#how it's the responsibility of each generation

[jackalopc]

if you are someone who does try to reply to as many/all comments, like myself, let folks know! i always note it in my end notes that yes kudos/comments are appreciated but that i also try to respond to every comment! hell half the # of comments on my fic are my own responses. also if they comment on multiple chapters? reply to each comment on each chapter they do, if you can!

it doesn't have to be complicated or overly long replies either. though if they do more than just write that they liked it, i try to respond to most if not all of the points they make within their comments. but for those and even ones that are just like 'hey this was good' i always try to respond with at least a 'thank you for reading and commenting!' to make sure they understand how much i appreciate it!

to hopefully help give a better idea of what i mean: most of the comments on my fics that fall outside of the simple 'thanks i liked this' category, tend to comment specifically on the mood/tone of the fic and/or particular lines that really hit hard for them. so i typically respond with letting readers know how i felt writing on whatever they point out. again these don't have to be long replies, mine are typically 1-3 short sentences. generally just try to match the energy of the reader!

it can be a pain sometimes, i won't lie, i don't always know what to say and can be awkward; just like when i'm a reader. but at the end of the day whats just important is the reader knows i'm just as engaged as they are with their reading experience.

pro-tip: someone leaves an unhinged (but positive/affectionate) comment? reply to those too! fuck it, be unhinged right back! match their energy babeyyy! also someone leaves just emoji's or similar? respond to those too! reply in kind! leave an emoji back!

reasons to reply to fic comments

readers can be shy, too. They worry about commenting the same way that writers worry about posting fic. Replying lets them know they “did it right”

readers feel as overjoyed when they get replies as writers feel when they get comments

you can have a lot of fun and maybe even make a new friend

you can’t give kudos to comments, and there are some comments that really deserve it

just to say “thanks” - because not all readers comment and you appreciate the ones who do

[valeisaslut]

thinking about collide ellie and reader on snl…

NO BECAUSE I 100% thought of writing Ellie and reader on SNL but there was already SO much happening in the fic that I was like okay Val. breathe. you do NOT need to write an entire season of sketch comedy in the middle of your lesbian slow burn.

BUT IN MY HEART (and in the AU) THEY WENT. They 100% went.

SO, FOR MY NATION: ROCKSTAR!ELLIE X POPSTAR!READER ON SNL.

The episode aired like two weeks after the Grammys, and the SNL writers were frothing at the mouth to recreate the chaos. So obviously, you and Ellie did a full sketch reenacting the Grammy moment—THE “nah. you look too fucking hot right now.” THE “i love you.” The pause that followed. Beat for beat. There was dramatic slow motion. Ellie fake-mic-dropped. You dramatically collapsed to the floor like you’d been shot. The audience BLACKED OUT.

BUT WAIT. There was also that cursed SNL music sketch where you're both singers from different planets. You were a glittery Y2K alien who only sang in autotuned adlibs. Ellie was a country cowboy who doesn’t believe in music unless it’s played on a busted banjo. It made ZERO sense and somehow ended with an animatronic horse doing the dougie. At one point, Ellie LASSOED you and made a kinky joke that wasn't in the script at all. Twitter hasn’t recovered.

Weekend Update?? A disaster. You showed up, said four words, and went “ok i’m too hot for this” and just left. Ellie stayed behind and gave a fake PSA about “dating your popstar girlfriend responsibly” and how you should “not accidentally make out on live TV unless it’s for the bit.” It got 70 million views.

AND THEN. THEN. The cheerleader skit. You and Ellie were rival high school cheer captains. Seeing Ellie’s masc ass in a cheer uniform nearly ended humanity. She was PISSED about it but after shooting she begged the costume department to let her keep it. The skit escalated immediately—normal flips turned into Ellie back handspringing off the desk, you pulled a megaphone from thin air and screamed “L FOR LESBIAN.” A marching band materialized out of nowhere playing She. And then, inexplicably, it ended with the two of you slow-dancing in cheer uniforms under falling confetti while Pedro Pascal (as the school principal) screamed “THIS IS A SCHOOL ASSEMBLY.”

OKAY BUT YOU’RE NOT EVEN READY FOR THE "LESBIAN QUIET LUXURY" SKIT. Like. You and Ellie played these absolutely feral rich girls who inherited old money from their great-great-grandmothers (who were, quote, “roommates”), and now live in a haunted countryside manor in Vermont where they “just do pottery, collect oil paintings of women with secrets, and make eye contact with ghosts.”

It was shot like a Vogue mini-doc. You wore a floor-length linen nightgown, held a glass of wine, and whispered “I only speak in lowercase now. Capital letters are performative.” Ellie was doing an interview in a library and said, completely straight-faced, “we don’t have a television, we just recite Sappho to each other while our oat milk steams.”

Then it CUT to you two at a farmers market arguing with an old man about whether figs have feminine energy. Ellie was like “you don’t get it. figs are bisexual.” And the old man just left. He walked off the set. That wasn’t scripted.

The sketch ended with both of you holding a single candle, standing barefoot in a field at dusk, and solemnly saying “quiet luxury is loving your partner so hard it echoes through generations.” And then you made out behind a hedge while a harpist played Phoebe Bridgers.

That sketch is on every sapphic aesthetic moodboard.

The cast was breaking so bad the cameras were shaking. Cecily Strong had to walk off set. It was the exact brand of unhinged chaotic lesbian television we DESERVE.

Anyway yeah. You were on SNL. Sorry for not writing it in the fic. I might still. Don’t tempt me.

[22ayla21]

The Shadow of a Mother, the Light of Love

The capricious blood of Maleonor makes itself known once more. The elderly lady of the Draconia lineage, a grieving mother and strict keeper of traditions, is forced to accept that love and stubbornness are a legacy one cannot escape, even across generations.

Silence reigned in the castle halls, broken only by the soft crackling of the fire in the hearth. By the window, in an armchair, sat an elderly woman. Even in her old age, she retained a regal air. Her hair was neatly gathered, and a heavy emerald cloak bearing the Draconia family crest draped from her shoulders.

In her hands, she held an old doll – once the beloved toy of her daughter.

"Maleonor…" she whispered, clutching the doll. "You are still causing us scenes… only now through your son."

The elder of the clan, Malleus's grandmother, had seen much. Wars, palace intrigues, betrayals, losses – all had been part of her life. But nothing had caused her such pain as the death of her only daughter.

Maleonor had been like a whirlwind. Beautiful, daring, dangerous. Incredibly impulsive, headstrong – it seemed not blood, but fire flowed in her veins. And yet – or perhaps because of it – she was loved. But also feared.

How many times had the Senate begged her to be more careful? How many nights had the old woman spent in tears as Maleonor threw tantrums, wondering where she had gone wrong in raising her daughter?

And now… her grandson.

Her only hope. The last link to her own blood.

Malleus.

He resembled her to a painful degree.

When he came and said he had decided to marry a girl from another world – without noble lineage, without magic, without status – she wasn't even surprised.

"I chose her," he had said then. "She is my heart."

She could have objected. Reminded him of traditions, of duty, of the necessity of strong offspring, a worthy heir. But she remained silent.

Because she knew. He was as stubborn as his mother. Just as capricious, just as independent in his decisions. From his father, he had inherited kindness and wisdom. But the passion, the fire, the impatience – all of it was from Maleonor.

And if his mother were here now, she would, of course, exclaim: "I don't have to prove anything to anyone! I am the princess of the Briar Valley! My son is a dragon! And he will love whomever he wants!"

The woman closed her eyes. She could still hear that voice. Sometimes in her dreams, sometimes – in Malleus's voice when he argued with the Senate, defending his beloved.

And now, as the sound of ringing children's laughter echoed through the castle, a bitter, ironic smile appeared on her lips.

"There's your grandson, Maleonor…" she whispered. "You left, leaving a storm. And now – a new tempest."

There was a knock at the door.

"Grandmother?" a familiar voice called.

She turned. Malleus stood in the doorway. Beside him stood a boy – with his mother's eyes, but with Malleus's own stubborn expression.

"We wanted to visit you."

"I've been waiting," she replied, and for the first time in a long time, her voice trembled.

