#especially one that was very ambitious 😅

[cerbreus]

Finally finished my tile top nightstand :-) will post more pics when it's daytime!

[ramonag-if]

Me: I don't know if I want to romance Dena, she won't have as many scene's as others and she did like the bare minimum back when we were kids- Also Me, after seeing her art: As I was saying I've been ride or die for Dena since day one, true loyalty. (Half joke's but I love the art, especially for F!Dena.)

Dena is very hawt. Dena also has some ambitious goals. Can we trust Dena? Who knows but at least you won't be disappointed with their good looks 😋😅

[shrinkthisviolet]

Backstory on how you came up with Morgan as a character, and how you decided to showcase her character? (Like, why you chose those scenes in particular for her fics)

Or anything else you want to share about Morgan and her story?

Oooh yay an OC question! I'm happy to answer this :D

So Morgan is a character I came up with while watching Jesse in s2 and going "huh. Wouldn't it be cool if she had an E1 doppelgänger?" And then I read a couple fics that fed that idea. And ofc that then spun into "what would her backstory be? How would she fit into the story?" Etc and so forth.

Funnily enough, I wasn't going to write her story at first. It was just something between me and a mutual of mine...especially once my plans got ambitious and I started envisioning multiple fics spanning who-knows-how-long. It felt too big for me to handle, so I decided from the jump that this was just gonna stay a concept I talked about but didn't write.

...hey past me, about that...😅 (further discussion below the cut!)

Anyway, the first things I figured out about her were that she'd be Eowells's daughter, obviously. I've always headcanoned that Jesse did have an E1 doppelgänger in canon, but that she died in the car crash that killed Harritess. Here, though...she survives it, and she's raised by Eowells.

This fic gave me the idea to make Tina her godmother—the fic doesn't outright make her such (E1 Jesse in that fic is an adult, so it's not pertinent), but it's a similar thing, with Tina offering the E1 Jesse of that fic a place to stay and a job. Obviously there are differences between my AU and that fic, but I did link the fic as inspiration because a) it gave me the godmother idea in a roundabout way and b) it's the E1 Jesse fic that really sparked this idea in a way I couldn't let go. My idea was so much different than theirs, but I wanted to do something with it, more than just as a concept. Still not a fic (haha past me), but...something.

Morgan kept developing. Her name was decided as "Morgan" pretty early on—Jesse Morgan Wells would be her name, following the same principle as Jesse Chambers Wells (Tess Morgan on E1, Tess Chambers on E2), and then Eowells would have her go by Morgan instead of Jesse because, per canon, he knows about Jesse Chambers (in this AU, the Jesse Chambers he knows is not from the comics, but from the multiverse of the show. But...is it Jesse? Morgan? Another Earth's Jesse or Morgan? Who knows...👀 well, I do, but I shan't say. You'll find out in the s4 arc!). I also decided she’d be the same age as Jesse (17 in s2), but a year behind her academically, to add some bones to the jealousy plotline in s2—Jesse has 5 majors and is a year ahead of Morgan? Oof yeah that’s gotta be tough.

Morgan’s powers...started off as super strength. However, this got nixed when I finally decided to make this into a fic series, because...Morgan can't have Griffin Grey's powers, she wouldn't live very long 😅 and I can't pseudoscience her a solution, because then the question becomes "why not use it on Grey, who's only 19 when he dies?" So I waffled for a bit on what her powers should be...and I settled on forcefields. I've never looked back since. They fit her personality...for better and for worse (I have a feeling some of you know what I mean 😅 if you don't, though, I'll elaborate in the notes if asked!)

Another fun wrinkle about her development is that originally, the first fic was gonna be from Tina's POV, in present tense. I still have the fic in my drive, and I often strip it for parts (for the CF AU in particular) 😅 but ultimately, I remembered the wisdom of "the character you start with is often the one the reader gets most attached to", so I decided to stick with Morgan's POV and occasional forays into other POVs once readers were sufficiently attached to Morgan (mind you, this isn't an ironclad rule! But I'm glad I followed it in this case).

From there, I started with s2, since that's where the intrigue came from. I wrote some Morgan & Jesse and Harry & Jesse...and then it occured to me that rather than leave s1 as an implied "yeah this happened but idc" thing...I wanted to actually go back and flesh it out.

And MAN am I glad I did! That decision brought about so many changes that were for the betterment of this AU (Barry & Morgan, Morgan & Iris, Morgan x James, fleshing out Morgan & Tina), and I just...I truly can't imagine the AU without them. Genuinely, there are future arcs in this AU that I can't imagine how they would've gone if I hadn't gone back to write s1 and made these changes because the muse led me that way. It's remarkable.

Writing her taking up the mantle of Sentry was important too. I've talked about how important it is to me that she was named by both her mothers (Tess gave her the name "Morgan", Tina gave her the name "Sentry", even if the latter was unintentional), and that's another reason I'm glad I went back to s1—before this, the implication was that Cisco named her, but I like this better. Sorry Cisco 😅 you can name (almost) everyone else!

Ooh and as for scenes that show her character...I'll pick out a few that I haven't talked about before:

Though, perhaps the most confusing day for her friends was when she showed up to first period absolutely glowing because she’d gotten to meet Dr. Martin Stein the previous afternoon and learned about an intriguing project he was working on, tentatively called FIRESTORM. She couldn’t talk about it to anyone, at least not by name...but that didn’t stop her from gushing about the project in concept to her friends. “We’ve got years before we go into the sort of thing you’re talking about, Mo. Maybe you should slow down?” “Oh, come on!” She insisted. “Haven’t you considered how cool it would be if we could perfect something like that? Think of the implications!” “It would be pretty cool to have superpowers,” another of them pointed out with a grin. “Being able to shoot fire from your hands? Epic!” “Well, yeah, of course that’s cool. But sharing a body with another person? Like…that could be life-changing. Life-saving, even!” They were less enthused about that idea, but Morgan figured she probably could’ve done a better job of selling it.

Her meeting Stein here is, ofc, me setting up their reunion in 1x14, when she's a bit ahead of Team Flash in terms of knowing who Stein is. She doesn't know a lot of details, because the project is hush-hush...but she knows enough that it sparks her curiosity. Because that's another thing—she's a genius for a reason, and I wanted to show that! She's precocious and endlessly curious and follows logical threads down all sorts of trails...and I wanted to show that rather than just saying it.

Another scene:

In the end, she didn’t call Tina about Dad’s treatment of Hartley. It was certainly jarring that Dad, who had once favored Hartley even above her at times, had now suddenly turned on him, but Hartley had always been arrogant, and Dad had always enabled him. It wasn’t so unbelievable to think that he thought he knew better than Dad, sought to prove it, and got burned. And everyone at STAR had been under a lot of stress with the impending launch. If they were acting out of character…well, she couldn’t exactly blame them. Still, it lingered in the back of her mind, unsettling her in ways that she wasn’t quite ready to think about yet.

It matters that Morgan is observant, insightful. This is a trait she picks up from both Eowells and Tina (for better and for worse—yes, being observant can work against you, but more on that later)...and it means she notices that something is off about Hartley. But, since she's a teenager, still susceptible to manipulation, and isn't fond of Hartley, she brushes it off as arrogance on his part (it's an impression he encourages, after all).

