#this is an idea that may come in handy for motives and such when I get to writing those parts

[ceiling-karasu]

Poll: What is up with Commander Seungnyangi?

Characters in Squirrel and Hedgehog appear to be mostly named based on their species (squirrel, hedgehog, weasel), profession, or other distinguishing features (Aekku = one eyed, Oegwipali= one ear). The commander of the Wolf Unit, Seungnyangi, has a name (승냥이) that translates into 'Jackal.'

Borrowing from a previous post I made, but he does look slightly different that the other wolves.

Somewhat of a thinner muzzle than the rest, rounder ears. Jackals in real life can have longer thinner muzzles and sometimes rounder ears than wolves.

Insults based on species do appear to exist in the Squirrel and Hedgehog universe. For instance, Bamsaegi provides a distraction by calling Geumsaegi a 'running dog of General Commander,' which means some dogs and other animals must have a reputation.

Jackal has connotations that suggest trickery, cunning, and treachery. Commander Seungnyangi does not much care about the safety of his own men, and is very intelligent and brutal in getting what he wants. Which means he could have been named after this factor. Golden Jackal may be most likely.

Or (and this one would be tricker for a few reasons) he could be a mixture of both or other canines, as the wolves have have looked down on him for being part of a supposedly weaker species, while jackals stayed away because they saw him as yet another wolf brute. Or he kept one parent’s name. I’m still kind of keeping the canon-typical speciesism as in the other AU. It is a war and espionage AU fanfic, after all.

Feel free to make any suggestions!

[nymphbroadcast]

Savanaclaw x MC! like Carmilla Carmine

⊹Sinopsis⊹ೃ🐾⋆ The Savanaclaw boys with a MC! Or Yuu like Carmilla Carmine.

⊹Relationship⊹ೃ🐾⋆ fall in love/ Free of interpretation.

⊹¡FEM! MC/Yuu/Lector ⊹ೃ 🐾⋆

⊹Clarifications: Instead of the reader being a trafficker like Carmilla, she will be the inventor/creator of ''angelic'' weapons, she will not have daughters as in the series, however it will be said that she acts as a mother to those who are younger than her. Again, I don't specify MC's age! so that you are free to think about the race of MC! as you like, I'm also relying on the theory that Carmilla is a demon inspired by a Swan and scissors, just because I think it's a good idea :³

⊹Carmilla's Analysis⊹ೃ 🐾⋆

• She is someone physically and mentally agile, she is protective of what she loves as she is with her daughters and even with a close friend like Zestial, she is serious in her work, everything she does is motivated by love since she knows that it is the best way to motivate herself and win, she is extremely skilled in physical fighting, she is intelligent as a skilled weapons engineer, she respects her superior and elder figures as shown with her fellow Overlords however she does not tolerate disrespect from anyone even if it is someone with the same or higher status, she does not like to be involved in other people's problems, however she is willing to help without getting directly involved, she does not believe in mediocrity or people's ridiculous excuses, she has a strong maternal side, she is capable of everything only for those she really loves, apparently she likes dancing and especially ballet, she usually motivates with some harshness but it is always necessary, she is imposing and inspires respect without necessarily being aggressive, she is observant and can easily identify weaknesses in others, Despite her temperament, she is a good leader and is wise in her decisions.

Leona Kingscholar

🦁 Leona is terrified, we know that the women of Sunset Savanah are much stronger than the males, and even though you are not from Sunset Savanah but from "another world" it is obvious that you can kick his butt if you want.

🦁 (Ch 2) When Leona enters overblot and uses his magic to attack fortunately you are fast and strong enough to dodge and block all his attacks and use your ballet slippers made of angelic steel to cut parts of the Phantom from his Blot.

🦁 (Ch 2) At the end of the fight, you agree to help Leona even if he doesn't want to, so do us a favor and pull him with you and teach him that he should do things for himself and not to seek the approval of others.

🦁 Leona begins to compare you to a swan, your elegant but strong movements remind him of it, not to mention your elegance even in combat with someone, sometimes you remind him of Vil, the difference is that you don't irritate him... not that much.