When her grandson burst into the room, creating a real commotion, she… didn't stop them. Because in this chaos, there was life, light.

"You are just like your mother," she murmured, looking at Malleus. "How many times I cursed her for her whims… and how many times I forgave her. Just as I forgive you now."

Malleus leaned down and said quietly, "I understand her better with each passing day. And I understand why she was the way she was. Love makes us inconvenient for the world. But strong."

She chuckled.

"You are her child. To the end. But now you are a father. And I hope… you can preserve what she lacked."

"Family?"

"Wisdom," she replied. "And if your queen managed to tame you, then she has a talent worthy of a crown."

He smiled.

"She is my destiny. As I am hers."

The boy burst into laughter as he tried to climb onto the sofa opposite her. And all she could do was laugh in response.

"Damn you, Maleonor," she whispered. "Even from the afterlife, you manage to create a circus in my living room."

But tears glistened in the corners of her eyes. And for the first time in a long time – not from grief, but from gratitude. For the continuation. For the blood. For life.

[jupiterianguru]

entry 001: messages from your ancestors

            ྀི❀⋆.ೃྀི࿔*:･

author’s note — while tarot can be a tool, you are in control of your own life. life is NOT linear and there’s no black and white answers to anything. take what resonates and if it doesn’t make you feel good, then let it go.

—

one:

the sun + 7 of cups reversed + ace of wands rx

additionally: 8 of swords + the moon rx

song from the ancestors:

these ancestors may have used their hands to create or build. i feel like you come from a lineage that has creative abilities, maybe you tend to have a lot of inclinations towards creating art or even simply appreciating art. there's natural talents or gifts for creation present here for sure.

they're giving you the green light for something. there's a feeling that you must get started on something but you might not know how, in what direction, or what resources to use. there's a mental blockage or a creative blockage if you will. you know, it's said that the throat chakra (responsible for authenticity and expression) is connected to our sacral (responsible for our emotions and creativity). i mention this for a reason, stay with me now. it's almost like you want to get started on said thing but each time you want to begin, your brain starts to bring up unnecessary, negative chatter. you get stuck on the how's, the ifs, and the buts. in turn, you find yourself stuck right before a point of creating. keeping you paralyzed with a feeling of being so close yet so far. spoiler alert: these thoughts are distractions from something deeper. here is where that throat chakra and sacral chakra connection comes in.

you're not doing anything wrong, matter of fact this is apart of your creative process. not only that, your healing. a big part of these thoughts are a core belief that is wanting to be acknowledged and seen. it's not that you're missing the gift, talent, or resources because you possess everything you need to move forward and create. but rather the blockage is coming from emotional needs that have been suppressed. i feel like the individuals that chose this pile are big intellectualizers and have labelled themselves as "self-aware." i'm not saying you're not self-aware. you most likely are... but the problem in this is that you do not allow yourself to sit with your emotions. when you hold space with your emotions, you are allowing yourself to come as you are. there's no good or bad emotions when sitting with them, you simply acknowledge them as emotions that are valid and natural. no matter how complex they may seem, we humans are complex and yet there's normalcy in the fact that we are so complex... you see. nothing is black and white.

give yourself a break and let yourself feel the frustration, the boredom, the angst, the sadness, etc. it's trying to tell you something. it's only when you sit in stillness that you will conquer the chatter and eventually get to where you want to get to. don't force yourself to create. you will get their on your own.

the reason i feel like this was an ancestral message is because i feel like some of your ancestors did not allow themselves to feel and eventually gave up on their craft. leading to a lifetime of regret. the good news is you are aware of this. sit your ass down and ask yourself why you are feeling what you're feeling.

this message especially reigns true for those who have been having or started this year off emotionally turbulent.

thank you. sending you love.

 

    ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

two:

10 of cups + knight of wands + knight of pentacles

additionally: ace of swords rx + king of cups

song from the ancestors:

these ancestors feel like people that moved from the heart like genuine passion and love for the world and others. very generous. i also hear laughter so perhaps some of them were jokesters, pranksters, or just simply people who loved to make others smile. i'm hearing that song from tangled "when will my life begin?" despite the happiness exuding from the outside, theres a sadness i feel within. maybe some of the individuals in your lineage never truly got their "happy-ending." whatever that meant for them, it could be that they had a dream to get married and never met that person. or if they did get married, it ended in divorce or tragedy. or maybe their dream was to go to college and become a professional, but they didn't end up finishing or have the resources to go. this is a general reading so of course it varies but the jist of it is that their dreams were either short-lived or couldn't happen at all.

there's a dream that your heart is set on. my grandma told me once that if you desire something so much that it makes you cry just thinking about it, it's meant for you. your ancestors are acknowledging that you have everything you need to obtain this dream. it may not seem like it to you but they have a birds eye view and they're saying that it's in you. but goddamn, you gotta really believe in it.

perhaps you're just starting to realize that this is attainable or you're starting to take steps towards this dream but it feels like such a far journey. it could be overwhelming, sometimes you may have bad days, or you just feel like there's no support and it's lonely. honestly, you guys may catastrophize the situation a bit sometimes. like just cause you have one bad day, week, or even a month doesn't mean all of a sudden your dream is gone or you're not worthy of it anymore. this is called a journey! your journey to your dream is not a easy path, duh, then the dream itself wouldn't be rewarding.

little mini story (i promise it's relevant): when i first read someone for the first time and found out of my healing abilities, i read them for two hours straight and afterwards i just cried pure tears of joy for an hour saying thank you to my team and creator. out of everything, all I could do is bask in that gratitude because it felt like all my pain, my suffering, my joy, etc. lead me to that moment. it was worth it. i've been on my journey for years now and i often go back to that memory, especially when i feel like my heavier days and emotions have consumed me.

this is how it should feel for you. you want this so bad for a reason. sometimes you may go through upbeat and fast times, it may feel like you're working towards something or what you're doing is beneficial to your dream but other times it may feel slow, down, like every step you're taking may be directionless. this is normal! this is how it should feel! despite what those people who have what you want portray on socials, it's a journey. everyone wants results so quickly now without putting work in, without enjoying the journey. this causes faulty foundations and unaligned outcomes. not everything is meant to be fast moving, positive, or happy all the time. you don't have to be in that energy all the time to be worthy of it. embrace both of these moments in the journey and trust that the seeds you have planted are growing. you don't plant a seed and watch it grow right? you nurture it, give it love, care, and trust that it will grow.

when you're lacking clarity or are doubtful, remember to be like the king of cups. move with these emotions rather than stay stuck in them. the king of cups shows us that we can be patient with ourselves and our bigger emotions but not let them consume us or cloud us. having a bad day? take a walk, a bath, spend time with family, friends or a pet. soothe yourself and don't let one bad day dictate the rest of your journey, you won't always feel like this and your situation won't always look like this either.

this message reigns true for those who have a dream pertaining to building a family, community, getting married, etc. your dream will be prosperous, stable, and so emotionally-fullfilling. it's possible the individuals that picked this pile may have came from less fortunate circumstances or just didn't get dealt the best cards in life. just because you came from that, doesn't mean that is your fate. you will make your ancestors proud and all past versions of you proud.

thank you. sending you love.

