#just let me buy whatever variation i want lol

[leisure]

i hope blizzard changes how to spend comp points lmao cause waiting a whole year to buy a gold gun is crazy

[deesi-academia]

hey, I saw the anti swiftie post. If you're comfortable mag I know the reason why? I am kinda neutral about her but I feel like I should know stuff. I understand if you don't wanna answer this. Take care <3

(also I agree the swiftie fandom is kinda annoying lmao)

hello old old old anon ask I'm so sorry for replying so late but yeah hi 😭

I have tons of time on my hands for the next.... 30 minutes so let's get into it. I'll list a time line of my thought process to how I came to the 'ex-swiftie' conclusion:

1. She released a song called "renegade" which is good, but I found some lines problematic and unexpected, because I used to hold swift to a pedestal (guilty as charged).

The lines were 'is it insensitive of me to say get your shit together so I can love you' and 'is it really your anxiety stopping {something love something idk} or do you just not want to?' SOOOOO yeah these thew me off a little.

2. Her album Midnights came out which I ADORED, became my fav so quick. But then her multiple variations of vinyls etc threw me off again. This is when the Bad Feeling About Her started setting in.

3. Then she released the song 'You're losing me' which just BLARED red flags to me even though the song is actually good. It's the first time I think, where she hinted that she broke up with her bf (Joe Alwyn) because of his mental illness.

4. The ongoing carbon emissions controversy lol, and her buying carbon credits... like it just felt like a "hah I'm rich so I can do whatever wrongs i want and buy it out" moment. I really hated that, since I live in a pretty polluted city so it hit close to home.

5. She threatened to sue the teenager who published PUBLIC data about her flights. Bad.

6. The entire free palestine movement gained momentum and she stayed silent. She has her image as the American Princess and Activist Who Can Do No Wrong. Feminist Queen. Speaker For Those Who Can't Speak. Yada Yada.

I simply hated her billionaire self as she chose to stay silent (and still is). To call off the criticism she and her bestie Selena went to a live comedy show where the comedian donated his earnings for Gaza relief. LIKE. ??????? Basic billionaire below underground level of "donation"???? This had to be a joke. It was not.

I think this incident was the final straw for me where I realized I can't support her if she's such a human being. That's not what my morals stand for thank you very much.

7. I REALLY tried to separate the art from the artist but I couldn't. Not with my sane mind and strong ethics. AND THEN the entire Matty healy debacle. He's a misogynistic, racist, zionist, ugh of a person.

I don't think anyone can date someone with such drastic opposing values. So the Taylor-Matty era further tarnished her image in front of me.

8. Fast forward and she releases her new album The Tortured Poets Department. That's it this was my final straw. You can just Google and go on a reddit thread about how problematic this album is. I'll probably write a long ass essay on it. Anyway this is where I decided I'm done, back in April.

Since then I've just been trying to cope with losing my fav artist because of the person she turned out to me. And people say we shouldn't hold celebs to such high standards but bro. Taylor PROMOTES parasocial relationships. SHE held her image to that standard until recently. There's an entire documentary on Netflix about that - Miss Americana.

So yeah she let me down from the pedestal she put herself on. It's been 2+ months and I'm still coping, because I genuinely lost a very important part of my life - her music. It has got me through tough times and I have many good memories associated with those songs.

Anyway, here's to new artists to love ONLY for their music lol 🥂

[braisedhoney]

do you have a watercolor brand rec? 👀

i'm actually a really big proponent of using whatever's convenient for you, fr. brands vary in price depending on where you're buying them/where you live, what's available, etc. sure there are definitely differences between them, but especially when you're using professional materials it's actually more rare to pick something bad than to stumble on something serviceable.

(whoops this one got long too. under the cut it goes.)

some brands do, admittedly, do certain things better than others. sennelier (a french brand) is known to go down kind of pale/less saturated on the first wash, but they build really really well in glazes and have a luminosity to them that gives paintings a really interesting depth.

daniel smith (an american brand) has one of the largest collections of colors available i've ever seen and their earth tones are gorgeous and really unique.

QOR (not sure where they're based?) has WILDLY saturated colors that bloom so much it kind of looks like fireworks, same with roman szmal.

holbein (a japanese brand) doesn't move much in water at all and thus offers a lot of control to the user instead at the cost of more abstract or dynamic movement in water.

schmincke horadam (a german brand) was hailed as the holy grail of watercolors for a while for their fine pigments and wild dispersal, but that's kind of chilled out these days since so many new players became beloved staples, and some people aren't fans of wild blooming to begin with. in a similar vein, winsor and newton (english brand) has a very extensive history and honestly works as a super "traditional" pick with few surprises but a solid foundation—and none of that is considering the wild variations in properties between student grade paints or the many types of handmade ones that hit the market lol. some brands make great pro but weak student lines, and vice versa.

buuuuuut.

all of that is pedantic when you're starting out, and honestly if you're asking this you're probably looking to get into watercolor. at beginning or intermediate stages where you haven't gone down the fixation rabbithole, all of tha information is more likely to confuse you than help, especially if you don't know what you like or dislike about watercolor yet.

at beginning stages whatever established pro or student brand is available to you is probably good enough to build fundamental knowledge on.

my actual, legit advice is to pick a few colors you like, then if another brand has what you want get it from them. get a small set if that helps and just build with whatever you find lacking, whatever you aren't using can be replaced with something that appeals to you more. there's no need to stick to one specific brand name just because. just don't pick the super chalky ones that come in those huge art packs with the round pans, and you should be fine (and even then, i've seen some people do great art with those! i just don't like when it comes off like dust on my fingers lol.) general rule of thumb i follow is that if they have accurate pigment and lightfastness information, you're going to be fine.

art isn't really all that exclusionary when you do it for fun, it's just an environment where people started making stuff for smaller and more specific audiences to cater to preferences lol. hell, paint with coffee if you want to. life's short and painting is fun, might as well enjoy it for a while.

oh, but do use good paper. blah blah, you've probably heard it before, and trust me we're all just as horrified as you that watercolor paper is so goddamn expensive. but you could literally have The Nicest Paints In The World and they'd look terrible on bad paper that won't let you use the techniques people try to teach you. if you have to pick between good paper and mediocre paints vs bad paper and excellent paints, pick the paper. trust me.

[multiplydifficult]

Sidenote before I get into a more personal processing/whinge: Re rewards, I saw this guy write about doing a more complex setup to reward him for focussing (which I roughly mimicked for like a day and found it massively helpful for focus, but I didn't stick with it, lol classic). Apologies for it being on an entrepreneur forum lol, with a bit of commentary in between and some anti-med attitudes.

(TL:DR, he picked a short amount of time - 30s was too short, he ended up on 5 minutes - that he thought he can focus on work, and set a timer for that, plucked a pretty-sounding violin string, said "yaay!" and stuck his arms up in a Y shape, and ate a chocolate chip really slowly and savoured it, and move a bead over on a string. So there were multiple sensory cues tied in with his reward.)

Sidesidenote: If that's too complex or restrictive for your purposes, it really still would be useful to spend a moment to at least praise yourself or otherwise let yourself be happy every time you do the thing you want to be doing (food rewards don't work for me, gold stars need to be found and put somewhere, it's too much of An Extra Task for me) - "Oh, yay, I'm doing the thing!" "Oh hey, I've walked over the laundry to start doing it, woohoo!" maybe with a hand-flap or, like this guy had, stick your arms up in a Y shape when you say "yay!". (Instead of the classic and unmotivating, "oh fucking finally" or whatever your variation is.)

I think there's another difficulty I personally have that I want to mention: (Also note that this is 80% me processing aloud, and focusses on 'routine' moreso than 'habit', but the whole point of 'routine' is that it's habitual, so it totally counts.):

Often the context cues don't work, because there's some sort of inconsistency around them (including getting the sequence wrong by accident).

One place I notice this the most is in my morning ablutions - in theory, what I do is brush my hair, brush teeth, shave my face, then spongebath (using the same cloth I washed shaving soap off with), then put deodourant on and get dressed.

I... cannot tell you how fricking common it is to spongebath, then go "oh feck I haven't shaved yet." I do have the routinery app, but we don't always use it, and even if we do, sometimes it gets forgotten while it's running.

I'll also sometimes skip shaving if I'm running short of time, and I frequently skip it if I don't plan to leave the house - which I guess also messes up my ability to get this consistently right, but then I also only have so much energy.

Would it end up saving me energy if I were to ensure I shave-then-spongebath Every Single Day?

Plus currently, a typical Saturday I expect nothing of me and don't bother washing. Sundays I have a thorough shower. Seems like it works ok, to have a weekday routine & a weekend routine, except that like.. I squeedgee after every single shower, and this is purely because I squeedgee after Every Single Shower - it has become A Part Of Showering just like drying myself off afterward is. If I skip even once? Getting myself to squeedgee the next time I shower is legitimately one of the hardest things I've ever made myself do.

So is not doing my morning routine on the weekends fucking up my ability to do them on the weekdays? I have no idea! And if it is, then what am I supposed to do about shower day, when I don't want to sponge bath and shower. Should I just buy a couple more cloths (so I have enough) and spongebath anyway, and shower after my morning routine?

(Also while writing this I had the realisation that damn, I have had a weird approach to evening routines. I feel like they have to include dinner and my 8pm-feed-the-cats, but I could just come up with a small post-all-that, pre-bed routine.)

Plus then there's the ever-present struggle of getting through the routine without distraction when I don't have such a time limit - My routine will take the amount of time between 7 and leaving at 8.30, but it also takes up all the time between 7 and like, leaving at 11.30. Or doing the routine on a day off when I have other stuff I want to do, because I Have To Do The Routine before I can do other stuff, and I don't wanna, so I procrastinate. Which also means I can't do the ol' "go into town at the same time every day that I have class" which would provide me plenty of time to do my work and make things a little more regular at home.

And lmao, the worst thing about studying is legitimately the structure. I finally start getting into something resembling a routine, and then holidays happen that break it. I finally get used to holidays, then term starts again, and usually with a different schedule! I legit gave up a while ago on having a Weekly Routine, but I think that's made my sense of time (in terms of what day it is and stuff) way worse, and I honestly hate it. Not sure if I hate it worse than having my routine break twice every three months.

In theory, I could try to go into town at the same time every day (that I have class, or at least that I don't have work) and come home at the same time (It'd certainly help with finding time to do homework!) but I can never bring myself to come into town earlier than I have to.

Hi I was today years old when I realized some people truly don’t have to think about every single thing they do. They don’t have to have an imaginary set of rules (I’m not allowed to put on my bra until I’ve brushed my teeth) to function.

[astroluvr]

Jack taking noah to the grocery store and he gets hit on and they say noahs really cute so noah goes “thanks i look just like my mommy” or its the reader with noah, you can choose. Cause i like the idea of noah snitching on one of them when they get back home like “daddy/mommy got asked on a date”

-🌎 anon

a/n: this request was a while ago, but i haven't seen my 🌎 anon in a minute... but noah is around three in this story! making jack and y/n 20/21! not very important to this particular story tho lol

***

You and Noah had been out all day long, having a bonding day. After the both of you had a long week with school- being that you were still only two years into your studies, and Noah was just mastering his alphabet- you both got dressed and took the stores.

After getting dressed in a black dress that coordinated Noah's matching sweats, you both had a breakfast at a tiny diner that you all loved to have breakfast at before Jack left for the studio.

Following that, you and Noah treated yourselves to a series of activities. From the zoo where he mimicked each animal with ease, to ice cream at a park where you just so happened to catch a live band. After dancing around the park and making yourselves look silly underneath a tree, you decided to head to the mall where Noah's favorite toy store was.

There was once a time when all you and Jack could do was frown sadly when Noah dug his heels in the floor in front of the store, but now you could walk inside proudly and buy him almost anything he wanted.

Now, with Jack's new singles slowly rising towards popularity, you guys had the ability to splurge more. It wasn't long ago that you all bought a new house- one that was probably bigger than you needed, but Jack was adamant about it- not budging on having enough kids to take up all the room.

You were happy to see that although Noah didn't have an understanding of how he had the new things he did, that he didn't seem significantly happier now than before. Which to you, was a win as a parent.

"Is this what you wanted, bubba?" you asked, reaching towards the giant dinosaur plush.

"Yes, please." he lisped politely, bouncing on his toes as if he could reach it from where he was.

It was just out of your grasp, and you realized just how often Jack was there to pull things that were out of reach down without you even having to think about it.

"Alright, let me get someone to help because-"

The long arm coming from behind you, startled you both, making Noah squeak out a 'hey' and you place a hand on his back instinctively. The man who held the dinosaur chuckled as he handed it to you.

He was obviously much older than you, and you certainly knew that you didn't look to be in his age range- which made the situation all the more uncomfortable when he smirked at you before leaning his head back towards Noah.

"How you doing, shorty?" you cringed at his delivery, and Noah giggled too, forcing a smile from you that the man mistakenly took as his own. "I noticed you couldn't reach it, so I had to come help you."

"Thank you, I was just about to get someone to help us, but..." you gestured out awkwardly and the he chuckled.

"So, who is little man you're with? Your nephew?"

"This is my mommy!" Noah frowned, and you rubbed his back.

"Yeah, he's my son. It's hard to tell because he looks just like his daddy, I know."

"He with you?" the man quirked an eyebrow, and you laughed. "What?"

"I think this is all very flattering, but I'm engaged." you tried to ease out of the exchange before Noah's fist balled up any tighter, but the man was seeing no way out.

"I don't see no ring. What? Your dude can't afford it?"

That line irritated you. You had heard it a thousand times in every variation, but it always came from someone who had no idea how amazing Jack was, or how much you loved each other.

"Actually, my 'dude' is the reason that I'm in this store right now, and I'm able to buy our son whatever the fuck he wants out of this store."

"Chill." he said, laughing as if he hadn't been in the wrong. "I'm just saying, I could buy your son whatever he wanted. And however many of these dresses you want because you look good."

"There is no way in hell I'd leave my man for your sorry ass." you scoffed, and Noah unballed his fist from the fabric of your dress.

"That's how you feel?"

"Was it not clear?" you raised an eyebrow and in the beat of silence, Noah gathered up his entire vocabulary.

"My mama loves my daddy, not you."

And without another word, you pulled Noah to your hip and grabbed his plush to head straight for the register.

The drive back to your home was short, but it was enough for Noah to giggle to himself several times. After stopping for one more treat to have for desert, you were both walking into your home to find Jack in the kitchen.

"Hey, baby, hey bubba!" he yelled out, setting down what he was using to cook to get to you both and kiss you respectively.

"Hey, shorty!" Noah yelled back, and your cheeks warmed before Jack laughed and looked down at the boy.

"What did you say?"

"Said, hey, shorty!" Noah let out another round of giggles that made Jack shake his head before looking at you.

"What have you been teaching our son?"

"I-"

"Mama didn't teach it, the man did?"

"The man?"

"Noah, baby-"

"Ah, ah, ah. Let me hear this." Jack picked up his son and set him on the counter, crossing his arms to hear.

To spare yourself from the imminent teasing, you tried to walk out of the kitchen, but Jack's arm wrapped around your waist to reel you back into him.

"When we were at the store, somebody said, 'hey, shorty' to my mama!"

"Oh, yeah?"

"Mmhmm. What'd Mama do?" Jack turned to look at you to find you rolling your eyes.

"She said bad words! A-and I said that Mama loves you, not him!"

"That's my man." Jack grabbed Noah's face to leave a loud kiss to his forehead. "Alright, you're free to go until dinner."

