#expert positioning

[blogtey45]

Unlocking Success | How to Write an Expert Positioning Story | Summit Press Publisher

[quesocheeso]

CW: Pregnancy

Since we were already talking about this today💃💃💃

I did mention the whole thing is extra extra concerning when it involves powerful beings, that’s why most of them only stick with one child

Macaques glamours and shifted form go down the closer they get to the end so he ends up reverting back to his og form (which also means he returns to his white fur at some point🤔 huh me might get white fur macaque at some point in the future)

Wukong’s not having a good time actually😭😭

[telesodalite]

Never getting over Fulcrum being a project manager...

Idk why, but something about that is so funny to me. Not just because the title of "project manager" is inherently kinda funny for a Decepticon, but also because-

1. It's vague sounding and hard to explain irl because it technically exists in multiple fields, like healthcare or manufacturing, which surely translates into canon in some way.

2. In canon, it's simultaneously a really mundane, innocuous sounding job, yet it's also a super morally awful position to reside over depending on the context. (*cough* forced colonization and cyberforming *cough*)

And 3. It solidifies the fact that behind all the surface level militaristic work we get with both the Decepticons and Autobots, there's also Cons and Bots with "normal" jobs in both factions.

Like, sure yeah we get scientists and doctors, engineers and programmers, but usually in big important or warfront positions. (For plot reasons, understandably.) But it's also really funny and interesting to think of those that worked background positions, or minor jobs.

Like an Autobot working in their equivalent of an HR department, or a Decepticon who runs one of their outpost's or starship's kitchens.

Just all the pre-war jobs that didn't just disappear with the war, but instead evolved to exist within the factions.

It's particularly funny with the Decepticons though, because it could be a super mundane job or situation, but because it's them, it has to have an air of ~e v i l~ to it, either legitimately and/or merely for the vibes, like Tarn's "performance reviews".

[dennisboobs]

7x10 // How Mac Got Fat

↳ Charlie & Dennis + getting high together

[netzieart]

Self-indulgent pv & smilk being comfy to soothe my soul [Text in the images: Shadow Milk: pv!! wth r u doing?? Pure Vanilla: brushing my hair...? Shadow Milk: that's not how you- ugh. you know what? gimme that. Pure Vanilla: that's actually very nice of you, you know... where did you learn so much about hair care? Shadow Milk: centuries of styling Mysty's flat-ass hair. Pure Vanilla: oh... i see...]

[octosan]

I've seen the take that Veilguard's lore handling is the way that it is because it was largely worked on by a team that isn't familiar with Dragon Age, and I... don't know about that.

Like it's kind of funny in retrospect, but

For all the mistakes the Vows and Vengeance podcast made, that show felt more to me like an example of a story trying to incorporate relevant Dragon Age lore, but being written by people who weren't well-versed in it.

They had Tevinter class divide and bureaucratic apathy as a major plot point that affected the main character's life. They had Solas employing middlemen and tricking characters to get some of his work done instead of doing everything himself. They had multiple references to the faiths of the setting, including Davrin referencing worship practices in Dalish culture (they even used the term The Beyond, the Dalish term for the Fade that even Inquisition kind of forgot was a thing even if it was not the Dalish character using it.) They had a cult other than the Venatori as an antagonist at one point. They had an instance of racially charged conflict between Bellara, an elven Veil Jumper, and a Tevinter templar, that originates from the templars looting elven artifacts (something that is implied to happen often.) They at least tried to depict an example of regular Qunari culture in the village in Par Vollen that the protagonists wind up in briefly. They had Lucanis, a Crow, actually carry out an assassination of a non-combatant character. They had multiple demons playing mind games with the characters trying to get their bodies as hosts, in addition to a demon that just rampaged, and even referenced despair demons being ice-coded. They depicted the Fade as a chaotic and emotionally-driven realm, with spirits and demons everywhere--and fittingly Arlathan, a forest with a lot of influence from the Fade, was itself a dangerously chaotic and shifting place. Bellara explains what Veil Jumping entails and actually veil-jumps (and it's accordingly treated like a big deal for the characters). They reference Genitivi and Varric as prominent authors in the world-building. They had grenades. They even brought back the idea of being "Fade touched" with Drayden. They had asfkdksadfgkb HAD A MABARI.

Also the podcast wasn't constantly reassuring you, patting you on the back, and repeating information to you every second so that's nice.

I thought most of the companions came off better here too, with the idea that this is just supposed to be a snapshot of them. I remember enjoying their inclusion the most and trying to speculate what traits and flaws were on display that might get expanded on in the game (for example Emmrich's attitude of trying to "parent" a demon failing spectacularly, or Davrin being depicted as actually taking his clan's faiths seriously despite not being among them anymore.) Taash not realizing they're nonbinary until long after meeting Drayden, who had their own personal issues with their family about their identity, feels like some kind of missed opportunity though (I mean realistically the podcast was just supposed to advertise the game so I know why this is, but still.)

idk if this is a hot take. like imo the podcast wasn't "good" good and again there were clear mistakes in the lore, a lot of the stuff set in Antiva for example, like it was messy. But I had more of a sense that these were people new to the setting but trying than I did with Veilguard.