         

    ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

three:

page of cups + 4 of swords + the empress + the hermit

additionally: the high priestess rx + 6 of swords rx

song from the ancestors:

these ancestors carry a heavy energy pertaining to surviving. they never gave themselves a break simply because they couldn't. they needed to work to survive. i feel like crying for this lineage because that's all they knew is how to work their ass off until they were so tired. solely because their life depended on it or their children's life depended on it. health complications may be significant. you may be more susceptible to feeling the effects of stress. you may have things like back pain, insomnia, weight fluctuation, etc.

sit your ass down and rest. the end. that's the message.

no but really, if you're wondering why you don't see progress in any area of your life, it's cause you're not listening to your body and resting. you don't know when to quit and just unwind. let your body rest. let your mind rest. everything is always go go go. and it seems like even when you do rest, it's like your spirit doesn't rest cause either your mind is still running 80 mph or you feel guilty about resting itself. there's a lack of playfulness in your life right now. it's dull and you're probably going through the same routine day by day. I'm here to tell you, nothing won't change, if you don't change.

you are worthy of rest! you are worthy of being kind and gentle to yourself! I know our capitalistic society (if you're in the states) likes us to equate a "productive" life to having your to do list with ten thousand things on it but what if I told you rest was also productive? no? not comprehendible? well, it's time to break down that belief.

let your inner child come out to play! what is one thing you always wanted to see or try? sign up for that pottery class or simply go visit a local park that you've never gone to. if you don't have resources or time to do so, then find ways to switch up your routine like drinking a new coffee or opening a window and smelling the fresh air. find a step in your old routine to kick out and break that loop.

the fact of the matter is you're tired. you have seemed to lost the spark in you. maybe you don't even recognize who you are anymore, where you're going, or why you're doing this for and it's not cause of the work you're doing but rather not listening to what your body needs. prioritize your sleep and take a warm bath. I like working with the spirit of lavender for this so sometimes i'll sit with her though tea, a spiritual bath, or even smoking her. tip: add chamomile for a more gentle, warm hug type of feeling. remember to pray, meditate, or set your intentions. gratitude is so important when working with our plant relatives and their spirit.

you will not move forward or see progress if you don't do this. point blank period. this pile's ancestors talk a very matter of factly. but it makes sense as it seems urgent in a way. you have done enough and the work you are doing whether it's actual physical work or even just emotional work is so important! they're so proud of you but understand that they have worked so hard to be able to give you the privilege of slowing down and resting. do what they could not do!

this message reigns true for those who seem to be workaholics, have mommy issues, or come from a one-parent household. whoever you are, you're someone that can't sit still and you're being asked to do this exact thing. smell the roses, look how far you've come, you deserve this! also, hot baths, hot tea, anything warm or hot is recommended!

thank you. sending you love.

:)

[wanderingmindthoughts]

on top of that, I think that panicking about how genAI is this uniquely devastating threat that will destroy art and literacy makes us less able to adequately fight its actual dangers, because absolutely NONE of the threats that generators pose are unique.

if you're worried about the commodification of art and what happens to art and artists once you separate one from the other; if you think that automated art processes are creating a wave of passive consummerism that will wash out the creative pulsion out of the human spirit in favour of effortless passive consumption; then you should know that player pianos already raised all of these questions at the beginning of the 20th century. today, fully-automated player pianos still exist (and, maybe ironically, their main users are piano professionals), but their popularity is nowhere near that of 1924, when there were three player pianos being sold for each two conventional piano sales.

if you're worried about companies using new technology to skirt around the laws that force them to pay artists for their work, you should know that the popularization of radio and recorded sound threatened to put musicians out of work, back around a hundred years ago. the past century is full of musicians unionising, organising and striking, and we all know how internet streaming has affected both musicians and actors' royalties.

and this isn't new at all in education, which has been under the threat of new technologies my whole life. I still remember how worried adults were about people "unlearning" how to write because of mobile phones (not smartphones. not texting, the way we do today. in my country at least, adults in the mid-2000s were worried that teenagers sending *SMS* to each other were actively destroying our language)

TL;DR: genAI has many, many problems regarding privacy, reliability, fair use and ecological responsability. my main argument of why I don't use nor recommend using generators it that the ecological impact is not worth their usefulness, and I don't think companies will change anything about that unless we force them to. but letting yourself think that this "has never happened before", or "similar things have happened before, but now it's uniquely worse", you're missing out on gaining some perspective and learning how people have fought in the past.

and if every new technology over the last hundred years has unfalingly caused artists to fear for their livelihoods and teachers to fear over their pupils' skills, then maybe the problem is less that technology changes and more that financial insecurity and a lack of writing/reading skills are not bugs, but features of capitalism and the school system

listen. please. I say this as someone who personally does not like AI art and hates reading AI-written content, but also as someone who earned my PhD studying cultural politics and technology: not once in the history of ever has a moral panic about how a new tech thing is totally irredeemably evil and destined to destroy society turned out to be correct. the chances that you've latched on to the one panic that will buck this trend are pretty small.

[interact-if]

Hi everyone!

In the spirit of celebrating things that spark joy and build community^, @interact-if will be running a mini-series “Writing Spotlight”, which will feature beloved IFs in 5 main categories:

Best story/narrative (Epic/Exciting)

Best story/narrative (Cozy/contemplative)

Best world/setting

Best character

Most memorable choice/branch

How this works

Under each of these categories, vote for an IF (can be completed/WIP), either by: leaving a comment on this post, sending in an ask, or filling out this form.*

*Do include at least a sentence on why you’re voting for that IF / things you loved that made you vote for it). These lines will be compiled and I’m sure they’ll bring a little ray of sunshine to these authors.

If you’re leaving a comment or ask, do clearly state which category you’re casting a vote for (you can vote in multiple categories, but try to stick to 1-2 IFs in each category if possible)!

Do refrain from voting twice in the same category please, this is done in good fun :)

After voting closes

Do send in your by 27 April, and I will be tallying the votes and reaching out to winning authors** in each category to do a small interview feature, in the hopes of uncovering some tips/tricks/advice on their techniques and writing process (especially in relation to their strengths e.g. world-building, character arcs etc.)

**I might have to see how this works out, some authors are a little more difficult to contact, but I’ll try.

Again, I hope this will generate some positivity and love, plus maybe uncover some of the behind-the-scenes techniques/process behind the wonderful IFs that we love and talk about a lot! <3

^Especially in this turbulent time of Trump fuckery…

Last but not least, if you’d like to see any other categories featured in the next iteration, or if you have ideas for specific questions to include in the interviews with these authors, feel free to drop a message or a comment!

Looking forward to the responses, and hopefully this will be fun for everyone! :)

[will-o-the-witch]

Making Your Own Divination Methods

I'm a firm believer in the idea that divination is an extremely flexible tool, and anybody can develop their own unique methods for practicing it. There are a few common elements to all divination types which make them reliable, and they feel pretty obvious but it's still good to make it explicit. As long as your new method has these, you should be good to go.

A way to receive a message/response. Simple enough. Whether it be pictures, the movements of birds, overheard bits of conversation, or the way different symbols fall on a mat, you need to receive something to interpret. Simply asking a question to the Universe with no established way to get an answer wouldn't really be divination. It can be as abstract or nebulous as you want, but you should know what it is.

An established method of interpretation before you start. Depending on your method of choice this could be really broad, but you should have a general idea of how you'd interpret different messages going in. Deciding how to interpret the message after the fact opens itself up to bias since you can just decide what the answer means. Granted, when you're developing new methods you're inevitably going to run into messages you didn't consider, but even if it's just "good symbols=good outcome, bad symbols=bad outcome," that gives you the ability to accept messages you might not want, and that's important. If it only tells you what you want to hear, that's not reliable.

An element of randomness/something out of your control. In my opinion, this is what makes something divination to begin with. You can't control which card you draw from a blindly-shuffled deck, which plant grows faster when you treat them the same, which number a die lands on. If you have complete control over the message, then it's not going to be effective or reliable because it's too easy to manipulate.

Some random examples to show what I'm talking about:

Once I used a simple method of divination when a food company catered the summer camp I worked at for a day. The food boxes each came either an M&M cookie, regular chocolate chip cookie, or oatmeal raisin cookie. It was random which one you got because you couldn't see inside the boxes. I decided that each of these cookies meant yes/good, neutral, and no/bad respectively, then would ask a question before I selected my box.

I also really enjoy using Rory's Story Cubes for divination. You cast them on a mat and use the abstract symbols as different hints toward the message, especially how they worked together in concert with eachother to develop more complex ideas.

A local bar I enjoy has a lot of graffiti in the bathroom stall. When I go there, I let my eyes fall wherever they lay and interpret the first piece of graffiti I see as my message for whatever question is on my mind. That said, I go to this bar a lot and am getting pretty familiar with what messages are where, so I may retire this method soon.

I also collect TY Beanie Babies and have a chest full of them. Sometimes I'll mix them around, then reach in and draw one, using the poem on its tag as my message for the day.

[maybefae]

What do you need to hear right now?

