#sometimes people still cover those but its a lot less common

[red-dyed-sarumane]

i feel like i would still be big into the utaite scene if it werent for 1) i prefer solo over group activities & everyone wants to be part of a idol-like group these days 2) besides like marshall maximizer & phony a lot of popular songs dont hit right for me & everyones always covering the same handful of popular songs and 3) im so deep into voca territory im genuinely lucky if some of the songs i listen to have even a single a cover. also bonus 4) i refuse to use yt as a music source so if it gets uploaded Only on yt it basically doesnt exist to me

[catboybiologist]

Hey, transfem who has only started to like her body about half a year ago here

As someone who takes a lot of pictures of themselves, do you have any resources/tips for angles or something that accentuates feminine features?

Also in regards to having a somewhat normal facial expression, like my eyes look so weird in every picture I take bc I don't know where to look

This response ended up WAY longer than I expected, and I think Imma add it to my pinned post- thanks for pushing me to talk about this! I don't think I'm really an expert here, but if people want to leave more advice in reblogs and comments, please do.

So when I say "I had two years of femboy experience before transferring to the related (and potentially overlapping) but separate field of trans womanhood" I'm only like... half joking. Selfie angles took a fucking wild amount of time for me to figure out, and guess what? The pictures I post are usually 1-3 in a set of about 20 that I take at any given time. I'm still unhappy with most pictures I take, you just gotta take a lot of them, and figure out for yourself.

That said, I think I have gotten a lot better over time. Behold, the first selfie I posted on reddit (warning for kinda cringe but I know y'all fuck with that):

(Damn, my thighs look good when I properly shave, gotta do that sometime)

(btw I'm 23 in this pic so feel free to simp if you so desire)

And another early one:

This was still selected from a bunch that were horrible, but you can really tell that my face is basically just covered in fabric entirely. My eyes look very dead in both. Compare that to:

^this one is still pre-transition, so don't blame the estrogen.

So what are my specific tips? Well, the classic "selfie angle" is from above. This angle certainly helps, but why? Personally I've found that its far less about angles are far more about lighting. Since most lighting is overhead, taking selfies from above means that you'll have a well lit face in those standard lighting conditions. Notice that in both the early selfies and the later one, the camera is actually positioned below my height level, and there's still a noticeable facial difference between them. The reason this is possible is good, forward lighting. Generally, you want a soft light source to be vaguely behind the camera, shining onto your face- but make sure its not too close, or too bright. This will ensure that harsh shadows don't artificially make your features look much different than they actually are.

Another thing that cannot be understated: DISTANCE between yourself and the camera, especially if you're using a phone camera. There are several reasons for this- notably, it'll help make the background be framed more pleasantly, as well as prevent the camera/phone itself from shadowing your face. But there's also a massive, insidious reason this happens- all phone cameras have some degree of fisheye to their lens to increase the field of view while still using compact optics. Multiple lens have helped a bit, but its still a problem on all of them. Higher end phones will algorithmically correct for this, but they also add a TON of other postprocessing "beautification" in ways that are sometimes completely invisible (insert entire rant here about how this is a deceptive marketing tactic to make a brands phone cameras seem better than they actually are). Sometimes, these edits are way off base. But I digress. The fisheye is killer because it takes any slightly more prominent feature and bulges them out, including the nose and chin. Conversely, recessed features, like eyes and the sides of your cheeks, are going to be less emphasized. Moving further away from the camera significantly reduces this. If you can get a small phone tripod and take selfies that way, it'll alleviate this. Unfortunately my living space is not large atm, and I have less motivation to bother my roommates in the common areas and use their hallways for picture taking, so this has been a little lacking in more recent selfies. It's also just a lot of work for a couple quick selfies, so its hard to do right- but it genuinely makes a world of difference.

Otherwise, my advice about eyes would be that your eyes show your overall facial expression, even if you're covering your mouth. Most of my pictures are taken while smiling slightly under the mask, and it shows in the eyes. If I want a scarier looking picture, I'm stone faced or deliberately make my entire face angrier, and you end up with the "glaring directly down the camera wanting to kill you" face. Referring to the pictures I just posted- the first two are both dead faced under the mask, whereas in the last one, I'm doing a smug, sultry smirk. The eyes then reflect that.

Don't focus on specifically trying to open your eyes wider. Change your facial expression and just let them be how they want to be in relation to that. Eye position should fully commit to looking straight into the camera, or be fully distracted with something else, imo (including the screen of your phone, if you're doing something like a mirror selfie). If you're taking a mirror selfie, look at the camera lens as it's reflected in the mirror. A HUGE takeaway is that cameras, especially phone cameras, straight up lie to you. They don't work the same way as the human eye, and have to compensate for that- but they'll never be a completely faithful representation of what you look like. Don't let your ego be affected by how you look in pictures, when all is said and done.

And of course, experiment, experiment, experiment! Figure out the lighting you can get in the space you have available, and the angles that work for you! Don't be afraid to delete selfies you don't like! Show off your style and your features in the way you want to! There are no rules for what's attractive, this is just what I do and you should develop your own style!

I guess I'll take this with both femboy and trans tags bc the selfies are pre-HRT

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Seeing less to nothing for Yunaka love in here! How's about an S/O who figured out Yunaka's past and accepted her? Like they figured out her lies but didn't bring it up once and maybe once covered for her.

Also, I love this blog, and it's a lovely chaotic mess!

(FE: Engage) Yunaka's S/O knowing about her past

Appreciate the kind words! Honestly, I sometimes forget how this blog is organized/handled is nothing less than dysfunctional, but I'm glad it has its...charm, I think?

When S/O says those words, it makes Yunaka's heart stop.

(S/O) "I know, Yunaka."

(Yunaka) "...You...You what?! You knew about my past?"

(S/O) "Well, I don't know the specifics, but I know what you were. Kinda hard not to put the pieces together...Though evidently that's not exactly common knowledge here in Somniel..."

(Yunaka) "...Honestly? Yeah, they're a bit too naïve for their own good...How long have you known?"

(S/O) "Ever since we first met. Your speed with a knife is way too good to just be a wanderer. I've even told Jean that's just how people from Brodia can fight."

(Yunaka) "Hah, I mean, you're not entirely wrong..."

Yunaka's hands starts fidgeting as she suddenly struggles to look at S/O's eyes.

(Yunaka) "You haven't told anyone, right?!"

(S/O) "Of course not! That's your business, and if you feel comfortable telling the others, than you go ahead. I wouldn't do something that cruel."

She breathes a sigh of relief as she begins laughing nervously, before feeling S/O's embrace which silences her.

(S/O) "I don't care about who you were, I only care about who you are now."

(Yunaka) "Think a lot of people would have an issue, considering."

(S/O) "Not me."

Yunaka wraps her arms around S/O, her head on their shoulders.

(Yunaka) "...You mean that?"

(S/O) "I'm still here, aren't I?"

Yunaka's grip becomes tighter as her voice gets even quieter.

(Yunaka) "Then...thank you. For accepting me."

Tears threaten to spill out of her eyes before S/O starts rubbing the back of her head.

They said nothing else as their actions did the speaking for them.

[duckprintspress]

Editing Tips for Beginning Editors

This is a guest post written by Adrian Harley.

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, I’m willing to bet you already have a lot of the skills you need to be an editor. Even among full-time professionals, a lot of editing skill comes from reading a ton—you get an “eye” for when a sentence just doesn’t look right. The more you read professionally edited work, the better you get at it. (Fanfiction is incredible, obviously. But fanfiction has its own quirks, and the grammar and punctuation can vary, so I’m not confident recommending it as a way to brush up your instinctive grasp of when a sentence “looks right.”)

The specifics of what you do as an editor can vary a lot depending on what you’re editing and who you’re editing for, so in this post, I’ll be covering some of the basic principles that I think will be helpful no matter what type of editing you do. Broadly, I’ll be going over language-related tips and profession-related tips. 

Language

I won’t be going over the nuts and bolts of grammar here, as a zillion good guides to it already exist online. Grammar Girl is my go-to free resource, and a lot of grammar and punctuation questions can be easily answered online or in a style guide from your library. I looked up the rules for commas a LOT in my first years of editing, and I still have to double-check them sometimes. A lot of the fiddly details differ between guides (how to write a.m. and p.m.; serial comma), but the nuts and bolts of grammar and punctuation stay the same across guides. 

Professionally, those fiddly details are a big chunk of editing. Do you write out numbers less than 20? Less than 10? Do you capitalize titles like “President” all the time or only in certain situations? There’s no one right answer, which is one of the many reasons there’s no “right guide” to editing. A style guide will decide many of these questions for you. If you pick up editing as a profession, your employer will most likely have a style guide in mind. You may want to pick one for yourself if you do freelance editing. That way, you won’t have to re-decide on every job, and if you get repeat clients, you’ll be sure their text is consistent across all their documents. A “series bible” for fiction works on similar principles. 

Whether you’re looking at those fiddly details or at the big picture, one principle of editing is to never take anything for granted. Someone says there’s five ancient orbs needed to defeat the dragon? You’d better count the orbs. Make sure every proper noun in the story (names of people, places, things) is spelled the same every single time. This is the kind of thing you’ll get quizzed on if you ever apply for a professional editing gig. Every editing job I’ve ever applied to has an “editing test” of at least a page, and it usually has at least one of those errors (if not both).

Another major thing to watch out for is colloquialisms, especially ones that mean multiple things. A short list of common errors I see:

“Since” should only relate to the passage of time; it does not mean “because.”

“While,” again, should only refer to time—two things happening simultaneously. “But,” “although,” “whereas,” and others are good substitutes for the other sense.

“Due to” does not mean “because of,” it means “caused by” (and I’ve seen some editors argue to not even use it for “caused by” and to only use it for when something is owed to someone).

“If” will often need to be replaced with “whether.”

Obviously with dialogue, that’s a whole nother story, but be careful about these in narration, even with a colloquial narrative. They can introduce unintentional double meanings.

When you’re moving from basic accuracy to style, you’ll often need to “tighten up” the language. This might be something you’re used to doing in your own writing. This doesn’t mean all prose should be sparse! But as an editor, part of your job is making sure that every word is contributing something, no matter whether the sentence is flowery or stark. One exercise is to go through and see if you can cut one word from every sentence. Depending on what type of editing you do, you’ll have different “filler words” to look out for. My personal demon is “just,” so I always do a search for that when I’m revising my own work. In my day job, the word “provide” often signals a clunky phrase that could be condensed into a single, better verb (e.g., “provides assistance” vs. “helps”). 

You’ll look for a lot as you edit, so don’t feel like you have to do it all at once. A simple search can make sure you’ve caught issues like “while” and “since.” Other issues are best solved in their own read-through. For me, I try to do a read-through specifically for passive voice. I often skip over passive voice on my all-purpose read because, well, the sentence makes sense, doesn’t it? So my eye simply doesn’t catch it if I’m not on the lookout. As you edit, you’ll figure out what process works best for you.

And to wrap up the language section—checklists are your friend! I used to have a post-it of all the things I knew I struggled with, and I’d systematically search the document for those trip-ups after I did my first read. You can customize your own checklist with whatever snags give you trouble.

Professionalism

A huge part of editing as a professional is in how you interact with other people. Your whole job is telling people they’re wrong, after all, and you often have no control over whether they’ll listen to you. Everything you can do to make the criticism easier for them helps!

My favorite “one weird trick” that my first boss taught me is to turn every criticism into a question. If you’re suggesting a significant revision, “How about…?” is one of my favorite leads. If you have no idea what’s going on, do your best to figure out what might be causing the issue, then form a question around that. “Are there missing words here?” is kinder and more useful than “Huh?”

Essentially, your role as an editor is to advocate for the reader. This “reader stand-in” role can help frame critique as well. Will the reader understand this? If you’re in one of the more-technical editing jobs, that question may be completely necessary. As an editor for scientific research, I’m often editing documents meant for people who know way more about the subject matter than I do. The framing of “the reader” is also a useful tool in your toolbox for fiction. You may be editing something that you are not the target audience for. Or, on the other end of the scale, you may know without question that you’re reading something incomprehensible. The polite device of “the reader” helps add a level of depersonalization to the critique.

Unsurprisingly, for editing, communication is key before you even start work. “Editing” covers a huge range of possibilities. Make sure you and the author are on the same page. Do they want a proofread—only correcting glaring errors? Do they want you to improve the phrasing of sentences? It can go all the way up to practically rewriting the thing, if you’re working at a corporation and the authors aren’t professionals. This conversation beforehand will let you know whether you should make “artistic” suggestions as you read, whether you need to stick with nuts and bolts, or something in between.

