#there's not a specific long term goal in mind but i find little bits to integrate every so often

[cyberneticdryad]

thinking about my (high pitched, very feminine) customer service voice and how i wish i could speak in a lower pitch and have people react with the same level of satisfaction with their interactions with me

[knight-a3]

Hazbin Masterpost

Heavenbound Masterpost

Alastor Redesign

I've spent an absurd amount of time researching deer, microphones, and 1920s-30s fashion for this. I'm by no means an expert of any of it, but I'm decently confident enough for some fictional depictions.

I'll include some notes under the cut, which does get a little long. I doubt other characters will get this detailed, but Alastor has a lot of design themes and motifs that were a bit too ingrained to remove. Everyone else is either simple in comparison, or much easier to simplify.

Alastor also just catches my interest in ways the others don't.

Design notes under the cut, including a human design and his parents

My goal was to design him in a way that still felt like the same character, just altering the aspects I thought could be better. So a radical change wasn't what I was going for. That said, I had a logical reason for most of the changes I made.

--Deer--

Quickly, there's some regional terminology to clear up. In Europe, elk often refers to what North Americans call moose. And the NA Elk is sometimes called by an alternate name, "wapiti". I had never heard the term wapiti before researching this. And since I live where NA Elk are native (Rocky Mountain region), I think my terminology takes priority. Alastor would call them elk too.

Before anyone says Elk aren't deer; yes they are. The word 'elk' basically means "big deer." They look similar to the Red Deer (Similar looking antlers, but elk are bigger, second only to moose, which are also a species of deer). It used to be believed that elk was a subspecies of Red Deer, but that's apparently been proven false.

In NA, there are five main species in the deer/cervid family(listed from smallest to largest): Whitetail, mule deer, caribou/reindeer, elk, and moose.

Deer Sounds

If you haven't heard deer sounds, I promise they aren't what you'd expect. Fanfics authors like to describe him making deer noises, but I'm not sure they realize what the sounds are actually like. I'll describe some noises, but search for them on Youtube, for both males and females separately. Using these terms will help you find specific examples. I listened to so many just trying to figure out how to describe them.

Snort-They make a huffy blowing sound when alerted or alarmed. Often sounds like a bark. It's basically sounding the alarm. Does often make it when they're being harassed by bucks.

Grunts- sounds like a croaky or clicky groan. Sorta like a frog or a pig. Sometimes sounds like cattle's moo. There are casual grunts, curious grunts, frustrated grunts, submissive grunts, low-drawn-out dominance grunts.

Bleat- sounds more whiny and higher pitched than a grunt. But it isn't quite like a goat or sheep. It's used more by does and fawns. The younger it is, the higher the pitch. Really young fawns will sound like a little meep or maa.

Snort Wheeze- sounds like a sniffy huff, followed by extended "F" sound. "sniff sniff Fffffff" There's a lot of air to it. It's basically an insult or challenge.

Elk Bugle- much higher pitched than you'd expect from such a large animal. More so than a deer. It's an eerie, high pitched screech. They're basically broadcasting their location, looking for cows. Bulls will bugle back and forth, competing for attention.

Elk chuckles and grunts- shorter versions of the bugle. Sounds kinda like monkey hoots.

Elk Bark- alarmed or irritated. Sounds like a small dog's bark.

Elk Chirps and mews- It reminds me of the curious sounds the dilophosaurus from Jurassic Park made. Or seagulls. They're just chatting.

What deer is he?

Based on what I've observed, I don't think he was designed with any specific species in mind. I've seen others say his antler growth is most like elk, but I've found it inconsistent at best. Elk noises are used in the show, but that's because they make a distinct and eerie sound. More impressive than a deer's grunt or snort and wheeze.

Personally, I think whitetail makes the most sense for him, since that's the species that would be most prevalent in Louisiana.

While I'm basing him primarily off whitetail deer, he is a fictional deer-looking demon man, and doesn't have to perfectly resemble any single species of deer. His bright red color is clearly not realistic, for example. So I will incorporate some aspects of whitetail, mule deer, and elk, since those are the prevalent species in North America.

I've given him a whitetail deer tail, but with the white swapped to black. That doesn't make him a blacktail deer, because that is supposedly a subspecies of Mule deer, and the tail does not look like what I am going for.

Mule deer have proportionately large ears, and so does Alastor. Fans like to think they're soft and fluffy, but they aren't. I have felt deer hide, and it is NOT soft. I doubt it would be significantly different on live deer. Especially if it's anything like goats or cows(not even sheep are as soft as you'd expect, but that gets into a side tangent).

Deer ears are not positioned as low on the head as domestic livestock, but they aren't directly on top either. I wanted to maintain the upright position, because he didn't quite look right otherwise. I think I managed to get a decent balance. When he's particularly relaxed, his ears aren't as upright, but he rarely lets himself put his guard down like that. So it's basically just when he sleeps that they relax.

His antler growth will vary based on a few different factors. When he is feeling confident and composed, the growth will be more typical to either of the three species. Whitetail or mule deer antlers will be more elegant, while elk antlers will be more intimidating due to the sheer size. But the more emotionally/mentally unhinged he gets(anger, fear, desperation, etc), the more nontypical his antlers will become. Which means there will be extra points in abnormal patterns. It's basically an indicator that he's not quite in control. He hates how it basically announces that, but very few people know that detail.

Anyway, here are a few references

--Life and Death--

For simplicity and easy math, I'm putting his birthday around 1900, give or take a year. He died 1933, which means he was around 32-34. Not very old, but not super young either.

Lots of fans headcanon that he's biracial. Usually with a black Creole mom and white dad. His dad is often portrayed as abusive. Alastor is often thought to be fluent in French(Creole French).

I want to propose an alternative. His mom is half-black half-white, his dad is white, and Alastor is consequently a quarter black. He is distinctly white-passing(I have an in law who is a quarter black, and he is so white, I never would have guessed. He's even blonde). He knows some Creole French, but is not fluent. I just think this could make for some interesting dynamics.

Just to shake things up, his parents cared about each other and his dad wasn't abusive. But his father died due to developing pneumonia after a hurricane in 1915, when Alastor was a teen. Instead, his uncle(father's brother) was racist and abusive towards them. Without his dad around to fend off the abuse, Alastor ended up killing his uncle in self defense and dumped the body in the woods/swamp/bayou. He had no remorse, and was rather enamored by the experience.

Alastor always struggled with empathy. He was the type of kid to kill animals out of curiosity, and was fascinated by it. He felt more alive when watching the life fade from their eyes. His dad taught him to hunt, and he enjoyed the thrill of catching prey. A big part of hunting is understanding the prey's behavior and manipulating them. His parents taught him not to hurt other people, but after killing his uncle that went out the window. He justified it by "hunting" people he decided deserved it, in some twisted idea of vigilante justice. Really, he was just looking for an excuse. He primarily used guns(rifles for a clean kill, shotgun for efficiency, pistols "just in case" an unexpected opportunity presents itself) and knives for a real hands on experience. But in the end, if it got the job done, it could be used.

He dabbled in magic and demonic deals while he was alive. He has a pop-culture-voodoo aesthetic, such as dolls that are connected to people and such. But I won't refer to it as voodoo, because I don't want to misrepresent actual voodoo. I will just call it shadow magic and be making up my own rules. More on it later.

Radio was a comparatively mundane part of his life. It was his more relaxing pastime. He'd broadcast anything he liked. News, gossip, music, jokes, whatever. He could talk for hours, and his charisma was captivating to listeners. He did live shows too. An open mic was free game. While not aiming to be a musician, he was a decent pianist. He liked saxophone too. He preferred to dance though, and not many could keep up with him, even after some whiskey or rye.

He died after being attacked by a rabid dog. He survived the attack, but contracted rabies, which there is no cure for. It attacks the central nervous system and fries the brain. Once symptoms appear, it's a death sentence. He went mad, and a fellow hunter put him out of his misery by shooting him in the head. He thinks it's an embarrassing way to die, so he's told a few alternate stories, sometimes with a grain of truth. He's amused by the gossip and speculation. Nobody knows the true story. These stories include the usual headcanons floating around.

Let me explain why I don't like the usual death headcanons

Mauled by hunting dogs- Hunting dogs are not supposed to kill the prey, just help the hunter find and catch them. A hunting dog that bites the prey might spoil the meat. To have a whole pack do that means those are horribly trained dogs. I don't buy it.

Mistaken for a deer and shot by a hunter- Hunters should not shoot anything if they aren't certain of what it is. Otherwise they risk shooting something they don't have a permit for. At minimum, they should be checking to be sure they are aiming at a buck or a doe. To mistakenly kill a person is absurd. Also, to hit perfectly in the center of the forehead?? That had to have been intentional.

He started killing overlords partly because he could, and partly because they meet his criteria for "deserving it". He remained anonymous about it at first for a few reasons: 1. it was how he worked as a serial killer in life. 2. He enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and getting away without getting caught. 3. Watching everyone panic about the mysterious overlord killer while totally unaware it was him(seemingly unassuming) was amusing. Eventually, the novelty of anonymity wore off(partly because there weren't many consequences to getting caught like there would be in life) and he revealed himself as the mystery killer. Then he enjoyed the reputation and Overlord status. Eventually, being feared bored him too. So now he has to find some new games to play, which is where the Hazbin Hotel comes in.

--Fashion: 1920s-30s--

Clothes: Men's outfits typically consisted of a shirt, waistcoat/vest, jacket, trousers with belt or suspenders, and potentially an overcoat if weather permits. If it was cold, I think he'd wear a black overcoat, to reference his earlier designs. I had to shorten the jacket a smidge, because they usually wouldn't be as long as in canon. Unless that's supposed to be his overcoat(in which case it shouldn't be so form fitting)

The jacket lapels would generally be pretty wide. The pant legs would also be wide. Some of the pant styles could get rather absurd by todays standards. The basic idea was loose and boxy.

The jacket, vest, and pants would be the same color if it could be afforded. But for the sake of visual interest, I've decided to ignore that.

Neckties were more common than bowties. But that's more just an excuse for me to reduce the ridiculous number of bowties the show has.

Belts were starting to become prevalent, especially in America. Since my research indicated that hunting clothes would use belts, never suspenders, I figured Alastor would favor belts.

While hunting, he'd were a buffalo plaid shirt, a hunting cap, and some silly looking pants that were wide at the thighs, reinforcement around the seat and knees, and tight from the knee down, with either boots, gaiters(a shoe/calf cover to help keep clothes clean, similar to spats), or puttees(leg wraps that do the same thing, as well as provide support).

Monocles were used as a portable option for reading glasses, and not worn constantly. They were used to correct farsightedness, not nearsightedness. But they were fading in popularity, in part due to the association with prominent German leaders during WW1. Basically, I don't think the monocle suited Alastor.

Hair: I headcanon that his hair is actually fur. And as I said earlier, deer fur is not soft. It's pretty coarse and wiry. He probably sheds a lot too. His canon haircut is atrocious, so I had to fix it. The look of the time was short sides, long top, and slicked with styling wax. I've styled his hair in what I think would be the closest approximation to 1920s-30s fashion he could manage. Since it's fur, I don't think the wax would do a whole lot for him. He makes do with an approximation of a tousle top, which is basically minimal wax and slightly disheveled.

Facial hair was not really in style in the 20s and early 30s, partly due to the availability of razors. Cleanshaven was the ideal, especially in America. If a man did sport a mustache, it would be something neatly trimmed, like a pencil mustache.

(Dec 18, 2024- updated human design) He has moderately curly hair, more of a wave, really. Left is his typical outfit, Right is his hunting clothes. Below is his parents Edward Griffon and Gabrielle Moreau (named such to reference Alastor's pilot voice/singing actors: Edward Bosco and Gabriel Brown aka Black Gryph0n. Moreau means black brown).

--Microphones--

I think Alastor would actually stay pretty up to date with a lot of things. But most people don't really realize it because he commits to his aesthetic. In regards to technology, if it has improved functionality, and fits his vintage style, he'll go for it. For microphones, he can summon whatever kind he wants. There are a variety of styles and types to choose from. I don't have any practical experience, but I did try to figure it out to a degree. There are three basic types he'd use, and they can look vintage just fine.

