#inspired by me currently trying to learn french on my own

[shyravenns]

Sorry, but I'm stuck thinking about how long it must have taken Price to become semi fluent in Russian, and how hard it must have been for him to hide his progress from Nik 😭

[odusseus-xvi]

hi!! this is kinda a weird question but ur post about characterization for french ccs is rlly helpful for writing, so i was wondering if u had any like . tips or advice about speaking patterns or like. common terms or phrases they use and stuff like that. i have a lot of issues with auditory processing and other hearing stuff that makes it like . hard for me to always understand speech patterns or just like . what people are actually saying so if u have any like . advice or info about like How They Talk that u could put in text or like specific that would be cool. no worries if u dont/cant btw i completely get it i just remembered that u were the one w the previous helpful post ::D

Yeah, no problem I could try ! :D Now keep in mind again I'm not necessarily an expert, and I'm just doing this because it's fun. I still might make some mistakes, and miss some important details, but 'Ill do my best. SO

Let's go for HOW DO THE FRENCH (and swiss) CCS TALK :

Let's start with

ETOILES : So I feel like it might be the easiest because he's the clearest to me. He tends to speak at a normal space and in english with a noticeable slighly french accent, but not an extreme one. He likes to crack jokes constantly when he speaks with other people (most of the time hyping up others, and self deprecating, you know the "You are a legend, I am dumb".) . He can drop pearls of wisdom randomly through ridiculous metaphors ("You don't need to worry, My name means stars, that means that when you look I'm here." "It's like crossing the road, you have to, and there is cars, you need to be careful, but it can't be all you focus on. Wait I'm not sure about that one...") and sometimes actually genuine and inspiring, but more often that not in the tone of discussion, it doesn't sound like he's dispensing "wisdom of the elders", he's just a humble guy talking with you and giving a random advice. He often says in french "Wow a flop" when something doesn't work. Or "c.s.c." (Contre Con Camp, a football term meaning scoring against your own team) when he comments on someone being a tryhard for example ("WOW such a tryhard (csc)"). He'll often makes the joke that nobody likes him when they don't answer in chat to himself, (or chat) and will directly tell them "You want me to die irl don't you?" ensues a myriad of "holy shit you want me to die for real" answered by the "NOO" of the other one. Two last details that came to me, he rarely actually answers by "no" or "yes", he often use "Yeh yeh yeh", or "no no no". He also uses a lot of "euuuuh..." when looking for his words when speaking.

AYPIERRE : He is fairly simple too. He has a very relaxed tone, speaks slightly slower than most people, and has slightly noticeable french accent but less so than others. His tone differenciate between three states : Focused (while building or infiltrating a base), relaxed, and humourous. Note that he's never fully serious, he has that constant gremlin energy and smile that makes him want to make jokes that will make everybody cringe (his favorite pastime.) The only time he's been serious and slightly upset was when he earned gegg died or when he learned that the federation was trying to replicate his wine (there you can see his priorities). Most of the time people are assuming the worst when it's his countless time he starts a conversation with "So, I did something..." and is the type of guy to say "*known illegal act* is a strong word, let's say it's more like *not necessarily better*". I don't follow him as much, so I currently have no other mannerism in mind.

BAGHERA : I feel like she is a bit harder to pin down. When speaking in english she has a very noticeable accent, especially when she is tired. And talks a bit fast, especially in french. Though she doesn't crack jokes constantly, she has a constant chaotic energy that makes her say random things at times. She often say "Oh Yeaaaah" when she is happy or hyped about something, mostly when she is with other people to show them she is happy too. When she is ashamed or not understanding something she likes to take a voice we call the "Antoine Croute" voice (a character she played in a Rp series on GTA V), it's high pitched and really shy. (imagine a little "wut... ?"). She can be really serious, especially when investigating. She almost nver express vocally, in tone at least, her anger. Instead she sounds incredibly cold, like she was with ElQuackity. Her voice when serious drops a bit, and she speaks a bit faster. There is probably plenty more but I'm starting to get tired.

ANTOINE : He is the hardest to me because it is even hard to pin down in french. He has most of the time a very serious tone, while he ironically constantly making either dark jokes based on irony and cynism OR a pun. Because of this, it's sometimes hard to pin what's a joke and what's serious. His accent alternates between horrible french accent OR almost ProPeR eNgliSH. Even when discussing absolutely batshit insane things he sounds serious (he is not in reality, but it's a form of humor in itself). OCCASIONALLY he'll break and cracks a smile, and sometimes, even the heartiest laugh you've ever heard, a very vocal and deep "AHAHAHAHA" that you can hear a mile away (but it happens rarely.) Though I didn't specify, most people, including the french, stutter at least a little bit, and search their words, (like I said for Etoiles' "euh".) but Antoine tends to have a very clear speech, only occasionally looking for a translation. In the same vein, he also has a very quick reaction and can answer with a pun almost instantly (very impressive, especially when it's not his native language.)

That's pretty much all I can think of right now, and I'm tired. Maybe it's not exactly what you asked, but it's what I can muster. Hopes that helped :D

[jullbnt]

Bonjour! I'm a big fan and your art inspires me so much. I'm currently learning French to communicate with my friends, do you happen to have any tips on learning another language? I'd love some advice. ^_^

Bonjour bonjour ! Thank you for gracing my inbox with such a cute little Time, I adore him 🤩

And I'm glad I can inspire you!!

About your question I don't really have unique advice on learning another language, I guess you're asking me because I happen to be French? ^^

I'd say find lessons to learn the basics first, and maybe use an app or something to learn vocabulary (I did that for Japanese a few years ago and quiz apps make things a lot easier and fun! I'm still a beginner though, I don't have enough time but I'd love to start again). There's an app called Anki that lets you create your own quiz cards to test yourself with, or you can download pre-made decks (search for "Anki French decks" and you'll find what you need). I've used Anki a lot for studying, I love it!

Once you're comfortable enough start having basic conversations with your friends, and you can also try watching the French version of a movie you know well (or I don't know... try playing a LoZ game in French for example haha). If you already know the dialogues it can help! Maybe you can also listen to French youtubers that share your interests? I'm sure you'll find lessons from native speakers on Youtube too :)

And then of course consume French media, read in French, listen to French music... That's how I learnt English for the most part, I didn't really try (and the language classes we get in French school are really unhelpful). But I guess it's much easier with English cause it's everywhere and very much needed to get involved in fandom stuff online.

(Also be careful about comments from French users on social networks, sadly a lot of us make a lot of spelling or grammar mistakes so don't trust everything you read... I don't see the same thing happening in the same proportions with English speakers, I guess French is hard for natives too).

And lastly, we're always pleased and impressed when a foreigner bothers to learn our language, even if it's just a few sentences, and you don't need to speak flawlessly to be understood! French can be hard but don't put too much pressure on yourself ^^

I'm not sure this was very helpful, but I tried haha. Good luck with your learning and I hope you'll enjoy speaking French!

Passe une belle journée :))

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

About Sophia's origin

Ok so I'd like to clear this up cause when I make mistakes I admit them most times. Some time ago I made a post about Sophia and my being pissed that even though she appeared Greek, Reverse's team didn't seem to have tried as hard to find a native or sb with an at least understandable accent for her Greek spell but it appears this wasn't necessary because Sophia is most likely not Greek (or she's half).

For context, when the current patch came out I could guess from the aesthetic the inspiration would be either Greek or Roman and then by the focus on Pythagorians I could tell it was indeed Greek inspiration, but I didn't expect there would be a single character that'd actually use the language, like for example French characters do. So when it did I was excited but also disappointed cause unless you read the subs, you couldn't tell what Sophia was saying.

Anyway long story short, from Sophia's mentions in 6's story, she appears to be Anatolian. And while the inspiration could be mixed, time-wise, cause anyway we're in 2007 in the game but everything else is based off ancient Greece, I think she too is supposed to be from the ancient version of Anatolia, therefore neither Greek nor Turkish but either Hattian or some other Anatolian ethnicity of that time. It is said that people at the shores of Asia Minor back then did speak Greek, probably cause of the trade situation with Greece and all, therefore it now makes sense to me that they went with the broken Greek option since she is not supposed to be native.

There. These are my "findings", or rather realizations. So yeah I apologize, I didn't know and I hope she is Anatolian and neither Greek nor Turkish cause that brings in the forefront ethnicities that went extinct and adds even more diversity in the game. However I have to admit I'm a bit sceptical about the choice of hair colour as well. 37 has light blue hair and Sophia firey red so this couuuuuld be addressing one is Greek and the other Turkish, or maybe's it's me overthinking xD. Cause some of you might say oh then why 6 and 210's hair aren't significant. Well, the men's duo doesn't seem to bring a cultural contrast in the forefront but one of authority and social roles and standards. It's the common sense of the island vs the one that wishes to not follow stuff blindly. 37 and Sophia's focus though has to do with cultural contrast and differences and Sophia's adjusting to the mindset of the island through observation of the common ways (island people) and 37 (sb's different and independent approach to the common ways), while also stressing the significance of learning from each other and finding a middle ground like when 37 also tried to play, in her own way, and try to understand more about Sophia through her father's notebook.

That's all. At the end of the day, games and storytelling are artforms, so unless we have specific mentions of things, everything is up to the viewer's interpretation. That was mine.