After Noah ran towards the living room, Jack turned back to you, pulling you against his chest and kissing your forehead. You assumed that he'd let it go, but with Noah being inclined to tell anyone everything, that was not very likely.

"So, you cussed someone out because they flirted with you? I knew you had a little crush on me, but damn."

"I really don't like you that much." you eased your way from his arms and went to the fridge to pull out a water bottle.

"Then, why, Mama?" Jack narrowed his eyes at you as you opened the water bottle. "Hm?"

"Because he was talking shit about you."

"He doesn't even know me, it doesn't matter."

"Either way, he has no business talking about you. It just irritated me." you shrugged it off and Jack frowned when he noticed how closed off you became.

"Is that all?"

"Yeah. I'm the only person allowed to talk about you." you teased him, and he chuckled before pulling you back into him.

"You know I don't care about what people say about me, right?" he told you, his voice low as he spoke into your neck.

"I know, but you're good to us. And I know it was stupid to go off on that guy, but I'm tired of hearing it. You work hard, and you love us."

"I love you more than anything."

"I love you, too." you told him, leaning up for a kiss.

"Oh, I know you love your man." You rolled your eyes and Jack laughed before letting you go. "Now, I really have to put a ring on that finger, so people know you're my girl."

"Yeah, that would save me a lot of trouble. I mean, look at me, I'm bound to get hit on." you turned slightly to give him the best angle of your butt and giggled when he blushed.

"Hey, that's mine!" Jack yelled behind you, as you ran out of the kitchen before he could grab you again.

[remcycl333]

you don’t need to be happy to be manifest!! but...

who doesn’t want to be happy?

(long post alert, sorry in advance lol. but please read it all the way through, i really think it’ll be worth it<3)

ok, to preface this, you don’t need to be happy to manifest. i’ve manifested great, positive things while i was in depressive episodes. i manifested wonderful things with tears streaming down my face. BUT, i think something a lot of people overlook is that it’s really beneficial to feel positively about your desires.

this is something i realized a few months ago, saw great results from, and then forgot all about and, well, stopped seeing the progress i wanted. but i’m back on track now, don’t you worry.

(i’m going to be using the example of my sp, bc that’s what i have the most experience with, but this applies to literally anything u r manifesting) 

i’ve made a few other posts saying pretty much what i’m about to say in this next paragraph, so if you’ve already read those, i’m sorry for repeating myself. just bear with me lol. 

so i came to a realization a few months ago--and i don’t exactly remember how i came to this realization--that i kind of...hated my sp? like i fucking resented him. and i was like, wait a minute, that’s not right. i love my sp. that’s why i’m trying to manifest him! so why do i feel like this?

i used to focus on manifesting in steps, so naturally the first step was contact. so i’d be affirming all day every day “my sp is texting me right fucking now😡“ (and other variations) and then when he didn’t text me, it’d just make me angry at him. but technically, he didn’t even do anything wrong?? sure he didn’t text me, but he had no clue he was supposed to? idk it was all complicated and weird. and then when i wasn’t mad that he didn’t text me, i was having arguments with him in my head, preparing for some weird fight that my brain just assumed was going to happen whenever we did get into contact. which is weird, bc my sp and i never fight. like, this is my ex. yet i literally cannot tell you a single fight that we have ever had. we literally get along perfectly. we have never fought (or even argued) once in all the time that we’ve known each other. yet my brain was always fighting him. and it was just, exhausting?

and so one day, when i was troubleshooting, i realized: rem, if you were in a relationship right now with your sp, would u hate him? would u be constantly fighting with him? god i fucking hope not! 

now, what would i be thinking? i’d be laying in bed at night, hugging my pillow, thinking about how much i love him. reflecting on how happy he makes me, how perfect he is, how good he makes me feel. i’d be thinking about how he is the most perfect boyfriend i could ever have asked for. i’d be content after spending a long day with him, excited to spend the next day with him as well. 

and during the day i wouldn’t be wondering why he wasn’t texting me. if anything, i’d be wondering why he was texting me considering we were literally hanging out, together, at that very moment! 

i would trust him. i’d be walking on cloud nine. i’d be content. i’d be...happy. 

now, in no way am i saying that you need to be happy 24/7, or dancing on air, or feeling intense butterflies in your stomach. you’re allowed to have other emotions. you’re allowed to feel anger, you’re allowed to break down and cry! you’re allowed to have bad days. but if you’re feeling these negative emotions about your desire, i want you to try your hardest to release them. i don’t think any of us want to have breakdowns over our manifestations and cry about them, but if it happens, it happens. just pick yourself up afterwards--or stop it before it even really begins, trust me, it gets easier to do this--and maybe do a few deep breaths to calm yourself down, and remind yourself why you’re on this journey in the first place. once again using the sp example, it’s because you love your sp. because they are perfect for you! they make you happy. you love their smile, their laugh, the witty conversations you have with each other. you love being in their arms.  you love when they’re in your arms! they did something that made you fall in love with them, or want to be in a relationship with them. what was it? focus on that. 

enough with the sammy ingram (i could go on a whole rant about her) style affirmations. with the “he’s going to fucking text me, he has no choice, he’s my fucking boyfriend and he does what i say.” like....ew?? i used to say shit like this, and it was really what started making me resent my sp. i was ordering him around in my head, creating this weird dynamic between us (which, he wasn’t even aware was there), and getting mad when he wasn’t doing what i was ordering him to do. looking back, it was borderline psychotic. it was just turning it into me against him, and that’s not what i wanted at all. i want to be in a relationship with him, with mutual love. i don’t want to be his boss, or his mom, or his fucking military sergeant!! (i don’t even know if that was the proper term bc fuck the military, but u guys know what i mean lmfaooo)

(disclaimer if u use these types of affirmations and they work for you, go for it. but i used them for a while and they just weren’t it for me. carry on)

i guess what i’m trying to say is, those affirmations weren’t making me feel good. they weren’t making me feel like a “boss ass bitch”. they were making me feel...like a bitch. and strangely, powerless. i’d say these affirmations, or just bland ones where i wasn’t necessarily demanding my sp to throw himself at my feet and kiss my shoes and tell me he is nothing without me, and ultimately, if i wasn’t feeling resentment, i was feeling...nothing. 

once again, i want to make this so so so clear, you don’t need to be happy to manifest. but my belief? if your affirmations aren’t making you feel joy, or excitement, or contentment, then what’s the fucking point? if you think of your desire, and don’t feel positive feelings about it, then you might have lost your way a little. 

don’t worry!! it’s an easy fix. easy, and even...fun? rewarding? comforting? i just want you to take some time--laying in bed at night is the perfect time to do this in my experience--to think about why you want your desire so badly. do you want money? think of how great life is going to be once you have it. of all the stuff you’re going to buy, for yourself, and maybe even for others. don’t focus on the problems you want to fix with it right now. think of that clothing item you’ve had your eye on, or that book you’ve been wanting to read but haven’t felt like “wasting” money on. think of how excited you are to buy those things, because you’re going to! think of the good. not the bad.

remember: you create more of what you focus on. focus on the good, get the good. focus more on the bad...get more of the bad. 

your manifestation is done. it is created. it is on it’s way to you. it is here! all there’s left to do is feel excited. it’ll be here any moment now, how fucking exciting is that! it’s safe for you to be happy. it’s safe for you to focus on the feelings you would have if you had it, rather than focus on affirming specifically to bring it to you. it is safe to be happy. 

i used to affirm solely for contact, all day every day, and sometimes i’d get it. but it’d be short lived, my sp would be distant, etc. but then once i started focusing on truly living in the end and basking in my love for my sp, thinking about how perfect and amazing he is, i not only got contact (without having to specifically affirm for it), but he was actively engaged in our conversations, making up new topics to keep the conversation going, asking me about and expressing interest in my hobbies and interests, bringing up and reminiscing on old memories of our previous relationship, complimenting me, flirting with me, asking me to hang out, etc. shit i was not getting when i was “he is so fucking in love with me and he’s texting me right fucking now”-ing all day long. i started focusing on how amazing and perfect and good to me he was, and that’s exactly what i got in my reality. who would’ve thunk? 

and you know what? yeah, he fucking loves me. he misses me and he wants to be with me. but that’s a given. but that doesn’t fucking matter. i am the only person who matters in my reality!! sure he loves me, but do i love him??? that’s what the universe wants to know. that’s what truly fucking matters. the universe brings me my desires. so i’m gonna fucking desire it! 

guys, please trust me on this. just try it out, with whatever you’re manifesting. this could be what you’re missing. this could bring your manifestation to you. i promise, if you’re like i was and feel resententment or anger or hatred towards your desire, this is going to make you feel so fucking good. just stick with this for a week or two. i promise, you’ll see movement.

and remember, there is no one to change but self. don’t change them (or it), change your perception of them (or it). 

let’s make manifesting fun again!!! it’s the perfect tool to bring happiness into your life. so fucking let it!!!! 

so no, you don’t need to be happy in order to manifest. but....maybe, just maybe, prioritizing your happiness isn’t such a bad thing. i mean, who doesn’t want to be happy?

[bthump]

A theory I saw on YouTube. What do you think?

"I feel Griffith will sacrifice the kingdom as well to take the place of Void as the lead GH member. Either Skull Knight finds a way to kill Void and it needs to be done so the GH has a leader, of Griffith does it in his quest for absolute power. We’ve seen his dream of his kingdom does not satisfy him, he wants to rule all now and crush anyone who could oppose him. Plus him having a kingdom to sacrifice and having a strong warrior friend/foe just lines up too well with him and Guts and Garseric and Void."

I don't really roll with the theory that Griff will sacrifice Falconia. There are a few reasons I think this theory is a little off-base:

1. Why would Griffith care about chairing the godhand meetings? Void doesn't seem any more powerful than the other godhands, just the oldest. If anything it seems that NeoGriffith already has the most powerful Godhand position as the incarnate fifth, able to exert his influence on the world without changing the genre of the story first. He’s the one who, seemingly, let the rest of the godand into the world.

2. I don’t think Griffith would sacrifice his kingdom for personal power. I don’t think Griffith wants personal power. Griffith’s dream is for a utopian kingdom to exist, not to be the strongest guy in the world (that’s Guts’ dream lol).

I think Griffith is unsatisfied with his kingdom, and I think he always will be honestly, but I don’t think that’s because he doesn’t have enough power. It’s because, imo, to declare himself satisfied would be to declare every step he took on the way to getting it worth it, including the mountains of bodies. I don’t think Griffith is ever going to think it was worth it, even as NGriff - he’s always just going to continue expanding and expanding because he’s caught up in his contradictory motivation (destroying more lives to build an empire to justify the destruction of lives in the course of building an empire) forever.

Featuring a side of plain old loneliness.

3. It’s strongly implied that Void sacrificed the empire, not Gaiseric, so it wouldn’t really be a repeat of the past if Griffith sacrificed it himself. I mean nothing says whatever happens has to be an exact repeat of the past of course, but it does seem odd to me that a lot of people who assume Falconia will be sacrificed like the first empire default to assuming Griffith will be the one to do it.

4. Big Godhand mass sacrifices happen only once every like 216 years or something like that, so it’ll be a whlie before Falconia gets sacrificed if that’s its destiny, unless we get a time skip or that piece of lore gets retconned.

Anyway yeah, I’ve seen variations on the Griffith will sacrifice Falconia theory a few times, and this is basically why I don’t buy it. There are too many snags with established lore, and I don’t think it really makes sense from a characterization perspective.

Thanks for the ask!

[descendantsramblings]

Style Headcanons

So basically, I’m a big hater to the way the costume team worked on them. The whole “All Isle kids wear Leather” and “Auradon Kids always look like they’re on their first kid and on the way to the country club” thing drives me crazy. It sorta feels like they made costumes before giving them personalities (The leather on Carlos  and Evie feels like it clashes with their personalities. Lonnie’s dresses in the first movie doesn’t fit the personality we see, even though she didn’t have much of a personality until movie two. Audrey dressed like a thirty-four year old mother who just picked up her kid before going to the country club. Ben’s only good outfit was his swim trunks.) So here are some personal headcanons and pictures of what I imagine for them. (I started making them at 1am last night lol)

Villain Kids 

Evie

As someone raised to want to be a princess, she wants to dress like how she imagines a princess would.

She loves pastels and is no stranger to pairing pastel blue with a neutral red or bright white. 

The only pants she really wears are either athletic shorts or those little flowy elastic shorts, otherwise she’s all skirts.

She’s sorta a prep but not in the same way a character like Audrey would be. 

Evie has respect for most aesthetics, even though she doesn’t fully fit just one. However, she hates crocs and those little pastel shorts that white boys wear, she will announce it often.

Wouldn’t be caught dead in neon colors. 

owns a blue fur coat (it’s fake fur, obviously)

Carlos

Baby boy is a total softie

You know that one gay little sweater in movie one, that’s where they went right, more of that.

He’s into the soft boy aesthetic and only strays from it for formal wear

loves layering sweaters over button ups

Cuffed jeans, always because ya know, bisexual 

Owns a floral button up from Jay, normally he hates patterned button ups but it’s his favorite shirt. 

Loves striped sweaters, he owns about 6 variations of them in different colors (all include red, white, or black of course)

Jay 

In theory, Jay doesn’t really have one aesthetic, he’s willing to try on just about anything

Most of his clothing was bought by Evie or Carlos, especially his formal wear

The only clothes that Jay will buy for himself is athletic wear

He doesn’t really see the point of buy clothing that he can’t go straight to practice in. 

Still has the beanie,  but he owns one in just about every color to match it to his outfit.

Listen, we know Jay’s main color is yellow/gold, but why did we always see him with more red/blue in the movie? What type of snow white aesthetic were they trying to give him?

Jay owns a button up that he write on, he refuses to wear it actually buttoned though

Mal

She loves the grunge/alternative aesthetic, she thinks it makes her look more like she belongs to the Isle

She wouldn’t wear skirts until after she and Evie became friends, Evie bought her her first skirt (a purple plaid one) and she fell in love with it

Mal has a whole jewelry box of just chains, both necklaces and ones that attach to clothing 

Owns a pair of Demonia Swing-815 boots (black patent) and a pair of Demonia Camel-203 boots (holographic purple) 

100% owns one of those studded hot topic belts. 

Has a headband with little horns that symbolize her mother’s horns 

Instead of the leather half gloves from the movie, she has those little fishnet gloves and covers her hands in rings.

Uma

Her style is similar to Mal’s because if Mal is going to do something, Uma will do it better.

Uma only wore outfits that were super Fem and had skirts until Mal started doing it

Then it was Uma always wearing pants, because of her love for plaid skirts she owns a whole collection of plaid pants

the only jeans she owns are black or dark wash. 

Her first ever large purchase was a pair of Doc Marten 1460 Zip Tartan Lace up boots (they’re green, black, and blue plaid) 

She and Harry bought matching Doc Marten Jadon platforms (his are more shiny though)

Isn’t as into chains as Mal, more into chockers. 

Harry 

When the E-boy aesthetic came out, Harry was all over it 

Harry definitely has one of those chains with a little lock on it. 

I’d like to imagine he has baby gauges

the before mentioned platform doc martens, he definitely treats them like his baby

Even though Harry dresses like an e-boy,  he always has his pirate hat on

Definitely wears cloth masks as a fashion piece he actually would wear his in the pandemic though, unlike some people who wore them before but not for safety 

Harry is actually really good at graphic liner, he owns a gold, red, and white eyeliner to add color to the outfit if it’s mainly black

gold>silver 

Bought plaid pants because Uma did, he want’s to match with his captain

Gil 

As we know (maybe you don’t) it’s in the canon that Gil’s mother taught him to sew and he enjoys it. 

