#it would have worked so much better narratively

[writerben01]

I'd really like a narrative of like, three sisters who are all seamstresses at the start. And the first would ennjoy nothing more than to stay sewing, but she has to put her smarts into a 'girl power' narrative where she has to do something like become the first female mayor of her town.

And all the while she's envious+proud of her little sister who is using the same kind of smarts and the same dedication to innovate sewing and designs. And it needs to be extremely clear that both have the potential to do both things, because both are hard and both require smarts and both are worthy of respect.

But it's really important there's a third sister, who isn't quite as smart as the other two, but who is still a dedicated learner and hard worker. She isn't pulled away from her job as a seamstress and she isn't distracted by ways to innovate, which frees her up to just create with the skills she's been taught. So that everyone in the story is wearing something this third sister made. She made the blankets that keep the babies warm at night, and the suits the politicians use to show how much better they are than everyone else. She loves her sisters dearly and expresses that by making sure they're clothed. And she completes the trio by showing nobody needs to be 'worthy of respect'. We're all humans trying to exist together in tight collaboration. Why should we only vallue accomplishment, and not the unseen work that's required for people to have the time for those accomplishments?

i think what bothers me about a lot of "girl power" narratives is that they function on the implicit idea on the idea that women can become worthy of respect. and i happen to think that really caring about women means believing they already are worthy of respect. that historical seamstresses and soccer moms and forgotten sisters and sweet polite little girls and someone's weird grandma matter just as much as the warriors and politicians, even if they, personally, never accomplish anything "cool."

[eashgirl]

One detail I find weirdly bittersweet is how both Orion and D-16 were curious young bots who wanted to learn more about their world. It's more obvious with Orion, who wanted to sneak into the archives to learn about Cybertronian history. I think it's mentioned in the novel that Orion would often ramble about Cybertronian history so much that D-16 would act disinterested, which surprised Orion since he couldn't understand how anyone could not be fascinated by it.

Yet, Dee was always interested in his own way. In the storyboards, his dream was to lead an expedition off Cybertron to explore uncharted worlds and locations for Cybertron’s progress. That boy was just as curious and eager to learn—both of them shared the same curiosity and thirst for knowledge, just channeled differently.

This fits so well within the narrative sense of how they started with the same goal in mind—bringing down Sentinel and rebuilding society with the power Alpha Trion entrusted to all four of them. Yet, the paths they took to achieve that goal were starkly different. Orion saw how broken the system was under Sentinel and sought to create a better system. D-16, on the other hand, wanted to kill Sentinel, destroy everything he built, and rebuild from the ashes.

To think that, in a better world, their initial dreams could have actually been realized... it's just so sad. I need someone to write an AU where Dee gets to lead that expedition he always wanted and Orion to get that opportunity to learn about Cybertronian history,maybe in a world where Sentinel never succeeded in killing the Primes by a deux ex machina they survived so the two of them were able to grow up and live normal fulfilling lives 🥹.

Also I think it was also mentioned in another storyboard that Elita's dream was always to become a soldier imagine in this perfect scenario she gets to enlist in the High Guard or something like that,since they were the army of Cybertron before Sentinel took over,

I wonder what B-127's dream was I don't believe it was ever mentioned,he did say he wanted to work for the government but I'm not sure of an exact profession for him.

[sirazaroff]

Hey :)! Just asking but how does Glinda hide her scars on the visible parts of her body(like hands or the one on her face). And if anyone ever noticed did Morrible say that Glinda got attacked by the Wicked Witch?(you don’t have to respond with a drawing :), hope you have a good day/night)

Hey there! Thank you for the inquiry, I know yall are waiting on me to say SOMETHING since first posting the two ideas. Such a tease I am~

I will make a disclaimer that my ignorant ass has yet to know what goes down in act 2. I have plans to change that soon enough. Here’s my current take on things but I’ll make an update if they no longer have any merit in the timeline.

