#me coming back to this post as an example bc i had another thought:

[milfbrainrot]

i feel like i type so much more than is reasonable when i do talk to people but i also don't get to socialize a ton so i just have soooo many words in me and if i'm like, tired or short on time, it is so much harder to restrain to the already-pushing-it point i can sometimes manage ;-;

[mxrcurysb1tch]

‧₊˚ 🪐༘⋆ જ⁀➴ Astrology observations pt. 4 ‧₊˚🪐༘⋆

Finally back with another post… after a month 😃

⭑.ᐟ The way I like to think about the sun, moon and rising is this: Your moon is who you are when everything else is stripped away from you. It is how you process your emotions and it’s the filter through which you see the world. It is the baseline “you” that you revert back to when you are running on empty. The rising is who you are at your best. When you’re operating from your rising sign you are at your peak performance. It’s probably the you that feels happiest. It is also who you aspire to be in life, who you want to be seen as. The sun is the “middle piece” it’s essence floats throughout your entire chart. I think of it as a subtle influence that underlies every part of you. Whenever you do anything there is always a part of your sun inside that action, thought or decision. I also like to think that the rising sign is the way in which you express your sun. For example, if you’re a Gemini sun and a Leo rising, you will express your Gemini in a Leo way.

⭑.ᐟ Fire moons may have felt like they couldn’t express negative emotions growing up and had to always seem positive and upbeat. Now they might have problems with opening up or admitting that they even experience sadness and pain. They might be masters at putting on a front with people even when they are losing it completely inside.

⭑.ᐟ Venus dominant people/strong Venus ie, Venus in Taurus (or Libra) Venus in 1h, Venus as chart ruler. They might be preoccupied with looks, their own and that of their partner. They can be very picky when it comes to choosing someone to date, which can be a good thing but can sometimes stop them from making real deep connections with people. They need to be careful not to choose people just based on looks.

⭑.ᐟ Saturn and Venus conjunction can look like someone who is blessed with a lot of material wealth but feels like it could be taken away at any time. It could also look like someone who loves to be given princess treatment/spoiled but feels very guilty when receiving money and time from other people. Natives can also feel guilty about their own wealth and have a deep understanding that not everyone is as fortunate as they are.

⭑.ᐟ Women with Capricorn placements / prominent Saturn love getting tattoos and piercings. It’s something about the permanence of it and perhaps a little about the pain… as is Saturn’s “motto”; no pain no gain.

⭑.ᐟ Pluto in the 7h- extreme jealousy in relationships. Either you attract it or you are the jealous one. Also a lot of instability with friendships. Moving friend groups a lot, not having stable friendships or relationships throughout your life. A lot of projection onto the other person, mirroring back their behaviours. It’s not a comfortable placement to have especially if it’s in synastry too.

⭑.ᐟ Sagittarius moons are super extroverted and love being out in the world BUT they also really love spending time in their rooms. Maybe this is bc the 2 sag moons that I know both have earth suns but I’ve noticed that they spend a lot of time in their rooms gaming and hiding away.

⭑.ᐟ Nobody talks enough about how funny Aquarius placements are, especially moon and sun. In my experience they are the best at coming up with hilarious inside jokes.

⭑.ᐟ People with planets in the 1h (especially if it’s the sun or moon or a stellium) are so genuine and you can tell they are not hiding who they truly are, they just couldn’t if they tried. They have a kind of congruency to who they are, and not as many layers to peel back (this does not mean that they aren’t complex people, just that they are real!) what you see is what you get! Also they really tend to embody the planets that are within this house. For example, my friend is a cancer rising with her mercury in there. I always thought she was a Gemini rising because she talks so much, even more than me as a Gemini rising LOL and she’s very analytical, but she just has a 1h mercury!

[oshinsimblr]

hey friends! i was unable to post all of my early access content bc i'm sick. but i was able to post this video, which in my honest opinion are the major features in this 'romance' pack.

IS IT WORTH $40?

DEPENDS ON HOW BADLY YOU NEED THESE FEATURES TBH.

this review is brought to you by the ea creator network. all of my opinions are my own. i must disclose this per FTC guidelines #ad.

*i do not cover everything in the pack, only the things that stood out for me lol. i'm sorry i'm not used to doing full reviews up here

the attraction system is helpful and expands dating (which is great, but we've had mods that could do this for some time: pick your poison). the romantic satisfaction is the star here. i love being able to create one sided relationships and actually take care of our romantic relationships with sims. this is a valuable feature for me!

cupid's corner is a nice "hey i don't need this mod" anymore type of feature. prior to this i was using lumpinou's meet & mingle which allowed me to meet with sims (platonic and romantic). i dislike that you can not write custom bio's for your sims. i love the way the app functions, i love saving sims and adding them to our rel. panel - and getting to know them through the phone first. i wish we could've defined our sims favorite music/foods/color etc.

i'll admit it, i'm a sucker for dynamics. family dynamics from the sims 4 growing together are so good (minus the fact that everyone wants to be f*cking jokesters after one joke lol). but i love them! they really do impact my sims relationships. the different romance dynamics are interesting. for example: a strained romance dynamic makes it VERY hard for your sims to communicate. it's like your sims will randomly hug each other, but then 5 secs later they're upset. they want to love each other so badly but they can't lol.

now onto random things that excited me. you can go to cupid's couples counseling. i did not know we'd actually be able to answer questions. these sims had a strained romance dynamic and it was so bad - the therapist suggested we come back. but when i tried to schedule it again, they were booked and i had to wait to schedule another appt. which is great, because in the meantime your sims are going downhill fast and you have to keep the peace until then (if you choose).

there are new pop ups and invites. there's even one for a reality dating show lol. you can turn these off in game settings. (if you're wondering, mr. landgrabb never showed up at the motel he wanted to meet at. he stood my sim up. don't judge me, i thought there was simoleons involved).

new crafted dates are cool. you can choose whatever you want to do on them. there's new social interactions based on the activities you choose. you can also invite other sims to these (double dates woohoo!) you can also create crafted hangouts. i like these, i got this cute picture as a reward after a succesful crafted hangout. if you're familiar with mws weddings, it's the same idea. except this works well and isn't as glitchy lol..

another random feature i never needed, but now i find it useful. you can create your own relationship label that will appear in the rel. panel

it's unfair how gorgeous this world is... because there's nothing to do. this is all set dressing.

you can declare your love here.. at the wall of love.

you can buy flowers or edible sweet treats at this shop in the background.

you can get local food here. there are 3 new dishes and spicy hot chocolate. now, i'm not mexican (the world is inspired by mexico) BUT 3 new foods isn't cutting it for me. technically only 2, because one is a vegan option. no pozole, enchiladas, guacamole, tamales?? i'm a foodie, so i take full offense to that.

you can woohoo or sleep at the motel.

you can travel.

go fishing or enjoy a swim.

sit here and chat.

view this for a moodlet.

travel again.

check in a penthouse.

there's a nightclub, gym and lounge. but you get the idea.. there's nothing culturally unique about this world which makes me sad. no festivals? i'd love seeing a mariachi band play at the lounge. something. otherwise, keep the world and add more features right? i would've loved table proposals (sims 2 anyone?). or frisky couch makeouts. so many missed opportunities here.

there's more i could say but i feel like this post should be a little helpful in deciding wether this is a pack you need right now, or wait for a sale! i personally love having a complete colection, so i've always wanted every expansion. though i recieve the pack for free, i owe you my honesty and i want to start doing blog/written content because it's easier to process my thoughts through the excitment. i will enjoy this pack, i do like it, and only time will tell as i integrate it with my current gameplay. i hope this was helpful!

* if you remember, use my code OSHINSIMS at checkout if you decide to purchase this pack. that way, at least i get a % of your purchase and EA doesn't get all your coins 😉

thank you! just keeping simming, always stay wavy, peace x

[wonuwrites]

Random things that turn seventeen on (doesn’t have to be sexy or smutty.)

Im curious 🤓

AHHHHH I'm SO excited for this. I absolutely love writing reaction posts like this. Hope it's first of many :D going to do them in a random order bc i'm feeling chaotic as hell rn and I'm not even sorry about it.

Warning: NSFW, Smut *Minors DNI*, also some might be so fluffy that they make your teeth rot.

listening to: (will add what songs I'm listening to while writing each of the guys parts <33)

example "Vernon" will be playing "Tell Me It's A Nightmare by Kim Petras"

Lee Chan || Dino: Seeing You Wear His Clothes.

It's not that he is possessive of you, but seeing you wear his clothes fills him up with so much pride. Especially if you had taken a selfie and posted it on social media. He'd just be a beaming ray of sunshine and just want to kiss you, hold you, fuck you, and maybe shop for some more clothes that you could potentially borrow.

Wen Junhui || Jun: Reading A Book

Jun knew what it was like to be lost in a good book, so when he saw you were so invested in a book he'd find it so adorable. Especially if you had not noticed him coming in. He'd find it so attractive and adorable. He wouldn't know if he should initiate something or just grab a book he had been reading.