If the author says they only need a proofread and you discover the whole thing is terrible, that’s when some tactful emails come into play. Never start doing a higher-level edit unless you’ve talked about it with the author first. You have much better odds of an affirmative if they feel like they’re collaborating with you–that you’re both in it together to make the best document possible. As far as the tactful emails go, be kind and be specific. If you have examples of what you’d like to correct, throw those in. It helps the author know what to expect and make an informed decision.

And sometimes the author says no, and that’s okay! You must wash your hands of it. It’s not your name on the thing, and if you don’t put it in your resume, it never will be (fresh out of college, I worked on a couple truly awful novels that nobody will ever know I worked on). Perfectionism is HARD to overcome, I know, but accepting the errors gets easier with practice.

And finally, if you’re still wondering, “Am I cut out to be an editor?” I would recommend the words of Neil Gaiman. In his excellent “Make Good Art” speech, he says that as a freelance artist, you need to do good work, do it on time, and be pleasant to work with. And then, he adds, “You don’t even need all three! Two out of three is fine.”I recommend the whole thing if you ever want to battle imposter syndrome, because the same tenets apply to editing. At least I think they do. You don’t need to be the perfect editor—nobody is. But I guarantee that you have most of what you need already, and I hope this has helped.

Biography

Adrian Harley, one of Duck Prints Press’s editors, has been a full-time professional editor of scientific research for 10 years. Their freelance and ad-hoc editing has run the gamut from books to blog posts to family members’ cover letters. They’ve been published in Duck Prints Press’ And Seek (Not) to Alter Me and the forthcoming She Wears the Midnight Crown, as well as OFIC Magazine. 

Want to learn more?

Beware the Weasel Word has information and resources for “tightening up” language.

How to Ask for Feedback on Your Writing talks more about how, from a writer point of view, to help your editor understand what type(s) of editing you’re looking for.

Giving Quality, Motivating Feedback focuses on exactly what it says on the tin: how to give a writer feedback they’ll listen to.

What is an Alpha Reader? talks about what role alpha reader editors play and how to work with one.

[astriiformes]

Earlier you said you preferred “convention circles with slightly different vibes,” so I just wanted to ask (if you’re comfortable sharing) what types of convention do you usually go for? I’m a total convention newbie and I’d love to know how conventions can differ from one another vibes-wise :)

Yeah, sure -- full disclaimer that I haven't actually been to that many different cons compared to some people, but the ones I have been to cover a pretty broad spectrum of vibes. And it's absolutely a spectrum, some cons have shifted in energy over time under different ownership but retain elements of their older selves, others have a lot in common with each other but the size makes them feel different, etc, etc.

When I first started going to conventions I mostly went to what I tend to call San Diego clones -- basically, cons that intentionally have a lot in common with SDCC's modern incarnation, since it's one of the most famous fan conventions. That included Denver Comic Con (which is now called Denver Fan Expo) and New York Comic Con. Even then there was some variety -- when I started going to DCC in particular it was only its second year in existence, so it had some fun awkward "teenage" con quirks -- but these cons tend to prioritize things like having big-name guests, announcements of new media, promotional tie-ins, and other things that have sometimes earned them the nickname "corporate" cons (though they aren't always even run by companies). They also tend to be pretty similar to each other, which is why I call them clones, with SDCC as the archetype, and are the kind I'm less into these days. That's not to say they're all bad, or that people who like them are shallower or anything like that -- if you want to go see your favorite actor in a big name show or have the experience of going to a really huge convention with all the advantages that offers, they're the ones to go to. For me personally, I don't really care much about guests, and do really care about the con feeling unique or like it has some individuality, so they really aren't my thing. But I still had wonderful experiences at some of them when I was younger.

On the other end of the spectrum are what I refer to as fan-run cons. In some instances these are run by companies, in others they're run by non-profits, but even in the former case there is usually a noticeable difference in how they're marketed. There are tradeoffs to that -- they don't have the same kind of guest line-ups or industry connections, because those things cost more money to make happen than they usually have. But for most people who enjoy going to these kinds of cons, there are advantages that make up for that. One is they tend to be a lot quirkier, with weird traditions, unique programming, and sometimes unconventional guests. (For example, my local con, CONvergence, could never afford big movie or tv stars, but one year they did have Chuck Tingle). Another is they show their roots in old school fandom a bit more, retaining traditions like filk circles (places for people to share fan music essentially), Consuites (rooms set aside with free food for convention attendees throughout the weekend), and other things that used to be more common in fandom but have since faded a bit. Fan-run cons are held together by volunteers and often a handful of prayers, but many of them are still very well-run. The energy of this kind of convention can also super vary from con to con, especially based on size. Like, DragonCon, one of the biggest conventions I'd call fan-run, draws tens of thousands of people, tends to have at least a few pretty big guest names each year (in part because it's run by an actual company, which helps with that kind of thing), and takes over downtown Atlanta with a giant parade every year. The reason it still falls in this category for me is the general nature of its programming and because it still has a lot of older fandom traditions, like handing out badge ribbons and a filk track, has a particularly tightly-knit fan community, much of the programming (other panels, the themed parties in the evenings, etc) is still put together by attendees, and in general it feels a lot more like a scaled-up version of my beloved local CONvergence than it does a scaled-down SDCC. I personally like this kind of con because I feel like it showcases how fun, funny, and incredibly weird fandom can be, which is my favorite thing about it, and because as a filk musician and cosplayer, my con-going experience revolves a lot more around sharing and talking about my own transformative and creative works with other people than it does around getting autographs from actors or going to big panels.

A true taxonomy of cons is a lot more complicated though. One thing I can't speak to as much is the world of smaller corporate cons -- I know they tend to hover somewhere in the middle in terms of number of major guests vs amount of fan-run programming, and I would assume also vary in vibes. There are also cons that revolve entirely around a single work of fiction, which can really change the energy they have. Like, Star Wars Celebration feels like it ought to be the most corporate of cons, especially since Disney took over, but it has actually managed to retain a lot of its more old school weirdness in the process -- people hand out little gifts to each other, the cosplay is particularly silly, and there are goofy recurring jokes like trying to get as many people as possible to dress up as the same ESB extra with an ice cream maker and go running through the convention center together. I've also been to the Ohio Valley Filk Fest (the tiniest convention I've been to, with only a couple hundred attendees every year and where a lot of the people who go year after year all know each other), which is one of the few remaining filk-specific cons, which was a totally unique experience in most respects.

At the end of the day, I think a lot of fans could manage to have fun at a lot of different conventions, especially if you go with friends. It's definitely worth finding your niche as time goes on though and really leaning into it. I don't have the money to go to more than a couple cons every year, so I'm glad I know where I'm likely to have the most fun and can plan accordingly. I'm really lucky one of my favorite conventions in the country also happens to take place here in the Twin Cities, because I've been able to invest a more time and energy into it than I might have otherwise, volunteering as a panelist and panel moderator and performing concerts as a musician. (Of course, I also went and volunteered to be a photoshoot organizer my first year at DragonCon, so it might just be that I'm full of hubris). You might decide you like whatever's local to you for that reason, or you might fall in love with a con halfway across the country should you ever get the chance to travel for one; you might choose a con for its guests or decide guests are the last thing that matters to you, and so on. What matters is figuring out what you personally have fun with. So I do encourage checking out different ones if you have the resources to, and researching what out there sounds the most up your alley -- especially by talking with other fans you've gelled with at the conventions you have attended, or paying attention to if there are any that cater to your favorite pieces of media.

Have fun with it and welcome to the world of conventions!

[myriadof-fandoms]

harringrove week - day 4 - making up horrors

prompt: technically a quote by shirley jackson that i took as inspo to go batshit insane about horror lit

or: billy has my taste in books. domestic fluff (they have kids in this)

ao3

It’s early on in their time living together when Steve notices it for the first time. There have always been stacks of books on Billy’s bedside table, even when he was just staying over for a little while he never seemed to arrive with less than at least two books. Only now Steve is properly looking and finally sees a common theme. 

“Do you read anything that’s not horror?” He asks when Billy comes in from the bathroom, just one of their fancy, fluffy towels that were a gift from Steve's mother wrapped around his waist. His curls are still dripping, clinging onto his upper back and shoulders. Steve is obsessed with watching how it's slowly growing down Billy’s back. 

“Yeah, I read thrillers too,” Billy says dead serious, only a little twitch around his mouth betraying him.

“Very funny, Hargrove,” Steve scoffs, trying not to blush.

Billy sits at the end of the bed by Steve’s feet and starts rubbing his hair dry with another towel before he properly begins to answer.

“For the most part, yeah. I like horror and thrillers and everything that’s gothic literature. The fucked up the better, really.”

Steve’s eyebrows draw together at that, even if Billy himself is laughing it off. 

“But- isn’t it, like, scary?”

Billy looks up at him through those thick lashes of his, “Now you just want me to make fun of you, don’t you?”

Steve pouts, “I’m serious.”

Billy laughs at him for a moment before he actually answers. 

“Yeah, it’s scary. Sometimes, that is. Most of the time it’s just, well, a book. Nothing that can actually harm, you know? It’s just words. Sure, they can scare me a little, if it’s really well written, and that’s fun in its own way but,” While he speaks he leans over Steve’s stretched out legs to reach his own side of the bed and stretches until his fingertips reach the topmost book on his nightstand. When he sits back up straight, he starts thumbing through the pages while continuing, “Even when Miss Jackson writes about a haunted house incredibly well that haunted house can’t do shit to me. I can close the book and the horrors are gone.”

Steve hums and looks at the way Billy’s still running his hands over the book, sometimes he stops at a page and runs his fingers over the words. 

There’s something there that’s unsaid, directly under the surface. The books are safe to Billy, safer than his home ever was.

Steve sits up and scoots behind Billy until he can wrap around him entirely. He crosses his legs around Billy’s waist and his arms close around his torso to pull him close against his chest while he rests his chin on his partner's shoulder and quickly presses a kiss against his cheek. Billy lets one hand drop to Steve’s legs in his lap and rubs up and down the sweatpant covered skin while the other continues to hold the book. 

“So it’s like an escape sort of thing?”

“I guess,” Billy shrugs. “It’s also nice to be reminded that there are more fucked up people out there, I don’t know.”

They’ve been at this point a lot. Billy still has trouble seeing himself as anything that’s not a monster or worthless. Steve doesn’t mind reminding him that’s not the case. Though right now it feels more explanatory, not like something that’s been actively on Billy’s mind. Steve still kisses his shoulder and nuzzles impossibly closer. It makes Billy laugh a little. 

“I do like the scary part too, like King. Though really, especially the classic gothic novels aren’t even scary, not exactly. Just fucked up. Like Wuthering Heights or Dorian Gray.”

“Nerd,” Steve can’t help but whisper. The responding laugh bursts out of Billy, shaking his torso and vibrating against Steve’s chest. 

“Get fucked, Harrington.”

“Later. If you ask nicely.” 

Billy’s hand squeezes his leg and he lowly chuckles again.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, a lot of the books aren’t even scary but the ones that are are just sort of exciting. Almost like being on a rollercoaster.”

Steve hums again, he doesn’t get it entirely but it sounds reasonable enough. He reaches down and traces the title of the book in Billy’s hand. “What’s this one about? You said a haunted house?”

“Yeah,” Billy begins. “It’s this house in the middle of a bunch of hills-”

---

Sometimes Billy will read him something so Steve falls asleep easier. Billy's voice is the best cure against his insomnia he's found.

It did take a while to get used to the concept of "bedtime story" meaning gore, murder and psychopaths.

Billy will always just pick up the book he's reading at the time and start wherever he left off, leaving Steve to just follow the sound of his voice and focus on his breathing. 

To his own terror after multiple reads of the books Steve had picked up a fondness for Thomas Harris' books. There’s something strangely addictive to the story of a cannibalistic psychiatrist and the FBI agents that depend on him to stop other killers. Both he and Billy are incredibly fond of the character of Clarice Starling too. When the movie came out they’d bullied basically everyone they knew to see it too. It remains one of their favorites to watch. Now, they both can’t wait for the newest book to come out. They’ve been waiting for Hannibal long enough really. It already has a designated place in their library and Steve needs to know how the story will continue.

When they moved into an actual house they never even properly made the decision to have a library. There was just one room that didn’t have a proper purpose yet, squished in between their bedroom and a guest bedroom, and Billy’s books wouldn’t ever all fit in the living room, not with both their records and Steve’s VHS collection. 