[mac-cheez]

My Guide To Surviving The Waynes

This is inspired by an earlier post of mine and will be in an epistolary/Dracula style in the view of said uni student. I hope y'all like it!

Thxs @arrowheadedbitch for proofread and confidence.

Pt. 2 Pt. 3

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

Dear Diary,

I'm not a diary person really. I was always told it helps you relax or work through your feelings, but it never seemed worth it...... well not till now. Not till a "normal" morning for me was eating cereal while shouting goes through the house and under threat of death if I finish the milk. This is what's currently happening as I write this on my laptop trying not to spill said cereal. As I listened to another argument between Tim and Damian about something inconsequential (something about galleries robbing banks?), I finally caved and started writing. I figure this could be useful for reference or advice or even study (these bitches are weird as hell). Maybe I should start with how I got here?

I grew up down South. The bible belt was a weird place, but I survived I guess. My parents are loving and as understanding as they can be with their own experiences and opinions. My father is Army so we were lucky to not be on wheels at all times. My only major move was my sophomore year of high school. I decided to apply for the exchange program and was picked due to my fluency in French. I was sent to Paris and, loved it so much I decided to stay. I was able to stay till graduation and still keep in touch with my friends. I know, picture perfect right?

After graduation, I applied to many different Universities and programs hoping for a good criminal justice program to learn in. Forensics was the main interest I was looking for. It just so happened that Gotham University's Forensics and Criminal Justice Facilities just got updated by the Wayne Foundation (probably to deal with the crime problem). I saw that it met all of my criteria and applied not thinking about it. A couple of my picks fell through, but most came back as acceptances. I was about to accept one of my local Universities when I got the Gotham U acceptance letter. It said the usual spiel of "we'd love to have you, blah, blah, blah", I was about to throw it in the pile when I saw one specific detail, "We boast a 95% employment rate of our Science-based graduates."

After some research, I found out that it was true. Most GU grads get hired straight out of school if they have a scientific degree. That paired with the brand new facilities made me reconsider. I talked with my parents, and they agreed that it was likely the best option, but they were concerned about me living in the dorms or an apartment in a place like Gotham. I was about to suggest living in a city nearby and just commuting when my dad asked us to wait for a minute. He made some calls while I talked with my mom about other things concerning the move. When he came back he said he had a friend from work who I could stay with. He told me he had a couple kids my age and plenty of room. It wasn't till I was in the limo with a very nice elderly man on my way to said friend's house that I realized he meant Bruce Fucking Wayne. Once he parked (his name is Alfred btw) I got my luggage out and kinda just stared. He asked to take my bags but I just said no thank you. He hummed and led me to the door. It was quiet when he opened the door which I thought would be normal, but the worry on his face told me otherwise.

Suddenly from the hall, two boys ran by one yelling "MERCY" while the other smaller boy chased him with a sword and........ pink hair? I was concerned, but Alfred seemed more at ease so I tried not to think about it too much. Behind them, a guy came from the same hallway snickering at his phone.

"Master Duke, would you mind filling me in on the situation at hand?" Alfred asked him.

"Oh yeah Alfred, it was hilarious," 'Duke' said laughing, "so Tim put pink dye in the shampoo for Dick and then-," he stopped looking at me. "Uhhhhhhhh, Who's the girl?" He asked.

"A guest of Master Bruce," said Alfred.

"Oh! Oh. Uh, You're not......... ya know..... a guest," he asked.

"No god no I'm not that broke yet," I explained hoping the humor would land.

It seemed to because he immediately brightened and started introducing himself as Duke Thomas, one of Mr. Waynes Wards. I introduced myself and why I was there. It seemed like he was going to ask something when there was a crash and he said he should "make sure no one gets stabbed again".

"Well that was eventful," I said looking towards the hall he exited through.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it," said Afred, worrying me a little. This wasn't an occasional thing?

He started leading me-;skjfbsgdpibzebERROR++vbvnjkm;n;mxcvz;'anrvbA:----

[sleepsentry]

Hi hello I just popped by to tell you just how much I absolutely LOVE your art. The dynamic poses, the color, your shapes, you’re very much an inspiration to me for my own art. I was curious if you’d be willing to share your own inspirations/process in drawing? No need to if you don’t feel like it though. Again, thank you for sharing your art with the world.

Gosh, I'm not sure where I'd even start for that...

I don't think I can get into process atm because it changes so much in such tiny ways all the time. I have a basic skeleton of a process, but the rest is all over the place.

As for insperations:

I follow many many artists online and have picked up many small things just from looking at their work and trying to "reverse engineer" their process in my head.

I've noticed I tend to subconsciously "study" artists just by thinking "how do I draw this? Oh this artist drew it that way! Lemme try..." and I do that many many times while drawing.

Example: I look at the way an artist draws hands, then I look at my own hand and try and mimick the position in the artwork.

I study both and try to connect the dots between them. I feel the way my hand moves and the way the bones and muscles flex and relax.

I try and draw broad shapes, then the underlying mechanics of the hand, then I finish things by drawing what we actually end up seeing on the surface.

I dont draw the bones and muscles of a hand and then the skin just to be clear! I just try and keep them in mind as a draw the outlines.

Like a sculpture having a "skeleton" made of two bits or wire. I don't draw the skeleton, I draw the rough blueprint of where everything goes in quick simple lines. Then I build the "clay" on top.

I don't go that in depth every time but it helps to stop and "be more considered" if you have the time and energy.

Now that I think about it, watch sculpting videos!

It's a very similar process to drawing but 3d instead of 2D! I recommend clay sculpture but I'm sure 3d modeling has similar principles too, even if a very different approach overall.

Here are some channels I recommend:

For cute character dioramas with ridiculous fidelity while being very stylised

For impressive fake food that really shows just how much of an illusion art is

For amazing Dino statues with an eye for detail and convincing naturalism

For 2d artists I follow current professional and/or hobby artists, or even old masters who's work is archived in artbooks and social media accounts. All ranging a wide variety or styles, cute, horror, cartoon, realist, ect... and most importantly, the styles wich aren't as easily definable.

The variety of influences is great! As long as you figure out how to pick and dissect the elements that drew you to the work and how to apply your findings to your own work.

My biggest inspirations as a kid where animation (Disney, pixar, ghibli, ect...), manga, Belgian/French comics my dad had as a kid.

I didn't have the patience or means to learn to animate, but these comics had so much life and motion in their panels! I always found American comics really stiff and more difficult to read because of the detail and "realism". I know American comic art can be very expressive and fluid, but for my undiagnosed eye/brain issues...

This:

Was leagues more "readable" than:

They where literally easier to read.

That comic cover takes me a good few seconds to dissect and process, whereas the two examples above it are instant.

I'm terrible at studying from life due to my poor eyesight and spacial awareness issues, also I have ADHD so, not only is the information my eyes are giving to my brain suboptimal, but my brain is also terrible at processing and reconstructing that information.

Also tracing is a valid way of studying btw, that's how I learnt as a tot and it can be great to try and reverse engineer a finished peice and break it down to it's construction.

Obviously it's not the same as building something from scratch but we're talking within the realms of practice.

I also started trying to "re-learn" some art fundamentals in ways that work better for me, and it's been massively helpful.

I'm already working with fuzzy simplified abstractions of the world around me, so it's horrible trying to see accurately and THEN re-simplify it onto paper.

So something that has helped a lot and I mean A LOT with teaching my brain art basics in a digestible, step by step way, has been:

ART ACADEMY for the DS!

It's great for walking you through art fundamentals in a way that is digestible and no where near as overwhelming as just jumping straight in to a massive, complex, digital art programme.

It gets all the fuss of materials and subject and reference out of the way and let's you just focuse purely on the process of making art itself.

THIS:

WAS MADE WITH THIS:

This is the first drawing lesson:

This is the lesson after that:

This is all with the original DS version!

On a tiny screen with very primitive approximations of pressure sensitivity and no opacity or pen size options.

It mimics traditional art making in the sense that you make what you can with what you have and that limitation allows you to focuse on practice rather than get overwhelmed and over correct everything digitally.

These where tiny, crunchy, microcosmic, simplifications of digital art making back in 2009!!!

It's so refreshingly accessible and manageable.

I haven't even started the newer 3ds game that came out.

So if anyone reading is struggling with their art I highly recommend this little art exercise giver! It's helped me a lot.

OK hope that's readable and helpful. ^^

[blairamok]

Hello Blair!

I am so sorry about you in ER. Hope you will be okay soon!

I have a difficult question to ask and though I would be so happy to have your advice, please feel free to ignore it. (Plus, I am French, so I hope I'll be understandable, so sorry by advance)

Your "On Thin Ice" content is wonderful, I adore everything about it - the fic, the artworks, the "behind-the-scenes" details, everything. But it seems like you need a lot of time for writing the next chapters (and you are so right, please take your time!). And sometimes it seems like writing is difficult for you. So, do you have some advices about how to resolving it?

Let me just explain why I am asking this: I am French and I started to write fanfictions 20 years ago, when I was 15. It was great, it was easy most of the time, and sharing my stories was freeing me. Never have to learn how to write, it was just here, and it worked, people were enjoying my stories a lot and so do I. Music works a lot with me, it helps me, it unleashes my brain and for each story I had written, I can tell there is one or several musics behind it (that's why I am asking you, because you speak about music in your story and I love it)

I have some chronic pain issues, and it will last until the end of my days - it's ok, I am ok with it most of the time. But in 2020, I had a burn out at work and clinic depression. Met several doctors, tried a lot of meds. I was a mess. Didn't write during 3 years, I just couldn't, as if my brain was broken.