Dynamic/moving coil: these are durable and less sensitive to background noise. It's the only one you can trust to survive a mic drop. Good for stage. Probably what he'd take out and about, because of the durability.

Condenser: sensitive to sounds and capturing detail. Good for recording. Requires some extra equipment to prevent self-noise.

Ribbon: Produces natural, smooth, warm sounds. Common in vintage mics. Probably Alastor's favorite, but they're fragile. Pop filters and wind guards help protect it from pressure changes.

--Color--

I tweaked the colors so he wasn't so overwhelmingly bright red. Overall just darkened his palette. His hair is a warmer shade of red than his suit. I also didn't think the green magic suited him. So his magic is more in the red to yellow range, because it matches his eyes and teeth(which glow, btw). Green will be an indication of either something "poisoning" his magic, or it's a borrowed power. I haven't fully committed to just one, and it might depend on what direction canon takes with his soul owner.

--Magic--

His stitching is an indicator that he's not really as composed as he seems. He's always a few threads away from tearing apart, but when he does he can always pull himself together again. He's in constant pain, but has also become so accustomed to it that he hardly notices anymore. I think he stitched his smile on himself. He wants to be smiling, and sewing it in place is how he can assure it never slips. It's part of his pseudo-voodoo aesthetic.

Alastor was known to make overlords disappear, which shouldn't be possible without angelic weapons. But few people knew about angelic weapons before the show(himself included, I'm pretty sure). So I was left to ponder what he could have done to make victims disappear. I'm thinking the little shadow puppet gremlin creatures are the tattered remains of souls he's torn apart. I don't want to refer to them as voodoo dolls, so they will either be called variations of shadow puppets or gremlins.

He usually offers fair deals, with or without a soul contract. Souls he owns--like Husk and Niffty--are added to his collection of minions, each minion has a gremlin that represents their contracts with him. But there are some that Alastor feels don't deserve fair treatment, so he tears those souls apart to broadcast their screams of eternal torment, then claims the remains of the tattered souls(whether he had a contract with them or not) and stitches them up into the shadow puppets. That way, they don't regenerate. Husk was lucky Alastor liked him, and offered a deal instead of just tearing him apart.

Again, I don't want to misrepresent actual voodoo. So at most, it would be a corrupt version mixed with various pagan witchcrafts. It will just be referred to as either generic magic or shadow magic. If I need spooky symbols, I'll just make up my own. It will probably involve X shapes, to match his death mark.

He became a powerful demon so quickly because he's clever, ruthless, and dabbled in magic in life, and was making demonic deals in life. Already having deals and practicing shadow magic gave him a significant boost once he died.

Some examples of his shadow puppet gremlins, plus his personal shadow buddy, which may or may not be the gremlin that represents himself:

--Wendigo--

No, I don't think he's a wendigo. I personally don't think he was a cannibal while he was alive. He was a hunter who enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and liked venison(deer meat). The people he killed would be those he found disgusting, so I doubt he would have wanted to eat them even if he was so inclined. After death, he became venison himself, which can be perceived as cannibalism, I guess. He was cursed with insatiable hunger, which prompted him to branch out to more cannibalism from desperation. He still favors venison, which gets the closest to satisfying his hunger. Being dead has made him less concerned about cleanliness and hygiene, except when it affects the image he wants to portray. Then he became acquainted with Rosie, who was a cannibal in life. None of this makes him a wendigo. The concept of a man-eating monster or cannibalism isn't exactly unique, and I don't see a reason to apply that specific term to him.

The original mythology of the wendigo does not include an antlered creature. I'm pretty sure that was more of a pop-culture addition during the 1900s. They're also more common further north where there are colder winters. Most descriptions say they are essentially ashen-skinned, emaciated-looking people(look at the game Until Dawn for a good example of that). Coincidentally more similar to the people of Cannibal Town. I doubt that was intentional, but the resemblance is still there. If any character was a wendigo, it would be Rosie. But I don't intend to explicitly make her one either.

(Dec 18, 2024- Updated human design, typo corrections)

(Jan 1, 2025- added designs for Alastor's parents. Jan 17, 2025- added names for his parents)

(Jan 27, 2025- updated links, reworded a couple lines for clarity)

(Feb 7, 2025- updated photos to make the notes cleaner. Added an overcoat design. Added historical reference photos for the human design.)

[vitaminseetarot]

PAC: How Will You Experience Good Luck This Spring? 🍀💰🌈

Sup y'all, welcome back to a rather verdant and hopeful pick a card reading! I hope y'all are antsy for a colorful free tarot game, 'cause I'll be rolling one out starting tomorrow 3/18, until Thursday 3/21. More details will be out tomorrow when the game opens, but today's three swatch selections will give you a little hint at what's to come.

Select one of the three green palette cards below, or from one of the corresponding emojis, to find out how you'll experience a bit of luck this coming season.

Pile 1 - Luck of the Irish Pile 2 - Winter Shamrock Pile 3 - Clover Patch

Pile 1 - Luck of the Irish 🌄

Mystery, Lady's Mantle - Fortitude, 14. Intuition, 7 - Clear Aura; IX Hermit, 2 of Pentacles, 6 of Swords, 9 of Cups, Page of Cups

"Gently place your feet on the path you were meant to travel."

Hey pile 1, I'm seeing that you're going to be fortunate where traveling anywhere may be concerned. You're feeling more ready than ever to take on the outside world. Can you see the winding road in Lady's Mantle? Even if you're not traveling physically, you will be lucky in whatever path you begin to follow in spring. With the key in intuition, you may have recently had to overcome certain trials in order to get to this point, and you seem pretty anxious to move on. But your message says to "gently place your feet," not "scramble to get out the door without checking your shoelaces first". You're being advised to walk, not run to your nearest destination, perhaps because you may still need to come to terms with the decision you're making. Be sure that this next path is one you want to follow, and keep in mind that what may seem to be the next stop is not necessarily the final one.

During your last chapter in life, which may have ended as recently as a day ago or as long as a year, you've had to put up with a lot of stress. Trying to juggle your personal needs along with everyone else's drama. You may have had the strong urge or tendency to stay tucked inside in order to recuperate. Winter has mainly been about healing from the previous year. This spring, you will be luckier going out the door to your next adventure without the baggage. I see the Hermit as stepping out of a dark cave to feel the first warm spring day of the year. You'll be rewarded for your patience and determination in getting through your ordeal, if even just by making it through each day even when it was difficult.

The key reminds me of video games specifically. In day to day life, we use them as tools to get from one place to another. But in games, a key can symbolize either an opportunity to find some good loot, or the chance to step up to the next level. Now that you have this key, this solution to a particular problem, you'll be able to move forward with more ease. The way is being gently lit for you, like a glowing path that takes you to your next goal. As easy as it makes the game to have this glowing path, don't forget to pick up things and check out areas along the way. Keep at least one foot in the present moment so you can find these bonuses.

You may not be necessarily sure of where you're going next right now, just a vague sense that you're moving on ahead. And it's okay if you don't have it all figured out right now. You'll be able to see how you can manage the life you have now with the life you desire. Tap into what you want, and meditate on where you would like to go next if money, energy, time, or obligations weren't factors. Dream of your next adventure before you fall asleep, imagine one that you make your inner child sing. Envision that every time you take a bath, you're washing away parts of the past that you no longer need, as with sleep. Spring will bring to you a sense of replenishment and newness.

Pile 2 - Winter Shamrock ❄

Faith, Yarrow - Pocket of Protection, 21. Travel, 9 - Self-Acceptance; Capricorn, 8 of Wands, Taurus, Page of Cups, XI Justice

"Fill up from the healing waters of Mother Earth's sacred springs and connect to her heartbeat. Become as one energy."

Dear pile 2, your hard work is finally paying off somewhere. Your luck will let you open up to your life again, like a butterfly stretching its wings. The Travel card here can talk about being lucky in your travels, but it more specifically talks about the chance of a new job or project opportunity coming in. This is something you've been diligently working for, even if it's just working for a certain amount of time off. You're used to putting in a significant amount of effort to go further. Your luck this spring will give you a chance to rest AND receive blessings that are overdue, the kind of good fortune that comes directly from your energy and time.

I'm seeing an emphasis on 8 here, with Faith and the 8 of Wands. Perhaps this represents the days or months you've had to work and wait for something important. The Eightfold Path of Buddhism may have some relevance for you. Your luck will come as a result of sticking to your virtues. The Wheel of the Year may also have relevance. Taurus and Capricorn are both hard working Earth signs, they're difference being that Taurus indulges in what it has worked for, while Capricorn gets more empowered by regularly pushing to the top. Understand that you do not need to do any extra or go above and beyond for the sake of receiving this luck any more. You've done all you needed to do to attract this energy to you. Remember that hiking is more than continuously climbing; it also involves chances to eat a snack while watching the clouds roll by between the mountains.

The Taurus card was meant to clarify Yarrow. Taurus is known for "I Have", the sign for material possessions. See how Yarrow is being held between hands safe in a bubble? You may be lucky in receiving something special this spring like a gift, or an expensive item you've wanted to splurge on for a while. If you're not sure how you'll acquire it just yet, try not to get too winded controlling the outcome. If it's meant to be in your life, it will be. If it's out of sale in one store, luck will have it that you'll be gifted by a friend who thought of you as they saw it. Your most precious possessions will be protected by luck this spring, particularly during your trips and vacations abroad.

Time based blockages are melting away, and you may be surprised at how quickly things progress once you take the chance to stop and breathe. You'll find that time becomes less of a factor in how things progress this season. What may seem like a week-long ordeal could take only a day for you to resolve. Interview offers may come in fast and hot, which will only be noticeable if you're actually granting yourself the chance to stop and listen to these offers instead of pushing for a certain result. Justice wants you to balance your ambitious nature with a desire to take it easy and enjoy the good life. You'll be given the ability to do both this season. Accept the amount of progress you've already made, as you've likely done much more than you think. You'll increase your luck by accepting your current situation while having faith that your goals will still be there when you're ready to climb upwards again.

Pile 3 - Clover Patch 🍀

Cleanse, Red Clover - Center and Ground, 31. Release, 27 - Divine Light; XIV Temperance, 10 of Swords, Knight of Cups, 9 of Cups, 5 of Wands

"The light that you are seeking is already within you. Follow those things that bring peace to your soul."

Pile 3, wowie! You got the Red Clover next to Clover Patch! Notice how the flowers are wrapped around the heart. Some of you may have been battling a bad case of the winter blues, and this spring will give you a noticeable pep in your step. I recommend asking your doctor about Seasonal Affective Disorder if you suspect this is a regular issue every winter, although this is not guaranteeing you do have it. But I'm getting the feeling that you'll have the chance to heal your heart and regain a lot of lost energy and motivation either way. This spring will give you luck through giving you opportunities to find peace, joy, and contentment. You're stepping into light so you may bask in it. This fortune will bring about an internal change for you. (I'm hearing you'll somehow be luckier if you literally spend more time out in the sun!)

For some of you who are more religiously inclined, you may experience a deepened or renewed connection with your divine source this spring. Whether you pray to deities, ancestors, spirit guides, or your higher self, your connection will be empowered. If not as religious, you'll still feel more attached to the world around you and better aligned with your sense of life's purpose. You'll be feeling less "me against the world" and more "hey, the world's not perfect, but at least I've found my own footing." Temperance balances narcissus, of self love, and the iris, divine love. 10 of Swords shows that surrendering the past and allowing things to simply be will help you feel an refreshing and blissful period this spring.

I see a harp in Divine Light. It's less about moving forward and more about having the peace to dance in the now. Iris comes in many colors. This surge of spiritual awareness may come through in your artistic pursuits. Spring may help you creatively flow with ideas. Although Red Clover wants you to get you moving, it's also important with the 5 of Wands to ground these ideas by approaching them one at a time, little by little. Not everyone can do a productivity 180°, from making nothing to making 10 drawings a day. You'll have time this Spring to make art less of a chore and more of a joy. Art is a way to express ourselves, and you must have a lot to express after the winter you've been through.

