#no. i am so particular about appearances. i would limit other people's creativity and i won't stand for that

[moldwood]

there is a little demon whispering in my head "how hard could it be to make a full walkable barovia? how long could that possible take, working on it on the side of gestalt?"

[rainy-astrology]

ATEEZ San Birth Chart Analysis

Based on my opinion and observations. Not a professional astrologer. May change later.

July 10th, 1999

Jinju, South Korea

10:08 AM

☀️♋️, 🌙♊️, ⬆️♍️

Sun in 11th shows a drive and ambition towards his future dreams and goals. San has always wanted to be a singer since he was young and has worked very hard to achieve his dream. He has improved his performance and vocal skills immensely over the years, often being the most eye catching member for many people who aren't ATINYs.

Mercury Leo in 11th shows a preference for like minded people. San seems to really enjoy the company of others - seems considerate of others feelings and cares to be on good terms with people. He has a natural charm and sweetness about him.

Moon in 9th also adds onto his ambitiousness - he truly seems to want to make a great influence on the world and be successful. Especially as a Virgo rising...I've never seen a lazy Virgo placement, they always work so hard for they want. He's very strongly opinionated, all of his beliefs come from the heart.

Saturn is also in 9th, which solidifies his strong beliefs/opnions. Saturn here puts a heavy focus on building future career and life. He makes sure to implement a sense of strictness and discipline into his routine.

Saturn trine ASC can make him appear serious and quiet. Physically, it can give people sharp features (Saturn and prominent bone structure), which San definitely has: sharp cheekbones and jaw, nose and eyes, prominent brow bones. Angular brow shapes suit him the best too (at least imo - it looks more cohesive with the rest of his features compared to straight brows). This is also likely why many people may find him intimidating at first or think he's older than his real age.

Mars Scorpio in 2nd is such a possessive and protective placement. It also creates an incredibly hardworking individual who always goes for whatever they want with no limit. San may be especially inclined to working hard towards his finances and can be particular about things he owns (iirc he has a black card but also won't bother to buy new things sometimes).

Jupiter in 8th...this could be about being good with finances, it is a priority for him (could obtain wealth from someone else maybe). This could also be about transformation of himself as 8th house is "death" and Jupiter is expansion. San seems to focus a lot on being authentic and true to himself, so it would not be too surprising if it is about him constantly trying to improve his character for the better. Maybe he has gone through a lot of life changing experiences or will be/is going through them.

Venus Leo in 12th is interesting, especially since Venus squares Moon and Pluto too. He's certainly loyal and devoted to those he loves (Leo's loyalty + Pluto's possessiveness). In 12th though, perhaps San is shy at first? Or at least very selective. It seems once he trusts/loves a person though, he really clings onto them (just look at the way he's glued to the other members and how he always says Yeosang is his. Venus square pluto behavior). Moon square Venus can add onto his attached and affectionate nature (though, many Leo venuses are just affectionate in general)

Uranus and Neptune in 5th makes for a creative and expressive individual. San clearly loves the arts and always expresses his passion in every performance. He may be a bit strange and unconventional, but I think that's just an artist thing in general

Pluto in 3rd explains his thoughtfulness so much! San is a little silly at times, but he seems to have a very deep side to him due to this placement. You can especially see it in the way he talks/writes in his letters to the members and fans - he writes in a way that pulls at heart strings (even I've gotten emotional at one of his letters and I'm not the type to get soft hearted so easily) and makes people reflect. It also explains his strong beliefs and opinions - he's such an advocate for authenticity. Pluto in 3rd folks have a very specific way of talking and thinking that makes them stand out.

Chiron in 3rd may make him feel insecure about the way he talks and thinks though - maybe San is going or has gone through a period of feeling misunderstood by others. A lot of Chiron in 3rd ppl do. Although he does like spending time with others, I think he may accidentally drive people away by oversharing and/or talking too much...He seems a bit intense and clingy, which may be overwhelming for others. Communication and self esteem is a struggle for many with this placement.

Being a Virgo rising, he may appear quiet and serious, observant and disciplined. Hard working with high standards. Pluto and Saturn aspect his ASC so it adds onto the natural stern energy he has.

North Node Leo in 11th is focused on building community, contributing to groups, and celebrating the individualities of others. I think he is doing a pretty good job at this as he's very encouraging and kind to others and is always advocating for people to simply be themselves.

Gemini MC can appear sociable, curious, and optimistic. San is a pretty positive person, I don't think I've seen him be negative to himself or others much...He always seem to be active on socials as he talks to ATINYs a lot. ATEEZ considered him one of the more talkative members in the group too.

___

Other Analysis:

MBTI | Enneagram

___

Masterlist

___

[coldgoldlazarus]

Oh! Sorta responding to the "responding to sexualizing woman. Don't." post. What are your thoughts on Smash Ultimate altering Zero Suit Samus' design? Personally not a fan of it compared to Smash 4. I liked her bigger boobs. 😔

I don't really pay that much attention to Smash, honestly, (fighting games just aren't my thing as is, and I'm not attached to 95% of Nintendo's stuff the same way I am with Metroid (even if I am curious about Zelda and Splatoon)) so I don't really care that much one way or another. But I guess my take is, on one hand I respect the attempt to dial back on Samus's sexualization². On the other hand, as the full un-blackouted version of that post said, focusing on boob size to do so instead of other elements of design, both doesn't really address the actual problems, and kinda carries some dubious implications¹.

But on the other other hand, I remember the ridiculous blowback and controversy from Those Kinds Of Gamers™ being just, embarassing to watch, and I wish Samus hadn't been stuck at the center of that, but I kinda support the move on that front, catering to the assholes that much less, even and especially when they made a huge overblown fuss about it.

So it kinda balances out to a net result of "ehh whatever" either way.

---

¹The interplay of boobs and sexualization is of course it's own complicated topic, honestly. In an ideal (but hopefully attainable) world, the nipple would be free and breast size would be culturally sexually neutral - as with really any aspect of appearance. Particular people might have particular preferences, but it would be a purely personal thing without an established cultural yardstick to literally measure oneself up against. Unfortunately, we don't currently live in an ideal world, and that yardstick does exist (which is why all the Gamer Bros were so Big Mad over the Smash Samus breast reduction in the first place) and has to be contended with, so it's kind of a catch-22.

I do think breast size shouldn't be tied to sexualization, and unfortunately reducing one in the name of reducing the other, does just kinda serve to reinforce the base assumption of their tie being inherent. At the same time, while a real-life person having giant G-cups might have my sympathy for the back pain involved and little more thought than that, a character designed that same way would definitely have me questioning the creative intent behind that. So I do think there is kind of at least an upper limit to boob size in character design, past which it's hard not to assume sexualization is at play; even if I personally try to set that upper limit a bit higher than some people, and put more stock in other contextual aspects of the character design and source media before jumping to conclusions.

---

There's also a larger discussion to be had around like, what sexualization even is, types of sexualization and appeal, whether or not it's even a bad thing and when and why it is or isn't, and the cultural yardstick stuff surrounding that, but I don't quite have the brainpower or desire to get into all that right now. The distinction between why 2B from Nier Automata being sexualized can be criticized but is also mostly fine, whereas the gal from Stellar Blade being sexualized in a similar way is more dubious; and how the culture they both exist in impacts things, compared to if they existed in a vaccuum or a completely different zeitgeist. I guess a summary of my feeling there is that once again it really just depends from case to case; and the context of creative intent, execution, impact, and just how much narrative sense it makes, are key.

---

²Which brings me back to Samus. I'm running out of steam so I'm just gonna do a quick lightning round.

- Do I have a problem with the broad idea of her being sexualized? Not necessarily. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for her role as a bounty hunter, but it can serve well as part of her personal characterization, and metanarratively as part of the subversion of gender roles and stuff that she can be read as. (Though that in of itself gets into some thorny bigger topics around gender I also don't have the energy for rn.)

- Do I take issue with the specific way most of her canonical appearances do it? Yes, and I've talked at length in other posts about how I think they should do things instead.

- Does her presentation in Smash matter nearly as much as her presentation in the actual Metroid games? Ehh, mostly not, but it would be nice if she was represented better there.

- Do I think her breast size matters all that much? Generally not, barring of course the aformentioned upper limit of reasonability; the problem is more in other aspects of the design. Again, I didn't have a problem with the original boob size or the reduction, so much as Zero Suit Samus's overall design in the first place.

- How should they actually fix those in Smash, then? IMO there are two different approaches there. The simpler way would be to redesign Zero Suit Samus from the ground up to be less of a latex-clad barbie doll. Dread's buffer ZSS model is a pretty good show of how to accomplish that without drastically altering the design; though I also think the Zero Suit itself is in need of a moderate rework, to feel more like the astronaut's undersuit and conduit with the Powersuit that it's excused as in the lore.

The other option would be to address the whole weird thing of Zero Suit Samus for some reason being counted as a completely separate playable character from (Powersuit) Samus, and coalesce them together back into one thing. (Possibly with the option to switch modes at will, or being forced into Zero Suit mode on her last life, or something like that.) This would definitely more significantly impact her place in Smash and would probably cause an uproar that would make the boob controversy look like nothing, but it would be worth it for the greater character accuracy IMO. Honestly of the two options... Well, I'd just prefer they do both, but I think if I had to pick, I'd want the full redesign more.

[veradragonjedi]

ok since i know you as the excellent writer mutual, i wondered if you had any advice for creating ocs? one of my other moots asked if i had any ocs and now i REALLY want to create one. but it looks hard af. so turning to a venerable author for guidance

OHHHHH GOD. First of all, I gotta thank you for the description (😭 seriously), I'm trying my best out here.

SECOND. I think I might be able to help, depending on what sort of OC you're trying to make, whether they're real world, fandom related, alien, D&D/Medieval Fantasy etc. Like. WOAH. There's a lot of freedom in making OCs!!!

Long-ish post below the cut!

Instead of actually wracking my brains rn, because evening is drawing in and I'm tired, I am gonna tell you a few things that no one told me! Plus some extra fun knowledge (and maybe tag you in OC dialogue prompts/creation advice in future if you want some help!!)

SO. 1. You can start whenever, wherever, and no one is allowed to tell you otherwise. I'm not sure how else to say this, but it's a game of creativity and a bit of love. To tell someone else what they're allowed and what they aren't allowed to put in their OCs is WRONG. Give them magic powers if that's the only thing you can think of at first, because it's a start and a start is always beautiful.

2. Art is art!! Even if it stays in your brain and never comes out. By this I mean, appearances: what do they look like? Is it what You want to look like? Is it nonhuman? Experiment with races, hairstyles, eyeshapes etc, especially if you're gonna end up drawing them!! More practise, and it's fun, because it's something/someone that You are Interested in. Hopefully I'm making sense here!

3. Names. Oh god, baby name websites won't help you. But fantasy generator names can! They are often much better and more exciting. Back to separate cultures ^ — looking for famous people of the culture/race of your OC can sometimes be of assistance, or sometimes unofficial Census sites. Names can also be objects, plants, celestial bodies, Gods, colours, metals/elements, etc. Maybe, with a few letters missing. Chair -> Chaise, Tablet -> Tebley (two I came up with a while ago and didn't really go into)

4. Clothes! I love researching clothes because they're always interesting to analyse, especially if they come from somewhere else around the world. Experiment with colours, what works/doesn't work with your character? Is your character neat, tidy? Show that through their clothes! Primmed and pressed suits and whatnot. Same goes for the opposite. If your character's main trait is that they're agreeable and friendly, show that through their clothes even slightly by making the colours blend, maybe make their favourite colour limited on the outfit as if they're moving it to make way for others. Think about shape, silhouette, etc. Do the clothes fit your character's particular body type? Their habitat? Their scene/time? :)

5. Personality!! This is always great. For a few of my OCs, I rolled them D&D stats with a twenty-sided dice. The five I ALWAYS take into account are: joy — what brings them it, romantic interest — or sometimes lack thereof, sadness — do they often fall into it? Are they easily emotional? Etc, fear — what are they afraid of and why? Etc, and lastly, charisma/charm — how easily are people to follow them, want to be friends with them, fall in love with them, want to listen to them speak?

(5.5) Flaws! Everyone's got em, aside from Mary Sue (who could be Your character. I'm not judging.) There are plenty of posts talking about character flaws. Here's one I saw earlier. It explains it better than I could, and OP leaves another link! Think about how much it grates against their defining 'Good' quality, think about whether you would see them as a good or bad person, and whether their flaws change how other people perceive them.

6. Hobbies aren't an important factor exactly, but it's always nice to plan your Little Guy some downtime. What do they do when it's quiet or when they're lonely? Do they have many friends, or do they keep to themselves? What's their favourite book? Their favourite video game? Their favourite film? And how is that shown through their appearance too? (Such as merchandise, tattoos, piercings.)

7. Things I didn't mention consist of:

— do they have any disabilities (mental or physical)? Were they caused by something (accident to be mysterious about)? Or were they born with them?

— do you expect people to relate to them, like them, hate them, fall in love with them, etc? Both real people who may come across your character, and other people in this characters setting?

— hero or villain material? This isn't a fine line, but it doesn't have to be a blurred line. Redemption arc/story? Tragic hero falling to..? Revenge? Lust? Hunger for power?

— how they fit into the scenery or area around them, where they live and how they interact with people who surround them.

But, finally, do what you want. OCs can be tricky, but as soon as you learn that it is — in the end — You who control both them and You, it becomes a whole lot easier.