Now I feel a little bit better. I can write, but it feels like the spark is gone. Music still helps a lot, but writing is so hard. When I succeed in writing, I am unpleased with what I wrote. Everything seems so bad, or so OOC, or it's too slow, or "readers won't be interested", or "It's useless, what's the point?"

Sometimes I feel lost, I'm scared, it feels like I'll never be the same again. My friends told me it's ok, told me I just grown up and now I am stricter about my stories and it is not a bad thing. People here and there told me to stop to try to write, and to heal first.

I love to write, I love to tell stories. I am just tired to wait to heal, because doctors told me that maybe I'll never be completly healed. So?

Can I ask your advices about it? How will you manage?

Thanks a lot just for reading this. I wish you a lot of courage and a better health.

And thank you so much for shearing "On Thin Ice" and keep us dreaming about our dear ineffable husbands.

Elenthya

first of all, thank you so so much for your kind words and i am so sorry for waiting awhile to answer this (i'm not in the ER anymore!) but i wanted to properly sit down and dedicate all of my brain power to answering because a lot of what you said here resonated with me

yes, writing is very difficult for me. sometimes i just find it very hard to convey what i want to get across, other times it's my own insecurities keeping me at bay. i get stuck in this feeling of being too scared to write because i feel like i'm bad at it and i don't like being bad at things. brains are weird. i don't really have any way of getting over this other than forcing myself to actually sit down and write, and other times i will get a sudden jolt of inspiration (like for particular scenes). i don't understand it! maybe i just don't like connecting the dots lol

and YES, i love music! i think the reason why a figure skating AU resonates with me so well is because music is a sole component of the sport, and i work really well with music in the same way! a lot of my art is inspired by songs or specific lyrics, not every piece, but there is a good chance i had something in mind for certain things. music is a huge part of my AU so i've put a lot of thought in choosing the musical compositions for their programs that are relevant to the current story i'm writing. and i'm really eager to share that at some point

as someone also dealing with chronic pain, i'm really sorry you're going through it as well. i also had a very very low point, i want to say 2018ish. i have a cervical nerve injury that kept me from drawing for almost a year. there was a long time where i also felt lost and scared, as if things would never be the same. and for me, things are still not the same. i have had to learn how to live with a chronic injury, and working around it is one of the most frustrating things i deal with. i had to learn to be kinder to myself, take things slow, listen to my body, and try not to give myself a hard time when i couldn't do things when i wanted to. it's easier said than done because i still have days where i'm just so frustrated with myself. i am at the whims of my body, i can't do things how i did them before and that sucks because that makes finding the balance between the needs of my body and the needs of my mind pretty tricky. and learning how to live with that took a lot of time, sifting through a lot of anger and bitter feelings, at myself and the unfairness of it all. i know waiting around to heal is torturous. my injury will never heal so waiting is out of the question for me

but!! that's another reason i started writing my AU, because i channel all of that frustration into my version of crowley in that story, who doesn't know who he would be without the thing he's done his whole life, who equates his self worth to that thing, who struggles with an injury and being kind to himself. this is one of the many ways i manage, i think

you say that when you do manage to write something, you feel that it isn't good, or there's something wrong with it—i feel this too, and i know the difference between that and what it feels like to LOVE what you're writing, that spark you're looking for. i have a very hard time getting to that point, and i think what helps me here is to just keep spitting stuff out. it's like when i draw, i make a ton a very bad sketches that will never see the light of day, so i also have a ton of drabbles that will also likely never see the light of day, but nine times out of ten something has come from it. for art, sometimes i redo the same thing, sometimes a whole sketch, three or four times to get to a point where i like it, for writing i do the same thing with sentences, paragraphs. it's SO hard and discouraging to look at the bad stuff you make sometimes but the important thing is (if you are able) to keep going, keep trying, but don't push yourself. you do have limits, just don't give up. personally, i know if i just sit down and do the thing then i will at least get something done. progress is progress, after all

i do hope something in this huge chunk of text was useful to you, i'm not as eloquent as i'd like to be on stuff like this, but thank you for sending this ask and i sincerely hope you find your spark again (i have faith that you will) and soon 🤍

[theothersideofthewoods]

Introductions!

Hey everyone! I'm gonna pin this for any new followers to get an idea of the kind of person I am and the thing I'm writing. Always happy to respond, feel free to message!! :)

In the following sections, I've boldened the most important aspects, if you really want just a lightning-quick summary, but otherwise I have, as is my usual fashion, yapped.

Enjoy the read!

The Author:

Hi! I'm Eliot. I'm a student of English Literature and for years I've been DMing and writing fantasy novels. I thought I'd make this blog as a sort of public diary to record progress on my current novel as it's the largest piece of work I have ever done to date. Part of my degree focusses a lot on Mediaeval Romances, Arthurian Legend and Old English Epics as well as Graeco-Roman Classics and I wanted somewhere to channel that fascination into my very own world of myth and legend. I'm always on the lookout for more writer friends so if you want to, why not introduce yourself in the comments (or PMs if you're feeling shy!)

The World of Waystone:

It is a high fantasy set in a world largely inspired by the 19th Century, drawing ideas from all sorts: from the French Revolution to the British Empire, from the Industrial Revolution to the Romantics, from Victorian England to Edo Period Japan. I've taken a lot of inspiration from folklore, history and religion from around the world as well as throughout history. I've not conscribed myself to one century or continent, but instead pick and choose across the multitudes of human history whichever I think the most fascinating to explore. That being said, I always will be a sucker for the 1800s. This world is, to me, an ever-expanding, constantly shifting, indefinable shape which I learn more about every time I sit down to write. This current project is not the only time I have used the world and it has been in conception for over a year but anything outside of this narrative has been small D&D campaigns (one-shots) or the odd short story. I have wanted to create a longer work set in Waystone for a while. That is, until I began to write this.

This novel takes place in the continent of Bantiel in the late 9th Millennium. The continent is split in two by a great mountain range in the middle named The World Spine and is home to the mystical Forest of Secrets where the Fae are said to reside. One of the most important details for me is that the political boundaries/kingdoms are not defined by race/species nor do the races have their own respective religions. Though, of course, each race has its own creation story and each nation has its own religious practices. I have come up with reams of mythology and history but, for the most part, I try to treat the world outside of the story as though it already exists because, to the characters, it does. It is a world where Gods are present and this presence has, for millennia, changed and interfered with the lives of mortals. It has been almost 9,000 years since the wars between the Gods that shook the earth and the mortals have grown complacent with their own power. Many wars have broken out between nations; many factions beyond those defined by borders have sprung up.

With this being my longest work set in Waystone, as well as one I feel comfortable sharing to a much wider audience (as D&D campaigns have only been between me and my friends), I will treat it as the first instalment of the World of Waystone. The novel requires no previous knowledge, not even this blog! It is still in the works, but when I publish it it won't assume any prior understanding. I just hope this blog can get other people excited about the world too! :)

Concept:

Originally, I intended to write a sort of Slice of Life story where the perspective hops from person to person, city to city, country to country and weaves this interlinked narrative of all of the small insignificant events that build to make a full, entire world. I wanted something that let me go to all the stretches of the world and to see all of these varying lives and to explore different types of societies, different types of people, different landscapes and different 'normals'. But, the more I thought about it, the more I leaned more towards exploring Waystone on a much more down-to-earth level. It needed characters, it needed life, it needed personal input and something not 'Slice of Life' at all, something completely opposite of ordinary. It needed something Extraordinary, to bring out the ordinary. Something atypical to serve as a reference point to explore all of the differences across the world. And instead of the perspective hopping to different characters all across Waystone, the characters themselves would make that journey.

However, to have a narrative that ranges across the world means that I need characters from all across the world. And so, thus began my planning process. The main cast of the novel is comprised of five people from all across the world, each with their own lives and problems, each with their own aims. The more effort I put into these characters, the more involved I felt with them and the more I understood about my world. This way, I can explore a different aspect with each of their backstories, taking the perspective all across the world just how I wanted, whilst, at the same time, having a group to interact with one another, to have intertwined and complicated relationships and to look into the daily lives of.

The more I planned this story, the more I found myself insanely inspired. And, because of this, I have been churning out a ridiculous amount of content. It's lucky, then, that the story's arc is an ambitious one; though, to begin to give an idea of what I mean, I must explain something else.

The Structure:

Every piece of work up until this one, I have always ended up with relatively short narrative arcs. This is a habit I really wanted to kick and so, upon starting this work, I devised a new creative method for myself and can now confidently say it works. Rather than having a single arc from start to finish, even with intermediary smaller arcs or parallel arcs (ie. sub-plots), I instead divided the main narrative into many smaller arcs. This episodic structure meant that I could, instead of having one main climactic scene, or one main denouement, have many climaxes, many resolutions and the story would continue on. It's almost like the structure of a television series. Yet, to make sure I write a substantial amount for each 'Episode,' these Parts are divided themselves into chapters.

When I publish this, I aim to post it online and for it to be a continuous web novel with something like weekly chapters. Each Part is named so it would, for example, look like this:

Let the Reign Fall: IV

With the Part's number only being next to the first chapter of each and the title being before every chapter number(And yes, that is the title for Part One).