🦁 You say you are an inventor? Well, it's nothing new... and what things do you invent? weapons? weapons capable of killing immortal beings with different celestial abilities and almost incalculable powers?...

🦁 ...okay now Leona is not considering, you can create weapons that kill celestial beings... would you make one that can hurt a Dragon Fae?... oh don't give him that look! It's just curiosity.... maybe that skill of yours will come in handy sometime.

🦁 Leona sees your interactions with the ''juniors'' and doesn't know very well how to react, you are protective and agile in caring for and correcting them, you instruct them with love and discipline, you may be reminding him of a strong and dedicated mother... he thinks that maybe when you have your own children you will be great as a mother.

🦁 Leona sees you dance and can't help but admire you, your movements are precise and elegant at the same time, you are so beautiful dancing when you think no one is watching, maybe he makes fun of you a little with that characteristic smile of his.

🦁 Are you signing up for Magift? If you are interested, join the club and kick their ass, I guarantee that most of them will be more captivated by your elegance and skill than in the game itself, and if you look at Leona you can see him totally in love with your legs. (No joke, now he's sure he won't get mad if you ever kick him)

🦁 He is still lazy, so every time you get to wherever he is sleeping, pick him up and take him with you to class, don't let him rest until he gathers fruits of his efforts, only then can you caress his soft hair while he rests on your lap.

🦁 Speaking of Leona's favorite ''activity'', you are now this lazy lion's soft swan feather pillow, your hands work magic on his head and your whole body is soft even with your well exercised physique, now he could even roll his tail on your leg or waist depending on what is closest to him, you are a comfort to this man.

🦁 You become his supervisor, his lover and his motivation, you at his side as a beautiful, strong and talented woman, they become the king and queen of the board, you help him to improve and grow at his side, you also take care of him and you correct, please this man begins to think that everything can be worth it if with this he can build a new pride with you by his side.

🦁 So you take the opportunity, when you see the servants who compared Leona as a child with his brother you definitely use your sharp words against those idiots, almost as sharp as your slippers and when you take them to ask Leona for forgiveness, you have this man kneeling and with a ring just for you.

Ruggie Bucchi

🍩 I don't know much about Ruggie, appreciate my effort 🥲

🍩 Ruggie sees you as an authoritarian figure, similar to Leona but without his "demotivation."

🍩 Ruggie sometimes needs your seriousness, you may have to be the one to correct him for his questionable attitudes.

🍩 You have to motivate Riggie to work honestly, assign him to do some work, whether it's yours or your colleagues', and thus earn rewards honestly.

🍩 It doesn't take long for Ruggie to realize that you are what he needs, your rigidity and discipline clash with his harmful habits and they already have a little laughing hyena accompanying you in everything you need.

🍩 Sorry it's so short, I repeat that I don't know much about Ruggie nor am I a big fan of him 😭

Jack Howl

🐺 We know what Jack is like, personally I'd say you'd get along well with him.

🐺 You and Jack have a lot in common, you are both serious about what you do, physically strong, etc...

🐺 I would tell you that you have officially become the owner of this adorable puppy, you are perfect for him and he is totally in favor of taking care of you when you can't do it yourself.

–(Moment of Carmilla's mental breakdown, after the Overlords meeting and the "fight" with Velvet)

🐺 You and Jack organize to have a good training schedule together, it's funny because you're perfectly capable of matching his pace, the others in the background wonder if you're really human.

🐺 Jack never gets bored of seeing you in action, against Overblots or not, you always look amazing, your movements are strong and precise, you can see him wagging his little tail but don't mention it to him or he will deny it... Clumsily but still.

🐺 You are Jack's versatility, he has a tendency to be stubborn and too straight at times, fortunately you are there to remind him that the anus vine is squared and he will thank you, not out loud of course but wait for his actions to tell you, this little wolf appreciates you so much.

