#i like pens a lot and don't understand the concept

[fireboltposts]

When SKZ finds your well-organized Korean notes

A/N : This idea randomly popped up in my head when I was learning my Spanish. Picture credit to the owner. Also this is the first time I've tried writing for all the members together.

• Where each member suddenly stumbles upon your neat and well-organized notes for learning Korean. They knew you were studying but didn't realise you went so far as to maintaining an old diary of 2013 for writing down random notes, swear words, grammar rules, slangs, idioms, vocabulary, tests where you had graded yourself with a red pen with marks like 16/20 or 19/25 and your signature like a school teacher and even some phrases learnt from the boys.

• Chris

He found your Korean diary on a random Tuesday evening while he was searching for his laptop charger. He wondered what on earth were you doing with a 2013 diary when he had gifted you the latest one on New Year's Day. Not one to read someone's diary, but his interest was piqued because of a SKZ bookmark hanging out of the diary. He opens it curiously, flipping through the pages that contained grammar rules, self-graded tests with your signature (which he can't help but giggle at), and even an entire section labelled "what Channie taught me", containing phrases and words he had previously taught you, that he himself had forgotten, which little notes on the side in pencil on how to pronounce stating that "Channie says it like this". He smiles to himself, feeling a surge of warmth as he realizes you're working so hard to understand and connect with him and the group on a deeper level. He chuckles at the part where you had stated that he says a word in a certain tone and he's a little surprised to see how observant you were to how he spoke Korean that you had noticed such little things even he didn't know. He is moved by your dedication and effort. It meant so much to him that you wanted to understand him better and also the rest of the boys.

• Minho

Minho's looking around your room when his eyes fall on a notebook open on your bed, with pages full of neat handwriting. Intrigued, he walks over and begins to look through them, noting how well-organized and thoughtful each section is. The color-coding in different color ink, the little drawings, and the way you��ve broken down each concept and it’s clear you’ve put a lot of effort into learning. He spots a few phrases he's used like "Don't be silly" written in Hangul. He feels a strange pride in knowing that you had gone through so much trouble of noting down things he has said and how observant you were to the other members' words and he feels a soft warmth on his chest. When you notice him looking, he gives you an approving nod. "Your notes are impressive," he says, with a faint smile. "You’re serious about learning, huh? I respect that." He’s not overly sentimental, but there’s a hint of admiration in his tone. "Just make sure you don’t learn any bad habits from the guys. I'll teach you the proper way to speak," he adds with a teasing glint in his eyes and you roll your eyes with a smile on your lips.

• Changbin

Changbin flips your notes open curiously and starts reading. The first thing he notices is how neatly you've written grammar concepts and phrases with example sentences using names from the K industry like "Changbin ate an apple", "Joshua cannot swim", "Jaejoong, go to the market !". As he goes through, he can’t help but feel a sense of admiration for your dedication. You’ve put in so much work, and it’s clear that you’re genuinely interested in understanding the language. He chuckles when he sees a section labeled "Cute Phrases learnt from Binnie," where you’ve written down a few things he’s said, noting them with little hearts and stars. When you return, he grins at you, holding up the notebook. "These are really impressive," he says, giving you an encouraging smile. "You’ve put in a lot of effort. If you keep it up, you’ll be fluent in no time!". There’s a hint of pride in his voice as he looks at you, feeling touched that you care so much about connecting with him and the rest of the group in their language.

• Hyunjin

Hyunjin finds your notes when you’re both sitting on the couch. He’s flipping through some things on the table when he spots them, open to a section on descriptive words. At first, he’s just curious, but as he goes through them, he realizes how detailed your notes are. You’ve even added pronunciation tips in English and marked down specific tones you’d heard him use, adding little side notes in pencil like, "Try to sound softer, like Hyunjin." Seeing his own influence in your notes makes his heart race. He’s touched to know you’re paying so much attention to the language, even noting his speaking style. There’s something endearing about how you’re working so hard to speak Korean well, not just to understand him but to match his expressions too. "Wow, you’re really serious about this, huh?" he murmurs, glancing over at you with a soft smile. He leans in closer, resting his chin on his hand as he flips through more pages, admiring your hard work. "If you ever want a study buddy, I’d be happy to help. Maybe I could teach you some new words too… you know, personal ones that only we would know or swear words, whichever you want", he winks, enjoying the thought of having something special shared between the two of you.

• Han

Han stumbles upon your notes one day while you’re hanging out. He flips through them casually, but the more he reads, the more impressed he becomes. Your notes are detailed, organized, and incredibly thorough. You’ve written down vocabulary, grammar rules, and even broken down complex sentences into parts. He’s particularly amused when he sees a section labeled "Funny Phrases" with things he’s said, complete with little notes like, "Han said this when he was being silly." He feels a warmth in his chest, touched that you’ve been paying attention to his quirks and speech patterns. When he looks up at you, there’s a playful glint in his eye. "I didn’t know you were working this hard!" he exclaims. "Your notes are so good; I think I’d actually want to borrow them myself!". Han’s admiration is genuine, and he’s a little flustered by how much he enjoys seeing your dedication. "Anytime you want to practice with me, let me know," he offers, giving you a shy smile. "We could make it fun, you know, with little games and stuff and next time I'll take a test and put my signature on there and an A+ and a smiley if you get it all correct", he said with a wink.

• Felix

When Felix flips through the pages and finds your neat handwriting in Hangul , he's charmed by how much dedication you've put into it, especially when he saw you noted expressions and idioms he used labelled as "Sunshine Lixie's expressions", complete with little stars. His heart flutters at the sight. "Your notes are amazing!" he says, his eyes lighting up. "It’s so cool that you’re learning, and it’s adorable how you even have a section just for my phrases." He pats your shoulder proudly, feeling touched and a bit shy. "I could help you practice anytime you want," he adds, his voice softening, secretly hoping to spend more time with you.

• Seungmin

Seungmin finds your notes by accident when he’s helping you clean up after a study session. He notices them lying open on the table and can’t resist taking a look. As he reads through the pages, he’s impressed by your organization and the level of detail. You’ve made vocabulary lists, highlighted grammar points, and even written down little notes to help you remember certain words. He brings it up later, saying, "Your notes are really impressive. You’re actually doing a great job, and if you keep at it, I think you’ll become fluent in no time." He looks at you thoughtfully, adding, "If you ever need help with pronunciation or understanding something or maybe adding some more to the "Seungmin's Tips" list, I’d be happy to help."

• Jeongin

When the maknae finds your neat diary that you've kept for learning Korean, he is a little surprised but also very impressed at you progress as the self graded "test scores" went higher and as he also remembers some difficult words meant for upper Intermediate learners you'd used a week ago while talking to him. He chuckles when he sees his own "Innie’s Words" section, where you’ve noted down phrases he’s said. Later, he brings it up with a smile, saying, "Your notes are really detailed. It’s so cool that you’re putting in so much effort to learn our language." There’s a sense of pride in his voice as he looks at you, genuinely impressed by your dedication. "If you ever need help, I’m here. I could even teach you some more slang, if you’re up for it Y/N ! And next time, I hope to see you score full marks on your little self tests".

A/N : Do like, comment, reblog and follow if you liked it. You can find the rest of my masterlist here.

[m1ssunderstanding]

Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 1.2

George: We don't have to keep [an image] up, we just remain ourselves. Don't we, Ringo? Ringo: well, we do, I mean, it's the other two we're worried about. It's a joke about John and Paul being bigheads, but a crazy person – definitely not me – could also see it other ways if they wanted to.

Paul talking about their mutual friend when asked how they met and John telling him not to complicate it. They're so married it's ridiculous. 

Always looking at each other with every single joke. 

He looks like he's in a lovely enclosure at the petting zoo. I've always been so confused by this footage. Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on?

I LOVE that we now know Paul was cast as Thisbe and John as Pyramus and then they switched. I'm actually dying to know how and why that happened though. My first instinct was “of course. Paul was scared he'd look too convincing as a woman, so John did it for him.” But no. Paul dressed as a woman at the cavern, wore ladies lingerie in Hamburg, and wanted to do a full drag show on TV in the early seventies. So why not Thisbe?

Why do you as a man randomly bring up the color of your friend's dick while staring lovingly into his eyes?

It must be noted. They had a wonderful time playing star-crossed lovers. 

The bickering pianos are so cute! And then John (prompting Paul): and John and I . . . Paul: oh I hate this. John: will probably carry on . . . Paul: we'll carry on songwriting . . . You just know Paul didn't hear the end of that one interview answer for a long long time. And it's because John just had to hear it over and over again.

Love the editing so that Paul smacks John's ass right as the symbols crash. 10/10 A+

This iconic moment. Poor George tally number 4.

Interviewer brings up marriage and John takes a shot like he wants to forget that the whole concept even exists. Literally poor Cynthia. And not even in an “lol her husband's gay” type of way. Just in a genuine “the way their relationship fell apart actually breaks my heart because she really did love him and in his way he loved her too but they were just so thoroughly incompatible” type of way. 

Paul: makes a stupid dad joke. John: giggles gleefully and kicks his feet

I have never seen someone so disappointed that they didn't need to lend their friend a pen. Paul had his hand in his pocket before John even asked the interviewer for a pen and when the interviewer gives him one, Paul literally hangs his head like he's just been cut from the school play. I just. The obsession is frankly cartoonish. But also, he just needs to be needed, you know? How many songs does he have which conflate being needed and being loved?

The juxtaposition of Paul and John elaborately messing with the interviewer (“yes John Lenard, that's me” and “actually it's done by mirrors.”) vs George's “I don't know” and “yeah.” it's actually kind of mean editing but whatever. It is ULM not UH. Someone should make that though.

Again, John. Calm down. He's not that funny. Just look at Jimmy. That's the normal person's reaction to that joke. John is half the reason Paul has such a big head honestly. 

Paul's answer to a question about the Beatles gaining a lot of adult fans is nice. Sometimes he shocks with a bit of wisdom. Sometimes his words don't get messed up at the point they hit his throat as he says. 