So the library came together, mismatched shelves and a ratty little two seater with an armchair, and so many books. 

The gothic and horror books were joined by crime and even the occasional fantasy novel (most of those presents by Dustin.) Billy keeps them all organized but Steve’s never tried to understand his system. The only thing Steve knows for sure is that Billy keeps the books about Hannibal Lecter on a shelf directly across the door so he can find them easily. They’re supported by a framed picture of the two of them at Billy’s graduation. 

They both spend a lot of time in the room but Steve just enjoys being in a space that is really mostly Billy’s. He picked the calm green color for the wall and he arranged the shelves and he’s the one who adds and adds evermore books. 

When Steve enters the room he hurries over the cool wood to the worn down carpet that’s in front of the shelves because their cat Nikki likes to lay in the sun there. He grabs Silence of the Lambs and hurries back over the cold floor towards their bedroom. 

When Billy sees him and the book he’s holding he groans, “No.”

“Yes.”

Steve steps over the sleeping cat in the middle of the room and makes his way towards his place in Billy’s tattooed arms. 

“C’mon, we’ve gotta reread them before the new one comes out,” Steve drops the book on Billy’s chest and then settles next to it. “I’ve let you read me books about goddamn killer clowns and exorcisms and so much murder, Billy, so much murder . You can read me this one again.”

An exasperated sigh later Billy grabs his reading glasses that he denies owning and slides down further so he can hold the book comfortably around Steve.

Under Steve’s ear Billy’s heart is beating steadily and with the vibrations of his voice it’s such a soothing sound that Steve falls asleep when they barely one chapter in. 

“I want to tell you the circumstances in which I first encountered Hannibal Lecter, M.D.”

---

Steve wants to draw the line when it comes to their kids. Sure, Billy’s an adult and can choose to freak himself out by reading terrifying stories, and Steve might indulge sometimes too, but he does not want to deal with their kids crawling back into their bed because they’ve started being afraid of the Tooth Fairy thanks to Dad’s bedtime stories.

Billy huffs when he voices that opinion, “I’m not going to read them Red Dragon . Actually, you are the only person ever to want to read Red Dragon as a bedtime story.”

“Not the point! The point is you can’t read them horror at all. Normal kids don’t know about Pennywise or Rosemary’s baby.”

“Yeah, whatever, I’m not gonna read them those either. Not yet anyway.” He looks way too contemplative at the thought. 

“Hey, nah, you’re not reading those to them ever. They’re too young and they will always be too young for those stories,” he says while he walks another line across the fluffy carpet of their bedroom.

“You’re not making any sense, you realize that, right babe?” Billy’s openly laughing at him now.

“I don’t want them traumatized!”

“They won’t be traumatized. I’ll let them know it’s a story, and if they end up scared I’ll just show them your bat to prove that Daddy will protect them should any of the monsters from the books decide to become real.”

Billy’s sitting cross-legged on their bed, flannel sleeping pants on his legs a stark contrast against their white sheets. Somewhere at the back of his mind Steve makes a note to get out the thick duvets and covers like he always does when Billy goes from sleeping in underwear to stealing Steve’s trousers. 

“Very funny.”

Steve somewhat knows that’s the actual issue. That he doesn’t want their kids to ever even have to guess that there are actual monsters.

“They’re tough little shits, you know? Delilah told me the other day she’d punch a cashier for me.” Billy looks too proud of that one, and if Steve weren’t too preoccupied with protecting his children’s innocence he’d probably dig up just why she’d even offer to attack a cashier.

“They asked for a scary story, Steve. I’m really just giving them what they asked for.”

“I don’t care,” he pushes his hands against his sides and faces down Billy. “I’m not letting you read our kids horror books!”

“You’re doing your mom-pose again. Are you gonna threaten me with a towel next?” Steve fucking hates that Dustin took a liking to Billy and told him all about when Steve used to babysit.

“Anyway, it’s horror for children, relax,” Billy snorts. “Promise you, you’ll be more scared by it than they will be.”

“No. Read them fairytales.”

The smirk he gets in response should’ve warned him.

It takes exactly two days until the question comes in the middle of the afternoon. Steve is grading tests and Billy’s on kids duty until they have to head out to visit Max in the evening.

“C’mon, do you guys wanna hear a story?”

It’s a rhetorical question really. Both of their kids love books as much as Billy does and they’re on top of the couch with him in seconds.

Billy starts to read and Steve grows horrified. 

About half an hour later their kids are busy looking at the pictures in Billy’s old fairytale book and Steve pulls Billy with him into the kitchen. 

“What the fuck was that?”

“A fairytale, Steven.”

“ She was murdered .”

Steve knows vaguely that the book is a translation of the fairytales Billy’s mother used to read in her childhood, and the ones she in turn told Billy, which doesn’t explain why there was murder in it.

“I mean,” Billy looks way to smug. “She tried to murder Snow White.”

“They made her dance. Until she died. In red-hot shoes. What the fuck?” Steve really doesn’t remember any of this from the Disney film

“So you don’t want to know what happens in the original Sleeping Beauty story either, huh?”

Steve comes home two days later and finds both Delilah and Luke in bed with Billy. They’re all cuddled up, one kid on each side of him; he’s got his left arm wrapped around Delilah, her tiny frame swallowed by the tattooed muscles while Luke is lying on his chest. 

Billy’s also holding a book. It doesn’t look like a fairytale book. Neither the fucked up Grimm one nor the normal, childfriendly Disney stories. Steve is going to divorce him. 

"What are you guys reading?"

Luke jumps up at the sound of his voice, pushing his little fist right on Billy's solar plexus as he goes if the huff of pain is any indication. Steve would feel worse if he couldn't practically feel the horror story in the air. He's momentarily distracted when he has to catch the small bundle of kid that throws himself into his arms from the bed, clinging to his neck and then planting a kiss on his cheek.

The easy affection could've maybe even made him forget about it if it weren't for Delilah who happily exclaims, “We’re reading Coraline , Daddy.”

“ Coraline , huh?” Steve is going to have to murder Billy. He can see the cover now and it’s enough to give him the creeps. He also remembers enough from when Billy read him parts of American Gods . It wasn’t particularly child-friendly. 

As if to prove his point Luke says against his neck, “Her mother has button eyes!” 

Billy very pointedly has not looked up, he’s fully invested looking at the still open page and running his hand through Delilah’s hair. There’s that stupid smirk on his face that Steve has hated since High School. He sounds smug when he speaks up, “Did you have a good day, honey?”

“Just peachy,” Steve answers through his teeth. He makes a mental note to stick his cold feet against Billy’s legs tonight in bed and to sign him up for the next supervision in school. 

Luke demands that Steve listens to the story with them and like a puzzle piece Steve fits into the formation of his family on the bed. 

Once he’s close enough Billy turns and smiles at him. A real, truly happy smile. The smile Steve would do just about everything for and the one he has to reciprocate. 

Billy kisses him quickly and sing-songs, “They like it.”

(When Halloween comes around and Delilah announces she wants to go as Coraline Billy is disgustingly self-satisfied.)

[coldbug]

if its ok to ask, besides the hairdresser part, what in UHV is inaccurate abt working in a tattoo shop?

totally!! but ough honestly i blocked a lot of it out bc of the psychic damage hold on gimme a sec… i live-blogged my biggest complaints when reading it but i don’t tag my posts anymore lol lemme find them

okay okay my red flags/sus shit

1) luke?? i think? is smoking inside his shop. i’m sure there’s shops in the world that still do this but that’s a no from me 🙅🏼‍♀️

2) i know this is technically solved by the plot, so not a Real red flag, but genital piercings heal super fucking fast, so i was 👀👀 at first about the infected scrotum piercing (edit: not to mention, infection is generally a Lot less common for healing piercings than most people think. 8-9/10 times it’s not actually infected at all. go to your piercer before your doctor if you’re worried about infection please for the love of god!!!!)

3) a shop that gets mad about you getting tatted at a different shop is a bad shop. do not continue to go to/work at that shop

4) frank wanting to both pierce and tattoo isn’t like. Technically a red flag, but it’s questionable. i’d only trust someone who does both if they were one of those things for a Long time before learning the second (you do see that sometimes irl). which. frank does not seem to be. it’s about focusing on one profession so that you can master it

5) of course hair cutting in the same shop as tattooing and piercing is just inherently super unsanitary. ❌

6) only kind of a Red Flag but frank is a real dumbass for getting a hand tattoo and immediately going back to work as a piercer. a good piercer is washing their hands Constantly throughout the day (before/during/after clients), not to mention putting on/taking off gloves all day as well. both of which are really unhelpful for healing a hand tattoo well. it just shows a lack of knowledge about these things (on bexless’s part, on the meta level. but i don’t think i’d trust a piercer who got a huge hand tattoo and was piercing the next day. what do they know about proper healing??? also. you’re gonna pierce me with an open wound on your hand?? even if it’s covered by a glove. that’s sus. to me.)

7) frank is also a huge dumbass for just using that mystery goo. anyone who Actually has many tattoos has Their Healing Regimen and they don’t stray from it unless they’re unhappy with it. if frank is working in a tat shop/around the culture&industry, he’d already have his established healing routine and would throw that mystery goo in the fucking trash. no wonder he gets stigmata he’s dumb as shit

8) the way bexless constantly calls it a “needle” instead of a tattoo machine kills me. okay yeah there’s needles but it’s more than that. at least she never calls it a gun i guess

9) the mention of a pigeon getting into their shop. sure, i’m sure that happens. but uh. 👀 that’s deeply unsanitary

10) here’s a screenshot bc i say it best here:

11) the last thing i noted was that. if frank wants to be a tattoo artist so bad, why is there literally zero mention of him doing art?? bro you gotta be able to draw before you become a tattoo artist… unless you want to only trace flash as a career i guess… 🤷🏼‍♀️

there you go anon, i have a lot to say. i’ve only read the first work in the series, but if someone tells me truthfully that there’s tattooing/piercing that happens in the following works, i’ll read and criticize those too just lmk

[tf2workbench]

I love the Cow Mangler

[charging noise]

[firing sound] [silence] [mini-crit noise] [ding-ding-ding of fire damage] [death sound]

I love the Cow Mangler. Its charged shot is so absurdly satisfying to land, whether it’s right up close or at a huge distance. But sometimes it just feels unfair, like when I launch it without looking and an enemy just walks into it at the wrong time. It’s satisfying, but I feel bad for that enemy, because there isn’t much they could have done.

My bleeding heart is one thing, but I’ve also seen people get frustrated at how powerful a charged shot can be. And, heck, I’m not super fond of walking into them either. Let’s look at it from a design perspective.

Cow Mangler 5000 (+) Does not use ammo (+) Alt-fire: Charge up a special shot that consumes your full clip to mini-crit enemies, set them on fire, and disable buildings for 4 seconds (-) Nearly immobile while charging (-) -80% damage vs buildings (-) Mini-crits when it would normally crit (-) No random critical hits

The Cow Mangler, to me, is one of those weapons that has huge upsides and huge downsides. You can’t underestimate the power of the charged shot, which is dangerous even at long range because mini-crits don’t have distance falloff. It demands attention, especially for light classes that can be cleanly taken out by the initial hit and the fire damage.

At the same time, using the charged shot is a huge risk. It takes about two seconds to fully charge, during which you’re moving painfully slowly, and you can’t cancel the charge once you start it. More than once, I’ve been picked off by Snipers while charging - if they’re quick, they can get two shots off before I’ve launched.

Moreover, once you’ve used the charged shot, you have a long, painful reload in your future. If you get ambushed, you’ll be almost defenseless. I carry a shotgun, but getting your full Mangler clip back will take over three seconds.

My best success with the Mangler comes from playing far back, launching charged shots when my sixth sense (or a friend) tells me enemies will be coming. To do this, I usually keep low and behind cover, taking advantage of the fact that you can still jump while charging your shot. It’s good to have teammates in front of me to keep the enemies away and distract them so they don’t see the big laser blast coming at them. (This works surprisingly often.)

The good news is that the Mangler still allows me to play aggressively with its regular four-shot clip, although I will admit that it’s less satisfying than landing charged shots. The bad news is that its weakness versus buildings can sometimes keep me locked down - shotguns are nice, but they don’t break sentries very well. The better news is that the disabling shot is a unique asset that allows me to work with my shotgun and my teammates, provided I can talk to them. Overall, I would say that using the Cow Mangler is really fun!