Kwon Soonyoung || Hoshi: Watching You Dance To A Popular Kpop Dance

Soonyoung is one of the best male kpop dancers, if you disagree, argue with a wall and get your eyes checked. anywhore- Soonyoung would find it adorable if you were both just hanging out and you just broke out a dance move that was popular. He would automatically pull you into his arms and kiss your face while giggling. Bonus points if it was one of his songs and you were not one to dance often. He'd want you so bad.

Kim Mingyu || Mingyu: You Eating Food He Cooked For You

Mingyu is so husband material and cooking seems to be a love language of his. So of course, seeing his significant other enjoying what he put together would make him feel so fuzzy and warm inside. Especially if you were enjoying the meal and complimenting him while eating. Like if you were to say, "Oh Mingyu, what could I ever do to repay you for this delicious meal?" He'd take it sexual so quick and you'd be getting dessert a lot sooner than you thought.

Choi Seung Cheol || S. Coups: Seeing Your Competitive Side

This man should be named Choi Seung-competitive-cheol. He loves winning and a good competition. So when he see's you get competitive as well a switch inside him switches. If you are on same team, he will hype you up. However, if you were on opposing sides, he would get even more turned on and competitive. He'd come up to you and would be like "whoever wins is in charge tonight." asdfghjkl; idk im sorry lmao

Yoon Jeonghan || Jeonghan: Doing Dishes

This angel would be coming home from work and would see you doing dishes or whatever and his heart would just warm up. Seeing you do something so casual and domestic would turn him on and he honestly couldn't tell you why. He'd just smile while walking up to give you a back hug. He'd press a kiss behind your ear then giggle when he noticed a brush creep up across your cheeks.

Xu Minghao || The8: Watching You Be Creative

Minghao is such a creative person, so I imagine that if you were also someone who was creative he would really be into that. You could be in your art studio painting something you've been working on forever and his heart would swell up among something else. He just found you in your element so sexy. Might even make him play a more dominant role and ask if you wanted to be creative in another way... together.

Boo Seungkwan || Seungkwan: You Side-Eyeing One Of The Members

Seungkwan is infamous for side-eyeing his members. So when one of his members does a thing and he notices you are also side-eyeing them he would feel so much pride and just want to touch you because there was finally someone who understood what it was like. However, if you were to side eye him, that would be a different story.

Lee Jihoon || Woozi: Bringing Him Food At The Studio

Look, I get this is such a basic bitch answer but hear me out okay? Jihoon would find the gesture so kind and he'd just be so thankful that he would want to return a favor for you. He'd grab the food from you and just be so soft and give you a kiss. If you were both alone in the studio, he'd just lock the door and then spend some much needed and necessary time with you.

Jeon Wonwoo || Wonwoo: You Randomly Saying Something Smart lmao

Wonwoo gets clowned often for saying prestigious or smartass things by the guys but I mean, when you are smart, you are smart. Anyways, you would be hanging out with the guys and all of a sudden you would say something out of the ordinary and smart (not calling you dumb, you just don't use big words like Wonwoo often. ESPECIALLY not in front of him or the guys.) He'd just bite his lip and look at you with such admiration. He'd show you later just how impressed he was if you catch my drift.

Hansol Vernon Chwe || Vernon: TBH Quoting Shrek

First off lmao. Second off, you both would just be hanging out and something would come up that would make you think of the quote. You saying the quote randomly would fluster Vernon and honestly make him fall for you a little more. He always found you precious but this would make him just squish your cheeks and kiss you all over your face. He just was so happy you were his, and he was yours.

Lee Seokmin || DK/Dokyeom: You Animatedly Talking About Something You're Really Into.

It isn't a secret how precious Seokmin thinks you are. Anyone could see it. He wasn't slick. It was really obvious when you would talk about something you were really into. You would get into it and it would just make his already full heart even more full of love for you. Even though he was turned on, he'd wait until you were finished to initiate anything.

Hong Jisoo || Joshua: Your Hair Blowing In The Wind

Oh boy oh boy, Shua would be so embarrassed at how bad he was turned on by something so subtle and innocent. However, it wasn't his fault that you were just so damn hot. You looked like a model the way your hair blew in the wind. It was just so majestic. He just needed to have you as soon as possible.

sorry these were rough and took awhile. hopefully they don't suck too bad <333

[creatingblackcharacters]

Hi Ice! This one is maybe a little on the outskirts of 'creating Black characters', but it is related to the introspective questions you posted a little while back, so I thought I'd ask for your opinion. I'm sure this isn't an one-easy-answer thing, so I'd love to hear from any other Black people reading this as well!

I'll try to keep it short.

I'm seven years and 300k+ words deep in a fanfiction about anthropomorphic animal characters, and your introspective questions made me face the fact that I've been the ignorant fandom racist. I wrote my main character as white. Now, 7 years later, I stumble over a post pointing out ... those are locs

I don't know if the authors intended for this character to be Black (nonblack voice actors, supplementary material also clearly doesn't draw him this way, though that stuff was all over the place re: consistency) and I frankly also am not sure if they Should have, given his role in the narrative, but a) that's not really up to me to speak on and b) he's got locs and mostly black fur and was inspired by Anubis. I've been whitewashing, there's no way around it.

I briefly considered going back and just straight up changing the story to make him Black, but I quickly realized that I have been writing him from a white-centered narrative and just slotting a Black character into that would arguably be Worse. Or at least racist in a brand new way. I can change how he takes care of his hair, but not the themes on which the entire narrative is built upon. I've been writing about a white man and I can't just pretend I haven't.

So my question to you is ... what now? How do I best acknowledge this? Do I just quietly come to terms with the fact that this story is racist and do better next time? I would like to acknowledge it in some way, I have a small but loyal audience and if I could use that platform to start a conversation (or just put out a 'hey, don't be like me') that would ... maybe at least be better than nothing? Possibly?

I know there's not a simple solution here that will Fix It, but I thought I'd ask an actual Black person who's open to educating what might be a good next move. Maybe avoid making another, new White Person Blunder. Here's to hoping.

I really appreciate all you do, your blog rocks and so do you.

Is that Shadow?

Okay, so I had to have a conversation with Hot Chocolate on this one because this one's a doozy! I appreciate that you're willing to stop and reflect though. Most people wouldn't be willing to do so this far in!

Admittedly, the fact that you're seven years into this means this will require a lot of effort. And, tbh, I might be confused bc I cannot tell what that character is 😅 So! After some thought, here's what we came up with:

Take a hiatus. Point blank period. Take a BREAK, do not pass go, do not collect $200! Idk what lore you've written, but you've written a lot of it. Take as long as you need to reread your works, and see if at any point you ever made it clear that this was a white person, or anything other than the Black character you now think they should be. If it feels undefined, where you can turn "hair" into "locs" or add in small details, then that could be your smooth way out. It doesn't have to be massive changes, but it could help. It'll take you time, for sure! But you dug seven years in, it's gone take you time to dig out. Maybe if you skim 15k words a week (or ctrl-F it for hair, for examples), that's... 20 weeks? Go at your own pace, faster or slower.

Unfortunately this happens a lot, where influences for characters will be taken from cultures of colors and improperly represented (the "African" god from Genshin). That's just a fact. So I don't necessarily blame you for the confusion, but... Now you know.

If possible, get a sensitivity reader! Preferably a Black one. Ngl, given the massive amount of work, you're likely going to have to pay them. Maybe give them half and you take half. Idk, but let another pair of eyes look at your work. Or maybe there's a Black reader that you could speak to and see how they feel about the potential change.

Should you choose to keep going, just try to be more purposeful and intentional about that character's Blackness. Definitely tell your readers what you figured out, why it's important to you, and then move forward from there.

Now, RECOGNIZE that many of them will NOT be pleased! That's kind of the thing about opening your eyes when it comes to racism in media! A lot of people will NOT be happy that you decided to be more intentional, especially if they've been imagining their favorite white guy for seven years. You're going to have to weigh your integrity and your will to create against that. People might leave, people that you thought were cool AF until it was time to show true colors. Be ready for that.

But that's just what I would do 🤷🏾‍♀️

[poison-into-positivity]

Thinking a LOT about the excellent post regarding a hypothetical s3 by @asneakyfox, (tumblr won’t let me link it bc this website is held together by pipe cleaners and sticky tape) and I’m thinking especially about what Izzy’s possible role might be, since David himself said that theres no OFMD without Izzy Hands. Personally, I vehemently HATE the idea of Izzy coming back to life in any capacity, because I feel like it does his s2 character arc a HUGE injustice and cheapens his death, and Fox suggests that Izzy might return as a Nigel Badminton-type phantom who only one character can see. At first, I was thinking about how it might be interesting to see how Izzy’s influence lingers over Ed, but then I thought it would probably be WAY more interesting if Izzy acted as a sort of internal monologue for Stede.

