#really depends on the text/story you're reading lol

[saturnsedan]

the shit twins, the blowjob brothers, sniff and whimper

[transmutationisms]

how'd you learn to read french? could you point me to some resources? ideally free, i don't got them dollars or euros.

i took it for about 7 years in school, but a lot of that was kind of useless as far as reading knowledge goes because they were trying to teach us conversational skills lol. i had three semesters in undergrad that exclusively focussed on reading, which helped a lot, but since then i've just gotten stronger by practicing.

what i would recommend is just to download a 'french for reading' book (there are 5 different ones on libgen for english -> french; i believe i used the palmeri in college, but they're probably all fine) and work through at least the basic grammar that way. then it's really just a matter of starting to translate things.

iirc my coursework started us on larochefoucauld's maxims and pascal's pensées, then we did some descartes and rousseau's émile, and then switched to literature: racine's phèdre, one of molière's plays, baudelaire's fleurs du mal, rimbaud, and passages from proust's à la recherche du temps perdu. but there's nothing magical about that sequence -- what would be most helpful to you will depend on what sorts of things you want to read in the long run (eg, for me personally it would have been more useful if i'd learned on biology texts or something, just to introduce me to that vocabulary set earlier, but oh well).

you can also find collections of children's stories (i did this for german and found it boring but often helpful; fairy tales might be fun but be aware of the literary passé simple tense vs the more common-use passé composé) or you can also start on news articles since those tend to be written in plainer language with limited tenses. we used to use le monde in high school lmao. in any case just try to pick texts that have translations available so you can check your work.

i'd also strongly recommend wordreference.com if you don't already use it (online dictionary, but it'll give you examples of the word in sentences and in unusual usages, plus there's a discussion forum feature that is actually useful sometimes) and linguee.com, which lets you search phrases and shows actual documents and websites where they occur. most of the corpus is things like government websites, but it still saved my ass a good few times when i was starting out and would run into usages i just hadn't learned in the classroom.

& if you're looking for historical sources, the french national library's digitised collection is free/searchable at gallica.bnf.fr, and includes texts that have translations available as well as ones that don't.

[seirindono]

two questions.

one, HOW DOES ONE COMIC/STORY BOARD??

IM OBSESSED WITH HOW YOU DO IT ITS SO BEAUTIFUL

two, HOW DO YOU SO IT SO FAST( that’s question is more just me being super impressed oh my goodness)

you���re very good😳

Aw, sweet, a board question *puts on serious glasses*

Ok, bring it on anon.

So, the first thing to ask yourself when starting a comic, as I see it, is what type of board are you dealing with. Webtoon? A4 pages? 4 panels? There are many ways to go about it, and each involves different processes. For example, pages will allow for more superfluous scenes, whereas the webtoon format has to be super succinct because of the reading direction. I personally think that's the main reason I do pages, among other advantages: •narrative density •variety •Tumblr-friendly format

There are quite a few disadvantages too but you have to go through the process of trials and errors to really find out what suits you best!

Then there's the ambition of the sequence you're boarding for. And it goes from 1. how used I am to boarding this kind of sequence/drawing these characters/setting and backgrounds, to 2. is it an emotional sequence? Dialogue-heavy? Or more contemplative?

It changes the way you work and how you should approach your board! For example, in TMS, the very wordy chapters (4 and 5 for ex) generally called for simple and narrow framing. Of course, you don't want to bore the reader so you can spice things up to match the characters mood and reactions once in a while, but you have to bear in mind that the sequence aims to provide dialogue and information = the text bubbles are key and WILL take a lot of place. So let them.

( then again, it's all about pacing and balance. A page full of dialogue and one with too much happening are equally hard to read and boring to do)

Only dialogue, simple squares, no compostion, the focus is on Mel's reaction

On the other hand, parts 7 and 8 are all about action and atmosphere! This makes for wider and more varied shots!

They're fighting, things are going fast so why not use a single line to show many actions! They're still basically squares and rectangles but the pacing is totally different!

Or why not give the action a full page to really show its sheer impact

You can also split things, with a zoom or small time gap, depending on if it's a gag or if you want to put the focus on a reaction. Here, the asymmetry helps reinforce the unstable, jerky aspect of the scene. The situation is getting out of hand, and visually, the pages are affected too.

Now, these are case-by-case examples. And I never work on my pages separately.

For context, this-

-is the "first" board I did for part 8.

The drawings are very small and frankly difficult to make out, but the intention is what matters at this point lol I have the script (very important) next to my canvas, and I scribble the pages one after the ither. This allows me to see if the actions flow well, if the compositions are varied and also whether certain passages are too long or too short in regard to their importance. Which scenes can be merged? Removed? Toned down or if they deserve more bite?

This is a really fun and creative part but, I'll say it again, made a lot easier with a solid scipt. And I'm talking about a text document with clearly defined dialogues (or at least outlines) and actions.

I can't really explain how to write a script, it really depends on your work flow and how confortable you are with writing, but it's too important to just rush through it. No matter how much it changes before, during or after your finish boarding (cuz you gotta break your own rules sometimes and you'll often realize some things don't work as well once you put them on paper/sometimes art block can be resolved by writing the scene and just taking the time to imagine) but it's still your one guideline.

Aaaand, that's about it.

Other than that, I can only highly recommend reading lots of comics, Webtoon, books, watching movies, paintings, illustrations, animatics or listening to music, to inspire you and expand your own "personal library of references". Professional or not, anything your find inspiring and well executed. Boarding is at its core, telling stories. No art skill involved, just pure subjectivity. At the end of the day, it's all about squares, rectangles and bubbles so you gotta work on your creativity. The rest is gut feeling!

Constantly ask yourself how to tell this story, and how you want to tell it. How this sequence should be perceived? What do you need to show to make pages and pages of words appealing and interesting.

Be patient, be bold. Start with easy stuff to get some confidence if you need to. Accept that "boring" pages are smt necessary and that it's up to you to build up tension for a scene to really pop. Try new ideas and be ready to scrap many of them, the result will be worth all the work!

Now, concerning the "fast" part, I'm flattered but I personally think I'm super slow xD You prbly get that impression bc I finish the whole chapter before posting it, but behind the scene, I'm just working at a very regular pace.