So Gil doesn't dress in one aesthetic or even close to being in one, he wants to try out everything, both making and wearing them.

He does stick to a monochrome color scheme though, mainly shades of brown with white or black thrown in. Sometimes he adds a little red or yellow though to “honor” Gaston

Most of his clothing is more comfortable than anything

Only owns three pairs of jeans, the rest are different types of pants (he loves corduroys) 

Owns a pants chain that harry bought him but he only really wears it when Harry and Uma are wearing one so he won’t feel left out on it. 

Dizzy 

Baby girl has seen the Isle steal the childhood innocence from people, she dresses in kidcore as a way to keep hers

Her outfits always has at least 4 different colors in it.

No stranger to neon colors, she has a pair of overalls that are neon rainbow and covered in gummy candy and she only wears them with a neon green tee, Evie and Carlos hate this outfits, Jay loves it because of the disappointment it brings to the two fashion fans 

Dizzy’s outfits in the movie were colorful obviously but they should have been just more over the top

She loves patterns and has no fear of pattern mixing

definitely owns some funky earrings, clay rings, and  statement necklaces

puts beads on her shoe laces, especially on her converse (they were white ones, she drew all over them) 

Auradon Kids 

Ben

Okay so Ben’s animated and movie outfits were bad, you can’t convince me of anything else

Why was Ben not dressed in the soft boy aesthetic? You’re trying to tell me that Belle’s son wouldn’t be a soft boy?

He has a jean jacket with his father’s beast symbol painted on the back

Absolutely loves graphic crewnecks, often layers them over collared shirts

He and Carlos go shopping together often in their free time

Lover of funky crew socks,  ones with paintings, patterns, logos, whatever. But his socks always match

After he and Mal started Dating, he bought a white jean jacket and let her paint it, he wears it all the time even though it didn’t match his original clothing, he bought more clothes in her color scheme to match it

He owns like 6 pairs of high top converse (light blue, yellow, white, navy, black, and Purple after getting the jacket back from Mal)

Chad

Listen, out of everyone he was the closest to how I imagined he should be, that being said, he had a little soft boy thing going on in some movies that I don’t think fit his personality

Polos and button ups are basically all he owns, but he does have some of those pastel simply southern esc graphic tees (Southern people probably know what I’m on about, all the guys who act like Chad at my school have like 5 of them each)

Owns 6 pairs of those horrid little southern boy pastel shorts in different shades of blue (plus 1 white pair)

Will not wear jeans, ever, the only pants he owns are khakis

All over the shirts that have logos embroidered into the shirt over the chest. 

Definitely gets asked if he’s on the way to golf/ the country club, the joke is that he is, he has to meet his father there after school

prep.jpg

Audrey 

Listen, I’m not an Audrey stan, but they did her so dirty in the first movie

She should have been the stereotypical mean girl outfit wise, I mean, mini skirts, all pastels

Owns a pink teddy coat, and a white one, she actually cares about if they get dirty though, takes good care of them

definitely has a collection of tennis skirts, pairs them with sweaters/crewnecks or blouses that have a slight puff to the sleeve

The type of girl to wear rufflely rompers on her birthday every year, pink, white, or baby blue obviously

loves those tiny shoulder bags

preppy and looks good in it. 

cropped polos and tube tops

Jane

This account is a Jane should have been cottage core/ fairy core fan page, her outfits were almost there, just not there, she’s literally a fairy but can’t use magic nor did they let her dress like one, I hate it here

Baby girl loves gingham and floral patterns, some of her dresses are a little more to her mother’s taste than hers (her mother bought them) but as long as it’s a pattern she likes she will wear it. 

Cardigans are her best friend, she owns one in multiple shades of pink and blue, plus a white one (all of her clothing fits a pastel pink/blue/white color scheme)

Babydoll dresses her a her favorite style of them (the one I put in the top right corner is what I imagine her birthday dress as) 

People try to mockingly ask if she’s on her way to a tea party/picnic (like they do with Chad and the country club) if the answer isn’t actually yes one of her friends still say yes, no one can be rude to her about it 

She owns a corset (Evie bought it for her, it made her nervous at first but she loves it) 

Owns kitten heels and flats mainly also two pairs of mary janes (in white and blue) 

has one of those little pearl purses that aren’t really useful but they’re cute 

Lonnie

Last but not least, our funky little lesbian (she is, Jay is just her emotional support queer man) Lonnie, she sticks to the teal, blue, and pink color scheme they gave her in movie one

She mainly wears sweats (or athletic clothing) otherwise it’s graphic tees tucked in (many of them are from the men’s section) 

Only wears sneakers, she has places to be but also collects them (also owns 1 pair of pink crocs, Evie tried to burn them)

Carlos and Ben talked her into wearing a collar shirt under a graphic tee once (they bought her a sleeveless button up which she hated at first) and now she does it anytime she wants to look like she put effort into her outfit. 

Wears a lot of necklaces and rings (she loves to layer necklaces, she thinks it makes her sweats look less boring) 

Uses a mini backpack instead of a purse, easier to carry more things.

Has two pairs of custom painted air forces. 

Hates wearing bracelets but always has to have a hair tie on her wrist so they don’t feel empty .

[fandom-blackhole]

Hi!! I’m not entirely sure if your ships are still open and if not please just ignore this :)

More importantly: CONGRATS ON THE MILESTONE!!!!! You’re one of my favorite blogs and it’s nice seeing you get the recognition you deserve!

Okay the actual ship lol: I’m a pansexual 20 yr old female (so gender of the ship is totally up to you and generally I use she/her pronouns) and if possible, could I get a general star wars ship?

I would generally describe myself as pretty optimistic, I’ve been through a lot mental health wise and have come out the other side much more positive and realistic because of it. In fact, my friends call me sunshine or sunny because of how positive and “light” I can be. I have depression which can sometimes cause me to be down, but I work really hard to keep my mood stable. I’m super active (to the point where I want to be an athlete as a full-time job) and love running and cycling. I have two golden retrievers who are the light of my life and honestly keep me sane at times. I’m generally not one to be vulnerable, and I can’t ever say that I’ve truly shown my fully authentic self to anyone (which is something I’m working hard on but hey, takes time). I also seek reassurance often which is another thing I’m improving. I’m an INFP and generally think I fit the mediator personality type because I can calm pretty much anyone down and it’s easy for me to be the peacekeeper in a conversation. However, if anyone is treating others incorrectly (racist, sexist, etc.) I will not hesitate to loose my cool, to the point where my family has nicknamed me “firecracker”. I’m super loyal and very protective of those I love, but never in a possessive sense. I’m fairly tall, about 5’10 with brown hair and light brown eyes. My favorite color is yellow so most of my wardrobe is yellow or some variation of orange, though I do love anything olive green or deep blue. At times I’m pretty sensitive and occasionally have body image issues so some of my clothing is pretty baggy and comfortable. I’m a Buddhist, and mostly live my life by the peaceful standards set by Tibetan Buddhism. I take pride in being strong both physically and mentally and often support those around me to become better if they express the interest. I love being in nature and actually live in the middle of the forest, though I also love travelling and have been to most of Europe and some of Eastern Asia. All in all I’m a pretty grounded and peaceful person (even though I named a lot of contradictory things lol) and am always striving to better myself for those in my life and my future self.

Your ship!!

I would honestly ship you with Paz, I think you guys would fit together perfectly. Between your mutual love of children and animals, and his ability to be a calming and grounding presence for you, you would be the ultimate couple. I can imagine you guys going to town and just walking around the stalls hand in hand, and of course being the big teddy bear he is, Paz would buy you whatever caught your eye and surprise you with it later. Speaking of Paz being a teddy bear, can you imagine the snuggles?? Literally top tier. This man is soft™️ and would just envelope you and never let you go. I think your youse would have plants all over and probably some critters (both with four and two feet) running around. I also get the vibe that Paz would be super supportive of your interests, not thinking that your interest in death is weird but rather almost normal (being Mandalorian and all that) and I can also see you guys having really feel and in-depth conversations about death and subsequently life. As for how you meet... I think you’d most likely be helping with the foundlings or caring for animals (are there shelters in Star Wars? Now there are) and he would be all gentle with the kiddos/animals and you’d notice (because obviously, who wouldn’t notice the big strong man being so soft™️) . You might brush it off and assume he’ll never come back again because ~feelings~ but then when you see him again and he recognizes you, you might just go for it. He wouldn’t push you out if your comfort zone, but instead get to know you slowly. He’s also totally the type to remember all the little details about you like, you mentioned you were tired? Coffee the next day (or whatever you may use to wake up) you need a break from your shift? He remembers what you said your favorite restaurant is and is already getting you out the door. Once you guys have been together for a while I can imagine talking about having a house with some land along with more kiddos (let’s face it, all the bucket boys have a breeding kink) and he’d be okay if you didn’t want that life but would be thrilled if you agreed to the white-picket-fence dream he’s envisioned for you guys. 1000% the supportive s/o who drinks his respect women juice ™️ religiously. I can’t remember if you included your love language in your details, but if it’s touch ohhh boy and you in for a treat with Paz. When I said this man won’t let you go, I mean it. Big arms and large hands (😏) just holding you? *chefs kiss*. He would LOVE it when you lay on his chest and if you ever let him lay in yours and listen to your heartbeat? The man thinks he’s died and gone to heaven. You would also be the first person to see his face if you wanted to, which would probably cause both of you to cry (happy tears) ngl. Also, just a thought that won’t leave my alone, Paz is tatted to the nines but if you’re not into that then ignore this part lol.

Thank you again and congrats on the milestone. Like I said, you deserve this and so much more and it make me so so happy to see you finally getting the recognition you deserve.

Thank you so much for your kind words it means a lot, and thank you for being here, I really appreciate hearing from you and talking thots with you!

For your ship, I ship you with Obi Wan Kenobi!

Being a Jedi and following Jedi practices I think Obi Wan would really like that you follow Buddhism and follow a peaceful lifestyle because it is something similar to what he has grown up practicing himself. Obi loves your optimism and sees it as a breath of fresh air after all the negative things he goes through day by day while fighting in the war and being torn from his peacemaking ways into w war general. Obi absolutely loves your dogs, and don't feel bad if when he visits you he makes a beeline straight towards the dogs to give them pets immediately after saying hello to you. When Obi notices how much you like to be active, he will invite you to come to the training rooms at the temple where he will teach you how to spar so the two of you can spend time doing that, or just running the course that the Jedi have set up for training. Obi loves how much yellow and orange is in your closet and just your style in general, but he likes to tease you about owning so much yellow means that your favorite battalion is his own, the 212th, and how you are their little good luck charm. Obi is very much a peacekeeper and would rather negotiate an opponent down rather than fight, so he very much is glad that you are a peacekeeper as well. That being said though, he does like that you stand up for what you believe in and for others, it never fails to bring a smile to his face when you get a little feisty. Obi Wan is a very caring person and in my opinion very observative, so he will notice when you are feeling down around him and he will give you as much reassurance that you need. No matter what it is Obi will make sure and find a way to cheer you up because he hates seeing anything but a smile on your face.

OMG everything and I mean everything you wrote in your ship for me is perfect!!!

Paz buying me anything that catches my eye? I am dead. Paz being a big ass cuddly teddy bear? yes please, I want him to lay on top of me and squish me in a big hug. Having deep conversations with him? That is my shiiiiittttt. Paz remembering small things like how I take my coffee or tea or my fave restaurant? I am so fucking SOFT! Paz planning out a cute little home for the two of us? Ugghhhhh I can’t! And lastly, both of us crying when I see his face for the first time? Fuck, I am crying now goddammit!

Thank you for this, and thank you for being here and being so lovely to me! 

(16/20)

[luckystarchild]

If NQK were to live with one of the boys... how would they fare? Would it work or would they starve to death or something like that after the first week? What is the usual state of the apartment/house? What kind of dinamic do they have?

This ask is HELLA FUCKIN’ OLD. I am sorry it took me so long. Finally have a PC where I can type with abandon, so I’ve decided to start with the oldest Asks in my inbox and work my way forward in what shall be known as “Lucky’s Ask Marathon of 2020.” Starting with this one, the oldest in my inbox!

Let’s start with a person she’s basically already lived with during LC: YUSUKE URAMESHI.

From the outset, Yusuke makes zero attempt to clean up after himself. He is a mess of a roommate, and while this would normally drive NQK UP THE GODDAMN WALL, she knows him well enough to not get her hopes up that he’d ever pick up a shirt or do a dish. She has NO EXPECTATIONS, and that means she is NEVER DISAPPOINTED. She’d do the chores, and she’d be mildly resentful, but her already low expectations keep her from losing her temper about it. She cleans up after him and gives him an earful every time, and he tells her to shut it, and they fight, but that’s just how they are, and that’s that.

THE BRIGHT SIDE to living with Yusuke is that he’s a great cook, so she never really has to worry about whether or not he can feed himself (and if she buys enough food, HE’LL actually feed HER). And they will never have to worry about neighborhood kids messing with their place, because they’ll be too scared of mean-muggin’ Yusuke to dig up her begonias. 

And now for KAZUMA KUWABARA.

She goes into this living arrangement with high hopes. He’s a real sweetheart of a guy who totally asks what he can do to take care of their house, together, as a unit. As it should be! Women taking care of the household is SO last decade. Their place would start off super clean and really well taken care of… but it wouldn’t stay that way. It would start small. A dirty shirt kicked under a chair. A dish left overnight on the coffee table. Tupperware with a science experiment left to grow inside it at the back of the fridge. Kuwabara would get comfortable, and he’d stop doing the chores he was so gung-ho to perform when they first moved into their place. And Keiko would remind him to clean up, and he’d happily do it as soon as she asked… at first? He’d slowly take more and more time to clean up when she asks, and eventually she’d start getting resentful of how she’s forced to clean up after him lest she wish to live in an utterly disgusting sty, and one day she’d get pretty damn mad that she had to clean out the fridge AGAIN. And he’d be good for a while after that! But then the cycle would repeat itself, and eventually she’d cave and just hire a cleaner/housekeeper to take care of it before it can become a problem.

(Confession: I live with a Kuwabara, and these are the problems we face. I know EXACTLY how this would all go. Love the guy, but DAMN is he a mess. LOL)

But the upside is that he’d 1000% sense whenever she was having a bad day, and he’d know without asking if she needs space, a bottle of wine, or a cuddle. And he’d always deliver, which is why she’s willing to put up with all the mess.

And then we come to… HIEI.

Oh boy. Where the fuck do I start with Hiei?

She basically doesn’t HAVE a roommate if she lives with Hiei. His bed? Doesn’t look slept in. His closet? Pretty much empty; Hiei is a minimalist. The living room? Barren, decorated with her things and her things alone. He’d pay his bills on time (if you count money getting left in suspiciously weird units of currency on her desk) but he’d never contribute to the weekly trip to the grocery store unless he wants something and gives her the money to buy it for him (in this scenario, Hiei despises buying groceries, and he makes his item requests by scrawling something on the whiteboard she’s hung in the kitchen for this purpose). He would, however, leave random foods in the kitchen for her to find. Like… a melon. A loaf of bread. An entire wheel of hard cheese. The majority of a beef cattle, unbutchered. She’s pretty sure he’d basically a cat leaving her the equivalent of a dead bird, because he doesn’t think she’s feeding herself properly. NQK would be living with a cross between a gremlin and a stray cat, and frankly? It’s a pretty nice arrangement.