Spring will give you a chance to play some catch-up, clearing away the things that drained your energy before. With peace of mind, it'll be easier to see what should stay and what should be left behind. Sometimes knowing what we don't want is as necessary as knowing what we do want. Major distractions are cleansed away in favor of working on what you've wanted to do for a while. If any of you struggle with artist or writer's block, I'm feeling relief here as chapters and sketches are drafted out freely as they come. If you're looking to renovate your living space, you'll have more ease in going through old things, replacing curtains, and dusting shelves to make more room. Your luck begins with inner peace, which radiates over time into expressing it through the world around you, reflecting your sense of spiritual connection. Art, home renovation, and even gardening are just a few of many examples for how you might creatively expand.

This reading has not been evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or infection. Please ask your physician before going online.

2024, @VitaminseeTarot ™

[yuri-is-online]

Hi Yuri! I have a little thought experiment for you. Do you think souls belonging to humans from Earth would function differently from souls of humans from Twisted Wonderland? Would they have souls at all in the way residents of Twisted Wonderland recognize them due to coming from a world lacking magic?

…Would that train of thought make Yuu essentially an empty vessel by Twisted Wonderland’s standards? Not me going crazy over the theory of there being something else in the dark mirror that Crowley wants to bring back.

- 🦐

Oh Shrimpy anon! I have been thinking evil thoughts about this for so so long.

Souls are spoken about in general terms a few times in Twisted Wonderland. The soul does seem to have something to do with unique magic, and from various npc interactions in the story and various events (specifically books 5&6, GloMas, and Playful Land) there does seem to be an understanding that everyone has a degree of magic within them, but a mage is someone who has access to a mana pool and the ability to channel that mana into a spell. With that in mind, let's analyze what the mirror says about Yuu:

The main issue with analyzing this set of lines is we don't know what the dark mirror would say about someone like say, Ace's dad, who also has no magic but does belong in Twisted Wonderland. The last exchange probably wouldn't happen, he's from the Queendom so he belongs back in the Queendom, but would the nature of Mr. Trappola's soul also be unclear to the Dark Mirror?

The specific words used are soundless, colorless, shapeless, and utterly vacant. The colorless bit is easy enough to pick up on, when you summon from the Dark Mirror the coffin opens to reveal the color of the dorm the character is from. NRC staff + Grim have grey and special characters like Rollo have a vaguely pale golden brown color. Yuu's soul doesn't share any of those colors so there is no dorm that would be appropriate for them.

Soundless sort of makes it seem like the mirror can't hear Yuu's thoughts? We don't have examples of mind reading spells in Twisted Wonderland... but it sort of makes sense that if a soul is considered magic, and Yuu's world has none that their soul wouldn't make sounds or have the same shape as someone from Twisted Wonderland. Utterly vacant would again just be referencing the complete lack of magic the soul possesses and not the mirror hating on us (too much anyway) because there really is nothing there for the mirror to see. That would technically make Yuu an empty vessel, but just how empty is the question?

Yuu clearly still has a soul or some sort of consciousness. Lilia seems to think we suffer from some sort of curse because of how dizzy our visions make us, and we can still very much be affected by magic. If something (or someone) took over Yuu's body, I think they still would be there inside but utterly powerless to resist. In a way, it would sort of be like their own version of an overblot, but instead of the phantom being attached to the back of their body like a shadow they would be a perfect fusion? Just like the possession that occurred during the second Halloween event... but if that is why Yuu is in Twisted Wonderland then what part does Grim play in this? Is the goal to fuse Grim and Yuu together? Or is Yuu being here a mistake... questions questions and zero answers.

As a side note, I get hung up on how Malleus's magic functions a lot because I could have sworn that people used to think your soul left your body when you dreamed? And if Yuu's soul isn't made of magic like the other souls in Twisted Wonderland that would naturally make Malleus's magic work differently on them but not Silver's. The most logical explanation for why we are in Mickey's dream and not our own is because it would 1) invalidate player head cannons to give Yuu a canon dream about their home and 2) it allows the Mickey plot line to progress but I still would like there to be a reason for why Yuu finds themselves there beyond those two things. If Yuu's soul really isn't magical I wonder if there will be some sort of consequences to Malleus putting them to sleep like this. The light novel intro has Yuya? seeing a vision of the Chimera and hearing someone encouraging him to move but being unable to heed that request. If Grim's overblot happens and picks up right after everyone wakes up from Mal putting everyone to sleep, Yuu being unable to wake up sounds like a good trigger for something like that. It would sort of be the opposite of Book 6 where Yuu goes to S.T.Y.X. for Grim, except this time Grim eats Mal's blot stone and Yuu is unable to stop him because they can't wake up.

Or something i dunno

[darkrpfinders]

🥩💖 Hello‼️ I’m a 23yo trans dude looking for 18+ writers for some LONG TERM dead dove/super dark fandom roleplays, specifically Invincible, The Boys, and Cookie Run.

I tend to trans some dude’s genders, which is nonnegotiable!

I really want to have gore, cannibalism, eroguro + snuff, and power imbalances in the roleplay, but obviously, I can adjust accordingly (only regular gore is nonnegotiable for me, sorry). Other things I dig are yandere (although I heavily prefer that the characters are both crazy for each other), dubcon and noncon. All can be discussed later.

I am semi to advanced lit, and I would like my partners to be around the same range. Quality over quantity for me! ALSO, it’s okay if it takes weeks or even months for a partner to reply, as I still will be interested even in their absence. I just need a heads up first.

If you don’t care for the roleplay anymore or lost your muse or something else, I would heavily appreciate it if you’d tell me before leaving. Communication is key.

Smut is a must, but don’t let that think that it will be the only thing happening in the roleplay. I LOVE narratively driven stories, and I write my replies as such (roleplaying multiple characters in a scene is second nature to me and I really don’t mind it, so don’t feel too pressured to mirror me there). For the plots I have in mind, most will have several story arcs, and usually an end goal, but this can all be talked about and discussed!

I prefer wacky AUs to canon divergence, as I love worldbuilding and seeing where everyone would fit inside it. Canon divergence isn’t completely off the table though; I just have a preference. I am in LOVE with the concept of cakeverse and I really want to add those types of elements into the rp, though!

OOC chatter is a MUST, though. I LOVE talking about the rp and how it’s going. I may even draw some stuff too if I’m enjoying it a lot (for some pairings here I will draw ideas/concepts if I think it will help get whatever point across). I want to make friends, not just roleplay like it’s a job.

Now, onto the pairings - highlighted characters are the ones I prefer to muse and italicized characters take higher priority than those that aren’t. If they are both highlighted, then I’m comfortable with either or (some of my top/bot dynamics are not fixed, but my dom/sub dynamics are, just a heads up).

Invincible

Mark Grayson x William Clockwell

•one of my favorite pairings. I’ve been playing around with the idea/AU of an evil/morally dark grey Mark who is a pure-blooded Viltrumite (Debbie is a Viltrumite here) arriving to Earth for the first time with Nolan and Debbie. He meets and saves William his first week on Earth and.. it goes from there.

Mark Grayson x ..Mark Grayson

•Selfcest is so, so good actually - Evil Mark x Good Mark! They get trapped in a dimension together thanks to Angstrom and have to find their way back to their own timelines, but not without fighting first, of course.

Invincible/The Boys

Omni-Man x Homelander

•Another favorite pairing of mine. I have a few plots in mind that are not canon divergent at all (mainly a space pirate au where Homelander is actively getting hunted for various crimes, but I also really like the idea of the two meeting in an MK1 tournament!), but again, everything can be discussed. All I ask for is that Homelander gets manipulated like hell 💖

The Boys

Homelander x Billy Butcher

•I’m still fairly new to this ship (and The Boys parings in general), but I really love their dynamic. There’s no set plot or ideas here, we can brainstorm something together. I would like Billy to be manhandled a little bit ✨

(MALE) Stormfront x Homelander

•Ok I will admit, this is pretty out of left field. I’m a show only, and I recently found out that Stormfront was originally a guy in the comics. I’m aware that the two medias are VERY different in story, but I’d like to combine bits and pieces of both of them into something weird and new, like this version of the ship, for example.

Cookie Run (Kingdom & Tower of Adventures)

Milk Cookie x Dark Choco Cookie

•This is probably one of the few times where I prefer standard yandere dynamics to knife romance or mutual yandere shenanigans. Milk Cookie being absolutely obsessed with and overprotective of his prince.. he’s chasing after him in the pancake tower, trying to reunite with him, maybe. (Also, I’ve been brainstorming a silly superhero au with them and how Dark Choco was once a hero turned evil due to corruption, and Milk is trying to save him/bring him back by any means necessary).

And that’s it! Very long winded of me, sorry about that. Either like this post and I’ll dm you, or just dm me! Ty~

.

[amazinglyegg]

hi! Following seeing some of your posts and the art by typosandtea, I was wondering what your lore/ hcs for Cutler are! I LOVE your design for him

also just came to say I think you’re awesome :) have a great day

Thank you so much!! Your headcanons on Cutler have been amazing as well, I'm so glad this character that gets like, two lines of dialogue about him is getting recognized by the fandom (as he DESERVES!)

Headcanons about Cutler

Cutler had his eyes on the cute scrap seller in Rivet City for a while, and their first real interaction was him trying to flirt.

Danse, being on the aroace spectrum (maybe demisexual?) and extremely oblivious, never realized this fact. He assumed Cutler was just trying to haggle for a lower price.

Cutler never bought anything though. Instead he would ask about the original uses of all the pre-war items Danse had in stock and watched as Danse's face lit up. He loved to listen to him ramble about things he was passionate about.

He asked Danse out for a meal one evening and Danse, hungry and poor, was happy with the free food. Danse never quite picked up on Cutler's crush, but Cutler took it in stride anyway - he was a very carefree guy who was perfectly fine with making a new friend.

Danse and Cutler were basically opposites. Cutler was always impulsive and chaotic, big golden retriever energy, and Danse was much more reserved and anxious when he was younger.

They balanced each other out well, Danse could reel Cutler's chaos in and Cutler taught Danse to loosen up a little. They got into trouble sometimes, but never anything too serious.

I also imagine Cutler to be a bit of a nomad. He had a sister at home he'd send mail to regularly, but other than that he was always moving and exploring the wasteland without a specific goal in mind, only staying at places for a few months at a time before moving on.

So of course he was hyped about the Brotherhood recruiting. Free food, clothing, shelter, and education! And once he got bored he'd just dip and find a new place to call home like he always has.

He probably would have left the Brotherhood long before his scouting op if it wasn't for Danse, honestly.

His opinion of Danse was a complicated one. Depsite not usually becoming attached to friends or lovers, he had this urge to keep Danse safe and watch him succeed in life. Danse was such a strange guy with such a complicated mind it was like watching a bug under a microscope... and his crush on him really didn't help.

By the time he realized just how deep of a hole he dug himself into it was too late to back out and go back to his nomad life. Not that he minded, he was more than happy following Danse to wherever he wanted to go.

At a certain point they both knew they loved each other, but nothing was ever said. It really wasn't important to either of them to label their relationship or have some sort of big admission of love. They just silently knew they'd be there for each other no matter what.

The last time they saw each other was when Cutler was leaving on his mission. He waved through the window of the vertibird and Danse, not wanting to break protocol, kept a steady salute and didn't wave back. They really thought they were going to see each other again.

As for physical features

Danse struggles with a bit of face blindness, so he tends to look for concrete features like hair, markings, or clothing to identify people. Cutler of course mirrored this perfectly by being very noticable in terms of appearance.

Blonde hair, green eyes. A burn scar going down his face and to his shoulder. Cheap jewelery with a fake gold chain necklace. And, despite how cold it probably was in rivet city, he always wore a white tank top. He was a very memorable guy and didn't change his outfits often!

When Cutler died he still had his dogtags and chains around his neck, almost tight enough it was constricting blood flow. This sticks with Danse for a long time and plays a bit into my fic Danse and Uncertainty where he gets all emotional seeing a feral with a sundress on. It reminds him that all these monsters were once human, and potentially once someone's friend.

I don't quite have a story in mind for his burn scar, but given how he spent a big chunk of his life moving around it's not surprising he had some scars. He was never self conscious of them and loved showing them off and telling the stories, even if he had to stretch the truth a bit to make them more interesting.

[ancientdreamkdj]

mootie we are not thriving tight now. advice on how to drag myself to study for just two months like im crazy (after effects and side effects don't matter)

Download finch. I found it a year ago when I was at my wits end on how to find the energy to do the things I had to do. What is finch?

