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steve0discusses · 4 years ago

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Yugioh Ep 34 S4: The Boys (and Mai) are Back in Town

OK, back to the writing table! It’s been a while! So I made the mistake of like...scrolling down on the playlist when I realized...

This duel is like 6 episodes long (7 even? It’s a lot) and like...yo I have no idea if we’ll finish this season in 2020! Damn you 2020. Damn you.

But wtv, what I like about this side project of mine is that I don’t have to rush things, and I can really spend the time with each episode and just...enjoy the moment. So often I watch a whole series in like half a week and then it’s like...I don’t get to enjoy it. This series I’ve enjoyed for years now. That’s kinda neat. So...we’re gonna be slow...but lets just enjoy this weird ass anime moment together. 2020 deadlines are all fake anyway. I’m not even sure if 2020 was a real thing that happened or like...an alternate universe opening a door and letting through just so many terrible ghosts. We might never know.

Last we left off, everyone has decided to hallucinate Dartz’ terrible backstory.

Unfortunately we have NO darts in the past. Was really hoping to see at least one darts reference in this entire season, just one darts board on his wall. But alas, we will not have a Season Zero death darts match with Dartz. (Man I need to get back to Season Zero. And FMA. And a lot of things)

I feel like if I watched the original version there would have been some things different. First off...what ocean? Second off...well, we’ll get to that. There’s some things I think were changed for English TV.

Including censoring the nude people like it’s James Cameron’s Avatar.

Fun fact did you know that James Cameron’s Avatar was supposed to be ass naked and that they were supposed to have like 8 cat nipples? Yeah.

Man, that movie was a mistake. I’m so glad we all decided to collectively forget James Cameron’s Avatar.

(read more under the cut)

The actual locations of anything in Atlantis does not match up with it when it’s zoomed out. We have giant cities, we have sprawling wheat fields, and we have...THIS situation. This active volcano next to...pine trees?

I feel like they wanted it to feel vaguely Pompeii, since I know people like to put Atlantis in the Mediterranean. Maybe? Maybe that’s what they were going for here?

One of my top ten favorite Yugioh plot twists ever was finding out this episode that this snake who has no limbs somehow created these...rocks...that all of our main characters have been wearing and obsessing over this entire time.

And so this is my theory, this is the thesis of my Yugioh college paper. These rocks are turds. There’s no way these rocks aren’t turds. There’s no way this snake didn’t poop out a bunch of glowy magic stones and then stuff them into a volcano.

THE ROCKS WERE TURDS THE WHOLE TIME.

God bless, Yugioh.

Seto spends this entire episode groveling that he isn’t playing cards that will absolutely kill him. Like Mokuba, Seto isn’t happy until he’s cheating death.

(I really wish we got more super past future tech. I love that type of concept art. Instead, we just got a lot of flying boats--the same boat that I think the team flew on in S1 when they went to Seto’s video game universe.

So those boats are 10,000 years old? They existed in the 10,000 year old Pangea, huh?

Neat.)

Anyway, lets take a gander at Princess Zelda circa Ocarina of Time.

SUPER princess Zelda, and I know it’s not 1:1 but damn it feels so much like a late 90′s Princess Zelda outfit to me. Check out that PURPLE. That low poly circlet. The random ass sword. The thick ass belt.

Also check out this super dead family.

Yo so this is a 00′s thing, a period of time where we liked to tell stories like LOST, with just a bunch of random ass plot twists in flashbacks instead of just...telling a story from start to finish. And can be a great and fun way to do it--but at the sacrifice of actually making me care about these characters while they were still alive.

Like I would have maybe cared about Chris and Ironheart dying if I had known that Dartz was killing his whole family? With...lightning strikes? But alas, these dumbasses decided NOT to tell us they were royal. It’s so strange both from a logical perspective and a storytelling perspective.

Man...missed opportunity, IMO, but I can see why they did it. The wanted the ‘Gotcha!’ I feel ambivalent about it, honestly.

And who am I kidding, people are still doing unpredictable plot twists this. It’s a way to tell a story. Is it the most impactful way? No. It’s...it’s a gotcha!

It’s at this point in the story that things start ramping up, but it’s not clear if it takes place over years or just a couple hours. People just start going a little cray and turning into Monsters.

Straight up, though--did they turn into monsters that already existed and are modern Duel Monster cards, or are the monsters from modern Duel Monsters cards actually descendants of Atlantis who were once human?

They don’t say, actually. Maybe...maybe every card was a human once. That would be a freakin weird Yugioh twist if Kuriboh was like a 45 year old dude.

PS Dartz was married...soak that in.

ROMANCE ON YUGIOH ALERT.

Love it every time. She was there for like...half a second, and Dartz was like throwing so much shade about how “only the people with evil in their hearts were turned” and it’s like...

...dude that’s your wife? OK then. I can see you guys got along real well.

Anyway, so long to the ship of IonaxDartz, you were here for even less than the amount of time that Seto dated Blue Eyes White Dragon in a hallucination, which kind of sets a new record for us.

This might be the shortest-lived ship in all of Yugioh and they have a 12 year old daughter and what I assume was a 12 year marriage for that entire time.

that is if they...HAD the concept of marriage 10,000 years ago on Atlantis Pangea island. Maybe?

I mean they might have not had the concept of dating and marriage yet because he gets over this like immediately. The show will never hover back to that time Dartz watched his own wife turn into a creature. We have no idea if he was like “OK honey lets uh...let just get you a haircut and maybe no one will notice?” We have no idea how long he was desperately trying to remain married to the beast that was no longer human and was also trying to eat everyone else in his court. We just don’t know.

Dartz just had a lot of other things to think about. He’s been King for like...a year...he’s only 21...he’s just doing a bad job at everything.

(Biden opens Pres Trumps bedroom in the White House come January and it’s juts full of glowing green evil golf balls) (OK that was my last 2020 joke I swear to you)

Anyway, Dad is here, but it’s a little too late to really do anything with the situation. Everyone is worshiping little snake turds. What can you really do about that?

One eye golden, the other eye, the color of a glistening Leviathan turd.

After the rest of the surviving royal family was chased out of the castle, Dartz decides to just wave his hands around a lot.

I’m not entirely sure what Kings do...never really had one...but I think they’re supposed to do more than wave their hands at a crowd like the Pope. Like...everyone’s dead right? Like everyone?

Who’s he talking to?

Meanwhile, Chris and Ironheart decide to revive some monster tablets to get some real actual duel monsters to do their bidding.

So apparently some monsters are in the tablets, and other’s have just always been here...and...

They didn’t know violence but they did have the cards?

There’s a lot of vague stuff they didn’t feel like ever writing, because it would have probably been boring to write about. I guess we’ll just let our imagination fill in the rest and ignore all the inconsistencies. It’s a kid’s anime. well........kind of a kid’s anime. A lot of people have died this episode and I don’t even know how to add it to the death count.

How many people live in Atlantis? I dunno.

Are the inhabitants of Atlantis even dead, or are they just turned into Monster cards? I dunno. Clearly the Great Leviathan wasn’t awoken this first battle so...did all those souls get returned? I dunno.

Either way I’m not gonna bother the death count about it because I just do not know if they died, and since it was neither an implied death or an on screen death...I dunno.

Just feels like a bit of a translation snafu--where maybe they couldn’t kill that many people on English TV, so they were like “AND IT’S A DRAW!” but also...it could be canon to both versions. The leviathan didn’t work the first time, maybe no one died? I dunno.

In this shot, PS, Raphael just gently backs up out of this flying plane, and it looked really funny to me. I probs won’t cap it because it’s split between two other cuts, but just...they just kind of moved that sprite to the right really slowly, no animation, it was great.

Dartz decides to end the backstory hallucination, and we get introduced to a new twist--a better twist than that last one, that’s right, all our boys are cards!

Including this asshole!

Been a while since our boys have been cards! Man, I miss Bakura!

Yes, I looked back to earlier episodes this season to see what was going on with Pegasus’ new look. I think what happened is that it’s always been this shade of gray purple--but when you put purple next to it’s opposing color (which is yellow colors) it looks even MORE purple. It’s just how color works. Love color theory. mm. Good stuff. Good purple hair.

I can’t wait until Yami kills Yugi for the 3rd time in one season.

Anyway, that’s all for now, and like always, here’s a link to read these in chrono order.

#ygo #yugioh #yu-gi-oh #recap #photo recap #episode recap #yami yugi #seto kaiba #Dartz #I don't know if he has a last name or if they were invented yet #Dartz' hot wife #Yugi muto #Joey Wheeler #Mai Valentine #maxamillion pegasus #Raphael #s4 #ep 34

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goddessdoeswitchery · 4 years ago

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Hellenic Polytheism 101: Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism

What follow is a transcript of all 7 episodes of my podcast Hellenic Polytheism 101, where I discussed the pillars of Hellenic Polytheism. There are more episodes to follow, but I figured it would be nice to have a place where all 7 of the episodes discussing the pillars were together. The series started on August 23rd and ended on Nov 1st, released on a bi-weekly basis at 8 am every Sunday. In total, it’s 12 pages long, so I’m placing it under a Read More because it is very, very long. In each episode, there is a list of resources, and each one is linked for you in the original post (just click the tag transcripts under this post, and it’ll take you to the transcripts for every podcast episode) to do your own follow up research. I hope that people will find this useful.

Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism: Technically, the pillars were never actually a “thing”. Unlike then 10 commandments, the pillars were never taught as a set of rules that everyone knew by the name “Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism”, or any variation thereof. What modern day practitioners of Hellenic Polytheism call “The Pillars” were essentially religious and cultural practices that were taught by family and friends via every day practices. The pillars were an essential part of the culture of Ancient Greece, taught to them the same way customs like tipping, saying “bless you” at sneezing, and the now-common practice of wearing a mask everywhere are taught to us today. In recreating Hellenic Polytheism for the modern age, the Pillars grew out of a need for a set of guidelines to help us recreate a very old religion.

KHARIS

Welcome to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where we will be discussing the Pillar of Hellenic Polytheism, Kharis. Kharis is the reciprocity inherent in Hellenic Polytheism, a devotional act for the Theoi with hope a return favor in kind. It is also so much more than a transactional behavior. Its not bribery, its not a quid pro quo. At the same time, it is not the Christian act of praise worship.

One of the most common actions as a Hellenic polytheist is devotional acts. Whether it be offerings, prayers, hymns, or the increasingly common Devotional Actions (like beauty routines for Aphrodite, studying for Athena, singing for Apollo, housecleaning for Hestia, etc); we worship by engaging in acts of devotion. Oftentimes, that act of devotion is also accompanied by a request. This act of devotion is not a bribe. This is an offering, and a plea. The deity in question can respond or not, it won’t change the fact that we made the offering and it shouldn’t affect how we give in the future. We give without the expectation of getting something in return, as an act of worship and of thanks for everyday blessings. We give to just give, and a lot of the times, the deity or deities in question will respond. We then give in thanks, and then they give to us. We give in thanks, they give to us and so continues the circle of praise and of blessing. This circle of reciprocity is Kharis.

And yeah, I completely understand how confusing that would be, so let’s try using some more relatable examples. I know not everyone will be able to relate to these examples, so there will be a few of them, and hopefully one of them will resonate enough that the concept of Kharis will become less confusing.

The first example I will use is of a couple. Let’s call them Kate and Ashley. They are very much in love. Kate is out grocery shopping and next to the checkout line is a display of flower bouquets. One of them has roses and lilies, Ashley’s two favorite flowers. So Kate grabs that bouquet and places it in a vase on the table for Ashley to see when she gets home. Kate isn’t getting the flowers for a birthday, or anniversary, or holiday. These aren’t apology flowers. These aren’t get well soon flowers. They’re the best kind of flowers. These are “Just Because I Love You” flowers. That night at dinner, Kate asks Ashley to take the trash can to the curb before bed and Ashley does so. The flowers weren’t payment for the favor of taking the trash to the curb. The flowers and the request may have come at the same time, but one wasn’t required for the other. The next morning, Kate makes Ashley breakfast in bed and Ashley starts Kate’s car so it’s warmed up and defrosted before Kate goes to work. Both are acts of love that aren’t reliant on each other. Now, say this cycle continues constantly. They do each other favors, they get each other small tokens, for the rest of their relationship. No one but the most cynical would say that they have a transactional relationship. Their tokens aren’t required for favors, and their favors aren’t required for tokens. Their actions are out of devotion to each other. That’s an example of how Kharis works.

Another example, this time between family members. My sister, my mom, and I have lived together for a lot of our lives. As adults, we have lived together for the last 5 years. My mom has a tendency to not eat, and there have been times when I’ve sent her a pizza while she’s at work, because I know then that she will eat. The food is an act of love, a way to show I care. When she responds in kind by cooking dinner for the house the next day, it is not a payment for the pizza. It’s a continuation of the circle. When I was off work for 3 weeks, I cleaned the whole house, reorganized their closets to be easier to navigate, and cleaned out the cabinets and cupboards. Its another way I show I care. My sister usually watches the kids all summer long, and my mom and I will get her flowers, as a way to say thank you. Every day of our lives as a family, we show love by doing favors for each other and getting things for each other. The favors are not a payment for the things and the things are not a payment for the favors.