Blogs I recommend are @develop-your-oc and @creativepromptsforwriting — they both help a lot. <33

My final tip? Enjoy. And, if you don't, stop! Do what you want, forever. :)

[jonathankatwhatever]

I wonder if this reads like genius or madness. It’s 12 Oct 2023. I’m very worried because we don’t have a draft P&S from the buyer yet and I need the auction postponed or I declare bankruptcy next week. I can’t keep this out of my head. I’m worried about you, worried that just as I see an End to this phase of the work, that you are lost to me, either because you never were mine from the start or because it was within your Attachment potential, meaning you could choose your own Pathway at this End, at this branching, and you selected the finite, meaning you chose self-termination. That’s what the delusions say: it’s you selecting this as what you want as your forever, this finite forever in which your growth is restricted by your form, by your literal form, and the self that you are now is the self you will remain.

I’m not sure what that means. Though it sounds ominous, what if that creates the heaven you want? You continue to find ways to draw attention to yourself, but there are limits and eventually people will be surprised you’re alive, and in many iterations music finally changes so you’re constrained to that sheaf. See, using sheaves to analyze here. Think of them as grid squares sheets pegged together. I don’t know how it works yet, and am hoping it comes to me as I go through this. What joins this particular sheaf is that it is defined as a specific Is, meaning this sheaf contains all the iterations, connected in Triangular over a 1-0Segment, but otherwise constructed as sets or as threads relating the Observer 3rd End to the 1-0Segment. So you can think of this Triangular, then flip it sideways to see that it’s actually all the iterations in separate grid squares sheets, and those all End in orderings on the 1-0Segment. See? It’s like a fan, like the wedges of your look yesterday. You then flip it back sideways and you can imagine the peg connecting them all.

Next part is this maps all those iterations to this End. Then we see Not: the Not of this Is has the fundamental CM100 effects, which are that we map this Is forward to fit the enclosing Not, as we map that enclosing Not an enlarged version of this Is. Sideways inference and forward and back inference. So, take an iteration from here to there, and as you run along the route, you intersect other routes that would use this particular route more efficiently, meaning you’re sort of in the way in the mappings of those other routes with their other Ends. That doesn’t mean those other Ends actually exist, but that there is a mapping to inferred other Ends with each step taken. That’s essential gs process, that theer is a comparison at each level and levels are defined by the extent of process, meaning steps taken.

Example: two teams on a season long battle for supremacy, and losses are extra steps, which carries into the playoffs if those exist in home field advantage, etc. There’s a requirement they engage in the game. The idea of the competition is that if it puts on a good game then people will care. This is true whether the game is good for people or bad: the rules of attention are clear. The urge to draw attention to yourself, to be inferred center of attraction, meaning you’re between people, meaning you Inject into people and the weight of that into you, the gathering of them into you, gives you that gravitational attraction you appear to crave. I’m not discounting that this could be an act which you’ve learned to enjoy as part of your quest to master yourself. That requires levels of acceptance which can only be reached down those positive pathways.

That raises an interesting question: is this then the same issue on your side as on mine? That is, the process I follow goes from negative version of you to positive to math and other creative thought OR from positive version of you to math and creative thought. That suggests the same is true for you. And that instantly generated something: Tinkerbell is the I//I in Peter Pan, the remnant of the undevelopable girl side attached to the boy who can’t grow up because he’s chosen to relive that existence, even when the Lost Boys are recovered and he has no one to play with. I’ve never thought about that before.

That makes the kind of twist I expect in great art and thus from you: making up a new Ending as a selecting the finite, as selecting a construction. That’s what you offer them: this construction, that construction.

So, is it possible I’ve been hand-feeding a monster? Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean monster is bad. It could mean monster good. The idea is then that a loop for me which is clearly positive to me generates results which loop around and advance. The negative forms loops which yield no math and which make me miserable and which push toward destructive thoughts. So, if that is true, would you choose an End here in this place? No matter how happy a group can be at a show, why would anyone want to spend Eternity attached to this place, to be constrained to this violent, deteriorating existence? That’s the stupid prize.

————————

I’m being eaten by anxiety. I don’t want to elaborate. It is a lot to bear. Am I defeated on the brink of victory? Can’t score. Can’t complete any of these deals. Maybe that’s the point: I’m at the 0 of my life. And this is my End.

That could be the choice forced on me: if the house won’t sell, bankruptcy gives me a few months, but then I need to die to generate the cash for my family. I hope that isn’t the path, but if it is, then it is and I will need to accept it as it occurs, down to the actual act itself. That’s depressing, but that is my reality. I’m trying to see it as it is.

As it is, you are embarking on another relationship of unknown duration. Making a huge show of it too. I’ve heard countless times in my head ‘you’ll be together soon, you know you will, it’s true, this is true, your identification is correct, you are entangled, this is part of the plan’, and they look more and more, outside of the math, like rationalizations, meaning literally stops along the way, nodes or Ends, actual rationals, meaning turns of the Wheel so counts join in a ratio which treats them each as integers. And then it flashes in front of me that the math is coming together to prove that maybe these are the wrong ends of those attachments, that I’m seeing the evidence my way instead of the correct way because my way generates the good math results, and now I’m back in the same spot: how can the math generate from positive results that are false? A trail of true based on something that is actually false at every step, so there’s a trail of false and I’ve traced the outside of that?

That approach has promise because if I’m tracing the outside of an enclosed, finite you, then the outer surface could project true. I don’t know what those words mean. We went through the glittering surface stuff, and how to penetrate by seeing what generates that surface. You have maintained two consistent images, and you know that’s the method you use, going back to those diagrams of All Context flowing, that’s actually the level you’re experiencing now. Look, if you can talk to me with this clarity, then why not tell me what I don’t know? Because you haven’t unlocked those doors. What you hear is from an xyR you entered. Like there are speakers in the wall telling you what the room is and was. Or labels on the objects. You can’t get through this wall. It’s the I//I wall. It’s impenetrable.

It’s the same wall which we see in the hairy ball or pigeonhole. As in, we can’t eliminate the other perspective, just as we can easily model in topology, and when we have too many pigeons, the count bounces back from the constraint constructed and expressed in the limit of boxes constructed then. You can make more, but you need to make them and that means they’re not there until you make them.

This is why I never liked the Hilbert hotel idea. The problem I think is that we manipulate infinite quantities, meaning the room and guest count is infinite, with versions of new arrivals coming, from 1 at a time up, and this is another version of the last approach, which was that excess gs process has a cost and you can’t move guests in one night or in any counting of nights because that construction imposes a count limit of process that can be accomplished within that grid square frame. I’m not arguing with the math beyond that but that the metaphor leaves out the processing. That processing is why we have all those layers of counting, like you see developed in the HH idea, because that forms the Boundaries which enable Things to be counted. That is, counting infinities is confined to spaces. This work defines how that happens and why.

This is finally why I’ve thought about that problem. It’s obvious the math works, but it’s dealing with infinities, which need to be constrained to be counted, and I’m not comfortable talking about a hotel without recognizing that is a metaphoric construction, meaning it is finite, and adding more rooms to it makes whatever instance you have of it finite in the context in which this is a hotel. Like people go in and never come out makes it a metaphor for death, and you can rearrange anything you want after death but you have to die to get there and then you’re actually dead not looking at it from the other side of that I//I line of Irreducibility.

Again, fundamental level math came out of what? A path coming from the positive image of you generated over repeated testing in which my true readings are generally everyone else’s false readings. One approach: view this as an Alternation and the Alternating Other has a choice of picking the finite or the infinite, of ending this game by taking a separate path into the localized infinite, meaning into the finite, thus saying ‘this existence is what I want’.

The next line would be I only have Eternity to offer. But do I? At some point, this construct will fade, so I will die here and in every sense, but isn’t that then like dogs going to heaven and humans aren’t dogs because they have the capacity for awareness.

I just learned: they’re waiting for approval to postpone the sale and I thought these P&S’s were negotiated but they’re generally just presented and signed with minimal notes so they don’t submit a draft that would bind them if accepted. Sale of land is special. In larger deals, a P&S is negotiated over time, and would not be taken in draft form to represent a meeting of the minds, which signed becomes enforceable.

It’s incredibly easy to miss obvious things when distracted by anxiety. People would live much better lives if they had less anxiety. That’s the fundamental argument for national healthcare: anxiety over your health and your ability to pay for your care or the care of others, like children or parents, must have substantial displacement effects. That’s math, not politics. You simply can’t create that much uncertainty without Pathways generating to carry that energy.

Of course it might mean American football would be less appealing, and that would hurt your boyfriend now that you’ve become popular enough to attract a real man. Was that always it? You saw yourself as the nerdy girl and you’ve been looking for acceptance ever since and this is yet another example, that you need to be loved so much that you need to show you are finally worthy as a female to be adored, to be an ornament on the arm of the big football hero. That would about as finite as it gets. Like an Updike story. I can see you now, him with his dyed hair, hiding the way his body has aged, and you with your tits fluffed up and your eyes fixed with whatever replaces Botox. You could be that Barbie.

That was mean. Except it wasn’t because I heard that as me talking to you, not as me yelling at you. It had an edge, but the perspective it came from, which that edge represents as the Boundary, was that it was something we share, the way we share jokes that appear out of nowhere, and that edge is needed because that tells you the Boundaries. I’m thinking the way bonded cats will play fight and that only sweetness constrains the relationship to less than what it should be.

Did I get math here? Was the Hilbert hotel stuff good? It’s been gnawing at me for decades. I knew the answer was gs process layers, but I couldn’t figure out the question whose answer was gs process. That question is embodied in the construction of the metaphor itself, which is then a metaphor for the construction of constraints in counting. I think that’s pretty darned axiomatic, that any representational system embodies constraints through its representations. The second part of that is this is the system which generates any representational system. And here’s the proof.

That’s the best I’ve managed yet to stating the work. We have a system which defines representations that we can grasp out of what we cannot grasp. I’m trying to link to Is and Not. I just heard a simple paragraph at fast speed which said we construct identity using layers of Is and Not, but to do that you need to understand what those are and how they construct. That became an outline of the idea of gs construction coming out of D-structure. This generates the appropriate D-counts.

I think about here is where Irreducibles enter. We can now say there are the 2 forms, the same level form, meaning Irreducibles within a space, which means everything from exclusion principles to I//I within a D4-3 Space, which connects to Is and Not again because when you are something you can’t be something else, and the linked level form. This directly maps the idea to CM100. So you can then see that a D3-4 existence has a pair and that pair then has an Irreducible, which is the other pair in the grid square. Note how well that fits with Recombinance. I went through this before and I’m obviously not happy with it. Keep going then.

Say me and mirror. Where are you? Other pair is Not me and mirror, so you can be specified in that or not. That process involves shifting you into the mirror of me and me into the mirror of you. That is the Is and Not counting over 2 Things, which is something I’ve dreamed of as possible. This is almost directly, no it is directly out of a vision of the Mission Storyline when I’m working with the gs group. Makes sense that I’d be working with the gs group, given what that implies.

This means we were actually doing the work that I’ve been doing the last 60+ years. That’s just too weird. My dream actually came true, but it wasn’t a dream about a place or event but in the sense that the information contained in the visions, which were extremely involving and totally lifelike in detail, and thus way more than I could ever relate, actually did its job, which was then to see if the actual construction followed the rules we had inferred from our vantage or Observer place. That is, at the time we talked over how we couldn’t see into the operations of these places but we could see how they fit to patterns, and we needed to know whether those patterns generated what we see or if they reflect some other process because if they are created by the same methods, then it is capable to reach them. Or perhaps to reach some existence which is not so deeply infected with negatives.

Can we say what the negatives are? I only have a few minutes before I need to shower. I’d love to say I grasp a word for this. I discarded negative potential because I mean negative pathways, like the difference between sustainable agriculture and agriculture which requires constant replacement of soil character, which requires climate alteration (good or bad, like drip versus flooding irrigation). It’s not that this transforms finite into infinite, but the metaphor of cooperative advancement into infinite process is clear. So the negative is what?

I don’t know. Well, in one idea, it’s hyperbolic, meaning it imposes from outside the Boundary because within the Boundary, the outcomes are better for cooperation. Hate imposes in the HC model because the center of goodness, of infinite cooperation and thus of infinite potential like in a Hilbert Hotel where you can manipulate infinities, projects over the Boundary to pair with either the good or the bad controlling image or enclosure. Why hyperbolic? Am I using the word technically or generically?

Oh I remember: if you imagine the pairing, then you have 2 Objects, each with a Boundary, and as they approach, the surfaces make a hyperbola until they touch. So move them apart or push them together. It’s Between 2 T, and that is why.

I need to contemplate that image a bit.