There is no end in sight, but that does not mean the plot won't have larger arcs or resolutions, but when one line ends I will always make sure to open another one. I love these characters too much to just stop at any point and the world is so vast I have so much to explore.

When I have written enough, so much that I feel I have a fairly substantial backlog, I will begin posting weekly chapters. Don't worry, I'll keep up with updates here so you know exactly how far along it's coming!!

The Characters:

These are only the main characters, but are by no means the only important characters in the story. What with each of their own histories, families and previous relationships alongside encounters they make along their journey, from new friends to fearful enemies to everything in between, the world soon becomes a vast place. Though there are more than five, this is because the central cast changes over the course of the story (I promise it isn't just that I can't count). In future updates I will post more character intros!

Ren: A drow who escaped his war-torn life in the cities under the surface. A mysterious wanderer, he is clearly hiding something. Under his favourite black-and-red cloak, he always holds a weapon close. In his dreams he sees the future and not once have they failed to come true. With harrowing visions of the future, he searches for a new life in the nation of Cerulea - or just about anywhere that isn't home. However, he struggles to let go of the past and with his sense of self. Despite his cold exterior, he is very sentimental.

Prince Alastair: The Prince of Cerulea. A highly educated, elitist and over-proud young man. He is the heartthrob of the nation and, naturally, has an ego. An elf of over two hundred years old, soon he must inherit the title of King and has, for years, been trained as a diplomat. Yet, he isn't loved by everyone and many want him dead, whether it's because of his arrogance or his sadistic streak. Because of the strain of public life, he has become somewhat detached from emotions.

Maia: A Fae from deep within the Forest of Secrets, beyond the borders to Waystone and deep into the Kingdoms of the Spiritworld. She is the Princess of the Seelie Court. With her best friend, she ran away from her own wedding and doesn't even know of the existence of other elves, other Fae people, beyond the Forest. Erratic and energetic, she proudly carries her magic staff with her wherever she goes, even despite sorcery being forbidden. A master of the arcane arts, she has a particular interest in illusory magic which makes her difficult to understand and difficult to believe what one sees about her...

Diavol: On the run for serial murder charges, this elusive and over-confident criminal is perpetually a source of poignancy for Ren, ever since he left him all alone twenty years ago. He is a stickler for the city scene and a reputed womaniser. Self-taught in the ways of sorcery, oftentimes he resorts to dirty tricks and 'cheap shots' with his quick-casting, underhanded spells. Yet, on top of this, a secret that none other than Ren knows, he has the ability to read minds, and uses this to his advantage to evade arrest and flirt with strangers.

Asphodella: A strange loner, dressed like a noblewoman from thousands of years ago, she visibly stands out in a crowd. Rude and self-assured, she does not let anyone tell her what to do. She has mastered the art of shapeshifting and at times can let her bestial, violent nature out. Bloodthirsty, fierce and independent, though at times a softer, more sympathetic side comes out. Her heart holds a dark past.

Illuvi: An exorcist from the rural countryside of Narika. Renowned for his bad temper and vulgar language, many people are scared off by his aggressive nature. However, he is now being chased by the Spirit Hunters for failing to exorcise a spirit. He felt pity for it, only young, as it took the form of a child and he could not bring himself to kill it. Now, she calls him her older brother and the two of them live by themselves off of the land, running from place to place and sleeping outside. He uses himself to channel elemental magic and controls flames at the expense of his body.

Akari: The spirit that Illuvi could not kill. Takes the form of a young girl and is (mostly) tame. Shy, softly spoken and naturally skittish, this kitsune practically clings to her older brother wherever they go. Afraid of what humans will do to her, the only person she trusts is Illuvi. Wields magical power beyond human comprehension but, being a young spirit, her inexperience means that she does not know how to control it. Oftentimes changes into fox form and hides up trees.

The Plot:

With a story that spans across a whole world, with characters that, too, span across a whole world, one of the more difficult things I have struggled with when creating this story is how they meet each other. However, there is one thing that they all have in common: they have all run away from something in their past.

As they each search for something, whether that's a new life, a new love, a safe place, a home or somewhere free from the law, they find each other and, consequently, get tangled up in each other's lives. They're tied into a grand conspiracy to destroy the monarchy, involved in the escape from pursuers and left with no one to turn to but each other.

If you want to know more, I'm going to post a synopsis/blurb thing later so look out for that!

Closing Thoughts:

Anyway, thank you for reading this far. I hope this gives you a better idea of what this project exactly is. I know this intro is long but that's because I actually have already written a fair amount and there is a lot of content, and many creative decisions, to summarise. I'm going to keep adding to my blog with updates on the writing process. Follow for more, I've always got a lot to say about this, and have a nice day!!

[prettygirls-grave]

creating my dream life⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚

(part 1)

why?

why do you want to change? why do you want this "dream life?' why do you want to become an architect, or have all A's, or change your mindset? why do you feel happy doing certain things? knowing the why is the key to life. go through things you love or things you hate and ask yourself why!

using myself as an example, i scroll for hours because it distracts my from my negative thoughts and replaces crying on my bed because i'm so lazy with living vicariously through people who are able to push past lack of discipline. this answers my "why am i addicted to my phone?"

another- why do i want to change my lifestyle? because i'm consistently dissatisfied and disappointed in myself for never reaching my full potential, and i yearn and anguish over the life i could be living which causes a spiral of depression (lol) i don't want to live a life i hate!!!!!!

what do you want?

establish what you want. you may have a clear picture, or not even the faintest idea. sit and reflect upon what truly makes you happy and brings fulfillment to your life. you can find shadow work or journal prompts online, or i'd be happy to make a list if you'd like!

→ me (current)

be proficient in tennis

learn to play the guitar

speak fluent italian, croatian, and beginner french

learn cyrillic alphabet

practice drawing, painting, designing, etc

write often

read often

journal often

exercise consistently

spent time outdoors biking, walking, skating, etc

practice meditating

improve on my anxiety (work on ignoring negative thoughts, not allow others to dictate how i feel, feel confident and relaxed)

create some sort of social media to serve as an outlet for my creativity

finish highschool with an IB diploma

build up my own creative portfolio

spend time researching and preparing university

win an essay competition

that's basically my master list of things i can accomplish in a foreseeable time frame.

manifestation

you can accomplish whatever you dream of. for me, i have so many future desires of what i want my life to look like, that i just need to get it out. these are basically just a ton of affirmations of my desires. some of this might seem ridiculous, but this post is more for myself to revisit more than for public use, but if it helps you, enjoyyy!

i am in my dream university with 100% paid scholarship

i am extremely well read and educated

i know exactly what i want out of my education and career

i love what i’m studying

i picked the perfect major for me

i have so many amazing opportunities in every aspect of my life

i have an amazing, fulfilling, affluent career

i attract wealth and money

i am part of so many creative projects

i am scouted for magazine/photo shoots, short films, music, interviews, modelling, movies, brands, career, travel, and academic opportunities

i am incredibly successful in everything that i am spontaneously scouted for

i am talented at everything i try

i am able to learn easily and am consistently motivated

i am naturally gifted in art, music, sports, cooking, dance, design, and all subjects

i take time and enjoy practicing things i’m passionate about

i am passionate about my studies, my career, and my passions

i have an it girl status and live an it girl life

i easily obtain and succeed in anything i desire

i attract people with similar ambitions, passions, morals, and interests

i am surrounded by people who lift me up

i have a healthy, exciting, and fun friend group

i am well liked by all

i attract my dream partner

i am totally unique

i have my desired appearance and body

my life is filled with many spontaneous and wonderful events

i use my platforms to inspire my following

i am praised for my originality and intellect

my personal creative work is published

i live in my dream city

i am effortlessly beautiful, intelligent, creative, inspiring, passionate, and healthy

i am able to have intelligent conversations in any language i like

i am magnetic and unforgettable

i have built my exact desired life by the time i’m 25

i can afford anything i desire

i receive everything on my pinterest

i remind everyone of my pinterest boards

i have a distinct, unique aesthetic that everyone associates me with

i am able to change and flow through life withe ease

i am fulfilled

i love myself and my surroundings

i am confident and free

i love the people around me

i am grateful and proud of my beautiful life

i attract anything i desire

i am free from anxiety and depression

i don’t chase, i attract

i find clarity easily when my path is not clear

i do not live in fear or stress

this is the end of this post, and it'll continue on part 2 which'll be up on my profile shortly!!! i felt like it's better to split it up rather than have one massive post

[sonicphobia0601]

Honesty time on artificial intelligence.

So I recently watched a video about someone cloning Michael Kovach's and Gooseworx's voice using artificial intelligence (Apologies in advance for any spelling errors). It was terrifying. Like someone could easily clone my voice and make my voice say hideous things. I have a distinct vision on the current use of AI. There's the benevolent: safe for work roleplay and using it to get inspiration for original art that YOU make. Then there is the malevolent: using a character's voice to say horrible things, using it to make art designed specifically to embarrass someone, and NSFW roleplay.

I myself would not be comfortable using artificial intelligence to clone my voice. This is a serious problem because the bad person cloning my voice could make my voice say homophobic, racist or even antisemitic things. Or say something disgusting. And that's a huge problem since I myself am pansexual and a Jew. And I really don't like seeing children hurt because a stranger impersonated me. And do not make me into a Character on Character.ai. I've seen what happened with my personal favorite shit-poster pukicho here on Tumblr.