Nymph's Note:

Sorry for the delay, I have been going through a small anxiety crisis and I have tried to reduce what I can consider as a trigger, however here I finished a little of what I had committed to!

I Hope you enjoyed!

Remember to tune in, end of this broadcast!

Savanaclaw Dorm x MC! like Carmilla Carmine Done!

Next: Diasomnia Dorm x MC! Like Vaggie???

[rinbylin]

li xiangyi, yin, and femininity

we all know that li xiangyi is a character of fractured identities. and li lianhua is an unreliable narrator to his own story. these make him not the most straightforward character to study. but I've believed in treating li lianhua as a part of li xiangyi, rather than separates. and there must be a common thread that ties all of him together. thus, I offer what I have found to be the most useful lens to use to view him as a cohesive whole, regardless as li xiangyi, li lianhua, or any other identity he may reinvent into: his 阴 yin qualities. (yin of yinyang)

this framework suggested by the drama's text itself has helped clarify to me his strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and struggles. by identifying this constant, too, makes it so much easier talking about what has changed in him.

[to the, hopefully growing, boli lhl hivemind @markiafc @ananeiah]

-

there are some notes on the concept of yinyang and chinese conceptualisation of gender I have to preface with.

[disclaimer: of course, I'm not even trying to cover a tip of what experts have extensively studied and debated in a depth it deserves. all I'm doing is try to parse the broad, fundamental ideas that are needed to explain my blorbos through my own spotty brain filter. so there bound to be nuances I've overlooked or some degree of my own interpretation. pretentious but needs to be done.]

阴 yin and 阳 yang are concepts characterised by passiveness, darkness, gentleness, femininity etc, and proactivity, light, toughness, masculinity etc respectively. a very key and handy concept to have in mind is their relationship to each other - which I'll not attempt at explaining better than literal scholars have:

Yin and yang exist only in relation to one another internally as the way warmth-coldness only exist relative to one another. Furthermore, when using yin-yang as an organizational schema, achieving balancing harmony is always the goal, not domination nor subordination of one to the other. [x]

while yin and yang can be symbols of femininity and masculinity, it doesn't mean all female are yin and all male are yang. it's certainly not a strict 1-to-1 equation. the concept of gender in chinese context is more social than biological. this suggests room for fluidity, and shaping of identities, often through social rituals as one journeys through life. it also means that there can be femininity in the masculine, and vice versa - in fact, that's only healthy because you need a good balance of the two worlds. no one part is better than the other. if you think of the two components as relative to each other, they are always interacting and affecting each other, rather than being strict and inert binaries. simply put, it needs to be kept in mind that there are greater nuances in applying yin and yang to the definitions of gender, and to avoid at all cost a simplification of this framework into a binary.

sure, the show has implied that lxy's powers and energy are yin-coded. but femininity is only one of the multiple attributes of yin. so how are we extending lxy's yin to femininity specifically? it's in the text that substantiates and qualifies lxy as feminine. dead women being used as proxies to his character. being literally dressed as a woman in order to put himself into their shoes and feel what they've felt. adopting a name that happens to be very, very feminine - 莲花 lianhua (lit. lotus flower) (it must be caveated that chinese names are NOT gendered. but there are just some names that are more feminine than others.) him coming to lead a life revolving around traditionally feminine, domestic things as li lianhua. him having interactions with the women around him like he's in his own element - no pressure and tension at all, unlike with all the other men.

as such, I'm more willing to use yin and femininity interchangeably in discussing lxy (while it's not necessarily applicable to every point that will be mentioned albeit there being some degree of implied association). and it's for the sake of elucidating what I feel is an intention or very plausible reading of the canon text in parsing feminine experiences in lxy's character. and thus, his queerness.

one last note is that taoism is going be mentioned quite a bit as well because of how much it as a philosophy honours the yin quality. its key tenets include valuing passiveness and inaction as a form of action, and submitting to the nature of things. and we will see how those come up in lxy's life too. (though I'm not gonna attempt to deep dive into it here beyond broad strokes of it.)

