#so yes. a lot of research etc will definitely be new! in ways people in the past couldn't have imagined. & that's so cool!

[hecatesbroom]

On a slightly more hopeful note: this means that half the people who were born did make it to adulthood: they grew up! And the people who grew up are the ones that raised us, our parents, our great-great-great-great-great grandparents. They stumbled through life and learned some things along the way, and maybe passed it along to their children — if their children survived, and weren't too stubborn to learn from their (incredibly annoying, I'm sure) parents.

We're not new to being people. We have been people, people who grow old, for a very long time, and history reflects this. In my country, we have houses for old men and women (predecessors to homes for the elderly) dating back as far as the 16th century. Before then? Almshouses for the poor elderly — going back all the way to the 13th century. Some guilds even took care to ensure some kind of retirement for their older members. People haven't just always made it to adulthood, they've become old in the process — and there have always been people who tried to take care of them. Because even by the time humanity reached the 13th century, they weren't new to the concept of growing up or growing old.

We get a lot of stuff about growing up wrong because we're human! Living beings make mistakes, we grow and learn, and every single person has to start from scratch when they're born. We mess up because we, as individual people, are new — and the fact that Adelaide from 1267 AD aged to the ripe old age of 92 in an almshouse and discovered all the secrets about growing up (and growing old) while poor 4-year-old Winifred died of the plague in 1347, was never going to help little Sarah in 2024 make less mistakes. Our worlds barely even compare at this point.

The statistics about child mortality are incredibly sad, but we would've made all the same mistakes regardless of how many people throughout history made it to adulthood. Because guess what? We all have one thing in common: we're people. And people all have to find things out for themselves.

Remember, history was awful. Never trust the romantics.

[writingwithfolklore]

5 Ways to Set Yourself Up For Success as an Aspiring Author

While these things don’t guarantee your manuscript will be picked up or that you’ll sell more books (and aren’t necessary to achieve that!) here are five things that publishing houses look for in authors to help make the book as successful as it can be, and you can start working on now.

1. Get an agent

I can’t say this is true across every publishing house, but in my small publishing house that accepts submissions from both agented and non-agented writers, we move the agented writers to the top of the manuscript pile. This is because they already have a professional in the industry who has vouched for the work.

However!! Important to note that a bad agent can tank your chances as much as a good one can raise them. I had a coworker say about a particular agent, “if I was on the fence about a manuscript and saw (the agent) was representing it, I would move it to the pass pile.” The agent was in general difficult to work with and didn’t actually listen to what her writer wanted, demanding for the house to make poor marketing decisions for the book based on her own personal opinion on what looked good. Oh, and she had also worked in publishing for Penguin Random House for over a decade, so what previous experience they have in the publishing world isn’t all you should consider when reaching out to agents. You want people with lots of experience actually—y’know—agenting.

Check out their previous clients and how many they have! Yes, small agents with only a few years of experience can still be amazing—but make sure you do your research no matter how experienced they seem and see if you can’t do a background check. (The agent mentioned above ended up firing her author! I’m sure the author has tales to tell about her).

2. Come up with marketing ideas

Your publicist is going to do so, so much work for you. Seriously, we have some really awesome publicists who are kicking ass submitting to contests and putting on events and sending authors on tour—but they’re also managing several titles at once, so authors who can pull their own weight a bit when it comes to coming up with marketing ideas for their book are highly appreciated.

If you ever have any ideas on how to reach your specific audience, write them down and try to fill them out with as many details as possible (who is involved, where will it happen, how will it happen, how much funding it requires etc.) and share them with your publicist, the marketing team will thank you for it!

3. Form relationships with the industry!

This one is huge! One thing we actually ask of authors right off the bat is if they know any industry contacts such as booksellers, media contacts, or other professionals/authors. If you can, intern/volunteer/or work for a newspaper, magazine, book store, agency, or anything similar. Having a list of people who know and like you to reach out to for writing articles or otherwise supporting your release is going to help a lot with the promotion and selling of the book! People are much more likely to help out or feature the book of someone they know, rather than a stranger, so start collecting your contacts now.

4. Grow some sort of social media following

Definitely not essential, but seen as a boon for sure if writers already have a community that are likely to support their new release. If you can point to a group of people that already like you or are interested in your work, we’re going to see that as an asset! Especially for book launches—there’s no greater publisher’s fear than a tanking book launch, and it’s so much more likely to go well if you have a community of people you know will show up.

5. Trust your publishing house

You’d be surprised how many authors drag their heels and kick and scream when it comes to the marketing decisions our team makes. While yes, a cover you aren’t necessarily thrilled about, or author bio that sounds a little too self-aggrandizing can suck a bit, know that these decisions are coming from people who have decades of experience in the industry and know how to get your book into the hands of readers. If they think a certain cover, title, subtitle, bio, photo, layout, etc. etc. would be best for your book, trust them. They’re the pros.

I’m happy to answer any other questions you have about the publishing world!

[cripplecharacters]

Probably not an ask you'd likely get I assume, but...what re your thoughts on people using the word "delulu"? What exactly does it mean to say that?

I'm asking because it almost feels like a slur, but most people who use is are disabled, so idk what to personally think of it

Hello,

Okay, so before I get into answering this, warning for uncensored use of ableist slurs, though briefly and to compare histories.

Objectively, yes, "delulu" is a slur. A slur is defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as an insinuation or allegation about someone that is likely to insult them or damage their reputation or a derogatory or insulting term applied to particular group of people. When using the firts definition, the word "delulu," derived from delusional and meant to act as though someone is merely delusion rather than being worthy of being listened to, using the misrepresentation and incorrect public image of people whoe experience delusions to discredit the person they're attacking. In calling someone "delulu," they're basically using a medical symptom as an isult. It basically says "This person is severely mentally ill with delusions that make them paranoid (or other things,) so they have absolutely zero valid points and we should not listen to them at all." They compare people they don't like to a stigmatized group to both drag the person they're arguing down and to further perpetuate the stereotypes around delusions and thus impacting the lives of people who have them.

When using the second definition, it's a bit more complicated. My research has showed that, while some people who have delusions are fine with the word or even use it to refer to themselves, it's generally seen as an ableist insult when used by an abled person against them. For example, like how the term cripple is regarded by the cripplepunk community- we can use it, maybe even to describe ourselves, because we know the weight and struggles behind that word. When someone who isn't physically disabled uses the word, they don't ususally, if ever, understand the history behind the word and what it used to be used for, as a weapon against the physically disabled.

"Delulu" is a slur, yes, but it's not yet a major one. It's a very new thing and, while it certainly has done damage to the community, doesn't hold the same weight in innocent blood as a lot of the bigger slurs do. Cripple and retard have some incredibly disturbing history and a horrific amount of innocent blood spilled using them because they've been around for so long. "Delulu" is only one of many pop psychology terms that are becoming slurs when used by those to whom they don't apply (for example, the term brain-damaged is quickly becoming a word used against people with TBIs, and is slowly becoming something people without TBIs are learning they shouldn't use, but those of us in the TBI community can use it should we so choose.) I don't know if they could progress to the same severity as cripple and retard due to how different medical science is today, but I think everyone would rather not take that chance.

Anything that uses a sign, symptom, or name of a mental disorder as an insult is a slur. Such as the word autistic in certain contexts. It's very much not a slur on its own, but when used by one person to insult another, it becomes a slur. If you see a weird word like that, or a psychology term being used like that, it's probably being used as a slur.