Fox mentions that a possible arc for Stede in s3 would be that he’d be struggling to accept that he doesn’t need to be some hyper-masculine picture of piracy to be worthy of Ed’s love, and that might leave him with some hangups about marrying Ed:

“in bridgetown [Stede] constantly felt like he was failing mary as a husband by being unable to perform masculinity in the right socially acceptable ways - it would make sense for him to feel like he needs to succeed at pirate masculinity before he's ready to be a good husband to ed.”

Who, to Stede, is a prime example of pirate grittiness and masculinity? Izzy. We see that a little bit in s2e05 (though ymmv as to whether Stede is actually looking for help becoming a better, more masculine pirate or whether he’s just trying to connect with Izzy for Ed’s sake, but that’s another tangent entirely).

Izzy obviously grew and learned to at least somewhat accept the softer parts of himself at the end of s2, but that’s not the Izzy that Stede remembers. The Izzy that Stede remembers is a hyper-masculine picture of piracy, who (as far as Stede knows) Ed had completely trusted, loved, and admired, and so it would make a lot sense for Izzy to reappear as a sort of devil on his shoulder throughout the third season. It wouldn’t really be Izzy, obviously, in the same way Nigel wasn’t really Nigel, he was just an extension of Stede’s own insecurities, so I feel he would act and speak more like s1 Izzy as that’s the version of him that Stede was most familiar with.

I just think that’d be really neat. I don’t know how certain Izzy fans would react to him once again playing a quasi-antagonist role in the form of Stede’s subconscious, but personally I would like to see it.

[princessbrunette]

alright. i know. i literally gave you an anakin prompt already. but☝️ ..i’m here with another one.

modern!anakin running one of those tumblr porn blogs to talk about his nasty little fantasies. (not sure you remember this, but i wrote him posting “i like doing evil things to pretty girls.” while ago as an example of that behavior) and you happen to follow him. maybe you interact with him because you’re intrigued by his gross language and you reach out (maybe you swap some pics, and agree to meet). not sure how you’d wanna play it but ! i thought you’d wanna know about it

i think what’s so sexy about him doing this is he’s like… oddly nonchalant about it? he’ll mutual you, but never come onto you in a sexual or creepy way bc he’s a people pleaser and cares too much about people thinking he’s a weirdo. instead he just sends you memes relating to something you posted about one time just to show he listens, you know?

and like duh, he wants to fuck you, he’s a guy with a dick. but it’s better just to befriend you first, right? doesn’t wanna be a douche about it.

but then the two of you start talking properly outside of just memes, and calling, and flirting, and oh god — you’re one of those people. falling for someone online. someone who wouldn’t care that much to fly out to see you right? right?

he ends up in your city, and suddenly you’re picking him up from the airport ?? and you’re thinking jesus christ, yeah i’ve seen pictures of him and he’s very good looking but that’s gotta be… altered in some way right? there’s no way someone that fine runs a tumblr blog that depraved… and soon all 6ft- what, 4? of him is walking towards you in the airport, smiling so friendly and opening his sculpted arms for a hug and you’re just ????? fuck my life ??????

so the two of you go out to a bar, and literally one glass of wine in each and you’re giving him the big doe fuck me eyes, talking so much you don’t even think to get a second drink, the chemistry buzzing through your bones and up your skirt. he didn’t think he’d be getting lucky this fast, jesus — he booked to be here for like 2 weeks so he can really milk it out of you. poor thing was just too needy for it.

you’re blabbering how you’ve never done this before, having some guy fly out and fucking him on the first night when you leave the bar arm in arm, headed straight for his hotel. you think he might crumble under the pressure, again — who runs a blog that depraved and actually knows how to do all the stuff they talk about? but he’s so calm, collected, chuckling at your eagerness, reiterating one million times that there doesn’t ’have to’ be anything. not to feel pressured to do anything just because he flew out. great, so he’s a good guy too. you’re surprised your arousal wasn’t running down your legs like a faucet.

he knows his stuff, and it shows back in the hotel room, bringing you a glass of water even though you had one glass, telling you to drink it, forcing every form of consent out of you because he needs to know you want this like he does. even so, so much kissing once you start — giving you time to back out, giving you time to get so drooly and desperate you’re humping his lap and nearly crying.

anakin soothes you. “what do you want baby? flew out here just to see this pretty face, lemme give you what you want sweet girl just gotta tell me.” muttering it against your lips like he’s casting a spell.

“wanna — wanna do all the stuff you wrote about. thought about it every night.” you mewl, your tits heaving against his strong chest. there’s that low chuckle again, pretty smile lines on his cheeks you can’t help but kiss.

“mm, i remember a few you liked a lot. what was that one about having you on my lap, dick all in your guts, just rubbing that pretty clit ‘til you cream all over it. something like that, right baby?” his hands are massaging your hips and god — yes, yes yes whatever you say, nodding so hard your head might come off.

safe to say he keeps his word, showing you everything he knows.

[gemsofgreece]

Can you tell me about a vrykolakas?

The vrykólakas is the Greek equivalent of the vampire. While nowadays it is a perfect synonym (we call "vrykólakas" anything from Dracula to Lestat to that glimmering dude from Twilight) historically this was not exactly the case.

Ancient Greeks believed in undead creatures who could return and feed on human flesh. Ancient burials have been discovered where the dead had their members nailed or bound or the tomb had extra walls and obstacles to prevent the corpse from rising. Such a case has been found in the ancient mausoleum of Síkinos island, the burial place of a noble woman dating to 200 AD, who although was clearly buried with love, it was also obvious her relatives thought she could return in the form of such a creature. I had actually talked about her in an old post but I can't seem to find it no matter what key words I try - sometimes tumblr gets a stroke when you add too many tags and it can't locate the post. Here's the prototype link from the article in Greek based on which I made the post. Her case is described in bullet #8 .

From the 16th to 18th century when such information is more easily accessible we can tell that the ancient undead creature eating human flesh was pretty much syncretized with the nearby strong Slavic beliefs for the vampir. The Greek name vrykólakas, sometimes in idiomatic Greek also vorvólakas comes etymlogically from the Bulgarian varkolak or the Slavic vukodlak or vurdulak or any of these several variations. A version that seems to have taken a very similar etymological path as the Greek one is the Lithuanian vilkolakis. (Those words however do not describe 100% the type of creature vrykólakas is.) There have been numerous examples of such mythological syncretisms in (South)eastern Europe. Another example is an also ghoulish creature, a vampiric witch, the strega of the Italians, shtriga of the Albanians, striga of the Romanians and strzyga of the Polish which comes from the Ancient Greek strix or striggla, who even though she was an owl-like creature of the night, she was originally (prior to 300 BC) not considered a demonic man-eating creature. This was more likely the later influence of the Romans and their dark perception of the striggla was adopted anew by the Greeks of late antiquity (and the ancestors of all other aforementioned nations).

Back to Vrykólakas, it was not imagined in the way western vampires have been imagined since the late 18th century. It is not tall, thin, lustful and incredibly sexy. In fact, it usually had the appearance of a swollen, bloated corpse (like corpses are medically known to do in the process of decomposition, apparently people were trying to explain this) and sometimes it was described having red, glowing eyes. It was not sophisticated or self-restrained at the times it was well fed. It is usually described as having a rabid-like behaviour and is mostly incapable of normal human communication. However, there have been significant deviations from this, an example being the folk song of the Dead Brother, where the brother who is an undead is described as pale, skinny, hairless, dead or severely ill looking but is capable of normal communication. (More on this in a link I attach later.)

The vrykolakes were believed to be created if the dead was excommunicated in life, had a foul, very corrupt lifestyle or was cursed by somebody else (even unfairly). Sometimes the rising and arrival of a vrykolakas was heralded by owl hoots and screeches, a continuation of the ancient myth of the strix, unlike the Slavic connection of vampires to bats.

A Vrykolakas is not technically drinking blood. I believe this is a more Slavic or Western European version. Like its ancient counterpart, the vrykolakas feeds on flesh, intestines and particularly liver. The vrykolakes would often attack livestock when they couldn't find humans. They would knock on a door and call the owner’s name and if nobody answered it, they could not get in (famous traditional vampire trope). If a person was attacked by a vrykolakas, they would either get killed on the spot or in a few days and then become undead too. The vrykolakes were also believed to spread famine and illnesses by attacking the livestock and contaminating the waters. The longer a vrykolakas “survived”, the more powerful and destructive it became. While unusual, they could appear in daylight.

The way a vrykolakas was confronted and defeated has many similarities with the ancient undead and the traditional vampires of Eastern Europe. The corpses who were believed to be vrykolakes were dismembered, immobilized with thick silver nails, they would have wine poured on them by a priest, have crosses placed on them, they would be cremated, they would be impaled with a stake in their heart or mouth, they would be buried uspide down, sometimes they would be beheaded or cut into many small pieces.

Here is a FANTASTIC post by @wordsmithic compiling several folk legends and documented incidences in which Greeks believed a corpse to be a vrykolakas. Since you are interested in this topic, do not skip it by any means.