-

a huge part of li xiangyi's yin actually manifests in him being a passive person. this applies not just to li lianhua, but also li xiangyi. I know. ok wait hear me out. the idea of yinyang is after all components that can change and are relational to each other: thus, there were points in li xiangyi's life when he was less passive than other points, but they ultimately don't match up to the degree of aggression displayed by other men around him. so relative to their display of proactivity and aggression, he can be considered as passive. the best example is that of shan gudao proposing to launch an offensive on jinyuan alliance, while lxy - as much as he was arrogant about it - was standing his ground on not taking action in favour of peace.

it has already showed up in his childhood as well. he wasn't a particularly competitive child: 从来都没有谁要和你争 nobody has ever thought of competing with you over anything, he told sgd as he recalled of their times growing up. it was in fact sgd who was desperate to control and override lxy's presence. baby lxy did not hesitate at all over giving up on winning in favour of protecting his only rare few close relationships left in the world (given how hard-earned relationships are when they're non-familial !!!!). as much as I resent the one-dimensional writing of sgd, he has served as a very strong marker to highlight on lxy's yin.

-

I've harped on it several times before but this is the time I finally get to explain it proper: my own theory is that li xiangyi became an unparalleled swordsmaster because of his yin/feminine quality, not in spite of it. an interesting point that had been out in the open unclaimed until it was brought up in our friend group is that, li xiangyi does not actually fit anybody's conventional image of a 武林盟主 wulin mengzhu (ie. ruler of wulin). it would most likely have been some burly, muscular, ultra-masculine dude. even if they don't look like the demonic monk, it should be someone more like di feisheng. but. it's li xiangyi, the boyish, delicate-looking kid, who came to the top. (no wonder people - mostly men - love or love to bully hate him like weak men hate powerful women??)

"why didn't they cast someone who looks more like a wulin mengzhu (read: traditionally manly)?" no, no that's precisely the point. nobody said wulin mengzhu have to look manly. and also who is to define the manliness required to be in a place of authority? (or in my other meta, we would ask, who is to define anybody gets to have the authority over anyone else at all?)

by taoist ideal, gentleness is the most refined form of strength. li xiangyi has been haunting and distracting me in my chinese calligraphy practices lately because I'm thinking about how this must be the closest to what it felt like lxy becoming the best swordsman in jianghu. (so pretentiously brainrotten of me, I know, BUT IT'S REAL and I'm suffering.) mastering a chinese art is essentially about mastering a delicate balance between force and gentleness; being able to draw force from softness 柔中带刚 and an ability to maintain this balance. a beginner will instinctively hold a brush for the first time with brute, unrefined force. some fairly reputable contemporary calligraphers, according to my teacher, can be seen as being either too soft or too forceful - but are still able to pass off as good enough. it's then, the master of masters who will have the sophistication of a firm yet flexible control of the brush with the appropriate use of gentleness/laxness that produces a harmony of strokes. this idea extends to any other sort of chinese craft or practice including traditional chinese medicine, and I believe, swordsmanship too. I'm taking a fucking leap of faith here to say this because I practise NO sort of (chinese) martial arts, I must caveat. (someone who does may want to say something...) but theoretically that should be how it works.

it is not for no rhyme or reason, or *handwaves* that lxy emerged to the top AND is almost undefeatable. among a competitive, forceful (ie. yang) wulin, li xiangyi stood out with a power and energy defined by yin (ie. gentleness and stability) that led him to create his signature 扬州慢 yangzhouman. it is characterised by 慢 slowness (my calligraphy teacher says to us all the time to take it slow), and also described by dfs as 中正绵长 - which I would best describe by painting a picture of a steady and stable stream. these precisely speak of the essence of a mastery of gentleness as strength to me.

conversely, dfs's way in mastering power is very largely premised on taking action because he literally had no other choice in the environment he grew up in. both of them develop in opposite ways. it was the case of gentleness for lxy clearly because he grew up in a safe, nurturing environment that had allowed him to be slow and steady at his own pace, drawing on his natural gifts.

