing and unpredictable ways and may harm themselves or become threatening or violent toward others. The risk of violence and suicide decreases with treatment for psychosis, so it is important to seek help. If you find that you are experiencing these changes in behavior or notice them in a friend or family member and they begin to intensify or do not go away, reach out to a health care provider.

IN TEENS OR YOUNG ADULTS. Before having clear symptoms of psychosis, a teen or young adult often experiences distressing changes in thoughts and emotions. They might:

believe something odd is going on with them, or feel confused about what is real or imaginary

feel singled out, watched, or not fully in control of their thoughts

report changes in perception, such as their eyes or ears playing tricks, hearing jumbled, incomprehensible voices, or seeing shadows or figures in the corners of their eyes

ask for help in trying to make sense of unsettling experiences like these.

Programs specializing in psychosis risk aim to reach out to these individuals.

Recognizing the early signs of psychoses are important in order to get appropriate treatment as early as possible. Early symptoms of psychosis may include, but are not limited to:

odd or bizarre behavior

changes in thinking or speech

decrease in personal hygiene

social withdrawal

preoccupation with a particular topic

marked changes in emotion

Other, more obvious symptoms may include: 

extreme suspicion of others,

paranoia, 

auditory or visual hallucinations,

delusions and odd, irrational beliefs.

Psychosis is often stigmatized and misunderstood, which can get in the way of getting help. But research has shown that three-quarters of people who do get effective help early can experience relief from their symptoms.

For people who show signs of a possible psychosis, sometimes called "attenuated psychosis syndrome," only about one-third go on to develop a full-blown psychosis. However, they usually have symptoms of depression and anxiety, which can benefit from treatment.

Psychosis as a Symptom

A number of mental illnesses can include psychosis as a symptom, including:

Schizophrenia: A person has some psychotic symptoms for at least 6 months, with a significant decline in the ability to function.

Schizophreniform disorder: A person has some psychotic symptoms for more than one month and less than 6 months.

Bipolar disorder: With this type of illness, the symptoms of psychosis relate more to mood disturbance than to thought disturbance.

Schizoaffective disorder: A person will have symptoms of schizophrenia and, at some point in the course of illness, concurrent symptoms of a mood disturbance.

Depression with psychotic features: A person has severe depression and symptoms of psychosis without the mania associated with bipolar disorder.

Drug-induced psychosis: The use of drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine, LSD, amphetamines and alcohol can sometimes cause psychotic symptoms.

Organic psychosis: Sometimes, symptoms of psychosis may appear as a result of a physical illness or a head injury.

Brief psychotic disorder: This type of psychosis usually lasts less than a month. It is sometimes triggered by a major stress in the person's life, such as a death in the family.

Delusional disorder: This type of psychosis consists of very strong, fixed beliefs in things that are not true, without the presence of hallucinations.

Psychotic Disorder - any of a number of severe mental disorders, regardless of etiology, characterized by gross impairment in reality testing. The accuracy of perceptions and thoughts is incorrectly evaluated, and incorrect inferences are made about external reality, even in the face of contrary evidence. Specific symptoms indicative of psychotic disorders are delusions, hallucinations, and markedly disorganized speech, thought, or behavior; individuals may have little or no insight into their symptoms. Some examples of psychotic disorders are schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, brief psychotic disorder, and psychotic disorders due to a substance (see substance-induced psychotic disorder) or to a medical condition.

How to help someone else experiencing symptoms of psychosis:

Often, family and friends help identify someone who is struggling with psychosis, and suffering from their symptoms, so they're important to getting them in touch with professionals who can help.

Stressful life events, such as going off to college or breaking up with a significant other, can trigger psychosis. Further research is needed into why this is, but a low underlying "stress tolerance" level is often seen.

It's all right to mention to someone that you're worried about them, and open the door to discussing it at that point or later. You can find out if there's an early-psychosis clinic near you, and provide information or offer to contact them.

If you notice signs that they're harming themselves, that's the time to seek immediate help, often by starting with contacting suicide hotline or nearby psychiatric emergency room for advice. People with psychosis have 10 to 15 times the risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviors than others.