What the fuck? Okay so the interviewer asks Paul what he likes in a girl, right? I've always been too distracted by Paul saying he likes a sense of humor and John doing an obnoxious fake laugh in the background because John. It's embarrassing how obvious you are. Stop.

But I never noticed Paul actually says “people”. The interviewer asks about girls and he says he likes “people - er - girls” to have a sense of humor. Huh. Okay. 

So ULM was actually what made me a serious Beatles fan and this was the first moment where I had to pause it and verify to see if what I'd just read was actually true. It really is a doozy. 

How to flirt. A guide by Paul McCartney. Step one: get your crush’s attention. This should be extremely easy. Just gesture vaguely at something you're holding. He'll be interested. Step two: do something suggestive to a phallic object. Step three: that's it. You've got him. He'll do whatever you want.

The editing in this thing truly is brutal. Just the jump cuts from a question about Cynthia to John and Paul making each other laugh to girls screaming to John and Paul unnecessarily touching to girls passed out on the ground to John and Paul desperate for each other's attention to girls waving signs to John and Paul sharing weird eye contact to girls physically mobbing them to John and Paul beaming at each other to a question about Jane. It really does drive home the immense pressure of compulsory heterosexuality back then. 

Then a question that's obviously meant to poke a nerve and start some bad feelings. “Paul. Is John the leader of the Beatles?” Easily rebuffed with “no I'm not” and “there's no real leader”. I know I'm dramatic but really it's like every aspect of that society was against them you know? And they just kind of said "fuck you, we're crazy about each other."

Question: what do they think about when they're imprisoned in their hotel rooms? John: we don't think about one thing. *Whips head to look at Paul* well, some of us do. Oh and you know that how exactly? What, do you just have a printout of his every thought? Do you keep constant tabs on his dick?

Someone give me the heterosexual explanation of that moment when John very clearly and obviously checks out and appreciates Paul's ass as he and Ringo are pretending to be cowboys. Seriously. I'm at a loss here. 

Poor George tally number six? Seven? They're asked what they'll do if England reinstates the draft. John brings up Southern Ireland. George brings up Germany. Paul and John plan their joint escape to Southern Ireland as if George hadn't even spoken. 

The choice to play “Another Girl” over that quote of John's being like ‘Paul's actually much meaner than i am’ is great. Because that's seriously such a jerk song. I don't much like Jane, honestly, but fuck, she deserved so much better than Paul. He was such a douche.  

Literally all the song choices in this are phenomenal. “Hide Your Love Away” over the montage of 60s homophobia moments? It's so genius. Saying everything without saying anything. Letting the Beatles do the talking. 

The laugh track over the cartoon is honestly so sad. Nobody asked them if they were okay with being mocked like that and they never even made a dime off it. What would that have felt like to know that your being “too close” with your best friend was a running joke on TV?

“It's only love and that is all. Why should I feel the way I do?”

[buterccup]

GEN Z READER IN TASK FORCE 141 HC

A/N: I saw a couple of these and I couldn't stop trying to find more, and I just love the concept of all these big men trying to understand the reader's humour but I also love how they try to watch over them even though they can easily take care of themselves. Also, do expect the codename to change if I make another one of these but if anyone has ideas please tell me. Anyways I hope this doesn't flop and please enjoy.

Warnings: Dark humour, Suicide jokes, simping, swearing, mentions of parents leaving the reader, basically gen z stuff, usual CoD violence

Character(s): Soap, Gaz, John, Ghost, Price x Gn! reader (And graves kinda-)

Codename: Daffodil

There is no thinking about it you are the youngest and probably the shortest in the task force.

When Laswell first told Price that he will have someone younger than he expected to join the task force he immediately said no, he wasn't going to babysit you.

Plus you looked way too young to be in the army

Little did he know, you got your codename for a reason.

But once Laswell said you were very strong and he could trust you to hold your own and that he had to, he didn't have much of a choice.

And as expected once Price and Laswell introduce you to the boys they were shocked too.

There was a literal child in front of them.

And Soap being Soap he let out a little chuckle earning a nudge and glare from Ghost and an "ahem" from Price

"This is Daffodil, your new rookie. And I warn you don't underestimate them just from their name. Treat them well."

At first you were very quiet and only spoke when spoken to, almost beating Ghost's stoic and quiet nature

To which the rest of 141 joked about quite a lot

but after a while, you started to open up to them which was a nice sign

But the boys did catch onto your humour pretty quickly which caused them to worry for your mental state.

You would start saying suicide jokes at 1 mile per second at every small inconvenience.

"If that happens again I'm going to jump in front of a car- I am going to hang myself- I cannot right now-"

"Kid...It's just paper work..."

"Exactly"

One time you and the group were going after a target and of the guys' men shot you in the arm. It wasn't as bad as you thought it would be but it still hurt.

While Soap and Gaz asked if you were okay you were completely hysterical at the moment. So much in fact that you shouted something so stupid before the guy met his inevitable end.

By Ghost too:D

Thanks Ghost<33

"Do you want this back???"

BLAM

"Oop, mans left quicker than my dad."

To say the least, your boys were concerned for you because of that

Even Ghost tried to check up on you every minute or two after they got the bullet out and patched you up.

You all eventually got the target in the end but your boys ended up forcing you to go get your wound checked since a, and I quote, "Crusty dusty" building wouldn't be the best place to pick out bullet fragments.

You came back with one of the doctor's pens because you liked it and claimed you finessed him when in reality he gave it to you because he noticed you staring and you were too scared to ask.

It was a LED cat paw pen

"Gaz what does finesse mean?"

"I don't really know..?"

"What do you mean you're supposed to know-"

One time you shouted slay during a mission once Ghost killed one of the targets.

To be honest, it did make him laugh but Price, on the other hand, didn't understand but he soon got what it meant. Kinda.

With that being said Gaz and sometimes Soap are the go-to when Price or Ghost don't understand what the hell you just said since they are the younger ones.

Which also means you got along better with them

And if they don't understand something they always try their best to find out and find more things you would laugh at.

Soap even goes that extra effort to make memes and send them to you.

But don't get me wrong you love spending time with Price and Ghost.

And speaking of memes you always end up making stupid gifs of Ghost and always end up sending them to the tf141 group chat that you made to annoy them most of the time or Ghost himself where you sometimes end up joke flirting with him

Mans is scrumdiliumcious if you did say so yourself

(Ahem basically the gif at the start of the hcs)

One time you called Ghost Mummy and Soap and Gaz wouldn't stop laughing while Price sighed at the little slip-up.

It wasn't a slip-up.

You defiantly burst into Price's office most of the time too when you have nothing to do.

Even though hearing Price drone on about his paperwork doesn't sound that fun it's nice to hear his voice.

And If you didn't have good parents or were absent most of your life he would never turn you away once he sees you at his door.

This also applies if you have good parents too

From the number of times he had to lecture you and your boys about how you can't have McDonald's after a mission and how it's bad for you is basically allowing him to adopt you.

Once you met Grave one thing kept popping into your mind.

Fix it Felix.

Which didn't really give you both a great start but he warmed up to you sooner or later.

And as much as an asshole he is most of the time he actually gets concerned when he hears one of your suicide jokes.

When he first heard one over coms he made sure to keep an eye on you every so often and even messaged you after the mission was over.

Don't get me wrong Graves is kinda...shitty but that doesn't make him that much of an asshole to not check up on a 'child' when they say something concerning.

And when all your boys are free and there is time you all have a movie night.

It's quite relaxing, it was nice to have these quiet moments with your boys considering your jobs.

Although one time it was getting really late and you all got through 2 movies and you almost looked like you were going to pass out so that's when papa Price came out.

"Papa, more movie."

"No the movie is over, we gotta go.."

"PAPA"

"Oh, Jesus Christ.." (💀)

"Me. Want. More. Movie."

"No Daffo-"

"YOU LIE"

"Kiddo the movie is-"

"Price what did you do-" (🧼)

Once you calmed down and Price realized what you said he cried internally.

Everything was okay in the end though and Gaz had that on camera so they can always look back and laugh at it.

Requests: Open

Part 2!

[opashoo]

staring so kindly at your sluglang post,, as someone working on a language as well this looks fantastic (and is also. super organized compared to mine BHAHAH) Any tips for putting together a language? Like resources on how to go about it, or notes? /genq

You are staring kindly... (thank you)

As for tips... Wikipedia is actually one of my biggest, most useful tools, because I love to read articles about grammatical concepts, and they will usually have a varaiety of examples of use if you can figure out how to parse the academic language. There are some core ideas that pop up all over the place crosslinguistically, like case marking or converbs, and you can get a lot from learning how other languages might parse the same idea, both how they handle the idea grammatically and what kind of metaphorical language might be involved; like how in Scottish Gaelic, to say you have something, you say it's 'at' you, or how it doesn't have an exact equivalent of English's infinitive, or how Mongolian has so many word endings that convey meaning, and a bunch of them are literally endings stacked on top of other endings.

There's also really good conlang youtubers, like David Peterson, the one who made Dothraki and other pop media conlangs, Artifexian, Biblaridion. They have videos on both interesting grammatical concepts that don't exist in english AND how to integrate them into conlangs. Davide Peterson especially has interesting videos on things like sound changes, vowel harmony, phonological concepts that can really help shape your language and bring a degree of naturalism if that's what you're looking for.

Etymology can be extremely informative though, and really help you to understand exactly how creative people have gotten with language over the past thousands of years. Etymonline is a great website for that. Did you know that the word "next" was originally literally "nearest"? Or that that the suffix "be-" was originally "by", so words like "before" actually meant "by the fore", and very often these meanings are metaphorically extended to the way we use them today. It's great for helping to develop very important words that can be structural to your language, so that you're not just trying to raw make up a new word with no basis every time.