Hopefully that explains what Kharis is a little better, so we can go a little deeper into what it means as a worshipper, as someone who calls themselves a Hellenic Polytheist.

Now, remember how I said that the pillars weren’t exactly a thing, and instead were a modern invention to assist those who weren’t raised in Ancient Greece with learning the customs and cultural behaviors that were common knowledge in Ancient Greece? Let’s keep that in mind. On a historical note, Kharis required something real. Having faith and good thoughts was not a part of the reciprocal circle that is Kharis. It required something real, and in Ancient Greece that did not mean devotional acts like making playlists. It meant something solid, offerings, like libations, food, incense, coins, seashells, and other solid, real items. If you have an altar, think about what you leave on it. On mine, I’ve got an incense holder, coins left at the foot of the statue of Hermes, corn from the field next to us, a nature ball with acorns and leaves and flowers in it, devotional drawings, fortunes from fortune cookies also at the foot of Hermes’ statue, dried roses and lilies in an empty wine bottle, seashells, pins, a book of myths, and a plate and cup where bread, oil, seeds, fruit, wine, and other food offerings can be left. Some of these are permanent, some of them get removed as they go bad. When I light incense and pray, when I leave food, when I leave seashells or coins or fortunes, I’m engaging in my part of the reciprocal circle that is Kharis. That means, historically, offering something real that goes above and beyond simple faith.

Now, not everyone can do that. Not everyone has the ability to have an altar, and not everyone can afford to burn incense everyday, and not everyone has the time to bake bread everyday. Now, that doesn’t mean that someone who lacks those abilities, or doesn’t have that time can’t engage in the reciprocal relationship that is Kharis. Remember, a huge part of practicing Hellenic Polytheism is bringing ancient worship into the modern world. Devotional acts are something real. You can offer a devotional act to the Theoi as your part of the Kharis. I’ve seen some stunning works of art created in devotion to the Theoi. I’ve heard songs wrote in devotion. I’ve read some deeply moving poetry. And I’ve seen prayers, prayers written with such devotion and love that they could bring you tears. Those actions are fully capable of being classified as part of the circle that is Kharis.

Kharis is not just actions, its a relationship. Much like how Xenia was a way of life ingrained into the culture of Ancient Greece, so too was Kharis. All the rites and rituals, sacrifices, prayers, hymns, offerings, everything that was offered to the Theoi; it came from the understanding that a relationship had to be built and maintained. You couldn’t just say your prayers and call it a day, you lived with the Theoi, and dealt with them every single day. Everyday, you had the opportunity to build the relationship, and the expectation that you would was built into society. Indeed, the concept of Kharis was so built into society that offerings and sacrifices were a part of their stories. Examples can be seen in many myths, plays, and epic poems from them. The reciprocal nature of Kharis is shown in the Illiad, the Odyssey, and the writings of Aristotle.

I’ve learned that Kharis can be hard to understand, especially when you’ve grown up in a society where the love of a deity is just…..constantly there. Kharis is the idea that the love of our deities is not unconditional, and our love for them need not be unconditional as well. We don’t have that relationship with our gods that is bondless. We build a relationship with them, and they build one back. That, to me, is one of the appeals of Hellenic Polytheism. The relationship is a reciprocal one built up over time, using something that is definable, real, an offering that you can hold and see. So, we give, they give, we give, they give, until you’ve built a solid foundation for a solid relationship. That relationship, built out of Kharis, is what makes the worship we engage in so beautiful.

Thanks for listening to today’s discussion of Kharis. For today’s episode, I relied on the Illiad, the Odyssey, Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored by Sarah Kate Istra Winter, The emotions of the Ancient Greeks: Studies in Aristotle and Classical Literature by David Konstan, and the Center for Hellenic Studies. You can always find a transcript of this and other episodes on my tumblr blog at goddessdoeswitchery.tumblr.com, as well as a link to the sources I used. Feel free to ask any questions, and don’t forget to tune in on September 6th, when we will be discussing Arete.

ARETE

Welcome to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where I will be discussing the pillar of Hellenic polytheism, Arete. For first time listeners, I want to mention that technically, the pillars were never actually a “thing”. Unlike then 10 commandments, the pillars were never taught as a set of rules that everyone knew by the name “Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism”, or any variation thereof. What modern day practitioners of Hellenic Polytheism call “The Pillars” were essentially religious and cultural practices that were taught by family and friends via every day life. The pillars were an essential part of the culture of Ancient Greece, taught to them the same way customs like tipping, saying “bless you” at sneezing, and the now-common practice of wearing a mask everywhere are taught to us today. In recreating Hellenic Polytheism for the modern age, the Pillars grew out of a need for a set of guidelines to help us recreate a very old religion. Now, on to Arete.

Arete is excellence. It’s living up to your fullest potential. It’s being the best you. Arete means doing your best to become your best and to live your best life. Arete’s end goal is a life fulfilled, and happy. Arete in Homer’s works is usually associated with the person who uses everything at their disposal to do the best work, the person who is most effective at achieving what they set out to achieve. Homer applies arete to Penelope as she fulfills her role as wife. Odysseus has arete when he uses his intelligence. In the Illiad, Achilles has arete by being the best warrior. In the Tenets of Solon, Arete is achieved by being honorable, honest, intelligent, and humble. He advised the following: Consider your honor, as a gentleman, of more weight than an oath; never speak falsely; pay attention to matters of importance; be not hasty in making friends and do not cast off those whom you have made; rule, after you have first learnt to submit to rule; advise not what is most agreeable, but what is best; make reason your guide; do not associate with the wicked; honor the gods; and respect your parents.

Arete is simply being the best version of you. One of the hardest things about Hellenic polytheism is taking those ancient concepts and applying them to the world we have now, one that doesn’t call for heroes like Achilles, and one where we can’t always take the time to better ourselves because work and life can get in the way. It is important to understand that arete doesn’t always mean being number one and winning whatever contest is at hand. One thing that should be understood is that a person can be their best, give it everything they’ve got, and still lose. There will be people who are objectively better at doing what you do than you are. Someone will get a higher grade. Someone else will get the role or solo or part you’re trying out for sometimes. Someone else can have a better idea than you. Someone else will write better, or draw better, or be better than you in whatever you are trying to achieve.

The first step of applying the concept of arete to our everyday lives is to accept that your best and the best of someone else are very different things. You are you and you can only do your own best. Now that does mean that you have to apply yourself. Doing the barest minimum to get by is not a way to achieve arete. Arete means taking control of, and responsibility for, your own life. It means challenging yourself everyday to become better than you are.

Take a moment and think about things you’ve always wanted to do. A language you wanted to learn. A hobby you wanted to pick up. A project that you’ve put to the side. Something you’ve always wanted to learn about. Arete means taking the time to do that. If you have a goal, arete means doing the work to reach it. Then it means creating another goal. Plato said that arete is the ideal form of a thing, something that you are always trying to achieve. You achieve arete by always trying to reach for it, always trying to be better. This means that you won’t always be at the top of your game. You will stumble. You will fail. You will make mistakes. Arete doesn’t mean you will never be wrong, you will never fail, and you will always be perfect. It is not expected of us to be perfect all the time. What is expected is that we will try. When we fail, we learn from that failure and try again.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably got a busy life. Between work and taking care of a household, I rarely get time to do anything for me. It is hard to take that time that I want to use to watch Netflix, or pop on a movie, or scroll online doing nothing of any real substance and put it towards something that is actual work. But I try. I read, every day. I do research for this podcast and my own growth. I do the laundry. I clean the house. I spend time with my kids, as a parent, teaching them and guiding them and playing with them. I write. I exercise. I plan and cook meals that are good for us and aren’t the easiest options. I pray. I always strive to be better at work. I’ve given my boss ideas that we’ve implemented nationwide that have made our division look good. I reach for arete every day, by understanding that it is something that I must always strive for. By always striving for it, I hope to achieve it.

One of the things that made this episode a little bit more difficult to write than the previous ones is that arete is subjective. Xenia is a set of rules. Kharis is a reciprocal circle. But arete isn’t something that can simply be memorized and put into practice as we come across situations that could use it, like xenia is. Arete is not something built into our everyday worship, the way Kharis is. Arete is something that has to be strived for every day. It is something that is work. It takes focus. It takes energy. It takes commitment. Only you can know if you’re doing your best and so no one else can come up to you and say “You haven’t achieved arete, you’ve broken the rules, you need to do better next time.” It is up to you and you alone to strive for arete. No one can coach you one it. No one can teach it to you. So, this episode will be a lot shorter than the others, because I can’t teach you arete. I can only explain what it is, explain how it has been seen historically, and let you do he work from there. Now it’s time for you to do the work. Good luck.

Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where we discussed Arete, one of the pillars of Hellenic polytheism. Today, I relied on the Odyssey, the Illiad, the Center for Hellenic Studies, Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Baring the Aegis, wikipedia’s page on Arete, and The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton. A transcript of this episode and all others can be found on my tumblr, goddessdoeswitchery.tumblr.com under the tag “transcripts”. There you will also find links to the sources used today to more research on your own. You can always ask me any questions there as well. Tune in on September 20th for the next episode, which will be about the next pillar of Hellenic polytheism, Sophia.

SOPHIA

Hello, and welcome to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where we will be discussing one of the pillars of Hellenic Polytheism: Sophia. Sophia is wisdom, cleverness, and skill. The concept has changed and has grown over time to be more applied to wisdom and the pursuit of wisdom, especially by Plato. It might be easier to recognize Sophia in the way it was applied to Socrates and Plato and Pythagoras, as part of the term “philosophia” or, philosophy, the love of wisdom. Now, remember how I’ve said in my other podcasts about the Pillars of Hellenic polytheism being more of a way of life than a literal set of rules? Here’s another part where that really comes through. In Greek culture, wisdom and the pursuit of it were incredibly important, so much so that it was the Ancient Greeks that were considered to be the founders of philosophy; and since Greek culture and Greek religion were so intertwined with each other, we are left asking, how can we, as modern day Hellenic polytheists, apply the concept of Sophia to our everyday lives?

One thing we can be sure of is that a person doesn’t need to be a world class philosopher like Plato to be a Hellenic polytheist. What we should be aiming for is the ever-present pursuit of wisdom. We should always be trying to learn, everyday. It doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Read a book. Watch a documentary. Read a scholarly article. Listen to a podcast. And if you come across something you don’t quite understand, research it. One of the best ways to pursue wisdom is to fight ignorance. There will be many times in your life when you are faced with something you don’t have any experience with, something you know nothing about. Living with the pillar Sophia means taking the time to learn and battling your own ignorance. In today’s world, I know how hard that can be. You can’t do a google search without their predictive algorithm doing some serious confirmation bias. Living with Sophia means taking the time, in pursuit of wisdom, to do it right.

Now, I love learning. I’m one of those people who, if given an unlimited supply of money and an eternity, I would be a student forever. But Sophia doesn’t necessarily mean learning in a classroom environment. Think about your last week. Did you come across new information? Did you read an online article that broadened your world view? Did you learn something new? Did you gain a deeper understanding of something you thought you already understood? Did you discover something that mostly everyone you knew was aware of, even something as simple as the fact that if you roll up the deodorant, you can take the plastic cover off without having to struggle with it? If so, outstanding! You battled ignorance in some small way this week.

Battling ignorance and pursuing wisdom also means battling the ignorance of others. If you’re hearing and listening to this, or reading the transcript, then it means that you’ve entered the online world in some way. That means you’ve also come across ignorant people, who seemed perfectly gleeful to remain that way. It also means you’ve come across people who were ignorant, simply because they didn’t know any better, and they needed someone to point the way. Anecdotal story break time: I’ve got a cousin who is a senior in high school. She plays a lot of different instruments and she’s very, very good. She has practiced, a lot, and has put some serious work into it. I’ve also got an uncle who is on his 4th or 5th black belt. He has put some serious effort and a couple decades worth of time into varying forms of Martial Arts. My sister’s friend is an artist, and an incredible one. She has more followers on her Instagram and tumblr and devian art pages than I care to count, and she’s graduating college as a graphic designer with job offers from some very big names. All 3 of these people are outstanding in their field. Now, to get to the why I brought them up: All 3 of them have told me, in some way, that once they reached a certain point in their skill level, the best way to get better was to start teaching. As they taught others, their own skill increased. I believe the same applies to everyone. So, one of the ways you can apply Sophia to your life is to teach those who don’t know any better. You will come across people who are resistant to fixing their ignorance but more often than not, people are willing to learn. That means you can take the time to teach them.