And speaking of a timeline, just keep in mind that after she’s struck on the back, the final beats of act 2 start to play out: Glinda going to Kiamo Ko and witnessing Elphaba’s ‘death’. The Wizard leaving and Morrible tries to grab power before Glinda can, and then failing. Glinda takes over as ruler and changes Oz in Elphaba’s vision.

——————

So, why does Glinda cover her scars?

It’s cause of her image as hope to the masses. The Good Witch can’t be appearing all busted up like that, people will ask questions. They’ll be afraid that the Wizard can’t actually help them, or at the least that Glinda can’t. Truthfully she’d rather people believe the truth but between the threat of more punishments from Morrible, and the fact that she’s putting her own public image and safety at risk, it’s better to just hide the scars. No one ever really sees them and so they never question it.

——————

Now let’s talk about how she covers them.

My thought process is that with her hands she would hide those with gloves during the frequency of the beatings. Gauze underneath, hoping they won’t bleed thru while she’s away from the palace. When Morrible eased up on this, Glinda switched over to covering them with makeup since they could finally heal over.

For her lip, Morrible gave her 3 days to figure out how to deal with the fresh wound before throwing her back into the spotlight. The pain of this caused Glinda to resent smiling. This scar would also be hidden with makeup once healed.

Now once she’s struck by lighting, all of this goes out the window. Glinda is quite literally bedridden for a few weeks and her absence is dully felt. Ozians are aware something happened at the palace, but they’re not sure what and who did it. In that instance it was easier to just blame everything on the Witch and rile up the public. (This narrative falls apart after Morrible tries to make for a power grab. Ozians will learn that it was she who hurt Glinda).

When Glinda can finally stand again, she’s in no shape to work. Of course that doesn’t stop the Wizard from having Glinda stand out on her balcony and address the worried masses.

From here on out Glinda doesn’t cover up any of her scars, only her demeanor. Even if she wanted to cover her back, it’s too large and touching the entry point sends a jolt that feels as sharp as when she was first stricken. She’s riddled with constant pain and walks with a limp, but when in public she acts like everything is peachy and is full of smiles. Glinda does this mostly because the people need a leader and if she shows her true ailments, there’s bound to be a threat for power by those taking advantage. Years down the line she’ll eventually retreat within the palace, unable to physically do much anymore but drink in an effort to numb the pain.

[creatingblackcharacters]

Heyy, hope you're doing well.

So I've been tracking a lot of my media consumption since I was like 14 and only started paying more attention to diversity a couple years later. Nevertheless I didn't consciously seek out diverse shows, I just watched what piqued my interest and I still do (it just so happens that narratives centering white people increasingly bore me and I'm more interested in narratives that center Black, Indigenous and characters of color and their stories now).

Now since I'm already tracking, I was curious what percentage of what I've watched (TV shows and movies) and read is actually primarily white and what isn't. (I left out music bc I know I listen to mostly Black artists, though I do want to explore more Indigenous artists after I listened to some recommendations recently). And unsurprisingly I found a pretty large gap between how many TV shows and movies centering white people and centering BIPOC I've watched thus far. Books were pretty balanced, I think if I finish the ones I started and read one more by an author of color the balance is even (though here, too, I have more authors of color on my to read list than white authors so that balance will probably tip over to authors of color taking up the majority soon).

To get to the point, I have now challenged myself to close these gaps and watch at the very least an equal amount of TV shows that don't just center white people as the ones that do (ofc BIPOC are not a monolith and include many groups and cultures so the more I get to explore the better, i.e. I don't need it to be a perfect balance, I just don't really want white shows/movies to stay the majority). Even though this is not something I do publicly or simply to game the numbers to feel better about myself but out of genuine interest in these stories and cultures, I sometimes worry it has a tokenizing effect? Or that it's a weird thing to think about in terms of numbers?

I'm just curious what your thoughts are on challenging oneself like this privately and what you think one should keep in mind when exploring diverse stories this way to see if I'm missing something.