Thank youuu anon ♡( ◡‿◡ )

[littlesparklight]

Are there any good books (preferably non-fiction but idm fiction recs) about Paris and/or Helen you would recommend for someone wanting to dive more into the mythology of each?

Haha you're only getting non-fiction because I'm so picky about fiction when it comes to Greek myth I've barely read any at all. So I'll give you some of my favourite academia! Anything that isn't a book is a paper you can read for free either on academia.edu or on Jstor (the latter with a free account). Or, you know, getting it in some other way just like with the books /cough

Helen of Troy: Beauty, Myth, Devastation by Ruby Blondell - SO good (some reviewers feel the Odyssey chapter is lacking,); it's obviously about Helen mostly haha but Paris gets solid mentions in the first couple chapters and scattered ones throughout. Depending on the edition you get, it might or might not have a chapter/paper titled Bitch That I Am: Self-Blame and Self-Assertion in the Iliad ; I recommend this one too, and it can be read on Jstor.

The Body as Argument: Helen in Four Greek Texts by Nancy Worman - really interesting, especially for the Iliad and Sappho 16 sections. On Jstor.

Image, Text, and Story in the Recovery of Helen by Guy Hedreen - he goes through this really systematically! Obviously, nothing about Paris here, but it's definitely a good look at the part of Helen's story that has to do with her being reclaimed by Menelaos. On JStor.

Helen's "Judgment of Paris" and Greek Marriage Ritual in Sappho 16 by Eric Dodson-Robinson - Sappho 16 my beloved. Anyway, it was a while since I read this one, but I remember liking it, and it goes into Helen as subject. Can be found on Jstor, Academia, or downloaded from the university itself!

Aspects of Effeminacy and Masculinity in the Iliad by Christopher Ransom - If you start reading about Homeric masculinity, you'll very soon notice there often comes a line similar to something like this: "but Paris is not that". And if you want to, like, read some actual exploration of how/why Paris is not that and what that means, they will not provide it! This is where Ransom comes in; he walks through the Iliad and all the ways Paris deviates from normative Iliadic (and general ancient Greek) masculinity. Very good paper. On Academia.

Artistic and Literary Representations of the Judgement of Paris in Antiquity by Cristian Mancilla - this is an unpublished thesis and you'll have to google search for it but it's downloadable from the university. If you're interested in the Judgment, this is where to go!

Euripides and the Judgement of Paris by T.C.W. Stinton - you'll probably have to borrow this book from a library? (I got it second hand from a second hand bookstore not even in my country lol) But it's one of those works that gets referenced very often and laid a lot of ground. Is not actually only about Euripides' versions/use of Paris.

Paris in the Epic Tradition by Roberto Nickel - another unpublished thesis, so google search title+author. If you're interested in a (speculative but grounded in the Iliad) discussion of what Paris' character might have been like in earlier times, this is where to go. Nickel explores (but is certainly not the one to have thought of) the possibility of Paris once having had basically both his and Hektor's characteristics in the Trojan War story.

Some general recs:

Listening for the Plot: The Role of Desire in the Iliad's Narrative by Rachel Hart Lesser - this one is now also a published book! (As Desire in the Iliad: the Force That Moves the Epic and Its Audience.) But having compared them, I like the unpublished thesis a little better, personally (certain sections/discussions I liked very much have been restated in a more restricted way in the published book, or otherwise gets less obvious).

Inventing the Barbarian: Greek Self-Definition Through Tragedy by Edith Hall - This one can fit for a Paris rec as well because Paris is a focus thanks to being the "patient zero" and the prime exemplar of the "eastern effeminate barbarian" which is part of what Hall discusses. Very good/interesting book! Go be a pirate about it or download it on Hall's own site, no piracy necessary.

The Iliad: A Commentary by G.S. Kirk (and other authors attached to the volumes past vol. 2) - if you want a commentary, I really like this one, and in terms of Paris and Helen, obviously checking out the volumes that contain the books they appear in is interesting and useful!

[ohmotherwhereartthou-if]

Hello,I have been lurking here for some time,reading all the asks and getting all blushy because of Tomas and Aurelio,they are such sweethearts and im so excited to meet them but no rush of course take you time !

I just wanted to say how much I appreciate and love your writing and story.

I appreciate how the gender of the MC is going to change some things. I mean, your gender changes your entire life experience, you're treated differently so I love when authors include some text flavors depending on the gender of the MC.

I also love the thought of including phobias and traits that will help define the MC as a person and give them some personality,additionally affecting how ppl(including our sweethearts(ROs)) react to us So I'm really excited of how the ROs would react to each,different dynamic between them and the MC But still I hope all these different variables don't overwhelm you.

To Conclude :I love your work and your characters and am excited to see more but don't forget to look after yourself as well.

Plus,I saw the art of Tomas and I'm in LOVE to say the least. It got me more hooked than I already am.

Hello!

Sorry for the late response but thank you so much for your kind words! I am so glad you are liking the story so far and appreciate all the flavor text options! Including them all definitely slows down the amount of story I can finish in one sitting but I adore flavor text and I feel as if they make the story much more immersive and worth replaying!

Even though every time I write about physical touch I have to stop and bang my head against my computer because of the physical touch phobia lol. Wouldn't change a thing though!

I cannot wait to start writing the RO's scenes, I just know it's sadly going to be a while as I set up the premise of the story. Hopefully the RO asks help scratch that itch in the meantime!

I am also so very happy people are loving my boys Tomás and Aurelio! I kinda figured Aurelio would have a few fans but Tomás being as popular as he is completely caught me off guard tbh. Not that I am complaining! He is the RO I would probably romance if I was in the game lol, so I can't blame any of you for wanting him.

@lottie-for-short's Art is just, dskhfiewhfiqeljhfliuwe 👩🏽‍🍳😘🤌🏼✨

I absolutely love how she drew all of my characters, she made my baby Tomás look so very pouty I love it!!! Lottie fr made Aurelio much more handsome than I could of even imagined! And from that first fanart I knew I HAD to try and commission her for the rest of my characters. And luckily for us she said yes! 💙

[blank-house]

ALR SO first of all I'm in love with the game and the extended demo is not even out, the "there's not really a good/bad/neutral ending it's just an ending" it's my favorite genre of games, it's like a weight out of my shoulders kdndn

anywaYs i wanted to know how exactly the gameplay works? Like-it's a visual novel duh and it's gonna have quicktime events/minigames (from what I've read) but the story is linear? It's event after event or you can choose which ones you wanna/can play depending the season?