Sophia also means cleverness and skill. In fact Homer applies to the term with the meaning “skillful in handicraft and in arts” towards both Athena and Hephaestus. Now, I would never suggest that we, as Hellenic polytheists, can be as skillful the Theoi in any way. We should all know why that’s a bad idea. However, we can become skilled in our own handicrafts and arts. That is another way to practice Sophia. Now, I know not all of us have something we can reasonably point to and say “That’s an art”. There are artists and musicians and weavers and seamstresses and poets among us, to be sure. But we also have writers. We have readers. We have spellcrafters. We have engineers. We have software coders. We have jewelers. We have homemakers. Sophia means cleverness and skill. That means there are many, many ways you can apply it to your daily life. Everyone has something they can do with skill. Sophia means practicing that skill and utilizing it.

To me, Sophia is one of the easiest pillars of Hellenic polytheism to bring into my every day life. Pursuing wisdom, battling ignorance, practicing a skill, these are all things that we are doing every day. And Sophia is as simple as that. Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism, where we discussed the pillar Sophia. Today, I relied on the notes from one of my college courses, Intro to Philosophy, and the Homeric Hymns. As always, you can find links to the, well, one source that is linkable this time around, on my tumblr page at goddessdoeswitchery.tumblr.com, where I am also always free for discussions and questions. Coming on October 4th, the next pillar Sophrosune. I look forward to seeing you all then.

SOPHROSUNE

Hello and welcome to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where we will be moving onto to the next pillar of Hellenic Polytheism: Sophrosyne, which is, essentially, moderation, prudence, self-control, self-discipline, or temperance based upon thorough self-examination. Since we are coming up on a holiday season in the US, this seems like the perfect time to focus on Sophrosyne, and to remember it’s opposite, hubris, and how to avoid it. It is also important to remember that even in Ancient Greece, it was well understood that Sophrosyne could be taken too far, something we also understand still today.

“Earth shaker, you would not consider me sophrosyne if I were to fight with you for the sake of wretched mortals” Apollo says this to Poseidon in the Illiad, as Homer brings us a look at what Sophrosyne would mean to the same deity who brings us the Delphic Maxims, such as know know thyself, know by learning, exercise prudence, praise virtue, nothing in excess, know who is the judge, keep secret what should be kept secret, take sensible risks, be well behaved, be self disciplined, be sensible. This is not the only example in Homer’s work of Sophrosyne. In fact, there are a really a lot of them. I would definitely suggest you read both of them and look closely for examples of sophrosyne. Homer was very sensitive to the need for Sophrosyne in society and in an individual. On an individual level, sophrosyne prevented people form getting into serious trouble, both with themselves and on a religious level. After all, someone exercising sophrosyne would be very unlikely to become a spider after being cursed by Athena, right? On a modern level, someone exercising sophrosyne is less likely to face personal problems as well. You won’t wind up drinking to excess and getting into a car accident. You won’t find yourself challenging someone better than you to a fight. You won’t find yourself taking on more tasks than you can manage. You won’t find yourself spending more money than you can spare on things you don’t need. By exercising sophrosyne you can avoid a lot of trouble. On a societal level, we should try to exercise that same self control and temperance. After all, there is no reason for any country to spend more than 56 countries combined on defense spending. There is no reason for a city to cut taxes and not invest in repairing roads or assisting those who need it the most. There is no reason for a group of friends to go out in the middle of a pandemic to a bar just to have a good time. We can bring the ideals of sophrosyne to our own lives and encourage others to do the same, through voting and talking to others and being an example.

When we do not practice sophrosyne, we tend to fall victim to hubris. For someone who has spent any sort of time practicing Hellenic polytheism, we should all know exactly how bad hubris is. We’ve all probably seen it or heard it online. Recently, there was a lot of talk of witches online cursing the moon, specifically aimed at making Artemis or Apollo angry. Now, in the end, it was revealed to be some big hoax, a lie they told to make other witches start saying things about how they could tell someone had hexed the moon because their own spells weren’t as effective. Then the original hexers could say “Ha! We told you witch craft and the gods weren’t real, see? These guys said they noticed a change but we didn’t do anything, so clearly they must be faking!” The whole ordeal was a perfect example of what could happen if people fell victim to hubris, and many more sensible folks online pointed out that it was hubris, believing anyone could have an affect on a deity by cursing the moon. We’ve all seen other examples of hubris. Hellenic polytheists who say that Artemis would never let a man worship her, or a straight woman, or a woman who has had sex with a man. People who gatekeep, projecting their personal bigotry onto the Theoi. We’ve all come across. Hopefully, most have us have rolled our eyes and ignored it.

Even in mythology, hubris is painted to be among the worst things a person can be. Niobe lost her sons and daughters to Artemis and Apollo after she bragged to Leto that she was better than Leto for having more children. Arachne, turned into a spider for daring to compare herself to Athena. Antigone’s father, who lost his son and his wife for believing that his life was higher than the law of the gods. Oedipus refuses to accept his own fate and wound up falling victim to it because of his hubris. Ajax, believing he was entitled to the armor of Achilles and being driven mad and eventually killing himself. Icarus, flying to close to the sun, too prideful to listen to his father’s warnings. Orestes taking it upon himself to avenge his father by killing his mother and being driven mad. Greek stories are teeming with examples of people who have fallen victim to hubris. In many of these stories, sophrosyne is pointed to as a virtue to aspire to strictly to avoid it’s opposite, hubris.

And yet, we can also take sophrosyne too far. For example, in the Bacchae, Pentheus holds himself as a champion of sophrosyne, as fails to understand that by being overly self-controlled and self-discplined and holding himself up as the model of sophrosyne, he ignores the moderation and temperance part. He tried to force everyone listen to him, to oppose the Bacchic rites, and, in the end, his obsession with only a part of sophrosyne causes his own death. The Ancient Greeks understood that there was such a thing as being too controlled. There was such a thing as a fatal exaggeration of one side of the many-sided virtue of sophrosyne. Thus one of the biggest keys to sophrosyne is moderation. Nothing in excess says one of the Delphic Maxims, not even self-control and self-discipline.

As we go through this holiday there a lot of ways you can apply sophrosyne to your life. One of the dangers of the holidays is becoming over-extended. For example, I have a large family. Like…..over 100 people kind of large. So large that we could probably fill a high school basketball stadium kind of large. It’s also got a lot of different branches. Mom’s side, which has dad and mom in separate houses. My ex-stepdad, whose family we still see. My dad and his family. My dad’s ex wife and her daughter and her kids, who I’m also close to. My girlfriend. My kids’ dad and his family. I always joke that we’ve got our own little 12 days of Christmas skit between grandpa jones, grandpa long, Uncle Cody, Uncle Andrew, my dad, his ex wife’s house, my girlfriend, the kids’ dad, his family, and we’ve still got to squeeze out time for our own holiday celebration too. Factor in the fact that, like most customer service based companies in the US, my job doesn’t allow us to take more than half of Christmas Eve and all of Christmas day off. Sure, we’ve got the Sunday before and after when I’m off as well, but that’s barely 3 days for 4 states and 10 places to visit. Factor in the budget for all those places and all those gifts, not to mention the drama that comes around when we decide where we’re having Thanksgiving at and you can understand why I bring up being overextended as a danger of the holiday season. Now, maybe that isn’t a problem for you. Maybe you become over extended by volunteering to work too many hours to help your more Christian friends have time off. Maybe you offer to do too much during Thanksgiving and wind up having to wake up at 5 am to get started on a meal that you can’t believe you promised to cook. Maybe during Halloween, you spend too much time focused on parties or trick-or-treating and realize that you would have had a much better time sitting at home, watching Halloweentown with a bowl of candy and some friends. Either way, we all tend to push ourselves too hard, especially once the holidays roll around and we start wanting to do everything so we can get every experience. We need to remember sophrosyne during this time. Exercise self-control and stay home when it’s something you want to do. Exercise self-discipline and avoid getting gifts when you can’t afford it, there is no shame in saying “Look, finances are strapped and I can’t manage more than X”. Exercise moderation and remember that you can’t actually do everything. Be prudent and accept the reality of whatever situation you are facing. Practice sophrosyne.

Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101 where we discussed another one of the Pillars of Hellenic polytheism, Sophrosyne. Today, I relied on the Odyssey, The Illiad, Sophrosyne: Self Knowledge and Self-Restraint in Greek Literature by Helen North, A Period of Opposition to Sophrosyne In Greek Thought also by Helen North, Mythology of the Greeks by George Grote, and the Wikipedia entry for Sophrosyne. Remember, all links to the resources I used can be found on my tumblr at goddessdoeswitchery.tumblr.com, along with a transcript of today’s episode under the tag “Transcripts”. I look forward to speaking with you all again on October 18th, where we will be discussing Eusebia.

EUSEBIA

Hello and welcome to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where we will be discussing, Eusebia, or reverence and duty towards the gods. Now, keep in mind that Eusebia was so revered, so vital to the worship and religion of the ancient greeks that she became a personified spirit, who was married to Nomos, the Law, and had a child, Dike. This already sets aside this particular pillar from the others. As a being, Eusebia was the personified spirit of piety, loyalty, duty and filial respect. However, we are not yet at the point for deities or personifications, so mostly all of today will be focused on talking about what Eusebia is as a concept and how we can practice it as a modern worshipper. Now, so far we’ve talked a lot about our relationships with the many deities we worship. We’ve talked about offerings and Kharis, we’ve talked about the humility we should approach them with, and we’ve talked about the respect we should bring with us whenever we approach them. All of that goes into Eusebia.

Eusebia is about reverence towards the Theoi. That reverence is where, I’ve noticed, a lot of modern worshippers tend to falter. There is nothing wrong with making a joke about some of the Theoi. I don’t know if all of you have heard the one about Hermes being the only god to pay his worshippers for their worship. It’s fun to joke about that. I always like using Hermes as an example of a deity that a lot of worshippers are fairly causal with. He is, in my experience, one of the most easy going deities. He’s the type of god that puts a train on every track between your home and work on the only morning you’re running late for the last 6 months, just to get a message to you. He’s a prankster, a jokester….and still deserves the same degree of reverence as every other deity. Just because you can laugh with him doesn’t mean he is not revered by you. After all, he is also the shepherd of the dead, the one who guides their souls. He is the god of travel, of languages, of luck, of communication, and like 1000 other things.

It is not reverent to attempt to speak for the Theoi. It is not reverent to make up bullshit facts about a specific goddess to say that she would be on your side of an online discourse. It is not reverent to leave a deity out of your worship because you don’t like how one interpretation of one of the myths portray the deity. It is not reverent to drag the Theoi down to the level of an online personality. They are gods and goddesses and they deserve to revered as such. By virtue of what they are, they deserve the worship, offerings, and the rituals that we engage in. Impiety was frowned upon by the ancient greeks and should continue to be frowned upon today. It has never been acceptable to treat the Theoi like accessories, to be tried on and discarded whenever you don’t have enough time to engage with them. You find time, you make time, in whatever you can. And it doesn’t have to be a big thing. A prayer. A lit candle. Some incense. A quick offering. The Theoi deserve worship.

But, just like with some of the other pillars, the people of ancient Greece knew that there was such a thing as being too pious. There were people who spent too much time praying, too much time fearing the Theoi, and were constantly sure they had something to offend the Theoi and so spent even more time praying and offering and attending to the temples. This excessive fear, or deisidaimonia, was a sign of taking Eusebia too far. It was understood that a person should be mindful of the Theoi, and take an appropriate amount of time and give the appropriate offerings. This also included attending and participating in the appropriate rituals and festivals.

Eusebia also means understanding why we do the things we do. Why do we give these particular offerings? Why are offerings for Chthonic and Ouranic deities different? What are the reasons behind certain rituals? What are the reasons behind traditional offerings? Eusebia means understanding these things, having the answers to these questions and not just blindly following a traditional path. It’s important to understand the reason why. And so, Eusebia means taking the time to research your beliefs. If you have questions, put in the work to answer them. This can also definitely include asking others. We are a community. So, if you have questions, reach out. Ask people, “Why are coins such a common offering to Hermes?” Find a book in the library about the life of people of ancient Greece. Put in the effort to research and create your own calendar with your own rituals and holidays. Take the time to understand why, to research your deities and understand what they might ask of you, and why they would ask it. All too often, I’ve seen popular bloggers and popular authors in the community asked the same question a 100 times because the idea of taking the time to do your own research is apparently distasteful to some people.

It is important to remember, as a part of Eusebia, that the Theoi are not room mates or friends or accessories. They are deities. They are gods and goddesses and titans and by virtue of what they are, they deserve our devotion. I’ve always seen Hellenic polytheism as a simpler path than Christianity. We do not have a single, omniscient, all powerful god that offers a set of rules that must be followed or else we will suffer for all eternity. That’s not how Hellenic polytheism works. We worship our gods in our own way, at our own pace. Hellenic polytheism is a very personable religion. Everything about it, from hymns to holidays to rituals to altars to offerings, everything is unique to each individual practitioner. But, on the flip side, that means that we don’t have a holy book to draw from. That means that we don’t have a set of authority figures we have to listen to. We are responsible for our own piety. We are responsible for our own worship. We are responsible for our own research. We are responsible for our own devoutness. We are responsible for ourselves.