Another scene:

But a strange thing happened as they got close enough for Richard to let go of her hand and run toward his parents. Morgan looked up, saw a bolt of lightning coming for them, and cried, “Look out!” She shoved James and Richard out of the way, shielding them both as best as she could. And then the strike hit, and she screamed.

This is when she gets struck! I thought quite a lot about how this could've happened. Ultimately, I decided that since the other metas get their powers by doing something related to their powers, Morgan should too. Thus, she shields James and Richard, taking the blow herself...and she gets struck and gets forcefield powers (it's not real lightning though, just concentrated energy. Hence why she gets forcefield powers and not lightning powers)

And another:

“Someone has to stop them.” “Someone has to protect the people they hurt,” she corrected, clenching her fists. “What that…that superhuman did…it was terrifying. He terrorized and probably hospitalized people. Because of powers that my dad gave him.”

Every hero needs a Call moment, don't they? Well, this is Morgan's! Well, specifically, the scene before this when Jitters is attacked is her moment, but this is her reaction. She's a hero at heart, that's our girl! It shows what kind of hero she'll be...and that her powers suit her so very well.

This next one is a long one, but I couldn't justify chopping it even for this:

There was a lot to figure out about her powers, as it turned out. She and James had already figured out that her powers manifesting was an expression of adrenaline, a defense mechanism that was likely connected to her sympathetic nervous system—thank you, 9th-grade Biology. So her powers had an emotional element—a strong one, judging by her outbursts—and they relied on concentration to remain stable. It was something she needed to improve over time…if she actually wanted to use them. James thought she’d make an awesome superhero and wasn’t shy about telling her so. Morgan, however, had no desire to dole out vigilante justice with non-combative powers she barely understood…especially as a teenager who didn’t want to seriously hurt anyone. “It’s not vigilante justice, Mo,” he insisted. “It’s heroism.” “You’re basically saying I should be this city’s Spider-Man,” she retorted. “Your powers are completely different from his.” “James.” “Morgan. Do you seriously think I don’t see the look on your face? That I’m not listening when you rant about how much the explosion has destroyed so much, how your dad isn’t doing a lot to fix it, and how you wish you could?” “I can’t fight. I won’t. I don’t have time to learn all that from scratch, I’m not…I’m not Spider-Man, my powers aren’t combative like that!” As if to demonstrate, she shot a blast outward—it materialized into a shield. “See?” James nodded, looking sheepish. “Maybe not Spider-Man, then. But what about your other wish? To protect the people superhumans hurt? You’ve got the power of shielding and forcefields, who’s better suited for the task of protection than you?” She hesitated, then sighed. “Sometimes I think you know me too well.” He grinned.

The dynamic duo!! Funny to think that if not for James, we might not have a Sentry (this is also true in all the spin-off AUs) 💞 he's so very important as being Sentry's first guy in the chair, her first cheerleader, and her strongest supporter always (he and Barry might have to fight for that title later, but...hey Barry, James was here first 😂). There's a reason Morgan and James are soulmates in the soulmate AU—they're important to each other!!

And as far as scenes that really show her character. those are the higlights! Thank you again so much for asking this 💞 I love Morgan to pieces, and I love talking about her.

Taglist (send an ask or DM to be added or removed):

@arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @raith-way @vexic929 @ironverseocs

@thechaoticfanartist @goldheartedchaoticdisaster @negative-speedforce @starstruckpurpledragon @angst-is-love-angst-is-life

@miss-eli-starfleet

[acacia-may]

*sheepishly pokes my head in*

If oc x cc ships are okay, then can I ask for Lyra's ships of Yuno x Neva and William x Zera, and mine Fuegoleon x Solara 🥺👉👈

Hi Laura! No need to be sheepish. 💖 Thank you so much for the ask and for indulging my ramblings. I think it's incredibly sweet that you've asked about @lyranova's pairings. They're lovely! I'm honestly a little feral about Zerilliam, and I rambled about that and about the pairings in general in this response to Lyra's ask. ^^

I would be thrilled to share my Fuelara thoughts with you here, especially since, at this point, I am so invested in this pairing that I have to constantly, consciously remind myself that Solara is not a canon character. She just exists in the world of Black Clover in my mind now, and whenever I imagine or think of Fue, she is right there by his side.

I have to be honest that before I found your blog and we became friends, I really didn't think that much about Fuegoleon. I always liked him and had a lot of respect for him, but he wasn't really a character I just sat around and thought about too much. (His brotherly relationship with Leopold is just too functional. Let's blame that lol😂 I promise I'm only joking, and I adore them! Vermillion Bros for the win!!) But you write him with such depth and such nuance that it really gave me a new appreciation for his character. That one shot you wrote about his feelings of inadequacy after his injury has stuck with me to this day and remains one of my favorite fics I've ever read about anything in any fandom. You and your incredibly powerful writing made me love Fue, and as I was coming to really love him and becoming so much more invested in his character and his story, I found your absolutely incredible Solara who is truly (and this is probably intentional on your part but needs to be said) perfect for him.

Fuelara is everything a canon character x oc relationship should be in my opinion. I hope it goes without saying that Solara is such an incredibly strong and compelling character in her own right and I love that you've given her her own story beyond just being Fue's love interest, but even beyond that, she fits so seamlessly into the world of Black Clover (and I know you shared with me in the past that that was something that was really important to you while creating her, and I think you have succeeded in that in every possible way). Like I said in the beginning of this post, I really do genuinely have to remind myself she isn't canon. She just feels like she belongs there. I can't tell you how much the way you've meticulously crafted Fuelara and weaved them into the world of BC has been a personal inspiration for me. (Apologies in advance for the tangent but) my big passion project right now is a very ambitious multi-chapter fic for another fandom which I'm co-creating with a friend of mine, and it involves an OC x CC relationship (that I'm mostly in charge of 😅) so I actually find myself thinking about and talking about Fuelara as kind of this blueprint and inspiration for everything I can only hope my own ship will ultimately be. Even though the world of that story (late 90s/early 2000s suburban America) and the world of Black Clover couldn't possibly be more different, I'm sure Sprinkles could tell you that I have specifically mentioned Fuelara (specifically their relationship's seamless integration into the existing world and story) and what an inspiration it is for me personally, so many times while working on this project. It is truly so impressive, and I want to write like that. (Side note, I have definitely been using your tips and suggestions for OC integration throughout this process, so thank you again for that!)

Beyond just how well Solara perfectly fits into the world (which I've rambled about a lot), she also perfectly fits with Fuegoleon to the point that it's actually difficult for me to imagine him with anyone else at this point. I'm honestly really surprised I have made it through these ramblings without any random, unsolicited music references, but you're about to get one. There's a song called "We Go Well Together" by Goldheart (Spotify; YouTube) and here's a few lines, "We're just like kids up on a swing/Finger and a wedding ring/We go perfectly/It's so easy." That's just Fuelara to me: It's so easy. That's not to say that it's easy for them--they've certainly had their struggles and been through so much together, but their relationship dynamic, their love for each other, and their interactions are just so effortless. Of course Embers is fantastic, but I think I love your cozy little one shots about them most of all because I just adore how they interact with each other. They're so comfortable with each other, and it feels so real and so genuine. There's really no need for me to suspend belief or to try to create some buy in into their relationship. They just talk to each other and I'm immediately convinced they're deeply in love and just perfect for each other. One of my favorite things about them is how they are both such strong people, but they can be vulnerable together, and I love these really tender moments where they encourage each other that they don't have to carry the weight of the world alone. I just can't get over how supportive they are of each other, and I just adore that.