Other things you might want to look out for are the context behind people using words like narcissist, psychopath, sociopath, deranged, psychotic, compulsive/pathological liar, etc- those are the ones I see most often being used in ableist ways (at least the only ones I'm allowed to say,) because they're easy to villainize. If they're basically anyone other than someone with the corresponding disorder who's using the term to refer to themselves or the comunity should be considered untrustworthy until you can find a legitimate, science-backed reason for them to say what they did, and as long as they aren't misusing the terms and speculating on what shouldn't be speculated about, like the mental health of people they don't know and can't possibly accurately diagnose. It's best to avoid using signs, symptoms, and conditions as insults, even when replaced by cutesy terms (delulu, restarted, aucoustic, etc.) Tha's basically turning that word into a slur and one really shouldn't do that.

When in doubt, take a step back.

Mod Aaron

[kustas]

Do you have reccs for "ugly" art (manga, comics, movie, etc.)? Thanks for the Tekkon recs btw I really liked it

That really depends on your own personal media landscape and what your definition of "ugly" is! As a random example, I've seen many people call ONE's art ugly because of the wobbly linework when I think it's lovely. Ugly could also mean something a bit shocking/crass in its themes. Etc, etc... I'm going to go with the definition of "something that's a bit jarring to look at or go through" here :)

Disclaimer: a lot of these tackle sensitive topics, sometimes for fun and not always tastefully. If there's themes you really can't handle in media, do your research before looking into them.

Manga

I keep recommending yes because it rules but Dorohedoro and its scratchy messy art and gore galore. talking about the manga exclusively here the anime is too polished for my taste

God's Child (Kami no Kodomo): tbh this one is for the art only I hated the writing. very gruesome & unique looking short story

I hesitate to recommend this one because it's edgy as hell but I shan't lie I had a lot of fun with Hellsing. it's "bad" in the same areas as something like berserk but unlike that one it does not take itself seriously

if you liked Tekkon i strongly suggest trying out more stuff by its author (saying this with immense biais). the most ugly/messy thing i've read of his, which isn't a lot because i find his work very delicate, is No. 5 which i would less describe as "good" than "very compelling to me". i also recommend this wonderful essay tearing it down

Comics (non JP)

FLEEP: a short story about a man who wakes up in a phone cabin seemingly encased in concrete. one of the comics i always recommend for its length and storytelling. (link leads to the artist's website where you can read it for free!)

The Astonishing Exploits Of Lucien Brindavoine: a young artist gets drafted in the first world war and goes through a series of almost supernatural adventures. beyond the adventure book aspect, a harsh criticism of nationalism/patriotism that's still awfully relevant

Animation

Ruben Brandt: Collector: a psychiatrist suffers from strange art related nightmares ruining his life. his clients, a bunch of high profile criminals, decide to help him fight off his demons by organizing one long vacation where they steal every painting involved. extremely unique visually, a fun heist movie with thriller elements.

Junk Head: goofy post apocalyptic movie about a man on a quest to save, who keeps losing sight his goal because cartoony violence episodes have his head tumble into new lows, literally. this is, perhaps, one of my favorite animated films ever, it's earnest and fun and lovingly crafted. very unique of a watch

The Apostle: freshly escaped from prison, a thief is on a mission to find treasure hidden by his old cellmate, and finds himself stuck in an ancient village who's strange looking elderly inhabitants are way too insistent on his stay. classic spooky folktale with its millennial curses and foreboding warnings, it's also a nice peek into the culture of Galicia and old world medieval weirdass catholicism. you can buy a DVD on their website

MKFZ: dumb as hell high adrenaline animated B movie with excellent animation. there's a plot about alien living undercover in fantasy california but you don't watch this kind of film for the plot. fair warning this is adapted from a french comic so of course, it's crass and racist

Blow to the Head - Lightning bolt: awesome music video (YT link)(warning for flashing/strobing lights if you're sensitive to that!)

Canon Fodder: from the Memories omnibus film. little slice of the life of a fantasy war obsessed industrial nation

with its new movie on the horizon, it's a great time to get into Mononoke, despite traditionally pretty visuals its got a unique style and gets pretty offputting

Live action cinema

7:35 in the morning: short film about the fear in improvised musical numbers where you don't expect any. it's on youtube in bad quality

The Draughtsman's Contract: an artist is hired by a Lady to draw several vistas of her house, in exchange for money, good drawing condition, and the Lady. follows a good hour of cunts in powdery wigs being awful to each other for their own gain. if you're into dark humor it's a good test, otherwise it has a really satisfying murder mystery to follow too.

Three Kings: during the gulf war, a group of US soldiers decide to steal Hussein's gold for themselves under the mighty standard of kuwait's loot repatriation. extremely caustic take on good ol murican international politics. i was shocked at how far it goes and it's express, low budget treatment which i did not expect from a hollywood film. the movie tires itself fast and becomes less good in its second half but the it's opening acts are interesting

Delicatessen: a sliver of humanity survives in an old timey stone building in the middle of nothingness on top of a functional butcher's shop. gossip follows the arrival of a new roommate. how does one even maintain a butchery in a no man's land? weird film with a unique(ly goofy) take on the post apocalyptic genre

Other

For traditional artists, I like the works of Beksinski (<3), Schiele, Giger. For modern artists Oleg Vdovenko (heavy gore warning for that one), Jeff Simpson

I'm less a fan of the MV and live performances they got infamous for than their music proper but I really like the band Cardiacs, who's judged by many of my friends to be extremely hard to get into lol.

[natalyarose]

𝓟𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓮𝓽𝓼, 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷 & 𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓞𝓻𝓫 𝓡𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓮 ˚⊱🦋⊰˚

🩷Admittedly, in my years of practicing astrology I've not placed much importance on aspects beyond glaringly obvious ones. I've often felt that aspects can become a very technical way to explain energies that may be better understood through looking at the rest of the chart from a bigger picture perspective.

Yes, looking at squares, sextiles, etc. can provide insight but to me personally it can sometimes feel like getting 'lost' in the details, especially when it is unclear what counts as an aspect and what doesn't. Sort of similar to when people start looking to the endless, ever expanding range of astroids (eros, valentine, aphrodite, cupido, vesta, etc.) to intuit someone's approach in love, when realistically Venus & Mars alone can provide incredible, personal insight.

However, all of that being said, aspects are still a very valuable tool to use when analysing a chart, and understanding how to come to a consensus about defining what 'counts' as an aspect can be benefical.

A lot of people only consider aspects to be significant if the orb is verry tight (for some the cut off is as small as 3°), and this is a reasonable approach, as otherwise there would be way too many aspects to interpret and the major themes highlighted in any given chart would get a little lost. Though, I just want to shed light on a pattern I've seen in my research/observations-

In my experience (and traditionally), aspects, particularly conjunctions should be given an orb range relative to how fast moving the planet/astrological point is. *I want to note that this isn't by any means a new idea, but I just don't see it being talked about much.

This means that the Moon & ascendant especially, being very fast moving, can find themselves affected to a much greater extent by surrounding/aspecting planets even if they are somewhat far away. It's already known that the luminaries are to be given a wider orb range, but I've seen conjunctions especially have an even wider range of influence on a chart's Moon or ascendant than what is typically thought.

The way fast moving planets demonstrate stronger sensitivity to aspects can be understood if you think of how a child is going to be profoundly influenced by the teachings and energies of the adults around them, since they haven't lived very long yet and have little other experience to go off.

In contrast, someone who is very old has been around for a long time and has seen many things (planets) come and go while they stay the same, so these influences really don't phase them. Saturn is barely going to be affected by the Moon even if there is a 0° conjunction, but the always 'new', ever changing, fluctuating, watery nature of the Moon can feel Saturn's influence very intensely even if it's fairly far away.

I don't think it'd be particularly helpful/ideal to refer to every planet remotely close to the Moon (or ascendant) as a conjunction (especially considering how different Nakshatras bring very different energies to the table), but that doesn't mean the influence should be entirely discounted. Moon & asc in particular call for a more open minded, flexible approach when it comes to reading surrounding energies. My understanding of people through astrology has really expanded by being more aware of how sensitive vs un-phased the planets themselves are and adjusting my interpretations accordingly.

