#or doesn't convey what i want it to

[bikananjarrus]

to the people who regularly put together those amazing web weaving posts, you have my undying love and affection <333 truly in awe of the parallels y'all weave together

[jesuis-assez]

Tim unconsciously sending/showing signals of his feelings for Lucy

[thebramblewood]

Everyone say congratulations to the new uncle! Thank you @itcrescentcrow for your lovely Veronica Aurelius, whose story inspired me to have Vlad start a vampire family of his own (for entirely unspiteful reasons, I'm sure).

P.S. Join the fan club if you haven't already!

Previous / Next

Caleb: [startled] Jesus Christ!

Vlad: [wryly] Guess again. I couldn’t help noticing you’ve acquired a new… houseguest. That girl is freshly turned. She has all the grace of a newborn colt. Your sister’s latest plaything, I presume?

Caleb: How many times have I told you I’m not interested in indulging your desire for gossip? Anyone with a modicum of social grace would have taken the hint by now.

Vlad: [continues, unruffled] The curious thing is I’ve seen her before, the girl, at your insipid little gathering of hedonists in the spring. Her cheeks were much rosier then, as I recall. I’m surprised Lilith offered her the dark gift so soon — or at all. Does she not expect to grow bored of this one? Or, I wonder, did something not go precisely according to plan?

Caleb: [defensively] Lilith didn’t turn her. She nearly killed her. I did it to save her life.

Vlad: [amused] Always the humanitarian, you — though it is strange you would choose to burden another with an existence you clearly detest. But I must admit I’m impressed. I wasn’t sure you had it in you. Frankly, I rather thought you’d be dead or driven to madness by now. [sighs stagily] At any rate, I wish you luck. If you’re hoping to raise her in your image, you’ll need it. I can’t imagine Lilith will surrender her easily. Alas, I must go. There are other matters-

Veronica: [snarls aggressively]

Caleb: Who are you?

Vlad: Manners, darling.

Veronica: Sorry, Uncle Vlad. My dinner almost got away from me.

Vlad: [strangely paternalistic] Isn’t she a marvel?

Caleb: Uncle Vlad?

Vlad: This is my niece, Veronica. Well, cousin several times removed, but that’s such a mouthful. I’ve been trying to introduce her for some time.

Caleb: I must have mistaken that for your usual garden variety creeping.

Vlad: We have a common ancestor in my maker, though the bloodlines diverged centuries ago and hers was thought to be quite diluted. You see, after generations of tamping down their vampiric nature, their powers had largely grown dormant. But Veronica is special. She tells me her dreams led her to me. Can you believe it? [chuckles] I haven’t dreamed since I was mortal. At any rate, I’ve taken her under my wing. I have much to teach her, and she is an eager pupil.

Caleb: Good… for you.

Lilith, looking out on them from the window: He has a WHAT?!?

[unproduciblesmackdown]

imagine...

...that some things have changed (including some marigold ventures?) and Atlas May is like uh oh both lackadaisy & i are doomed, but if i set up my own death maybe only i'll be doomed and lackadaisy might have to shutter but perhaps more so on involved people's terms, such as mitzi being fine financially, but also if she thinks it's her fault that'll be good for maintaining my posthumous Image to her, perhaps she did some defrauding again? and i'll have mordecai, my trusted & effective gunman, be the one to fatally shoot me, & of course he doesn't want to, but it's Mere Work Ethic time, what's he gonna do besides argue at all maybe, ultimately refuse? (no) and he may hate it but he's not going to want to fully turn on mitzi or anything after because then what would have been the point

[fisheito]

hello... please consider... yakumo in:

the classic traditional style qipaos

the modernised and modified ones

bonus: modified hanfu

he would look wonderful wouldn't he? all the more delectable and sashimiable?

ahaha...ahah...AHAHHAH.AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[serpentface]

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

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

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

The 'method' I used was:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[scionshtola]

wip almost wednesday

i've been working on something this week and was just happy i managed to do that so thought i would share :> slight enw spoilers

tagging @coldshrugs @lavampira @hythlodaes @galadae @ghostwise

@impossible-rat-babies @lilas @birues and anyone else who wants to share! no pressure 💗 but i'd love to see anything you're working on!

‘Twas simple, after that, to fall into the haze of domestic bliss that overcame the two of them for the next few days. Corisande showed her around the island, her hand in theirs as they toured together. They dipped their feet in lily-filled ponds, jumped across the cold streams that carved the land on their way to the sea, stood atop cliffs with beautiful views that Corisande painted for her with words. Corisande pointed out all her favorite spots for foraging, marks on trees that marked her way back to the cabin, and where the island’s animals often liked to gather. They kissed beneath the loud rush of waterfalls, in the mouth of caves home to glowing crystal formations sprouting from the ground, under leafy palm trees, their backs pressed to the rough bark. They spent much of their time on the beach. Corisande packed lunch and they sprawled across a blanket on the shifting sand. They ate, read, lay together under the sun, the breeze lifting off the sea enough to keep the heat at bay. Sometimes they walked, hand in hand, the tide washing over their footsteps; other times, Corisande swam while Y’shtola read, waiting for the moment they returned and pressed their cool body to hers, both of them laughing when Y’shtola tossed her book to the side. They talked, as well, of course, about the usual things. Books they had read recently, recipes Corisande wanted to cook for Y’shtola to try, the progress on Y’shtola’s book and what the other Scions were doing with their newfound free time. There were topics they did not discuss, things that made Corisande pause, disquiet, before kissing the back of Y’shtola’s hand and leading her somewhere new. When the conversation brushed against them, Y’shtola did not pry. She let herself be pulled into their lap, pressed into the blanket, the sand warm beneath her, their lips and hands temporarily eliding her concerns. Corisande would come to her when she was ready.