Aside from that, there's no single source I go to for making conlangs. Everything is on a case by case basis. Something that has been really helpful for me is constantly writing example sentences and finding things to write about, because similar to translating existing texts, it forces me to reckon with the way my conlang works, figure out how to convey certain ideas (or whether or not the language can convey the idea at all).

Usually I'll have a few languages that I keep in mind for inspiration for any given project and if I'm stumped or need an idea, I'll actually look up learning resources for those languages. My slugcat language has had me looking up a lot of "How to say..." in Korean, Arabic, Japanese Filipino, a little bit of Indonesian? Some Russian for verb stuff. Once I find resources, I spend a bit of time dissecting how it works in those languages and figure out how that can fit in the existing framework of my own project, or if it's something I'd even want in the project at all.

Once I have an idea, I'll just start iterating on it, usually on paper, basically brainstorming how the sentence structure and sounds might work until I find something that is both sonically satisfying and logically sound within the existing framework. If I'm feeling extra spicy, I might try to consider how the culture and priorities of the speakers might shape the development of the language. The important thing while doing this is, just like brainstorming, to be unafraid to keep throwing ideas onto the page no matter how unviable or nonsensical it may seem in your head. You NEED to experiment and find what doesn't work or else your brain will be too clogged to find out what does. Exercising your pen will help you get into the mindset of someone using the language (because you are), it'll help you form connections to other parts of the language you've already developed, and once you've developed enough, the language will almost start writing itself.

I've actually had some really interesting interactions happen my scuglang between the archaic system of suffixes, the position word system, and the triconsonantal root system, which actually gave rise to an entire system of metaphorical extension, letting speakers use phrases like "at a crossing of" or "at a leaving of" to mean across or away and also talk about concurrent events like "He talked while eating noodles" (He, at an eating of noodles, talked).

Anyway, I know I got kind of scattered but these are some of the big parts of how I approach conlanging! If I have questions or needs, I look to other languages, find learning resources, apply it, and then ask more questions. Spend time with your language and get familiar with it. There's the time I read "Ergativity" by Robert Dixon, but reading literal textbooks is not a requirement for conlanging. You just need to chip away at it and keep asking question.

Here's some photos of my own conlanging notes so you can see how serious I am when I say iterating and brainstorming are extremely helpful. You need to be throwing shit on the paper. I will handwrite three pages just to contradict myself on the next because those three pages were important for forming the final idea.

[biracy]

Honestly I think a lot of "criticism" of tlt comes down to people assuming that everything presented in the text, especially everything spoken by characters or said by an unreliable narrator (which all three books have), is reflective of the opinions and intentions of the metaphysical Text itself, and by extension of the opinions and intentions of real human person Tamsyn Muir. See: People trying to claim that Tamsyn Muir, real human person!, is like Literally A Pedophile because no characters turn to the camera and explicitly say that Palamedes's weird pen pal thing with Dulcinea was Problematic And Bad, even though I think it's pretty normal to, as an author of a sci-fi novel for adults, assume that your audience will pick up on a 13-year-old writing love letters to a 20-year-old he has never physically seen is "weird." See also: People presenting the text as something that/Muir as someone who uncritically "support" the necro/cav binary, even though like honestly if you think about it for two seconds beyond "whoaaa cool space fights!" the sociopolitical commentary provided by the necro/cav binary is extremely, extremely clear. See also also: People who took John "nuked the world" Gaius at face value and assumed that either "yes of course the anti-imperial 'terrorists' described as such by John 'nuked the world' Gaius must be the bad guys" or "wow can you believe Tamsyn Muir literally thinks that if you're anti-imperialist you're a terrorist???" to be the takeaways from Harrow the Ninth. Idk people chuck around "media literacy" and "reading comprehension" a lot when explaining why they don't like tlt (because it dares to be funny sometimes, so clearly it's for mouth-breathing idiots), but so much "anti-tlt"posting displays such a blatant unwillingness to read below the surface and to understand how, like, books work? that it honestly starts to become funny. Displaying my superior media literacy and how much smarter I am than these Tumblrina philistines by not understanding the concept of "an unreliable narrator"

[qqueenofhades]

as a starting history major i wanna ask how do you read/evaluate academic history papers/books? i'm trying to avoid just blindly agreeing with whatever the author is writing because it seems correct. how can you tell what is good scholarship and what is more shaky?

This is a great question for you as a freshman history major to ask (many of my toiling colleagues and I can attest that we wish more of you would!) and shows that you're already taking initiative and investment in your studies and want to be the best prepared you can. So truly -- thank you! Us on the faculty/staff/administrative end of academia can feel as if we are pouring into an empty bucket at times, and it's always gratifying to hear otherwise. We really appreciate it.

As a college freshman and/or underclassman (or so I'm assuming) your first job is learning how to collect basic information from the things you read, collate and cite them accurately, and make them converse intelligently with each other in an entry-level piece of academic writing (such as an essay responding to an assigned prompt). So before you have to worry about understanding complex nuance and granular-level fact-checking, the first step is just getting comfortable with academic forms, styles, and conventions. There's an occasional anti-intellectual strand of thinking that pops up on Tumblr, basically insisting that everyone everywhere should be able to understand everything in fifth-grade words and if not then it's Elitist Gatekeeping, but this is a symptom of TikTok brainrot where people's brains have been literally rewired to only process spoon-fed chunks of incredibly simplistic (and uh, often wrong) information, and literally can't parse anything longer, even if it's written in accessible language. Yes, many academics are not necessarily great writers, but you also have to let go of the mindset that you can speed-read once and understand everything. You will need to slow down, take your time, and make a note of concepts that are confusing or that you want to double-check, words you need to look up, and things that make you say "hmm I should look into that more," whether because you're interested or they seem questionable. I always read academic texts or papers (I prefer hard copy, because I am Fucking Old) with a pen in hand, because if I don't, I often feel like I didn't read it at all.

Basically, this is an interactive process between you and the text, and requires you to develop a different kind of reading mentality than just buzzing through a novel or fanfic for pleasure. You have to expect that it will take time and that if you regularly skive off the readings, you won't be prepared for class, your professors will be annoyed, and you won't be able to write good essays, because you haven't engaged with the material. In your case, it sounds like that will be less of a problem, because you are eager to know how to do it right, but I can tell you from my experience that nothing frustrates us more than students who just won't do the reading (and you know, use ChatGPT to write their essays) because then what are you even DOING here? What do you want to get out of this? Why are you wasting your precious tuition money like this? Yes, you probably have to fill a requirement, but STILL. It's disrespectful to your teacher, who has invested a lot of effort in being here to help you with this and doesn't want you to just quit because it looks hard, and your peers, and to you. So anyway, /Captain Holt voice/ apparently that's a trigger for me. Basically, if you learn nothing else from this ask: please do the reading. Even if it's only to admit you need more help or want to talk about this concept in class or otherwise take advantage of all the structures that are in fact there to help you understand it! Thankee.

Likewise, because you're an underclassman, you have an advantage in that your teacher will select the class readings for you ahead of time. That means you will be receiving things that a professional has already checked, decided are useful and trustworthy, and you don't have to do independent research and vetting yourself (that will come if you decide for some godforsaken reason to pursue graduate and/or doctoral study). So you don't need to spend tons of extra time and effort deciding if the sources given to you in class are reliable on a basic and functional level; your professor has already done the work for you to make sure that they are. Your job is now to read those sources, keep a record of what they say (hence the aforementioned pen or other way to make quick notes) and figure out how to put them together in an essay. For example, if Author A cites Factor A as, say, the main cause of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and Author B insists that Factor B was in fact more critical, what is your best approach to reconciling that information? You would search in the rest of those texts to see what else they say in support of their position, and you would probably end up with a qualified statement to the effect of, "While Author A argues A, Author B thinks B, representing the lack of consensus and the difficulty in attributing one single cause to an event as complicated as the fall of Rome." (And then because you're smart, you would go on to mention Byzantium and the Eastern Roman Empire and show that you are aware of the further context.) All of which is true! Historians do that all the time! You don't need to select THE RIGHT ANSWER and vigorously discredit all other theories, ever, and we tend to look suspiciously on people who do (cough cough Philippa Langley).

In other words, we are certainly not expecting you as a freshman, and even as a more advanced student, to be able to pick out ONE ANSWER from the material. We just want to see evidence that you have in fact read it, are able to evaluate and place theories side by side and possibly make a judgment as to which one you find more compelling, and also to properly cite where you got that information. We've seen a lot recently about plagiarism and that being the pretext on which Harvard president Claudine Gay was forced to resign (which is a whole other can of worms, but never mind). A lot of professors think that saying "Don't Do Plagiarism" is enough, but then don't explain what it is and the different forms it can take. It's not just a matter of copying verbatim chunks of someone else's work (or you know, ALL OF IT, like certain recently discredited YouTube scumbags) and acting like it's your own. If you are relying substantially on someone else's work, whether in their wording, arguments, conclusions, structure, or anything else, even if you've changed some of the words (yep, still plagiarism!), that needs to be cited appropriately according to the relevant style guide. Direct quotes from anyone need to go in quotation marks or indented blocks and have the author cited immediately afterward. History usually uses Chicago, MLA, or MHRA, and you can find cheat sheets for how to do that online. It's a pretty simple and straightforward style, and your professor will be extra impressed.

If you're expected to do an independent project or a senior research thesis, as some undergraduate history students do, then it will come when you have already had three years of experience in reading, evaluating, and writing historical scholarship, you will probably have a faculty member assigned to you for one-on-one mentoring and personalized feedback sessions, and they will be able to provide suggestions and support for useful sources. So even then, you still don't have to do it entirely on your own. They'll probably also be MORE than happy to debate with you which ones are good and which ones are suspect, because it's all a part of developing your ability to flex that muscle for yourself. (And as noted, faculty members Will Have Strong Opinions.) That likewise doesn't mean you just have to copy whatever they say (at least if you have a good teacher who wants you to think for yourself and not just be a mini-clone of their pet theories), but it means that by the time you reach that stage, you will have been prepared enough to feel confident in taking more steps on your own. I think not enough people realize that studying history (or anything, really) isn't just throwing you out there and being like "tough luck sucker, do it all yourself."