Much love x

It sounds like you're doing fine so far, hell that's probably more effort than most people 😅 very thoughtful. I have no real concerns; just keep making sure you're doing it for a genuine reason and not to claim that "I'm not racist, I watched ____" (which would be tokenizing). If this is the methodical way you surround yourself with perspectives that aren't like yours, and it works, so be it. 👍🏾

[kosmicdream]

the biggest problem with my writing

it would be really difficult to explain the writing process chronologically for FFAK because its like. oh yeah mop was made as a concept in 2017 and he was made specifically to interact with dr slate after rock's death. i wanted to make a creepy janitor (a weed), former convict, that had some weird personal history with spoon. he would be determined to try to work with slate to get revenge.. i didnt know what had happened yet but at this point in the comic, im only just starting to draw scenes of them interacting. mop/nail essentially started as a side character for slate's perspective, obviously didnt stay like that but.. i mean, nail did not start as fork's fork. that just fit together somehow in a way where its impossible for me to think it otherwise, it might as well always have been that way. but nail didn't exist for the first three years of the comic and when i did actually decide on his character i basically put the spoon/rock fight on hold (again) to just draw nail/spoon scenes.

i can't say this was the smart choice or whatever its just what ended up happening. i think a lot of arc1 was built on impulsive choices like that, which comes with good and bad of course.. i dont write the same way anymore, but it still happens sometimes. gaueko/kamila were not meant to be a ship but their chemistry felt so natural to explore i decided to dive into it and let that happen as part of the comic. now in 2025, not only am i actually drawing scenes i wrote for 2017 in FFAK, but also finally drawing scenes in NRD that i also wrote in 2017. Not sure how it happened where i'd be doing that for both of them at the same time in 2025, but that's how it ended up. Its just strange how it did because its also so likely for me to end up going with a new idea impulsively (like making nail) that i put aside something else planned for the new idea (the rock/spoon fight.) Even if i eventually do return to the older scene, the order of events are totally changed. Granted, in the end i AM happy i waited to draw the spoon/rock scene, but not exactly for the narrative reasons - i just know in ch12 i was kind of like.. over-rendering everything in a way that i think would have made drawing that action scene a nightmare. by the time i got back to it in chapter 14, i had figured out how to dial things back and not over work my pages as much anymore. not that over-rendering made everything worse, but overall the experience of making pages was not as effective and draining. 

Not sure where im going with all these thoughts, but it is curious to me that I made nail/mop about 3 years into making FFAK.. which by the time FFAK was that old, a lot had happened in the story and development wise for the story. When i think about it now, its hard to conceptualize just how much I wrote/made during that time. Now i feel a lot more conservative with my ideas and plans, but thats also partly because i am always accommodating FFAK. When there wasn’t any FFAK.. that space to make a lot of things was totally open. I didn’t feel restrained. That was great! But im very different now in every aspect of the creative process. I am very restrained in many ways, of my time, my choices..ect.. I have to calculate it with everything else im already doing.. In a strange way though I think I prefer it. I make a lot better choices for the stories, but they don’t come easily or quickly which can be frustrating. Its just so different and i wonder if that differences are going to be seen and felt in this second arc as much as it is from my perspective? I don’t know.. I still havent drawn it yet, so that part is still a mystery on how it’ll be received LOL.. Just a lot i’ve been thinking about lately. My (unfinished) fairy comic is already 5 years old now and im like.. What..? but its true.. I started working on it in 2020. It does NOT feel 5 years old. Because when FFAK was 3, it already had changed so much in that time. 3 years was like a lifetime of experiences for FFAK. 5 was even more than that. Comparing comic experiences doesn’t ever really make sense logically though. They all have their own paths for growth.. And i see that more & more now especially with NRD, which I have never BEEN at a better place with creatively than I am now. Its like the love of my life since last year, which I would have never expected.. But that took me like 8 years to get to. Usually you expect the honeymoon period of a story is going to be in the early years ,when the idea is ripe and new and exciting.. And sure, NRD had that but its not like it is now. It has never felt more alive and interesting to me to work on. 