And last but not least, we come to KURAMA.

This is the part where NQK gets her comeuppance, because this time around it’s HER who’d piss off HIM.

I’m a magpie. I collect things. Books, records, artwork, little trinkets… and while in his past life Kurama was a thief who also collected shiny objects with magpie-like enthusiasm, he’s not the same level of pack-rat as NQK. He’s more… particular about his collections. She just finds something she likes and collects EVERY LAST THING RELATED TO THAT SUBJECT WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION. (I’m staring at my YYH stuff as I type this.) Sure, she’d work with him to keep the place super spotless and aesthetically pleasing, but her private space (bedroom or office or whatever) would be a maze of random collections that would inevitably spill out into the shared spaces. A figurine on a table. A stack of books beside the door. A candle or two on a tray on the bookcase… and then three candles. And then four. And then ninety two fuckin’ candles all in some godforsaken variation of sandalwood. Who even makes this many variations of sandalwood candle, Kurama asks you??? And then he’d forced her to have a rummage sale and she’d cry, but in the end she’d be glad that he pulled a Marie Kondo on her… because it just makes room for a new collection.

Also, she’d forget to water his plants when he goes out of town and they’d all die. Unless they’ve been, like, NQK-proofed by Kuram’s demon powers.

This Ask was great and I’m mad I didn’t get to it sooner. Love ya, anon, and sorry it took so long.

1/120 asks and counting.

[aiysha-the-loli]

Names of Some Kawaii (and Plushy) Characters

The stores around here where I live are with beautiful display cases full of toys and stuffed animals that attract the attention of not only the little ones, but also adults. There are bears, unicorns, giraffes, monkeys, dogs in every size! I like stuffed animals (and real ones) since I was little, I prefer to get a teddy than flowers, but here in my city they don't sell as many kawaii characters as the ones we occasionally find on the internet; it was through it that I learned the names of some cute characters and I will share them with you to help you search for cute things to buy or decorate whatever you want, including your PC or cellphone with images and illustrations.

I don't know the story of all of them literally (nor would it fit in a single post), so let's go in geral, by companies or illustrators okay? And when it comes to cuteness-producing companies, the Japanese have a good share. The creations I find the cutest are those of Amuse, Sanrio and San-X.

Amuse is responsible for the most kawaii stuffed animals (in my opinion); they are sold in Japan, but it seems to me that there are authorized resellers on the web for sales in other countries. They are the creators of the Alpacasso brand!

Alpacasso alpacas are of various sizes, in very cute colors, even alpacas kids, which would be 'puppies' with round little bodies.

They also make the rabbit Pote Usa Loppy, who loves strawberries and carrots, the Coroham Coron, a hamster who loves sunflower seed and the Fuwa-Mofu Pometan, a cotton candy-soft Pomeranian lulu, loves to play ball.

The Coroham and Pometan are super kawaii! There are images of hamster backpacks and doggy size G plushies over the internet :3

And as if that weren't enough, there are still the round rabbits Usa Dama Chan, who apparently doesn't have paws, but they do, and the hooded rabbit Usazukin...

There is also a pika (or Ochotona, according to the wikipedia, I didn't know this mammal), a rabbit friend who loves plush blueberries called Kyun to Nakiusagi, Munchkin, a short-legged kitten, but who can stand, only with two little feet on the floor: 3, and Hitsuji no wooly a sheep who enjoys sweets, fashion and dancing, among many others that you can meet on the official Amuse website.

There is also a shop on the website, I don't know if they ship to Brazil; on the internet you can find different images looking for the characters' names on sites like weheartit.com and pinterest.com, I've seen online stores that seem to be good options, like otakumode.com and tofucute.com, but I don't shop online, therefore, I cannot give an opinion.

Another company well known for the cuteness of its characters is San-x, from the bear Rilakkuma, and starting with him...

Rilakkuma is a very relaxed teddy bear who has as his friend another white bear named Korilakkuma, a yellow bird called Kiiroitori and there is a new teddy bear among them, I think it's like a Rilakkuma chibi, maybe it's another character, I'm not sure, but if it's called Chairoy Bear, just like Rilakkuma, but with more fur on his chest and the bear head symbol drawn on his feet and on the butt.

There are people who mistake Rilakkuma for this other bear:

But he's not Rilakkuma, he's Brown, Line's teddy. They are different characters.

Another famous group from San-X are Sumikko Gurashi, who are not just animals, but other little creatures that like to live in the corners. They are round and are always huddled, shy. Once in a while you can find illustrations of other characters in Sumikko style, like a round rilakkuma.

At san-x there are kittens too; what I met recently is called Funwari Necolon, the size of a perfume bottle! The tail is soft and it is literally a little ball of hair nya!

I loved it :3 Check out his twitter to see how much cuteness!

And there are dogs like Homekoro, a pomeranian and Berry puppy, a dog that loves strawberries, even has a whale, Jinbesan!

But the most popular characters in our country are Sanrio, the creator of Hello Kitty that everyone knows, has known or will meet at some point in life, right?

She has a pet kitten named Charmmy Kitty, who in turn has a pet hamster, Sugar. Charmmy Kitty was a gift from her father and boyfriend Daniel; she loves things that shine and has the key to Hello’s jewelry box around her neck. Hello Kitty has a twin sister with a yellow bow called Mimmy and a mother who makes the best apple pies in her opinion.

Another cute kitten is Mewkledreamy, very kawaii, chatty, likes dreams and love stories.

In the rabbits section, Sanrio presented us with several, such as My Melody, a rabbit that wears a pink hood that is friendly to a pink sheep, My Sweet Piano. If you search for mobile themes for these two, you will find a lot of cuteness, especially for android :3

Sugar Bunnies Shirousa and Kurousa love to make sweets, and Sugar Minuet, a variation in cute colors of Sugar Bunnies, are two rabbits who love to dance.

Still has the sweet Wish me mell, very white with colorful pompom, delicate and polite, and Bonbon Ribbon, a pink bunny who enjoys fashion.

Pompompurin and Cinnamoroll puppies are very famous. Cinnamon (or xinamon) is my favorite Sanrio.

He came from the clouds and works in a cafe, I think his name ( rolo de canela in Portuguese) has to do with the curled tail like one of those sweet cinnamon rolls, it reminds me of a rocambole too (I'm hungry now!), and his ears are so long that they make him fly; His friends also have names in this style, like Milk, Mocha, Chiffon, Cappuccino, Espresso (accompaniment to cinnamon roll, right? lol)

There is a variation of these characters called Cinnamon Angels, and Poron, all pink with a blue bow on the head!!!

Pompompurin, on the other hand, is a golden retriever that has a funny asterisk in belly :D He loves pudding, he's fun and looks like he hides his owners' shoes.

And mixing all the animals we have the Jewelpets, with magical powers and precious stones; my favorite is Diana who carries a diamond around her neck and has powers of feminine charm xD Meet each one on the Sanrio website.

I did not forget other characters more known here, but the post is pretty big ne? ;w;

I cannot give each reader and friend who personally accompanies me with a teddy bear, so that was a way to thank you for your affection, sending cute images that i collected on the internet! See you soon ;3

[lizzybeth1986]

Quick Thoughts on TRH Book 1, Chapter 3

• I'm hoping that if I have this chapter out early enough (doubtful, because compiling and organizing my screenshots takes time, and my drafts often don't save which means there are times I will have to replicate whole paragraphs from scratch. But fingers crossed!), I might try and do revisits of the first book. I did four of those chapters last year, and I think now - when we're looking at some of the stories told to us in Book 1 from a new lens - is a good time to explore that first book again.

• I hope the read more issue is resolved by now. It made posting quite hard the last time. In the meantime these are the tags you can block: #long post, #trh quick thoughts, #trh qts, #trh qt reblogs.

• Thanks a lot to @pixieferry for her Hana playthrough, @thefirstcourtesan for her Drake playthrough screenshots and the Abhirio YouTube channel for the Maxwell playthrough screenshots. Not much of those are up, because of lack of space to put up the pictures and the fact that this particular chapter wasn't specifically LI centric.

• Title: Your Kingdom Awaits.

Alternative Title: Tell Me What's Gestating in My Womb Today, Cordonia! A Cordonian Ruby? An Autumn Glory? A Granny Smith?

• Three chapters in and I'm getting more and more baffled by this story by the day. There's stuff I like. Some of the characters I still love. I have fun looking at the little hints, the bits of symbolism, the callbacks. I love theorizing what we'll be doing next! But all of this needs to be glued together by a coherent storyline and this just isn't it.

• Even if we push aside the gross inequalities in balance (re: character development), there's still so much that just doesn't make sense. Why is there so much rush. Why is everyone in this country (and outside) so invasive and entitled over this one noble's child? Why are we doing such insane scales of prep over a process that is in itself is so unpredictable? Why am I learning about Cordonia's allies/potential enemies in such a vague and shoddy fashion? And most of all what kind of bullshit Royal Council is this???

• But I'll elaborate on all those questions later. For now let's move on to the chapter!

• If you didn't buy the corgi in Book 2, they ask you if you'd like to buy it now at the beginning of the chapter. Possibly that may affect the entry of the second corgi in some way? Idk. 

• Esther, the Queen of Cordonia is also still the queen of winging it. You'd think they'd have planned a look for her (esp given the amount of time they could spend on the train) and gotten her ready by the time they reached there, not scrambled around for an outfit the minute they reached Valtoria.

• The LI tells the MC that they're fixed an appointment with the best obstetrician they could find, and we will be going there to ask our preliminary questions plus get a check up. I was wondering if in Hana's case they would be going to a fertility specialist instead.

• In any case, Bertrand volunteers to help us with an outfit for the last time in a short while, because he's traveling to Texas to prepare for their wedding. (we're going there too, but later. I'm not looking forward to another round of Savannah-worship - possibly with an added side of Bianca-worship - no thank you).

• Bianca's ranch is called the Walker Ranch, after Jackson's last name. Why Jackson's?

• Our OOTD!

Electric blue with a gold belt and a black and white border on the neckline, accessorized with a necklace (I think it's pearls set in gold?) and a brooch pin in the shape of a crown.

I kinda like this one and knowing the way this team operates when it comes to outfits most of the time, I'm pretty sure the colour scheme was chosen on purpose. With this outfit, the MC is presenting herself in the national colours, with a tiny signifier of what her future role might be. Either as Queen or as mother of the future heir to the Crown. This is an outfit that would send a message during Liam's announcement, whether she is (symbolically) wearing that crown or not.

• I'm obviously not very comfortable with the implications that would go with that outfit (esp if she is not the Queen), but I can't deny it does its job.

• The MC can opt to go for either being poised, acting like a diva or being very casual in her approach. Whatever she does the crowd pretty much worships her.

•

So everyone except Liam has someone (media, a fan, common people) approaching them as a way of showing how famous and revered the entire group has become in Cordonia. Liam doesn't need one coz he's anyway getting his moment with his big speech in front of the Valtoria manor.

Drake - Donnie Brine from the CBC speaks to Drake, positioning him as a man of the masses, the person that the Cordonian people see as their representative. Drake is woefully unprepared and freezes, blurting out that "things are great" which probably might end up becoming a meme on Cordonian internet later. Random Cordonian Woman from Applewood saves him by confirming this statement even though her trees have yet to grow and the tax problems are pretty much making her life "not great".

Maxwell - Where are Jiro and Camellia from Applewood? I like little Marco and Valerie but I hope they're not the only kids PB is going to be showing every time they need to show children. Marco approaches Maxwell and the MC both to sign his copy of Maxwell's book, and Maxwell takes care to do a dramatic signature that will not "obscure the picture of his face". I'm giggling at that image.

Hana - Valerie approaches Hana with a handmade flower necklace, presumably with a pattern made from "the Lee family crest". Now either Lorelai's family in Cordonia have the same surname as Xinghai, or Xinghai got himself a house crest for some reason. Either way, to toss out a detail like that so casually (a family crest is something that passes down through generations, esp in noble families) without even thinking of the logistics of it...(when an entire book of yours has been dedicated to sigils and crests) is pretty lazy.

BUT. In good news this means that my longtime speculation that Hana's mother's house had flowers as part of their court of arms is correct! (I was also right about a couple other things, like Maxwell's ancestors and Liam's mother being alive when Olivia was brought to the palace. YAY! 😁)

• We now move on to Liam's public announcement. Which sounds kinda weird whichever way you look at it. A married Liam announces that he and his wife are on a mission to enjoy babymaking and a single Liam announces this:

(Screenshots from a Hana playthrough by @pixieferry)

I will translate what both Liams are saying into Cordonian:

Married Liam: We don't have an apple cinnamon bun in the oven yet, but we're definitely having fun kneading that dough nudge nudge wink wink.

Single Liam: I'm neither making apple buns nor kneading dough. I'll leave that to my friends the bun-making experts here. I'm just gonna park my butt outside the oven door along with the rest of Cordonia.

Sounds weird? You're welcome. It was meant to sound weird.

• Esther finally reunites with her corgi Joy! I wonder if at some point she'll meet up with her horse Celestia and red pandas Hansel and Gretel too xD

• Mara tells me safety checks have been done, but...it's Mara saying that, so I'm not sure I'm quite convinced. The alternative is Bastien, so...we're kinda screwed I guess.

• The group then discusses the future foetus, and Liam takes this opportunity to hint at their childhood history. You know what that means? DIAMOND SCENE!!

•

(Screenshots for Asian Liam from my playthrough, Black Liam from @pixieferry and White Liam from @thefirstcourtesan)

LOOK AT THE WEE LITTLE KIDDIES AND LIAM'S MOM OMG AAAAAA.

As far as I can tell, among the kids the sprites for all three Liams and Drake are very much new, and the rest come from variations and changes to different faces. Maxwell's face is a copy of Simon from THoBM (only the mouth is slightly different), Hana's has a lot of similarities to young Kenna in TCaTF, but with pigtails instead of tiny buns. Olivia's is a little harder to place but I think there are plenty similarities between hers and RoE Camellia's face. For Queen Eleanor they used Young Mary's (MC's mother) sprite from D&D in accordance to whichever Liam you chose. Perhaps the only Mary sprite not used here would be the brown/Indian one, because Liam's ethnicities mainly feature White, Black and Asian. She even wears Mary's opera outfit (that incidentally Mary also ended up wearing to her wedding lol).

• Somehow they forgot that Maxwell was supposed to be a cute chubby little hippo who was loved by his mother.

• I'd like for Black Liam to grow more hair on his head because the curls on his younger self are lovely 😍

• Since most of the childhood tales revolve around the experience of growing up in the palace, this build up to the diamond scene begins with the MC asking questions about each of the boys (Liam, Drake, Maxwell).

- Little Liam and His Crown: Liam claims he only wore those during state occasions, but Maxwell (who admittedly didn't see Liam as much as Drake did but saw him often nonetheless) saw him practically sleep in the thing, and Drake has pictures to prove it lol.

- Grumpy Drake: Maxwell and Liam agree on Drake becoming grumpier as he grew older, but disagree on what metaphors to use to describe it. Maxwell favours "scratchy bark on a secretly loveable tree", and Liam claims he is "whiskey maturing in its barrell". ("oh", I want to ask Drake, "so that's what they call 'old grain mash' these days?" 🤣 This is my revenge for him referring to wine as old grape juice back in Book 2). No prizes for guessing which metaphor Drake liked better.