[writer-monster]

11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

-

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

-

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

-

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

-

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

-

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

-

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

-

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

-

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

-

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

-

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

-

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

-

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

-

finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

[flickeringart]

Minor aspects

While the nature of the major aspects in astrology is quite straightforward and has been covered more than sufficiently, there’s still a lot of fog surrounding the nature of the minor ones. There are a lot of minor aspects that can be taken into consideration when interpreting a chart… however, since they are labeled minor they won’t be as obvious and much more difficult to spot in one’s own life. Note that this doesn't mean that they aren't impactful. There’s a lot of speculation and vague terms used when describing them. It seems that every minor aspect is said to have a “spiritual/creative dimension” as if that is supposed to clear up any of the mystery surrounding them. Perhaps, on one level, we don’t want to pin them down too much because certainty is the enemy of exploration. Or perhaps it’s the case that the aspects themselves don’t want to be pinned down? There’s an appeal in keeping certain things mysterious in our lives, to avoid defining and putting rigid labels on phenomena. It makes life alive and beautiful. Many people dismiss astrology is because they are afraid that they’re going to be reduced to a set of characteristics and have their personality mapped up to the point of being able to predict and foresee patterns of behavior and fated themes. The fear of knowledge is not irrational; it is probably healthy to an extent. Knowing too much can be dangerous and rob life of its magic. “Curiosity killed the cat”, as the saying goes. However, this is not the whole truth because curiosity also leads to expansion and better understanding, so let’s not be afraid to concretize these aspects, it's not the same as "killing" their potential. Life is never completely in our hands anyway, there's no risk of knowing it all.

Quintile (72°)/Bi-quintile (144°)

These aspects are said to have something to do with individual style and quality of creative work. It is suggested that these aspects say something about a mental-creative process of imposing one’s mind on a particular subject. It is also linked to talent and gifts the individual would possess that have not been actively learned. Basically, it seems to be indicative of the particular way a person would approach a subject. For example, the quintile would not describe the activity itself - the activity could be painting, knitting, running, cleaning or whatever – the quintile/bi-quintile would point to the way the person approaches the activity.

For example, Ted Bundy (whose chart I’ve explored a bit here), has Neptune bi-quintile the MC. Neptune, being the planet of illusion hints to Bundy’s quality of being a chameleon, deceiving the public as part of his personal style.

Prince Harry, (whose chart I’ve touched upon before), has his Moon bi-quintile Neptune. The Moon can be indicative of the mother figure, and his mother Princess Diana certainly had an elusive style and charm that was a bit deceptive and seductive. Of course, he would have the same thing going in his own life but it would perhaps be difficult for us to spot. He also has Moon quintile Venus and he definitely has a style/quality of emotional-physical comfort. He has Pluto quintile the AC, which would point to a style of showing up in the world that is powerful and intense. He has a tendency to come off as destructive and chaotic at times. There’s also a quintile aspect forming between Mercury in the 8th house and the MC which would hint to a public image that is colored by the “taboo” things he has said about his family in the recent present, but also in the past. He’s a public image that is aligning with the style of the playful amoral trickster.

As I’m going with charts I’ve already explored, let’s look at the quintiles in Meghan Markle’s chart. Her Venus is quintile Uranus and it perfectly describes her style of “wokeism”, that is, appearing to be objective and intelligent about feelings and affective values. She has a style of being “the loving humanitarian”. Whether she is this way in an actual sense is debatable. The quintile aspect is describing the quality and style not the actuality. But, it is disturbingly close to reality that it somehow becomes reality. It’s like the actor who adopts another energy signature in order to portray a different person. It doesn’t really matter if a person is rotten at the core - if he has a loving way of being, what difference does it make? The style is real enough to not reflect and give the impression of love.

Semi-square (45°) / Sesquiquadrate (135°)

These aspects are said to precipitate events. The nature of these two aspects is more immediate than the square aspect (which causes tension and doubt and needs constant navigation). The conflict represented is usually unconscious and is therefore not easy to identify. However, as these conflicts tend to manifest quite abruptly, we can take a look at the concrete problems the person faces. The planets connected by a semi-square/sesquiquadrate aspect will be in conflict but force some kind of release (that may result in an accident because of it’s autonomous/unconscious function).

I have Saturn sesquiquadrate my Moon. Since I tend to unconsciously block my emotional responses, the pressure builds and I am “forced” to get out of a situation, “forced to listen to my emotions”. I have encountered the theory that the sesquiquadrate in particular is manifesting as something that is looked down upon societally. This would make sense considering the aspect forces a breakout of one of the planets and nothing that is immediate and abrupt is ever favorably looked upon when it comes to social-societal structure and predictability. I have been meaning to take on commitments that would further my status in society in terms of formal education (Saturn in the 9th conjunct the MC) but I have not been able to do it without considerable decline in my emotional well-being. So, I have been “thrown out” by unconscious forces every time I’ve tried.

My sister has her Venus sesquiquadrate Saturn. She’s known for her deliberate and strategic way of dressing. She plans her outfits carefully, there’s nothing haphazard about the way she presents herself. However, she has Lilith conjunct Venus so she can push the limits and simply do what she pleases sometimes as well when the pressure of Saturn becomes too much. But, this often causes external judgment. A relative of mine has her Sun semi-square Venus. I can tell that she’s highly aware of her appearance. She is very pretty but there’s always something that is a bit off between what she wears and her self-expression. It’s like it doesn’t quite fit and it’s irritating.

To get back to the celebrities, Meghan Markle has Neptune sesquiquadrate Mercury. Is it possible that this forces distortion and vagueness in opinion and communication? It would certainly fit the bill. She also has Uranus sesquiquadrate Mars. She simply has to “break out of her confining situations”, cut people out of her life and move on in her own way. Uranus is also sesquiquadrate her MC, which seems to point to her unconscious pull to “do what she wants to do” at the detriment of her public image and reputation. Notably, Uranus sits in her 5th house of personal enjoyment and creation.

Prince Harry has a semi-square between Mars and Pluto. When he is angry it blossoms into rage and he can’t see straight. It has gotten him into quite a lot of trouble and societal-social disapproval. It seems that this is a common theme with the sesquiquadrate and semi-square. He also has his Moon sesquiquadrate Jupiter. Isn’t it the case that he tends to indulge in a way that makes him look bad in society?

Quincunx (150°)

This aspect is typically found between planets incompatible by element and mode. Basically, they have nothing in common and have a hard time cooperating, which will cause minor stress in the individual because of necessity to work around the incompatibilities. The planets are not in direct conflict but they are uncomfortable with each other.

For example, I have my Moon quincunx Mercury. Every time I sit down to write I’m mildly disturbed by little things like an aching back, a headache, restless legs or whatever. It’s not very comfortable for me but I can still keep with it, however it might take a toll on me health wise. The quincunx has been related to health issues because of the mild stress that it causes. It is manageable and one is usually able to cope with the stress, but it’s not very pleasant. Because it is not as demanding as more disturbing conflicts in one’s life, it’s in the background causing irritation.

Meghan Markle’s Venus makes a quincunx aspect to her MC. This suggests that she has a hard time reflecting her value on a public level, it’s as if how she’s perceived publicly disturbs her sense of ease and comfort. She has an Aries MC with a Virgo Venus and she’s continuously depicted as a bully these days, as some kind a selfish and aggressive bitch (the more negative attributes of Aries). This must be undermining her self-worth immensely, however, it’s perhaps too minor of a problem to do anything about. It is still there nonetheless, harping on in the background, breaking her down and causing slow disintegration…

Semi-sextile (30°)

Planets forming semi-sextile aspects are said to be able to aid each other, to have a better connection than if they had no link at all. Usually one planet is in the sign that comes before the sign of the other; in other words, a semi-sextile might be forming between Mars in Aries and Venus in Taurus. The semi-sextile usually connects consecutive sign like this, but planets could be in semi-sextile in the same sign, like Mars in 0° Taurus semi-sextile Venus in 30° Taurus. In any case, the planet placed at an earlier degree or in the earlier sign can draw on qualities of the planet in the later degree or the later sign and vice versa. For example, Prince Harry���s Venus in Libra is semi-sextile his MC. He can draw on his sense of harmony a diplomacy to benefit his public image. His Mars in Sagittarius is also semi-sextile his MC, which makes it so that he can draw from his Martial qualities of energy and action to influence his career and success.

Parallel/Contra-parallel

These are called aspects in declination because they are measured by latitude and not by longitude. This essentially means that two planetary bodies can aspect each other in a certain way measuring the distance between them north-south of the celestial equator. Two planets at the same degree north and south of the equator form a parallel aspect and can be interpreted the same as a conjunction (some say that it's more obscure like a quincunx/semi-square). Two planets opposite each other north and south form a contra-parallel aspect and can be interpreted as an opposition (some say that it's basically the same as the parallel though).

I have found, looking at my own chart that these aspects only confirms already existing aspects measured by longitude or it confirms the sign that a specific angle is in. For example, my MC is in Aries and it is also parallel Mars. Mars is the ruler of Aries so it emphasizes my already martial MC. My Sun is conjunct Saturn and it’s also parallel Saturn. My sister has a Scorpio MC and it’s also parallel Pluto, the natural ruler of Scorpio. For example, my sister has a wide Moon-Mars conjunction (6°) but they are also in contra-parallel. How is this supposed to be interpreted? I would simply see it as Moon-Mars is connected strongly despite the orb being a little wide with the conjunction.

However, it’s not always the case that parallel and contra-parallel aspects only confirms already existing influences. They can also add themes and connections. My sister doesn’t have any longitude aspects between Saturn and Uranus but they are contra-parallel to each other.

Septile (51.43° - a 1/7 of the 360°)

It is said to indicate a hidden flow of energy between the planets involved, an inner sensitivity to the spiritual dimension of the planets. Another description I have come across is that the planets “darkly interact” and there’s an occult theme surrounding the connection.

I have Venus septile Jupiter in my own chart. Going by the said method of interpretation, it would mean that I have sensitivity to the hidden wealth and underlying beauty and abundance in life. I think it is quite accurate.

Novile (40° - 1/9 of the 360°)

Is said to be describing a contact of perfection/idealization. It also seems to have something to do with spiritual awakening and growth, lack of fear and freedom.

Having Sun novile Saturn for example could be interpreted as a feeling of communion with the world and life itself through responsibility and the control one can exercise through self-expression.

----

There are of course other minor aspects to explore, but I'll stop here for now.

[thimbil]

Having some thoughts about the references and inspirations used for the Bad Batch’s designs.

So Boba Fett is my absolute favorite character and Temeura Morrison was perfect casting. I went to see the 2008 TCW movie in theaters because I was so excited to see him again, even if he was animated. You can imagine my disappointment. Whoever was on screen was not Temeura Morrison. You could sort of see a resemblance if you squinted and didn’t think too hard about it. They replaced Temeura with Racially Ambiguous G.I. Joe. If I didn’t know better and someone told me the animated clones are space Italians from the moon of New Jersey I would buy it. One Million Brothers Pizzeria and Italian Bistro. Not that there’s something wrong with being space Italian, I just don’t think it’s the right choice for the Fetts. The design got slightly improved by season 7 but it still bugs the hell out of me.

I did eventually get into the show later and (of course) got invested in the clones. Unfortunately, they were largely sidelined by the Jedi storylines. Out of the two new main characters created for TCW, Ahsoka definitely got more development and focus than Rex. When they announced The Bad Batch, I was excited to see a show specifically devoted to the clones… at least that’s what it said on the tin. We have all seen what lurks beneath those stylish helmets.

Jango Fett, you are NOT the father.

So who is?

Based on interviews with Filoni, it sounds like the Bad Batch was a George Lucas idea. And like all his ideas, it’s super derivative. The original trilogy directly lifted elements from sci fi serials, westerns, and samurai movies, more specifically Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress. For The Bad Batch character designs, the influence is obviously American action and adventure movies.

Now let’s get specific. Bad Batch, who’s your daddy?

Hunter

Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood 1982. That bandana has become an integral part of the iconic action hero look. You see a character wearing one and it’s a visual shorthand for either “this character is a tough guy” like Billy played by Sonny Landham in Predator 1987, or “this character thinks he is/wants to be a tough guy” like Brand played by Josh Brolin in The Goonies 1985 or Edward Frog played by Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys 1987.

Hunter’s model is closest to the original clone base. If you look closely you will see the eyebrows are straighter with a much lower angle to the arch. His nose is also not the same shape as a standard clone like Rex, including a narrower bridge. It’s certainly not Temeura Morrison’s nose. Remember what I said about space Italians? It didn’t take much to push the existing clone design to resemble an specific Italian man instead of a specific Māori man. The 23&Me came back, and Hunter inherited more than the bandana from Sylvester.

Crosshair

The long narrow nose, the sharp cheekbones, the scowl. That’s no clone, that’s just animated Clint Eastwood. Not even Young and Hot Clint Eastwood from Rawhide 1959-1965. With that hair, I’m talking Gran Torino 2008. The man of few words schtick and family friendly toothpick in lieu of cigar are pure Eastwood as The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns A Fist Full of Dollars 1964, For a Few Dollars More 1965, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly 1966.

In a way, this is full circle because the actor Jeremy Bulloch took inspiration from Clint Eastwood for his performance as Boba Fett in ESB.

Wrecker

In an interview Filoni lists the Hulk as an (obvious) inspiration for Wrecker. Ever seen the old Hulk tv show from 1978? Well take a look at the actor who played him, Lou Ferrigno. Would you look at that. Even has his papa’s nose.

You could make the argument that Wrecker was influenced by The Rock, an appropriately buff ‘n bald Polynesian (Samoan, not Maori) man. But look at him next his Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel and tell me which one resembles Wrecker’s character model more.

Tech

Tech is a little trickier for me to place. If he has a more direct inspiration it must be something I haven’t seen. That said, his hairline is very Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 1988. His quippiness and large glasses remind me of Shane Black as Hawkins from Predator 1987. In terms of his face, he looks a but like the result of McClane and Hawkins deciding to settle down and start a family. Although, Tech’s biggest contributors are probably just everyone on TV Trope’s list for Smart People Wear Glasses.

