#i just!!!! like reading ppl's fortunes to them!!!! it's like improv!!!!!

[takethistoyourstardust]

me when i want to do tarot readings for people but i am nowhere near good enough to even think abt charging for it but i love reading ppl's fortunes and trying to interpret what the cards mean...

[seekforwarmth]

Annual Writing Self-Evaluation

thanks to @allwaswell16 for tagging me! i enjoyed reading your answers a lot! 1. List of works published this year:

ready for a war

Devoted

fuck around, find out

seven, seven

the embers are new

bet on it

Harmony

Cold Spring

two languages, one love

could start a cult

must be love

don’t let the fire die

2. Work you are most proud of (and why): i’m proud of all of them for different reasons, this is very hard to choose. i’m going to say Harmony bc it was the first time i made a collab with an artist.

3. Work you are least proud of (and why): not necessarily a work but i’m not proud that i couldn’t meet my writing goals set for this year (writing a fic longer than 20k words, finishing a wip i’ve had for three years).

4. A favorite excerpt of your writing: from fuck around, find out

“Everything looks lovely but please, call me Louis. What was your inspiration for the menu, Chef Styles?” Louis asks, beaming. Harry lets out a laugh, refocusing his gaze to the dining area. “I’ll call you Louis if you call me Harry, can we agree on that?” Once he gets a nod of confirmation, he continues. “When Oli mentioned you wanted to retribute to the people working for the movie, and that you wanted it to feel personal, it immediately made me think of the time I arrived in New York. I was a youngster, with no family in the city and only a promise of a job that I wasn’t sure I was talented enough to fulfill,” Harry tells, remembering the nerve-wracking feeling of accepting the sous chef position when he was so young and with not much expertise. “Uh, an old lady by the name of Vittoria welcomed me to her house. She was like a second mother to me, sharing with me not only her home but her culture as well. She came to the States with her parents when she was just a toddler but grew up surrounded by the Italian community. We used to have gatherings every weekend with all her family—and I mean all the family, children, grandchildren, neighbors…I learned a lot from her, from all of them. And I used that as an inspiration for today. You’ll see three courses of my version of some of the food I had the pleasure to share with Vittoria and her family. Just wait until you try the tiramisù…it’s to die for,” he ends with a sigh. When he looks back at Louis, he notices something on his face. Fondness, maybe?

5. Share or describe a favorite review you received: i love getting comments, and there are so many that i keep in my heart that it’s hard to choose. i love especially the ones under my rare pair fics bc it’s when ppl usually tell me that they don’t read rare pairs but they gave it a chance bc of me. it means more than words can express when someone trusts you like that.

6. A time when writing was really, really hard: when i was ill around july and i kept changing and changing my blff prompt. i was very close to drop out bc i thought i wouldn’t make it. fortunately i did and i finished my second fic on time.

7. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you: writing Pedro Pascal surprised me a lot lol like i’ve obviously read Louis/Pedro fics before but i had never entertained the idea of writing one myself and it was a nice surprise. also, writing Louis/OMC wasn’t on my plans either but i welcomed it.

8. How did you grow as a writer this year: i personally don’t see any growth.

9. How do you hope to grow next year: i just hope to finish the ideas that i have. i don’t expect for them to be masterpieces, i just need them to be finished.

10. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc): definitely my friends, the ones that read pairings or tropes they don’t like only bc it’s me writing them, the ones that hype my fics even if they don’t know if the story is good yet, the ones that offer their help and their advice to help me improve.

thank you to Anitra @allwaswell16 for being so supportive all this year, for betaing my works and offering your advice, and for encouraging me to keep going.

thank you to Emma @alltheselights who always reads my fics and leaves gorgeous comments under them, your support means a lot to me.

there’s three fics that wouldn’t exist without Mar @sunbellylou so thank you so much, my love, for being an inspiration to write the filthiest things.

thank you to Kenny @luviebaybie for being the most supportive even when life gets busier and busier. thanks for taking the time to beta for me, i appreciate it a lot!

thank you to Andy @outropeace for inspiring me to write abt Louis and the bodyguard, and for teaching me how to write a smau.

thank you to @linhuine, @smittenwithlouis, @nooradeservedbetter, @lemelous, @punkpillowprincess, @voulezloux, @disgruntledkittenface, @tokyolou, for your constant support and your friendship.

11. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year: fortunately nothing bc i write romantic stories, no sad stories 🤭

12. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers: joining fic fests is not only an opportunity for you to shine, it’s a chance to build community so pls support works from the other authors in the fest, that’s what a fest is about.

also, hide your stats from ao3. there’s a lot of freedom in not knowing if your fic has hits and kudos or if it doesn’t.

13. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year: YES! i’m only working on two projects and i’m so excited abt them. the first one it’s a collab between me and @lemelous so expect a lot of gorgeous art, and the second one is a Louis/SebStan wip i couldn’t finish this year.

14. Tag three writers whose answers you’d like to read. ;)@voulezloux, @nooradeservedbetter, @disgruntledkittenface if you haven’t done this already.

*All answers should be about works published in 2023

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Happy Festa BPP! Is this something ppl do? Wish Festa like holiday? Ta! Happy Festa anyway!!

Don't know if you've said this before but how did you become army?

***

Hi Anon,

Honestly, no. I don't think wishing people Happy Festa is a thing within ARMY... People reminisce and all that but actually sending wishes, not really. But it's a nice gesture so I appreciate you sharing that festive energy with me.

All the Festas are sweet but something about a 10-year anniversary evokes strong memories. It's been a wild ride.

I've talked about how I became ARMY many times, but I can give an abridged version here.

I watched BTS's debut showcase No More Dream for the first time, some time in August 2013 but I don't remember which day exactly. I had heard about BTS by that point, (a lot of people had, which was unusual for a group from a small company and further shows how strong an impression they made at debut), but I didn't get around to actually watching their stuff till August.

I felt they were strong performers but had no other real opinion about them, and kinda forgot about them for a year, till their Dark & Wild comeback in August 2014.

After that album comeback, I consistently kept up with BTS but didn't really think of myself as a fan. The way I engaged with k-pop was to check out several groups I was interested in, sometimes go to their comeback shows if I was in Korea, attend KCON concerts, read Korean forums, etc. Like a fan of many groups but a stan of none, if that makes sense. So, I sort of watched BTS from the sidelines in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. Throughout this time, I realized I loved every new musical output from them more than the previous one. It was clear they were improving not just their songwriting, production, exploring more genres, etc, but that they had a very distinct voice - a consistent message in their storytelling that seemed to come from their own lived experiences, for all seven members. Executed at the highest level. And that was something I had never, ever seen in k-pop or anywhere else really.

Of course, during this time, their fame, fortune, and success multiplied as well. And the latent animosity I'd observed since debut towards BTS from the wider k-pop fandom, just became more overt the more BTS became successful. That mess with EXO fans and the Blue House was particularly disgusting and soured my opinion on most fans of SM groups and the wider k-pop fandom. But by 2018, when it was clear BTS's rise was definitely stratospheric and already beyond the realm of k-pop, the gloves were off. The hostility became extremely blatant to the point k-pop stans were working with real life neo-nazis to physically assault Japanese ARMYs who were attending a concert, they were spam calling Japanese newspapers and Jewish foundations in America to put out a statement condemning BTS, and asking for the American government to blacklist BTS.

It was bonkers.

Sulli had ended her life just before the hate campaign against BTS hit a fever pitch in Fall 2018. I liked her a lot and her death shifted something in me - it made me re-evaluate my distanced, detached almost apathetic approach to k-pop beyond the music, especially regarding hate campaigns from k-pop stans that used to run completely unchecked and only escalated and became more sophisticated especially when the target was someone who broke against the norm. So, I linked up with some J-ARMY friends and we spent a weekend coordinating with local Japanese police to track down some k-pop stans working with neo nazis to assault BTS and ARMYs, and by the end of November 2018, I was calling myself an ARMY.

Nothing has really changed since then compared to how I was a fan of BTS before. Except that now, I buy their albums more consistently (it was kinda more sporadic / spontaneous before). I've never been a collector so I don't really care about PCs and what not. I educated myself on charts and fandom norms, and started watching more of their non-music content. I was already very familiar with their personalities and interpersonal quirks (jikook has stood out to me since 2015, yoonmin, namgi, namseok, and sope since 2014, and taekook since 2016 or so), but since 2018 I've found myself enjoying more of their auxiliary content though it's still not something I seek out (I still haven't watched SOOP 2 for example, lol).

Most of my friendships with fans of other k-pop groups I've maintained till now, and I still check out almost every new release in the industry when I have the time, and becoming a fan of BTS has been wonderful.

The ARMY community gets a lot of flack, like all big fandoms do, but there's a real community of genuine and smart people here that I appreciate. BTS has never disappointed me - and I had to really think before writing down that sentence. This industry is harsh, cruel. BTS had to navigate channels no k-pop group or Korean artist has had to before, they've single-handedly elevated an entire industry into the social consciousness of the wider world, and are still holding on to their relentless drive and sense of wonder.

These seven men are remarkable. They're some of the hardest workers I've ever seen. Fully dedicated to their craft and their team, artists and performers in every sense of the word. I thoroughly enjoy being a fan of the music they make, and supporting their growth as artists and people.

Happy Festa everyone! I'm treating myself to Taro ice cream topped with pistachio nuts today to celebrate. Maybe we should make this some kind of holiday lol.