Gah, this ship is just so good. It's canon. It's honestly better than canon in a lot of cases, and I really can't get enough of it. I think I've said this before, but I'll say this again. Thank you for this pairing! I love it. ��️‍🔥

[13eyond13]

sending you an unhinged ask but-- if somehow griffith and guts were magically transported and able to interact with light and L in the modern DN world, what do you think they'd think of them? and vice versa? especially curious about light and griffith lol

Hahaha hmmmm that's very hard to say 😅 They're from such completely different worlds that I don't even quite know how to slot the two universes together in a way that makes a lot of sense. Like would I be transporting L and Light to Midland, or Griffith and Guts to mid 2000s Tokyo whilst Kira is terrorizing everyone?

Well, either way. My best guess is that Guts probably wouldn't normally talk to either L or Light a whole lot without being forced to, lol. He is not much of social butterfly nor very big on making small talk. Maybe if Griffith like instructed him to hang out with them for a good reason he would, or if one of them got in his way somehow or challenged him in a fight? I think he'd find stuff like their intellectual bragging and sneaky underhanded egotistical mindgames either completely pretentious or irrelevant to him or just not his thing at all either. He tends to stick to what he knows and ignore most everything else, and most of what he knows is just physical combat and swinging his huge sword around and keeping to himself. I could see him being a pretty big buzzkill to either of them if they ever attempted to drag him into something mindgamey, either unintentionally or completely on purpose on his behalf, haha.

Light and Griffith in the same room is a pretty funny thought to me as well, though I can't say I know exactly what would go down? All I know for sure is I feel like if Griffith pulled the same kind of "I want you" move on Light as he did on Guts and came up and grabbed his face Light would probably just be repulsed and embarrassed by that instead of intrigued, hahaha, I just don't think he really likes people expressing their interest in him or desire for him or possessiveness over him too bluntly or too strong. Also I have no idea if their ambitiousness would lead to them understanding and respecting each other or just clashing with each other a lot?

Somebody else needs to help me decide, I just have too much trouble trying to combine their different worlds in my head for me to easily imagine how they'd behave and interact 😆

[kakiastro]

Astrology Of Leonardo DiCaprio

Using whole sign system

Chart ruler

Leo is a Libra rising with his chart ruler Venus in Scorpio 2h. Leo is very private, he very charming but probably also has an intimidating aura with Scorpio. I feel like there’s more to him that meets the eye. Libra makes him really sweet but there’s a lot of depth to him that you probably don’t see until you get to know him on a deep level.

Stellium

A stellium is when you have planets in 3+ same sign and house

Leo has 2 stelliums: 1h and 2h

He has his Moon, Pluto, Mercury, Uranus in Libra 1h.

Libra Moon 1h- he wears his heart on his sleeve, he’s able to show his emotions easily, popular among women, really close to his mom, seen as beautiful, popular among public(moon also rules over public) may be really indecisive with his emotions; he feel this way one moment and feel differently another. This may especially be true with relationships.

Pluto 1h- like I said earlier, he may be intimidating or intense, he could also be mysterious and have an alluring aura to him, since it conj his moon, this makes the ladies attracted to him or at least curious about him. Pluto conj moon is not an easy aspect to have, actually any Moon-Pluto aspect is intense. I don’t know Leo family background but I’m sure he grew up in a intense environment especially when it came to familial relationships like parent divorce/separation, but this just one example.

Mercury Libra 1h- he can connect easy with people. He’s definitely a charmer; yeah he’s a flirt 😅, mercury 1h; people want to talk to him about everything! He can’t make his mind up for nothing lmao don’t give him either this or that option cause he’s going to look at you like this 🤷‍♂️😕.

Uranus 1h-listen this man is unpredictable, you never know what he’s going to do next, he’s going to keep you on ya toes. Lol. he may change styles or in his case, different movie roles. Conj mercury, this aspect gives me mad genius vibes😅, people don’t understand him or that’s probably how he feels. Knows many but don’t mess with hardly any type of vibe.

In his 2nd stellium; He has Sun, Mars, and Venus Scorpio 2h.

Sun- sun is fame and public recognition. People are/was obsessed with him, especially during his 90s era, he was the IT boy at one point. His sun in the 2h, 2h is beauty.

Venus- Venus in 2h and all he’s ever dated were models, 2h rules over models. Astrology is real😅. He tries to keep his romantic relationships private but it conjunct his sun so unfortunately for him his relationships will always be the topic in the media lol. Plus he has a Libra stellium so his relationships is a topic. He has Gemini (media)5h(dating) ruler mercury in Libra 1h. Also Venus -Sun aspect means you’re seen as gorgeous to the public.

Mars Scorpio - for an actor this is a good placement, he can easily transform into his characters with ease. Since it conj his Sun and Venus, he could be really ambitious. When he set his energy to something, he’s going for it.

Mc and 11h

He has Mc in Cancer with Saturn here. He’s seen as respectful and kind as public image goes. As an actor, he’s known to play roles dealing with family drama or women/relationship based such as Titanic, what’s eating Gilbert grape, Wolf of Wall Street. Being the lead role suit him since Saturn is here but even if he decides to do supporting than he still captures the attention of an audience.

Neptune(movies) Sagittarius conj North Node(lesson, fate and destiny), you can say he was born to be an actor or some sort of of creative. He has 11h(society and mass public) in Leo. Leo in this house indicates mass fame

Asteroid Fama

Fama (408) means fame or famous.

He has that in Gemini conj south node(pass live, early life lessons). He was famous in previous lifetimes as well. This can indicate early childhood fame as well, which he was a childhood actor.

His 7h and Juno

Juno (3) represents our ideal partner/marriage, what we are loyal and devoted to

His 7h is in Aries. He’s seen as a leader to other people, really ambitious, bold.

Now on a romantic level, he may be attracted to strong willed women, ambitious like him. I know he’s known for dating younger women, Aries is considered the baby of the zodiac, it’s the first sign. So I guess you can say this placement manifested in him liking younger women. Also his 7h ruler(mars) is in the 2h, like I said earlier, he loves his models lol. He also has Chiron (wounded healer/teacher) here as well, he’s also going through his Chiron return at the moment; it makes sense on why his relationship has been the focus lately. Chiron is the painful lessons we have to learn in this lifetime so I would say, he needs to learn how to heal them relationship wounds and actually find out what he wants from a partner.

His Juno is in Pisces conj Jupiter. Juno was Jupiter wife in mythology. Lol. He needs to find someone who he can connect with on a spiritual level, he may end up getting someone from different country and culture from him with Jupiter here.

I know he’s really into environmentalism activism and his Juno and Jupiter is in the house that rules rules natural environments.