It's also problematic in school settings. Literally, my second day of English class, I found a section in my syllabus on plagiarism dedicated SPECIFICALLY to artificial intelligence. I have a personal rule regarding artificial intelligence that I apply for myself: never use it for work. Look at what is happening with Duolingo. I try to learn French (I'm already very proficient in French and brushing up), and I found French errors that would make my own French teacher in high school vomit.

There's a way to check if something is plagiarized. You either copy paste the things you hear in Google/Bing/whatever browser you use or (in Michael Kovach and Gooseworx's case) head straight for the source and ask.

There's a good reason why I am generally against AI. But I can see the good in it too. I'm not saying don't use AI ever, but for the love of Scott Cawthon, I advise heavily AGAINST using AI for malicious purposes or to make money off of someone else's work.

Sorry for the rant.

[melancholypirates]

Trying to work the courage up to post my OC's here so I'm going to start with my newest DND character for my brother's Metal Gear inspired campaign

This is Damon McCormic, he's a 27 year old French-Canadian assassin who suffers from a lot of addiction problems and a lot of mental illness.

He's the youngest out of two children, his older sister's name is Marie. The two were never particularly close as Damon always felt as if he lived in Marie's shadow. His sister's success set expectations that he could never reach for his parents and he was told 'try harder next time'.

At the age of fourteen, Damon ran away, no destination on mind. He just wanted away from his family. Shortly afterwards, a group of assassin's named 'Ragnarok' found him trespassing. Instead of killing him, the leader of the assassin's offered him a place within Ragnarok, granted he would have to become an assassin to do so. Damon agreed. He began learning the way of the assassin was then given the Ragnarok brand, the Norse compass, on his back.

However, the place Damon started to call home once again, started to feel like a prison. The leader he had grown to view as a father, began to remind him of his own. Despite all of this, Damon stayed due to his own selfish reasons.

Damon finally decided to leave at the age of twenty-four. Taking any assassination job that payed well enough. Trying to hide his identity and past ties with Ragnarok, getting a skeletal tattoo down his back to try and cover the brand upon his back. As well as a butterfly on his face, wanting to find any form of freedom from his past.

A few years passed of him doing this and the leader of a military group found him and offered him a position for a mission. Damon only agreed after being told how much he was going to be paid if the mission is successful. It was there where he was given the codename, 'Creed'.

At the base he meets five others who were chosen for the mission. Yaksha, a Russian spy (Codename: Whitefox). Nano, a Russian scientist (Codename: Supernova). Anya, a Russian assassin (Codename: Composer). Chionia, a Russian pirate (Codename: Ranger). And Yeuri, a Japanese Samurai (Codename: Spector).

Now, I'm not gonna lie; all of us were high while playing the first session a few days ago so I really don't remember a lot of what happened other than, the team all got to know each other a little, Nano threw a knife at Damon and it stabbed his shoulder so he threw on back in return, Chionia is truly the only moral and logical one, Yaksha gives off 'come on guys it's me, everyone's friend' vibes, the mission was successful, Nano took in a child and my friend and I are currently in debate on if we want Damon and Yeuri to have a rivals to lovers thing happen.

So yeah. That's Damon. He's still very much in the works but I tried.

Here's the link to the picrew creator

[aikya-kat-44]

⁠=⁠)Intro post (⁠=⁠^⁠･⁠ｪ⁠･⁠^⁠=⁠)

Hi, I'm Aikya! (Pronouns she/they) :)

If I randomly wake up feeling androgynous, call me Nikephoros.

I am an extremely chaotic AuDHDer who is utterly and completely obsessed with formula one, cats, space, and creating my own music. ♾️

I'm a demigirl, and I'm panromantic/nebularomantic and acespec.

I'm desi

I will get around to drawing a pfp promise.

Prenoms: elle/iel (french speakers correct me if this is wrong I'm trying to learn French)

Please be aware that I am a minor (but I'm not above making a grown adult cry)

YeAh I tOtAlLy WiLl NoT hAvE a MiLlIoN hYpErFiXtAtIoNs At EvErY gIvEn MoMeNt.

Currently obsessed with epic the musical, which has impossibly enough made the odyssey even more tragic.

Feel free to message me about anything space/physics related.

Formula one:

My favourite drivers are Lewis Hamilton, Esteban Ocon, and Charles Leclerc. Feel free to message me about anything F1! But please don't message about ad21 because that is emotionally exhausting.

The roses on our grave is an original story inspired by greek mythology I am currently writing on wattpad. It's about two 16 year old best friends, Syntyche and Achilles, who are chosen for an annual competition where two champions of each olympian are chosen to compete against each other in a battle to the death for the chance to be a hero.

Links to other accounts:

Quotev:

Wattpad:

Please do not ask me for donations. I am unable to donate any money, and I currently will not respond to or share requests for donations.

Dni= If you've come here just to make other people miserable, then kindly **** off. Anything racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, or ableist is not allowed or welcome on this blog. Nor is any kind of hate speech. You might think you're cooand edgy and giving a 'real' opinion, but really you're just being a boring asshole that no one gives a fig about. Take your s*** somewhere else If you really must talk about it. If you are consistently horrible then I WILL block you, so be warned. Also, please do not share anything nsfw with me or send flirty messages as I do not feel comfortable with it. Minors dni blogs please dni as I am a minor.

Other blogs:

@athenaswordfish is an rp blog where I role play Pallas

@odysseus-f1-au is an rp blog for the F1 au

@split-kitty is a side blog where I post all my depressing shit. This blog can be quite dark, because it's a vent space for my terrible mental health.

[sohushygrayness]

Project Number 28: Learning to Speak Arabic

Introduction: (Project Number: 35; Project type: Task/Story/Epic/Initiative/Strategy/Goal/Vision; Goal: to learn to speak fluent Arabic).

Planning: (Materials: Duolingo Application; Time: 2 hours; Budget: £0)

Learning: (Research: Duolingo, Wikipedia; Skills: languages).

Execution: (Recently, I was browsing the Wikipedia for 'Mint' which then led me to a page that showcased all the information for Mentha. It was on this page that I found references to Limonana. Although I'll make that drink later today, the combination of the picture which showcased a drink served in Damascus, Syria and the recent attempt to make traditionally Turkish food inspired me to want to learn Arabic. I begin by checking whether DuoLingo offers the language as a course. It does, and I start by learning about pairing letters with their sounds. Arabic is read from right to left which is something that trips me up at first.

Edit: 06/08/2024. I have, to try and support myself in being more empirical in these entries, including a chart which rounds up the time that I've committed to learning Arabic.

Edit: 11/08/2024. Last night I did some lessons on learning the alphabet. I find doing so beneficial because then I am not just pairing sounds against symbols but rather trying to improve my understanding of the script. Last night's lesson focussed on short and long vowels. I was relatively comfortable with long vowels but learning how to accent correctly for shorter vowels I found to be beneficial.

Edit: 21/08/2024. One of the nicest things about learning Arabic is learning a new script. English uses the Latin script so when you're learning a new language, such as French or Spanish, you find yourself vaguely familiar with the script. In Arabic, you have to learn new letters altogether. I find that being bad at something inspires me to want to be better. I'm quite stubborn in that respect. So lately I've found myself checking the leaderboards on DuoLingo more often than I should to see where I am.

Friday, 23 August 2024. Today I have been largely focused on practicing letters rather than words. I’m becoming more confident identifying the difference between the symbols for dh, j, k and z. One key component of Arabic that I like is that is that vowels such as aa have their own symbol, and then when it’s a single vowel, it’s accented instead. I’m also finding though that learning the Arabic script is half the challenge, the other challenge is learning to write the letter in a way that does justice to how it should be written. Especially letters like K.

Saturday, 24 August 2024. Today I have been focussing on trying to get my head around the order of words in Arabic. I know that it’s written from right to left and in Duolingo it shows as verb then noun, e.g. cold house. However, when it comes to the mini quizzes, I have to do noun then verb. So even though it’s still technically cold house, I need to write it as house cold. I’m also struggling to remember Arabic words. I think I rushed past that section when I should have been paying attention so now, I’m catching up.

Sunday, 25 August 2024. No update today due to sickness

Monday, 26 August 2024. Today I have spent more time on learning Swedish through Duolingo rather than on Arabic. I’m a huge fan of the Nordic countries and Swedish is a language I’m already familiar with. Well, I’m familiar with the Latin script as we all are in Western Europe, but I also know a few words. Given the familiarity, I’m able to speed through the first 3 units and I’m currently top of the leaderboard on Duolingo. A few words are reminiscent of synonyms, such as an alternative word for Dog is the Swedish word Hund. I like that.

Tuesday, 27 August 2024. Today I have once again been focussed on learning Swedish. I’m currently working my way through the section that covers ‘talk about food and drink’. I feel like I have a generally good grasp on the basics here, varm pizza, kall sallad, etc. Later this evening I’ll do a little bit more letter practice with learning Arabic as I have slacked with it over the past few days. I think my antimotivation is coming as Swedish is simpler for me to understand which makes me feel more at home with the language as I work through.

Reflection: (Outcome: successful completion of 5 lessons; Lessons: that Arabic is written from right to left and that the script has taken a lot of practice on my part.

Edit: Thus far it's been a rewarding experience learning Arabic and now learning Swedish. I think that Arabic is tougher than Swedish at this point in time. Largely because you have to learn an entirely new alphabet. So, whilst you're learning about different letters you're also learning how to pronounce them and the rules that govern their use).

