#ideally meaningful not just for me y'know

[thedragonagelesbian]

What is Rhys ideal “retired from adventuring”? How does/did Rhys feel about the title of Champion? And (because I’m currently watching the dnd movie) would you like to expand on his dnd build? I believe you said paladin/barb? ❤️

Retired from adventuring: Cyrus has a very hard time conceptualizing not adventuring for himself, but it's very important to ME that he gets to grow old and grey and happy. I dunno if this is where he'd actually end up, but he would love to be a hahren for an alienage. He wants to be able to continue looking after everyone & provide for the wellbeing of his community after he can't pick up his sword anymore.

Also, in the spirit of my other favorite fictional characters (Caleb Widogast, Elim Garak...), he has a garden he cares about and loves and tends to with Merrill's help.

Champion title: It fits like a glove, so snug it's easy to forget what's supposed to be beneath.

Among Cyrus' most irrational fears is that one day he's going to take off his armor and there's not going to be anything underneath.

D&D Build: Y E A H. My level 20 build for him is 12 Paladin (base class)/8 Barbarian. His pally subclass is Oath of Devotion because he IS the quintessential knight. His barb subclass is Ancestral Guardians, and his guardian spirits are Kirkwall itself :)

The one thing I'm meh about with his build is I gave him too many reactions between Spirit Shield, Protection fighting style, and the Sentinel feat, but his whole deal is defense, so...

Things I LOVE about his build include:

+3 to all saving throws, advantage on strength & dexterity saving throws + proficiency in wisdom & charisma saving throws. just try to fuck with him.

his feats are: Inspiring Leader (Everyone Loves Him And Will Do Whatever He Asks Of Them), Sentinel (Don't Fuck With My Friends), Skill Expert (to grab the perception skill and expertise in persuasion), and Martial Adept (bait & switch and goading attack as his two maneuvers for more Don't Fuck With My Friends vibes)

He's a sword and shield fighter, obviously, with rage & sacred weapon to boost attack & damage (yknow it's not relevant for this build but sacred weapon + the great weapon master feat would really minimize the -5 penalty)

He has spells but mostly uses them for divine smites because, y'know, he's not actually a spellcaster & he can't use spells while raging, but I love all the Devotion auto prepares so much (protection from evil/good, sanctuary, lesser restoration, zone of truth, beacon of hope, dispel magic). They feel very appropriate for him having the templar specialization.

You know what doesn't get a lot of love for its flavor potential? Unarmored defense. I have. So many thoughts about Cyrus' physicality and body bc Trans Projection, and I think gaining unarmored defense when he first multiclasses into barbarian is really narratively meaningful. It's the culmination of his body breaking down & being healed back up so many times that arcane defenses permanently reside Within him. It also lets him shed the heavy armor (which has some strange dysphoria feelings wrapped up in it) in favor of looser fitting fancy boy clothes, which he LOVES. He looks like a sorcerer, he hits like a paladin.

[fairymint]

💬 When did my muse go on their first date? 💯 What is my muse’s ideal date? 💗 Has my muse ever been in love? - felix, arden

sex+romance headcanons to wind down with cause i'm a sleepy bitch-

Y'know I'm not really sure if Felix has ever had a formal first date? I suppose IRL my husband took me on a nice picnic! otherwise i've only been out to eat or hooked up.

media coverage will tell you he's been on many 'dates' on the ferris wheel. Are they true? Well

Similar deal with Arven, but for a different reason- Felix might have had some hookups or hangouts, while Arven....is not super friendly himself? Maybe he speed-dated out of a helpful soul's pity. My Arven i kinda hc him as either being kinda young for that (15 in scarlet verse) or just....a 'loser turbo virgin' (violet) due to his priorities/demeanor.-

💯 What is my muse’s ideal date?

'Ideal' might be a little much, but perhaps just the vibe of doing something Outside, and then In- Felix likes to unwind indoors at the end of the day with his s/o. The out part of the date could be anything- He loves to shop, play sports, do most things. Not to say that he wouldn't spend a whole day inside being comfy and safe, that's kind of the point!