As you will notice in it, there has been a considerable number of western Europeans writing about the Greek vrykolakes of the 17th and 18th century. As I was searching for additional potentially important info in Wikipedia, I found that at the time the Greek vrykolakes were more researched and known than the Slavic vampires, however the latter soon kicked our ass especially due to Stoker’s inspiration from the Wallachian Vlad Tepes (Dracula). But the first novel of romanticised vampiric fiction is the Vampyre (1817) by John Williams Polidori and the novel largely takes place in Greece. Maybe this has to do with the fact that even though Polidori was half British - half Italian, he was perhaps aware of distant Greek paternal ancestry (his surname Polidori is etymologically Greek but his grandfather is also described as a native of Tuscany so the potential Greek ancestry goes way back in time, early or mid- 17th century at the latest, so I can’t tell if he knew or felt any connection) or maybe because the raging Philhellene Lord Byron assigned him to write this (NEWSFLASH: several intellectuals and artists of the 17-19th centuries appreciated MODERN Greece even while it was conquered and desolate, not like now that we are treated worse than rubbish even when we fair a lot better). My point is, for this to happen, during those centuries the beliefs surrounding the Vrykólakes must have been particularly notable and present in the Greek society. The fabulous link I added above says more about this novel as well, among many other things. Enjoy!

[emojackolantern]

UPDATE I AM STILL THINKING ABOUT THE POTENTIAL DAN AND PHIL TAROT AND @slitsfordan ASKED FOR MY RANT ON IT SO HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS ON CARD SYMBOLISM AS IT RELATES TO DIP AND PIP !!

The Fool - PINOF, particularly PINOF 1. the fool is about new beginnings, pinof 1 is the origin of dnp.

The Magician - superamazingproject. the intro to their collaborative content. the dream they put out into the universe. the seed they planted hoping something would come of it.

The High Priestess - BBC Radio 1. they didn't know when it happened how much would come out of it, they just knew they had to do it. that's intuition baby. that being said whoever said sister daniel you're funny as fuck.

The Empress - DAPG. the empress is about fertility and creation, mf they birthed a whole new channel.

The Emperor - DAPC. to me, if the empress is about birthing new ideas, the emperor is about raising them and giving them structure by which to grow. DAPC is just another in the saga of their collaboration, at this point.

The Hierophant - TABINOF. the hierophant is about tradition and also represents the teacher/student archetype. i think of them kind of like profits bringing the word to the people for the first time lol.

The Lovers - TATINOF. think of any picture of them together on tour and tell me im wrong.

The Chariot - DAPGO. im ngl this one is kind of a space filler for chronology's sake, but them writing a second book was definitely a choice they made that furthered their joint image. they willed that into existence.

Strength - Interactive Introverts. Strength speaks on the bravery and fortitude needed to overcome obstacles. Dan particularly has spoken at length about how this tour was hard for him.

The Hermit - Dan's hiatus.

The Wheel of Fortune - The wheel of fortune is about inevitability of change and the cyclical nature of life. I think this one might be too vague for a direct comparison to a specific event? That being said if you can think of an example of a time they were faced with the inevitability of change I am all ears. Either way drawing this card in line with the rws but with dnp motifs would be fun as fuck

Justice - Justice is about karma, about getting back what you gave. I think of their dynamic as a duo, how they give to each other and get the same energy back. I think generally this card would be more negative, talk about literal justice, but I don't think that applies to them.

The Hanged Man - The hanged man is about sacrifice and surrender. I already said this in previous posts but to me this is Phil— going back in the closet for Dan, staying in London while he went on tour, etc. it's the willingness to let things change how they will because you have faith that no matter how much they change they'll always be a little the same.

Death - the changes themselves. sister daniel is a really good representative of this to me, and of the ways dan- but both of them really- have learned to be more comfortable both with themselves and with us as an audience. it's a change for the better.

Temperance - temperance is about balance, to me the most obvious example is their work/life balance. the value they place on their privacy. the taking weeks off after particularly long stints of work. it's doing what you have to do to make sure this work continues to be fulfilling.

The Devil - Dan and Phil Crafts - Slime (duh lol)

I WILL UPDATE THESE LATER BC IM BUSY BUT ALSO IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS I AM OPEN TO THEM:

The Tower - upheaval

The Star - hope for the future

The Moon - the unconscious

The Sun - success over the unconscious

Judgement - review

The World - conclusion

[narcosfandomdiscord]

Narcovember Prompt Roulette List

Saalud a mi gente! We in the Narcos Fandom Forever discord server are excited to bring another 30-day challenge: a multifandom event that we’re nevertheless calling Narcovember. Despite its name, this is open to ALL FANDOMS, NOT JUST NARCOS. Creators are encouraged to submit fanworks (fic, art, gifs, vids, op-eds) for any fandom your heart desires!

This event's format is a bit unconventional. Instead of a prompt for each day of the month, there's a Prompt Roulette Wheel and a Prompt Index (☟ below) featuring numbered items with three prompts each. Every day you'll spin the wheel. The number that comes up on the spin corresponds to a number on the index where you can then pick one of the three prompts.

So for example, say on day one, I spin the wheel and get number 8. I’d go to 8 on the index (titled These Damn Restraints). Of those three prompts, I like Yikes best so that's my day one prompt. Next day, I spin and get 14. I find 14 on the index (Decisions, Decisions, Decisions) and pick one of those for day two's prompt. And so on. Note: If, on Day 2, instead of 14 I got 8 again, I’d spin the wheel again to get a new number. If, for whatever reason, you don’t want to spin twice, you can choose another prompt from that "Book of" that you haven't used (e.g. Day 1, I chose Yikes. So Day 2, I’d go for, "Now you know why I never say anything.") Ideally, we think it’s more fun to not repeat index items, but ultimately it’s dealer’s choice. Aka we're not about to get real fascist policing, aint nobody got time for that.

Here's -> the roulette wheel. Or you can make your own! (Just make sure it has 30 slices.)

Use the hashtag #narcovember or tag us to submit your entries so we can reblog them! A note on the masterlist - bc of the Tumblr-imposed link limit, for now we'll only link the fic. BUT at the end of the month, there will be a comprehensive list with all the contributors’ blogs so ppl can find your other work easily. 

Happy spinning, everybody!

❖ Prompt Index ❖

1 — Book of Genesis

Fanwork inspired by someone else’s fanwork (be sure to tag the creator of the OG work!) 

“The fun begins here.” 

Ghosts

2 — Book of Fuck-ups

Righteous indignation glo-up aka fanwork that corrects a plot misstep or writing blunder that bugs the shit outta you 

“It’s not the what-ifs that fuck you up, so much as the what-might-have-beens.” 

Bite

>>>>>>>>>> more prompts below the cut <<<<<<<<<<<<

3 - Book of Stuff That Goes in the Junk Drawer

Fanwork inspired by a song and include why the song sparked the idea (was it the lyrics, genre? something you thought a character would like? etc) 

“It’s never too late to make history.”

Juice

4 — Book of the Uno-Card-Reverse

Fanwork based on your fav reverse/inverse trope**

“Evil isn’t always forever.” 

Mirrors 

5 — Book of Negative Spaces

Fanwork using a line from a diff show/movie as a prompt (e.g. line from Mad Men, “I don’t think of you at all” in a Narcos fic, line from Band of Brothers, “The only hope you have is to accept the fact that you’re already dead,” in a Hannibal fic, etc etc) 

“We gain more from our mistakes than our success, you know that?”

Pitch

6 — Book of (un)Consciousness

Fanwork inspired by a dream you’ve had (include 1-2 sentence summary of the dream at the beginning of the post) 

“Just dream with me.”

Technicolor 

7 — Book of Time-travel

Fanwork inspired by ancient mythology (Greek, Norse, aztec, celtic, etc. Bible counts as mythology, fuck it) 

“It’s only a matter of time.”

Constellation

8 — Book of These Damn Restraints

Fanwork that ends with 2(+) characters trapped in a phone booth with no way out 

“Now you know why I never say anything.”

Yikes

9 — Book of Fateful Conversations

Fanwork where the plot takes place entirely in the back of a cab OR where one character is the cab driver and the other is the passenger 

“You'd be surprised what you can live with.” 

Cursed

10 — Book of Nepo-baby Levels of Incompetence

Fanwork where character is in a profession they have no business being in with no prior training, so they fake knowing what they’re doing – like imposter syndrome except they’re just actually a fraud (e.g. Rust Cohle is a grief counselor, Richie Jerimovich is a hedge fund manager, Roman Roy is a beat cop) 

“And who hasn’t believed a flattering lie?” 

Evergreen 

11 — Book of Pit Stops

Fanwork that starts with a character hitchhiking and getting picked up by another character(s) 

“Tell me to stop, and I’ll stop.” 