Treatment, support and how to help find answers for people struggling with psychosis:

Treatments for people showing potential signs of psychosis mostly focus on talk therapy, also called cognitive behavioral therapy. Family and group therapy are also important, and can be done virtually.

For people who show clear breaks with reality, antipsychotic medication can help greatly. The vast majority of people who receive these medicines experience improvement in their symptoms, but they may also experience side effects, so it's important to work with a trained professional to find the best fit.

Women who experienced postpartum psychosis after having a baby are at high risk of experiencing it again if they have another pregnancy, and should receive special attention during and after pregnancy.

A very small number of people with psychosis may be driven by their paranoia or hallucinations to act strangely in public or try to harm others. If you find yourself having to call the police because of such behaviors, make sure they understand and acknowledge that the person you're calling about has a mental health condition and needs help getting to appropriate care.

Just like many infectious diseases can cause a fever, psychosis is part of many mental health conditions – but what exactly causes it isn't well understood. That's why researchers needs people with psychosis to consider taking part in the studies they're running.

"Psychosis strikes in the years when people are just starting to be truly independent in life, work and school, which can make it especially devastating to the person and the family. The process of brain maturation depends on a lot of things going right inside our brains and if they don't, things can go askew. The longer they go untreated, the higher the chance they may experience damage to the brain and be worse off even when they get treatment." Stephan Taylor M.D., who leads a team at Michigan Medicine that specializes in early care for psychosis

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 ⚜ More: Notes ⚜ Resources PDFs

Writing about Mental Health Conditions

Hi, here are some references. Choose which ones are most appropriate to incorporate in your story. If possible, it would also be valuable if you know person/s who experience psychosis & speaking with them about it (or if you have personal experiences you could draw from). There's a wide range, so narrowing your depiction down to model one specific life story (or borrowing from just a few) could make your writing more realistic. Do go through the sources linked above as well for more details I wasn't able to include here. Hope this helps with your writing!

[headspace-hotel]

i finished rain world as the survivor. really cool and beautiful game just wish there were more plants

my opinion of regions (i had the downpour DLC which I know pipeyard is exclusive to it):

outskirts: i like the landscape but it can be annoying to navigate, theres a few places where if you miss a jump you have to spend like 5 minutes circling back around. 6/10

industrial complex: this is actually one of my favorites, theres lots of different areas to explore and lots of variety of terrain. 9/10

shaded citadel: another one of my favorites to explore, visually interesting, the lantern mice are really fun and the darkness gimmick is also fun, trying to get to memory crypts is terrible though and memory crypts is also terrible. 8/10

garbage wastes: just a lot of garbage piles not very visually interesting. I didn't spend a lot of time here though. 4/10

shoreline: the swimming mechanic sucks so bad and its easy to get stuck in a dead end here. It's cool that you meet looks to the moon here but the region itself is meh. 5/10

chimney canopy: really visually similar to a lot of the previous regions, just has a lot more platforming and death pits. its fun though. The Gutter is best avoided entirely. 6/10

the exterior: I completely skipped over the leg and the underhang and climbed up the wall instead, so that's the only part I can speak to. It's hard but really fun. I first encountered the dropwigs here, i love how they leave bait for slugcat to lure them in, it's so funny. 8/10

five pebbles: again, I missed almost the whole entirety of this region because I went in via climbing the wall. I LOVED the murals with the karma symbols, it was cool to have that window into the lore, and the encounter with five pebbles itself was also really neat. 8/10 I guess from that tiny piece of it.

pipeyard: it's ass. like all the worst parts of the game combined into one region. i thought i was going to be trapped in the sump tunnel for eternity. 2/10 i guess it could have been worse

sky islands: i actually didn't make it here at all so N/A

farm arrays: I visited but did not go very far. very straight and linear with lots of pits full of tentacles. The one cool thing is that we get to see the rain deer which are a really cool terrestrial megafauna. 5/10

drainage system: i kinda hated this one, way too much drowning in narrow pipes. 3/10

subterranean: the upper parts of it are pretty basic, just a disorienting maze of pipes with packs of black lizards crawling around everywhere, but the depths subregion is PHENOMENAL. the design of the guardians is so interesting and the guttering torchlight and roving searchlight-like illumination gives it a unique atmosphere. 8/10 lots to enjoy

[serpentface]

how do you come up with the ways cultures in your setting stylize people/animals/the world in general in their artwork, i.e. jewlery, rock carvings, statues, etc? Each culture in your world seems to have a very unique "art style" and I love it a lot - makes them seem that much more 'real'. This is something I struggle with a lot in my own worldbuilding and I'd love to pick your brain if possible 😁

I think a starting point is to have a research process based in the material realities of the culture you're designing for. Ask yourself questions like:

Where do they live? What's the climate/ecosystem(s) they are based in? What geographic features are present/absent?