Arven likes 'romantic' ideas; idk if it's overtly scripted, but at least in my playthrough, he was showing interest in Hassel's landmark/date spot lecture. So, likely something scenic/meaningful/generic? I can see the whole candlelight dinner insert cheesy thing here kinda thing.

💗 Has my muse ever been in love?

Yep! Felix is 'canonically' in love with N, Todd Snap, Volo, and Steven Stone. Otherwise, things're uncertain/slow burn/'just' a passing crush. He's kind of slow burn/skinny love in an overall sense- top priority for him is consent or connection; making a move once he either 'Gets' them (not an actual move probably; usually things that could be either platonic or romantic.), or making a move once he notices a guy likes him. Otherwise, it's just hormones and feelings, ew! Who would wanna base their life decisions around that- bit philophobic by default when it comes to face-to-face. (That applies to squishes as well, lmao)

Mostly, I've just perceived Arven falling in love with the other students- he becomes friends with them! But of course he's canonically jealous over the protag's company regardless of anything. there's the odd fanarts out there of him with Rika? but it's kinda random 'shy guy flustered by her' kinda trope, dunno how to feel about it.

He seems like the kind of fellow that hasn't 'seriously' fallen in love before; it's either 1000% new to him, or maybe? if he is A Romantic in general it's just passing thoughts, until that deep connection is Made. He's definitely love-starved psychologically speaking- But he seems to want to be independent about it, given how he treats the player's friendship.

[caparrucia]

I do feel kind of stupid for following her for at least 3 years and liking her posts about abuse. What threw me off was her inability to accept critism from Jewish persons about something they are educated in. Then her inability to accept corrections about translations from native speakers (she ranted that she wanted to delete the whole chapter/part of OalC etc instead of using the fact that there are probably several followers that would have jumped for her to translate some sentences) (sorry for being anon and a big thank you for putting the whole AO3 post thing into simple language to show her workings)

So like, my thought is... I don't think you're an asshole, for not knowing someone's an asshole, if your first interaction or introduction to them was them not being an asshole.

I don't think there's anything inherently wrong in admitting you found value in her work or her posts at some point. The idea that "she's always been bad and everything she touches is tainted and bad actually" is a little purity culture kinda thing, y'know? Like, it's a nuanced thing. People can find value in her work or find it significant or important, and that doesn't excuse or minimize her bigotry.

To me the thing is, once you learn someone's a bigot of that caliber or you learn they're an abuser and their victims have come forth? Then you're kind of making a statement if you continue to unquestionably support them. It's one of those things that you can't not make a statement, once you know about it. You can't claim ignorance of it. And a lot of people get really angry when that happens, because the knowledge is a burden. The knowledge ruins things they used to enjoy, they've got a self-image that dictates they're not the kind of person who supports bigots or abusers, so to find out they've been doing it up to that point is very upsetting. And the thing is, knowing the creator is a bigot doesn't immediately make you dislike the work. It's just heartbreaking, this knowledge that now stains something you used to love and care for. Something meaningful to you has become tainted, and there's a weird mental pirouette where people wonder in horror if that means it has tainted them too, because THEY found it meaningful and what does THAT say about them.

I think that's normal in so far that's how people who don't deal with bigotry aimed at them very often deal with the fact that "real" bigotry isn't the same as "textbook" bigotry. In reality, bigotry is messy and gross and awkward and it's everywhere. And if you've made it a fundamental pillar of your identity that you don't tolerate or perpetuate that, you're gonna feel pretty lost and shaken to realize you've been participating in it inadvertely.

But it's also true that your actions determine your character and what really matters is what you do once you have that information. You can't put it back and pretend it's not there. You know now, so what you do with that it's what matters. And what you do should, ideally, be to minimize harm. To not further compound the harm you might or might not have already participated in unknowingly, by knowingly shitting on the people who've spoken up. Unfortunately, you'll see a lot of people not do that, and instead try their best to bury the knowledge and shove it back into Pandora's box so they can go back to enjoying her words and being friends with her without question.

That too is a statement. That too is a thing other people see.