Rush

12 — Book of Balancing In Between

Fanwork whose setting is a liminal space (e.g. empty swimming pool, bar or arcade after hours, airport terminal, church confessional, empty elevator, Twin Peaks black lodge, John Wick continental bar, etc) 

“Good things come in threes.” 

Wire

13 — Book of in Urgent Need of Assistance

Fanwork where a character wakes up on an empty submarine, 300ft underwater, thinking they’re the only person aboard until they run into another character(s) 

“One day I’ll wake up and it won’t hurt so much.” 

Desperate

14 - Book of Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

Crossover for 2(+) fandoms you have used before but 2(+) characters you’ve never used or vice versa 

“All we have are our choices.” 

Crossroads 

15 — Book of How tf Did We Get Here

Fanwork that starts off with 2(+) characters waiting in line at the DMV and ends in a completely different, totally unpredictable, why-and-how-tf-did-we-get-here place 

“There’s a moon a mile from here and nobody home.” 

Ambition

16 — Book of Locally Sourced

Fanwork that mimics a bottle episode, so the entirety of it takes place in a relatively mundane setting (e.g. the stockroom of a store, interrogation room, a hotel lobby, waiting room of a doctor’s office, etc etc) 

“Make yourself comfortable while you can."

Notebook

17 — Book of Inception

Fanwork that provides an origin story for a character that doesn’t have one in canon 

“It (he/she/they) made me who I am.”

Improvement

18 — Book of Mysteries

Fanwork where 2(+) characters have to escape a panic room. Depending on fandom, this can be like the innocent party version that you take your friends to for someone’s bday, or can be an actual doomsday shelter 

“I thought they were with you!?"

Endurance

19 — Book of Near Misses

Fanwork with 2(+) characters from the same movie/show/book who’ve never met 

“Looks like we missed our window.” 

Rattled

20 — Book of Sleight of Hand

Fanwork of partners (romantic, profesh, or both) running into each other unexpectedly while both are doing something criminal/something they know they aren’t supposed to do (e.g. burying a body, carrying out a heist, meeting someone they shouldn’t)

“You can't ask the truth from someone who trades in lies.” 

Brace

21— Book of Nerves of Steel

Fanwork where 2(+) characters do a B&E, but get stuck when the owner unexpectedly comes home, and they whisper-yell argue over how to get out

“You won't believe the day I just had.”

Cortisol

22 — Book of Identity Theft

Fanwork where 2(+) characters meet accidentally bc one has accidentally dialed the wrong number (e.g. Syd [The Bear] tries to call Carm to yell at him for Something Dumb He Did but ends up calling Cousin Greg [Succession] instead) 

“I'm not the one.”

Brand

23 — Book of Just Chaos™️™️™️

Cracked crossover/ship with 2(+) characters from very diff genres (e.g. Dwight Schrute [The Office] & Tommy Shelby [Peaky Blinders], Frenchie [The Boys] x Penelope [Bridgerton], etc) 

“You’re my idiot, forever.” 

Untouchable

24 — Book of Revelation

Fanwork where 2(+) characters are stranded in the desert and in a sick twist, must decide which one of them to leave behind in order for the other(s) to be saved

“I like that I don't have to worry about you.”

Rapture

25 — Book of Reciprocity

Fanwork where 2(+) characters play poker (or any card game that has betting) but the chips are magic and the winner gets extra years of life instead of money (e.g. say, in poker, green chips = $500, blue chips = $1k, red chips = $2k, black chips = $5k. In this scenario, green chips = 6mos, blue chips = 1yr, red chips = 2yrs, black chips = 5yrs, etc) 

“Fine, I'll do it myself.”

Quid-Pro-Quo

26 — Book of Abduction

Fanwork where 2(+) characters get kidnapped by a kooky cult, are thrown into the trunk of a car together and have to figure out how to escape

“Somebody has to be paying attention.” 

Spiral

27 — Book of Caretaking

Fanwork where a character accidentally shoots/stabs/otherwise maims another character and has to perform first responder, triage levels of first aid to save them (dealer’s choice as to whether it's successful bc yolo) 

“Don't make me take care of you.” 

 Ritual

28 — Book of Weaponized Passive Aggression

Fanwork where 2(+) characters attend a dinner party and witness that moment when a couple starts passive-aggressively arguing but not outright fighting in front of the whole table and it’s even more painfully awkward than if they just straight up fought OR the 2(+) characters are the ones arguing making everyone else uncomfortable asf

“I wish you the best and I hope you find it far from me.”

Attitude

29 — Book of the (un)Dead

Fanwork where a character dies and another character shepherds them to the afterlife like their own personal grim reaper

“We bury our dead alive.” 

Siesta

30 — Book of There's No Place Like ...

Back from the dead: a character came back wrong or right, but either way, no one else knows how to handle it

“Even if you make it, you’ll never really go home.” 

Homesick

**There will be a reverse trope list in another post for examples.

[aita-polls]

Aita for not accepting my best friend's bf?

Me (F 17) and my best friend (F 18), we'll call her C, have been friends for over two years . We became close quickly, she was there for me during a really dark time in my life. We've gone to concerts together, sleepovers, she even went on a family holiday with me last summer. Basically we're really close.

Everything started going "wrong" last spring when she started talking to this american guy online, we'll call him L. C was really into him and they were texting like non stop the last few months of school. He seemed to be into her too and, despite some of his quirks, I was genuinely happy for her. One weird thing was that anytime anyone asked about his age she would say something vague like "idk early twenties" ok fine. Well fast forward to July and we're getting our nails done, C is talking about L and the nail girl asks about his age and she says the same thing about "eh like 22, 23, it hasnt come up yet" but the very next day she sends me his old Facebook acc that she found because she's upset that it's full of old posts about his ex. I look at it and I'm like 👁👄�� because this MAN went to HIGH SCHOOL before we were even BORN. Early twenties my ass. I'm doing calculations, I'm counting on my fingers, I'm opening the calculator app. I text her back like omg this guys in his 30s,, he's like a creep.

Three things to keep in mind at this point; one when they started talking C was 17, two C had always said she wanted to date older men bc guys in their 20s were immature and I kind of agreed bc I thought "oh yeah she means when she's in her 20s she'll date men in their 30s", and third literally the day before she said she didn't know how old he was.

She texts back "oh yeah I knew for a while I just forgot to tell you" sure... anyways she's fine with Ls age, I find it quite uncomfortable but I'm like whatever she's young, we're starting college soon, they'll probably break up and I won't have to worry about it. So I was just trying to be chill about it.

One day I get the text I've been waiting for. He's ghosted her for like three weeks. She's done with him. I try my best to comfort her and then she says it. There's another guy. She went back on dating apps and now she's matched with another guy, M, and they've been talking for a week and it's going really well.

She sends me a photo.

This man is

Dusty

Musty

And ANCIENT

He's like properly Dad aged

He's 38 💀

And I'm just like ew ew ew. I am no longer able to be chill. Now I know this will never end. There's no waiting for a break up because then there's just a cycle of older man after older man. I message her, like trying my best to be as nice as possible basically asking if she's sure about him, if this is the right move for her, and warning her about the type of guys who date girls 20 years younger than them. And naturally she defends her relationship and asks me to give him a chance. I really do feel incapable of giving him a chance because like for example if my cousin who's 34 started going out with one of my friends it would fundamentally change the way I view her as a person and I love her to death. So yeah it's a hard thing to just get over.

I decide to just shut up about it.

Then she says that M has a spare mattress in his house in France so we can all stay over and go on a holiday to France. So I, naturally, being the comedian I am, asks if its in the basement with the other girls. She gets REAL defensive and an argument sparks. I tell her like all my feelings about it. Honestly I was quite mean here, I called him weirdo and a creep and like what even was the point of that?? Silly silly me.

Anyways the next time we met it was super uncomfortable and we haven't really seen each other since then, not by avoidance we're just in different towns and we're not in school anymore. I do feel like there's a rift between us now, which is horrible because the only reason there was a fuss about this guy to begin with is because I care about her so much. I don't want something like this to come between us. We're meeting up soon so obviously this isn't totally doomed and maybe space was a good thing.

I see pictures of C and M together now and like it weirdly makes sense. Like don't get me wrong M is riddled with red flags but also they're just kind of two dorks that have found each other. He seems to bring her out of her shell. And she seems to make him genuinely happier. So like maybe this is a good thing.

They've also met in person now and she's still alive which puts me more at ease. But I'm still quite a bit put off by the age gap. AITA for acting the way I did about him, and just not being chill with it?

[thebomb-thebird-andtheburntbitch]

Wishing on Golden Stars [TEASER-2]

a/n: decided on a whim to post a second teaser bc of how much progress ive made on this bad boy for the past week. this time ayato is actually in it! who'd thought! yet again, this little snippet length is just over 1k ! and just like before, it's hardly edited properly since this is just a draft version of the final piece lol - here's the link to the first teaser if you're interested!

The pale-haired man politely dismissed himself from the conversation he was having with Tomoki. Making his way to your side as Aether waltzes himself up to join the group. 