What is their main subsistence method? (hunter gatherer, seasonal pastoralist, nomadic pastoralist, settled agriculturalist, a mix, etc)

What access to broader trade networks do they have and to whom? Are there foreign materials that will be easily accessible in trade and common in use, or valuable trade materials used sparingly in limited capacities?

Etc

And then do some research based on the answers, in order to get a sense of what materials they would have routine access to (ie dyes, metal, textiles, etc) and other possible variables that would shape how the art is made and what it's used for. This is just a foundational step and won't likely play much into designing a Style.

If you narrow these questions down very specifically, (ie in the context of the Korya post- grassland based mounted nomads, pastoralist and hunter-gatherer subsistence, access to wider trade networks and metals), you can direct your research to specific real world instances that fit this general idea. This is not to lift culturally specific concepts from the real world and slap them into your own setting, but to notice commonalities this lifestyle enforces - (ie in the previous example- mounted nomadic peoples are highly mobile and need to easily carry their wealth (often on clothing and tack) therefore small, elaborate decorative artwork that can easily be carried from place to place is a very likely feature)

For the details of the art itself, I come up with loose 'style guides' (usually just in my head) and go from there.

Here's some example questions for forming a style (some are more baseline than others)

Are geometric patterns favored? Organic patterns? Representative patterns (flowers, animals, stars, etc)? Abstract patterns?

Is there favored material(s)? Beads, bone, clay, metals, stones, etc.

When depicting people/animals, is realism favored? Heavy stylization? The emotional impression of an animal? Are key features accentuated?

How perspective typically executed? Does art attempt to capture 3d depth? Does it favor showing the whole body in 2 dimensions (ie much of Ancient Egyptian art, with the body shown in a mix of profile and forward facing perspective so all key attributes are shown)? Will limbs overlap? Are bodies shown static? In motion?

Does artwork of people attempt to beautify them? Does it favor the culture's conception of the ideal body?

Are there common visual motifs? Important symbols? Key subject matters?

What is the art used for? Are its functions aesthetic, tutelary, spiritual, magical? (Will often exist in combination, or have different examples for each purpose)

Who is represented? Is there interest in everyday people? Does art focus on glorifying warriors, heroes, kings?

Are there conventions for representing important figures? (IE gods/kings/etc being depicted larger than culturally lesser subjects)

Is there visual shorthand to depict objects/concepts that are difficult to execute with clarity (the sun, moon, water), or are invisible (wind, the soul), or have no physical component (speech)?

Etc

Deciding on answers to any of these questions will at least give you a unique baseline, and you can fill in the rest of the gaps and specify a style further until it is distinct. Many of these questions are not mutually exclusive, both in the sense of elements being combined (patterns with both geometric and organic elements) or a culture having multiple visual styles (3d art objects having unique features, religious artwork having its own conventions, etc).

Also when you're getting in depth, you should have cultural syncretism in mind. Cultures that routinely interact (whether this interaction is exchange or exploitation) inevitably exchange ideas, which can be especially visible in art. Doing research on how this synthesizing of ideas works in practice is very helpful- what is adopted or left out from an external influence, what is retained from an internal influence, what is unique to this synthesis, AND WHY. (I find Greco-Buddhist art really interesting, that's one of many such examples)

Looking at real world examples that fit your parameters can be helpful (ie if I've decided on geometric patterns in my 'style guide', I'll look at actual geometric patterns). And I strongly encourage trying to actually LEARN about what you're seeing. All art exists in a context, and having an understanding of how the context shapes art, how art does and doesn't relate to broader aspects of a society, etc, can help you when synthesizing your own.