-

now top of the wulin world at 17, li xiangyi founds sigu sect. li xiangyi, the boy before becoming menzhu and li xiangyi the leader of sigu sect are not the same.

how then did a (relatively) passive boy like lxy end up founding sigu sect. this lxy is the one who was fostered into competition - though not in an abusive, twisted way. in fact he was raised in a rather taoist way by his shifu: to be honest with yourself and respect your opponent. so he honoured whatever powers he had been bestowed with by nature. he gives into it. even so, at another level, I just have a sense that shifu and shiniang's competitive marital spat had an insidious effect on the boys...though the detrimental effect was more on sgd than lxy. baby lxy feels like a sweet-natured kid who was just in his own zone, you know - some (aka sgd) would say, too much of him even, to have not realised what was wrong at all with his shixiong for years.

that's not all of course. I've always gotten the vibes that his attitude behind forming sigu sect felt more like, this is what all the good men of jianghu do and I will have to do it now especially that I'm the best. it didn't feel particularly personal to me, but rather what would have been expected of him by the social climate of wulin jianghu (eg. lxy saying to 光耀师门 bring honour to his teacher). it's definitely not an expectation from his shifu, who explicitly told him that he was never expected to become a noble figure of any sort, but just to be alive and contented. as concluded by the man himself as li lianhua: "有些人入了江湖是为了立心，而有的人入江湖为的是立命。我却不知道自己真正想要的是什么。some people enter jianghu for the cultivation of the mind, others for a cultivation of a meaningful life. but I never knew what I truly wanted." he was ultimately, unwittingly a passive player in his own story of becoming the great sigu sect leader.

(at this point, as a side note, I do wonder if there were any other similar sects or alliances that function the same as sigu sect that came before it. because I'm damn well sure there must be something, as likely as there must have been generations of wulin legends who came before lxy. but of course, this is not what the story is concerned with at all and I'm ok with that.)

it's crucial to point out that, even despite this being the phase of his yang in the display of taking action and enacting firmness, lxy had still done sigu sect with the sole purpose and manner of upkeeping peace and order (in the way of the pro-universal love, anti-aggression mohist 侠 xia leader of the people). he's still very characterised by yin in my books, especially when vis-à-vis to sgd.

a li xiangyi full of himself and made himself too useful to the people was only bound for a great asteroidal fall, in the concept of 物极必反 - or in taoist lexicon 反者道之动 (ie. anything that has reached its limit will only start developing in the opposite direction). if you think you're above all, you can only go down.

this manifests during the next time he took action - and it was one so forceful that it overpowered even his opponent, dfs who ended up being the passive, receiving party in this case - was in initiating the battle at donghai 10 years ago... and gee oh boy. it didn't end well - for both of them, but even more so for lxy. (dfs was like 'tis but a scratch (shrugs)' as compared to him being ripped off his tendons by jiao liqiao like nezha did to the dragon prince. truth is he had to go into a 10-year healing retreat served by his entourage. :p) ok, I digress.

xiao zijin was quick to attribute sigu sect's fall to lxy's arrogance - in turn setting the stage for lxy's 10 years of self-hatred and the framing of lxy as a villain? irresponsible figure? by jianghu. (god forbid girls do anything! ok for legal reasons, this a joke.) lxy lost his mind in ways I believe he never had in his life there and then upon seeing his shixiong dead. so, you could say he led the jianghu world to ruins out of love (using this term loosely). but it feels inaccurate to say it's due to arrogance. he did not do that out of self-importance or ego, especially when the revenge for sgd was a collective decision made by sigu sect as we know from the flashback. so when llh pinned all fault on himself for being arrogant in the past, it is with caution to take his words because that's the unreliable narrator in him speaking.