There’s been a lot of years of struggle with NRD too, where I almost felt like I was wading through the mud and not sure if it was even a story worth telling cuz it just felt like it was holding me back, reminding me too much of my life i was trying to move on and heal from. But last year i had a breakthru and now im in a sort of different struggle with it where I dont want the comic to end anymore. I will try to though, but as its getting closer to it its like a mourning process has started. It both feels impossible to end the comic because of how hard/long is to actually draw things LOL but also impossible like emotionally to let go of. I made NRD during the fallout of.. A LOT of things in my life but also specifically a break up of a long term relationship.. I’ve been single all this time and now the comic is like. My surrogate boyfriend almost? 

Im AWARE of this intense attachment to it and its like.. My comfort blanket that enables this loneliness in me to not do something different in my life to change that loneliness. Part of me feels like i CAN’T yet. I have to finish the story! But that’s not really it.. I think that if its gone, I won’t have a "reason" to enable my isolation, and by reason I mean purpose in a goal that I’m determined to accomplish that is significant to me.. Which of course, finishing a story will always be one of the biggest motivations in my life despite avoiding it so much, as much as possible in some ways to get to the point and moving on from it. Sometimes its hard being so aware, knowing myself through my own art and writing that my biggest problem is not being able to let go. 

[socialitesleuth]

It seems Valentines Day has brought out much speculation, information and discussion on many famous faces - yours is no exception!

As such a prevalent and active member of London’s most prestigious social elite, one would have assumed your father would have stepped in to ensure you had a romantic match fit for high aristocratic high society. It is interesting, given recent gossip. Perhaps he has? Perhaps with someone rather a more suitable fit the daughter of Lord Creighton-Ward than… an American billionaire nepo-baby hippie, riding on the coattails of his famous name and with little else to contribute?

Surely a realistic and more sensible prospect, closer to home, within London’s highest fliers will yet emerge to pick up the pieces? Only time will tell.

Oh, my PR is going to boil me alive for this response, but buttons have been pressed.

I'm assuming you're with the tabloid press too. They seem eager to develop some sort of bizarre narrative with what they think is going on with my love life (not to mention everyone else too) and this fits the bill nicely.

I would like to know exactly what has been said regarding my name and exactly where these ridiculous rumours are coming from, but I doubt you'd offer up a credible source.

Because you don't have one.

Because that is all they are - ridiculous rumours. So allow me to use this time to clear some up for you.

Firstly, my father has not and will never arrange a marriage with me that fits "society". We're not in the 1800s anymore. My father is a man who knows his daughter can happily choose her own match, if a match is what she wants, and will not push her into some sort of "suitable" marriage for the sake of image.

Secondly, who said my prospects are currently "unrealistic"? You? Or was it whoever your source is? You might want to get yourself a better, more reliable person for the job. They're clearly feeding you lies.

And thirdly... I can assure you, anonymous-ne'er-do-well-probable-journalist, that an "American billionaire nepo-baby hippie, riding on the coat-tails of his famous name and with little else to contribute" is the one of the falsest descriptions I think I have ever heard given. You're clearly someone who undervalues the work International Rescue do. They contribute far more to this planet than most people back home in London I know combined.

Re-compose yourself, Penny. Don't let them get to you.

You were right about one thing, Anon. Time will tell... It will tell you that all this gossip was completely false.

[bloomeng]

I stopped playing genshin awhile back less out of protest and more out of disappointment and frustration towards the game, so know that what I’m about to say is not an attack on genshin players because I too was there for a long time. I’m a strong believer in that all media— even the most highly regarded— will have issues and simply enjoying said media does not reflect on your values so long as you can recognize when something about it could be better. In general fandom bashing to me is a pointless endeavor that only hurts people’s feelings and is ALWAYS hypocritical because maybe you don’t like one thing that you deem bad but I can guarantee, right now, you also like something that has made mistakes.

With all that being said it makes me very frustrated when genshin fans act as if the only issue with the designs is the fact that they’re white. It misses the point. Sure, they would be better if they weren’t paper white, definitely a step in the right direction but genshin is beyond help. Natlan was just the final tipping point. At its core, genshin’s designs have fundamental issues. The colorism is the most obvious, but the lack of body diversity is also an issue. Not to mention the lack of hair texture or features, the way they homogenize culture, the stealing random cultural names or elements with no consideration for their origins, the orientalism, the age issue, and the sheer fact that their shape language/character design principles are just bad from a design standpoint. (I wrote a mini-essay on that part alone.) The list goes on.