And that’s what Eusebia is, that’s why it is gets set up as a pillar of Hellenic polytheism. It is a vital component of our religious practice, to take the time to not only worship, but to know how and why we worship the way we do. It is necessary to show the Theoi the respect they are due, by virtue of their very being. It is necessary to speak about them with reverence, to be loyal, to not use them as talking points or spell ingredients. It is necessary to take the time, to do the research, to understand the whys, to understand the rituals we take part in when we light incense and offer up a prayer and use an epithet and recite a Homeric hymn. This isn’t a religion where we can just go through the motions. We have to put the proper amount of reverence into our actions. We have to be devout, and loyal, and have a healthy amount of respect and fear towards these beings who we worship and who take the time to guide us on our way. It is necessary to be humble, to understand that what we are doing is worshipping the Theoi. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I pray, when I let incense or a candle or wrap my hands around a set of prayer beads, when I take that time…..I’ve never felt so at peace. That feeling, that love and devotion and serenity…..that’s the feeling of Eusebia. Next time you get to that point, when you feel that, take the time to focus on that feeling and harness it. Meditate on it. That’s what you should draw on when you think of Eusebia and how to interact with the Theoi, those beings that we worship as Hellenic polytheists.

Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where we discussed Eusebia. For my sources today, I used the book Greek Religion by Walter Burkett, found on the Internet Archive. I also used The Greek Way by Edith Hamilton. I used Baring the Aegis’ and Elanion’s posting on Eusebia as well. Remember, you can find links to the sources, as well as a transcript of today’s episode, on my tumblr at goddessdoeswitchery.tumblr.com. You can also always reach me there as well with any questions. Don’t forget to tune in to the next episode, on November 1st, which will be the last one discussing the pillars the Hellenic polytheism. I will be discussing the final pillar, hagneia. I look forward to seeing you all then!

HAGNEIA

Hello and welcome to today’s episode of Hellenic polytheism 101 where we will be discussing the final pillar, Hangeia. Now, anyone who is able to look at this word might note it bears a striking similarity to the word “hygienic” and then, you would be on to something. Hagneia is more of a ritual purity, an avoidance of miasma and cleansing oneself before you go before the Theoi, before you engage in rituals. Now, does this mean you can’t shoot off a quick prayer before you wash your hands while gardening? No, of course not, thus the “ritual” part of the “ritual purity”. Now, there is actually a lot of disagreement regarding miasma and cleansing in the Hellenic polytheism community. There are those that claim that for the most part, the average person won’t be contaminated with miasma throughout the course of an average life. There are those that believe that we collect miasma throughout the course of our everyday life. There are those that believe that we must fully cleanse ourselves before an offering. There are those that believe that a simple washing of the hands will suffice. There are those that believe the cleansing must be done with khernips, or lustral water. There are those that believe the cleansing can be done with any clean water. And there are those believe any variation of those beliefs combined. Remember one of the best part of Hellenic polytheism is that it is so personable. Therefore, most of this is going to be looking at it from how I work. As always, I urge you to do your own research on the matter.

Now, the first thing to keep in mind is that Hagneia was used to mostly mean ritually pure, spiritually pure, and was understood to mean whether or not someone was fit to approach the gods. There were things you could come into contact with that would create a buildup of miasma and it was best to avoid those things when you could. However, you can’t always do so. Some of those things are death in the family, giving birth, illness (not chronic illness, but like the flu), are all examples of something that can be considered miasmic. The real question we face today is how to cleanse that miasma? Most of the time, the biggest cure for miasma was time. There was a period of time you had to wait to no longer be considered miasmic after having given birth, or after losing a loved one. You were supposed to wait until after an illness has passed. And, you were supposed to cleanse yourself. Mostly that meant washing up, getting physically clean. For today, that means wash your hands, wash your face, take a shower or a bath (especially if you’d been sick, take a shower and change into clean clothes). So that part is really simple.

Now, historically, there was also another thing that rendered you miasmic. It very likely won’t apply to anyone hearing this or reading the transcript, but it is an issue that is covered in pretty much every source I read regarding miasma and Hagneia so I am going to mention it as well. Murdering someone was very much a cause of miasma. There were very special midnight rituals one was supposed to engage in in order to cleanse oneself of the miasma caused by murder. I would say that in today’s society that if you commit murder, you’re likely to get caught and so won’t have much use of said ritual, but that’s statistically unlikely so I’m just gonna say, don’t commit murder and you won’t have to worry about what that midnight ritual is. Mostly I just figured the fact that it’s mentioned so often is an interesting historical side note.

Time to move on the things that are more likely to affect you, such as how to practice Hagneia as a modern worshipper. While I would love it if the average Hellenic polytheist could go to a temple and worship with others on a regular basis, the fact is that most of us worship and prayer and do rituals on our own, or with a very tight knit group in a personal, private space. I myself am mostly a solitary practitioner. Sure, I have my mom and my sister and my kids, and I have a community of people online; but in my daily practice, it’s me, by myself doing the offering and praying and general worshipping. That’s probably true of most of you all as well. So how does a mostly solitary practitioner who isn’t going attending a ritual hosted by or attended by a large amount of people deal with the community based concepts like miasma and Hagneia? Well, in my case it means that I tend to put holiday rituals and offerings on hold when I would be considered miasmic. It means that when a close family member died, I prayed at the funeral for her safe passage and otherwise avoided rituals for a month. It means that when I gave birth to my kids, rituals and offerings were on hold for 10 days, which was about how long it took for me to even be in the mindset to get back to daily worship and prayers. It means that when I am sick, I wait until I am recovered to engage in practice and worship. When I got the flu a few years back, (three times that year, which is what I get for not getting the flu shot, I’m telling you, I’ll never miss it again and if you haven’t yet gotten your flu shot this year, please do) I stayed in bed and rested until I was better. I may have said a few informal prayers, like something along the lines of “please let this stop, I feel like I’m dying here”, but I waited until I was well. I then cleaned my bed and my room and myself and my clothes and changed my toothbrush and brushed my teeth with the clean toothbrush and got clean again before I went back to a regular worship schedule. So, for about 5 weeks that winter, I didn’t do very much in the way or practicing. And that’s okay. That’s what practicing Hagneia and avoiding bringing miasma to the Theoi is.

So, as a modern worshipper, the best way to practice Hagneia is to stay clean. Cleanse yourself of miasma as you come across it, make sure that you are fit to approach the Theoi before you do so. It’s a very simple pillar to follow because for the most, most of us already do. The next time you feel guilty about not being able to worship because you’re sick, or have a death in the family, or a newborn at home, remember that the break you’re taking is required, and important. It’ll be okay. The Theoi will understand.

Thank you for listening to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101. This is the last one that will be spent discussing the Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism. Remember, you can always find a transcript of the podcast on my blog at goddessdoeswitchery.tumblr.com, as well as a link to the sources I used today, which were: Inner Purity and Pollution by Andrej Petrov; Shame and Purity in Euripides' Hippolytus by Charles Segal; Shame in Ancient Greece by David Konstan, The Pillars of Hellenismos and What is and Is Not Miasmic by BaringTheAegis; and finally, A Beginner’s Guide to Hellenismos by Timothy Jay Alexander. You can also always ask me any questions at any time there as well. Finally, I will also have on there a complete transcript of all 7 episodes about the Pillars in a single post as well. Right now, we’re looking at 12 pages, and 8637 words, so it’ll be a very long post, set under a read more. The post will contain links to all the sources used for these last 7 episodes as well, so please fell free to check it out and continue your own research. For the next episode, I’m going to be discussing the Delphic maxims. There are 147 of them, so don’t worry, I’m not about to go fully in depth with each one the way I did the pillars. It’ll be just a simple discussion on the maxims themselves. I look forward to seeing you all then on Nov 15th!

#transcripts #transcript #hellenic polytheism 101 #pillars of hellenic polytheism #sophia #hagneia #kharis #arete #sophrosyne #eusebia #xenia

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sparrowmoth · 4 years ago

Note

3 and/or 13 and/or 21 for the end of the year fic asks?

Thank you, @trans-pendragon! ♥️ (Edit: I just realized all the tags on this post broke when I originally posted so I fixed them! Sorry if you get a notification twice!)

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

I really can’t pick a “top favourite” out of everything I’ve written this year, but I will share one of my favourite bits from 1-Subject Notebook! Here it be:

#15

E says this project “isn’t garbage.” She doesn’t want me to quit on it.

I didn’t say I was going to quit— I just feel like— I don’t know, like, we’re putting make-up on corpses.

‘MAKE ART FROM YOUR PAIN.’ Isn’t art supposed to be beautiful?

Maybe I’m missing the point. (E says I just miss you………)

13. favorite writing song/artist/album of this year

There’s a few playlists on Spotify that tame my hell brain so I can focus:

Orgánica (blessed.... unless you have a headache in which case no it’s not)

Energizing Study Music - No Lyrics (there is ONE song with lyrics which annoys me, but given that this playlist is almost 9 hours long, it’s rarely encountered lol)

Binaural Beats: Focus (this really is the good shit.... unless your speakers suck)

Tibetan Bowls (for when the anxiety has me shaking like a maraca, but I’m still determined to write)

21. most memorable comment/review

God, there’s so many. I could quote from memory so many nice things I’ve been told in comments this year that have had me just laying on the floor like a life alert commercial as my faith in humanity is restored to 10000 sexy sexy HP.

So instead of trying to single out any one comment as the most memorable, which would be impossible, I’ll just tag these lovely people who deserve the world (in no particular order): @daggery @telli1206 @mycroftinthemindpalace @fuck-you-i-am-spiderman @inertiazz I’ve received some very dear comments from many others who I’m quite grateful for, but I’m sure these folks will know why I must mention them by name.

To everyone who comments... thank you. It’s always memorable, even if it’s just a few words. As any fic writer knows, comments are a gift and our lifeblood. It’s not always possible to find the time or maybe anxiety is just too high, but just know it’s immensely appreciated and those kind words stick with people. ♥️

fanfic end of the year asks

#trans-pendragon #thank you!#<3 #descendants #daggery #telli1206 #mycroftinthemindpalace #fuck-you-i-am-spiderman #inertiazz #descendants fandom #the ask box

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9w1ft · 5 years ago

Text

feels a little early to be writing a year-in review but i find myself in a quiet moment so i thought i’d tap a few things out

in 2019, in all facets of my life, i faced a challenge of some sort and i surprised myself as i held my ground more often than ran away, which felt new. what *also* felt new was this sense of ease i began having professionally, when it came to conceptualizing and making decisions. sorta feels like a lot of things are crystallizing.

in terms of life on here, i didn’t have TSL for the majority of the year (anybody out there remember TSL?!) so i busied myself with crafting fun memories on my own. there were spans of weeks where i’d just get on a tear and run into one new thing after the other and it was all really just fantastic. i gave myself permission to indulge in the most decadent of things and to follow the most mercurial of assumptions to places i thought closed off.

i’m pretty sure i’ve smiled and laughed more over this year than i ever have in my entire life. no joke.

here are some kaylorverse moments that brought me joy in 2019:

it’s nice to have a friend

2018 was my first year being a kaylor and i just sort of was moreover on the contributor or commenter side of things so 2019 was interesting in that when taylor really leaned into the gay imagery leading up to album release, i started getting newer people sending me stuff! and asking me my takes on things! and like, my words suddenly had weight for some reason? it felt weird but i truly enjoyed getting to talk with so many different people and hear their ideas and laugh and such. that was markedly different from last year. from within this, 79-swift reached out to me with the eye theory, the most beautiful and rare of observations by a singularly lovely individual that i have dedicated my life to protecting and promoting. and i feel like i’ve gotten to know many people i knew through 2018 more deeply and have come to accept the role i play, lean in to it, and formulate my own truth of the matter, and that sort of heightened perspective on it has been a blessing and i’m so thankful for this strange sense of camaraderie that has formed with many of you? thank you??? and my conviction, and my wishes, for the girls to find happiness have only strengthened this year... im committed to seeing this through whether people like it or not!! harumph!

block ‘em

i also started proactively curating my experience.. that’s right! i began blocking trolls with reckless abandon, and i turned anons off! 😂 and damn it’s so much more worthwhile of a time on here when you set aside people that only want to ruin your day.

i got over my fear of eyeballs!!