Longterm transits

Saturn Pisces 2.5 years

- it will be in his 6h and conj his Jupiter and Juno! I expect him either involving himself with more activism projects, meeting his future partner and actually settling down or he’s going to have a health wake-up call; maybe all 3 things, we’ll wait and see lol

Pluto Aquarius for 20 years

- it’ll be in his 5h. 5h rules over acting, fame, creativity and children. Curious to see how his fame and acting career going to go. I’m guessing he may take on daring roles that’s out there. Unexpected child perhaps? These are just predictions. Let’s see he’s in his late 40s now right so by the time this transit is over, he’ll be in his 60s then he’s going into his 2nd Saturn return!

Lunar Nodes

North Node Aries/South Node in Libra for 18 months

-NN conj natal Chiron 7h. Ya, he’s going to have to learn to heal those wounds, nn is going to push him too but it’s for his own spiritual growth

SS conjunct his libra stellium, things from pass life and early lessons are going to brought up and slap him in his face lol

Very transformative years for him

I hope you enjoyed this post and make sure to check out my other celebrity post in the pinned post on my page; thank you!

[sylvies-chen]

This might be an unpopular question or opinion, but is Tim giving up a job he loves for his relationship with Lucy a good or romantic thing?

I love them but if I'm honest if Lucy or another woman decided to give up a job they love or switch to something else for their relationship I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be considered romantic or the right thing to do.

I think that’s a fair question because something like this could definitely lead to resentments down the road if not done properly. But honestly, it’s been a relationship trope in television for a while now. Take Ben and Leslie from Parks & Recreation, for example. Ben straight-up takes the hit and gets fired from his job (of being her boss) for Leslie, because he knew he loved her and so the job he had didn’t matter. And I don’t think people questioned it (though I wasn’t in the fandom when it aired so idk how it was received). Or think of Will from Criminal Minds who left his hometown— and his entire home state, even— to be with JJ. Think of Jonah from Superstore who was ready to move to California to be with Amy just because she got a job promotion, and who only stayed at a terrible job for years because of her, which holds a kind of equivalent. There’s just countless examples of characters (specifically male ones) prioritizing their relationship over their career. Even though it may not be realistic for real life relationships, I still find it to be generally romantic in nature I think especially because it’s men who are expected to be ambitious and career-driven above all else and so defying that tenet of like “masculinity” or that stereotype by not expecting the woman to have to put her career on hold is what I think people like to see. That’s just my take on it anyways!

Sorry, that was just a tangent on my thoughts about that trope in general. But to answer your question in regards to Chenford, I think in their case it is allowed to be romantic and good because we know it’s not going to be permanent?? Obviously Tim Bradford is not going to be at a desk job for the rest of his life. They’re already scheming to find him a new position and he’s a main character who’s too physical to ever be benched/sidelined like that for more than a few episodes. Like. It’s cable television. You know they are going to find some shiny new position that is somehow just the perfect setup for him to be in the field and yet not Lucy’s direct superior. They’ll make some miraculous solution. (Either that or they’ll have him come back to Sergeant and he and Lucy will have to face the music together which… ehhh I don’t think that’s in the cards.) To me, at least, this sacrifice is a very romantic gesture, but it’s also permitted to be so becauss there won’t be any long-term resentments due to the fact that… yeah. They’re not letting him rot at a desk. They’re going to come up with something somehow some way. It’s just how network television does it. 😅

[moonfromearth]

Celebratory Sim Dump!! (the sequel)

I am very very late to do this, but, I'm releasing a sim dump to celebrate 100 followers!! 😄

That's so cool!! Thank you so much everyone who follows, likes, comments, or even interacts at all with my posts!! It means so much to me, really, and I'm so grateful for every interaction, big or small 😁😁

But enough of the cheesy thank yous, onward to the sims!!

Here are eight cc free sims, all Young Adults, for download!! All have two skills set to level three as well as set careers (also at level three). Do as you'd like with them, but I did write out little blurbs for them as a starter 😉😉

~ download (google drive) ~

[sim info below cut]

A little about the sims...

Mara McCoy (she/her) - Friend of the Animals, Cat Lover, Loner, Jealous - Mara ran away from home as a teen and never looked back (was actually a sim I used for a runaway teen challenge that I didn't finish 😅). She prefers plants and cats to people but can occasionally be persuaded to socialize.

Delany Milton (she/her) - Academic Success, Ambitious, Perfectionist, Bookworm - Delany has an intense love of both teaching and learning. She never got the chance to go to college to become a full fledged teacher or professor, but she hopes that one day she'll finally be able to achieve her goals and move beyond her assistant teaching position, or (since it's the sims) work her way up through the ranks.

Jonas Mosher (he/him) - Master Actor, Cheerful, Childish, Glutton - You might recognize him from the teen a day challenge, but now he's a young adult and striving to be an acting superstar! He's still best friends with Courtney.

Courtney Cason (she/her) - Joke Star, Goofball, Unflirty, Erratic - Also from the teen a day challenge! She's on her way to becoming a famous comedian, having started gigs in comedy clubs when she was still a teenager. She's still best friends with Jonas.

Jennifer Nora (they/them) - Archaeology Scholar, Clumsy, Family Oriented, Loves the Outdoors - Jennifer loves archaeology and has dreams of publishing their findings and uncovering ancient artifacts that will cement them in scientific history! They're very close with family and friends (especially their cousin, Blake, who's like a brother to them).

Kellan Stanford (he/him) - Neighborhood Confidant, Gloomy, Outgoing, Lactose Intolerant - Kellan is a very social character. He's always hanging around others, even strangers. There aren't many that can tell you exactly how they met him.. He just sort of appears and is seamlessly integrated into social circles. He's a good sim to know, though, as he's great at giving advice, earning himself the title of neighborhood confidant.

Ernest Porter (he/him) - Master Chef, Good, Foodie, Squeamish - Ernest has big dreams of master chef stardom. However his squeamish and very picky nature tends to lead him more towards baking rather than cooking. One day he hopes to open his own restaurant/bakery combo.

Grant Meade (they/them) - Friend of the World, Loyal, Paranoid, Freegan - A chaotic entity, Grant spends most of their time chilling in whoever's basement they're currently crashing in while crafting conspiracy theories about how the sim world is going to end. Despite their eccentrics, they're a good friend, and will always be the first on the scene should any of their companions need help.