It's a to do list, a digital pet app, and a meditation app altogether. You start off with an egg, and each goal you meet you get a little energy to help your baby bird grow. Each day, after getting enough energy, they talk to you, and depending on your answer, they develop personality points.

Once they become an adult, they can travel around the world and develop personality traits specific to the place. Mine is travelling through france and he discovered he... really likes croissants.

If it's hard looking forward to the future (for me it sure is), this app has suggested goals that are really achievable. On my struggle days, I add goals from the category "just survive the day", which has things like "get out of bed", "stand up for 10 seconds". Which isn't a big deal to others, but you pet celebrates and gets energy from these all the same. Like you do get energy from these. Once you find the basic things manageable, you'll get much more confidence to do big, hard things. Even if you have to break these big bad things into baby steps.

Sometimes existing is enough.

If you feel like can't do anything anymore, rest. If you're starting to do some things but feel like you're stepping in needles from agony, take some time each day to do a thing you love, and ask yourself "how can I change the way I view this (moment in life) from agony to a better feeling?" <- not sure about what this last one implies, It's a recent practice suggested by my therapist himself that I'm learning to figure out. It still gets me very much confused

But that's a sign I'm growing to become someone I haven't been before. You can't have improvement without change. So it's ok to struggle and feel a bit lost during the transformation, we can try to understand it together.

For me, I found that "a change in perspective" often means noticing what I am paying attention to and changing my mind's course if I pay attention to whatever that makes me feel worse and that I can ignore with desirable consequences (ignoring thoughts about how a class sucks and focusing on doodling in my notebook, if I'm not paying attention anyways = fine. I feel better after being creative and it recharges my mind. Ignoring a patient that needs urgent treatment = not ok. I need to be responsible even if it makes me feel anxious. The funny thing is, after I manage to get through a crisis like this, I feel better about myself, because I witnessed how strong I can be and how good I am in holding my ground and standing up for myself. Sometimes, doing the things that you don't want to do but need to do are like missions that make you level up — think of them as each having the purpose of making you build yourself to become OP)

All in all, it'll be painful either you you study (the pain of learning) or you don't study (the pain of ignorance). Pain is inevitable, but it is temporary. What will you have left, once it passes?

Also, you can either get through meaningless pain, or inbue it with meaning, when you have a purpose. I think it's better to get through a pain that has a meaning and purpose. It's not that life gives you lessons — life gives you situations. You're the one who can grab it by the throat (like yjh) and say "I am going to find something to learn from this, and I won't ever let you hurt me this way again". Or something. I don't know. I am figuring this out myself. But these are the things that work for me in the long term.

[maudiemoods]

First thing. I ADORE the setup your van has!!! Second thing. If someone was to consider living in one, what steps would they take? Based on your experience.

Alright hey ready for a long post because it took me three years to finally try this out

I recommend watching every video about living in a van that you can. Most glamorize it a bit and honestly, it can be really awesome!! But make sure you're also watching the ones that explain the cons!

Now, if you've watched all the videos you can and you still wanna try, here's what I did.

ONE!! Think of your goals! What do you want to do while living in a van? Travel? Stay close to home? Be able to cook and stand? Go off road? All these questions help answer the most important one of them all! What van should you get?

TWO!! get a van!! Or!! Research other vehicles you can live in! You can make anything work BUT not everything can fit all your specific needs! You could get a truck with a bed cover but that leaves you with very limited space! But!! It allows for better off roading for cool campsites! I've seen others use a Honda element! They get good gas mileage but also don't have a lot of space.

Picking a vehicle can be hard. The more you want in your van, the bigger you should get. There's huge caro vans you can even put a bathroom in! Or just a portable toilet! But that means you gotta deal with cleaning it and maintaining it. Also, those tend to cost a little more! Again, do tons of research and know what you want in your van but I also recommend keeping an open mind and being very flexible to different ideas. I changed my mind at least twenty times about how I wanted to do this!

THREE!! decide how much you want to do to your van build wise and how much money you want to spend on it! Some people go crazy and put wires and electric fridges in their van! And that's a good idea if you're looking for something super glam and long term! But again, pricey! I have battery powered string lights and a cooler and that's good enough for me!

The only building I did was the floor! And I did it very unprofessionally! I wish I had taken pictures but I didn't! I was too focused on getting it done! Building takes a lot of time and research. You should really aim for doing it the best way possible. I wanted to build my bed and cabinets but I ended not doing that after having so much trouble with the floor. I'm honestly surprised I haven't had any issues with it yet!

FOUR!! before starting any major pricey build, try it out first! Get an air mattress and go camp for a week! Go sleep in a parking lot! If you don't like it, you can always sell your van! Definitely make sure it's something you want to do!

FIVE!! ok, I know I've been all "make sure you really want to do this and be smart about how you do it" BUT also don't stress!!!! I stressed and procrastinated so much!! If it's something you want and you begin to start your project, go all in!! I think that if you learn all the cons and challenges and still want to do it then you'll probably love it! You can make as many accommodations for yourself as you want! That's the cool thing!! It's completely customizable and unique to yourself!! Best advice I can give is to not copy one person's build but to take inspiration from multiple. Find what you want and throw it in your van!

Sorry if this was all over the place! I'm not good at explaining these things through text! I could ramble on but I'd probably end up repeating myself. So in short! Research → buy van specific to your needs (you may have to compromise on a few things) → try it out as simple as possible → start your build (look up "no build van conversion" if you don't want to mess with anything like that) → have fun!

But really if you have a super specific question just ask because I literally spent YEARS procrastinating and researching this stuff

[clochanamarch]

" THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. " - Sherlock, Jimmy, Sebastian, and Carmo lmaoooo (or any number of them that feels right to you never any pressure ♥)

send in " THE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS. " and i'll answer the following questions in relation to aisling and your muse! ( ACCEPTING! )

( listen i went for all of them bc god won't let me do things in moderation, also ur muses are all too excellent to be ignored! )

SHERLOCK:

would she trust your muse to look after her children? so she would trust him in terms of keeping them alive but she's seen the inside of his fridge and she just decides that somehow the task of babysitting the kids is smth that needs sherlock to be with john. that said, the kids are all super excited to have sherlock looking after them!!! it's just that aisling worries that it's not something sherlock would appreciate!

would she name a dish in the diner after your muse? she would! (i'm so sorry, the best one i've come up with in the years of our friendship is the sher-lox holmes bagel--)

would she specifically introduce your muse to stanley and richard? she absolutely would, and stanley immediately decides that he's gonna have to find ways of sneakily adopting him bc "hey now u can't be going into your little mind castle without a good meal" and richard's just relieved to find someone to help him with his lifelong goal of solving the NYT crossword puzzle.

does she trust your muse enough to tell them about her past? i think sherlock would've figured a lot of it out long before the time came for her to decide to tell him, but she does eventually reveal what happened after seeing how he operates for so long. it's not even about solving the past, she knows what happened, she just wants him to understand her when it comes to certain things that might cause her to act strangely.

would she tell her children and the squad to trust your muse in an emergency? oh without a doubt!

would she give your muse a copy of the key to the apartment? yeah, but more specifically she also gives him the key to her closet so he can access files if she goes missing!

would she negotiate your muse's safety with the company (and would they grant that request)? she does negotiate it but the company already knows not to go after him bc they have no interest in getting involved with a man who has redefined thinking outside of the box in high intensity stressful situations.

would she tell your muse about the company? no, but i like to think that he's aware enough of their existence that she only omits her involvement with them, like he probably knows a lot about them already but she's content to play naive and not tell him how she knows them!

would she take your muse to ireland? sherlock is way too smart for it to stop him from finding out the truth, but she wouldn't volunteer to bring him there, even if it was to another county! she finds excuses not to go when he has business on the island, bc if she were to join him it would be a sort of catalyst in him finding out about her past.

would she tell your muse about eoin? i think she'd tell him a tiny bit! like "i was engaged once. he's gone now." but not actually clarifying how he died or what her involvement was. and it's just because sherlock is that brilliant that he'd figure out everything in the blink of an eye, yk? but if he ever brought it up more specifically, she'd come clean and probably give him some time and space to figure out if he wants to remain associated with her or if he'd rather cut ties.

JIMMY

would she trust your muse to look after her children? she would! and she also has the enthusiastic support of the kids to confirm that decision for her.

would she name a dish in the diner after your muse? she would! but it's a work in progress bc i gotta do some research and give him something better than the sherlox holmes bagel--

would she specifically introduce your muse to stanley and richard? she does but i love the idea that they already knew him from the bar! like she makes a big deal of introducing him to them over dinner and they're just thrilled that jimmy and aisling are becoming a thing bc they're some of their favorite people, yk?? stanley and richard shipped it long before any of us even KNEW--

does she trust your muse enough to tell them about her past? i think that in this case it's more like her relationship with jimmy is a special sacred space where her past isn't really given the room to unfold itself for him to see. so she doesn't tell him, not from lack of trust, but because she doesn't want to ruin what they have with the darkness of her history!

would she tell her children and the squad to trust your muse in an emergency? she absolutely would, but the context is slightly changed in that she would encourage them to hide in the bar until the coast was clear as opposed to putting him in a position of having to risk his safety. so it's more like "you can trust him to shelter you, he's never gonna betray you, but let's keep his hands clean."

would she give your muse a copy of the key to the apartment? she does! he's got it with a keychain with a selfie of them in the frame.

would she negotiate your muse's safety with the company (and would they grant that request)? she definitely warns them not to go near him, but it's only when they actually mention him in conversation, and even then he has a solid reputation in the local community so they're like. we're not going to physically harm him in any way bc it would come back around and hurt us in the long run if we did, but we're not taking him off our watchlist.

would she tell your muse about the company? only when she realizes they're keeping an eye on him, and she's very clear about who and what they are, but she's reluctant to explain how exactly it is that she's this knowledgeable of their existence and principles.

would she take your muse to ireland? sheeeee would! but not to the county she comes from, she'd bring him to galway or limerick, but not clare, just because her locals would give him a hearty helping of information on aisling and her past and the legacy she left behind her in ireland. the risk is a lot lower in the neighboring counties without the locals having a significantly different accent to her own.

would she tell your muse about eoin? after a very long time, and the same limited version of events that she shares with sherlock, but one day stanley tells him the full story after a date at the beach goes wrong and she can't bring herself to explain why she's reacting in the panicked way that she is.

SEBASTIAN

would she trust your muse to look after her children? she does, and the kids spend the first five babysitting experiences just figuring him out in their own unique ways. advik refuses to trust him until he learns his top five favorite animals and assigns him an animal reflective of his persona!

would she name a dish in the diner after your muse? the bashed burger is a fast and fond favorite, and the profits are all waiting for him in the thickest enveloped the diner has ever bore witness to. (it's a smashed burger but nobody will ever call it that, it's always the bashed burger--)

would she specifically introduce your muse to stanley and richard? she does, like she doesn't intend for it to happen when it does, but she does introduce him, and after a little warming-up they both agree that they trust him, particularly after seeing how aisling and the kids are around him.

does she trust your muse enough to tell them about her past? lbr he knows a significant chunk of it already, but after a while she does reveal what happened after they were separated and how those events are impacting the present and future for herself and ultimately him as well!

would she tell her children and the squad to trust your muse in an emergency? she would, but even if she hasn't, they know full well that they can rely on him in an emergency. i like to think that he proves himself in small and inconspicuous ways that add up to them agreeing that he's a good guy to trust when shit hits the fan. plus aisling knows he has the training to support their collective survival in a bad situation.

would she give your muse a copy of the key to the apartment? she would, but she presents it to him in a casual way so as not to scare him off, like "hey, you should have this. you know. just in case." bc she's not about to frighten him off just when they've finally been reunited!

would she negotiate your muse's safety with the company (and would they grant that request)? i feel like they reach out to her the second they connect the dots between his sudden presence in the diner and his connection to aisling, but it's less about threatening to hurt him and more about sizing up exactly how much of a threat he's about to become. like she definitely negotiates on his behalf, but they're not about to piss him off first!

would she tell your muse about the company? she would, and she does, and it's very much because of the fact that they're siblings and that the company already have a naturally invested interest in him. the idea that he might benefit from knowing about them and that he might accidentally fall into a trap by NOT knowing is enough to compel her to tell him.

would she take your muse to ireland? yes, but largely because it's a shared trauma and a shared legacy. she can't really shield him from a place that already dealt the damage to both of them.

would she tell your muse about eoin? this is one discussion that she actively refuses to tell him about, because he knows so much already and that vulnerability isn't smth she's prepared to expose herself to. BUT! i feel like he's gonna find out through the trip to ireland or through stanley and richard in extreme situations.