Also, also! I think you're confusing me with @carriesthewind which I find very flattering because they're significantly more eloquent and less rambling than I am, so it's with a heavy heart I must inform you I was not the one who untangled the AO3 post. My brain still threatens sedition looking at it. So credit where credit is due, you want these amazing breakdowns right here:

I just happened to reblog them!

[scoopstrooptm]

i'm feeling really salty today so just... i really dislike dustin & suzie. i feel nothing about their dynamic whatsoever and while i do think it is partly the fault of the writers for introducing suzie in s3 as a joke — because, let's be honest, the only reason she was introduced was for the comic factor between dustin, the party & steve of 'his new girlfriend doesn't even sound real' and then as a deux ex machina at the end of the season with the code that hopper needed. compared to every single other "romantic" ( and i use this lightly because i strongly dislike the kid ships just in general ) dynamic within the party ( including will's currently unrequited crush on mike ), dustin's dynamic with suzie is always relegated to the comedic value. plus we've barely even seen them interact. it's just. baffling to me that we're expected to be invested in their dynamic when, by this point, suzie has had more meaningful interaction with the cali crew than with dustin

the other issue i have is that they are both super genius nerds. at least in terms of how they are both presented to us in canon, there is nothing about their relationship that implies that they would grow or meaningfully change together ( and even more so considering that it's a long distance relationship ). suzie is presented to us by dustin as perfect, and if they are both the same brand of genius, then what is there to really learn from each other? it just makes the relationship one note and really exposes the fact that she was written into s3 primarily as a plot device. if you compare this to dustin's dynamic with erica in s3 ( which, y'know, platonic or eventually romantic once they both grow up, those two are a much more compelling pairing imo ), they actually learn from each other. dustin shows erica that she is a nerd and can embrace it, as well as encouraging her to be a little less selfish and a bit more of a team player, while erica continues what steve started in helping dustin become fearless ( seeing as they both went back for steve & robin in the underground bunker ). there's actually a push and pull to their dynamic which is much more interesting than dustin & suzie, who are immediately presented to us as some ideal couple, and due to them being long distance we have to be told how much they like each other rather than seeing it for ourselves.

i think the other thing that bothers me is the way that dustin's relationship with suzie follows on from the snow ball scene at the end of s2. that moment would have been such a blow to dustin's confidence ( and i'm also not even sure whether steve would have ever learned about what happened ), so how he goes from that blow to suddenly meeting the girl of his dreams at summer camp... i just don't buy it. i would have liked dustin's insecurities to be explored more rather than just giving him the "perfect girlfriend" for no other reason than the comic moments it created with steve and the rest of the scoops troop

[mallowstep]

That reblog reminds me, did you ever end up thinking more thoughts about how a religious education in the RiverClan nursery goes down?

so yes and no see i did but i ended up thinking about the broader process of socialization and then instead of writing it in any meaningful sense i just kept writing domestic fluff so here, a bunch of words that hopefully mean something.

in sum, what do kits have to learn to be members of riverclan? not, like, skills such as hunting, but -- what cultural knowledge needs to be built?

well, a lot, as in any society, but i think. i always do this better when i think things through from a...thought of it as a process, which is why i actually was writing domestic fluff. well no. i just like domestic fluff.

anyway.

alright little kits r born what are they learning. well as newborns basically nothing but as they get older, there's. well. i don't think anyone wants me to do a step by step. i don't want to say, "through how apprentices and other warriors interact with queens, they learn that that is a valued position," like. c'mon that stuff is obvious. i think.

so i think the first interesting thing they learn is that the weather is important. because what stories riverclan tells -- and how they tell them -- is tied to the weather. (and the seasons, but they won't know that yet.) the origin of riverclan is a different story on a rainy day. well. it's the same story but it skips over all of the origin stuff to explore what happens after river dies.

but i digress; they're also learning about social roles and family structure. like i said, that's not terribly interesting except kind of it is because this is the kind of thing that starts to drill the importance of passing-on-a-legacy into kits' heads. the ideal family structure as well.

but let's back up to the weather, because. when kits r little and confined to the nursery, they know the other queens/kits, and the keeper. whether or not the keeper is presently raising kits, they're going to be visiting often. oh, sure, others visit, but for little little kits? queens are pretty protective.