[thesimplyluxuriouslife]

361: 33 Decorating & Construction Lessons I Learned Customizing Le Papillon (a 3-year journey)

The journey of customizing Le Papillon, my house and home in Bend, Oregon, since September 2019 has providing much opportunity for learning both about the actual and practical purpose of home remodeling and decorating but also about much opportunity for self-growth. Over the past nearly four years, an abundance of experiences, discoveries. lessons and wow moments have been collected which is why I wanted to share today's detailed and lengthy (90 minutes) with listeners of The Simple Sophisticate podcast.

As I share at the beginning of today's episode, while it has been a dream of mine to customize my own home, I never actually planned to spend the past 4 years doing so, but the timing and opportunity presented itself to continue moving forward once my first "must-do" project (the kitchen) was completed, and now with the installation of the front porch screen door you see a glimpse of above, the journey is complete and I am eager to share with you 33 lessons I have learned below so that you can confidently and more enjoyably take part in your own customization of your sanctuary that will, when you dare to trust what you discover and learn how to do, provide priceless refuge, rejuvenation, inspiration and joy.

No doubt, the journey has its headaches, stresses and questions along the way (for example, when will the bathroom ever get done!), but I share here and in the podcast episode, without any hesitation, it was worth it, to be able to call home and live my life now in a home that works with me, nourishes me and helps me feel secure but also confident enough to try to soar and explore when I step out the door into the world.

So let's begin! In the Show Notes below I have only included the 33 bulleted points and left the detailed conversation, examples and ideas solely in the audio section as otherwise, this post would have been loooooong. To thank you for your patience as there was no new episode on the 1st Wednesday of this month, I have two Petit Plaisirs to share with you today and I look forward to sharing those with you at the end of this post and episode. Now to the episode!

~Note to readers: Be sure to tune in to the audio version of this episode as I talk in detail about each of the 33 points below.

~Explore becoming a TOP Tier Member of TSLL International Community and the many benefits as well as read testimonials from current members to be able to view the exclusive content of all of TSLL's home tours that will be linked below and were mentioned in the episode.

~I mentioned throughout the episode that even more tips for my approach to decorating as well as budget ideas were shared when I was a recent guest on podcast Decorating Tips & Tricks with Anita Joyce. Here is a link to that episode.

~The link to learn more about Rita Konig's interior decorating course offered on CreateAcademy.

Making the Best Decisions for You

1.Patience is key for knowing what will work best

~take the Office Tour here~

2. If you aren't sure yet, keep searching. It will pounce on you when you do.

~Look for the foyer and entry (interior and exterior) house tour at the end of this month.

3. Choose an item (piece of furniture, window, work of art, item in your kitchen - the stove) that is the star and everything else will support that.

~

La Cornue: Why This French Stove is the Best Fit for My Kitchen and Life (take a full tour of the kitchen as well)

4. Metal finishes don't have to be all the same exact finish, but they need to be in the same family.

5. Dismiss trends. Follow what speaks to you and makes you feel at home. Design from that space and you will be happier far longer.

6. Invest in the sofa, recover high quality hand-me-down chairs.

7. Know how you live best in your house.

8. Choose color combinations that work well in Mother Nature naturally. Stick to a few in each room - not too many.

Take a tour of the Dining Room and the Curtains, inspired by Provence. How to Frame a Room in an Open-Floor Plan.

Working with Others (Contractors, Designers, Subcontractors, etc.)

9. Patience is also key when working with your many subcontractors, experts and contractor.

10. Buy as many of the items directly rather than have your contractor do so. It will save you money.

11. Make sure every item arrives that you ordered immediately upon arrival. If not, call and get it sent ASAP.

The Arts & Crafts Guest Bathroom Reveal tour

12. Have pictures of exactly what you are thinking - design of tiles, placement of fixtures, style of curtains, etc.

~Tour the Primary Bathroom here.

13. Get ready to find your voice. You will need it.

14. Check each invoice to confirm correct itemization for charges for the retailer and your contractor's percentage charged

15. Be willing to live in your house or visit it everyday if you can to ensure quality of work and correct work is done - speeds up the process.

16. Don't take their word at face value. Come prepared. Know your house and be comfortable walking away and finding someone else.

17. Keep checking in.

18. "Man-splaining" will likely happen. Be prepared for egos to be bruised when you speak up. Do so with grace, but with strength. It's hard, but will help you sleep better.

Skills that will Give You Options

19. How to choose and coordinate prints (wallpaper and upholstery).

Take a Tour of the first room to be remodeled and redesigned - The English-inspired Boot & Basket room.

20. Lead the eye into the next room by creating interest visually.

Take a tour of the Parisian Elegance + English Country Comfort Primary Bedroom

21. Details matter. Tend to them as you can afford.

Small, Yet Significant Everyday Details at Home

22. Shop consignment and barter.

5 Tips I Learned during my First Brocante Visit (in France)

23. Invest in quality fabric for curtains, BUT you don't need an interior designer if you know what you want. This will save you money. Find a seamstress you trust and work directly with them.

Curtains for a Reading Nook, English Cottage-inspired (living room)

24. Just because you haven't done something before, doesn't mean you cannot teach yourself to do it.

25. Wallpaper is powerful and immediately adds a signature to a room. Dare to do it. Start in a small room first to gather your nerve.

~Click here to discover how to Wallpaper all by Yourself (yes, you can!)

What Makes Le Papillon Feel Like My Forever Home

26. Don't ask others to approve, look to those who understand design and ask how something works, then begin making decisions with this gained wisdom

27. Prioritize the entries of your home - the front (exterior and interior) and how you enter your home (from the garage, for example), if different.

28. Acknowledge where you spend most of your time. Start there.

29. Let the light in.

30. Create multiple Snug areas throughout the home (outside too)

8 Tips for Styling Your Own Snug and Take a Tour of TSLL's Newly Finished Office

31. Fresh flowers

32. Include details that make you smile.

33. Tech and clocks have their place, but none of them glaringly obvious or obstructive.

Petit Plaisirs

~Foyle's War

~Seaside Hotel (originally titled Badehotellet)

~Explore more episodes of The Simple Sophisticate podcast here.

Tune in to the latest episode of The Simple Sophisticate podcast

[renaerys]

PPG One-Shot: Spelling Bee (Brick/Blossom)

Happy birthday to @genovah​! She is always inspiring me to come up with more PPG content, a true hero. I’m back with another entry in the ongoing Shooketh, Not Stirred high school AU Reds series for your entertainment. As always, this can be read alone, but it happens in the same universe as part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, and part 5. This is also posted on my AO3.

Summary: Brick and Blossom hunker down in the library to study for the upcoming regional spelling bee.

***Reblogs are extremely appreciated, since this probably won’t show up in the tags due to cursing. Thank you! <3

xxx

In fairness, Brick had come to the library during his free period with the pure intention to learn. And he was certainly learning something. But somewhere between sliding into his seat opposite Blossom and watching her lips move around insouciant as if it were a strawberry slathered in ganache, his purity was torn from his weak, teenage boy fingers and there was absolutely no going back. 

“Brick, are you listening to me?” She touched his hand across the table. 

“Yup.”

“Did you need me to repeat the word?”

“Yup.”

“In-SOO-see-uhnt.” She sounded it out slowly, and hand to god, that dominating SOO went straight to his cock.

This, of course, was fine. 

“Origin?” he asked. 

She twirled her hair around her finger and puckered her lips. “French.”

Fuck.

“I…”

Blossom mistook his increasingly horny stupor for plain old stupor and sighed. “Are you even trying? Because if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were completely fine with Darla Dimpleton going to regionals instead of one of us.”

“I am not fine with that.”

Darla Dimpleton was an unassuming, unthreatening nobody with the personality of plain oatmeal. Brick would never have even bothered to learn her name had she not committed the cardinal sin of scoring so much extra credit while everyone else was busy having lives that she stole the number one GPA right from under him. Which meant she stole it from under Blossom too. Which meant Brick was no longer a respectable silver medal to Blossom’s gold, but currently ranked third and therefor merely happy to be on the podium at all (and for the record, no one has ever been happy merely to be on the podium, just like no one has ever been happy winning Most Improved: you sucked, and now you suck a little less. Except this time, you actually suck more because Darla fucking Dimpleton decided to Quaker Oats her way to the top of this rat race that doesn’t actually matter, but it’s the principle of the thing, i.e., the only thing that matters.). 

All of this to say, Darla Dimpleton was the Worst™ and she was one hundred percent going down. 

“Are you sure? Because you’re being awfully cavalier about this. Some might even call you insouciant.”

It was a testament to Brick’s powerful fondness for winning and being seen doing it that he spelled insouciant in one Darla Dimpleton-shaped cock blocking breath.

Blossom smiled like she knew something. “Much better.”  

Yeah, she knows a lot of things.

The problem with dating, Brick was convinced, was that suddenly the mundane became extraordinary. Everyday experiences that he had previously taken for granted—flying around Townsville, enjoying a cup of coffee, thwarting his sometimes murderous demonic overlord from distributing incriminating polaroids, that sort of thing—were suddenly exciting, thrilling even. Because now he got to do those things with Blossom, and Blossom was cool in a smarmy, elitist sort of way that both softened his heart and hardened his dick all at the same time, and that was kind of A Lot to deal with at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday.