Idk to me the problem was less that the writers in Veilguard didn't know anything about Dragon Age and more that it was an extremely sanitized and simplified version of the lore, one that couldn't even take into account the world-changing decisions you made in previous games. With a helping of things being shoved under the rug to avoid Discourse. Like it felt more intentional to me, for the most part. And then you have all the visual errors that come from just reusing assets which is an RPG staple at this point (someone pointed out that the Chantry symbols in Minrathous are wrong, for example.)

[critter-creature-or-beast]

Submitted for classification by @space-mouse

"(rescued from lake.)"

[biblically-accurate-dca]

super disorganized sketch page because i do what i want

[indecisiveavocado]

if you don't want to admit that you are wrong you can always try this

I carefully explained why the Amsterdam pogrom, sorry, not at all antisemitic event was, in fact, a pogrom and mentioned that it was weird they didn't just assume Jews probably know more about antisemitism and antisemitic dogwhistles than them. (this on my post 'so, about goysplaining')

Truly a well-reasoned examplar of people who don't like Jews sorry ISRAEL.

(also, the irony. evasivemanuver, if you're reading this, you are the point of the post.)

[rukafais]

Peeking into the drow tag is incredible because people really do just be out here saying shit like BEFORE LARIAN DROW HAVE ALWAYS BEEN SEXY AND EVIL AND NEVER NUANCED EVER

Like damn I don't expect anyone to read an almost 40 book series but if you're going to do big informative rundowns you should at least do your research and look at a couple modules or something

[magratpudifoot]

[alacants]

the juanki/rafa lore is fascinating omg

ISN'T IT WILD. today felt like. scripted. backstory episode dropped just in time for the narrative climax.

but their relationship is really SO fascinating. there's all these little tidbits the round-up didn't have space for, stuff like--juanki's asked about their relationship at a cincy presser and is like haha it's fine we're meeting for golf today. and then the next day he's back on message like, stop talking about rafa. rafa is speaking up in juanki's defense when he's left out of the madrid main draw, and then they're barely talking next time they're both at davis cup. even nowadays they are so clearly on the same page cheering for carlitos! …as long AS they are cheering for carlitos. i want a timer to know how long they can hold a conversation before one of them says something that breaks the get-along spell.

idk i just keep thinking that--i mean what IF that hideous run of bad luck (chicken pox, broken rib, maybe some poor decision-making) hadn't destroyed juanki at his peak. i would be so curious to know if rafa's approach would have been different if juanki had been more of a threat on the court in those first formative years on tour--more like he felt about moya or roger. instead he just leapfrogged right over him and i think that's what got under juanki's skin so bad, not just that this kid usurped his place but that he didn't even like. notice him there.

(i was just talking with my friend whose take on rafa's side of this is that the obvious bad feeling probably bothered him a lot more coming from a spaniard than it would have otherwise. like if it was… i can't think of a good example. marat safin? a former world no. 1 who was never much of a threat to him on court. --if it was marat safin who got snippy in the media and cold-shouldered him in person then lol whatever. but at home he wanted to be loved. and juan carlos did not love him.)

[thepersonalquotes]

More than attitude, posture has also been used throughout history to communicate one’s status in society.

Cindy Ann Peterson, My Style, My Way: Top Experts Reveal How to Create Yours Today

[friendofthecrows]

Hey I know I focus on low empathy disorders (esp. because I have ASPD) and this sometimes extends to talking about how many empaths demonize us but:

Shout-out to people with high empathy/hyperempathy that aren't perfect angels 24/7

I can't talk on it much because I'm Literally The Opposite but the people who have been most accepting about my lack of empathy have been people with "too much" of it.

Whether you *are* super sweet or whether your empathy manifests in difficulty controlling anger or pain you feel from others (or both, as is common) you have just as much of a right to your struggles as all of us without empathy. You're not overemotional, you're reacting proportionally to what you feel. Even if you were, you deserve to be treated with kindness and without judgement!!

Solidarity between people with low/no empathy and people with hyperempathy forever (つ˘◡˘)づ💚

[sithfox]

Today's snippet is from Setting Fires to Keep You Warm, part 2 (current outline has it at nine parts total). It's a few months after Fox first arrives on Coruscant.

It would be great, Fox thinks tiredly, if these damn assassins would just get the hint. He pops up from his hiding spot behind Amidala's secretary's desk and nails three goons in a row before dropping back down behind the sturdy furniture. At least he had been here checking in with the Senator's team about her upcoming travel plans when they decided to attack: preventing a kidnapping is much easier than rescuing someone.

The woman beside him is fiddling with something electronic, teeth bared as she twists two wires together and whips it at the crowd at the door. One of Amidala's handmaidens, her hood has fallen and exposed her blonde hair in disarray from Fox tackling her down behind the desk. There's a loud bang and several shrieks of pain and she smirks, pleased with herself. Fox risks a glance past their shelter and is impressed despite himself—only two of the ten mercenaries are left standing, both much more heavily armored than their colleagues. Probably the ringleaders, then. He takes a split second to run through his options and decides to trust his instincts. "Cover me," he tells the handmaiden, then rolls out from behind their shelter and throws himself towards his remaining foes.

[puppetmastery]

i won't lie someone specifically referring to themselves as an "expert" in something with zero credentials and nothing more than clout to go off of is deeply annoying to me