Am i being clear? Idk I'm kinda confused I'm sorry jdbfks

ahdlkwhadl wahhh I'm glad you really like it so far! And same haha I really adore being able to give nuance to things rather than have them be told to me

Also no need to apologize! I kinda get what you mean-- and if I didn't then feel free to ask another question lol

But yeah the gameplay's pretty linear and you do get to choose the events you play through! I hope you're curious about the back end of things, but essentially the team's always gonna write 6 (ehh 7) events for a given season. One of them is the main event, which in the case of the first spring season is the BBQ event, and then the rest are invitational events. The way those work is that someone from the cast is going to invite you to do something in a buffer scene, whether its by text or by call, and you have the option to decline or accept it. Each time this happens, you get invited to three events out of the five at the same time. So when it happens it's always random BUT you'll always get invited to one of these events at least once.

Now here's the kicker. Even though we've made five invitational events, you only play three of them in a season. Why we do this-- well it's because I want you to consciously decide what memories you want to make with our crew. Plus time isn't always on your side, so as nice as it would be to do everything, you can't always do the things you want to do. ^^, (also replayability HUZZAH!)

But anyway, once you played through the three you want, there's this kind of interlude event that wraps up the season and then you repeat the same process all the way to the end of the game!

Sprinkled in to kind of break the monotony of just "playing" through an event are the Quick Time Events and Minigames like you've read! QTEs would be more common, and you can disable it if you'd like, minigames are definitely rare but I do want to incorporate them too. There's one I really am excited for but it's unfortunately for a summer event so alas it won't be in the extended demo.

You can... hmm... probably think of Keyframes like Tokimeki Memorial if you know what that game is. And actually you should haha when I was pitching this game to our writing director that was all they could compare it to and after seeing a gameplay of it-- yeahhhh I have to agree. Stat-raising, deciding what you'll do for a day... yeahhhh

But hope that gives you an idea of what we're trying to do!

[ageless-aislynn]

The initial previews of the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster are out and I just had to take some screencaps from Ruba's playthrough of the first 30 minutes!

Frank did get aged up a bit for some reason but at least my man is still thicker than a Snickers! Look at those brawny shoulders! ���

2006!Frank is one of the pre-order bonus looks if you want him aged more appropriately. I don't even care, though. I don't mind him looking a little seasoned, lol! *chef's kiss* (I can even get used to him not being voiced by TJ Rotolo but I still really wish they'd cast him again. His voice is so iconic as Frank to me, what can I say?)

Did we NEED a close up shot of Carlito's hairy chest as he walked towards the camera? Yes. Yes, we did. *nodnods* 😜

The remaster was kind to both of the Keyes siblings, lol! Carlito and Isabela are both looking pretty darn beautiful! 💖💖

And speaking of beautiful...

Jessie, my beloved, is looking gorgeous! 😍😍😍

Zombie hugs, lol! Seriously, though, the fact that your options when you're grabbed are now buttons instead of "every move is the same two buttons but it depends on which direction you move the stick, which order you do them in AND which direction the zombie is facing to decide which move you actually DO" is just... Oh man, if nothing else, I'd love to play this game just for this improvement! 😎😎😎

But you know what I'm here for, of course...

Leah, my sweet angel! Only one quick shot of her in this video but I'm really hoping to find somebody else who shows the full scene where we meet her because I'm BEYOND excited now that all of the NPCs are voiced instead of their dialogue just being text! In the 2006 version, the couple of things that Leah says aloud are the exact same thing that about 4 other female survivors all say (and they all share the same voice actor), so it's going to be fantastic for Leah to finally have her own voice! 😇😇😇

Mannn, I have to say, as much as I'm too scared to try the Denuvo Anti-tamper on Georgette (it might be fine or it might irrevocably wreck her and I couldn't get her back to how she's blessedly not crashing anymore), I'm so super sad at missing all of the pre-order and digital deluxe bonus stuff. 😭😭😭

I'm trying to be chill about it but, man, I hope they'll offer at least the 2006!Frank and Frank in Chuck Greene's outfit for purchase down the line. 🤞😖🤞The 17 other costumes say they'll be sold individually, but the 3 pre-order bonuses only say they "may" eventually be available for purchase. OHHHHH, I WANT THEM, FRIENDS. I WANT THEM SO MUCH, I CAN'T EVEN.

Anyway, just had to share my excitement at seeing some of the actual gameplay, cutscenes and the like!

*shakes fist at Denuvo* WHYYYYYYYYY MUST YOU SCARE ME AWAY? I had this in my cart to pre-order, you meanie, then I start seeing all of these horror stories about BSoD and system instabilities and now I can't trust that you won't wreck Georgette! 🤬🤬🤬

(I should mention that many, many people have reported that Denuvo works fine on their computers. But, if you've been reading my blog since last December, you'll know that, sadly, Georgette is not normal. She spent the first 5 months of her life in endless Blue Screens of Death, freezing, crashing up to 8 times an hours, etc. She has finally stabilized and is working correctly but if Denuvo DID cause a problem and I had to reset her, I don't know that I can replicate all of the things that caused her to stop crashing/freezing/etc. That's a BIG, MONSTER WORRY, friends. I don't want to go back to having a barely functioning, unfixable computer again. Ugh. 😭😭😭)

[fluffytriceratops]

roleplay info. <3 [looking for more rp partners]

making a quick and temporary rp post until the other one i'm working on is ready.

bcuz i lost most of my rps due to quotev being a twat, i decided to start rping more on here. so i wanted to make a post so other rpers can reach out to me.

below will be my rules/requirments as well as a list of fandoms. please follow them all if you wish to rp with me. and if you're interested in rping, feel free to comment or message me.

ROLEPLAY RULES:

- descriptive/story/literate rp only. i'm not interested in rping script/text. 

- i only do double up rps. I’m not interested in just rping the canon character or original character for your rp. I don’t enjoy it and I want to actually be apart of it. rather than just play the love interest to your character.

- oc x oc or oc x cannon mainly. for my side. i usually only do oc x cannon esp if we're doing a fandom rp. obviously i would do oc x oc for an og rp. but if you'd rather do oc x oc, cannon x cannon for your side i'm fine with that. 