[comradeocean]

I didn't not enjoy the bear s2, but 2 fucked up things that bother me a lot: 1. Ebra, and sort of relatedly, 2. the show's complete inability to take an actual fucking position on the exploitative nature of the service industry.

on 1: the writing sets Ebra up with the beginnings of an arc but doesn't go anywhere with it until ep 8. there are these gestures towards filling in a backstory (Ebra's clumsiness, the roughshod nature of his skill or lack thereof, his inability to recalibrate in this new environment, his initial dread of uniforms after being fine w the new chef blues Syd and Carmy instituted in s1), which are subsequently abandoned and rendered meaningless in favour of his contrite, apologetic reappearance in ep 8, where he is the one narratively required to make amends for not being up to the task.

for his failings (of not being able to handle navigating institutionalised education bc of war trauma? bc of it being in a language he's still struggling to learn? bc of his age? the condition of his body? his background? we don't fucking know. it doesn't actually matter. we just know he bombed and let Tina (everyone) down), he's relegated to the drive through window. the implication: get w the program or get left in the dust. and why not? they gave him all the necessary resources, the opportunities to /better/ himself, so of course it's on him he's no longer qualified for meat prep, in that fancy new kitchen w equipment that actually fucking works.

Tina made it, right? good fortune is for those who are prepared to receive it. not our (Syd/Carmy/Sugar, the viewers at home sitting proxy, as always, in the position of management) problem Ebra couldn't hack it. it is what it is. some ppl can't deal w things changing. sad. they oughta be grateful there's a position left for them. allowances are being made, after all. generosity and sentiment on the strength of shared history.

that's the viewpoint suggested by the writing in the show.

and moving onto point 2, bc this, too - not hacking it, his perpetual self-sabotage, self-victimisation - was gonna be Richie's fate. until he goes on his own journey of self-actualization accomplished via the Cinderella magic of... internalizing the ethos of artisinal servitude.

yes, the form of labour is regimented and punishing and fucking abusive, but messy ppl who need some semblance of order and purpose in their live are predisposed to excuse and even justify the worst of its excesses bc yeah! their lives can be made materially and psychologically better in certain ways, for having taken a sip of the koolaid. they can, for once, be doing work they personally find meaningful. they can even thrive. 

so who's to say if it's actually good or bad! plus don't the middle aged middle classed high school teachers of middle america deserve some luxury? a treat! (as if that's the average clientele of such restaurants bffr!!!!)

is that not the takeaway from these 2 seasons? we are rooting for Syd and Carmy. we are rooting for the survival, nay, success of their fine dining establishment. we want them to beat the odds! we want them to turn this failing shithole filled w sad broken people into a high performing marvel of the American hospitality industry where everyone strives for excellence in all things, bringing only their best selves to work blah blah blah

like, if I were to use the vocabulary reserved for descriptions of enemy states, Richie's turnaround literally reads as the success story of getting shipped out for re-education: a recalcitrant, disruptive element undergoes ideological and thought reform through labour, and returns a model worker fully committed to the leadership and advancement of the cause.

what is the cause? The Bear, obvsly. but more generally, something to do w the virtue of self-mastery, self-perfection, self-improvement, whatever. bc it seems to me so many of the conflicts explored in the show come back to this.

in Richie's arc, compliance within a system where the power a customer or head-chef holds over you might as well be boundless becomes sanctified, as servility is elevated to a kind of craft. even an art form. his initial unhappiness about being put in such a relationship, and to feel demeaned by it, is framed as an attitude problem of insufficient self-regard - if you loved yourself enough, had enough confidence in yourself and yr skills, you wouldn't bristle at this level of labour discipline, or interpret conforming to such standards as harsh.

and the thing is, a big part of the hype the show got last season was for its honest clear-eyed depiction of the restaurant industry. it was praised for being thoughtful about grief, and various kinds of trauma, and how toxic working environments are created and fed by addiction and cycles of abuse. like Truffaut who quipped there are no antiwar movies that don't glamourize war, it's easy for depictions of the brutal pace of modern high-end dining to turn into competence porn.

how the writing, particularly by season 2 and Richie's arc makes me want to interpret the way the show makes sense of this tension is by leaning into psychosocial explanations. ultimately, individuals are the vector by which dysfunction spreads, dysfunction instilled in them by other people. the role the system plays recedes ever more into the background. there's a displacement. in the final analysis, the problem is not the problem, the problem is not being an adequate-to-the-problem problem solver.

the consensus after season 2 is that Carmy needs to work on himself. (and if they're being generous, of course Sydney and the others too) everyone needs sooooo much therapy, goes the common-sense wisdom about almost everything. I mean, yeah, no shit, Carmy is so fucked up. but I don't know what kind of abrafuckingcadabra therapy ppl know about that would make the pressures of keeping your head above water not soul destroying, like, in this economy??

it is almost too funny, that little paean to service that compares hospitality and hospitals. the health industry and precarious service work, two features of the economy that are def not in crisis nor create crises. 

and there's every indication we are meant to read him straight, more or less like honestly, now that I'm thinking about it more, it makes me want to puke.

there's the part about training ppl not to see their exploitation, but even welcome it, finding self-worth in the very adherence to this hierarchy. there's the pure distilled ideology of this whole... upgrade being seen as progress, as unquestioned, inevitable, of course that's what Carmy (and Syd) want and have always wanted.

it's not quite enough to make me stop watching. I'm reserving full judgement until after season 3 (feels like something I said last yr, abt s2)

bc we don't know about the other shoe yet, after ep 10. what happens to Richie? what if he lets the koolaid curdle, what if it grows sour and mouldy. maybe Marcus rejects this non choice! and quits! maybe the restaurant fails! maybe the triumph of their (Syd, Carmy, The Bear) commercial success is shown to be achieved through the thorough and continual destruction of other kinds of value, and no one is actually made richer for it. maybe the contradictions won't be reduced to the faintest shadows of narrative handwringing - but at what cost! oh look where they came out of, how could it have been otherwise!

or maybe we'll get more of this thoughtful plausible deniability chaos that pretends nuance is about showing something tragically ironic [every second counts amirite] absent any possibility of refusal and that somehow the power of interpretation is in the hands of the viewers, who are free to evaluate as they see fit all sorts of claims all given equal weight and reality, but who are still left, at the end of everything, only with ennobled suffering.

[blacksgarden]

Just wanted to check up on ya, how are you feeling? Did you have a great week? Just tell me about your week.

Bc that would be lovely to know that someone may have had a better week, bc I'm really feeling shit firstly bc of my period and secondly bc me and bsf share an account on capcut (Which I really love) but she posted a video and someone asked something in the comments about her wanting to tell her fake friend about her depression and them my bsf, answer her "no don't tell her their fack and you know it, I have tried it with my friend and now everyone know." I'm so afraid it is me she is talking about bc she tells me everything and I told like two ppl I trust and now I wonder if one of them told everyone about it, I'm just so afraid she will take her own life, and I can't live without her. (Not me crying while writing this) 

Anyways hope your doing well.

Hey lovely, I'm doing quite well, thanks for asking! I haven't been as online as I used to be, so my replies might be really late 😭

My week has been great! I've started to focus on improving myself and becoming the best version of me. So I've been exercising, reading, revising, writing, drawing-- basically rediscovering myself and finding out what things I like and dislike once more. I was in a dark place before, and fortunately, now I'm not.

It's actually really fun, to go through this process, in my opinion. It's like waiting for the butterfly to come out of its cocoon, and I really can't wait to see how my transformation looks, you know?

I'm sorry to hear you had a bad week, darling. But I'm also happy you felt comfortable enough to share it with me! It's always good to share these things, penting things up only hurts you further.

I feel you on those period cramps, they honestly are the worst. I used to have really painful cramps! It was so bad, the only thing that pacified it slightly was curling into a ball on my bed 🥲 Painkillers did nothing to help me, but I found hot packs helpful. Maybe you could try that and see if it works for you too!

Also, sharing a capcut account sounds really cool! Sharing anything personal with a best friend is always an amazing thing to do. It's like weaving a little piece of both of your hearts together into an adorable scarf 😆 In which the scarf is a part of the shared bond you have together.

Oh honey, cry your heart out if you need. It's okay. Any relationship whether it's platonic or romantic can be difficult at times. But one key thing to make it work is communication. Just talk to your best friend. Ask her what she meant and who she was talking about. Jumping to assumptions isn't going to solve anything, if not make things much worse.

I get the fear of not wanting to push a friend in fear of them taking an extreme measure in response. I have a friend that was like that. It's best to just ask, listen and talk it out. Try not to interrupt her until you both properly understand the situation the other is facing. Let her speak her mind and when she's done, you tell her what went through your mind and how you felt. For all you know, it's probably someone else she's talking about 🤷‍♀️

People like her just want someone to listen to them, you know? Trust me, cutting them off sometimes can be sooooo.... I don't have the words to even describe it 💀 I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just best not to upset them further than they already are.

I hope this week was slightly better for you, luv. And I hope that things between you and your best friend gets better. Don't hesitate to reach out again, I enjoy your messages 😁

[bangingoutthetunes]

common genshin fandom L

the quality for genshin x reader fics has seriously fucking declined within the past year or so. some authors that are making it big today wouldn’t have had a winter’s chance in hell to gain popularity back when people really had to try and when writing was an art form. this is who the post is about. It makes sense when ppl are starting out and they aren't the best at writing, especially within your first couple of weeks. I'm not really aiming to drag those people with this rant.

unfortunately, i’ve had the displeasure of reading the most god-awful shit with my own two eyes. it takes every fiber of my being to not claw my corneas out. there’s no point in even discussing who these authors are, though, because they’re popular and have their interactions and their readers just eat that shit up! it’s flabbergasting! 

the truth of the matter is that, fortunately, i find comfort in knowing that i am not the only author/fic reader that has noticed this heavy decline in quality. i don’t covet the popularity these so-called ‘authors’ have garnered, no; i find peace in knowing that i have the interactions i do and that my readers can thoroughly enjoy my works without wincing every minute or so. for every three mid fics there is one saving grace in any given tag, and i commend those authors that truly dedicate themselves to producing a beautiful piece. those authors are what inspire me to keep going and try as hard as i do with what i write. 

i suppose this is a combination of thoughts i’ve been having for months now; see this(1),  this(2),  this(3),  this(4), and this(5) and this(6). 

i have to admit that it really is a privilege to be able to say that something like this is the issue that is currently irritating me the most (truly, it's the only thing irritating me at all). there are people dying and starving out there that would call me an ingrate for complaining about awful quality of content on tumblr dot com and archive of our own dot org. they’re probably right, but this is my shitpost blog and i can post literally whatever the fuck i want to on here anyways. by all means, dont agree with me! no one will force you to do such a thing, and im not interested in starting any drama w anyone. it's beyond me and i have better things to do. if this post makes you upset and foam at the mouth, ask yourself why that is.

by popular demand i made a post making suggestions on how to improve your writing. and, no, you can have a life aside from writing and still improve. It really doesn't take writing religiously to be good at it. find it here. i write sparingly because i want to make sure that whatever i do write has love crafted into it. people have lives aside from the art they make.

i'm not going to retract anything I said for the sake of being nice or avoiding hurting people's feelings. I say things the way i see them and couldn't care less if you think im an asshole because you disagree with my methods. Ik everyone starts somewhere but you don't need to baby anyone into realizing that they need improvement. these are all just pixels on a screen in a floating rock in space, anyways.