[inventors-fair]

Vehicle Commentary: Tinkering Around

Wow, I didn't expect almost thirty entries to this one. I probably should've gotten more commentary done while I was breaking down my week, but hey, no time like the present to get into writing about these vehicles. And vehicles are a weird bunch! They're more recent than a lot of things in Magic comparatively, but not so recent that they haven't been established as powerful cards. A little weirdness can go a long way; we've seen weird things done before, and the variety of ways that people interpreted that are much appreciated.

If there's any lesson this week, it's to keep in mind the power level of vehicles and how they function compared to other cards. I think some of these cards were a little more resource-intensive than were perhaps intended, and some that just didn't function in the way that vehicles WANT to function. What makes a good vehicle? Versatility and interaction with the board. The repeatable power level that can be slightly higher than a normal creature, but that comes with its own complexities. What are they? Well, why don't we find out.

JUDGE PICKS are cards that have a special aspect I'd like to showcase, or that just touched me in some manner I thought was worth pointing out. Let's get down to the showroom floor!

@bread-into-toast — Enigma Engine

I love the aspect where investigating wakes up the engine. It being a clue itself is also relevant, or at least it would be fine mechanically. As a common, it's reasonable that the power level of this card offensively would be not the absolute greatest, although if you can investigate consistently it would be more powerful. Ish. But again, having the clues lead the vehicle along makes sense here.

The question is, what is this a clue towards? The mystery of this machine and the ghosts is a pretty obvious reference, and like, I'm okay with that callback. It's not striking a particular sense of affinity but I know that it would matter for other people and that's all well and good. Beyond the reference, I question what the relevance to the world is. Spirits on Innistrad have evaded me a little bit in terms of, like, goals beyond being spooky, but that's on me. There's an inherent discrepancy between what it means to be scoobying and doobying around the town and what the flavor of this card is working towards.

~

@coolcoolcooltighttightight — Riveteers Bulldozer

New Capenna is the name of the city and not the plane, if I recall. Right? Ravnica being a plane-wide city is one thing, but I suppose it makes sense to have more "development" in other areas. I'm not sure that I jive with the dark comedy presented here. Displacement is a rough subject, and this feels almost...toony. Sometimes Magic can get away with that; here, I don't think the flavor and subject are hitting my funny bone.

Mechanically, though, it's fine. Razing the land and getting counters calls back to Gitrog archetypes, and with trample, this card is a rare that can get out of hand pretty quickly. I appreciate the commitment to the two-color combination, because I don't recall there being too many enemy-color specifics on Capenna, and they would've allowed for slightly more flexible deckbuilding, or perhaps new decks to emerge. One of my students managed a black/white deck when we drafted it, and that was awesome to see. What else could've been possible? Yeah, no, sturdy and powerful. Just missing the mark with flavor, IMO.

~

@corporalotherbear — Soulskipper

This is what I was talking about with the activations and abilities. This card could be a pretty awesome finisher, and even though there's no way to crew it, its requirements are easier to activate by jamming creatures in the late game and having an ability that's fairly easy to turn on. I feel that it would be easier to get yourself in a rough position than to get your opponents in that same jam unless you're a VERY aggressive deck. Still, hey, it's a cheap card, aggression can be its bread and butter.

It could be, anyway. I really don't know if I would ever play this card because of the chances that it would be just a weak topdeck, or that the activation would be bad in the late-game unless you can get a board presence. I guess getting a board presence wouldn't be too hard, though. Nontoken death is one of those things that we just have to have these days too. As an uncommon, it's reasonable that this card would fill some role in a vehicle deck. I still don't know if/when I'd pick it just because getting it high enough to be a powerful creature means a lot of things will have to have died. Y'know? How big does the Soulskipper get reasonable? Great name, by the way, love what you've done with that.

~

@dabudder — Omenpath Luggage

I feel that there's an intersection of "weird" and "silly" that people crossed wires with here, and sometimes, it ended up working out. The jury in my brain is deliberating on this one. I'm baffled by the implication that omenpaths are commonplace enough to have a thriving tourist market for them, because it makes sense in a pseudo-parodic capitalist critique way, but is that something that I'm actually down for? I really don't know if the concept and the content are meeting me halfway. Plus, motorized suitcases as a vehicle are already funny. That honestly could've carried the card.

As a card, though, I like this as a little aggro-treasure anywhere-in-the-game card. You can always use a few treasures, right? Souveniers turning into treasures are a funny enough image, and I do like the concept of the battlefield being its own kind of omenpath. There's nothing wrong with the stats or abilities here, and this is a fine red vehicle that's strong enough for its place in the pack. I like how you can sacrifice it through some XYZ ability even when it's not a creature, too, even though it's most likely gonna get combat'd.

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@demimonde-semigoddess — Oversize Loader (JUDGE PICK)

Forklift certification indeed. Yes, here we are, and this card is...one of the few that makes me chuckle with its flavor text. The card itself carries the joke, and that's honestly fine—it goes for one thing and does it well. Whether or not this would be something they'd put in a pack, I honestly doubt it, but the joke itself is worth it. If it had some different kind of reference, would the mechanics stand up? It's a good question, because those stats are nothing to laugh at.

What is the prevalence of pilots on New Capenna, world-wise or set-wise, or at least what could they be in a world where this kind of card would be printed? ... Sorry, I got distracted because the aspect of this card losing vigilance after being crewed by an uncertified creature made me laugh again. Look, folks: if you're gonna do a funny card, this is the way to commit. That's why I had to make this a last-minute judge pick. Sounds good? Alright, moving on. This card's a little too silly to be serious but it wants to be nothing else so who am I to tell it what to do. Making me actually laugh with these things ain't easy.

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@dimestoretajic — Well-Waxed Plank (JUDGE PICK)

Making me sorta nostalgic for the era of EA putting out good sports games isn't easy either. The fact that this can be a snowboard or surfboard brings to mind the equipment vs. vehicle debates that unicycles had, except almost more so. Let's back up for a second. While I like this card a lot, this probably shouldn't be common except in a Horizonsesque set (and even then). What kind of world would want this card, y'know? Snow lands would have to be relevant, and it's a slightly aggressive card that's looking for Islands as a possibility. It's got a lot of text comparatively, and vehicles are already on the higher end of complexity because of a natural activated ability.

And yet I think this falls into the "weird" category of vehicles as a perfect little reference. Am I still nostalgic? Yes, and this one plays to the judge a little bit. Can anyone deny that the idea is still cool? Magic has never ventured into that kind of territory before, not really. Tony Hawk's Pro Tour, y'know? I think I'm losing the plot a little bit. It's not impossible to have this be somewhere in a Magic world; surfboards are just one of those things, maybe snowboards less so, and vehicles are still part of the game in an inherently modern sense, so. I think I just feel compelled to defend a non-engine uniquely cool card.

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@hanavesinauttija — Darksteel Dragster

Which plane, out of the planes that we currently know, would have something akin to a DMV? My vote is actually for Ravnica and the Azorius. Crumple zones... Alright, look. I would love to spend the next half an hour in another tab looking up the history of crumple zones and crash testing for vehicles, but I don't have that kind of time and I'm already behind on commentary. Curse you! I'll figure it later, but regardless, the flavor text is almost pithy but funny enough to make me wave it away. Funny that this is the second card so far that I've noticed that has omenpaths as a major factor.

This is actually a pretty dark card, yeesh. Blood on the windshield is... Yeah, maybe there could be another way to show this without depicting a fatal car accident, but the vibe is there. Having it be able to be crewed by an indestructible creature would be fun, too, wouldn't it? I digress, though. Darksteel is a strange material. Would inhabitants of Mirrodin not keep things like that in mind? Let's back up, AGAIN-again. Mechanically, this is a heck of a rare, and I do like it, because of how it could take over games if you have the creatures to make it happen and are willing to let it go. Being chump-blocked would be fun for you too. Perhaps I'd have made it a 5/2, just for that little extra kick of possible toughness to keep your creatures around. The reference makes sense, though, so I feel that.

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@helloijustreadyourpost — Pedal-Powered Assault Copter

Ah, but it's always gonna stop. This is a silly card and I appreciate it immensely. The world for it would possibly be... I actually would like to take a few guesses from other folks. It would have to be a world that's got somewhat of a silly bend, or at least a place for that levity. Is this possibly powered by goblins? Or maybe kids with a knack for invention? How advanced technologically would it have to be? I have the feeling that this card eschews these questions in favor of the joke that comes with the card, and you know what, it's not a laugh-out-loud humor, but it's well-constructed. Unlike this vehicle's propulsion system.

The manner in which this card brings the idea into the physical world of exerting creatures is both funny and thoughtful. You have a powerful flying creature, but you have to more seriously think about your resources in order to use it. Totally fair! You have this cobbled vehicle that an inventor of sorts made that tires people out because of its inefficient system. Also very fair! And the flavor text is the kind of concise, well-written aside that I want to say is just where it should be. Really, if there's any major critique, it's that this card's self-awareness makes it hard to gel for me in Magic's multiverse. The elements are almost there but not quite in a way that makes me able to place it.

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@horsecrash — Skaberen Skiff

This card is one that I'm certain could have been an uncommon and without the kicker keyword. Is it good? Well, yeah, absolutely. In the early game you have a decently strong vehicle, and in the later game you have a cheap powerful creature for blue that uses blue's strengths. I'm comparing this to something like Meldweb Strider, though, and while that's a case of needing to have those environmental resources, this card isn't as far off from that power level.

Flavorfully, though, this is the SECOND seafaring vessel in this contest that happens to be partially made of corpses, which is... Well, two nickels is two nickels, put those over someone's eyes and move on. It's delightfully Innistradian, because of course someone is going to make a zombie boat. This card really is fine conceptually, and the living metal counter is one we'll see later that's a delightful case of me remembering a mechanic I'd forgotten about that people have used in awesome ways. Downing the rarity to uncommon and having this just be an ETB trigger would've made this one a wee bit more focused, I think. Interesting that you also used the Phyrexian callback; it makes sense to have the "living" and "metal" parts come together. Good choice.

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@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes — Possessed Carriage

The choice to make this a common is interesting. Could it be? I honestly wonder... You know what, I can see the argument. Sometimes you just need an anti-human card and this one fits the bill. It's not so powerful as to be unbeatable, and it's a specific situation where you're probably going to have a couple in the sideboard in a draft deck. Innistrad is full of non-humans as well, right? Maybe in too many numbers it would be too powerful, and spirit tokens would make this easier than not, but U/W Spirits with ground blockers could use this for annoying big humans. Hm. It's a heck of a question.

The other heck of the question is how aware you are that there was a Runaway Carriage in Shadows Over Innistrad, heh. There have been more than a few carriages in that world over time, and this one feels like we're almost kinda treading old ground but with a different mechanical bend. And the uniqueness of this is fine! I don't think we needed the flavor text with this much text on it, though, and the art direction is specific enough that you can fit everything into one frame and it would be fine. This card's not bad, y'know? It's a bit hindered by its predecessors and is beholden to Innistrad's past possessed carriages, though—plus the human-density of Innistrad. There are a lot of things to hit!

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@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Roaring Motor-Hunter (JUDGE PICK)

What the heck is going on here. Is this a world of living vehicles vaguely shaped like animals that hunt and eat each other in a grotesque bastardization of the natural order? Where cars hunt motorcycles? Unless there is a whole other world in which this happens, I'm baffled, impressed, humored, and totally lost. This is such a wholly weird take on this prompt and while I would never imagine this being a viable place for Magic to go, I'm down for the concept from just an imagination perspective. You've kinda won this contest in that right.

The card itself is standard enough that it's simply Really Good in every sense. There was a similarly-costed card earlier that had a similar feeling of goodness, yeah? Well! With this card, the text broth (as opposed to the denser keyword soup) is easily grokable, the power level is on point, and there we have it. This card's still weird, don't get me wrong, I want to emphasize that you've situated this card in a way that it's absolutely weird—but damn if it ain't done right. Fantastic flavor text as well, top-notch. Makes me want to do another flavor-text-kinda contest now.