But some of the people I’ve played against have expressed, uh, frustration with my antics. You could blame this on their inattention, which is arguably true, but when someone is vaporized by a mini-crit they didn’t see coming, their first reaction is not usually “ah, I wish I had been paying attention” - it’s more like fear and frustration. We’ve established before how one-hit kills can cause a lot of frustration, as can fire and other damage-over-time effects. Although less common, Engineers don’t usually like temporarily losing their buildings, particularly since they can’t effectively deal with the charged shots without a teammate nearby.

So, if I were to revise the Cow Mangler to be a little more enemy-friendly, what would I do?

Cow Mangler 5000 Iteration 2 (+) Does not use ammo (+) Alt-fire: Consume a full clip to charge up a special shot that has a 70% smaller blast radius, but flies 80% faster and mini-crits targets (-) Nearly immobile while charging [1 second] (-) -80% damage vs buildings (-) Mini-crits when it would normally crit (-) No random critical hits

This revision mostly solves the problem of random, long-distance shots scoring kills on surprised enemies. Careful aim is the name of the game here, since the charged shot behaves somewhat like the Direct Hit (and I reduced its charge time to allow for more spontaneous use). It serves to punish enemies that move predictably, but the key is that it’s much less likely to score “random” kills.

Let’s briefly take a look at another angle:

Cow Mangler 5000 Iteration 3 (+) Does not use ammo (+) Alt-fire: Consume a full clip to charge up a special shot that deals 50% more damage (-) Nearly immobile while charging [1.5 seconds] (-) -80% damage vs buildings (-) Mini-crits when it would normally crit (-) No random critical hits

One of the reasons the Mangler is so dangerous at long range is because mini-crits don’t have damage falloff. Eliminating the mini-crit and the fire damage means that charged shots are less useful at a distance, even though they can be outright devastating in close range.

If this version has a problem, it’s probably that close-range shots are too powerful. Charged shots have a base power of 135, which can ramp up to 169 in close range. In the current Mangler, charged shots will deal about 122 damage (plus fire) on a direct hit at any range. 169 isn’t completely unreasonable, but it does allow the Mangler to one-shot Medics, a significant milestone that the current version can’t always do because fire damage is countered by the Medic’s natural regen. We’re pushing the envelope of what feels fair, is what I’m saying.

There are a couple of routes you could take it from here:

Reduce the base damage and re-introduce fire damage, but with the burn duration based on distance;

Use a fast-moving, small-radius projectile with the damage bonus, but no mini-crit; 

Give enemies a way to effectively block a Mangler shot without having to take out the Soldier outright; or

All or some of the above.

These are more specific changes that would likely be done in playtesting, which is beyond the scope of this blog. I find them very interesting, but without game experience, I can’t say which “feels” best for both the user and the opponents. I would be interested to hear what you think, though, especially about the current Cow Mangler!

[ask-neith]

4, 10, and 29 from the Marvel OC ask list?

4- What type of powers and/or skills do you have? How did you get them?

Well firstly there is stuff I learned the normal way(as opposed to being Senseied). Beyond things so normal and obvious I take it for granted and am blind to, I am a a mean cooker, three-and-half lingual, swim especially well(even though I feel I am less buoyant than normal), have more than decent shooting accuracy, and can juggle for a couple minutes without dropping stuff.

Then there are powers I got through a spider. I am stronger and more durable(ish), more agile and have better reflexes, I can somehow stick to surfaces(which includes glass so ???), and I, mmm, feel danger or potential danger(but no reasons for it) like some additional color of the world(except all-round). I think that covers it all, for now? Oh right, I can shoot webs, although it better goes through a technical device we made.

10- Describe what your world looks like. Is it colorful? Black and white?

Oh it is so colorful it sometimes hurts. Colored hair and violate-my-eyes(good) clothes are so much more common that a decade ago, as are flowery lawns and colored houses. Umm, I am not sure what else to describe? Unless you want me to go all "the grass is green, the sky is white with streaks of yellow and pink during the dawn, ..." and so on.

29- Name a few of your current villains– who’s making up your rogues gallery?

I will name them all(even those I didnt meet yet but confirmed to be local), but will limit myself to shorter descriptions, if I may.

Raiju is a lightning guy that can shoot lightnings, teleport through them and discorporate into them(which seems to get him out of my webs? Not fair). He might be my best(or worst) villain because I simply have no idea how to approach him so far, even if he sticks to non-lethal zaps that nonetheless leave me a twitching mess.

Shocker is a thief that can uhh resonate stuff apart with his gauntlets. And do powered punches/jumps(so I suspect kicks also). That one might just be my easiest one, unless he has some more cards up his sleeve.

Vulture is an energy vampire that can fly(and has apparently decorative wings which he only seems to flap to show he can) and supercharge himself. I am going to be fair, I dont think I`ll encounter him any time soon, he is a sneaky and fast one, and even this info comes from purely accidental meets.

Sepia, a consummate shapeshifter that is also incredibly fast moving human-eater. Looks like sort-of human except with tentacles and stripe colored(sometimes polka dot colored).

Tombstone is a leader of elusive but everpresent organised crime, who is whole lot stronger and more sturdy, and can at will turn his current body to stone(which quickly decays into dust, so no collectible statues or using them to track him) while "respawning" somewhere around but not too close.

Tinkerer supplies advanced tech to criminals, both solo luck-seekers and Tombstones mooks. Traps and baits dont work, hecker uses long-range portals. Still, he is only in it for money, so there should be a sensible approach to him.

Green Goblin. Again(?) I dont know what his deal is, but he is body-boosted, can induce enormous fear, anomalously jump and glide(gravity suppression?), and conjure explosive projectiles.

Mysterio seems to be a hypnotist and can make tangible(if still frail) illusions that fall apart into mist that was estimated as "dangerous", no further explanation. Mostly acts through proxies, but did show up personally occasionally, no rhythm to that.

Punisher is a normal(question mark?) but incredibly trained person that would find their place in Aretes if not for their bloody vendetta against - apparently - whoever they deem werent punished by law enough? Its a problem to be a shady, big-fine-paying entity without them coming after you. No powers demonstrated, but arsenal shown hints at influential backer. Might actually be several people, even another organisation.

Lastly, Ill Will who seems to be in it for pure giggles and sense of superiority. A mage with specialisation in curses so vicious affected have to call around-top-tier counter-mages(which arent that available, as you can guess). Still, quick to exhaust, so provided with too many targets she tends to go for escape route. I think there was a talk of providing heroes with counter-amulets, but even now thats a work of long time.

Plus "bad" Dragonhearts, plus discovered Hydra mooks, plus remains of Osenseis organisation. We arent overwhelmed, no, but... Still not a cakewalk, even with all the support.

[itsmaferart]

Hi! I wanted to tell you how much I love your analysis on SxF, very on point and detailed! What a pleasure to read 😊 There's one thing I wanted to ask you about: translation and how it impacts the perception of a scene. I'm French-speaking native and I discovered the 'Honey trap' in French and then your analysis in English. Loid's reaction to Yor's punch is a bit more 'intense' in French. Not speaking Japanese, I don't know which one is closer to the original text. 'Off-balance' is replaced by 'faire perdre tous mes repères'. Which could mean Loid is 'becoming completely lost' in the French version. So at first I thought that Loid's feelings for Yor were more obvious to himself. Less 'covered' if it makes sense. My point is : do you think we could make wrong interpretation of a character due to a translation? How much differs our version of the dialogues to the original one? Looking forward for new analysis and care take 🌸

Ohh! Hello thank you very much! I appreciate the love that my analyzes have received!! They motivate me to continue!

The answer would be: Yes, the translation influences a lot in understanding the scene. This is a very frequent problem when trying to adapt a series/comic/book to another language. I understand that Japanese as a language is an ideographic language, so its writing represents ideas and thoughts, and is not a composition of precise words.

(I have to clarify that I do not understand Japanese at all. So like everyone I depend on translations, what little I know is from mere research. Any native or connoisseur of the language is free to correct me)

Said that. Sometimes it is very difficult to figure out exactly what is being said in a scene. Especially when they are abstract feelings, puns, expressions of the native language, etc. Since, while in one country something is a joke, in another place it is something that is taken literally xD ...In fact, recently I think there was a translation error in the manga. Where it was believed that Anya was going to get sweets from the Damiand but it turned out to be a specific cake (I didn't understand very well, I guess it's a play on words or something like that xD)... Even so, there is always a lot of support from the fandom to offer clarifications and interpretations. Especially for those who understand the native language

........

Regarding Twilight. I guess it's a complicated sentiment to translate, since Twilight himself has no idea what he was with himself. He felt lost and confused, perhaps the best way to understand it is "I'm not the same person as before".

He just didn't know what to do with Yor, with his feelings. But why would a genius at emotional readings fail so terribly? "The answer" is the simplest and the most difficult to recognize "He can't be cold and calculating in front of Yor and Anya, they cloud his judgment. They make him a common person, clumsy and even somewhat naive. They let out their most human side"

....

Regarding your original language. It may not be so far from what was intended to say: Perhaps they were more explicit. The sense that "Twilight is lost" seems pretty accurate to me. Although, as you say, it sounds like a deeper statement.

I guess someone who speaks Japanese would be the most accurate person to clarify how explicit Twilight was.

Still, I don't think these variations are that serious. Sometimes these changes favor the understanding of native people of another language, so these changes are made to better understand the expression.

Since if the translation were exact. The impact would not be the same. The important thing is to convey the meaning of the works. An example would be proverbs. Although the meaning is exactly the same, the words vary from language to language. This does not harm, on the contrary, it favors each reader because he feels the work "more endearing"

Perhaps in the case of your native language they used the most appropriate expression to imply that "Twilight is missing" for the love of his family, and this is confusing him

[nightingaelic]

New Vegas companions reacting to the courier being mildly deaf?

Upon first meeting the courier, most assumed they were shy. They didn't make eye contact often, they just stared intensely at your mouth, as if trying to physically catch the words that were said. They naturally talked with their hands when they answered questions, but their movements were too animated to be merely emphasis. Most curiously, they avoided talking to anyone who covered their head with a helmet, head wrap or bandanna, and if they absolutely had to, they constantly asked the person in question to repeat themselves. If they were lucky, the confused individual would write down what they were trying to say. If they weren't, the conversation ended prematurely and the courier's face held a look of utter frustration and disappointment for hours.

It wasn't until the third or fourth time the courier ran afoul of a New Vegas Strip Securitron that told them to get out its way that their companion pulled them aside.

Arcade Gannon: "You can't hear them, can you?" Arcade asked, pulling them back from the street where the contingent of House's robots was rolling by.

"I... a little bit," the courier protested, putting a hand to their left ear. "Mostly out of this side. It's been ringing a lot lately, though, and normally I can compensate by just watching their mouth, but with robots..."

Arcade nodded. "You can't lip-read a bot. Sure. Why haven't you gone to the Followers yet?"

"For what?"

"An implant." Arcade furrowed his brow. "Dr. Usanagi has to have something in stock, or she could call in some favors out west and get one sent here."

The courier's hand moved upward again, to the scar that graced their hairline. "I don't think..."

Arcade's eyes widened. "Oh. Sorry. Yeah, that might make things... difficult."

Craig Boone: "Keep your eyes up," Boone said gruffly, after the courier picked themselves up from where the Securitron had tossed them after they failed to move quickly enough.

"I can't have my eyes on everything and everyone inside the Strip," the courier grumbled. "It's not my fault. There's enough people here today to drown out the feel of robot wheels on asphalt. And where were you, spotter?"

Boone softened, but less than an inch. "It might not be your fault, but it won't matter if the thing you miss is the thing that does you and your partner in. Don't lose track of House's muscle when you're in New Vegas."

"I wish they had muscles," the courier groaned. "Specifically facial muscles. It'd make things a whole lot easier."

"Let's do our business and get out of town quickly," Boone answered, giving everyone in the near vicinity a look of distrust. "Too many people means too many opportunities to miss something important."

Lily Bowen: "Is your hearing going, dearie?" Lily asked, clearly concerned at the prospect. "Grandma was lucky enough to keep hers, but plenty of her friends' hearing started to go after turning 60."

"I'm fine," the courier insisted, brushing their coat off. "It's nothing I can't handle or work around."

Lily thought for a minute as they removed the rest of the dust from their outfit. "You know, pumpkin, it's okay to need help sometimes."

The courier gave her a sour look. "Not in the Mojave, it's not."