-

anyway, it's precisely li xiangyi that is capable of bouncing back from such a fatal crisis, equipped with his yin and a mastery that gave him the power of flexibility.

it's extremely vital to re-establish that literally the only thing that was keeping li xiangyi alive, physically, as li lianhua is yangzhouman. (monk wuliao literally said that to lxy even though he did facilitate in saving him.) it's the yangzhouman that was drawn from lxy's mastery of yin. without yangzhouman, li xiangyi would not even have the chance to become li lianhua and undergo any needed process of transformation. without li xiangyi, there would have been no yangzhouman. no li xiangyi, no li lianhua, get it?

the point is not to deny the change li xiangyi wants to make and has made. but to acknowledge that change isn't about complete erasure and destruction. something from you survives. something in you had kept you alive to have you come so far, regardless of all the bad bits that you want to denounce of. you've always been worth it.

bringing back the thing about his new name: the distinction must be made that he did not pick it because it was feminine but it just so happened a feminine name had resonated with him. (read: he didn't necessarily identify as a woman but identified with femininity. at least within the parameters of canon text.)

he also made an interesting choice to retain his surname for someone who was desperate to sever ties from his past. hmm. or maybe he wasn't that desperate? when li lianhua says li xiangyi is dead, I believe it meant that li xiangyi the sigumen menzhu is dead rather than li xiangyi as an entirety. li lianhua is a returning to the path lxy could have gone if he did not establish sigu sect, the path that shifu wanted him to take. when he walked to the doors of sigu sect in the aftermath, nothing was actually stopping him from going back (people were still around and alive, instead of all dead people, you know)... except for himself. taking that action would have been too much for him. so he went with the flow of life giving him a chance at rebirth and walked away. there, inaction as a form of action.

zhan yunfei and qiao wanmian have said to li lianhua, oh that doesn't sound like li xiangyi at all. but has it been considered that, maybe it was sigu sect's lxy who wasn't the real lxy? sigu sect lxy was one big performance of the values of masculinity and heteronormativity that llh had came to an awareness of, and eventually struggle with again and resist against in the final year of his life. there had only been some glimpses of his true nature allowed (validated by fang duobing talking about lxy at his altar).

imho, most flashbacks of lxy during that period felt impersonal and more like a template of a hero expected to marry his girl at 18. going through all the motions and steps of a normative life even before he was old enough to grasp and explore his own identity and what it meant in the world. no wonder he denounced so much of what he had done as lxy including liking girls. walking away then also meant a walk away from those duties and expectations. li lianhua is li xiangyi liberated from masculine duties and heteronormative performance.

in doing that, he had the opportunity for the first time in his life to explore what he truly wanted, at least within the parameters of what he could afford to do at that point. he could go on to build a domestic, feminine life within the space of jianghu (as I've established here). it's a kind of feminine lifestyle that doesn't quite exist in mainstream society - being a woman there meant to stay put in a domestic space without much room to move socially. nor did it exist in wulin jianghu because even the women there like shi-guniang and jlq were expected to be masculine, aggressive, competitive. so building a mobile home in the space of jianghu is his way of defining the life he wants and can have. li lianhua is the extension of femininity in li xiangyi - and one that can be free.

it's also worth talking about in my opinion what is one of the most important and a favourite dihua moment: when dfs said to lxy that his greatest weakness was to like being a hero. and a swordsman should be without weaknesses. I'm forever wrapped up in how many layers this can be read in. was he mad at lxy for liking to be a hero or having weaknesses, or both? if the former, it was dfs criticising, based on lxy's public reputation, lxy's oversized illusions about being a hero - a figure of masculinity with an unrealistic sense to uphold noble goals eg. saving the world etc. that is actually perfectly logical coming from dfs, the straightforward, no-nonsense, morally neutral guy with no illusions about heroism (in this case, he feels more like a yin). but at the same time, we should understand that lxy's motivations behind the donghai battle are more personal than noble. if any, it was actually the opposite of noble - it was like he was acting out of the role of a caretaker of his family, and at a cost of the peace and order of jianghu he was set on guarding(!!) dfs also knew that lxy was there just for his shixiong. and so, dfs, who happens to be the epitome of yang, can be read as a symbol of masculinity disapproving of lxy for being sentimental and emotional; for having the "feminine" desires to simply want to defend his family (not saying those are exclusively feminine traits but they have been conventionally associated as feminine). I think both layers of reading are correct and should work together to contribute to the complexity of their characters. (we can see how it contributes to lxy and dfs being the perfect yinyang halves to each other, which I will come back to briefly touch on later.)