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@phyrexiandreadthot — The Pan-District Express

Any official guild could agree on it, anyway. I kept my eyes on this card and I have to say, it's honestly really neat and one of those cards that would be close to print. They've printed some cards in this vein, but this ability is unique enough that either it's a surprise they haven't printed it OR there's a card with a similar-ish ability that I just can't remember for some reason. Brago's the closest my brain can conjure and that's not remotely the same.

The fun part is how you can return things untapped after they've crewed this creature, and that incentivises a different kind of blocking for this card as an attacker, but also you can just get value from random ETBs which is totally fine as well. I believe the "Crew 1" would go underneath the trigger, and that the trigger should say "up to one target creature that crewed it this turn," but that's about all I got. One has to wonder, though, if the Gruul or even Selesnya would be okay with this sort of thing. Gruul is obvious, but would the Selesnyans allow trains out of their secret places? Hm...

Azorius would be enforcing some strict timetables and make sure everyone gets there on time. Dimir would use the trains as places to vanish, probably, for a quick getaway. The Rakdos would be causing some nasty explosions, but train stations make good places for show adverts. Gruul is opposed to these things coming near their wild places. Selesnya, like I said, are cool with the transport but easy come, easy go. Orzhov fares are going to be wildly hiked. The Golgari will be excellent at an under-city transport system. Simic mages will mostly complain that they can't bring their pets (an Indrik-ostrich acid-blooded dinosaur) on board. The Izzet build trains faster than the speed of Anything. The Boros... Well, they have Skyknights.

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@railway-covidae — Mizzium Weirdwagon

I do like the twist you used for the Nivmagus effect, and that changes this card into one that almost makes Izzet vehicles into something; the ones from War of the Spark left a lot to be disappointed about. I think, unfortunately, that the Treasure creation as you've intended is a little harder to make happen. Because, like, you'd have wanted it to look at the wagon before it got the counters, right? And that's...just not viable, I don't think, not in a way that groks well. Or if you meant that that spell would make Treasures if it had greater power AFTER the counters, I get that, but the wording is weird.

Weird, weird indeed. I do like this card and I think I grok it! It might have been easier to consolidate the kind of variables that would've made it read better. Also, I'm curious what this card is depicting precisely. Is this just a wagon full of weirds? A wagon shaped like weirds? A wagon that happens to be propelled or created by weirds? I love weirds, and, well, I just kinda realized that I named this contest in the tags in that manner, so that's fun. But regardless. Great concept, but I'm not sure what that middle part is doing, and would have loved to know what you visualized.

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@reaperfromtheabyss — Saddled Boulder (JUDGE PICK)

This card, on the other hand, is remarkably easy to visualize for a number of reasons. As a vehicle, it's on the defining side where it's almost like belief that it IS a vehicle blocks out any semantic arguments against it. This is the kind of in-Magic humor that's both expected and welcome, and I'm all for it, honestly. Goblins are my favorite little guys, not just when they're there and they look funny, but when they're actively trying. We'll slip back into the comfortable shoes of little gremlins because look, it's a rock! I grok the rock.

The question then becomes what this does for Goblins that changes the formula. Goblins are usually expendable go-wide cards, but this is a single big trampler. Honestly, in the mirror match this would be a pretty funny card, and additionally, it forces the biggest-butt blockers to have to deal with this before it gets out of hand, and then next turn it opens up the swinging path. You do have to tap all your goblins, but weren't you going to do that anyway? I actually really like how this card plays with expectations of play style. Having a trampling-haster ain't so bad in any archetype, but Goblins make it that much more interesting. I really like this one the more I think about it.

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@sparkyyoungupstart — Floodburst Rescuer

This one's a curious one. Fire rescue in New Capenna is something I hadn't really thought about, but we'll get back to that after the mechanics. The question is why an artifact is being a color-hoser effect, and it's an interesting case where this card could've been blue or white, but isn't. Why is that? Having vigilance and reach are both very cool (rescue + ladder), so that groks. Saving one of your creatures from a red effect and/or allowing it to bring through an attacker into the red zone (anti-red zone?) is fair. Why NOT make it colored, though? I don't know if contemporary sensibilities would want that to happen.

They would appreciate the flavor and ability combinations, though. It brings together the realities of how these city operations would be represented on cards in a way that's not just big smashy tank-like things. You've lost me with the flavor text, though. It's supposed to be funny, and the visual is still funny if you don't think about the reality that the card's built, but it's lacking in the verisimilitude that the rest of the card is trying to emulate—and it's kinda obviously a joke, which is fine in some spheres, but it's not even trying to hide. Maybe it's worth a guffaw, but we take ourselves deadly seriously here at the Fair. No humor allowed. No laughter. ... I'd say that that's a joke, but now I don't know if I'm allowed to.

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@spooky-bard — Ramshackle Junk-Bike (JUDGE PICK)

This is a card that does its best to revel in verisimilitude, on the other hand. Would you believe that I was just reading up on rickshaws? This is only tangential, but you have this quick-and-easy transport system, and then hey, the bike comes through. I think that this card is asking for a lot to make itself happen mechanically. It's big, though, and I gotta wonder how much size matters. What kind of situation would allow for you to sacrifice a lot of artifacts? With Oni-Cult Anvil, this card becomes such a pain in the butt. I'm obviously limiting myself to Neon Dynasty cards. Maybe that's the wrong mindset, but this fits the bill.

You gotta let things fall apart sometimes, or you can continuously build onto the bike in order to keep it running. Greasefang knows this, yeah? She's seen the streets of Kamigawa, she's a biker rat, she's down and dirty and a rat of the people, as it were. This card is oddly poignant and I'm not sure what to make of that! Sheesh. In Magic, the downtrodden masses aren't represented in the same way as the powerful warriors. There are the mechs, and then there are the junk-bikes. And that representation is... I dunno, I'm not sure what to feel, but I feel something. Isn't that worth it in the end? How many cards can do this? Would it be okay to have a set where every single card has some implication of struggle, triumph, vulnerability, humanity? ... Maybe I've been writing too long. We're in the brain-mushy philosophy stage.

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@squeezyboi — Snowplow

This card is SILLY and makes me MAD. Mad as in crazy. Crazy about snowplowing, that is! But yeah I don't think this card would ever see the light of day and that's alright because it's, again, genuinely funny. You push the snow over to an opponent, and now you can plow your way to victory. As they say. Hm. Look, I won't wax too much flavorfully, but again, I wonder where on earth you'd see this card, and by Earth I mean the multiverse. Ravnica in the winter? Kaladesh's mountainous region? I can't imagine it, and sometimes that's still fun. Compared to the cards that strike the balance of reality, it makes me cross my arms and go "pffft," but it's not trying to be a world-based card.

Instead, it's trying to push snow somewhere. If you're running snow lands, then all the more power to you. This card being unblockable at the expense of a one-turn land-drawback means you're giving up resources for resources and I don't think it's entirely worth it. Drawing two cards, maybe, but even then. Pushing things around is fun! Giving up your lands is such a drawback in any format except for the most focused tryhard combo decks that lose to other tryharder combo decks, as well as everything else. It's a one-turn fun-turn card but does it do anything? If you've ever been mana-screwed in limited, you already know the answer to that.

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@stupidstupidratcreatures — Containment Caboose

Every time you want to make this card powerful, you have to give up a three-power creature to do so. After a certain point, that just becomes untenable, right? How many of those creatures do you have in your deck? What kind of construction means that you have the ability to give those up? Relying on them to power the caboose means that in the end you'll probably run out of creatures to fuel it; eventually you'll be stuck with a very powerful blocker that gets rid of all your other blockers. However, I can see the argument for this card eventually being so big that it HAS to be blocked; if it just doesn't get blocked, though, your opponents can swing in, because you'll have to spend your blocking resources on cards that'll crew the Caboose.

Is this card cool conceptually? Yes, absolutely, and there's a back-and-forth to be argued where this card could play alright. I currently don't see a way forward for that and it's hard to really find a middle ground as it is. But, there are options for getting your own creatures back, perhaps, or making the power of the Caboose's other effects make that exile worthwhile. I dunno, however you do that is up to you, but I wouldn't have this in a mythic slot. A risky rare, perhaps, but not a mythic. I love having a beefy train. This execution is complex and ultimately hard to balance. Props for making me think, though, because I want this KIND of effect to work and play well.

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@tavi-en-astra — Marching Market

I'm glad I caught the little "R" in the corner, because I was gonna say, that's a heck of a complex common you got there. Anyway! There's the situation where you have to have some kind of discard to make it animate, and you get extra discard through combat damage, but that discard doesn't re-animate the market, so how do you get it going in the first place? It's an odd card that feels like it should have you do something for the discard, and then the discard allows for optional animation, but the effects are reversed, kind of, and I don't grok how to get this card going.

As a flavorful card, and as a land, you have quite an interesting combination. Nobody else did a land, and the way that you've made it flavored makes sense! It could've been just an artifact, and yet, here we are—the markets can go either way. What does that do mechanically? That's another question I'm not sure the card answers: why a land besides the flavor? Maybe in the right environment, I can see how the discarding would be a little better. Without that context, you can see how we're a little bit lost here. The heart is in the right place—how can the gameplay lead to a more intuitive conclusion for how this card works overall?

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@wifeswarmacademy — Goblin War Balloon

I kinda already imagined this card looking like a toad even without the art description, not gonna lie. So everything already makes sense! I think that the throwback cards are appreciated, and even though this contest could've wanted a future-adjacent idea, I do appreciate the way this card flies into our hearts. Goblins finally finagled something that could be used in warfare that honors their ancestors. I wonder what a patchwork toad would look like, if the goblins have any sense of aesthetics in that sense.

I also wonder if this card's a little too powerful, actually. You can sacrifice some pretty big stuff and then swing in for four, and with big enough creatures you can just have a flier that takes out other fliers or offers trades with immense flexibility. Perhaps this could be a 3/3 rare, genuinely. Plus, it's a blocking death as well—so many ways to deal massive amounts of damage. Am I being too paranoid about this? "Any target" is nastier than it may seem, genuinely. Toning down the power level in some ways on a flying body would be a safer bet.

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@wildcardgamez — Nazukai, Enigma Engine

And we're bookending this contest with cards that have "Enigma Engine." Why can't I hold all these nickles?! It's such a good name chunk, though. Where did it come from? I actually designed an example with "Enigma" in the name, too, but we didn't post examples this week, so there you go. Anyway—this card. I feel this is another case where "Until end of turn, Nazukai gains your choice of..." would be more intuitive than what we've got right now.

That said, it's pretty darn powerful. It's a shame that the pilots are required. I get it, though, flavorfully, kind of. Does it really make the gameplay better if it's a more-or-less useless card without a pilot? Vehicles are already borderline useless without other creatures on board; what's the ratio of vehicles to other cards that you'd want in a deck, really? I'm still not sure. We're not quite there, though, or at least I don't believe so—I mean not at the point where this card is fully viable/polished. There's gotta be a way to ensure that it can DO something, because what good is the slot? However that would happen is up to you. If you wanna keep the pilot restriction, ask what this card could do to have a presence on the battlefield when pilots are in short supply.

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We're all out of gas for this week. Tune in soon! @abelzumi

[romanromulus]

hey!! I just wanted to say that I absolutely love your works. Something about your style is so smooth, and enrapturing to the reader! I was wondering if you could share any tips on how you write?

you don’t have to, of course. But i’d love to hear any advice that comes from you.

this says it better than I ever could, with special emphasis placed on this bit:

thank you so much for your kind words @dracularus! I don’t really feel qualified to give advice, but since you asked, I’m happy to share what I’ve learned/address your ask in a little more detail below!

this is incredibly long-winded which is why I stuck it under a read more, but I hope you at least find it interesting to read even if it’s not super helpful!

Disclaimer: I am completely self-taught and I’ve never taken a single writing course or had my work formally critiqued! (I probably never will, either, but that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms)

okay, you asked how I write, by which maybe you meant my process (?), but I want to first touch on a more literal interpretation of how (which relates to the “mind’s ear” that Le Guin talks about). so I’m not particularly visual when I write—that is, I’m not “picturing” anything; almost every good paragraph I’ve ever penned was dictated by a clear “voice” in my head.

