#discussion guide

[ocshowandtell]

thought it might help to have a starting point for anyone who isn't sure how to begin! (these are just suggestions, and not required by any means!) use these as a guide for submissions if you like, or for your personal use!

Short OC show and tell template

[Image of character]

Name of character:

What’s their story’s setting/context?

What do they do with most of their time?

What do they want? Why?

How do they plan to get it?

Who do they know? How do they feel about them?

Favorite bit about character:

Longer OC show and tell template

[image of character]

Name of character:

Gender, sexuality, age, general vibe, species (if relevant):

Favorite bit about character:

What’s their story’s setting/context? What’s the general plot?

What do they do with most of their time? What do they do for fun?

What do they want? Why? What’s stopping them?

How do they plan to get it? Do they plan to get it? 

Who do they know? How do they feel about them? Which/what sort of relationships matter the most to them?

How will/have those people changed their life, for the better or worse?

What’s their biggest flaw?

What do other people think of them?

What genre is their story? What genre do they think it is?

How do things work out for them?

if you would like more character questions to think on, check out @characterbabble!

[edhelwen1]

Discussion Guide for Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers

Have you read Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers? Are you still on the fence about it? Is your book club reading it?

Check out these discussion questions to see if this is the right book for you! (also, the printable looks super awesome, if I do say so myself. 😉 )

We tried to keep them spoiler-free. 😇

Read more at our website! (The Discussion Guide is a downloadable PDF on our website as well.)

Art by @pinkpiggy93

[wolfythoughts]

5 Short LGBT Book Club Books

So, you want to bring an LGBTQIA+ book to your book club. But Pride month is already upon us, so it needs to be short! Or maybe reading an LGBTQIA+ book will be a bit of a stretch for your group so you want to entice them into it by promising a short read. Never fear, your friendly queer and bisexual book blogger has your back with 5 books all under 300 pages. Plus, I have discussion guides…

[afterthelambs]

i adore Maruki as a character because he's simultaneously the most relatable depressing character that will make you cry with empathy, and the goofiest wettest cat loser in the game like what do you mean youre a licensed therapist and your first response to trauma is to brainwash a girl, project ur relationship issues onto a 17 yr old boy, and then rule the world in a golden leotard? bro went from 0 to 100 so fast??? anyway he's like 30% of the reason why p5r works as well as it does

[sforzesco]

I got. thoughts. about valens and voices in imperial roman history. but I also got a lot of thoughts about uhhhhhh choosing your brother for co ruling the Fratricide Foundation Story Empire. many thoughts about themistius' oration too

Brotherly Love, Themistius (trans. Peter Heather & David Moncur)

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / insta

[mothmanavenue]

can i confess something else that will absolutely get me stoned in the town square since im dropping my unpopular opinions. I don’t like altean broadsword Lance. i already disliked red paladin Lance. the broadsword was like rubbing salt in the wound. why couldn’t he have his own niche. why was his character development just making him keith. i understand that it was like “he accepts that he doesn’t have to be a leader and excels as a co-leader and you can find happiness that way yada yada yada”. but you could’ve done that without making him keith. also now give him something unique, cool, that falls in line with his sniper bit. i’m not saying just give him another gun, im saying give him something quiet and lethal. like a garotte. yeah i want garotte lance.

i yap a lot more in my notes by the way if you were interested in other unpopular opinions. don’t send me hate messages or comments i won’t read it and will block viciously i also will not be debating this this is my hill to die on <3

[watercraver]

Two of my friends just read the original HDG in a discord VC.

They seemed to enjoy the world building but were kinda put-off by Elvira and Miss Nele’s dynamic.

They commented on how Elvira was constantly unhappy and how the concept of domestication is sorta framed as a negative, at least if you’re not already into it.

I sent them both Dog of War, since I think it’s just… better than the original, especially when it comes to how it frames and executes being a pet and I think they might enjoy it more, even if it has ‘weirder’ kinks and explicit sex scenes.

