#this is a fun and cool combination of traits to have and i am frequently normal about walking in any sort of grass

[g0dr0t]

One thing about me is that i am really afraid of ticks. Another thing about me is i have what they call “obsessive compulsive disorder”

[xcrystalzero]

Hello! I’d love to request a romantic matchup, as I’m an absolute sucker for those. Pls take your with this, and drink some water!

So first of, I’m 18 and het female. Appearance wise I’m a tiny (on a good day) 5’1 with, as of rn, pastel purple hair—I change my hair colour frequently. I have quite the defined hourglass shape, which I lowkey hate because finding clothes is a nightmare... the only feature I really like apart from that are my freckles. Besides that, I love fashion, and i spend quite some time on trying out new hairstyles and clothing combinations. So yeah that’s it appearance-wise.

Personality:

To be succinct, I’m an ENTP-T (HI KIN). I’m usually quite determined, stubborn, blunt, rational, and quick witted, but I try to be softer and more careful with my words around the people I love. My main quality is really just my galaxy brain (yay me, intelligence saves me from being a complete arsehole), although I always try my best to help the people around me (which can sometimes become overbearing, I’m sure). I have random periods where I just... succumb to being a crackhead. I’m not the biggest fan of always being serious, so I want to let loose sometimes. Tho one big issue I have, is that social cues and emotions are just really not my area of expertise. I have absolutely no idea how to act in most situations, and while it’s gotten better (i was unbearable to be around when I was younger) I’m vvv awkward and can easily be rude (accidentally... sometimes at least) djdjdjieks. Also, I’m such an annoying smartass, I’m sorry to everyone.

Hobbies and Interests/Dislikes:

For hobbies, I have too many in true ENTP fashion. Although, I mainly focus on dancing, writing, and... is hanging out with friends a hobby??? Idk, but I love spending time with my loved ones. I also quite like baking and I’m a huge simp for Shakespeare—well, his works that is, and for general English literature. I also love gaming, history, and debate. Another important thing for me is topics like feminism, gender equality and all that good stuff. I’m not really an activist (too much stuff on my hands I guess?) but I’m very passionate about these topics—and easily get into arguments about it. Dislikes—well, the usual ones like unnecessary hate and stuff like that, but specifically, I absolutely abhor when someone judges and condemns someone else—who hasn’t done anything against them—without even knowing their story. Also, ignorance is annoying af.

Some other stuff uwu:

For preferred traits in a partner: First of, my love language is Quality Time (we don’t need a big adventure or anything) and Acts of Service. I’m vvv averse to physical touch in a romantic sense and I need my s/o to respect the fact that it’d take me a long long time to get used to him initiating smth. Trauma tingz... I know it unfair tho, as some people just need that, so I try to compromise as much as possible. Communication is super important to me. Keeping your secrets are alright, and if you’re shy or anything that’s also cool, but if I seriously ask you about smth, I’d rather you wouldn’t lie just to spare my feelings. Also, I need someone who isn’t afraid to voice their opinion if it differs my own. I’m quite into debating—over any topic, really. Thus, I might come off as rudely argumentative (which I guess I am), but it’s mostly just a matter of enjoying the mental thrill and wanting someone to consider my perspective/explain their perspective to me. Patience is another trait I really need in someone. I have ADHD, so even if I try my best to listen, I might have to ask if you could repeat whatever you just said. Also the bouts of random forgetting, my occasional impatience... yeah, adhd things. Beyond that, I believe that if you truly love someone, you can grow with them and work around any negativity.

Can’t really think of anything else rn. Thank you for doing this 💜💜💜 take care and drink some water

Hiiii! Omg I'm ENTP/INTP -T too! We chaotic as fuck. Anywayyy, here we go!

I match you with ... Zhongli!

- Ah yes, Geo Daddy himself.

- I think that Zhongli is one of those people who highly value intelligence. He's been around for a while now and seen a lot of things. Obviously, he knows that most people can't begin to approach the amount of knowledge he has accumulated over time. That's why meeting you is a pleasant surprise.

- He's an incredibly patient and supportive person so he'll have no problem entertaining your crazy ENTP ideas or any of the things that come out of crackhead hours.

- He'd like the interest you have in fashion. There's something charming about the way humans like to accessorize and change up their appearance and you do a good job of it.

- It's a good thing you like history because this guy will 100% go on long tangents about the history of the land. If you try to correct him on something, he might try to fight you. The best part is that he doesn't even realize he's doing it, he just doesn't see how he could be wrong about something like that when he's been around to see it all. Have fun with those debates... Thankfully, he doesn't mind your argumentative nature and tends to deal with it pretty calmly which just calms your down too.

- Imagine though, dates where you guys burst into old libraries or bookstores. You had just disagreed on a certain technicality of Liyue's history at sea and you are determined to be right this time. The two of you spend hours scanning over books and asking the various historians always conversing around the restaurants and at the wharf. You guys actually end up kind of attracting a bit of attention, since people find it cute that you're trying to outsmart THE Zhongli. Plot twist...

"See! I told you it was 254 years ago! You were thinking of something else!" You raise the parchment you have been pouring over for the past few minutes triumphantly over your head before presenting it to Zhongli.

The man in question takes the paper, scanning it quickly before looking back to you. "Hm, I suppose you are correct."

"I win!" Your smug little smile is full of pride as you place your hands on your hips. Perhaps to others, losing such an argument would be disagreeable but Zhongli finds it adorable more than anything else.

"Yes you do my love. Yes you do..."

- His love language is quality time too! You guys spend a lot of time just wandering around Liyue Harbor together, literally just chilling or sipping tea on the veranda, enjoying each other's company.

- Basically you have one of those relationships where you can be both very active and very chill together.

Alright there we go! I swapped out my coffee for water just for you :). Hope you enjoyed!

[teawithshruti]

How did I keep myself sane amidst a pandemic - My thoughts on books, anime, and restaurants.

Yet another review of The Shining

A plot so well written you would want to go in room 217

Hi there! This blog comes to you from a bored 19 year old who has a knack for reading crime thrillers, watching murder documentaries, and loves watching MasterChef just to see Gordon Ramsay. LOL. And did I mention that she also happens to be a Stephen King fan, because who isn’t? So here is where I try and convince you that The Shining  is the best book ever written and how Stanley Kubrick completely butchered the screenplay, as well as why pasta is life.

Welcome to the Rockies!

The story takes place in the town of Boulder, Colorado, where our main protagonist Jack Torrance gets a job as a caretaker of the famous Overlook Hotel. Winters in Boulder are harsh, and the hotel remains closed as travel is not permitted with all the heavy snowfall. Now Jack is a recovering alcoholic with anger issues which led to him breaking his son’s arm prior to where the story begins. This made Wendy, his wife, question her marriage and the safety of their five year old son,  Danny. Danny on the other hand isn’t your average five year old who just watches cartoons and plays with toys. He is aglow with a psychic voltage, and has frequent blackouts. In the words of old Mr Hallorann, the hotel’s head chef, Danny’s a shiner. When the Torrances meet Mr Hallorann, he feels an instant connection with Danny. He warns Jack about the hotel and its sinister secrets and how the previous caretaker, Delbert Grady, killed himself and his family. But Jack is sure that this huge and lonely hotel with its splendid views is just what he needs in order to earn back his family’s trust. But going to a haunted hotel with a troubled marriage and a psychic son? Maybe not the best idea. But in his defense, Jack doesn't believe in ghosts. Little does he know that’s about to change.

Snowbound at The Overlook

The Torrance's begin settling in the Overlook. But as winter closes in and the blizzards cut them off from the outer world, the hotel seems to develop a life of its own. Meanwhile, Jack starts growing restless, craving for a friendly drink with each passing day. He also starts experiencing hallucinations, and wonders if they are withdrawal symptoms. Danny on the other hand is experiencing his own share of ghostly sightings, like the terrifying lady in the bathtub of room 217 who seems to have never checked out of the hotel. In one instance, he witnesses her climbing out of the clawfoot tub and advancing towards him with her bloated belly and dry hair as he stands frozen in fear in a blood covered presidential suite. This narrative by King with all its details is the truly the most spine tingling I’ve ever read.  Later when Danny’s parents find him in the room, a thumb in his mouth, that is when Wendy truly realizes that they are not alone in that strange big hotel. Jack goes and sees the tub for himself, but the lady from before doesn't want to greet him. Wendy, in tears, sees that both her husband and her son are being tormented by this place and begs Jack to quit the job. Danny later calms his mom down, who is weeping uncontrollably, by telling her not to worry as his daddy doesn't have the shining, so there is nothing to worry about.

Have you never heard of REDRUM?

Sure you have. Read it backwards.  Yes, you got it right. And so did Danny after seeing this word in his visions countless times. It so turns out that Danny is much stronger than he looks and after failing to possess him, The Overlook has turned to an easier target - Jack. As Jack slowly starts to lose his mind, he gives in and starts drinking again from the bar in the ballroom. His hallucinations keep getting worse to the point he actually sees Mr Grady, the previous caretaker / murderer,  and even has a talk with him. Danny sees his changing behavior and so does his wife, who just doesn't see the man she fell in love with in his cold, distant eyes anymore. With everything going on, Wendy takes Danny to their apartment in the employee wing of the hotel and locks them inside in fear of Jack, who is slowly slipping away from reality. But turns out this move from her proves to be disastrous, as Wendy keeping Jack away from his own son is the last straw for him. In one of his many hallucinations, Jack  meets his predecessor,  his buddy Mr. Grady and the two have a disturbing conversation about how fun it is to kill your wife. Yes , no one trumps King when it comes to the unique combination of horror and psychological thrillers packed into one nail-biting plot!

In other words...

The only thing I liked about the movie was Jack Nicholson’s excellent acting. Apart from that Stanley Kubrick let go of many crucial parts which were essential to the story. He eliminated the hedge sequence in the book, which was terrifying to just read. The ending was just a complete mess.  I get that you can’t exactly get all the details right of a 500 page book, but at least do justice to the ones you have chosen. Anyways I’m gonna go sulk in my room over this. Bye

.  

Is it too late to start Anime?

Hi there! Good to have you back! Ever since pandemic began, everyone’s been locked in their own house. So this led to me taking up a few hobbies like sketching and painting and binging on a whole lot of sitcoms.. My personal favorite is the alluring world of Anime. Several of my friends began watching it and I cannot exactly term it as peer pressure, but I did give in and start watching Anime too. And now my watchlist includes just a bunch of 2D characters with powers that even Superman himself can't fight. So this is my take on how a kryptonian can be defeated with Jutsu, as Mr Naruto would say. Lol. This one is for all the weebs out there. 

Manga and Anime are not the same!

To put it simply, manga is a Japanese term for comics and graphic novels, whereas Anime is the term for Japanese animations.. There are many similarities  between them, as they both have been created by Osama Tezuka, who is considered as the Japanese version of Walt Disney. Now have you ever seen a simple comic book? The one with black and white newspaper illustrations - like Garfield. Manga is just like that -  A book of illustrations. Now we arrive at the perennial question - Manga or Anime, which is better. Both of them are equally interesting, but I personally have a soft spot for anime. The intro theme songs, intense background music, and the beat dropping right before a big fight move, all these factors pack a punch. You don’t get that adrenaline rush from just a book.

My first anime - Demon Slayer

The story begins with the main character Tanjiro, who returns home after selling charcoal in town to find his entire family murdered by demons. Pretty intense right? His sister, Nezuko, survives but there’s a twist - she turns into a demon herself.  This makes him vow to take revenge and he sets off to train with Sakonji, who has trained many of the elite members of the Demon Slayer Corps. After many years of training and a painful exam called the final selection, Tanjiro finally becomes a demon slayer and is off on missions along with his sister, who unlike most demons doesn’t consume human flesh. On his missions he meets Zenitsu and Inosuke, who both have excellent powers of their own. My favorite story arc was when the highest ranking slayers, known as the pillars, were introduced. But my words won’t do justice to their powers they possess. So simply get your geek on by watching this short yet amazing series.