[dreamrecorder]

Genshin Characters as the Major Arcana

Gentle Reminder: I just based this on a surface knowledge I have about the Arcana from my fave game Persona 3^^ As such, I paired the characters to the arcana with the help of my sis bcos there were some characters that I don’t know much about~ And again this is just fanart :))

That was long ksksks Imma add a commentary under if you feel like reading my thoughts hahaha

Soooooo

Fool: Obviously i was gonna pick the twins since they’re the main characters ksks but other than that- it has to be them because they’re special in a way like they can wield different elements. Zero is an empty number but with vast possibilities.

Magician: It was supposed to be Albedo at first- but persona says magician speaks about immaturity and power. And those two words just fit Klee so much in a good way!! Although-- Klee was supposed to be fortune too but i stuck with magician

Priestess: A woman of wisdom- Ganyu. that’s it haha I was supposed to add Ayaka too but she doesn’t have an official art yet :(

Empress: Lmao do i have to explain why i chose Jean and Ningguang

Emperor: No questions asked- Zhongli is an emperor bow. I didn’t have second thought choosing him lmao

Hierophant: So this one here symbolizes education, authority, and something about divinity and understanding the world. I chose Albedo because as an alchemist he took it upon himself to uncover the truth of the world~

Lovers: EHE no explanation needed~

Chariot: We’ve got victory, self-confidence and command!! I dont think i should explain this that much bcos Diluc is pretty straight forward haha My sister said I should Amber here too and I was about to but didn’t put her here Chariot also means war and Amber is not a war person for me

Justice: I chose xinqiu bcos of his display of justice in his story quest :))

Hermit: This means self-honesty and forging your own path- pretty fitting for Mona and Fischl right? As for Beidou, “why is a pirate a hermit?” Yeah that’s what i asked too when my sister said Beidou should be a Hermit. It makes sense tho- Beidou is a pirate and pirates stay on the sea and far from land and land is where civilization is

Fortune: Qiqi is basically the Preserves of Fortune ^^ As for Bennet, why is our unlucky boi in Fortune? Im soft for Bennet okay I just want to give him more luck and fortune on his way T-T Bennet was supposed to be hanged man but no- My sis said hanged man bcos everything Bennet does might result to more injury and eventually death. So--- NO

Strength: Pretty self-explanatory ^^

Hanged Man: Originally was supposed to be Hu Tao but again- no official art sigh So I chose Chongyun (was supposed to be fortune) This arcana means to take the time necessary for self-reflection and this fits our exorcist bcos he really reflected on how exterminate spirits without the use of his positivity- he wanted to stand by the traditional ways of an exorcist bcos ppl doubt his status as exorcist- yes, reflection for self-improvement

Death: Mr-Bane-of-all-Evil obviously (im so sorry xiao) (I was thinking adding qiqi but thats too cruel for my heart)

Temperance: Balance, synthesis, and harmony- all those for our best girl Sucrose

Devil: Childe- because he was mean in the golden house. Yes he seems to be a good guy but his eyes speak otherwise and i kudos mihoyo for that bcos when i was staring at his eyes in his official art- Dude those eye are empty- you cant read whats he thinking and it bring a sense of mistrust and malice in my way--- Even if I already did his story quest with Teucer that malice is still there for me Fun fact: Lumine was supposed to be the Devil bcos canon-villain but meh still a Fool for her

Tower: Pride and arrogance- a symbol for bad omens (im sorry kaeya) I dont know... something about Kaeya’s aura just tells me somthing bad will happen to him considering his origin- be it bcos of his pride or other things, Kaeya sends me red flags sometimes

Star: A hope in the dark. Barbara is self-explanatory and Diona is a personal experience ahaha- my first time fighting a ruin guard gone wrong and diona saved my ass ksks

Moon: Creativity, inspiration, dreams, and fantasy- all of these which Venti personifies as a bard and the Archon of Song

Sun: Xiangling and Amber brings joy to everyone and anyone, making them the sun

Judgment: I had difficulty picking for this arcana- but it all came down to Keqing. Keqing is a very serious person. She basically personifies logic and rationality- Whenever she declares that the time of the adepti are over- I know she speaks this without baseless judgment as she observes the progress of liyue and humanity in general

World: Dainsleif knows everything and anything and i was kinda spooked out by that in his story quest

AAAAAAAND THATS IT- this was one long post but hey i enjoyed this mini project of mine. I lost my sanity cleaning these cards and characters but thanks to my sugar high I managed hahahaha if you have some thoughts, feel free to share them and if you feel like you wanna speak about your perspective which conflicts mine- pls be gentle commenting ahahaha again this just fanart

[bluetiefling]

Yeah I have to assume any backlash against Simone is just jealousy fueled by racism. White women viewers especially can’t “relate” to her because she’s a WOC and she’s intimidatingly beautiful. She’s a goddess and a good actress, people are trying to find fault where there isn’t any. Even if Simone’s acting could be more raw/unpolished at times imo, she has a lot of natural charisma and screen presence, which you either have or you don’t. This was her first leading role and it was impressive. She’ll continue to improve with time and experience.

The Bridgerton fandom is unhinged and really racist. They called Regé uppity for leaving and seem to relish in his career slowing down since (and this is more of indictment of the industry than him). The appalling way Marina was received and how people are eager for her to be killed off to get out of the way for a HEA show Eloise doesn’t even want. The Edwina versus Kate AND Charithra versus Simone thing…If you dislike a character that’s your prerogative, but fans are clearly directing their ire for the character towards the actress!? And yes, it very much reads as if there can only be “one WOC” and to them Charithra is trespassing on what is Simone’s rightful spotlight or something. I want a queer Benedict but if they do cast Sophie she’ll likely be a WOC and I fear for how the fandom will pit her and Kate against one another.

she has a lot of natural charisma and screen presence, which you either have or you don’t.

Thissss. Simone's got that Thing.

Also the fandom is definitely only gonna get worse. There's already ppl I've seen turning on Kate and Simone because they're mad that s3 is apparently gonna feature her heavily (even though Kate and Anthony is all s3 is gonna have going for it because show p0lin blows). There's a lot of derogatory "you're a Sharma stan" namecalling going around which gives me the same rancid energy as them calling RJP "spoon". Fortunately for me I'm ready to check tf out and literally just supercut Kate content next time, and subjecting myself to fandom and p0lin as little as possible.

[maskved]

*inserts incoherent sentences and bad jokes here bcs u know me* shipped miray and vika straight to ketterdam for my girl sora lol so here is my intro and pls plot with me although i suck at getting to my messages, but it’s my toxic charm #yolo (making it cool again).

[ sora nam ], an [ twenty-six ] year old grisha in the little palace. she is a [ inferni ] and are known in the little palace as the [ the taciturn ]. they are known to be [ loyal ] and [ tactless ] and vaguely resemble [ kim jisoo ]. + (she’s a blacksmith sucking at her job but i’ll explain it later)

pinterest

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏  : mikasa ackerman (snk), kuroko (kuroko no basket), ty lee (atla)

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬

full name : nam sora 

age: 26

gender & pronouns : cis-female , she/her

sexuality :  bisexual

grisha type : inferni

occupation: former aerialist, blacksmith

hometown : kabu, shu han

𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅

sexual harrassment tw, death tw

- her story starts the way many others would do. a girl, bright eyes and smiles born in shu han is welcomed by the world. she isn’t born into money and wealth but she the love she receives easily make up for it and she wouldn’t choose any other life.

- yet, sora knows fate has planned more for her; to widen her horizon, see the world beyond the bubble her parents raised her in. she didn’t know how but one day little sora would stand between a spellbound crowd, stretching her little body and tiptoeing to spot what had enchanted them. her eyes would set on a woman, grabbing a trapez bar and swinging through the air, so effortlessly as if it was something natural everyone was supposed to do. - and from this day on she wanted to do the same.

- it didn’t take her long, that she’d become part of a travelling circus. of course she wasn’t perfect at first but she was still a child and whatever a child would do was endearing enough to make people stay. something the owner knew.

- so it would continue until sora would perfect her craft, dreaming of becoming the woman she witnessed back then. yet, it seemed that this barely mattered and even if she became better there was something the director’s eyes, an everlasting displeasure about what it seemed like an empty everything. and how was she supposed to know what this everything was ?

- truth to be told, as always money was the culprit, the root of  greed and the catalyst for atrocious acts by a merciless man claiming it was the world that corrupted him and not his very own tainted soul. 