As mentioned earlier this definitely isn't a new idea or anything, but I do think that it's a good/interesting reminder to observe natal charts as if the planets in it are sentient (as they are) and have different ways of responding to the rest of the chart. I've seen people go 'my Moon is 16° away from Jupiter so it doesn't count as a conjunction' and then go on to completely disregard Jupiter's influence on the Moon when in reality, there's no real cut off point of influence. Yes, it may not technically be a conjunction, but the influence is still there.

Our charts are like an ecosystem, full of life & completely interconnected. All of the energies are fluid, constantly interacting, alive. There's no real numerical point where suddenly there is 0 effect, but we assign numerical points to loosely create a necessary distinction between energies & highlight the aspects which are especially strong,

To give an example of what I'm getting at, if you have the Moon at 2° Libra, and Venus is at say, 28° Libra; this is a 26° orb.. technically, wayy too large to be considered a conjunction, but I believe that completely discounting the way Venus' presence may influence the mind & heart of this person would be a mistake. Yes, it will definitely not be as strong as a conjunction with an extremely close orb, but it's still close enough to be felt by the Moon, being a very energetically porous, receptive, psychic planet.

I may have to go back and edit this later, I'm very tired and I'm not sure if I'm communicating the concept as best as possible, but for now, thankyou for reading & I hope this provides valuable insight/a new perspective for someone 🩷

🪐🦋✨

[juliasgoodusername]

Ley Lines Map for All the Gansey-core Girlies

Have you ever wished there was an interactive map that not only graphs the ley lines described in TRC, but also has layers full of possible spiritual points, arranged in loose categories and sloppily curated by sheer force of mental illness?? Okay baby here you go:

FAQ under the cut 😘

Was this necessary?

Genuinely it was not. My investigations uncovered that Maggie Stiefvater does not really care about geography, nor does she remain consistent about the ley lines, so I can't even really say that it's book-accurate.

Example 1 - There are multiple understandings of ley lines. Some are circles, patterns, connect the dots, etc. but TRC goes with the definition of "perfectly straight" lines "that crisscross the globe" (The Raven Boys Chapter 2, Chapter 15). One of the big three lines connects Boston to St. Louis (The Raven Boys Chapter 22). And the main line also passes through Boston (see example #2)! But half of all the Pynch drama in Call Down the Hawk specifically blames Boston/Harvard for not being on the ley line. Hello?? It's on TWO of them!

Example 2 - Maggie makes it clear that the connection between D.C. and New York, which also connects to the UK and Pilot Mountain, is the main line that Glendower's squad traveled on (The Raven Boys Chapter 7, Chapter 22). The weird part is how after defining this line, all of Adam's ley line adventures place it directly along the Shenandoah National Park/Blue Ridge Mountains (Blue Lily, Lily Blue Chapter 2 + many other quotes I don't feel like looking up). There's no way to connect the DC-Pilot Mt line to Shenandoah, but I can totally see how Maggie Stiefvater would think it connects when looking at a flat map.

So yeah. It doesn't really matter, but thanks to my research we can CONFIRM that it doesn't really matter. You're welcome.

So why did you make this?

For fun...it wasn't exactly worth it. But by sharing it with y'all, hopefully no one else will make the same mistake.

What about line #3?

The third line never has specific connection points in the books so I basically made it up :) but I narrowed it down to 2 candidates, with my chosen line based on Ronan's mention of the "Pando thing" in Greywaren's epilogue.

How did you decide on/find points?

Honestly it was a lot of vibes. You can read in the description of the map how I started from certain resources, like all the stuff in the books, and other people's Google maps. My big discovery was realizing that UNESCO World Heritage Sites covered a lot of territory between history and nature, but before that I was literally googling things like "strange places Kentucky" and pouring through articles. If a place seemed weird and magical, I added it.

Yes this took forever. Easily 3x as long as the 300 Fox Way floorplan, if not longer.

Is this map complete?

I had other ideas for things I should add to it but I got tired, so nah.

You've put down everything from urban legends to alien sightings, but why don't I see many hauntings on the map?

Blatant author bias; I firmly don't believe in famously haunted houses! The vast majority of "haunted" places operate as tourist attractions, so if I took them at their word I'd have to also log Disney World for being the most magical place on earth, wouldn't I? Also Re: I got tired.

Can I copy this map / add to it / use it for reference?

Please please please please

I found a typo

I bet you did! I'm not even proof reading this post bestie.

[third-arch]

Law would be really good in an apocalypse AU, so I’m talking about it.

Something that I think is really cool about Law is that he has a ton of qualities that would make him perfect for any survival AU:

Self Designated leader

Mature

Doctor

Quiet

Always has a plan

Brave

Intelligent

Violence as last resort

Curious

Cautious

Survival Skills

In control of his emotions

Protector

There are more, but it made me wonder how these would apply to a survival AU.

So, I thought I’d talk about a basic scenario:

“The zombies are taking over. The outbreak just happened and it’s not terribly far away from Law. How would he handle it?”

I think Law would already be planning.

Let’s say he’s working at a clinic and lives in a nice apartment.

He’d be focused on some things.

He’d always be keeping track of the news. -The latest on the death toll, updates on a cure, how the zombies behave, statistics, politics, etc.

He’d already have supplies packed-everything he learned as a child and through the years and his clinical experience.

He’d already be planning an escape route and base.-I think depending on where he lives, he’d be planning to find a secluded shelter. I don’t think he’d trust living around other people in his apartment.

(I think this would be hard for him since he’s having to leave home again, but again, he’s mature and won’t let his emotions get in the way, especially during the apocalypse.)

He’d probably contact people from his clinic and those he trusts and might (big emphasis on might) ask them to come along.

He’s always doing research too and keeping medical records. If he sees something that relates to zombies, he’s looking into it.

If he takes people with him, the rations are fair, they’re a team, and nobody gets left behind.

He’d make it a rule that they all eat together for two reasons: keep themselves together/sane and strengthen their bonds. He cannot afford to have someone turn on them or someone fall behind. He’s not doing it out of love as much as he’s doing it just to make sure things don’t fall apart.

He’s assigning jobs and tending to injuries. He’s doing all of the negotiating and taking advantage of every opportunity he can.

If there’s a decided grocery store, he’s looting it. If there’s an empty house with running water, he’s using it. If there’s a vehicle another gang left behind, he’s taking it.

Would he fight the zombies?

Unless absolutely necessary. If anything, he’d be observant of their movements, behaviors, weaknesses and characteristics. He’d have armor or a repellant of some sort made for confronting zombies. He’d ultimately make sure the areas cleared before letting his group through.

Which leads to potential faults.

The faults

I think his curiosity, brattiness and over confidence in his decisions would ultimately get him in trouble.

I think his over dedication to his leadership and independence would get him in trouble, too. Even bitten

He’d definitely sacrifice himself multiple times for the sake of his group. I think in once instance, he might get bitten and have to lose an arm or leg.

As far as confidence and brattiness, he’d probably get in trouble with another group and cause unnecessary conflict due to his stubbornness. Nothing would come of it other than wasted resources and possibly a destroyed camp.

Something that I’d be curious about is the idea of “give and take” with Law.

I think as much as he despises the concept, he’d use it a lot.

For instance, he’d help out a group of injured travelers, but expect a payment or advantage that they can provide.

This could lead to problems with betrayal and softening. More conflict would be due to him (at least that’s what Law would think), so doing these kinds of assistance calls would bring a lot of stress and overthinking into the mix.

Would he survive?

Honestly, I think it’s either a yes or a no.

If he survives, then he’s managed to save his entire crew and make it out alive. He probably managed to relocate to a permanent safe and secluded location that will keep them safe and supplied for years to come. He managed to keep his emotions in check and was diligent.