Pile 1 - Pile 2 - Pile 3

Remember, this is a general reading and it may not resonate for everyone or completely. Tarot is a tool to help guide but you are responsible for your actions and life, you choose your path.

Tips!

|Pile 1

Tarot: The Tower, Page of Pentacles, The Moon, Queen of Swords, Knight of Swords, King of Cups, Ten of Pentacles, The Hierophant, Four of Cups (bottom of the deck)

Advice: The Opossum and Peony — bashfulness, The Bear and Cedar — leadership

Mhm, Pile 1… Well, I am doing your pile second and I also got distracted for 10 minutes (and keep getting distracted) as if I was avoiding something…Much like how you are. :)

This feels more job related, but adapt it how you will. One of the things that distracted me actually feels similar to the messages I am receiving for you. My sister was trying to find her guitar tuner, which my father had previously used for his bass a few weeks ago. But she couldn’t find it on her desk so she asked me to help find it. But the more we looked, our parents ended up joining in on the search. Turns out, the tuner was clamped on her amp right in plain sight.

You are trying to achieve something but you have come to obstacles that you can’t solve by yourself. I mean, you can…but it would certainly take a lot longer. Ask for help, Pile 1. There is someone, maybe more qualified, that could help. This person could also have others join in to work on the problem as well so there is a whole team that is striving to solve whatever problem you have encountered. 

I don’t know if you’re stubbornly independent, shy, or both. But the solution is really simple and is presented right in front of your eyes that you are neglecting to even flirt with the idea. Your solution is to just ask for help. You may have that “well, that was stupid” feeling that you get when something turns out a lot smoother than expected after worrying yourself sick beforehand. For example, when I was in uni, I used to worry myself way too much over exams that I had studied for extensively and I knew that I knew all the material — I take the test and ended up with a passing or perfect score which I was then left dumbfounded that I worried so much in the first place. 

You would probably help someone if they asked so why do you think that someone else wouldn’t do the same? You’d actually be surprised that other people would extend kindness and help.

|Pile 2

Tarot: Six of Swords, Page of Pentacles, Queen of Swords, The Empress, Ten of Pentacles, The Emperor, Ten of Swords, Six of Cups (reversed), Three of Swords (bottom of the deck)

Advice: The Quail and Gooseberry — Anticipation

Hello Pile 2! I am actually doing your pile first because the energy was being really insistent and I also feel like someone’s spirit guide was pushing me to start with your pile first. It’s a more feminine energy but it also almost feels like an angel or light being in an androgynous sense. I don’t know if that was any help trying to determine who or what it could be for you.

Pile 2, I keep second guessing myself and it’s really reflective of the energies in your reading. It’s like you keep digging your heels into the ground while an energetic force pulls you in the direction you need to be going. This could honestly be the spirit guide I was picking up on. There’s, not stubbornness per say, but an unwillingness to move. You may have to move in a direction that causes a lot of emotional turmoil for you. You do know that you need to make this move but you keep saying “I don’t know” because you truly don’t want to make the decision, even if it’s what is best at the moment. 

The way I’m getting these messages is really fast and it’s really hard to grasp each one so I can relay it because it’s so much. There could be a lot of energy surrounding this (dark or light), either way, both energies are a conductor that will facilitate this movement. Or you have spirit guides that are grabbing you by the arms and dragging you in a direction because you have stalled for so long. Think of it as a pipe — you are the blockage that is backing up all the energy behind you and at some point, the force behind you will move you.  

This situation has to do with walking away from something. A partner, family, a childhood friend, something from your childhood, or something that wasn’t the best for you and you knew you should go but you stayed (leading to you getting hurt over and over again). This could be an “older daughter/sibling” dynamic that you want to break but it leaves you feeling terribly guilty. If it is, just know that your younger siblings want you to do what is best for you and to stop beating yourself up. 

I don’t really like to bring up “divine feminine/masculine” energy but I don’t have other terms to use… But there is a need to bring balance. If you’re an older daughter, that will be incredibly difficult since it’s usually harder to truly express emotions and just let everything flow, not controlling everything. But I remember hearing about “feminine rage” energy and how you can confuse it with divine masculine energy. Feminine rage energy is the act of plowing forward with endless amounts of adrenaline until a hardship is done and your safe, it’s quiet because you’re detached from emotions, it’s easier to burn out, and you endure until you're safe and then you collapse. Masculine energy is more about self discipline — you have routines and boundaries that take care of your physical body, mental health, etc, and you are more logical but your emotions aren’t ignored. 

A lot of you are at different points. Some need to make the decision to walk away from someone or something while others are told to develop a healthier balance in your life now that you’ve made said decision. Your guides want me to tell you that there is a lot to anticipate in the future (but won’t specify what…It’s definitely a surprise).

|Pile 3

Tarot: Nine of Swords, Past Lives (Death), Ten of Wands, The Vessel (The Devil), Eight of Cups, The Shapeshifter (Knight of Wands), Two of Cups, Five of Wands, Seven of Wands (bottom of the deck)

Advice: The Fox and Ivy — Adaptability

I saw The Vessel while I was shuffling and had already got a message but I ended up putting it back and just shuffling the cards out. The Vessel is The Devil in this deck that I’m using and the image is a lot less scary than the original picture we get with the devil card. It’s a drawing of a capped vase and there’s a lot of light coming from it, practically glowing. And definition-wise, a vessel is used to transport something — but it’s also contained to that space. 

Some of you have an addiction (when I saw it the first time, someone very much needs to quit vaping/smoking but it could really be anything) that has really hindered your life and has trapped you. A bad habit, substance abuse, a mindset, anything. This addiction has entrapped you…It could’ve once been something that actually allowed you to carry through life, but only so far. Again, you are stuck in the walls of this vessel. And I get the feeling that this addiction has finally reached the point where it is getting annoying to you. There’s frustration that this addiction has so much power over you and your life. You are ready to lift the lid on the vase and finally set yourself free. For some of you, this could be breaking generational trauma.

I feel like you know this, but this reading could be external validation to finally take baby steps towards your personal freedom. I want you to know that I support you. Breaking any addiction isn’t easy and it’s very easy to fall back to bad habits, but it’s the fact that you are willing to try over and over again to finally get the freedom you want that means the most. It could look like you’re lazy or not trying hard, but trust me, there’s a lot of strength and courage and willpower that you have to muster to try after failing numerous times. 

You love yourself. You are willing to try to get better and that is loving yourself, even if you are hard on yourself sometimes. Be gentle with yourself. Tough love isn’t beating yourself up — it’s willing to be disciplined with yourself. And ya know, you may have to try different ways to break the cycle. It may not land with the first way you try and it may not be in a way someone else does it. It honestly could be unconventional.

I am supporting you and I’m sending love. xoxo

Dividers: @inklore

[johannestevans]

i have a lot of Feelings about the boss and secretary dynamic as a gay man bc like.

i write a lot of period pieces and I'm so Soft

firstly for disguising a romantic engagement / letting intimacy slip by unnoticed the master/servant relationship is unparalleled

it's that thing of… intimacy between two people behind closed doors, where one is responsible for editing or making the other, and therefore the other is able to relax in a way they couldn't with others

it's a loss of pretense, of the public mask

but for someone to whom acts of service are acts of love and affection, the dynamic has so much in it?

like. the tiniest intimacy of reaching out and adjusting a tie or stroking away a crease, lighting someone else's cigarette, helping someone dress or undress

OR SHAVE

and in the master and secretary dynamic it's not quite the same as with a valet or a lady's maid - it's not as physically intimate bc a secretary doesn't help one on with one's clothes

but. a secretary learns from the master, typically, to go on and be someone himself

in the process, he learns deeply the master's mind and machinations - a secretary doesn't just take dictation but actively listens to and judges the arguments being dictated

any debates in that office are as private and intimate AS undressing

because these are arguments raw and new and imprecise, that need to be tailored and cut into size by being spoken aloud - and the secretary also sees every typo, every blotted inkstain, every angry mutter over a rude letter

the secretary sees his master's mind! unfiltered!

i think. CONSTANTLY. about the dynamic between Vetinari and Drumknott in Discworld, how in public they are so choreographed, Drumknott moves in a dance to complement Vetinari

in private? Vetinari weeps, and Drumknott quietly lets him

and that's just in Snuff, but in general they have such intimate, interesting conversations, and yet in public Drumknott gives Nothing to Anyone, and I'm so feral about a man who only gives the privilege of his personality to a limited few

but in general I just…

hhh. I love partnerships and specifically I love relationships between those who work together, who learn each others rhythms and fill in the gaps and weaknesses in each other

and,,,,,, secretaries,,,,,

[starmosaics]

Here’s some random things I associate each house with!