"Even in the Mojave," Lily chided. "Some people are big and strong, like Grandma. Others are small and sneaky. Some people can't see, or can't walk, and some people can't eat or drink or go to the bathroom without help. Some people can't hear."

"Lily..."

"Listen to your grandma." Lily patted their head. "Some people need help, and they deserve it. Let Grandma help you watch out for robots, next time."

The courier sighed and looked up at her sadly. "Okay. But... you should think about taking your own advice, Lily."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: "Earth to Courier Six," Raul said with a chuckle. "Mr. House's minions don't have time to scoop you onto the sidewalk every time they roll through, you know."

The courier rolled their eyes and retrieved their pack from where it had fallen. "Chingate. And I don't have time to move out of the way whenever they need to break up a fight in Gomorrah."

Raul examined his fingers with mock interest. "Shame they don't speak the bridge talk you do. I don't know if their pequeñas garras could manage it, though."

The courier's eyes widened, and a smile grew beneath them. "Bridge talk? Never heard it called that, before."

"Eh, lingua franca, common-speak, whatever it's going by now." Raul waved his hand, then shot out a few quick signs: "man," "woman," "eat". "Don't know much of it myself, but I know it when I see it. Used to belong to the Plains tribes alone, and now it's everywhere."

"Everywhere except the Mojave." The courier made a face. "Why is that?"

Raul shrugged. "Who knows. Maybe they all got sick of being tossed around by robots, too."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: Cass let go of the courier briefly to bang a fist on the side of the nearest departing Securitron. "Assholes! House can afford to be late!"

She grabbed the courier again and ducked behind a pack of tourists before the Securitron could pinpoint her. "Six, you have to stick by me," she insisted. "I know you're only firing on one cylinder in the sound department."

"I am fine," the courier insisted, wiggling out of her grasp.

"You are not." Cass seized them again. "I've known plenty of NCR vets who were discharged with heads full of nightmares, missing limbs and a lifelong case of tinnitus or no hearing at all. By my guess, you're somewhere in the middle of those last two, and I'll be damned if you get done in by a robotic security team after you had the gall to crawl out of your own grave and kick the leader of the Chairmen's ass."

"Well what do you want me to do, Cass?" the courier protested, their hands flying with the emotion. "No one here understands. Everyone else in the Mojave with hearing problems is too poor to wander around the Strip, or too dead to care!"

Instead of responding, Cass watched their fingers, making shapes. Shapes she'd seen before. Something clicked, and she reached out to grab their hands. "Plains talk," she said breathlessly.

"What?"

"Plains talk!" Cass was grinning. "My mom knew it. God, I'm stupid."

Veronica Santangelo: Rather than chastise the courier, Veronica watched them pick themselves up and make a series of angry motions with their hands toward the departing robots.

"You're talking," she said with wonder, when they finally turned back to her.

"Huh?"

"With your hands." Veronica imitated the last sign they'd made. "What does it mean?"

The courier blushed. "Um. Maybe don't make that sign in public, unless you're really, really angry at someone."

"Starting with swear words, as you always should when learning a new language," Veronica replied brightly. "Why don't you just use the sign language more?"

"Because, Veronica, people here don't speak it." The courier sighed. "You get English, Spanish, some tribal languages, but I've only met two people who knew the signs I know. I'm still not sure where it comes from. After I woke up in Doc Mitchell's office, I thought I was crazy for a bit. Like I had this whole, made-up language in my head that no one else could speak."

Veronica put a hand on their shoulder and squeezed it. "Teach me. We'll speak it together."

ED-E: ED-E had learned early on that beeping was no use with the courier, so it did the next best thing it could and gently bounced its dome off their shoulder and arms, tilting its speaker toward them with concern.

The courier, eyes brimming with tears, grabbed the eyebot in both hands and pressed their forehead to it, as if holding the face of a loved one. "I wish I wasn't like this," they muttered.

ED-E held still until their pain had subsided, and it floated close behind them when they arose and moved on.

Rex: Rex barked his anger at the departing Securitrons, then turned to look up at the courier and whine.

They ruffled the fur on his neck and crouched down to put their arms around him. "It's okay, buddy. You can't warn me every time someone big comes up behind me. Thanks for watching my back."

[raineydays411]

Oh,what am I supposed to do without you.

Loki x daughter!reader pt 2

Summary: You never knew your mother, but from the journal your Uncle Thor gave you, you knew she was a special women. You also knew that you were the splitting image of her.

Masterlist

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki’s POV

Silence. That's all he heard now. No more sweet laughter. No more soft humming as she walked through the garden. No more mumbled words of love and whispers of sweet nothings. No all her heard was silence. Silence in the chambers that once belonged to the both of them. Silence as he walked the halls of a busy palace. Full of people but he was always alone. Silence..in the nursery that has been empty for nearly sixteen years. The bright beautiful colors, dull and covered in a layer if dust. But what else is new, everything has been dull since his beloved has died. 

After he had his daughter sent away, Thor had been on more off world missions. He would leave for long periods of time and only come back to visit. Frigga would look at Loki with disappointed and pitiful eyes, that he would pointedly ignore. And while Loki managed to pull himself together and leave his room, he still had this dark depressing cloud over him. He was barely holding it together. 

He was just...dark. His mischievous ways became cruel. Harmless pranks he used to play turned into mean tricks. His dry wit became cruel taunts. And when he wasn’t tormented people he was distant. There have been several times maids have found him staring out windows or at walls just lost in thought. Thinking of the life he could have had. A happy life with his wife and a child. 

If only...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/n POV

Millions of light years away in Midgard, or earth, there was you. Y/n Odinson. After being sent away by Loki, Thor had taken you to live with Heimdall wanting to keep you close and true to your asgardian roots. But with Heimdall being the literal guardian of worlds and you growing to be a rather curious child, it wasn’t really a good match. So Thor took you to the only other place he could think of.

The Avengers HQ.

At first the team wasn’t too fond of the idea. Having a kid running around a superhero base isn’t really ideal. But after a while you won them over. Everyone absolutely adored you. Tony bought you any and everything you ever wanted, Bruce was your go to for advice, Steve doted on you and played with you whenever you wanted, Natasha was your self proclaimed aunt, and Clint was your fun uncle. Hell even Bucky found himself wrapped around your little finger. Yes, you had a wonderful life indeed.

But even though you could have anything you ever wanted, you still felt like you were missing something. Your parents.

You knew you were an asgardian. Your uncle Thor made sure you stayed true to your roots and you remembered the little time you spent on the planet. But you had no idea who your parents were. Every time you asked, Thor would always manage to change the subject. Other than the Avengers, who were more like aunts and uncles, you didn’t really have parents.

Now you knew you didn’t need them. You had a whole family of people who loved you like their own. But you couldn’t help but feel like there was something missing.

It wasn’t until a few days after your sixteenth birthday that you learned the truth. 

See you always knew you were asgardian, but never knew who your parents truly were. You couldn’t remember your life in Asgard, much less your parents. Thor refused to tell you who your parents were. The most you got out of him was that you looked almost exactly like your mother and that she was the sweetest person he knew. 

So when your fingers started turning a light blue and ice started shooting out of them, it was a little surprising to say the least. It happened on your birthday. Tony decided that it would be a wonderful idea to throw you a surprise party. And usually, you wouldn’t mind it as you’re actually pretty good at socializing. But ever since you woke up, you haven’t been feeling too well. Your head has been hurting, you felt light headed, and you just felt cold. Your hands and toes felt as if you were standing in the snow for hours.

 As you were walking into the common room, the Avengers and some of your friends popped out, scaring the absolute crap out of you. Resulting in you pulling an Elsa and then passing out. And while everyone fussed over you, trying to figure out what the hell happened, Thor was planning on taking you to Asgard.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After persuading the team ( specifically Bucky and Tony), you found yourself behind Thor as he was greeted by a man who looks a lot like Idris Elba. 

“Heimdall!!” Thor boomed embracing the man “It’s wonderful to see you again my friend.” 

“Thor, its been too long!” Heimdall says with a smile,” Does the all father know about our dear visitor?” He says, golden eyes looking into yours. Your face grows hot under his gaze as you smile at him shyly. His face softens at the sight of you.

“Y/n, welcome home” He says with a nod of his head. Your eyes widen as you distinctly remember not telling him your name. Thor and Heimdall chuckle at the look of surprise on your face

“Moonlight, Heimdall was the first person to take care of you before the Avengers” Thor said chuckling. 

“Oh, then its lovely to see you again” You say, not really knowing what to say.

Heimdall smiles and whispers to Thor, “ Does your brother know about this?” 

Thor winces, “No...” 

Heimdall stares at him for a bit before rolling his eyes. “My dear” He says to you,”You’re uncle is a buffoon.” You giggle at his words. Not understanding the severity of your presence.

“Come Y/n, lets get you settled in.” Thor says and you say goodbye to Heimdall, walking across the rainbow bridge in awe.

As you walk through the streets of Asgard, you noticed people staring at you. They whispered to each other as you passed by. You thought it was because Thor was home, but you had a weird feeling. 

“Hey, uncle Thor?” you whisper

“Yes darling?”

“Why are they staring at me?”

“Oh...uh. ....cause you’re dressed in midgardian garments. when we get to the castle we’ll get you something to wear” Thor says nervously. You squint at his excuse. “Okayy” you say weirded out by his behavior.

Finally reaching the palace, you look around in awe. It looked like something out of a fantasy book. Thor lead you through the halls when a beautiful woman sped towards the two of you. 

“Thor!” she said wrapping him in a hug.”welcome home my son”

“Mother” Thor says hugging her back,”I have missed you”

“Oh this is Frigga” you think to yourself. You feel a slight pang of jealousy, seeing Thor be embraced by his mother. But you push that thought aside when they break apart and Thor beckons you over. 

“Mother...this is Y/n.” He says slowly. Frigga freezes at your name. 

“Y/n?” She whispers, looking at you with wide eyes. She steps closer you you and puts her hands on your face and stares into your eyes.

“Oh, I’d know those eyes anywhere.” She says. “ Oh darling”

She pulls you into a loving embrace, startling you. “I haven’t seen you since you were but a babe.” she holds you at arms length. “Oh you...you look just like..” She stops herself, shaking her head and wipes away tears. “Look at me, crying all over you” 

You smile,”It’s okay, its lovely to meet you.” 

Frigga laughs,” Yes, I am so happy you are here. Come, let me show you where you can rest.” As she leads you out of the room, she turns to Thor and says, “Thor, don’t forget to mention our guest to your brother.” And with that she wraps her arm around your shoulders and leads you to a guest room, asking about your life and interest. 

You answer, blissfully unware or the dread running through Thor's body at the thought of confronting his brother.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Loki's POV

Thor slowly walked to the chambers, regretting every choice he  has made till now. He knew there were two way Loki would handle the news. He’d either go ballistic or completely disappear for however long Y/n was there. 

For his sake and hers, he'd prefer that latter option.

Finally reaching his room, Thor stood in front of the door. He was trying to figure out how to tell Loki his long lost daughter that he disowned was in the palace. Oh and she doesn’t know who her parents are. And that him and his team of superheroes have been raising her.....and that she has ice powers. 

Loki, sat in his room reading noticed shadows under his door. Rolling his eyes, he thought it was the maids again. They always hesitated to knock on his door. 

“What do you want?” Loki says in a monotone voice, opening the door only to his his brother standing their with a sheepish look on his face.”Thor.. you’re home.”

“Brother! How lovely to see you” Thor said loudly. “ I just came to ...uh..came to..”

Loki looked at him in irritation and confusion. “Came to what?” 

“Came to invite you to dinner!” Thor said grinning nervously

“What? no flowers?” Loki deadpanned 

“Oh hush brother” Thor said. “I have been away for so long, and I would be overjoyed if you came to my welcome home dinner.” 

“If I agree, will you leave me be?” Loki said. finally irritated with his brothers presence. 

“Yes!” Thor said. “ Wonderful...”

Loki looked at him weirdly again and nodded, but before he closed the door Thor started talking.

“Brother, tell me, how have you been?” He asked

“Wonderful, now do you mi-“ “Be honest.”

Loki glares at his brothers words and stays silent for a while. Then he sighs and steps aside, letting Thor in his room.

“I don’t know.” He finally says, looking down at the floor.

“You..don’t know?” Thor repeats, not understanding the response.

“Yes. At first I was devastated, I was angry. But now...now I feel empty. Like there’s something in my life that I’m missing.” Loki sighs again, looking out the window. “Every time I look, there she is. Sometimes she’s reading in the garden. Sometimes she’s helping the maids. And sometimes...” Loki stops himself, tears forming in his eyes.