“It’s been a while,” you greet when the blond stops in front of you. You’ve seen him once or twice in quick passing since your trip to Watatsumi during the war. He’s always busy with something or another when he’s here. Whether it be wrapped up in something Itto had dragged him into, or commissions he’d picked up out of the goodness of his heart; so proper greetings were hard to come by. “I hope you’ve both been keeping out of trouble.” 

Aether rubs the back of his head sheepishly as Paimon joins him in the silent answer of ‘sort of’. 

“It’s never anything we can’t handle,” Paimon defends. 

“I’m sure,” you humor. 

“What brings you both back to Inazuma?” Ayato asks. An easy and relaxed expression rests on his cheeks. It makes you forget about your discomfort, seeing him even a smidge more relaxed than usual. “Nothing untoward I hope.” 

“We just wanted to come and catch up with some friends!” Paimon explains. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve come back here on anything other than business,” Aether supports. “It’s nice to take in the island air sometimes.” You nod, understanding. He, of all people, needs to look after himself in the event of a crisis. 

“It’s good to take time for yourself,” you tell him. Crossing your arms, you shoot a look of disapproval to your employer who stands at your shoulder. “If only I could get a certain someone to follow your example.” 

“Why, whatever do you mean?” The smile that was once relaxed, shifts to one of enjoyment as he looks at you. “I’m making time right now, aren’t I?” Rolling your eyes you brush off his attempt at pushing your buttons. 

“Only after Thoma’s constant insisting.” With his arms folded behind him and a slight bend in his back to get closer into your space, you turn away from him with a huff. Paimon and Aether look at each other before looking back at you both. It was obvious Ayato was enjoying prodding you and from the looks of it, you were just letting him. It could hardly be seen as a scenario between a mere employer and retainer. It’s much too comfortable. 

Ayato’s attention was briefly taken away from you at Tomoki’s nervous beckon. Apparently, he had taken one of Ayato’s out of world ideas into consideration and wanted a bit more of an idea for the future. Dismissing himself, Aether steps up to the plate to continue entertaining you in Ayato’s stead. 

“It’s good to see you’re getting along,” he tells you in regard to Ayato. 

“Of course. He’s tough to handle, but nothing I can’t subdue.” You chuckle. It was always good seeing Aether. Even if you both couldn’t speak of your outworld heritage, just knowing that he knew was enough for you to feel a weight off your shoulders. 

“It’s usually Thoma trailing after him like this, so I was shocked to see you instead.” 

“Yeah, that's true!” Paimon agreed. You nod. 

“For some reason, Lord Kamisato wanted me to come out with him today instead. Thoma may have been too busy with housework and since Ayaka had no plans today, having him stay with her made more sense.” Of course, you didn’t know the full reason and this was just you thinking out loud. 

“Yeah, somehow Paimon doesn’t think that’s all true,” she shoots you a look with her arms cross. Blinking at her, you raise a brow. 

“What do you mean?” You ask. She shares a knowing glance with Aether before looking back. “What are you both thinking about?” Aether steps forward and whispers something in your ear. It was nonsense. Ayato preferring you over Thoma like he was suggesting was just folly! Still, it made your ears burn and you want to smack the smirk off his face when he finally steps away from you. 

With your head down and hand raised to pinch between your eyes on your bridge, the smirk on Aether’s face twitches as he looks over your shoulder. Behind you, turned away from Tomoki who was scribbling something down, was Ayato shooting him a rather ominous look. Aether was a reader of a person's emotions, but Ayato had always been difficult to grasp. This look however was loud and clear. The blond took another step back as he tucked his hands down to his side. 

“What’s your problem?” You ask, head relifted and noticing his odd shift in behavior. 

“Oh, it’s nothing.” He brushes off your attempt to get behind the reason for his change. You want to press more, but don’t get far. The itch in your throat comes back to the forefront of your mind with a harsh cough. Turning away from him, you cover your mouth and try to swallow back the coughing behind your hand. It doesn’t work. Suppressing it only makes it feel worse. 

You hear Paimon start panicking behind you and Aether’s body moves closer to hover around you, unsure about what he should do. The hand you feel push against your back wasn’t the traveler’s, but the gloved hand of Ayato. Your cough fit ends with you gathering your breath with a slumped posture. Ayato’s hand still softly ran up and down your spine as you recompose yourself. 

“Are you okay?” Paimon asks in worry. With sweat on your forehead, you nod. 

“This always seems to happen around this time of year,” Ayato says. You weren’t sure if he was addressing you, Aether, Paimon, or deducing it to himself. Still, it’s heard by everyone regardless.  

“Oh no, are you sick?” Paimon floats over to you, now standing back up to your height, and frets in even closer proximity. 

“I’ll be fine. I’ve dealt with worse than a cough before.” 

“That doesn’t mean you aren’t sick,” Aether argues before Paimon floats back to his side and agrees behind his shoulder. “You should go home and rest.” 

“That’s-” 

“Exactly what we intend to do,” Ayato interrupts. You look over your shoulder at him behind you. His face is serious, and he means every word. You feel sort of guilty, like you ruined one of the few chances he has to come into town that isn’t work related. “You’ll have to excuse us,” he addresses Aether. 

“Should we walk you back?” He offers. Ayato knows it’s all in good faith and he’s only worried for you, but the clawing feeling at the back of his neck from his spine almost makes him frown at the suggestion. 

“No need,” he declines. “We can manage.” Aether doesn’t press anymore. With a few more words of parting, Ayato offers you his arm to hold onto, which you decline since you weren’t so weak you couldn’t walk on your own. Soon, you both were leaving the city and making your way back to the Kamisato estate. Upon arrival, Ayato had your hand in his gloved one, leading you through the gates on the verge of yet another coughing fit. A samurai standing guard was quickly instructed to find Thoma.

[this fic will also be divided in parts (how many? im unsure) bc it's a lengthy one gang sitting at 22k right now. if you'd like to be notified about this fic's eventual release, let me know and i can always start a tag list if required!]

[alicenpai]

taking a break from merch!

been feeling incredibly burnt out, so here are some thoughts on merch and events and shop stuff this year 🤔 LONGGG ass ramblings below

im going to be posting maybe like 1 or 2 merch posts daily for the next week-ish, just as a heads up!

i apologize in advance bc i feel like sometimes people just do not care about merch posts as opposed to regular ol' drawings (yes i know the psychology is that people dont like to be advertised to)... but i think the launch of my shop opening was pretty poorly timed 😬

the canada post strike (making canadians averse to purchases online, although i do not use canada post, i think a lot of people are under the assumption that most businesses use canpost) + combined with the EU product safety scare + maybe with tons of black friday competition + posting on the weekend has mixed results ..

i'm reconsidering the decision to reopen the store in dec, as i won't have any new items. additionally, this has been long overdue - i'm going to take a break from merch (besides the few events i already have coming up in dec+jan) to focus on what i really want from art. another thing that i gotta bring up is - this is the first year where i started doing more events past the summer, and well into the winter. i usually make a huge batch of new designs in late spring (for my biggest event, anime north), and a smaller batch in late summer (otakuthon). but, now i've been making new designs year round, which really is not something i'm used to, and contributed to the burnout. i've often been questioning myself, "does this need to be made?", "is this good art?" and it leads me to spiral more than necessary.

similarly, i should be working on my portfolio instead, as a lot of my portfolio works are from art school T__T i keep postponing it, i tell myself "oh just one more event, just one more event" bc i have trouble dividing my attention. how did i even do personal art + buttload of homework during animation school? HAHAHA. not to be harsh but like. what am i doing honestly 😭... i love making personal art, but i WISH i had MORE to show for my career. i want to go back into visual development. once im ready, i'll go back to drawing illustrations. in the meantime, i'll do a lot of reflection and chatting with friends, playing games, etc. getting in touch with the things i missed while i was busy crunching... --- also compiling a list of products that i have thoughts on - charms: - right off the bat, as i mentioned before, i think i've exhausted all i can from this lineless/borderless charm style! chibis for me are not artistically that interesting to draw hahaha... i don't think i'll make any more of charms in this style (unless i get a really good idea?). - i've been thinking of either stopping charms altogether, or lessening charm designs in the future. if i still... want to make charms after my break... i might opt to draw in a bust style instead. i'm really inspired by these one piece designs by my friend avenoirn..!! and these rdr wood charms by searift are so good!! but otherwise my current plan is to just focus on prints and stickers. they are infinitely easier to store too AHAHAHA.