- it started with him wanting his artists to steal from the crowd when they were enveloped by a stilted dream. yet, his hunger would never be satisfied and soon he’d command his performers not only giving up their body for the circus but also for other purposes. fortunately, sora would only hear from it, noticing the way her friends usually so calm in the air, heights separating them from the ground would shake when they’d talk to her. yet, she could do nothing, they didn’t have a home or a place to go to. sora knew that one day she’d be the same as them and that day would soon come. and when it came moments would turn into a second. dim candle light, a spark, fire everywhere and then she’d run, not knowing what had happened, but continuing to run without looking back.

- in the back of her mind, she knew that it was her, and she shouldn’t have felt bad for getting rid of the people who tried to hurt her. yet, even she couldn’t control the fire, and it wouldn’t differntiate between her resting friends and them.

- she was a criminal, worse, grisha and she knew there was no place for them in shu han, so she planned to go to the little palace, knowing that she’d be safe her. however, even when she arrived, she couldn’t bring herself to let the truth escape from her mind, after all if she didn’t say it, it wouldn’t be real. so she lied, about everything, where she came from and what she was. and most importantly she wasn’t grisha.

- luckily, a friendly blacksmith noticed the desperate girl and without asking too much, they took pity on her, noticing the distraught look and offering her to help them out, tryign to teach her to become a blacksmith.

𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚

- though very quite in nature, almost appearing detached from any situation, sora is quite soft-hearted. taking everything to heart and probably trusting people way too easily. yet, people rarely get to know this side of hers as sora isn’t someone who usually would approach people. adding to her natural introversion, her way with words is improvable to say at least as she tends to be a little too forward. since she’d been young she only interacted with the people she grew up with and therefore did not really learn other and more polite ways to communicate. 

𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

- childhood friends (can be from anywhere) she met when she was performing but they obviously couldn’t stay in touch but they were super close, someone she was supposed to steal from but they noticed it, people who are suspicious of her and think she’s a spy, people who try to actually make her a spy because she might be useful to them but also for comedic purposes she doesn’t notice it, exes for the angst !!!, relative to the people she whoops accidenally killed, friends in general, enemies, listen a first love and they meet again at the little palace, unrequited love bcs i love pain, people from the circus (pls) or someone who sneaked into the circus and witnesses the scene and almostgot killed lol

𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆

- okay, i have that headcanon, that people are generally super suspicious of her. because she is constantly found lurking on the roofs of random people’s houses but also she just generally gives super suspicious vibes due to her personality

- adding to that, she claims to be a blacksmith but all the weapons she make suck tbh. ( also i have that one cute headcanon where a childhood friend (wc) taught her how to forge knives but they also didn’t know how to make them correctly and sora just assumed it was the right way and still thinks it is, so all the knives are crooked)

- also she hates being an inferni as it’ll always remind her of the incident (aka the burning circus part 1) but sometimes she also uses her abilites to cook water for her tea (bcs i need to make my muses dumb as always)

- although she’s a (former) aerilist, as elegant she migth appear in the air or when she’s doing her monkey stuff, for some reason she is the opposite *rose vc* on the ground. also that’s probably the reason teh circus owner stopped the stealing shit from ppl thing bcs sora would always accidentally expose them--

- but also here comes my kuroko inspo where ppl actually don’t notice her bcs she makes no noise until she runs into the darkling’s favourite tree or something

- also i love superstitous muses but she’s into tarot cards

- is the worst at judging people’s character. she thinks yeva is a nice person bcs she once did a card reading for her aka (yeva: “this card says grisha suck... i mean it’s not my opinion but that’s what the card says” sora: “cool that was lit, live laugh love

idk but her 

[musicallisto]

can I have a mcu and hp ship? Im a straight 5ft girl, with long brown hair and hazel eyes. Im pretty athletic and love to workout or run. I ♡ fashion, crime tv, and being around people. Im book smart but I have 0 common sense and love to do dumb stuff were I prbly end up hurt. I can be mean behind ppls backs but I try to be nice to people bc it helps me and helps others days improve, but If someone throws the first punch I'm going to punch back 2x as hard, Im not afraid to play dirty. Tysm!💕

I Ship You With...

Loki Laufeyson

Loki would adore your wit, and your certain sense of brutality, just like his - it’s not savagery, it’s getting back at someone for what they’ve done to you. In a sense, isn’t it justice? Isn’t it admirable to make sure that everyone is given their deuce, and reaps what they show? I’ll let you two debate on it.

And debate you would. At first it starts randomly, when you’re having a civil discussion (because the trickster god can be surprisingly civil, especially with you) about some philosophical concept and you realize that you have divergent opinions on the matter. He, of course, having seen everything since the dawn of time, is convinced that his point of view is the right one, but he’s pleasantly annoyed (and a little bit turned on, to be exact) by how sternly you defend your arguments. He’s seen you read many books, always holding one close to your heart, but he never envisioned the power of your knowledge. And quite frankly, he adores it.

He reads faster than you (blame the thousands of years of experience, having nothing to distract his imprisoned mind on Asgard than human and mythical writings), but he still enjoys nights spent reading together. Sometimes he’ll read to you, his voice low and soft, lulling you to sleep.

You watch a lot of true crime shows together when you’re not reading or persuading him not to take over the world. When dusk falls on the world, you cozy up in front of the TV and discover the most gruesome and bizarrely fascinating stories of serial killers and unsolved mysteries. Loki enjoys them as well, even if he spends most of the show groaning that “this is such amateurish work” and “he can tell most of these people have never thought about crime as a form of art”. Don’t pay attention to him, just throw a cushion at him, and he’ll stop with a snicker. He doesn’t mean what he’s saying. He only knows one form of art, and it’s you.

He’s a bit of a diva, and a fashion icon as well. Or at least he was in Asgard. Well, maybe he wasn’t on Asgard, but he likes to make an appearance, and be attentive to how he presents himself. Rest assured that you two would talk about fashion more often than you would imagine. But not more often than he would like to admit - he has no problem telling to anyone how fabulous you are, you who understands the last one of his concerns. The most pressing concern being the pair of you always being the best dressed at any party you ever attend.

Harry Potter

The amount of mess that you two would create... The sheer, utter, and complete chaos that the pair of you would invoke upon Hogwarts grounds... you might as well be marked and stalked for life by trouble, because trouble has the habit of finding you wherever you go.

And it’s not even like you provoke it, anyway! You don’t go around playing pranks on Professor Flitwick like Fred and George. But no matter how careful you are, there’s always a way for the two of you to end up in danger, or in a sticky situation, or both. At least you’re together, and you figure out a way to get out of there together, becoming in the process the most skilled improvisers and duellists of your year...

He admires the amount of spine that you have. Like, how you’re not afraid to clap back when someone messes with you? He wishes he had that kind of confidence. It’s always hard for him to stand up for himself, much harder than it is standing up for others. You tell him, in a sense, that having the courage to do both is what makes a true Gryffindor, and knowing you have unwavered when it came to defending others can be a strength when you fall to the pits of insecurity.

Because Harry is a little bit of a jock himself (what with being on the Quidditch team and all), you’d probably be a very fit couple. Running around the castle grounds together in the early morning, when the sky is peaceful and rosy and there’s no one to disturb you, is your favorite way to start the day. Especially after that, when you get your reward - whoever stopped first to catch their breath has to kiss the other. Even if it’s game with no loser, you win often.

He doesn’t understand the first thing about fashion but he’d be super supportive. Like telling you that any design that you like or that you saw on TV is beautiful and would suit you absolutely. Honestly, the boy is a little confused but he got the spirit. He would buy you any piece of clothing you desperately want - what’s the use of having a fortune if he can’t spoil his loved ones with it?

[skold]

aight so here’s tim’s partial chart which you don’t have to know how to read i’m just putting it here for the people who do

putting a read more for length

sun in sagittarius - yr sun sign is the one most people know cuz it’s by birth date and you can just google it. the dates don’t change year to year the way others do. it’s yr sense of self, yr individuality, yr outward personality. sag suns tend to be rly social, active, honest to the point of hurting peoples’ feelings lmao. known to talk Too Much. impulsive. bad at foreseeing the consequences of their actions. bridge burners. HAAAAAATE being restricted in any way.

moon in capricorn - moon sign is more your internal self and people can often feel more closely aligned w/ their moon sign than their sun sign. moon sign can tell abt someone’s sensitivities and their instincts and where they find security. moon in cap generally indicates somebody who finds fulfillment in being useful to others and has an insane work ethic. has trouble cutting loose. cap moon folks tend to have a lot of insecurities wrt feeling ignored or useless. they want outside approval but can’t depend on it.

mercury in sagittarius - mercury rules over communication and intellect. indicates how someone interacts with other people. ppl with merc in sag fucking love traveling which y’know, considering tim travels for his job AND as a tourist. checks out. mercury in a fire sign can make them seem like they constantly have a fire under their ass pushing them forward. merc in sag have a talent for languages (tim speaks two fluently and at least two more enough to function).

venus in capricorn - venus is yr love language planet. it indicates how ppl feel and experience love/sex and also their feelings on what they find generally pleasurable in life. people with venus in cap can be rly withdrawn and often aren’t up front with their feelings in general but especially wrt relationships. this is PROBABLY why tim doesn’t talk abt his marriage much at all. they want loyalty and stability over all else. often attracted to partners with venus in a fire sign bc they tend to be more forward and initiate things and venus in cap doesn’t want to risk getting hurt. really slow to earn their trust.

mars in libra - mars is abt action and energy and assertiveness. it’s about drive - sex drive, ambition, what gets ppl fired up. ppl with mars in libra cannot make a fucking decision to save their lives but y’know, this is libra we’re talking about. libra placements suck at making decisions. i can say this as a libra moon who cannot commit to anything but i digress. mars in libra folks aren’t usually very social. they want permission from other people to make big moves. tend to be submissive in relationships both in general and in The Sex Way. ppl with mars in libra tend to attract more aggressive/forward/energetic partners.