- it's very rare for me to do friendship based (platonic) rps, as i would like my side to be romantic. but if you want your side to be platonic, i can do that. 

- please try to copy my reply length to the best of your abilities. i need at least a paragraph or two. 

  - you play my love interest, i play yours.

  - i will not accept mary/gary sues. if i believe your oc is a mary/gary sue i will let you know. i do not mean to offend, i just find them annoying and wont enjoy the rp if your oc is like this.

  - with that being said, please don't make the whole rp about your character/oc.

  - no god modding. your oc/character cannot be the best at everything, give them flaws.

  - no adult x child. pedophilia. child porn. etc.

  - no love shapes. (threesomes, etc. i may or may not accept love triangles (just with crushing) depending on the characters and my mood).

- no incest.

  - no vore.

  - no bestiality.

  - no male pregnancies. 

  - no rape.

  - don't just play your oc and that's it. play more than one character. it's more fun this way.

- do not play my ocs.

  - do not spam me. message/spam me after a week of no reply.

  - be realistic. play the cannon characters properly. don't make them do something they wouldn't normally do. don't heal an injury right away. don't make someone pregnant right after having sex. etc.

  - use proper grammar and punctuation to the best of your abilities.

  - do not delete the rp without asking me first.

  - don't just stop replying, if you are done with the rp, let me know first.

  - don't time skip without asking me first.

  - don't make the whole entire rp sexual.

-my side will be bxg/fxm (girl x boy) but if you want your side to be something else (gxg, bxb, etc) than i am more than okay with doing that for you. as long as you're okay with doing bxg for me.

  - smut, cuss, and gore are all okay with me. but we can keep one or all of these out if you'd prefer. (i will not rp smut/nsfw with minors) 

-on that note, i will only rp with those of legal age. 18+.

- do not steal my forms or my characters.

  - do not write in the first person point of view. i will only accept third person pov.

  - if you have any ideas for the rp, let me know! don't be afraid to ask me anything.

  - don't hold your oc back, you know them better than i do. go nuts if that's how your character is.

that is all for now! thanks for reading through my rules, i know there are a lot, lol! :P to let me know that you have read my rules, please comment 'rat' or 'read' below! thank you!

FANDOMS:

[key] ✦✦✦✦ = very interested in. ✦✦✦✧ = still interested, just not as much. ✦✦✧✧ = don't really want to, but might if you convince me. 50/50. ✧✧✧✧ = not interested atm, very low chance i will say yes. updated frequently.

[animes] my hero academia - bnha/mha ✦✦✦✦ attack on titan ✦✦✧✧ ouran high school host club ✦✦✦✦ dragon pilot: hisone and masotan ✦✦✧✧ aico incarnation ✦✦✧✧ haikyuu ✦✦✦✦ demon slayer ✦✦✦✦ kiss him not me ✦✦✧✧ diabolik lovers ✦✦✧✧ kuro mukuro ✧✧✧✧ fairy tail ✦✦✦✧

[cartoon tv series] how to train your dragon - race to the edge ✦✦✦✧ she-ra and the princesses of power ✦✦✧✧ miraculous: tales of ladybug and chat noir ✦✦✦✧ avatar: the last airbender ✦✦✦✦ the legend of korra ✦✦✦✧ gravity falls ✦✦✦✦ star vs the forces of evil ✦✦✧✧ 3below tales of arcadia ✦✦✦✧ lego ninjago ✦✦✦✦ young justice ✦✦✦✧ voltron: legendary defender ✦✦✧✧ teen titans ✦✦✦✧ transformers prime ✦✦✦✦ transformers robots in disguise ✦✦✧✧ teenage mutant ninja turtles [2003, 2012,] ✦✦✦✦ ultimate spider man ✦✦✧✧ hazbin hotel ✦✦✦✦ helluva boss ✦✦✦✦

[live action tv series] greys anatomy ✦✦✦✧ gossip girl ✦✦✦✧ teen wolf ✧✧✧✧ the mandalorian ✦✦✧✧

the last of us ✦✦✦✧

outer banks ✦✦✦✧

shadowhunters mortal instruments ✦✦✦✧

game of thrones ✦✦✦✧

house of the dragon ✦✦✦✦

[movies] how to train your dragon ✦✦✦✧ spider-man into the spider verse ✦✦✦✦ transformers [bayverse, 1986 cartoon, bumblebee] ✦✦✦✧ teenage mutant ninja turtles [2007, 2014, 2016,] ✦✦✦✦ narnia [all] ✦✦✧✧ the maze runner ✦✦✧✧ the hunger games ✦✦✧✧ hellboy [the first two/older ones] ✦✦✧✧ the avengers [all] ✦✦✧✧ spiderman [all] ✦✦✦✧ xmen [all] ✦✦✧✧ suicide squad ✦✦✧✧ twilight ✦✦✦✧ star wars ✦✦✧✧ the lord of the rings ✦✦✦✦ the hobbit ✦✦✦✦ avatar & the way of water ✦✦✦✦ percy jackson ✦✦✧✧

warcraft ✦✦✦✧

pirates of the caribbean ✦✦✦✧

[video games] the last of us ✦✦✦✧ skyrim ✦✦✧✧ identity v ✦✦✧✧ mystic messenger ✦✦✧✧ genshin impact ✦✦✦✧ five nights at freddys (all) ✦✦✦✦

hogwarts legacy ✦✦✦✦ 

[books] a court of thorns and roses series ✦✦✧✧ [+ more]

if you wish to do a og rp with me, just let me know and we can go over the details. tho i will admit that i am mostly interested in fandom rps and it really depends on the storyline of the og and if i am in the mood for it.

PLATFORMS:

i am mostly interested in rping on here (tumblr) but there are a few other sites/apps/platforms that i am willing to rp on if you really don't want to rp on tumblr.

-wattpad

-instagram

-discord

-quotev (if it ever stops being a rat, as of now i cannot rp on that site)

-google docs (have never done this before but am open to trying it)

-i'm pretty open to trying new places, so if there's a site/platform not on here that you like, feel free to let me know about it and i may be willing to give it a go!