😂 no seriously, body horror and in particular eyes out of context was actually sort of a thing that previously creeped me out BUT LOOK AT ME NOW. i’m gonna do my best not to rehash the eye theory, please read the post and recall the number of times i filipped out 😂 each and every one is precious to me

also

geeking out with bert and ernie gifs with kaylorfossil and making empsmd-blog drop her debit card need a mention.

the ME! music playlist.

i fell in love with so many songs and like, running into eye motifs in so many of the songs, lyrically and visually, was the most hilarious thing. but really just a lot of the songs really tapped at my soul with an ice pick and i even went to go see The Japanese House live in Osaka which was transcendental and i’m just so thankful for having taylor introduce Good At Falling to me because it was a *necessary* album.

i made and collected stuff

i made and amassed many artifacts that one day i can look back on and remember what a wild ride it has been. some favorites are my procuring of the pixel art heart ring from the ME! mv (a nod to my tsl days..), as well as the evil eye ring.. i didn’t physically make this but the eye theory made the taydar podcast and there’s nothing i enjoy more in this world than making someone giggle and i just love that the episode exists. making that kaylor straw was 👌 working on a mock-up of the golden locket has been very satisfying. i started incorporating fun kaylor winks into my artwork as well which was fun, and i also commissioned a collage from the very talented and lovely valheria and i couldn’t have asked for anything better 🥰

wildin in the TS7 tag was the best.

i made this observation that there’s this type of cocoon that looks like a cobra, which transforms into a butterfly over a period of 13 days, and like, the post got so many notes and i just had a lot of swiftie eyeballs all of a sudden on my blog which led to some hilarity. but honestly i just love geeking out over theories and it’s fun to get to do that as fans of taylor at large. things felt warm and effervescent.

my newspaper subscription

i subscribe to the TTB Times and let me just say the submissions and anons this year were overwhelmingly a delight to read through every day. also like, we did get cued in to stuff before album release and i am just thankful that there are people out there both who want to give us that and people who work to help them give us that. thank you ttb for moderating your blog (my newspaper of choice) however it is that you do and to everyone that contributed to her blog.

the whole lead up to the ME! video release

so glorious... but particular the hour before. i was rushing to pick up my kid from school and suddenly i kept getting messages from people that taylor was covering her face and framing her eyes, and i was like oh please yeah sure BUT THEN when the snake in the video had a blank eye like i don’t think you guys understand i had to wait at a bus stop and exchange pleasantries with the other moms but it was a *five alarm fire* in my mind

cause shade never made anybody less gay

stealing away to listen to YNTCD for the first time and hearing Taylor Alison Swift use the word gay in a released song for the first time was a transcendental moment

karlie’s hand in the YNTCD mv.

‘nuff said

daisies. daisies everywhere.

taylor said daisy kaylor rights, and she said it everywhere. *everywhere*. cannot, will not, get over how blessed we are.

gay gay gay gay gay.... taylor’s

sorry not sorry that wiz khalifa collab with elohim on her track FYM was ethereal and i still hope it’s a part of the preshow playlist for Lover Fest

clue hunting in klossy videos and karlie ads

call me a corporate shill all you want like, there’s always a little something in there and i also enjoy the little flickers of goofy karlie that jump out from time to time. and i know this is not the case for everyone but post eyepocalypse, karlie leaning in, winking that eye of hers time and time again was just pique comedy for me and it always made me chuckle. the brands karlie has repped have been really laying it on thick too and it’s been a joy to see. when taylor does it with her music it’s art, and for me karlie’s media presence is a form of art too 😌

oh kaptain my kaptain

kimby liked a comment of mine on her insta which was a distinct honor and privilege 😌 and really she was dropping clues left and right through spring up until she got her snazzy new job and things calmed down 🥰 of which i am so proud talk about an on brand job! also partially clearing the air about my TSL theory and the lead up to clearing that air was quite fulfilling for me and i am forever grateful for the time we shared. and to this point, the seesters in general (and kurt omg) have been quite active all year and we don’t deserve it but they’ve stuck around and it’s been calming.

album cover art release on the livestream

LIKE I HAVE NEVER IN MY LIFE NEVER HAD A FOURTH WALL BROKEN SO DULY

i love you forever, thank you for everything

when taylor came to visit tokyo this year i was basically reenacting the swamp scene from OOTW trying to get a ticket to the secret event... i listened to ME! on LINE MUSIC for over 2000 plays, i bought multiple CD’s, it was such an ordeal and then to not have a ticket after all but still putting on my thinking cap and managing to figure out where the event was while i was at disney sea and literally running from disney sea to the venue in high heels with The Man playing on my phone was oscar-worthy and actually *being correct* and the moment i knew i was correct and how i knew i was correct was so amazing 😉 and i play by the rules so i didn’t try to get in without a ticket and i didn’t lurk. but just to have figured it out and validated it was such a thrill. seeing her on TV live was amazing as well ///

lost in japan, reprise

oh and, last year for rep tour there was this theory i had which didn’t pan out but it had to do with the clues i thought shawn mendes was dropping through autumn 2018 and anyway that’s a story for another day but as i was bopping around town, looking for lockets, staying in rooms i have no business being in, drinking lots of whisky...just to know that while i was doing *everything but* successfully meeting taylor, she literally phoned shawn and had him record lines for that eye theory remix like, i will never ever, like, guys. guys. 😂 it’s too perfect for words. the world is weird like that sometimes.

Lover

and omg Lover the album? i absolutely love lover and i loves that honeymoon period of theorizing and parallel unearthing that we did and i love how slightly creepy-cute it is and i love the whole wabi-sabi thing going on and i absolutely love every song on the album, every one, they all have so much meaning to me... and each one is teeming with little blips and bloops and sound samples and seconds of silence and i love all the brass instruments and so many lush moments... i guess my shortlist (in no particular order) would be the archer, lover, i think he knows, daylight, cruel summer, false god, cornelia street, ME! (yea i really like me 🥰). and to think about everything that went in to the album and the thrill of what it might have been and the vastness of what we don’t know, but like, the weight of that potential?? it’s like this vast pastel and black abyss of drowsy and deep feelings and i love every inch of it. it’s a vibe that reflects so much of what this year has been for me and i’m happy to have existed in this time to have had it with me.

jesus this has gotten too long, and i still have like 24 more things to write out but um, basically, as i’m sure you’ve been able to assume? i wanted to say that despite 2019 being somewhat of a slasher film affair for our fandom, i still had a goddamn great time this year and i hope everyone can find some good memories and relive them as well 🥰

#kaylor #much love to you all!!#all eyes on us

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spiritmaiden23 · 4 years ago

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THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. For sure, for being the cutest of cutes!! All Zeldas are cute though but she was the blueprint ;v;

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK. I’m a devout christian virgin I would never ever look at those kind of topics the only hot I see is the flames of hell for even considering this smh smh bUT NO FOR REAL THO I’M NOT REALLY SURE???? I mostly see people gushing over how cute she is rather than hot.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / In some aspects. We don’t really see Skyward Sword Zelda’s abilities in the games as we did in, say, BOTW where she goes full goddess mode. Aside from blessing the master sword, sealing herself away, and the implications that the game gives us with Zelda being not only a student at the knight school but also a badass warrior goddess in her past life; I’d say she’s pretty up there in terms of strength.

Are they underrated? YES / NO. GONNA GO WITH YES AND NO ON THIS. As a character, Zelda is far from underrated she’s actually cliche blonde character we all love and stan but in this incarnation.... also yes and no because while I see a lot of people like SS Zelda keep in mind that SS is the black sheep of the series so not a lot of people have good opinions on it. I’ve seen some say she’s annoying, too shoujo or even Mary Sue at some points and hweoh we all know that the last one ain’t even close to true since she’s far from bland and OP written. But it’s all a matter of perspective!

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO /

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO.

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL / FOR THE MOST PART, if we were talking verses like say witch verse she’d have more of a neutral reputation considering witches aren’t really well-liked ;-;

How strictly do you follow canon?

I try to do the best that I can do given with what we’re working with here all while adding my own spin to her characterization because we all have different perspective when it comes to art! How I see Zelda is someone who’s bubbly, playful (big ol bully hweoh), a bit of a busybody if she feels she needs to step in due to worrywart tendencies yet highly responsible and carries a wisdom that’s beyond her age, she doesn’t like seeing people bullying others and isn’t afraid to put her foot down to speak her mind if something is up. While kindness is sorta her strong suit I wanted to go beyond “nice girl” and just showcase other sides of her too, hence why main verse is typically set during the events of SS because here we see her growth into the girl we see at the end of the game where she’s melancholic of her past but is looking forward to seeing what the future holds and wants to build a brighter tomorrow with Link by her side along with friends and loved ones. I’m not at all confident in playing as her, despite playing as Zelda since 2017 haha!! So I can’t really say that I’m super strict in following canon considering that’s how I view the character through the actions and dialogue throughout the game, perhaps the creators had something different in mind than how I see Sky Zelda.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.

DO YOU LIKE WHOLESOME GIRLS?! Wait no, hold on, that’s a little too vague, so let’s try that again. Do you like wholesome genki girls who were once a god who fought in a war in their past life? How about pastel girls who may seem sweet but are deep down bullies towards loved ones? Are you at a point in your life where you find yourself wondering: where on earth can I find someone who’s ray of sunshine can brighten up my day. Will do I have good news for you buddy! Introducing your very own friend: Zelda from hit series Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. This Zelda is more extreme than the others due to the fact that she’s not a princess, that’s right no princess titles clogging up that beautiful name. Just a knight who somehow finds out she’s actually a goddess reborn as human, no biggie!

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?)

SHOUJO PROTAG WHO’S TOO FREAKING CUTE!! So.... if that’s not your cup of tea ;v; but nah I can see people not liking Zelda because not everyone like the nice girl who’s your childhood friend characrter, I totally get it but if you dig a little deeper you see that there’s more to it than that.

What inspired you to rp your muse?

My close friend was FINALLY getting into the LOZ series back when BOTW was first coming out, her playthrough of SS made me remember how much I loved each characters and honestly Zelda’s design in that game was always my fav right next to Tetra and ALTTP/ALBW! At the time I mostly played more introverted muses or straight up villains and I wanted to try my hand at playing more wholesome characters like Sky Zel and ALTTP Zel ;v; now look at me, the CEO of wholesome cute girls ;v;

What keeps your inspiration going?

Motivation and time at this point, I’m not the young starry-eyed rper who used to have playlists and replay things to keep up with canon. I just pray to god I’m doing ok, let jesus take the wheel and just sorta do my own thing. I think having fun threads or a friendship with partners or just good vibes from them def helps a whole lot.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO. SORTA KINDA NOT AS MUCH AS I DO WITH ALTTP ZEL BECAUSE I’M ALWAYS NERVOUS THAT I MIGHT LIKE BREAK THE CANON OR ZEL’S CHARACTER!!

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO.

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO / Most of the time!

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO. I mean, that’s a trick question because I can be sensitive in picking up tones and reading between the lines but like if you mean if someone says something mean than no not anymore at least, I’m too old to care about what people say about me or think about me.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?

YE! I do! I mean we’re all improving and junk so I see no issues with criticisms uvub I always worry about whether or not you can hear different voices within the characters I rp as among writing issues I have that comes with learning disability and ADD, I try my hardest but I know at the end of the day there will always be grammar mistakes and even spelling!

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?

YES YES YES!! OMG YES!! I TAKE WHATEVER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE AND JUST... WORD VOMIT BACK SEVEN PAGE ESSAY SOMETIMES ;V;

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?

Eh, well yeah it’d be nice honestly to hear feedbacks and thoughts. Just saying ‘I don’t like this or I don’t agree with this’ doesn’t really help anyone who wants to improve but I’m not gonna like press them for it either because again I’m at the stage in my life where I’m just like ‘it is what it is’.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?

Shrug emoji, and then move on! Again it’d be nice if they can tell me though but I won’t press them for it if they don’t feel like it. We’re allowed to have our opinions after all yo!

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?

It is illegal to hate sky zel or any Zel really... NAH JK I DON’T REALLY CARE I’ve liked characters who aren’t popular among the fandom, I’m more or less used to seeing character bashing for faves so like it doesn’t really affect me at all I’m just like “lol” and move on.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?

YES! Though keep in mind, despite me using Grey instead of Gray, I use US English ;v; so keep that in mind when spotting out certain words other parts of the world may spell differently because us US Americans just..... gotta be extra like that.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?

I TRY!!! IDK IF I COME ACROSS AS THAT but I’m very much someone who goes with the flow anyway, I’ve been told that much IRL and I’m just hweoh not really someone who’s a stick in the mud or has a stick up their ass, you know? I’m pretty laid back and not much bothers me, I can get petty if I have to come across rude people that’s the one thing that kills it for me but aside from that, I just wanna try to get along with people. We don’t have to be friends if you’re not feeling the vibes but friendly terms is good enough for me!

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

#long post /#ooc postings.#the ceo of cute wholesome girls that's all i wanna be known for #but phew the sleeping pills are kicking in i can't write too well now #so good niiiiight enjoy this early munday meme!