jupiter in leo - jupiter symbolizes growth and expansion and how someone’s faith and ethics are. also sometimes associated with luck and fortune. ppl with jupiter in leo tend to have healthy self-confidence. they can be kinda arrogant but depending on other placements that arrogance is often not backed up. this can look like delusions of grandeur and often leads to people disliking their attitudes. as a fire alignment, there’s a lot of energy there, but it ends up being misplaced sometimes.

saturn in pisces - saturn is a bitch ass motherfucker. rules over restriction/order and maturity over time. saturn is basically that planet who will hurt you to teach u a gd lesson. the leather daddy of the planets if u will. people with saturn in pisces wanna make other peoples problems their own problems because they want to offer their emotional support, but it happens at the expense of wearing themselves thin. often really secluded private people. they have to find that balance between prioritizing themselves and prioritizing others, and if they can’t find it saturn will hurt their gd feelings.

uranus in virgo - so uranus is such a slow planet to orbit it doesn’t move sign alignments very often and can remain in the same sign for years and influence an entire generation. uranus rules over originality and freedom and revolution. ppl with uranus in virgo can be perfectionists. can be interested in things like ecology, the wellbeing of animals, and alternative medicine. gestures at tim’s 800 rescue animals and the fact that he goes to an acupuncturist. often left leaning to the point of seeming radical (this depends strongly on other placements though). big on social justice.

neptune in scorpio - neptune is also one of those slow planets. neptune rules spirituality and fantasy/imagination. ppl with this alignment can be into the occult. a huge amount of creative potential is there. this is why we saw a lot of rly influential art and music coming out of gen x folks!!

pluto in virgo - the slowest of planets. pluto is abt power and transformation. ppl with pluto in virgo can be critical and analytical. super methodical abt how they do things.

so those are the planets. there’s also a lot of other celestial bodies and points in the chart we look at also!! here they are

north node in taurus south node in scorpio - the nodes are mathematical points opposite each other in the chart. south node indicates your comfort zone and north node indicates what somebody wants out of life and has to go out of said comfort zone for. this alignment indicates somebody who struggles between holding onto things and letting shit go. TRUST ISSUES. also rly strong sexual energy that fucking asshole.

lilith in pisces - lilith is a fictional point opposite the actual moon. in mythology, lilith refused to submit to adam, rejected the world of adam & eve and decided to go chill with satan instead. which, lilith did nothing wrong but whatever. so yr lilith alignment can show what you have fascination with and what you reject about yourself. lilith in pisces people often have a fascination with self-sacrifice and often feel connected with EVERYTHING, which then leads to a lot of suffering. vulnerable to alcoholism/drug issues. people tend to find ppl with this alignment captivating but also can be intimidated/unsettled by them.

chiron in pisces - chiron is an asteroid btwn saturn and uranus. in mythology, chiron was an immortal centaur who was a healer and a teacher. he was injured by a poisonous arrow by heracles and it should have killed him but due to his immortality, he was suffering in excruciating pain but couldn’t die. he gave his immortality for prometheus and upon being sent to the underworld, zeus showed mercy on him and raised him up into the heavens as a celestial body. chiron symbolizes unhealable trauma but can also indicate how one can accept their suffering and move forward. people with chiron in pisces tend to feel the weight of the world on their shoulders and feel they’re all too aware of the suffering of other people and things like violence and injustice. these people often respond to this by helping others in some way.

SO NOW I’M GONNA GO INTO ASPECTS. which is basically how certain planets align in the chart and interact with each other. i don’t have time to describe what these terms mean cuz i’ve already been writing for an hour so just use google lmao

sun conjunct venus - highlights feminine characteristics of all genders and sexes. artistic, creative, optimistic. often fashionable. 

sun square saturn - folks with this alignment either give up at the first sign of a challenge or power thru that shit and learn from it. if this person has lower self esteem it’s generally improved by the fact they’re gratified by their own hard work.

sun square uranus - individualistic, eccentric. independent. can be inconsiderate of others. NEED to be different and NEED people to see they’re different. issues with authority.

sun square pluto - stubborn assholes. tend to be bossy and subconsciously manipulative.

moon sextile saturn - emotionally stable, reliable, helpful.

moon trine uranus - needs considerable emotional independence and freedom in a relationship and within ones family. often lead unconventional lifestyles (read: don’t work a 9-5, have polyam/open relationships, etc). MOOOOOD SWIIIIIINGS

moon sextile neptune - these folks want explanations for the world and will turn to things like religion or the occult to get answers. self-sacrificing and people tend to take advantage of them. messy home. perceptive and sensitive, especially wrt the arts

moon trine pluto - experiences emotions very fucking deeply. will express their opinions even if it’ll hurt the other person’s feelings. often closer with their mother than their father.

mercury sextile mars - quick thinkers. analytical, fast, practical.

mercury trine jupiter - open, sensitive, optimistic, kind. often into philosophy. big on traveling.

venus square mars - impulsive and enthusiastic. can be prone to losing their temper. often want impossible things.

venus square uranus - this aspect tends to complicate relationships because they literally see relationships as a loss of personal independence and autonomy. unconventional, eccentric, very original in their artistic/creative pursuits.

mars sextile jupiter - GOTTA GO FAST. always wants to be learning new things.

saturn opposition uranus - oof. these folks are often big chaotic and unpredictable. their logic sometimes only makes sense to them and it can seem they look down on other people unfairly, but it’s only because others don’t understand their thought process behind why they dislike someone.

saturn trine neptune - these people try to turn their dreams into their careers. spiritual but not necessarily religious.

saturn opposition pluto - DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY FUCKIN WANT. they have big ideas but don’t know how to get them going. can be a difficult personality type to deal with.

uranus sextile neptune - reinforces one’s sense of fantasy. can influence inspiration and originality and innovation in one’s creations.

uranus conjuction pluto - a generational alignment due to both planets being slow moving. strong, original personalities. big ideas.

neptune sextile pluto - also a generational alignment. depending on other alignments, it influences big transformations on a global scale. see: gen x

there are parallels and contra-parallels i could go into but like i have already been at this for forever and i think We Get It. and this is only half his chart without going into the houses cuz i don’t have his birth time!! that’d give us 12 more alignments to look at and tons more aspects!! so like!!! astrology is more than just yr sun sign folks. this has been me reading the fuck outta tim skold for 1600 words see ya

[demented-dukey]

Hey DD! If a person was taught to be one way, and they want to change, how do they go about it? Especially when their automatic reaction is the negative behaviour? (An example would be someone who was taught to be racist but is trying not to be)

*cracks knuckles* Okay! Here we go. Thank you for your patience, Anon. I wanted to give your question the contemplation it deserved.

Part of being human is being instilled from birth with undesirable mindsets from society and mentors/parental figures. Adulthood is a constant struggle for self-improvement, and it can take a lot of time and effort to root out these negative impacts and re-train yourself.

The first step to changing is having the ~desire~ to change. You have to recognize the behavior in yourself, and want to change it.

I read somewhere that your knee-jerk reaction is what has been taught/trained into you, and your second reaction is how you truly feel. As a personal example, when I see someone who is overweight wearing a tight outfit in public, my knee-jerk reaction is usually, “Oh, ew, tight clothing is not flattering on that size of body.” But I know that this is a result of years and years of fatphobic thinking that I’m still working on dismantling. My second reaction, on the heels of the first, is usually along the lines of, “Good for them for feeling comfortable in their body. It is none of my business how they choose to clothe themselves. Automatically assuming that overweight people cannot wear tight clothing is fatphobic - anybody can wear whatever they want to.” Don’t beat yourself up if your kneejerk reaction continues to be negative - it takes a long, long time to dismantle negative behavior, and as long as you recognize it and continue to work on it, you’re making progress.

You brought up racism, which. Whoo, boy. Tough topic. As someone who grew up White and Sheltered, I have a ~lot~ of feelings on the topic. I’m probably not the best person to talk to about this, but I’ll do my best.

Brace yourselves. Controversial topic incoming.

I’m White. I’m racist. I do my ~best~ not to behave in a racist way, but the fact is, I was born white, and have access to privileges due to the color of my skin. I CAN DO MY BEST TO COUNTERACT THIS, AND BEHAVE IN A NON-RACIST WAY, BUT THE FACT REMAINS, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE WHITE IN THIS COUNTRY AND NOT BE A LITTLE BIT RACIST. Maybe other people have different opinions, but this is where I stand. You can’t work to try to fix the problem if you’re denying that you’re part of the problem.

So. Every day, I try ~not~ to be racist. When I’m in a group setting, part of my mind makes a note of whether the group is primarily White or if it includes an even mix of POC. If I have any control over a situation, I try to make it more inclusive. I make a note of how much of my media is White-centric, and make a point to consume media led by POC actors or told by POC voices. If I’m in a racial discussion with fellow White People, I will vocally speak up on behalf of POC, and I will call out other White People on their racist comments. If I am in a racial discussion with POC, I will step aside and let them tell their own stories, and I will listen to them. I constantly work to make myself aware of my White Privilege, and I do what I can to help those less fortunate. I try to learn Black History/Native American History, and critically examine how much of my education has been white-washed.

Spanish is the leading second language in the US, and I am slowly trying to pick up a few words. If I am speaking with someone online who speaks another language, I will try to be considerate - it takes literally seconds to run my words through Google Translate, and if someone else is making the effort to speak with me in my language, the least I can do is make an effort to return the favor. If they’re comfortable conversing in English, then I won’t fight them on it, but I will let them make that decision.