Perfect example: I saw the new cow-girl design they released and she’s slightly wider than their other models, not even mid-size, but by genshin standards that’s fat and her defining trait is how much she eats, she’s literally a cow and one of her attacks is to accidentally sit on her opponent. Not to mention the fact that it’s supposed to be a stumble into a fall while in a tiny skirt which makes it feel suspiciously like fetish content. Fully sums up my entire point that genshin has fundamental problems with its characters.

There are plenty of people who speak out but there’s a very prevalent narrative amongst the fandom that (whether intentional or not) implies everything would be fixed if they just made them not white. And it irks me, because at this point it feels willfully obtuse. Again it’s fine to play the game, to enjoy it and interact with genshin content like you would any other fandom space but there’s a hypocrisy to the people who believe they’re speaking out by editing the skin tone and maybe adding some freckles. This is a nuanced thing. It’s about how the work is created. If you are simply an artist drawing a character with some of your headcanons that’s not an issue, it’s not even a statement really, it’s just artistic interpretation. What I’m specifically referring to is when people make edits/artwork with the intent of “fixing genshin” and the only thing that changes is skin tone.

To truly fix genshin’s designs you would have to start from scratch. And yknow what? Character designing for cultures we’re not apart of is really fucking hard and that’s why they have teams of people working on them. It’s a thin line to balance. As individuals it’s not really our responsibility to fix them but if you do walk into that territory (aka making art or edits with the intention of fixing), you do now hold some of that responsibility. I’ve seen several artists fall into this trap where they go in with pure intentions of trying to help but quickly find out how complicated it is, not only to design a good looking character, but one that respectfully includes real cultural elements (that they aren’t familiar with) and it goes poorly. Again this is why these projects have teams of people as well as diversity coordinators.

And I think the key aspect that makes designing for genshin really hard is that they will always be limited by being a fantasy setting that is almost entirely based on real world cultures. No matter the intention this type of world building makes it extremely easy to fall into offensive streotypes, because you aren’t just showcasing a real life culture, you have to take the additional step in making it into something new. We run into the issue of diluting real world cultures down to aesthetics or implying things for the purpose of narrative, among many other challenges. Inherently by making that leap into the second step we are in muddy waters. Even shows like ATLA—which are held in high regard for their integration of real world culture into their fantasy world building— still have issues (which is also a fascinating conversation but not on topic).

Suffice to say it’s really hard to do. But with the access to resources that Hoyoverse has, it’s ridiculous that these compounding issues continue to persist.

[romicat]

I mean it's pretty straightforward and a solid evil plot I think. The problem with it is that literally everything else in this book. . . it is a poorly executed narrative.

The fact that we only find out what their plan was in literally the same issue they stop is like, lol what?

Up until that point it's just like, mysterious bad guys meeting mysteriously and talking about how awesome their mysterious plot is.

And like, Empath didn't have a plan B? Or contingencies?

The writers talked about how they wanted to build Kamala and Laura's dynamic as a "superman and batman" type (they are noticeably the only two of the main cast wearing hero/villain outfits along with Julian at the start of the series.) And while I don't completely agree with that narrative direction there is something there.

Like, you could've just had those two in an initial buddy cape story as a running subplot/main plot. With Prodigy and Anole mostly staying in the sidelines for their own reasons initially.

I feel like it makes sense for both Kamala and Laura to recognize Julian almost immediately but still want to try and confirm it before making any assumptions.

Especially when they realize he's not just committing property damage and having superhero fights in the streets to make a point, but is at least complacent in murder so you introduce that doubt and emotional conflict from Laura earlier instead of literally issue where they'll probably resolve it (#8).

