#i like the idea that both have unique characteristics that make them sort of more efficient

[nonbinaryphantom]

ive been putting way too much lore into reaper au especially stuff like reaper biology/abilities and psuedo reaper abilities

[elaho]

Stardew Valley MBTI x Enneagram: Leah

Following my last post about the Stardew marriage candidates and their MBTI types, I've been learning more about Enneagram, how it pairs with MBTI, and how it changes some of the typical characteristics of each type.

The Enneagram and MBTI complement each other wonderfully, providing greater depth and understanding of how a person interacts with the world [Cognitive Functions] and their motivations why [Core Desire/Core Fear].

Here are my thoughts on Leah's MBTI and Enneagram pairing.

Leah - INFP 4w5: “The Bohemian”

“INFP 4w5s are very independent people. They are often reserved and detached from their surrounding. INFP 4w5 may also be interested in arts and music. This type is often on a quest to find their true selves. Thus, they might struggle with self-identity. There is often a conflict between logic and emotion.” – Personality Hunt

Leah’s Core Desire: To be unique and independent

"The basic desire of the INFP 4w5 is to be unique and independent. To achieve this, INFP 4w5 tends to do things they find fulfilling. Feeling satisfied and passionate about their life appeals to them the most." - Personality Hunt

“So why did you become a farmer?”  Answer: It's more "real" than living in the city “That's pretty much the reason I came here, too!”

"One Summer, it was so hot during the night that I got out of bed and jumped into the river! I hope no one saw me!”

“I don't make art for money. It's just an urge that I have.”

Leah’s Core Fear: To be ordinary and insignificant

"The basic fear of the INFP 4w5 is to be ordinary and insignificant. They simply do not want to be like everyone else or find themselves stuck in a profession they are not passionate about. INFP 4w5 are afraid of not finding themselves." - Personality Hunt

Leah's desire to be unique doesn't mean she wants to be unique for its own sake. Her strong Introverted Feeling [Fi] need to be authentic coincides with her desire for individuality, to be true to herself regardless of external pressure or expectations.

This doesn't mean she's immune to pushing against the grain to stand out from the crowd or resist control, but it's much more of an internal battle between who she is and how she can contribute in her own special way.

"We had an apartment together, back in the city. I did odd jobs during the day and spent all night working on art projects... we barely made enough to scrape by. He was always nagging me to go back to school and study business or medicine... something with a lot of money in it.

I guess the idea was to save up for a normal life. You know... a house in the suburbs, kids, PTA meetings... that sort of thing. I wasn't ready for that kind of life, Farmer... I had to leave. So I came here to pursue my dream of being an artist.”

“But what if no one likes my sculptures? I'd be crushed...I'll have to think about it.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------

How Enneagram 4w5 changes typical INFP behaviour:

New Strengths

1. More Logical

"INFPs are feelers by their very nature. While this is true, INFP 4w5s will use more logic when making decisions.

Some INFP 4w5s might use logic when dealing with a particular set of problems and emotions when dealing with others.

However, you can just sense that they are not as emotional as [typical INFPs]." - Personality Hunt

Leah approaches life from a much more logical angle than most INFPs. However, emotion is still important in understanding and navigating the world. The fusion of both logic and emotion gives Leah a more balanced and holistic perspective when facing challenges or analysing scenarios.

Examples:

"I hate to be blunt, but if we don't treat nature with respect, our grandchildren will be doomed. Don't you think so?"

"... I just wouldn't have been happy back there [living with Kel]. It was better for both of us... to end an unsustainable relationship while we were still young and flexible.”

“Maybe you're right... Humans are selfish creatures. I don't know. I probably shouldn't dwell on it. We all have to make hard choices from time to time.”

“I made a little wood sculpture today, but it was so ugly I threw it into the fire. I think to become a great artist, you have to be critical of your own work.”

2. More Detached and Aloof

INFPs are naturally introverted, but because of the INFP 4w5s wing, they may be even more introverted than others. They often need extra time to process and digest their inner thoughts and emotions, making them appear aloof and indifferent.

It's not that they don't care, they just have a lot on their minds that must be contended with before they can be fully present with someone else. INFP 4w5s can appear to be INTPs in this respect.

Examples:

"Please don't feel like you have to spend all your time with me now that we're dating... I know you're a busy person!”

"Do you ever walk out into the forest... Pause... And simply enjoy the beauty of nature? It's easy to forget how incredible this world actually is...” “Sometimes, a strange feeling comes over me. My head becomes totally empty... and I feel completely at peace, even blissful. Hey, now! It has nothing to do with drinking wine!”

“Good morning! I got up early and did some mushroom hunting. Here, take one. Searching for mushrooms is like going on a treasure hunt. It's a lot of fun.”

3. Drawn to Academics

"The presence of wing 5 makes this type really curious. Thus, they often find themselves drawn to academics. Again, this largely depends on the strength of their wing. It is not a given that every INFP 4w5 will like academics. However, they certainly have some sort of inclination towards it." - Personality Hunt

Leah isn't interested in traditional academics like philosophy or mathematics but in various painting techniques and historical art styles. She also has books related to foraging and natural sciences in her cottage library. Her quest for knowledge is much more practical than it is theoretical.

Examples:

“You can use a tapper to harvest syrups and other useful liquids directly from trees. It's a slow process, but the result can be quite valuable.”

"The flowing water keeps my house a little bit cooler in summer. I can't tolerate heat very well.”

"Hey, Farmer... what style do you think I should do? I'm up for anything...Hmm... not my usual style, but I'll give it a shot. I'd better switch to acrylic paint for this one...” "Now, don't forget the techniques I taught you... broad strokes, hold the brush like so...”

4. Abstract Ideas and Endless Theories

The combination of an INFP's Extroverted Intuition [Ne] and their type 5 wing makes INFP 4w5s absolute suckers for abstract theories and ideas.

INFP 4w5s love having deep conversations and discussions; they are fascinated with endless possibilities and potential and can go on for hours and hours about them.

Examples:

“The shape of the waves here is awe inspiring. I wonder if I could ever capture that sort of formlessness in a sculpture.”

"There's nothing wrong with [natural wood]... I think there's lots of beauty to be found in raw, untouched nature! But as a human, I'm also interested in how we shape and interpret the world around us... I guess what I'm saying is that I'm interested in 'art'.”

"Do you ever wonder what it's like to be a different person? Do our thoughts manifest in a similar way, or is it radically different? Don't mind me, I think about weird things sometimes...”

"The flow of time is so delicate... even the tiniest decision changes the future forever."

5. The Need to be Self-Sufficient with Finances

"INFP 4w5 wants to be self-sufficient. Thus, they crave having their careers and handling their finances. They do not just want to handle their finances. They want to be great at it. Because of this need, they will avoid running into endless debts.

To them, being self-sufficient is one way they show how unique they are. They also don’t want to settle for just any job or career.

For INFP 4w5, it’s all about what they are passionate about and love." - Personality Hunt

Examples:

"I sold enough art at that show to get by for another year... that's all I needed!"

“If my art continues to sell online like it has, I'll be able to keep making art forever. That's always been my dream.”

"Maybe you're right... my life would've been a lot easier if I had stayed. Maybe it's better to be practical and realistic... for all I know my art career will never pan out and I'll live my final years in squalor.”

New Weaknesses

1. More Isolated

"INFPs enjoy their alone time. They love to spend these moments reading a book or just being alone. INFP 4w5s take this to another level. They can stay alone for long periods.

When the INFP dark side is strong, this can be a big problem. INFPs are one of the types that have issues with anxiety and depression.

Being isolated simply does not help this situation." - Personality Hunt

Leah spends a lot of time alone by herself. She lives alone in a small cottage outside of town and can be found painting or drawing deep in the forest or isolated tidepools.

While she does enjoy her time by herself, her self-isolating tendencies could lead to more serious mental health problems if left unchecked.

Examples:

“I've realized I'm happier by myself. So just leave me be.”

“Hello, neighbor. We both live outside of town. Does that mean something?”

"It's simpler to be friends with the trees. They don't have much to say.”

2. Less Considerate

"INFPs, in general, are known to be the sweetest people you can find. However, INFP 4w5s are a bit different. They are more likely to avoid people’s emotional troubles.

They are more likely to avoid people and the issues they bring, like the plague. This might make them seem emotionless or inconsiderate of people’s issues.

However, INFP 4w5s are still INFPs. So, deep down, they care more than you think." - Personality Hunt

Examples:

"Hi. Oh, you want to talk. Farming seems like a very rewarding profession. You get to create delicious food for everyone! You're probably busy. Sorry.”

"I found some wild fruits this morning! Sorry, I don't have any left. Keep looking, I'm sure you'll find something."

3. Self-Absorbed

"INFP 4w5s often seem very self-absorbed. They are often thinking about their interests and their future. Thus, they might not seem to care much about others and what they are facing.

This is largely because of their type 4. Thus, INFP 4w5 might seem like INFJs in this respect. While they are often self-absorbed, this does not necessarily mean that they don’t care. They just want to [understand] themselves." - Personality Hunt

INFPs have Extroverted Sensing [Se] blindspot, meaning they can have difficulty being aware of their external physical surroundings in the moment, including the emotions and reactions of others.

This can make them more clumsy or daydreamy, but this 'detachment from external reality' can also allow them to put all their energy and focus into a performance or activity.

Leah can be self-absorbed at times, but her self-absorption doesn't necessarily come at the expense of others' needs or emotions. She merely "feels" life deeply and seeks to understand what those thoughts and emotions indicate about herself and the world around her.

Examples:

"I guess everyone in town was scared of that strange rain? I had no idea... I just thought it was incredible!”

4. More Stubborn

"INFP 4w5s are much more stubborn than your normal INFP. This usually shows when their values are tested. INFP 4w5s will often resist any attempt to control them or make them do things that don’t sit right with them.

The level of resistance might be surprising to people who don’t really know them well." - Personality Hunt

Examples:

“I'm still fuming about the picnic... what a weirdo! Let's never talk about... that person... ever again.”

"Kel...How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to come back to the city! Stop calling me... I don't want to hear from you anymore!”

------------------------------------------------------------------

The INFP 4w5 Female

"There’s a valid reason to consider the INFP 4w5 female in closer detail. In the world we live in, societal beliefs often shape people’s lives. One personality that silently fights against the norms and beliefs of society is the INFP 4w5 female." - Personality Hunt

1. Sexual Preferences

“INFP 4w5 females are unique in their sexual preferences. Unlike other enneagram types that might be more drawn to one particular preference, things are different with them.

You’ll find them all over the place. Some will even identify as asexual. This is possibly down to their need to be different or unique. They also understand themselves on a much deeper scale.” – Personality Hunt While many of the other bachelors and bachelorettes have more self-exploratory dialogue depending on the farmer’s gender [such as “I’ve never felt this way about _______ before”], Leah’s dialogue by contrast seems to indicate that she is much more aware of her sexuality independent of the farmer.

Her story seems to diverge depending on which gender the farmer is:

If the farmer is a boy, Leah learns to overcome her fear and distrust of being in a long-term relationship with a man again. Some may suggest that Leah has a more solidified preference for women; however, based on the dialogue differences between male and female players, I believe Leah's choice to be with the male farmer isn't about her sexuality but about overcoming her distrust of men. The pain of being trapped in a traditional lifestyle she didn't want for herself comes back if the male farmer starts to show a sexual interest in Leah in her 2-heart event. These memories trigger her core fear of not being 'unique' enough if she's in a heterosexual relationship /traditional family again, causing her to lash out, calling the farmer a "pig" and kicking him out of her cottage.