I have a small group of close friends IRL, and yeah, they’re primarily white. I would like to have more close friends of various ethnicities, but on the other hand, wanting a Black Friend because They’re Black is a very racist mindset. I don’t want to be one of Those White People who say “I’m not racist! Some of my best friends are Black!” Because, ew. If I had more POC friends, I would be afraid that I would start unconsciously letting myself slip and assigning them the obligation to keep my racism in check, which, also, ew. So I guess that’s one silver lining to having mostly white friends. I’m open to making new friends, but I’m not going to force the issue. If I naturally become close friends with someone who is POC, then that would be awesome, but I feel really icky about trying to make friends WITH THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF HAVING POC FRIENDS. Because that seems to me like kinda a shitty thing to do.

So, yeah. You asked how to go about changing your behavior, so here’s my advice: Work on it. Pay attention to how you behave, and how other people behave. Try to find someone who behaves in a positive way, and work to emulate them. Try to find someone who has gone through the change themselves, so they can help you know what to expect. Understand that this may be a life-long struggle, and you may never be fully “fixed”. Break yourself out of your own comfort zone, and expose yourself to media that was not aimed at you. Take a hard look at the echochamber that you live in, and work on incorporating and accepting new voices and ideas into it. Stand up for those who are uncomfortable or unable to stand up for themselves. Don’t ignore or bask in your privilege, use it to help those who are less privileged.

For the racism thing, if you have a friend who is a POC, pull them aside and talk to them. Tell them that you’re trying to change, and ask them if they’re willing to help you. No one is obligated to spend their spoons on you, so if they’re willing to help, listen to them with an open mind. Don’t get defensive when they correct you. Listen to them tell you their perspective, and work on correcting any behavior they point out. When you’re talking to someone online and you don’t know what they look like, try mental exercises of picturing them with different ethnicities and see if your mind makes any assumptions.

Finally, I’m a huge supporter of therapy. I honestly think that ~EVERYBODY~ could benefit from a therapist. It gets a bad rep, because ppl think if you’re in therapy, then there must be something wrong with you. But it’s not just for mental issues and trauma. Therapy can be a great way to work through your personal biases, and the help of a professional can be exactly what you need to break out of these kinds of negative mindsets. They can help you explore where these mindsets came from, how to break them, and how to move forward with a better grip on your own mind and perspective. There’s bad/racist/transphobic/etc therapists out there, so if you don’t find a good one at first, don’t be afraid to drop them and keep looking. There are good therapists out there, and it is ~literally~ their ~job~ to help you change your own negative behavior. Don’t let the stigma of therapy scare you away from using this valuable resource.

I hope this helps, Anon! Good luck!

[ludoforevah19]

Warning: aimless personal rant you really don't have to read but I just felt like doing that bc I've got no other vent source™ ahead

From time to time I just feel like the least valid person. Like, idk how people perceive me, but I get the feeling of being boring, uninteresting, ugly, obnoxious, a little more naive than I'm supposed to be.. No matter how much I try to improve myself. I just feel underappreciated and idk if I actually deserve it or not.

Also my social life ain't at its best point right now, and the I feel like most people I used to hang with last year just fucking turned their backs on me. Backstabbing, forgetting my birthday, being fake, or even just neglecting projects we had together bc I'm always second choice. Idk, that's not everybody I know fortunately, but I just feel so... Lonely. I'm thankful for that one friend I have still sticking around despite all our differences and flaws, but it's definitely not the same as last year. Many groups I used to be part of just completely shattered bc of meaningless fights and arguments (I'm not guiltless, but I've never ever wanted to end things with anyone, I just got very mad over one person who managed to fucked up my friendship with another friend of ours). People I used to care about a lot moved to different cities or countries after graduating from high school, and even though they sometimes come back for holidays and we regularly talk on the phone, it's just not the same as actually hanging out. I mean, I'm very glad their lives took the turn they wished for and I 100% support their decisions, but I still... miss them. I was hoping I'd find new people getting into uni, but all I found were small classes made by like, what, 30 ppl maximum? That's not much. I made new friends, but they never hang out and groups are very small. Also there's much competition and team spirit is quite evidently lacking. I don't even like what I'm studying and I hope things next year will be different, since I'm working real hard for them to be.

Let's not even begin to talk about that toxic relationship I got into because I was bored and was seeking new excitement drive. I mean, growing out from my mistakes was important and productive for my own mental health, but it wasn't.. Nice indeed.

I'm just feeling... Down, I guess, and I guess l'll just keep on working for improving things. Giving up is not an option.

[mouthbites]

jaewin headcanons

self-indulgent jaewin shipmeme answers mega post noone asked for (au context, all fictional etc)

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Who is a night owl: win

Who is a morning person: bbj

Are they cuddlers: ,,,yes

Who is the big spoon and who is the little spoon: they switch

What is their favourite sleeping position: nothing too entangled? i picture them wanting to have a bit of space to themselves. they would like sleeping next to each other but dont need a lot of body contact

Who steals all the blankets: win prob

Who likes seeing the other wearing their t-shirt: bbj prob

Who accidentally punched the other in their sleep: sdfgh win

Who can’t keep their hands to themself: bbj

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Who’s the one to make breakfast: bbj obv

Who would suggest a quickie in the morning before work: both prob, when the mood hits

Who chooses the movies: they would decide together

Who initiates kissing during the moving, thus distracting the other from the movie all together: bbj, win if he's bored but that's rarer

Who steals food from the other’s plate without asking: win

Who asks to go get ice cream like a five year old: both tbh

Who cooks dinner: again, bbj obv

Who cleans up the kitchen afterwards: i wish i could say win but tbh they'd prob leave it and let dishes pile up for a couple of days before dealing with it, unless jh was in a cleanly mood

Who stays up until 2 reading: win

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Which one sexts like a straight white boy? BBJ

Which one cried during a fucking disney movie? win prob

Who put a goddamned fork in the microwave? win

Who does the silly hands-over-the-eyes “Guess who” thing? ugh i h8 this... bbj

Who puts their cold hands/feet on their partner? both

Who had that embarassing Reality TV marathon? win

Who laughs more during sex? bbj

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who is more excited for halloween? win

who gives the best gifts? jh would prob give something bland and expensive whereas maybe win would put more thought into it

who actually finishes a book they’ve started? both, but win would read more

who falls asleep during a movie? win...

who plans a surprise getaway vacation? bbj

who comes home with useless decorative knick knacks for the house every single day? sdfgh win

who takes more pictures? win

who keeps a weekly planner? bbj

who actually watches the discovery channel? bbj to seem educated, win bec he's actually curious abt stuff

who fixes things around the house when they break? idt either of them would be good at that stuff....... win would try to improv a solution, bbj might be more methodic abt it but it would still flop in the end

who leaves their dirty towels on the floor? win......

who makes the coffee in the morning? both

who gets jealous over very petty things? win......

who exercises more? as in going to the gym: bbj

who actually reads the newspaper? bbj prob,,, but again, mostly to seem educated

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who believes in love at first sight? ugh prob bbj would secretly be into cheesy shit like that

who started liking the other first? bbj........

who is more likely to suggest a romantic, candle-lit dinner? bbj, unironically. win thinks it's silly but goes along w it

who’s behind the wheel more often during road trips? u know i might be wrong but i always picture bbj getting his license as soon as he's allowed to drive whereas win would procrastinate it for years so, bbj

who sets up the tent and who gathers firewood during a camping trip? as if these rich city boys would go camping lol

who goes all out on the other’s birthday? bbj. win would stick to smaller but more meaningful gestures

who sings louder while cooking? while showering? who teases the other for said singing? look,,, jaehyun is obv the Singer in this relationship and they both know it and sc might be a bit selfconscious abt not having a singing voice but as soon as theyre comfortable enough around each other he would sing anyway even if it's terrible....... and jh would tease him abt it but only Very Gently bec he knows how sc feels abt the subject

who drags the other to fortune tellers at fairs? win prob

who would carry who over the doorstep of a new home? yIKES. again, bbj would be into cheesy shit like that

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can’t stick to the grocery list: WIN...... he'd just throw in whatever he's in the mood for bec he *ww voice* has a lot of money

would be addicted to Netflix (and chill, if applicable): win the one to get hooked on a show and bingewatch... jh only watches a sensible two epis after work on a tuesday evening (as for the chill, jh might try but it wouldnt work lol)

is the better city driver and why: bbj (se above)

walks around the house in their underwear: win prob.....

instigates sex most often: both

likes having candles around the house: bbj

always misses the clothes hamper: win........

is more protective: bbj

prefers a quiet night in: win. jh is the perky extrovert who wants to go out and do stuff

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Who is more organized: bbj

Who initiates bedroom fun: both?

Who’s the cuddler: bbj is slightly cuddlier

What’s their favorite non-sexual activity: playing video games prob... like, a lot

Who kills the spiders: i would like to say both but then i remembered win's manly squeak at tiny bug in nct life...... so bbj

Who is louder? during sexual activities? i feel like neither would be very vocal

Who is more experimental? sdfgsdfh look i dont like thinking abt ~experimental stuff in general but...... i feel like bbj would suggest normy kinks but think they're edgy whereas win would suggest weird stuff that aren't even sexual bec he's just curious and why not right

Do they fuck or make love? they're 20yo dudes. they fuck

Who is more likely to be caught masturbating? sdfgh i'd say win bec bbj would prob plan ahead a bit whereas win would just go at it when the mood hits

Who is better at oral and who prefers it? hhdfhfdshhf ok i think win would be a pretty messy blower but he'd get the job done so to speak and jh prob thinks it's hot anyway...... but like they'd both like receiving

Who usually initiates things? in general? jh

Who has the most patience? bbj

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who throws things in a fight? bbj, but not anything that would break

who goes to their parent’s house for a weekend when things get bad? i mean,,,,,, assuming they live in korea,,, bbj

who is more adverse to physical contact? win... not adverse per se but he prob has some boundaries and a bigger need for personal space than jh but i think jh is pretty good at reading him so it's usually not a problem... and if sc needs to shrug him off or smthing i hope jh wouldnt take it personally

who hates/dislikes their neighbors the most? bbj lol... win would be more chill with annoyances

who thinks their partner turned out a different person than they thought? both, to some degree. jh would be so polished when u meet him but then his dark sides come out... ww otoh would be a bit nervous around new ppl but loosen up when u get to know him

who is more likely to cheat? UGH tbh. jaehyun. idk why

who is the more experienced (sexually or otherwise)? jh has prob had more Relationships but ww's had his fair share of flings and hookups

who wants to go to social gatherings the most? bbj

who is most likely to be dishonest? omg....... jaehyun

who is more emotionally closed off and how does this affect their partner? hmm. i feel like jh would be the one to hide his emotions and passive-aggressively pretend everything's fine lol whereas ww would more shut off when he's uncomfortable and not communicate. neither r very good at dealing w the others response to conflict so that's smthing they'd have to work on...

who is the dessert person? both lmao

who is more conservative? bbj prob...

who hates/dislikes oral sex? neither.....