It feels like you could also just fold the Mojo plot in with the QC, because of that whole "huddled masses yearning to breath free" part. Have them also exploit the homeless mutant population by promising them security and community, a number of disfranchised mutants who they can radicalize, the foundation of their glorious "mutant revolution". Homeless people are already dehumanized and painted as dangerous and undesirable, so it would take next to nothing to get 24/7 fear mongering about the "growing dangerous unhoused population of mutants."

So they think this is Julian's plan, start a "Neo Brotherhood", except it doesn't all add up. They realize he's covering up/burying news of the politicians deaths. Weirder still, they were all pretty hard-line defenders of Mutant rights. They investigate further and learn their replacements are part of the push for the mutant ghettos. So what's his end game? Is there someone else behind the scenes?

During it Sophie tries to throw them off, tries to steer them in the wrong direction. "Maybe Julian just doesn't think there are any good humans anymore." Maybe even actively sabotage them once.

For pacing sake and to raise the stakes you could have Sophie/Cuckoos make Laura indisposed/take her out temporarily when they get too close. Leading to the start of the issue where Kamala tries to ask Prodigy for help since not only has she and Laura uncovered the entire plot (or think they have), but now Laura's gone missing too.

The events of issue 4 play out mostly the same (except maybe its issue 5 or 6 now, the mid point to the QC arc instead of the lead up to the finale.)

The main characters can still ruin their initial plot early when Sophie makes the turn, but you can then just have Empath turn out to have had contingencies and secondary plots in case any of the people he's working with (who are all former heroes. . . ) turn on him.

I think the most frustrating thing about NYX is that there's a good story in here. You wouldn't even have to change a lot, just execute those ideas better. It has some good bits in it but they don't always feel earned.

Like that scene in the preview would be so much better if you had more build up leading up to it. The angst. The betrayal. The confusing emotions. The anger. The denial.

Having the QC represent the problem with the mutant metaphor that a lot of writers run into would've been amazing for this series. Making the fictional discrimination be the only type of discrimination that matters and ignore the intersectionality of mutants who don't look like them. Making them basically the mutant version of terfs or white feminists. Mutant nationalists of a nation that doesn't exist anymore. Who like you said, are just done with humans all together. All humans. Good or bad. Black or white. Immigrants or citizens. Gay or straight. Muslim or Christian. All humans are the same to them. Those are human concepts and human religions. The only identity that matters is Mutant.

TL;DR: Unfortunately this book is just mostly unrealized potential with the occasional hype scene that makes different sections of the fandom go wild. . . Also I need to learn to make shorter posts.

….

[frigidlyauthorial]

let's all take a beautiful moment to hold hands and ponder the spectacular potential universe where "the ultimate enemy" was made into the series finale of danny phantom and not "phantom planet"

[bacchuschucklefuck]

she turns, makes direct eye contact with you, smiles,

[averlym]

fairest of the fair

[hexarcana]

When he puts his arm around her, awkward or not, it it’s like a door that she’s been desperately to run through has swung wide open. She huddles in close, trying desperately not to burst into tears again simply from receiving a bit of affection. Her arm even goes around him too, her hand closing into a loose fist to hold onto his jacket.

Hugs were kinda rare. It’s not that Aggie never hugged her- In fact they were typically pretty affectionate- But it was things like big protective hugs from her dad that she really missed, especially when she was scared or upset. Growing up her dad was the only one who was affectionate with her, with her mother rarely touching her more than to brush her hair when it got too messy. Without her dad around, it feels like something important is missing, and it’s something that Stan has just offered, even if he seems a bit uncomfortable. She really doesn’t care, she’ll take what she can get.

She nods though his advice, trying to absorb their full meaning and really set it to her heart. She has a hard time believing that being the girl who brought a weapon to school and rearranged a teenagers face could ever blow over, but she’s choosing to believe him.

As he goes on, talking about her grandmother she has to agree. Her gran was a tolerant and patient woman, and really only reacted to things this intensely when she was worried about someone, not upset at someone. She sniffs, keeping her head nestled against his side until one word strikes her.

“We might make each other crazy but we’re always there for each other.”

She looks up at him. We, meaning his family… Included her. He could have said “You might make each other crazy…” which would technically mean the same thing but by using We he was clearly including her.