And finally,

Echo

Oh Echo. Considering he wasn’t created for the Bad Batch, he probably wasn’t based on a particular character or movie. But if I had to guess, his situation and appearance remind me a lot of Alex Murphy played by Peter Weller in Robocop 1987. However, Robocop explored the Man or Machine Identity Crisis with more nuance, depth, and dignity. Yikes.

The exact tropes and references used in The Bad Batch have been done successfully with characters who aren’t even human. Gizmo from Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 had a brief stint with the Rambo bandana. I could have picked any number of characters for Defining Feature Is Glasses but here is the most cursed version of Simon of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Suffer as I have. Marc Antony with his beloved Pussyfoot from Looney Tunes has the same tough guy with a soft center vibe as Wrecker and his Lula (also a kind of cat). Hell, in the same show we have Cad Bane sharing Cowboy Clint Eastwood with Crosshair. I actually think Bane makes a better Eastwood which is wild considering Crosshair has Eastwood’s entire face and Bane is blue.

So we’ve established you don’t need your characters to look exactly like their inspirations to match their vibe. So why go through the trouble and cost of creating completely new character designs instead of recycling and altering assets they already had on hand? Just slap on a bandana, toothpick, goggles, and make Wrecker bigger than the others while he does a Hulk pose and you’re done. Based on the general reaction to Howzer it would have been a low effort slam dunk crowd pleaser.

But they didn’t do that.

So here’s the thing. I like the tropes used in The Bad Batch. I am a fan of action adventure movies from the 80s-90s, the sillier the better. I am part of the Bad Batch’s target audience. Considering what I know about Disney and Lucasfilm, I went in with low expectations. I genuinely don’t hate the idea of seeing references to these actors and media in The Bad Batch. I don’t think basing these characters on tropes was a bad idea. If anything it’s a solid starting point for building the characters.

The trouble is nothing got built on the foundation. The plot is directionless, the pacing is wacky, and the characters have nearly no emotional depth or defining character arcs. They just sort of exist without reacting much while the story happens around them. But I can excuse all of that. You don’t stay a fan of Star Wars as long as I have not being able to cherrypick and fill in the gaps. This show has a deeper issue that shouldn’t be ignored.

Why do the animated clones bear at best only a passing resemblance to their live action actor? In interviews, Filoni wouldn’t shut up but the technological advancements in the animation for season 7. So if they are updating things, why not try to make the clones a closer match to their source material? Why did they have to look like completely different people in The Bad Batch to be “unique”? Looking like Temeura Morrison would have no bearing on their special abilities and TCW proved you can have identical looking characters and still have them be distinct. In fact, that’s a powerful theme and the source of tragedy for the clones’ narrative overall.

Here’s Filoni’s early concept art of Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter. (Interesting but irrelevant: Wrecker seems to have a cog tattoo similar to Jesse’s instead of a scar. Wouldn’t it have been funny if they kept that so when they met in season 7 one if them could say something like “Hey we’re twins!” That’s a little clone humor. Just for you guys 😘)

None of these drawings look like the clones in TCW, much less Temeura Morrison. Let’s be generous. Maybe Filoni struggles with drawing a real person’s likeness, as many people do. But he had to hand this off to other artists down the line whose job specifically involves making a stylized character resemble their actor. Yet the final designs missed the mark almost as much as this initial concept. Starting to seem as if the clones looking more like Temeura Morrison was never even on the table. It wasn’t a lack of creativity, skill or technical limitations on the part of the creative team. I don’t think there is an innocent explanation. They went out of their way to make the final product exactly how we got it.

This goes beyond homage. They could have made the same pop culture references and character tropes without completely stripping Temeura Morrison from the role he originated. It was a very purposeful choice to replace him with more immediately familiar actors from established franchises and films. It wouldn’t shock me if Filoni, Lucas, and anyone else calling the shots didn’t even think hard or care enough about the decision to immediately recognize a problem. And I don’t think they believed anyone else would either. At least no one whose opinion they cared about. Those faces are comfortingly familiar and proven bankable. They are what we’re all used to seeing after all. They’re white.

Lack of imagination, bad intentions, or simple ignorance doesn’t really matter in the end. The result is the same. Call it what it is. They replaced a man of color with a bunch of white guys. That’s by the book garden variety run of the mill whitewashing. There’s no debate worth having about it. For a fanbase that loves to nitpick things like whether or not it’s in character for Han to shoot first or Jeans Guy in the Mandalorian, we sure are quick to find excuses for clones who look nothing like their template. Why is that? If you don’t see the problem, congratulations. Your ass is showing. Pull your jeans up.

[scotianostra]

The wonderfully eccentric Ivor Cutler was born on January 15th  1923, Glasgow.

Cutler was a Scottish poet, songwriter, teacher and humorist. He became known for his regular performances on BBC radio, and in particular his numerous sessions recorded for John Peel’s influential radio programme, and later for Andy Kershaw’s programme.

If you haven’t heard of Cutler please check him out on Youtube, my favourite is Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 2, but don’t look for volume 1 there isn’t one! He appeared in The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour film in 1967 as Buster Bloodvessel, where the Bad Manners singer got the name.

Born as  Isadore Cutler into a middle-class Jewish family of Eastern European descent. His father Jack Moris Cutler was a draper and jeweller. He cited his childhood as the source of his artistic temperament, recalling a sense of displacement when his younger brother was born: "Without that I would not have been so screwed up as I am, and therefore not as creative."  

In 1940 he became an apprentice fitter with Rolls-Royce, helping to make Spitfires. In 1942 he trained to become an RAF navigator but was dismissed for being “too dreamy and absent-minded.” He served the rest of the war as a storeman with an engineering company.

Ivor went on to become a teacher at AS Neill’s famous progressive school Summerhill in Suffolk and continued teaching for more than 30 years. From 1954-1980 he taught drama and poetry to primary school children. In his 70s he reflected, “In a way I am still carrying on with the kids. And those who come to my gigs probably see life as a child would. It’s those who have been busy making themselves into grown-ups, avoiding being a child - they’re the ones who don’t enjoy it.” I would have loved to have him as a teacher. 

Cutler began performing in 1957 and was spotted in the 1960s by ‘Ned Sherrin’, who booked him to appear on television. He appeared on The Acker Bilk Show, Late Night Line-Up and other programs, and in 1967 appeared in “The Magical Mystery Tour” playing Buster Bloodvessel, the bus conductor who announces to his passengers, “I am concerned for you to enjoy yourselves within the limits of British decency.” In 1967 his record, Ludo, was produced by the Beatles producer George Martin.

Cutler dressed distinctively both on and off stage, wearing plus fours and colorful hats with badges. His favorite method of communication was by sticky labels that he had especially printed, often with “Cutlerisms” attached: “Never knowingly understood”, “True happiness is knowing you’re a hypocrite” and “Add 15 inches to your stride and save 4% of insects”.

He wrote more than 300 songs and in the year 2000 was signed by fellow Scot, Alan McGee to Creation Records. He last appeared on stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London in January 2004. The event was filmed and shown in a documentary about his own life, Ivor Cutler: Looking for Truth with a Pin.  

Cutler was a member of the Noise Abatement Society and the Voluntary Euthanasia Society. In 1990 he said,“When I do die I shall be glad to get away from the loud pop music and cars but I shall miss, insofar as when one is dead one can miss anything, the beautiful kindnesses of those people to whom courtesy comes naturally.”

When I previously posted about Ivor I had someone comment “Left Scotland behind l see”……I sighed to myself and replied

“You can’t criticise someone who leaves Scotland without knowing about the person. As a person who did not advocate punishing children with violence Ivor’s teaching methods would have went against everything that the old system stood for here. Have a look for A S Neil, another who "left Scotland behind” who had different ideas on schooling and who, as I said in the piece, employed Ivor Cutler. If it wasn’t for some people leaving Scotland behind the world would not be the same as it is now, Alexander Graham Bell, John Logie Baird, Alexander Fleming, Robert Watson Watt, James Watt, Andrew Carnegie, the list is endless……..“ I’m not saying they wouldn’t have been as successful, but sometimes the opportunities are not where your roots are. 

Anyway the video I have posted is of Ivor’s last performance  at Queen Elizabeth Hall, 2004,  Cutler's Last Stand. 

[nattikay]

So I saw this post while browsing toa tags the other day. While I don’t think being obsessed with the school mascot automatically makes Toby a furry (though it is funny to joke about lol) since “being a furry” actually just means “being a fan of anthropomorphic animals” and doesn’t necessarily require any form of costuming or interest in such, it did get me thinking, hmmm...if he was a furry, what would his fursona be? 🤔 And from there I started wondering what Jim’s and Claire’s would be as well because y not ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

BUT WAIT, I hear you say--haven’t you already drawn the trio as werewolves and wolfwalkers etc.? Wouldn’t those be their fursonas??

Well yes....but actually no.

I guess it’s a little hard to explain, but there’s a nuance between “[person] but as an animal” and a proper “fursona”. While a fursona is an animal character used to represent its person, it doesn’t have to physically resemble them at all as you would expect [person]-but-as-[animal] to. For example, if you were to design me but as a cat, you’d probably give it light brown fur and green eyes like I have irl. But my fursona, unlike my human self, actually has blue fur and purple eyes. You can give your fursona matching physical traits to your own if you want to, and some people do, but most use only a pinch of their irl appearance, if any at all.

The choices people make when designing their fursonas vary wildly from “it looks like me irl” to “it looks like who I want to be”  to “I just really like this color scheme” to “this particular color/marking holds deep personal meaning to me” to “this particular pattern represents a particular defining moment in my life” to “idk it looks cool and i vibe with it” etc. etc. etc. Everyone has different reasons of varying depth for the decisions they make in designing their fursona.

Therefore, to design a fursona for Toby etc., it’s less a question of “what would this character look like as [insert species here]?” and more of “how would this character choose to present himself with his own [animal] character?”

And that’s a much trickier game than just transferring a character aesthetic to a new species. ^^; We have to kinda dive into the characters and makes some guesses about how they, if given infinite creative freedom to design an animal avatar with no rules or limits, would choose to present themselves.

So all that said, here’s what I came up with:

Starting with Toby because he’s the one who inspired the post. I think Toby might choose a wolfdog fursona. A lot of people who choose wolves as fursonas consider themselves to be overwhelmingly loyal to their friends, a trait that fits Toby very well. However, while Toby likes to be “cool”, I don’t think he really thinks of himself as much of an “alpha” type--he’s more of a sidekick, and he knows that, and he’s ok with that. He’s the wingman. So what better way to incorporate that than to add dog into the mix? Man’s best friend=Jim’s best friend. Sociable, humorous, and unwaveringly loyal. Wolfdog it is!

With the species decided, we can move on to the design itself.

I can’t imagine any form of Toby in anything other than warm colors. This is extra emphasized by the flamelike patterns on his legs and tail, which both speaks to his desire to be totally awesome-sauce as well as acts as an allusion to his flaming warhammer. It’s fairly common (not universal, but common) for people to give their fursonas a more “ideal” physique than the person actually has as a sort of way to live by proxy physical goals or fantasies they’ve been unable to attain irl for whatever reason. Given that we’ve seen Toby struggle with fitness from time to time, it wouldn’t shock me to see him take this route. His wolfdog self is still relatively short and stocky, but it’s all muscle, babey. 

This fursona is strong, fun, boisterous, and generally just kicks butt. Concentrated awesomesauce flows through his veins. Just don't mess with his friends, or you’ll feel the flames!

.

Moving on to Jim. Jim was the hardest to nail down, and most definitely the hardest to keep my personal biases out of oof. Which I may have failed to do anways because yes, ok, I made my favorite character a blue feline, sue me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  But hear me out first!

For Jim I ultimately settling on a cheetah/lion hybrid.

Cheetahs, in a way, are sort of the underdogs (er...cats?) of the feline world--at least, in their local ecosystems. They are built wholly for speed, not strength--and as such, just about every other large predator in their environment has them beat when it comes to raw strength. Remind you of a certain Trollhunter? plus the long lanky legs. don’t forget those lol

However, because of this disadvantage, cheetahs...usually surrender. They know it’s not worth it to defend their kill from larger, stronger opponents, so they’ll give it up and just catch something else. This aspect doesn’t quite fit our protective, selfless protagonist all too eager to risk everything to save his loved ones--so a pure cheetah may not be the right choice.

So what animal is brave and protective? That’s where the lion part comes in, of course!

Why not just make him a pure lion? Well, a little similar to making Toby a wolfdog instead of a pure wolf. A straight-up lion feels a little too “chad” for our sweet Jimbo. Too much of a jock. 

Jim has the humble underdog nature of a cheetah as well as the bravery and fierce protective drive of a lion. Cheelion? Leetah? idk, but let’s design it!

Like Toby and warm colors, I don’t think I can possibly associate Jim with any color but blue. While it’s never directly stated, given that we’ve never really seen him wear any other color (with the exception of the Eclipse armor), I think it’s pretty safe to assume that that’s his favorite. Blue sweater, blue jeans, blue shoes, even his backpack and bedsheets are blue. So naturally, his fursona would be predominantly blue as well! Plus some yellowish accents to (somewhat) match the natural colors of his chosen species(s).

I imagine he originally designed the character without horns, but then added them after becoming the Trollhunter, since it became such a major and impactful aspect of his life.