-

for 10 years he lived a life of seclusion and staying-in-his-own-lane a taoist would be proud of. he knew he was dying and has always been ok with dying, as he claimed. but did he want to die? to think of it, it was the opposite. because in those 10 years when he could have 100% just taken action to take his own life, he didn't. in fact, he lived on and took care of himself in the way shifu wanted him to. he had simply preferred letting nature run its course. if bicha didn't take him, he wasn't gonna do anything. but if he died one day very soon, he would be ok with it too. sure, he was maybe banking on a lead to sgd's whereabouts to appear during his last years alive but that clearly wasn't the only thing on his mind for NINE years because he didn't actively go out seeking for that either. this is basically him telling dfs that he would just lie in the sun and wait for the sweet release of death, if dfs were to force him to fight. not even the mortal threat from dfs was enough to move him into action of fighting back or killing himself.

time and again, lxy as llh was dragged into fdb's cases but not only that, he also maintained an impersonal distance with them. it's starkly different from the usual (wuxia) hero archetypes (for eg. fdb) who would be more impassioned and personally invested in the plight of the victims- or unlike most seemingly aloof protagonists who would somehow grow emotionally invested over time. one of the many things I love about llh is that he never tries a second time to persuade people out of their decisions he finds unwise (eg. him just wanting to move on in response to the girls in 女宅 insisting on staying behind with their slave master at first.) he will not interfere in other people's choices made in their own lives. it's not his business. he didn't even want to be there, to be honest.

however as the story progresses, more and more people - especially men, his past, and the leads to the truth came back to demand and taunt him into doing something. they vary from well-meaning people without any harm intended such as fdb intruding upon his private space completely uninvited and qwm wanting him back; to dfs merely seeking him as a mean to an end initially (eg. I only need him to live long enough to have one last fight); and finally, on the other end of the spectrum, outright aggressive and hostile people like sgd and xzj who wanted him to die. under all this pressure, he tried his best to deflect, but he does waver especially when it comes to matters concerning the people he cares about aka his obsession wish of 10 years of looking for sgd's remains that had lied low until fdb entered his life, and then later on taking revenge for his shifu.

looking for sgd became his final bid at taking action. he was operating on a slim chance of getting some emotional closure from finding out his shixiong is dead for real, yes. what a good plan. but objectively unnecessary. or surprise! uhhh...finding out his beloved shixiong is actually alive and would strangle him for one corn chip? AND OH NO IT GOT WORSE- uncovering a devastating truth about his shifu's death that he could have totally gone on with life fine without knowing if he had continued not caring.

but it is sometimes just impossible not to care - it is only human to care. and he is human, not an icon in the image of a hero. so he took a chance, once more, and it killed him in unprecedented ways. it's donghai all over again. things in life don't go as planned. you fuck around and it fucks you back. finding out the truth behind his shifu's death and his family background from the past did nothing for him as li lianhua living in the present.

it's no wonder that this lxy decisively relinquishes the desire to take action in the end. he goes back to letting nature run its course. and this time, stands firmly to it despite everyone begging him otherwise. wangchuan flower could only give him a recovery (or survival?) rate of 30%. there's a 70% chance of failure and even in the 30% he was not sure what he was to become. in comparison, dfs took a 10% chance game of survival in a heartbeat, and it pushed him to new heights. that's how they differ: he thrives by taking risks and action while lxy the other way round. so, something like that has happened before and he wants none of it again.