The Tale of Naruto Uzumaki

The hidden leaf village is not so hidden anymore! The series I am currently watching is one of the most popular anime from 2020 - Naruto.   The story is set around the shinobi villages and their ninjas and how Naruto Uzumaki plans on being the next Hokage [the most powerful shinobi] of the leaf village. He is trained by some of the best ninjas the village has ever seen. Before graduating from the academy, he was a hyperactive boy with lots of energy who just wanted to be the best. After graduation, he was placed in team seven, along with Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. This team was trained by Kakashi Sensei who is known for wielding his Chidori and even the Sharingan. The sharingan, to put it simply, is a trait passed down in families. The Uchihas are known for their sharingans and hence it naturally comes to Sasuke as well. The mystery still remains unsolved as to how Kakashi got his sharingan, as he is not an Uchiha. But Naruto does have a super power as well. Not technically his powers per se,  but we can cut him some slack. After all it's not everyday you get to see a beast like the nine tailed fox sealed away in an 11 year old boy. In my opinion the story picks up Orochimaru’s entry, and it paves the way for Sasuke’s powers in the future. My favorite character has to be Sasuke Uchiha. With his effortless fighting skills and sarcastic yet cool personality, he definitely is an excellent shinobi. You have to start this show right away because once you have seen him use his fire style fireball jutsu.....the world just doesn't look the same anymore.

In other words...

My current watchlist includes Naruto Shippuden, Black Clover, One Piece, and a few other naruto spin offs. Anime was something I never thought I would like, but now as it turns out I can't get enough of it. So bye for now, if you need me I'll be at Ichiraku’s eating ramen with barbeque pork. And if you get this reference, have a bowl of ramen on me. K bye.

Home in a faraway land

Good to see you again ! Do you ever get that feeling of an intense craving for your favourite dish? Like say pasta or pizza? My favorite is pasta, but being raised in India, I can’t say no to a classic plate of butter naan and chicken tikka with a glass of buttermilk or chaas if you please. Of Course you can’t beat the taste of a home cooked meal, but let me tell you about the time I went to this amazing little Indian restaurant in Dubai with my family, and how the food there was absolutely heavenly. 

Out and About in Dubai

Skyscrapers, Sleepless nights, Gold Souks and gigantic malls - these are the visions  you'd usually get when someone mentions Dubai. Well, they're mostly right! I went there with my family about 5 years ago. We stayed at the Ramada, which was right next to the Dubai Mall.  The mall happens to be strategically placed next to the Burj Khalifa and we got lucky enough to see mesmerizing musical fountain shows night after night. The streets are spick and span, and everyone follows the traffic regulations dutifully. We also went for the desert safari, which was no less than an actual roller coaster ride. We also visited the Gold Souk, and oh boy. The name definitely fulfills its purpose, as the entire street is occupied entirely by gold stores. Huge gold ornaments are on display like clothes on hangers. I personally don’t have a thing for gold jewellery, but my mom had the time of her life there fawning and gasping over every store we came across. Shortly after our visit here, we came across this beautiful little Indian restaurant, and you can call me old school but at the end of the day, this girl needs a desi meal, because trust me room service gets boring after a while.

Peshwa - Not your typical 5 star restaurant 

Situated away from the hustle of the main city, this place still remains quite underrated. We stumbled across this hidden gem which saved us the efforts of getting back to the hotel for an overpriced lunch. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we could smell the aroma of a classic dal makhani  [ a simple gravy consisting of lentils infused with aromatic spices and hints of burnt chillies ] in the air. So we got a table and had a look at the menu and it was almost like being back home. The endless variety of gravies with paneer in almost every single one of them, to at least 6 different types of rotis, a little piece of heaven in this concrete jungle! We went ahead and ordered a simple meal of rotis and some paneer delicacy, along with dal and rice. Apart from the taste of the food, which was just heavenly, the overall ambience of the place in one word, was exquisite. The restaurant lived up to its very ethnic maharashtrian name. The food was served in those traditional style cutlery, reminding us of a simpler time.

A dish you just can’t miss 

If you have a sweet tooth like me, you definitely have to try the coconut barfi from this place. Made from desiccated coconuts, sweetened condensed milk, a finely ground cardamom, and a hint of saffron, this dish is a match made in heaven. It was freshly made and we could tell it by the intoxicating aroma of pure ghee [clarified butter]. So just for a day, give yourself a break from watching calories and try this mouth watering dish because here’s something to live for.

In other words…

The next time I’m in Dubai, the first thing I will do is find out if the restaurant is still there. And probably avoid the Gold Souk this time. I will most certainly go for the desert safari, because it’s not everyday you get defy gravity and drive through the sand dunes like in a Fast and Furious movie. Lol.  Also thanks for bearing with me throughout this blog. See ya!

[xxtha-blog]

Traits People in the Fandom like to give Dream that instantly turn me away from their comics.

Wow, that's a long title. Okay, did you ever just want to hear me complain? If so, you came to the right place!

Im on a little salt bregade right now with my exasperation at lack of enjoyable Dream content in this fandom so this isn't some in depth analysis post or some if you give Dream these traits, you're a bad writer and need to stop. No. This is just a: here's some character traits people commonly write Dream with that severely conflict with the character I love him for, thus making me incapable of enjoying whatever 'Dream' they're writing because to me it doesn't look like Dream at all. And also why I don't like it and why I think this happens so frequently. And because this is just my opinion, you can either agree or ignore me. (And I mean, second one is a good option lol)

Jerkish - The classic asshole Dream. The one that says 'all this bad things that happened to me? Pffttsgsf I don't want to be a better person so I'm going to be a dick to everyone else.' This is probably the most common and usually comes with a lot of the other traits I'm about to mention

Sarcastic - This ones not that bad and if it's the only one I'll usually be fine with it, but he isn't sarcastic or passive aggressive, his closest trait to this is that he's stubborn. He's not going to shoot back something to make someone upset or because he's mad at them, even Nightmare, he's going to say something that might contend with someone for the purpose of making that person think about the bad or negative thing they're doing and won't stop until the person is either rethinking their originally negative position or is growing too negative for it to be rational to keep pressing and will try something else. In one it's a good intention, and with sarcasm it's this 'I need to get back at them and I don't care if it helps the situation or makes it worse' intention. And Dream is always the former.

Violent - The Dream that's always ready to get into a fight no matter what. Talking calmly? what's that?

Unsympathetic/Insensitive - this one is super easy to slip by the radar of a lot of people, so I often get people who ask me why I don't like certain ways people write Dream and it's usually because of this. This is him not understanding or sympathizing with someone else's situation even if it differs from his own, mainly for harmless things. People not wanting to do something because they're uncomfortable and Dream being written as trying to get them to do it to the point they get upset. A negative or toxic stubbornness, so to speak. Which really sucks because Dream is one of the sweetest most sensitive character I've seen and it gets rid of all that nuance.

Egotistical - :( I really don't like this one. It's your typical, I'm better than you, (usually toward Nightmare). It makes me sad. Combine unsympathetic and egotistical together and you get the jerk Dream that hates negativity and thinks negative people are bad.

Ableist - Hear me out, this isn't the same as people saying canon Dream is ableist for like, not being friends with Ink? (Wheeze). it's the type of Dream that purposefully targets someone's mental illnesses in cruel or unfair ways, usually Nightmare.

Neglectful - The Dream that says fuck protecting positivity lmao. And I need not say more.

Cowardly - The Dream that either won't own up to the problems he caused, pretends he never caused problems, and/or won't do anything to stop problems occuring.

Underhanded - the type of Dream that won't talk shit to someone's face but will make either subtly or blatantly mean comments about them behind their back.

Stupid - The type of Dream that makes decisions that will clearly cause the suffering of a lot of people for stupid reasons and/or the type of Dream that couldn't solve a 2x2 rubix cube and relies on everyone else to solve things for him because people think lack of knowledge = stupidity in the original. Which isn't true.

Selfish - The type of Dream that makes decisions that will clearly cause the suffering of other people for selfish or self absorbed reasons.

Controlling - I see this one so much and it hurts me. It's most likely due to people trying to make his desire to do good negative in this way, but directly conflicts with the fact it does no good if he becomes a toxic asshole with it. It's the type of Dream that won't let anyone do anything he doesn't deemed 100% positivity approved and becomes a toxic, controlling, manipulative asshole. Usually with a relationship bonus. ;')

Dense - Another negative stubbornness. A Dream that can't see when something's clearly making someone upset.

Overbearing - a branch of insensitive and stupid. the 'Everything is great! Isn't everything great! You're suffering? No! Everything is great and happy, be happy! I'm ALWAYS happy' Dream. Toxic positivity.

Irritable - The Dream that gets really angry at people for some reason? Normally because they're being negative or just not taking him seriously. This contends with Dream's canon in the sense that instead of getting angry he gets more sad/upset rather than some dry anger, and only when someone is being really cruel. I never like seeing a purely angry Dream. I'd rather him break down into tears, asking quietly why someone is doing this, instead of scream insults at them. Because we all know taking your anger out on someone helps solve problems and doesn't escalate situations.

Venegeful - The Dream that won't stop until the people who have wronged him or are doing wrong are either punished or dead. What's helping people be better, am I right?

Unforgiving - The Dream that never forgives people for wrongdoings and/or actively brings up past mistakes for no good reason, or just to get back at someone, usually to Nightmare. Often used as some moral superiority complex.

Smug - whenever he's right, he'll make sure you know it.

Overlycompetitive - the sore winner that wants to challenge people all the time, that'll rub it in their face when he's better. A subcategory of smug. This isn't to say canon Dream is never competitive, its just to say he isn't a dick about it.

I think a lot of people give them these traits because they think he's not 'flawed' enough. Like, they don't see to understand that 'good' traits can be flaws, or as we've seen here, think Dream's other good traits should be made into even more flaws, which directly conflict with his core morals and motivations.

I know a lot of people just write him like this for fun, and that's fine. I like Swap Dream by song-song-a actually, I think he's cool. There are a couple of exceptions where it's set up well enough that this isn't the Dream I know that I dont get fucking whiplash while reading. I'm not saying its wrong to write him like this, I'm just saying it's not enjoyable for me.

For the most part, it turns me away from the comic, or au, or am, almost instantly. I'm not interested in reading about Dream becomes an asshole edition 600. and it wouldn't be a problem for me if almost anyone wrote him well like every other character gets the liberty of.

Like, I also hate Chibi Blueberry but at least there's a ton of good Swap content out there so I'm not here talking about Chibi Blueberry lol.

Anyways, I'll probably add more traits if I think of any, so if you're trying to write Dream close to canon, you can use this as a what not to do post I guess. Otherwise enjoy my rant xD.

[basketballandtextbooks]

disaster take

i saw this discourse on other blogs and come to the realization that most people probably won’t agree with me but... here’s my two cents:

wendy and kyle are very similar characters, not identical, but the character writing in south park is usually quite shallow (for any character in the cast) and normally any depth that can actually be found in any one character is entirely coincidental or accidental on the part of the observer. For example, in a previous post I mentioned that Kyle probably learned to dance after the events of the rain forest episode, and we know he must have because of highschool musical. This creates and interesting nugget of character depth that fits with his overall character but the connection is most likely entirely accidental. Did the writers think that deeply about Kyle’s character, or did they just forget the throwaway joke they kin-assigned Kyle for one episodes purposes?

for me these gaps between writers intent and interpretation are entertaining and it’s very fun for me to play detective, putting together the whole characters through the lens of ‘death of the author’ and figuring out how the characters behave based on not only their behavior in any one individual episode, but how the inconsistent and shallow character writing makes an overall character-arc (no character is more fascinating in this fashion than Eric Cartman, who has the most cohesive and entirely accidental character arc that spans from episode one and showcases a fascinating and horribly flawed individual)

All of this stated, the similarities in how Kyle and Wendy are written may not be intentional, but the fact is that given the same exact situation they respond similarly and to varying degrees. A good example of this is when they are jealous or their ego is bruised, they both have a tendency to have excessive if not murderous reactions (teacher into the sun, nuke canada, burn down the school, bully your friends)

I don’t think anyone can really make a good faith argument denying that they have strong similarities. There are of course differences, during the smurfs Wendy showed a much cooler head than Kyle would in the same circumstance. They do not need to be identical to share strong similar characteristics

Now for how fandom has perceived Wendy.