1H- Body (anatomically), selfhood, birth, beginnings, enterprise of something, one’s will, identity, character and physical appearance, how you’re perceived, how you navigate your environments, attitude, tendencies

2H- Fruits of your own labor, possessions (material and moveable), sustenance, morals, how you articulate your thoughts and emotions, how one earns, self worth/esteem, self care, speech, what you gravitate towards, livelihood, family

3H- Mentality, how you communicate, information, transportation/movement, childhood friends, thoughts, siblings, perception, deeds, pre-college education, studies, skills, intellectual pursuits

4H- Emotions, internal voice, household, secrets/things kept to oneself, parents, sense of security, sustainability, roots, lineage, traditions, real estate, history

5H- Activities done as hobbies, artistic endeavors, lovers, vices, passions, how you have fun, how you function in a relationship, style, sexual nature, procreation, self expression, love language, pleasure

6H- Daily duties, wellness, people/things that harm you, healthcare, pets, longevity, healing, services, responsibilities, labor, injuries, employees/colleagues, workplace, anything that threatens your vitality (infection, illness, enemies, etc.)

7H- Companionship, partnership, marriage, unions, meetings, contracts, opponents, negotiations, general public, collective awareness, how you effect others/how others effect you, peers, endings, projection

8H- Sex/carnality, intimacy, anything that’s shared (STDS/STIS, finances, housing, possessions, etc.), mysteries, insurance, taxes, loans, what one inherits after a loved one’s death, death (literal and metaphorical), mortality, innate compulsion, public income (networth), gains from one’s partner, relationship with in-laws, transformation, trauma, anything hereditary that’s passed onto you (mental/physical illness, genes, etc.)

9H- Self actualization, searching, advertising, beliefs/morals/ideologies, religion, higher learning, intellect, legal affairs, publications, voyages, conceptual imagination, adventure, what one seeks

10H- Achievements, vocations, authority (your own and/or others), careers, position in life/public standing, one’s profession, reputation, public persona, people’s opinion on you based on what you do, the role you play, social status

11H- Flow of income, large groups, resources, acquaintances, media, aspirations, collaborations, communities, help you recieve from others through resources, desires, passive friendships, gain from business, alliances, supporters, potential

12H- Losses, anxieties, things outside of your control, the unknown, drugs, fears, bad habits, solitude, large institutions (nursing home facilities, prisons, hospitals, etc.), the past, subconscious/unconscious mind, self undoing, self examination, sleep, sorrows, escapism, meditation, ascension, isolation, internal battles, the depths of oneself

[cozymochi]

I've been really curious about your OCs for a while, and the ask regarding Silver and Cecil got me wondering, what's Nyoka's relationship with the Savanaclaw trio? I've got a faint idea about what he thinks of Leona though (he's a Leona glazer [simp/j] from what I based on that one answered ask). Sorry if this seems too much or a bother though ✌🏻

This took me a hot minute to compile but I think this is as up to date as I can muster. Featuring lore crumbs. [Majority Under Cut]

Nyoka Relationships

🍩+🫖

Ruggie + Nyoka

Ruggie sees an opportunity to make good money. Y’know, if Nyoka actually took his offers. He’s never met a cobra beastman until Nyoka, and the only thing he ever knew about them is that they live far away, they’re closed off, and RICH.

And this Nyoka guy is the richest out of them all.

Being the little opportunist that he is, Ruggie may sometimes ask Nyoka if he has any jobs he can do. The guy’s loaded, there’s gotta be something, and certainly a nice generous payment to go with it! Ruggie is willing to offer gofer services, anything for a rich up-and-coming lil’ mini celebrity.

Nyoka typically declines these propositions should they come up. He was mostly raised to be self-sufficient and pick up after himself despite his environment.

He might dig around Nyoka’s trash to see if he can scrounge up any valuables. Leona never gives a shit about tossing away perfectly fine things! So, maybe this other super rich guy does the same once in a while.

Besides, It’s not like Ruggie is scared of him to begin with. If Ruggie can handle someone as domineering and lazy as Leona every day, he can handle some stiff and possibly stingy cobra too. (Disclaimer: Only thinks Nyoka is stingy because he won’t let him do work/favors.)

The two are certainly not friends, but they have no issues either.

——

Nyoka doesn’t care for Ruggie personally, but he can understand how a scavenger is essential to pick up what’s left behind.

He mostly keeps his distance, as he would with anybody else. Ruggie is not bad company by any means if they do cross paths, but he would rather not engage. He can kind of sense that Ruggie has ulterior motives and can suss them out pretty quickly.

It should be noted that there are zero hyenas where Nyoka is from. And even outside of Sunset Savanna, hyenas don’t exactly have a great reputation. He never met any until attending NRC. Anything he does know about hyenas is from osmosis, and it is already skewed heavily against them, so he is somewhat guarded im response to that as well.

He did find it unusual that many texts at NRC about the King of Beasts mention hyenas quite a bit. Back home, they aren’t mentioned at all in legends. It’s mainly just reptiles. Curious.

The most Nyoka can do is observe his behavior and put a pin in it. He might carry a small prejudice in the back of his mind.

🐺+🫖

Jack + Nyoka

There isn’t too much to say. Jack doesn’t know Nyoka. In fact, he wasn’t even aware somebody like that was even in his own dorm to begin with for a while. Jack isn’t exactly chummy with the people in Savanaclaw, nor pays attention to what they say. Besides, talking with fists is the better alternative if any of those punks really have something to say to him.

Sometimes the sheer scope of Night Raven College and its student body continues to surprise him.

As far as Jack is aware, he’s never actually seen Nyoka. They don’t run in the same circles. If he has, he probably passed by him without noticing. Considering that Nyoka wants to mostly be missed within the dorm, this is probably ideal.

It’s possible they may eventually run into each other, but it’s hard to gauge if they would get along.

——

On the other hand, Nyoka is at least aware of Jack through osmosis since he appears to have gained some manner of infamy within the dorm. Some of the rougher guys tend to grumble and about how annoying, uppity and goodie-goodie that frosh Wolf Beastman supposedly is.

So, at some point those grumblings would reach Nyoka while he’s lingering around a corner or hear it through the walls. Gossip is not exactly of any interest to him, but he will store it in his system so he knows what to be aware of.

However, being a third-year on a completely different schedule, he and Jack do not normally cross paths at all. He doesn’t know Jack personally, therefore has not formed many strong opinions. He has seen him a few times, as Jack sticks out considerably for a freshman (both in appearance and behavior).

As of now they do not know each other directly. Out of all the main trio, this is the most distant relationship, in that there really isn’t any.

It’s not clear how they would interact. Though, it’s possible Nyoka would find Jack’s manners to just be deplorable due to his more brute way of solving conflict.

🦁+🫖

Leona + Nyoka

(Oh man not the Scar and Ushari of twst. So.)

Leona was already aware of Nyoka beforehand. If tangentially at first.

The royal family used to be in contact with the Wadjets, especially while Leona’s father was still active king, but that friendliness mostly dissolved when changes were made after some incident occurred. But, Leona was a kid when that happened and had nothing to do with him or Nyoka, so it’s mostly irrelevant.

Due to both of their statuses, they have been in attendance at the same events in Sunset Savanna over the years, but never formally met each other until attending NRC.

So when the Dark Mirror assigned Nyoka to Savanaclaw he wasn’t surprised by the choice at all.

He already knew Nyoka is a sole heir and that the Wadjets have direct ties to mining resources in their neck of Sunset Savanna. With this being a shared interest for Leona, having that person in his corner is only a net positive in due time. (Or would be anyhow if he had any say back home.)