by about a moon, they're starting to investigate camp. at which point they're making stronger connections. still mostly w local mom squad, of course, but. like. the keeper is involved.

y'know uhh okay timeline time. this is why i made nice timeline. okay. primrosekit is like 4.5 moons old when crookedstar dies. featherkit and stormkit are like a moon old. so even though leopardstar's kits won't be born for another moon, stonefur is still going to be...not a primary caregiver, but like. involved in their lives.

and that's how kits start to learn that this is a Special Person. they learn the leader and seer are special people too, of course. but the keeper isn't generally. well the seer smells and acts different, and cats treat the leader different, but they have to be old enough to see the keeper doing their Job beyond just helping w kits.

right like. take ur kid to work day except you accidentally stumble into couple's therapy or something.

uh did that joke make sense.

moving on.

and it is through that that they get the reinforcement of the idea of being descended from the divine.

as they get older, they start to learn about death, which prompts a whole new set of questions. stories continue.

frankly i think my thing is like. religion and culture are so deeply integrated it's hard to separate them. and i'm p sure we don't want a walk through of how-to-raise-a-kit.

look ur gonna get stupid many words of how-to-raise-a-kit soon. (you, general.) at least a quarter of ioth is how-to-raise-kits-for-beginners.

uh. i lost my thread. very much so.

the main elements of religious education that aren't covered in general life are shrines and the concept of carrying the divine. well. shrines -- i mean more than that but it's shorthand.

so how do kits learn about those things?

well, they'll learn about starclan slowly, mostly through other stories. the concept of shrines is well integrated into riverclan's general culture. however, a kit isn't going to like. have experience with that directly.

so it's kind of built up to.

most won't have a great sense of it until they're apprentices, because they can't leave camp, but exceptions exist, and there is the shrine (as in, The shrine) which can be visited by older kits under certain circumstances.

either way, their introduction is with reminders to bring offerings, etc., etiquette, all that stuff.

as for the divine, this is also deeply woven into stories, but to be a little clear, the specificity of who the leader, etc., are is demonstrated in storms. other circumstances as well, but that's the big one.

okay i think i am going to get increasingly less coherent so here take this

[davidmann95]

Comics this week (6/16/2021)?

adudewholikescomicsandotherstuff asked: This week’s comics?

Planet-Sized X-Men #1: I had measured expectations, but y'know what? If Duggan can pull off a Hickman impression this fun, I'll give his and Larraz's X-Men proper a shot to impress me.

The Mighty Valkyries #3: Firmly in "if this wasn't a miniseries I wouldn't stick around" territory tbh, though it feels more like it running out of steam than a weakness of the creators.

Heroes Reborn #7: It was @chadnevett who I saw recently tumble onto the true premise of the series and why it's called what it's called: the idea here is what if Lee and Liefeld had rebooted DC in 90s instead of Marvel. Is that a clever or meaningful idea? No. Am I having a hoot right through to the end? Yes. Also, (rot13) guvf vagebqhprf gur qrzbavp rdhvinyrag gb gur Pbfzvp Phor: GUR URYYNURQEBA. Ubj pna lbh abg ybir gung.

Superman: Red and Blue #4: Nabbed that Simonson cover! The Waid/Mok/Bellaire/Sharpe story is a fun throwback, Manapul and Sharpe aim a little higher in the script than they can pull off but of course it's gorgeous and also makes the best use of color in the issue for my money, Venditti/Martinez/Lopez/Sharpe do a nice little stock tale, Conrad/Hamner/Brosseau get a little more heavy-handed with the narration than is needed but it still works, and the Douek/Quinones/Sharpe story is another relatively stock entry but still manages to earn being the Superman story drawn by Quinones post-Dial H.

Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1: A decent kickoff and probably the first Tom King #1 where I firmly feel like I have a grasp of what the book's going for right off the bat as in this case a genre mashup, though this is ultimately Evely's show for doing big, atmospheric alien and western stuff to the best of her considerable abilities.

Catwoman #32: Really good little one-off!