- above: furthermore, this style does not suit all series unfortunately, examples above where i think the design is a bit weak... and i think that's where my weakness lies T__T i make things to satiate my curiosity for a short while HAHAHA but there are so many times where i'm just not proud of, or i feel indifferent, to the merch i make months down the road. - unfortunately charms are a huge seller at conventions, because of their small nature and cute quality i guess they make good gifts? i find that for me my charms didn't sell well in the past, until i switched over to this new style in 2023. i think along the way i started prioritizing charms more, and just making things that didn't work in the style like above. in reality, my heart wanted to make illustrative stuff like prints and sticker sheets, even though these products take infinitely longer to create, due to the amount of drafting and research i put into each piece. (funnily enough charms dont sell as well online + people buy stickers more) - it's getting infinitely more and more expensive to import charms from asia. first of all, shipping costs have increased, and secondly... government customs fees are truly the icing on top. it's been hard for small businesses since covid, and how heavily chinese packages have been taxed. - to be transparent, here are my suppliers: - i used vograce from 2015-2022, but over time felt that their quality declined so i stopped using them. - i use juno consistently, but also opt for kuien if i need a rush order done (~within a week, but also gotta pay premium for that rush service!!). - i have tried wooacry and can attest that their quality is good! to me it's not much different than juno's quality, besides small colour nuance and there (since wooacry's printers have the ability to print from RGB), however my designs tend to be on the simpler side.

- above, wooacry: although, it's hard to keep sizes consistent between designs (but i am a fool in this regard because i didn't check the digital mockup that precisely), so i probably won't use wooacry for huge character lineups unless i am 100% sure my charm designs are all the same size. - also geez... i didn't know people felt so hostile towards charms. (the entire disk horse on twitter if you've seen it. the original poster made a 2nd post that clarified their intent, which was, honestly?? incredibly well thought and nuanced. but the first post opened a whole can of worms, that didn't need to be that explosive from the get go, exposing myself and many other artists who make charms to other people's aggressive viewpoints). - at the same time, i understand that the scope of "anime fan merch" is very much "lowbrow art", but to act superior because one doesn't make acrylic products is a bit discouraging to say the least. i have already wanted to stop or slow down on charm designs for a long time, but this is the final blow for me. like damn. okay. ---

stickers: - importing stickers from US suppliers into canada has also similarly become more expensive with taxes TT to be transparent, i use stickerbunnies and i personally love them, however with taxes and slow response times, i cannot vouch for them all too much if you don't live in the US. however i think they would be okay if you didn't have a deadline (e.g. off peak con season) - currently i'm looking into local canadian manufacturers with affordable pricing, as well as the ability to commit to rather large orders (a few hundred)... unfortunately i'm rather picky with vinyl quality. my biggest character flaw. i used jukebox for a few designs, however they are pricey if there is no current sale. --- specialty: - also this is something ive been thinking for a while, but i'm likely going to discontinue "specialty" merch in the future..

- above: anything that's not prints, stickers, regular charms... - it's ironic bc as artists grow bigger they want to branch out into new unique types of merch.. i just don't find that they sell that well for me >< i'm a bit sad at the marcille pudding, i honestly thought it would sell better. still fawkin love it though. - they cost an arm and leg to boot = higher price = harder to sell? or maybe my design sense is just bad!!!!! - the only specialty stuff i have ideas for right now are some baccano coins + poker chips... wooacry posed a potential interest for them so im. rubbing my hands greedily like a fly. -- wood: - whoa i was really negative above LMAO. one thing i DO want to try out more are layered wood pins!!

- i really enjoyed working on the wooden layton pins i have... they don't sell that well online anymore i guess bc all of my followers have seen it a million times already LMAO but they sell quite well in person!! - thankfully wood is not that pricey and i can stick to small batches for them (like 10 quantity each?) - inspiration: i LOVE these wooden dunmeshi pins seirui made. i cant wait for mine to arrive...!! also love the backing pins, they add so much character!! general - oftentimes when i make a set of products, i find that main characters sell better than supporting characters. after a while of promoting them as last chance items online + bargain bin items at cons, they just don't sell and i'm left with a ton of unwanted merch T__T what do i do with the rest of the characters that don't sell? i do have to admit i'm concerned about waste, and there are no good resources on recycling old merch. - what i did in the past was - for buttons specifically - tear them apart AHAHAHAHA. buttons are made out of metal + paper + plastic and the former two can be recycled in my area. i'm not sure if it helps but i tried to do it as per my area's recycling rules... - acrylic charms are another matter altogether. i try to gift them as much as i can... - prints are great however because i can just use them as scrap paper or recycle them if unwanted!! - i got a little carried away making merch this year. i think i'll have to go back to my old method, which was making merch in small quantities, and only sell a small number that i can confidently rely on (~10 or less).

[moe-broey]

Got any body type/anatomy thoughts? FEH has very little in the way of body type variation and I personally like reading that as an open invitation to get silly with it.

OKAOKAYOKAY!!!!!!!! I MIGHT. Have gathered everything.... but I have SOOOOOOO MANY THOUGHTS ON THIS bc you're absolutely right!!!!! It's like a canvas to me...

I have a few directions I take with it! My main one, is to extrapolate features that may be present in the canon design. Taking them Further. I'm so sorry to do this but he is the epitome of this for me, GUSTAV JUMPSCARE 😨😨😨😨😰😰😰

But this is what I mean! I see canon Gustav has a full beard, is big and muscular. Okay. In my mind's eye, that translates to Big Hefty Heavyset type of muscular builds that are more realistic than the 6 pack bulging muscles (that require a lot of prep/dehydration to Look Like That). Also, hairy. Which is why, to fully demonstrate this, he's.... I don't know what he's doing here. This was psychologically taxing on me, but then I reminded myself I Am An Artist and I Hate America. 🫡🧍

Sometimes, if a character fits a certain archetype, I might put a few personal touches into them... mom/mom-like characters who REALLY embody the Doting Caretaker archetype often get the same body type as my own mother. A little honorary thing... though I do wanna be careful as to not restrict a specific body type (esp fat bodies) to specifically stereotypes (aka "mom bod"). Also, a comparison to Sharena! They do share similarities! Henriette's face looks familiar though... and not quite in the way Sharena's does.

Another focal reason I started off w Gustav though, is the second biggest thing I'm Always Thinking About when it comes to character's body types. Which is, Telling A Story.

I've had.... SO many oddly specific hcs about Alfonse...... for So Long..... one of them that's always in the back of my mind is him being at different weights during specific periods of his life. That, for the majority of it/esp his youth, he was almost waifish. He only starts looking healthier when he's out from under his parents' (COUGH gustavCOUGH) thumb (but let's be real, Henriette can be EXTREMELY stressful too... opposite end of the spectrum about it).

Another example of Telling A Story though. Sometimes I trans characters just for funsies and it has no real bearing on anything. OTHER times... my trans headcanons are integral to specific lore beats in my elaborate inner world. ENTER. BRUNO

These are actually from a bit ago I was gonna hold off on posting til I felt I had everything together, BUT. BUT. It's extremely relevant!

In the beginning, I often asked myself, "Why doesn't ANY of the Askr trio recognize Bruno as Zacharias?" MY ANSWER. Is that he looked quite different!!!! In tandem with my silly hcs for him, I feel that Bruno is someone who must care a lot about his appearance. About Looking masculine. I think he's been out as a man by the time he joins the Order, but is early on in his transition (by whatever means that manifests in w ✨ Magic ✨ and shit!!). I think he passes, but definitely Looked Different. Give him More Muscle and a haircut and an even more noticeable voice drop and top surgery he dramatically shows off at every opportunity and a mask that conceals his big beautiful brown eyes with fluttery soft eyelashes and like. Who Is That Mysterious Man...... in that Damnable Mask.........

Okay. Let's back up a minute. What do you mean Lif got mysteriously taller. What does that even mean. I can grant him gaining more weight/muscle, but, Taller???? At his grown up age....?? Well.

Hel's memory of the mortals she claims isn't so good, apparently.... (Eir obviously can't tell anything by the nearly all rotted away bones, but the scraggly long hair is giving her pause...) (also is it the King Hel is thinking of in the first place....? Eir isn't going to ask.)

At this point, I definitely could feel myself getting distracted and decided to just art dump a handful of charas I have strong visions for.

Here, you also see The Secret Third Option of body type design philosophy -- which is. If the design itself isn't giving me a lot to work with. I just do my own thang LMFAOOO 😅 I think Anna def fell into that category for me... where a lot of the story/lore I added for her was purely hc territory, and I went from there. She's broad, tall, muscular, top heavy, but still kinda thin and knobby. Aerodynamic, perhaps....

Sometimes, characters are a combination of these things though... like Mirabilis definitely being a combo of qualities, having personal touches, storytelling elements to her, and doing my own thing for funsies! More about the fairies overall -- I think they all ended up having their basic needs met and were even granted dreams/desires for themselves after becoming Alfar (like becoming exactly as you see yourself, or how you wish to be... which unfortunately only goes so far, can't fully undo the damage done to Mira, but. It's free transition for Triandra, is what I'm getting at LMFAOOO). Which is why each of them did fill out more to varying degrees (again, Mira suffering the most long-term effects from her mortal life, and Triandra, already having an idea/concept of herself at the age she drank the nectar, being able to transition). I have specific human design concepts for them too, that look A Bit different than their fairy designs.... but. I'm still working on that 🧍

Eir is def a storytelling one. When it comes to Alfonse's scrawniness, he was just stressed out so bad it took a physical toll. I don't think there was ever any food restriction (or, if there was, it was a rare occasion/used as a punishment). For Eir, I think something like that would make sense for her though.... lack of access, and frequent meticulously purposeful elaborate abuse from Hel. Eir still looks like you could break her in half, but she does look a lot healthier since her stay in Askr. Another note, though I ran out of space... maybe Ymir looks more like Eir than Hel does. I wonder why that could be....