There is good reason that some individuals feel that the fan-reaction towards her isn’t entirely based on her writing being inherently ‘worse’ than Kyle’s. It also isn’t true that everyone who loves Kyle and hates Wendy is sexist or suffering from a case of internal misogyny.

That said, Wendy is held to a higher standard than Kyle is. Or more accurately, she is held to account for her actions in canon and Kyle is not. A primary example that I’ve heard multiple times in explaining why she’s a ‘bad’ character or a ‘bad’ person is that she broke Stan’s heart by dumping him. Some accuse her of cheating on him (with either Gregory or Token, pick your poison).

We can dismiss the cheating accusations immediately, there isn’t even a sliver of evidence she ever cheated. The times where she pursued other love interests they were either broken up or not together.

But the underlying message that hurting Stan makes her a bad character and not holding Kyle to that same account when Kyle, as early as the super best friends episode and as terribly as the assburgers episode, has a pattern of hurting Stan and in worse ways.

Wendy dumped him, that’s awful, but she’s allowed to have different feelings for other people and she’s allowed to end a relationship with a boy who constantly vomited on her. But the fan perception of this is “what a bitch” while the reaction to the style friend breakups is “oooh the angst”

This is only one of the ways we can see her being held to a different standard than Kyle. Not every fan is guilty of this, but enough people share this sentiment that is entirely justified for people to point out what appears to be underlying misogyny in how the characters are treated.

There are arguments based more on her writing than her actions, I have heard the ‘she’s always right and that’s not realistic’ on at least four different occasions now. But not only is this factually untrue if you’ve actually watched the show, it ignores the many times Kyle has also been right for seemingly no other reason than the writers convenience. Making him the moral center of the episode or a center of a joke. I find the ‘she’s too perfect’ to be a bad faith argument because the research behind it is shoddy and even when the person behind it acknowledges cases where she was wrong (killing her teacher, bullying, petty grudges to name a few) it’s always hand-waved away as ‘oh, okay, that once, but other than anything that disagrees with me, she’s too perfect. This is a very clear case of confirmation bias. Any evidence that backs the argument that she’s too perfect is guarded and anything that refutes it is discarded.

There will be some fans that hate her and love Kyle for completely unrelated reasons to holding her to a different standard, sexism, or internalized misogyny. But it is a fact that a significant amount of the fandom holds her to a completely different standard and a very possible reason for that is either her gender or how she disrupts their precious ships.

I would make the argument that she has a far stronger and more engaging characterization than Clyde using the same standards I set above where I judge characters based on the totality of their appearances rather than on individual episode. A even removing that framework and basing solely on episodes that focus on them individually, she has a stronger character. And yet I have never once heard or seen anyone making the argument that they dislike Clyde because his character is too flat. This is another case where she, and the majority of the female cast, is held to a different standard. I’ve never seen anyone say ‘it’s hard to write Gregory because he has very little character and the writers only created a flat stereotype’. But I see that sort of perspective all the time for female characters that have more screen-time and development than Gregory ever had.

I love all the characters above and I find their characterizations and lack thereof to be a fascinating puzzle that I spend my free-time putting together.

But female characters in South Park do suffer from what I would consider a form of internalized misogyny. Most fans don’t do this on purpose (thus internalized) but the society we’ve been raised in has a tendency to put men and women on different scales.

This isn’t a scale that’s fair to either sex. The unconscious mentality that “its okay if he has no personality because he’s a guy” does men a disservice too. If you do fall under the category of someone who judges the female characters more than the male ones, I’m not trying to say you’re a bad person or even that you’ve done a bad thing. I want you to reconsider your opinion. Take a moment to actually think about it. I know I’ve been guilty of holding men and women to different standards. In both real life and fiction, I expect less from men. I look down on them in an unhealthy fashion that if I don’t address, could lead to ending up in harmful situations or harming someone else.

fiction is a lens that we can use to better understand reality. I am an advocate that you can treat fictional characters in any way you like and it doesn’t fucking matter. You want to kill Wendy because you think she’s an annoying bitch? Go for it. It doesn’t matter. Wendy is not real.

I don’t want you to change your fandom behaviors, I want you to reexamine them and ask yourself how deeply the disparity in how you view men and women goes. If you use fiction as an outlet for misogynistic or even misandrist feelings, I think that’s valid, but I want you to know that you’re doing it.

If you hold men and women to different standards, whether in fiction, real life, or both, I want you to be aware of it.

Now the elephant in the room.

Damien is one of the most popular characters in South Park and he has one episode focusing on his character. His personality is frequently discarded because in canon, he’s an uppity little git who is both petty and weak. He wants to be liked, is affected by bullying, and cries to his daddy about it.

In fandom he is frequently portrayed as a cool and collected impervious person who, yes, has a temper but instead of how petulant and bratty he appeared in canon, fandom portrays this as ‘badass’.

To put it simply, fandom has a tendency to ignore canon entirely in the name of what’s ‘hot’. They want the prince of hell to be sexy and dangerous, so he is just that.

The majority of popular fanon characterizations fit these same molds. They want Butters to be cute and sweet, so every character flaw he’s ever had is hand-waved away.

How does this relate to my topic?

Fans of the female characters are not impervious to this. Heidi Turner is an extremely flawed and vicious individual who would stoop to any low to protect her damaged pride. She is also a victim in a toxic relationship that put her through a horrible experience. And so the fandom either acknowledges one half, how cruel she can be, or the other, how pure a victim she was someone protect her. And neither combine her to a whole character. A person who was in a bad situation, had a lot of positive traits, bad things happened to her, and she didn’t bad things in return. Her penitent for cruelty in some earlier episodes when she was still a bg character is completely hand-waved away by both camps.

She’s an interesting character and she’s dumbed down for the pleasure of the audience, isn’t this the same treatment the men receive and thus invalidates my entire thesis that they’re held to a different standard?

For starters, the idea that an argument is entirely invalid because of one exception is in itself a fallacy, but to avoid acknowledging her existence would be confirmation bias. She is an anomaly, a female character given the same treatment as the male characters. Is it because she’s deeper or better written than the other female characters? I would argue no, critically watching her episodes she has tons of the same troped behavior that the fans love to despise in the rest of the female cast. Although unlike the other characters (both male and female), where I must do an in-depth watch of the series over the course of 20+ seasons in order to create a whole understanding of them, the majority of her arc happens over the course of two seasons.

An easily digestible amount of content. No one needs to put together the puzzle pieces to understand her like you do with the majority of the cast, it’s all there.

Except it isn’t, and this is why I mentioned her behavior in earlier seasons is discarded. The way people frame her is solely from the seasons where she’s a primary character, ignoring the clear characterization we got from her in earlier seasons that do help to create a more whole understanding of her personality and character.

That all said, there are still portions of the fandom who hate her purely because she blocks their kyman or style or insert-gay-ship-here. There are fans who hate her not because of her flawed personality or even that they find her character flat, but purely because they want to see ‘two hot boys kiss get the gross girl out’. Which is a pretty common mistreatment of Wendy as well.

Now, male characters are on occasion given this treatment but nowhere near as often. While creek shippers and crenny shippers might fight until their last breath, neither group seems to actually hate Kenny or Tweek. But in the ship wars of a ‘het ship’ vs a ‘gay ship’, the female character is frequently trashed by the gay side.

I could go into an aside about the troubling fetishization of gay men that borders on outright homophobia at times, but this has been surprisingly alot.

I guess my point is that any which way you fandom, try to at least understand that sexism is real and be aware when you might be perpetuating messages that can appear unbalanced. And maybe, ask yourself why you do that.

[ivory-insanity]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / slightly canon-divergent / fandomless 

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO. Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. Are they underrated?  Y E S / NO.  Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. Were they relevant for the main character?  Y E S / NO / THEY’RE (literally) CONNECTED TO THE PROTAG. Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO. ( everyone knows ichigo has an inner hollow, but no one really knows him ) How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon?  — I try to follow canon almost to the point, particularly for characterization purposes. unfortunately, trying to take canon development away from shirosaki / hollow ichigo is detrimental to him. without his connection to being the inner hollow of ichigo, most of his personality is taken along with it, leaving him with almost nothing in terms of character ( i won’t go into detail here ). 

i fully stand by my statement that without all the canon events, he is not shirosaki & would become a different person/muse entirely.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  — honestly ??? he’s literally the only instance of a highly intelligent & humanoid hollow that is NOT an arrancar. most of them are "forced” evolutions & they took in shinigami powers with its power, which put them down an evolution line different from the hollow one. they have most likely gained traits that shiro DOES NOT HAVE. he is not an evolution. his soul is entirely hollow, a derivative of white & nothing else. he is a base hollow that was made and became a zanpakuto spirit through unforeseen methods. he’s new. he’s unknown. he is entirely different from an arrancar & almost can’t be compared to one. 

 every single part of his being is a contradiction. he’s a hollow & and a zanpakuto. he’s destructive & protective of ichigo’s soul, even if they are for selfish reasons. there is a not a shadow of a doubt that he’s the only person of his kind, so any character in the entire series ( aside from ichigo ) will be faced with something new. will be faced with an unknown. his entiRE EXISTENCE IS INTERESTING and terrifying at the same time. 

not to mention, have you seen how he fights ??? 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  — for one, he’s untrustworthy, he’s suspicious, he’s a maniac that will attack at first attack. i would say it is pretty common to avoid him. & he would avoid everyone too cause that’s how he is. not to mention the fact he is trapped inside ichigo & has little to no screentime. 

tbh i don’t blame people who skip from entirely & just make him off as some sort of plot armor. without digging into it, it’s pretty hard to catch a substantive personality. in the long run, he didn’t do much for canon. 

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  LOOOL see. he was my favorite character and that’s really it. he was just a cool character at the time, but he’s been really fun since he feels so different from writing other characters. 

What keeps your inspiration going?  —   kari. i don’t even need to say more.  writing with other people has been a blast & i truly love everyone here, but without her i probably wouldn’t still be on tumblr right now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO. ( all of shirosaki’s portrayals across the fandom varies immensely & i don’t think one is more inherently wrong or right, but i think my version is done very well in terms of keeping within what appears in canon. ) Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO.  Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES very sometimes / NO.  Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO. ( see: my discord pms with kari ) Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO. Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO. Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  — i gladly take criticisms !! i have never read the manga of bleach & i actually don’t remember much of the series in general, so i am confident there are things i miss that are either directly or indirectly related to shiro. & i am also sure there are better ways to approach & ‘justify’ some of his more odd actions in the series, so please go ahead and critique me all you like !! however, i will note that if i can find evidence to argue against a criticism, i will most likely not take it. 

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  — absolutely <3 questions are very important because they make you think about things that you may not have thought about before. exploring things about shiro is one of my favorite things to do because of just how he is. 

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  — yes, i would want to know why. when it comes to arguments or disagreements, i am very adamant about how they should go. arguments must include insights on both sides in a mature manner, so you can learn from both perspectives. who knows, you might see something you like & decide to combine it into something entirely new. 

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  — just fine. with shirosaki especially, i don’t think one person has the same idea about him as another LOL in fact, i’m pretty confident many views between me & friends go against each other. there are so many ways to interpret him due to a lack of canon material, it’s just bound to happen.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  — i’d think you’re a little crazy tbh. that or you missed everything that made him interesting. i may get not seeing much in him & ignoring him but omg i don’t really get how you could hate him ??? tybw solidified that idea even more, but eh. if you hate him, you hate him. don’t bring that hate over to me :P

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  yes. i am a grammar disaster. literally the worst. fuck grammar, man. 

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  uh. depends on who you speak to ??? i’m pretty intimidating at the first few glances, i’ve been told L O L. but i am actually very very very easy going & am okay with a lot of things. also i crave social interaction like all the time so. 