They’ve said they won’t be reading it in-call (primarily due to the aforementioned sex scenes) but I think it’s generally a better read.

Yeah so TLDR; I accidentally got my friends interested, even if morbidly, in the HDG setting.

[bogkeep]

idk how relatable this is but there's times where i've wanted to experience a piece of media that has been deemed Cringe or Pretentious, but i need to experience it With someone, so that someone must be non-judgemental and equally interested in accepting sincerity into their heart, and sometimes a particular friend becomes a repeat designated driver for that particular ride. anyway call that partner in cringe

[bug-in-a-cage]

Occasionally the Culture and the Affini Compact bump into each other in deep space. For the most part, the Culture is...intrigued, albeit not repulsed, by the Affini Compact's whole deal, but prefers to maintain a delineation between the two societies.

Following a few misunderstandings (involving high-powered weaponry that would make most civilisations roll over and crawl back into the sea), the GCU Shameless Exhibitionist presided over the signing of an accord amounting to "It takes all sorts to make a universe, Kumbaya, and all that", with the solemn promise that neither civilisation would try to annex the other, provided the parties follow certain stipulations.

It turns out that a small, but significant percentage of Culture citizens rather like being kept as pets, and the Affini Compact is endeared by the novelty of a spacefaring society with a standing army and a commitment to doing right by people.

Bless their hearts.

[pioneer-over-c]

blorbo from my prison break

[chaztalk]

This is for the anime that aren’t officially shoujo/josei, but they likely could pass as one.

[charmtale]

before everyone gets sent to the middle of the galaxy*, we don’t see chibichibi do that much that could be described as interference with the past timeline but one thing she does do- the first thing she does at all- is rescue kakyuu. it's at least implied that kakyuu would have died otherwise- she even tells the starlights "Several times I tried to go to you. But my body's recovery took longer than expected... ChibiChibi was the one who helped me a lot." ultimately kakyuu helps usagi get to the galaxy cauldron, meaning her presence isn't inconsequential.

chibichibi also attempts to prevent the starlights from meeting kakyuu. she refuses when they ask and also did not at any point bring kakyuu's incense jail to them. now she obviously didn't feel that strongly about preventing it, she could blow up the starlights if she wanted, but i don't think she would've initially been against it for zero reason. and there is no way she doesn't already know their relationship even if you ignore that chibichibi is sailor moon from the future because she's been regularly talking with kakyuu about the starlights over the past few weeks or so.

this leaves me with some questions:

-what happens in the ‘first’ timeline that chibichibi/sailor cosmos originated from? mainly, does kakyuu live or die in that timeline? we don't actually know for sure despite the implication. does she live, but in a worse/damaged state? if she did die, how does chibichibi know her at all- hearing about her from the 'first' timeline starlights?

-why try to keep kakyuu from the starlights? attempted damage control to prevent the timeline from getting too different?

-if chibichibi’s interference caused kakyuu to live when she originally died, why do this? did she want someone to temporarily keep usagi company after all her friends died? did she just feel bad for kakyuu? did she know having kakyuu alive would get them to the galaxy cauldron more efficiently? clearly sailor moon got there one way or another in the ‘first’ timeline, and kakyuu implies that her star system (and by extension herself, as a princess) is just one of many that are all less powerful than our solar system, meaning she likely doesn’t possess the unique ability to travel there. it seems she just CAN help usagi get there because she knows where it is. but chibichibi herself could fulfill that role. so kakyuu is not necessary to get to the galaxy cauldron. therefore...?

i don't have answers. maybe to her it's like a videogame she's playing for the second time and she's like Ok This time i will see what happens if kakyuu lives. maybe she genuinely didn't know/forgot who kakyuu was and found her on the side of the road and was like 'well i might as well help this random passed out cosplayer while i'm here' and then it was thee alien princess and she was like I can't kill her now it'd be awkwarddddd. intergalactic toddler of mystery

[ask-fazbearnfriends]

a question for Glitchtrap / Malhare, what steps have you taken to keep your identity a secret following the fiasco of the five "no masks" asks that you and Penny endured in August 2020, which saw you find multiple ways to keep your face hidden? (second ask here, thank you mods for the work you do!)