This weird old guy that her grandma was so fond of was her family too. And not just in the private secret way she always thought about when she wondered what it’s be like to had a grandad. He saw it too. And it makes her feel a lot better. A lot less alone. She swallows thickly, sniffs, and nods, hugging the old man just a tad tighter.

There’s a soft knock at the door, and when it opens Aggie peers in. She’s surprised, not expecting to see her crying granddaughter huddled against her partner who’s put a big burly protective arm around her. If the circumstances weren’t so glum she’d fawn over such a visual. But there’s no time for that. Aggie closes the door and steps over to the pair, kneeling down so she’s below Olive’s line of sight.

“Hey, Junebug.” She says softly as she rests a hand on her granddaughters knee and reaches out to pet over her hair. It’s like getting a glimpse at what she must have been like as a mother. Patient. Comforting. “You doin okay?” Olive nods and Aggie looks up at Stan, offering a sad and sympathetic smile before putting a hand on his knee too.

“M’Sorry.” Olive whispers, “You had to-“

“It’s okay.” Aggie says, wiping a few of Olives tears away. “It’s not that big of a deal to me.” It is in fact a big deal to her,but she just told a flawless lie. Anything to her Olive to not look so defeated. “I talked them down for expulsion, and I talked the kids dad down from.. Pressing Charges.” She thinks with a shudder that her own father had done virtually the same thing for her, in an office just like this one at the high schools. Further, She hadn’t expected to see either of the boys parents, she figured they’d be at the hospital for their son. But with the younger bit still at the school she supposed it wasn’t too much of a stretch. It had been easy work, spinning the narrative and twisting words to equalize the playing field. Olive was just as much a victim as the boy was, the victim of weeks of relentless bullying and teasing. It had all been the truth of course, but forcing someone to believe the truth is still forcing.

“You’re out for two weeks. A couple teachers are gettin coursework organized for you so you don’t fall behind.” She gives Olive’s knee a squeeze, “And they’re gonna check your backpack when you come to school. And your locker, they’ll be checking it weekly until the end of the year.” It’s eerily similar to parole for a prisoner. “And you’re going to start seeing the schools counselor. I was gonna try to talk them out if that but I think it might help.” She takes a breath. “The older boy is getting the same three weeks and is banned from the Middle School Grounds. His younger brother, one week.” Olive looks surprised. “And I’m having them modify your schedule so you don’t have any classes with that rude little-“ She shakes her head. “That boy.” She sighs. “You’re lucky you’ve got such a good negotiator for a grandma, huh?”

There had been barely any negotiating. She’d made the plan and relayed it to the principal and the boys dad in a way that made it stick as fact in their stupid heads. But negotiate rid a lot better than magic manipulator.

Olive nods, still unable to smile but at least she’s responsive. This whole time she hasn’t fully let go of Stan, either.

Stan stiffly puts an arm around Olive in an awkward half-hug, not knowing entirely what would the best way to comfort her. He cared deeply for Olive, almost like she was his own grandchild. That still didn’t mean he was confident as to where he stood with her. To her as far as he worried, Stan was just the weird old guy who hung out with her grandma.

“Like I said Olive, you’re a good kid. Things will blow over. They always do. You’ll be my age one day, and…well. Not gonna say you’ll look back on this day with pleasure or nothin’, but at the least you’ll be able to see how you moved on and things got better.”

He pats her reassuringly on the shoulder.

“An’ don’t worry about your grandma neither. She thinks the world of you. You hung the moon as far as she’s concerned. That’s the thing about family. Well. The kind of family that counts anyway. We might make each other crazy but we’re always there for each other.”

He pauses thoughtfully.

“Though I’d still maybe want to tread carefully for a while Olive.”

[identityquest]

here with me

[serpentface]

Do you conlang? I was wondering if you had naming languages (or possibly even more developed ones) for pulling the words you use. I tried to search your blog but didn't find anything, wouldn't be surprised if the feature is just busted tho. Your worldbuilding is wonderful and I particularly enjoy the anthropological and linguistic elements.