AND. BACK TO THE START. Extrapolating on canon design elements! If you're going to present me a female chara with big honking bazongas, I'm going to make her fat. Or at very least, Carry Some Weight, like Plumeria does (in that full figured curvy way!). And ESP. ESPPPPPP FOR SEIDR AND GULLVEIG. Where Gullveig has Various Lines about "Oh... I don't know how well these old clothes fit me anymore..." (paraphrasing/off memory I feel like she says something like this Multiple Times). Like. Okay. Well I took that personally. I also just like the idea of her changing over time... always having a chubbier build, but it just keeps going as she keeps growing and changing.

In putting this into words, I'm finding a common thread seems to be weight gain as a sign that someone is being taken care of... for Gullveig, I think it's just a purely neutral change over the course of her life. In Lif's case....... some sort of mix up occurred. I can see Alfonse taking more after Gustav naturally, too, as he gets older though!

One final thought is just, is there a fun little detail I can include? Like giving Seidr and the Seidrs a snake-like face? Doubling as something so cutes and something Intimidating? IT WILL BE DONE. Also Need to get to coloring an illust of Gullveig one day..... the golden stretch marks are soooo cool in my mind's eye...... also just. One Million Piercings. Also as characterization/storytelling. A lack thereof is storytelling, as well.... to me..... ALSO!!!!! SHAPE LANGUAGE!!!!!! I'M SUCH A SHAPE LANGUAGE BITCH!!!!!!!!!

I HOPE. THIS ANSWER FINDS YOU WELL 🫡

[n--n]

So can you elaborate on the lyrics of Poison being uninspired? I think a big problem with them is that there’s supposed to be a dramatic switch up in tone at the end, but it’s not actually big because the song has no dark subtext, the darkness is pure text. You can’t have a character say “My stories gonna end with me dead from your poison” then expect us to be shocked when the song gets sad in the end.

Addict was something people could have actually comfortably danced to in the club, which makes it hit when the concept is flipped to the dark side of itself, and it fits thematically, because it’s him coming down from his high, and he’s taking in what’s become of his life. Angel wasn’t happy before the ending of Poison so why is the song suddenly sad now like anything has changed?

But to me the lyrics seem unique enough. Like I can’t say any of them are cliches or platitudes. Though it kind of annoys me that the second verse like a regular pop song, but a real pop song has eight lines in verse one, this one has six and the Yeah yeah yeahs don’t count, so the second verse has an odd number of lines and just feels incomplete. That could be an example of it being uninspired.

Thank you for this ask it gives me an excuse to surgically open this song and really understand why it bothers me so much. Also it's 12 and I haven't rewatched it in a while so I might come back tomorrow and rewrite this so take it w a grain of salt sorry abt that.

In a nutshell- it's uninspired to me bc its such a nothingburger of a song. Like what do we get from it that we don't already know about Angel- either from the show itself, side content like the Addict video, or even from posts about him? Nothing. And lyrics aside, although the beat is good it's just a generic pop tune like Addict was a generic Kesha tune ya'know? Nothing about the melody particularly stood out to me as unique on its own or helping the storytelling. Even the fact that it's so upbeat in spite of the lyrics and visuals works against it when it gets towards the end and fails at trying to surprise you that it's sad.

"...so the second verse has an odd number of lines and just feels incomplete"

^^See thank you for articulating this bc I don't actually know much about how to articulate my thoughts on music, but this does help me make sense of why the actual tune just didn't grab me/felt off.

Also, going w/ the comparison to All You Wanna Do again- it's uninspired in that it also tries to do the thing where it makes a character use sexual innuendo to cope/describe the sa but falls so flat. Like,

"So far beyond difficult to resist another gulp

Yeah, I know it's poison You're feedin' me poison I'm chokin' from the taste and I can't help but swallow Up your poison I made my choice and Every night I'm wasted like there's no tomorrow"

Angel Dust does his dance as he sings this-and the images of him in his fetish gear/parts of the assault appear on screen, and he even poses in the positions it's implied he's being assaulted in. Like, was ALL of that necessary when the lyrics are already telling us directly what's happening to him??? Katherine made sex jokes abt her sa too, but we get to see her as her own character outside of the assaults and we learn so much about her pov, how it affected her entire life, etc. I feel like I wouldn't find it even that egregious if we had gotten to have scenes where the audience gets to see Angel be himself outside of the performative mask he wears+his suffering, but he was only used for cheap sex jokes when interacting w the others at the hotel. And now in his song, he redundantly sings abt his situation which we have already been shown:

"I got so good at bein' untrue I got so good at tellin' you what you wanna hear I disassociate, disappear Yeah, yeah, yeah"

We saw his conflict w Husk over how fake he is, saw him placate Val over the phone, and I can't recall if we saw him disassociate but regardless. The point is we know all this, it didn't need to be a song let alone a whole music video. If we left the scene after Val abused Angel in the backroom and made Charlie leave it would have been waaayyyyy more weighty and foreboding than this song/MV.

ALSO:

"You can’t have a character say “My stories gonna end with me dead from your poison” then expect us to be shocked when the song gets sad in the end." + "...and it fits thematically, because it’s him coming down from his high, and he’s taking in what’s become of his life."

^^^^THIS!! They really tried leaning into the tragedy of his situation but really just ended up making him a tool for whump instead. Addict was put together wayyy better musically, thematically and visually- it actually felt impactful when we're left with Angel Dust crying on the bed w his pet comforting him, whereas Poison leaving him on the ground left me feeling nothing but annoyance.

[epiphainie]

Okay so I also love black sails with all my heart and I love your pfp - what are your post-canon thoughts? What do you think happened to Flint?

Secondly, for fun, if you had a ship what would you name her?

ah sorry i put this one off for so long bc my feelings about the ending is literally an essay on its own. i'll copy paste under read more what i said to a moot a couple weeks ago. that's the most recent example of me trying to articulate my thoughts lol and it's long lol.

and for the ship question uhm... epiphany? lol i love that word and obv my username is based on it, i think it'd be such a pretty name for a ship 🫶🫶

i see the ending as silver telling the truth about what hes done but it not being as happy as he paints it and that at the end it's a greater tragedy than if he killed flint. i was just so struck by how everything ended abruptly for flint and silver spins this story about how he unmade him and gave him what james mcgraw wanted but thats bs bc 1) silver was the only person who knew both flint and james 2) flint at this point in the story wasnt a persona for his rage, he had an ideology, a real war and all of that gets aborted immediately, that's why he had no answer to if he'd exchange it all for thomas 3) he's sent to a prison the "monsters" are sent to, his best friend literally made him the monster the british tried to do, usurped him as both the pirate king but also the protagonist of the story and took him out of the narrative, left him without any agency, all of which mirror his exile from britain. and with the treasure island context we know flint dies in savannah so it's miserable to me. i also think he and thomas (will) parallel madi and silver in that it will never be enough. like flint says in their last conversation with silver, they (the two of them but also the ideals of their war) will have been for nothing, and it will grow stale because they were bigger than this conformist life. this also parallels something the old man said to jack about how they will want to come back to the sea. and it's sad for silver and madi because they will always be yards away (like their reunion is distanced at the end; also the showrunners said this and they also said the biggest thing on silver will be the prophecy of flint's words about this not being enough). silver will always be haunted by flint's ghost, he will keep coming back to that island for flint's treasure, and he will be a pirate captain shackled to the sea when he never wanted that. silver only knows love in the context of madi and flint so he shackled himself to this future (conformist, scared of flint's darkness which is obv everything the civilization stands against at that time like being queer etc; also paralleling all of eleanor's choices in the show but thats another topic lol) bc he was scared of losing madi/them, the only love he knows. so at the end he cast all three of them in these lives with their ideals unfulfilled and he needs to lie to himself to reason with those choices, such as pretending he never actually knew flint so he can pretend he never actually cared about flint, so he can pretend he doesnt feel guilt (he's the "guilt is only natural: but it also goes away" guy) over what he's done. he has to distance himself from the emotional consequences of his situation to survive like he pretends his obviously harrowing past is inconsequential to him when his refusal to acknowledge his past is precisely what gives his past that type of power over him. like the moment silver takes flint out of the story and literally we never hear his voice again. he kicks him into a passive, voiceless role right at the end, taking over his narrative, making up his ending in the only way he and flint can because theyre the two masters of storytelling in this show... anyway it makes me insane