- Banning Maxwell from Palace Rooms: Maxwell's lucky he has a king for a friend because apparently before Liam jokingly and unwisely decided to give the man a royal pardon Maxwell was banned from all the good rooms 😅

• Hana clearly hasn't lost her touch when it comes to epic savagery. "I imagined you guys like the Three Musketeers, only...less French". 😅😅

• This diamond scene is split into three parts. You have the fun 'adventures' of the little boys (and later Olivia) at the palace, split in between by a slightly more sombre tale of little Hana's loneliness. The narrative voice in all three is very much that of a child, and focuses on Liam's and Hana's imaginations, so as to make their childhood stories more real to us while still providing us background information about the country's recent history (the "recent history" bit doesn't apply to Hana, though, since she is in China at the time).

- Pirate Adventures at The Palace Courtyard: Liam, Drake and Maxwell pretend to be pirate kings, battling rivals on the palace courtyard. After rescuing Maxwell from being stuck on the branches of a tree, the trio decide to continue their adventures on the gardens that are his mother's brainchild, but are stopped by a palace guard. Liam is briefly saddened by this, but is comforted by Drake and Maxwell. The boys then decide to continue playing in the palace kitchens. This scene begins by focusing on the antics of the little ones, but is really about the changed atmosphere in the palace that the boys themselves were too young to notice at the time.

(We also find out which place in TCaTF the Beaumonts originated from, since young Maxwell refers to himself as a pirate from Panrion in both scenes that he is in *cue Lizzy looking very very smug because I've been saying the Beaumonts were from Panrion/someplace in Ebrimel since way back in Book 2*)

The MC has options to respond to this tale (either about whether they were always this naughty, or about the increased security in the palace). In response to her question about the three of them, the boys tell us that Liam was known for being a free spirit and would skip many diplomacy meetings before he even met the other two (again, Constantine, Liam was A CHILD). If you ask the question they want you to be asking, however, about the increased security in the palace, Drake and Maxwell will tell you the security wasn't as strict earlier, and Liam will explain that the royal family had recently received threats at the time, and his parents were a lot more tense and on-edge than usual. Either way, you either get to know a bit about the political atmosphere at the time, or realize that little Liam wasn't the heavily burdened one we met on that first night in New York.

- Pretend-Teatime with a Young Hana: Hana continues on this thread of conversation by focusing on the bond between the boys, commenting on how she never grew up with that kind of experience. To which Drake and Maxwell have these reactions:

@Drake, pls fall on a cactus.

@Maxwell. Honey. She said this to you yesterday. She's probably said this more than once. You've seen her parents!! Wtf kind of friend are you if you can't even take what she said seriously the first time?

@Hana pls get yourself better friends 😭

Like @callmetippytumbles said in her response to this scene, I have no patience for this kind of selective stupidity.

So Hana's scene is technically a call-back to something she once told the MC back in Book 1 Chapter 6, when they were on their way to the post-Derby tea party with Queen Regina. At the time, Hana spoke of her parents not allowing her toys because they thought them frivolous, and how she had to make do with whatever was lying around instead. We actually see this happen in reality here. We see her PoV of what her inanimate objects do, we see her practicing court etiquette on these objects with her tea set, and we see her leave space for her asshole mother even though Lorelai doesn't deserve that much respect or consideration. There is a lot to unpack in this scene and I want to do that in my General Thoughts section later on...but for now I'll just say that it broke my heart, and not just in an "oh poor Hana" way.

- The Attack from Lythikos: I love this sequence too, not only because it shows us Olivia, a younger Constantine and Liam's mother Eleanor, but because the narrative framing in itself alludes to what happened between Lythikos and the Capitol earlier through the pirate story. Liam and Olivia still speak in the language of their story, but the sequence actually plays out what happens in their real lives. Olivia attacks the pirates, but is left desolate, sword broken, at the end of it (just like her parents tried to, and died in the process - leaving an innocent Olivia alone without support). Liam offers her terms that would give her safety and protection, and in return, she asks to be Pirate Queen and for Drake's sword - which he reluctantly gives.

Constantine mistrusts Olivia and attempts to limit her natural abilities and instincts, but it is Liam's empathy, support and validation of her pain, that eventually makes her the steadfast ally that she becomes as an adult - not Constantine's paranoia. Had Liam followed Constantine's lead, the chances of Olivia falling into the trap of subscribing to her aunt's beliefs would have been much much higher, and Constantine would have found himself at the receiving end of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The narrative may also be implying how deep Eleanor's own impact on her son must be, long after her death, since the narrative frames him as adopting her way of dealing with situations often.

In any case the narrative allows us to see the children as they were before their individual tragedies changed them (except in Olivia's and Hana's cases - where they were still struggling to survive the situations they were in), and allows us to see what shaped them into the adults they are today.

The MC then gets to ask one of two questions: either why Constantine treated Olivia so badly, or about the arguments his parents were having. We learn from these that this incident was shortly after Liam became friends with her and his parents brought her to the palace (this references both Liam's conversation about Olivia to the MC in Book 1 Chapter 7, and Lucretia's complaints about Constantine "keeping Olivia hostage" in her diamond scene in Book 3).

• Possibly this may not be the only scene of its kind we will see. Possibly the next few may be Drake-centric, since we may actually meet Bianca in a few chapters. But these scenes may definitely have an impact on dialogue later, just like how learning of the assassination attempt in Drake's Italian Restaurant Scene and Eleanor's death in Liam's Fydelia Balcony Scene in Book 2 are referred to later (if bought) in the hospital scene with Constantine.

• In any case, we leave the past in the past (for now), and move towards Valtoria's throne room. Where we meet Penelope, just back from her first canine fashion show, Kiara who tells us she has everything kept under control (you always do boo 😍) and Madeleine who is all up our uterus.

• She mentions King Bradshaw from Auvernal and his "impossible to control" wife, then mentions a Queen Amalas immediately after without bothering to tell us where this person is from. WTF? At least tell me the name of her goddamn country if she's another person!! You'd just have to say Queen Amalas of ChickenFeetonia and I would understand.

• ...you're telling me the Queen of this country (in my playthrough) has barely looked at a map of the place she's ruling or checked out who rules what?? You're telling me that the Royal Communications Director is STILL going to give her a gazillion flash cards to read something that she could sum up in five minutes, at the very last minute? Bitch what have you been doing this entire time? Touching up your manicure??

•

@Penelope: No you're not.

@Kiara: STOP ENABLING HER, KIKI, AND GET YOURSELF BETTER FRIENDS.

@Madeleine: Pls fall on a cactus.

• Madeleine hasn't been here for even five minutes and already I've had enough of her entitled ass. "Little apple gestating in your womb"...just...I can't. Ugh. Get your nosy nose out of my oven!!

• Remember how I told you guys about how apple analogies may be used to denote fertility? (mostly because RoE spoke of this apple cutting ceremony and it was a very obvious indicator towards apple metaphors being used to describe pregnancy and childbirth).

• I facepalmed when Kiara agreed with her but she's also probably thinking "well see this is why they call me the smart courtier. I don't have to deal with this shit anymore and now you do" (she isn't wrong).

• WELL HELLO OLIVIA.

• She informs us that we're expected at the solarium. I have a solarium?

• Apparently it was Mara's honeymoon gift to us. More like her "sorry Bastien and I screwed up last book" gift, I'd say.

• So wait where was this roster Liam was speaking about in the last book's epilogue? I see one Cordonian noble and one Englishman who until my wedding wanted to have nothing to do with Cordonia, and who's now bleating "our country, our kingdom, we're under attack" like a panicking patriotic nanny goat.

• Why can I not see Emmeline here, who is clearly the expert on her duchy? (I mean like. Landon is nice, but I'd really like to see more women in this Council too). Also does Kiara's inclusion into the Council cancel out the presence of her father Hakim, who is a seasoned diplomat and might possibly have some really good suggestions for dealing with these foreign powers (and seriously he'd be a better option than Godfrey anyway).

• Now Esther has a suggestion! Let's see what it is...

• A royal ball, apparently. Which...given the company, I'm sure it probably would be appropriate but I'm pretty sure we'll need to have more than that in place. I'm pretty sure the people in this council should either be finding out whether the person making these suggestions knows anything about these issues or whether she is simply talking out of her ass. This was a problem last book as well. The MC rarely feels the need on her own to explore these situations more, is okay with just learning things last minute and rolling with it and has the same solution to everything. It's either tours or balls but very little actual exploration of the situation. (I mean there is even a point where she barely shows any empathy at Portavira - even though they're still reeling from a bunch of natural calamities - and thinks it's appropriate to tell them to come for her wedding anyway. No wonder Liam panicked and started giving her diplomacy lessons, stat!) I'd actually take the MC seriously if she were doing her research and her suggestions weren't so shallow and one-note.

• Hana is grinning and giving justifications like this suggestion makes sense. STOP. ENABLING. HER. HANA.

• I especially want to know what Liam's experiences with these dignitaries have been. Both last chapter and this one, I'm seeing him in a position where he is defiant and digging his heels into whatever ideas he is having, but I don't know the context yet and would like to make sense of that. From whatever I've read so far...Liam took the year following Leo's abdication to familiarize himself with taking the front seat in negotiations, and probably may have been familiar with this kind of situation and the kind of people involved even before he became Crown Prince. It makes me wonder how difficult negotiating with them has been, and I want to see why Liam is so done with these people, so fed up. We're missing some context here and I think learning at least a little more than these scraps would have been better for everyone.

• I like that they remember Kiara as the only one outside of the charmed six to get a seat in this council (Kiki deserves the best). I also liked how succintly she summed up Drake and Hana's points about what the heightened taxes are doing to the people as "a reminder that we're not just here for ourselves".

• I find the entire idea of Drake Walker being the sole commoner representative in the Council laughable, especially in a narrative where every other commoner barely has a face, hardly has a name, and almost never has a voice. A man who has spent a huge chunk of his life in a palace, and who I've hardly seen even interacting with a commoner in the story...I'm expected to believe he will have great insights on commoner issues?? Even in this meeting, it's Hana who does a better job explaining this situation (she's the one highlighting the tax issues) than he does. Then again this Council also somehow gave a seat to Duke Karlington - a man who literally never had Cordonia's best interests in mind last book, and who only ended up attending our wedding because we had to be brought in as family counselors to settle HIS family disputes (I mean lol Godfrey how can you call this wedding a disaster when it caused you to magically become so "patriotic"!)

For God's sake, I want to see other commoners on this council. I want people who are actually living these experiences highlighting their issues. This is an issue I have with the MC too. She started out a commoner herself a waitress who wouldn't even flinch at the sight of rats in a dumpster. For someone of that background and who has possibly lived under the worse circumstances than some Cordinians themselves, you'd think that she'd have questions and show interest in how the people who aren't owning lands and are regular individuals on the street live their lives, and whether things are okay for them. But she's so immersed in the world of nobility that she rarely ever even tries to come out.

• Before Liam takes into account everyone's points and comes to a conclusion, the MC has the opportunity to give them her opinion. She can either say that we can't trust anyone, which Godfrey agrees with, or that an alliance would be good for Cordonia, which Godfrey views as naive, OR (and I didn't expect to like this response but I actually do) that she's a waitress from the States, and wouldn't know all that much about this situation. To which there isn't much of a reaction as such, but that's kind of what seems different about this book compared to the others.

• Once the meeting is wrapped up, our LI and Maxwell/Hana whisper in a corner about a surprise they have in store, and take us upstairs to show us what it is. If you're marrying any of the other three, Maxwell is the one who has arranged and picked out themes and colour schemes for the nursery. If you're married to Maxwell, Hana takes over this role.

• Ooooh. New (I think!) baby music! Nice. Very lullaby-like.

• Every design has these basic components:

a crib with a pillow (which I think will be updated later)

a couch nearby, likely for comfort when the mother wants to breastfeed (the updated versions seem to have a footrest)

a table with a lamp

three empty frames (also to be updated. I'm guessing for one of those "my first hand/foot impression" kind of thing and maybe even photoshoots etc)

a ceiling lamp/chandelier

a hook, also on the ceiling.

The two updated versions have footrests, updated lamps and ceiling decorations, additional carpet and customized designs (except for the crib and the pictures and the hook, which I think will be updated later). The Royal Glam theme is all reds and golds, very luxurious and very Valtoria. The Fairytale Forest theme has more whimsy, with bears, foxes, leaves, flowers and apples on the wallpaper, wood paneling, a beautiful golden lamp. Very pretty. Both seem to reference the MC's journey in TRR: her being either a Royal and the closest thing to one, and her journey being very fairytale-like (remember, the same logic was used for Hana's "something blue" gift for the MC's - where she views her as Cinderella).

• Only problem is...who exactly buys a nursery before they have a baby! Especially considering how unpredictable pregnancy and childbirth can be.

• We now meet Dr Ramirez for an appointment. I'm not sure about her suggestion that prenatal vitamins etc they will deal with after she has conceived. I know a number of people who did pre-pregnancy appointments and vitamins and folic acid were on the top of the list of things they'd start a routine with.

• As expected, all the appointments go roughly the same, with the usual answers to the usual questions (one about sushi, another about morning sickness and a last one about potential complications). The MC and LI are in the clear, and can start preparing - but apparently shouldn't stress. LMAO. Thank you doctor, I'm sure that will be easy to do in this country 😂

• Hana's goes differently, and it's clear this doctor's visit was primarily written to address her situation with the MC. The tests go differently, the suggestions given to them are different, the questions the MC asks (one about choosing donors, when they should start, and who should carry the child). The bombshell that immediately follows this is:

Wow. Seriously. Wow. You couldn't find a more temporary reason for why the MC has to be the one conceiving? It has to be something that would make her overall ability to conceive almost impossible?? (and this we find after one test? No follow ups?) I recall someone putting up/reblogging these screenshots with a caption about how the narrative pretty much took Hana's entire ability to conceive from her, and it's so true - and so disturbing when you place it in the context of how they've dealt with her issues so far (more on this later).

• In Hana's playthrough, she struggles with implications of this news, but constantly tries to veer the focus back to "well at least one of us can is able to have this baby". Twice, she is shown moving away from her pain to ask about the other possibilities for the MC.

• Anyway...we now move to the next morning, when the couple wake up to bad news - and it's concerning the pictures taken during their honeymoon. Given that Maxwell/Hana is holding a magazine when they tell the MC they found out who was responsible...I wonder if it's one of our news outlets. Or whether it's a foreign media rep.

• So I guess this complicates things at our Ball, since we're already on thin ice and this news would have spread to those other dignitaries as well. So we're going to have to deal with whatever implications come with those pictures (perhaps a spin on the royal gang having fun while Cordonia is in a national crisis? Who knows. It would be hypocritical of Cordonians and people from other neighbouring countries to judge the couple over the babymaking that they themselves were enforcing on these two!)

• In any case...royal ball this week. And in the universe of PB's stories that usually means some shit will go down.

General Thoughts and Observations:

• The funny thing about the MC's responses now is that her heightened position now seems to allow her to get away with a lot more than she used to. Now if she gives a joke response, the media and people laugh with her rather than at her. If she is a diva, the crowd will lap it up. I'm guessing what the book is trying to imply is that these are the people she has won over and doesn't exactly need to worry about, and now the ones she will have to convince are from other, more powerful countries - ready to back Cordonia into a corner anytime.

• As you can tell by now, I absolutely loved the childhood sequences. They sounded like children, most of the narrative lines up with what was already said in the previous series, and there were some interesting narrative devices used here.