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itakesurveys · 5 years ago

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Survey 326

your name: joshua.

do you like to shoot pool?: i do. i always say when i get rich... i want a pool table in my house.

are you any good?: not really but i think i could be great!

what is the scariest movie you ever saw?: ghosts.

the funniest?: people at walmart? lol idk.

the saddest?: deaths.. my boyfriend zack had a friend who took her own life. that was a very very sad day for everyone.

do you daydream?: every single day, night, afternoon. now. lol. always.

do you dream at night?: i can never remember my dreams though.

do you remember them? Care to share?: ^^^^ .

when you’re sick, do you like to be pampered, or left alone?: pampered. always.

who’s the better actor, jack nicholson or anthony hopkins?: who? who?

are you superstitious?: yes. .

how many pictures are in your wallet?: 0.

do you like getting pictures taken?: i do. i use to think i was going to be a professional photographer. but i don’t like mixing art and business. makes it less fun for me.

if someone cries while watching a sad movie..do you laugh at them?: no? i’m more than likely crying with them.

how often do you change your sheets?: the normal amount. i would love to do it like weekly.

is you bedroom upstairs or down?: upstairs.

is it true blood is thicker than water?: yes. 100%

if you could wish someone out of your life ..who would it be?: hm... no one. i don’t care enough. if you asked me this when i was 18.. would be completely different answer.

if you could be with anyone in the world..famous or not..who would it be?: i would like to hang out with britney spears and really just sit and have coffee and find out honestly if she is okay.

are you high maintenance?: no.

if you could change one thing in the world..what would it be: money. i don’t think money should exist. people would be forced to be kinder because if you need potatoes and your a dick to the potatoes guy, guess what? you ain’t getting potatoes bitch. money is a disease.

if you could star in any movie..which would it be?: hmmm, maybe something iconic like Titanic so i can keep making money off that shit forever.

deliveryman at your door..who’s the package from?: just ordered the boyfriend glasses online. so that would be my next package.

if you could completely change who you are..would you?: nah. i’m not that bad. maybe a nosejob? ha

if you could live in a fairytale..which would it be?: sleeping beauty. everyday.

if you could live in the past..where would it be?: i wish i was like my age now in like 2002.

if you could see only one person right now..who would it be?: zachary.

do you wear shoes in the house?: socks.

do you dream in color or black and white?: color. but i have had dreams in black and whtie.

what is your favorite accent?: British.

do you like sunsets or sunrises?: sure. lol.

what age did you find out santa wasn’t real?: idk, 10?

do you write poetry/songs/stories?: nah.

do you wear socks with sandals?: sure. why not. who going to tell me no? i use to wear white socks with adidas flip flops in HS.

would you marry for money?: hmmmm.. let me think about it. ha.

do you have any “in the mood” music you like to listen to?: YESSSSSSSS. if you have apple music; message me and i will follow you and snoop on your playlist and you can do the same.

would you vote for a woman president?: um yes, and i did.

Are looks/appearances really important?: not super important but i mean nothing wrong with being pretty.

what are you most looking forward to?: no idea.

if someone lied to you and came clean is that forgivable?: yes. and i have forgiven. i think someone hasn’t fully forgiven me.

if you had to repeat a day over and over again..what day would you pick?: omg no idea. maybe something when i was like 11 and carefree.

When you die, do you want to be cremated or buried? no idea yet.

Did/do you like high school? I mean it was okay. Do you like to play video games? yes i do. the sims, overwatch.

Do you like Final Fantasy? Which one do you prefer of all? i played as a teen.

Have you ever caught on fire? no, thank god.

Do you have a YouTube channel? yes but not active.

Do you ever go to video game arcades? i would like too.

Do you care what people think of you? yes.

Have you ever had a crush on a teacher? nah.

Do you like Lady Gaga? yes. but her new song Stupid Love is the worst ever.

Don’t you hate when your foot falls asleep? yesssssss!

Do you think you have been in love before? mhm.

Do you write poetry? nope.

Do you like Edgar Allan Poe? l love him.

Have you ever met anyone famous? If so, who? i met kim petras, & the pretty reckless.

Have you ever gotten hit on by some creeper? dah.

Do you watch LifeTime? i do not.

Do you bless random people when they sneeze? yes. i’m not a dick.

Do you have a short temper? no. i have a lot of patience.

Do you like Sarah Dessen? who?

Do you want to have children? If so, how many? i use to want a kid but not anymore. if i was a straight girl i would have a kid. but i’m not going to go through all the adopting and etc to get a kid. i’ll just be a great godfather.

Have you ever had a yard sale? yes. many.

Do you go to Barnes and Noble for books, the library or someplace else? no. amazon.

Do you have an iPad? i wish.

Are you scared to die? sometimes.

Do you go to church every Sunday? LOL. no.

Have you ever called one of those Hot Line numbers? nope. never.

Do you think you draw well? eh, i wish i was better.

Have you ever wanted to be a meteorologist? nahhh.

Do you like Taylor Swift? i use to hate her. then loved her. and now ... she basic. girl. bye, ha.

#survey #surveys #personal #text #questions

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thewhumperinwhite · 5 years ago

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14, 16, 18, 26?

these were fun as fuck also I love your writing

14. Describe the aesthetics of your current wip like a gothic post (or just list them if that’s too niche idk)

(I fucking love gothic posts but how tf do people write them god okay)

Anyway. Beau’s Whump Writing Gothic. the joke is that literally all my characters started out as au versions of each other lmaoooo

You are blond, probably. Sometimes your hair is sandy, sometimes it is yellow gold, but it is always blond. Your eyes are light colored, usually blue. Your face is scarred, but only prettily. You are angry, or you are sorry, or you are numb; but no matter what, you always want to die.

The man you love is dark-haired. He is shorter than you, or slightly taller; he is always stockier. You know his father owner Master does not love him; if you try to tell him he will not believe you; he wants to be loved badly enough to endure anything. You hate him, and you pity him, and perhaps you fear him, too, at first. You will die for him, eventually. Be ready.

Your brother is dead. Your brother is dead, or he will be, or he is both dead and alive. He hates you, or he doesn’t, but could if you step wrong. You have stood between him and your father your whole life--your father hates you too (everyone’s fathers hate them)--and that is what you are to each other; you are a shield and he is an anchor. You know he’s a person, intellectually. You don’t know who he is.

You’re going to die--you’re all going to die. You think you’ll be grateful for that, now. You couldn’t be more wrong.

16. Do you make playlists for your wip? (If yes, provide a link if possible)

Oh man, I usually do, but I actually don’t have playlists for these??? I’m Going To Make Some Any Then Post Them. There will be at least one mountain goats song on every one and that is a threat.

18. List five positive things that you like about yourself as a writer.

1. Okay my number one is, I pay a lot of attention to giving each of my pov characters a different voice, and I think I do a good job of making a section that’s from a certain character’s pov Feel a very specific way. ya boy loves him some free indirect discourse lmao

2. I like my use of dramatic irony?? all of my characters are usually keeping at least some secret from one another, so like, a character will react Badly to something another character says, and the other character doesn’t know what tf is up. It’s highly possible that I over complicate shit w/ how many layers of lies are going on at a given time, but I live for that shit, so I’m counting this as a positive lmao

3. Okay, this is for nobody but me obviously, but considering that Art, Kent and Andry all grew out of the same character (and Karim Sol and Thorne for that matter lmao) I’m really proud of how distinct from each other they’ve all become!!! Like, even though they have the same source, they are Absolutely Not interchangeable, if you put any of them in each others’ stories everything would go completely differently. I love that.

4. (five is so many omg) I like my character designs a lot, actually. I have visuals of them incoming and I’m glad cause I love how they all look lmao.

5. Okay this is sort of a mixed blessing, but I do actually write Really Fast once I get going lmao. And I’m getting A LOT better since I started this blog at pushing through blocks :)

26. Which oc spends a ridiculous amount of money on scented candles and bath bombs?

It’s 100% Morden lmao. He may be an Absolute Bastard but he’s also the undisputed king of self-care. And he’s a fuckin hedonist lmao

#about the blogger #please read that gothic i'm actually extremely proud of it lmao #asked and answered

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bookenders · 5 years ago

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11/11/11 Tag Game: Rounds 14 and 15! (I think. I’m bad at math.)

Back at it again, folks! Thank you @ofvisitorsthefairest and @fictionshewrote for the tags!

I think I’m gonna stop counting them after these. I can’t keep the numbers straight.

Rules: Answer the 11 questions from whoever tagged you, then made up 11 of your own questions and tag 11 people.

Bilbo Taggins: @starlitesymphony, @hannahs-creations, @toboldlywrite, @quilloftheclouds, @myreidola, @minusfractions, @inexorableblob, @ink-flavored, @misfitgirlwrites, @writinginslowmotion, @aurumni-writes

If you like these questions, by all means, answer them! And tag me so I can see!

My Questions:

Make a Mary Sue in your story’s world! What powers do they have, if any? How are they better than everyone else? What is their tortured past that is a blessing but also a curse? What kind of unusual eyes do they have? Which member of nobility/royalty/god/vampire/demon is their parent?

Which would your OCs choose: Legolas or Aragorn? Which would you choose?

What’s your favorite trick to pull on readers?

If you were to teach a creative writing class, what books would be on your syllabus?

What’s your opinion on semicolons?

What’s your favorite movie, based on its story?

What’s the dumbest thing your character(s) have ever done? What’s the dumbest thing they could do?

What one item could you introduce to your story to completely derail the plot? Where would it go from there?

What’s your favorite MacGuffin?

How do you name your characters and locations?

How have your hobbies and passions influenced your writing/how you write?

My answers under the cut!

@ofvisitorsthefairest‘s Questions:

1. Does music inspire you to write?

Not unless I’m doing songfics as a warm-up or something. I usually use it as a tone/mood guard rail as I’m writing. That’s why I make story/character playlists! They keep me on track, especially if I’m revisiting a scene I haven’t thought about in a while.

2. Which WIP did you learn the most from writing?

My Romanian story, for sure. I had the help of my thesis director/mentor with that one, thank God. I learned how to establish a scene quickly, how to do flashbacks like other people do them, how to incorporate languages without messing up the pace or losing the reader, and how to write historical things.

I learned a whole lot about what not to do from my Story That Shall Not Be Named Because It Bad, too.

3. Is there something your OC should be afraid of that they aren’t?

I think Gemma should be more afraid of being found out than she is. I mean, she’s technically a witch (an unregistered magic practitioner, because of her potion-making which is classified as pseudo-magic) who has no social security number, lives in secret, and does illegal internet things. She could get into some serious trouble. There are even more nasty consequences that I can’t reveal because spoilers, but let’s just say she has no idea they could happen and they ain’t pretty.

4. Is there something they don’t need to fear, yet do? Irrational phobias?

Yep! It’s one of the cores of her character. She’s afraid of being left alone, abandoned, kept out of her found family. Being used for her skills and ignored as a person. I don’t think they’re irrational, but she has never listened when people tell her not to be afraid of those things.

5. Do you prefer reading physical books or e-books?

Physical books, by far. E-books for my college student wallet, though. They saved me when I didn’t have time to order books, too. I have a crazy good “where in the physical book did this event happen” memory. Like, I can name an event and flip to the page very quickly based on how far into the book it was. Very handy for citations. And I love the feel/smell of a book in my hands and all the contorting I do when I read one (seriously, I almost always end up upside down or completely sideways in a chair).

6. What’s some details of your world building that you like?

All the little things! Academic internet piracy network to help witches, how magic interacts with daily life, tweaking folklore to fit story lore,

7. Have you ever created a magic system? What was it like?

Oh, boy! Yes, I have made several. My favorite might be the one from my TV show where the only magic is healing/life manipulation magic. The way it works is that when healers do their thing, they physically take on their patient’s injuries. If you have a broken arm, now the healer has a broken arm. Works with diseases, too. Here’s the snippet from the Show Deck about it:

In the darkest corners and dingiest alleys, magic pulses through the veins of the downtrodden. Seen as evil and taboo, magic operates by the law of an eye for an eye, a life for a life. Sacrifice fuels these dark arts, and those who manipulate them are covered in scars and never-healed wounds. Healers operate in the shadows and lead short lives, field medics are scarce, and the king has two sorcerers by his side at all times, bound by a blood contract to give their lives in his name.

Here’s a link to some posts about my magic system in my current WIP, Heart to Heart! I made magic types based on different sciences and artistic disciplines!

We’ve got astronomy/astrology, carving/linguistics/physical art/symbology, politics/making powerful friends/handshakes/marketing/political science, geology/archaeology/product design. Also some secret types that involve psychology, sound design/sound engineering, and water treatment/environmental science/architecture.

There are also pseudo-magical professions that blend with tech and science, like potion making!

Here’s a decent explanation of how magic works in the world of H2H.

Here’s a joke I made about my magic system.

Here’s the Magical Aptitude quiz I made that tells you more about the magic types in H2H.

/end ramble

8. What was your first favorite book?

I’m 90% sure it was the American Revolution Magic Tree House book. Or one of those books. They were the best.

9. What time of day are you most motivated to write?

7pm-4am. Yep, I hate it. I’m trying to push it closer to 2pm-9pm but it’s tough.