If he didn’t, he did it sacrificing his life for someone or a group of people. His death would probably be the saddest by far because of how greatly his love poured through his hard work. It would be an honorable death, and those people would continue to live on for a very long time because of him.

I don’t think he’d let his emotions or pride get to the best of him in the face of death, but rather it was simply his job that caught up to him: Saving lives.

[wawamouse]

[bursts into your inbox as if we were having a conversation you were definitely not aware we were having] -one reason we need more slightly more modern outside AUs is: how unhinged could the texts between Chico and Miguel get?? The possibilities for conversational wtfuckery with these two!!

(I'm sure for the longest time it would be the most short and uninformative texting desert where they barely go beyond "u hungry?" and "k" level communication. But there would be bursts of amusing absurdist insanity that goes on and on.)

Yes this was prompted by something you reblogged on another blog, and I came here to tell you rather than politely musing in my own area.

Wow you’re so right, we need to make miguel and chico millennials…. or we just need to give them cellphones lol

(for those wondering, the post I reblogged was this )

also i do think “k” & leaving on read is miguel’s style of communication (toward chico) but probably only because i headcanon chico texting him like an insane person, both when he like-likes miguel and also when he hates him (bc that's hardly going to make him leave miguel alone lol). i could see him firing off an essay in single line texts and god help miguel when chico discovers audio messages (but at the same time, i think miguel would send audio messages more) (which chico would love because… come on 😂). i think miguel is better at cyber stalking someone than chico tho (ok now i’m just going into my Technology Headcanons). just, like, miguel is better at researching than chico. but chico knows more about torrenting and vpns and anti-virus stuff. also his bookmarks bar has a bunch of porn sites saved if we're being real

idk, i just don't see miguel as a texting person 😂 I think he prefers face-to-face communication or talking on the phone where as chico who probably has a really aggressive way of texting and also he uses T9 lol

i also think chico would send truly indecipherable memes sometimes, not because he thinks they’re funny (he doesn't get them) but because he just compulsively forwards every little piece of internet junk, clickbait, memes, buzzfeed quizzes, etc, straight to miguel, not really caring if he even responds or not bc anything he Actually wants miguel to see, he'll just bring up in person...

2 AU thoughts that immediately jumped to mind:

they meet as wrong numbers—like, one of them accidentally texts the wrong new contact or something—they got a fake number (haha), etc., and then the other person responds and they have a sort of curt conversation of realising they have theyre talking to a stranger before being like Whoops my bad! ...but then weeks later when the first guy (let's just say, chico - that' kinda what i'm imagining anyway) mistakenly texts miguel again bc he never deleted the contact info. and he's like totally shitfaced too so he just ends up calling miguel and being like HEY Come get me. I'm at xyz location!! … and that’s how they meet—because Miguel is moderately bored and curious and he thinks Chico will have drugs 😂 (maybe he’s mentioned it idk) (anyway he does have them) ...

dating app AU (cough hook up app) 💀 they chat/sext for a long time more as like friends for a while... idk, some people you just sort of end up befriending and having longer running fun conversations with / gossip about your other hook-ups on the app bc there's more to it in a way. they end up exchanging actual phone numbers and chatting bc they have a lot in common—even know the same clubs and know they don't live that far apart, but they just don't meet up right away. And then it gets kind of weird bc at a certain point, they're more lookng forward to meet up but then it's like damn, what if the spark isn't there in person 😵‍💫 what if they meet up, have sex, and then never text each other again or it all falls apart or something. And then something something, when they finally go Fuck It and decide to meet up and get it over with, they get completely sidetracked (just gotta do a minor job real quick! swing by a location!) in a Date Ends Up With Them Almost Getting Shot and Running For Their Lives type way. but good news: even though they bicker like hell in person, and each find the other vaguely infuriating, the spark is definitely there 👀

[lupunsus]

I'm obsessed with the hybrid AU of @cinnamonest, and i couldn't help but think about the hybrids of animals that aren't, yknow, sexually desired, but still make contact with humans, like Sloths. Just a sloth living their life.

All of this is just my personal opinion and ideas, im also bad at writing, but this is just a ramble of thoughts. the original idea of the hybrid au goes out to cinnamonest

I feel like i haven't done as much research to properly get the behavior of the sloth down to a T, but let's just say domestication can change even the craziest of wolves 🫡

GN reader, sometimes referred to as "it," because i like to believe that humans in this au don't see hybrids as people unless they prove themselves to be as smart and able to live on their own. Also, I think that sloth hybrids can move a bit faster than sloths.

Sloths as animals are already rare. So, to stumble upon a sloth hybrid would definitely be even rarer than receiving God's blessing, I think.

I like to imagine the first sloth hybrid encounter would be in Sumeru, where an Akademiya student notices some weird creature eating their notes while out researching in the forest. At first, they would be horrified at all their hard-earned work and possible funding going down the drain until they noticed that this thing is a weird dirty human with moss on their back. And it moved as slow as a snail...

An undocumented hybrid??? Would presenting it as a research topic replace the fruit of labors this student wasted their entire lives on??? The answer is yes. Yes it did.

Sloths feel very stressed when carried, so getting the hybrid to the city was difficult in itself, and plus, wasn't it illegal to bring in wild animals out of their habitat? But the species could be considered to go extinct as their numbers have been dwindling, so wouldn't it be better to raise it in a controlled environment where it's safer for them? Who knows if the reason there's barely any out in the wild is because of predators or due to the Withering problem (that is now taken care of) that destroyed a good fraction of the forest.

Either way, the hybrid is now under the protection of the Akademiya, and its new habitat is in the section where they usually study hybrids and their nature towards humans (with their owner's permission and signed documents). In this case, having a one-way glass is fortunate since the poor hybrid freaked out when a lot of humans gathered around them and severely injured one with their claws. They considered releasing the hybrid back in the wild because of how indifferent it was to humans (and the fact that it actively resisted being given a bath by using its claws, again), but decided not to as the hybrid seemed ok with living in the space as long as it wasn't bothered.

But the question now is, how would researchers study the sloth hybrid? Some attempt to bribe it with delicious food, but it takes forever just for the hybrid to eat the bribe. So they opted for leaving out simple puzzles, namely shaped blocks that fit into different holes in a wooden box. Due to the time it takes to study it, I like to believe researchers are paid for their efforts if they submit a report of what the sloth does, like how long it takes for them to eat this kind of fruit, how long it takes for them to move around, etc etc.

It sounds easy, but when you take into consideration how smart sloths can be, it isn't long before the hybrid learns how to speak, nor does it take long to figure out they're being watched.

"No." Is the first word they picked up, due to how common it was to hear it whenever someone would complain around it. So when the student who brought you in started complaining about how they should've just left it out in the wild and rewritten their paper, it said its first word.

Now, in context, saying no to someone saying "I wish I left you in the woods" could be taken in many ways. Does this sloth see me as a friend because I brought it here? Does this sloth care for me more than the others because? Or does it feel bad for eating my research notes that were my entire reason to live?

To the last part, the answer would be no. Sloth hybrid feels no shame for their actions. Don't leave important things out in the open.

All the researchers that have said "no" around the sloth hybrid appeared to be uncomfortable and distressed, putting their hands on their head and shaking it, sometimes letting out some kind of liquid from their eyes. Hearing these humans talk so much and offer nothing but tasteless leaves... wouldn't any sloth feel uncomfortable and distressed? It took at least 5 minutes for liquid to also come out of their eyes and mimic the behavior of students who lost all hope in their future, shaking its head and saying "no" repeatedly but slowly. If the humans would take it away from heavenly leaves and fruits, couldn't they supply it with anything better than dry leaves?