His lion’s mane also continues down his back in imitation of the “mantle” found on baby cheetahs. This youthful feature could subtly represent the fact that he’s been forced to grow up too fast and take on so much responsibility so young--so his fursona can still be young and carefree as long as he likes even while his real self struggles with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

This fursona is relaxed, calm, and confident. He’s not just cool--he’s crispy!

.

Lastly but not leastly, we have Claire. Out of the three, I think Claire was actually the easiest to choose--or at least, I had the clearest idea of what I thought she might go for.

Claire is a bit of an interesting duck, because while she’s shown to be fairly popular at school, she’s definitely far from the stereotype of The Popular Girl™. Yes she’s smart and pretty, but she’s also a little spunky or even a bit quirky--she’s a theatre kid, she’s a huge fan of hard rock band Papa Skull, and while I wouldn’t quite call her “rebellious” per se, she’s certainly willing to bend some rules if she feels the situation calls for it (not telling her parents that she was going to the concert with Steve, literally sneaking into Jim’s basement to try to find out what was up with him, etc).

That said, I think Claire might go for a hyena fursona--something a little out of the box, but not totally out of left field. (she also shows a slight Gurl Power™ streak here and there “the staff was not meant to be wielded by man--” “I am not a man!!!”) and if you know anything about hyenas...well, yeah lol)

I think Claire would lean into her punk-rock “rebellious” side with her fursona design. This character is completely free of the pressure of being the councilwoman’s daughter and having to maintain her mother’s public reputation, and thus allows Claire to express a less restrained side of herself. She has a bold semi-edgy color scheme with bright accents (and some earrings to match her person’s hair clips) while still remaining feminine and (her own brand of) fashionable. 

This fursona is spunky and sassy; she’s spicy and sweet all rolled up into one. She knows what she wants and she’s not afraid to chase it down. She lives her own life and she’s dang proud of it.

.

....sooooo yeah there’s my take on what Toby’s, Jim’s, and Claire’s fursonas could hypothetically be. And I guess since this post was inspired by a joke about Toby’s infatuation with the school mascot, here’s just some quick thoughts on how they might approach fursuiting to end us off:

Jim I don’t see as much of a suiter. He might try it once or twice if given the opportunity, but at the end of the day it’s not really his cup of tea--he’d rather act as the “handler” for his friends, if anything.

Toby and Claire, on the other hand, I could definitely see as suiters. In fact, with her interest in acting, Claire would probably particularly enjoy it--she’d be one of those suiters who really gets into character, absolutely refuses to break the magic publicly (outside of any actual medical emergency), and popular at cons because she just performs so well. 

Toby, meanwhile, would be the more chill type--uses his normal voice in-suit, isn’t really too stressed about “breaking the magic”, just kinda hanging around like he would normally except “look I’m a talking dog, cool right?”. 

also while I was typing this it occurred to be that since Eli is canonically a cosplayer then he could be a fursuiter as well; in his case i imagine he actually made his own suit it’s a protogen and it’s full of little LEDs and other electric gadgets, it’s not the prettiest thing ever as sewing is not his forte but boy did he try!! good for him. good for him

[therealieblog]

Body Positive Exercise and Joyful Movement In A Diet Culture World

I find exercise generally very enjoyable, and it helps me improve my life in a plethora of ways. It makes me stronger, more flexible, gives me more stamina, lowers my stress levels, helps me sleep better, helps me write more creatively. But... That being said, many people cannot afford to join a gym, or have a limited living situation that prevents them from exercising. Some people have physical limitations due to disabilities that might prevent them from exercising. Or maybe you just flat out hate exercise. That is valid. You own your body. What you do with it is YOUR BUSINESS. But... if you would like some advice on exercising/Joyful Movement using a body positive/intuitive model, then please read on. 

My preferred forms of exercise (or Joyful Movement) are workout videos in my  room, or long walks around town while listening to a podcast. As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, you can move your body in any number of ways to get exercise or increase Joyful Movement in your day. Cleaning house, playing sports, walking the dog, dancing, yoga, doing laundry, interactive video games, all of these will get you moving. 

Diet culture tells us we must suffer to exercise and this is a lie.

Diet Culture tells us that we must push our bodies to their limits, because it is selling rapid weight loss, and so it behooves people with this agenda to promote intense, high energy, painful forms of exercise. I exercised this way for probably twenty years off and on before I quit. Now I just can’t do it anymore. And you don’t have to push yourself until you are a gasping, sweaty mess to add movement to your day. 

You are in charge of your own limits. You get to decide how many reps to do, how many minutes to exercise. You decide how long your walk should be. YOU decide when to quit. You don’t actually have to do every set of squats or every set of bicep curls. You can stop when you feel tired, or when you sense that your muscles are being pushed too far. 

Make sure that if you ARE doing a workout video that it is body positive. What does this mean? It means no talk about “burning calories” or “burning fat”. No talk about “slimming down” or “sculpting” your body. No talk about “lets get you swimsuit ready!” If you have a body, it is already a beach body. You don’t need to lose weight to go to the beach. Fuck that. 

It’s best if you choose workouts with alternate moves for lower impact if possible, as I’ve found those very helpful. I am old and have bad knees. You will not catch me jumping around. If jump-squats are horrifyingly difficult and painful, then just don’t do the jump part. If you can handle the steps and leg work of a workout, but the arms are too complicated or too intense, just don’t do the arm movements. Again, you are in charge. Not the instructor. 

Sustainability is very important. Many people who begin intense exercise regimes (almost always designed to get them to lose weight as quickly as possible) can only stick with them for a few weeks or months. Once the novelty wears off, and (like most human beings) we get lazy and don’t want to go for a miles long run at 6am like we did in the beginning, we start to slack off. Then beat ourselves up for slacking off. This is just painful and unnecessary. If you can’t see yourself doing this particular form of exercise indefinitely, for the rest of your life, then it’s highly likely that you’ll tank out within a year. I have been walking my entire life, and I enjoy it. It’s easy enough to not be prohibitive, but challenging enough to give me a bit of a workout. Walking is sustainable. Boot camp workouts? Less sustainable. 

Boot camp/blaster/high intensity workouts are geared toward the ever present diet culture goal of weight loss and the changing of the shape and size of one’s body. There is always a sense of urgency and intensity surrounding these types of work out videos because they are largely based in fear and self criticism. Intuitive Eating, HAES and body positivity are anti-diet, anti-purposeful weight loss, and therefore the intensity and push for perfection disappear when you take diet culture out of the equation. 

I no longer work out to change the size and shape of my body. And I fully believe that this should never be a goal of exercise. Exercise brings with it many benefits, if it is practiced for the sake of health and for feeling good, and not for the purposes of weight loss. Once you remove the relentless diet culture drive that surrounds exercise, you can free yourself up to see it as a means to improve your health and your life outside of your appearance. 

here is a more comprehensive list of things exercise does for us that isn’t related to being thinner or changing our appearance:

Increased cardio vascular health

Better sleep

Improved mood and improved self esteem

Increased physical strength

Increased flexibility

Increased mobility - ability to spend time with friends, go on hikes, play sports, run around at conventions or festivals etc.

So do whatever you want with your body. Move it. Don’t move it. Take a yoga class, or just stroll around the block. I changed the way I viewed exercise, which completely changed the way I engaged with it, and I am far happier now than I was when weight loss was my motivation. 

[n1kolaiz]

ENTJ + INFJ DYNAMIC

BSD MANGA CHAPTER 54-57 SPOILERS

Chapter 54 introduced Mushitaro Oguri, and his background involving Yokomizo was ever so intriguing to me. So unfortunately, here I am.

Mushitaro and Yokomizo's dynamic:

The 'Commander' meets the 'Idealist.'

Alright, I won't go into the details about the case of Yokomizo's death, because there's no way in hell I can explain it fluently at all. So if you need further reference to what these few chapters are about, popopretty's post would elaborate on the details and whatnot.

Before I start, here's a bit of little introduction to both individual characters:

MUSHITARO OGURI

Mushitaro appears to take a lot of pride in his ability, which contributes to his arrogant complex altogether. He had his own desires and goals, and lived out his days just to fulfil them.

His ability is called the 'Perfect Crime,' which allows him to erase any trail of evidence pertaining to whatever crime he had committed. Hence, he is also known as the 'infallible Detective-killer.'

Until Ranpo proved him wrongヾ(❀╹◡╹)ﾉﾞ

His personality type is most likely 'ENTJ,' the 'Commander.'

- ENTJs are known to have exceptional leadership skills. They are confident in themselves and what they do; basically, they don't have the tendency to second-guess what they are capable of. This explains Mushitaro's ambition to achieve his ends, and his ability goes the extra mile of complimenting his success rate greatly. Whether his motives or the end results were morally good or evil, it didn't matter to Mushitaro— as long as his wishes were fulfilled.

"With tyrants and demons, I'll make deal with a demon. That's in my nature."

- They're also quite outspoken with their opinions. It's a fairly minor detail, but this shows why he wasn't afraid to express the distaste he had for mystery novels to Yokomizo— including the extravagant ideas and serpentine stories his close friend based his life upon and discussed with him.

- The subtle insensitivity mixed in with an ENTJ's preference of logic over emotion highlights one of their core weaknesses: which brings us back to Mushitaro's ability to kill his friend. Say you were to put a person with a deeply compassionate heart, who's also very well in-tact when it comes to identifying emotions and being empathetical to other's feelings: would that person be able to kill a friend they'd known for so long? For the sole reason of making his last mystery novel a deathless enigma? This is very subjective perspective, but I believe that if Mushitaro was more of an emotionalist rather than a strategist, things would have turned out different for Yokomizo's eventual fate.

Side note: His insensitivity did, however, find its limit when he realised how devastating it was to have killed his own friend with his hands. Even though there's a wide scale that measures how insensitive a person can be, they are, in fact, still human beings capable of feeling. Killing someone dear to you is no easy task; there is a breaking point for the hardest of hearts.

SEISHI YOKOMIZO

Yokimozo, also known as Kindaichi, was a mystery writer who was very particular about detail and being exclusive, especially when it came to his works. His last wish he pursued to achieve before a terminal illness took his life was done by formulating a 'mystery that transcended reality.'

"I hate regret. So I've done whatever I've wanted to do. Up until now, it's been a satisfying life. But now… I've been given a time limit…Before then, I have to complete the ultimate mystery."

His personality type is identified as 'INFJ,' also known as the 'Idealist.'

- INFJ's are deeply creative and artistic, but they express it in various different ways. For Yokomizo, he portrayed his brilliant artistic skill through his writings revolving around mysteries and their compelling depths. The fictional character's namesake was also a mystery novel writer. Yokomizo was pretty well-versed with how mysteries worked and how their details ravelled themselves into elegantly, well-established riddles, which only added to his natural flair of writing.

- Generally, INFJs are reserved, but incredibly idealistic. Yokomizo was seen to be very abstract in his idea of thinking, and this is due to the fact that INFJs have a thing for pondering about life and the meaning behind everything.

"Mushi-kun, I bet you're laughing at me for destroying myself for the sake of mystery. But if that's the case, maybe there's no such thing as unshakable values. Maybe it's up to us to decide what to put value in and what to live for. After all, we have the right to turn our own decisions into our entire world. It is, foolishly enough, the greatest luxury afforded to mankind."

- As for their weaknesses, some INFJs are very hard to get to know. They are mysterious at times, which prevents them from being flamboyant with their thoughts and opinions. Yokomizo had a very lighthearted, mystifying nature, which made him a very interesting character altogether. Despite having a high regard for their intimate relationships— INFJs can be quite private. Mushitaro vaguely points out his self-contained, introverted mannerisms in this panel:

Now, I'll get to my point.

ENTJs and INFJs don't ideally match up, but when it comes to general friendships, there are a few details that suggest an accomodating dynamic between the two personality types. These qualities emanate from Mushitaro and Yokomizo's friendship with each other.

Opposites attract in most cases, correct?

Well, in this case, ENTJs and INFJs have a lot of similarities:

intelligent

intuitive in thinking

determined

goal-oriented

But the more numerable contrasting qualities is what really brings out the agreeable traits between Mushitaro and Yokozimo. Think of it as a system where two opposites mutually keep each other in check:

1. Mushitaro bases his life on the gaining his own needs and wants, and is very firm in his sense of realism, while Yokomizo is more focused on the deep, complexities of life itself. This may come off as impractical to ENTJs, but also compliments their coordination with INFJs. Realism limits idealism, but idealists can also expand the boundaries realists place themselves in.

2. INFJs accept people and ideas as they are, not willing to put others down just to prove themselves right. Yokozimo's tolerant behaviour stands in contrast with how authoritative Mushitaro is, especially when it boils down to his arrogance— he isn't afraid to spit his pride right into his opponent's face.

Kneel, detectives! I am the king of crime! No one can force me to sin and repent!

Just for laughs reference^

So it's safe to say that because Yokomizo had an acquired sense of serenity and open-mindedness, he was able to tolerate Mushitaro's extravagant, subtle histrionic characteristics, which were laced with his superior complex.

3. In the manga, Yokomizo speaks and converses with Mushitaro in a way that suggests that he is careful with his words. INFJs are gentle and generally sensitive to the needs of others, so they tend to be careful with what comes out of their mouths. Mushitaro, like most ENTJs, are quite blunt. This points back to how insensitive they come off, even if they don't actually mean it. So when it comes to Yokozimo explaining tales of mystery to Mushitaro, Mushitaro doesn't hesitate to mock Yokozimo; but because of how understanding Yokozimo is, he doesn't take Mushitaro's opinions too seriously to the point of discounting the value of their friendship, because he knew Mushitaro didn't use his words with the intention to harm.