That’s about it, congrats for filling out! tagged by: @deivorous​ ( i enjoyed ur response btw ) Tagging: the problems of me being inactive & a small blog in general LOOOL idk who has done this so whoever has not, please feel free to take it :> these are fun to read

[marias-studyblr]

Hey! How are you? You doing okay? I don't know if your exams started already but good luck! You can do this!! Also I wanted to ask, did you make any goals for 2019? If so, what are they? (if you're ok saying them) For me I want to get my erasmus placement, raise my level of spanish and manage my time better so I can do more of the stuff I like outside of college! Silly one: what Hogwarts house are you? anyway, I hope you're well! Good luck and take care 💛

hello!!

before I give you my update, this is really interesting: I used pottermore to sort myself in a hogwarts house in my 8th-9th grade, so 5-6 years ago, and I got sorted into gryffindor. and since then, i considered myself a gryffindor. and I hadn’t taken the test again.. until today. I was interested in how the website had changed (was pleasantly surprised) and overall curious if I would be sorted into the same house, so i created a new account and retook the test.

and I got sorted into 💛 hufflepuff!💛

i was so surprised because I was expecting to see gryffindor, and as i was taking it in, it made 100% sense to me. I completely see myself as a hufflepuff, and have been for a while buried in my subconscious.

in these 5-6 years I changed to the core of my being. i am not recognizable inside out. I am NOT the same person I was. it is only natural my house would change. upon reflection, I feel like I do have strong traits from both houses, but from people who know me and from looking at my own habits, tastes and personality traits, I think dear dear hufflepuff profoundly suits me best.

I am very fond and proud of my house. 💛🌱

just imagining the sweet common room with the tones of yellow and brown, wood chairs and tables, filled with plants and tangling warm sunlight coming thru the window, with the sound of the singing birds and the fireplace in the background, makes me feel extremely warm and safe.

somewhere i’d be very happy! in the future, it will be fun to see how i will decorate my apartment and what environment i will create for myself and call home.

I continued the sorting and did my patronus, which wasn’t around when I last did the test (the quiz was really really cool) and my patronus is a Borzoi! i love it. so. much. :’’’) 💓 (you can read more about what it means here)  i wasn’t expecting a dog, but once again, it matches perfectly with my personality. i definitely am a dog person, i find safety with dogs. and a true story: i have a stuffed dog ever since i can remember that was given to me when i was a child and that has been guarding my bed still to this day.

I don’t remember what my wand was, I retook it and my wand is a cherry wood with a phoenix feather core, 10 ¾" and quite bendy flexibility. this is the info about the wand (: in case u also obsess over this like i do :)

🌱 ~ cherry: this very rare wand wood creates a wand of strange power, most highly prized by the wizarding students of the school of Mahoutokoro in Japan, where those who own cherry wands have special prestige. The Western wand-purchaser should dispel from their minds any notion that the pink blossom of the living tree makes for a frivolous or merely ornamental wand, for cherry wood often makes a wand that possesses truly lethal power, whatever the core, but if teamed with dragon heartstring, the wand ought never to be teamed with a wizard without exceptional self-control and strength of mind.

🍂 ~ phoenix: this is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.

🍵 ~ quite bendy flexibility: wand flexibility or rigidity denotes the degree of adaptability and willingness to change possessed by the wand-and-owner pair - although, again, this factor ought not to be considered separately from the wand wood, core and length, nor of the owner’s life experience and style of magic, all of which will combine to make the wand in question unique.

i would love to know what yours are too :3 feel free to lmk! ~~  

update:

today was my first exam and ⭐ I PASSED my pharmacology class!! ⭐

¼ done! I didn’t get an A, which was my goal, I got a B, but still am very proud of myself. I learned a lot from this class, I love knowing more and more about medicine.

one of my academic goals for 2019 is to raise my gpa so that’s why i want to have more A’s.

I wrote my goals for 2019 in my planner, divided them into sections “finances”, “habits”, “physical health”, “mental health”, “academic” and “social media”. each one has more specific goals like

save enough money for a trip with my mom in 2020

read 30 books

start using downtime more mindfully (more educational videos, documentaries, books, editing)

maintain normal fitness (blood pressure, blood sugar, weight)

maintain a healthy lifestyle - specifically eating habits and exercise regimen

sleep. SLEEP like a normal human for the love of god maria, please sleep your deserved 8 hours and don’t settle for 4-6 

improve my gpa

continue enjoying my university journey, with disciplined and organized studying

go eat with friends more

as always, keep improving the quality of my posts on social media and post as frequently as I can

overall I am striving to feel accomplished, organized, disciplined, happy. I want to be able to trust myself completely. leave behind, let go of anxiety, sadness that has happened. be able to handle challenges that will come for sure.

one year can change so much. can’t even begin to imagine what this 2019 will bring.~ 🌱💕

everyday we grow more and more.

as always thank u sooo much for writing to me, i really really appreciate it you angel ❤❤ it’s always amazing to hear from you. 🐇 have a great day/night!

[caricatlc]

BASICS –

full name: alice marisol romero

nicknames: none

birthdate: 4 august 2025

birthplace: plattsburgh, new york

ethnicity: columbian, cuban, and caucasian

nationality: american, english 

languages: english, spanish

accent: slight bronx accent

APPEARANCE –

hair color & style: dark brown, usually kept waist-length and wavy, with green tips after breaking up with nigel

eye color: dark brown

height: five feet five inches

build: thicc. muscular but also hyper-feminine

skin tone: olive skin that rarely burns and tans well

personal style: 

grunge lite. alice prefers to be comfortable above all else, so soft fabrics and denim are her go-tos. when she dates nigel she adopts a more instagram ho aesthetic to match his, but her heart isn’t really into bodycon dresses if she cant accessorize them with doc martens and a flannel. 

distinguishing marks: expressive face

tattoos: ‘esforzada’ on back of neck ( x ), ivy on left wrist ( x )

piercings: two piercings in both lobes, helix piercing in left ear, daith and industrial in right ear, belly button

FAMILY –

parents: noah romero and lia villace

parental relationships:

while seth is more gregarious, alice is a quiet reflection of noah. as a result, their relationship deals largely in companionable silence. he’s not one to gossip with but always good help for moral quandaries. he’s also more likely to catch alice in the middle of doing something wrong,  but mostly just offers gentle advice and hopes for the best. alice really hates to disappoint her father.

lia is a fun parent. alice almost always has fun with her mother, even if the interaction ends on a sour note. she can run a lot of day-to-day thoughts past her mother-- lia is kept mostly in the loop about the goings on in her daughter’s life. however, some compulsion leads alice to remain silent about her love life as it seems like it would be much easier to let her mother believe that everything is going fine.

siblings: rex, seth, and michael romero

sibling relationships:

when rex came into their lives, alice understood the difference between her twin and an actually older brother immediately. she enjoys spending time with rex, and ever since she was young she was always content to tag along with her ‘fun’ brother.

what can alice say about seth? they know each other better than anyone else, and speak almost exclusively in snark. but opposites don’t always attract, and their very big, drastically different personalities clash and erupt frequently. when times are good, though, they’re each other’s biggest hype-man as they snap another selfie.

michael is a strange one, but alice will always hold a tenderness for her little brother. she’s helped house dozens of wild animals and filmed a vine or two in her time. while she’s not keen on him bringing insects into the house it’d certainly be difficult for her to turn him down for anything.

birth order: only girl, younger twin, middle child

status in family:

alice likes to think that she’s practically invisible in her family. she’s not as rebellious as rex, or as obnoxious as seth, or as rambunctious as michael. but alice is a quiet ride-along for almost everyone in her family-- she really holds good relationships with everyone in the house. for the most part, it really seems like her parents and brother just want the best for her.

distant relations: bash romero, second cousin

pets:

wells and bilbo, the dogs, are always happy to see her, but she’s also conditioned them to remain quiet if they want a treat from her nightly comings and goings. felix, the cat, is a good companion on a gloomy day, with alice finding comfort in his rumbling, sleepy purr.

FRIENDS –

close friends:

alice has known ellie albright since birth. or even before that since ellie’s parents attended the same birthing classes as alice’s. the albrights returned to italy for a few years shortly after ellie’s birth but the two girls were paired up again before they could even tie their shoes. they’ve been best friends ever since. ellie brightens alice up to draw out a softer side than alice rarely presents alone. alice makes ellie more assertive, unafraid to stand up for her friend if she thinks ellie needs help.

it took rumi thatcher a bit longer to enter the picture, but she’s not going anywhere. rumi’s dead-pan sense of humor endeared her to alice immediately after she moved into town in the forth grade. ever the calm logician, rumi finds great amusement in tempering alice’s hot temper. they share a mutual love of nature that often leads them to dreamy afternoons surrounded by beautiful woods.

technically considered a cousin through brotherly love, dallas hong is probably the only boy that alice can completely get along with. he’s certainly the easiest to get along with out of her brother’s crew, with his laidback guy’s guy charm. while she’s annoyed at how tall he’s gotten as they age, she knows that his easygoing personality won’t ever change on her.

tensions:

adam hudson has been seth’s best friend for years, but his and alice’s interactions have always been tentative. he has a way of confronting her with the truth when she’s least likely to accept it. their relationship is hard to define, atleast on alice’s part.

alice and dapne newcomb used to be friends, much to the chagrin of ellie and rumi. the brash blonde wasn’t  always a good influence, and they tended to clash over their many differences in opinion. it wasn’t until alice supposedly ‘stole’ nigel chadwick-wembley from daphne that their relationship fractured completely. daphne is the root cause for much of the suffering alice experienced in high school, so she’s not at all keen to rekindle the friendship.

if there’s one person that alice could do without ever seeing again, it’s nigel chadwick-wembley. he was her first real boyfriend, but the supposed fairytale beginning led to nothing but trouble, even if alice did her best to keep anyone from finding out about the more controlling aspects of his personality. they were on-again off-again for so long, but alice finally broke it off for good and never looked back.

there’s nothing wrong with ruby robbins-- in fact, she’s perfect. alice has always felt like she was competing with the other girl, even if that’s hardly true. they share similar interests but ruby’s easygoing demeanor makes everything seem so effortless in a way that alice can’t help but envy. she does consider ruby a friend, though, and would do anything for her if she asked.

crushes:

so much of the tension in alice’s relationship with adam hudson stems entirely from their mutual attraction. when they were much younger she was aware of it but content to ignore it, but as they’ve grown older things have changed. alice finds herself at odds with his ill-suited girlfriend and with him over it. ever since she kissed him on christmas, the muddled emotions there have only gotten worse.

the first boy that ever had alice truly starstruck was leo robbins. the definition of a cool, older boy, leo’s appeal quickly passed but she remained impressed by his sense of style and teenage rebellion. in fact, alice was quick to take up his mantle selling weed to a few of their acquaintances when leo decided to move on from the business. 

as a friend:

alice is a friend like batman-- she’ll come if you send out the signal. anytime anywhere, alice will be by your side if you’d let her. she’s fiercely protective of them and will want to help them achieve their goals no matter how trivial. she can be too blunt at times, which tends to rub people the wrong way if it’s not quite what they want or expect to hear. but she’ll have your back until the end, without saying ‘i told you so’ to anyone but seth.