• I think the third sequence especially drives home the point about what Liam did right, even as a young boy, and what Constantine refusing to look past Olivia's lineage to see her as an individual could have cost him. Constantine's ruthlessness and lack of genuine care for his bonds/friendships (eg. Hakim) had him in a position where he was unable to relate to anyone beyond his own tiny bubble (even his own wife Regina was taking countermeasures to make the best of his horrid plan), and had him make decisions that did more harm than good. For instance, take what he did to the MC, for no fault of her own other than that he didn't think she'd be a good Queen. Not only was what he did utterly disgusting, but it also would have made his own family a subject of shame in the country (which is why Constantine practically begs her never to expose him, because then Liam would be paying the price). Imagine what would have happened if Constantine didn't agree with Liam and perhaps Eleanor, never brought Olivia to the palace, and Liam had never shown her his constant support. Liam's genuine empathy in this case pretty much ensured the safety of his own line.

• I also love the implications of that sequence. Constantine is so wrapped up in his fear that he tries to break what Olivia considers most precious (Zenobia the sword in this case, but this could allude to her parents' deaths and later, her possible marriage to Liam at his Coronation). Liam attempts to fill that gap by taking her in, caring for her, and giving her the tools to continue being the Lythikos fighter she has always been.

• There are a few TCaTF references in the palace scenes: Maxwell mentions Panrion twice, and Olivia calls her sword "Zenobia" in honour of her historical hero (she still speaks of Zenobia with something akin to worship during the Winter Festival in Lythikos).

• Olivia's dress is also modelled on Zenobia's, with the same colour and bodice embroidery. In fact most of the clothes are very similar to their adult garments: Drake still wears denim, Maxwell favours dark colours (still should have been chubby though), Liam's clothes are similar to his casual wear minus the ascot, and Hana wears pink, with flower designs on the skirt.

• What I like most are the narrative voices for both Liam and Hana, who are the ones narrating these stories, and how rooted in their imaginations the scenes themselves sound. But there are significant, heartbreaking differences in how we see their imaginations play out:

Here are a few samples of narration I've managed to save from Liam's PoV. Notice how Liam and his friends are so into their little game that they find adventure in everything? Notice the language they use to describe themselves and what they are doing? Once-defiant topiaries shaking in fear at their antics. "Liberating" chocolate tarts. "Conquering" the upper floors. These boys are playing out their dreams and showing us the kind of men they would want to be. The heroes. The victors. The ones everyone looks at with awe and reverence.

This is also not a story Liam is creating alone. Drake and Maxwell happily join in, sink into their characters and display their heroics alongside him. Olivia also joins in and holds her own, and when Liam's father tries to break her spirit, Olivia shows Liam her trust and faith in him by using the language of the game.

On the other hand, here is what the narration technique in Hana's tea scene looks like:

There is a lot to unpack here. A lot. There is perhaps more in this one scene of Hana's than there is in all of Book 3, where she was pretty much pushed to the sidelines.

We were told in Book 1 that Hana had to get creative because she wasn't allowed toys. This was told to us in a rather matter-of-fact way, by a person who was normalized in this way of life and who hadn't yet realized just wrong her upbringing was or how damaged her self of self was. It's perhaps easy to forget this bit of dialogue if you were reading it for the first time because at the end of the day it's spoken of without much gravity.

It's when you see it play out in front of you, in little Hana's voice, from an adult Hana who will now view this entire sequence very, very differently, that the tragedy of it all really hits you. At such a young age she is forced to make do with the little she has: the little she has in terms of things to play with, the little she has in terms of relationships. What the MC says after that sequence is half-right, it's sweet how Hana used her imagination in spite of her parents' rules and strict lifestyle. But what that misses is the burden experiences like that would place on a child in her earliest, more formative years. What stand out to me the most in this sequence are these:

- The most obvious: the use of a 'tea party' to teach herself etiquette and diplomacy. In the present, Hana tells the group that "a lot of what I learned about courtly negotiations, I learned from the tea table". This is the level Hana chooses to focus on after telling her tale, to soften the blow of the story itself.

- The fact that despite her mother's treatment of her, Hana still leaves space for Lorelai. Still wants to believe the best of her, still wants her involved in her life. Lorelai denies her her support and comfort, which is the initial layer to her injustices against Hana. In a lot of ways, even now - Hana is still leaving space for Lorelai, giving her chances to improve, trying to educate her on respecting her boundaries better. It's a long, exhausting process, and Lorelai doesn't deserve the many chances Hana keeps giving her, but Hana is also a person who struggles to completely cut off from the people in her life, controlling and emotionally abusive though they may be.

- At the end of the day, the objects she is giving a life and a personality to, are inanimate objects used for other purposes. Not toys, not real friends. Every last one of them. Miss Doily is kind and caring, Princess Sinckerdoodle is jealous and gives a damn about etiquette (I like how you can see allusions there to Olivia and the MC in the Bakery Ball dialogue!). But they're essentially all objects that cannot move the way her narration describes them as moving. Even dolls and toys, inanimate though they are, are made for the express purpose of allowing a child to participate in pretend play. They can be given a voice, their limbs can be moved, the child can easily turn such a space into an active space with the use of her toys. The doily, the napkin, the sock...these are things Hana will have very little actual control over. They will not be able to move the way she wants them to, do the things she wants them to. Everything has to be happening in her head and there is very little outlet for her other than the few things she has at hand (a similar example of of Hana using scraps we will also find in Book 2, where she draws whiskers on a rock to replicate a toy mouse).

Look again, at the differences in the way Liam narrates his tale and how Hana narrates hers. Liam's is also a fantasy, also uses inanimate objects. But supporting him in building this imaginary universe are his friends, and the parents who both don't stop him from immersing himself in this imaginary world, and have a safe normal (for now) life to return to when those "adventures" are over. On the other hand, Hana has to do the heavy work...in every way. She has to imagine not only the background of what is happening, but also what the objects in front of her are like, what they will do, how they will interact with her, how they will interact with each other.

If I had to replicate such a scene into film, the loneliness of this sequence would perhaps hit harder. A large, empty room. A tiny girl. A tea set and several strange items - and none of them actually move. She is sitting alone, in the dim light, in the silence, talking to these objects that will never respond so she pretends they do, just to chase away that yawning, aching feeling of not having a single friend. All she gets in return is silence. All she finds in front of her is space, and more space. The kind of space that could swallow a child in its emptiness.

And in the center, is a seat left empty. For a mother who doesn't believe her daughter is worth the time.

I think there will be very few who will appreciate the strength it takes to survive a lifetime of that, and that's sad.

• The little Hana sequence reminds me of the animated film Cinderella, particularly in how the main character uses dreams and imagination as an escape from her life of drudgery and the abuse she faces daily. Particularly the song "Sing Sweet Nightingale", where Cinderella's dull world bursts into vivid colour through the soap bubbles that emerge from the washing bucket.

It's a beautiful, soft, almost surreal little sequence...but when you strip it all down to its basics, what you're essentially seeing is a woman so abused by her family and so trapped in this life she does not deserve, that she has to grasp at straws to find joy. Or in this case, soap bubbles.

What Hana faces in her home is perhaps a little more similar to Rapunzel's situation in Tangled than Cinderella's, but there are definite similarities in the way both characters use their imaginations to soothe and comfort themselves. She is forced into a situation where her imagination - and these things that can't respond to her - are all she has, and the only ways she can keep herself safe and happy. That's way too big a burden for a child so young to bear.

• I wonder if there will be more than the memories. Perhaps documents, news clippings, research material that the MC can use to dig further into what's going on in this country. It's possible, but it's also possible that memories will entirely be how we unravel this mess. I was speaking to @thefirstcourtesan the other day and she mentioned that Bianca and Bastien would both be pretty good sources for finding out more - Bastien, after all, had a lot of respect for the second queen and was close to Jackson, and Bianca would have heard certain things from her husband or witnessed something at the very least (and if they were friends, that angle too). I probably would add Lucretia and maybe Anton (if we see them and if they cooperate), Bertrand or someone new who knew Bartamely (if we can find out more about the Beaumont house that would be lovely!), the Lees, and...Francesco? (I still haven't forgotten that Bertrand mentioned him as being a friend of Liam's mother). I also want to see what new information Olivia got from the last time she did her research on any hidden deals or laws that could endanger the kingdom. There are quite a few possibilities in terms of what we could find and how it can be presented, so I'm looking forward to that. This scene was a good start.

• Having said that, this was something they should have been addressing the previous book. If they hadn't spent so much of their focus on all the wrong things, we wouldn't have as much ground to cover as we do now. And I'm not sure they've learned their lesson enough that we will not see the same mistakes repeated this time.

• Why is the system in place to inform and update the MC on what's happening so poor this time. At least earlier, we'd have a fairly good idea of what would be happening next, even if some important stuff was done last minute. Now the explanations themselves are poorly formed and done without proper thought on whether the MC/readers might understand what's going on or not. It doesn't look good on the story, nor does it look good on those characters esp the MC. This is stuff she could have maybe gotten away with as a suitor. But now she is Duchess/Queen, and an influential figure. What looked good in her days as a suitor won't look so good on her now.

• The Royal Council could be a way forward - for the nobility and royalty-heavy narrative to something that shows us more perspectives from the people who really form the backbone of this country - the commoners who actually populate Cordonia's lands and duchies, whose hard work likely keeps the economy running. Just one Drake isn't adequate for that kind of representation - not when he very rarely addresses their issues in the first place. Please tell me there will be more in that Council because the Council as it stands is in no way an improvement on the status quo.

• I've said more than enough about how bizarre and downright OOC Liam sounds, but I do think we should not ignore the context - the fact that every single individual involved is making these demands of the MC and expecting her to save their country through her child without really checking if she has basic knowledge or other resources in place (such as information about the rulers she is meeting). That includes the LIs. It's very easy to make just a character or two a convenient scapegoat, but let's not forget that there isn't a single person in this entire narrative that is bothering to examine the implications. Not a single.

• What really got me angry...was the Hana doctor sequence. Maybe two books ago it would have just hurt - but more on the level of "it hurts to see Hana like this but I have hope for her". Hope that she would have the space to grieve something she had lost before she could ever even have it, hope that the narrative would validate her pain and encourage her healing. But I can't even hope for that anymore.

This is a very very painful, complicated situation to put a person in. And yes, sometimes those are things you want to talk about and finding out you can't have children when you've always wanted to have them is a very real, very difficult situation - and there is a lot you can explore in terms of how a person with these conditions would feel. But the thing is...Hana has already been on the receiving end of multiple tragic storylines. I have already seen enough and more of her in pain. What I'm not seeing is a good - or even adequate - payoff that validates her painful journey and allows for a release of those emotions. I'm constantly seeing more tragedy, less triumph. I'm not seeing enough satisfactory resolution to those many many issues, and I've spent three books just watching her hurt be brushed aside both by the people who bully her AND the people who are supposed to be her friends (let's be real, they're doing it even now). And now is supposed to be a good time to pile up another difficult situation on her???

• Whenever Hana has been forced into situations that hurt her, her emotions and thoughts have always been pushed to the sidelines - unless and until it was to elevate the MC to a pedestal in Hana's eyes. Hana has rarely - if ever - been given the space to speak out against injustices done to her, has rarely been allowed to have an opinion on people who have harmed her.

When the narrative should have been validating what Madeleine put Hana through, they opted to create sympathy for Madeleine instead...and had her completely minimize what she did to Hana ("I'm sure Hana will be willing to let bygones be bygones").

When the narrative should have been allowing her to discover what her sexuality was, they opted not to talk about it at all. They opted to make her MC-sexual instead. Even with the "alternative LI" they planned for her (*pukes*), they focused more on Madeleine's feelings than Hana's.

When the narrative should have allowed her the space to explore what her parents did wrong and arm her against their faulty arguments about her being the "delicate flower" who cannot survive without them, the writers opted to push her into a 'solution' that was still centered around her usefulness, not her emotional state. Her 'happy ending' with her parents involves constantly educating them on how to treat her with respect, a suffocating, draining process for a child with her background.

When the narrative should have - at least - given her a good wedding, after showing us what dreams she had for it, a wedding where she was treated like a bride, not a bridesmaid, her writers did exactly the opposite. She is more skilled than the MC yet it is the MC that gets the duchy. She is the creative one who comes up with the polo moves yet it is the MC that gets the credit. She is the one that didn't have a chance to fully plan her own wedding the way she wanted earlier, yet the same MC still treats her like her wedding planner rather than a bride. In not one of these situations is she ever allowed to vent about or even speak of what this is doing to her.

Maybe they will give her a chance to explore this difficult journey, maybe they won't. But how dare they push another tragic, difficult (to her) truth such as this, when they have barely allowed her to voice discontent or pain on a host of other issues!

Piling more pain on top of the pain a character already has, isn't going to make your character better developed. Allowing them the space to feel and show those feelings to others will. Thinking of worthy resolutions to those issues, will. If you want to be fair to Hana, center her in her story. Expand on her origins. Focus on story not skills. And validate her pain goddammit!!

• Sigh. Until next time, folks.

[honestsycrets]

His Cupcake

5cw Modern au w ivar having a crush on you but trying so hard to hide it from you that you ACTUALLY think he hates you, until one way or another you find out his true feelings for you

❛ pairing | ivar x reader

❛ word count | 1377

❛ genre | oneshot

❛ summary | he’s always been an asshole to her. he’d really just like to make up

❛  warnings | implied childhood love, hate and love relationship, embarassment

Boneless was an asshole.

Since grade school he had been the awful kid to put things in your hair, laughing at how your hair would keep onto it. He would steal your favorite snacks in lunch and give you things like, ugh, an apple.

Then in middle school, everything started to change. His low methods of torture began to change when you left away silly things for glossy lipstick and sassy bangles. There was a lot of hate-filled staring from afar. Now in boarding school, your skirts boarded the shortest they could be according to dress code. Hvitserk swore that you were wearing cute little lacy panties underneath.

“They were silky!” Hvitserk says in the elevator to the third floor with his brother. “Pretty little creamy ones too.”

“She’s a dancer.” He says. “She probably doesn’t wear any.”

None of the dancers wore any. They were all in this new age movement of liberation amongst other things. Weird ass shit, he said. He turns the corner to find you in your locker, slipping out your math book and putting back in the history one.

“Hey, (Y/N).” Ivar’s voice echoes down the hall, closing you between the door of the locker and his body held up by the crutch. You clutch the hardcover of your book close to the white button down shirt you wore, shifting in that tiny burgundy skirt.

“Please go away, Boneless. I’m not in the mood.” You say, shifting to leave. Ivar grasps the metal door of the locker and you let loose a short noise of annoyance.

“You’re in the mood now.” He says. His fingers fondle the long burgundy tie you wore, tugging it tight.

“Who the fuck showed you how to tie this?” He nitpicks. “It looks like a fucking mess.”

You duck out from under his arm, darting off toward your next class without so much as a goodbye. You tug your white thigh highs up, a little hiss on your breath as your black lace up flats slap against the tile floor. This was how it always went with him.

He would pin you, insult you and then in math class you would have to sit there and let him be an entire asshole to you. Today, today was special. You weren’t going to let Boneless ruin the fact that today.

There was very little for you to look forward to in boarding school. It wasn’t like there was any family here. As your father said: this is a chance for you to better yourself! Whatever that could mean, you weren’t sure. To your knowledge of what had happened in the past, you hadn’t been a bad girl. So what he was getting at-- anyone could have guessed. You tug the heavy wooden frame of the door open, creaking as it went and walk to your seat.

“Ohhhhhh (Y/N)!”

Fuck.