Ok the thing is I had kind of decided I was not going to do any conlanging because I don't feel like I'm equipped to do a good job of it, like was fully like "I'm just going to do JUST enough that it doesn't fail an immediate sniff test and is more thoughtful than just keysmashing and putting in vowels". And then have kinda been conlanging anyway (though not to a very deep and serious extent. I maybe have like....an above average comprehension of how language construction works via willingness to research, but that's not saying much, also I can never remember the meanings of most linguistic terms like 'frictives' or etc off the top of my head. I'm just kinda raw dogging it with a vague conceptualization of what these things mean)

I do at least have a naming language for Wardi (and more basic rules for other established languages) but the rudimentary forms of it were devised with methods much shakier and less linguistically viable than even the most basic naming language schemes, and I only went back over it LONG after I had already made a bunch of words so there's some inconsistencies with consonant presence and usage. (This can at least be justified because it IS a language that would have a lot of loanwords and would be heavily influenced by other language groups- Burri being by far the most significant, Highland-Finnic and Yuroma-Lowlands also being large contributors)

The 'method' I used was:

-Skip basic construction elements and fully move into devising necessary name words, with at least a Vibe of what consonants are going to be common and how pronunciation works -Identify some roots out of the established words and their meanings. Establish an ongoing glossary of known roots/words. -Construct new words based in root words, or as obvious extensions/variants of established words. -Get really involved in how the literal meanings of some words might not translate properly to english, mostly use this to produce a glossary of in-universe slang. -Realize that I probably should have at least some very basic internal consistency at this point. -Google search tutorials on writing a naming language. -Reverse engineer a naming language out of established words, and ascribe all remaining inconsistencies to being loanwords or just the mysteries of life or whatever.

I do at least have some strongly established pronunciation rules and a sense of broad regional dialect/accents.

-'ai' words are almost always pronounced with a long 'aye' sound.

-There is no 'Z' or 'X' sound, a Wardi speaker pronouncing 'zebra' would go for 'tsee-brah', and would attempt 'xylophone' as 'ssye-lohp-hon'

-'V' sounds are nearly absent and occur only in loanwords, and tend to be pronounced with a 'W' sound. 'Virsum' is a Highland word (pronounced 'veer-soom') denoting ancestry, a Wardi speaker would go 'weer-sum'.

-'Ch' spellings almost always imply a soft 'chuh' sound when appearing after an E, I, or O (pelatoche= pel-ah-toh-chey), but a hard 'kh' sound after an A or U (odomache= oh-doh-mah-khe). When at the start of a word, it's usually a soft 'ch' unless followed by an 'i' sound (chin (dog) is pronounced with a hard K 'khiin', cholem (salt) is pronounced with a soft Ch 'cho-lehm')

-Western Wardin has strong Burri cultural and linguistic influence, and a distinct accent- one of the most pronounced differences is use of the ñ sound in 'nn' words. The western city of Ephennos is pronounced 'ey-fey-nyos' by most residents, the southeastern city of Erubinnos is pronounced 'eh-roo-been-nos' by most residents. Palo's surname 'Apolynnon' is pronounced 'A-puh-lee-nyon' in the Burri and western Wardi dialects (which is the 'proper' pronunciation, given that it's a Kos name), but will generally be spoken as 'Ah-poh-leen-non' in the south and east.

-R's are rolled in Highland-Finnic words. Rolling R's is common in far northern rural Wardi dialects but no others. Most urban Wardi speakers consider rolling R's sort of a hick thing, and often think it sounds stupid or at least uneducated. (Brakul's name should be pronounced with a brief rolled 'r', short 'ah' and long 'uul', but is generally being pronounced by his south-southeastern compatriots with a long unrolled 'Brah' sound).

Anyway not really a sturdy construction that will hold up to the scrutiny of someone well equipped for linguistics but not pure bullshit either.

[holocene-sims]

just a guy and his snowpal ⛄❄️

[bitchy-peachy]

I really wish that antis stopped using real life sa victims in their shit especially since they tell real life sa victims that we deserved our assaults cos we all handle our trauma differently.