That's why academia is so collaborative, why plenty of historians with doctorates and tenure will still have to say "I don't know, let me get back to you" when someone asks them a question at a conference, and you don't have to fear that if you don't have The One Right Answer, you will be immediately exposed as a fraud and thrown out. History as a discipline is also moving away from the 19th-century German approach that attempted to systematize it as a singular social science with One Right Answer, and to focus more on multiple perspectives and incomplete answers. That's why the goal is not necessarily to know everything (which alas, is impossible), but to make better sense of what we can know and search for ways in which the existing record is flawed and needs to be revised, expanded, or reworked with new perspectives (which have existed all this time, but haven't been privileged by the white male western academy for the obvious reasons). And that work is fun and important! I don't want you to be scared of getting to that point, because someone will be there to support you the whole way and by the time you do, it will make sense to you in a way it probably doesn't right now, just because it's a new skill and like any new skill, it takes a long time to learn and to be able to apply confidently, consistently, and at a high level. And plenty of us who do it as a career still often have to say "I don't know, let me ask Dr. So-and-so who specializes in this," so yeah. It's a process of becoming comfortable with both learning how to answer what we can, and to ask others for help with that, and it never really ends. Which is the fun part. There's so much more to do.

Good luck!

[the-insouciant-scientist]

On the topic of characters with memory problems and Parabola, I wanted to talk a bit about how that works with Harper as both a system with memory loss and a Silverer.

One thing a lot of people know about Harper is that they're incredibly go-with-the-flow. They're known as Insouciant for a reason, after all. But not a lot of people realize just how deeply that's ingrained in them, or the fact it's its own coping mechanism. See something that doesn't make sense? They proceed as if it does, and don't think too deeply on it. Met the person whose body they've been living in for a few years now in the Waswood? They'll politely inquire as to how she's been and then allow themself to forget once she's moved on. Can't trust their own senses? They make no attempt to, then, simply put one foot in front of the other until they can see a way out. They accept the uncertainty, because to challenge it at the wrong moment would destroy them. Better to bend and recover later than break entirely.

That's also why they're so good in Parabola. Science and dreaming don't have to be diametrically opposed concepts, despite what Gebrandt seems to believe. They carry their own knowledge, but don't allow that knowledge to snare them. (Hence why they're able to pull all sorts of tricks behind the mirror, because they can use theories and facts as a springboard to then catapult themself full speed into the dream logic side of things.)

It all comes back to the idea that they already can't fully trust their own memory. Conversations happen with friends that they have no recollection of. Classes are taught, and they can only hope they happened as planned. Pens go missing and days are lost and sometimes they wake up on the rooftops of Spite with blood under their nails and no recollection of how they got there. They manage, because they must, because what's the alternative? It's easy for them nowadays to simply take it in stride and try to put the pieces together after the fact. And that in turn makes it very easy for them to accept the strange and the nonsensical as normal when they do their work as a Silverer.

So if someone else with memory problems needs help with Parabola, Harper would be very willing and able to provide guidance. They'd be happy to help work through things, if it's asked of them, but even moreso just… to help to distract. Easier to ignore the things that are best left forgotten if they're too busy talking about Parabolan botany, or showing off interesting shortcuts between areas, or what have you. But if something did slip through, be it unwanted memory or impossible-to-reconcile fact, there isn't a fiercer or more protective Silverer out there to have by their side. Because that's the thing: they understand firsthand what it's like. They have years of practice. And they will never, ever pass judgement on a desire to not face these things.

[ineffable-opinions]

In the year of dragon, I wish they retained Mungkorn (มังกร) instead of translating it to 'dragon' in the 2nd episode of Love Sea.

For context, I'm referring to the scene where Rak speaks about public reaction to his writing:

I just wanted to share a story I loved with like-minded people. But as the reader base grew, some groups of people started finding faults with it. "Why did this character do that?"

It's just like when people ask why there are dragons in a fantasy world. Because it's a fantasy world, so of course it has dragons. Illogical things... can only happen in fictional worlds.

While there is nothing wrong with the translation as such, some cultural nuance is missing. Firstly, fire-breathing western dragons and auspicious (and political claw count) eastern conception of "dragons" are different in many ways.

Mungkorn also has an important place in Thai culture and politics.

So it is understandable that having mungkorn in fantasy fiction would be different from having dragon in fantasy fiction.

Here's an excerpt from Thai BL authors' interviews with scholar Jooyin Saejang quoted in the 2023 paper Chinese Historical BL by Thai Writers: The Thai BL Polysystem in the Age of Media Convergence

Writer B, too, penned Chinese historical BL not only because she liked Chinese historical dramas that often feature extravagant settings and costumes, but also because she could use 'their history and beliefs as storytelling materials without worrying about any "drama". For example, if I want my male protagonist to be a ruling monarch, I can do it [in a Chinese setting], but if I do it in a historical Thai setting … [laughs].' Writer B added that:

Actually, it's not just politics. Religious beliefs are also the same. For instance, I write about Chinese gods and spirits, I can reference the Bodhisattva without worrying about any drama because it is fantasy. But if I use the Bodhisattva in a Thai setting, then I might face a backlash like 'why did you do this to other people's belief?' It is more sensitive. I feel like when everything I include is historical Chinese, then people will understand that it's just fiction, just fantasy. They can see it as unrealistic. I read a novel like this but set in Thailand before. It touched on people's religious beliefs, so the reception was not so good. A lot of people were against it because it was in their daily life. They didn't want anyone to touch on it. It was their belief.

When asked why she did not attempt a Thai BL period drama, Writer C similarly cited historical China's affordance of surrealism which allowed her to avoid any backlash.

With historical China, I can portray things that are surreal. There are eras that have Chinese gods, spirits, and demons. If you ask me why I won't write a Thai BL period story, mainly because I am not well-versed in Thai history and because historical Thailand is quite sensitive in Thai society. Anything about Thai is very sensitive. We cannot do anything with it. If I do something with it, there will be those curious people who are always like, 'Why is it like this? Why is it like that? No, it shouldn't be like this. It should be like that.' Cut to the Chinese historical setting, I claim that it's about gods and spirits, then nobody will question me. Or even if there is, I can argue that my story is not based on anything. Don't use it for your history test.

-

As with gong shou convo in Unknown, imo, this translation too defeats the purpose of the scene.

[pkmnirlevents]

How do you go about getting ideas for arcs? I’m struggling to figure out what I want to do with my character :(

Great question! This happens to be one of my absolute favorite parts of writing and pkmn irl itself. I've always been more of an ideas guy myself. I hope you don't mind but I decided to turn this into a bit of an overall tutorial for planning and writing arcs. Feel free to ask for any specifics because I could delve into my personal process for arc brainstorming, but I was admittedly writing this before getting ready for work and this post was getting kinda long haha

Knowing where to draw inspiration from can be a good place to start. It's wonderful to be inspired by music, a movie or tv show, a book, or even other people in the community and their writing. Ask yourself what elements of that thing draw you in. What do you like? What would you maybe do differently? I must mention though to be respectful of the work other blogs have put into their writing. Being inspired is a wonderful thing, lifting exact details or passages is not. If you're unsure, there's no harm is asking!

The most helpful thing I can tell you right off the bat is that you want to find out how to brainstorm. In schools they'll often try to teach you ways of brainstorming and outlining to structure your essay writing, if you're lucky they might even mention that there are multiple ways you can do this. The ones in school never worked for me personally, so for a long time I assumed brainstorming and outlining was a complete waste of my time and would launch straight into my writing drafts. But as I wanted to write more complex things and I wanted to indulge in more creative writing, I found myself getting stuck all the time. The truth is brainstorming is a helpful tool, but you have to know what type of brainstorming works best for you. Flowcharts, bullet points, stream of consciousness, word clouds, moodboards, drawings, whatever it is that gets your creative juices flowing. In my experience it works best to remember that not every one of these elements will make it into the final arc. You want to get your ideas down first and trim the excess later. I personally pay for a program (Milanote) that allows me to brainstorm in the methods that work best for me, but by no means do you have to pay for a program to do this. Pen and paper works just fine.

The next thing you wanna do is establish what you want your arc to do. Not every arc has to be a grand character development, but all arcs do something. No matter how small that something may be, something has to change as a result. Maybe your character meets a new person, obtains a new Pokemon, gets a new scar and a story to tell their friends, or maybe all they got was a t-shirt. If you already had a loose concept for your arc this can help you hone it. You can start asking yourself, "how does my character reach this point?" and work up to that. Map out what you think your character would do when dropped into a particular situation. This can also help you to establish the tone you want your arc to take. Is it silly and lighthearted or is it more serious and high stakes? Refer to the stakes tag post about proper tagging.

It can help to conceptualize your arc as a series of events rather than a single event. This allows you to understand how many posts you may need to split the arc up into, how much time the arc may take, or other hard to sort details.

These things ramp up when you start to incorporate more people into your arcs. Planning with your fellow writers is extremely important and that requires a lot of communication. Some writers prefer to do what we call pre-writing, which is typically you and the other writers get together and write out the posts in advance. This gives people the chance to look over each other's writing and make edits before the posts go live. Planning discords are useful for keeping things organized, but google docs or other collaborative writing programs can work just as well if those better suit your needs. Organize who is posting what and generally at what time, especially if the post involves other people's characters.

Remember all of this is for fun! These are not hard rules you need to follow. You should not force yourself to write things you do not like for the sake of others or for an imagined audience. Write what you want to write.

[abyssruler]

CONGRATS ON 3K!!! May i ask albedo + normal au + soulmate + fluff? I don't have any other ideas so plot is up to you! I'll be happy with whatever you write 🫶🫶

of inks and six toes

albedo x gn!reader

in a world where anything you write on your skin appears on your soulmate’s skin, albedo finds that much unlike his initial expectations, he does have a soulmate, and one that he’s surprised to admit he genuinely enjoys conversing with.

soulmate au, comedy, fluff, written for my 3k event!