The student panicked, thinking that maybe they should've let the sloth be, and tried to discuss moving the hybrid back to the wild as it was clearly not liking something. But it still said no, even louder when they tried to bribe it with (mid) fruits inside a crate. All researchers agree that they wish sloth hybrids could move faster, or they could learn to move faster because 15 minutes later, the hybrid was laying on it's back pointing to its food.

Killing hybrids is illegal and would most likely get someone life in prison. I think.

There are some moments when the sloth hybrid proves itself to be helpful and even intelligent enough to comprehend human emotions. Liquid coming out of eyes = sadness. So when a student comes in crying while delivering high-quality leaves and fruit, the sloth makes an attempt to reach out a hand, offering fruit. After 20 minutes of climbing down while the student who probably failed their midterms is having a breakdown in a corner.

It's a sweet gesture, but the way it sometimes just drops the fruit on the person and turns to go back to eat makes some think it does it just for the human to be quiet. But if you have the patience to sit for another 20 minutes, you'll notice that it will take a bite of its food and wait until you do the same. But once you take a bite, it'll stop caring and munch away. If you're still there and there's a piece of fruit or a leaf left, prepare to wait a very long time for it to bring the plate over and give it to you.

It's adorable until it realizes that bringing empty plates to humans makes them take it away and bring more food, so those unfortunately not having a mental breakdown have to wait for the sloth to bring over its plate. It's even worse after some students teach it to wave, as the hybrid will stop what it's doing, raise their hand, wave, lower their hand, and look around for 5-10 minutes before remembering what it was previously doing. Less if you point to the plate. Don't grab the plate, though. The sloth hybrid is smart enough to do it itself and will throw a fit and scratch at you if you attempt to rush it.

Students now secretly feed the sloth in hopes that their friends won't distract it, as it would take almost up to an hour if a group of researchers all decided to come and wave one by one. Sometimes, people think it's a curse to have some sort of intelligence because the thing is so slow, but I don't think it would prove itself to live on its own as a citizen with rights just because it's so slow, and it would probably take an hour at least to do a simple task like writing a letter.

But don't worry, the sloth hybrid gets the best care at the Akademiya Hybrid Research Facility(?), even if it's starting to smell a bit bad to the point where they're considering spraying it down with a hose from a safe distance.

[delinquentbookworm]

Idea for an au that in my head I’ve dubbed ‘heir Porter au’ where porters family is never fully driven out of the mountains of chaos, instead just to the very edge in a very barren area. This partially done as a reminder of the glory they once had and also so their enemies can just keep an eye in them.

So the now named cliffbreakers (they still change their name mostly because I really like Porter cliffbreaker but also as a constant reminder of their greatest failure and to never be weak enough to let anything like it happen again) bide their time carving out a meagre existence for themselves while researching and planing a way to fight back.

It’s porters birth that acts as a catalyst so to speak, he’s the first genesi born in generations to an otherwise Goliath family and is seen as a blessing and a sign of good fortune (basically a way to make Porter even more arrogant and egotistical than in canon since he’s basically treated like a prince, while also deeply caring about his family and the people he sees as his).

They come up with a similar plan to canon, resurrect ankarna so Porter can kill her and take her place as the new god of war etc. The only problem is that they need someone who has and truly knows magic to help cast and research the rituals and find the dead gods name.

Cue Jace acting as a chaperone to the high five heroes (the rat grinders) for a spring break project in the mountains of chaos, it was so easy to spy on them and almost as easy to lead a stampede of high level monsters their way.

In the confusion they manage to grab Jace while the kids get away, he’s exhausted and confused by the sudden apparent of a group of goliaths and an earth genesi so before he even has a time to question what’s going or fight back his neck is snapped.

When he wakes up he finds a a fiery red gem lodged in his chest and a mage collar (one of the few antiques the cliffbreakers have from their former glory, it severely limits a spell casters ability unless the person who put it on (Porter) allows its) wrapped around his neck.

Porter gives a big epic speech about how he plans to reclaim the mountains of chaos, earn back the name of sunstone and literally turn himself into a god. By the time he’s finished and actually looks at Jace he expects to see fear and awe in the half elf, instead he just looks completely confused and frightened.

That’s when it finally occurs to him, none of his followers have comprehend language, they only speak giant and there’s little to no chance Jace would understand giant.

Porter and a few others do know a little bit of common from traders so they do their best to explain the plan to Jace, this only confuses him more though.

Jace does eventually eventually get the idea of what they’re trying to do, mostly through having a bunch of books written in common on religion, magic and gods dumped on him.

Along with witnessing a lot of the ceremonies they perform on Porter to try and prepare his body for godhood, Jace definitely finally gets annoyed enough at one point to just fully barge his way into a ceremony add some tunes for extra potency, add what little magic he can access to to the circle and reposition Porter to the correct bloody markers! He’s a teacher goddamit and sloppy work still pisses him off.

He fully expects to be killed or punished (he really tries to ignore how both his heart and cock jump at the idea of that) only for the Goliaths to what he thinks is praise him? Slapping him on the back (he’s nearly knocked over by this) pat him on the head etc and Porter to come up to him and clasps him on the shoulders and what in little common he knows say “good magic, good elf”.

Also Jace being a little freak who while yes is a scared and pissed off as a normal person would be in this situation also has had a fantasy of being taken hostage by a group of Goliaths and fucked in front of everyone by their leader in a show of power and dominance for a while now.

And Porter who’s so used to being given everything (he’s basically like their prince do he gets special treatment) while simultaneously being denied the only thing he really wants and feels like deserves (the ability to restore sunstones name and his own godhood) finding himself developing feelings for Jace and just fully not knowing how to cope or what to do with them.

He also has to deal with a group of Goliaths that are very interested in the very pretty little half elf they suddenly have.

Plus I love the idea of your short 5.5 and 110 pounds Jace, especially considering that the average height of a male Goliath is 6.9 xx

This is a really fun au idea! I don't have anything to add myself, but I would definitely encourage you to write and post this on ao3!!!

[fandomfluffandfuck]

I have dyslexia as well so I listen to podfics a lot! Can I ask how you write so perfectly with dyslexia? No need to answer if you don't want to, jus curious about your process :-)

Hey, sweets, it's no problem, don't worry!

I'm gonna take this opportunity to do what I do best and... overexplain. (Which--the overexplaining, overwriting that I do--I'm convinced is due to dyslexia. It takes a lot of words, which I don't feel naturally attuned to, to communicate the thoughts I have in my head. I struggle with words and sentence structure, and it all comes out tangled, so I just keep trying until I have monster paragraphs, lmao.)

Yeah, I'm dyslexic! Very dyslexic, lmao. And I do a lot to work around it, trying my best to write (mostly) coherent words, but also, I don't really think about the process I use all the time because... it's just what I have to do, y'know? I've always had to have work arounds. Like, I've obviously been dyslexic my entire life, but I didn't get a diagnosis until late, late middle school, and at that point, the "accommodations" I got at school were entirely useless. Like, oh, wonderful, preferential seating. Sure. Yeah. That will definitely help with my dyslexia. Thanks.

I also remember, just as a side note, that it was during that time when I was refused accommodations like extra time for tests, reading aids, note-taking aids, etc. all which would've been EXTREMELY HELPFUL because I was doing "well enough" in school. So, clearly, I didn't "need" them, if anything, they would be "wasted" on me when they could go to someone else who was actually struggling (which, I get, public school funding is shitty and there aren't unlimited resources, but I'm still slightly salty, lol. Just because I didn't appear to be struggling on the outside didn't mean I wasn't struggling. It's similar to having "high functioning" depression, like, it doesn't matter if I can function if I still feel like fucking shit constantly). I was also so, so close to not being diagnosed in the first place because, according to the doctors I saw, I was smart enough that it wouldn't matter.

That's a reoccurring theme with my dyslexia, actually!