Being the perceptive person he is, Leona knows it’s not really in Nyoka’s nature to be around others. Cobras don’t exactly run in packs.

He doesn’t give Nyoka any special treatment or anything, that’s not how this dorm works regardless of species. That being said… if the merciful dorm leader allowed him to clean out one of the junkie vacant rooms just so he could have his own burrow to coil up in, then maybe this studious guy could share some of that book-knowledge with the rest of the dorm once in a while. 😌 Everybody has their place around there.

Of course, he’ll let other students in the dorm prod the cobra, everyone needs a little roughing up every now and then. Thing is: if he bites back that’s on them.

Sometimes he finds Nyoka’s habits eyebrow raising at times, but he doesn’t comment on it. He chalks that up to him just being a cobra or something. It’s not like there’s a ton of those guys back in his neck of the savanna anyway, so what would he know?/s

That aside, It’s nice once in a while to have an actual intellectual person to test his methodical wits with on an equal playing field. Even if that field is mostly a literal impromptu game of chess when the mood strikes.

Leona almost always wins of course, but that cobra manages to keep games just interesting enough to where winning feels like an accomplishment.

——

Nyoka views Leona as Savanaclaw’s “king” just like the vast majority of the dorm does. With Leona actually being a prince he treats him accordingly right down to ONLY referring to him as “your/his highness” and bowing when in his presence. He regards him with courtesy, as one hypothetically should.

(Meanwhile, Leona just calls him “cobra.” Why not, he’s the only one in the whole dorm/school.)

Formalities aside… Nyoka idolizes Leona more than one would think.

He has a fascination with Leona that he’s drawn to like a moth to a flame. To Nyoka, every word and move from Leona is so calculated; with no energy wasted on under-stimulating or inferior matters. Even how he presents himself is an interest. He is fascinated by every single aspect of Leona to the point it almost borders on obsession. Nyoka might be distinctly inexpressive, but when around Leona’s “fire” as he puts it, his thoughts tend to fixate. At least nobody can hear what he’s thinking. There’s a certain atmosphere being in Leona’s presence, and especially when he finally lets out that ferocity.

Whatever Leona were to ask of him, he would be willing to do it so long as it keeps this proverbial “fire” burning. The last thing he would want is for Leona’s fire to burn out entirely. That would be such a shame.

Leona doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about.

(Where Nyoka is from, stories of the King of Beasts say his spirit appeared in fire. So maybe that has something to do with it.)

Nyoka does not go out of his way to ever seek out Leona. He only arrives when he is specifically called. Nyoka makes sure that their encounters are meaningful, mainly via their chess matches. This leaves him plenty of time of observe and be a part of those mind games that Leona takes so much pride in.

Regardless, they remain on good terms with each other. Leona is arguably the only person within the dorm that he has any modicum of actual respect towards.

Nyoka can have one uncharacteristic oddity in his mind. As a treat.

[hvnsinureyes]

omg queennn its okay i was tryna put 🚪 🥃 like b*ckshots um anyways! whats wrong with me haha!

or just like from the back in general idk i #need him bad

warnings | nsfw— reader gets her back blown out, steph doesn’t know how to use a phone (i think i’m funny)

author's note | OHHH that makes sm sense, i was like "you want to door whiskey with steph?? is that new slang??" but its okay anon, we can be crazy together ❤️

steph walked into the kitchen, knowing he had no real reason but to bother you. he "casually" goes to grab a bottle of water. you didn't think anything of it– there was nothing off about him, no signs of frustration, sadness, or anger. he didn’t say anything at first, simply lingering around, eyes flicking over to where you sat with your nose buried in your book.

to anyone else, it might’ve seemed like nothing. but you knew better.

ever since he realized l another away game was soon to come, steph became clingier than usual, practically attached to your hip at all times this whole week. it’s his way of savoring as much time as he can with you, even though he'll be back in a couple of days. 

dramatic, but you love him. 

the fridge door clicks shut. "away game soon," he mutters, taking a sip from the bottle. you hum in response, more focused on the book you're reading. in your defense, it's getting to the good part. steph frowns– more of a pout actually, yet he denies it every time– at the lack of attention. "gonna be gone for a bit."

"yep. i saw on the calendar."

"you not gon' miss me?" he steps closer, wrapping his arms around your shoulders, like the big baby he is.

"steph, i always miss you." you sighed, finally looking up at him.

"i miss you more." he whispered, and before you could roll your eyes, his mouth was on yours— soft and needy, tongue brushing against your bottom lip, like he was asking for permission. you open your lips against his, letting him in. as much as he annoys you, you can never get enough of steph.

"i know you will." you pull away, book already forgotten. "now, what do you want?”

but steph didn’t answer. instead, he leaned in, lowering his head until his lips found that sweet spot on your neck. a kiss. then another. slow, wet, deliberate, trailing down further. your breath caught as he dragged his mouth lower, grazing your collarbone, hand sliding over your thigh— he didn’t need to say anything else.

“i wanna spend time with you,”

“steph—” you moaned, your voice trembling slightly, heat blooming deep in your belly. “you mean fucking, don’t you?”

“same thing.” he pulled back enough to look you dead in the eyes, his smirk lazy, but dangerous. “we could make another tape,” he said, thumb now tracing slow circles on the inside of your thigh. “have something to remember you by.”

“don’t you have enough of those?”

“we’ve done every position but one…”

"fuckkk yes," steph groans, voice raspy. "throw that ass back, just like that baby," doggystyle— that’s what was missing. the flash from steph’s iphone shines on your back, camera focused between your ass and steph’s hips, cock rutting into your pussy. you don’t know what it is, the presence of the camera or making sure steph really has something interesting to watch while he’s gone, but you end up showing out each time.

“guess you’re not the only one who’s gon’ miss me,” he muses. you’re dripping all over, juices sticking between your thighs and coating his dick. it’s hard not to when he’s slamming into that spot, making your toes curl and leaving your body shaking. “this pussy will, won’t it?” you nod, but that’s not enough for him.

“words, baby, we can’t see your face.”

“yes, yes, it’ll miss you!”

“good,” he murmurs, entranced by the feel of your tight walls. “b’cause imma miss this most of all, this nice ass pussy,” with his fingers digging into your asscheek, he takes back control of the pace, fucking into you harder. your moans only encourage him to go faster, rougher— hammering into you like there’s no tomorrow. “it’s all mines,” he says, you don’t hesitate to respond.

“all yours, no one else’s,”

“you close, ain’t you?” it’s not a question, more of a statement if anything. steph can already tell by the way you’re squirming beneath him. you can already feel the bruises and discomfort you’ll get from sitting down, but that’s not important right now, you’ll make him make it up to you later. steph’s free hand goes under, quickly finding your clit and rubbing frantically. he’s desperate, wanting you to feel the same high he’ll to get soon enough.

it doesn’t take much though. you scream out from the friction, senses heightening as you gush over the couch and his fingers, whimpering as he continues even after your orgasm. “steph— t’much,” he’s moaning, deep in his throat, from how you’re squeezing him. you’re just as enthusiastic, fighting through your fatigue to grind into him, back arched and in perfect sync with his hips. he’s almost there, also needing that push. you already know.

“inside, baby, c’mon,” you say, looking back at him, “f—fill me up. i need it, i wanna feel you,” steph’s hips stutter against you before he completely stills, both hands grabbing your hips as he cums deep inside, hips completely pressed against you. you feel the spurts of cum fill you up until you’re stuffed full of steph. it’s silent except for your small pants, the both of you basking in the moment…until he says,

“…i don’t think it was recording.” what? steph grabs the phone from where it fell on the couch. there was no video, he didn’t even open the camera app. turns out his flashlight was on the whole time instead.

“are you kidding me?”

steph just grins, sheepishly, as if he didn’t just take you through an intense workout for a good 10 minutes. your body is sore and aching, goddamnit—

“one more time?”

“no.”

[spacemothsota]

Cassette player from Cassette?

You know, I love cassettes in Transformers. (I love them so much that if you woke me up in the middle of the night and asked me what cassettes Soundwave and Blaster had, I could probably list them all by name.)