Albedo learns how to pen words on his skin long before he learns how to write them on paper.

His master has always encouraged this little habit. Notes, reminders, and quick calculations done on the smooth skin of his arm, hands, and on the days where he’s covered in warm clothing from head to toe, his cheeks.

He’s always been curious, always one to voice out questions—this, too, is a habit his master encourages—but he’s never thought to ask why he must write more on his skin than on paper. It was simply a way of life. You sit on a chair, you drink on a cup, you bend the laws of physics using the forbidden art of khemia, and you write inconsequential things to your skin.

Must check test tube #32 on 06:45 and observe any difference, he writes to the inside of his wrist.

With every year that passes, his master becomes more and more displeased with him, claiming his lack of progress, but Albedo doesn’t understand. He’s been doing exceptionally well, excelling in his studies and furthering his knowledge with research, he’s even acquired the small hobby of sketching. He doesn’t understand which aspect he’s lacking in.

It isn’t until years later, when his master deems him mature enough to accompany her in one of her supply trips in a nearby town, that he learns about soulmates. And only five months after that trip does he finally understand what his master meant by progress.

There, written near an absentminded reminder by the inside of his wrist, is a shaky scrawl akin to that of a child’s.

Wat deos experiment meen?

✧

Albedo learns a lot of things within the span of a few months after his soulmate finally responds to him.

The first being that his master seems to be more satisfied with him lately. After the initial shock of the revelation that a synthetic human such as himself would even possess a soulmate, he hurried to show his master the scribbles you made on his wrist. Her threats of leaving him should he fail a certain task has also lessened, almost to a nonexistent degree. Perhaps having a soulmate is the greatest proof of life an artificial person like him could have.

The second is that he never knew talking to someone would be something he would find himself looking forward to everyday. To form relations such as friendship and actively put in the effort to maintain it were not things he anticipated to be this enjoyable. Or perhaps it’s because the person he’s speaking to—rather, writing to, is you, his soulmate.

And lastly, within the first few minutes of conversing with you, Albedo discovers that you are young. Incredibly so, in fact.

…Not that he’s in any position to call anyone young, being that he’s barely a decade old despite looking like a young man already. He supposes he should be thankful to have been born with fully functional limbs and motor skills, his master isn’t exactly the best caretaker for a child, much less a good parental figure (never mind that he already thinks of her as his mother).

hau old ar yu?

How old are you, he corrects, all while mentally calculating exactly how old he is. His master would know down to the very last second, but he can’t bother her with something as mundane as this. Truthfully, the first few years of his life were spent learning as much as he could about the world and alchemy, such that he never took much note of his age until he learned the concept of birthdays. He thinks his master celebrated him being a decade old about a month ago—and by celebrate he means she let him sketch as much as he liked and gave him a break on his studies.

He estimates that he is about ten. Probably.

So that’s what he answers to his soulmate, he does you the favor of writing it in numerical form to make it easier to read.

wow yur old! The words come alive on the back of his hand slowly, each letter uneven and some even written backwards.

You’re, he corrects, more out of habit than any real desire to teach you proper grammar, and 10 isn’t that old. Once you get older, you’ll find that 10 is considered quite young.

It takes you a while to respond, and within that time frame, Albedo finishes transferring a heated whooperflower extract into a test tube. It’s an exercise in patience, and thankfully he has plenty of it. He regrets not using easier words for you to understand, but erasing the ink on his hand and writing new ones will probably confuse you more than you already are.

okey! papa sed im 5 yeers old, turneeng 6 tomorow

You must be very smart to be able to read and write already at that age. I’ll make sure to wish you a happy birthday tomorrow, he replies.

It takes another few minutes for you to write back. but you’re smarter then me so wen did you read and write?

Albedo lets himself feel the slightest hint of pride at how you spelled ‘you’re’ correctly this time around. You’re a quick learner.

I learned before I turned a year old, but please don’t tell anyone. Not that anyone would believe you if you said your soulmate learned how to read and write (and transmigrate a small branch into a flower) before he was one, but better to be safe than sorry.

oohh is this wat mama cals a secret?

Yes, it is, and I would be very happy if you kept it.

okey! i wont tel enywon! :)

Thank you.

He spends the next few minutes making light conversation with you, occasionally correcting your spelling and explaining any concept you seem confused about—until his master berates him for neglecting his work, and he has to bid you a hasty goodbye and apology. You’re quick to understand his circumstances, even as young as you are, only writing a goodbye next to his with a small, misshapen heart that he strangely finds adorable.

The next day, right as the clock turned to 00:00, he writes Happy Birthday on each side of his cheek. His master raises a brow when she sees it, but the excited little drawings you write on your wrist more than makes up for the humiliation.

✧

Tomorrow is my first day of school!

Your grammar and spelling have improved drastically within the span of a year. Albedo deduces you’ll be outdoing your peers in class. Not that he’s the best judge for how a child would normally develop mentally, but from what he’s read, you’re clearly very advanced.

Good luck.

Thanks! I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow :D

I look forward to it, and he finds that he does indeed look forward to it.

✧

Hey soulmate what nation are you from?

You’ve developed the habit of calling him that due to his lack of interest in sharing his name.

Aren’t you in class right now?

Yeah but it’s boring :( tell me more about alchemy

You said yesterday that you find alchemy boring as well, he points out.

But alchemy’s the less boring subject

You should still pay attention in class.

Poopy head. Oh no the teacher is look———

✧

Who is Mondstadt’s god?

The Anemo Archon, though if we’re referring to his name, it’d be Barbatos.

What’s the name of Sneshneya’s capital?

Snezhnaya, he corrects, and it’s Zapolyarny.

And many more such questions, most of them only needing the most basics of knowledge.

Albedo answers them all dutifully, wondering whether this is a test to see how knowledgable he is regarding Teyvat. His master would not be pleased to see him idling about, doing nothing as he waits for his soulmate to write back to him instead of spending his time doing research.

Wow! I’m the only one who scored perfectly on the test!

His eyebrows rise, an idea forming in his mind at the same time as amusement.

A test? he writes back.

Yeah, for my school! You’re so smart! Thank you, soulmate ♡

Something swells in his chest. Warm and pleasant that leaves in him a sense of satisfaction he might akin to the feeling he gets after a successful experiment, or that of the heat that settles in his stomach after a hearty meal during a cold, winter day.

Fondness, he decides, it is fondness.

You’re most welcome. Although next time it would be better to consult me while you’re studying so you would not have to resort to cheating.

Hey! It’s not cheating, it’s called using the resources you have to your advantage.

He has to stifle a smile at how clever you’ve become. Though not clever enough to answer your own tests, it seems.

Using my words against me?

Of course, I learned from the best!

Learned…

To be able to impart knowledge upon others, it is something he had not thought possible until recent years, not with how isolated he is and his only human contact being his master. It is amongst many other less shallow reasons that he is glad to have met you.

To be able to influence others by teaching them what he knows. It is a wishful thought, but he thinks he’d like to do such a thing in the future.

✧

Aunt Alice just gave birth to a baby girl! Her name’s Klee and she’s so fat, are all babies this fat?

Albedo spends a long time staring at his wrist before managing to snap himself out of his haze.

He doesn’t believe in coincidences, but what are the odds that this Alice you were speaking of is the same Alice who just sent a letter to his master the other day about how she finally spawned a daughter. If they so happen to be the same person, then fate truly has a strange sense of humor, though perhaps he should have known that from the moment fate decided a homunculus should have a soulmate.

Yes, he finally responds, a little plumpness isn’t considered fat; in fact, it’s often a sign of healthiness. Also, please don’t call the baby fat right to her mother’s face.

Too late! Aunt Alice just laughed and agreed with me. Isn’t she the best?

He shakes his head in amusement and distantly notes how your Aunt Alice’s personality seems to align with his master’s friend.

✧

I’m joining the Knights of Favonius.

He blinks at the sight that greets him first thing in the morning.

Ah. Well, he supposes this finally confirms all his suspicions of you hailing from Mondstadt.

The clues were there, practically spoon-fed to him, from the innocuous mentions of a certain flower or the structure of a building you found ridiculous, but he didn’t want to form a solid conclusion until you confirmed it yourself.

Is there a particular reason for this decision?

I just feel a bit inadequate. I’m already fifteen but one of my friends has been a captain at the Knights since last year. I’m stuck here stagnating while the rest of my peers move on.

Albedo isn’t the best at comforting people. Years of isolation and limited contact have made socialization one of the fields he doesn’t excel at. He can be a bit tactless, as you once said. He’ll try though, for you.

You don’t need to conform to other people’s standards. Each person moves at their own pace. You needn’t pressure yourself by placing such high expectations on your shoulders. He ponders more on what he could say, until a thought occurs so he adds, With that said, do you want to join the Knights of Favonius or are you merely joining because you feel that you have to?

It takes you a good few minutes to write back. He patiently waits for you to compose an answer, abandoning the on-going experiment he has on the workbench in favor of investing his full attention to you.

Yeah, I think I do want to. Not just because I think I should, but I really want to join.

Then I wish you luck on your future endeavors.

He was about to turn back to his neglected experiment when he sees ink forming on his inner wrist.

And soulmate? you write, your handwriting shaky in a way he hasn’t seen since you were young.

Worried, he hastily scribbles, Yes?

I think I Thank you :)

✧

What should we say to each other if we ever meet in person?

Would you mind elaborating?

I dunno, cause I like to think I’d recognize your handwriting anywhere—and it better be the same case with you! So maybe we should have a secret phrase between us to identify each other.

I’m not very imaginative when it comes to these things. How about you think of a phrase?

Okay! How about this: Barbatos has six toes.

Pardon?

No one in Mond would ever think to say such a thing, which means no one would ever say it out of the blue and confuse us. It’s perfect!

Ah, I see. Alright, if that’s what you wish.