“Hello Mrs. Andreasen.” You look up. She’s already pushing the limits of your patience when she fondled with the blaring red ribbon of your hair. Her lips are in a bright, wide smile and with a harrowing high tune she squeaks.

“Happy VALENTINE’S day, my sweet! The delivery of flowers is this period! Did a special little somebody buy a special little someone a special flower?” She slaps her hands together.

This again.

“Ivar doesn’t feel emotion, Mrs. Andreasen. Even if he did, he wouldn’t be buying anyone flowers. He hates Valentines just like he hates me.” You report accurately. It was in grade school that Ivar had smashed the chocolate candy filled cupcake you made him in your long hair. That was after the fact that no one had gotten him an intimate gift.

“Oh I wouldn’t say that! You never know what a man is thinking, Miss (Y/N). Hate is close to love and when it comes down to it, all men want to be loved!” She bubbles over to her desk in a long red skirt with the cutest of pink hearts splattered over it. Mrs. Andreasen always had something quirky on. Her white ankle boots reflect her polo top, complete with a pin of big bubbly hearts.

“Where is it oh where-- there it is ah!”  

“Loooooooooooook what I found!” She wags a black notebook in her fingers-- labeled Ivar Ragnarsson. You look to it and your eyes had might as well have bulged because you recognize that notebook as being the personal diary he kept. Other students filter into the room.

“Mrs. Andreasen!” Your teacher pulls herself upon your desk, flashing through the pages. You lurch out to grab it from her but she raises it, wagging her red nails at you which also happened to have pink hearts upon them.

“How did you get that?!” You shout, hushing your voice when Ivar comes into the room.

“Oh just picking the locker at lunch, of course.” She giggles softly and when you lurch toward it again, she allows you to take it from her fingertips. A brief flip through it tells you all you need to know-- and your cheeks pink. Ivar sits in his assigned seat beside you, taking off his black blazer and draping it over his chair. Mrs. Andreasen slips off your desk and tacks over to the front of the class. All of the students pull out their supplies, including you.

“What was that about?” He asks with a sneer. “You failing already? I could tutor you if you want to beg a little.

God, you hated this fucker.

“No, Ivar. I just forgot my notebook in class.” You say curtly. The intercom trills with the final bells.

“Good afternoon class! Now, for today, we will be going over complex numbers. Now, I know how absolutely fun that is but first things are first!” She goes to the closet, scooting out with a little giggle. “Alysia could you help? Dagrún too, yes wonderful!”

You try to ignore the thought that there is any issue with Ivar’s notebook in your bag. You begin to dot out today’s notes with a blaring red pen. As you look up, there is a cart of sharp red roses and to a lesser extent, carnations of pink, white and red variation. Ugh. As someone that never, ever got roses or even cheap ass carnations, you weren’t looking forward to this.

“We have one rose for Tatiana, ohh two for Lucette and three with a carnation for Karni isn’t that sweet. I like the pink! It’s adorable! And (Y/N)!”

“Yes?” You say.

“Now Ivar has gotten you this!” She drops down to grab a vase of big, beautiful roses. You stare at her as she comes over with the clear vase, setting it down upon your desk. Your eye falls upon the roses, looking over to Ivar who wears a far too cocky face. There was at least one-- no, two dozen roses. As you look over to him, he bobs his head just slightly, coursing his tongue over his lower lip. The girls in the class break into their whispers but above all, you have one thought.

Oh, you would get him for this.

Complex numbers weren’t apparently that complex but there was only one thought on your mind when the bells trill again. Ivar had innocently went on his way thinking probably little of what he had done. You, on the other hand, had a lot on your mind.

How dare that asshole embarrass you like that?! Anyone that was anyone knew how you felt about being called out in class and this was the last straw!

“Ivar!” You run toward him, your roses in your arm. Ivar glances off toward them, and then, to you as you came to a stop short of the stairwell.

“Like your flowers?” He asks. You wretch your hand back, colliding your open palm with his cheek. The sound echoes down the steps and when you jerk your hand back, it’s with a forceful sneer to your lips.

“You have a lot of fucking nerve you dick!”

“What--” Ivar’s flat brows push together, mouth spreading apart to reflect his confusion.

“Shut up!”

Then you disappear down the stairwell. That was why a man should never buy a woman flowers, he thinks, they go crazy.

@igetcarriedawaywithyou, @kylobien, @titty-teetee, @breathlessouls, @nejijjeoroo, @bcat1291, @readsalot73, @mslothbrok, @romanchronicles, @captstefanbrandt, @ailucascen, @michaeliskindahot, @cbouvier23, @naaladareia, @cbouvier23, @the-geeky-engineer, @dorned, @lisinfleur, @funmadnessandbadassvikings, @tephi101, @akamaiden, @ethereallysimple, @venusloviing, @happylittlepuppydog, @beyond-the-ashes, @slutforrpg, @hipsternoionlylikeunicorns, @mixedwiththemoon, @sparklemichele, @alicedopey, @lif3snotouttogetyou, @rubyquartzshades, @noregretsandyeteveryregret, @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol, @deathbyarabbit, @unacceptabletatertots, @beyond-the-ashes (no sig), @babypink224221, @ivarandersen, @queen-see-ya-in-valhalla, @moose-squirrel-asstiel, @icarus-fell-in-spring, @end-of-night, @gruffle1, @lol-haha-joke@arses21434,  @smileyparrots, @Moosemittens13, @miss-artemis-wild, @two-unbeatable-beaters, @wonderwoman292, @wish-i-was-a-mermaid, @fangirls94, @mcuimxgine, @killerb00sdeath, @heartbeats-wildly, @boo20017, @acacheofstrange, @shaelyn102, @astoryoffireandlight, @smokealone, @shaelyn102 @laketaj24, @peaceisadirtyword, @ly–canthrope, @chinduda

[thechekhov]

how would you recommend an artist make themselves better known on tumblr and in general? ive been drawing and painting almost my whole life but its hard to get people to notice me, any advice? thank you, you're my fave artist

Thank you so much! That makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside…

As for your questions… hmm… it’s for sure a good one. 

I’m going to get a bit… strategical on that one. Hope you don’t mind this approach. 

Tumblr and real life are definitely alike in a lot of aspects, while in others they’re polar opposites. For the sake of keeping things neatly shelved, I’m going to focus on tumblr in this post.

＊*☆HOW TO GET ART NOTICED ON TUMBLR☆*＊

by chekhov

1. We have to understand how the tumblr sharing system works. 

I know this sounds a bit too obvious. I mean, we all know HOW. It’s by reblogging! 

I know that there’s a BIG opinion on tumblr that we should share and reblog art as much as possible to help artists get noticed. And that’s TRUE. It’s absolutely correct.

One thing I don’t agree with on that front is the guilt-tripping factor of it all. Like somehow people are responsible for the downfall of less popular artists because they didn’t reblog stuff enough. People are really quick to point at their followers and say “I GOT 100 OF Y’ALL HERE AND ONLY 3 ARE REBLOGGING ANYTHING”. 

I get it. It’s frustrating!

But the fact of the matter is, you can’t force people to reblog stuff. 

Instead, I recommend we harvest the power of the sharing we already have. We have to be smart about this. What I’m going to go into is a bit less concrete. We have to think about the PEOPLE who are doing the reblogging. 

Artists aren’t the ONLY ones with motivations for getting their stuff seen. And because they create media they are, for lack of a better word… a vendor! The buck STARTS with them, but it doesn’t stop with them. 

They have to also think about what the people are going to do with their product once it’s reblogged. Once someone buys from the vendor, they don’t just keep it forever. They distribute it to the others. And sometimes, those others distribute it again. We have to think about the bigger picture, and think about how FAR your art has the potential to go!

So, to get started we need to know… WHO are the ones buying from the vendor… and why?

What kind of rebloggers ARE there? 

I’m going to give my own opinion here, and feel free to disagree. But the 3 biggest rebloggers most important to the artist are these:

1. The Pleaser

Sounds sexy, right? In fact, the pleaser comes in many different forms. But essentially their goal is the same - they reblog stuff like aesthetic posts, and other pleasing things. They themselves tend to like a lot of stuff and reblog mostly beautiful photos, nice designs, and lots of fanart of whatever they’re into at the time. Comics and story-like posts are good here (although if they’re too long, people tend to lose interest.)

How to get reblogged by a Pleaser?

Appeal to their fandom, their interest, and make something that moves them. Pleasers are most active around the time when the new episode of their favorite show comes out, or when their favorite holiday comes around. Drawing fanart during its peak popularity will usually catch a Pleasers’ attention, as will drawing aesthetic Halloween posts around, well, Halloween. 

2. The Teaser

The Teaser is the class clown and the shitposter, and they reblog memes and jokes voraciously. In the Teaser’s audience are other teasers - and they also tend to be very generous rebloggers. The fact of the matter is - memes sell reblogs faster than any aesthetic art will. We’re social creatures and getting a laugh out of our followers is worth a LOT of fake internet points.

How do I get reblogged by the Teaser?

Memes. I mean, you knew this was coming, right? During the height of some new tumblr joke, people usually welcome any unusual spin, or any funny variation of an old joke. 

My meme redraws have consistently been popular and have ‘boomed’ very quickly. For example, this redraw of sapphire from Steven Universe doing ‘the scroll of truth’ jumped to 5k almost within a day. 

Many people peek at my page ‘for the lols’ but end up staying for the art, or because there’s another thing I post they’re interested in. Either way, memes are a gateway drug… to your blog. 

3. The Librarian

The Librarian is a bit more rare, but they’re still important, because they tend to reblog a lot. They’re a bit unusual in the sense that they do this for themselves, instead of for an audience. The blog of the librarian is mostly just a replacement for bookmarking interesting stuff. These people tend to reblog tutorials, reference posts, and things they want to read later on. 

How to get reblogged by a Librarian?

Make things that people want to keep around. Charts, references, tutorials. Chances are, the librarian will snag it up eventually. 

Of course, these 3 aren’t the ONLY type of tumblr blogger. In fact, many of them are a mix of these 3. But the main point is…

2. What do most of these (and other) people on tumblr have in common?

Just like you, many people (although not all) want to get their stuff SEEN. You might be creating the original product, but they choose whether or not to distribute it to their audience. 

Everyone is playing the same game, no matter which part of the chain they’re on.

You, as an artist, have the biggest responsibility to think about this long-term. Not only 1 reblog down the line. 

For example, let’s return to one of my meme-posts that I did about wrist pain (carpal tunnel). When I made this, I had a vague idea of who would consume it. Obviously… other artists. But the reason that this got so popular? Is not only because fellow artists follow me. It’s because the artists that follow me also have followers who are also, conveniently, artists. That’s why despite the fact that many people reblogged the post directly from me - even MORE of them reblogged it from @sergle​ (shoutout to sergle! u rock) who is also a popular artist and also has an audience who were prone to want to reblog the post.

See that orange dot? That’s me. See that bigger blue dot? That’s sergle. 

In a way, this is a game of chance. Will something you reblog be seen by someone with a large enough audience to keep it going? The thing is, we don’t know until it happens. And oftentime, the only way to achieve this is to keep trying. Stubbornly. 

But you can’t just headbutt the wall in the same place and hope it eventually crumbles. You have to look for a door. 

3. So what’s the door? 

Take a look at your art. Is it consumable BEYOND the surface level of your followers? 

Sometimes people get discouraged because their fanart is way more popular than their original art. Although I share their frustration, there’s a good reason for this, and your followers aren’t to blame.  

The thing is, fanart is consumable at deep reblog levels. If you post fanart, there’s a good chance that even 3-4 reblogs down the line, there’s going to be a person who sees it and thinks ‘hey, I know Steven Universe. My followers know Steven Universe. I’ll reblog this!’ Fandoms are efficient because they already have a lot of context for the consumption of the art. They have a story (humans love stories), they’re invested in it, they’re interested in it, and there’s a good chance that sharing more stuff about it will get them more interaction with their mutuals, even if they’re not consciously thinking about all this as they reblog. 

Unfortunately, that’s just not true for your original art. Many of us have beautiful, wonderful stories - but they’re not available to a wide audience. They’re not easily consumed, they’re not easily accessed (in comparison to being on netflix, for example). If you post a picture of your OC - maybe your immediate pool of followers who know that OC will reblog it. But their own followers who aren’t directly following you will not have any connection, emotional or otherwise, to that character. They simply don’t have a reason to care, and they don’t have any means to. Even if they visit your blog - will it be easy to find similar content? Have you got your links available on desktop AND mobile? Is it easy to find the beginning of your story? Is it free of mistakes and easy to read? 

Large companies that make shows or comics funnel tons of money into making their media consumable. There’s a LOT of effort that goes into advertising, too. You, as an independent artist, simply don’t have that kind of manpower. That’s not your fault - but it’s also not your followers’ fault. Why are they supposed to reblog things that their own followers will never understand and connect with? 

4. Back to square one: how do I get noticed? 

I’m gonna keep this short and sweet because I feel like I already took up a lot of your time. After everything I’ve said, hopefully this will make sense:

Make content that has a connection to your audience somehow. Make it relatable to their life. Make it relatable to what’s currently going on. Make it worth their while to look at it. 

Make content that’s easy to understand. Super detailed drawings, with nothing to focus on are difficult to digest. Simpler, sharper drawings that someone can understand within 3 seconds of looking at it are the most digestible of all. This isn’t a museum.

If you’re creating content that goes with a story, MAKE THE STORY. I know it’s tempting to create just a whole bunch of character sketch sheets and leave it at that, but you can’t complain about not getting an audience when your audience doesn’t have anything to consume in the first place. 

Make the story AVAILABLE. Organize your tags. Make sure those tags are easily accessible. People will never like 100% of your art, so many it easy for them to find what they WILL like. 

Don’t be afraid of fanart. Fanart gets you connected with people who like stories and content similar to yours. 

Don’t be afraid to follow and reblog people that you want to connect with. Don’t be afraid to make them stuff and @ them. 

Post your stuff to a LOT of places! Your audience is somewhere out there - probably not only on tumblr. You have to spread yourself thin sometimes, but make sure the account can all lead back to your main hub. 

And last but not least…

Critically re-evaluate your art at least once a year. (I’m personally working on this.) Just because you’ve been drawing for years, and just because your art might be incredible doesn’t mean it’s appealing to people. Sounds weird, right? But think about it - there’s TONS of people who are not that amazing at anatomy, or coloring… but they still have a huge audience, and people connect with their art. A lot of times, it’s because their art is straightforward and easy to read/understand. 

Ask a friend to critique your art. Ask them if they understand your work, or if it’s difficult to make out. Ask them what your work inspires in them. Ask them what they DO like about your work - and exaggerate that!

There’s a LOT that goes into art… no matter it’s a whole industry! Doing it all on your own is HARD and it’s a bit unthinkable how much artists have to do to compete with industries. But it’s not impossible, and it’s definitely worth it. :)

Hope I didn’t bore any of y’all who made it down this far. 

Thanks!

[feelingsinthedark]

Jem & Lunar New Year part 2

there are qoaad spoilers and it’s long so under the cut :3 hope yall likeee

Chinese New Year of 2013...