If you were to place a more dominant persona in Yokomizo's position, I doubt that that person would be able to tolerate such behaviours. Then again, this is crucially subjective.

I suppose the main thing I wanted to point out was how ENTJs and INFJs balanced each other out by cancelling out each other's extreme traits, and keeping each other in the middle of the equilibrium altogether. But another thing I'd like to point out to sum up Mushitaro and Yokozimo's relationship was this: the fact that Mushitaro had to kill his own friend to grant his dying wish. Dying for someone or by someone's hands is easier than killing someone, especially if that someone is dear to you, no? I guess that's the part I can't fathom— it was the type of relationship that stood out way more than I had expected. Say, the roles were switched, would Yokomizo actually kill Mushitaro? Or would Mushitaro think of such an incomprehensible way to die in the first place? Or what if these two friends had different, more superior traits that coexisted in conflict all the time, would Yokomizo even depend on Mushitaro with such a task?

The speculations are endless, or maybe it's pretty straightforward. Though, I hope this made sense.

Okay, I'm done rambling for now. Thank you for reading!

[misterewrites]

Secret Agent Bard (Welcome to the Underground!)

Hello everyone! E here with a new chapter of the underground! Woo! I hope you are all doing good and staying safe.

So I actually have more to say today! That's a trip. I’ll have an author’s note under the line. 

So that's it for now. Stay safe, take care of you and your loved ones, stay out of trouble, wash your hands, wear your mask, get vaccinated if you can and push to release the vaccine world wide cuz we're all in this together. Have a great week and thanks for reading. I appreciate it and feel free to tell your friends, reblog, drop likes and feedback i love it all. Bye for now and enjoy!

If you want an easier place to read the story cuz tumblr sucks sometimes here’s a link to the chapter https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814297/chapters/79541746

The First Chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814297/chapters/68094967

and since you made it this far here’s a link to all my stories!

https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrE42/pseuds/MrE42

Byeeeeee!

Author’s note:  Today’s work will be a little different as there will be singing. The chapter with the bard is gonna have singing? Go figure haha So if you see a sentence in Italics, that means someone is singing. Bold and italics represents various people singing as a group. The song in question is called twiddles. There's different versions of it but the one I chose is from the misbehavin maidens. Great group but all their work ranges from innuendos to straight up not safe for work so listen at your peril. I have now completed my responsible adult duties haha. here’s a link to the chosen song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS1-_fKF5ug

Summary: Oliver has quite the task ahead of him as the group splits to achieve their goals. Leading Sel and Flora, the young bard will have to think quick on his feet to ensure this mission is a success. Luckily he's an old hand at this. Ironically the one person who could distract him may make a surprise appearance tonight.

-----

Oliver stood quietly, arms crossed and his mind thoughtful as the group prepared to go their separate ways. While ideally nothing would go wrong, that was a childish belief: Every person and robotic being here knew safety was not guaranteed in their line of work.

Even the old man knew the risks.

Oliver hated doing nothing. He thrived when he was busy, focused on whatever task required his attention whether it be being a better bard or upholding the Choir’s values. Too many ghosts and regrets lingered on the edges of his mind and he found the best solution was to simply keep occupied.

But that was his coping mechanism, not everyone else. He knew better than to rush his team: The party would last at least another few hours and beside the goal of getting Sel to the third floor, there was nothing else to do. No information to gather, nothing to review. Let them have their moment, it was good for morale.

Terri and Flora were sickeningly adorable: Hands clasped tightly with Terri tearfully asking her girlfriend to not poison everyone. Flora gave a halfhearted promise while as they shared a tender kiss. Terri noticed her less than enthused tone but refused to press the matter further.

Tyrell stood awkwardly to the side, his face twisted in a strange mixture of sick and excited. He fidgeted with something in his pocket, seeking comfort from whatever lay within. Given the shape of the bulge and size, Oliver guessed it was a knife.

Sel stood nearby, motionless in the shadows of the alley. They hadn’t moved in some time though he suspected the automaton was simply waiting for the next phase of the plan.

“Alright” Oliver spoke up, his voice firm yet gentle “Times up. You have your assignments?”

Uneven murmuring responded.

“Let’s go.”

Oliver, Sel and Flora went down one end of the alley, Terri and Tyrell disappearing in the opposite direction.

-----

It didn’t take long for the trio to find the main streets of the Merchant Ward and make their way towards the Brambleoak banking office. The crowds weren’t as thick as they had been during the day but Oliver knew everyone out and about did so with a purpose.

“Bard.” Flora asked without warning, breaking the awkward silence “Question.”

“Answer.” Oliver cheekily replied.

Flora glared.

Oliver coughed “Yes?”

“You are a First Chair Soprano correct?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Yet you are so young. How did you manage that? I thought First Chair ranks were only reserved for experienced or particularly skilled members. You don’t seem to be very magically powerful.”

Oliver paused for a moment, trying to best answer the question.

In a way Flora was correct in her assessment: He wasn’t particularly powerful as a spellcasting bard. Unlike Flora who clearly committed herself fully to nature and thus druidic magic, Oliver had only recently thrown himself into the magical arts.

Unless you were a wizard who studied the secrets of the universe with a very intimate and well versed knowledge of magic, most spellcasters drew their power from sources of existence: Clerics from their gods, Druids from nature, Warlocks from something beyond mortal existence yet not quite a deity, sorcerers because a family member fucked around with pure incomprehensible concepts. Magic was the fabric of the universe and the more you threw yourself into a source of power, the more the source threw itself into you, guiding your hand and your spells.

Of course each, wizards exempt, were limited in their spellcasting options. Clerics were powerful holy/unholy practitioners but couldn’t command plant life to save their lives. Druids were in tune with nature and the weather and all the lovely flora and fauna but ask them to superimpose an image onto something and they’d give you a dumbfounded look. Warlocks kinda just do whatever their sugar patrons felt like lending.

Magic bards drew their power from the arts: Drawing, singing, poetry, even witty and funny satire. Bards were in tune with life, with existence. Art could heal, could hurt, could make you feel happy and sad. It could make you feel like a whole new person or perhaps take you to a time and place you’d forgotten. Bards sung the song of life and Oliver was no exception.

However, Oliver still wasn’t sure what he could do exactly. His magical muscle was average on a good day and he could only cast a few spells before needing a good night’s rest. The basic healing spells and comprehension language he cast earlier today had taken a good chunk of his energy but he relied more on his wit than raw magical strength. He discovered creative and useful ways to cast his spells like amplifying dissonance noises to distract and disorient foes or temporarily place another person’s image over himself. Magic was as much about creativity as it was skill, pushing the limits of what you can do with your particular brand of spells.

“I’m clever.” Oliver answered honestly “The whole magic of the arts is new to me but I’ve been in the Choir for a long time now. I used to be Tenor like Sel here but more fast talking than breaking and entering. I guess they carried over my old position into my new one.”

Flora nodded, satisfied “That answers much. How long have you been a bard?”

“Few years now.” Oliver checked the street sign to ensure they were on the right path “The magic part is going on 3 years.”

“I see.” Flora scratched her chin “I’ve been a druid my whole life so it is a strange concept to be so new to the spellcasting arts yet hold such a high rank.”

Oliver gave a casual shrug “Not sure what you want me to say. We’re here by the way.”

The bank looked as unkempt as Oliver had remembered: Faded, peeling green paint with gaudy gray stone pillars. Two guards in green uniforms stood in front of the massive reddish brown doors that led into the bank.

“Lea’s mercenaries.” Sel pointed out “They are not letting anyone in.”

“Correction.” Oliver brushed off nonexistent dirt from his washed-out outfit “They’re not letting nobodies in. Luckily tonight we’re somebodies. Follow my lead.”

Oliver let out a tense breathe before strolling forward, his mannerism cocky yet unsteady. He reached the top of the steps when two sharp looking blades reached out to stop him.

“Halt” The elvish woman spoke with a hint of irritation “You lost?”

“Not at all!” Oliver beamed with a smile that was too wide to be natural “I’m here for the party. There is a party inside no?”

“No” The human man spat out.

Oliver gave a forgetful grin “Oh? I could’ve sworn Brambleoak was having some sort of charity event tonight. I’d show you my invite but I think I misplaced it.”

The elvish woman sneered “Right. How convenient for you having lost your special one of a kind invite.”

“Pfft.” Oliver scoffed “Special one of a kind invite? Reiner hands them out like candy. Probably find one in a gutter nearby.”

The guards shared an unspoken understanding with one another.

“Well.” The human began “Let’s pretend that is true.”

“It is but go on.”

The human’s eyes narrowed “Why should we let you in? You dress rather poorly for someone claiming to be in Reiner’s usual circles.”

Oliver let out an exaggerated gasp as he puffed out his chest “Do you know who I am?”

“Umm no.”

Oliver growled unhappily, his fist clenched tightly within his pocket “I am rich! I AM POWERFUL! AND I DEMAND ACCESS!”

As quick as lightning, Oliver flung a handful of gold coins towards the pair. The two reeled back in surprised as the money clanked onto the smooth marble floor. A moment hardly passed before the guards were shoving the loose coins into their tunic pockets like hungry dogs. They straightened up, eyes alive with greed.

“Of course sir” The elvish woman bowed her head in apologize “Deeply sorry for that.”

“Please go ahead.”

Oliver gave a self satisfied nod before moving past the pair only to stop as he heard the sounds of swords scraping each other. He turned backwards to see the guards barring access to Flora and Sel.

Flora looked back and forth between the guards, her eyes calculating and cold. Sel stood still but clearly at the ready for any sort of trouble.

“They’re with me.”

The Elvish woman shook her head “We said we’d let you in. These two? Definitely not Reiner’s usual prey.”

“They aren’t” Oliver admitted “But I need them.”

The human turned to him, suspicion in his eyes “Why?”

“She…” Oliver pointed lazily towards Flora “Is my street doctor.”

“Street doctor? As in….?”

Oliver gave a cheery wink “The fun kind.” And for give measure, he added a weak shiver to his act “Ugggggh I feel cold, are you cold? It’s cold.”

Before anyone could say anything, Oliver began shaking. He rubbed his hands for ‘warmth’ while swaying back and forth.

“Uh oh.” Flora spoke dully, pushing past the guards and holding Oliver steady “He’s crashing. I need to give him his umm medicine.”

“Medicine?” Oliver repeated, his voice soft yet manic “Yes medicine. I need it. I NEED IT!”

Folks began to turn their way, the guards shifting uncomfortably under the sudden attention they were receiving.

“And this one?” The Elvish woman gestured to Sel.

Oliver began to rock back and forth, his voice a harsh whisper. “Guard. Guard. Guard guard guard guard.”

The human threw up his hands in defeat “Bah! Get him in there and fixed! Any trouble and I’ll personally come over to beat your asses.”

“Thank you sir.” Flora murmured through gritted teeth. She guided Oliver and Sel through the doors and into the party within.

Flora sighed as Sel cracked the tension out of their fingers. Oliver straightened up, wiping the sweat from his brow.

True to his expectations, the bank had been altered to be suitable for a charity event: Torches lined the walls, casting the building into a bright light. The desks normally found on the floor were gone as to allow a more spacious setting. Oliver counted a handful of guards scattered about, wandering about for any sign of trouble. All except for the lone guard beyond the empty elevated platform who stood in front of the stairway to the upper floors.

“What now?” Flora asked

“Split up. Sel stay close to the door, Flora and I will figure out a distraction.”

“Sounds good.”

And without another word, Oliver was swallowed whole into the crowd.

-----

It had taken an hour for Oliver to figure out what kind of distraction he would need.

The patrols themselves hadn’t been very difficult to plan for: They would move randomly about, keeping an eye on the party and each other. He counted about 6 of them total and each one of them was easily starstruck. At the sign of any disagreement, they would swarm in groups of three and quickly threaten any troublemakers into compliance. However, upon meeting anyone with even the smallest bit of fame, they would subtly motion to each other and make their way as one to the person in question, hoping for a glance or the chance for an autograph.

So the floor guards were no problem but the one standing watch over the door was much more difficult. Evidently Lea was smart enough to give the most important job to the most responsible of his idiots. The stairway guard or Stairy as Oliver labeled him, would not budge at the sign of any trouble. Loud arguments, agitated party goers, a waiter being tripped (sorry it was for science buddy). None of these would pull him from his post. Celebrities wouldn’t either. Any time his buddies motioned to a famous person, he would shrug his shoulders and stay put.

Oliver was beginning to wonder if Flora needed to poison Stairy until he noticed something about half way into his observations: Stairy was a music lover. Specifically a cute girl music lover.

His gaze would wander every time he caught sight of a pretty girl who happened to be too close to him. Oliver wasn’t sure at first so he decided to test his theory. With his pocket change lessened, Oliver noticed how often a girl would catch Stairy’s eye. His attention didn’t shift when they fell in front of him, obviously in distress, or walked slower allowing him to enjoy the view longer but Oliver caught him smiling and tapping his foot when the odd girl would sing. He even staggered away from his door a few steps at a time before catching himself and returning to his post.

So the best distraction would be a girl who could sing and have some level of fame attached to her name.

Oddly specific and Oliver hadn’t the slightest idea how he was going to mange that. He was attempting to solve this puzzle when something caught his ear.

“Get off me you mulched dirt licker!”

That rather unique set of cursing could only mean one thing: Flora.