10. If you could step into the shoes of one of your characters for a day, which one would you pick?

If we’re talkin’ H2H characters, I honestly would not have a preference. Everyone in that story is pretty dang chill. If I had to choose, I’d go with Jill or Treena. They’re both artists and artisans who have cool houses and great friends.

11. What are some little quirks you like to give characters? Ex: a lot of mine have freckles Just Because.

There are Many. A lot of my characters have curly hair because I have curly hair. Many of them are left handed (especially my sword-wielding ones). A bunch of them have scars. A lot of them know curse words in other languages.

@fictionshewrote‘s Questions:

1. What do you want to see more of in the book world? (more rep, more of a specific genre, etc)

I have a rant about this, but to sum up: fewer straight white men dominating publishing, more open acceptance for new voices and ideas, less focus on easy-sell formulaic stories, less prejudice against certain genres... the list goes on. Also, in the publishing world, fewer submission fees and more journals that pay.

2. What time of day are you most productive writing-wise?

Answered above! Evenings and nights. It’s starting to shift to late afternon to late evening though, which is a nice change.

3. Do you have a designated space where you write?

Nope! I usually use my laptop wherever I can sit down or stand without my back screaming at me. I hate writing on my phone, though. Too small, too many typos.

4. What kind of platforms/programs/tools do you use to write? (Word, notebooks, Google Docs, Scrivener, etc)

Scrivener! It’s so helpful for my disorganized ass. I only use Word for academic papers now. When I’m having trouble getting ideas out of my brain, I write by hand in a hard back spiral notebook. I can’t stand writing in journals without spirals.

5. Hardcover or paperback?

I like both. When I read, I sit weird and hardcovers prevent the pages from bending, but paperbacks are good for traveling with. And they’re cheaper. But hardcovers are so pretty...

6. What’s your favorite story trope? Are you using it in your wip(s)?

There are a lot of tropes and I can never pick just one. I like friends to lovers, almost everything in LoTR and all those high fantasy things, complicated political/family dynamics, etc. I don’t typically like to write the same things I like to read, though. I have trouble naming them sometimes, but I know I use a bunch of them.

7. If you had to send your favorite OC on a blind date with a character from someone else’s book, who would that character be and why?

Oh boy. I’m watching the Lord of the Rings extended editions right now, but I’ll try not to be biased.

If I were trying to be funny, I’d set Fred up with Aziraphale from Good Omens. I feel like they could have some good weird conversations.

Gemma and Nicholas Flamel from The Alchemist would be fun, too. Or Oz and Boromir.

8. Do you write scenes in order or out of order?

I like writing them in order, but sometimes that doesn’t work out like I want it to. Now it really depends on the story. I wrote the first part of AOPC out of order and it messed with my head a little, so I’m trying not to do it for my longer projects. My short stories are always written one and done, in chronological order, usually. Especially the ones under 2k words. WYSiOaD was written in order, then switched around to fix the flow and plot.

9. If your favorite OC was a superhero, what would their superpower be? (assuming, of course, they aren’t a superhero to begin with!)

I do have superhero/villain characters! Here’s some others, though:

Gemma - Empathy / Transferable Rapid Healing and/or Regeneration

Oz - Truesight / Invulnerability

Mel - Animal Friendship or Shapeshifting / Conditional Foresight

Fred - Domino’s luck power but backwards and framed like happy accidents that always seem to work in his favor. So... Mr. Magoo.

Teva - Earth sculpting or something like earthbending

10. Describe your ideal writing session.

I sit and I write a whole short story in one hit. Then I wait and edit another day.

I am a simple bean.

11. What do you think would turn your protagonist into a villain?

Seeing what was lost and having it torn away forever before she gets to claim it again.

#writer tag #writeblr #amwriting #wip #my wips #heart to heart #writers on tumblr #writers of tumblr #about me #11/11/11 tag #11/11/11 tag game #tag game

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whiskynottea · 6 years ago

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This is a Fandom Appreciation Post.

And the title pretty much says all of it.

I’m writing this because I feel grateful that I found all of you, guys.

And I want to say a huge THANK YOU.

To all the people that got inspired by my stories and created something for them. Art, Moodboards, Playlists... @cantrixgrisea, @katnoenau, @jules-fraser, @jamesandclairefraser, @muykonos, @bonniebird17 This means so much to me, guys.

To @katnoenau who edits the Thermodynamics AU, while remembering all little details about Roger and Bree and raising this amazing creature named Rowan.

To all the people that read and liked my stories, commented and reblogged them. I respond to each one of you individually because writing these stories wouldn’t be the same without you.

To everyone that liked and reblogged my edits (which are not that good, I know!).

To all the amazing people I got to know here -the magic hidden behind a dm. I’m not tagging you, but you know who you are, guys.

To all of you that follow my blog.

To all the creators of this fandom - no matter what they do. Fanfics, fanart, edits, analyses... This fandom is blessed with so many talented people!

To @moghraidhjamie who organized the secret Santa and gave me a push to start writing fanfiction.

To @scotsmanandsassenach for their events. The 28daysofOutlander was wonderful and brought to light a lot of new bloggers (including me).

And finally (this is actually the reason I started writing this post but I was carried away - obviously), to our amazing Librarians @thelallybrochlibrary. Girls, you are awesome. I got a heart attack when you recommended the Thermodynamics AU and two other ones when I saw my quotes in gifs (I’m writing this post from the other side, actually). And I want to say how brilliant I find the LLScavengerHunt. It will give so much love to the writers of this fandom, who spend so many hours to create stories and share them here. I know from personal experience how important it is to receive love for the world you created and how something simple can make our day. I can’t describe the feeling I get every time I realize that the stories I write really matter. It’s something between squeeing and hoping up and down while clapping before I start dancing - and I still don’t describe it correctly.

Joining this fandom was an unexpected gift.

THANK YOU for all the times you made me smile, cry, laugh, or give you incoherent responses with ALL CAPS.

You were there when life got hard, even without knowing it.

And sometimes when life gives you lemons all you have to do is to log in on Tumblr (God, this sounds like an advertisement but you get what I mean).

#thank you all #fandom appreciation post #whisky is grateful #really grateful #and you know that you can always dm me right?#you can

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catrectorauthor · 6 years ago

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Meet the Writer

1. What type of writing do you do?

I’m working on a fantasy novel at the moment, based on Norse Mythology from the eyes of Sigyn, the woman who in the Eddas was Loki’s wife. So in a sense, it’s speculative mythology with themes of love, loss, revenge, fate, and LGBTQ lifestyles. I’ve also spent some time writing short stories or flash fiction, but the novel is my main focus.

2. What genres and/or topics do you write about? I’ll write about my obsessions. My obsession for the last two years has been Norse Mythology, and I’ve managed to find a little place within it to carve out a story about the things I care about/am interested in, like morally grey leanings and queer characters. I almost exclusively write within the fantasy genre.

3. How long have you been writing?

I wrote my first piece of nonsense when I was 12, so roughly 15 years on and off.

4. Are you published?

I do have two published pieces. One is a nonfiction short story (https://tinyurl.com/y6wopdy6) and the other is a piece of flash fiction (https://tinyurl.com/y9gowcc2).

5. What was the first story you ever wrote?

The first thing I wrote of my own accord was a piece of fanfiction when I was 12 years old. It was GARBAGE and I was so proud of it that when I moved across the country, I tried to use it and my obsession with Buffy to attract new friends. Somehow I’m still best friends with that girl 15 years later, bless her heart.

6. Why do you write?

I wasn’t writing for a long time. You know how life can stick you in the capitalist meat grinder and make you believe arts aren’t worth pursuing? I didn’t figure I could make a living at writing, so what was the point? But when I was at the lowest point I’d been in years, I followed my obsession and started to write this story about who Sigyn might have been. It started as a way to ground myself and to kill time, but turned into a 5th draft 170k story. Now I write because it’s the only way I can breathe.

7. How do you find time to write?

Currently I’m studying IT in a course that demands almost none of my time. I’ve been blessed to be able to work on my manuscript day in and day out for more than a year, other than when I’m in class. I’m in the process of finding work though, which is going to reduce the amount of hours I have in a day.

8. When and where are the best times to write? I tried writing in cafes but often find it distracting. I can write in a study area of a library, but the best place for me is at home, at my pc, preferably with my boyfriend quiet or at work XD

9. Favorite food/drinks while writing?

I don’t eat much while I write. It’s hard to eat and type. I’m the kind of person who’ll just forget that food is needed and discover I haven’t eaten for eight hours. I do like a drink though, normally Red Rose tea, a black coffee or some water. This combination is why we bought a blender; at least if I drink a smoothie, I’m getting some vitamins from it.

10. Your writing playlist?

WHY I’M GLAD YOU ASKED! I have two versions of The Goddess of Nothing At All playlist, with spoilers and without. I also have a playlist for when I’m writing that has zero English in it and is very viking aged moody. https://tinyurl.com/yc9wtt3p

11. What do family/friends/loved ones think of you writing?

My family and friends have been extremely supportive. My family has seen a few chapters, and some of my close friends are also writers, so they’ve taken on my newest draft for beta reading. My best friend read the first draft and without her enthusiasm, I would’ve stopped there. The boyfriend is incredibly supportive and enthusiastic, but it’s difficult for him to read my high fantasy English since he’s not a native speaker and reading isn’t his forte (we’re a gaming couple :P)

12. Parts of writing you enjoy the most?

Honesty, all of them. I used to think I’d hate editing but I love getting the chance to refine things and make them more beautiful layer by layer. I love the draft, I love the rewrites, I even love the critique. I’m lucky that way.

13. Parts of writing you find challenging?

WAITING. Just. UGH. I hate any part of my life being out of my hands, because then I have no say in when things happen or how. Right now I’m waiting on all but one of my beta reviews to come back and trying to keep busy is the only thing keeping me sane. If my anxiety kicks into high gear, I’ll start wondering if radio silence means everyone hates my work, so I’m giving myself other projects in the meantime.

14. What do you write with and on?

I write on my desktop PC, or sometimes my laptop that I bought for writing but it’s a little laggy. I use Word because of compatibility issues that I’ve had with things like OpenOffice. I’m a simple person, I don’t need a fancy program.

15. How do you overcome writer’s block?

I usually stick one of those playlists on and immerse myself in the story they remind me of until something clicks. Sometimes it’s also a matter of going back and reading something I’ve already written, to get the gears turning again.

16. How do you motivate yourself to write?

Listening to the playlists, holding myself accountable to my writer friends and tremendous amounts of guilt. I have this unhealthy thought process that if I’m not accomplishing something, my day is wasted. It helps me get a lot done, but don’t take up that kind of habit.

17. Authors who inspire you as a writer?

Patrick Rothfuss. I hadn’t found an author in years that I really was enthralled by, but his writing is everything I aspire to be.

18. Books that inspire you as a writer?

The Kingkiller series by Rothfuss. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray. American Gods/Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. Tolkien. Probably a dozen more.

19. Best advice you’ve gotten as a writer?

Find a community. My community came to me, and very much by accident. Some members of our reading club had formed a writing club and drug me into it kicking and screaming. I wasn’t a writer. They didn’t listen to me, and they’re why I’m still here, working on this story. The power of support is incredible.

20. Writing goals this year

To finish the after beta reader edit, and distribute that draft to some new readers. Make a temporary cover, put up a website, do this Tumblr thing right. I could go on. Thanks for reading, I know that was quite a journey you took with me!

#meet the writer #writerblr #writing #Goddess of Nothing At All

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faireladypenumbra · 6 years ago

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Ten Writing Questions Tag!

Tagged by @kclenhartnovels ! Thank you; I’m combining questions because it’s taken me so long to respond. 1. What got you started writing/doing art? (Because I always love origin stories)

I started creating stories when I was very young- before I could really write, with drawings and toys and imaginary friends. I started writing around 10 and never really stopped.

2. When asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

Depends on who I’m talking to. I try not to cast pearls before swine if I can help it.

3. Did you family and friends know that you write? What they think about it?

Everyone I’m close to knows I write, and my family is very artsy, so they’ve never had an issue with my creative work. My mom is actually an agented author, so even though we write very different fiction, she’s always nudged me to continue my creative pursuits.

4. Favourite book as a child?

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke and The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis.

5. What genre would you like to write other that your usual?

I wish to hop into science fiction more than I have previously.

6. A character that is your opposite

Ashleigh Crowley, whom I’m currently working on in my WIP. His unhinged nature, lack of control, and simultaneous lack of agency is something I’m not known for. I don’t really know where he came from.

7. Some ritual that you have before or while writing

I make the same tea and usually spend some time on my playlists/pin boards before I kick it into high gear.

8. Have you taken any writing classes?

Nope, though I am an English major (lit studies). I never intend on it either.

9. Do you have someone you trust that you share your work with?

My alpha reader and my boyfriend. Both have been with my work from an early stage and I feel I can give them pretty much anything, bad or good, and they’ll help me through it.