See this is why I lo you’re my favorite person ever :D

✧

Congratulations on being promoted to captain.

Thanks!! Only took about three years, of course, but totally worth the time and effort! I can finally boss people around :)

Please don’t.

No promises!

✧

I got a vision!

That’s a sign of acknowledgement from the gods, or so they say. Would you like me to congratulate you?

No need for that. Just try and guess which element I got!

Pyro.

How’d you guess so quickly?!

The element suits you. Passionate and driven, it was only a matter of time before you were given one.

I really heh who knew you thought so highly of me?

Who wouldn’t?

✧

I’m going to be busy for the next few days traveling.

Okay stay safe!

My master has entrusted me with a heavy task. This is the first time I

You’re going to do great. You’re the smartest and most capable person I know, soulmate!

Thank you.

✧

“So, this new guy, he’s an alchemist?”

“Yes, and apparently a very good one,” Jean answers your question, walking with you side by side as you make your way to the entrance of the Favonius Headquarters to meet this ‘Albedo’ fellow. Well, more like Jean’s on her way to meet him while you’re on your way home.

“Huh. Reminds me of someone I know,” you muse.

She looks at you with amusement. “You mean your soulmate?”

You laugh sheepishly. “I never shut up about him, do I?”

“That’s an exaggeration, I’d say you’re just very in love with him.”

“What?!” you screech, whipping your head towards her.

Jean laughs into her hand. “You’re not fooling anyone with how excited you get whenever he writes back to you.”

“I-I mean,” you deflate in defeat. “I guess it is kinda obvious…” you sigh, only to straighten when you reach the massive doors of the entrance of the Headquarters.

There’s a person with ash blond hair standing right by its awning, looking over something in a clipboard. He turns at the sound of your approaching footsteps. Your eyes meet, and within that brief moment of contact, it feels like you’ve known this stranger your entire life.

Jean greets him. He nods his head at her and introduces himself. She then turns to you, “I’m assigning you to be his guide for the next few days. Be kind, alright?”

Your jaw drops. “Wha—why me?”

“Because you’re the closest available captain in the area,” she answers with an uncharacteristically sly smile. Oh, you lament, she really needs to spend less time with Lisa.

“Fine, but I can’t do it today. I promised Klee we’d go exploring this afternoon,” you concede.

“It’s settled then!” Jean claps her hand before giving the two of you an encouraging smile and leaving briskly. What a busy lady…

You then turn to Albedo who’s been silently watching your interaction, and you find him looking at you like you’re a puzzle he can’t quite discern. Shaking off his strange behavior, you pull out a pen and offer your hand to him. He looks at it curiously before placing his hand into your palm.

“May I ask what this is for?”

You uncap the pen. “Just gonna write down the time I’m free tomorrow, y’know, so you don’t forget.”

“I see.”

Writing on the palm of his hand almost feels wrong. Somehow. A strange feeling you can’t quite place.

It’s probably the spoiled milk you drank earlier.

“And there! Now that’s done, I just need to…” you trail off, seeing a blot of ink in the palm of your hand.

Excitement fills you. Abandoning your new acquaintance in favor of putting all your attention to the new words in your palm, you don’t notice the look of realization that crosses Albedo’s face once he sees what you’ve written on his hand.

1:30PM, Tuesday on the…

Your mind blanks.

You don’t read much beyond that.

This.

This is your handwriting.

But you didn’t write this on your hand, you wrote this on—

Turning a shocked look to Albedo, who if your suspicions are correct, is your soulmate, you find him looking at you with that same wide-eyed look mirrored in your face.

After a few moments of staring, something seems to occur to him.

“Oh, right,” he suddenly speaks up.

He grabs your hand—the same one that has your free time tomorrow written on it—and looks at you with such seriousness, you couldn’t have possibly hoped to predict what he was about to say next.

“Barbatos has six toes,” Albedo says with a straight face before furrowing his brows in question. “That’s our phrase, isn’t it?”

Finding your soulmate unexpectedly, finally getting to hold his hand after fantasizing about it for so long, and him saying those damned words you’d meant as a joke all those years ago.

You can’t help it anymore.

You burst out laughing.

3k word count

[md-confessions]

Trigger Warning for abuse since I am going to be talking about it a lot.

My honest reaction to TSM anon's confessions/posts trying to justify J's treatment of N. (They're so ass)

Ok so uhh... Anyway I'll try to debunk some of the points:

First of all: yes the fuck she is abusive! Search the damn definition on Google or the dictionary, it's exactly what she's doing, like beat for beat.

Let's start with two examples: one from the manor and another from copper-9.

J kicking N in the manor flashback: for context N and V had literally just bumped into each other, made a spark and both were trying to clean up the mess they made, then comes in Ms. Tenth letter of the alphabet with a kick to N's face for like no fucking reason whatsoever.

J stepping on N's chest while he clearly struggles: In the pilot during the scene that introduces the Alphabet squad during J's introduction she has her foot on his chest while saying he's useless, terrible and if she could, she'd kill him herself and N is very clearly struggling to even breath.

Those two very clearly ARE abuse, the second one even has a tinge of verbal abuse!

Ok so TSM tried to justify both these actions by us not knowing the full context.

The context of the kick is that: there is none, that kick was completely unprovoked, so J had absolutely no reason for kicking N aside from him being in her way from the "move it moron" line, and she changes up her attitude completely at Tessa being there, her visor showing those hollow eyes that drones show when worried or scared.

But even if you say "oh but N was in J's way so she kicked him out" but she could have just, you know, MOVED A LITTLE BIT TO THE RIGHT?!?!? And also that does not excuse kicking a person in the face.

Context of the second scene is: THERE IS NONE, ONE AGAIN! The reason that scene exists is to show that A. J is abusive towards N, and B. J is a hypocrite! Let me explain, A is very self explanatory, stepping on someone's chest and verbally abusing them is very clearly well... Abuse and B is to show that even though she calls N useless, N has shown throughout the rest of the series he is a very competent fighter, arguably better than his fellow DDs and also that even though J was pretty much insulting N for being weak, she got killed by a Angsty bisexual 18-year-old with a pen and a Railgun made out of like, scrap.

I don't know how you can genuinely look at those scenes and go "J isn't an abuser" even though yes she fucking is.

Also I dead ass forgot that second post aside from the "why would Cyn put N in the squad if his abuser?" Part, which has a very simple explanation: it wasn't Cyn, it was Mr. Solver of the absolute fabric itself! It used Cyn as a host, Cyn wasn't in control, she prob has been dead for a long ass time.

The solver is sadistic and it likes fucking with the alphabet squad, take V as an example: it allowed V to keep her memories, just to make V's trauma even worse.

The solver thinks it's funny to traumatize people so why wouldn't it think putting a person in the same team as their abuser wouldn't be?

Anyways I've been typing this since 5:30 AM, and now it's 6:50 and I got school so I'll stop here, if you got anything else to add put it in the reblogs ig...

Final note: I haven't been abused myself (not that I remember) so I can't really fully grasp the concept, but still, J's treatment of N is like, the dictionary definition of Abuse, I'm very bad at understanding other people and their emotions and I'm not super great at analysing characters but this shit is so obviously abuse seeing TSM over here trying to say otherwise is giving me a brain aneurysm.

Anyways have a good day/evening/night or whatever time of day it is :D

.

[dutifullylazybread]

hi darcy!!

let's go with ❤️ 🚀 and 📚 <3

Thank you so much for the ask!! 🥰

❤️- What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

I have a few! But out of the ones I have posted, I love this one so much:

"There was so much to say, but she didn’t know how. For all the books of poetry in her possession, for all the love poems she’d read, she didn’t know how to bend her words into a simple confession. She didn’t understand how those poets could find the courage to put pen to paper, nor did she know how they ever managed to braid their affections into ballads. How long did they have to sit with their affections to shape them into something tangible? Something recognizable? Something that, were anyone to read it, they would feel it echo in their hearts and stick in their souls? Something that they knew, without a shadow of a doubt, was love?"

Maybe it's a bit too much purple prose, but I love it so much!

🚀- Do you like to outline your fic first or create as you go?

I kind of do both? For my rough drafts, I want to get a feel for an idea, so I will free write the chapter. However, once I have an idea of what I want to do with the basic concept, I'll sit down and start to outline in earnest. From there, I'll sketch out a second rough draft (which feels more like a first draft). Mostly, I just don't like working with a blank page. So if I have a starting idea, I'm a lot more comfortable with whatever comes next.

📚 - Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

Absolutely! :D

I highly recommend @kimberbohwrites, @darkurgetrash, @commander-krios, @lemonsrosesandlavender, @underdark-dreams, @redroomroaving, @sav-not-tav, @graysparrowao3, @reverieblondie, @little-paperboat, @sorceresssundries, and also-- you, @forget-me-maybe <3

(I promise I am not trying to exclude you if you are not on this list! I am so lucky to know so many incredible writers!!)

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

Do you want a better understanding of (part of) Evolutions SMP but don't want to watch it? Then this is the post for you!

I just finished Pearl's POV of Evos, and wrote notes on every episode as I went, so that if you haven't watched Evos yet and/or don't plan to, but still want to understand what happened in it, you can reference this!

It's important to note that Pearl joins a good few months into the series. By that point, a lot of the classic parts of the server like the Property Police, the Mafia, and the Grian Empire have been well established. Taurtis is already gone from the server by the time she joins. However, she experiences a lot of the important stuff with the Watchers and Listeners near the middle and end of the series, so you're not missing everything. I'm planing to watch either Martyn or Jimmy's POVs next, as they were there from the beginning, but any notes I do for them will take longer, as they have many more episodes.

The notes summarizing all of Pearl's episodes will be below the cut!

Also, whenever I wrote down messages from the Watchers and Listeners I transcribed the exact grammar and spelling. I promise. This is only really relevant for one word the Listeners use at one point, but they also use some weird capitalization.