-and ofc tumblr

EXTRA IMPORTANT INFO:

when i say rping on tumblr i mean in messages. i will not rp on the feed or in the comments.

if you do not want to include certain nsfw topics, that is more than okay, smut is not a need for me. neither is gore, violence, etc. just let me know beforehand.

please tell me your triggers and rules before we start. if you have any.

also please tell me your pronouns before we start, if you're comfy with sharing. ^^

that is all for now. i may add to this later but i really don't know what else to write lol. 

if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to let me know. 

[queer-ragnelle]

I am so sorry if you have answered this before, I was just wondering if you knew of a good way to get into Arthurian literature? Like… what to read first and what definitely not to read first?

Everything I can find when I search for a good list or order talks about modern retellings, but I am not sure how to get into the older ones. They are a bit hard to approach, so I am worrying that I may be going about it wrong.

I’ve just been slowly collecting different tellings from old book stores over the years, but there is so much that I am not sure where to begin..

hi there! no need to apologize, it's all very overwhelming and confusing. i've answered this question before, but have since added more literature, so i'll go in depth. :^) determining where to start really depends on what you're looking to get out of your reading experience.

lots of people recommend le morte d'arthur by sir thomas malory for an overall understanding of the basic premise without having to read the long and scary vulgate cycle. but as i said in this ask, it's not my favorite text, as it truncates the story so much it can cause confusion. yet it's the "shortest" (ie 1,000 pages lol) recounting of events from arthur's conception through his death, as well as incorporating the often-excluded story from the prose tristan, and adding character-defining elements we've all come to accept as part of the "canon" such as gareth beaumains's humble beginnings as a kitchen boy. (in the vulgate, his story is largely the same as the elder bros he tags along with. in fact, @lefresne and i discovered each of us had a transcription/translation of the vulgate which referenced two different manuscripts of the same story, but had swapped the names guerrehet/gaheriet [gareth/gaheris] and confused the hell out of us bc we had varied accounts of the same scene and were both right! scribes mistake? point is there's not a substantial differentiation between them until the post vulgate and le morte d'arthur, so reading that will give you needed context/depth!)

on the other hand, le morte d'arthur doesn't include some even later additions to the "canon" that are now famous and get incorporated into many retellings, such as sir gawain and the green knight and the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle. (are these a deal breaker to comprehend a retelling? not necessarily. but despite gawain's track record with many ladies, if an author writes in a wife for him, on god, they always choose ragnelle. so that poem is a must<3)

so it's really your own judgment call! no matter what, you'll likely need to read more than one book for fuller context to understand the common "fandom" talking points and frequently adapted stories. in any case, i've just made an FAQ where you can go and figure out what stories will suit your needs. i hope this helps. have a nice day!

[gerhardtz]

When I was rewatching Season 2 I had your “emotional constipation” comment in mind and I noticed Hanzee never really expresses his emotions physically or through words, only subtlely, but when he finally does both when Peggy is going to cut his hair (confessing he’s tired and looking like he’s actually relaxing when Peggy is about to make the cut), he’s betrayed and (literally) stabbed in the back (very subtle scene lol). So that probably made his bottling up soooo much worse. I wanted to ask how to even try and work through that hard shell on a guy like Hanzee? Or maybe an example of how you’re doing that with Rye, working through the bottled up emotions, if you have a more solid idea with him. I was also thinking about the first ask I sent and how you said that how being in love with a guy probably wouldn’t surprise Hanzee the most. I was wondering, what would surprise him then? (Sorry if it was just an offhand comment, sometimes I read too much into stuff lol) (Oh jeez, big wall of text lol sorry!)

Omg hi again! It always makes me really happy to recieve these asks so there's absolutely no need to apologise for the wall of text!

I've been mulling this over all day, thinking of how I would go about trying to write this kind of thing, and I gotta admit you have me stumped! I feel like it really depends a lot on the OC, and who they are as a person. Are they an open book -- a sort of foil to Hanzee -- or are they equally as emotionally constipated and in need of healing? The former may struggle to peel back the hard shell for a while, as I feel Hanzee may be suspicious of someone so ernest and eager to befriend him, but then again if they're BOTH hiding behind a wall, we've got two layers of bricks to tear down.

That's kind of a non-answer, I apologise! I haven't done a huuuge amount of writing for Hanzee, purely because we know so little about him! I truly wish we had more of the Season 2 scripts available to the public, as a fun thing about Noah Hawley's screenwriting (at least in the production pinks I've read) is that we really get to see into the minds of the characters in a way I've never seen in a screenplay before. Though it's odd, in the one script we do have with Hanzee in it (S2E8 - Loplop), we don't really get that! Even in the scene you mentioned, we don't get to see his inner thoughts, rather viewing it through Peggy's eyes instead.

I think it's very interesting how Hanzee's almost unknowable inner self is even true to the script itself, which seems to be deliberately written in a way that doesn't let us see inside his head. I obviously can't speak for the rest of the scripts or the revisions past this relatively early one, but it's something cool to note. I know that doesn't help answer your question AT ALL, but it was something I've been thinking about for a while and wanted to throw out there (:

As for an example of how I'm doing that with Rye... that's kind of complicated. To avoid spoiling too much if you're reading my fic, it takes a very long time -- and even then, there are still a lot of internal conflicts which never end up getting resolved in the fic. I also feel like due to certain plot points I won't mention, their situations unfortunately probably aren't comparable, but who knows! I don't know really anything about your story (and I would absolutely love to, if you'd like to share! My DMs are always open if you want to chat about stuff and maybe even play toys with our OCs hehe) so maybe I'm wrong :P

The point about Hanzee not being surprised about being in love with a man was probably worded poorly when I wrote my initial answer half-asleep LMAO. I don't mean to say that he wouldn't be surprised at all -- he definitely would! I feel like that kind of revelation comes as a surprise to a lot of people nowadays so it would have been even more of a shocker back then; I mean that the fact that he's managed to fall in love at all would be even more shocking to him. I feel like having had such an insular and isolated life, he may never considered a relationship at all/not been interested in one. OR, the sadder, slightly less headcanon-y option: perhaps he eventually resigned himself to thinking he'd never find love because the Gerhardts had isolated him for fear of him realising he can do better. How this would sway his reaction is a whole other question that I'm honestly not sure how to answer! Probably a lot of thinking and not a lot of speaking :P

I hope this helped at least a little bit! Again, feel free to let me know if there's anything that wasn't clear, or even DM me if you wanna talk OCs :3c

[hamliet]

Dear Hamliet, I've read some of your analysis and I really admire the way in which you articulate your thoughts. I'm a literature major who goes through a breakdown every time I have to write an essay. It is a really hard job for me and recently a proff told me that I rely too much on paraphrasing and I don't understand what to do with that.