10. Did you have other writeblr that inspired you or that you admire? (artist too)

@thekatiemasters, who doesn’t hang here much, has nudged me through more than a few WIPs. I also quite admire @kclenhartnovels, who is far more organizied and confident in her blogging than I could ever be. xD

11. Do you research beforehand, or on-the-fly?

Beforehand, to a fault that I cannot start most projects until I have digested enough research. It’s a blessing and a curse.

12. What is your favorite movie or TV series to watch over and over again?

I return to Stardust, The Secret of Moonacre, Pirates of The Caribbean, The Princess Bride, Corpse Bride, The Brothers Grimm, Treasure Planet, and Tangled when looking for inspiration. Quirky fantasy stories are my jam!

13. Which character would you be most likely to marry? Which would you want to kill?

I’d probably marry Simon, given the choice (and if he weren’t taken). I’m now under the impression I’d probably kill Greyson Sinclair irl- god.

14. Drink of choice while writing?

Irish Breakfast tea, with honey and whole milk.

15. Do you prefer to write by hand, on your phone, or on a computer?

Mostly by hand when I’m brainstorming, but I do a lot of work on my laptop too.

16. What do you do when you get writer’s block?

Despair. xD Mostly kidding, but I try to place the cause and give it time to pass. Usually it’s just a matter of having a better, more developed way around the problem.

17. Would you rather watch a movie or read a book?

More patient with books than movies, but I like both.

18. What’s your weirdest writing habit?

I’m really particular about my hair while I write. I must braid it or bun it before I work, otherwise I can’t think.

19. Did you start with writing, or some other art?

I pretty much started writing first, but it was with lyrics/poetry before I forayed into fiction as a child.

20. What is your other major hobby?

Film editing! I vlog on YouTube and make AMVs a lot, which is fun! Tagged: whoever wants in! Glad I could finally do this.

#writeblr #amwriting #tags #tag game

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goddessdoeswitchery · 4 years ago

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Hellenic Polytheism 101: Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism, Kharis A Transcript

The episode can be found on various podcast platforms, including anchor, breaker, stitcher, spotify, google podcasts, overcast, pocket casts, radio public, and on YouTube.

Welcome to today’s episode of Hellenic Polytheism 101, where we will be discussing the Pillar of Hellenic Polytheism, Kharis. Again I want to remind you that the Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism were never actually a “thing”. Unlike the 10 commandments, the pillars were never taught as a set of rules that everyone knew by the name “Pillars of Hellenic Polytheism”, or any variation thereof. What modern day practitioners of Hellenic Polytheism call “The Pillars” were essentially religious and cultural practices that were taught by family and friends via every day practices. The pillars were an essential part of the culture of Ancient Greece, taught to them the same way customs like tipping, saying “bless you” at sneezing, and the now-common practice of wearing a mask everywhere are taught to us today. In recreating Hellenic Polytheism for the modern age, the Pillars grew out of a need for a set of guidelines to help us recreate a very old religion. Kharis is the reciprocity inherent in Hellenic Polytheism, a devotional act for the Theoi with hope a return favor in kind. It is also so much more than a transactional behavior. Its not bribery, its not a quid pro quo. At the same time, it is not the Christian act of praise worship.

Hopefully that explains what Kharis is a little better, so we can go a little deeper into what it means as a worshipper, as someone who calls themselves a Hellenic Polytheist.

#transcript #hellenic polytheism #hellenic polytheism 101 #pillars of hellenic polythiesm #kharis

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resbang-bookclub · 7 years ago

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AMA Transcript: Diamond in the Rough

Next, @silly-twin-stars, @sandmancircus and @guacamoletrash stopped by to chat about their Resbang, Diamond in the Rough! Here’s some of what went down:

Q: Okay so I wanna get right into it. Give us some beta comments.

Silly: LOL lord ok. As usual, you all were ridiculous. Like Kat, Sarah's comments about Free gave me literal life. She started putting degdegs every time I mentioned Free's name. Everyone was also hella supportive of jokes which led to some great threads.

Q: Artists, what inspired you to art what you arted?

Sand: I was excited to get started so I just started drawing and then it kinda fit in. A lot of the art wasn't really planned.

Silly: Sarah, like, sprinkled beautiful art throughout Resbang. Every few weeks she was like /toss toss into chat.

Sand: I had fun with the art. It was a nice break from writing bang hell.

Q: How did Ragnuts come to be?

Silly: So Ragnuts was born of my need to have something Iago-esque that wasn't crackers, and peanuts was literally the first thing that came to mind. I was a little bummed because I had this entire little side plot with free being allergic to peanuts that never got a chance to fully come to fruition, but I'm still glad that peanuts ended up being the choking food of choice ;P

Sand: "Nuts were the choking food of choice" - silly, 2018

Silly: LOL. I had that one line that was like "choking on words instead of nuts" in my Resbang. I think there's some beta comments about it.

Sand: There was a bunch of nut jokes. Also whenever a line from the movie was used we all got excited.

Silly: Hahahha yessss the movie line posts are so great. And people kept citing stuff from other Disney movies. Jaded pulled out a Hercules quote at one point.

Q: What do you think was the hardest scene for you to write?

Silly: I think the scene that I found the hardest was the scene where Medusa shows up in the dungeon with Soul - I was so blocked on that until I decided to make her into the little girl version of herself, and then it was like OH, SWEET and it totally worked after that.

Q: For everyone: What is your guys' process like? Did you do anything different for this Resbang or was it pretty much your usual style?

Silly: I started outlining this bad boi in like March/April? I watched Aladdin and just scribbled out a million notes w/ potential parallels and jokes and references and stuff, and then I let it sit for a couple of months. I wrote the first couple of chapters this summer and then was fully plunged into school hell and ended up writing the rest of the story in Nov-Jan. And actually, I think this fic was perfectly, completely in my comfort zone, which is what I wanted. My one and only goal this Resbang was to have a great time and write something goofy and fun, and I think that worked out! I'm gonna try out some different stuff this year, so I was pretty content to have this story exist as comfort food for me, if that makes sense. :P

Sand: My art style changes a lot, and I think you can actually notice in every picture I did that it’s almost completely different from the last. Things like shading, colours, art style etc. I haven't really found a set style yet so these things will probably keep changing since I’m a bit of a baby artist. If I do art for next year’s Resbang it will probably be completely different.

guac: lol. My process is just screaming nonstop. I did outlines this time and messed with masks so that was fun. But I really don't have a style or anything fancy like that figured out yet, shrug. I knew I wanted to draw the cave the second I read the first chapter of silly's fic so I was like "yeah!" and then the fanmix covered just kinda happened. The cave was supposed to be the original fanmix cover but then I saw a tattoo on pinterest that had the castle made out of the smoke from the genie lamp and I was like okay but what if I made... two arts?

Silly: guac's cat got to make a guest appearance in Resbang this year. 😉 Literally I was so fecking blessed?????? I couldn't stop looking at that art for a week and don't even get me STARTED ON THE PLAYLIST.

Q: I was going to ask about music you listened to while writing it, but guac did provide such a groovy mix.

Silly: Literally just guac's playlist hahaha. guac sent it to me in like.... October? I think? And it inspired so many scenes. I have specific scenes tied to specific songs in my brain.

guac: Honestly, silly would message me about how the playlist would inspire her and it made my heart so happy. It was so hard to figure out that aesthetic but once it got going I was like yeeeeee. Why do I always thicc aesthetic?

Silly: Aesthethicc. Yeah I feel like guac and I were insta on the same page with the aesthetic, I remember that convo where we were talking about what Death City is like and I said something like "like Death City, but with literally that exact apple cart from Aladdin" and guac was like YEAH.

Q: Silly, how was your process with your artists?

Silly: Our process was v chill, everyone just hung out in the server and dropped art in wheneva.

Sand: Yeah our Resbang group was great. Both of mine were, I was v lucky.

Q: What made you decide on an Aladdin AU?

Silly: Yessss, so this is a long story haha. Last year in Madi's resbang, she kept having the line "do you trust me?" and every time I saw it, I'd think of Aladdin, so I'd post some goofy Aladdin photo with Soul or Maka's fast pasted over it and it sorta became a thing. And the more I did it, the more I was like..... well shit, dude, this could really work????? Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

guac: AMAZING. I DID NOT KNOW THIS.

Q: Silly did you have a least fave scene to write?

Silly: Least fave? Ummmm OH yes, the one where Soul spends the whole scene lying to Spirit. I needed it but I hated writing it, making Soul lie at any point was like pulling teeth. It was easy to write but it was painful.

Q: If you could write anything differently, would you?

Silly: I love this story but YES, god yes. I would have fleshed so much more of it out. I would give Ragnarok more quirks, I'd give free more screen time, I'd give the SoMa more time 2 bl00m.

Sand: Resbang MOOD.

Q: Which character did you find the easiest to write?

Silly: Defffffinitely b* hahaha. I wrote his intro scene in one night. It literally just spilled from my fingertips lol. I don't think I revised any of his dialogue at all.

Sand: Bless your Blackstar.

Q: Sarah do you have a favorite art piece?

Sand: Def my big Soma one. I worked the hardest on that.

Silly: I LOVE THEM. Feisty babes.

Q: What are you most proud of in this Resbang, yall?

Silly: Like Kat, I'm mostly proud I finished? Hahhaha. But seriously, I guess I'd say I'm proud that I was able to meld two of my favorite worlds together and turn it into something cohesive and enjoyable? Like i was really surprised at how well things fit together.

Sand: I’m proud I did so many arts, along with writing a Resbang.

guac: I am also glad I finished tbh. I had such dream and perfect partnerships this Resbang, I was like you can't take this away from me, depression.

Q: Did anything surprise you during the writing/arting/playlisting process? :0 Like, did anything turn out differently than you imagined?

Sand: I didn't expect Blackstar to be so beefy.

Silly: Hell ya Sarah. I think the biggest surprise was the discovery of Ragnarok's relationship with peanuts technically being considered dubcon. That was a bombshell in our server lmao.

guac: Who knew we'd all be into such a weird dubcon ship?

Q: Wait, what was the side plot with Free and peanuts?

Sand: I would also like to know.

guac: Tell us the truth.

Silly: I haven't totally developed in my brain but… I mention Free being allergic but I really wanted to milk it, I had this whole idea of him going into sneezing fits every time he's around Ragnarok and having this build up into some serious Ragnarok hatred and then having he and Soul bond over their hatred for Ragnarok and his peanut bullshit. I even imagined a reveal that involved Free having some kind of allergic reaction and them realizing that Medusa and Ragnarok were involved in trying to steal the flower. This was all contingent upon my developing Ragnarok's personality more, which I just didn't have time for ☹ In another world with more time!

Q: Speaking of time, Sarah and guac, are there any art/music ideas you wanted to do but didn't get to chance to? And silly, do you think you'll ever revisit this AU and write an omake or anything?

Silly: I thiiiink the door is pretty closed on this story for now - it feels like it had more of a conclusion than last Resbang at least, and I wanna move on to other fun thangs ;D

Sand: I wanted to do a Freeruka piece but I never ended up drawing it, and whenever I tried they all ended up blah.

Q: WHAT'S NEXT?

Silly: NEXT is… library fic conclusion. Hybrid Theory update which is A BIG BOI. I have another fic in mind that a couple of people know about. It might be a Resbang, it might not be a Resbang. Haven't decided yet.

guac: I would like to make a gif for this fic. I learned how to make gifs while Resbang was happening but didn't have time to during resbang. Silly's bday is in August so it could happen by then.

Silly: omg /scream emoji

Q: Fav line, where you echo the start of Aladdin but for Medusa! Dark woman waits with a dark purpose <3

Silly: I remember hearing that when watching Aladdin and was like OH HELL YEAH so I hoped it would get people similarly hyped hahah.

Q: Silly I absolutely LOVE the title of the fic. I fell in love immediately.

Silly: Aw thanks!!!!! I dropped the title too many times in the story and had to pull myself back ;D Last year it was moons, this year it was diamond in the rough. Also since we are just spilling all the deets on this story, someone ask guac about how they chose this story because of fabric.

guac: Right so, I was at the fabric store, and I had been thinking about Resbang and I was real torn. I was like do i want to do two? I said I would do one? What do I do? And then BAM, there's some Aladdin pattern fabric. And I was like ‘it's a sign.’ I was just having this crisis at Joanne's and then my prayers were answered. I'm pretty sure my email to the mods was "idk if claims 2 is still happening or not but i figured it was worth a try ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" bc it had been like a day since claims round two had started.

Silly: I checked my phone the next morning and about fell outta bed.

guac: lol. I'm glad I did it. The fabric was right.

Silly: Also I'm so glad the first thing I sent you after I got the email was "YOU SNEAKY AVOCADO."

Guac: lolol, the sneakiest.

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Thanks to the gang for stopping by! Stay tuned for more transcripts.

#AMA transcripts #rbbc #resbang book club #diamond in the rough

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