People never believe me!

Which, sure, is a compliment to other people. But it's a backhanded one. I don't want to be complimented by pushing everyone else down.

ANYWAY-

The process.

The process starts--background wise--with practice. The shit answer. I know. But, really, practice. I've been writing stories for a lot longer than I've been posting fics. I've written lots of fiction (short stories and nonshort stories), I used to write poetry, and I'm a life-long journal-er. I used to read a lot, lot of books, too, despite the challenges with my dyslexia. It'd just that now I write so much for fandom and with higher education challenging me, I find it hard to have the time or the energy to read and deal with more words than I already do.

So, I have lots of practice on my side, active and passive, but I also have other things...

I type all my fics, and I use fonts and font sizes extensively. I tend to use bigger font sizes overall, not like wildly huge fonts, but not 11 or 12, either. It depends on the font itself--some fonts have larger letters than others. Something about the letters being more visible and having smaller sentence chunks on each line helps me anchor the letters in place.

I also will plan my fics in one font (probably whatever the program is set to by default), then flesh out the plan more in a different font, after I'll actually go and write out my fic in a new font, and when I'm ready to make edits and add final touches I use a new font, again. I tend to bounce between Arial, Verdana, Open Dyslexic, and Comic Sans. Yes, I write smut I comic sans regularly 💀💀

I've seen research that says, yes, fonts can affect dyslexia and research that says it doesn't do shit so... 🤷🏻‍♂️ Either way, I feel like it helps me find mistakes because it tricks my eyes into thinking the words are new, lol. That, and I find it more comfortable to write in dark mode, I don't know why or if it's doing anything specifically to my dyslexia, but I get less lost in the words when in dark mode.

While I'm doing all that font changing, I'm also, as I mentioned, writing and re-writing, which means reading and re-reading. I go over my fics A FUCK TON. Pure repetition irons out a lot of shit by brute force, lol. I have friends who will write essays for school and look over it once, maybe twice if they're feeling spicy. I can not comprehent that. Not me. If I haven't re-read it, once I'm at the final editing and final touches stage, at least six times then... it's not going to be posted. I'll also change fonts between re-readings. And when I put the fucking thing into AO3, I re-read it again.

(I'm sure a beta reader would be very helpful, but I'm also very protective over my art--writing, drawing, sculpture, or otherwise, and so I haven't played with that, lol. You'd have to ask someone else about their experience there!)

While writing, reading, re-writing, and re-reading, I'm also reading out loud to myself.

Everything.

All 👏🏻of 👏🏻 it 👏🏻

I say all of it.

It helps me with flow and writing style, sure, but really, it forces me to realize mistakes and lessens my mistakes. You mentioned podfics and while I haven't gotten into podfics I am a fucking podcast, music, audio guy. I find audio so much easier to process than written words.

(You might find this poll of interest, I do, lol)

Aaaand, while all of this is going on, I also, of course, use a grammar program. I use Grammarly because it was most accessible (re: free and recommended to me by an English teacher) in high school. I keep in mind that it has batshit insane suggestions sometimes, and I have all their bullshit AI helping tools turned off, but... it does help a ton.

In conclusion, something that I am working on myself is that sometimes when I'm having a bad day with my dyslexia--maybe I'm tired and I can't focus, maybe I have a headache, maybe my eyes are fried from staring at a screen all day, maybe I've done too much reading for college, maybe my threshold for frustration has been exceeded and I just can't deal with the challenge that writing presents that day, or whatever--I can't write and I need to accept that. I'm not gonna be able to produce something good, maybe not even something presentable, every time I sit down to write.

That's fine!

That's how writing works for everyone! That's how writing works for me, someone who struggles with letters and numbers and writing and reading and the whole fucking thing. That's okay. Let it happen. Let it go. Try again tomorrow.

Uhhh, I hope some of that, any of that, was of interest? Helpful? Maybe?

[staysafedontdie]

Vampire Spawn Lore/Headcanons Help?

Hey friends and strangers, Long Post here.

I have noticed in my attempts at research that there is almost nothing but a stat block for Vampire Spawns. But we do know lots about Vampires themselves.

I'm going to break this down into things that are consistent in BG3 and a couple things I noted in other RPGs that could be relevant?

Please feel free to comment with things you believe are true or could be true, or things you know from actual Vampire/Vampire Spawn lore! It'll be fun to see what people in the community do, think, and use for story writing and such!!

(Also, please note that I wrote this between playing BG3, Deep cleaning my apartment, and ADHD kicking my ass, so apologies if it's a little scattered.)

What we do know, per Forgotten Realms Lore:

Spawn share their masters' weaknesses, to a lesser degree (can't enter private dwellings without permission, running water is acid damage, can't see themselves in mirrors, sunlight burns, garlic, etc)

They also can share their masters' strengths: Spawn are said to be able to turn into mist and climb on walls like a spider. They also seem to be able to charm & "Like most undead, their bite and touch caused blood drain and domination" (Aka. the spell Dominate Person)

Spawn do regenerate health, but the damage they take from running water & sunlight is higher than their regeneration, which is why they can die to these things.

Their features become more distorted/sharp/predatory when infected.

As Astarion mentioned, Spawn are less slaves and more puppets designed to do their master's bidding. Free will is non-existent, even if they're fully aware of what they're doing. Obviously it would depend on how controlling the individual Vampire is, but when given an order they cannot disobey.

Once a Spawn is freed, they can no longer be enslaved (by another Vampire. So, one master and if said master dies then the spawn is free to go on their merry way without fear.)

"When it came to a life of adventuring, vampire spawn would seek vengeance on their creators, or penance for their new damnation. If these monsters could overcome their ravenous emotions, they might seek out knowledge, glory, or power. Pride was the true driver of the vampire spawn, since they believed themselves better than others."

A point of contention: Yes a Spawn can feed from their master to become a True Vampire, but the Spawn needs permission to do so. It's a consent thing. So, yes, while it would be nice to bully Cazador into turning Astarion with a series of fun intimidation checks, that man would rather die than concede.

Besides, per the Lore True Vampires lose their humanity in the process of the change and all of their emotions twist into dark shadows of themselves. Love becomes possessiveness, etc.

Stakes do not kill Vampires, they paralyze them. Thus making it easier to kill them. Astarion's preferred death of decapitation is - from what I've seen - one of the most widely supported ways to permanently kill a Vampire in not just FR Lore, but IRL too.

Some other things that I thought were interesting: (Admittedly this could be partially due to the tadpole)

Despite the inherent nature of Vampire Spawn, Astarion doesn't seem to be evil - in fact, the more we learn about him, the kinder he seems and the more the evil act seems to be for protection. He's definitely firmly self-serving and Chaotic, and will forever be a mischievous chaos gremlin who talks shit and plays mean-spirited pranks on people for sure, but he is kind.

Astarion seems to be able to imbibe in at least drink if not food as well. He's shown drink wine at several points throughout the story.

He sweats and bleeds and salivates, indicating he does have bodily function to some degree. (I'll touch on this a bit later.)

If his features are distorted/more predatory HOW SOFT MUST HE HAVE LOOKED BEFORE WHAT THE FUCK?

ALL OF CAZADOR'S SPAWN HAVE SOULS. This is Weird for Vampires/Undead.

Notes from other (Non-FR) Lore sources:

Midgard (D&D 5e supplement from Kobold Press):

Vampire Spawn are able to have children and sometimes those children are Dhampir/Dhampyr (do with this what you will)

Honestly this system has a ton of cool lore, but that is the only different Spawn-specific thing I found by skimming. But if you want lots of Vampire/Dhampir/cool character backgrounds related to those things? Please take a look. Not associated, just found it while researching and Thought It Was Neat.