However, if the farmer is a girl, Leah's desire is to assert her independence and 'unique' sexuality away from her ex, from which she moves on to the female farmer relatively easily without the same fears or obstacles; she doesn't chastise the farmer for their sexual advance in the 2-heart event but rather confirms their mutual sexual preference.

For these reasons, Leah's heartbreak dialogue is much more 'soft' towards the female farmer than the male farmer:

Male Farmer Dialogue

[Creepy Kiss] “You pig! Get out!”

[Multiple Girlfriends] "I... I thought you were different than other men...”

"KEL: Seriously, Leah... What are you doing out here with this simple-minded bumpkin?” “Farmer's a better man than you in every respect!”

Female Farmer Dialogue

[Creepy Kiss] “Oh! You're...? Me too. That's good to know.”

[Multiple Girlfriends] “You tricked all of us into thinking we loved you... You're horrible...”

"KEL: Seriously, Leah... What are you doing out here with this simple-minded bumpkin?” “Farmer's a better person than you in every respect!”

Stardew Valley leaves the romance candidates’ sexual orientation up to player interpretation [as do most dating sims]; however, like Alex's story, I believe Leah's story has a slightly different meaning on which gender the player chooses for the farmer.

2. Autonomy

“They need to be independent. With males, this is not usually pronounced because most males tend to be drawn to masculinity. However, INFP 4w5 females will be silently loud about independence.

Backed by their Fi, they’ll make their own decisions and stick with them. This is one reason to admire them.” – Personality Hunt

"Kel...How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to come back to the city! Stop calling me... I don't want to hear from you anymore!”

“I don't make art for money. It's just an urge that I have.”

3. Creative

“All INFPs are creative. However, INFP 4w5 females are just on another level. Backed by super warmth and a natural nurturing spirit, their creativity just hits differently. With enough discipline, it can create a lot of career opportunities for them.” – Personality Hunt

"Good morning, Farmer. I've planted these in a little pot out back... I grew that with great love and attention. Enjoy it.”

“Do you ever get cold in that farmhouse of yours? Stop by my cabin if you want to huddle under one of my quilts and drink cider.”

"I wonder if I could make a collage out of dried leaves? They're just so colorful... I can't help but think of the potential for art projects.”

"I haven't named this one, yet. She started out as an exercise in human anatomy, but I ended up seeing her through to completion. Her expression is intentionally unclear... is she embarrassed, amused, pained? I'll leave that for you to decide.”

4. Intense

“INFP 4w5 females come with a lot of intensity. It’s easy to miss because most times, they are even more introverted than their male counterparts.

However, getting to know them will expose you to their rich intense world. If you’re not careful, you might even be overwhelmed.” – Personality Hunt

I’m not a 4w5, but as an INFP female, I can tell you with certainty that we can go from 0 to 100 REAL QUICK! However, most of us know how intense our inner worlds can be, so we do our best to ‘temper’ our intensity to prevent scaring people away.

But know that there’s no greater compliment from an INFP than to be brought into their rich inner world; we don’t share that secret part of ourselves with just anyone.

"It's simpler to be friends with the trees. They don't have much to say.”

“Do you ever wonder what it's like to be a different person? Do our thoughts manifest in a similar way, or is it radically different? Don't mind me, I think about weird things sometimes...”

"If you ever find any interesting looking driftwood, I could use it. It would be special that you gave it to me.”

"The trees have been begging for this rain... I'm happy for them."

"Did I ever tell you... when you first moved here I had a dream that we'd be together someday."

"Sometimes it's hard not to believe in destiny... the fact that I decided to move here, and that we found each other. It could've gone entirely differently at any point."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusion

Leah is one of the most beloved bachelorettes in the Stardew Valley community, and it's not difficult to see why.

She is a warm and empathetic person who cares deeply about the natural world and lives in harmony with her environment. She is a dreamer who [like the farmer] wants bigger and better things than to follow the corporate rat race and live a miserable life without any real meaning or purpose.

She leaves everything she knows behind: her steady job, her apartment in the city, and her ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, all to pursue her dream of becoming a real artist. She dreams of pursuing art somewhere she feels connected to people and nature and can contribute something special in her own way:

“I first visited this valley as a little girl, while on vacation with my parents. I knew I had to come back some day… This place has great artistic potential!" "Hmmm… interesting. I guess that could set the wheels in motion to making Pelican Town a true art destination…"

Although she is afraid that her artistic dreams will result in devastating failure, with the love and support of the farmer - first as a friend, then as something more - Leah takes the leap to showcase her artistic talents to the world, knowing that no matter what happens, the farmer will be there to give her the unconditional love and support she's always needed.

"You know, I just realized something. Even if my art career is a flop, I'll always have a friend to catch me on the way down."

Do you agree that Leah is an INFP 4w5? If not, what type do you think she is? Let me know your thoughts in the comments :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------- References:

Personality Hunt: INFP 4w5 - The Complete Guide

[hestiaoflindon]

Why the Tortoise and the Hare is stupid

I think I finally learned the lesson of the Tortoise and the Hare from saving for Onewheels with Austin. He could save more of his paycheck than I, so he built up what he needed (or close to it) very quickly, saw me far behind him and started spending money because he thought he’d catch back up by the time I got close. 

Instead, I have a Onewheel sitting here in its box, waiting for him to save his next 3 paychecks so he can order his and we can open them together.

That might sound snarky; but I’m really very grateful for this lesson. I learned two things:

1. The tortoise method works when you only know how much you can spend within a given period - when you know your limitations.

Money, effort, energy… the tortoise moves inexorably forward by consistently spending the same amount of effort every day/unit of time. Being consistent like that allows you to predict when you’ll reach the finish line. I could save $x/mo, so I’d have the total by May - which I did.

2. The hare loses only when there is a tortoise to compare to.

By nature, the hare is much faster than the tortoise. By rights, he should win in minutes to the tortoise’s days. Asking a hare to match the pace of the tortoise is asking him to give up what makes him unique: his speed.

Comparing the hare to the tortoise is detrimental in 2 ways:

When the hare looks back and compares himself to the tortoise’s progress, he sees he is already so far ahead that he can stop to rest altogether and still most likely win. (The caution of the fable is that the hare gets distracted/falls asleep, etc; which is certainly a failing of hares.) When the hare compares himself to the tortoise, he sees his own superiority in the contest in which they are engaged - speed - and stops challenging himself.

The second way comparing hares to tortoises is bad is from the spectator’s perspective. The tortoise is moving at a consistent and predictable rate of speed, which appears “safer” because it’s predictable. Spectators can wager on when he will reach the finish because it’s easy to predict. The hare, when compared externally to the tortoise, seems unpredictable, erratic, and possibly even “unmotivated;” simply because his behavior doesn’t have the same consistent incremental progress. He often goes backwards or sideways instead of forwards. He is “not a good bet” - when compared to a tortoise.

But don’t we have another fable warning us against comparing apples to oranges?? How it is not a fair contest to compare things with drastically different characteristics?? Have you ever seen hares in a race against EACH OTHER?

In both of the above comparisons - both from the hare’s perspective and that of the spectators’ - the hare looks bad because he is being compared to a completely different sort of creature. What if he were comparing himself to another hare? 

What if he looked back and saw a whole pack of hares hard on his heels and realized that they had just as much capability to win as he did and he pushed himself harder and won with the sheer triumph of knowing he actually reached his limits and conquered anyway?

What if the spectators saw a field of hares all bouncing around every which way and had no idea who to bet on because no one seemed like a “safe bet” so they stopped watching the hare race and went to bother the tortoises instead, leaving the hares alone to do things the way that worked for them?

So my lessons from this fable and my experience of actually being the tortoise for once are these:

1. Don’t compare yourself to tortoises. 

Tricky to know who is a tortoise, and it depends on the situation you’re in of course. And you can’t stop spectators from comparing you to tortoises, but you can decide to stop listening to the spectators entirely. 

2. Find other hares to race against, or don’t race publicly

I’ve found in the world of entrepreneurship, this concept of the tortoise and the hare is almost a religious precept. They all want to be the tortoise that gets VC funding because they’re such a “safe bet.” The problem is that entrepreneurs are, by nature, hares. Our imagination is boundless and our energy is variable. We get easily distracted by new and equally exciting ideas, and think that we have enough natural capability to add the new thing without dropping the old thing (we do: the problem is the variable energy bit).

If you’re involved in the online entrepreneurial world, beware of hares masquerading as tortoises. They like to rewrite their stories and polish them up to smooth out the pacing so they seem consistent and predictable.

Look for people who are honest about how they got to where they are. I think of Tim Ferriss admitting in one of his books that the timeframe he was accomplishing one of the big things everyone knows him for was the same time he hit snooze 50 times, couldn’t make himself take a shower, and drowned his worries in drink every night (a major executive dysfunction episode if I’ve ever heard one). Yet he still accomplished that big thing. 

3. Hares can guarantee their win if they commit to the tortoise’s minimum effort strategy, knowing that they can go much further if they keep their momentum

We shouldn’t try to shackle ourselves to a tortoise’s pace - every kid bored to tears in school knows this. But we can learn from the tortoise that you can guarantee some kind of movement if you commit to your minimum energetic capability. 

The hard part here is ego. 

Because our energy is more variable than tortoises', our minimum energetic capability is actually far less. Let’s say a tortoise can consistently output 30 units a day and not feel tired. This is their optimum pace and where they actually feel accomplished and productive. They never worry about outputting more than 30 units, and they know that they can always do 30.

But as a hare - since our energy fluctuates far more - at the low point of our energy wave, we can only reasonably commit to outputting 1 unit. We hares don’t like that because the tortoise is putting out 30 and we know we’re more capable than him. We think, “if I only put out 1 unit a day to his 30, he’ll win for sure and I should be the one winning.” 

This is true that the tortoise would win  - if it were also true that the hare would only ever output 1 unit a day. 

But the hare’s energy wave goes much, much higher than the tortoise’s, and at the high point, the hare can output 300 units without breaking a sweat. Those of us hares who are optimistic see that we are capable of 10x the tortoise’s work and think we’ll win for sure because of course we’ll always generate 300 units, forgetting completely that we ride an energy wave and that the low point is inevitable. 

So when the low energy point comes and we see the tortoise’s 30 units way ahead of our measly 1, we give up in red-hot frustration at having failed our nature AGAIN because there’s no way we can catch the tortoise with only 1 unit at a time, forgetting completely that we ride an energy wave and that the high point is inevitable. 

BUT if the hare can commit and promise and put enough sticky notes and reminders and recite enough litanies to remind themselves that the high point is inevitable and that no momentum is wasted, and can bring themselves to be humble enough to do their wimpy little 1 unit even though it doesn’t look like nearly enough and they know they’re capable of far more (*cough* on the high point *cough*), they’ll keep the most important thing of all: momentum. 

Momentum - or the lack thereof - is what lost the race for the OG hare in our fable. He stopped completely with the finish line in sight and fell asleep. He thought he had won already so he didn’t bother finishing the last few feet.

I think the point of this fable is to caution against losing momentum, but everyone has taken it to mean that you’re supposed to be super consistent - which is impossible for hares and ends up just painting them as villainous lazy ne’er-do-wells who can’t be counted on to finish anything. 

Hares CAN at least keep their momentum. If they commit to doing their 1 unit when they feel the most crappy and useless, they’ll still be on the same track when the high point comes and they’ll blaze past the tortoise 10 to 1. But if they give up in frustration because “this always happens” at the low point, stop completely, and switch directions to blaze off on when the high point comes, they will compare themselves to tortoises who can “stick with things” and make themselves out to be lazy ne’er-do-wells with some kind of fatal character flaw… when the only question is that of direction and momentum, not of consistency.