[macbethz]

[walkingstackofbooks]

Julian's life seems to have been injected with a rash of near-fatal mishaps - several causing him and the others around him no small amount of injury. At first, he wonders if it's him, the shock of his parents' recent deaths leading him to sleepwalk into clumsy, preventable accidents, but it soon becomes apparent that it must be something more than that.

Garak and Odo are both convinced that someone is out to get him, and honestly Julian's increasingly inclined to believe them - but no-one can figure out who, or why, or how, no matter how much they dig into security feeds and record tapes. And even Garak - now following him around as a self-appointed bodyguard - can't stop the incidents from occurring with alarming regularity.

Julian's utterly tired of it all. The last thing he needs is to constantly be looking over his shoulder, fearful for his life even when he's not in a warzone, unable to properly concentrate on his job or anything else... It's ridiculous, and exhausting, and he'd really like it to stop, please?

(Although, maybe he's not tired of it *all*. Having a shadow named Garak is something he could get used to...)

--

Richard and Amsha, meanwhile, would do anything for their son. Would do anything to be with their son. He is theirs, after all.

They know what's best for him, and even if he rejected them in life, that's soon going to change. Once he's dead too, they'll be with him forever - the perfect family, at last. This one thought is all they've been left with.

Julian must die.

[allyriadayne]

We are puppets dancing on the strings of those who came before us, and one day our own children will take up our strings and dance in our steads.

[mermaidsirennikita]

sometimes it drives me literally insane to see romance requests that are like

--I want a romance wherein it's basically the happy epilogue throughout the book

--I want a romance that has great communication and they never withhold anything from each other ever

--no "miscommunication trope"

The last thing is just a general gripe about how so many of the things people say are tropes are not tropes, and it's pedantic and snobby but like. Miscommunication is so broad. It's not a trope. People are miscommunicating. WHAT are they miscommunicating about? Is one of them keeping a secret identity from their partner? Because a secret identity romance iS a trope. Is one of them withholding their feelings out of fear of rejection?

Because people DO miscommunicate. Often writers do write it clumsily. If people miscommunicate for no reason, sure, whatever. But if they miscommunicate BECAUSE of a REASON--like, often it's not even miscommunication lol. It's the hero keeping his dire supernatural secret from his wife because she'll die if she finds out (honestly, valid to me, but whatever). It's the heroine finding it difficult to trust the hero with her heart because her dad left when she was young (maybe cliche in theory, but actually a very real thing that happens).

If all you want is plotless nothing wherein everyone is happy and nobody makes mistakes, I personally have a hard time thinking of it as a book, because there is no story. It's just vibes. And essentially EVERY time, people have to mess up and make mistakes in order for there to be a plot.

I just don't understand the point.

[amelikos]

It's really interesting seeing moments where Liko is overly careful with her words, to the point it feels like she is walking on eggshells and prefacing her thoughts with "it's fine, I really think it's fine but..." even around her friends.

[barghest-land]

another night of wondering how people see my art and what it truly means to them. do they see it as just some "pretty aesthetic pictures" or it has some kind of meaning to them? do they remember this when they close the browser and turn off the computer, or it exists only when they're looking at the post? does it cause any emotions, or do people admire only technique and skills? the level of skills doesn't matter much to me, by the way. it's always something else that is there. something that makes me stay, follow someone, and think about their art when i go to sleep or when i look at something and it reminds me of them. of how they think, how they chose colors and lines to tell something through it. and often i'm afraid that i don't have that. i wan't chasing after being better technically and having higher skills, but it happens anyway, i'm forced to constantly jump over my head bc of my job. and on the one hand i'm grateful for that, on another - that's where i'm losing a part of the soul, i think, if i can phrase it that way. creating art has always been a way to communicate since i'm bad with words, and now i feel like i'm slowly losing the only way to speak. it feels like i speak a language no one else knows and it's terrifying. or i'm just being completely delusional and i shouldn't think about things when it's 5am

[motheatenscarf]

The nice thing about being caught up on MSQ is I can go through character tags just fine and not get spoiled!

The bad thing about being caught up on MSQ is I can go through character tags and realize oh god, oh no, people are trying to include Urianger in their cute little fancomics and no one is taking the like 30 minutes it would take to figure out the grammatical rules on his speech patterns, OH NO.

It's a very stupid pet peeve of mine but it's just one of those "I know it when I see it" kinda things about BAD fake early-modern English. I'm far from an expert, I never did get my degree, Life Happened, but I don't think you need to be an expert to make it... not... terrible...

Like, literally 30 minutes of research on early modern English, you don't need to be a scholar of Shakespear or the King James Bible, you just gotta remember basic grammar and read shit out loud and if it's Technically Correct but sounds bad, change it and be wrong anyway.

Just. Ngh.

[swati-art]

I'm thinking so hard about how sonic is so overconfident in his "things will turn out ok eventually!" mindset while shadow experienced firsthand how things don't always turn out ok, it doesn't matter how hard you try, sometimes you are just powerless to the circumstances of life

[calware]

how do u think jake is meant to be interpreted? /genq

i think that he's scared of his friends abandoning him but he doesn't have a lot of confidence in his social skills, gets overwhelmed, and comes to the (wrong) conclusion that he would be happier just being alone. he does want to be with his friends but he has trouble managing conflict and confronting them if he believes it will create conflict. take this all with a grain of salt though because i'm not an analysis guy