(when I listen to music, I do have highly visual, movie-like daydreams that help me ‘storyboard’ fics or original works, but I consider this part of the planning stage and rarely summon up those images when sitting down to do the actual writing. the voice brings the scene to life, not the picture.)

anyway, to address the question of how—the storytelling voice in my head springs from a rhythm I’ve picked up while reading.

for context, I’m very selective with the books I read. very selective. I don’t read “for fun” (though I very much enjoy everything I read!), I read as homework. I truly believe that the quality of your output depends on the quality of your input. if you only read colleen hoover, you’re going to write like colleen hoover and you’ll never progress past her skill level (though if this is your goal, godspeed my friend!).

anyway, what I look for in the things I read are books where the rhythm, the current, the melody of the prose grabs me and carries me seamlessly from the first word to the second, to the third, the fourth, the next sentence, the next paragraph, the next page, the next chapter—and then suddenly the book is finished and I sit up and blink like I was just released from a spell. I only read skilled prose like this because, after I’ve been reading for a while, I get a feel for the rhythm of the prose and the voice in my head tries to match the melody. in this way I borrow momentum and receive a charge that helps my own melody flow out.

when I first started writing, most of what I wrote was in someone else’s voice, usually whoever I was reading at the time (like I was doing an exercise along the lines of: write a fanfic in (insert author’s name here)’s style). this is a very common practice among novice writers and I still sometimes do it today. over time I’ve begun to develop more of my own distinctive voice, but I’m not all the way there. sometimes my voice grows faint or I lose access to it as my creative spark wanes and then I have to step into someone else’s current again and write in their voice. that’s how I write—by reading. this is also how I account for the smoothness you mentioned—I’m following a rhythm I can hear with my mind’s ear.

in terms of more tangible advice, my main piece of advice would be to figure out what your specific goal is when it comes to bettering your writing and then focus exclusively on that goal and pursue it relentlessly. it’s pretty clear that I care about melodic prose above everything else, and because you specifically mentioned smoothness + a feeling of being enraptured, I’m going to assume that those are qualities that matter to you, too—so, to tie it all together:

read shit that inspires you and try to copy it. figure out why it inspires you. if there’s a paragraph that you think is cool or is using a technique you like, try to write your own version of it. one of my little ficlets (breaking point of the average pilgrim) was an exercise in trying to capture the specific vibes of a chapter opening in the sound and the fury. if, while you’re reading, you stumble upon a word or a phrase that has resonance, pause and use it as a jumping off point and scribble something down. if you like my writing, borrow my voice! it’s yours, find its rhythm and let it tell you stories until your own voice rises to overtake it. if you can already ‘hear’ your own voice (awesome, congrats!), then let it keep murmuring and try to note down every word it says without self-censoring. your voice needs to know it can be good or bad and, either way, you’ll still listen and take it seriously. once your voice knows it’s going to be heard, it will take you where you want to go!

[poisedpen]

✒ Planning...for the Neurodivergent!

I think that for most people the term "planning" conjures pictures of perfectly executed layouts and neat, tidy handwriting. While these things are certainly impressive, sometimes it feels like it prioritizes style over function. Journaling, and by extension, planning, does NOT have to be expensive, time consuming, or perfect.

When I first started dipping my toes into the community a few years ago, I got probably two weeks into a proper “bullet journal” before I gave up. My ink smudged, my stickers peeled, and I found that spending hours making the perfect layout was sucking away my limited time.

As a newly diagnosed and treated ADHD-er, I have found some success in a printed planner. All the months, weeks, and days are already laid out for me, and I have the time at work to fill out everything I need.

But what about someone who doesn’t have the luxury of down time at work? What about someone who gets overwhelmed just THINKING about all of the long-term projects and obligations they have on a day-to-day basis? A chronic procrastinator? Someone whose phone’s to-do list is just BURSTING with tasks, but there’s no prioritization?

Introducing…the pocket notebook!

The main objective of this is to find a pocket notebook that is portable, slim, and enjoyable to write on. Field Notes are quite popular among the stationery crowd, but they’re also on the pricey side for only 48 pages. If you have the money and you enjoy them, go for it! But there could very well be something just as perfect for you waiting at the dollar store.

Yeah, it’s small, and therefore may not be the most comfortable thing to write in. However, it’s not truly meant to be a full-blown journal. No– instead of shoving it into an endless to-do list or note on your phone…you are making your idea tangible.

Your phone, and by extension all of its notifications and applications and features, is designed to distract you. By removing all of that and placing a simple, analog tool in front of you…it is, in theory, easier to focus on what matters.

Think of a cool story idea at work? Jot it down. Remember something you need to do on the way home? Birthdays? Events? Goals? Jot it down. There are no rules. If it's important to you, keep it.

The pocket notebook isn’t really intended to be a super-organized or coherent space for your thoughts. It’s a catch-all for things that might slip your mind later. Then, when you get a chance to rest at the end of your day, you can look back and transfer that idea to something a little more organized. This can be a more structured planner, a journal, a story document, a discord chat, etc.

But hey…maybe that’s still not your cup of tea. You don’t have the time to sit down and reflect on your day. You don’t want to have to organize everything into neat little boxes. It’s just a concept at this point, but…I might have something for you.

✒ MY PSEUDO-PLANNER METHOD

This is in part adapted from other methods I’ve seen people use, but specifically made with my partner’s struggles in mind. He has been using his phone’s default to-do list to write down tasks, but by doing so other things get pushed to the bottom. There’s no real way to “prioritize” them, and after years of using this system there were simply so many that he didn’t know where to start.

So, after a little bit of nudging, I had my partner write down every single thing in his phone’s notes and to-do list in the front of his pocket notebook. Since he struggles with prioritization, I went ahead and did the following steps for him. (If you struggle with this and have a friend, partner, or family member willing to do the same thing, definitely use them as a resource!)

✒ STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS

I chose three things my partner NEEDED to get done before a certain deadline (In this case, seeing his parents for Thanksgiving).

I transferred them to a clean page and wrote the due date at the top.

I crossed those tasks off of the task masterlist.

I “sealed” his task masterlist with a piece of washi tape (masking/painters tape also works great!)

I left space at the bottom of the page for additional notes he may think of throughout the week.

For many neurodivergent people, seeing a HUGE LIST OF THINGS YOU NEED TO DO is the single most discouraging thing ever. By removing the list of things from normal view, I’m relying on the theory of “out of sight, out of mind”. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t still get those things done! It’s more about tricking your brain into only thinking about the most important things you have to do in that time period. And then...getting the satisfaction of crossing them out once they're complete.

I have actually been using a method quite similar to this for my full planner. I tape folded half-pages full of long term goals, purchases, and other lists to my monthly page so that I can go back and reference them when I feel up for a new task. By keeping them hidden from my regular view it helps me feel less anxious about ALL THE THINGS I WANT TO ACHIEVE and I can instead focus on the short-term necessities.

(Please excuse my mess...I'm moving into a Hobonichi Cousin for 2024, and figuring out my process in this cheap planner in the meantime!)

✒ OTHER TIPS

Pick a notebook you like! Paper smoothness, paper thickness, size, lined, dotted, gridded, etc.

Use a writing utensil you enjoy! Rollerball, fountain pen, sharpies, pencil, whatever!

Think of it as a sensory experience when it comes to the above. If you enjoy the act of it, you’re more likely to do it!

If you are able to carry around two differently-colored pens, use one to underline/add contrast for readability.

Use a paperclip to keep your place.

If you have it available, use sticky notes for tentative plans that aren’t set in stone yet.

You ARE allowed to tear pages out, cut them, modify the cover, etc. NO RULES! It's your spce.

You can prevent bleedthrough to other pages by keeping a thin, paper-sized object behind your page. (Like shitajiki/pencil boards)

✒ CONCLUSION

The main point behind EVERYTHING I’ve written here is that digital tools aren’t for everyone. Notion, Obsidian, Trello, etc. are great resources, and there are many people who have great success when using them. However, I am sure there are many other people like my partner and I who have developed a kind of “clutter blindness” to things that aren’t immediately in front of them.

You aren’t stupid for needing things broken down into exact, detailed steps. You aren’t inherently irresponsible because you miss deadlines or misplace important information. You need accessibility. The world may not be built for people like us, but there are so many ways you can learn to help yourself achieve your goals

(Please feel free to add your ideas and modifications to this post! I'd love to see what your methods are-- perhaps they might help me, as well!)

[notesbyash]

Hello, there. I don’t know if you answer asks like this, but, please, feel free to ignore it if you don’t. So, I was wondering if you had any tips on how to study efficiently? I keep seeing people (myself included) getting long hours of studying and I just feel it’s not healthy in the long term. What are your thoughts on this matter, though? Would you mind sharing?

Hello anon - I do my best to answer asks, I'm just slow in getting around to them most of time~

Have been turning that question around in my head myself actually, the idea of studying more efficiently. A while back I made this post of practical things that helped me out in undergrad. I think they still hold true, but it also speaks to where I was in that point in life, spinning my wheels and constantly behind deadlines. Not that I'm not still now, but I'm doing my best to stay ahead (though I also have the luxury of fewer classes and some understanding advisors).

I think the things I struggle with the most, and frankly always have, are motivation and balance. At the end of the day, persistence and resolve are more important than personal motivation when it comes to studying; I have a routine and a set place to study, and remain relatively strict with myself about not allowing anything but work when I'm there. But I find that without at least some kind of positive motivation it becomes incredibly difficult to avoid burnout. It seems easier to find that motivation in graduate school; you're allowed to specialize and dive into your interests much more than in undergrad just by virtue of the way it's structured. However, with my program specifically, I'm still forced to take courses that have seemingly no relevance with what I actually want to be doing.

What has helped me maintain some motivation through them has, strangely enough, been customization. Ways to connect with myself and things I love despite having to study topics that I may find tiring to parse. I've personally always had a fascination with 60s era technical reports and documentation, the aesthetic collision of analogue devices and early computers - the world built in Remedy's 2019 video game Control fit me perfectly and has been incredibly influential in my life. I've developed a filing and notation system that replicates the lore collectibles in game; I format my class notes and homeworks as internal memos written to document and summarize technical discoveries, turn my projects into experimental reports. Little things, simple changes, that bring me a little more joy when trudging through confusing material.

This rolls into my next point: balance. The moment I lose myself to just the work is the moment the burnout begins. I'm the type of person to live and breathe what I do in some senses, but instead of letting my interests consume me I've sought to infuse myself into my interests. To cultivate joy in tedium. I've found it important to hold onto yourself outside of academics, to indulge in personal interests even if it feels like a waste of time in the moment. To make those indulgences regular, noting that regularity and frequency aren't always the same thing. A morning cup of tea, a favorite writing pen, a bit of time on a weekend spent watching a show or visiting a local park. Something where you can breathe and truly let yourself rest.

And then, as ever, remember your goal, strengthen your resolve, and move forward from a place of hope and personal fulfillment as best you can.

It's not easy, it really isn't, but I believe in you. Be kind to yourself anon, and don't undercut your own achievements - the little things matter, perhaps the most of all.

[a-pale-azure-moon]

Random TotK Thoughts #2

I've gotten a bit further, having completed one regional phenomenon, found a few more dragon's tears, and done some sidequests and exploring. I am having so much fun!!!

Specific things under the cut just to be safe.

-Something I forgot to mention in the first post, but how awesome is it that your horses carry over? I love that the devs included this little bonus. I spent so much time catching horses in BotW just for fun, so it's extra nice having all of my favorite ponies around for another tour of Hyrule.

-Where did Zelda find that gold horse though? How does a gold horse even exist in the first place? It even looks metallic with the way light refracts off of its coat. Bizarre. xD

-Penn's "Soar Long!" is the best/worst catchphrase ever.

-The journey up to the Wind Temple was great. Just climbing higher and higher, using the islands as "stairs" to reach the eye of the storm. I can't say I was very impressed with the dungeon itself though; it's an improvement over the Divine Beasts in terms of design, as it feels like it has its own identity rather than just repeating the same aesthetic as the shrines, but the puzzles and layout were very basic and once again, the goal was to activate five things. It's still a downgrade from a more traditional Zelda dungeon.