Oliver turned to where he last spotted her and found the young druid being hassled by a tall man in an elegant uniform.

Oliver noticed the guards were looking about, not yet spotting the commutation but aware something was going on. He needed to act first if he wanted to stop Flora deciding to kill everyone in the room.

The bard quickly slipped into the crowd, darting and weaving between any and everyone he could. He saw Flora slip a small vial into her hand as the man towered over her.

“I jus wanna dance.” the man’s words slurred out of his mouth “A pretty thing like yo shou wanna dance”

Flora’s eyes narrowed angrily “For the last time you dried poop stain, LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Flora pulled back her hand, prepared to throw the mysterious vial at the drunk’s face.

“Whoa!” Oliver cried out, tightly grasping onto Flora’s wrist “What seems to be the problem?”

“Nothing I can’t solve on my own.” Flora coldly glanced towards the drunken man.

“One sec.”

Oliver eyed the man carefully, absorbing every little detail he could.

He could see the muscles strain against the fabric of his light green tunic so this man worked in something physically laborious. The sheathed sword on his belt weight seemed to throw him off balance with every step. His gaze was unsteady and Oliver could see his pupils dilating wildly.

So this man was physically fit, armed with a sword in a charity event for the rich people and wearing light green tunic while currently drunk.

“You should leave her alone” Oliver said, sarcasm dipping from each word “You are so not her type.”

“So?” The man hiccupped “What’s the big deal?”

“So she’s got a girlfriend you idiot.” Oliver gestured with his hand “Besides you should go before your boss Lea gets here. I’m betting he won’t be happy one of his undercover mercs is currently drunk on the job. Of course I could always tell your captain what’s going on. That’s him over there right?”

Oliver gestured to the closest guard making his way towards the trio. He didn’t look any different than any guards but Oliver noticed his green was a shade darker than the rest. Lea probably used different hues to signify rank in his mercenaries.

The drunk’s face paled as he fidgeted nervously. He rose his hands in surrender, eyes darting between the two “Sorry.”

“Any trouble?” The captain approached, his hand tightly held around the hilt of his blade.

Oliver beaned cheerfully, trying his best to pull attention away from the fuming Flora “Not at all my good sir. This man simply mistook us for someone else, correct?”

The drunk nodded slowly “My bad. Forgive my intrusion.”

The captain gave a cold smirk “Apologizes. Mikey?”

The drunk flinched “Yes sir?”

“A word in private. Now.”

Oliver let out a sigh of relief as the captain dragged Mikey away..

“You should’ve let me poison them.” Flora muttered darkly.

Oliver scratched the back of his neck tiredly “Night’s still young. Still might get your chance if I can’t figure a way past Stairy.”

Flora tilted her head quizzically “Stairy?”

“The asshole at the base of the stairs.” Oliver answered absentmindedly as he spotted a familiar streak of platinum blonde hair among the crowd of strangers “And I just figured it out. Can I trust you not to poison everyone here?”

“You have an hour. I get bored easily” Flora swirled the sickly purple liquid in the vial threateningly.

“You and me both.” Oliver patted her shoulder before chasing down his perfect distraction.

-----

Oliver’s heart began to thunder loudly in his ears, a nervous and uncontrollable energy overtaking his resolve. The mission was important but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy to see Maria today.

Maria Thoreau was the daughter of a powerful, influential family. The Thoreau’s were more concerned with their standing in high society than any virtuous endeavors and thus each one of their children was trained from birth to excel in their chosen field. Maria’s older brothers were an aspiring politician and merchant respectively.

Maria’s path was to be a well famous singer and patron of the arts. She wanted nothing more than to sing for the people. Unfortunately, her father only saw a chance to further the family’s good name and tied his desire for power with her passion and dream. It was bittersweet really but nothing much could be done about it.

Yet.

Maria knew Oliver as a musical rival who thwarted her group’s attempts at winning local competitions which in turned derailed her father’s plans. So needless to say she was less than thrilled when she caught him making his way over.

“Ollie” she forced a smile while her hazel eyes narrowed, peeved “I’m surprised to see they let you into this exclusive event.”

Oliver gave a cocky shrug “Well your beauty caught my attention and I couldn’t resist trying to figure out a way in.”

Maria’s cheeks burned a pinkish hue.

Maria was the same age as Oliver with short, tastefully cut dark brown hair. A single streak of platinum blonde hair hung off the side of her face, giving her such a cute look. Her clothes were practical tonight since she wasn’t performing: A simple white blouse with a long flowing dark blue skirt that went all the way down to her feet. Her shoes were sensible dark blue flats designed for comfort over style.

Maria coughed into her hand, willing her blush away.

“So.” She cleared her throat “Is this your sad attempt to throw me off my game? You won’t win the next competition. We’ll be dealing with professional judges this time.”

Oliver’s eyes widen in false surprise “There’s a competition here? Fancy that. I hadn’t been made aware of that but since we’re both in town, why not have a round two?”

“Oliver….”

“I mean” Oliver went on, pretending not have heard “You are a much better singer solo than with those harpies you’re forced to keep around.”

Maria glanced to the side timidly “Don’t be absurd, the Melodic Maidens are a perfect, well oiled machine.”

Oliver scoffed dismissively “I suppose they’re nearby, listening in. Hardly leave you alone, don’t they?”

Maria opened her mouth to respond when a shrilly voice cut in.

“What do you know you two bit hack? How much did you bribe the judges last time?!”

Oliver gave a strained smile as the rest of the ladies forced their way into view.

“Lilly, Filly, Sally. You suck.”

The triplets snarled in unison, openly glaring at the bard.

Lilly, Filly and Sally were Maria’s chains: They were as much there to further her career as they were to report back to daddy to ensure the errant daughter stayed on course.

As triplets, they all shared the same features: Three pairs of dull green eyes and long messy black hair. Even their clothing were the same with each wearing a strapless dress that showed way too much skin and skirts that were way too short. The only reason Oliver could tell them apart was due to their preferred colors: Lilly in a shade of pink that was bright for her skin tone, Filly with a pale ugly yellow and Sally in seas of dark red.

The trio surrounded Maria, their arms embracing her in an uncomfortable hug. Maria bit her lip, trying to hide her uneasy.

“Still wearing that tacky outfit huh Ollie?” Lilly eyed his faded clothing distastefully.

Sally let out an unfriendly laugh “Ollie always looks like trash. Not even prize money could buy an ounce of class.”

“Actually” Oliver brushed his shoulder dismissively “Class is cheap. No amount of money could buy an ounce of character. You can blow hot air at me all you want but nothing in this world could ever change the fact that the three of you are bitches.”

The trio clicked their tongues disappointingly, their normally plain faces twisted into unflattering visages of rage while they screamed as one.

“HOW DARE YOU INSULT US?!”

“YOU ARE SUCH A POOR TACTLESS MAN!”

“YOU FUCKER!”

Oliver casually waved his hand “All bark and no bite. I’m supposed believe you’ve gotten any better in two months? Last time I checked I won the last competition.”

“OH YEAH?!” The triplets yelled, furious.

Maria threw a suspicious glance Oliver’s way “Girls, I don’t think…”

“Come on Maria, we don’t want to have to tell daddy you backed down from a challenge.”

A shiver ran down her spine, the fight draining out of her face. Oliver felt a tinge of guilt but said nothing as the girls took their positions.

Maria paused for a moment, her breathing slow and calm. The murmur of the crowds grew louder and louder upon the recognition that the ladies nearby were the Melodic Maidens.

Maria pivoted on her heels, a bright warm smile gracing her lips. Oliver could feel his heart skip a beat at the sound of her soft, airy voice beginning to sing

“Oh you hear a lot of stories about the sailors and their sport” Maria gave a playful wink his way. His cheeks burned brightly at her playful banter.

“About how every sailor has a girl in every port”

Maria twirled, her steps mischievous and alluring as her dark blue dress chased after her. She gracefully held two fingers aloft for everything to see, her smirk cocky and assured.

“but if you added two and two you’d figure out right quick”

Maria backed up as the triplets step forward to join her, the group made whole and ready for the chorus.

“It’s just because the girls all have a lad on every ship”

Maria turned to throw a sultry look towards her rival bard but instead of finding a dumbstruck Oliver, she found a smiling one. His gaze was gentle and loving as if he was seeing utterly beautiful. A small smile was tugging at his cheeks. Maria could feel her heart thunder in her ears as, without warning, Oliver gave a thumbs up and mouthed an appreciative “Thanks” before ducking into the growing crowd.

“And it’s twiddley idle idle idle, twiddley idle aye.”

What was once a spattering of folks formed into a massive gathering. Most of the party goers and guards had come over to catch the free show the girls inadvertently given and thus all focus shifted onto them. What was an attempt to show up Oliver ended up being a very unnecessary showcase.

“It’s often times a man will leave you broken with dismay”

Boy was Maria feeling that dismay right now.

-----

Oliver’s plan worked: Stairy hadn’t been to resist the siren call of a beautiful woman and her singing. Luckily the harpies hadn’t ruined it with their imperfect pitches. Stairy hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Sel slipped in behind and began working at the door. It took a moment but one blink later and the automaton vanished out of sight.

Oliver let out a sigh when a hand gripped his shoulder tightly.

“Hello sir.” A guff, low voice in a less than friendly voice “Might I have a word? You’ve been acting rather strange all party long.”

Well fuck.

[hunterartemisanime]

Barakamon: The Renovation of the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl”or The Anime Version of Muse

Although it is my first attempt to anything other than Kuroko No Basket, but I hope this rant is reached out to the people who have found this particular anime as inspiring as I have.

Disclaimer: the animes I mentioned below, I don’t hate or despise them. So please don’t come defending that I am bashing them: because I am not. I used them to point out the difference between them and Barakamon

We all know these type of story: a genius male protagonist hits a slump, meets a quirky girl and then comes back to his field fully charged with his creative genius. Most of the time the hero is romantically involved with the heroine, and when the story is nearing resolution either the heroine is conveniently killed off or bonded forever with the hero. Barakamon follows the same bildungsroman pattern. But Barakamon is not like many anime belonging to the same type of story like Nodame Cantabile or Your Lie in April: because it reinvents the heroine from a quirky love interest to a real, living breathing human child: Naru Kotoishi.

Naru's character have always perplexed me. She is a haywire child, nightmare to babysit for any person who is born and brought up in urban propriety, untamed, unfeminine, liberating. She represents the entire untamed naturality of the Gotou island, she is incorruptible hope. While everyone in the island appeared to be laid back and languid, she is the only one who is eccentric and unpredictable. When Handa arrives in the island, he is presented with the the two-faced persona: the out languidity of the island and the turbulent nature of the place that is seasoned dealing with nature’s unpredictability, in the tiny girl’s form.

So how does Naru fall into Handa’s narrative aside from literally barging into his new abode? Naru is actually everything Handa wished he had as a child: unbridled freedom, lack of controlling parents, playful and capricious. Handa was incubated into a controlled environment and molded into the fundamentalist calligrapher. Naru literally appears in a blue t-shirt and shorts with a length of rope coiled at her waist. That’s a wonderful allusion to “Wonder Woman” that was about to enter Handa Sei’s life. At the later episode, when Handa’s mother opposes how the countryside has “corrupted” his son’s refined character, we can also understand how Naru’s influence was a sort of Feminist invasion in the rigid, conservative setup of Calligraphy world. Handa’ s mother who is a good calligrapher isn’t a professional like her husband or son, thus it further proves the point that the field is male heavy space.

 At the first episode, when his fundamentalist style was challenged, he lashed out and was forced to retreat. And who he finds facing him face to face? It’s Naru. At first she makes him uncomfortable, anxious and irritated but soon Handa comes to term with the child. Naru in her essence is the other side of artistry that is impulsive, bold and uncontrolled, something which is outside Handa’s comfort zone. In several episodes, Naru is seen spilling ink, tripping on the bottles and smearing ink in clear spaces, like on the hull of the boat where Handa was asked to write by Miwa’s father. This is a great allusion of Art being an uncontrolled living breathing organism which isn't just there to please others with aesthetics; it stirs the souls and transforms. The sudden change in Handa's style, from "well behaved penmanship" to "fuzzy experimental brush strokes" are great example of Naru's influence over him. His words became simpler: "star", "feather", "utmost" "sea bream" and his style became totally eccentric. The last of “Barakamon” ‘s soundtrack is called “People learn from People” I think it actually alludes to Naru in the sense because she is the one who makes Handa face the limits of his art by challenging him physically and mentally.

So how Naru is different from the Manic pixie dream girls of the other similar animes? Both Megumi Noda of Nodame Cantabile and Kaori from Your Lies In April felt like the male fantasy of the slumped, socially awkward hero. Megumi who is outwardly perverted and downright lewd in many places is the caricature of Shinichi Chiaki’s rather prudish behaviour; as a reconciliation both  end up as couples. Kaori in “Your Lie in April” is the textbook definition of “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” who is only there to motivate Kosuke Arima and disappear to the Death. Both of the women were musically prodigious and “muse-like” that brings the protagonist out of their roadblock. Both Megumi and Kaori play classical music which are not strictly dictated in the notations, and though it strikes Chiaki and Kosuke, they accept it as their path to sublimate. Naru is neither a prodigy in any artful sense, nor she is a sexual creature (or was seen with any romantic sense by the protagonist). Like any “Manic pixie dream girl” she makes the protagonist break out of his awkward shell through her eccentricity, but she does it with a perilous edge. Handa had to combat with all of his willpower to stand up to her antics in order to grow and mature. In this self-reliance boot-camp, all his previous identities, in the form of magazine articles, interviews and books gets torn out. The torn pages are then flown away as paper aeroplanes by Naru, as a symbolic gesture of “unlearning” in order to “learn” again.