Episode 1: Pearl enters Evos by falling out of the sky (and promptly dying). Grian greets her at spawn and gives her some materials to get started. Both of them are resigned to Steve skins because the version they're on is so old, and Grian asks Pearl how it feels to be a guy. She says she feels like she’s “missing a few things” while looking down. This isn’t important I just think she’s hilarious. They are briefly distracted by Grian attempting to tame an ocelot to make it into Maui (he fails). Grian talks about how Pearl has been watching the series so she’s up to date, as she joined about halfway through. Something something watcher moment. Pearl gets started on her base, and explains the concept of Evos, including the Watchers. She says that no one knows what they are, but they are always watching and build the portals to help the Evolutionists through the versions.

Episode 2: Pearl continues work on her base, and talks about how she’s going to build a large phoenix on top of it. She does not do this. She talks about the Elmo prank she and Jimmy pulled on Grian on his stream and shows it off. Pearl arrives back at her base after getting levels and enchanting to a message from the Property Police (Martyn and Jimmy), telling her she needs to give her coords to the police within 3 days or they’ll “let Elmo loose. Pearl decides she just wants to see what they do if she doesn’t listen. Pearl decides to give an “anti-welcome gift” where she leaves every member a present as her welcome to the server. Most of the gifts aren’t really important but I need you to know she makes BigB cookies. 

Episode 3: Pearl shows off the sheep she built on stream to make fun of Grian and his “sheep escaping the pen” issue. She FINALLY starts eating bread consistently instead of rotten flesh and cements herself as the server’s crazy cat lady with her many cats. She goes to show off another prank, inside Grian’s head in spawn, and finds that Martyn has taken over Taurtis’ house with his own face and dubbed himself “Mayor Morty”. He even changed the signs on Pearl’s gift to Taurtis to refer to him. The prank on Grian’s head was a squid Elmo hanging out on top of him (she calls it a squelmo). Pearl continues work on her base and adds some vines and flowers and builds a large hummingbird statue to drink from them. MiniMuka (hereafter called Mini) shows up and they start talking about the fact that Systemzee (hereafter called Zee) locked him in a basement for two weeks because he’s in the mafia. Pearl is disbelieving, saying she doesn’t think Zee has the heart. Mini concedes, joking he wanted to be locked in the basement. Mini punches Pearl’s cat and then attempts to recruit her into the mafia by giving her a silk touch diamond pick. This is ineffective. They visit Netty’s flower forest on the way to a nether fortress, though Netty isn’t there (😔). Pearl doesn’t show them in the Nether fortress, but he probably figures it out, idk, I haven’t seen his POV. 

Episode 4: The episode starts with Pearl mentioning that she’d just graduated from university, god damn. She has also amassed many more cats in between episodes, as well as another set of signs, this time from “Pete Bills” (Jimmy) warning her not to join the mafia and to “stick her head in the sand”. Jimmy has also given her some assorted wool. Grian has put up a LARGE sign on the back wall of his base, facing hers, that reads “THE EMPIRE NEEDS [image of a pearl that looks like a snowball]”. Pearl decides to give her response (a yes to joining) in snowballs to make fun of it. She says that she might be biased towards Grian when it comes to making a decision on who to join, but she feels bad that Grian is lonely without Taurtis on. Pearl’s comments have been complaining about the fact that the back of Grian’s buildings are terribly bland (yeah), and Pearl offered to decorate them since Grian won’t. Grian agreed, and she asks the commenters for ideas. She continues to work on her base and then builds a sheep walking up the walls of a building in downtown Evo. Pearl leaves her “yes” to joining the Grian Empire at his building in downtown Evo.

Episode 5: Zee and Pearl are now collaborating on part of the back of Grian’s base, so Pearl’s plans for the episode have changed. Taurtis’ house has been destroyed and walled off (Pearl suspects a meteor hit it). Pearl’s gift for him is still there though. Turns out it’s part of a Watcher quest. In attempting to follow the clues, she accidentally finds a Watcher's message for Taurtis. However, she gets lost trying to figure out the second clue in the quest, so she returns home to continue work on her base. 

Episode 6: Netty has left Pearl a rainbow trail of wool to follow. It leads her to a large wool tower and platform with a chest containing a lot of gold as a gift. It’s lovely but she does fall off and die, so. Someone has set up a sign at spawn for “EVO PRIME”. You can leave a request for… something and when it is fulfilled you can head to a locker at the coords listed to retrieve it. Pearl goes to check out the locker, and when she activates the dispensers, she is dropped into a lava trap and loses all her stuff. She dies in lava again while on a mining trip to restock. 

Episode 7: Pearl adds an Evos logo to the back of Grian’s base to make it less of an eyesore. It’s really cool especially considering the limited build pallet. The Watchers have built a large flower in front of it in the MIDDLE of her path. It is surrounded by her cats and has a set of coordinates on it. Netty was apparently the person behind the locker, so she has given Pearl an apology gift of diamonds, gilded melons, an eye of ender, and many fire res potions. Pearl starts her quest at spawn, where she finds a hole leading down to an area filled with bedrock and an unlit nether portal. There are directions on how to light the portal and move to the next version- for Pearl, her starting clue is the flower. She finds the location the coords lead to and there finds a long clue.

It reads: “A good builder must understand all aspects of Minecraft. Challenge your survival side and discover your clue. Below you will find a maze inhabited by Skeletons, Zombies, and Creepers… OH MY! There are also 3 rooms containing coordinates. In order to see them, however, you must first find the heart of the empire and use it to unseal the three rooms. Once done, XYZ will reveal your clue.”

Why is it not rhyming? Dw about it (seriously). “The Heart of the Empire” is three TNT and a flint and steal, which tracks. She remarks that “as a builder” using TNT is painful which I think is very funny. She collects her new coords and moves on. This leads her to the clue she's meant to put at spawn, four dashes, and she returns to spawn to replace her name on the clue board with the dashes. The video ends with Pearl returning to the now completed clue board and the lit portal below spawn, finding that the rest of the Evolutionists have left without her. She jumps through the portal, and the moment she is in the next update she gets a horse. Finally. Transportation.

Episode 8: Pearl relocates her sheep prank so they are no longer in the way of her base. She works on it some more, and she has a skin now! Jimmy, AKA Pete Bills, has come by to steal some wool in exchange for five diamonds. Pearl is concerned by how much he must have taken to deserve that much payment. The group gets together for pig racing and it’s a good time for all involved (also crumbs of BigB and Pearl interactions let’s go.) Pearl wins the race and wins some diamonds and a lot of other stuff.

Episodes 9&10: Pearl’s episodes 9&10 are spliced together for some reason. She starts the episode enchanting all her diamond armor in preparation for her Ender Dragon fight. The Evolutionists gather together at spawn to prepare, and Grian gives everyone a ton of materials (he over prepared, he and Tom are the only ones who had never fought a dragon). They enter an edited stronghold with a completed portal (thanks Watchers). Despite everyone entering the same portal, they fight the dragon individually. Pearl’s fight is uneventful, and then the Evolutionists all get the same message from two Watchers in place of the end credits. I really recommend watching this yourself, it starts at 14:39 and is very interesting. Pearl does cut the credits themselves, though. Instead of the actual Minecraft creator credits, the Watchers have added all the players, including Grian, who’s name is grayed out like he’s in spectator, BUT NOT INCLUDING JIMMY LOL. Pearl then has a montage of her and Grian hanging out with Grian slowly fading from each moment because she’s MEAN TO ME.

Everyone, sans Jimmy, Mini, and Zee, falls into new spawn. If you want to know why Jimmy isn’t there- go watch his Evos EP 98 for context. Zee and Mini eventually show up at new spawn, but later than everyone else for some reason. They figure it out dw. The group starts to go back to old spawn to get their stuff, and talk briefly about the fact that Grian is a Watcher now. They all agree that he’s not necessarily the best choice, but whatever he pulls as a Watcher will probably be par for the course.

They find old spawn- and all their builds- ruined and broken by time, and a structure from the Watchers is there for them, alongside a book called “The Future”, reading: “Our meeting was short and your victory grand. Now 10 become 9 and you must leave this land. Our reasons are just though you won’t understand. Your actions have caused this, accidental or planned. Tread now to your homes, carry only what you can. Any more will be frowned on and the sentence, a ban. We The Watchers Have Spoken.”

The Evolutionists are… kinda upset! They all return to their homes to collect their things, and find that anyone’s houses that were a good distance from spawn (including Grian’s downtown area) are untouched.

They all find ender chests that they didn’t have before as well, which contain a book titled “Greetings” from the Listeners. The book reads: “There are some who watch. We are those who listen. And we do not agree with their most recent decision. “Carry only what you can”, what you deem here is best. We grant you more space by making use of this chest. SHHHhhh…..”

To be clear: THIS IS NOT THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE LISTENERS. As Martyn tells the group, the Listeners previously contacted Martyn and Jimmy and said they would give them a mission soon. Martyn didn’t hear from them again until this moment, and Jimmy received his first mission from them when he returned from the end- to deliver everyone their ender chests so they can bring more with them. Everyone agrees the Watchers have been kinda rude, so they’re willing to disobey with the ender chests. They all collect their things and reconvene at old spawn before heading out. 

Episode 11: Pearl begins by collecting items for her brand new base and starts it. She also builds a Mumbo Jumbo certified redstone contraption. Thank you Mumbo for your service to the “bad at redstone” community. 