Many people underestimate them because of their size and the fact that they transform into cassettes and they are often reduced to the "children's" equivalent, but listen.. Just listen. In my mind, cassettes are not children at all, no, not at all, to go through such a war and stay alive, you know guys, they are definitely adults. Maybe teenagers close to becoming adults or this stupid period when you are kind of an adult, but you still need a "More adult adult". Moreover, in the comics, Rumble and Frenzy were actually miners, so let's keep that in mind, okay? In short, cassettes are quite adult and independent, this will be useful to us in my subsequent words.

In general, it seems like the show and comics have never said how strong this connection is between the cassette host and the cassette. What kind of connection is this? How do cassette host and cassettes work? Like… I don't remember it being said directly, but obviously there is a connection. (Remember how Soundwave feels pain from Ravage's death, or from Rumble's injury? Obviously the connection is strong, but what kind of connection is it?) How do cassette players and tapes work? HOW?

How the fuck does this work???

Well I have a couple of ideas about it actually, it may seem unusual, but here are a couple of my ideas.

It's pretty obvious that it's similar to symbiosis, where one species helps another in some way. While symbiosis can be parasitic in nature, I'm guessing that for Cybertronians it's more like a mutually beneficial phenomenon. Usually, creatures of different species enter into symbiosis, be it clownfish and sea anemones, or butterflies that feed on animal tears (they need it to get sodium). I think that cassette player and cassettes are more closely related. Aside from the obvious symbiotic relationship, where the one offers the cassette safety, care, and a secure life in exchange for some services from other side (like recording information, spying/intelligence activities, etc.), it seems to me that this could have a deeper evolutionary mechanism, for example for survival purposes?

Ever wonder why there are literally only two Cassette Host in the show and comics? It's literally just Soundwave and Blaster (Soundblaster doesn't count, he's a clone. Sorry, fans of that guy). It's also not really clear what niche they occupied in the caste system the Functionalists founded, but it's probably not a very high one since Soundwave was found on the street by Ravage. I think the fear here might be precisely because bots like them are capable of this type of symbiotic relationship. They don't need mods for it, they are designed to share their space and path with trusted Cassettes. This connection itself must imply that you understand each other on some deeper level. Maybe like Gestalts, a common type of internal connection that other bots can't recognize? I think that makes sense. You're basically slightly in each other's heads. The Cassette Host not only takes on the responsibility of providing the cassette, but also of regulating this internal connection, both emotional and physical. In return, the cassettes provide an unlimited ability to store and accumulate data (I think this is connected to their altform, that is, Rumble and Frenzy can be quite smart, they just don’t need it. A striking detail in this regard would be Rewind and how he helped Tailgate reduce the bomb’s radius, but there’s a lot that can be said about him). Understand? This increases the likelihood that the Cassette player and the cassettes act as a single, well-coordinated organism, it’s no wonder that the functionalists were afraid of this. This symbiosis can resemble from the outside both a family unit and a business gang, where there is a boss and cronies. In any case, here’s another thought of mine, what if…

What if, under certain conditions, a cassette tape could become a cassette player?

I know this might sound weird, but just hear me out. You know, I often come across the idea that cassette hosts can create cassettes, and that's a possibility, because my idea is based on that. Could a spark of such a bot be predisposed to create smaller sparks to provide security and support for those cassettes that don't have the ability to become cassette players? Look, we have a cassette host, it can have its own cassettes that it created, or those that were reformatted into this altform and taken under its wing. If the host is hurt or killed, cassettes can remain destitute and forgotten until they die, but what if, due to the symbiotic relationship of these Cybertronians, they have some kind of evolutionary mechanism? What if one host has enough cassettes that it realizes that it strains the internal communication and does not allow time for each? Then one or two cassettes created by the bot and having a predominantly humanoid form and also access to comfort and resources, begin to gain mass of the protoform, form a cassette deck and so on. They become new cassette players, provided that they have always been in this altform and have not been reformatted, I think the second type of cassettes is not capable of this mechanism. Why is this an evolutionary mechanism? Well, because perhaps earlier these two types of Cybertronians really belonged to different groups, but in the process of millennia and millions of years they were simply close for so long that they turned into one group. You know what, in essence, cassettes would be like an axolotl from our world (like… Have you seen an axolotl? They are actually not an adult version of an ambystoma)

This mechanism would essentially explain why we know only two cassette hosts and so many cassettes. Probably, before the war there were a sufficient and diverse number of them, but during the war many could have died and Soundwave and Blaster essentially picked up the destitute, deprived of communication and scared cassettes. None of the cassettes had the necessary level of comfort, fuel and other factors that would contribute to the evolution into a new host, you understand? In essence, this means that Soundwave and Blaster were loaded with an additional level during the war (that's why they look tired, taking care of so many charges is tiring…)

I can just see how after the war, with the improvement in the quality of life, one of the cassettes finally decided that the conditions are good enough, but there are too few hosts… It's time to evolve into an adult version and become a cassette player.

I hope Soundwave can rest and this won't be another world.

[ozmodai]

sorry if you mainly wanted asks on your ocs, but i’m really curious who your plushie manu is, and just generally, what manufacturers you think are best to work with, if any? i’m quite interested in the process of it all !

whatever kinds of questions are cool, i just like chatting/answering stuff :]

as for my manu, i worked with Shanghai Got Gift Co.! i had a recommendation for them from some years back and when i finally wanted to make a plush, i liked the look of their page (years of experience, verified seller, certifications for safety, etc). rep was really nice, quick responses, and very patient with my revision requests.

(some nonstandard bunberts before we settled on the final)

i can't really say much on what other plush manus are best to work with since this is the only plush i've worked on with a supplier! but i'm pretty happy with how things with went SGG.

if you mean what other manus for OTHER kinds of merch, then my main "manu" is the margalita pizza GO, a group order server that i've worked closely with for several years now and where i get cool stuff like my outfit changer and cd charms (they were the ones that created the original template before other manus swooped in and swiped it). i'd recommend it more for people who are experienced with making merch since it can be overwhelming for beginners. but it has peak quality and rin, the GO runner, is a lovely and dedicated person.

i've also heard good things about and want to personally test kuien for quicker turnarounds! hopefully, depending on how the tariffs situation goes as prices for each of these are going to change very soon.

[lakesbian]

@girlstare-too-close-to-the-sun tagging you in a rb for typing space purposes. im in an essay mood today sorry if you didnt want an essay. the thing is that i do like evette, for a certain definition of like. devoid of context, evette's personality & the actions she takes are amusing. her social ineptitude, bluntness, bizarre incoherent schemes, and looney-tunes shenanigans are pretty fun to watch. i liked when she slid naked and covered in soap down several flights of stairs and threw crushed glass at people.

the thing about arc 14 is that, if you take it as a series of isolated scenes--wherein the quality of the overall arc is determined based on the pacing of those scenes, or if they have engaging dialogue, or if there's tension, or if they're written in a poignant tone--then yeah, arc 14 is overall pretty good. however: if you assess arc 14's quality based on its position in the larger story, with the expectation that each arc in the story should develop the ongoing narrative arcs, strengthen the intended character development, and support the story's themes...then arc 14 is where things start to go off the fucking rails in a way twig never recovers from.

especially if we add "has non-wince-worthy politics" to the list of traits we're expecting a good arc to have.

i'll start with the political criticism to get it out of the way before i get into the structural/narrative complaints. the first main issue w/ arc 14 is that it's kicked off by sy reacting to jessie's love confession with the exact same homophobic treatment he gave jamie, and this time, the narrative doesn't expect him to take any responsibility--he abandons jessie, and when she finds him at the end of the arc, she's the one to apologize to him for being upset that he mistreated her. (this problem will then go on to culminate in jessie transitioning pretty explicitly solely so that sylvester does not have to experience the discomfort of being around a boy he knows is attracted to him. this discomfort is portrayed as justified and completely unavoidable.)

secondly, sylvester is depicted as having what is essentially a badly written stereotype of DID/how DID is frequently misrepresented, and then the arc ends in sylvester realizing that he was just faking/pretending to be evette when jessie saves him w/ the power of friendship. i assume it's self-evident why this is not good.