“All right, do me,” Blossom said, and Brick coughed so badly his aforementioned weak, teenage boy fingers shook to stifle himself. 

Mercy, he thought, probably. But all his blood was rushing south and it was going to take a supernatural willpower to get through these words so that one of them could beat the upstart porridge peasant to this year’s regional spelling bee. 

“You’re the boss,” he said, because it was true, and also because he liked the way she looked at him when he said it. Like he was now the ganache-coated strawberry in this overextended metaphor that he was too laden with Homeric concupiscence being in her general proximity to unpack. 

Concupiscence, there’s a ten dollar word for you, you horny genius. 

He made a mental note to brag to Blossom about this later. 

“Okay, let’s see…” Brick made a show of organizing the flashcards so that she wouldn’t see him discreetly re-situate his pants under the table. “Your word is cymotrichous.”

Blossom tapped her lips, and Brick found himself sympathizing with the Puritans in their absolute befuddlement over the libidinous effect of women having lips. Witchcraft, surely. “Could you use it in a sentence for me?”

Compelled entirely by black magic and therefor not responsible for his imminently questionable choices, Brick obliged her with: “Thinking about how I’d rather run my fingers through your cymotrichous hair for the rest of free period instead of sit here spelling words no one’s ever heard of.”

Blossom, who he was dead certain was extremely thirsty for him and had been for years long before they ever reconciled their rivalry, leaned over the desk separating them. Her hair, long and loose and indeed quite wavy today, was tempting. “Brick, are you flirting with me?”

It was a well-known fact of being a Weak-Fingered, Teenage Boy that one must never reveal such weakness, especially not in front of one’s girlfriend. On the other hand, co-opting said weakness and rebranding it as the suave truth was galaxy brain levels of flirting. And Brick, as has already been established, was a horny genius. “Yup.” He leaned in to meet her, and he twirled her hair between his fingers because they were weak for her, indeed. “How am I doing?”

Blossom, too determined to let her thirst deter her from her goal of sweet, academic retribution and bragging rights, tapped a finger to his lips. “Great. But we have so many words to spell, and only thirty minutes left to do them all. So get shuffling, stud.”

Well, he could work with that. One thing that made his relationship with Blossom work very well was their insatiable competitiveness. Whether they were whaling on each other over an empty parking lot, debating the efficacy of post-its as a note-taking device, or combining their powers to Captain Planet a cornmeal know-it-all back down the leaderboard where she belonged, they were relentless glory chasers. And the greater the challenge, the more they enjoyed the experience and each other. 

Blossom spelled her word perfectly, by the way. She stretched out the o-u-s at the end in a bewitching little whisper as she pulled away and her hair slipped through his fingers. That moment when the light changes and the temperature shifts and you’re weightless in a state of existential anticipation of something monumental about to happen, but not quite? That happened. Thirty minutes to explore the shape of that anticipation was enough time to taste it but not enough to savor it. Which, Brick supposed, was about to make this the best thirty minutes he was likely going to get all week. 

“Are you ready?” Blossom watched him from behind the card she’d drawn. She had a glint in her eyes that told him she was smiling behind that card. 

“Anytime.”

“Your word is eudaemonic.”

That fucking gorgeous ooh again.

“Define it.”

Blossom flushed as though he had just ordered her to bend over. She bit her lip (it must have been a ten Hail Mary’s kind of day when the Witch-Finder General caught a flesh and blood woman doing that with her improbably sorcerous lips) and grinned. “It means producing happiness. Based on the idea of happiness as the proper end of conduct.”

Producing happiness, which is proper, much like how Blossom came off as proper and even prim around adults, when really she was the most fun, most confident, most person he’d ever met, especially when she was spelling in that chiffon top (son of a bitch, that was a great top on her), and the only conduct he was interested in was of the happiest kind.

“Oh.” His throat clenched, and then his stomach twisted, and then his pants grew little too tight again in a full-body chain reaction that began and ended with a fierce determination not to give in first even though it would mean release because release would be meaningless without this etymological tête-à-tête. 

Don’t think about tête-à-têtes. 

Seventeenth century, noun, borrowed from the French meaning literally “head to head” (please, please stop hurting yourself like this).

“Brick?”

Brick cleared his throat. “Yup. Got it. E-u-d…”

Crisis averted, Brick picked the next card and promptly choked on his own tongue. Blossom made a show like she was concerned and are you all right? and please drink some water. Brick drank her water, which of course she had had her anatomically heretical lips on earlier, which was just fantastic for him. Tuesday fucking morning. 

Milieu was her word. 

“Milieu, hmm.” Blossom’s smile was spellbinding, which was a pun because he punned when he panicked. “Origin?”

You bitch, he thought, and be cool, and also, witchcraft.

Brick leaned back in his chair, slipped his trembling hands in his pockets, and squeezed every ounce of anything you can do I can do better into a winsome grin. “French.”

Blossom’s adult-facing façade cracked like an egg, and he got a glimpse of the raw delight she felt for this game, for the words, and for him for making it happen. For cultivating the electric milieu, if you will, currently driving them both into a state of impassioned, competitive euphoria at 9:42 a.m. in the library. 

“Right, um…” She stumbled over her words, and Brick had to restrain himself from crowing for joy and risk the rheumy-eyed librarian coming to scold them. 

By the time they got through another set of words, they were each visibly frustrated and doubly turned on by the other’s masochistic resolve not to throw in the towel. 

“Okay, ready for another round?” 

She wasn’t even trying to hide her intentions now, and that was just fine with Brick. “Of course.”

One more.

If it was another French word, he was fucking done. 

“Really?” Blossom truly had ice in her veins for the way she was able to school her face then. He couldn’t read her, and that was very bad. 

If it’s another fucking French word…

He could be over the desk and on her faster than you could say concupiscence. 

“Okay.” Blossom set down the flashcard she’d drawn and folded her hands on the table. She looked him dead in the eye licked her lips. “Succedaneum.”

The bookshelf shook but Brick’s fingers didn’t as they pinned Blossom’s over a Dewey Decimal-stamped spine and he kissed her with all the horny passion of a teenage genius who would make a note to thank the devil for giving women lips. One of his better ideas. 

xxx

“Hey, has anyone seen Blossom? I’ve sent her, like, four texts!” Bubbles shoved her phone, open to the ignored texts in question, in her sister’s face. “She was supposed to help me with Chem homework.”

Buttercup ducked. “No, and watch where you’re swinging that thing.”

“I saw her earlier,” Boomer said. “She was with Brick coming out of first period.”

“Oh, yeah.” Mike slung his arm around Boomer’s shoulders. “Don’t they both have a free period right now?”

Buttercup rolled her eyes. “What a scam. Whoever decided to give the A-students free periods while the rest of us mere mortals gotta slave away is a straight-up Supervillain.”

Boomer snapped his fingers. “Hey, I just remembered! They both decided to compete for the spot at the regional spelling bee this year. I bet that’s what they’re doing.”

“God, that’s the saddest thing I have ever heard in my life. That’s a new low even for Blossom.”

“I heard there’s a cash prize for the regional winner,” Bubbles said. “It’s like twenty thousand bucks! Remember, everyone in school signed up and we had to have that assembly to narrow it down?”

“Twenty thou— How the tits did I miss that?!”

“I mean, it was all over the school,” Mike said. “We signed up too.”

“What? And no one thought to tell me I could’ve won the lottery?”

Boomer chuckled. “Dude, come on. You wouldn’t have stood a chance in hell against Darla Dimpleton.”

“Who?”

Bubbles cast Boomer a not worth it look, and he just sighed. “So, if they’re studying for the spelling bee, do you think they’re in the library?”

At that moment, Butch came bursting down the hall a little too fast to be human. Open lockers rattled on their hinges as he passed, and a Sophomore girl’s binder went flying, scattering looseleaf papers everywhere. Buttercup looked ready to punch him in the dick for breaking the no powers in school rule. “Guys, you’re gonna shit!” 

“Calm down before you blow a load, Jesus Christ.” Buttercup yanked him back down to the floor so he wouldn’t spontaneously float. 

Sensibly, Boomer asked, “Why?”

“‘Cause Brick and Blossom are making out in the library right now!”

Mike cringed. “Oh, come on.”

“The hell they are,” Buttercup said. 

Bubbles smiled. “Good for them.”

“I’m serious! There were books everywhere, and the noise—”

“Oh look, there goes my dignity. Better catch it before it gets away. C’mon, moron.” Buttercup dragged Butch down the hall over his protests. “What were you even doing in the library? I didn’t think you knew where it was…”

“Like that could ever happen,” Mike said. “Those two wouldn’t waste a minute of study time if it means beating out the competition.”

Boomer did not look so convinced. “I don’t know. I mean, they’re officially, for real dating now,”—“Finally!” Mike interjected—“so it’s not that unbelievable.”

The bell for the next period rang. Bubbles groaned thinking of stewing for an hour of Chem. At least she shared that class with Boomer and would not have to suffer alone. They parted from Mike and walked together through the throng of students rushing to get to their next period.

“Hey, do you think…” 

“I mean…” Boomer shrugged. 

They rounded the corner and nearly ran into Blossom dashing to her next class with a rushed “Got your texts talk later bye!” before she disappeared into the crowd. 