So I was wondering if you have any tips on writing a well articulated argument.

Thanks in advance and hope you're having a great day! ☺️🫶

Thank you! And of course.

First of all, go easy on yourself. Learning to write good essays takes time and practice. I routinely got told the same thing about paraphrasing in high school, and then in college it was "you didn't answer 'so what?'" I was also incredibly hard on myself in college, and only realized that I actually liked writing arguments and essays after college. Probably has something to do with the fact that, while some people tend to refine under pressure, I crumble into a heap of anxiety. Lol.

Tips for Arguments: Thesis

Here are my first tips: come up with a good thesis and write an outline based on this, but also keep in mind that your thesis can be revised after you've written it should you find you were arguing something slightly different than you planned on.

Good thesis tips: should be debatable (for example, saying "Daenerys and Jon Snow are foils" is not debatable; they blatantly are). It should also answer "so what?" aka, why does what you're trying to argue matter? In terms of literature, specifically, you might want to tie it to the themes of the story or the historical context of the work, depending on the prompt, to explain that your argument affects how people read the work. For example, "Daenerys and Jon Snow foil each other in that they each deconstruct a particular archetype of the chosen one, which shows both the bad and the good of chosen one arcs; ultimately, Martin affirms the heroic goals of chosen one tropes."

You'll also hear "repeat your thesis in every body paragraph!" Which you should do (or paraphrase it, lol). But basically you want the last sentence of each argumentative point to explain why it proves your thesis.

Tip for Argument: Bluntness

You can never be too blunt in an essay. Particularly if you're writing in English, and particularly even more so if you're doing so in America (yes, culture does play a role in the levels of bluntness expected in an essay, and there are actual studies on this, as well as how culture affects essay structures!).

If you think it seems obvious, state it anyways. Don't worry about repetition so much. Worry instead about being too vague.

This is obviously a different idea than in creative writing, where subtext and "show, don't tell" get a lot of attention. Not so in academic writing. Tell us, even if you think you've shown us.

Tips for Avoiding Paraphrasing:

Think about your audience. It's hard to know specifically what you refer to, but I'm going to assume that you might be referring to the idea that you might be summarizing the book too much?

Your audience already knows the story. You aren't speaking to a rando on the street. Your audience is your professor.

Every piece of text you cite, be it a quote or a plot development, is evidence. They don't need the context of the broader work. Assume they already have it. They need evidence.

Context matters for you, insofar as authorial intent (your intent as the author of the essay) matters. Not for the audience perception. Basically, I'm saying don't take quotes out of context to make them seem like they support your thesis when they really don't, but you also don't need to explain in great detail why the context does support your thesis. Assume your professor is not a hostile audience who needs to be convinced because they believe the opposite of what you're arguing.

The other potential thing you might mean for paraphrasing is that you use brief paraphrases of the text rather than direct quotes. Where you can use direct quotes, always use them.

If you ever have specific questions on an essay, please feel free to reach out! And if any part of this isn't clear, also feel free to reach out!

[nexttrickanvils]

3, 10, 11, 16, 17, 24

3. Are there any specific themes you enjoy exploring in your fics?

I think it depends on the fandom? Though I guess I enjoy getting to let friendship and family (found or otherwise) relationships shine?

10. What's your favorite part about the fic writing process?

Finishing it. Lol, joking. I really like writing dialogue especially with snarky/funny characters or two characters with a good rapport.

11. Are there any tropes that you particularly enjoy writing?

Forehead touch, hurt/comfort, I'm sure there's more but nothing's popping up.

16. How important is it to you to stay true to the original creator's vision while writing fanfiction.

I do feel that you need some amount of love or even respect for the source material. Obviously I am not saying you have to like everything. I've read and written fix-it fic before after all.

But it can get to a point where it's like: "Why did you use these characters?" "Why this fandom?" "Why didn't you just write an original story/use OCs?"

17. What's the most memorable comment or review you've received on one of your fics.

Hard to pin down any one specific comment. I adore the big long comments when people really dig into what they loved or even bring up their favorite parts. There were some comments I got on Texts from Home that made my day when I got them.

Also not technically not a review but words cannot describe how thrilled I was when I saw Texts from Home included appearing on the fanfic recs page for P5 on TvTropes.

24. What advice would you give to someone who wants to start writing fanfiction?

Find something that you're passionate about in your fandom and use that as inspiration. For the longest time, I was insecure about my writing and was shy about posting my stuff. Then I got into P5 and wanted to see more Shuharu and that led to the 5 times fic and here we are.

But yeah think of an idea you want to see or a character or ship you want to see more stuff for and go for it.

[wilmonsfolklore]

Hi Tina! How about 9, 15 and 18?

Nina!! Thank you so much for the questions <33

9. start to finish, how long did it take you to write the last fic you posted?

i checked and i created the document for BTTS on the 3rd of April, and i finished putting in the last chapter in AO3 on the 16th of June. i think i wrote the start of the first chapter at the start of April and then the rest of it during May. i had 98% of it done at the start of June, i just edited it myself and then @bigalockwood read it and i edited it some more. and i spent a few days in HELL trying to code/skin the tweets and stuff. so. long story short: ten week-ish.

15. favorite weather for writing

it really depends on the vibe of the story!! for btts i liked it to be sunny because it's summer-y in the story, but for autumny vibes like sticky little words has to me i liked it to be rainy

18. if you keep them, share a deleted sentence or paragraph from a published fic

ohh another one!! btts is the only fic i had deleted scenes for so another one from that lol. outtake from a text conversation between Wille and Simon that didn't fit anywhere

I feel like it would be such a big thing if I were spotted at a protest. And I don't wanna take away from where the attention should be, you know?