[purplekoop]

Forgot to mention that among my projects I haven't talked about here yet (which... okay that list includes War Bots and that's it, so not a lot yet) is a platform fighter starring a cast of monsterish or otherwise creepy characters, Darkworld Showdown.

The idea started around late 2018 as a simple collection of basic original characters designed for a smash-like context. There wasn't really any theme or anything tying them all together, so I just went with the idea that they were all from different whacky planets. As a result, the game was called "Worlds Showdown", implying the whole thing was a... well, showdown between worlds. The two characters I clearly remember from this time were a pirate monkey and a sort of cannon robot. I also had the idea that the game could be 2v2-based (eat your heart out Multiversus), so the characters had specific moves that interacted with teammates. The pirate monkey could ride on a teammate's back and shoot their pistol freely, while the cannon robot would be able to fire a teammate as a projectile. There were some other concepts that were less defined, like a space jester who could place a static orb as a hazard on the map, or a martial arts girl who looks relatively unimpressive at first, but then powers up to a form even beefier than your average traditional fighter mascot man.

As I made more characters though, I began to realize more and more that there wasn't anything holding it together, and the concept suffered as a result. Characters would have a somewhat unique concept or characteristic, but nothing really tying the game together thematically to make it stand out from any other fighter with a cast of whacky original characters. What I needed was that theme to give the game an identity.

So then I stumbled on a video that introduced me to Darkstalkers, a game I'd primarily heard mostly in passing and in crossovers like Marvel vs Capcom. For the unfamiliar, Darkstalkers is a traditional fighting game from the same company behind Street Fighter, starring a cast of monsters and other supernatural beings, such as the poster girl succubus Morrigan, or just. A thing called Sasquatch. The characters have notably whackier movesets than what was the norm at the time, and there were other mechanics like air dashes that would become a recurring staple of the genre. While the series hasn't had a new entry since the late 90s, it's lived on in both its appearances in other Capcom games and in Skullgirls, an indie project that serves as a spiritual successor, featuring similar character theming and taking heavy inspiration from its mechanics.

I only just played the game myself recently, but back then all I needed was that basic hook.

Monsters. Creatures. Other creepy dudes. That's what this idea needs.

So the name got a simple upgrade from Worlds Showdown to the marginally less generic-sounding Darkworld Showdown as an homage to the game that gave the little push of inspiration that made this project one that I want to see through.

The basic story is pretty simple: Earth gets plunged by an unknown force into a perpetual night, and all the supernatural forces previously lurking in the shadows have come out to play. Demons, vampires, and all manner of other creatures are unleashed, while the world tries to reconcile with the unending darkness.

Seeking to end this eternal night, a secret government organization tasked with keeping the paranormal in check tries to find whatever the cause of the darkness, codenamed the "Darkworld Trigger", and put a stop to it. The leader of the organization is Miss Reil, whose day job is being a famed horror film director, and she's not above using the resources of her organization to make her movies more exciting. She acts as the game's announcer, and the framing of the game is all based around cheesy old horror movies, with the playable roster all being the star creatures to the features.

I'll post more about this one whenever I'm randomly in the mood for it. Y'know how it is, motivations come and go. Expecting to be a little distracted starting tomorrow. I have some designs already made for this project, but it's been so long since I did new art for it that I'll probably refrain from posting unless I've got something that still holds up or I do something new.

[nebulousfishgills]

For any of your OCs with romantic partners, tell me the exact moment each of them fell in love (whether or not they realized it at the time)

This ask is so adorable. I'm obsessed with those first moments people realize they've fallen in love. Me personally, I find it funny that my extremely serious fictional crushes, most of them weren't a love at first sight situation, it took time, yet I can pinpoint the exact moments I did lmao. ANYWAYS.

Olivia and Loki have known each other practically since birth, but very famously when they were children, Loki presented Olivia with a royal blue rose from the garden sheepishly before running off. We can presume he had fallen in love with her since around this time since he was bold enough for this gesture. I think she recognized this gesture for what it was even at her age and likes to tell people that's when she fell in love in return. But I bet it took her a little longer to fully realize what her feelings for Loki were. After that she probably noticed his actions towards her a little more closely and eventually fell in love herself. But it started with the rose, and to this day she still has it, enchanted to never wilt.

Keira and Norman's romance happened quickly but is incredibly strong. Their meet cute is famously goofy, Keira spilling her coffee all over her boss and future husband at the literal worst time. Keira had a horrible cold around this time so she didn't fully process this had happened and Norman had a big meeting right after, so I doubt if they had any love at first sight feelings that they recognized them at all. But I think Norman fell in love first, him offering her a coffee which doesn't seem like a normal move at all. During those few days she was out sick, I think he contemplated the event over and over coupled with what he knew about Keira and at some point knew that he had some sort of pull towards her. Keira probably developed her crush during this coffee date since Norman respected her mind and intellect more than most.

Now, we know that the first time Henry admitted to himself that he was in love with Emily was during the lockdown and they had that extended conversation about their pasts and ideals about the human race. I feel like he vaguely knew he liked her more than as a companion a little before that, but only realized it was love after he knew she felt similarly about the world and that she wasn't scared of what he'd done when most people would be. We also know that for years Emily was extremely defensive and protective of Henry, getting angry when he would get hurt by Papa or the guards. I think she herself only realized she was in love with Henry was a little while after their talk and now that they were alone in the lab, she knew that only Henry could make her feel any semblance of happiness. Of course, they only admit these feelings after Papa informs them that they're no longer test subjects.

...now, the elephant in the room once again comes when we get to Caius and Emily. Hilariously I have 100% concrete answers for both of them rather than a varyingly vague idea compared to the others. Caius knew he was in love basically the second Emily started talking since he had the benefit of feeling a mating bond he'd been waiting eons for forming (likely one Marcus saw). That, plus her brash attitude and her unique characteristics like her wings and already red eyes, dude was a goner the second she walked in. Emily of course needed to have a huge fight with Henry and had to fuck first before she realized she liked Caius, too. But right after they did the dirty, Emily saw how quickly and willingly Caius took care of her, tended to her, made her feel safe quicker than anybody else had ever had, and that's when she knew. She even said as much to his face.

[navree]

Who do you think more similar to Cersei, Alicent or Rhaenyra? Also don't you think that Rhaenyra shares alot of similarities with Aegon iv ?

When it comes to comparing characters from HOTD to characters from the main ASOIAF/GOT universe, I find that nearly any and all possible comparisons are incredibly surface level. Not a lot of people seem to realize that part of what makes GRRM such a good writer is that he's writing his characters as people, not as characters, and that as such everyone has very unique flaws and characteristics and virtues that differentiate them all from each other, just like people in the real world. Nobody's entirely like someone else, especially when put into different circumstances, so comparisons of "this person's like Margaery! this person's like Dany! this person's like Joffrey! this person's like Tyrion! this person's like Ned!" don't really work.

I think both Rhaenyra and Alicent have some similarities to Cersei, but a lot of them are incredibly surface level. The Alicent and Cersei comparisons in particular get my goat, because they're actually quite different characters (and this isn't even touching on show!Cersei, who's basically a completely different character than book!Cersei). They're both queens with a green color aesthetic and they're both protective of their children, but that's really it. Alicent has none of Cersei's internalized misogyny, her paranoia (I'd describe Alicent as extremely cautious, not paranoid, which belies this idea that the fears are unfounded when Alicent's kinda aren't), her narcissism, her inability to admit when she's been wrong, her hedonism and her desire for indulgence, her incapability to see people for who they really are. Like, especially as mothers they're different, Cersei is all but blind to the kind of person Joffrey was, whereas Alicent is very aware of her children's shortcomings and isn't unable to discipline them as need be and get them to fall in line, unlike Cersei. And unlike Cersei, Alicent is a capable administrator and a capable placeholder ruler, like we see during Viserys's infirmity, while Cersei makes an utter mess of everything in the span of, like, a month when she's in charge. While Alicent and Cersei do share a certain sort of ambition, it's still different types, as Alicent is ambitious for her children and the advancement of her family and her line, while Cersei is incredibly personally ambitious and wants power for herself, not for other people in her circle. Alicent doesn't have an answer to Rhaenys's "have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?" line because she hasn't, she's never thought of it and that's not her ultimate desire or anything she particularly wants. Meanwhile, Cersei's first POV chapter literally starts with "She dreamt she sat the Iron Throne, high above them all." because that is precisely what she wants more than anything.

I think Rhaenyra has the most potential to become like Cersei, because the similarities we might see aren't currently present in the person she is right now. But if they follow her F&B arc, then we'll likely see similarities, things like an exacerbation of Rhaenyra's unforgiving nature and her temper getting her to Cersei levels, and her inability to properly administrate and her vindictive are definitely going to come into play and get to a Cersei level, considering that the show does need to follow the eventual arc of Rhaenyra being forced out of King's Landing due to her mismanagement and the anger of the populace. Rhaenyra and Cersei do share a similar chafing at gender roler and the expectations placed upon them as women in Westeros, though there's variation, Rhaenyra wants women to be able to be treated as men, Cersei wants to be a man because she thinks she is exceptional amongst women who all suck (internalized misogyny babes it's a Hell of a drug). And while Rhaenyra also shares personal ambition, like Cersei, the circumstances themselves are different too, since she was actually promised the crown and told she would inherit the throne, while Cersei just Wants Power and sees the crown as the way to get that in the fastest and most efficient way that she can.

I'm not entirely sure how many similarities Rhaenyra and her grandson will ultimately share, because we don't know that much about Aegon IV as a person. He's going to be in the next volume of F&B, and TWOIAF is pretty sparse on characterization (compare what we know about any F&B monarchs to anyone just mentioned in TWOIAF, it's very stark), so all we have is just that he's a glutton and never wanted to deny himself any pleasures. Rhaenyra doesn't necessarily seem to be someone who over indulges, or can't be told no, it's just that she's thoughtless and thinks that she should have stuff without thinking through why, which is different. I think there are some similarities (what I just mentioned, for a start), and I think Aegon and Rhaenyra share that fiery Targaryen temper. But anything more than that, I can't necessarily say with what little we know about Aegon The Unworthy as a person, and I certainly think he's much more of a bastard piece of shit than Rhaenyra.

[flirting-with-psychology]

Wood Dice Tray Review

I have ordered three different dice trays so far, so I thought I would post a review of them for anyone looking to get one! I highly recommend all three, but they each have different characteristics that stand out, depending on what you’re looking for. 

Here are the trays:

Padauk Dice Tray by WoodForgeWorks 

Bolivian Rosewood Tabletop Dice Tray by Wyrmwood Gaming

Walnut Mini Dice Tray by GreenFoxWoodworking

So I’ll compare them across several categories and rank which is the best.

Looks:

1. WoodForgeWorks. I really like the hexagon shape, but of course that’s just personal preference, and I was able to get a custom design in the leather. The padauk wood is also really pretty, but all three shops offer that wood.

2. Wyrmwood. They have the widest variety of woods to choose from, and it looks very classy. This is the biggest of the three that I got, about the size of a standard sheet of paper, and the other two are about ⅔ the size.

3. GreenFox. It’s a cute size and seems very portable. The wood has slightly more of a shine than the other two, which I like.

Touch:

1. GreenFox. The wood is incredibly smooth and has a nice finish, I love touching it! Lost a couple points for only offering faux leather, but if you’re vegan then it’s a plus.