“Sometimes..?” Thor prompts gently as he slowly walks to the bookshelf, leaning against it.

“Sometimes I see her staring at me. Disappointed.” Loki finally says, his back turned to Thor as he lets his tears fall freely.

“Loki..I am certain she understand.” Thor says, “ would she be upset? Probably.” Loki tenses at his, his brothers words sting at his heart. “But, she knew you. I think she’d prefer her child to be well loved.”

Loki nodded, still not facing Thor. And because of that, he didn’t notice Thor swipe a particular journal and replace it with another book.

“Well” Thor said suddenly,” I should be off, I promised mother I’d help show our guest around.”

“Our guest?” Loki said making a face at the thought of socializing.

“ Oh yes.” Thor said walking out of the room, “ a princess of some sort, I believe”

Loki rolls his eyes, he knew if royalty was visiting, he’d be forced to dress up and make stale conversation.

Meanwhile, Thor walked down the halls, with a beautiful leather journal, that belonged to a certain girls mother. And a plan in mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Taglist: @mika-dannielle @brightsunanddarkmidnight2-0

[duckprintspress]

I posted 1,272 times in 2022

That's 420 more posts than 2021!

115 posts created (9%)

1,157 posts reblogged (91%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@lgbtqreads

@thehorrortree

@duckprintspress

@diaryofageekgirl

@antiqueanimals

I tagged 1,271 of my posts in 2022

#ducks - 618 posts

#duck prints press loves ducks - 606 posts

#duck art - 497 posts

#duck prints press - 187 posts

#queer fiction - 138 posts

#our titles - 72 posts

#resources - 68 posts

#signal boost - 55 posts

#fandom - 55 posts

#may trope mayhem - 43 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#the don't support business rhetoric is more than a little scary for those of us who are trying to run small businesses on this hellsite

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Editing Tips for Beginning Editors

This is a guest post written by Adrian Harley.

Congratulations! If you’re reading this, I’m willing to bet you already have a lot of the skills you need to be an editor. Even among full-time professionals, a lot of editing skill comes from reading a ton—you get an “eye” for when a sentence just doesn’t look right. The more you read professionally edited work, the better you get at it. (Fanfiction is incredible, obviously. But fanfiction has its own quirks, and the grammar and punctuation can vary, so I’m not confident recommending it as a way to brush up your instinctive grasp of when a sentence “looks right.”)

The specifics of what you do as an editor can vary a lot depending on what you’re editing and who you’re editing for, so in this post, I’ll be covering some of the basic principles that I think will be helpful no matter what type of editing you do. Broadly, I’ll be going over language-related tips and profession-related tips. 

Language

I won’t be going over the nuts and bolts of grammar here, as a zillion good guides to it already exist online. Grammar Girl is my go-to free resource, and a lot of grammar and punctuation questions can be easily answered online or in a style guide from your library. I looked up the rules for commas a LOT in my first years of editing, and I still have to double-check them sometimes. A lot of the fiddly details differ between guides (how to write a.m. and p.m.; serial comma), but the nuts and bolts of grammar and punctuation stay the same across guides. 

Professionally, those fiddly details are a big chunk of editing. Do you write out numbers less than 20? Less than 10? Do you capitalize titles like “President” all the time or only in certain situations? There’s no one right answer, which is one of the many reasons there’s no “right guide” to editing. A style guide will decide many of these questions for you. If you pick up editing as a profession, your employer will most likely have a style guide in mind. You may want to pick one for yourself if you do freelance editing. That way, you won’t have to re-decide on every job, and if you get repeat clients, you’ll be sure their text is consistent across all their documents. A “series bible” for fiction works on similar principles. 

Whether you’re looking at those fiddly details or at the big picture, one principle of editing is to never take anything for granted. Someone says there’s five ancient orbs needed to defeat the dragon? You’d better count the orbs. Make sure every proper noun in the story (names of people, places, things) is spelled the same every single time. This is the kind of thing you’ll get quizzed on if you ever apply for a professional editing gig. Every editing job I’ve ever applied to has an “editing test” of at least a page, and it usually has at least one of those errors (if not both).

Another major thing to watch out for is colloquialisms, especially ones that mean multiple things. A short list of common errors I see:

“Since” should only relate to the passage of time; it does not mean “because.”

“While,” again, should only refer to time—two things happening simultaneously. “But,” “although,” “whereas,” and others are good substitutes for the other sense.

“Due to” does not mean “because of,” it means “caused by” (and I’ve seen some editors argue to not even use it for “caused by” and to only use it for when something is owed to someone).

“If” will often need to be replaced with “whether.”

Obviously with dialogue, that’s a whole nother story, but be careful about these in narration, even with a colloquial narrative. They can introduce unintentional double meanings.

When you’re moving from basic accuracy to style, you’ll often need to “tighten up” the language. This might be something you’re used to doing in your own writing. This doesn’t mean all prose should be sparse! But as an editor, part of your job is making sure that every word is contributing something, no matter whether the sentence is flowery or stark. One exercise is to go through and see if you can cut one word from every sentence. Depending on what type of editing you do, you’ll have different “filler words” to look out for. My personal demon is “just,” so I always do a search for that when I’m revising my own work. In my day job, the word “provide” often signals a clunky phrase that could be condensed into a single, better verb (e.g., “provides assistance” vs. “helps”). 

You’ll look for a lot as you edit, so don’t feel like you have to do it all at once. A simple search can make sure you’ve caught issues like “while” and “since.” Other issues are best solved in their own read-through. For me, I try to do a read-through specifically for passive voice. I often skip over passive voice on my all-purpose read because, well, the sentence makes sense, doesn’t it? So my eye simply doesn’t catch it if I’m not on the lookout. As you edit, you’ll figure out what process works best for you.

And to wrap up the language section—checklists are your friend! I used to have a post-it of all the things I knew I struggled with, and I’d systematically search the document for those trip-ups after I did my first read. You can customize your own checklist with whatever snags give you trouble.

Professionalism

A huge part of editing as a professional is in how you interact with other people. Your whole job is telling people they’re wrong, after all, and you often have no control over whether they’ll listen to you. Everything you can do to make the criticism easier for them helps!

My favorite “one weird trick” that my first boss taught me is to turn every criticism into a question. If you’re suggesting a significant revision, “How about…?” is one of my favorite leads. If you have no idea what’s going on, do your best to figure out what might be causing the issue, then form a question around that. “Are there missing words here?” is kinder and more useful than “Huh?”

Essentially, your role as an editor is to advocate for the reader. This “reader stand-in” role can help frame critique as well. Will the reader understand this? If you’re in one of the more-technical editing jobs, that question may be completely necessary. As an editor for scientific research, I’m often editing documents meant for people who know way more about the subject matter than I do. The framing of “the reader” is also a useful tool in your toolbox for fiction. You may be editing something that you are not the target audience for. Or, on the other end of the scale, you may know without question that you’re reading something incomprehensible. The polite device of “the reader” helps add a level of depersonalization to the critique.

Unsurprisingly, for editing, communication is key before you even start work. “Editing” covers a huge range of possibilities. Make sure you and the author are on the same page. Do they want a proofread—only correcting glaring errors? Do they want you to improve the phrasing of sentences? It can go all the way up to practically rewriting the thing, if you’re working at a corporation and the authors aren’t professionals. This conversation beforehand will let you know whether you should make “artistic” suggestions as you read, whether you need to stick with nuts and bolts, or something in between.

If the author says they only need a proofread and you discover the whole thing is terrible, that’s when some tactful emails come into play. Never start doing a higher-level edit unless you’ve talked about it with the author first. You have much better odds of an affirmative if they feel like they’re collaborating with you–that you’re both in it together to make the best document possible. As far as the tactful emails go, be kind and be specific. If you have examples of what you’d like to correct, throw those in. It helps the author know what to expect and make an informed decision.

And sometimes the author says no, and that’s okay! You must wash your hands of it. It’s not your name on the thing, and if you don’t put it in your resume, it never will be (fresh out of college, I worked on a couple truly awful novels that nobody will ever know I worked on). Perfectionism is HARD to overcome, I know, but accepting the errors gets easier with practice.

And finally, if you’re still wondering, “Am I cut out to be an editor?” I would recommend the words of Neil Gaiman. In his excellent “Make Good Art” speech, he says that as a freelance artist, you need to do good work, do it on time, and be pleasant to work with. And then, he adds, “You don’t even need all three! Two out of three is fine.”I recommend the whole thing if you ever want to battle imposter syndrome, because the same tenets apply to editing. At least I think they do. You don’t need to be the perfect editor—nobody is. But I guarantee that you have most of what you need already, and I hope this has helped.

Biography

Adrian Harley, one of Duck Prints Press’s editors, has been a full-time professional editor of scientific research for 10 years. Their freelance and ad-hoc editing has run the gamut from books to blog posts to family members’ cover letters. They’ve been published in Duck Prints Press’ And Seek (Not) to Alter Me and the forthcoming She Wears the Midnight Crown, as well as OFIC Magazine. 

Want to learn more?

Beware the Weasel Word has information and resources for “tightening up” language.

How to Ask for Feedback on Your Writing talks more about how, from a writer point of view, to help your editor understand what type(s) of editing you’re looking for.

See the full post

165 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

#4

Formatting Tweaks to Help Your Typesetter Have a Great Day

The last few weeks, I’ve been doing a lot of editing, which also means I’ve been doing a lot of small changes to ensure that the documents are print and e-book ready. Preparing manuscripts involves doing a lot of tiny, fiddly tweaks to make sure that spelling, grammar, and formatting are uniform across all the stories in an anthology, are accurate to the authors’ intentions, and look nice in all the formats we’ll be offering (print, PDF, ePub, and Mobi). None of the changes are complicated, but making them all is surprisingly time consuming—I usually spend about 30 minutes “cleaning up” each story with modifications that are largely invisible to a writer and reader, but still essential to produce a polished finished book.

Each Press and Publisher will handle these formatting things in slightly different ways—while some of these (such as “when do I use a hyphen vs. an en dash vs. an em dash?”) others are publisher-discretion. If you are submitting a manuscript and want to look like you’ve really, really paid attention, consider making some of these changes yourself—but make sure you check if the place you’re submitting to has a public style guide first, and if they do, anything they say in their style guide takes precedence! (Duck Prints Press doesn’t have a guide yet—we’ve been working on one, but it keeps getting back-burnered in favor completing more timely tasks). 

This post is written from our point of view—which is to say, I wrote it specifically for how we at DPP handle these formatting matters—but it can provide some general guidelines, especially if you are submitting to a publication that hasn’t provided a style guide. Even if what you do based on this guide doesn’t match what they do, at least by being consistent in your own submission, you demonstrate that you were paying attention! (But: NEVER do any of the below if it contradicts the submission information and/or style guide provided by a different publisher!!)

Note that to really do most of these tweaks, you’ll want to use an actual word processor. Google docs doesn’t have the functionality for the most fiddly bits. Despite its downsides, DPP currently uses Microsoft Office 365, and this guide is primarily written with Word in mind. If you also use Microsoft, here’s a couple quick tutorials—you’ll need to know how to do these two things in order to do…all the rest.

Tutorial 1: Inserting Special Characters

1. Go to the “Insert” Menu

2. Go to “Insert Symbol”

3. If, like me, you use the same 4 special characters over and over, the symbol you’re looking for will most likely be in the “recently used” list that pops up. But, if it’s not there, pick “More Symbols.” That opens a screen that looks like this:

4. While you could scroll through this list until you find what you want, it’s much easier to go to the bottom boxes I circled in red, where it says “Character Code.” Enter the 4-digit-and-letter code for the character you want. This way, you can be sure you actually get the character you want. Make sure that the “from” field matches the code type you’re using—I pretty much entirely use unicode, and that’s what I reference/include numbers for in this post. (Usually, googling “(name of the character you want) unicode” will get you the number.)

5. Note that not every character is available in every font; if you want to be sure you can access the maximum number of characters, I recommend using Arial or Calibri.

Tutorial 2: Turning on Mark-up

1. Go to the “Home” menu

2. In the “Paragraph” section, find the ¶ option; if your menu is drop-down it might be called “Show/Hide ¶” (in Word, it can also be turned on with ctrl + * )

See the full post

244 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

#3

WELCOME TO MAY TROPE MAYHEM!

May Trope Mayhem is a multi-fandom/original creation event open to writers, artists, and content creators of all kinds! We’ve put together a list of 31 of our favorite tropes, one per day through the month of May, and we encourage creators to join us for this month of fun tropey mayhem.