General/IRL Vampire Lore:

Originally Vampires couldn't see themselves in mirrors because they were backed with a thin layer of silver - a very pure metal said to repel vampires and werewolves. So theoretically a Vampire in the today times would be able to be seen in a mirror, as ours have aluminum backings. So you could, potentially, with a bit of work, find an exotic mirror that might work for Astarion and the horde of other Spawn you may or may not have released into the Underdark.

Running water has the same implications in that it's pure, which is why a Vampire can't touch/cross it.

Sunlight as a Vampire weakness only came about during the film Nosferatu where it then became public lexicon - prior to that, Vampires were more active at night, but not inactive during the day.

I read somewhere - probably on this hellsite - that a Vampire's fangs are technically their reproductive organs, and I hate it. Please make this joke more in fanfics.

Vampire, The Masquerade (which is now not the most up-to-date World of Darkness lore, but more widely known):

"Vampire bodies do not function like the bodies of living organisms. They are (more or less) preserved in a life-like state, but they do not age or die from illness." - pretty standard among all Vampire lore

"Vampires are also vulnerable to so-called "True Faith", that is, the strength of a person's true religious conviction (which is, fortunately for vampires, very rare). Such faith need not be religious per se — one of the rulebooks mentions a yuppie repelling a vampire with his credit card, thanks to his faith in the power of money." - lmao please this is so funny, please imagine some rich idiot in somewhere in Toril pulling a 'The power of Christ compels you!' with a sack of gold pieces. Let's be honest, it's probably some rich merchant from Amn.

"Vampires are immune to most diseases, drugs and poisons, but can be affected by some if present in the blood of their victims." - cheap and easy way to save money on wine

"Normally, a vampire looks the part of a corpse. They're pale and register no pulse. They exist at slightly below room temperature. Food and drink taste terrible, and immediately cause violent, bloody vomiting. They also cannot function sexually, or convincingly fake enjoying sex."

The Blush of Life skill! "By spending a point of Vitae, Kindred may invoke the blush of life for a scene. This makes them functionally human. They become warm to the touch, with a full, hearty pulse. They produce natural bodily fluids. They function sexually in the way a human can, becoming physically aroused, erect, and lubricated. They can keep food and drink down, ejecting it later in the night. They’ll pass medical inspection while the blush remains active."

I can't remember where this came from:

I remember reading somewhere that Vampires probably need to feed in order to continue to have regeneration properties. So they have blood/fluids but they need to feed to be able to maintain those fluid levels. So if a Vampire gets injured, they'll continue getting weaker until they feed rather than naturally recouperating like other beings. - This actually ties really well into both the lore Astarion's exhaustion and hunger when he asks to feed on the player. It's the first time he's had to fight in a long time, and he was mostly starved by Cazador, so his vitality is quite low. (Unfortunately this wouldn't be very fun mechanically if implemented that way, so it's headcanon territory.) EDIT TO ABOVE: Apparently he's only feeding to see if he can disobey Cazador per his Origin route, but leaving that up as it's a valid interpretation if the Origin is excluded, since there's no reason to think otherwise as the Player Character.

Vampires look more alive once they feed. They may be a little warmer, have a bit of color in their cheeks again, etc. Different to VtM's Blush of Life as this is specific to feeding, when the other is a skill that can be performed.

As weird as it is to think about, I love whatever the fuck this answer is on Quora: It goes into depth from the perspective of a Vampire on how the body processes nutrients and expels waste.

LORE'S OVER, HERE'S THE FUN PART!

I have questions. SO many questions. Even if it's stupid, I want to hear your answers!

ARE VAMPIRE SPAWN IMMORTAL? IF NOT, HOW LONG DO THEY LIVE FOR? A: Idfk, I assume immortal, but literally nothing confirms whether this is the case. Either way it's A Very Long Time.

CAN VAMPIRE SPAWN EAT & DRINK? IS IT A TADPOLE THING? Honestly this could go either way for me. I do like the VtM interpretation of not being able to keep it down for long if they do.

HOW DOES THE BODY WORK? DIGESTIVE SYSTEM? CIRCULATORY SYSTEM? Idk tbh. Please help. (Though I do like the non-regenerative fluids idea.)

BODY TEMPERATURE? I agree he runs cooler than normal body temperature and is probably That Asshole With The Cold Feet in bed but I also saw this cute af headcanon of him of him being cold-blooded like a lizard. So self-regulating body temperature by sun-bathing and such and I can't stop thinking about it.

OTHER QUESTIONS I FORGOT?

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS NONSENSE!!

[187days]

Day Eleven

Last week, one of our state reps emailed The Principal to ask if we would be observing the national moment of silence on 9/11 at 8:46AM (yes) and encourage us to teach lessons in our social studies classes about the 9/11 attacks. I understand why, of course. None of these kids were born when it happened, and it's important that they understand it, but my own view has been that carrying on with my life- not stopping, not changing my routine, etc...- is a way of saying that al-Qaeda didn't win. 9/11 was my first day of college, my brother and dozens of our friends fought in the GWOT, some of them died. It did change everything. But I don't have to let it change me year after year.

I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else, but it's how I feel, so I've never stopped and taught about the attacks just because it's September 11th. Today I kind of found a middle ground. In Global Studies, I was teaching students how to write current events (and I added in a mini-lesson on paraphrasing because grading their most recent assignments made it clear that's necessary), so I chose some news stories about the memorial in New York City to use for my example. I talked my way through the note-taking and citation process, then I set them lose to work on their own write-ups.

Admittedly, in APGOV, I wasn't planning to do anything 9/11-related because there was so much else to do. We watched debate highlights, read some fact checks, and then had a discussion. But a question about the war in Ukraine led to a tangent about NATO, then a tangent about the Afghanistan War, and, well, it came up anyways. We also talked a lot about economics, inflation, abortion laws, the tone of the debate, and more. It was excellent.

With the time remaining afterwards, we returned our focus to our own state. I put students in groups and tasked them with researching the candidates in particular elections. One group has the gubernatorial and executive council races, one has the state senate race and one of the house races, the other group have the rest of the house races for our area. I pretty much never assign groups, but I did for this because it's based on where they live; they're all researching a race that's relevant to them. And it is good to learn how to work with people one might not always choose to work with, so added bonus.

It all went rather well, and I was able to leave right at 2:45- Mr. F and I walked out together, which we hadn't done yet this year- and enjoy my afternoon. Definitely going to bed early tonight to make up for staying up to watch the debate last night!

[baeddel]

@elancholia ty for your reply i always like them ^/////^ i will try and respond better to your whole post another time. obviously the conversation has evolved into more of a larger discussion about plagiarism & intertextuality in general, but i wanted to point out something w/r/t what i was originally asking. when you say:

The specificity of citations means that each claim is easy (for a specialist) to find and address; the points of dispute are very clear. And it's possible to pick out anomalous patterns, like century-spanning claims being sourced from one very specific document, or a consistent overreliance on "problematic sources" which are known to have been "heavily edited and sanitized" at the time they were originally compiled.

you understand that this is again not the kind of knowledge that i'm talking about in that post. if i learned how to make an argument (in this example, a 'dialectical' argument) from a really problematic and flawed book, it wouldn't really help you at all in evaluating my argument—my entire argument is transparent to you as soon as you read it, and if you tried to attack (using my example) my post based on a criticism of Clausewitz it would just be irrelevant, because i'm not actually saying anything he said.

i realize that i muddied the waters in my wording by at the end saying "in philosophy or non-fiction" in general, but my surprise was about this kind of thing, not about claims. w/r/t the kind of citation in the quote i don't feel confused about it, i try to cite my posts as much as possible for several reasons, both practical and ethical (one tumblr specific reason is that it helps to avoid establishing onesself as a kind of priestly authority with access to secret knowledge & instead invites the reader into your context so they can argue with you as an equal—since a lot of people who read your post may not know how to access the information otherwise, a concern which arises strictly in a non-academic situation).