this also neatly segues into my structural complaints. it is just not well composed with regards to the ongoing relationship drama and character arcs. frankly, twig is at its worst when it's slogging through overly-tedious descriptions of sy (or sy as evette) getting into generic action-y trouble--and that holds true even when i'm conceding that the evette scenes were on the better-written side of the action-y trouble scale. twig is at its best when the unique character dynamics of the lambs are explored. sylvester just fucked absolutely everything up with lillian and jessie, two of the most important & integral people to him, but instead of exploring the consequences of his actions, or how he's going to navigate those outcomes, he just....fucks off to do random things in the city for an arc. of course he doesn't have to reckon with it in an interesting way--it's completely valid for straight boys to be viscerally discomforted by a male friend's attraction to them, so jessie will apologize to him! all better! what about his break-up with lillian? uh, no need to worry about all that, he's busy doing Random Action Stuff.

and frankly? his reaction, and the arc as a whole, pretty clearly only exist to justify sy randomly being in the right place to meet mauer again & have mauer drop the Plot Reveal of the academy child-trafficking black market. it's just kinda. shoddy writing. obviously all story events exist to justify further story events, but this particular arc feels largely like something that's just happening to sy, very arbitrarily. there's no meaningful outside impetus driving it, so we need his internal impetus to carry the weight. but his internal impetus is kinda just...dumb, as far as character motivations go. the narrative feels hazy and nonsensical, even if the individual scenes might come off as coherent. it's a little dreamlike in a bad way. it's nowhere near as interesting as the preceding emotional drama between him, lillian, and jessie.

and this whole turn of events really shoots the ongoing syjessie romance slow-burn arc in the foot. the book has spent the past several arcs emphasizing the point that, despite the points of pain between them, sy and jessie are fundamentally intellectually compatible in a way sy struggles to be with the other lambs, and they have become incredibly close. they're more or less in their Old Married Couple Era before they ever actually date, and if i remember correctly, sy actually explicitly compares them to one in his head during one of their arguments. but instead of having any kind of interesting character interaction with her where all of this romantic tension finally culminates, he just runs away, and the arc is spent on those random action-y activities. it's a let-down! twig's biggest flaw is fixating on a disproportionate amount of random action scenes literally every time it should be fixating on long-awaited character interaction payoffs instead.

there's also a lot of relatively smaller incoherent things about this arc that kind of get lost in the haze, but they're there. there's the random forced conflict between mauer and sy, and we never have nor will ever receive a reasonable justification for why sy is still anti-mauer. there is also no reasonable explanation for what seems to me like a major shift in mauer's characterization in this arc. there's the fact that sy's identity is depicted as completely liquidated in a way that, according to both real-life common sense and (iirc) many of the story's statements, should be irrecoverable--but nah, it's all basically fine again at the end of the arc, because jessie reminded him that he was Faking It.

it just is not good as a piece of twig. essentially nothing about it passes muster when assessed in the context of twig as a story that should be coherent. i wish it was good, but it is not. it's quite offensive politically, and then on top of that, it's just Not Good as part of the overall story structure & narrative arcs.

something evil about twig is that one of sylvester's most endearing, redeeming traits is his complete and utter love for and obsession with his aborted twin evette, but the monkeys paw curls in on that and it becomes one of The Worst Bits Of The Book

[raven-6-10]

SIGN LANGUAGES IN THEDAS

@zombiefishgirl and I started talking and now I'm making it into a separate post, because I have Ideas.

Generally speaking, I don't think every place has a sign language or even knows such a thing exists. But there are places which have their own sign language or which use one that originated in another country/culture.

Now, which places I think have some kind of sign language, in no particular order.

Antiva

Antivans most definitely have their own sign language, which can be learned if you know where to find a teacher. And, to nobody's surprise really, it has origins among the Crows.

More specifically, the Antivan Sign Language (ASL) is derived from Crow handsigns, which are used when stealth is paramount. After all, you can't endanger the mission just to gossip with your fellow assassin (or to pass orders). Nope, that's what the handsigns are for.

Each house has their own specific signs, kept secret from the outsiders, but as they started to co-operate more and the amount of collaboration on missions increased, a shared vocabulary was developed. And it was that shared language that has found its way first to the civilians living around and among the Crows, and from them to the general population of Antiva.

Nowadays, there are tutors who can teach you the ASL, either in a classroom setting or offering individual lessons. And it is not uncommon for people working in professions where their workplace is full of noise - and the loss of hearing is an unfortunate inevitability - to know quite a few phrases and words, and know how to finger spell many more.

Nevarra

Similarly to Antiva, the Nevarran Sign Language (NSL) originated in a secretive organisation before becoming knows among the general populous. Unlike Antiva, the organisation in question is much more benign, being dedicated to the preservation of the dead and, through them, the history and culture of Nevarra.

The mortalitasi.

Them and their elite order of the Mourn Watch is where the NSL has its beginnings.

The fact is that despite their many and varied techniques and methods of preserving the dead, the progress of decay is inevitable. Sooner or later, each and every body will be reduced to bones and then to dust. And one of the first things to go are the vocal cords, without which it is not possible for a soul to speak when recalled to its body.

(Spirits, being entities without physical bodies in the first place, are not so limited, though the exact methods they use have not been replicated to anyone's knowledge.)

In response to this loss of faculties, the caretakers of the Necropolis have worked tirelessly to create means by which the dead could still communicate with the living. After trying and discarding several methods, they have finally settled on a language of handsigns, which has since then significantly expanded in both vocabulary and users.

First finding its way to those Watchers injured in the course of duty, who were no longer able to vocalise and to their families and friends outside of the Necropolis. From there, the NSL made its way to universities, circles and private tutors of the rich, who taught the language to anyone who expressed interest in learning it and could afford the lessons.

It is in fact considered a sign of good education for a noble to be able to converse easily using the Nevarran Sign Language.

Orzammar

Another place which has extensively developed its own sign language is the dwarven kingdom of Orzammar.

Similarly to the Nevarran example, it was first developed with a thought for those who were no longer able to communicate conventionally. That is, for the needs of the smithing caste, many of whom would experience the loss of hearing due to long hours spent in the forges.

Due to this, the Orzammar Sign Language (OSL) is an incredibly precise and technical language in terms of vocabulary - there is a separate pronoun for every caste so that there's no place for ambiguity and, at the last count, there were thirty-seven words for iron ore - each one used for ores of different purity and origins.

Despite this complexity, the OSL is widely known and taught among the smithing and mining castes, among the Shaperate and the Legion of the Dead. It is also more or less known to the members of other castes and even for the casteless it's not impossible to learn this language. (In fact, many casteless women planning to go noble-hunting will go out of their way to learn it to increase their chances.)

In light of this, nobody can surprised to learn that the creator of this language has been declared a Paragon.

Ferelden

Ferelden does not have its own separate sign language. It does, however, have extensive ties of trade and blood with Orzammar due to their respective locations.

It is not uncommon for casteless dwarves to look for better prospects on the surface, be it by finding a craft in one of the many villages and towns, or by becoming merchants and facilitating the trade of goods between the two kingdoms. There has also been cases of exiled families of other castes finding their way to the surface and settling down in proximity to the entrance to their old home.

As such, it should not come as a surprise that the OSL has become somewhat known among the Fereldans, though nowhere to the point it is in Orzammar. No, the knowledge seems to be mostly limited to the people in villages in the vicinity of the entrance to the thaig, various dwarven families and the merchant and noble houses who conduct regular business with the dwarven kingdom.

Dalish

The Dalish elves do have their own signs used for non-verbal communication, although calling it a language is perhaps too generous.

In truth, it has much more in common with the Crow handsigns, being a collection of short and simplistic gestures used to communicate silently when any kind of noise would be a prelude to lethal danger. Whether it is a hunt for a particularly vicious beast or a group of humans too close to a camp, those signs allow the hunters and warriors to coordinate with each other their next course of action.

While there is an attempt at maintaining the uniformity of gestures and meanings, with each Arlathvhen allowing for comparisons and modifications, the truth is that each Dalish clan has its own vocabulary of signs. As such, it is not uncommon for hunters from two different clans to be completely unintelligible to each other.