I get what you're saying. But I honestly think most people don't care

Send me more writing questions! :))

[mecachrome]

Hello, I was reading your about me post and it's very impressive that you've studied six languages! Did you learn them at school? Do you have any tips / resources for language practice (I have a goal of reaching german B2 by next March but I'm really struggling lol). Have a nice day!

hey anon!!! tbh i don't really consider myself an inherently good language learner but it's a mix of heritage + upbringing + personal interest hlksdjfh, if you asked me for a composite fluency score with everything rated out of 1 it'd be more like...... 3.4 languages though 😔 also without constant practice it's been atrophying a lot lately </3 but the reason is basically that i attended several multilingual schools growing up and by middle school was formally studying 4 languages (+ weekly latin that i remember absolutely nothing of LMFAO) and at home i also already speak 3 of those languages with my parents.

the only 2 languages i started properly studying as an adult are korean and german for similar reasons really (i've been into k-pop for half my life so i took a few semesters in undergrad for fun, with german i got into german media, was really enamored with its grammatical complexity, and then self-studied a few notebooks before taking it in university)... as for how to study and practice, i'd say it definitely depends on the language & language family, how much you're able to or willing to immerse yourself, what your specific goals are in terms of proficiency, and ofc what your existing weaknesses are!!! for ex spanish is a lot easier with a french background and japanese is a lot easier with a korean background compared to, say, the other way around, so personally when i was learning korean vocabulary a lot of times i'd check the root to see if it had a sino-korean origin and that helped a lot with memorization. also with languages like korean and german that have many unintuitive grammar rules for native english speakers, i'd argue that it's super super important to spend a lot more time learning those rules and practicing complex sentence construction than with a romance language for example; french has a lot of weird pronunciation and conjugation rules but overall it's not... really that hard. one thing you can do to practice is to start with a very simple sentence (my name is x / the apple is red / etc.) and then keep building clauses on top of it one-by-one to force yourself to use complex structures without overwhelming yourself trying to write the end product all at once, and then slowly build up confidence that way...

then of course i'd say that it's important to balance different kinds of media and study materials if you want to stretch your language-learning muscles and have a more "comprehensive" understanding. so for german this was during the pandemic and what i'd do was find example texts/stories/children's books/fairy tales and record myself reading them so i could listen back on my pronunciation, then for grammar i self-studied 2 textbooks by myself every single day, and for vocabulary + some other grammar tips i did basically the full duolingo tree but i always tried to treat it as a supplemental resource that wasn't crucial to the learning experience (imo it's pretty bad for non-latin scripts though c__c but i thought german was decent). i also did a lot of random a2/b1 online preparation exams for fun shdklfh but i think b2 is a much higher jump so it's probably not that helpful... i also liked to translate song lyrics and another thing i did was watch a show i liked without subtitles and i'd take a whole scene and transcribe what the characters were saying + translate them line-by-line and then double check with the subtitles afterward. but again to me a lot of this was kind of for Fun so i learned a lot of things in isolation and less with the intention of "i'm going to move to this country and that's why i need to learn the language ASAP," so ofc in that case the best way is really to immerse yourself in an environment where you're forced to speak it or to converse with native speakers (if you can find a buddy who speaks german to converse with regularly that'd be a massive boost) you'll almost always learn fastest that way.

like even though i took university courses and learned proper grammar a lot of the korean vocabulary i've learned is kind of like... hsdflhdf internet/fandom-specific, because i'd "immerse" myself by reading fan forums and follow fan accounts and stuff that use a lot of slang and practice my listening by subtitling vlive videos or watching unsubbed idol videos and a lot of that lingo isn't really useful in everyday contexts LOL—which i was fine with and doing on purpose because i don't intend to move to korea and that's the context i had the most use for. but some other languages i know i find more important to be able to speak rather than read because i do need to use them in conversation with relatives and acquaintances around me. so basically the important thing is really being able to pinpoint both your needs and weaknesses — for ex do i need to be better at listening or reading or speaking, is there a certain verb tense or irregular case that i always mess up (if so, note them down and then dedicate a day to just practicing THAT specific concept or until you're confident with it), do i have the basics down but my vocabulary is lacking, do i just not have enough confidence in speaking and get overwhelmed trying to converse with native speakers? — then you can determine the best course of action from there i think... it's basic but just having a consistent practice routine is important even if you're just doing a little bit, like you definitely shouldn't burn yourself out but incorporating some reading every day or continuously reviewing vocabulary can help to stay immersed. and don't be afraid to consume children's media and also don't be afraid to consume more complex media and Not Understand Everything, you have to be comfortable with being confused before it starts making sense you know... idk if that's much help but good luck!!!

[monstersinthecosmos]

KACY SO

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

7. How do you choose which POV to write from?

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you

(writing asks!)

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

write what you want to read 😂 it's like, the backbone of everything I do

7. How do you choose which POV to write from? OMG!!!!!!!!!! It depends!!!!!!!!!!!! Because sometimes the POV is like baked into the idea itself, so I don't have to decide. But sometimes I think of the idea first and then I have to like, start dissecting elements of the story and try to figure out what exactly I'm trying to write.

Like using Gallows Bird as an example bc it's my most recent fic; I struggled getting the ball rolling on that one because I was going to try to write Armand's POV and it wasn't really speaking to me. BECAUSE LIKE, IF YOU RECALL, I WROTE THAT FIC FOR THE PERVERT ZERO GAME ON DISCORD LOL where the concept was "how did Armand learn about the voyeurism thing in Devil's Minion?" so it makes sense to write it from his POV to like carry it forward into the 1980s, I guess.

But for me I'm also wondering like, as a porn fic, what's the appeal here? Sometimes there's directionality to kinks, so for example with voyeurism, you can ask "Is this about watching or about being watched?" And like, without getting into a side essay about writing porn as an asexual LMFAO sometimes when I'm making creative decisions I do fall into "I'd rather watch" mindset and then it becomes sort of meta, imo. Like, you're reading porn, and the thrust of the kink in the text is about watching. I find that kinda fun!!!!!!! And basically when I thought maybe I should write it from Marius's POV it all kinda came together.

I think it's important to ask like, what is the story you're trying to tell, and figure out the advantage to the different POVs to see what it adds or removes from the story, right? Like Gallows Bird from Armand's POV would be "I'm so hot for the monster daddy I live with and I want him to murder my rapists" which like IS THERE in the fic, but it puts the burden on like, the daddy kink and the feeling of being protected and being watched. (We also already have that POV in greater detail in canon, vs Marius kinda skims over it.) From Marius POV it's a story about trying to do right by your little pet that you desperately want to murder. They're just two very different vibes. And like for VC fics these questions are always gonna be "Do I want to be preyed upon?" or "Do I want to prey on someone?" and it can make the same concept feel completely different. So I like thinking about what that adds to what I'm trying to say, and decide which is more fun to engage with or which I have more to say about or which just feels right for that exact moment in time.