PERSONALITY –

positive traits: enterprising, candid, empathetic 

neutral traits: self-sufficient, meticulous, noncommittal

negative traits: volatile, withdrawn, self-involved

astrology sign: leo sun / gemini moon, the confidence man ( x )

mbti: istp-t, the virtuoso

theme songs: i’m not okay (i promise) by my chemical romance / agnes by glass animals

aesthetic:

dyeing your hair in the bathroom, guitar calluses, jumping off the porch roof, lilac bushes, the solitary silence of 4 am, soil between your fingers and toes

LIFESTYLE –

partying habits:

a stoner to the max, alice deals quite literally in weed, inheriting a small client base from leo robbins. when she first started dating nigel, alice found she didn’t mind the party scene. there’s always fun to be had, and she can handle her alcohol. she’s also not necessarily opposed to experimenting at parties-- if there’s a good time to be had, alice will try a sporadic drug or two without feeling particularly inclined to do these things later on her own.  

smoking habits:

directly inherited from her father, alice took up smoking as an act of teenage rebellion and favors menthol cigarettes. she finds it calming to smoke late at night when no one is around, or whenever she is overwhelmed by the situation at hand. finds it to be a handy tool to escape social situations if things aren’t going well.

eating habits:

growing up in a four-child household has definitely made alice a bit food aggressive. she eats when the opportunity presents itself but doesn’t pig out very often. snacks usually seem like a good idea, and alice is content to bring healthy options when she can. late-night meals are a staple in her diet. salty-sweet combinations are her usual favorite.

excercise habits:

alice has been practicing aikido and tae kwon do since she was young, and as a result has adopted a fair amount of exercise and weight training into her daily routine. mostly she just works to maintain equilibrium and not lose any muscle mass or physical ability, but if she’s feeling particularly stressed or upset she’ll throw herself into her workouts.

work ethic:

it’s alice’s belief that she can work hard and play hard, so long as she meets the deadlines set out for her. she’s got decent time management skills and works best with a loose schedule where she can make the decisions about what to do, when. when it comes to school work, alice is content to maintain her good grades in order to fly under the radar with her parents. 

sleeping habits:

when alice feels tired she can fall asleep anywhere, but her penchant for the peace of nighttime usually finds her awake well into the early mornings. she is a deep sleeper, but an agreeable one. sharing a bed with her is not a bad experience as she’ll typically move wherever she is prodded without much fuss. she usually prefers to sleep with a loose comforter and top sheet and will cocoon inside. waking up outside of her typical routine can be a challenge, but once alice wakes up she is awake for good.

ideal living space:

alice’s bedroom at home is well-lit and cozy, with an abundance of houseplants in any available spot of sunlight. her walls are filled with things she likes looking at: posters of her favorite bands, watercolor prints she and ellie made, and endless photos of herself and her friends. she usually takes time once a week to clean up, as she has a tendency to drop clothes or books wherever they lay as she moves onto something else.

quirks:

despite being a fan of all things spooky, jump scares always get her good. she’s usually the middle person in the haunted house group, and subsequently is always getting picked on. she will let you borrow anything she owns, but it’s of utmost importance that you ask first.

INTERESTS –

hobbies:

alice has been playing guitar and practicing martial arts since she was very small. her love for plants wasn’t fostered until later in life, but she prides herself on rehabilitating various wilted houseplants she happens upon. she loves a good smoke session and will make a whole event out of some rolling papers and a gram of fresh weed. she’s usually a pretty willing participant in any photoshoots that ellie cooks up.

best school subject:

science has always been a passion of alice’s. she’s a stem student through and through, excelling in maths and sciences from a very young age. through high school she took college level chemistry and biology courses.

worst school subject:

history always presented its challenges, but as alice grew older and her inability to learn much hands on coupled with the fact that most schooling was a little on the white supremacist side of the situation, alice tended to skip these classes as much as possible or spend as long as she could backtalking a teacher just trying to stick to curriculum. 

opinion of education:

alice doesn’t mind school itself-- college classes are perfectly designed to give alice all the free space she needed in a high school curriculum. but her not-so-stellar experience with the allegedly popular social scene made her more than ready to finally be free of high school.

career aspirations / achievements:

a perfect overlap of her loves of science and nature, alice dreams of becoming a bioengineer. she’s well on her way to it, quickly showing aptitude for higher-level stem courses from an early age.

favorite things:

her guitar, family breakfasts, american beauty, ellie & rumi, pop punk music, hand-rolled joints, ghost adventures,  her freshly-made bed, chocolate covered pretzels, restarting the bell jar,  when plants grow new leaves, her led zeppelin shirt ( x ), god of high school

boredom cure:

driving then walking, or just walking, as far as you can in silence, discovering a beautiful spot to watch the sun set, or rise, depending on when the urge strikes.

[rangerofthemojave]

Seven Deadly Sins tag game

If you get tagged, answer these questions and then tag 7 of your friends to do it too! Have fun~

I got tagged by @wickedripper​

Gluttony:

1. If you were on death row, what would your last meal be?

It will have to be a Norms Steak and eggs with bacon; with the Steak done medium rare.

  2. Are you a hoarder, if so what do you hoard?

Knives 

3. Do you collect anything and if so, what would that be?

I collect Pokemon items (mostly figurines)

4. The top five biggest holidays are New Years’ Eve/Day, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween and Christmas, what is your ranking of these holidays from most favorite to least favorite?

Christmas, Halloween, Valentines day New years Easter.

5. What is your favorite type of candy?

Chili covered watermelon lollipops from mexico.

6. What are your top three favorite restaurants?

Norms, Lazy Dogs, In and Out.

7. What are four foods of personal significance to you and why?

Steak and eggs because my dad always got them whenever we went out and eat. Spam and eggs because they are always easy to eat, Mozzarella sticks because after each fight at work we would go and at them to celebrate each one of our victories. and my mom omelets they always had a special place in my heart.

Lust:

1. Have you ever watched porn and/or read smut?

I won’t go to much in detail

2. Are you more attracted to physical traits or personality traits?

Physical because I am a hopeless person.

3. What are your top five favorite color combinations?

Black red, Red black, Red green, Blue white, and Black and blue.

4. Are you a virgin, if not then how would you like to lose your virginity and if so, do you regret the way you lost your virginity?

I am not a virgin. I lost it to my friend on a playground after a riot. just message me for the details.

5. How do feel about gay marriage and the LGBT community in general?

Let them be.

6. If you were to have a family of your own in the future, what kind of family and lifestyle would you want? 

I am not family person.

7. What would an ideal date be like for you?

Going to eat at Chipotle and walking around.

Greed:

1. What’s your birthstone and do you have any jewelry/objects with your birthstone on it?

Amethyst. No I do not own anything that has the stone as a jewelry piece.

2. What kinds of things do you usually put on your Christmas and birthday lists?

Money

3. If you were to get a tattoo, what would you want to be on your body forever?

I want an 8 of hearts over my heart.

4. If you could be immortal or have an extremely long life span, which would you pick and why?

Immortal to take all of the knowledge of the word and sleep on it.

5. Have you been on all forms of transport as in horse, car, plane (big, small, helicopter), train and boat?

Yes I have been on all of them even on a hot air balloon to the otherside of new mexico. 

6. What did you want to be when you were a kid and have your career ambitions changed since then?

To be a police officer. the ambitions are still the same now I want to be a Park Ranger.

7.Where do you get most of your clothes?

Amazon and Kohl’s discount isle.

Pride:

1. If you wear makeup, what kinds of products do you usually wear and why do choose to wear makeup? If you don’t wear makeup, what’s your opinion on those who do choose to wear it?

I’m a dude.

2. What’s your personal fashion sense/style?

I look like someone that is from the Midwest in California.I wear mostly plaid and jeans plus it looks cool in the fall and winter.

3. Do you follow clothing trends and if so, what are a few of your favorites?

Its still the same.

4. What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you?

That i am an asshole.

5. What are your religious beliefs and are they the same as the rest of your family or your parents and speaking of that, what’s your opinion on organized religion in general?

I am not a religious person. I was raised in a Catholic house hold so that may be the reason.

6. What’s your body type/skin tone and does your body type/skin tone make finding clothes that fit difficult or does it make finding the right shades of makeup difficult?

I am Hispanic so I feel better dressing like a conservative person.

 7. What are ten of your favorite female names and ten of your favorite male names?

 I can’t name them all

Wrath:

1. Do you have any unpopular opinions and if so, what are they?

I have to many of them to name off but I believe things on the more right side of things 

2. When you die, how do you want your mortal remains to be dealt with?

Ashes spread over Sequoia national park.

3. Do you hold grudges, why or why not?

I hold too many to count. 

4. What do you want to happen to your worst enemies?

For them to get cold coffee and the wrong order for the rest of their meaningless lives.

5. What do you think will be your cause of death and why?

Alcohol poisoning or something work related.

6. If you died right now, what song(s) would you want played at your funeral?

Soaring in the Skies-Pokemon ORAS OST

The Last of Us- The Last of Us OST

Oracion- Pokemon The Rise of Darkai OST

The Sounds of Silence · Armando Reyes y Salvador López · Mariachi Guadalajara

7. What’s your opinion on the death penalty?

Death is necessary to finish the job.

Envy:

1. What’s the climate of your local area like and do you like it?

Cold in the morings and warm during the rest o the day. Yes I live in SoCal.

  2. Do you get lost easily?

Yes when I am being guided and no when I am by myself.

3. If you could participate in the Olympics, what sport(s) would you compete in? 

Track and Long Distance running.

4. What’s your ranking of the seasons from most favorite to least favorite?

Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer.

5. What’s your dream car?

A Jeep Wrangler Rubicon

6. Are you skilled with technology?

No

7. What are four of your favorite patterns?

Plaid and solids because it is organized and orderly 

Sloth:

1. What are your favorite and least favorite tropes in fiction?

I don’t know anything about that.

2. When do you usually wake up and when do you usually go to bed?

I got to sleep at around 1230-130 am and wake up at 7 am for school and work.

3. What TV shows and movies did you frequently watch when you were a kid?

Documentaries about the Second World War, Cops, How its made, and Pokemon.

4. What’s your favorite era of music?

mid 80s

5. What do you usually watch on Youtube?

Documentaries and songs

6. What are ten songs that are of personal significance to you and why? 

I have too many to think about.

  7. What’s your top three favorite video games?

Halo in general, Fallout New Vegas, Pokemon ORAS

I tag:

@duxbelisarius

@apostalism

@lon3wolf396

@disnerdpoketrainer

@hadjiiembercolgatenerdmctillhawk

@fuckcake94

@fitotrd

[withlovefromlina-blog]

Budget and Boujee

Unless you’re my mom or dad reading this you’re most likely familiar with the 2016 hit by Migos called Bad and Boujee, and have probably heard the basic definition of the expression Bad and Boujee from Urban Dictionary. If not, take a quick pause, pull up a new browser and get acquainted. 

I started today, February 5th, being back on my own again after having spent a fun filled week in Tulum with two of my Canadian friends. I also started being back on my budget! The joke of the week with my friends was when I shared with them my ambitious goal of a 100 MXN a day budget I had been working towards up until their arrival. We thought we were on the same page over our first lunch when they also said 100, but we quickly burst into laughter when we realized I was talking Mexican pesos and they were talking Canadian dollars!

Rewind to before this last year, I’d been blessed with a career that provided me with a healthy flow of dispensable income, and never really thought twice about the small luxuries I afforded myself. Needless to say my friends and I shared this same blessing/trait/bad habit.

But things have changed, and I’ve been out of the employment world for about one year now, and I’ve had to make adjustments in my lifestyle and habits. People often ask me how I am able to afford to do what I’m doing. Now as much as I didn’t worry about money, I never got myself into debt, and was still able to save along the way. 

In addition I sold a property and many of my belongings, so I have some relative wiggle room while I gallivant the world. But I have become frugal and do my very best to get by with a lot less than I used to. I like a challenge and it’s almost become a bit of a game each day to see how well I can do. Mind you, I tend to be very good at finding great deals and yummy meals so I don’t always feel like I’m missing out!

That is until…..friends who are still in the world of employment pop into town!

Then I have a hard time keeping the boujee side under wraps.

But here’s what I’ve learnt, it’s possible to bad, boujee AND on a budget!

No doubt, money can be spent easily in Tulum. From the hippie chic boutiques, to the beach front hotels, to the endless 5 star restaurants and cocktail hideaways in the jungle, you can eat, drink and shop your way through any budget without even leaving the beach strip. We definitely tried to have a balance, and stay within our pre-determined budgets, but…you can’t win ‘em all, can ya!

That being said, I found that if I kept my fridge stocked with a few basics, and didn’t over-eat the way I so frequently did back in North Amercia..budget Mexico Lina is very achievable. My Air Bnb’s come with filtered water and coffee which get me through the morning. A salad made at home for either lunch or dinner makes sure I have a good 100 MXN a day for a meal out! 

And so far in downtown Tulum these are my fav spots that are in line with the “budget” give or take a peso or two.