[gohandinhand]

goey my beloved!!! i'm so excited that you're writing again!! <3

9, 22, 36 for writer ask?

i am also so excited! my current project is ambitious so fingers crossed i can pull it off 😅

9. Thoughts on cliffhangers they are NOT my friends! i always Want To Know More (why i also struggle with short stories) and making me wait is an act of cruel and unusual punishment. i don't think i've ever 'tried to write one lmao

22. What is it about watching the same two idiots falling in love over and over again? buddy if i KNEW! for me i think it's especially a great way to not just hold onto the characters, but to keep discovering them in new ways. as i just said, i hate endings lmao so fic is - if we're very lucky - an eternal staving off of a goodbye to dearly beloved characters. also maybe an unpopular opinion but fic for me isn't even specifically for reading about characters falling in love! stories about characters that are already in love are just as dear to me (if not more so)

36. How do you come up with fic titles? What's the one you're most proud of? ooohhh over the years i've run the gamut on this one. song lyrics are ofc always an easy go-to but I've not done that in awhile and instead have focused more on condensing some core idea of the fic into a phrase or quote. it's Hard. maddie is a title genius and is a great help for coming up with ideas! she helped me with 'turning sun into sugar, spinning straw into gold' which still feels just chef's kiss perfect as a title! as a teaser, the working title for my current quantum physics-based WIP is 'how to be a black hole' 🤐

[lilacs-and-lavenders]

Experimenting with different games to see which ones interest me. I got SF6 and it's fun watching CPU Kimberly beat up pl1. Love all the colors. It's nice seeing something different for a change on my TV screen. Refreshing even looking at something that isn't laced with terrible memories. 👏🏽

Having a bit of a difficult time staying in FF, though. Yes I am going to be playing when the DT expansion releases but I don't know how often. I'm just too annoyed by the other players when I log in. They don't really bother me at all but...idk...I guess all of my bad memories of the toxic fake friends I met ruined the overall atmosphere and feel of the game for me as well as my view of people as a whole so I have a love/hate relationship with it. Affwcted me more than I thought. Traumatic memories. Ugh. I love seeing my WoL though but I cant bring myself to log in much which is why I created them in Sims 4. It also gets incredibly lonely since no one really talks to each other especially if you aren't in their friend group/clique. And I am obviously not good at making friends despite my best efforts. They always end the same. Trauma. Trauma. And more trauma. I honestly don't know what I was expecting from an MMO. I got a little to ambitious with wanting to branch out try new things. 😅 I'm going to stick around to the very end of the game whenever that is ofcourse. I obviously can't quit because of my houses which sucks because I am losing all drive to play it. BUT whenever it does finally end, goodbye FFXIV. I'm dipping out. Deuces.✌🏼

I think I am just wanting something new. A change of pace. But it is so hard to find games that interest me and counter my low attention span. I mostly like idle games now and mobile stuff. I love Sims 4 despite it's flaws but do wish that it still had a lot of the elements that Sims 3 did like cars and an open world. They also really need to optimize it because the latency issues are a pain in the ass. 😭

I have a bunch of other games on backlog that I might try out. I don't have the patience for long-winded storylines anymore let alone long games like the new AC Creeds bleh. I don't like overly grinding stuff, either. And I don't want anything that's an online multiplayer. Just...no. FF drained me.🤦🏽‍♀️

I do have other hobbies like writing, drawing, and photography. We'll photography on my phone since I don't have a professional camera. Also blogging obviously. I've changed blogs so many times on here. 🤣

tldr: MMOs are not for me and most of the FF players drained me and killed the game for me due to their toxicity and need to want to manipulate and take advantage of others. It's sad. Looking for newer games to play that strike my fancy and keep my attention. I love idle games and stuff like Sims 4. Well...games that allow me to design my own character. I don't like overly long games and grindy gameplay. Too stressful and draining. Have other hobbies, too. I get bored of things easily.

Oh! I wanted to add this note in, too. On the days when I don't play. I feel so much more relaxed. So that speaks volumes there. I'll stick with my single player games. They're so chill now. 😎❤️

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Hi! 6 and 23 for Zoey?

Thank you so much for the ask!! We'll try our best to be vague so we don't spoil too much for "When Sun Shines Again" (since details in the full answer for both of these questions will actually be coming up in the story eventually 😅), but we really appreciate you asking! Take care!!💙

ZOEY Answers:

6. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?

I've been very blessed not to have that difficult of a life, especially compared to what other people I know have been through, so I'm honestly not sure...

Moving around a lot as a kid was hard. I never really felt like I had roots or belonged anywhere because we would always just have to pack up and leave again. But I'm not sure that's really what the question is asking since I was a just kid and didn't have a lot of choice in the matter.

In terms of something I had to do that I decided for myself, I once had to lie to someone very close to me. It was really difficult because I don't like playing mind games with people and prefer to be direct (and am, often, pretty blunt). It's always so important to me to be honest even if it's a hard truth, but...in this particular case, I just knew that the truth would hurt more than it would help.

There are some things in life that are better left unsaid, but that didn't make it any easier.

23. Have you ever had a crush on someone?  Do you have a crush now?

I know I always say I'm "married to school" and don't want to date until I have a master's degree and that's all true, but yes, I have had had a crush on someone before (do I have to say who?)

...It was back in high school. He was brilliant, ambitious, and unbelievably competitive and stubborn, but I'd never met anyone so driven. We kind of had this rivalry to be top of our class and fought all the time which was fun but also probably why it didn't end up working out.

Do I have one now? My friends certainly seem to think so... 🙄 But honestly, I think I only have eyes for my (future) civil engineering degree. 😏

[spainkitty]

okay i need the deets about your surana-lavellan i am so intrigued 👀🙏 -merrybandofmurders

@merrybandofmurderers

I'll have you know, I am OBSESSED with my Surana-Lavellan. I am OVERJOYED to tell you, every single one of my lurking followers, and the whole world all about her. 🥰🤩😍 Welcome to my Very Long Post to justify having Surana as my Lavellan!!

Okay! It starts with: I didn't put enough memory on the MS side of my Mac laptop 😅

I played DAO with my Cousland, went on to play DA2, but I went back and started my Surana file for funsies and Tabris as well. Just because I love building characters and I wanted to experience the other Origins. I fell IMMEDIATELY in love with my Surana. I played her with high Willpower, a bit of a bully and an arrogant one at that, who'd drunk the Chantry Kool-aid and was going to slowly, as she ventured out into the world, realize the Kool-aid was gross, and she and all mages deserve better. However, before I even finished the first few Main Quests (I think I did Broken Circle and Orzammar), I finished my DA2 playthru and my friend helped me set up for DAI.

This is where the lack of memory on my laptop comes in. I had to delete my Origins file to make room on my laptop for DAI. I didn't want to close down the entire partition and re-allot the memory so I just deleted everything but DAI. I was so sad and upset, I remade my Lanil Surana as Lanil Lavellan and added an entire amnesia-ridden backstory for her 🤣 Her personality and character growth was going to be along the same lines, and her appearance, of course. And then I set sail on DAI~

Basically: During Origins, someone *coughCullencough* helped her escape during Uldred’s Uprising and she couldn't get back. She barely escaped through a tunnel in the storage rooms full of giant spiders (a little bg for her DAI phobia 😉) and wandered around poisoned and pissed off with vague plans to go back home anyway when the Sabrae Clan picked her up. She ended up leaving with them instead to the Free Marches, but after everything with Uldred, didn't trust Merrill enough to stay. The blood magic and the demon on Sundermount scared her, especially since she's still a little Kool-aid drinker at heart at this time. Marethari eventually sent Lanil off to the Lavellan Clan and Lanil became a Second. Mainly because she was highly educated and a Healer with spells she could teach that they would never have heard of. Her becoming First was out of sheer moxie. She refuses to let anyone tell her she can't do something and she'd always been rather ambitious, aiming and being groomed for First Enchanter most of her life.

Along the way she does actually grow and change. She starts to care a lot more about elves and Elvhen, becomes fascinated by this history that was denied her during her Chantry-filled life, and throws herself into the culture with wide eyes. It's about more than being powerful, it's about wanting to use that power to make things better, to protect the People that have welcomed her and her magic and made her feel like she finally had a family. (Dregs of this inform who she is as an Inquisitor.)