Personally I enjoy writing third person limited so like, I always sorta pick one POV and stick to it, but VC is fun because as long as one of them has the Mind Gift you can also include the other POV. Like in Gallows Bird there's plenty of Armand POV because Marius knows what he's thinking---OR IS THERE? IS IT RELIABLE? IS IT MARIUS'S INTERPRETATION OF WHAT HE THINKS ARMAND IS FEELING? hmm.

(also insert similar conversation about my Sheith gangbang fic Galactic Runway LMFAO where I knew I wanted to write an elaborate gangbang but when I was trying to make it click in my mind I decided that watching is more fun for me than doing, so I had it Shiro's POV of Keith getting gangbanged. :D )

24. Worst writing advice anyone ever gave you

OMG I feel like, I can ignore bad advice so easily I can't even remember. Like I think I'm an experienced enough writer that I know immediately if something isn't going to work for me and I don't even let it sink in. I remember recently reading about Chuck Palaniuk's feeling words or something and I disagreed so hard I just didn't let it stay LOL. But I think like, no writing advice is for everybody and like part of growing as a writer is learning what fits your style and process the best, so like at a certain point I think you can sort of immediately know whether or not something is worth attempting.

[rollercoasterwords]

oh!!!! happy 100k words wfrau!!!!!!! she's getting bigger (<- like you would speak of a puppy). how long is it supposed to be & how far along are you? and also... would you like to share a snippet you like (from any chapter ofc... no pressure if no it's completely understandable)? what do you enjoy the most about writing it? bc it seems like you're having fun & it's so nice to see someone enjoying a hobby so openly online... especially writing... there's this conception that writers don't actually enjoy writing (the whole 'forcing myself to write' bit) and i'm curious to hear your perspective on it!! also!!!!!! i hope moving will be easy & fun & the world will be kind to you with the change <3 i keep telling myself 2 read marx but i can't find any good translations to my native language and reading it in english is making my brain go grgrgrgrgr like an air conditioner on its last leg so alas it might have to wait... so true for liking iced drinks they're really the best!! i've heard someone say it's childish but i think they just live a very miserable hot life in the august heat drinking their hot coffee instead of putting some ice cubes in it :) it's funny you say that about fav line because it's definitely my fav fic of your writing & the ending of it is soooo beautiful i get back to it every time i need to feel something!!!!! that song line is beautiful too omg... and well the weather is hell everywhere at least the world is all suffering together :( i hope the atmosphere isn't suffering too much :/ honestly i am a big 'i would rather be hot than cold' believer because i am from a hot country so i know how to deal with the heat but you know what i'm sure the chill can also be intriguing to some... not me though... i hope the winter will be kind on you <3 thank u for letting me invade ur ask box i am creating myself a room here for now i think. anyway. love and hugs!!!! <333

hello!! she is indeed getting bigger <3 if i had to guess right now i'd say i'm maybe...possibly nearing the halfway point of the fic, plotwise? but honestly it's really hard to say lol. i've got 2 more story arcs to cover in part 3 (plus finishing the current one), and then part 4 is gonna have like...2 or 3 story arcs as well, plus an epilogue. so it just depends on how long it takes me to cover all that ground!

and yeah i'm having a lot of fun writing!! i know what u mean abt the whole "ugh writing amirite" bit that writers do lol and i'm sure i do it sometimes too...i mean i think tone varies a lot and many people who complain about writing still really enjoy the activity, but i do think there is sometimes this self-flagellating tendency amongst some writers to act like writing is meant to be this strenuous, emotionally draining activity like ur...idk sisyphus w the stone or something, and if you're writing something 'easy' or 'fun' you're somehow a lower caliber of writer than those who Nobly Suffer for their art, etc...which i think is dumb lol. suffering doesn't inherently make art any better or more noble

& thank u 4 the well-wishes w moving!! i'm mostly nervous about getting to my flight on time lol i have to go into work the literal day before i leave and then catch a train across the country at 5am the next morning 2 get 2 the airport...not going 2 be fun so i'll take all the well-wishes i can get !!

sorry 2 hear u can't find marx in ur native language :( it's hard enough 4 me 2 understand reading in my first language i cannot imagine trying 2 parse it in a second language...maybe it might be easier 2 find one of his (or engels') shorter texts 2 read? capital is a monster but i started off with a few shorter pieces ('socialism: utopian and scientific', 'principles of communism', 'wage labour and capital,' 'value price and profit') which i found helpful! also there are lots of secondary resources of other people breaking down + explaining marx's work; maybe there's a good source in your native language that could give a summary/overview of capital? there's no one right way 2 learn, it's just abt finding what works best for u!!

iced drink supremacy 4ever truly <3 me myself & i we can only enjoy a hot beverage if it's very cold outside...otherwise i am simply thinking well why would i do that 2 myself... & thank u!! happy 2 hear u like the lines!! v happy w them v proud <3 & also appreciate the well-wishes re: weather i cannot relate 2 the hot-weather preference i much prefer cold...or at least i used to i grew up in a relatively cold climate but then i moved south 4 university so at this point i'm going on 6 years of living in what is categorized as a "humid subtropical climate" & i think my winter tolerance has been all but destroyed it hardly ever drops below freezing...but hot&humid weather is still my least favorite i think i would prefer icy-cold winter + mild summer but i will be actually putting that theory 2 the test this year so!! who knows maybe my hubris will be my downfall...

& of course!! u are welcome 2 stop by + chat anytime...in my heart we are drinking iced beverages 2gether <3 also as requested here is a snippet from ch 14:

“Don’t,” he tells her, firmly, “Don’t say that. I don’t—want you involved. If they ever did anything to hurt you…I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” She stares at him, eyes ablaze. “And how do you think I feel? Knowing that they only pick on you because—” her voice falters, cracking, “Because you’re with me?” Her lip is trembling again, tears threatening to spill over from her eyes. Sirius shakes his head, helplessly, at a loss for what to do.