Our goal is to promote motivation and help with habit building, so we’re encouraging people to keep their ficlets under 1,000 words, or if you make art or a gif or some such, to stick to a sketch or a single image.

This event is primarily held on Tumblr, but you’re welcome to participate on anywhere Duck Prints Press has an account (you can see all our current platforms here) and we’ll keep our eyes on our tag everywhere!

How can you participate? It’s easy! There's just a few simple rules:

to participate, write a ficlet, a poem, create art, make a gif, or create any other content that you want, aligned with the prompt for the day!

post your correctly tagged fills to Tumblr, and we’ll reblog them!

you must tag warnings such as gore, MCD, sexual content, etc., so that people can avoid triggering material!

please also tag fandom and ship, so people can find what interests them!

we ask that you put the tags at the top of your post, so they’re easy to find.

if you write more than 1k words, please use a read more,

if you write something with NSFW content or potentially triggering material, please put the entire story under a read more.

Ping us (@duckprintspress) or tag your creations “#may trope mayhem” and so we can find them! We’ll reblog all fills that follow the above rules and are posted between May 1st and June 8th, 2022.

If you post to AO3, you can also add them to our collection there!

You don’t have to sign up, just post your fills. You don’t have to be a member of the Press, or following us. You don’t have to be part of a specific fandom. We’re open to all ships, genres, formats, etc.! You don’t have to post fills on the corresponding day, though we ask that if you’re creating for a day that hasn’t happened yet, please wait for that day to post.

This is a low-pressure event, held all in good fun, and we look forward to seeing what you create!

267 notes - Posted May 1, 2022

#2

Now Live: Duck Prints Press's Third Crowd-funding Campaign!

Duck Prints Press LLC is over the moon to share our next to anthologies with you: She Wears the Midnight Crown and He Bears the Cape of Stars!

These two anthologies share a common theme – masquerades – and each features different kinds of relationships. She Wears the Midnight Crown contains 18 wlw stories; He Bears the Cape of Stars contains 18 mlm stories. Both collections tell myriad stories exploring how these characters’ relationships develop, grow, and change while they attend or participate in masquerades!

Our 36 contributors have stretched their imaginations to present innovative stories exploring what a masquerade can be…and, of course, tell rich, engaging tales of wonderful queer folk finding love, companionship, acceptance, the queer platonic relationship of their dreams, or the found family they deserve. The collected works feature characters in all the colors of the Pride rainbow, queer and genderqueer, and these diverse individuals inhabit worlds ranging from science fiction settings where everyone must be masked to breathe, to fantasies where no one wears a literal mask but everyone shows the world a false guise, to iterations of the real world where some people lean into deception.

In addition to the stories by our authors - including new works by @alocalband, @fpwoper, @erajakira, @jhoomwrites, @tryslora, @p1013, @dragonmuse, @unforth, @faerytaleonfire, and @owlishintergalactic (and many others, who don't have Tumblr accounts ) - our books and merchandise also include gorgeous art by @thefriendlypigeon (cover art), @aceriee-art (enamel pins), @migglangelus (bookmarks), @alessariel (our dux mascots!), and @reshipkmn (patch). You're definitely not going to want to miss it - you can buy one book or both books, some merch, or all merch - we've got 8 backer levels to help you get exactly what you want!

We’d love for you to attend the masquerade! Don your mask and read on…

Back our crowdfunding campaign!

Visit our website to read author biographies, learn about our rewards and backer levels, and more!

Back our Patreon or ko-fi monthly to get exclusive extras!

Follow our social media accounts to keep up with all the latest!

The Seed&Spark Campaign for She Wears the Midnight Crown and He Bears the Cape of Stars runs from now through July 14th, 2022.

Go Forth, and Back It Now!

299 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

And Seek (Not) to Alter Me Kickstarter: Now Live!

Duck Prints Press LLC is delighted to announce that the Kickstarter for our second anthology, And Seek (Not) to Alter Me, has commenced!

In And Seek (Not) to Alter Me, 16 authors and 16 artists have come together to create an exquisite, full-color collection of artwork and stories inspired by William Shakespeare’s play Much Ado About Nothing. We encouraged contributors to stretch their imaginations, think outside the box, and put their own unique—and queer—twist on Benedick, Beatrice, Hero, Claudio, Don Pedro, and the whole gang! In true Shakespearean fashion, our creators utilize gender, sexuality, romanticism, and a host of costume changes to tell unique stories—some featuring original characters, some characters from the play—that show Shakespeare’s work in a whole new light.

So—grab a cup of tea and reread or rewatch your favorite version of Much Ado About Nothing to refresh your memory. Our stories and artworks feature wlw, mlm, poly relationships, trans characters, gender swaps, canon divergent tales, AUs...there's even a two-page comic! Settle in with this delightful collection and enjoy visiting Messina (and elsewhere!) and falling in love with Leonato's family and the troops of Don Pedro's army (and many others!) again and again and again!

And Seek (Not) to Alter Me is a stunning zine, printed in full color, A4 size (8 1/4 inches x 11 3/4 inches/21 cm x 30 cm), approximately 150 pages long. It includes 16 stories, each up to 5,000 words long, and 20 full-page interior artworks. Creators share their visions with us, discuss their inspiration, and take us along on a journey to experience what this play and these characters mean to them.

Ready to get your Shakespearean queer on? Us too!

BACK OUR KICKSTARTER!

Visit our website for author biographies, teasers, and more!

Support our Patreon and get exclusive campaign extras!

Follow us on our social media accounts for updates, extras, reveals, and all the juicy details!

The Kickstarter for And Seek (Not) to Alter Me will run through April 14th, 2022.

Check it out NOW!

344 notes - Posted March 15, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[goldensart]

One of the things I was always curious to see more after the toyline’s end was how the MU inhabitants would adapt to Spherus Magna. It was such an interesting concept to have a completely different lifestyle. The ones that would be most interesting would be the Turaga. I mean, they are leaders, but now there is a much bigger world to cover, so I had some ideas of what would each of them be doing.

Vakama: One of the easiest to make, in my opinion. He’s a leader, a guide, but he’s also a storyteller, and now he has 2 species worth of new audience memebers to tell his stories to. Not to mention that, now that they don’t live in a barren wasteland, both Glatorian and Agori have started to have more babies, which means he constantly has new generations eager to hear his stories. He also keeps active as a leader, being a calm guide others go to when needing  guidance. He’s also a reliable Turaga that makes other leaders, like Raanu, calm and hopeful about the future of their tribes. Still,  within him, the heart of a craftsman still lingers, and while some of his siblings might tell him its a waste of time, every now and then a suspiciously high quality kanohi shows up in the warehouse. 

Nokama: Calm and serene, yet strong, Nokama still guides any villagers that prefer to live near bodies of water. The most spiritual of the 6, she attracts those who seek knowledge. Being once a teacher, she takes this with stride, as with their civilization being a union of various different cultures, there is a lot to teach, both from the old worlds of Bara Magan and the MU, and from the newly reformed Spherus Magna. Few things make her happier than the expression of awe her students have when she explains a new concept. Seeing the flame of curiosity light up in their eyes makes it all worth it. Still, old habits die hard, and stubborn is as stubborn those, so new students are advised to behave, lest they get a stern lecture.

Matau: Easily the most easygoing of them all, to the point some wonder if he should be considered a leader at all. Luckily, he is more than capable. With Spherus Magana being safer than Le-wahi, his security-related responsibilities are greatly lessened, meaning he has more free time, to the detriment of others. Be it pushing for the developement of crazier and crazier vehicles, or playing pranks on other leaders, he always has the time for a laugh, which makes him quite popular with the younger Agori, Glatorian and Matoran. Some might say this makes him a bad influence on them, but his easygoing demeanor means  that whenever a villager needs advice, but considers their problems to unimportant for the other leaders, they got to Matau, knowing that, be it a scolding or reassurance, he will tell them what they need to hear, and make them laugh with every word. He walso has an amazing singing voice.

Onewa: Basically a blessing in the early days of the new village, his skill in moderating arguments made sure the union of cultures went as smooth as possible. This skill continues to this day, acting as a judge between disputes. He is so succesfull some joke he could have stopped the Core War had he just sat down with the elemental Lords to talk it out. He also keeps the culture of sports alive in the new village. Organizing leagues between Matoran, Agori, Glatorian, and even Toa (sometimes even mixed teams), and making sure the games are all fair. Be it Kolhii, Akilini, or even the gladiatorial matches the Agori and Glaotrian insisted be kept, though now way less lethal, if there is a sport to be played, Onewa will make sure it is played fairly. Also known for making amazing sculptures that go for thousands of widgets. That said, stone is not easily changed, and his anger still lingers beneath. Those unfortunate enough to have provoced it say that while his judgement skill could’ve stopped the Core War, they also say that even the Great Beings couldn’t stop his anger.

Whenua: While all the Turaga were happy to lead their people, his joy when arriving to Spherus Magna was compared to a Muaka in a Rahkshi den. Still a leader and guardian to his people, Whenua’s calling was to uncover and catalogue as many of the secrets of Spherus Magna’s spast as possible. Quickly organizing and bulding what is now called the Archives Museum, which eventually grew bigger than even Metru Nui’s Colusseum, he led similar-minded individuals in the search of memories from the distant past. From the earliest tools made of exsidian, to the first recorded conflinct, long before the Core war, he uncovered hundreds of memories the planet itself had forgotten. One of his proudest moments was the discovery of a bone that was incrdibly old, something that didin’t exists in the entirety of the MU; a fossil. With energy he hadn’t had since he first transformed into a Toa, Whenua led teams and organized dig sites, uncovering thousands of bones and stories. And as a Turaga of earth, it was easy. The earth spoke to him, telling him its memories, of when had the bones joined it. Whenua was able to date them to the dacade. He created an incredibly complete fossil record, uncovering evolutionary lineages, making discovery after discovery. Amongst his favourites were the fact that the rock steeds are distantly related to the creatures of Bota Magna, pinpointing the moment in time when the common ancestor of both the Agorit and the Glatorian first divided into groups that would become the species, the moment were the Skrall had evolved so much they could be considered a new species. From the evolution of species, to relics of civilizations older than the agori, whenua’s Museum held knowledge of everything the past could give. And the inhabitants of the mega-city knew who to go with when having questions, for Whenua was the speaker of the past, and the past is the best teacher one could have.

Nuju: Guiding those who preferred colder places, Nuju kept his mannerisms and character. Still speaking only in the language of birds, though thankfully appointing a translator, Nuju continued to look for any signs of what the future might hold. From star-gazing, to bird-watching, Nuju became an expert in predicting things like storms migrations, and even an armed conflict or two. Population movement, air pressure, for those who paid attention, the future was an open book. Still, while he kept the horizon on sight, his eyes were firmly on his people, looking for the future, but never forgetting about the present. Using his knowledge, he warned and prepared for hardships to come, saving countless lives. This skill made him popular with tribe members anxious about the future, many coming to him asking what to expect. His answer, while found unsatisfactory by some, was what many of them needed; “I can’t tell you how the future will go, all I can do is prepare myself for it as best as I can, and to take it when it comes”

Dume: The least joyful arriving on Spherus Magan, Dume had no interest in knowledge, teaching or stories, for him, only one thing mattered, the safety of his people. For thousands of years he had kept the city of Metru Nui safe, and this one would not be different. Still, he only had failed his city once, and that was a wound he would never forget. When ruling Metru Nui, he had kept his distance from his people so, when he was replaced by Makuta, nobody was close enough to him to notice. And so, the tyrant had free rign over his city, eventually leading to its doom. He wouldn’t fail his new city that way. His distance had given him the strenght to protect his city, but it had also been its downfall. And, while he now had 6 Turaga and other tribe leaders to rule beside him, one could never be too cautious. Organizing extreme security measures; passwords, secret codes, etc. Dume made sure he would never be replaced again, and if he were, it would be instantly obvious. He even kept a few bodyguards close to him and, while never becoming close enough to be called friends, it was the closest he had being to another beign since his Toa team. And this worked, as any time his people were threatened, Dume faced the threat with a will that would make a Toa of Iron blush. No matter the enemy, no matter the danger, Dume stood fast. This gained him a reputation , both with his people and his enemies. Rumors spread about him, some said he was once a Toa of iron that had willed himself tthrough a furnace and came out a Toa of fire, other said that he had stared down the Shadowed One himself. His reputation amongst his enemies was no less impressive, Skraall, Bone Hunters and Dark Hunters alike spoke in hushed tones about the “Red Judge”, who would command a legion of Toa to capture anyone who disrupted his peace,never to be seen again. Others claiming him to be a Toa, a Makuta, or even a Great Beign in disguise. Dume never cared for any of these rumors, all he cared was that his people were safe. 