Then, the Conclave. She's sent because she's Chantry-educated and knows the lay of the land well. She's FROM there; she has studied the geography and knows the politics. She can blend in better than any of them. When she and the Divine are blown into the Fade, though, the Nightmare doesn't just take her memories of that night and Corypheus, it took ALL of them. She had nearly nothing left and doesn't even know her own name for most of her story. She's just Lavellan, because Leliana found her belongings and the only personal information included was the Clan name: Lavellan. Dorian (I think? It might have been Sera) eventually dubs her "Lane" and she responds to it automatically. She doesn't get her memories back until after Into the Abyss, of course, which I played AFTER Wicked Eyes Wicked Hearts, and after her relationship Cullen was already pretty deep and "locked in".

I had a lot of fun with writing her and Cullen's first meeting and then after she figures out who she really is 🤣 Cullen definitely gaslit himself into thinking he's crazy for noticing how similar they looked/acted. Since she was much older, heavily scarred, and had vallaslin (and amnesia, so even her personality was affected in a way), he told himself he was being stupid, how could Surana be a Dalish elf now? She's probably dead and his one truly rebellious act was for nothing. Lavellan just looks *a lot* like her. Don't be so racist, Rutherford! Surprise! It's really her! 🤣🤣🤣 (tbf, they did only know each other for a year, and even then, it wasn't like they knew each other well)

She starts off DAI ruthless and stubborn as hell, aggressively doing the Right Thing and taking everyone along with her. She consolidated as much power as she could, and does everything possible to make the world better for mages and elves, but she's not exactly wise or clever and makes some truly upsetting mistakes. Learning to rely on others, to be vulnerable, and to care more about the small, important details rather than the Big Picture is how she grows. Although she never quite shakes her knee-jerk aggressive and stubborn-jackass personality, she does soften slightly and learn empathy. The Iron Bull's betrayal much later shakes her down to her core, and it's the main reason why she chooses to save and forgive Solas instead of kill him in the end. She doesn't want to let down and lose another close friend like she did the Iron Bull.

[threewaysdivided]

awwww 😭😭😭😭

Did you write a review on the legendary teen Titans series? (Aka what young Justice could have become if they weren't overly ambitious)

What's your opinion on Paul Dini as a writer?

(Follow up to these two previous asks)

Sorry nonnie! 😅

It seems that we both tripped down a rabbit hole of doughnuts.

I assume you’re talking about the Teen Titans 2003 Animated TV Series?  In that case, you might be thinking of another user – I haven’t personally written any reviews for it.  I do have a lot of fond feelings towards the show, though; it was my first real introduction to DC Comics alongside the Justice League/ JLU animated series.  My Tumblr has a Teen Titans tag where I share art, meta etc. and I do have some thoughts about specific plots or narrative elements – you might also see me make occasional reference to it as an example on some posts in the writing advice tag.

Just for the sake of expectation management, I should explain that my Tumblr isn’t really a traditional “review blog”.  And yes, I know that probably sounds a bit crazy considering the frankly unhinged amount of YJ analysis I’ve written, especially since I’ve been blogging less about other stories in the last year. Burnout, what can you do? 

Really I’m more of a writing/ story-analysis blog.  Sometimes I might write a semi-review style post where I try to break down and articulate a particular technique/ element/ execution/ implication of a narrative in order to understand what it’s doing well or why something isn’t working.  As I said in the very first Frustrations with YJ essay, I think storytelling is fundamentally about communication and understanding.  I got into fandom as a fan-reader turned fan-writer (AO3 wink wink), and before that I worked as a casual English tutor.  I want to learn from the ways different narratives succeeded or failed at communicating their stories within the restrictions of their medium(s) so that I can better find, discuss and even tell stories myself. 

Because of that, I’m also a big proponent of the Death of the Author approach to media analysis.  Let me copy the definition over from that first essay real quick:

DEATH OF THE AUTHOR This theory posits that, because commercial art is created to be consumed, not just created, the audience’s interpretations of a work should be considered as just valid as the creator’s.  The work must stand on its own and creators cannot micro-manage their audience’s response to it. 1.  A creator’s intentions and biographical facts (political stances, religion, etc) should hold no special weight in determining the validity of an interpretation. 2.  Save for re-releases/reboots or new entries, the creator cannot and should not attempt to retroactively insert information or interpretations that were not present in the original text.

I generally don’t look too deeply into or follow the specific people behind (non-fan) works.  This isn’t always the case – if I like a specific author’s style I might look up their body of work to read more; some stories are clearly rooted in their creators’ specific opinions or experiences, which makes for interesting context; and sometimes I like to learn about the behind-the-scenes methods/techniques/production woes of a bringing a specific story to life – but mostly I put the priority on what I can learn from the final product.

As I’ve said before, commercial storytelling is the result of more than just one person.  Under the right conditions I think a rank amateur or complete hack could produce something amazing and, if faced with enough production headaches, a usually-excellent creator could end up outputting utter drek although I expect that drek would at least be creatively interesting.

The questions that interest me more are: what was this narrative trying to communicate?  what techniques were used/ creative choices were made?  how well did it succeed?  could a different approach have been used? and, what restrictions/limitations/priorities could have led to the final creative decisions?  To me, information on a creator’s circumstances provide context for narrative analysis.  Since I generally don’t know them I try not to postulate their actual intent too much, only the potential intent suggested by the story.

SO WHAT THE HECK WAS I DOING WITH YJ, THEN? What happened with Young Justice is actually an outlier for me in both regards because of how baffling flawed the series ended up being.  Back in the pre-revival days I paid a lot of attention to the textual canon of Season 1 because I had started writing a fanfic based on it and wanted to do the story justice (heh).  The result was I went into the later seasons with a lot more awareness of the canonical details and storytelling techniques – and (like I said in the final Invasion case-study) I ended up being blindsided by how instinctively bored and annoyed I became just a short way into an attempted Season 2 rewatch, despite the fact that I was actively trying to study it. 

The reason I kept coming back with more and more posts is that I never felt like I had successfully grasped or articulated why I had such a strong and unexpected negative reaction.  I think it’s a similar impulse to what Dan Olson cited as making the Nostalgia Critic’s Parody of The Wall so weirdly compelling: there's a confusing contradiction between the level of work required to implement the sheer amount of stuff that Young Justice tries to include, and the absolute thoughtlessness of how sloppily that stuff was actually executed. A multi-season, multimedia story like Young Justice is a long-term project: there are too many layers of production involved for the end result to be made in a brief flash of impulse or accident. It needs some sort of sustained creative motivation to drive it… but I could never find a coherent creative intent that would satisfyingly explain the decisions on display.  Never before or since have I seen such a promising launch be followed by sequels so fatally flawed as to strip away every component of the original’s creative identity.  There’s a reason I subtitled that masterpost A Massive Failure of Narrative.