Episode 12: Pearl continues work on her new base and makes a guardian farm. She builds a chicken bomb at Jimmy and Martyn’s place and has her Poultry Woman moment. The group meets up at spawn and finds the community billboard has a set of coordinates on it, so off on an adventure we go. Martyn and Netty have set up a game show- called the Double Deity Dummy Dash. They’ll be put in pairs for two challenges where they use their eyes and ears to recreate some art. It’s a fun game but it’s not important so you can watch it for yourself to enjoy it. However, Netty says it was designed with the idea of “the Watchers and Listeners working together” in mind, so, there’s that. Pearl also sings a bit in this episode and she has a very nice voice :)

Episode 13: The episode opens with Pearl receiving an invitation to the mansion of Alfred Bottomsworth for a dinner party. The Evolutionists arrive to the party and meet the butler- note that the Butler is the only NPC that talks, and only talks in the chat- and they all enter and take their seats at the table. The butler begins screaming for help, and then runs downstairs and announces that the master of the house has been murdered (who could’ve seen this coming in the murder mystery episode). Salem, BigB, and Pearl split off to investigate with the gardener. They eventually find a letter from the gardener to their lover, Alfred Bottomsworth’s daughter, and learn that they had a forbidden romance. Intrigue! The group reconvenes to discuss who the murderer could be, and decide on the gardener. They successfully solve the crime, and that’s it, lol. This episode is entirely irrelevant to the rest of the SMP and and I’m obsessed with it. More SMPs should do this.

Episode 14: Pearl’s episode begins with a sign from Jimmy reading “What’s that sound at spawn?” The sound in question is a strange ticking and music, and the Evolutionists all gather to see what it is. They find a piece of glass in the center of spawn, and they break it in order to drop down into something resembling the area the Watchers used under old spawn to give clues and portals. However, it opens into a labyrinth, and the Listeners symbol is there in white bedrock. Zee received a book when he got down there because he was the first one down, and he gives it to Jimmy, who then gives it to Martyn because he’s laughing too hard to read.

It’s titled “Freedom” and reads: “There are some who watch. We are those who listen. If you flee, you’ll be free, and complete your recission. Single versions are slow. New adventures in store. Come with us and we’ll give you lots more to explore. Make haste through this maze, as a portal awaits. Make the choice quick, and take control of your fates. SHHhhh…..”

The Evolutionists split down the tunnels to try and find the end of the maze, encountering many mobs and more symbols of the Listeners. Netty quickly finds a large nether portal, and they all meet up at it. Martyn takes attendance to make sure everyone is there, and is the first to run into the portal. Pearl cuts it very quickly after he runs in, and then cuts to her, BigB, and Jimmy alone in the room, which implies, but does not state or show, that the other members followed Martyn through. Pearl then runs into the portal as well. As we can see in most other POVs of this scene, everyone eventually runs into the portal.

Episode 15: Pearl’s next episode starts with her absolutely struggling with Australian ping. Pearl explains that the Listeners brought them from 1.8 to 1.12 (hence “single versions are slow”), and unfortunately her Minecraft is struggling with the new version (and the 900 chickens in her basement). She updates her base with another tower with all the new blocks as well.

It should be noted- this is the second to last episode of Pearl’s series, and the next episode is Evo’s official finale. Most of the server is empty, at this point. Taurtis hadn’t logged on in months, Grian left after the dragon fight, BigB, Salem, and Tom all unofficially ended a few episodes after that, Zee ended around Halloween just before the Listeners' portal, Martyn’s ends with him jumping into the Listeners' portal, and Mini’s ends with a farewell episode after the jump to 1.12. The only people who are still on are Jimmy and Netty, who both played with her to the “finale” of the server around Christmas.

Episode 16: The episode opens with Jimmy, Netty, and Pearl celebrating Christmas and the finale of the series. The three of them spend the finale playing games and enjoying themselves to end the series. At one point, all of the snow golems they’ve summoned start fighting a random skeleton and then each other, and Jimmy makes a remark about how they didn’t want to end Evos with a war. You can make angst out of that if you want, kings. Pearl’s finale ends with an aesthetically pleasing series of shots of the sever overlaid with happy memories from the server, including clips from other people’s episodes to tell the story properly. It’s very bittersweet.

[silverspleen]

People in the notes of that last post talking about thinking in concepts and not concrete visual things and that is DEFINITELY me. I know what an apple looks like. I can't imagine, physically, an apple in my mind to minute detail, I can only visualize upsetting gore (and LEGOs but only when I'm building them), and movement/basic animatics when I'm listening to music, but I understand the parts of an apple and what they look like so the visual mind apple is a nebulous thing of parts that make up a sum that it clearly an apple to me that I could translate to paper if I needed to but I don't see it in my mind.

When I draw I conceptually know what I want to do but have functionally no or a very limited mental vision of how to do that. I've just been drawing a LOT so like, when the pen starts moving I go "oh! I like these lines" or "no hmm this doesn't feel right."

I think that's why I think dreaming is so cool! It's one of the times that my brain has like, a coherent completely clear visual mind objects for me to experience because otherwise it's just fuzzy noise and movement and blurry colors and shit representing concepts up in there. Asleep my brain totally knows what things look like.

[noelsfielding]

I am so sorry to come to you with this but I am honestly lost and you are the closest reference I have about Noel Fielding, I am a BIG fan of Noel, have been for years, and with the Russell stuff comming up I have started getting a bunch of Tik Toks and some post about Noel also being a predator and dating minors, this is hugelly distressing for me as I have a deep an fixated Interest (I am hoping you undestand how that is) Do you know anything about this? Do any of the acusations hold water? I am so scared and worried, he has been a confort for me in very hard times and I must admit I am finding all of this very difficult to navegante

I have had to take a few days to digest all this information myself and I can't and won't tell anyone the right or wrong way to feel about this but I will say, here is where I am at...

I believe the victims of assault, whomever they accuse.

I have not seen any accusations of misconduct against Noel specifically, I have only seen his questionable relationship with Peaches Geldof resurface. This transpired over a decade ago.

I believe that people are capable of change and growth.

I believe that people who make mistakes should be held accountable for their mistakes.

I believe that Noel has had more than one friend who was and still is inappropriate with women, I am not under the impression Noel is that person any longer. I have no idea the extent of his knowledge of the inappropriate behaviour of the others.

Some might try to say OF COURSE he knew, but I had a friend in a band with a VERY BAD person and the whole band had ZERO idea because MOST people like that go to extensive lengths to hide their bad behaviour.

I can't comment on Russell at this time, I have not watched the expose myself but again, my instinct is to believe the victims first. I am disappointed to say the bare minimum.

I have also been recently disappointed with Richard Ayoade throwing his support for someone who is anti-trans. I understand some feel they can separate a person from their morality, but I struggle with that the older I get.

I want everyone to know that their complex feelings on this matter are valid. I am not a big subscriber to the concept of cancel culture, but I am a big proponent of accepting and owning responsibility and accountability and knowing that it is possible to love someone while also recognizing and not excusing their lesser behaviours.

We can talk more on this as things unfold, everyone is welcome to come into this post or inbox and share how they feel, all the feelings are valid and I don't want to see a single person attacking another for feeling differently. Everyone is going to have a myriad of feelings regarding this no matter what happens from this point on and even if we disagree, we should RESPECT.

At this time, the time of me penning this reply, I believe that Noel is a decent person. I think he's a grown man, partner and father and has moved away from a lot of the debauchery of his past, including his times with Russell. I think it's possible that as a 'friend' he turned a blind eye to things and may have even engaged in some inappropriate relationships in the past, but I don't believe that is who he is now. While I am of course disappointed in those things, I can also say there are many things from my life 10+ years ago I am disappointed in too, so I don't feel like I have the right to judge too harshly. I also know that what the press reports and what happens behind closed doors are not always the same and things can easily be blown out of proportion. But at the same time I also know if it walks and talks like a duck....

Feelings are complex, opinions as well. I hold many in my head at a time and I feel like, ultimately what I am trying to say is... I want to believe in the Noel I have come to adore over all these years. The one with great imagination, compassion for the underdogs, and the childlike spirit that makes us all feel so comfortable and safe.

I am very interested to see if he makes any comments in the coming weeks and I hope that I can stand by this statement as time passes. I love all my fieldmice and am here for you while you navigate your own feelings at this time.

[e-nishka-aosh]

Pass or Smash? Elias Daaé...

i am doing elias because he actually does have charisma (e-nishka does not) so i think the odds would be more so in his favor.

was not tagged, but wanted to join in -- feel free to do yourself!

quick facts

height: 5'9" (175cm)

age: sadly his 169th birthday has passed. he's 170 now

gender: it's complicated (in modern language, he'd be considered a trans man)

pronouns: he/him

sexuality: bisexual

pros

he will write you a custom music piece every week, at least, based on his love and affection for you

would profess his love to you in increasingly odd (but harmless) ways

he will braid and/or play with your hair, and you may play with his

he's kind of a manlet, if you're into that

he knows how to cook, thankfully, despite spending 50+ years in sharlayan

worldly and travels often, has lots of stories to tell and you can go on adventures with him

this would be the guy you'd want to marry for money(but please don't do that you'd hurt his feelings)

cons

unfortunately he is like devil's advocate incarnate. "i fully plan to leave this hill i'm not quite dying on once i get bored"

incredibly stubborn but also a little oblivious, which is a terrible combination

long lifespan...

he's kind of a manlet, if you want a guy taller than you

you will have to keep track of the finances because he really sucks at math

has a habit of appearing in places he shouldn't be quite suddenly

details

a gifted composer that specializes in orchestral music and operas. he writes under a pen name but is very bad at hiding it, so it's gap moe.

despite this he doesn't know how to read sheet music and has his faerie write down his compositions for him

he was married previously to a hyuran member of the sharlayan forum for fifty odd years. the marriage only ended because arthur passed away in his sleep... you will get bonus points if you are also a widow

was born in rabanastre after his mother decided to become a wandering bard. she married a hyur minor noble who straight up did not understand viera sexuality and gender but tried his best. elias took his name once he was old enough to do so

zero concept of money and cost. how much could a banana cost? 20,000 gil?

sexually: he is true neutral and will often do whatever is the most fun for both him and his partner in the moment. he enjoys being manhandled and also manhandling in return. despite this, he is incredibly loving and will take care of you more than anything

romantically: hopeless romantic. filled with so much love at any given time he has chest palpitations. he does not sacrifice his own personal goals for the sake of you, however, and he expects you to to do the same. mutual respect, understanding, and love.