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr #3: Friend of mine mentioned this issue hit particularly hard for him as a callout of rightwing shit in India, which having read the issue I can definitely say I lack the context to get beyond the broadest strokes, but even lacking that particular punch for me this is still a great issue just like the first two.

Stillwater #8: Mmmmight be starting to fall off this a bit.

Radiant Black #5: Okay, you have my attention.

6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton #1: I missed this coming out recently, I haven't tried much of Kyle Starks' work that he hasn't also drawn himself and the premise didn't much leap out at me, but I decided to give this a whirl and it's a very fun book with a great fit for Starks' sensibilities in Chris Schweizer.

Ultramega #4: Huh. Well, certainly curious where things head from here.

Project Patron #3: Still a pretty much perfect balance of tones for the subject.

Jupiter's Legacy: Requiem #1: This would be a fav just between the Quitely cover and the schadenfreude of the afterword opening with "As I write these words, Jupiter's Legacy has launched as the number one most watched show in the world over the weekend." But yes, I am in fact diving in for one last Mark Millar comic, because dammit I'm seeing this particular thing through to the end. It's all you'd expect or if you have my particular sensibilities be excited for: so aggressively dumb, so dopey fun, so many interesting mishandled ideas. This is also, notably, extremely Boruto: you got your new Utopian, your new Skyfox-type, your new powerless descendant, your new kid who wants nothing to do with the family business, your new celebrity asshole, etc.; even the old guard are switching roles around between them. It's still fun though with one legit killer twist that Millar doesn't put on a page turn, why. Obviously the real star is Tommy Lee Edwards' art and coloring (with work in one sequence from John Paul Leon in one of his final contributions) and it's as next-level as you'd hope, this unbelievably vibrant, lively, lush, almost watercolor-ish interpretation of a sprawling poppy superhero universe that's the ideal form of him handling this material. But also worth drawing attention to John Workman's lettering, which really visualizes the extremely specific cadence and rhythm to Mark Millar's dialogue as we've never seen before to...interesting results. Put like that it's not surprising it's kinda goofy in practice, but there's a certain honesty to it.

[thirsty-x1]

2/? I'm in love with love lmao, even if I don't like anyone i'm a sucker for the whole concept a love song can portray, all of these are in the list for this reason ☁Numbers - the cab ☁Deja vu - twice (lyrics is rlly cute best twice's song dont come @ me) ☁hearts dont break around here - ed sheeran ☁i was made for loving you - tori kelly ft ed sheeran (soulmate love vibes, I love it) ☁morat's album balas perdidas is a really good (maybe the only group I listen that's in spanish) -🌙anon

2/? I'm in love with love lmao, even if I don't like anyone i'm a sucker for the whole concept a love song can portray, all of these are in the list for this reason ☁Numbers - the cab ☁Deja vu - twice (lyrics is rlly cute best twice's song dont come @ me) ☁hearts dont break around here - ed sheeran ☁i was made for loving you - tori kelly ft ed sheeran (soulmate love vibes, I love it) ☁morat's album balas perdidas is a really good (maybe the only group I listen that's in spanish) -🌙anon

I love how each batch has a special meaning ajdkskd adorable;; and me too tbh... even if I try to behave like a realist and get away from love (virgo venus), I kinda like the whole idea of it and relationships and cute, small gestures (pisces moon) and music lets me live that without necessarily going through it so that's a plus uwu

"Numbers" by The Cab: this is kind of the love I want? Something that just gives a spark, doesn't need to be forever but enough to fill a heart, y'know? I like the idea of the "unique" thingy that's intense and ephemeral (makes it more intense cough) so I definitely loved this song and the whole "you're the only one".

"DEJAVU" by TWICE: I never listened to b-sides by them so this was a new thing alsmskd the lyrics are indeed adorable and the whole idea of dejavu + curiosity is cute too aksksksk

"Hearts Don't Break Around Here" by Ed Sheeran: he always has a way to capture love as if it was a poem and each one feels extremely wonderful and ideal (suspicious) but yes, talented and very cute uwu.