This is also why I went after lead-showrunner Greg Weisman a bit, despite not usually doing that.  The choice to exclude (or consciously excise) over 70% of the critical narrative substance and sequester it away in non-textual social-media /ask-blog retcons means that you cannot escape engaging with Weisman when trying to engage with the later seasons at any level of depth.  As a Death of the Author proponent this ticked me off just on-its-face, but it also meant that he and those seasons are inseparably intertwined.  Regardless of whether it was a conscious choice arising from his sense of creative entitlement, or simply a case of narrative incompetence self-selecting for a primary audience with a high tolerance for media-illiteracy Nigerian Prince Email Scam-style, the end-result is the same: Weisman gouged holes his narrative and left it to suffocate while he sucked up all the oxygen in the room.   Then, later, as I encountered people from other fandoms whose narratives had been similarly decimated by Weisman, it became impossible to ignore how inseparable his personal flaws are from those narrative failures.  As I alluded to in the last ask, you can separate the original seven Harry Potter texts from their author: Joanne Rowling and her politics could evaporate tomorrow and it wouldn’t change people’s ability to enjoy the story as a standalone work (in fact, the absence of her modern politics might make some of the more unpalatable flaws easier to accept as honest oversights rather than ominous foreshadowing).  Meanwhile, Young Justice is such a disaster because the later seasons stop being about the original story and increasingly become about Greg: his failures at basic storytelling, his disinterested misunderstanding of his own characters, his weird fixations, his patterns of reactionary prejudice, casual double-standards, deeply disturbing attitudes about consent and power, and a self-righteous entitlement that resents being held accountable.  Unlike Harry Potter, you can’t put Young Justice S2+ in a bubble. The problem at the root of every other problem with Young Justice is that it doesn’t have an actual narrative... and in the absence of a coherent central narrative, the text itself has become the story of Greg Weisman's terrible creative choices. His self-indulgent proclivities pervade every step of the later seasons' broken theming, bad pacing, warped characterisation, contradictory lore, intra-textual hypocrisies, over-stuffed cast and weird fanservice: baked-in at a level that cannot be ignored or rationalised away.

It makes me empathise a lot with how Hbomberguy said he felt on discovering the recent James Somerton stuff: it’s not fun to stumble down a rabbit hole of learning that a prominent figure in one of your communities is sucking up air via association with work from their less-credited colleagues, then using that air to present themselves as an ally, dominate the narrative and delegitimise valid criticism, all while spreading their own prejudiced agendas, refusing to change their behaviour and continuing to profit.  That’s why I felt the need to explicitly point out some of the clearer patterns of reactionary bigotry and hypocritical non-apologies in Weisman’s work – I wanted to make sure the evidence was at least available somewhere outside of Weisman’s carefully-filtered reputation-protecting PR statements.  People put pieces of their lives into communicating something that will hopefully be worth the pieces of life their audiences invest in return -  I find the idea of someone exploiting that trust for gain to be deeply disgusting.

Now, with that exceptionally-overlong context provided: Paul Dini. 

The disappointing but predictable answer is that I don’t really have an opinion on him as a writer.  Having looked up his credits, I recognise a lot of works that I personally enjoyed (including the cancelled-after-one-season Tower Prep).

I really like Batman: The Animated Series, both for the human element it brought to heroism and the tone it set for the following DCAU (colloquially Timm-verse) generation of animated series.  Justice League was one of my first introductions to the main DC roster, so that set a lot of my core understanding of their characters.  I find Harley Quinn, especially her early B:TAS/ DCAU story-iterations, to be compelling in a way that’s equal parts fun and tragic.  There are some parts of the DCAU that I find a bit silly (a couple of background ‘ships that make me go whaa?) but I think I was really lucky to grow up during a time when the DCAU and second-order series inspired by its tone and storytelling ethos (e.g. Teen Titans 2003) was the childhood DC experience for kids my age.

That said, I don’t know enough about the story behind the works in Dini’s credits to feel confident in speaking about him as a writer.  Just looking at his resume, he certainly seems like a passionate and prolific creator who did a lot of very influential work.  At the same time, however, I don’t know how much of that was Dini himself, how much was his frequent co-creator, Bruce Timm, and how much his works may have been adulterated by the influence of other, less-visible members of the production and editorial teams who worked alongside him.  It can be convenient to elevate one or two prominent members to Great Man status as an easy shorthand for discussing works they’ve been involved with, but that can come with the risk of crediting or platforming the wrong people through mis-attribution or just plain projection. 

I’ve learned my lesson on blind-lionisation after being thoroughly let down by all the Weisman nonsense, the same way others have learned from being let down by creators they previously idolised (Supergeekmike did a really good video covering this which also includes discussions of Death of the Author and Authorial Intent).  Without doing proper research into and comparisons of Dini’s work, I wouldn’t feel confident making an assertion about his personal skills as a creator.  I greatly enjoy many of the stories he’s been credited on, and can recognise the influence those stories had in shaping a generation of DC fans (and writers)… but while I’m happy to talk about the writing of those stories, it feels a little irresponsible of me to talk to the character or intent of a real person without knowing more about them.  I’m not making that mistake again.

In the meantime though, I do want to talk more about actual writing.  I’ve been taking it easier this year lockdown and job burnouts finally caught up to me and it suuucks, man but I'm hoping to pick back up in 2024.  I want to finally get back to working on my main fanfic so I can share the companion meta without spoiling people.  I have thoughts about some possible meta-textual metaphors in Across the Spider-verse.  I might do a case-study piece exploring why the years-long timeskip in Arcane Season 1 worked really well while others haven’t.  And there’s an ask about a canon-divergent-post-Season-1 Young Justice episode premise that’s been burning a hole in my inbox for at least 5 months now.

So yeah.  More writing breakdowns to come.  In the meantime, I previously wrote a Frustrations With analysis of how My Hero Academia’s story struggled following the Hideout Raid Arc if you’d like to check that one out.  There’s also this big compilation of links to my Young Justice and Danny Phantom meta (plus recommendations for fanfics and other stories), and you can check out the writing advice tag for general storytelling discussions.

Hopefully that makes up for the drought of Teen Titans content!

[shrinkthisviolet]

Talk Shop Tuesday - what is the most ambitious fic you've ever written and what is the most ambitious fic you have planned?

Oooh well most ambitious fic I've written...that's i still love you (i promise)!

This was me trying to write the miscommunication trope in a way that worked for the plot without anyone seeming too stupid/OOC, which was a challenge, given that it involved two big Barry&Morgan fights 😅 I worried it might be too much, but thankfully it seems to have worked pretty well! But I'll be glad to finish editing + start posting the Barry POV fic and move beyond this particular set of episodes—there's so much more exciting things to come in this AU!

As for most ambitious fics I have planned...well, the s3 arc in the Morgan AU is gonna be pretty ambitious—somewhat of a rewrite, since I'm very much not a fan of canon s3 and want to come at Savitar from a different angle. Also the s5 arc...y'all are not ready 👀

The s2/Book 2 arc of the Bumizumi AU too—starting in s2, Bumi and Izumi are gonna cause some...interesting ripple effects that'll really escalate the stakes (most of the big events will be the same, but the emotional stakes for the Gaang will shoot way up...and you'll see what I mean when we get there!)