Burritos from the street corner down the block from the main park..yup that’s all I got for you direction wise. He’s the only one who advertises Vegan and Vegetarian! 75 MXN

Gluten free Vegan option from Burrito Amore - 120 MXN

Pizza from Il Bacaro - 200 MXN

Thai food from Thai Tulum - great pad thai - 90 MXN, Massive veggie filled spring rolls - 80 MXN

Vegan Tacos from La Hoja Verde, huge potion with a very very generous topping of guacamole - 90 MXN

Stir Fry Veggies, Tofu and Rice Noodles from Uno Japanese Noodle - 100 MXN

From the local street vendors I got mango, avocado, cucumber, lettuce, onion, zucchini, bananas, carrots, apples, limes and hibiscus flowers for about 250 MXN and this lasted me all week!

Because I did tacos so much within the first few weeks, I actually seemed to avoid most tacos here in Tulum, but there are plenty of options near the main park on Tulum Avenida and down most side streets if you are adventurous to wander a bit.

Splurgy Eats on the beach - A bit more Boujee

Rosanegra, this place was amazing from the moment we walked in. The detail in the decor, the lighting, the artwork, the bathroom experience which ended in free champagne! And the music all created a very cool vibe. We shared appy’s of salmon coconut ceviche, spicy street corn, chargrilled calamari and burrata plate with arugula, but anything here looks amazing!

Mezzanine for Thai food, only for the money bags! Pun intended, it’s the name of an appetizer. We also shared pad thai which was delicious and served in a beautiful banana leaf.

ARCA and Hartwood are other must try’s for which we had many recommendations for but unfortunately missed out on these.

We didn’t drink much alcohol in Tulum, but there are a number of places that do happy hour and two for ones so you can try and find those if you’re feeling like having a drink!

A few of my other practices when I’m on my own that tend to keep expenses down are:

Filtered water versus still or sparkling bottled

Shared colectivo, bike or walk versus taxi

Sand versus beach chair

Re-usable water bottle

Staying away from the shops! (I have zero space for anything extra so this one hasn’t proven to be too difficult yet)

Getting out and in with the sun, for safety reasons but also I find this regulates my eating habits

Making something with the local produce that feels like a treat so you’re not tempted to grab a cold beer, I am working with hibiscus flower fresh brew tea these days!

Sticking to local shops and street food (I must admit I seem to be able to stomach almost anything on my travels and some aren’t so lucky, so be easy on this one and feel it out for you!) versus restaurants. That is until I found the pizza that dreams are made of….so I had it one last time today before I move on from Tulum tomorrow!

Doing my own laundry, as long as the weather cooperates for drying!

Self taught yoga and workouts

Food and budgets aside, we rocked our colourful beach wear, bandanas, braids and bold lips! We adventured, we biked, we swam with the fish in the cenote (after a long mental battle on the part of some as the steps into the water were swarming with the fish, and these fish were the nibble your feet and body kind of fish!), and we ate fish (not the same fish although that would have made the fear factor very ironic!). 

We called the Cenote “chay-notay” because it so easily slipped off the tongue as we longed for cold Italian sodas. We got pooped on by pigeons as the crowds around us yelled reassuringly that it was good luck! We spoiled ourselves yet kept finances top of mind, and boy oh boy did we laugh. We took turns at being the voice of sanity, reason, adventure and motivation.

What I love so much about the dynamic the three of us have together is that it’s 100% real. Wacky and fun and real. We say how we feel and what we think, even if it’s not pretty, politically correct or what the other might want to hear. It’s real and it comes from a place of love. You always know where you stand, and this creates trust. We talked business ideas, furthering education and general future plans. It made me think of how lucky we are to have the space and freedom to draft the blueprints of our futures.

We nursed sun burns and all too anxious minds. We took time out’s as needed: walks on the beach, Oprah/Eckhart Tolle podcasts, and some good old Tibetan singing bowl meditation music. Of course we took selfies, and took turns getting just the right portrait shot. Which I must admit I am grateful for as I mostly have scenery shots when I travel alone! I will miss their company to say the least. But, as the sign in the magical jungle read, KEEP GOING, and this is what I’ll do. Feeling grateful and feeling the love for my Canadian friends.

For me right now financially, it’s really a mind set. As much as I want to keep a safety net ready and waiting for the next downpayment on a home, or for whatever else might lay ahead, I know money comes and money goes but time cannot be recovered. I also know (and am kindly reminded by the cheerleaders around me), I worked very hard for the past decade, and I now have the means and time to live out a dream and to truly be alive in such beautiful places. Work, and therefore more money, is definitely in the near future but for now I know I can balance between budget and and a little boujee just fine.

So if you’re looking to do Tulum on a budget, splurge a little, or do a combination of the two, just give me a holler, I’ll give you the scoop.

Just for giggles:

Rain drop,  Drop top

We did Tulum in flip flops

Rain drop, Drop top

You aint nothin without your crop top

With All the Love From Lina #badandboujee

[illiy009-blog]

CECI KOREA APRIL ISSUE INTERVIEW (Nayeon, Jihyo, Mina, Sana, Dahyun)

CECI KOREA APRIL ISSUE INTERVIEW (Nayeon)

During your last interview you said a lot of people don’t know Twice, you want to approach and get closer to them. Did you reach your goal?

 During this promotion, I look at the comments and monitor our stages frequently. There are a lot more reaction where (they said) we look like we enjoy ourselves and have fun during the promotion. We are less burden (by this) and really enjoy ‘Knock Knock’ stages this time, we’re happy because they noticed it.

 You sang ‘Melting’ quite prettily during fansign? Tell us the method you use to ‘melt’ your heart when you’re feeling down.

 Actually, the feeling will go away when I just let it be. Like what my members said, I turn sulky easily over some little things (laugh) but I’ll forget about it quickly. My mood will get better in a very short time and therefore it’s the best to just leave me alone.

 If there is a most precious memory in your life (what will it be)?

 Before debuted, there was a time where manager oppa and the members hang out together just because all of us suddenly wanted to visit to the sea. Without any preparation, we ran into the sea, dance, took photos and played. This memory has been kept prettily for a long time. And during the concert while we sang One in a Million, I couldn’t forget the fans’ expression that I saw them close-up. Because they looked at us with the expression that they are sincerely liking us, I was really happy and almost cried, I cried a lot. Even though it’s hard, but my heart is warm when I think of their expression.

 Is there a word you want to leave for Ceci?

 Recently, I always stick ‘very’ (엄)to word when expressing. What we can write for Ceci together with Twice? Ah, 엄쁜Eom-peun (very pretty) Twice♡ Ceci

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CECI KOREA APRIL ISSUE INTERVIEW (Jihyo)

 What is your role of unnie (elder sister) to your younger sisters? Is there a difference as Twice’s leader Jihyo?

 Because my trainee’s period is long and therefore I always felt sorry to my sisters. My parents paid a lot of attention to me during that period and I think my sisters might’ve feel sad about it. I think I’m not a good elder sister. It’s the period where they should receive love but instead I’m the one who received all the attention (from parents).

 But isn’t that because of that period and now you became their proud sister?

 That’s right. They are really interested in and like idols a lot. They are quite a blunt person but they will show off, and asked me which artists I’ve met before, i’m happy because they talked to me first.

It’s the debut that you’ve been longing for. Is it quite similar to what you’ve dream of?

 Yes. It’s real that (I can feel) the word -it’s fancy in front of the stage but there is a lot of hardship behind the scene too. I realize how cool and respectful to the seniors that have been (in this industry) for a long time.

 Is there the only one moment that you want to treasure the most?

 I don’t want to forget the trainee period where I cried, laughed and went through hardship together with the members. It’s the evidence that I worked hard. I want to treasure it until the end.

 And therefore, are you happy nowadays?

 “Knock Knock” has received the love above our expectation and I couldn’t be even happier.

 The ending words that you want to say, (I’ll) write down as it is.

 Thank you. Let’s be together forever.

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CECI KOREA APRIL ISSUE INTERVIEW (Mina)

 There are a lot of nicknames given to Twice by the fans, which is your favourite?

 Tteudoongie pronunciation is cute too. But the combination of Twice and Sarangdoongie is the loveliest and I like it.

 Adult Ceremony and Madonna 4 minutes are the stage with different atmosphere that we’ve never seen before.

 I don’t usually have aegyo so sometimes it’s more comfortable for me to be ‘cool’ during pictorial shooting. During Sixteen I showed a lot of my sexy side, during Twice (I showed) cheerful side and therefore I want to try different concept during concert.

 You suit the word ‘Cool’ a lot. Is there a place in Seoul that you specially like it?

 No matter how, Cheongdamdong is the place where I started my trainee life and there’re a lot of memories. Every time my mum came, she’ll said ‘We had meal together here when (we) first came to Seoul’. This reminded me of a lot of good memories when she said that.

 If you have to choose only one precious memory in your life?

 I really don’t want to forget our first concert; I must not forget it (It’s a no to forget it). I cried a lot that day and it’s not because of sadness but I was deeply touched.  

 What is the thing that’s knocking on Mina’s heart the most recently?

 I like French fries, hamburger this kind of menu that will cause me to gain weight easily and it’s hard for me to resist them. (Laugh) I need to resist it during promotion but they (French fries, hamburger) keep “Knock Knock” on my heart.

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CECI KOREA APRIL ISSUE INTERVIEW (Sana)

 (Someone) make fun of you ‘Sana dropped something again’ during fansign, and you really drop the bouquet of flower. It is Sana’s charm.

 What a relief that you said it’s my charm. Because I always did something wrong and fell down so there were times where I got angry at myself too. Actually my mum is more severe compared to me and it looks like I will live (like her). I decided to accept it nicely.

 Seems like you’re born with optimistic and lively traits.

 Actually, my laughter was quite excessive and I think this is why I live a happier life. All my family members laugh over little things and all of us laugh a lot. When I received stress, 9/10 times I’ll laugh to relieve stress.

 What is the best part being an idol?

 It’s hard to choose since there are a lot. Especially when the fans deliver lunch box to us during the promotion, the design (of the lunch box) changes every time and the members’ nickname are written down. I feel happy every time I look at it because I can feel the fans’ efforts.

 What is the thing that’s knocking on Sana’s heart the most recently?

 Our fan club, ONCEs. During “Knock Knock’ fansign, concert where we can meet them personally and they said they gain energy when they see us. I’m really happy when I heard that.

 If there a word you want to say?

 Dad, 14th April Happy Birthday. You always put in effort for the family and came to the airport to meet me, thank you. Stay healthy as always.

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CECI KOREA APRIL ISSUE INTERVIEW (Dahyun)

 I saw the letter from fans where they told you not to forget your cute image as school lunch team leader. Is it a pity for you to turn into adult?

 No matter what, there are a lot of good memories and it’s a pity when I think of taking off my 10s identity. I’m really happy when I was called school lunch team leader so I asked them to call me (school lunch team leader) forever. I don’t feel real although the graduation ceremony had been held over a long time.

 Fansign is like another type of variety program. Is there a secret in making the fansign fun?

 We prepared the night before. There aren’t a lot of chances for us to have one-to-one conversation with (the fans). What to do that it’ll be more interesting,, (I am thinking) can we get even closer to each other. I hope the fans will laugh even if it’s 1 second more and have fun through (communicating with) us.

 You’re promoting as an idol member that you dreamed of, is there a fun moment that you found out?

 There is someone who wrote ‘Dahyun-ah, I gain energy because of you’ in the fan letter. I’m touched while reading it. During trainee days, I just imagined myself standing on the stage and I’ve never thought that I’ll received this type of reaction. I’m thankful to know that there is someone who lives everyday and gain energy through Twice.  

 In your life, if (you were to choose) a memory that you’ll never forget?

 No matter what, it should be the dance contest where it became an opportunity for me to join JYPE. It was the start and to now that I could debut in Twice.

 Lastly, is there a word you want to say?

 Members, don’t fall sick and maintain your health in the future. I hope we’ll Hwaiting in the remaining promotion and overseas concert. Twice Let’s do well.

[gt-adventures]

Giant Species Infodump: Ankaniim

You like giants? I know you do! 