[jaebam]

could you answer all the gif maker questions too? i'm very interested 😅

omgshfs interested in my thoughts????? okay only bc its u 🥺🥺

2. What is your least favorite set you’ve made?

ohhhh i don’t really know 😔 since i post so much it’s difficult to remember what i’ve done gshjfhsfj

3. Which of your sets has the most notes 

on this blog it’s this one 🥺

5. What is your favorite movie/TV show to gif

i don’t really gif anything other than got7 at the moment but i used to gif a lot for tmi/shadowhunters!! 😌➰

6. What is your least favorite movie/TV show to gif

hmm i used to dislike giffing the tv show reign bc the lightning was wack from my memory fhsgjh and most scenes were usually just the same yellow background thing and i couldn’t really figure out how to make all those color spam sets i used to make from their eps

10. What was the first gif you ever posted

oh i recently went back and checked and it’s this one from 2011😳

12. What is the most embarrassing thing you’ve ever giffed

man idk gfshhj i’ve giffed a lot of embarrassing things 

13. Where or from whom did you learn to gif

i learnt from reading and following a lot of tutorials posted here!! and then i regularly checked resources blogs like yeahps to see what the trend was hgsfhhsj

17. 10 sets, 8 sets, 6 sets= How many gifs do you prefer in a set

i used to mostly make 8 sets when it came to giffing before this blog, but now i really like 4 sets (which i raaarely made before this blog)

18. For the aesthetic, for the laughs, or for the feels what your preference

when it comes to gifmaking it takes a lot of time to figure it out aesthetic wise for me, so it’s mostly just for the laughs atm!! but for my main i used to only do it for the aesthetics hehe <3 (b/w sets forever in my 🤍)

21. PSDs or original coloring for each gif 

i do have a base psd that i mess around with for all gifs and i could probably do it from memory but we’re lazy!! however since i color correct with curves layers they always turn out different anyway

22. What fandom/movie/show/person etc do you gif the most

got7 💚

23. What is the thing you gif when you don’t have anything else you want to gif

ooooohhhh i don’t really know, like older got7 performances maybe 🤔?

24. 480p 720p 1080p? What is the minimum quality you’ll gif from

ahh well i used to not care abt the quality and just giffed whatever but if i had to choose now i’d say 720p perhaps? 

25. Old dimensions or new dimensions and why

omg i used to be one of the petty ppl that wouldn’t change to the new dimensions for MONTHS but i like the new ones even tho they don’t make sense jdhhjfh and i don’t really know why, maybe bc i think it looks better ?? not sure hgfhs i just do 🥴

26. How many unposted sets are in your drafts right now

hmm like 20 maybe? most are unfinished and some are just finished sets that i haven’t figured out how to caption HGSHFGS

27. Have you ever made a set, decided you hated it and deleted it? What was it

i don’t really delete any but i do dislike a lot of them i just never go back and check so in my mind it’s like i never made them in the first place ✊

28. Have you ever posted a set, regretted it and immediately deleted it

no i don’t think so!!

29. Have you ever posted a set, realized you made a mistake later but it was already too late

omg yes all the time!!!! but i go back anyways and edit the post even tho it’s too late to keep my mind at ease 💆‍♀️

30. How frequently do you like to post

i gif A LOT nowadays hfsghd and i don’t really have a preference i just gif whenever i can bc it’s fun

31. Do you schedule/queue posts or do you post right after you’re done

i do both! 

33. Do you like to/can you make edits and graphics too or only gifs

yes!!!! i think i enjoy making graphics/edits more bc it shows my aesthetic more than gifs do but i do like making gifs too hehe it’s just a bit repetitive sometimes so i like making graphics to try to be a bit more creative 😋

36. Do you gif with something specific in mind or do you just wing it

i usually have something specific in mind 👩‍💻

37. What sets if any do you have planned to make in the future

omg i have a a folder of things i wanna gif so there’s actually a lot i have in mind but i probably won’t get to it for a while hsghfj i do plan on making another how got6 treat baby bam and for yugyeom and youngjae too tho!! one day 🤞

38. What are you really excited to gif that isn’t out yet

oh mannn i don’t really know 😩

39. How often, if ever, do you delete old sets that you don’t like anymore

i don’t think i’ve ever deleted a set 😟 it’s mostly bc i want to have the opportunity to go back and see how much of a change i’ve made 

40. Why do you make gifs

bc i think it’s fun!! i enjoy the coloring process 😌 and to annoy the got7 tag gsjjhsfjgh

41. What is your least favorite part about your gif making process

hmm i don’t really dislike any of the steps.... maybe making the layers ? i don’t really know ghfshjs i’m used to giffing and the process so nothing really bothers me

42. How is your gif folder organized? Is it organized at all?

ppl have gif folders 😧😧????!?!?!??!!!!!???!??!

43. Do you keep videos forever or delete them once you’re done giffing

it depends honestly... i mostly delete videos after a long while or transfer them to a usb bc my laptop memory is really bad 💔

44. Ever had a gif become a meme? Would you like that if you haven’t

uhm i don’t think it has? and i haven’t really thought about it but i don’t think i’d mind

45. Ever gotten hate over a set

fortunately not yet!! ❤️

46. Ever gotten a really sweet compliment over a set

sometimes u guys compliment my work in the tags and it makes my heart soar and turn mushy every time 🥺🥺

48. How would you describe your giffing style

hmmm colorful? very vibrant?? 🌈✨

49. How much would you say you’ve improved since you first giffing

omg SO MUCH!!! like a whole lot hgsjfh

[comicteaparty]

February 4th-February 10th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from February 4th, 2019 to February 10th, 2019.  The chat focused on Offshore Comic by Stefan Gasic.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Offshore Comic by Stefan Gasic~! (http://www.offshorecomic.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until February 10th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite strip in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Given the comic’s focus on financial markets and all that composes them, what is something this comic has taught you about the subject? Alternatively, what is something you wished you understood better to understand the comic’s comedy?

QUESTION 4. How do you think the comic’s illustrative style and choices help the comedy of the comic? What is one moment where a particular design or image really stood out to you and helped the point the strip was trying to convey?

QUESTION 5. The comic features several recurring subjects like the legitimacy of IQ scores, LLCs, and more. Which of these recurring topics did you like the most? What about it caught your interest?

Stefan G

Hello everyone, 1) Just updated www.offshorecomic.com with a new strip. Check it out. 2) RebelVampire, are your questions intended for me or any new reader? Ciao, Stefan the creator of #Offshorecomic

snuffysam

They're intended for both (still working through the archive)!

keii4ii

Is there a way to get permalinks for individual strips, so I can come back to specific ones at a later time?

Stefan G

Thanks & okay, snuffysam keii4ii, unfortunately there’s no way to get permalinks for individual strips ... I coded the website myself as a side project and am not that good a coder

keii4ii

Oh man, I can relate to that... If I ever get rich, comic website coding and maintenance stuff is the first thing I'll hire someone to do for me

I do like how it loads and makes it easy to read through the archive, for what it's worth.

Stefan G

Thanks for the feedback ... and I totally, totally agree. One could spend a fortune for a coder to take care of all the fixings and stuff ... now I’m learning on the side whenever there’s time left over from work & family.

Stefan G

Answer to Q1 => readers have found the “happiness” strip the best. It’s also one of my favourite ones [succinct & clever & relatable] ...I truly don’t have a favourite strip, but the attached Reto & Urs -strips make me chuckle whenever I read them [I appreciate below-the-waist-humour and/or humour where people are really, really selfish].

lomcia (princess_lom)

1. The newest one is so funny

2. Trader

3. i dont work in office but i cant find nothing to improve that comic, i think the design of characters and humor is on really high lvl 12/10 for me

4. Style is perfect ffor that comic, i wouldnt change it

Stefan G

Answer to Q2 => at the moment my favourite character is the Economist. He’s a genuine IYI [intellectual-yet-idiot] ... which the world is full of and the finance industry in particular. The Economist is easy to write for because I’ve discovered a never ending source of humorous material called the daily financial newspaper ... please find attached also one of my favourite strips

Thank you, lomcia (princess_lom) for your feedback.

lomcia (princess_lom)

your welcome I hope i didnt misunderstood question 3 xD

Stefan G

I think you got everything just right

lomcia (princess_lom)

cool

Stefan G

Answer/comment to Q3 => I’ve spend my professional life in finance, hence, I know every nuance of the industry. However, for the layperson the finance industry [money, banking, insurance, etcetc...] is a big black box of unnecessary complication. My humble attempt with #Offshorecomic is to untangle this complexity and make money related topics more accessible/understandable to anyone ... using humour as my main tool. Finance is more stupid than you think; trust me

I’ll answer the rest tomorrow. Gotta go to now. is like in a totally different time zone and all that Thx again y’all !

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. Which joke not related to finance did you enjoy the most? What about it made it stand out to you among all the others?