you get where i'm coming from right—i have textbooks that are supposed to show how to make a kind of argument, which forms are valid, etc. they're aimed at training you to argue in a certain way and they don't expect you to cite them or even really remember them. why does it change when you learn how to argue that way from another kind of text?

when i went to read some of the literature on plagiarism i was similarly surprised to find other things which are considered plagiarism at least by some definitions. in one study that looked at Iranian Applied Linguistics researchers' views of plagiarism & intertextuality (click), the questionnaire included the following questions:

Creating a new piece of work structured according to a documentation standard, by referring to existing work of the same type.

and

Using a published work to identify important secondary citations that make a particular logical argument and then citing only those secondary sources to support your own use of the same logical argument.

the first one (copying the structure of another article) was considered plagiarism by 68% of respondents (15% said it wasn't and 17% said they didn't know). it surprised me a lot to learn that anyone would consider that plagiarism. the second one (copying an argument and just borrowing the citations necessary without saying where you learned the argument) is quite close to what i was talking about, and the responses were: 32% yes plagiarism, 57% no plagiarism, 11% don't know.

my takeaway is that there is not a lot of certainty about what counts as plagiarism on offer & i'm probably not the first person to experience this kind of surprise, confusion or skepticism about it.

[futurequibblerjournalist]

I am nothing if not bitter and you sent me an ask that took me 50 minutes and made me lose sense of reality by the end so here you fucking go my love < 3

🍓 , 🍄, 🔪 , 🍦, 🦴 , 🧩 , 🐝 , ☁️, 🛼

nvfjnbvjgnbjg ah yes, well I sort of deserved it I suppose. Look at you distracting me from reading the pirate fic tsk tsk

🍓 ⇢ how did you get into writing fanfiction? 

This is actually so embarrassing urgh,, I had just gotten into Hetalia and I realised there weren't a lot of male reader inserts so I decided to write that,, I think perhaps even earlier than that I might have written some Y/N x One Direction one shots that are floating around somewhere in a One Direction fan group but we'll just pretend this answer and this question doesn't exist jvfnjbngjb

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

Uuuuurgh,, I have so many, how am I meant to just pick one???

I like the idea of there being a rumour about rosekiller going around that Barty was caught sucking Evan off in a broom closet and Barty's fully embraced it—in reality all they did was kiss lol

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

I recently mentioned the Dr. Miles Nervine medicine thing but other than that I also recently got to look up the sort of hedges and fruit that grows in France

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

I hate two characters, Dobby and Umbridge and since I'm not allowed to say my favourite thing about Dobby was when he met his end I'm left with very little to say. I suppose it's admirable how neither of them ever succumbed to beauty standards. I'm partially amused by Dobby's fashion sense and I suppose one could admire that Umbridge has committed to just being a nasty cunt through and through, it must be tiring to be such a warm turd of a person all the time. That's all you're getting from me, sorry

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

Whatever I'm reading at the time! And sometimes even a movie or something (though since I rarely watch those, I rarely get inspiration from that). I also just get very inspired by all the people in this fandom who create things for us all, whether it's writing, artwork, text posts, edits, cosplays, funny videos etc.

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

Bad grammar or like,, sentences that don't make sense. Even faster if it's both. Or just entire blocks of text, I just can't do it.

🐝 ⇢ tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them

Well, well, well, halle-who could that be? Lmaoo just kidding,, my biggest supporter is definitely @orchideous-nox, there's nothing better than yapping with you for hours < 3 You are such an incredibly talented writer and an even lovelier person and as much as I love to tease you, I'm also equally thankful for you < 3

☁️ ⇢ what made you choose your username?

I was so new to the fandom and I had no idea about anything other than basic Harry Potter knowledge from way back in the day so I tried coming up with something that made sense lol. I wanted to write fics for the fandom, therefore future journalist and then what's a writing platform in the Harry Potter universe? Well, quibbler sounded more fun with the rest than Daily Prophet lol

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

Since you also know my inspiration I've taken the liberty to be a little funny. 🫣🌊🌅🍑🥵 for my most recent jegulus fic < 3

[stuffeddeer]

https://www.tumblr.com/stuffeddeer/734553783616536576/its-that-lurking-anon-again-please-forgive-me

Omg you answered that😭 I was genuinely worried you'd hate me for sending something so long 😭 I'm sorry about that but your response is great! I love discussing things with people, I hope you didn't mind it! 💖🥺

I definitely do see where you're coming from with him cheating but the reason I think he's less likely to is because as you said, the thing with Oda, he won't want to see someone hurt again, he won't want his love to be hurt again, he wouldn't want to go through that kind of pain again. It's quite obvious Dazai isn't stupid(I hope this doesn't sound like I'm saying you implied he is, I promise it's not like that!! I just realized how it might've sounded after re-reading it) and he's able to predict people around him's actions, he knows the impact certain things will have on the people around him, whether is be good or bad. He's able to know what they might do in certain situations, certain choices they'd make, emotions they'd feel etc and to me this means he'd know very well that whoever his love is, he'd know hurting them to the point where he betrayed them isn't gonna do anything but make them feel how he has in the past. I've researched into relationships where people have been cheated on in the past and many of them who have been so incredibly in love before the cheating, have felt quite literally like their entire life was ending because of this betrayal by their lover. Their pain is excruciating to the point where some may get PTSD symptoms and yes I know that might sound weird but a betrayal that big can be detrimental to someone's mental health. I don't think Dazai would want his lover to go through that kind of pain, Dazai knows the impact of a betrayal cuts deep and I actually think that if Dazai were to get a lover in the first place, that he'd get someone who obviously isn't average in personality, he's definitely go for an eccentric, probably someone like Oda, non judgemental, not much ego, someone who can surprise him even though he's not easily surprised, someone who can teach him new things. Someone he actually can trust and him giving someone his trust is a big feat for him and he'd probably never see himself letting go of this person nor hurting them. He would also probably keep his lover private.

More reasons I don't think Dazai would cheat is because in the past we've seen him break up with many women as Chuuya says "I'll send your address to all the women whose hearts you've broken." But the way I've seen this is in a few situations where him having a girlfriend or a relationship is brought up, he was very transparent when it came to breaking up with the women he was with. An example would be, the bomb that was used in Atsushi's entrance exam being sent to him by his ex girlfriend after she became obsessed with him when they broke up. Dazai talked about being very transparent with her and scolded her saying that it won't work out between them so she should stop with sending him bombs. I see him in relationships that he has no interest in continuing or pursuing, as being transparent and very honest instead of betraying their trust and moving onto someone else while being with them. It's implied a few times that he's had flings and he's the one who stopped it from getting too serious(I think that's another way he shields his heart).

Anyway so sorry if this is too long, I just wanted to clarify why I said I didn't think he'd cheat and believe me this isn't just me having wishful thinking, I enjoy analyzing characters a lot.

And thank you for the well wishes, I wish you well too, I'm doing better so thank you for that💖💖

i totally see the argument of him choosing to break up instead of stringing someone along and cheating on them! that's such an interesting way of viewing dazai, esp with the added reference of him tracking down the couple women he think would have left him a bomb (it was like his fourth call too does he have a type or smth..)

i agree in the sense that instead of cheating, he'd probably just apathetically break up w his date rather than continue to pretend he's interested... i feel like maybe he'd gauge the person he's with and if cheating would ruin them he'd know that and rather shoot them a quick text goodbye before sliding into someone else's bed. i still think he can be a bit sleazy from time to time, especially before joining the ada, though your viewpoint is interesting and appreciated!

andddd all of this delves into his more careless or ruthless nature, but he's probably had his fair share of kind and normal breakups!! i feel like i just spoke so negatively of him lol i love dazai promise <3