2. Wyrmwood. The wood has a more natural finish, and personally I would like a little bit more shine. It has a nice solid weight. The leather is very nice quality, it gets some marks with use but I don’t really mind, and they said it can be restored with leather conditioner, which they sell as an add-on.

3. WoodForgeWorks. Also has a more natural finish, and uses real leather. The leather is textured instead of smooth, so it doesn’t show marks as easily. It has a slightly more handmade feel.

Sound:

1. Wyrmwood. Best sound for sure! It has a really cool echoey sound when you roll dice on it, especially metal dice. The sound is probably achieved by a thick bottom and rubber feet.

2. GreenFox. Has a little bit of the echoey sound but not as much as Wyrmwood. I custom ordered rubber feet, which are usually included in their larger size but not their smaller size.

3. WoodForgeWorks. Their default is to have a flat bottom with felt on it, which would probably not have any sort of echo. I custom ordered it to have wooden feet, and then added rubber feet myself, but it does not have as much echo as the other two.

Smell:

1. Wyrmwood. Has a pleasant woody smell.

2 & 3. WoodForgeWorks & GreenFox. Neither has a very noticeable scent, so I ranked them the same.

Taste:

I do not recommend tasting your dice tray.

Customization:

1. WoodForgeWorks. The artist is very willing to work with your ideas and make a unique design! This tray was based off a similar one but he worked with me on the size, wood, custom engraving, liner, and feet to get exactly what I was looking for. In the shop, the default options include engraving on the leather or the wood. 

2. GreenFox. The large dice trays have a selection of designs available for engraving and they can also do custom designs. The small trays don’t have engraving, but both sizes have different color liner options.

3. Wyrmwood. They don’t really offer a lot of customization options, other than maybe a name engraving on some items. They have the largest selection of wood types though.

Price:

WoodForgeWorks: $39-49 for a hexagonal tray

GreenFoxWoodworking: $25-41 for a mini tray, $45-85 for a large tray

Wyrmwood: $80-270 for a personal tray, $100-330 for a tabletop tray

[lilithsrecord]

𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖈𝖎𝖟𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖘𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖔𝖑

part 2

♱ 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

outward appearance means nothing if your are unable to carry yourself with grace and confidence. it’s important to radiate an aura that is unique to u and is beautiful and enchanting to others. find your essence. are u an ethereal innocent angel or a bombshell femme fatale? Just by channeling in a sort of character in your demeanour can drastically change how other people view you. you might be wondering “hey this is a bit much just for school,” and ur right but it’s all fun at the end of the day

𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬

𝔣𝔢𝔪𝔪𝔢 𝔣𝔞𝔱𝔞𝔩𝔢:

femme fatale: noun

an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who is likely to cause distress or disaster to a man who becomes involved with her.

"a femme fatale who plays one man off against another in pursuit of money"

a femme fatale is a women who shows power through how well she can toy with a mans brain. in hindsight she might seem like a women catered to the male gaze due to the strong enchantment she has upon men, but do not be fooled. a femme fatale is a strong willed and powerful women who only caters to her own needs. she achieves her goals by seducing her pawns to use them to her own advantage. channeling in the characteristics of a femme fatale can make one feel powerful, sexy, and oh so alluring. to become a femme fatale you must ooze with seduction. femme fatale examples include gilda, from the movie “gilda”, jane smith from “mr. and mrs. smith, and amy dunne from “gone girl”.

feel powerful when you walk from one place to another. let other people stare at you while they feel intrigued by ur allure but never completely give them what they want.

make your appearance look bold and striking. be sexy. dress to show off what other people want for themselves. wear dark and luxurious colours. let your hair be free and voluptuous. a bold lip and sharp eye makeup brings attention to the most seductive parts of your face. a femme fatale is nothing without a striking appearance

have your voice sound like smooth whiskey. speak slow to captivate others. make sure your voice comes out prominent and clear. add a slight rasp into your voice. each word u speak should be carefully chosen. people should be addicted to hearing you speak. be sassy and smart but always with class.

smell expensive. pick a scent that exudes class. examples: black orchid by tom ford. mugler alien. good girl by carolina herrera.

a femme fatale makes sure to always get her way. don’t be afraid to use ur seductive quality’s to get what u want whether that is good grades or social status. [ however do not put urself in dangerous positions. please don’t sleep with a teacher lmao ]

𝔠𝔬𝔮𝔲𝔢𝔱𝔱𝔢

coquette: noun

a woman who flirts.

in my own definition a coquette to me is a girl who is delicate and radiates innocence. she is more commonly known as the girl next door or the pretty girl. people become attracted to this essence due to the childish ways of a coquette. though that sounds concerning, a coquette isn’t a women who tries to act like a child on purpose. she is just a women who is naturally sweet and innocent. they hold onto a childlike quality that the rest of us have lost and so desperately crave. the allure of the coquette is ultimately her adorableness. her demeanour is light hearted and youthful. no one feels the need to do her wrong because she is just too cute for any harm. she is an ingenue. examples of coquettes are lizzy grant, cat valentine from “victorious”, alice cullen from “twilight”, and marilyn monroe.

wear clothes that make u look cute. the coquette aesthetic has been around for quite a while. the main aspect of a coquette outfit is its innocently teasing nature. wear bright colours that compliment ur skin like a blush pink, bright reds, and pretty lilacs. make people around u appreciate ur innocent look but know that there imagination is running wild. the makeup for these looks are more natural and rely on the condition of ur actual skin. take good care of ur skin. have a set routine but remember that it’s completely okay if u have pimples! you can still be a pretty little coquette even with acne.

vanilla or any kind of sweet scents are a staple for the coquette essence. ariana grandes perfumes are perfect for making people mouths water for a sweet snack when u walk by. olympea by paco rabanne is my personal favourite.

be kind and sweet to people who deserve it. people need to see u as a sweet and innocent doll who can do no wrong. but don’t be afraid to be risky and be the complete opposite of that once in a while. the rare moments where u show ur femme fatale side will have people incredibly intrigued by you.

perfect your voice. your voice should sound pleasant like some sort of princess. make your voice sound higher but not ear screeching high. add a beautiful mix of air and softness to ur voice. a breathy voice is incredibly intoxicating and suits the coquette.

𝔭ê𝔩𝔢-𝔪ê𝔩𝔢

pêle-mêle: adverb

in a confused, rushed, or disorderly manner.

also known as the manic pixie dream girl, a pêle-mêle is the essence of a girl who is described as whimsical, eccentric and is quite literal the life of the party. though at first glance she’s all rainbows and sun shine, the shadow side of the pêle-mêle can be described as a tortured artist. her optimism is delightful. she is not afraid to take risks. she’s a mess but people can not help to be intrigued by her free spirited ways for she is a drug to people who crave adventure. examples of a pêle-mêle include ramona flowers from scott pilgrim vs the world, mia wallace from pulp fiction, harley quinn from the DC comics, and holly golighty from breakfast at tiffany’s.

don’t be afraid to take risks. risks and adventure is what the pêle-mêle lives off of. be brave. do things you are afraid to do. start small and work your way up like from riding that roller coaster your so afraid of to having a motorcycle race with your friends (trust me those are so fun!). show people just how daring you can be and immediately people will be magnetized to you.

wear clothes that are unique and you feel comfortable with. the pêle-mêle rejects conformity and the way you appear should reflect that. wear clothes that harmonize with your crazy personality. be daring and bold with your makeup. make sure you stand out from the crowd and that you do not care what people think. the alternative style perfectly suits someone who embodies this essence.

be confident. obviously this rule applies to all the essences but confidence and self love is at the core of the pêle-mêle. you need to show people that you do not care what they think of you and that at the end of the day, you are just here for a good time. the more you practice self love, the easier it will be for you to express yourself without the fear of judgement from others.

be a socialite. don’t be afraid to speak your mind to people. pêle-mêle’s are usually people persons. they love good company that they can go on adventures with. make friends by being your true self and don’t hold yourself back. even a few mishaps by saying the wrong thing from time to time can make people fall in love with your clumsy nature.

obviously there are plenty of other essences you can achieve for yourself but these are my top three favourites. to find out who exactly who you want to become try the few tips listed below!

how to find your personal essence

what kind of people captivate you? what type of personalities do you see that you wish you could be? do you find yourself being envious of the pretty girl next door, the man eater, or the mysterious persona? figure out what kind of a person do u wish to truly become and inherit their manner. find out the characteristic of ur desired essence to the littlest of detail. this can include from the way you walk, talk, eat, sleep, look, smell ext. think of this as becoming your ideal best self. take the female archetype quiz to get a better understanding of your self.

what kind of aesthetic catches your eye? do you enjoy the glamorous high fashion life or do you like the softer cherry coke and heart shaped sunglasses niche? maybe you enjoy completely different things or a blend of a few. live up to this aesthetic. do this by expressing this aesthetic in the way you dress to how u decorate your room.

what kind of environment do you feel the most comfortable in? are you someone who loves education and school? or do you love the idea of being free and living in an RV for the rest of your life? maybe you just want to live in a cozy high rise new york apartment or a huge mansion up in beverly hills. envision where you see your ideal self in 10-20 years. your ideal environment can reveal a lot about what kind of lifestyle choices you want to make.

you might be thinking to yourself hey these aren’t the best tips for school. and at an educational standpoint you’re right. but it’s important to embody your best ideal self to truly enjoy this lifetime. these are little things that can be used to motivate you. i believe that inner self work should be prioritized over your school work though both are important. make sure you are taking some time out of your week to find out more about yourself and who you want to become. be the best you.

[the-sprog]

So since I'm very bad at remembering my ideas, I'm gonna throw this out there and hope one day I'm like "WAIT didn't I have an idea for a fic??? What was it???" And I will find it on my tumblr.

It's about Danny Phantom, obviously.

There are actually two of them in here so:

The easiest one: Jack and Maddie are not stupid. I mean they're scientists, the use the scientific method. One of the things about the scientific method is that if you do a bunch of tests, based on an hypothesis and only one of them comes out disproving it, then your hypothesis is incorrect.

Phantom has disproved basically all of their hypothesis.

So, next thing to do? Create a new one. Do new tests. They take Jazz's suggestion and try and see if the ghosts of Amity are actually conscious. Because obviously they're sentient, but are they like animals? Or are they like robots with artificial intelligence?

Or even better yet, are they like humans?

They grab Phantom's attention and ask him if he would cooperate for this test. A simple Turing test. Obviously they're still wary because of everything that happened with him, and do the test with witnesses to keep both Phantom's and their minds at ease.

He passed the test. With flying colors.

They're shocked and ask him if he knew peaceful ghosts that would be willing to take the test (because, y'know. Scientific method. Need to try over and over again). Phantom would have to explain that not all ghosts are as human-like as him (as, first of all, he's a halfa, but he doesn't say that. And second, lots of them are blobs or animal-like ghosts), but cue his parents meeting Jhonny and Kitty (cause I like the idea that they have a truce with Phantom and that going out of the zone helps them with their couple problems), as well as Shadow (example of a less human-like ghost). Then Sidney, Dora, the Fright Knight (cause king ghost Danny ftw) and Frostbite.

They all pass, more or less. Some, like Dora, the light and Sidney, where given away by their choice of word, but other than that all of them passed the test.

OK SO MORE COMPLEX ONE:

I love crossovers. I love finding ways of putting the two universes together, of making them work with each other, adapting the rules so that they apply to both. (With Danny Phantom it's also really cool to just... Make him travel the multiverse. He doesn't adhere to the rules of where he goes to, so it's always hilarious. But we're not here for that now).

One of the best ones to do this with is My Hero Academia. Whenever a show has someone with powers I end up asking myself "how should that work in the world of my hero?" And start trying to incorporate it in the lore.

So, first thing first, we're getting rid of the canon story of my hero. Completely unrelated to the show. This takes place decades in the past, when the first people where developing quirks (so if I wanted to write something with this and actually use my hero characters, I'd make it so that they where hit with a time traveling quirk or that Clockwork was somehow involved).

The Fenton's hatred for ghosts? Make it discrimination against the people who have quirks.

Danny being half-ghost? His quirk's fault. He calls it Ghost, for simplicity, it allows him to come back as a sort of ghost-like creature after he dies. Somehow, one day, he doesn't die completely so his body fixes it the only way it know how. Making him partially ghost.

Obviously that would mean that all the ghosts he fights aren't ghosts anymore. They're villains with quirks, and their powers would be based on what they can do on the show, minus the basic intangibility, invisibility and flight.

Obviously only Sam and Tucker would know he was Phantom and he had a quirk, he's also kinda the only one in town with one. People would be a little racist against quirk havers, but the kids, like in the show, come around to it. And actually start loving Phantom and thinking of him as a hero.

How do I fit Vlad in all of this? Ehm ahhhh this is the one thing I didn't think about. Very basic, but could give him a power similar to Danny, were instead of a ghost, he becomes a vampire. But his quirk is caused by an accident in college, so it's artificial.

Why does Skulker (who doesn't have a quirk. He's just a guy in a suit) hunt Danny? He has a very unique quirk.

Does Dani exist? I mean. Yeah. Cloning is not so farfetched, especially with the existence of quirks.

Clockwork can control time, he involuntary does that being a child, then an adult then an old man thing. The Observants are people without quirks that keep him in check, an organization that made a pact with him to stay young forever or something in change of idk what. No idea what Clockwork would get out of it I won't lie. Money maybe? Or somehow they found a way of keeping him there against his will?

Walker (and I'll make a seperate post about this) is an ex guy in white. Yes they still exist, but they hunt quirk havers instead of paranormal stuff. Walker was kicked out because he actually has a quirk but lied about it. He's after his own kind in the show as well. I mean, he's a stickler to the rules, but he only ever seems to care when it's ghosts that brake them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but never has he punished a human. His quirk is making semi-sentient minions. They're not copies of himself. They're like clay humans with basic forms. They all look alike and have no special characteristics.

Frostbite is just... A yeti. With cryokenisis. It's a mutation type quirk.

Same goes for Wulf, he's just a humanoid wolf that can create teleportation portals. I can't think of a reason why he would only speak Esperanto though. It could be something similar to Five from umbrella academy. He accidentally got stuck in the 1600 as a kid and managed to come back only relatively recently.

I feel like all the other ghosts have obvious powers.

Cujo can become ginormous,

Technus can control technology,

Dora and Aragon can become dragons,

Jhonny gives people bad luck and can control his shadow,

Kitty can make man disappear,

Ember can mind control using music,

Spectra can use people's negative emotions to stay young,

Bernard has shapeshifting,

Youngblood can't be seen by adults (side effect: can't grow old) and his sideckick has a variant of shapeshifting where he can only transform in animals. A definitive father figure),

Box ghost can control boxes,

Pandora can control the plagues of the world,

Desiré can make people's wishes come true,

Sidney can swap bodies with people,

Undergrowth can control plants,

Pariah Dark- I... Actually don't know...

Lunch Lady can control food,

Aaaanndddd no more come to mind.

I want to do something with this AU but I can't really think of an interesting story, other than "kids from 1A get misplaced in time and Danny has to help, discovering the existence of Clockwork and the Observants, whom he hates. So he tries to get Clockwork out of there with the other kid's help" but that's it, really.

I actually have a 3rd idea, but it basically works the same as the MHA one. Crossover with the X-Men.

Substitute quirk havers with mutants and quirks with mutations and you get the idea.

The plot would be more of a "Danny gets recruited by Xavier after the trauma of almost dying activated his mutation and goes to live at the mansion. This happens after the events of season 3, alla salted to make sense in the world of Marvel, but without Phantom planet. He makes friends there, since Sam and Tucker aren't with him and everything is fine and dandy and happy. Until it comes out that the Fentons actually contribute to the creation of the Sentinels, because they hate Phantom that much.

So Danny has to infiltrate his own family to get info on how the Sentinels work so they can destroy them, since his parents are still oblivious and they made it so that the Sentinels wouldn't attack Danny thinking that his accident just somehow make him register as a mutant on machinery" and that's it.

[script-nef]

So why won’t you realise it '^' | Gojou Satoru

Category: fluff

1.9k words; Movie date [2/6]

Spoilers of Howl��s Moving Castle!! Beware!!

← Previous chapter | Masterlist

“Eh, Shouko! What do you mean you can’t make it?”

“I mean, another person is about to come in and they need me to heal them. By the time I’m done the movie will be finished.” Shouko’s voice over the phone is laced with annoyance and sadness coupled with lethargy. You don’t know how she pulls off such a unique combination of emotions but she somehow accomplishes it every time. “And I was looking forward to it…”

This would have been the first time you had a break with her since the trip to France. And while she enjoyed it a lot, the same couldn’t be said for the two males. Which was weird since Gojou is infatuated with sweets and Ken-chan agreed to come. So it was kind of weird when there was a tense atmosphere between them. You know your brother and Gojou are nearly polar opposites, but their animosity wasn’t usually that strong. 

They brushed it off as nothing when you asked if something was wrong, which was sort of dubious since you could kind of see the black cloud looming over the both of them, but you let it go. If it was something important, they would be able to handle it themselves or report it to you. You couldn’t sense any cursed spirits nearby so you guessed that they were just in a bad mood for some reason.

Still, you had a wonderful time and found some new snacks that everyone enjoyed. So a day well spent, all in all. 

And Ken-chan told you to tell him if Gojou ever offers overseas trips or anything similar, so he must have enjoyed it. Maybe you can ask Gojou to take all of you to Denmark one day.

“Ah… my dear Howl. Life and curses separate us again.” Her voice is full of sadness now, no doubt mourning over her chance of watching her favourite character on a huge screen with surround sound disappearing. 

“It’s okay! I’ll bring you the figurine and we can watch it again here in about�� uh…”

“Ten years?” She sounds like she’s about to drop dead.

“Uh… yes… But maybe five years? Hopefully? You know, I shouldn’t watch it without you. I’ll come back to school.” 

“No, no. Watch the movie. At least you’ll get to see it. Ah, they’re coming now so I have to go.”

“Ah, okay. Bye, Shouko! Stay positive!”

A non-committal sigh accompanies a small “Bye” before the call clicks off. A frown takes over your face at the lost opportunity for her. She was looking forward to this for a long time and you leapt at the chance for another girls’ day out. Being able to watch a childhood favourite is an added bonus. But now you’re standing in the movie theatre, the ticket desk just across the room and an extra on your hand. 

It’s a shame because it cost quite a lot. Shouko is definitely going to mope about this when you get back and maybe start smoking again. She always has a pack on her even if she said she quit, and smokes one if she’s stressed or angry. You should call someone and make sure somebody takes it away from her.

You should probably hold onto the ticket and give it back. Or maybe that would make it worse for her, serving as a reminder of this day. Conflict rages inside your head. There’s a high possibility of either decision breaking her heart. Again. A buzz from your phone saves you the trouble of deciding.

Shouko: I sent someone as my replacement. 

A tap on the shoulder makes you turn as you type in a reply and you come face to face with a black jacket. Gojou’s head pops down.

“Hey there. I think you called for a replacement!” He seems to be in a ridiculously good mood, even more so than usual. Maybe his students successfully finished another mission. Which is great. It also means more paperwork for you. Which is not so great.

“How did you com—ah. Teleportation.”

“Ding ding ding! Correct!” He's been using the skill more frequently lately, popping in and out of places like one of those Whac-A-Mole games. . It gives you heart attacks all the time and you’re sure he gets a kick out of it. You saw how his smiles widen when you flinch or react. Thankfully it’s when you’re alone so other people never see you jump what feels like a metre into the air.

“Do you want popcorn?” He breaks you out of your thoughts. “I think they have the new caramel flavour. Apparently it’s way too sweet.” So perfect for Gojou. Even though he’s asking if you want it, there’s a spring in his step which definitely means he’s getting some. Probably the biggest option they have.

And you’re proven right because he comes back with two huge buckets which look impossible to finish. When you try to object, he cuts off with “I’ve eaten three buckets before. Alone.” With the smile he’s giving you, it really doesn’t sound like he’s joking. You try to take one to lighten the load but he says it’s alright. 

He signals the way to the theatre rooms with his head, walking beside you as you find your way.

“So what’s the movie?” Your head snaps to him in confusion.

“You don’t know?” A shake and a shrug. “It’s Howl’s Moving Castle. This was Shouko’s idea since she loves it and this year is Studio Ghibli’s 40 year anniversary. The cinema is having an exclusive showing of their movies this month. Only one session per movie, for some reason. Surely they would make more money if they played it over multiple days, but. I dunno. Executives make weird decisions.” A light scoff from him to tell he knows exactly what that’s like. His hatred for the higher-ups runs deep. You don’t push it.

“So she wanted to come but got held back at the last minute?”

“Yeah. Ah, here are our seats.”

You’re placed in the very middle of the room and you both make yourselves comfortable. Shouko went all out for this movie, upgrading the seats and making it a recliner. Your poor back, abused after sitting in chairs and hunched over computers for so long, practically melts into the plush cushion. It’s so comfortable that you might fall asleep in it if it isn’t Howl that’s about to start. 

Feet dangling in the air, you look over to Gojou to see him on his phone. It looks like he’s in a chatroom and you catch the words ‘Shouko’ and ‘favour’ before looking away. You didn’t mean to peek, but it’s not like you can consciously not read something. It was in your line of sight and you averted your eyes as soon as you realised what you were reading. Your brother brought you up better than to pry into other people’s businesses, even if it’s really, really tempting.

“Phones need to be placed on silent, you know.” The ads are coming on the screen. He smiles at you, slipping it into his pocket.

“Just talking to Shouko. She says she hasn’t even started properly.”

Disappointment fills you. Gojou is a good friend to watch this with but you hoped Shouko would somehow miraculously finish in time. She would be devastated.

“I’ll have to make this up to her when we get back. Give her the figurine and keep her hap—ah! I forgot! Gojou, I was supposed to ask someone to take her ciga—” He cuts you off with a light pat on your hand.  

“Don’t worry, I did it already. All of them are safe out of her reach and I gave her packets of hot chocolate instead. When we get back, she’ll have drunk at least half of them and be in a good mood.” What a Gojou-like replacement. He smiles like a child wanting pats on the head for a job well done. You just barely catch yourself from moving. 

Gojou gets a rep for being aloof and neglectful, but he does take care of the people he holds dear to him. His friends, members of the school, his students. You hope you’re included in the list. 

Actually, the more you think about it, the more you realise he’s different from initial perceptions. You learn more and more about him as time goes on, in the most delightful sense. He’s somewhat like an onion, new characteristics being revealed every time a layer is peeled. A snicker escapes at the thought of Gojou dressed up like an onion, just waddling around. He shoots you a questioning head tilt which you wave off.

In the years that you’ve known him, he made himself into a trustworthy friend. One full of laughs and ridiculousness. Maybe it’s his childishness that puts you at ease, but he’s incredibly comfortable and easy to relax around. Thoughts trail and the words fly out of your mouth before you even think.

“You know, I think you would make a wonderful boyfriend.”

He freezes completely, like somebody’s zapped him in place. You stare at him, wondering what’s wrong, but the lights dim and by the time he gathers coherence, your concentration is on the opening sequence.

“Ah, that was so good! Ugh, I love Howl. Isn’t he so cool?” You skip out of the room, remembering to take the figurines provided at the exit, with Gojou trailing behind you. “You know how she asks him to wait for her in the past? The first thing he says to her in the movie is ‘I’ve been looking everywhere for you.’ He searched for her the entire time! This is modern poetry. This.” 

“Do you think Howl would be a good boyfriend?” The question stops you. It’s different than usual for some reason, the voice asking the question and the intensity of it. He’s still his aloof self, all smiles and grins, but there’s something you can’t quite place that’s wrong. It’s unnerving, but you diligently answer his question.

“Um, I mean, yeah? Look at how cute he is with Sophie. See?” The figurine is a frozen shot of Howl and Sophie dancing in the rain with an umbrella that’s not being useful at all. They’re both incredibly detailed, so much so that you can see their clothes and skin drenching wet. Wow, this is actually a phenomenal job. Shouko will be so happy. It makes your heart lighter knowing that at least something might light up her day. 

“Why is he cool?” Gojou seems to be invested in Howl. It confuses you since he just watched the movie with you and he saw how awesome Howl is. 

“Hm, well for one he can do magic.” He opens his mouth but you shush him with a finger to his lips. “Yeah, I know, what we have is kind of like magic too. But theirs is just… different. He just makes it seem kind of elegant. And he overcame his fear just for Sophie. Remember the scene with Sulliman and in the cluttered bedroom? He still found the strength to protect her even though he was so scared before. It’s admirable. I guess I like strong guys.”

“Hmm~” His tone is contemplative. “You know I’m stronger than him, right?”

A question mark forms over your head. He’s being really weird today. “Yeah? You’re the strongest in the universe, silly. What’s up with you?” Gojou just chuckles and ruffles your head.

“Nothing, nothing. Just making sure you know.” He slings his arm around your shoulder, the intensity gone and the light spring in his step back. “Who else do you think is strong?”

Next chapter →

[wordsnstuff]

Guide To Parallel Plot Structure

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

–

Stand Alone, But Work Together

While each plot must be designed to stand alone, they must also be working toward a common goal or endpoint where the reader says “oh, that makes sense now” or “oh, so that’s why the author finds these stories important/compelling”. Design them with the same themes and ending in mind.

Crossovers Must Be Meaningful

When you’re designing a plot convergence, be purposeful in your placement and your significance. Why is it important that the reader sees this interaction between the separate plots you’ve woven? Why did you put the interaction at this point in the story? You should be able to thoroughly answer these questions. 

Tie Them Together With Theme/Motif

All stories with parallel plot structure should be connected (at least) through theme or motifs. If you’re doing a story in parts where each part is a completely different story that all run parallel to one another and connect some way in the end, the reader should see an almost immediate connection in the stories’ theme and/or symbolism and/or big ideas.

Immerse The Reader In Both Plots

Develop each plot line enough that it could exist on its own, but be concise when describing details that the reader may have already heard. If you’re describing a place that exists within two or more of the plot lines, be descriptive the first time and evocative the second. Be clear that we’ve seen this place before, but change the context to match this new storyline. 

This Isn’t A Flashback Story

If pieces and parts of your story take place in the past, that’s a flashback plot structure and should be approached differently than a parallel plot. Parallel plot is specifically two or more fully developed plot-lines that occur parallel to one another, connected by at least one factor that either is or will become apparent to the reader, but not necessarily the characters. These characteristics must be addressed uniquely to this plot structure, and if you don’t supplement each plot line with enough scenes or development, they will fall flat.

Common Struggles

~ How do I transition between timelines smoothly?... It can be as simple as switching stories every chapter. It’s important to make it clear to the reader which plot they’re following, so as long as you feel you’ve accomplished that, approach transitions however you’d like. 

~ How similar or different should the two plots be to one another?... It depends on what you’re trying to say, in the grand scheme of things. If you’re telling a story about a specific experience from multiple points of view, obviously the plots are going to be very similar, but always make sure that the reader never asks “how is this relevant”, unless you’re feeding them info that will make sense later. 

~ Can the two protagonists and/or the antagonists be distinctly different to the other?... Absolutely. In my opinion, the plots need to have some sort of connection, but it doesn’t have to be as obvious as who the villain or the hero is. 

~ What shows, books, or movies should I watch in order to get the idea of a good parallel plot structure?...

Here are some of my recommendations:

Movies: Amores Perros (2000), Timecode (2000), Love Actually (2003)

Books: The Counterlife by Philip Roth (1986), NW by Zadie Smith (2012), A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin (has many plot-lines running parallel to one another)

Other Resources

Plot Structures

Useful Writing Resources | Part II

Pros & Cons of Different Points of View

Resources For Plot Development

Guide To Plot Development

Writing Long Stories Without Filler

Novel Planning 101

Tackling Subplots

Outlining By Chapter

Character Driven vs. Plot Driven Stories

How To Write A Story Timeline

Making A Story Come Together

How To Engage The Reader

Pacing Appropriately

Tips on Introducing Backstory

How To Develop A Distinct Voice In Your Writing

Balancing Detail & Development

Tips on Balancing Development

–

Masterlist | WIP Blog

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[salmonid-ink]

Let’s talk about Salmonid intelligence!

There seems to be a wide misconception that Salmonids aren’t intelligent, or at the very least, aren’t as smart as Octolings or Inklings. This idea couldn’t be farther from the truth! And because I’m the Resident Salmonid Fanatic™ it’s my job to talk about this. 

In hopes to make people consider and think of Salmonids in a better light, and NOT as pets, I’m going to do my best to pull evidence from in-game, as well as interviews, that imply or outright confirm that Salmonids are sapient, much like our beloved Octolings and Inklings. 

To start, I’d like to touch on their interactions with other creatures, namely their trade deal with the Octarians. It’s hard to argue for Salmonids not being intelligent when you consider the confirmed fact that they actively trade with other creatures to benefit the both of them.

They exchange their useful Power Eggs (and perhaps vegetables and fruits) to the Octarians for mechanical blueprints, weapons, and machine parts (and potentially tentacle cuts for food). We can wager this trade deal has been going on for a long time, as the Salmonids are fitted to the gills with machinery, and you can make the argument that the Octomaw was inspired by Maws!

While the Salmonids could easily take these blueprints and make the machines exactly as the Octarians planned them, these fish take it one step beyond and put their own twist on things! With their intellect, they’ve customized traditional weapons to suit them better, and the examples can be seen in just about every boss you encounter. 

Ink Storm + Brella -> Drizzler

Sting Ray -> Stinger

Ink Jet + Tenta Missiles -> Flyfish

Splash Wall -> Steel Eel

Baller/Splashdown   -> Steelhead

Shielded Octotrooper + Roller  -> Scrapper

Octocopter -> Chinook

Flooder -> Griller

Octo Seeker -> Mothership

Additionally, they are INSANELY resourceful, able to use any scrap of metal or machinery to make their contraptions, and make them decently reliable. Not to mention the fact that Scrappers are able to repair their cars! On the fly! All while under fire! That takes dedication AND smarts!!

Not to mention the fact that Smallfry, who could very well be babies (and I will argue that they are, as there is no benefit to stunting the growth of ANY creature), are able to pilot Flyfish. They were raised just right in the best environment, and now they’re super smart!

Also, Salmonids are crazy creative, with how they’ve incorporated their cookware into their weaponry. They take their aesthetic to the next level, man.

Next, lest talk about their homes!

It’s vastly clear that they have their own society. At the very least, we can take a glimpse of it with their houses. The Lost Outpost (known as the Colony at Sea in Japan) is a great example of this!

While these houses look like they were cobbled together with recycled parts, which falls in line with Salmonid resourcefulness, they are clearly stable living spaces that were built by he Salmonids themselves with ocean living and fishing in mind. 

Additionally, towards the back of the stage, we can see another house with a city on the horizon. While this is purely speculation, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to believe that this city is Salmonid-owned. The areas you go to are claimed to be restricted ocean zones, and given that you’re so far out that you need a house-sized radio dish just to communicate, it’s hard to believe that the city would be owned by anyone else. 

I think these city-based homes would be owned by Salmonids that work with machinery, such as repairmen and mechanics. This could also include artisans! Farmers would obviously live in more rural areas, where they can plant and grow their crops. 

We can also glean a similar idea from the Spawning Grounds (called the Salmonid Dam in many other languages): 

I will argue until the day I die that the dam found in the Spawning Grounds, as well as the adjacent city, belongs to the Salmonids, as evidence by its proximity to the stage, the green water pouring from the dam, and the very clear Salmonid mark on it.

Whether this city was built by them, or it’s one they took ahold of and built upon during one of their past migrations is yet to be determined, seeing my speculations are even true. Either way, it’s clear that the Salmonids are capable of building structures and homes with ease!

If we talk about their homes, even if this is much more on the speculative end, we’ve also GOT to talk about the factory we can see at Marooner’s Bay:

Again, given the proximity to Salmonid territory, as well as the various Salmonid-themed items around the stage, we can speculate that these factories are Salmonid owned, and perhaps where they work on many of their machines and devices.

Things such as Scrapper Cars, Steel Eels, Flyfish jets, Grillers, and Motherships could be constructed here, or this place could be used for processing water or chemicals! It’s a rather vague factory, so again, this is all theoretical. I haven’t a clue what they do here. 

Next let’s talk about their art. The existence of art alone should be enough of an indicator that they have minds to think and feel with! Especially when their designs are as intricate as these:

The most of these can be seen around the Lost Outpost and Spawning Grounds, but every single stage has a few of these markings floating around. I don’t currently have many in-stage caps on hand, but if you take the time to look around, you’ll find a few on the ground and walls!

While a lot of these are very clearly graffiti markings, the intricate designs may have some meaning. While we haven’t a clue what exactly they mean, or what they represent, I think they’re extremely fascinating, and give us a peek into what culture Salmonids have. 

They’re likely made with stencils, but all the same, they were designed carefully, and must hold SOME significance.

I have a theory that these designs are primarily to mark specific territories. Perhaps certain marks mean different schools and families! Or some of them could be warnings, such as to indicate Grizz activity (such as with the bear icon, which appears in a few stages). 

I believe in part, these are a form of expression, ESPECIALLY if they indicate schools. There are so many unique fish-shaped designs, it’d be cool to see how these correlate to individual groups!

They could also be a visual indicator for Inklings and Cephalopods that, yes, this is Salmonid territory, so you’d best stay away! Because while it’d be easy for a Salmonid to tell what area belongs to who by smell alone, Inklings certainly don’t have that luxury!

At any rate, I’d love to see what personal art looks like for Salmonids. What kind of crafts do they make? What sort of things do they love to paint? We don’t really know, and we can only speculate...

One thing we know for certain is that Salmonids appreciate music. It even seems as though they’re inspired by it, given the descriptions that the Salmon Run songs have.

I feel like this is worth stating, even if their existence is fairly common knowledge: ω-3. A band. That plays complex instruments. And does all their own mixing. 

Pretty freakin’ smart, I must say!

Additionally, each of the members have VASTLY different styles. The Cellist is stern and stubborn, and won’t accept anything but the best, be it in passion or in radical works. The timpanist is soulful, passionate, and is straight to the point. The DJ is reckless and disrespectful, yet puts forth his best effort.

All three of them are so unalike to one another in style and personality. They may not even get along that well, but at the end of the day, they value working together SO MUCH that they make amazing, unique, and great-sounding songs that stir and inspire their people. 

It’d be amazing to see what other types of music that Salmonids like, because this can’t be the only kind. However the style of  ω-3 certainly goes hand-in-hand with the chaotic, resourceful, and determined nature of the Salmonids. 

We should also touch up on the fact that Salmonids are stated to have tradition. Aside from their 70-year migration, they’re also stated to pass cookware from generation to generation in Sunken Scroll #19.

"Salmonids are known to keep their weapons in tip-top shape. The frying pans they wield have often been passed down from generation to generation. You can see the unwavering pride of these fierce warriors in their (somewhat crazed) eyes."

I like to think that they also pass things like recipes and other tools down to their offspring and kin. Family and schools on the whole appear to be very important to them, which ties directly into their drive to work together as a unit, rather than separately as a makeshift team.

For some conventional evidence, look at this one bit from the Merry Fishmas piece, posted by official Splatoon sources: 

I LOVE this image, and there are so many tiny details that you can make out in this. Such as these two:

THEY ARE PLAYING CARDS, and this ain’t no dogs playing poker bit, either! It looks like the other one is losing really bad... Or going into a food coma. One way or another, the other Salmonid is trying to check up on them, haha. Or maybe they’re trying to sneak a peek at the other’s cards? Who knows! That sly grin tells a story.

Also, there’s this Goldie, who is fishing:

These are all pretty human-like characteristics, which makes me think, all the more, that they’re on par with Inklings intelligence wise. I REALLY want to see more interactions like this someday, it fills my heart with delight and joy.

Phew.. Well, thank you so much for sticking with me through this whole thing. I hope this helps people get more perspective on Salmonids, and what little we know about their community and culture. 

[kiingocreative]

The Structure of Story is now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book

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I often feel that it took me thirty years to write my first book, No Pain, No Game. Not because I was physically writing it for that long, but because finally publishing my first novel felt like the culmination of three decades of bad writing, half-finished novels, random short-stories and a million mundane diary entries. It took that long to experiment with my craft, hone my skills, and master the fear of putting my work out there for all to see.

Exaggerations aside, it actually took me three years to write No Pain, No Game, from typing the first word on an otherwise blank page to having a fully-fledged, ready-to-publish novel. Those three years consisted of mostly undisciplined writing, sitting down to work on the story as and when the urge arose, sometimes not looking at it for weeks on end, and only getting back to it when inspiration hit. Only when I got serious about publishing did I put in the hours consistently, whether or not I was in the mood for it. The whole experience felt like not so much like long distance running, but more like a slow, often sluggish stop-start stroll, with a heart-pumping sprint at the very end.

I came out of having published the book revved up from adrenaline, soaking in the momentum, fretting for more and ready to do it all again. Out came the laptop again, the rush to get the first draft over and done with and the mad rush into editing-land.

It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint (and not interval running, and not a slow leisurely walk)

The thing with sprinting, however, is that if you do it for too long, you quickly run out of breath and I soon learnt that maintaining that level of effort over time was unsustainable. Somewhere in the middle of editing my first draft, I hit a wall.

A big, fat, hundred feet high brick and mortar monster of a wall. I never saw it coming, and I face-planted right into it. For weeks after that I couldn’t look at my manuscript or social media, and I had to take a proper break from it all to restore.

The break gave me a chance to introspect and take stock of what had happened. It felt to me that, if I wanted to keep on writing more books (which I did) I had to pivot from my disorganised style of writing to a more committed endeavour. There’s nothing wrong with a leisurely walk, or random bouts of interval running, but I realised it wouldn’t give me the kind of results I was truly after. I had to look at writing as a marathon, and build the sort of stamina and endurance I needed to do this many times over without burning out.

From Dilettante to Disciplined Writer

When I think back to writing my first book, I wonder if there’s some truth in the saying that ignorance is bliss. Because I was less focused on the outcome at the time, I was better able to enjoy the ups and downs of the process, especially because I only sat to work at it when I felt like it. I was also mostly unaware of the mountain of logistics that come with writing and publishing a book, so I’d be able to see the distance I’d covered, without worrying about the miles that still stretched ahead of me. Yes, ignorance was, most definitely, a little bit like bliss.

Reminiscing on her own experience, author Shamika Lindsay says that, with her first book, ‘the process felt so different and [she] almost felt the pen gliding across the paper but with [the sequel], it was like pulling teeth’. In fact, she adds, starting to write her second book from scratch felt like ‘such a chore and [she] was just so eager to complete it because [she] felt like it took so much from [her] to write than the first book’.

For R. G. Tully, author of the Ardamin series, who put greater emphasis on the editing stage when working on his second book, the process also took longer and wasn’t always enjoyable. ‘The editing grind was exactly that, a grind’, he confesses.

But you have to do it whether you like it or not, because the only way out is through. There are, fortunately or unfortunately, no shortcuts. Fortunately, because it’s the very act of going through that arduous journey that makes you a better writer in the end. And unfortunately, because there can be times it’s just not all that pleasant.

You’ll be surprised the amount of distractions that manifest themselves when you desperately need a reason not to work on your manuscript — it’s actually quite spooky. Treating writing with discipline, organisation and professionalism is exactly what will prevent you falling off tracks, and what ultimately gets the work done. And that’s the difference between a published book and one that’ll sit indeterminately unfinished somewhere in your archives.

A Tough Act to Follow

Unfortunately, there’s still a little bit more to writing your second book than just great discipline. Even when you’re able to get yourself to follow through and show up for your craft, giving your first book a literary sibling can come with its own challenges, especially because you have something to compare it to.

And it’s not only you, but your readers too, who will be expecting certain standards from your writing, especially if it’s a series. Though it shouldn’t come in the way of writing the book you want to write, the relationship of trust you’ve built with your readership through your first book still needs to be honoured, and this can cause certain amounts of pressure.

‘I felt a little pressure to keep the same feel about the story’, R. G. Tully says, ‘and to include more from my secondary characters, give them a little more depth’.

Stormi Lewis, author of the Sophie Lee trilogy, puts it simply: ‘It was a little hard to decide how to exactly start [with the second book]. At first I was worried and became overwhelmed because so many loved the first one. I didn’t want to let anyone down. I had to step back and come to terms that they loved it for being unique. And the only way I could stay true to the story and give them what they really wanted was to focus on the story and not so much about what I thought they wanted for the second.’

For others, the comparison can be more inward-facing, like author Tara Lake, who admits that writing the second book in her series has been a challenge, because she’s ‘struggled with comparison of the self: past Tara had a lot more time to devote to writing, present Tara has much less time with [her] kids being home full time from school during much of the pandemic’.

For others still, some of that pressure can be self-imposed. When writing her second book, Freya McMillan shares that ‘[she] put a huge amount of pressure on [herself] as [she] wanted it to be meaningful in a particular way to honour [her] dad, who died a few years ago. Once [she] stopped doing that, it was much less challenging to write’.

It Ain’t All Bad.

I do want to pause here and add that not everyone faces such challenges. There are authors out there who launched into writing their second book with more ease than the first.

Sabrina Voerman tells me that ‘[her] second book came a lot easier to [her] than [her] first book. The idea hit [her] so hard and fast that it took [her] aback, and [she] could do nothing but write it’, and the entire novel was written in a matter of weeks, whilst her first book took years to finish.

Same for Trevor Wiltzen, who says that writing the sequel to his first book went smoothly, greatly helped by the fact that ‘[he] wrote the second book immediately after the first, [so he] knew the characters really well’. He admits he ‘found it very freeing and really enjoyed the process’.

Even Stormi Lewis, who struggled at first, adds that ‘once [she] got started, [she] was fine’ and that ‘[she] felt the writing was solid and [her] best book yet, simply because [she] really got to develop more of the characters and the story’.

As with everything, we must then conclude, there will be as many types of experiences as there are writers out there. So how can we best prepare for what’s to come?

A Chance to Grow

Performance coach Tony Robbins says that the quality of our lives is intricately linked to the quality of the questions we ask ourselves on a daily basis. So if we need to face something that’s outside our comfort zone — starting again from scratch on your second book for instance — is it a punishment or is it a gift? Is it a curse or an opportunity?

I’m tempted to think that the level of discomfort that can come with writing your second book is a gift, because it gives us a chance to grow.

It’s a chance to take everything we’ve learnt from doing it the first time around and take our learnings for a spin to see if it makes the process easier. It’s an opportunity to improve, to work at our craft in new and wonderful ways.

It’s both daunting and incredibly exciting to face a brand new story — or a different side to the same story for those writing series — and to dare to plunge into the unknown of where it’s fated to take you. It’ll see you grow and evolve as a writer and, in turn, you’ll get to watch your writing morph into something more mature than it was before.

I say look at your writing like you do the passing of seasons: different times will have different qualities, different characteristics, different feels to them. You live and learn through each of them, and gather a wealth of experiences that eventually inform who you become. Maintaining the discipline to write through every single one of them is what will ultimately give your work all its depth and substance.

All it takes is that first word on the page.

And the second.

And the third.

And all the words beyond that.

[mcudarklibrary]

Author Q&A: searchforanotherway

🖤 The MCU Dark Library encourages everyone to reblog and share the wonderful talents of this community, no matter how big or small your following is. Supporting each other is key to ensuring the longevity of this community. 🖤

Please be sure to reblog and share with your followers.

Tell us who you are!

@searchforanotherway​

How long have you been writing fanfics? If the MCU wasn’t your first fandom, what was?

I published my first fanfic on FFN in 2015 for Naruto and RWBY. From there, I discovered a community of Overwatch writers on Tumblr by 2018 and began writing fanfic for Overwatch until I got into the marvel and started writing Avengers fanfic in 2019.

What helps motivate you to write? Where do you find inspiration?

If I am procrastinating and looking for motivation, usually I will go back and re-read some of my works to get the gears in my head thinking about future scenes and plot. I like to think of myself as a maladaptive daydreamer and visualize my story to help organize the plot. I also try to re-read some of my favorites from other writers as good inspiration to remind myself of the type of dark!fic and writing style I'm hoping to achieve. 

If you could give new writers any advice, what would it be?

Read from your favorite fanfic authors and ANALYZE their work. I don't mean to say "be critical", but notice the things they do right! Or in better terms, notice the things you like about their writing. Some writers are talented at exposition or narration, detailed descriptions, setting the tone (especially for dark!fics) in their writing, paragraph formatting and grammar; understand all the writers that inspire you and adopt parts of their writing style that you like from all of them to help improve your own writing and create a unique style that you can appreciate.

The last advice I will give is a classic saying that I think all writers are well familiar with: "show, don't tell". It's something I'm still trying to get better at myself, but I do think that writing descriptively helps! And trying to balance that with some exposition and narration can make the difference in the pacing of your fic. There's a lot of resources online, so I suggest checking it out if your still confused! The internet is always available to help you with writing!

What is your favourite dark trope and/or kink? Why?

As much as I wouldn't mind listing off every trope and kink I love, I think I can sum them all up as any trope or kink that has disturbing intimacy. So breeding kinks and A/B/O's are a yes! Not so much other things like gun/knife kinks. Along that, any type of yandere trope that shows some sort of one-sided affection to the subject of said affections. 

Share a few lines/paragraphs of one of your stories that truly sums up your style. Don’t forget to share a link to the story!

I will leave a lengthy snippet below from my Overwatch story, 'Hime'. It's currently still in progress and available to read on AO3. (https://archiveofourown.org/works/18539803/chapters/43942510)

- - - - -

“Don’t take me away from him! I’m not leaving!”

But no amount of strength you had could help you as Hanzo finally ripped you away from Genji.

“No! Nooo!” You beat your fists over the Shimada lord, but they did nothing while Hanzo quickly lifted you into his arms, carrying you like the bride you were supposed to be, walking the two of you away from the crowd.

You turned over to face them again, yelling louder, “Please! Someone save my husband, please!” You cried even harder watching all the shocked expressions from everyone. They all roamed closer to Genji’s dying body, but none of them made a move to help him.

You reached out for your love, and countless more tears washed down your face, but when the gates to the palace suddenly came into your vision, closing itself from the city, did you turn to Hanzo.

“Brother! W-where are you taking me?” Hanzo didn’t respond but instead continued to walk through the compound and up the stairs that led to the Shimada’s home. You struggled out of his grip, but Hanzo’s grasp was firm and unyielding. You cried out in pain when his hands held your body even tighter to his hot chest. The doors into the home opening as he led both of you inside. You continued to cry until he eventually led you to his room.

Hanzo released you then, placing you down on your feet only for you to try and bolt away from him a few seconds later. Hanzo quickly grabbed you by your forearm before you even reached the door, and pulled you further back into the room.

“Hanzo stop!” You yanked your arm, but he did not let go. “Stop Hanzo! Why are you doing this? Please! Genji is your brother! I am your sist—”

You couldn’t finish when Hanzo turned to you, more furious than you have ever seen a man before. “You are not my sister! You are my wife! And I will consummate this marriage tonight!”

What did he say?

His wife?... Consummate?

You screamed.

Is there a dark trait you like to interweave into your dark characters? Is there something in particular that draws you to this characteristic?

I enjoy dark!characters that have yandere and delusional characteristics, and I like to sum up the reason why as my intense fear and guilt to be in an actual irl relationship to which I use fanfics to create characters that would love the reader and be with her against her consent.

Which story did you struggle to complete? The one that made you drag your feet to finish.

I consider my story, 'Hunger' to be the most struggling to write. I initially wrote that just to let out my sexual frustrations, but a lot of feedback has been about the plot... That I've barely made outside of a few important events. With that, there's been some pressure to speed up the pacing. Also, fun fact: 'Hunger' was originally supposed to be an Overwatch fanfic.

Do you have a mutual who will hold your hand and support you when you’re doubting yourself? Do you have one who will truthfully and honestly help you grow as a writer?

@americasass81​ has been there for me a lot when I've been at my worst doubting myself, and the sweetest part about it was that she reached out to me on her own accord usually after I post a rant. She is incredible and literally carrying this community on her back--we don't deserve her. 

As for who helped me grow as a writer, I definitely confided with @darkdrabblings​ back when I first got into Overwatch fanfiction. We would throw each other headcanon ideas and all that, and she really did support me a lot. Since then, I don't really have a lot of conversations about my writing with other people.

Do you have a story that contains personal or important details from an experience that is your own?

My first story that I wrote on FFN, 'Nothing More, Nothing Less', was written when I was severely depressed, with a female protagonist that reflected me and my life. 'A Thousand Suns' is another one in which the protagonist's background would be similar to my own. 

Check out @searchforanotherway​ masterlist here

🖤Please reblog and help promote and support dark content creators 🖤

[taureau-soleil]

I pulled these cards yesterday and focused it on “whoever visits my tumblr page” so if ur seein this, what’s poppin shawty I’ve got a reading for u (: here’s the card for card breakdown:

Nine of cups rx: inner happiness, material, dissatisfaction, indulgence, lack of fulfillment. financially stable yet still emotionally dissatisfied with life, LOOK WITHIN! Do what will make YOU happy! Baby steps, your goals aren’t unrealistic but you need to make adjustments to it/ create a plan for reaching said goals. Focus and moderation! Over-indulging can lead to some insufferable consequences if not kept in check.

The chariot: success, ambition, determination, will power, control, self-discipline, taking action. A sign of encouragement, keep doing what you’re doing! Keep channeling that personal power of yours💖. Focused action, stick to your plan! Don’t stray from the path you’ve already taken the time to pave! Cutting corners and taking the easy way out isn’t going to benefit you in your long term goals. Don’t be afraid to let others know what you want or need, and work on establishing your boundaries with those around you. For those of you traveling, I hope you have a good time! Stay safe!

Queen of cups: compassion, warmth, intuition, healer, supportive, emotional stability. Supporting those around them, a well grounded individual. Someone who others tend to go to for advise or seeking counsel, maybe the mom friend? Definitely someone who is in tune with their surroundings. Trust your gut feelings! Right now may be a good time to allow your emotional self to come to the forefront. Take a less logical approach

Queen of cups facing left to the chariot and nine of cups rx: make sure whatever the chariot resonates as for you is something that you are compassionate about. Possibly still reconsidering things that you have done in the past? Or maybe a past plan of yours has recently come back up in your mind and you’re now ready to put your heart and soul into that project? If nine of cups rx resonates as past events, consider opening your heart to the situation. Practice self love.

Knight of swords rx: restless, unfocused, impulsive, burnt out. Do you feel like you’re being held back, or you keep having obstacles come your way? Divine timing, maybe check and see if you have all of the funds or resources you need if this pertains to a job or your finances. Feeling scatter brained? Try focusing on one thing at a time, don’t overextend yourself. Maybe meditating or grounding yourself will help you. In life you’re going to make mistakes, don’t beat yourself up about it. Life is a learning experience. As a friend or SO, they may come off as belligerent. Or this card can just indicate a disagreement of sorts. Give each other some time apart to cool down.

The lovers: a union? Partnerships and relationships, choices, balance, unity.

Furthers my feeling that this may be about someone’s relationship? Either that or it’s a close friendship of yours or a work partnership. Y’all may be hitting a bit of a rough patch right now if this is the case, but with the lovers being present AND with the QoC and Knight of swords rx on either side (both are facing inward towards the lovers) I think you both recognize that you care about this connection and require working things out together. There will be compromises made to make this connection work.

Five of wands: conflict, disagreements, sweeping problems under the rug, tension. Currently feeling the need to prove yourself to others? Do you feel in constant competition with those around you? If everyone speaks at one time, you can’t discern what anyone is even saying! This is telling me that whatever the situation may be you should definitely pause and take the time to listen to whatever the other person/people are saying. Probably a more logically based disagreement, I can’t definitely see this as being unrest or uneasiness in the workplace. Be open minded about everyone’s ideas and input. View yourself and those around you as members of one singular entity. You each bring your own unique characteristics to this team, think of how each of you can apply these gifts together so y’all can go back to working towards your common goal! Inspire enthusiasm.

TL;DR: make sure you’re pausing to check on yourself emotionally. The chariot indicates good things are coming! QoC, tune in to your intuitive feelings. Think with your heart. Let your guard down with your loved ones. Forgive yourself. You may be working on way too much at the moment, slow down! Your value is not determined by your productivity. Do what you can, don’t sweat what you can’t. Seek balance in your life, maybe right now there’s a lot of focus on your close relationships, platonic or romantic. Cooperation is needed, communicate!

[maleyanderecafe]

Okay I saw your yandere recommendation masterlist. But which ones are ACTUAL yanderes in your list? Bc it seems like a lot of the recommendations are just "they might be one, who knows" and I'd rather not get into a story only to be baited with nothing. :/ so it's really annoying. Preferably no BL at all too. Thank you!

First off, let me explain why I'm a bit wishy washy with whether a character in the things I recommend are yanderes or not.

The first- and this is especially true with manga and webtoons- is that often a lot of the series I recommend are still ongoing, which means that I don't know if that series's yandere will turn out well or not. This actually happens a lot in webtoons where a character is seemingly yandere for most of the story and then suddenly isn't or the character is explained away by something that doesn't make sense. Two good examples of this are Joe from You (where in the second series he falls in love with a different girl, which is kind of a big no no with yanderes) and Elios from My Deepest Secret (where as the main character Emma turns out to have DID and her boyfriend wasn't at all a yandere). In both of these cases, a lot of people were convinced that these characters were yanderes but ended up being sadly disappointed when they weren't. This sadly happens a lot with male yanderes, where the so called yandere flakes out and actually isn't a yandere. I recommend male yanderes in ongoing stories because I want other people to enjoy the yandere characteristics as it goes along, but I can't be completely convinced that the stories will go in a different direction. This is why for a lot of media that's recommended to me that has a male yandere I don't give a definite answer to whether or not the character is a yandere because I don't know if the story will change to the point where they no longer are defined as yanderes. I take great care in what I recommend and I try to make sure that the characters (at least in what's currently released) have enough yandere traits that I can recommend it properly. I usually don't recommend ones that are more popular because I want people to discover new ones that they might have otherwise not read. I actually have opted to not recommend a lot of them because the media doesn't convince me that there's enough yandere traits, or they're ambiguous.

Which leads to my second reason, people have different ideas of what constitutes a yandere. While obviously the core of a yandere is genuinely the same (a person who is in love with a single person and goes into often extreme and sketchy ways to show or keep that love), there are a lot of variants that make that it a lot harder to define. Do you consider platonic yanderes a thing? What is the tipping point for a character that is abusive versus a yandere that is very possessive? How much creepy behavior does a yandere need to display before they can be considered a yandere versus a person who is just a pervert? For some people, they don't consider platonic yanderes a thing, and the definition of a yandere has to be exclusively romantic, while others believe that a yandere can be someone who is platonic or even just a sibling who is protective of their younger sibling. Some people believe that abusive traits can be part of a yandere's behavior, especially in darker media, while others believe that the behavior stops being yandere when they're very abusive. The definition of an "actual" yandere will likely change from person to person, so there's really no way of me to define it for everyone. Even so, I keep my definition of a yandere very broad as possible because I like learning about different ways creators show and create yanderes in their stories and art. When you set very strict rules about things, it does make it easier to define what is or isn't a yandere, but it also alienates unique media that might show a new side to it.

My final reason is that often yanderes are depicted as rather ambiguous to their motives and/or can be interpreted in different ways. This is very true especially with a lot of songs where the lyrics are very ambiguous and can be interpreted in a million ways. I usually try to find the original creator's interpretation of their own lyrics to solve this, but sometimes even then it's not very clear what the creator was trying to say with the music. This also happens a lot in media where it's hard to say whether or not a character's motives are true or not. For instance, Ranmaru from YTTD does become very yandere like in one of the routes, wanting to win the game with Sarah even at the cost of the other characters, but how much of it was really because of Sarah? It's implied that he's extremely afraid of dying and that he's desperate to survive. Sarah might have pushed him into this mindset, but if Ranmaru were attached to another character would he have done the same thing? The game itself doesn't make it very clear of his true reasoning for what he did and it's written that way to make the game more suspenseful. For a lot of stories, there's a lot of interpretation and other reasons that might clash towards just being a yandere, and sometimes they even slip out of that role, making it harder to understand what they're thinking at times. This isn't bad at all in stories, far from it, but it does make it hard to figure out what they really want.

I know you probably didn't want to hear me rant about all of this stuff, and maybe this isn't your intention but the ask comes off as sort of aggressive. I understand that it's frustrating reading a story for a yandere only for the character to not be one (I mean this happens a lot for any ask that requires me to read or listen to something), but you have to understand that I'm really just doing my best here and finding as many interesting sources as possible with the best chance of the character actually turning out to be a yandere.

If you really want yandere works that have an actual yandere in it, look into my list recommendations since for those I've mostly isolated which characters or sources have yanderes in it. You can sort out yourself if the character is in a bl or not.