This species belong to me, and belong in the world I made for them, which is the world of my original fantasy story Beanstalk. The following is almost all the information I have written up on the giant species of my own invention, which I call Ankaniim.You can find all of the story so far on my deviant art!  (i’ve been slowly working on it since I was 16, and im turing 22 in 2017...) 

I posted this info on DeviantArt a long time ago, but I should have it here too!

A lot of this information wont be revealed in story, it's stuff for me to keep in mind as I write. Also this is... what is the word? A CLOSED RACE* meaning, no you can't use them. not yet.  *not because I think any of you will steal them, my dream is to have people write fanfiction for my stories! But my story isn't ready for that. I haven't supplied enough world building, plus I don't want you using the magic wrong. This document will help with that, as it does explain some things. 

if you have any questions about Ankaniim or Higher Ground (the series of Beanstalk is Book 1), just ask! 

Name origin: Anka (singular) Ankaniim (plural) is just my augmentation of one of the hebrew words for Giant (Anak (singular) Anakiim (plural). You might think, isn’t the hebrew word for giant "nephiliim?" Yes, that is another word, and notice it's plural. It also means "fallen ones" as the hebrew word for fall is naphal. This word would be more appropriate for my story but I want to be different.         Humans: the human race are called Gamda (singular) Gamdaniim (plural) from the hebrew word for dwarf (gamad/gamadiim). Height Range: 50-80ft tall (average is about 72ft). their scale is ~11:1, so yes, compared to humans, they have a fairly large average height. age range: 50-60 years. 60 is old age. 70 is the equivalent of reaching like, 90 in a human. Giants are physically mature at 13 years old, with mental maturity at 16. (For reference: Tam is 15 years old, Jedraek is 19) Appearence: Giants come in all shapes and colors found in humans! but in more fun combinations.         feet: Giants have larger and flatter feet than humans, and look a bit like hobbit feet (but again flatter). Hair: Giants have very distinct dichromatic and sometimes tricromatic hair. This takes the form of spots or stripes. There is always one primary color (which can be any color found in humans) and a secondary color (which can be any color, including pastels, metallic, etc, anything goes!). For trichromats there are two secondary patches (the secondary color appears in more than one place, usually in spots, trichromatic stripes are more rare) or, even more rarely, two secondary colors. [yes im using the words that are normally used to describe a persons vision but they are good words]         In many societies having a more vibrant and contrasting secondary color meant better breeding. Also having eye color that matches your secondary is often seen as special. Body temperature: Ankaniim's body temperature is a bit lower than a humans, at 32C/90F but their body chemistry is amazingly resilient.  able to hold temperatures that would death in a human but only for a few hours. So the toggle is about 30C- 43C/85-110F (this is a huge temperature range for a warmblooded creature btw, homeostasis is usually means a core temperature is pretty much constant. However, ranges like this are typical of cloud dwelling creatures) Culture: Ankaniim live all over the world and there are many cultures, it would take to long to describe them all. I will save culture for another time. However         Ankaniim do not eat gamdaniim. There may be some cultures that do, but it would be more of a ritualistic thing, not an "attack the humans and eat them" thing.         Ankaniim do not like gamdaniim, at least ankaniim of the featured kingdoms don't. There are reasons for this, but no one really knows them since it's ancient history and now it's a culturally imbedded species rivalry. Long ago, the two species were friends. there are still many cultures where they are friends! but they are on other continents.         then why live where there are giants that do attack? Well it's not super frequent! Gamdaniim, like us regular humans, are stubborn as mules, we live in places that have tornadoes and earthquakes and hurricanes! Magic/Work: Hoowee, you ready for some complicated science fantasy bullshit!? Because I am! -Ankaniim are a magical race. They have "magical powers". This is a trait belonging to of ALL species that dwell in the clouds. The difference is that animals cannot use it the way Ankaniim do. There are no spells, no words or symbols, in fact, Ankaniim don't call it magic, it's called Work. It's the innate ability to redirect some of their metabolism over to generate and manipulate, with their mind, a stabilizing form of energy (referred to as magical energy for simplicity). -Magical energy exists in them, and but in it's low amounts is only enough to facilitate the metabolic redirection to generate more. Basically, in addition of making chemical energy and heat, their bodies will make magical energy as well. (How do they have magical energy to start with? When not switched, magical energy is a very minor by-product of neural electrical impulses. In fact, magic energy is what makes life possible, but magical beings produce a little extra) -Another way of putting it: The cellular metabolism of Cloud Dwelling animals can be redirected to create magical energy (this of course means they are not making their normal amount of biochemical energy and get tired very fast when using magic). Giants have the ability to control this energy with their minds. Direct it’s flow and purpose (while it still maintains its stabilizing properties). Energy (not just magical) is the capacity to do work or transfer heat. Thus using magic is called doing work or working. -what can magic really do? It stabilizes and controls other energy. Energy effects matter, so control of energy is control of matter! The simplest forms involve just transferring heat, the more difficult forms involve making or breaking chemical bonds or cold fusion and cold fission. I will provide some examples, from simple concepts to the more complex.         Important Note: Calorie Count. One Calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree. Water has a high heat capacity, so changing the temperature of water takes a lot of heat. (btw, calories in food are actually kiloCalories, which are 1000 calories). All work takes energy, magical energy mostly makes work possible, though it does assist in lowering the amount of energy needed to do these tasks.         example: thermal transfer: [The most simple and easy work]. This is the directed transfer of heat either into or out of an object. Usually used to heat and cool liquids. All heat being transferred into an object must be generated by the person doing the transfer*. All heat being transferred out of an object must be taken into the person.*                 *simultaneous transfer: one can transfer heat from one thing to another to avoid having to use energy to generate their own source of heat, however they must serve as the conduit for the heat.                 Phase Change: the difficulty of this task depends on the substance(s) being changed. Changing a substances phases between solid <--> liquid <--> gas. This is basically pushing thermal transfer until enough energy is taken out or put in that the substance changes phase. But, since their is a energy barrier that must be crossed to achieve change (the link shows it for water. it's different for every substance. Plus atmospheric pressure is a factor in how difficult this is)         cold fusion and fission you know any of the elements beyond Hydrogen exist? Fusion in stars. The pressure and heat is so great the hydrogen atoms fuse into helium, and those fused atoms fuse. They can't make elements beyond Iron there is not enough heat or pressure to make the next element. It takes a supernova to burst through and make it all the way to Uranium. Fission is the opposite, breaking atoms apart, releasing energy. This usually results in explosions that vaporize their immediate surroundings and melt/set on fire the less immediate. e=mc^2 and all that         Work Fusion/Fission: magic allows for both fusion and fission to be done safely. How? This is the science fantasy bullshit part. Where does the energy go from fission? where is the energy needed for fusion coming from? idk, it's magic! Also a great deal of energy is coming from the Anka performing the work. However this is how metal is made in the cloud world, since elemental metals are not found in the cloud land.  The starting material must be the clouds themselves. The hydrogens in the water provide units of 1 proton for fission and the oxygen provide units of 8 protons. It must be done with the clouds, since those contain a high amount of magical energy otherwise it can't be done. Of course, pulling bonds hydrogens and oxygen apart requires energy. Any elements made will most likely be bonded to each other, which releases energy. Magic makes this possible.                 the easiest and most commonly performed work of this type is making of oils and other hydrocarbon fuels. the hardest is complex substances that are made of more than just hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. These require more than just thinking and directing the energy, it takes steps and chemistry. Making metals is also difficult just because of the fusion involved.         Ok, so now you know what magic can do. the Fusion/Fission thing should provide you will all the possibilities! (condensed: an Anka can make any material they wish starting from clouds if they are trained and have the energy. Overexertion is possible, easily possible when making things beyond hydrocarbons like alkanes, alkenes, and also other oils)         what magic can't do: magic takes energy and time, it is not something that can be used to cast shields or attacks. There are no enchantments or illusions. Magic can't conjure, it can't do anything except what I described above.       Congrats, you made it through the science fantasy babble! You have earned a fun fact:     fun fact: Gamdaniim evolved from Ankaniim. The species diverged about 70,000 years ago. Ankaniim felt like exploring more of the world, and that included the surface, so a sizable group was sent down while the rest spread out across the clouds! Over the years the lack of magical energy along with the environment being harsher, less plentiful, caused each generation to decrease in size until it was sustainable. They also lost the ability to do Work but gained more innate curiosity and cunning, which is why Gamdaniim are at a higher technology level than Ankaniim. Here is an image of my main Anka, Tam, drawn by my friend sailerscrimshaw.tumblr.com (link has fully image, showing my OCs Tam, Camden, and Aliza, but with Tam at a human scale. And bellow that is Tam and Camden at the proper scale!  (Tam’s skin color is correct in the first image!)

Once again, if you have questions or comments, my askbox is open :D

[kristxff-bjxrgman]

TASK 001 — DIG A LITTLE DEEPER !

(Answering this as Kristoff because it’s more fun that way.)

BASIC INFORMATION.

What is your full name ? 

Kristoff Andersson Bjorgman

How is it pronounced ? 

Kris-tohf Ann-duhr-sohn Buh-your-g-man

Is there a meaning behind it ? 

Kristoff - basically Scandinavian for Christopher, which I’m told means carrier of Christ (okay...)

Andersson - son of Andrew (I don’t know who Andrew is)

Bjorgman - .....I absolutely have no idea about this one.

Do you have any nicknames ? 

Christopher (this was by Anna, when I first met her, in which I immediately corrected her), Ice Dude, Woodsy Guy, Tall Guy, Hey You, Weirdo (by my cousins)

When and where were you born ?

I am adopted, so I’m not exactly sure where, but my birth date is on May 3.

What’s your zodiac sign and what traits do you most relate to ?

Zodiac, schmodiac. I don’t really believe all that stuff. But if you really insist, they all say I’m a Taurus. That’s the bull one, right? Awesome.

Traits? Well, it says here on the Internet that Taurus men are down-to-earth, stubborn, reserved, and can be aggressive and competitive. Well, I guess that’s me alright. It also says here that Taurus men are supposed to be well-traveled and highly successful financially. Now, I highly doubt these though.... Who came up with this stuff, anyway?

Oh, but it does say that when we fall in love, we fall in love deeply and completely. Okay, that’s sounds good. And that, we’re also great at se-- *coughs* Okay, I think that’s enough for now.

What’s your nationality ?

American, but we’re basically ethnically Scandinavian.

What’s your occupation ?

The most stable job at the moment is helping out with the family’s lumber business. I mean, I’m still in college, and will continue with the family business in time. 

What gender do you identify yourself as ?

Unabashedly male.

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE.

What’s your eye color ?

Brown

Do you wear glasses or contacts ?

No.

Hair color ?

Uh, light brown?

Have you ever dyed your hair or wanted to ?

What? No.

Height ?

Um...tall? I’m pretty sure I’m past the 6 feet mark..

Body build ?

Athletic? But also sorta slim? I mean, I dunno.

Do you have any birthmarks ? 

Nope. 

Do you have any piercings or tattoos ?

Also, nope.

If not, do you want to get some ?

Not at the moment no. I mean, I don’t think I’ll look good with them anyway.

Do you have a healthy life style ?

Yes, I’d like to think so. I mean, after all, I LOVE carrots.

How easy do you get sick ?

Not pretty easy. My mom usually says I’m like a rock. Not easy to break.

Any marks on your body ( injuries, … ) ?

I do have some small scars in my arms and also a bit on my legs. Mostly due to my mountain climbing, but nothing too serious.

What’s your personal style/how do you like to dress ?

Um, comfortable wear? I’m no fashion expert, ya know. I’ve heard others say that my style can be either a combination between ‘lumberjack and mountaineer’ or ‘exhausted college student and hobo’.

What is your favorite and least favorite feature about yourself ?

I like me. All of me. But then again, I think being taller than most people I know is a total bummer.

PERSONALITY.

Positive traits ?

Loyal. Hardworking. Resourceful. Protective. Frank and Intelligent. I can go on and on, ya know, but I think that’d be too selfish of me.

Negative traits ?

