#ooc: i hope this is worth

[ghostsandmirrors]

"It is nice, your smile." He was quiet again, almost sentimental in his tone, gentle like he was holding this memory and trying not to break it. Seeing friends smile, laugh, have any amount of joy, would always be rewarding. It would always feel like the world apologising for the bad; 'I'm sorry, but here's something to cherish.'

Some of his favourite memories were the smiles of his friends, the laughs of family, the times of revelry. This one would sit amongst them comfortably.

"Sey, I am glad I am easy to convince," he said jokingly, as if he would ever--could ever--doubt a friend, especially one as... careful and considerate as Atieno had shown themself to be. "If I wasn't?" An expression of distaste came to him, as if words alone weren't enough to tell them how terrible of a universe that would be.

Now, it was his turn to be flustered. That tiny blush was back, turning what was visible of his cheeks to a soft pink and making Liaxee uncharacteristically quiet. "Oh." It was a simple little word, but a perfect expression of his surprise. "I try." A light-hearted comment. An attempt at distracting from the blush that he could feel.

Atieno found themself slightly flustered at the sight of him beaming down at them so brightly. That was enough to make their smile widen further.. and they had to choose, actively choose not to avert their gaze in the midst of such internal 'self-consciousness'.

At least Liaxee's booming laugh was enough for them not to stay in that ruminating place for too long. "Hm. I'm glad that I don't have to convince you." They could only play the convincing game every so often and that's just not something they were particularly interested in doing with him.

"I appreciate that. It is very nice to hug, to feel close. Being close to you in general sounds pretty nice honestly. "

[asteria7fics]

It’s finally here, goobers.

The much requested sequel to Remplir Sa Bouche is finally here!

I have slaved over a hot stove to prepare this meal for all of you, but it was a labor of love. I could not have expected that original one-shot would have been so well liked. It certainly served its purpose as an appetizer, so many people were asking for more!

Anyway, please enjoy the first course of your meal! (๑>؂•̀๑)

[volivolition]

wiggles my fingers at you ouuuu… you want to tell me about solace so bad…

HKJGG wiggles my fingers back lovingly!!! i really do, i fuckin LOVE solace :3 hey did you know i really like making fake skill descriptions?

SOLACE

Follow the north star. Find light in even the darkest places. Cool for: Optimists, Recovering lost souls, Sweet summer children

Solace is the skill you tucked away long ago, at the bottom of Pandora's box. The little one that tells you: despite it all, there is still hope. It needs a lot of nurturing -- and it's far from being the most helpful for police work -- but taking care of it is basically self-care. It enables you to find the glow in yourself that you often ascribe to gold lungs or brilliant halos in others. It encourages you to wake up and watch the sunrise, to play board games with someone you love, to forgive yourself and let yourself be a gentler kind of animal. Constantly looking forward to a brighter future, it also helps shield your morale from damage.

At high levels, Solace gives you a heightened sense of childlike optimism - which isn't always the sense to lead with in this precariously harsh world. Always looking for the bright side will blindside you with naivety. At low levels, however, you may just extinguish whatever keeps your soul alight. You've already lost her once. You may not survive the desolation if you let her disappear again.

[cursezoroark]

bandanna

[lunaetis]

me with 4 hours of sleep & a full day ahead : wish me luck guys lkjhgfghjkl

[reginrokkr]

So... I just finished the exams, got the important grades and what better way to get this over with than on my birthday! Normal activity should resume soon, although I'm not sure if it'll be today as I won't have time to nap and I'm going out with my father. So depending on the energy levels I have, I'll plop in here or I'll come back tomorrow to tackle down those drafts and ask thingies ♥︎

[nerdynanny]

I’ll be AWAY this weekend and on my laptop without the beta editor and trimmer set up. But I’m also gonna be with friends and I’m so HYPE!

Let’s hope I don’t get Covid this time. I’ll be back SUNDAY NIGHT. So until then I’m on a brief weekend hiatus! I’ll be able to chat in IMs or on Disco. If we are mutuals shoot me an add, same name as my URL.

BIRTHDAYCON WEEKEND!

[hatchetsfield-arch]

hey guys i told someone on the phone that i hope they have a great weekend…are u proud of me 🥺👉👈

[ifiamhumaniamperfect]

CESAR!!!!!! CESAR THERES A SHADOW THING IN YOUR HOUSE!!!!!!!!_:!8_:!8_:!:8^!!!!!

CESAR!!!!!! OH GOD HE CANT HEAR US HE HAS AIRPODS IN

How... can he hear you.

...

How long have you been speaking to him?

[aceparagon]

❝Mayhaps there is merit to crafting leading one to becoming rich...❞

[iceiclehorned]

I’ve been playing HSR on NA servers for a bit of fun & playing through the beginning has been so nostalgic. Observing the way Kafka looks at the main character has me choking and falling down stairs (not literally but damn it isn’t fun to experience). It’s been one of the most magical experiences.

Will be answering my inbox & threads later tonight as I slowly work my way through the game from scratch!