Also ofc the future fics of the CK AU! Specifically the ones involving the plot of Cobra Kai (the "CK arc" of the AU, which will be the bulk of it). I've been pretty open about the fact that in the back half of s2 and beyond, and especially post-s3, there's gonna be some major changes. What exactly those changes are...well, there's not much I can say other than:

—no love drama - Samguel and Torisha are the endgame ships here, and Sam, Tory, and Aisha are pretty much bonded for life by the time they get back to the show, so no rivalries (this means that someone else starts the 2x10 fight. Haven't yet decided how that plays out)

—Sam, Tory, and Aisha will drag the boys (Miguel and Robby) into it. And nip that rivalry in the bud

—Johnny will be called out for his bad parenting (Robby doesn't have to apologize to Johnny for anything idc)

—2x08 will not involve cheating or hurt feelings. If anything, it'll involve some lighthearted teasing and low-stakes betting 😂

—Daniel and Johnny reconcile...probably sooner than 3x10, all things considered? Maybe? But it sticks—none of that wishy-washy bs that the later seasons pulled. Once they resolve things, it's settled—any squabbles they have after that aren't serious

—Sam's time travel is gonna have some major consequences...especially regarding who knows and who doesn't 👀

talk shop tuesday!

[tickledpink31]

⭐ Minako ⭐

Oh wow, that was fast. 😅

There wasn’t really anything specific stated other than Minako, so I’ll just talk about the thing that I’m dying to talk about her.

Minako’s hair and wardrobe

Now, I recall making character designs of Minako’s parents, but they’re due for a more polished design, especially Flora since I intend to give her wavier hair. I like to think that Minako and Alexis both got their mother’s wavy hair.

And yes, I did say Minako’s hair is naturally wavy. Along with using spells to do her space buns, she also straightens her hair. She started doing this when she started going to Hogwarts because she believed her hairstyle and natural waves made her look too childish. It was either the space buns or the waves that had to go, and she said goodbye to her waves for a good six years. However, she gradually stops straightening her hair ever since she landed in Twisted Wonderland since she is going back to her ancestral roots (heh).

As you can see, I tend to switch between Minako’s straight hair and wavy hair. It really depends on my mood

People like to say that Minako is as pretty as her mother, and there is some truth to that. At a glance, Minako takes after her father, but the colour of her hair and her complexion is where the resemblance stops. The structure of Minako’s face matched her mother in almost every way from the shape of her eyes, her nose, and her smile. It goes beyond looks too. Minako and Flora are ambitious individuals and love the outdoors. I have this scene in mind that Minako will look in the mirror one day and realize how much she looks just like her mother. It horrifies her and saddens her a bit.

When Vil finds out that Minako’s hair is naturally wavy, he gets on her case for not letting her waves develop, so he gives her some styling creams and oils suited for type 2 hair.

Another trivia about Minako’s hair is that during her second year of Hogwarts and still processing her traumatic summer, she started styling her hair is several different ways to cope. Dyeing her hair, chopping it off, growing it back again using potions—every week, she would look different, it got to a point where Minako was considering shaving her head so an intervention was staged as requested by her housemates. They put her in the duelling club as a better alternative of coping, especially since she got kicked out of the Quidditch team for fighting with Warren Willoughby.

Okay, moving on from hair, we have Minako’s wardrobe. She is a vintage and thrift store lurker. I actually have a wip right now showing the progression of Minako’s outfits from her muggle life in London to being spirited away to twisted wonderland.

Life before NRC, her outfits still generally had a vintage flare to them, but the fantastical elements are quite subdued and are very muggle-like. I feel like she unconsciously tried to keep her magical and muggle life seperate as a result of being forbidden from using underage magic. Now, being twisted wonderland, Minako’s outfits become more and more grand and spectacular (i.e. Alice frock from the revenge unbirthday party, the event outfits, her dorm uniform, which I have yet to pick a design for). Her skirts will become bigger, there are more sparkly embellishments, maybe even some outlandish patterns.

I’m also into the idea of Minako adopting a similar colour palette to Crewel’s to showcase their guardian-child relationship. Minako’s main colours are already black and white and even wears splashes of red as nod to Mickey’s outfit.

Phew! Thank you for letting ramble. I thought this would be quick, but I should go to sleep by now so that I can wake up for work early tomorrow.

[nembzz]

I'm sorry but could you explain to me how an individual boycott of Eurovision will have any effect at all? Like, don't get me wrong, i get the cause, and flooding the participating broadcoasters (especially the Big 5) with mail to get them to boycott makes a lot of sense to me.

But an individual boycott seems pretty... Effectless to me? Like, more people watch Eurovision than the superbowl. There's a normal fluctuation of up to round about 20 Million viewers between contests, so for an individual based boycott the participation in that boycott would need to be in the ballpark of x Million people for the EBU to even notice, at which point we're literally talking about on of the biggest organised protest actions in the history of mankind. That does seem a little ambitious, doesn't it?

Wouldn't it better course of action to watch the semi-final Israel is in and to widespread vote for the other competitors, so Israel doesn't make it to the final, and is denied both the big stage and the chance to host next year? Like, a lot less people watch the semis, let alone vote in them, that would be less ambitious and more effective then individuals not watching the finale.

I get the cause, i really do, and i share the view that Israel shouldn't have been allowed to compete this year, but i feel like individual boycotts and especially punishing people who do not partake in those boycotts feel like effectless symbolism to me. Especially when those people not boycotting still support Palestine in other ways. Like, seriously, people do not suddenly become your enemies just because they disagree with your methodology.

Like. Go write to the broadcasters. Organise or partake in a protest march. Write angry letters to the EBU, that all i understand. That's a way to actually make your voice be heard. But individual boycotts will fly by the EBUs radar.

(do not write the artists though. People are really overestimating how much power individual artists hold in Eurovision. Like, if they had dropped out earlier they'd just been replaced, if they'd dropped out now it would pretty much just end their careers via blacklisting and lawsuits)

Okay first of all PACBI has called everyone to boycott Eurovision so it isn't just an individual boycott.

But also you shouldn't always need a movement to protest against things you find unethical, "I cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good i can do" is a quote for a reason.

Also the effectlessness of individual boycotting brings to mind another quote "'but what can I do, I am just one person' said 7 billion people"and yes not everyone who usually watches Eurovision are going to boycott it. Some people don't know about the whole boycott, others don't think it'll do anything and some don't care about Palestinians enough. There is also those who might be watching just to show their support of Israel. But there will be many of those who won't watch and maybe not enough people for it to matter to anyone big, but it will matter to me. Because I want to belive in goodness of humans and goodness in myself.

I have not seen people talk about the kind of protest you are suggesting with the widespread voting for other countries so right now I don't really see that happening. I do see why many people would prefer that kind of protest, they would get to do tangible actions and watch Eurovision guilt free.

I have not been punishing anyone who doesn't boycott. I had DREAM in which I unfollowed a person on Tumblr, I was not punishing anyone it was a dream. Also you are always allowed to unfollow people for whatever reason. If one of the people I follow started liveblogging Eurovision it is very possible i would unfollow them at least for the duration of Eurovision because i don't want to see that. But that is not a punishment, harassing them about it (which i wouldn't do) is a punishment. And i certainly wouldn't call them my enemy😅😅

And yes protest in other ways also!!

In conclusion BOYCOTT EUROVISION!