"I Was Made For Loving You" by Tori Kelly ft. Ed Sheeran: I couldn't stop thinking about KISS and their song because of the title KSKDKD but it gives off this fairytale kind of vibes, y'know? This true, ideal love that is just so wonderful and perfect... very soulmate-like.

[Album] Balas Perdidas by Morat: tbh I hadn't listened to their songs (conste que hace como diez años que me colgué con la música en español tho) but I really liked "Maldita Costumbre" and "Otras Se Pierden". Might check them out 👀

I'll try to follow this concept now:

☆ My recs:

"Follow You" by Bring Me The Horizon: I remember the first time I listened to this song I went "damn that's pretty much going to the extreme" but lmao yes, Leo dominant, falling in love feels like this sometimes.

"Future Love" by KATIE: this song probably represents me the most in my actual status with love life? Not proud of it (actually annoyed) but it's hard as fuck for me to get interested in someone and make it last more than two months, so I literally am like this.

"I.L.Y" by The Rose: Woosung's voice works wonders but the lyrics? This person with the one you build a love that feels like a safe place, that is simply your home? Someone you see and all your worries and heavy weights are washed away? Ah yes, that warmth...

"Love Like That" by LambC: a love where everything is simple yet extremely meaningful? Where you can just be laying down together and it's enough to fill your soul? Where you don't need constant thrill in order to not get bored of the relationship? Where routine is absolutely your favorite part? I want it.

"No Te Apartes De Mí" by Vicentico ft. Valeria Bertuccelli: (song in Spanish) THEY ARE A COUPLE and they made this song TOGETHER and it's ADORABLE. I really love this song so much;;; it's this whole story of learning about someone through small acts and discovering that we will always get surprised and it's so precious to get to known each other during a lifetime... I love it.

[transienturl]

the first half of the ask post you didn't reblog because you're doing them all anyways

Thanks, me!

1. coffee mugs, teacups, wine glasses, water bottles, or soda cans?Option 7, None of the above: highball glass. I looked up the glassware model I like; apparently the manufacturer calls them “nordic cooler glasses.” I much prefer glassware made of glass to any other type, and dislike the ridges/patterns on a lot of drinking glasses. Yep, I’m this picky.

2. chocolate bars or lollipops?Chocolate. I like chocolate’s texture and the way it melts, and I don’t like eating bits of paper.

3. bubblegum or cotton candy?Cotton candy. Bubblegum is gross.

4. how did your elementary school teachers describe you?Uhh… hm. “Smart,” probably, which wasn’t particularly helpful. They probably had a bunch more to say but I don’t remember what anymore.

5. do you prefer to drink soda from soda cans, soda bottles, plastic cups or glass cups?I like this ask post! As mentioned, glass cups. I like how soda cans feel in the hand but the drinking experience is just alright. Plastic is just unpleasant.

6. pastel, boho, tomboy, preppy, goth, grunge, formal or sportswear?I had to google “boho” and I’m still not super clear on what it encompasses, but it seems kinda neat! Also I have no idea what grunge really means. If I had a feminine body and thus felt like dressing up, I’d definitely pick boho out of the google image results of each of those terms.

7. earbuds or headphones?Both; if I wear either for too long I switch to the other for comfort. But I’m at least somewhat an audio enthusiast, so I could go on for a long time here. Ex:

The soundstage of open-back headphones is really unparalleled for one. Apple’s earpods/airpods actually fit me and have basically no microphonics, which usually are a big issue with IEMs for me, plus their resolution on the high end is surprisingly great.

Insert the rest of this discussion here.

8. movies or tv shows?I watch either of these not from seeking them out but from circumstance, but often wind up liking them. I’m one of those people who thinks, “I’d watch that,” and then never watches whatever that was. So I don’t really know which I do or would prefer.

9. favorite smell in the summer?Uh… hm. That’s a really good question. What’s most interesting about it, I think, is just the list of smells people associate with a season. Of course there’s environmental ones like rain, but for summer I assume you have to go with, I dunno, fair food or something like that.

Anyway, no idea! I can’t think of a lot of meaningful smells that aren’t food, honestly.