Malhare: SOOOO Annoying! You brats can't just take no for an answer! learn a little something called CONSENT! *walks off to kill people* EDIT: I FORGOT TO DRAW IT BUT THE LAST ONE WAS A PIZZA BOX IT COMPLETELY SLIPPED MY MIND THAT I ONLY DREW 4 OF THEM. here's a compliation of WA in the no-masks-asks in the moment

(They weren't posted because my old fanon-version of Vanny was in 4/5 of them)

Bonus: (another ask out of context I didnt post but unrelated to the no maskness)

[hanzajesthanza]

my attempts to avoid thoughts of geralt's hanza continue to fail, as sapkowski talks about them in front of my face.

(from manuscript, on the subject of the hero and the quest):

On this expedition, the Hero (Simple or King) is accompanied by others who are stereotypical-canonical fantasy characters, in other words - clichés:

Wizard-Mentor (the aforementioned MERLIN, Obi-wan Kenobi, Gandalf, Allanon, Belgarath, Sephrenia or Moiraine, who supports the hero with advice and help); Faithful Servant (in the case of the King, literally, in the case of the Simple, rather a childhood friend, Sam Gamgee. He serves the plot to recite wise folk maxims and prove that the simple people are the most morally healthy; or to save the ass of his master/friend where magic and a sharp sword will not help, and common sense and a strong, faithful arm will suffice). Good Knight (charismatic LANCELOT, always loyal and ready to fight, sometimes with some dark secret in his life); Worse Knight (always with some dark secret in his life, ambitious like Boromir, in the clutches of Evil, secretly collaborates with Evil, regrets betrayal, undergoes catharsis, perishes); Trickster - Conniver (see LOKI in "Materia Magiczna"**), cheerful, but can cause trouble, which attracts like a magnet; Damsel in Distress, who is saved from danger on the way and included in the team. Usually a princess in disguise. For several volumes of the cycle she does not like the Hero, in the last she becomes his wife.

* Type A = Percival, a hero who does not have power and is searching it, and Type B = King Arthur, a hero who has lost his power and wants to regain it. in other words, Type A = Reynevan and Type B = Geralt :)

** another chapter of the book, "Materia magica, or the Little Magical Alphabetical Lexicon," it's a glossary of various myth and legend. in loki's entry, he recounts some myths of loki and equivalates him with other figures across various traditions: Odysseus, Pryderi, Bricriu, Mordred, Alyosha Popovich, Coyote, Anansi, Maui). then he lists a few fantasy/spec fic characters he categorizes as trickers: Cugel (Dying Earth), Kickaha (World of Tiers), Coyote (Coyote Blue), Peter Lake (Winter's Tale), Moonglum (Elric of Melniboné), Nifft and Haldar (Nifft the Lean), Random (Chronicles of Amber), Saruman (Lord of the Rings), Shimrod (Lyonesse), Silk (The Belgariad and The Malloreon), Gray Mouser (Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser), Talen (The Elenium).

my thoughts:

pretty obvious assignments here, for the most part.

regis is the Wizard-Mentor, but, as he soon loses his mystique, his intellectual, philosophizing manner becomes mundane and irritating than providing magical provenance. he advises incessantly, answering questions before they're asked, giving guidance when no one asked. he only appears to be omniscient, and the others may think he's so smart because he's hundreds of years older than them, but is really just a guy, a middle aged man with a troubled youth which he learned from. his advice is not magically guided and for this reason is fallable, mortal, human. maybe the cliché is also played with in that he's a vampire, not a wizard, sorcerer, or priest, "‘I see.’ The poet sighed. ‘Is Regis a sorcerer?’ ‘No. No, not a sorcerer.’" ... as vampires are typically evil and regis is decidedly a force of good. (on this topic, @wampirzielarz once compared-contrasted gandalf and regis and it was super interesting :))