[sandzephyr]

;; I just made like a million new! Temari icons on my phone (I'm masochistic I guess) and just wanted to upload them to my computer, got sidetracked and now I've been busy moving my entire phone to my computer for the past hours...and I'm not even at the icons yet...it's 3am please I just want to go to sleep help...

[seirosu]

What Kind of Tragedy Are You? self-inflicted

you were given the choice to live , a thousand times over, and yet you never choose it . not intentionally , oh no, you didn’t know it was a grave you were digging . but with every turn , you were twisting the knife deeper . every decision doomed you more . had it been anyone else , they would have made it . but you ?? you are so perfectly you , there was no escaping it . the true tragedy of it all, is how preventable it was.

tagged by : @mischiefmodig (tyty!!)

[mystalwartheart]

🎤🎤🎤!!!

Yes, that is, in fact, Tekken 5.

I saw a video of someone playing a modded Resident Evil 5 Mercenaries as Jill set to this song once, and I've associated it with her ever since.

I think the vibes fit my Angelino Venetian Jill especially well.

The obligatory Iron Maiden representative on the list.

Jill has spent her entire career fighting murderers, megalomaniacs, amoral con artists, psycho/sociopathic European aristocratic Eugenicists and Actual Nazis who think they can get away with anything because of their wealth, power and influence.

She gives them no quarter, and no mercy.

I considered putting some more "fun" picks here and I also considered going with a more "serious" choice, but in the end I felt the song that splits the difference was the actual correct choice.

The 1980s were anarchic chaos in the face of apocalypse, and few songs capture that wry, eclectic, hedonistic dissonance like "The Bottom Line".

This single is high on my vinyl record wishlist for sure.

[biff-adventurer]

today i met tiny chris

poor wean's da got et by a 'bon. now he wants 'em all dead. wiv' crossy eyes like them as drawed in the picture shows. dinnae get et and ye might be his new da.

he actually made me think about two things - the npcs/people we've helped along the way, and the writing of accents.

it's no secret i gave biff this accent - it tells you he ain't a city slicker but rather a rural boy, it tells you his folks ain't got a lotta money (at least, one would think), and it associates him with a specific cultural/ethnic profile (gaelic, i know/studied a little more about irish than scots so i lean irish)

i think we should, as a society, be wary of continuing to associate class with specific ethnic communities, but i'm not learned enough to make a post dedicated to my specific thoughts on that (yet? tbd)

mostly, i think it's important to look at the way characters speak as a vehicle of writing. when you write a character's accent, is it useful for what you're trying to establish in the scene? is the noble supposed to fail to understand the vernacular of his server? is it useful if the character is always going to say "dinnae" instead of "do not"? when dealing with non-western characters with accents, how far is it okay to go until the dialogue goes from representation to racist charicature?

writers have the power of flexibility. writing is about persuasion more than anything else, and we should remember to persuade our audiences that these are people. they aren't real, so don't bother with "realistic" - but they represent real ideas, concepts and associations in our world. it's important to be careful what you do with these, intended or not! and if you make an oopsie? acknowledge, accept and continue on your journey to being your best.

my preferences for writing accents based on my experiences, observations and education lean thus:

pick and choose what words require emphasis. if the whole sentence requires it, then so be it! but make conscious choices. words weigh differently, and they carry double the weight when they're written out to represent an accent. just really think about whether or not this is the point you want to say to, t', ta, or tae. the whole sentence doesn't need to be written out phonetically b/c avoiding doing that helps us steer clear of reiterating caricatures.

include culturally specific verbiage. "what's the craic" or "how's it hangin'" depending on who your character is. in india, lots of people greet each other with religious phrases (in english, it'd sound like saying "god is good"/"good is god" call and response) - so a thavnairian character could say anything between "sisters be with you" to "mindhurva guide your path today" (and also yours, brother/sister). but also: wain, wean, child, sweetling,

be careful which non-english words your character uses. i don't call it chai tea latte, i call it chai latte. my wife doesn't call it green tea latte, but matcha latte. i actually don't drink chai latte, i drink chai. but i call it both chai and tea interchangeably; so, when i want someone to know how to prepare my tea, i might ask for chai instead of tea. because with chai, you get half or whole base milk instead of water. you get dried ginger or an array of spices depending on the auntie. with tea, you get dried up leaves and some hot water. big difference for me.

above all, make sure it's legible most of the time. you can do this by avoiding writing a character's accent out completely phonetically. this isn't to say "conform your character to what people think they should talk like". this is about being aware that writing implies an audience. if you want your writing to connect with people, the important parts should be clearly communicated in the text. especially if you're writing in english. if i wanted my characters to speak hindi, why would i bother writing the story in english at all? you want people to see your character a specific way. write them the way you hope they'll be seen--if you've done a good enough job, it will lead to so much joy and satisfaction. if you haven't--it's back to the drawing board! but you get the chance to learn even more.

[therealbadegg]

I am the midnight goblin. Please knock the shit outta me or something