-I did like having to fuse a giant icicle to a broken handle though. That was a neat idea. And the Colgera boss fight was good and very fun, if a bit easy. I'd rate the whole sequence as like, a B overall, i.e. good but still has room for improvement.

-Tulin is cute as heck and his skill is useful. His headshots are even more useful (except when the enemy falls off an edge and I lose the drops, which has happened a lot). I've still found myself missing Revali's Gale a little though. :/

-I killed my first Frox in the depths on my mission to get Autobuild. It was almost completely dark since I hadn't found the next Lightroot, so it took me a minute to notice the ore deposits on its back. I kept shooting its eye and wondering why it was barely doing any damage, lol.

-Imagine my surprise when I ran into a Yiga down there, and then when Kogha showed up. I like how this is a "logical" way for him to have survived his confrontation with Link back in BotW. And that he's still an idiot who's easy to beat.

-Did Link just give Zelda his house in Hateno? (Also, I appreciate that the photo from the Champion's Ballad is still on the wall. Another nice little continuity touch.) Interesting though that the table is set for two but there's only one bed....

-After I visited Robbie at the lab and got the shrine sensor (finally), whom did I see casually flying by but Naydra! And man....I'm so psyched that you can actually land on the dragons now. I hitched a ride on her for quite awhile, and it helped me reach a couple of towers and scout for some other points of interest. And I harvested a few of her parts too, of course.

-I was surprised to discover that she goes into the depths (I assume Farosh and Dinraal do as well). I almost fell off when she started diving and then I realized we were entering a chasm. Neat!

-Also, I love how her body undulates as she flies, and she makes this soft purring/growling sound too. It's the little details like this that make the game world feel so real and immersive.

-Knowing now that Mineru tinkered with the Purah Pad in the distant past, I'm getting a headache trying to figure out if Sheikah technology derived from Zonai technology, or if it's actually the other way around because of time travel shenanigans.

-Also, you can't tell me that Zelda, the massive history nerd, didn't take at least one selfie with her great-great-great-great (etc) grandparents and many, many pictures of ancient architecture and technology while she was in the past. Somewhere on the Purah Pad is a hidden file filled with hundreds of photos that she took. Change my mind!

-I have a mighty need to know how Rauru and Sonia met and what their courtship was like. This two second interaction in Memory #2 begs for elaboration.

(She hit him with a closed fist! The look he gives her just sends me, and then he rubs the spot afterwards like it bruised.)

-I like how Sonia's reaction to Zelda is basically, "I'm taking her home with me and adopting her."

-I'll confess to my idiocy that I didn't immediately notice that Rauru has three eyes; I thought its lid and lashes were part of his facial markings (tattoos?) until I looked more closely. Does he keep it closed by choice or does it only open as a reflex in certain situations? I'm guessing the latter since Mineru's third eye is closed as well.

-It's funny to me that he literally has hair down to his heels and his sister's hair is cropped so short it's almost unnoticeable under her ears and visor. xD

-Also, bless the animators for actually using Rauru's magnificent ears to show some of his emotions. The way they twitched in Memory #3 made me grin so much.

-I think I've figured out what the major plot twist of this game's going to be. It can't be a coincidence that Mineru mentioned a forbidden power of draconification and that there was a dragon that flew right next to the Great Sky Island to allow Link to descend to Hyrule, can it? Hmm...

[taisvns]

“ I am eternally, devastatingly romantic, and I thought people would see it because ‘romantic’ doesn’t mean ‘sugary.’ It’s dark and tormented.”

taesun choe : tai . 28.09.1996, she / her. born in melbourne, australia. libra, enfp. musician, songwriter and actress. ( penned by peppy )

application ⋆ aesthetics ⋆ soundtrack ⋆ relationships

biography.

ONE. born in south korea, but raised in melbourne, australia, a land she calls home to this day. an only child, her mother is a well-known actress and model, and her father, an aspiring screenwriter who never fulfilled his dreams, and later became a bookstore owner. their relationship was the talk of the media from the start, and as a result, tai has been surrounded by cameras from an early age.

TWO. since childhood, rubbing shoulders with famous people, it was logical that tai wanted to follow in her mother's footsteps, due to her good relationships it was easy to get jobs for her daughter, it was fun, exciting, her earliest memories are of being on a set, small roles for all type of series, modeling gigs for clothing catalogs and a handful of tv commercials, nothing very significant or substantial actually, just a little girl dreaming about stars and ballerinas.

 THREE. she discovers her true passion latter on, showing a natural talent for music. at twelve years old, she enters a talent show where she comes in second and everything cascades from there, signing a contract with the label and with her mother, who doubled as an agent, controlling, and taking care of every aspect of her life, at age nineteen she became a recognizable face for the australian public, soon enough there is one hit single and others coming up. and of course, tai enjoyed her profession, with an undying love for music and playing pretend.

FOUR. but everything that goes up has to come down, cruel comments began to appear sooner rather than later, 'tai is only someone daughter', 'talentless singer’, ‘industry plant’, endless variations, the seemed popular opinion, and there's only so much flak you can take before you start to believe it too, and the 'maybe they're right' appearing on her mind,  little by little her presentations stopped having the enthusiasm, the accustomed radiance, in her mind it is useless to try so hard if they are going to hate you anyways.

FIVE. it all culminates in a fateful live performance on a morning show, the release of a new single, and an altercation produced by a anxiety attack, too public to be swept under the rug, and nothing was the same from then on. there isn't much left to do, her reputation already being tarnished, and the only way other than to retrieve with what's left and the goals that weren't met.

SIX. giving her music career a second chance doesn't happen until years later, in fact, she moves to california to study for a degree in history, the glitz and the glamours, the feeling of being loved by a crowd, are just so alluring, and whats the worst that can happen? it turns out, tai finds out almost right away, the worst thing that can happen it succeeding, trapped by your own ambitions, by your own dreams.

psychology.

the kind of person who can't fake a smile, but smiles often, easy-going attitude, FRIENDLY, although bad for small talk, constantly commits the sin of being to QUIET, sullen even, she likes to think of herself as a proper tortured artist. DISCIPLINED like few , she puts her tasks at the center of her life, there is a certain obsession with being virtuous, which leads her to be SELF-CRITICAL with her own mistakes. she enjoys cotidianity and a simple life, with deep-rooted customs, it is difficult for her to leave her comfort zone, which makes her a bit LONELY, but she is absurdly LOYAL, willing to take risks for those they consider valuable people in her life.

artistically.

music claims: mitski, luna li & willow.

actress claims: ( don't have a specific list yet, but she only does supporting roles in horror and drama )

wanteds.

long term crush. she literally develops crushes on anyone who is nice to her for two seconds, what happens with this specific person is that, surely, they became friends, and tai never lost her crush on them, and she doesn't confess anything either because she is terrified that the other person doesn't feel the same. can be reciprocated or unrequited, it's about the craving, actually.

ex almost something. the kind of relationship they could have even gotten married in, but nothing ever really happened, I guess things ended just because of the long term crush mentioned above. tai just can't get over it and that's how the relationship is ruined, it's really about the angst.

dearest frenemie. they just can't stand each other, but there's something there, it's not that they really hate each other, it's just their worldviews are too different, but you got to work on a project together, and you're the only other person in the whole cast with the one I can talk about, if you are insufferable the others are so much worse.

stranger like me. they are both a bit averse to public life and prefer to just live their lives minding their own business, I imagine they can spend hours talking to each other over coffee, bonus points if they can geek about music, literature, history or art in general.

this being said, i really open to plotting almost anything! .

[emptymanuscript]

I'm having lots of thoughts about the correction of privilege without the mental battery to really put them together well (it's already been a really long weekend).

But I'm wondering if there is a difference between callout and help (I don't have a good term for this). For instance I don't think being called out has ever produced a desirable result for me. But there is this close kin to it that I DO think helps me (thus help as my best working word at the moment).

And I think there are some specific if possibly subtle differences.

I think the first is that help is less attack and more defense. The emphasis is on "I know this and you don't so let me tell you what I know." It's grounded in the idea that I'm ignorant and trying to solve the problem of my ignorance instead of the problem of me. If that makes sense.

I think that makes it easier in the context when there is a relationship. It's very rarely strangers giving me help, it's people I trust anyway. Part of friendship and helping each other out is pointing out where we're wrong so we can do better for ourselves. There's this mutual respect, I guess. I trust them to work for me and they trust me to accept the work they're giving me.

To carry over from that, I think coming across posts is more helpful to me than getting into arguments in posts. Because the basis is "I" rather than "You." It's someone sharing their experience. Even if they ARE putting forward that I'm wrong logically from what they're saying. (This by the way is why I think ownvoices is so important for me when I'm not that background, it's a way for me to reevaluate and learn).

It's simply that for my friends and loved ones, that relationship is pre-established. If someone else wants to do it in argument, I find I need to find that trust that it isn't an attack. Or at least not more of an attack than I deserve. I don't think that's fair but I think it is a difference.

But I think the biggest division is the one that's hardest for someone besides myself or someone who knows me fairly well to see. A callout can kind of be anything. Any correction for any reason for any purpose. Help is definitely in support of something I want.

The major impetus of these thoughts was tagging onto a post about poverty and how I couldn't understand it (the link at start). And one of the deep things related to that is how I just kind of keep grudges and judgements forever. I have deep seated issues with the other kids I went to school with. It's very hard for me to make myself think along the lines that they were just kids and not little incarnations of evil. The two class discussions that have really stuck in my mind the last 30 years or so was one about poverty where my class essentially presented the belief that every beggar was a con-man and the poor deserved their circumstances. And one about the (monetary) value of ethics, where it was only my teacher and I expressing any sentiment against the idea that everyone has their price and it is some amount of cold hard cash. No matter what. The heartlessness, moral emptiness, and... I dunno, evil is all I've got, of those opinions is something I very actively didn't want. I did not want to be like my schoolmates.

So, in some ways, I look at views of poverty / wealth and getting helped on it a bit like physical therapy. Yes, it might be quite uncomfortable in the moment but we can both see how it is going to help me deal with the problem I have and live the kind of life I want to live. I want to be the opposite of those evil little shits. I wanted to be different from them then and I still want to be different from then now. And because childhood grows up with you, they've all grown into MAGAts now. So when someone, usually my wife who grew up poor, says about that topic, "That's not how real life works, I have that experience and it's like this," it's an opportunity for that work toward a specific goal. It enables me to be more like how I want to be anyway. It's non-random discomfort and non-random improvement.

There's also a deep rooted fear that I'm NOT different. Because I have absolutely no reason that I can point to for why I was different from the extreme majority of my classmates. I wasn't odd in my socio-economic status. I didn't live somewhere else. I wasn't the only Jew. I wasn't even the only person who self-identified as on the left of the political spectrum. I wasn't anything different from everybody else. There's zero I can look at and say, "Ah, that's why I'm not like them," that's nice, safe, natural, and true about me so I can confidently assume I won't turn evil. Which means there is some pain there even if I don't run into help. There's always the real possibility that I, too, am an evil little shit I don't want to be and I'm only pardoning myself because I'm myself. Which isn't a pleasant thought.

Lastly, there isn't the element of "Shut up and listen." It's just listen. It's not asking me not to form an opinion, it's asking me to take in new information to form my opinion. It's the assumption that I would have a different opinion if I understood rather than the assumption that I shouldn't have a different opinion from the person giving the help. Because my opinion is based on a misunderstanding, the important thing is changing the misunderstanding / ignorance, rather than that I have an opinion. I can still form a different opinion from the helper as long as it is based on accurate information. Which I suspect is one of the most difficult aspects of helping. And is probably ever harder as the relationship between us attenuates.

I think that's the best I can do for now for why I think being helped to see how my privilege undermines my understanding is perversely desirable. It's that I can see there is a way for it to enable me to be the person I want to be. I make snarky jokes about being a class traitor but I think there is some real desire in there, there is some amorphous group and psychology I'm aware of that I actively want to cut out of myself because I despise it so much. For entirely my own reasons. If any of any of this makes sense. And maybe it's just exactly the same as a callout but it resonates with me, in which case it's all pointless. I dunno.

And I'll shut up now.