...they have a new addition to the family

Kit lol

And also their unborn children

Tessa’s like a little over 6 months pregnant so in the third trimester and it’s going pretty well

They just do some simple things at home and take it easy

Tessa and Jem give Kit 红包 even though he doesn’t really need money because they insist on buying everything for him

They teach him some phrases like 过年好 and give him the 红包 when he masters it

(But like that’s kind of a thing I feel like my parents are training us like this year my mom walks into my room with a red envelope and she’s like “what do you say” and I said 过年好 and she gave me the red envelope lol)

And they watch the 春节晚会 together

Kit doesn’t understand anything but he just likes spending time with them

And he’s able to appreciate the production bc damn its fucking fancy af and like there must be like soooooo much rehearsal beforehand it’s crazyyy

Tessa catches the bit where they talk about spending Chinese New Year in your hometown bc that’s a big thing with the holiday

She asks Jem about it and if he wants to go to his hometown even though the main point is to be with your family

He just says “you are my home now, always and forever”

Kit pretends to gag but secretly he loves it and is #1 Jessa stan

No wait he’s #2 Will is #1

Chinese New Year of 2014 they spend with friends

Alec is busy with Clave-in-exile stuff that Magnus isn’t involved in so Magnus just decides to Portal to Devon with his kids bc why not

And Tessa and Jem have a new addition to their family too

Charlotte Sophie Carstairs

This is the best baby Carstairs name fight me

She’s about 10 months old

Tessa’s feeding Charlotte when Magnus appears but she isn’t surprised

This happened a few months ago too

And a few days after Charlie was born

She just calmly greets Magnus and the kids and asks Kit to go find Jem

They weren’t really planning on doing anything bc they were so busy with Charlotte

But since they’re here Jem decides to have them help make dumplings

Out of the two of them Tessa is the better cook but Jem is okay too

And they had some more practice with dumplings in the years before so it’s not like their first try

Tessa mostly sits it out and watches over the kids

Charlie loves her older cousins Max and Rafe

They also try making some

Max makes a squashed little lump of dough that has a tiny bit of filling inside

Rafe’s is a little better and sort of resembles a dumpling but also doesn’t have much inside

Alec Portals in a few hours later (he got Clary to make him a Portal idk)

He finished the Clave stuff earlier than he expected

So he just joins them and they eat dumplings

They put on the 春节晚会 after

No one’s really paying attention to it

The kids aren’t bc they don’t understand it so they’re kinda running around and so the parents are occupied

So it’s just kinda on in the background

At one point there’s a magician guy who… does some magic

Like just suuuuper complex sleight of hand kinda tricks

Max sees it and is like “he does magic! My papa can do magic! Auntie Tessa does magic too!”

So then it turns into a magic show from papa Magnus and Auntie Tessa

Charlotte loves seeing magic and it calms her down so eventually she’s asleep on Jem’s chest

Magnus and Alec and their kids leave

Tessa and Jem put Charlie in her crib and Will’s ghost keeps her asleep

Jem is kinda feeling things about how he didn’t think he would live long enough to have a family or wouldn’t be able to bc of Silent Brotherhood but he just had an amazing Chinese New Year with his wife and children and his nephews and some of his best friends

Chinese New Year of 2015 they decide to spend in Shanghai

Jem hasn’t been there since his parents’ death

But Tessa’s there for him and even Kit knows his story too

And he wants to show them and his daughter how they celebrate in China

They stay in a hotel bc they’re not technically part of the Clave anymore so they can’t go back to the Institute

And besides there’s a lot of memories there for Jem

Charlie’s almost two and she has picked up some Mandarin from Jem (which is like wildly different from “Shanghai-nese” but whatever)

She’s a really outgoing toddler and everyone who meets her falls in love with her

She talks to a lot of people just on the street and says 过年好 to everyone in her adorable baby voice with her adorable baby face

Kit is highkey proud of his little sister and carries her around on his shoulders

He knows how to say like two things in Chinese and not well but Tessa and Jem let him take Charlotte out to just walk around sometimes

Jem takes them to some outdoor markets and stuff and they buy some cute stuff

They also buy some firecrackers and set them off on Chinese New Year morning

Charlie loves loud noises so she loves that the whole day and night there are firecrackers going off and it makes her really excited and happy

Kit stays up with Charlie that night when she’s all excited by the firecrackers so Jem and Tessa can try to sleep a little bit

Chinese New Year of 2016 and onward are variations of these last few

Jem and Tessa spend many Chinese New Years with just the two of them and their children

Sometimes they join or are joined by friends

They go to China a couple more times but for Jem just being with Tessa and his family is more than enough

One year they spend it with all the Blackthorns after Kit and Ty get married what

It’s pretty unconventional and more of just a gathering but they’re all one super happy and big family

And the Blackthorns are technically related to Tessa if they actually descended from Lucie and Jesse

Eventually Kit leaves to live with Ty but he tries to spend most years with Jem and Tessa

He loves his family and he wants to spend time with them especially this holiday with its emphasis on being with family

Eventually their kids move out too

They have a few quiet relaxing Chinese New Years when their kids are busy and can’t make it

And of course

The hands wrapping the dumplings start to get wrinkled

The hair that Tessa cuts every year starts to go grey

She’s reminded of Jem when they first met and he was dependent on the yin fen

His eyes stay dark though, and full of joy and health

Chinese New Year of 2088-

Ok sorry back to your regularly scheduled sadnessheadcanons

Chinese New Year of 2088 is Jem’s last

Just getting straight to the point skskskskskssksk

He’s obviously lived a very long and satisfying life

He stayed healthy so he’s able to do stuff still even at almost 230 years old

(Yeah idk if the timeline is realistic I don’t think it is but whateverrrrr)

That morning Tessa wakes up and Jem’s already out of bed

His side of the bed is cold and for a second Tessa thinks her nightmares have come true and Jem was ripped from her in the middle of the night

But she hears violin music coming from down the hall

She follows it after getting dressed

Not unlike her first night in the London Institute

She stops in the doorway and watches Jem

He plays a hauntingly sweet and sad melody

She stands there for a while until he finishes

He turns and says quietly “I wrote it for you, my love”

There are tears on both their cheeks from the song

He’s written many songs for Tessa over the years but this one is different

Jem poured all his happiness from previous Chinese New Years, his love for Tessa and their children, his regret for having to leave her soon, probably this year

He cups her face and wipes her tears

“Let’s have one more Chinese New Year together”

Tessa kisses him and even after so many years every kiss between them is the same

“We won’t think about that today, love,” she says

“We won’t think about that today,” he agrees, grasping her hands in his

Their kids Charlotte and Will join them with their families

Kit and Ty and their kids come too

Over the years Jem and Tessa have developed their own traditions for Chinese New Year and they also do stuff like dumplings and they give 红包 to their kids and grandkids

That night Tessa and Jem watch the 春节晚会 by themselves in bed

Their kids and their families have left with the promise that they’ll all see each other again soon

Tessa’s head is on Jem’s shoulder

He holds her tightly to his side

When they finish they sit in silence for a while

Tessa’s half-asleep when she breathes “stay”

Jem brushes her arm and whispers “I’m not going anywhere”

Chinese New Year of 2089 Jem has finally reunited with hisparabatai

[sweetdisabled]

Guide: Shopping on Taobao with Yoybuy

note: the pictures here will be uncaptioned. i’m sorry about this, but it’s going to get pretty visually heavy!

shopping on taobao is a pretty essential life skill for any lolita or lolita-to-be - and quite frankly it’s also just fun. what can i say, my forefathers stalked the savannah, working on bringing down that wildebeest, and in the same spirit, i stalk one yuan sales. they still sing tales around the campfire about how i got all of those fuzzy socks.

taobao is a marketplace of many different stores. think of it kind of like the ebay marketplace. it is located in china, and stores there largely ship only to other chinese addresses, so you need to use a buying service if you’re not in china yourself. for this guide, we’re going with yoybuy, because i’ve had good success with it and find it easiest to DIY.

first step is to open a browser to do your online shopping. i really like chrome for this because you can set it to automatically use google translate on a page. however, you’re going to want two tabs open before you even get to taobao...

in one tab, google for ‘google translate english to chinese’. google will automatically pop up the english to chinese boxes. we want simplified chinese here (which is usually the default).

also google ‘yuan to usd’ (or insert whatever your local currency is for usd). this will mean you can convert prices easily and readily, with that tab already at the ready.

one more tool and we’ll be ready to actually go to taobao!

when you right-click a webpage in chrome, this is the menu that pops up. we want to pay attention to translate to english here.

most of the time chrome will automatically translate. however, it may need a little push here and then.

with all of these tools ready, we’re finally ready to actually open taobao.com in a new tab.

this is... pretty overwhelming, right? google translate can automatically translate text, not anything in a picture, so it still ends up half-translated. phew. get your bearings a moment, though, and soldier on!

tonight i’ve decided that i could really use some cute hankies to go with a strawberry-themed outfit i’m planning. so, tab over to our english to simplified chinese...

now copy those chinese characters into the search bar on taobao...

it will give you some further suggestions - but let’s keep it pretty general for now. hit ‘submit’, and let’s see what we have.

looks like we’ve lucked out - there are tons of choices!

to get you acquainted with this page, the column on the right is where recommended advertised items show up. these can largely be disregarded. the main block of items will be underneath all of these options at the top.

as you can see we have a lot of different choices we could look into, if we wanted to narrow it down. however, this grey bar is where we have the important stuff.

we can hit the price button to sort things. scroll over it, and we’ll get more options.

since all i got is like three fiddy and some pocket lint - plus i’d rather have a cheaper cotton hankie that i won’t feel guilty about perhaps blowing my nose on - i usually sort price from low to high, so cheapest items are first.

that’s more like it! (7 yuan right now is about a dollar.) now we can browse for what catches our eye. you’ll also see, next to the price, how many people have bought it. under that is the translated name of the product, then the name of the storefront.

i like the looks of this one - properly frilly and fancy! right-click and open it in a new tab so we can keep organized. (that way there’s no getting frustrated if it’s a ‘bust’.)

now we’re on the product’s page in the seller’s store. we can look quickly off to the side for some information about the seller.

this guy’s apparently been selling on taobao for 6 years. the shop is rated out of 5 points in three areas - how accurate the description of their products is, how good their service is, and logistics (which probably covers things like how quickly they ship the products and how well they wrap them up, etc). this guy’s got a 4.8 rating that is rising.

that means we can probably buy from him with some confidence. if you see a store that hasn’t been open for very long, that would be a red flag. same if you have a store with low ratings, or absolutely perfect ratings. if it’s 5.0 across the board, it’s a little too good to be true sometimes! one red flag may not be worth it to stop you in your tracks, but be on the lookout for them, just like you would with any online seller.

and don’t worry about see all baby. google translate likes to think all items on taobao are babies... (it’s a mystery to all of us.)

wading past the translation, it looks like this shop sells a lot of linen goods, especially for the european market.

a really cute tea party vibe, right? :D

this is where we could browse this store more - it’s very cute, after all - but i’d like to maybe make the coordinate a little more specific and cohesive. let’s see if we have any better luck with a more specific search!

when you get more specific with your searches, it means there’s often a lot less items - for example, there’s only one page of search results instead of 15+. but i think we’ve found something that’s perfect!

cute, right? looking at it closer, though, it’s not embroidered, and it’s more of a terrycloth or towel texture. those are two things i’m not really sure about - this is why we open our finds in a new tab.

it does give me a chance to talk about this one thing, though -

sometimes the final price of an item will be hidden unless you’re a ‘VIP’. you can login and make a taobao account if you like - it requires a cell phone with texting, but international cell phones are okay. however, i usually just shrug and go “well, we know it’s somewhere under 9 yuan”.

whatever taobao agent you use will usually be able to get the VIP price for you.

another trick is that if you find an item that you go ‘oh, that’s close, but not quite....’ about, hover over its picture in the search results. you will then get two choices - find the same or find similar. the first option finds the exact same thing, but at other retailers. find similar, well, finds things that are variations on that same thing.

this hankie looks perfect! so... let’s actually buy it!

since taobao sellers largely only ship to people in china, and i’m in america, i can’t just hit that buy now button. this means i need to use an agent - and there are a lot of different choices out there.

i’ve used two so far, largely for ordering BJD stuff and home goods (and some accessories) (largely necklaces... what can i say... i read the words one yuan sale and my eyes light up). taobaospree is a professional outfit that you contact via email. they definitely give you the ‘white glove treatment’. their prices are very fair, and their staff very helpful. if you’re making really big important purchases, or purchases you’re worried about, i’d recommend them.

however, yoybuy is also really good for if you want to park the car yourself and walk instead of handing the keys to the valet, so to speak. i’ve also had really good experiences with them.

for taobaospree, they ask that you just email them a list of what you want with some details - they have a template you can use on their website. but since we’re just buying hankies, let’s use yoybuy.

first things first, we’ll need to sign in. yoybuy offers deals every so often like ten dollars of credit if you register with them, so it’s worth looking out for if you’re about to place an order. (every little bit helps, right?)

once you’ve signed in/signed up, take the url from the item you want...

and copy it into the search box at the top of yoybuy’s website, then click buy now.

yoybuy’s website will then load up all of the item’s information, like this.

now we can just shop as normal! it give you the converted rates of how much each item is, plus the domestic shipping, or how much the shipping will be from the seller to yoybuy. (yoybuy will help calculate the shipping from yoybuy to you later.)

so i’d like 6 total, and i can select the options. just to make things clear, i’ve also said as much in the ‘comments’ box. if something is a little unclear, you can add your comments there to make sure they get the right option.

as you can see this is totally meant for a much wider screen than mine, but it gives you an updating total of what is in your shopping cart.

on the black bar you also have some options like being able to ask for a live chat with someone if you get very confused.

when you’re ready, click ‘buy’. you’ll have a chance to do an overview of all your items before clicking the ‘pay’ button.

as you can see, there’s a couple of options here.

you can pay via a regular visa or mastercard, paypal, or use some other services i’m not familiar with. you can also send money via money transfer (like western union) and have it waiting there in your account.

there’s a service charge which is usually around 4% here. yoybuy themselves charge a fee of 10% for acting as your agent. they don’t ask for all of this up front. you pay in two parts - one is the items and domestic shipping that’s been calculated. they then bundle up all your items and figure out the best way to ship them to you, and you pay the 10% fee to them then.

if you’re initially doing a large order, your bank may balk a bit - so be prepared. for me, it took a text message of them going “uh hey, was this you? because random chinese company charging your credit card 200 dollars looks real sketchy.” and me going “lol it’s ok guys”.

however, in this case, handkerchiefs get!

you will now get an overview page of your order. 

each item will have its own line, and you can track how things are going.

the agent will purchase the item for you, then await shipment of it. you can click the chat bubble at any time to chat with the agent to ask them about the state of the item. this is where they’ll also inform you if something is out of stock or if there are any difficulties. you can also ask for them to take a picture to show you, if you want to make sure something is ok before they send it on to you.

as your items come in, you can click the checkbox and get an estimated parcel weight. that will help you figure out how much the shipping from yoybuy to you will be - and they even estimate how much they’ll have to spend on shipping materials.

once your items all arrive at yoybuy and they ship them on over to you, you can look at the options on the left to find a record of all your packages.

redacted information ahoy, folks, but let’s take a look-see at the package i already got from them -

the parcel number is what you click to open up an information page, showing all the items that are in the box they sent. the tracking number will be what you can check to track your package. they offer a variety of different carriers to use, and iirc, all of them come with tracking numbers. (you get yoybuy’s cut rate on shipping through all carriers, though!) if there are any problems, they’ll show up in the status - along with things like if it’s in an immigrations check.

if there are any problems, you can then report it to yoybuy and they’ll help you out - however, i’ve not had any problems with them. all my items came safe and sound!

so there you have it, a short guide - ah, well, at this point, just a guide - on how to, step-by-step, order stuff off taobao via yoybuy.

good luck in your own shopping, and happy hunting! 💖