RebelVampire

1) i really enjoyed the life coaching strip about facing reality and lying to yourself. i just really enjoy the bluntness and simplicity by which the self-deception line is delivered. A+ comedy right. 2) i like p-bird because i consider him a much needed counter balance to many of the other characters. he at least has more feet planted in reality. 3) hedge funds. not that i understand them perfectly from the comic, but now theyre more than just a financial word i see tossed around. and despite the very negative absurdist humor regarding them, was still interesting to get some insight into what they actually involved. 4) i think the style overall really balances well with the comedy. a lot of the comedy is reliant on the dialogue, so keeping the illustrations clean, bold, and somewhat simple really helps direct attention to the words. i also really just enjoy the character designs cause every single one really hits that idiot or absurdist mark that needs to be hit. 5) actually i really liked the address of IQ scores. because literally these characters seem like the type whod wind up on r/iamverysmart and use their IQs to talk about how cool they are. so it was kind of nice to see some evidence for that with the subject. that and i always like seeing the concept of IQ being torn apart. 6) i actually liked a lot of the jokes that pertained to the academic sphere in regards to things like publishing and teaching. selfishly it most just stood out to me because academia is something im more familiar with in regards to its simultaneous setup of worthless class structures and cutthroat profs trying to further their careers.

Stefan G

Thank you, RebelVampire, for your thoughtful analysis & feedback I believe that the writing is the most important part in comics ... and the best humorous writing is often blunt & simple [you hit the nail on the head with that comment]. Furthermore, I intentionally designed the strip in a simplistic style in order to A) highlight the writing/gag, B) to save time and C) cuz simple drawings are funny I love to make fun of pompous, self righteous folks ... academics are thus some of my main targets [due to the same reasons I make fun of financial professionals].

Stefan G

Answer to Q4 => My childhood inspiration and spark for cartoons/drawing came from F.Ibanez [Clever & Smart] ... very funny yet simple style. Nowadays I enjoy Dilbert by Scott Adams or the political cartoons from cartoonist Jari Elsilä; also both of them are hilarious without wasting unnecessary lines. I believe a straightforward style highlights the writing and that’s what I’m trying to achieve. Moreover, I love to have backgrounds in my comics [to steer the reader to a particular thought or mood] but hate to draw them and/or dislike it when they clutter the cartoon ... I’m rather happy with a style that I’ve developed over time where I draw the background but reduce the opacity to 25 %. I think that works pretty nice

Stefan G

Answer to Q5 => My favourite themes are 1) anyone predicting the future, 2) mistaking luck for awesome skill and 3) incompetent yet pompous professionals ... there is so much hilarious material right there

Answer to Q6 => I often use the characters Reto und Urs for jokes/strips that are not necessarily financial because they are so endearingly stupid [well, mostly Urs is]. This one makes me chuckle

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. In what ways have any of the strips changed the way you think about life, finances, or any other topic covered in them? Alternatively, what have the strips portrayed that you wish more people knew?

RebelVampire

(the archive for the chat on Poco Adventures is now available https://comicteaparty.com/post/182650076295/january-28th-february-3rd-2019-ctp-archive)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. Of all the parodies and jabs at financial markets and life, which do you consider the most on the nose as far as its representation in the comic goes?

RebelVampire

7) the strips have made me realize in a way that this is another industry where basically theres lots of ridiculous junk going on in the background cause you can never remove human faults completely. cause when it comes to finance theres lots of advanced vocabulary and concepts being thrown around usually, so for someone untrained it can sound intimidating and hard to follow. i think these strips do a great job of humanizing things tho and showing that the concepts arent all that alien cause at the end they were created by humans and reflect the desires of humans in a way. 8) one of my faves that i think is totally on the nose is this one where the economist is telling p-bird about ppl on twitter debating him being ignorant. and that his facts and stuff will prevail but p-bird points out that wouldnt even work on the economist. and the economist goes home confused. i think this is way too true for what its like to argue on the internet and how facts and logic get infinitely buried for the sake of narrative.

Stefan G

Excellent analysis/comments, RebelVampire really constructive. The human element is everywhere and money is such an emotionally laden topic that it’s easy to get confused even without the unnecessary complicated vocabulary ...which is often misused even by so-called “professionals”. If my strip has helped you understand all of that and un-demonised the beast, you’ve made me a very happy man Yeah, the Twitter-Fact-Confusion strip is one of my more relatable strips ... I’ve given up on trying to change people’s minds with facts; if changing minds is possible, it can only be achieved through via emotions. It sounds more logical the other way around but that’s not how we work. Here’s a special academically oriented strip just for you, RebelVampire Enjoy

snuffysam

haven't been able to get all the way through the archive yet, but my answer to both #2 and #8 is the Regional Manager. I love all the characters, but there's something to be said for the simplicity of having a guy literally run around headless.

Stefan G

Thanks , snuffysam. I almost forgot about the regional manager. I have to bring him back to life; I also like him ... by the way, there are 308 strips in total.

Answer to Q7 => I can’t claim that any one strip has changed the way I think about life and/or other things ... however, I do believe that writing & drawing Offshore strips has reinforced in me some of the main ideas from my favourite author, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, who’s books have influenced me deeply [e.g. Black Swan, Antifragile, etc etc] ... luck versus skill, thinking about risk and stuff like that. I regularly come back to his books for inspiration and recommend his books & Twitter -feed. Here are two strips that highlight my point ...sort of

Answer to Q8 => wow tough question ... with 99 % of my strips I genuinely try to convey some message about basic human quirks and/or outright stupidities that actually take place on a regular basis when handling money + and then I add my own personal humours twist to it. Here are a few strips with the message never to buy something you don’t understand [a hint: they always have complicated names]...

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What other finance related topics are you hoping to see the comic explore? Which characters are you hoping to see involved with the topic?

Stefan G

Answer to Q9 => As the creator of the strip I’m obviously biased to answer this question, but I’d love to hear what the new readers have to say. I don’t have a particular preference for any topic [except make fun of pompous forecasters ] ... but I feel myself wanting to write & draw more strips for the Markets-Weasel and Reto und Urs. And that’s surprisingly hard to do; forcing it doesn’t work [at least not for me] ... Offshore’s main characters were supposed to be Reto und Urs and somehow P-Bird and the Economist and the trader stole the show. I guess that happens when you get to know your characters better. Funny how that happens ... here’s one nostalgic strip from my early work that I really enjoy

Stefan G

Addition to Q9 => ... I’ve steadily build up an audience on Twitter [@NonMeek] which consist mainly of likeminded financial and/or other professionals ...hence, hearing the viewpoints from anyone outside that sphere would be awesome

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

RebelVampire

9) idk about specific topics, but id like to see the CEO who i think appeared in like one strip. I'm really interested to see the CEO dynamic with the other characters in terms of finance. learn how they view what theyre doing, how they view what the others are doing, etc. but im all for bringing the regional manager back too cause i enjoyed that character as well. a lot of great humor picking fun at how some managerial positions are kind of ridiculous to even exist to a degree. 10) learning more, mostly. overall its nice to see a harder to cover topic in comics. ive enjoyed how approachable and humanized the strips make finances, and how they remind you that professionals can be like this and actually have no clue what theyre doing. @Stefan G that academic oriented strip you shared was actually one of my faves. not necessarily in college, but i see this a lot in the blogosphere where ppl do a thing once and try to pass themselves as qualified experts to deliver advice. XD

Stefan G

@RebelVampire Thanks again for your opinions. Those really help with the development of the strip ... finance is a hard topic indeed and there are no really finance oriented strips out there [that I know of anyway], which is funny cuz the industry is filled with emotions and mind blowing mental errors. I guess people still believe finance & investing is some sort of scientific discipline which it’s really not ... there are hardly any black & white answers to anything even though there’s lots and lots of historical data ... it’s time to fix that myth with Offshore I’m glad you enjoyed that academic strip. It resonated rather well on Twitter too

@RebelVampire [adding to my previous answer] ... I agree that the managers need to be reanimated and given another chance. I’ll try to do that and see how they resonate. I never know beforehand which characters will work and which will fizzle out; e.g. der Compliance Offizier is one of my favourite characters, yet, resonates weakly outside the banking circles ‍♂️ [I love the strip below ].

keii4ii

I would like to see more strips that cracks jokes about this very specific context of finances! Things like that strip about funds blowing up on day 252. I think that gives this comic its own flavor. Readers get to laugh about not just any kind of incompetent people, but incompetent people in this specific field. Readers with no background in finances don't know the context, so more strips that shed light on the context of the jokes would be great.

Stefan G

@keii4ii All valid and excellent points ... I genuinely try to write & design my cartoons in such a way that the joke is understandable even though you don’t know the context. It’s a hard thing to do ... my wife is my toughest critic and she tells me the same as you ... but keep following Offshore and I promise to come up with more stuff like that 252 strip

Answer to Q10 => My ambition with Offshore is to 1) amuse myself first and see if anyone shares my sense of humour [if a cartoon doesn’t amuse me, I don’t publish it]. It’s a splendid way of letting out some frustration from work ... and 2) to make investing & finance more approachable to the layperson by infusing some humour into it in the form of cartoons ... which by the way nobody thought of doing on a serious basis. Weird. However, to produce material on a semi-regular basis I figured that writing only gags/jokes is too much work and/or too shallow of an approach, hence, the characters in the strip need to be interesting/relatable enough in order to create humorous material by mere interaction with each other. That’s easier said than done. I’m quite satisfied with my characters so far but am continuously looking for new interesting characters to add to the strip [either permanently or impermanently]. Like Scott Adams once told me: “The trick with comics is to reflect the reader's own experience. To allow people to say, "That's me!" I’ll conclude with this sneak peek strip [only for you guys] that should relate to the experience of anybody working in a big corporation.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Offshore Comic this week! Please also give a special thank you to Stefan Gasic for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Offshore Comic, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://www.offshorecomic.com/

Stefan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonMeek