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alasse-earfalas · 1 year ago

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Some ideas I have about some of the Links and their brains.

This will not include all of the boys, as most of them (Time, Wind, Twilight, Four, and Hyrule) I see as being in the same basic camp when it comes to smarts and stuff, so there's nothing really for me to address there. I'm just going to point out some interesting quirks I've noticed / hc with the other four.

Warriors

It's easy to jump to the conclusion that Wars is the stupidest Link, since his game has no puzzles. I disagree. While yes, he is laughably terrible with puzzles, he is a strategic and tactical genius with a powerhouse, rapid-fire brain that can parse out an entire battle's worth of information in an instant and come to a decision in a flash. Traditional puzzles may not be his thing, sure, but that is not where his genius lies. His brain thrives on cutting through chaos with decisive action, and that is where he shines.

Sky

Has ADHD (inattentive type). Like, really, really bad inattention. Constantly spaces out and forgets things. There's a reason Fi pops up like, every half-second to remind him what he's supposed to be doing. Hylia knew what she was dealing with and planned accordingly. He is the most space-cadety of space-cadets. He'll be going along like a normal person with a normal train of thought and then he'll see a leaf floating by and completely forget what he's doing because the leaf is pretty and isn't it interesting how it moves with the wind like that and I wonder where it's going hey wait get back here—

But. Sky's mental superpower is that he is the fastest dang learner in the entire Chain. Not just with weapons or items or music like the rest of 'em, but everything. Wild's unable to cook but has all the ingredients for something he's made before? Sky watched how he did it once while helping him dice the veggies, so he'll just throw that meal together real quick. Wild let him flip through the "Ingredients" section of the compendium once, and now Sky can identify all the edible plants it listed by sight. He learned how to carve by watching Jakamar repair a couple of wooden structures one day. Sky may be a space cadet, but he's also the most potently absorbent practical-knowledge and information sponge you ever did meet.

Wild

Also has ADHD (combined type). There are literal "ooo shiny" mechanics in the freaking game. Koroks? ooo shiny. Shrine quests? ooo shiny. Every single item that Wild can pick up in the game literally sparkles. Everything about the Sheikah Slate is designed to account for this: scope pins, map stamps, inventory organization, Hyrule Compendium, Sheikah Sensor, photo album, a journal which he uses to take fastidious detailed notes of all the crap he needs to remember because he knows he'll forget all of it otherwise. He struggles to sit still for extended periods unless he is asleep or gazing into a pretty fire.

Wild is also the creative genius out of the bunch. He has the most robust understanding of fundamental physics out of the entire Chain. His visual thinking and creative problem-solving skills are off the charts. The rest of the Chain may be able to navigate with maps and compasses, but Wild can navigate foreign terrain using nothing but the environment itself. Present him with a problem and he'll think of fifty different ways to address it and all of them will usually work. He is an all-around genius problem solver and astoundingly creative thinker.

Legend

Mind like a freaking. Steel. Trap. Nothing slips past his awareness or gets forgotten. Ever. Journals are pointless because his brain is an information vault. Oh, and any puzzle he's handed better say goodby to its loved ones and make sure its will is in order because this lad will solve it before it has a chance to defend itself.

Let me just, give you an example. Just one. You see this here?

How long do you think you could remember this random character vomit without writing it down? A few minutes, maybe? Maybe a couple hours, or a day or two if you took the time to memorize it?

Try an entire journey to another country after hearing it only once.

Oh, but that's not even the most impressive part! You see, Legend didn't just hang onto one of these memorization nightmares for an entire extended trip to another land, oh no—he remembered several of them. Perfectly. As if that wasn't enough, y'all remember the item swap quests? Yeah, without notes of any kind, this Link remembered who needed what in every single one of those convoluted trading chains. All while he was busy saving the world.

The downside is that Legend's thinking is not very flexible. He operates best when there is a single correct solution to a given problem. He much prefers having concrete information to work with, rather than a vague scenario with a shrug and a, "idk, figure something out". Being dropped into a massive open world with no information other than, "alright here ya go, here's some basic abilities and a light dusting of backstory, now get out there and save the Princess!" would be an overwhelming, anxiety-riddled nightmare for this dude.

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu warriors #lu sky #lu wild #lu legend #sorry that ended so abruptly #I didn't really know what else to say #so there you go #those are my thoughts

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wardensantoineandevka · 5 months ago

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sorry to bother you but i wanted to ask how you're enjoying using Obsidian? I've been eyeing it for a while but would love to know your thoughts, highlights, lowlights, etc :) if you don't mind sharing, ofc!

No worries! The short version is that I've been enjoying Obsidian quite a lot, and I find that it serves all of my needs nicely without any fuss. Using it is rather frictionless, I think, and getting used to it was pretty easy though it did take some willingness to very much learn to navigate its menus and features and how it lays everything out. It's not at all difficult, but I do think you have to sit with it for a bit. It's currently my main writing program with the exception of screenplays, for which I use Highland 2.

For context on myself, my writing needs are rather straightforward. I use these sorts of apps and programs to write and organize my fanfic, original prose writing, professional correspondence, and journalistic article drafts. I previously used Notion, which I left because of the big NotionAI push. Before Notion, I used Bear, though I can't remember why I stopped using it; I haven't checked out Bear 2, so I don't know if it suits my needs.

When I was shopping around for a new program to use, the following points were important to me, in no particular order:

no native / built-in generative AI assistants

interface is simple and clean or had customization or community themes that would make it so

offline access

mobile app with document sync

ability to organize and group notes through a folder, tag, or similar system

not too many Things going on with it or I could very easily ignore stuff I didn't use without them cluttering up the UI or my space

Obsidian organizes files within "vaults", of which you can have multiple, each of which are connected to folders that are stored locally on my laptop (or my phone). I love this. I have local versions of all of my notes. I can literally find all my stuff as markdown files within a folder on my desktop and open them up in another program with EASE. If you are someone who doesn't have a lot of storage space, this might be an issue, but for me, this is a very bright highlight.

The biggest lowlight for me is that mobile sync is reliant on a subscription fee, but considering that the rest of the program is free and the fee is small, I found this ultimately a very small concern. I very critically need mobile sync because I spend a significant amount of time writing from my phone. The mobile sync is incredibly good; it keeps all documents synchronized very well, and I have yet to run into version conflicts that cause me to accidentally overwrite and lose significant progress. I don't even have to close files on my laptop first; they'll just update in real-time on my screen like Google Docs. Sometimes I'll name documents something that my phone's file path system cannot handle; Obsidian warns me that it cannot fetch and sync these files with illegal names, and I like that it keeps me informed about that.

It has both a folder system and a tag system, which allows you to organize your files. I only use the folder system because my needs are simple, but the tag system is also solid. It also has a robust search system. It also has a bookmarking system to further organize your stuff. I don't have enough files to use that, but it is available, and I think that's neat.

More precise customization can be difficult if you're not used to writing CSS. I am familiar with CSS, so I found this a small hurdle, but this will be a bigger issue for others. That said, this does mean that Obsidian is DEEPLY customizable, and there is a large gallery of community themes that offer a lot of styles that serve a wide variety of needs. There is also a deep bench of community plugins to help get Obsidian to do what you want — I have plugins that make the word count in the status bar show the count of highlighted text and allow me to copy text as HTML instead of formatted text or markdown. There is also an active Obsidian community and forum, so you will not be necessarily troubleshooting customization alone.

Other small things that occur to me to mention right now: It supports opening files in multiple windows, and it has a tab system, which is really neat. The ability to open multiple files at a time is very good. You can also open files side-by-side for easy comparison, which is useful for more technical work. I don't use Obsidian for coding or wiki work, but I can imagine this being really useful for that. It has a reading mode. Offers a version history with a "show changes" mode and restoration capability. File merge capability. You can open images into it and organize them like any other file.

All in all, I'm very happy with it, and it serves all of my personal needs very well. I generally give it a blanket recommendation, again noting that I think it does take sitting with to get used to some of its features and UI and customizing it to your needs and preferences, but I don't think that's super difficult with some patience and time.

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failing-to-write-again · 2 years ago

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Does anyone else have vastly different appearances in their head for you in the different routes? Like I day dream a lot, like a lot a lot it's why I post sometimes it's when the fear overrides the need to word vomit.

TW: mentions of abuse, depression and just general fucked up. It's the diaboys there's only so much you can avoid mentioning

Ok so I'm gonna write out a brief description of what always stays the same in these day dreams. I play around with them being human or something else, normal or like assassin's or stuff like that. But there's a few things that generally stay the same. They're all Afab, with she/her pronouns just because I create women a lot in my head but you could easily gender swap them as I'm focusing on personality and general vibe the appearance I describe I think is easily able to fit on different genders or have a same vibe equivalent.

Shu

I've always felt Shu would match well with someone who deals with depression or anxiety, more so less severe cases as two sleep all the time to avoid having to face life people do not make healthy relationships. But someone who has some degree of understanding while also having a better hold of themselves as humans are getting better at learning how to help manage depression. Shu is old and I'm pretty sure he's not bothered to learn much about the modern world aside from sleep/comfort, music (that's a stretch mp3s are not used as much as phones also that bitch would absolutely be a waterproof wireless earphone hoe), and probably porn.

I think a natural leader type person would also suit. I know in theory it sounds antithetical to the s/o with depression but hear me out. I deal with depression but also due to my own personality step into organized positions as I want things done to avoid stress. I really see an oldest sister would match him as it's someone modeling behaviors that to the best of my knowledge Shu was never against having. It was Reiji rejecting him and the triplets being kept away from him that prevented that dynamic setting itself up. I really think if an s/o could get Shu to work on himself he would be trying to be more brotherly. I think out of all the brothers Shu and Subaru are very likely to have a happier relationship with everyone. But they don't have the tools and are too stepped in their ways to navigate without help.

I think they would have to meet in school or something outside of being a sacrificial bride, maybe an actual exchange student with strict instructions of no harm coming to them. Diaboys set up a pretty unhealthy dynamic and since they go cruelty first, then fuck up so bad then realize they're in love that the types that would benefit them "best" would be gone or killed already.

Someone with a good sense or sarcasm would be great for Shu too. Couples who laugh together stay together. Plus a match for teasing would probably be something that leaves a grin on his face all day long.

Shu: "You should really wear a longer skirt in school, or do you want me to look up your skirt as you walk past. Heh, lewd woman"

S/o: [as they walk past] "Why risk breaking uniform code when I can just wear nice underwear under it instead, then I get two benefits"

S/o: [stopping just before turning down a corridor] "There's no rant from Reiji for breaking code and you end up showing off how desperate you are. Lewd man~"

Shu: [in love]

I don't think any super genius level of intelligence is needed but someone with a rounded view on things and a someone who is at least vaguely informed about what they talk about would be good. It avoids the annoyance of someone dense but also isn't so book focused it reminds him of Reiji.

Reiji

Speaking of the spectacled suitor. S/o has gotta be smart in some capacity not necessarily an encyclopedia but maybe good at Chemistry/Biology, or a good strategist. Bitch aims to be a control freak and a future king or, route depending, advisor to the King, so battle tactics would be attractive.

He'd be into the type of woman who doesn't overtly dress sexually. Pencil skirt or pants and blouse with some heels are a great look and can be sexual when you want to be sexual but also just well put together when you aren't looking to get railed on a desk. Except, of course, for when he decides to get handsy he realizes you decided to forgo any underwear.

Nipple piercings. He's definitely into them you can't fool me it's all that hidden succubus energy he finds attractive in a partner.

Past that he wants someone who isn't going to stress him out, someone to be a voice of reason, and someone to relax with.

I think someone chatty could be either great or awful for him. On the one hand he seems so adjusted to over stimulation true silence may unsettle him but at the same time it may annoy him if he isn't interested in conversation. Same for the other side of the coin, someone too quiet would unsettle him cause he won't know what your thinking, but at the same time it might be nice to sit in silence and read.

I've always thought Reiji would want someone tall like 5'10-6'00 as they can't be taller then him because inferiority complex, but I firmly believe he's got a back that is prone to aches already so not having to bend far for kisses or hugs would be nice. Or better yet someone shorter than him but still tall for a woman, so wearing heels gets here to be like 5'11" to 6ft.

Reiji does like humor and spontaneity sometimes. I think a stiff lover would drain him, nobody wants to actually date themselves. Again the older sister type (stereotype I know) would suit, as generally older sisters are pushed to mature fast like he was, except generally it's not as severe as him and older sisters are statistically the most likely to have read about or been to therapy to undo some of the behaviors that aren't as healthy.

[Loud music or something playing]

Reiji: [going to stand up] I swear can nobody keep order in this house...

S/o: [Gently touches his hand] They've yet to make a crash and it's coming from Ayato's room. I say we turn on the record player to drown it out for now. It's not your job to be their dad Sweetness, and all your doing is giving yourself grey hairs

Reiji: [sitting back down] I suppose I could finish this chapter-

[CRASH]

S/o: [quickly stands up and starts to walk to the door, lots of heel clicking] I swear that boy has to ruin every quiet moment I can grasp for us. Wait there.

Reiji: [feels very loved for and is confused as to why that gave him a boner]

I don't think he'd enjoy a dom much but a switch who prefers to sub but isn't against them taking a more gentle lead (not the kinky shit he's into I don't think you'd actually get a whip near him in a healthy relationship).

Ayato

This bitch is tricky. Like I think with the except of Subaru the Sakamakis get worse the younger they are. I feel that's why the triplets never appealed to me they seemed harder to redeem. I could see Shu, Reiji, or Subaru potentially getting better with Reiji least likely but the triplets are... messy.

That being said I think Ayato is definitely going to have to be a least a little bit on the road to being more balanced by the time he meets this s/o.

An s/o who is modern would definitely appeal in my opinion. Video games, outfits, music all that good culture stuff that Ayato is a spectator not a player in right now. He is still old as shit and he hasn't got non...any friends so he doesn't have a lens to learn the culture, all he can do is watch.

Ayato is one of the highest sex driven characters in the games (he sleeps with Yui the most because it uses the underwear sprite almost every time they sleep together indicating it ain't just dreaming happening) I think that may be part possessive part teenage boy. So someone with an interest in partaking is probably important for drive balance. To be clear I don't necessarily mean sexy here, more so that giddy first time giggles type person. Someone who's excited to experience things with him.

That extends past the bedroom too Ayato was starved for activity as a child and is still as a teen so someone who knows what's fun and is happy to take him there is like perfect.

I do think Ayato's s/o will need to be a patient person as I feel Ayato going through therapy would mean a lot of breakdowns or tension in him that could lead to more arguments than potentially needed if they ain't a little patient for the smaller things. There is a difference between 'he demanded I make him Takoyaki then sulked when I reminded him we're equals in this partnership so I'll avoid escalating ' vs 'he has bitten me for talking to a guy, but to him that's just a display of love.' The second thing deserved a conversation then and there you don't avoid rocking the boat when it comes to dangerous behaviors folks.

[See Ayato with a hairbrush sitting cross legged with S/O in his lap] Ayato: So we don't like Jacob...

S/O: Well, Edward isn't exactly a catch himself but like c'mon he imprinted on a baby. Ayato: Beatrix and him were engaged from birth. S/O: Exactly.

Laito

Oh boy. Again needs to be starting therapy or unraveling what his mum did to him and what his culture has shaped him to be first.

Once done however I think Laito would want someone "normal." No baggage, or crazy lifestyle, or wacky habits. I think he craves something calm when everything has been so disordered growing up. I think it's why he likes crosswords, they're a weirdly normal thing in his weird world.

I think he needs someone with a lower sex drive then he displays in the games. A not uncommon trauma response from childhood sexual assault is hyper sexuality which seems to be why Laito is hyper sexual. I don't think that's him as a person, Shu would be high sex drive in how he talks but Laito seems very much to be shielding himself with sex not having sex for sex.

So yeah someone who isn't always in the mood, maybe they sleep naked but just because they want skin on skin contact. Maybe it's to feel his breathing better. But that sort of environment. Where the thing he's over sexualized: himself and women, become less sexual more intimate. He'll be thrown a bit at first 100%. But I think after cuddling while having his hair gentle played with or a shoulder rub he'll be welcoming this new part bodily expression.

Laito is smart, smarter than he gets credit for he's a manipulator with charisma to boot and I've tried a crossword they use a certain part of your brain that I do not use. I think he'd like someone who's not too dense but also I feel like he won't mind too much so long as they could hold conversation and read sarcasm.

He also would probably love a more modern s/o like Ayato. Imagine the shopping sprees!

S/O: [coming out of changing room] I'm really not sure about this dress on me Laito: It's the shade it clashes with your undertones, try it in a different colour. S/O: They don't have it in my size, that sucks. Laito: Why? fufu~ It's Chanel, she was a vampire just take a picture and I'll get the designer over to make you one tailored made. S/O: Are you sure? I don't know how close I want you being stuck to your dad, and all the weirdness you've mentioned. Laito: Oh please, as if he's bothered enough about the fourth in line.

Kanato

This one's hard man. Kanato, Ruki, Kou, and Azusa are some of the hardest to envision in a healthy spot tbh. So this Kanato is very ooc. Think: isn't talking to teddy even if he still carries it, has a better hold on his temper, isn't trying to kill you constantly... basically just not Kanato.

A baker or a cook would absolutely appeal, dates where they show him how to cook new treats could be fun. Also top tier tea parties man.

Potentially a singer, musician, or dancer could appeal as well with the shared interest of singing being there. If the jealousy Kanato has gets weakened a bit I think that could help him get past his "I sing cuze mum liked it" thing.

I also truly think Kanato is like Laito in wanting something normal after all the abnormal he's lived through.

sorry he's so short I seriously don't know what to write. I also do not want to curse you all with mega ooc Kanato discussion

Subaru

Subaru is by far the closest to being the same amount of traumatized some people I've met irl are. Issues still there with the whole punching walls in anger but the fact he seems to punch walls to avoid hurting people implies he is trying to work on himself but doesn't know how.

Subaru could meet his s/o as a sacrificial bride and I think he's the only one who could. If I remember his route correctly, he isn't nearly as sadistic in the reasoning for his biting, hes also like what 15, 16 looking? He is modelling the only behavior he's seen, and while that doesn't make it right it is less heinous than the others.

I feel the most profound importance for this relationship is someone who will not shout, someone with a healthy enough up bringing to view arguments as Subaru approaches them as entirely useless. He will probably still have tantrums at first but having someone entirely unwilling to let communication break down on their end will push Subaru to do the same.

Subaru also does not seem to actually want much at all. He just wants a break, poor thing. If the S/O were to be a sacrificial bride, I think he'd be the one to pull a run away. I don't see Karl caring much here, Subaru is just a consequence of his vile habits as far as Karl is concerned.

From there I do think it's just a normal therapist and probably turning the S/O to a vampire.

[S/O and Subaru in some nice meadow resting on a blanket by a stream. Think flowers everywhere under a gently warm sun.] S/O: I've successfully lasted a week without accidentally breaking anything! Subaru: HAHA! Well done but don't go expecting any prizes I could do that shit. S/O: Fair, your 3 year pin is coming up to. We should probably do something for it. Subaru: Well... there is one thing... [getting up to one knee]

Ruki

oh look what we have here. An endgelord.

Seriously Ruki infuriates me from a character point at times. They are meant to be somewhat foils to the Sakamakis, and for Ruki in particular his behavior is a mirror to Reiji and his ego is closer to Ayato but with Reiji type mannerisms.

So he likes reading, came from nobility but saw the absolute worse of humanity to then re-find a reason to care for others with his brothers. Ok cool, then he dies in an attempt to escape to then have Karl take pity on him and revive him as his subordinate. SO WHY DOES HE HATE POOR PEOPLE!?

Like whenever I sit down to think about it Ruki's sheer cruelty lines up with nothing other than abused children turn into abusers which is a dog-shit and wrong opinion. Like he doesn't have to be pally, he can be a kuudere, he can be jaded. But having him be so sadistic just makes him what he hated, a spoiled rich man taking joy in using his power over others.

But this is about suited partners. So for this fucker I prescribe what he wishes he was. Now this is the material worth much more work and maybe it will get that, I am currently uncertain.

So, let's be real that orphanage still existed after the Mukamis. So my little world I've made with all that maladaptive day dreaming I do. In that world just to show Ruki as not as above everyone as he thinks, his soulmate type S/O as well as some if not all the other S/Os were there either at the same time or sequentially. Ruki got his escape plan from the work of a girl he viewed as too stupid to pull it off, aka S/O. When the boys escape obviously torture happens to see if anyone knows anything, and the boys failed the escape. This is used by the S/O to advise her sisters to change course slightly.

They do escape and Karl realizes very quickly he got the less advantageous group in terms of strategy. He would more than likely approach these girls, maybe they stay human for quite a while but eventually do need to be turned for the pure sake of time.

So Ruki gets introduce when he comes to visit Karl to update on the whole Eve thing only to see S/O. Standing there talking with Karl as if you're equals as he's laughing at some comment. Karl introducing them as his right hand man so to speak. Seeing that you get to live with Karl and you glaring.

After some prodding due to jealousy causing him to take out his insecurities on you in the form of unwanted commentary, you snap. You openly call him out on his failings, how you are what he wishes he was and how you don't masquerade as the same tormentors that made both your childhoods hell.

Eventually (I'm not giving a whole slow burn fic away for free people), he gets whipped something bad. Having to face the fact that he is exactly what he judges in humans so much. I don't imagine many would forgive him, hence why S/O to me cannot be anyone other than such a strong person to have survived and still be so openly kind.

No dialogue here so I can pretend these all got fair treatment.

Yuma

So big boy farmer. His sadism doesn't fully track with me same as Ruki but Yuma has more redeeming character traits that offset the cruelty. He also seems to truly only carry out the Eden project due to loyalty to Karl, he is a fiercely loyal person.

As said for Ruki I love the idea of the Mukami S/Os being sisters from the orphanage. Yumas S/O would probably also have a strong sense of loyalty to Ruki's S/O. The main exception being her loyalty to Karl does not cause her to be in any way sadistic. While Karl is fully ready to drop kick a child the S/O does not see that behavior appropriate at all regardless of her vampire-ism.

Having to deal with pining for a girl who will not date him as he currently treats women may cause him to change for the sake of placating her sure. But once identities are revealed and Yuma learns that the reason the S/O is so anti-cruelty is due to the orphanage I think Yuma would be one of the ones more open to change. Like Ruki, the reflection isn't so nice once the glass was polished.

He just wants a farm and probably kids or dogs lets be real here.

Kou

Once again an edgelord. Who doesn't at all understand give and take as much as he harps on about it. I may have low enough standards to crush on these boys but a hypocrite is TOO LOW.

I'm sounding like a broken record here but a fellow orphan escapee S/O as the vector for Kou getting called out on his bs is great.

Also full on enemies to lovers vibes. One little head canon is what if the S/O at the request of Karl gave up an eye, the eye then enchanted for Kou. Having to stand across from someone who will not buy the excuse of his trauma being an acceptable reason to harm others. Because you lived through it all, if not worse and still gave up an eye free of charge because Karl had this protegee who was so sad about not having two eyes.

I think Kou's love would not start until near a century after. Having to see you again and again after the introduction, seeing how you and your sister's are Karl's jewels as you are so effective because of your humanity. He's prone to envy let's be frank.

But once he opens up to the fact he could change and be like you, maybe after having to work with you, he begins to warm up to it all.

Azusa

Azusa is one like Kanato that I am unsure if I know how to treat.

The love of pain of his would put so much emotional labor on an S/O that just isn't fair. The only relationship I would feel comfortable writing on would be a post therapy and self work Azusa who doesn't make masochism his main personality trait.

He is gentle in disposition so a gentle S/O would match well. Or maybe an extroverted S/O to bring him out his shell a bit, post masochism recovery.

Yeah if any Azusa fans read this and have ideas please write you own and sent it to me I am really curious of seeing this from the perspective on someone who has a connection to him.

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stupidlittlespirit · 30 days ago

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Hello glorious writer! Between your amazing works and my deep need to make young Stanley's timeline a little less tragic, I've been inspired to write a mullet!stan fanfic myself

Admittedly it's indulgent, and the love interest will be an OC, but I still want to make it as quality and coherent as possible. There's a chance that i won't end up posting it at all, but regardless of that, my starting intentions are to write something worthy of public eyes.

That being said, fitting simple timeline details together and figuring out a plot line that flows right is making me want to claw my eyes out before I've even started the first chapter. Do you have any advice on keeping things organized/era accurate and well paced?

Heyyyyy!

First of all dude fuck yeah that's awesome, I wish you the best with it! Second of all: indulge away! Make everything for yourself first and foremost, whether you intend to publish or not. You're your most important reader.

Putting all the stuff below here as per:

Is there a specific 'main event' that happens in the fic? Or are you writing it without the intention of having anything really happen, like as character study or similar? Figure out your main event if you want one: it could just be be sex or a get together, or it might be a trauma, a simple conversation, whatever. Whatever it is, identify it and keep it at the heart of what you're creating. Build outwards from it.

Or, watch a movie that has a vibe you'd like to replicate. To stress: you're not going to copy the events of the movie. You're going to study how it unfolds and apply that pacing to your own, original stuff.

Once you look for the scaffolding of a movie, it's obvious. The more you do it, the more you'll just start ticking things off in your head automatically.

I do it so much that I ruin a lot of movies for myself now because I can guesstimate where each reveal is going to happen by how character's are acting and how it'll be used later on LMAOOOOO it's annoying as fuck and I'm always pleased when a director dupes me. Find directors that trick you and toy with you, but that do it well. Those are the ones you learn from.

Plan your plot and flesh it out in a flow-chart kind of style, and add as much detail as you can. Start with the bare bones and go from start to finish on the most basic of information. Then write it out again and this time, add more information. Keep doing that again and again. I find sometimes that when I'm writing, I'll inspire myself for another scene with the bit that I'm already working on, and it connects plot points as I work. I can try and draw a diagram of what I mean if you think that would help more.

In terms of era accurate, I would assume if you're writing for Stan then you'll be aiming for 70s-80's? Whatever scene you're setting your thing in google '[insert thing] in 1975' or whatever relevant year. 'Dive bars in 1979' or 'what kind of music did people dance to in 1981?'. I know it sounds super obvious but having a reference for writing is the same as it is for drawing: Super useful. Look up photos from the era on Pinterest or whatever, like outfits or interior design. All your answers are out there.

Does that make sense? Hope so!

#asks #should i have a writing advice tag?#probably #writing advice #there you go

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fitzrove · 3 months ago

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hello duchess of fitzrovia,, I see on your Mate interview translation video that you learned german for 3 years before being able to translate the video. may I ask how you learned? do you have any tips? thanks and stay well!!

Hii, thanks for asking! :D

This got long, so TL;DR:

1) Immerse yourself by putting yourself into situations where you truly have to speak/try to understand German to get through it. (Can be "I desperately want to understand this information I found online, but I won't unless I decipher and translate it".)

2) For listening and reading: Seek out a topic area you're genuinely interested in and learn about that in German. (I've never found Duolingo or other apps like that super helpful or interesting/motivating...)

3) For speaking practice especially, consider "real" language courses! For pronunciation, consider making musical cover songs your hobby xD (This is genuinely how I've gotten most of my pronunciation practice.)

I've been passively learning German for about 8 years now (started listening to German-language musicals in 2016), but I did only start learning actively and with intent in 2021. My "official" studies have been:

An A1 basic course in 2021 (6 weeks, 2ish hours a week)

A B1.2 Goethe course in 2023 (10 weeks, 2 hours a week)

A failed attempt at a B2.2 course in 2024 (stopped going because I got too busy with uni), and another B2.2 attempt that I'm currently completing :D

However, I would say that I've learned most of the language on my own, from watching musicals and interviews, reading books, articles and blog posts, and finally immersion - moving to Germany into a city where a lot of basic life things won't get done if you can't speak the language. For example: my apartment building caretaker (who gave me the keys and who I needed to call to fix my shower drain a month in) didn't speak any English, and neither did people at the tax bureau, town hall, supermarket, regional theatres... On trains, some important announcements will only be given in German, and some museums don't give all of their guided tours in English. This has been a huge help for me - sometimes it's a headache, but it does teach you a lot!!!

The major advantage in taking courses, though, is that there's 1) someone to motivate/"force" you to do vocab and grammar exercises, 2) someone to give feedback and corrections, 3) a group to practice speaking with. The last point has been the most helpful for me, I think, because learning super eclectically means that my skills are kind of unbalanced... I read academic texts really well if I can look up individual words & I understand speech in most situations, but I struggle a lot with grammar and independent writing, and I used to be nervous speaking before starting to practice more formally in a classroom setting where there's help.

I think the most important tip I can give is to just dive in - force yourself into situations where the only way you get what you want is by speaking German or figuring out what words mean :D I picked up basic vocabulary and phrases from listening to musicals and reading transcriptions (important!) and translations of the songs I was listening to, and from there, it was easy to expand. For reading, I really recommend finding something that you're organically interested in otherwise (for me it's been 19th century history research and primary sources from that era, as well as musical theatre stuff); for listening, I recommend looking up documentaries/music/movies that you would also watch if they were in English. In many language classes they will purposefully teach you about German/DACH culture and show students "classics" from those countries, and while that's also important, I think for independent learning it's more effective to find something that you're really, genuinely personally passionate about.

I still Deepl difficult words and make a huge amount of grammar mistakes when speaking (my current course includes one-on-one discussion hours with the teacher which has been so helpful, but she needs to interrupt me about once a minute with "syntax... SYNTAX!!" xD) but I get complimented a lot on my German skills, largely due to the fact that I speak confidently despite the mistakes & have a decent accent >:)

#I hope this helped somewhat!#i cant give tips on writing because i deepl so much of it its embarrassing jsjdjd. however i'm a quick deepl'r and i can tell when somethin #sounds clunky. thanks to countless emails i have had to send to uni administration insurance offices etc. official parties xD #also in my defense one of the uni admin workers deepls her emails into english HSFHSHSGH. i have the right #languages

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mangoboogaloo2 · 7 months ago

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what's your hollow knight au... woah i;m so interested already

WOWOWOW hello :) I'm so glad u asked! Forgive me for the long post friend

1) Lost Kin Food Adventures/Also Hallownest Restored AU:

Part of me wants to keep it brief since I've story boarded a whole chapter of this I've kept but I got to edit it first (if I ever do ;-;)

- Lost Kin being a student and having an informal child/father type relationship Nail master Oro

- Lost kin learns that it's Nailmaster Oro's Hatchling day coming up soon, and they are invited by Sheo and the Nail Smith! Both teach them about birthdays/Hatchling day traditions

- They intend to make a cake! But learns that not many people in Hallownest don't know how to

- Although Lemm is a Relic-Seeker, Lost Kin learns that Lemm had heard of knowledge of adventurers cooking and baking, so they venture out to find the ingredients themselves together

Sideplot skirmishes/Character Moments:

- Hallownest is being rebuilt, and more bugs are flooding in! Hornet makes Quirrel an informal advisor to The Hollow Knight to help organize the kingdom a bit much to Lemm's chagrin

- Lemm × Quirrel: Lemm worries that Quirrel is not thinking about himself after seeing him devote more time to restoring to kingdom. This leaves Quirrel kind of hurt and they fight over it sometimes.

- Lost Kin figuring out themselves battling trauma between the Radiance and Pale King, trapped between void and light.

- Canon Drama: There's still tension between Oro and Mato and the Nailmaster family is tryna fix that

- Minor Drabble: Quirrel and the Hollow Knight reminiscing over their trauma and how they heal to being scared about rebuilding the corpse that is Hallownest

**(I'd imagine Quirrel here thinking fondly of Lemm when he says "it's okay to be useless" from the Stag Beetles and Broken Legs fanfic and somehow paralleling that to the Hollow Knight's new responsibility as king to not have as much pressure. That fic by Aryashi and relationshipcrimes on Ao3 is amazing, go go go)

Notes:

- I'D ASSUME Sheo, Mato, and Oro are all triplets since they're practically identical but for that AU they've hatched on different days

- After installing Tumblr, I've seen SO MUCH food AU Stuff and I'm excited I'm not alone :_) I can't remember the exact creators that I've seen tho sadge

- Its funny since with this AU it assumes that Hallownest's gastronomy (at least in the baking department) being underwhelming as heck. I mean most people in Hallownest are warriors so I don't expect them too kek.

- Battling the fine line betwixt reality and fiction because I've done baking research on what Lemm and Lost kin CAN cook realistically but then like can bugs digest milk? Can bugs make a human cake and eat it too? Or do I have to use realistic substitutes? (Help I learned cockroaches can make milk, now you can know about it too HAH but yea no don't want that)

- Finally, definitely wanna flesh out Lemm and Lost Kin's relationship but I'm not sure how they would bond over in story. Maybe over Lemm's curiosity over the Pale family history and why these bugs look all the same and Lost Kin wanting to just experience life suffering from possession from radiance and such.

^pg 1 storyboard (also I just realized, I don't know really if vessels are born ? So that's kind of sad)

This my most beefiest au that I will probably not fully write out (maybe)? Since writing is not my strength at all but thinking of character interactions is so fun. I have more different AU stuff but saving them for other days yes

#hollow knight #ngl out of obligation ->#relic seeker lemm #lost kin #hk food buds au #boogle au

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crazylittlejester · 4 months ago

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taking this chance to tell you a bit about my hw link because you wanted to know and i DID ask for a reminder but, alas, i remember...

most of this stuff relates to canon because, if you can't already tell, im someone who tries to make things seem accurate and realistic to the source material.... ANYWAYS

He is not a city boy. In my heart, he's always lived in a village, on the outskirts of hyrule near the farms and pens and gardens and things like that. He's visited castle town a plenty before deciding to enroll in the army but once he actually got accepted and went to go off to training school, that was when he actually got a more bigger understanding of hyrule and it's land and kingdom and such.

He is sort of(?) ambidextrous!! I'm not sure how to explain it but, he's left handed obviously, being more dominant that way but still holding the capability to wield swords and weapons and items with his right hand as well if needed. a bit iffy however but, he manages.

He is hyrule's youngest military commander. (17 yrs old) When he got that promotion from the general and princess, everyone's jaw absolutely dropped. His sign of that promotion being the crest badge/pin he wears on his scarf, as well as the scarf itself too.

Do not be fooled, he may look like he can stand atop mountain edges with no fumble at all but trust me, HE IS CLUMSY!!!!!!!!!! He cannot, for the life of him, keep his balance at all. Poor boy is always teetering on the tip of everything, one push and he's down on the ground, literally cannot stay up straight for more than a couple seconds with slipping or sliding and falling down a flight of stairs. Due to this, he has about a dozen bruises on his knees, backside, a couple on his forehead and else where, he is a walking hazard...

The most reliable and skilled person with medical knowledge and expertise aside from the professional nurses at camp. He is at the top for most trusted person to deal with injuries, having had to learn how to aid in medical emergencies at a young age due to his own recklessness as well as linkles too. (she was a pain in his ass lmao) If there are no nurses present on the battlefield, or in tents or whatnot, Link will always be the best bet for helping out with stuff like this.

He uses sign language as his main way of personal interpretation, as well as relying on Proxi to translate everything as well because his signing can't always be so accurate and flawless. Hence he is also big on using his hands when he tries to direct people or give orders. When he's trying to get his men to listen or pay attention, his hands will never stop moving, same with nodding, he does a lot of that.

HE IS WISE!!! He will forever be courageous but, he has that slight twinge of wisdom within... He is wise in a way where, he's very curious and will always try his hardest to understand things that people tell him about, that people make him learn, that he can pick up on, and will take that knowledge and information to form his own thoughts and advice to sometime give to people if needed. If he doesn't understand something, he will try his hardest to make sure he gains that new info so he can refer to it later on.

Following up on this, that pouch on the front of his belt holds his journal which is kinda like the equivalent of a packed sketchbook with pages and things poking out everywhere. That is his most prized possesion and he will always take it around with him on missions to write in about all the new things he learns, keeping valuable findings for memory and to just remind himself of if he were to forget things. You will never not find him perched up on a log near the fire, or some spare rocks on the field, writing or scribbling down things in his journal, it's second nature at that point.

that is all i've got for now, i'm still adding to his info and stuff so it may take me a while to get everything organized and thought of but hopefully you find these cool!! i love hw link so much and im so glad i could put my own special spin on him <3

I LOVE THESE SO MUCH!!

I gave my HW Link/my version of LU Wars a Journal like that too!! He’s a curious guy with a thirst for knowledge who loves taking notes on everything and I’ll die on that hill, I love that you think that too >:)

I also love that for all his intelligence, medical knowledge, and strength, a flight of stairs would be enough to kill him ALDKDKK

god when my hand gets a bit better I wanna draw our guys comparing their journals or something, because I feel like they’d immediately want to learn from the other!!

your guy sounds so cool i love him!!

#jes ask

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lettucebee17 · 6 months ago

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Hi! This is my first ask i've ever done, so I hope this isn't weird or anything but anyways

did you have anything else on your summer camp au? (I was just scrolling when I found it and became slightly obsessed) For instance do any of the boys find out about the mers/fae/magic in general? What do the staff like Vargas or Sam do at the camp?

anyways you've successfully given me brainrot about this little camp and I'd love for just any facts or ideas you may have!

Hello! Don't worry about your ask, you're doing fantastic!

I have so many random thoughts about this AU, it's just so hard for me to organize them cohesively for other people to understand (I really ought to get on actually writing it sometime....) Including but not limited to, this gem from my personal notes about the AU:

But to touch on your specific questions:

At the point when the AU would start (the beginning of the summer when all of them would be there and the freshman would be first years at the camp), no one has discovered any sort of concrete proof about any magic or the identities of the fae or the merfolk. Floyd has probably had a few close calls with specifically Malleus because Malleus likes to take walks at night by the lake and Floyd likes to swim at night, but Floyd is perceptive enough that he's heard him coming every time and has been able to hide under the water (touching on that though, there is a chance that Floyd has seen malleus without the glamour and knows about his horns, whether or not he would've said anything about that is up in the air).

There have also been a few weird happenings with magic that the campers haven't really been able to explain and Malleus and Lilia know are magic-induced, but Crowley is quick to brush things like that under the rug.

Things don't really start getting weird until Yuu shows up, since they have a weird thing going where magic doesn't affect them but is also kind of more attracted to them. So naturally, as whatever plot I will eventually fully establish unfolds, more and more of the boys will find out about the existence of magic (probably starting with the first years since they're friends with Yuu). Yuu also can see through the fae glamours and therefore can still see Malleus's horns and Lilia's ears and they definitely still call Malleus Hornton, much to everyone's confusion. I think they can also probably see little fish-like features in the Octatrio, like the tweels pointy teeth and perhaps square pupils on Azul, hints of merfolk markings, stuff like that.

I think people finding out about that stuff would probably unfold alongside the plot, plus certain people who are closer to the mers and the fae would find out over time.

In terms of the staff, they run activities and whatnot around the camp, Sam less so than the others since he's more in charge of supplies and goods (of which he always has far more than one would think possibly, especially since he doesn't ever leave to restock). But I think he still occasionally runs certain activities like movie nights or campfire stories, things like that. He also runs a s'more station at the campfire every night.

Vargas is in charge of most of the more physical activities (kayaking, horseback riding, archery, hyper specific summer camp sport, etc.)

Trein is in charge of mostly indoor, educational activites (teambuilding stuff, learning survival skills, crafts, etc.)

Crewel is in charge of the more nature oriented activities (hiking, ropes courses, identifying edible plants, etc.)

I toyed with the idea of having a counselor in charge of each cabin but there are only four of them so three cabins would be left with probably nameless ocs for counselors, but it's still a possibility (if I went with this idea, Sam would be in charge of Octavinelle, Trein would be in charge of Heartslabyul, Vargas, Savanaclaw, and Crewel, Pomefiore). But that's TBD.

Sorry if I rambled for a little while, I don't know if any of this information is really that comprehensive or helpful... But I hoped you enjoy it anyway, I apologize for the brainrot but also, welcome to the club!

#twisted wonderland #twst #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst #night raven camp #twst au #summer camp au #twst summer camp au #twst staff

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missys-mansion-of-mistakes · 6 months ago

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July 26th, 2024. Friday.

🌊 Today was good! I got a lot of things done I'd been meaning to do for weeks. I completed:

Looking at a list of programs that apply to my research and the information I'm presenting at the conference in 2 (!!!) weeks. Added it all to the spreadsheet I'm compiling.

Sending in an application to be on an organization's Board of Directors. I got an auto-reject because they got a lot of applications, but that's alright, I put it on my calendar to try again in 6 months.

I drafted the CF scholarship and, on a whim, just submitted it. It was kind've a bad essay but... I just wanted it done. Bad call, and I won't win the scholarship because of it, but that's OK. More writing practice earned and that helps.

Drafted the PC scholarship. This one was WAY hard. Required a brainstorm session with my boyfriend to even figure out what to write about. But I got an outline together, a first draft, and a 2nd draft too. Need to sleep on it though.

In exchange for all the above: skipped all my morning routines except relaxing for an hour. In that hour I wrote a letter to my boyfriend that I'm going to tuck in a book I send him on Monday. There's 2 books he bought when he was here with me that he wanted me to send him, and I'm buying him a copy of a book I think he'll really love too ("Seed to Dust"-- it's an amazing book!) I'm also sending him a sticker of a snail and a frog in a long-distance relationship... it's us!!

So yeah. Very productive with the one-off tasks.

💤 Very tired today. Need to transition fully back onto the looseleaf yerba instead of messing with the canned yerba-- the former of those is more medicinal, the other has like ~150mg caffeine per can. Not good. 💄 So, I was looking at getting myself more makeup/"beauty" supplies because of my new job. Now, I'm a girl who-- until recently-- would consider herself pretty butch. But as I've been trying to get into professionalism more, dressing better at work, etc, I've realized that I get a lot more positive attention when I dress way more femininely. This also plays into the oft-quoted statistic about how women who wear makeup are chosen way more often for promotions/job opportunities/whatever than women who don't. So I figured, since it seems I've finished taking the leap into wearing dresses, now was the time to take the leap into actual makeup.

Now, I have makeup already too. I have these things: foundation, sunscreen, moisturizer, highlighter. That's IT!

So when I mentioned offhandedly several weeks ago that a job in a fancy, rich town wanted to interview me, and I might need to learn makeup, a friend was shocked that I didn't even have a lipstick to speak of.

I ordered this mystery beauty box to fix that. No this isn't an advertisement, I just wanted to share because honestly this fixed my problem elegantly AND made me happy-- win-win!

Everything in the first picture is what I got in the box. 3 lipsticks, 2 eyeshadows, 2 lipliners, 1 eyeliner, 1 undereye highlighter, a bunch of brushes, a ton of spa stuff I'll have to convince myself to use, and more! Now I'll just have to experiment with them lol.

Anyway, yeah, it was pretty and I'm happy.

📦 My parents need help going through boxes in the garage tomorrow. I'll have to drive up home tomorrow morning to help. So, another couple days working on the laptop at their house. Let's see how productive I can be up there...

What has made you happy recently?

Sending happiness your way!!

[Photos: mystery box unpacked, my tie-dye envelope in front of my PC, tie-dye envelope and long-distance snail and frog sticker, mystery box still packaged up.]

#studyblr #academia #my journal #my photos #missys mistakes #scholarships #productivity

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directactionforhope · 1 year ago

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Go Here for Instructions on How to Submit Posts!

And go here for an example.

Submissions limit of 5 posts per person each week, please!

Otherwise, unfortunately, I'll get too overwhelmed by the submissions volume to post anything. Thank you for your understanding!

Me and the Basics

Call me Cactus! They/them, late twenties.

I'm the person who runs the Reasons for Hope tumblr.

This is a sideblog-to-a-sideblog for Reasons for Hope, because I want to promote actions and spread awareness for things that don't always fit on a good news blog specifically

For context: Queer, trans, disabled, white, USian, for context.

Let me know if I post something offensive, I promise I have practice fixing things when I mess up instead of lashing out at the person who told me. I don't want to post hurtful things, so I genuinely want to always learn more about how to not do that, even when it's uncomfortable.

This is all very long because I'm still incapable of being concise.

About This Blog

Made this blog because I keep wanting to reblog or post about actions people can take, but didn't want to put them on Reasons for Hope unless they were actually mostly good news.

As a person who's Been There with spiraling, I really get the need to have access to a space that you know will contain good news and ONLY good news, in this day and age.

Also made it because I have Opinions and want to talk about Issues and activism and I'm committed to not doing that on my good news blog unless it involves, again, actual good news.

So, follow if you want! I definitely invite people to send in actions (links to campaigns/petitions/major protests/letter writing campaigns/etc.) specifically as submissions. I'll put up a how-to and link it here at some point, bc I've learned from Reasons for Hope that if they're in ask format I won't usually have the time/energy to reformat that/make it into a post.

(Sorry to people who've sent asks in on there, you're great. I'll switch to a submissions-based attempted system there too once I get the chance. May be a minute, I'm about to start a new job(!!).

My Editorial Standards

My usual editorial standards from Reasons for Hope apply, modified for this sort of blog:

Any donation-related posts/submissions need to be from some kind of established organization. It can be super grassroots etc. but I need to be able to verify that it's not a scam.

For that reason, no personal fundraisers/gofundmes. I'm genuinely sorry about this because I know a lot of people need the help but like I say on Reasons for Hope, there's no way to truly vet the vast majority of those posts, and I really don't have the time to try.

I'll come up with some sort of tag to put on all the particularly upsetting/fucked content so people can filter it and just see the action posts. Preferably something unique so it doesn't screen out other people's posts if you want to filter

More below:

I'll also have a tag for any particularly upsetting/fucked informational/educational things I post, because I do want to help spread awareness about a number of things, some of which will be pretty upsetting.

That said, I'll try to keep those informational posts only to things that are solutions-focused and/or have an element of good news or hopeful updates, where possible.

I'll also keep most of those posts behind a read-more where possible.

For more info about why I'm including that stuff, see the bottom of this post.

I will not post any campaigns or actions for reelecting Joe Biden until either the genocide in Gaza ends, or until September 1, 2024 (the month early voting starts).

Why do I have that policy? Because Joe Biden is absolutely committing war crimes, but Donald Trump would still, in fact be worse, for the US in general, for BIPOC in the US in particular, and for Palestinians/Gaza. I made a post about this with more details that I'll link here at some point.

Everything is going to be labeled with the link's source, the organization running it, the date posted (if identifiable), and the dates of the campaign/campaign deadline.

Re: Posting bad news here

I've been thinking about starting this sideblog-to-a-sideblog for a while now, because there are a lot of actions/campaigns/etc. that I really wanted to help promote, but did not want to put on Reasons for Hope, because I'm trying really hard to keep that limited to actual, you know, reasons for hope.

That said, I will be including upsetting stuff here. It will have its own tag for people to filter if they only want to see the links to actions. But I am committed to including it.

More below the read more, because this got longwinded and a bit personal:

That's partly because there are a lot of issues that very people know about, and I believe a lot in the power of spreading knowledge/awareness.

It's also because of the reason I finally stopped pondering and decided to start this blog: I just found out tonight that my grandfather died young because of toxic radiation from a nuclear meltdown at a super dangerous and experimental nuclear reactor, which the US government covered up completely and continued operating for decades. Right next to Los Angeles. btw.

If you live in or near Simi Valley, Chatsworth, or the West San Fernando Valley, or your parents did, get high-risk-level-appropriate cancer screenings. And if you're in Simi or within like 5 miles of it...probably don't drink the tap water. Also maybe try to move. (Consulting with a public health scientist/activist friend about this, will report back.)

I was already anti-nuclear, including anti-nuclear power, because of the absolute devastation it's done, especially to Indigenous communities and Japanese civilians. I didn't want to get into it on Reasons for Hope because of the whole "urgency of climate change" thing. But suffice to say that being anti-nuclear just shot very far up my "activism priorities" list.

None of this, or any other horrific things I may post about, conflict with or ruin my faith in humanity. I've definitely been incredibly pessimistic and misanthropic in my life.

But I believe that, for all the bad and evil things humans do, there is equal or greater potential for good. I believe it's like they say: "Hurt people hurt people." That's not the case always, but it is very often. Now, for the first time in history, we have the physical ability to end starvation and scarcity and a lot of death and suffering. We're still getting there, though we still have a long way to go.

I believe in a future where we can all hurt each other (and the other life around us) far less. I believe in a future where we have beaten and reserved at climate change.

I want to live to see that future, and I want all of you to get the chance to see it with me.

#blog business #me #admin

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fereldanwench · 2 years ago

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So I've been kind of wondering for the past couple of months if doing a revamp of my posing/photomode guide for AMM would still be a worthwhile endeavor.

One of the main reasons I made it was because back in the day, posing NPCs (especially any that didn't have the generic male locomotion) was not the most straightforward thing to do, to say the least. But when AMM got the major update that had poses built into the menu, I wasn't sure if it would really be needed in the same way, which put it pretty low on my list of priorities.*

*That guide was also very time-consuming to put together, and while I was happy to do it because I like sharing and organizing information, the main reason I was able to dedicate so much time to it was because I was unemployed. Which, both thankfully and regrettably (lmao), I haven't been for a year.

There are still some quirks with how poses work in AMM (like the way the poses reset if you unfreeze or move a character), but my guess is that it's probably a lot more accessible and a lot less confusing now than a year ago.

I think the support and development for PMU have also done a lot to make posing/expressions (especially for V) way easier than it was in the past.

But it's possible that all of this just seems so much easier to me because I've also been at it for a while now. I don't really feel like I have as much of a beat on where folks, especially newcomers, are with this stuff anymore--Maybe it still feels really overwhelming and incomprehensible.

So, to get to my point: would folks find an update/revamp of that guide beneficial?

I think if I did do one, I would probably streamline it a lot--It would probably just be a refreshed version of the little practice scene to use some spawned NPCs, lights, and maybe a decor item; I think that was what most people used in the current guide anyway. I wouldn't go through explaining how to install AMM, each menu tab in detail, locomotion stuff, etc.

I've also kind of gone back and forth on doing a couple of video tutorials. They'd be a lot easier and quicker for me than writing out step-by-step instructions. But, I know for me personally when I'm learning new processes and software and whatnot, I prefer text over video--Not sure if I'm the minority here.

Poll here for quick feedback, but if anyone wants to share any specific thoughts, questions, struggles, etc., feel free to reblog/comment to do so. (I might not respond to everyone, but I'll definitely read any feedback.)

#cyberpunk 2077 #cp2077 screenshots #g: cyberpunk 2077 #t: wench.txt

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anamelessfool · 11 months ago

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For the fanfic writer emoji asks:

💖 What made you start writing?

🧐 Do you spend much time researching for your stories?

Hello! Thanks for the ask! (And thanks for the copy paste of the questions because man I get confused)

💖

I've been writing on and off since I was a very young kid. But what really got me writing consistently again was a random comment made by a very successful animator friend: "I organize my thoughts so much better in writing instead of drawing."

And it sort of clicked for me there. I went to school for animation, for art. But....I felt sort of embarrassed for not obsessively drawing all the time. Like there was this dam that kept my thoughts locked away and it was the belief that if I am a visual artist I should be drawing.

So for some reason I got an idea and rather agonize over how I don't draw I just started writing. And writing.

🧐

Yes, I am always researching, especially since I am creating some historical fiction right now. I am listening to the music and watching live performances. I am watching YouTube videos on how items are used. There's a lot of in period home movies or man on the street interviews uploaded to the internet. I look at contemporary advertisements, look up photos. I'm writing a noir-ish thing now so I watched some classic noir to get a feel for the pacing of a noir story. I know what guns Primo and Edelweiss use, what car they drive, how people find information in that era and how far are certain locations from others. Even though I don't explicitly write these things down, they are there. It helps me understand how a character would move, their thoughts and their limitations. Limitations are what make conflict and drama possible, and conflict= plot

My other hobbies include historical research so it comes naturally to me. It's been quite fun learning about the connections of music and cultural influences from one era to another. I love how Tobias Forge also thinks about the scope of history when he writes his own stuff.

Thank you and here's the emoji writer ask game!

#ghost fandom #ask answered #ghost scenes from the void #historical fiction

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thegirlwiththelilactattoo · 2 years ago

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No. 10, or Chapter 2: Electric Boogaloo

Introduction

In my first dissertation chapter, I found it exceptionally challenging to parse out what a chapter was supposed to look like and how to articulate my ideas. These are like pretty fundamental elements of writing, so my first chapter ended up being largely unfocused. I'm a write-as-I-think sort of person, but it felt pretty discouraging to turn in writing I felt wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. After sending the draft off to my committee chair for the first round of comments, I decided I wanted to address the most glaring shortcoming of chapter one in my second chapter. This manifested as two goals: remain in control of the argument and use evidence more efficiently.

Writing Chapter Two

I started chapter two largely the same way as chapter one, with a mind map. I mentioned in a previous post how I use mind maps, so I won't rehash that here (link to that post). The argument and evidence I initially planned in my mind map didn't end up in the draft I turned in...at all. Like in my first chapter, I planned to cover a robust amount of information that ended up being entirely unreasonable to cover in a chapter -- not in the sense that there were too many ideas, but that the strands of discussion didn't amount to an actual argument. I like love to info dump, so my writing often reflects me rambling with no point because I'm excited about what I learned. I ended up chatting with my advisor in the early stages of this chapter (good idea!!) to get her feedback. While I also didn't end up incorporating what we talked about in that conversation, it helped to reframe the chapter with more focus.

Another fail this time around, was my also bad habit of doing a ton of reading before I start writing. I ended up reading a lot about new materialisms because I thought I would do a literature review in this chapter. I didn't find anything particularly interesting in the literature from new materialism or other ontological turn stuff, so instead I wasted a lot of time reading for no reason. idk if I have any coherent advice for this, but I think I learned that I need to start with the data first and then read what feels appropriate to help me write the argument. I'm a firm believer in not deleting words. Instead I move them to a different word doc (I call mine "Chp X Bits") in case I want to include those words later. My Chp 2 Bits ended up being about 10k words of different stops and starts where I tried to figure out how to enter the narrative of the chapter.

After this point, I had another committee member read my draft. This was a bad idea. In my discipline, committee members typically don't expect or want to read rough drafts or be the first pair of eyes on early writing. The committee chair is considered the first line of defense who and gives comments on the initial draft. My other committee member did give some helpful comments about my over reliance on other scholars, which for her, limited my own theoretical contributions. Not sure if other people feel this way, but I've found that grad school has chipped away at my confidence to make authoritative claims that aren't couched in some other theorists' words, so this has been really challenging for me. I took her feedback and deleted entire sections that were just me talking about other scholars. Most of the deleted text didn't appear in the finalized rough draft or if it did, it was in the footnotes as additional context.

I switched gears after this second round of feedback and made an outline of the chapter just with data I collected to ground each section. I wrote a section heading with a scant description of what the data demonstrated and then from there, reorganized the chapter to emerge more organically from the data instead of secondary scholarship. As I wrote, I also used color-coding to organize this draft: words I wanted to keep (black), paragraphs that needed to be moved (green), main ideas the section needed to cover (purple/or highlighted), and stream of consciousness to be rewritten (blue).

Like I said before, I love to info dump and having the main idea of each subsection really helped me stay focused. I also find that using different colors frees me to write messily because it's not the standard text color I'll submit. If it's in blue, I know I have to rewrite it, so it's black text. (I also do this as a write anyway. I write everything single spaced and I double space text to signal to myself that it's finalized.) The color coding also helped structure my editing process because I had a better sense of the edits I wanted to make before I sent the draft off to my chair.

What I Learned/Chapter Three Plans

I won't start writing chapter three until July as I take a "break" to edit my first chapter, work on an article, and outline chapter three. I think that I'm going to focus a lot more intentionally on using the data to structure the chapter. For this chapter, I got a lot of great feedback about the theory, rather than structure because my writing was easier to follow. Without the tangents to secondary data, my writing also felt clearer and more controlled. I did qualitative coding for my data, so I have a ton of thematic codes that I haven't really used to their full potential. I'm going to start the outline from the codes/data to keep my argument consistent.

I also think that I'll check in with my committee chair more often. Usually I meet with her once the chapters done, but having her feedback when I ran into a challenge made a big difference. Especially as I attempt to make theoretical claims sans secondary sources, I want to rely on her more for direction.

Conclusion

So yeah, that's chapter two done, which means I'm halfway done with the rough drafts of my body chapters!! Writing my dissertation has been truly an Experience that I don't think coursework/teaching prepared me for. So much of it feels like throwing anything at the wall to see if it sticks, but I think with each chapter I get closer to understanding what this part of the academic training is supposed to do.

As always if there's anything you would like me to write about, let me know!

#phdblr #studyblr #gradblr #grad school #academic writing #dissertation #writing advice #diss update #gradblogging #academia #it's exceptionally bleak that my break is to work on other writing #that's the real dark academia #are these posts interesting #i never have a sense of what's interesting and what's my own gratuitous navel gazing

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delcat177 · 2 years ago

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As a legal adult, I just realized something

I have volunteered off and on at this interactive kids' science museum, which is a consistent blast as a volunteer--seriously, if you have the opportunity to try it, do it, no other volunteer work I know of involves as many lizards and setting things on fire. Not the lizards. RIP Euclid, you are still my sunshine, precious crestie boye <3

The point is, I learned something very early on. We were having some recurrent, non-urgent but mildly headachey issue with patrons...something something, I cannot for the life of me remember what it was--the nature of a museum being interactive, being made of hands-on science exhibits that are meant to be explored organically, especially by kids, means that a lot of time is spent just circling the place picking up things that have ended in the wrong place and putting them back. It's not at all a big deal, it's actually pretty zen, and it shows what exhibits are the most popular, which in turn helps staff develop what kids want to learn about.

However, some exhibits are naturally more prone to this. It varied a lot when I was there, we did our best to keep new stuff coming in, and some attempts at having something in a space worked better than others. Anything with paper had to be regularly patrolled for scraps, for example, and every time we had slime it was expected we'd be Windexing the lizard enclosures a lot. Simple, sensical stuff.

So I can't remember what it was, maybe someone putting coats on the lightning ball, or leaving lunches in the wrong area, or, most likely, that some vital parts of a traveling exhibit kept winding up in the wrong area. It might have been a safety issue, I do recall being scared to death when kids would take a running leap off the stairs onto concrete, "WALKING FEET TALKING VOICES" was a Mantra.

But I was thinking about it, and I brought it up to my supervisor (or whatever his official title was, we were basically all just nerds in green t-shirts)--what if we put up a sign? What if we put up a sign reading "Please don't X in Y", just plain simple text to inform people we didn't want the X in the Y?

He smiled and he laughed, not in a mean way, but in an experienced way, like the one teacher I liked from the fundie school did, and like my favorite college teachers did (everyone there was rad, we were as aforementioned nerds in green t-shirts). And he told me something that I have physically, clinically observed to be scientific fact in multiple locations over multiple years in multiple permutations:

"As soon as you put a sign up, something amazing happens. The writing becomes invisible."

He was right. I've seen this everywhere from museums to McDonald's. I'm *guilty* of this. I'm like everyone, I have stood within Target, searched fruitlessly for minutes on end for something, finally asked an employee, and been pointed thirty degrees and two inches to my left. I've had so many bathrooms pointed out to me, and pointed out so many bathrooms, and for some reason, despite this being so universal, *we're always embarrassed when we ask*. This is because we don't know the scientific law:

As soon as you put a sign up, something amazing happens. The writing becomes invisible.

And it's because we aren't as good at reading them as any of us want to think. Not because people are bad or lazy or morally wrong, but because we forget how amazing it is at all that we managed to turn from a pack of apes scratching BANANA HERE on a wall into a billion-billion people, all of us with our own unique banana hieroglyphics, because to paraphrase Pratchett, if we didn't have the capability to turn this off, we would just stand around with an expression of awe, muttering "wow" to ourselves, and nothing would ever get done.

We aren't *good* at signs. We aren't *good* at legal contracts, that's why we have lawyers.

So the problem becomes an either-or:

Either we need to get better at how to keep X out of Y, or we need to get better at signs becoming amazingly cosmetic.

The more innate problem is that no one has any ideas how to solve either.

Or at least

*I* sure as hell don't, or I'd be way too busy for yelling into hellsite void

I just saw post saying that Ao3 has """""no age checks""""" and all I want to say is THE BUTTON THAT YOU CLICK TO SAY THAT YOU ARE OKAY WITH VIEWING ADULT CONTENT IS THE AGE CHECK.

by clicking that button you are consenting to view adult content and saying that you are of the age where you can legally view it.

IT'S NOT SOME COSMETIC THING

IT IS A LEGAL DISCLAIMER

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imaginarybestie · 7 months ago

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All The Things I Want To Teach C

Dear P,

Another thing I can write to my "imaginary friend C" about is all the things that I want to teach her or to share with her. Of course, I will share all of these things with her in real life, one day, too, once I feel like I've got it all ready and prepared to give her. And as she gets old enough to really be ready to understand different topics. And as she gets mature enough and less naive about certain topics. I will also figure out in what order I want to teach her about different stuff.

There are just so many things I want to share with her and teach her, and it can sometimes feel kind of intimidating to try to put it all in words and collect up and organize all of the resources and ideas and stuff. I have so many ideas I want to share, and so much inspiration. So many things that have helped me through life. So many things that I learned that really actually saved my life, but that I had to live without for so many years and decades of my life.

And all that time I had to live without these things, I was suffering and lost and confused and alone and just in such a mess, in so many ways. Now I want to be able to give to her the things that I needed when I was her own age. I hope I can do so in such a way that will really help her, and maybe prevent much of the suffering and lostness and confusion I had to go through. I know that she is her own person, and I know too that however much I try to clearly explain these ideas and practices that helped me, I still might fall far short.

My words might be unclear, unconvincing, hard to follow or dull. Even if I try to steer her towards books, resources, videos, websites and such, the truth is that much of wat helped me isn't quite like what I see in books and sites and such. Yes, I found huge amounts of wisdom in other people's resources, and much of it was essential and foundational for me, but I also had to add a lot of other stuff, and often I had to make many changes to things to make them work for me. So I want to pass on all the changes and caveats and serious risks and problems that I also found in all those other books and sites. I feel what I have to offer is really useful and however flawed and ineloquent my story is, I want to try to share it the best I can.

I also think these ideas could be helpful to K, if she was open to them and didnt get offended at me trying to "help" her (And I wouldn't be pushy or try to tell her that she has to listen or care or like any of it, but even still, I feel a little uncomfortable with the idea of sharing these things with her. Even though, on the other hand, I feel so inspired to share them with her, because I really think they might be tranformative and healing and great for her, quite likely. But some part of me feels like I might feel shunned and snubbed if she just ignores it or even acts funny towards me after I share such things with her.

And I could undesrtand why she might act funny, because it is a little bit "weird" to have your family members who you're not even all that close and hardly talk to, suddenly start to inundate you with huge amounts of ideas and information on stuff like this. When you haven't shown any real zeal or devotion to exploring such topics yourself. More like just an occasional dabbling or wishful daydreaming, but not real action or dedication.

Her life is pretty busy, and she is wrapped up in many worries and problems so I can see how me flooding her with these huge amounts of ideas might feel irritating or bothersome to her, somehow. Yet at the same time, when you have what feels like it might be some great hugely beneficial, even possibly life-saving thing, how could you not want to share it and hope that the person would be open.

But at least with the imaginary friend K, I can share all this too, without worries about her reactions. And maybe someday or somehow, I'll find a way that I can share some or maybe all of it with the real her. Maybe a little bit at a time. Or maybe I can present it in some kind of way that would feel non-threatening, totally not pushy and awkward at all, just incidental, take-it-or-leave-it.

And maybe I can truly find a way to detach from the hope for reciprocity or acknowledgment after pouring my heart and soul into this project and then giving her my soul in a book and then just be ok to have it ignored. Lol I mean it really isn't like she owes me anything at all, for it, of course, other than perhaps a light thanks. But somehow I feel like I might feel hurt and resentful, even if I shouldn't, if that is all I get from her in return. Sometimes emotions don't make sense, but I have to watch out for them or they can become tidal forces to be reckoned with. I hope I can find a good way to deal with this, but till then, I can just practice and contemplate what I might do, and share it with imaginary friend C and imaginary friend K, and the right future path might become more clear later on.

Ah, thanks for listening, P. It really feels like you are. Wow. This feels so much more awesome than just talking or thinking to myself alone.

-C

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