Bubbles whirled on Boomer. “Did you see her buttons—”

“Completely uneven—”

The late bell rang and made them jump. Among the last stragglers, they both dashed a bit too fast to get to class and made it to their seats just as Mr. Micelli finished writing a problem on the board. 

Boomer winked when she caught his eye a couple desks away from hers, and it took everything she had not to laugh.

“Good for her,” Bubbles said to herself. 

“You are late,” Mr. Micelli said. 

Everyone turned to watch Brick sink into his seat, his short hair totally askew and looking healthily flushed for a Tuesday morning. 

Boomer burst out laughing and needed a whole minute to calm down. 

He’d tell her later that the detention was worth it.

xxx

Witchcraft! 👁️👄👁️✨

[kacyblacky]

Bombing Afghanistan back into the Stone Age' was quite a favourite headline for some wobbly liberals. The slogan does all the work. But an instant's thought shows that Afghanistan is being, if anything, bombed out of the Stone Age.;Christopher Hitchens;age 399;Oh, if I had been loved at the age of seventeen, what an idiot I would be today. Happiness is like smallpox: if you catch it too soon, it can completely ruin your constitution.;Gustave Flaubert;age 400;English people don't have very good diction. In France you have to pronounce very particularly and clearly, and learning French at an early age helped me enormously.;Vivien Leigh;age 401;Children also have artistic ability, and there is wisdom in there having it! The more helpless they are, the more instructive are the examples they furnish us and they must be preserved free of corruption from an early age.;Paul Klee;age 402;Of course, the ideal scenario for parenting is obviously two parents of a mature age.;Jennifer Aniston;age 403;You know what makes me feel old? When I see girls who are 20-something, or the new crop of actresses, and think, Aren't we kind of the same age?;Jennifer Aniston;age 404;I think love can happen at any age... it has no age.;Shahrukh Khan;age 405;Elizabeth Peyton, the artist known for tiny, dazzling portraits of radiant youth, is now painting tiny, dazzling portraits of radiant middle age.;Jerry Saltz;age 406;I'm inspired by people who keep on rolling, no matter their age.;Jimmy Buffett;age 407;By Time and Age full many things are taught.;Aeschylus;age 408;I was taught from a young age that I had to serve, so that turned into me thinking I had to save the planet.;Alanis Morissette;age 409;If you've got to my age, you've probably had your heart broken many times. So it's not that difficult to unpack a bit of grief from some little corner of your heart and cry over it.;Emma Thompson;age 410;My mother enjoyed old age, and because of her I've begun to enjoy parts of it too. So far I've had it good and am crumbling nicely.;Lionel Blue;age 411;We're saying no changes for Medicare for people above the age of 55. And in order to keep the promise to current seniors who've already retired and organized their lives around this program, you have to reform it for the next generation.;Paul Ryan;age 412;It's sad, actually, because my anxiety keeps me from enjoying things as much as I should at this age.;Amanda Seyfried;age 413;I felt a tremendous sadness for men who can't deal with a woman of their own age.;Michael Caine;age 414;This is the first convention of the space age - where a candidate can promise the moon and mean it.;David Brinkley;age 415;Revenge is the naked idol of the worship of a semi-barbarous age.;Percy Bysshe Shelley;age 416;I think I don't regret a single 'excess' of my responsive youth - I only regret, in my chilled age, certain occasions and possibilities I didn't embrace.;Henry James;age 417;Our Age of Anxiety is, in great part, the result of trying to do today's job with yesterday's tools and yesterday's concepts.;Marshall McLuhan;age 418;I'll tell you, there is nothing better in life than being a late bloomer. I believe that success can happen at any time and at any age.;Salma Hayek;age 419;Man arrives as a novice at each age of his life.;Nicolas Chamfort;age 420;Live your life and forget your age.;Jean Paul;age 421;I can't look in the mirror and look at fake things. I just can't. I'd rather age.;Heidi Klum;age 422;The surest sign of age is loneliness.;Annie Dillard;age 423;Learning to dislike children at an early age saves a lot of expense and aggravation later in life.;Robert Byrne;age 424;Confidence is something you're born with. I know I had loads of it even at the age of 15.;Hedy Lamarr;age 425;We accumulate our opinions at an age when our understanding is at its weakest.;Georg C. Lichtenberg;age 426;I got to experience soccer at the highest level at a young age I decided I wanted to be part of that for as long as possible.;Mia Hamm;age 427;Living in an age of advertisement, we are perpetually disillusioned. The perfect life is spread before us every day, but it changes and withers at a touch.;J. B. Priestley;age 428;Age, like distance lends a double charm.;Oliver Herford;age 429;Utility is the great idol of the age, to which all powers must do service and all talents swear allegiance.;Friedrich Schiller;age 430;Anyone who writes an autobiographical work at the age of 34 is, at best, presumptuous. It occurred to me that it was time to set the record straight.;Jessica Savitch;age 431;New needs need new techniques. And the modern artists have found new ways and new means of making their statements... the modern painter cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any other past culture.;Jackson Pollock;age 432;One of the tough things about being an actor, probably the hardest thing, is getting your foot in the door, and my father handled that for me at a very early age.;Jeff Bridges;age 433;Any role that big is going to be a challenge for any actor, but for an actor of a young age, it's going to be even tougher.;Jeff Bridges;age 434;Now is the age of anxiety.;W. H. Auden;age 435;I think it's pretty crazy to say you've been typecast at the age of 20 before you've even really started getting going.;Tom Felton;age 436;At the age of four with paper hats and wooden swords we're all Generals. Only some of us never grow out of it.;Peter Ustinov;age 437;My inspiration was my mom. She's a great cook, and she still cooks, and we still banter back and forth about cooking. Growing up in a mostly Portuguese community, food was important and the family table was extremely important. At a very young age I understood that.;Emeril Lagasse;age 438;The great book for you is the book that has the most to say to you at the moment when you are reading. I do not mean the book that is most instructive, but the book that feeds your spirit. And that depends on your age, your experience, your psychological and spiritual need.;Robertson Davies;age 439;Age gives you a great sense of proportion. You can be very hard on yourself when you're younger but now I just think 'well everybody's absolutely mad and I'm doing quite well'.;Steven Morrissey;age 440;If the nineteenth century was the age of the editorial chair, ours is the century of the psychiatrist's couch.;Marshall McLuhan;age 441;American youth attributes much more importance to arriving at driver's license age than at voting age.;Marshall McLuhan;age 442;I think a child should be allowed to take his father's or mother's name at will on coming of age. Paternity is a legal fiction.;James Joyce;age 443;Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man.;Leon Trotsky;age 444;You get to a certain age where you prepare yourself for happiness. Sometimes you never remember to actually get happy.;John Mayer;age 445;Being a father at a later age is different from when I had my other two daughters when I was in my 20s and 30s. If you're in your 60s and you're with the kid every day, you're dealing with the mind of a child, so it opens up that childishness in you again.;Martin Scorsese;age 446;A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.;Jawaharlal Nehru;age 447;There is nothing in socialism that a little age or a little money will not cure.;Will Durant;age 448;If you age with somebody, you go through so many roles - you're lovers, friends, enemies, colleagues, strangers you're brother and sister. That's what intimacy is, if you're with your soulmate.;Cate Blanchett;age 449;With age, you see people fail more. You see yourself fail more. How do you keep that fearlessness of a kid? You keep going. Luckily, I'm not afraid to make a fool of myself.;Hugh Jackman;age 450;I'm not skinny for the wrong reasons. It's not because I'm bulimic or anorexic or doing drugs. Compared to a lot of actresses my age, I'm actually overweight.;Lindsay Lohan;age 451;It seems that when you get to a certain age you almost give yourself permission to misbehave and say what you think. People allow it, with very old people.;Julie Walters;age 452;I'm not as far along as Jack Nicklaus was at this age, but I'm trying.;Tiger Woods;age 453;When superstition is allowed to perform the task of old age in dulling the human temperament, we can say goodbye to all excellence in poetry, in painting, and in music.;Denis Diderot;age 454;Peace is the one condition of survival in this nuclear age.;Adlai E. Stevenson;age 455;What could be more beautiful than a dear old lady growing wise with age? Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it.;Brigitte Bardot;age 456;You'd think that in this age, especially in the 21st century - especially with all the technology and all the discoveries that we've made - that we would figure out how to tackle abuse.;Tori Amos;age 457;Here comes 40. I'm feeling my age and I've ordered the Ferrari. I'm going to get the whole mid-life crisis package.;Keanu Reeves;age 458;At a young age winning is not the most important thing... the important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence.;Arsene Wenger;age 459;We live in an age where the artist is forgotten. He is a researcher. I see myself that way.;David Hockney;age 460;I lived the true American dream, because I was able to pursue what I set as my goals at a very young age.;Mario Andretti;age 461;Everybody looks like clones and the only people you notice are my age. I don't notice anybody unless they look great, and every now and again they do, and they are usually 70.;Vivienne Westwood;age 462;Photography suits the temper of this age - of active bodies and minds. It is a perfect medium for one whose mind is teeming with ideas, imagery, for a prolific worker who would be slowed down by painting or sculpting, for one who sees quickly and acts decisively, accurately.;Edward Weston;age 463;I never - you know also one of the things that would save me for a man my age, it was not that easy to lose that much weight and fall down and look like something draped.;Karl Lagerfeld;age 464;I wish I'd gotten sober at a younger age.;Janice Dickinson;age 465;Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, 'Why not?' and the other, 'Why bother?