[sserpente]

do you think people who have a cnc kink are sick and disgusting? me and my friends were talking about nsfw stuff and basically one thing led to another and we were talking about kinks all of a sudden and we fell upon this article which mentioned cnc.. we got curious and looked up about that particular kink more and in conclusion, one of my friends think that ppl who have/do that are sick--i dont think so though. how about you? (u dont have to answer this if u dont feel comfortable and thanks so much in advance)

NSFW post ahead!

Heavens, no! If your friends called it sick and disgusting, they were kink-shaming, it's as simple as that. That's quite ignorant and rude. Unfortunately, when some individuals in our society encounter something they can't identify with, they will call it weird or worse things and try to find a reason as to why it should be wrong. We see the same thing happen with religions, racism, fashion and many other themes. Some may go as far as claiming that people with "darker" kinks all have a trauma of sorts but let me assure you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with you and not everything is trauma either. There doesn't always have to be a reason for why you enjoy certain things. Sometimes you just do.

You will have noticed that I too write and/or read stories here on Tumblr that have dub-con or non-con warnings. Enjoying these types of stories online doesn't reflect what you believe in, what your principles are or what your real sex life is like. They are fantasies, nothing more or less. Harmless fantasies where ultimately, you are in control of the situation (you can always stop reading or simply press Pause). As for real life, that's why safewords are so important. In fiction, when you read or write dub-con/non-con, there is no need for "resolving" the "scene" with aftercare because it's already a fictional setting.

It's just that in our society, rape is a delicate topic. And for good reason. Rape is NEVER okay. CNC (consensual non-consent or rape play for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term), however, is a common kink in BDSM. It can be exciting and arousing for many and if it's carried out in real life, as long as both partners consent to playing/pretending and safewords are in place so they can stop the "scene" anytime, there is nothing wrong with it. Have you ever seen a couple playfighting because it's fun to tease each other? To run from each other? Well, some couples like to take it further. It's all pretense and there is, in fact, a lot of porn out there thematising CNC. If you are up for that, just give it a quick Google search. It's a lot more common than you might think. You're not alone. There is also a really good documentary called "Kink" on BDSM produced by James Franco which I really recommend on this topic. You should be able to find it online, however, bear in mind that it's very explicit... it's a documentary about porn after all.

If you are female (or identify as female), another thing that makes me furious about this topic as a feminist is that especially women are being shamed for their kinks. There are still so many old-fashioned and sexist views and assumptions deeply interwoven into our society resulting in some going as far as making women believe they're not allowed to have sexual fantasies, especially not if they're dark. But who are you to tell me what I can and cannot fantasise about? Who are you to make decisions over what I can and cannot do with my body? It's not real. It does not reflect my real wishes.

I strongly believe that it's the people who are kink-shaming because they are unable to keep reality and fantasy apart, who should seek help--because that is when it gets dangerous.

There is a really good book out there called "My Secret Garden" by Nancy Friday. It was published in 1973, so a few things are quite outdated but its premise is still very relevant and it covers both an introduction dealing with this very topic I just touched upon and a collection of women's sexual fantasies. You read those, you'll think yours are harmless, trust me.

Ultimately, BDSM and CNC roleplay in real life are based on trust and respect for one another in a romantic/sexual relationship (or a professional and safe work environment if it's porn). That is how it is acceptable ONLY. If it's not for you, that's fine. Just keep in mind that others can still enjoy those things. You don't owe kink-shamers an explanation if it's their ignorance trying to make you feel bad about yourself. 🤗

[theolsentimes]

Mary-Kate Olsen's Singular Style

She came to fame as a twin, but the actress's cultish look is entirely her own. Here, with Lauren Hutton, she pays homage to another fashion inspiration, Grey Gardens. Written by Laura Brown, with photography by Peter Lindbergh (Harper's Bazaar, 2007)

VIEW GALLERY

Mary-Kate Olsen may be the only young actress who breezes into her local Starbucks wearing towering, fashion-fierce Balenciaga boots, who arrives at her latest premiere (in Mary-Kate's case, for the new season of Showtime's Weeds, in which she plays a devout Christian with a pot fetish) sporting an oversize cross, and whose favorite band is Led Zeppelin. She may, in fact, be the only young actress who knows who Led Zeppelin is. MK, as she is known to her friends and family, is also a punctual and professional sort. She arrives for a poolside tea in Los Angeles 10 minutes early, ordering a hot chocolate while explaining her fetish for all things sweet — "I'm a candy girl, like Tootsie Rolls and Swedish Fish" — and objecting when the waiter tries to take the sugar bowl away. She is wearing a nautical striped T-shirt (her mom's, from the '70s), tucked into two black Wolford slips rolled down and turned into a tight, Robert-Palmer-video-style mini, and multicolored sparkly Christian Louboutin stilettos. She's just had her hair colored, returning to a sunnier shade after some experiments with both peroxide ("I woke up one morning and was like, I want white-trash hair today") and the dark side (an auburn-haired near-Goth moment last year). She's carrying a large black fringed leather Prada tote — she doesn't do small bags — and her fingers are covered with rings, most notably two vintage coiled gold snakes stacked on top of each other. ("They remind me of twins, sort of double headed.") Altogether, the effect is less her famed "bag-lady chic" than an edgy, body-conscious, and, yes, sexy silhouette. If she weren't 21, she could be 40. And French.

Few people need reminding that Mary-Kate — with her twin sister, Ashley — literally crawled into celebrity aged nine months (courtesy of Full House) and has not been out of the spotlight ever since. She has been a celebrity for more than two decades. Perhaps that's one reason she seems as if she came out of the womb worldly, the textbook old soul. "Yeah," she says with a small shrug. "I get that a lot." With all of that attention and all of the money (her and Ashley's company, Dualstar, has famously become a "billion-dollar business"), Mary-Kate could easily have ended up the type who wears pink terry cloth and carries a variety of small dogs. "Could you imagine?" she says with the politest version of a snort. "No way." She credits her exceptionally close-knit family (she has five siblings) and, interestingly, early stardom with helping her keep her perspective. "I think it helped that I started in front of the camera, so it didn't come as a shock. If I was a teenager and was thrown into the spotlight, I don't know how I would react, to be honest." Though the tabloids are all too keen to brand her a skinny, nervous deer in the headlights, in person Mary-Kate is easy in her skin, confident and surprisingly tactile, curling up in her seat and touching you on the arm to make a point. She laments the generic style of most actresses and cites only men as style inspirations: "Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp. Men, they just dress the way they want, and they don't think about Who Wore It Best." She doesn't much care for Who Wore It Best, noting she avoids those pages by "wearing vintage so often. I just dress the way I feel instead of looking for what's the new handbag." If Mary-Kate and Ashley have their way, more people will be wearing clothes and carrying bags the way they do. They have just shown the fifth collection of their ready-to-wear line, the Row, and recently launched a contemporary label, Elizabeth and James, named after a sister and a brother. The Row's holiday collection (in stores next month) is a slick mix of skinny leather pants, razor-cut blazers, butter-soft, slouchy tees, and a destined-to-be-cultish pullover fur. Lauren Hutton, who stars in the Row's Spring '08 look book, says, "The clothes are extraordinary. A man I was with just loved them. The pieces are just so genius, soft like a baby's skin. Simple minimalist stuff, but really spectacular." Mary-Kate, designer, faces an interesting challenge. She has to marry Dualstar — which has made its fortune selling tween-tastic DVDs and pastel Mary-Kate and Ashley T-shirts at Wal-Mart — with her increasingly edgy and subversive taste. Dualstar executives, some of whom have worked with her since she was a child, often nag her, mom-style, about pulling her hair back "or wearing a color," she says with a laugh. "I had this event recently, and I was like, They're going to be so happy that I'm wearing ... purple. I actually have to think about those things, though, you know, so I don't get trashed." Get trashed sometimes she does. Hutton says, "Once in a while, she'll wear something and I'll think, Oh, baby doll, take another look. But to have the bravery, to take the chance to do that, is pretty wonderful. She is making her own way, which is hardly ever done in Hollywood." Of Mary-Kate's penchant for gigantic Balenciaga heels, Jenji Kohan, the creator of Weeds, says, laughing, "I'd be like, 'It's Tuesday. Do you really want to be wearing those shoes?' But she pulls it off." Designer Giambattista Valli, a friend, says, "She likes to take risks, but because she has such strong personal style, she always manages to make it work. Even if she had nothing on, she'd have style." And MK chic is spreading. "Sometimes I'll look at people or at a magazine and I'll do a double take because I'm like, Oh, my God, that's my outfit, but that's not me," Mary-Kate says. Playing with her wire-rimmed aviators, she jokes wryly that she should have bought shares in Ray-Ban. (She and Chloë Sevigny pretty much brought back white '80s Wayfarers.) She tends to fall in love with a look, then wear it until she's done. "If I put together a good outfit, I'll wear it for three days and then switch it up with a blazer," she says. "I still love my vintage jeans, my tights, and my pants, though." She didn't start wearing heels, in fact, until a couple of years ago: "I kept watching Ashley walk around in them so gracefully, and I'm such a klutz. But I ended up loving heels, and I don't usually take them off." She wears precisely one pair of flat shoes: Chanel's knee-high patent-leather gladiator sandals. This season, it's Balenciaga's fall collection — all of it — that has Mary-Kate obsessed. She is close to designer Nicolas Ghesquière and says, "He is so talented, but he's the nicest, most down-to-earth guy, and that makes everything he does more brilliant. I bought everything, but I haven't got anything yet," she says like a girl impatiently waiting for Christmas. Will she wear the new pieces with her infamous clodhopper boots? "Uh-huh. Wore them the other day, actually." Mary-Kate always goes with her gut, even if some people (back to those tabloids) don't quite get it. "The tabloids say things about me? What do they say?" she asks archly. "People are going to write what they want, and everyone's going to have their own idea of who I am. But I'm not trying to be friends with the people who are reading them, really." After a rough couple of years filled with near-forensic scrutiny of her weight, she'll have you know that she does eat. "This is not going to sound good," she laughs, "but I like making crispy tofu sticks with peanut sauce. I love my sashimi and my salmon and my vegetables." She observes, "Stress plays a big role in how I look day-to-day. I've always been very active — Pilates, yoga. I grew up horseback riding every day for hours. I love dancing. I usually last longer than anyone on the dance floor." A common image of Mary-Kate has her emerging from a coffee joint with an oversize cup. "I always get creamed for having my Starbucks cup," she says, sighing. "But the only time people get photos of me is when I'm getting coffee, when I can't sneak away from the camera." She also resents the pictorial implication that she and Ashley are dilettantes. "They take photos of us going into our offices, and it's 'Mary-Kate and Ashley shopping again.' But I'm going to work for eight hours, and we're working so hard. ..." She trails off. "It just shows how people want to think of you." Mary-Kate is not above celeb watching herself, however. Newly obsessed with Victoria Beckham, she notes she avidly watched Beckham's Coming to America documentary: "She's running around in a bikini and heels, and I'm like, Oh, my God! I do that, too!" How positively Grey Gardens. "I run around my house naked with heels all the time. It's so funny. All my friends will tell you I love running around in kimonos and jewelry or naked with jewelry." More people will be watching Mary-Kate soon, thanks to her role in the Emmy-nominated Weeds. "I am a very good Christian girl," she says with a wink. "She has her moral beliefs — and she happens to smoke pot." Of her newest cast member, Kohan adds, "Mary-Kate is complicated. She's a big celebrity, a huge media icon, but you have to separate the media images from someone who has the same issues, the same desires, as anyone else." Of course, Mary-Kate's image, in all its incarnations — from high fashion to small screen — is her strongest asset. And she has yet to settle on one. "I feel like I've lived 10 different lives already and I'm only 21," she says, almost as a reminder to herself. "But I also feel like I'm entering a new chapter." One thing on which she is clear, though: She doesn't need to be looked at all the time. What would she do for a day if she were invisible? "I would probably go to a restaurant with my friends, who would be able to see me, of course," she adds pragmatically, "and I would sit outside and enjoy a nice lunch with them. Then I would walk down the street." The old soul takes a sip of her little-girl-sweet hot chocolate. "That's what I would do."