 The Muse figures in the other two animes are the comforting image of perfection which heroes of both Nodame Cantabile and Your Lie in April are trying to reach. Shinichi's hurried and capricious playing of Mozart's piano duet "Allegro Con Spirito" and Kosuke's "Twinkle Twinkle 12 variations" are the attempts to touch the perfection of their respective muses. In both anime, Mozart plays a significant role in both animes in symbolizing the “perfect”, the “liberating” and the “sparkling”, something the hero must attain in the course of time. The theme of “reaching” in those animes are so apparent that “is my art/music reaching him/her?” is a quote which appears in almost every episode. Handa on the other hand never tries to "reach" Naru, who is the muse figure. In his struggle to find his “true self” she rather becomes the light of clarity through which he attempts breaks from his fundamentalist shell. In the end, Handa doesn’t become the paramount he had imagined he would; he gets rejected by the highly conformist industry which pushed him back because he was “too fundamental”: that sort of an anti-climatic ending to the Muse and Poet sort of narrative, and that’s where Naru’s significance lie. In art, there is nothing which is “perfect”, actually perfect is the enemy of good. In the end of Barakamon season 1, it is the “Good” that wins: Handa’s satisfaction with the calligraphy of the Doners’ names on wooden plank.

...

wow that’s a lot, now tags (although I have no evidence that they like Barakamon)

: @sidd-hit-my-butt-ham @yanderebakugo @kurokonbscenarios @kurokonobasket @kurokonoboisket @art-zites @idinaxye @sp-chernobyl @strawbe3ryshortcake @reservethemoon @rilnen @a-shy-potato @thirsthourdemon @animebxxch @edagawasatoru @akawaiishi-blog @reinyrei @chloe-noir @theswahn @ahobaka-trash @jeilliane @trashtoria  @scarlettedwardsposts @quirkydarling @ghostieswaifu @levihan-freaks @hope-im-spirited-away @yves0809 @marshiro1101 @bubziles @heartfullofknb @kit-kat57 @akichan-th

[jonathankatwhatever]

I wonder if this reads like genius or madness. It’s 12 Oct 2023. I’m very worried because we don’t have a draft P&S from the buyer yet and I need the auction postponed or I declare bankruptcy next week. I can’t keep this out of my head. I’m worried about you, worried that just as I see an End to this phase of the work, that you are lost to me, either because you never were mine from the start or because it was within your Attachment potential, meaning you could choose your own Pathway at this End, at this branching, and you selected the finite, meaning you chose self-termination. That’s what the delusions say: it’s you selecting this as what you want as your forever, this finite forever in which your growth is restricted by your form, by your literal form, and the self that you are now is the self you will remain.

I’m not sure what that means. Though it sounds ominous, what if that creates the heaven you want? You continue to find ways to draw attention to yourself, but there are limits and eventually people will be surprised you’re alive, and in many iterations music finally changes so you’re constrained to that sheaf. See, using sheaves to analyze here. Think of them as grid squares sheets pegged together. I don’t know how it works yet, and am hoping it comes to me as I go through this. What joins this particular sheaf is that it is defined as a specific Is, meaning this sheaf contains all the iterations, connected in Triangular over a 1-0Segment, but otherwise constructed as sets or as threads relating the Observer 3rd End to the 1-0Segment. So you can think of this Triangular, then flip it sideways to see that it’s actually all the iterations in separate grid squares sheets, and those all End in orderings on the 1-0Segment. See? It’s like a fan, like the wedges of your look yesterday. You then flip it back sideways and you can imagine the peg connecting them all.

Next part is this maps all those iterations to this End. Then we see Not: the Not of this Is has the fundamental CM100 effects, which are that we map this Is forward to fit the enclosing Not, as we map that enclosing Not an enlarged version of this Is. Sideways inference and forward and back inference. So, take an iteration from here to there, and as you run along the route, you intersect other routes that would use this particular route more efficiently, meaning you’re sort of in the way in the mappings of those other routes with their other Ends. That doesn’t mean those other Ends actually exist, but that there is a mapping to inferred other Ends with each step taken. That’s essential gs process, that theer is a comparison at each level and levels are defined by the extent of process, meaning steps taken.

Example: two teams on a season long battle for supremacy, and losses are extra steps, which carries into the playoffs if those exist in home field advantage, etc. There’s a requirement they engage in the game. The idea of the competition is that if it puts on a good game then people will care. This is true whether the game is good for people or bad: the rules of attention are clear. The urge to draw attention to yourself, to be inferred center of attraction, meaning you’re between people, meaning you Inject into people and the weight of that into you, the gathering of them into you, gives you that gravitational attraction you appear to crave. I’m not discounting that this could be an act which you’ve learned to enjoy as part of your quest to master yourself. That requires levels of acceptance which can only be reached down those positive pathways.

That raises an interesting question: is this then the same issue on your side as on mine? That is, the process I follow goes from negative version of you to positive to math and other creative thought OR from positive version of you to math and creative thought. That suggests the same is true for you. And that instantly generated something: Tinkerbell is the I//I in Peter Pan, the remnant of the undevelopable girl side attached to the boy who can’t grow up because he’s chosen to relive that existence, even when the Lost Boys are recovered and he has no one to play with. I’ve never thought about that before.

That makes the kind of twist I expect in great art and thus from you: making up a new Ending as a selecting the finite, as selecting a construction. That’s what you offer them: this construction, that construction.

So, is it possible I’ve been hand-feeding a monster? Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean monster is bad. It could mean monster good. The idea is then that a loop for me which is clearly positive to me generates results which loop around and advance. The negative forms loops which yield no math and which make me miserable and which push toward destructive thoughts. So, if that is true, would you choose an End here in this place? No matter how happy a group can be at a show, why would anyone want to spend Eternity attached to this place, to be constrained to this violent, deteriorating existence? That’s the stupid prize.

[rallamajoop]

How (not) to say ‘fuck’ in Etruscan (and other things I cannot believe I spent so much time tracking down for a throwaway joke in a Witcher slash-fic)

Buried in chapter 4 of my fic Something Nice is a joke which, as much as it amused me, no-one else is going to get unless I explain it. So here we go.

For the last few people in this fandom who haven't heard yet: The Witcher 3's vampire-language is Etruscan. To my knowledge, there's never been an official statement from CDPR to confirm this, but the evidence (ie. that basically all the vampire vocab can be found in online Etruscan sources) seems pretty solid. To explain why this made me go oooooh that's so NEAT, we need a little context.

Context!

The Etruscans (in my admittedly far-from-expert understanding) were a people who lived in Italy back before the Romans got around to conquering-slash-assimilating the rest of the peninsula, and the language they spoke is one of the most frustratingly mysterious of the ancient world. Most dead languages are at least related to something modern linguists have a decent handle on, but Etruscan seems to have been related to almost nothing else spoken – it may even have pre-Indo-European roots (a whoooole other tangent I am in no way qualified to cover).

Surprisingly, we do owe our modern Latin alphabet in part to the Etruscans, since the earliest Roman alphabets were adapted from the Etruscan (who got it from the Greeks, who got it from from the Phoneticians, and so on). The Etruscans may even be the reason we're stuck with so many weirdly redundant K-sounds (not only K and C, but X and Q, which are really just 'ks' and 'kw' with an overblown sense of superiority).

But being able to sound out every surplus K-word from an Etruscan inscription isn't much help nowadays when there are no surviving Etruscan dictionaries to tell us what it actually means – not even a decent Etruscan Rosetta stone to give us a push-start. So while modern linguists may rattle off Ancient Greek fluently or puzzle out Egyptian hieroglyphs from thousands of years before the Etruscans even had an alphabet, the Etruscan vocabulary available to us nowadays remains embarrassingly limited. Bits have been figured out from context or thanks to loanword exchanges with their neighbours (plenty of ancient Greeks and Romans certainly spoke Etruscan, even if they failed to write it down), but a lot is still as mysterious to the experts as it would be to you and me.

So why to I love the idea of using Etruscan as the Witcher’s vampire-language so much? Basically, if you want a language that will sound both old and reliably alien to anyone listening to it – be they the mainstream English-speaking market or the original Polish-language audience – Etruscan is a damn good call. You're not going to have much vocabulary to draw from, but it's not like there's a lot of vampire-chatter in the game anyway. It's a cool little easter egg for fans nerdy enough to try and figure out what they're saying.

Translations and Sources

You aren’t going to find a lot of great Etruscan language sources on the web – few of the easily-discovered online sources on Etruscan vocab appear to have been updated within the last ten years, and lord knows how consistent some of these are with current scholarship (let alone how sure linguists can be about anything with a task like this). All the same, have some links you may find useful:

Etruscology – Brief, but more readable than most

Lexicons.ru Etruscan Glossary – Probably one of the best collections of many terms in one place

Maravot.com Etruscan Language pages – Hard to navigate, but gosh there are a lot of vocab here I have not seen elsewhere

Old, Tripod-hosted Etruscan Glossary – I think these are mostly just the same terms from the Lexicons page, but in harder-to-use format

Etruscan word search – Decent, but not the most extensive vocab

Introduction to the Etruscan Language – Looks to be from Maravot.com, but in pdf format

Paleoglot.com’s Etruscan tag – Blog by an actual linguist who regularly discusses Etruscan material, and who even created their own translation applet! – which was, unfortunately, in flash, and is thus no longer usable. (There is a certain irony that even the tools available online to help you understand Etruscan are written in a language that is now no longer supported or understood by any modern browser.)

Not that translating what’s in the game is going to be easy, oh no. Take, for example, the oh-god-please-don't-kill-me ceremonial greeting Geralt has to offer to the Unseen Elder to survive that meeting – "Eclthi, lautni ama".

'Eclthi' is apparently a "demonstrative (locative)" (’here’, ‘there’, etc). "Lautni" is trickier – it means a freed slave, but may also imply a familial relationship or a client of sorts, while the root “lautn” apparently designates simply “possession.” House slaves in the ancient world were often considered part of the family, and freed slaves were an important class in many ancient cultures, who often maintained relationships with their former masters, so you can see the internal logic, but what sense was the Witcher using it in? It’s hard to know.

"Ama" is possibly worse – most translations seem to have taken it as "to be", but sometimes also “to love”, or even "now" or  "meanwhile." Then you hit the question of Etruscan grammar, and I have no idea where I’d even start. So, with a little creativity, you could probably translate that phrase as anything from "take this and consider me a friend" to "meanwhile, this is family" to "a demonstration of love from your slave." I mean, you've got the same general theme going there regardless, but there's a lot of ambiguity in the inflection.

For what it's worth, I feel garasham's translation efforts are easily the most convincing I've seen – they have the above line as “Here I am a slave / a friend / kindred” FWIW. (Mind you, given the wiki doesn't even try to do more than offer you one possible meaning for each word, there's not exactly much competition out there).

So, bringing this all back to that fic and how to say ‘fuck’ in Etruscan...

I've already gone to the web's Etruscan dictionaries once while I was writing Forget-Me-Not, seeking inspiration for a 'real' name for "the Queen of the Night" from the first Witcher game. Neither 'queen' or 'night' got me far, but the Etruscans did apparently have a goddess of the moon called 'Aritimi, Artume or Artames', which worked pretty well. If anything it's almost too close to the better-known Greek goddess Artimis, who was obviously a relative (ancient cultures bleed into each other even when they're not bleeding all over each other, nothing new there), but I'm not going to be picky.

However, being a) a giant nerd, who b) writes a lot of smut, and c) is no more mature deep down inside than the rest of us, I couldn't resist seeing if I could find some slightly more obscene vocabulary. Did the Etruscans have a word for, say, 'fuck'?

Alas, if they did (and I mean, they totally did, c'mon), the web wouldn't tell me about it. Nor could I find much else relating to sex or genitalia (male or female), or even a decent word for 'thrust'.

On the flipside, there were a couple of different terms meaning 'plough'. And anyone who's played – well, any of the games, but especially Witcher 2 – would probably realise exactly why that filled me with so much glee.

Speaking of which, here, have a picture which is in no way related:

The fact that the various Etruscan terms meaning ‘plough’ could also apparently be translated as things like “to worship“ or “to act through movement, including ritual acts,” or that an important mythological figure was “a prophetic child who sprang from a freshly plowed furrow” was in no way discouraging.

The word I ultimately picked was 'esari'. Admittedly, variations on the prefix ‘ar-’/‘ara-’/’aras’ were much more consistently attested to throughout the various online Etruscan dictionaries as ‘terms meaning plow’, but figuring out how to convert an Etruscan prefix into a satisfying word is officially where even my enthusiasm for all this nonsense gives out. Esari was, by comparison, already a much more solid-sounding term, so let’s go with that.

Why go to all this trouble anyway? Well, the honest answer is “entirely for my own amusement”, but the nominal excuse comes right back to “so I could give Regis and Geralt this little exchange during a sex scene.”

"Unless you have any particular objection," said Regis, moving to straddle Geralt's body, "I thought we might engage in some esari... hm, what was the equivalent term in your language again?" The vampire leaned in close to Geralt's ear as he made a show of remembering his answer, "Ah, yes—I thought I'd fuck you."

Never let anyone tell you you never learnt anything from porn!