Stubborn. Introverted. Awkward. Sometimes bossy. Quirky. Shy. A loner. Well, so they say.

What do you consider to be the best and the worst part of your personality?

Loyal and protective, for my best traits. And my worst? Um, being stubborn and bossy, I guess.

Are you more extroverted or introverted ?

Introverted

Any talents ?

Expert at hiking, mountain climbing and camping. Also great at all things lumber. And ice. And a decent lute player.

What are your fears ?

Losing my family. Or Sven. Or anyone I love. *coughs*

Do they have any phobias ?

No, nothing that I can think of, no.

What is your soft spot ?

I have a soft spot for animals. Usually.

List 3 pet-peeves you can’t stand.

High prices at Oaken’s. Like, seriously man. I do not believe that carrots can be that EXPENSIVE.

Complaining about having to walk, instead of riding in a truck. Look, riding in a truck is great for travelling long-ish distances, but if it’s not that far, then we should just walk, right?

The thought of committing yourself to someone for the rest of your life, without getting to know each other THOROUGHLY first.

EDUCATION.

How far did you go in school ? Are you still studying ?

Currently a junior at college. Trying to see if I can graduate with a degree in business management.

Do/Did you like school ?

Eh, it’s alright, I guess.

What type of student are/were you ?

Let’s just say that I’m not the brightest, and I’m also not the dumbest in my class.

What is/was your favorite subject ?

I loved woodworking. And also Biology, I guess. Music too.

And your least favorite?

English, I guess.

What were you/would you have been voted as “most likely to…” in the yearbook ?

Most Likely to be a hermit and live in the woods for the rest of his life

FAMILY.

Who are your parents ? 

Clifford “Cliff” Stefan Bjorgman - adoptive father; current proprietor/manager of Bjorgman Lumber.

Hulda Inge Bjorgman - adoptive mother; a crystal “healer” in her spare time

How would you describe them ?

Well, dad is...dad. He’s cool, as far as dads go. Doesn’t really speak or socialize much, so I guess, we’re similar at that aspect. Loves the business as much as he loves us.

Mom...well, she’s a bit chattier than us boys in the family. And by chattier, I guess you could say that she and Anna get along very well. She can be quite meddlesome, but I think she only does that because she wants to take care of us, and that she just wants the best for us.

Do they have any siblings ?

No. I got TONS of cousins though.

Are they close with their family?

Oh, yes. Very.

ROMANCE & SEXUALITY.

What’s your romantic and sexual orientation ?

I guess you can say that I’m heteroromantic and heterosexual.

Are you seeing anyone right now ?

*coughs* Um... I mean... *coughs* Um, no? 

Have you ever been in an relationship ?

Well....no. Not really...?

Have they ever been in love ?

*shrugs* I guess. Maybe. Yeah, maybe you can that it’s a yes.

How easy do they fall for someone ?

Not easily. Really.

In their view, why didn’t any past relationships work out ?

*sighs* I dunno. Maybe because they just don’t understand or appreciate me the way I am...?

What do you look for in someone ?

Well, I’m just really on the lookout for someone who likes me for...well, me. If some girl can appreciate that, then heck yeah, maybe I can like her back too.

Do you believe in love at first sight ? or fate ?

Ugh. My mom is going to tease me sooo hard for this.

Falling in love at first sight. No. I believe that you get to know first before falling in love with them. After all, you’d never know if he or she picks his or her nose if you don’t get to know them better, right?

On fate... Well, I guess I slightly believe more on that. 

What’s your views on romance ? Do you go after it or avoid it ?

Oh, I mean, romance is great. I don’t exactly avoid it, but I also don’t actively chase it. I mean, I’m romantic, but on my own pace, ya know.

Did you have your first time already ? How was it in your point of view ?

*coughs* Uh, it was...alright, I guess. *coughs*

What is your view on sex ?

Sex is...great, um, okay? I mean... Why are you seriously asking me these questions though?

What are your turn ons and turn offs ?

What the---? *coughs* Okay, I’m not gonna say ‘turn on’ or ‘turn off’. Well, in girls, I like it when they are funny, and can also get my sense of humor. Also, it helps if they can tolerate me. 

Were you ever cheated on or have you cheated on someone ?

Never cheated on anyone, and no one has cheated on me...not that I know of.

Do you want to get married in the future ?

Yeah, sure. Someday.

Have kids ?

Not right now. Maybe someday.

QUIRKS.

Are you right or left handed ?

Right.

What’s a word that’s always on your lips?

What?

Is there a saying you keep on repeating ?

‘You almost set me on fire.’ 

I find myself constantly saying this when in the company of a certain someone. *coughs*

Do you curse ?

Sometimes. Secretly. I try as much as possible not to.

What’s your worst habit ? 

I...tend to smell sometimes...? *shrugs* I shower, I swear! But I guess that’s not really a habit, right? If we’re talking habits, I guess it’s my frequent preference to just...be outside. That’s a habit, right?

Do you drink or smoke ? How frequently ?

I drink...occasionally. But not that much anyway. And no, I don’t smoke.

Are they an early bird or a night owl ?

Definitely an early bird.

How tidy is your room ?

Eh...not really that tidy.

How long do you usually take getting ready in the morning ?

I like getting ready in a jiffy, so most probably, around 30 minutes tops?

FAVORITES.

What’s their favorite color ?

Shades of blue and green.

Favorite movie ?

Oh, the Lord of the Rings franchise. Definitely.

Music Genre ?

Folk.

Food ?

Um...all of it? But, the healthy ones of course.

Book ?

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Favorite non-alcoholic drink ?

Fruit juice.

Ice Cream Flavor ?

Rocky Road

Indoors or outdoors ?

Outdoors, definitely.

[mrgameandpie]

Sometimes, I imagine what it’d be like for someone to love me. Like, to REALLY love me, a lot. For spending time with me to be a high priority for someone, something a person wants to do on a regular and frequent basis. For someone to find me attractive, enjoying my silliness and memes and puns, being into my skeletal figure. For the kind of person I am to actually satisfy another person’s desires.

I’ve only had two significant others before, and both relationships ended pretty quickly due to fundamental parts of who I am clashing with fundamental parts of who they were. It can give the impression of me being unlovable, even if it’s just two people out of so many in the world. I tend to get crushes on fictional characters, and I like to cuddle or otherwise engage in affectionate gestures extremely frequently. Neither of those things seem like traits that are fundamental dealbreakers for most people. On the contrary I’d imagine there are a lot of people out there would would appreciate the cuddles, and many still who would accept the fiction pining. However, because these are the two things about me that primarily caused previous relationships to end, it can still generate a negative view about myself regardless.

One element here is that I really crave affection and praise. I want someone to tell me that they love me, that I matter to them, that they want me around and appreciate what I do. I never feel like I get enough validation in my life, and as such its something that would mean a lot to me. If someone were to say that I looked hot or cute or beautiful or really anything positive about my appearance, that’d shock me, but it’d also mean a lot. Nobody ever says that kind of stuff about me. If someone so much as said I mattered to them, that they considered me an important part of their life, I don’t think I’d know how to respond, but it’d launch my mood straight to Jupiter that’s for sure!

I give out this kind of support and praise to others fairly frequently, generally to people who I feel especially close to. I love doing this, letting people know they’re important to me, validating their feelings and providing comfort and assurance, it is immensely fulfilling and I don’t think I’d ever stop. I’d just like to be on the receiving end too sometimes. It’d mean a lot to me.

I guess looking back, there are a few times where people were interested in me. When I was a little kid, preschool through elementary school, all the girls were my friends in essentially any scenario. The secret, of course, was to respect them as people and be kind, who would’ve guessed? As is typical for kids of that age, a couple of these girls did have crushes on me and at least one claimed she was going to marry me. I remember I always said I felt I was too young to really have a girlfriend and a relationship like that. And, yeah, I was too young! Go little GnP, being reasonably mature.

Even in my adult life, there was one woman who was deeply interested in me, but that did not end well at all. Let’s call her Cindy for simplicity. I met her at church, and she asked if I wanted to hang out sometime. I wasn’t going to college at that moment, I think it was summer, though I was looking for a job. I also was pretty lonely, having lost contact with just about everyone from highschool, not having connected with anyone at college, and most of my internet friends were in a busy period. As such, it was a real no-brainer to take her up on the offer.

The first warning sign happened when she arrived at my house and started talking to my parents about marrying me. Like, we had talked maybe once and already she’s talking about this kind of stuff. However, things only went downhill from there. As previously noted, I love physical affection. Can’t get enough of it. Cindy like touching me a lot, generally on the shoulder or one time where she had me hold her, but unlike with anyone else I’ve ever physically interacted with, with her it felt wrong. So very uncomfortable and unsettling. Cindy didn’t like things or do things, and generally never had anything positive to say. She wasn’t in college at all, wasn’t looking for a job, didn’t have hobbies or even any interests like games, shows, or sports. She read books and manga which is pretty cool, but I could never get her to talk about any of these things. If she said anything, it was almost exclusively life drama. I’m certainly willing to listen about that, support one emotionally and the like, but that was the only thing she ever talked about.  On the flip side, when I would try to talk about anything I was interested in, she always made it a point to let me know she couldn’t follow a word of what I was saying, which was always really disappointing. I make videos where I explain how videogames work and discuss what their positive and negative points are, being able to effectively convey such information even to someone generally uninformed about such matters is a skill I typically take some pride in, for someone who wanted to be important in my life to not understand what I was talking about at all despite my best efforts, it was really disheartening.

As time went on she began to get really mean with me. She’d make fun of my interests, chastise me for not laughing at the jokes she laughed at. Even after I let her know, in no uncertain terms, that I wasn’t romantically interested in her, she continued her attempts at flirting regardless. Finally, one day, she poked or touched me in a way that made me extremely uncomfortable and I asked her to stop touching me. She continued touching me, and made fun of me for wanting some space. After I dropped her home that afternoon, I never saw or talked to her again. She had become a toxic source of negativity and discomfort in my life, and I didn’t need that at all.

One good thing did come out of Cindy though. In an attempt to avoid being alone with her, I began to invite an old highschool friend I hadn’t hung out with in roughly a year. The two of us used to hang out every Friday as the weekend started up, but when I began college that stopped for a time. After the incident with Cindy, my friend and I have regularly spent time together every week, which is nice since he’s basically my only IRL friend at this point.

Quite a few years have past since then, but still the fact remains she’s the only person who has expressed any notable interest in me in my adult life. The two significant others alluded to previously tended to be fairly one-sided when it came to gestures of affection and the like. Not to say either never said they liked me or that they never did anything for me, just that it never felt like either were especially head-over-heels for me. Nor has it felt like anyone was that way.

One thing that’s helped me when I felt I needed affection or assurance has been the previously mentioned crushes on fictional characters.  Throughout my life I’ve probably spent more time inside my imagination than in anything resembling actual physical reality, and as such one of the fantasies I live out is having a stable healthy relationship. Jade Harley, Roxy Lalonde, Sanae Kochiya, Mei Ling Zhou, Kibbles, the list of characters I’ve had crushes on goes on really. Sometimes I’ll refer to them as my “waifus” or the like but that’s generally only sarcastically or as shorthand without having to explain further. In truth, waifu culture tends to indicate a degree of interest that I’ve only really achieved once. You won’t find me buying dakimuras or reading innumerable ReaderXCharacter fics or the like, my own casual fantasies are good enough for me. The one fictional woman I really got into was a unique combination of personality, interests, lifestyle, body type, overall aesthetic, and capability that checked absolutely every checkmark I didn’t even know I had, topped off with a RP scenario that actually allowed me to interact with her which hadn’t even remotely happened outside that instance. The original creator of the character completely lost interest in her though, and now she’s actually my character, who I do intend to using in something in the future. Even still, she continues to act as a comforting force within my mind that nothing has really compared to, we’re a lot alike and even though I didn’t originally create her, she’s a strong part of me now, even stronger than numerous characters I made myself. All that said, I hope to grow to a point some day where I don’t need her anymore, where I’ve found someone real who will want to be with me, who will crave my Thomasness that nobody else can really provide.