10. game you were best at in p.e.?I remember enjoying capture the flag a lot. I dunno if I was actually good at it, though. I did have pretty good short-duration speed, so I was a decent defender. I don’t really remember what else we did.

11. what you have for breakfast on an average day?Nothing. (I don’t like most American breakfast foods much, though that’s not why.)

12. name of your favorite playlist?I called it “the playlist which is entirely fire” because why not. Alternately, the playlist with all of my music is just named after me.

13. lanyard or key ring?Key ring; I’m not a… yeah actually that joke would only work for people who went to my high school and follow this blog (hi Xander).

14. favorite non-chocolate candy?That’s also a really good question and I’m positive I have an answer, but I can’t think of it. I eat candy once every like 3 months, so it doesn’t exactly come to mind easily. The candied pecans I just tried are pretty good, though. Insert reference to my halloween fanfiction.

15. favorite book you read as a school assignment?Y'know how there are some things that you remember deciding at one point were your favorite, but don’t remember well enough to properly consider now? A lot of my favorite pieces of media are like that, but I have at least some confidence in the decision I made at the time. Not so much here. I remember thinking with surprise that I enjoyed The Mill on the Floss when I read it in class, so that’s what comes to mind, but I think it’s the wrong answer. I’m pretty sure there are some books I really enjoy that I’ve forgotten were originally for class. Random example that I think is also wrong: The Hobbit. The Giver is pretty darn good, too. Fahrenheit 451. I don’t remember this being the case but we might have read A Wrinkle in Time in a class. Et cetera.

Wait, no, actually, I figured it out: Island of the Blue Dolphins. (Which, actually, goes in the “this might be too much of a childrens’ book to enjoy rereading” category along with Summerland, The Great Tree of Avalon, The Marino Mission, What the Moon Saw, The Secret of Platform 13, and Island of the Aunts, all of which I loved at the time of reading. And potentially also The Book Thief, although I doubt it. Can you tell I like award-winning children’s books, though?)

16. most comfortable position to sit in?With crossed legs or on my feet, which people seem to find weird.

17. most frequently worn pair of shoes?I only have one regularly-used pair of shoes.

18. ideal weather?Still. I can’t stand wind of any kind. A range of temperatures is nice (not too hot; not *too* cold but snow is pretty so I’ll allow a wide range in that direction.)

19. sleeping position?In a ball, or at least partially curled up.

20. preferred place to write (i.e., in a note book, on your laptop, sketchpad, post-it notes, etc.)?I haven’t written on paper in like a decade. I had to recently in order to leave a sticky note on something and had actual trouble making it legible. Essentially everything I write is on this 2013 Macbook Pro keyboard.

21. obsession from childhood?Um… existentialism? The pretend world my sisters’ and my stuffed animals lived in? Popular science topics and things from video game worlds, all of which went into said pretend world? Jet aircraft? Algebra and geometry puzzles? Configuring laptop computers?

22. role model?John Green. People who can communicate/present things effectively.

23. strange habits?I’m sure I have a ton. I’m not going to delay posting this to come up with any, but I’ll think about it. But especially if we’re using western society as the ‘norm’ for the sake of the question, I think there’s a ton of stuff I do that’d surprise people.

24. favorite crystal?Hm. I like the colorless ones like diamond, I guess? I just generally like gemstones, especially in fiction when they have powers. Oh, how’s this: I tend to like crystals that are (semi)transparent, so they have depth to them and change appearance as they’re rotated.

The other weird, mostly-unrelated thing that comes to mind is when I made a necklace for my best friend in elementary school and spent a lot of effort picking out the right sort of pendant, but I don’t think it was actually a crystal. (I often wonder what it would’ve been like if I hadn’t moved; I bet we’d still be close.)

25. first song you remember hearing?Neat question! I have no memory of a particular song being the first. My parents played music a lot when I was little, so a lot of their CD collection makes me think, “I’ve been listening to this since far before I noticed that I was.” The most recent one of those I heard and wrote down was Cathedral of the Pines by Tim Janis.

26. favorite activity to do in warm weather?…complain about the heat? :D Hm, I don’t have a lot of outdoor hobbies.