dandelion is a combination of the Faithful Servant and the Trickster. he's geralt's best friend, and doesn't fight alongside him with sword but his presence is necessary to our hero for moral support, that all makes the first part an obvious assignment... and... sapkowski lists a wide variety of tricksters of various moral alignments, but amongst them are some heroes and some best friends of heroes (and anti-heroes). and asides from being geralt's closest friend, dandelion is, after all, a rascal, who uses words and good looks to get what he wants from people. "a cynic, a lecher, a womanizer and a liar." (also, because i think szarlej also fits this double-definition as well, i won't hesitate to give them to dandelion, as they serve pretty similar functions alongside their respective heroes).

milva is the Good Knight, "always loyal and ready to fight" describes her perfectly, and her 'dark secret' was her pregnancy and plans for abortion. (though, the attribution of lancelot... well, maybe this is why some keen eyes saw a potential in yenva). anyhow, the playfulness with the cliché comes from the fact that she's a woman, which is supposed to be surprising that the hero's strongest ally is a woman. i think the "charismatic" attribute is also supposed to be played with here, as milva is simple and not too well-spoken, only so in her cursing. in other words, she's a peasant woman, and not a born-and-bred nobleman. also, for her gender, she is a play on another trope sapkowski mentions a couple of pages later, but i can't go into it now because it's too funny.

cahir is the Worse Knight, though perhaps in reverse, for all of his associations with Evil was in the past and shed like sports colors when he changed teams. he has no betrayal, "I will never betray you, witcher," all of his ‘betrayal’ was before he was even allied with the hero. but of course, for these sins, he "undergoes catharsis, perishes".

the Damsel in Distress is evidentially angouleme, being "saved from danger on the way and included in the team." the rebuking of the cliché, of course, is that geralt is "genuinely angry, genuinely confused, genuinely embarrassed" when she offers her "gratitude" to him. also, that she is no princess in disguise, just an ordinary girl, though she is confused for the princess they're after (who also happens to be another play on the damsel in distress cliché). and again, like milva, i think angouleme is related to another specifically female character cliché sapkowski calls out; but i'll save it for another post.

[aro-culture-is]

Aro culture is wanting to scream at your friend to just dump their hateful racist asshole boyfriend, while at the same time knowing that they won't listen to you because they are in love and apparently, that erases their ability for critical thinking

While also not saying any of that because it would be rude

A "hateful racist asshole boyfriend" sounds ripe for a situation in which your friend could be dating someone actively grooming them for domestic abuse.

In those cases, individuals often already have poor boundary control, and it's not the critical thinking actually missing: it's the security that creating boundaries doesn't mean losing someone who they feel cares about them. Judgements on their ability to "think clearly" are both misplaced and encouraged by the abusers, as worsening self esteem leads to an abuse victim seeking comfort... often from the abuser.

I think it's very, very important to recognize that the best thing you can do for them is to be there, continually reaffirm that they can always tell you anything, and rather than pressure them to break up... ask them to tell you about the relationship. You can guide them to red flags, but also try to present possible communication elements. There are guides online by great resources talking about how to best support these conversations.

And, of course, it's always possible it is simply that your friend actually is racist and they put up with the behavior because of that. It's not hard for some bigots to find an in through less overt bigotry. But I strongly encourage folks to realize that "in love with no capacity for critical thought" is a very dangerous warning sign that someone may be unable to recognize healthy boundaries, and worse - to recognize unhealthy boundaries.

[transphilza]

not forcibly assigning phil a dad role in every single rp relationship regardless of if it actually makes sense is not just about not being annoying and forcing ooc headcanons onto characters, but like character wise it’s actually extremely good for characters to have relationships on equal ground. this is why c!emeraldduo Not being family is so good, because both phil and techno’s characters lacked equal-ground relationships and so having a closely trusted friend who is an equal was a very powerful dynamic. in both dsmp and qsmp phil Is a guiding or paternal figure in a lot of ways for a lot of other characters and because of that, him having relationships that are Different than that is really important and good