27. favorite activity to do in cold weather?…complain about the cold? :P I do like to ski somewhat. And I like hot cocoa.

28. five songs to describe you?

Eric’s Song – Vienna Teng

Doubt – Ruby Day

…hm. Looking through my playlists and the #media tag on this blog, there’s a ton of songs that I like, and where that fact tells you something about my taste in music, but it’s hard to find songs whose content particularly tells you something. Let’s just go with songs I find some meaning or relevance in?

Laughing With – Regina Spektor

Rainbow Connection – Kermit the Frog/various covers

Okay, I ran out of songs with particular meaning; let’s finish up with one whose meaning is arguably a lack of particular meaning?

Both Sides Now – Joni Mitchell

29. best way to bond with you?Talking, I guess. Boring answer, maybe, but I think most bonding experiences I’ve had were just two people talking about something important.

30. places that you find sacred?My elementary school? Is that a weird answer?

Other than that… a lot of places, really. Depending how you use “sacred,” I think it could apply in my mind to lots of unique places, especially natural-wonder type things.

31. what outfit do you wear to kick ass and take names?I haven’t got one. None of my clothes are things I’ve picked out to look good, honestly. The thing that makes me feel more “ready to go out and kick ass than usual” is, like, bringing a phone charger with me in case I run out of battery in the process of whatever ass kicking it’s going to be, and that’s not an outfit thing.

32. top five favorite vines?Remember vine? Good times.

1. A Legendary Argument (https://vine.co/v/enUmZjLFgw2/); the “just do it” “no” one

Yeah, that’s it. I don’t know of any other ones.

33. most used phrase in your phone?I… don’t know how to tell. That sounds like a cool thing to figure out but I dunno how to see that.

34. advertisements you have stuck in your head?None, thank god.

35. average time you fall asleep?Too late.

36. what is the first meme you remember ever seeing?No idea.

37. suitcase or duffel bag?I don’t really know what context to think of this question in. Like, is there a time both would be valid options? Anyway, suitcase. Honorable mention: backpack.

38. lemonade or tea?I only like either of these in moderation. Usually I’d say lemonade, but lately I’ve been disliking acidic drinks more than usual, so maybe I’ll say tea. Actually, what I like is chrysanthemum tea, which you can get at dim sum places sometimes.

39. lemon cake or lemon meringue pie?I’ll go with lemon cake. I can only eat a really small amount of lemon meringue. If someone made more of a lemon meringue tart with a really thin layer of lemon (maybe 10mm or a bit less) and a lot of crust and meringue, that could be really good though.

40. weirdest thing to ever happen at your school?If “bad” counts as “weird,” let’s just say it involved sexual misconduct.

41. last person you texted?My dad (a link to instructions to get free in-flight wifi; nothing interesting).

42. jacket pockets or pants pockets?I prefer to put stuff in pants pockets so I have them if I take off my jacket, but then my pants fall down because I have no hips and my pants are all regular-person sized.

43. hoodie, leather jacket, cardigan, jean jacket or bomber jacket?I immediately crossed off everything except hoodie and cardigan. With a different body I’d definitely pick cardigan.

44. favorite scent for soap?Unscented.

45. which genre: sci-fi, fantasy or superhero?Eh, I mean, I think they all have potential. I’d pick sci-fi or fantasy over superhero; print comics have never interested me at all, though I’m sure there’s interesting stuff in there too.

46. most comfortable outfit to sleep in?I feel like it’s just whatever you’re used to, honestly.

47. favorite type of cheese?Maybe fresh mozzarella? Either way, it’s going to be something people who really like cheese would barely count as cheese.

48. if you were a fruit, what kind would you be?If I were a fruit… not to take it too literally, but I can’t think of a better way to interpret it. Um… a ground cherry, because it’s cute and has a place to hide in.

49. what saying or quote do you live by?“Hope is the correct response to the human condition.”

There are probably better ones that correspond to things I live by more, but that’s the one I have a quote for. Guess who it’s by? I’ll give you one guess.

50. what made you laugh the hardest you ever have?Not sure. Show of the Weekend (@outsidextra) definitely wins “hardest laugh that I can remember recently” though.