-

he leaves lotus tower, only taking his horse and a sack - relinquishing almost every other material belonging he had - and sets off on a journey. before xzj interrupted...where to was he going?? I wonder. we don't know for sure, I think? and are we allowed to know? that makes the scene he had with xzj an understated inflection point in the very last part of his journey. yes, he was already on his way to...maybe die? but not necessarily. you don't have to travel distances with your belongings for that, right? or speak to dfs personally about not wanting to fight? (borrowing one of @ananeiah's takes.) regardless, he was definitely leaving behind jianghu - not only wulin jianghu (he already did that 10 years ago), but also the jianghu space he had carved out in the last 10 years.

what sparked the decision to jump off the cliff in him was dfs's words from the night of their wedding 10th donghai anniversary: 横扫天下容易，断相夷太剑不易 conquering the world is easy, breaking xiangyi sword is not. in the original context, dfs was talking about defeating lxy being harder than conquering the world. but when it came to this scene, it was to lxy about forsaking the very last worldly possessions he had after already giving up on lotus tower and hulijing (including releasing his horse), especially his only connection left to swordsman lxy.

perhaps it had dawned on him that, wanting things at all was bad for him. in the last 10 years, he lived a life of seclusion, wanting very little. but he had still wanted things. there were still things he couldn't let go of that had led him to this state. despite having lived on an identity inspired by a buddhist teaching for 10 years, maybe it was only at this point that he was finally the closest to reaching an understanding of it. (I wish I was knowledgeable enough right now to dive into the possible buddhist reading here but alas. I'll leave it to our resident expert @markiafc)

it doesn't quite matter in the end where he was going after all. what mattered was that he literally went where the water took him and we're not supposed to know where it ends. I'm not seeing this in a bad and pessimistic way though. I think the relief in all this is that he had tried his best to within his abilities. also it's a form of enlightenment in relinquishing a desire, an obsession, a need to take any more action in order to live well. thus his ending felt to me relatively tender, empowering, and kind - albeit bittersweet and heartaching - than other possible kinds of ending, in a story where it was very possible for him to have died under the knives of his opponents or bicha at any moment, outside of his control.

-

if you've come so far in this post, congratulations! but also a reveal is that... you're not immune to the dihua propaganda threaded throughout this post. :P

as mentioned, other men like sgd and xzj in lxy's life were incredibly hostile to him. their yang nature overwhelmingly powers his yin. but dfs is different. dfs is the yang counterpart that fits perfectly to his yin.

dfs's yang is one that contains yin, that mirrors lxy's balance of yang in yin. it was suggested in text they are yinyang-coded meant to complement each other, given that whenever wangchuan flower's yin vs yang properties were discussed, the two men were always spoken about in the same breath. more importantly, as with the above few analyses of dfs's words playing a big role in shaping of lxy's choices with multiple meanings - as well as their day-to-day interactions - we can see that they constantly play off each other.

dfs's yang energy has been used to help lxy prolong his life (though not saving him entirely), while lxy has used his yin energy to save dfs and subsequently helped him attain his breakthrough. dfs has also helped lxy in his breakthrough of yin but not in the same way as dfs's cultivation of his combative powers, and rather, it's for lxy an understanding of his own path to take in life - a cultivation of the mind (both times 10 years before and after). given how significant dfs is in the shaping of lxy's realisation of the yin path - alike his shifu has, it's no wonder that they were the only two people lxy had imagined in his last sword dance of a farewell to jianghu.

with each of them coming together to form the perfect yin-yang model, they're a harmony of yin and yang representing the cosmos. what I also love is that they didn't start out as a perfect fit, but only towards the end of the story was the harmonisation completed, which makes sense for two components that are always in a flux influencing each other. the fact that they were number 1 and 2 of wulin, and being the only ones capable of understanding each other in a level nobody else could... it all reinforces the cosmic sense of their relationship. they're the halves to a whole, fitting in a specific way nobody else can.

(I mean. technically this is going into the space of extrapolation based on a tangential interpretation of canon text, so do take it with a pinch of salt. but of course this pinch of salt can do wonders for a shipper's feast... :P and this certainly could have been a meta of its own expanding on dfs's side of the analysis, but this is it for now in this context.)

-

to think of it, li xiangyi has actually died more than that one time that turned him into li lianhua. first was a death of him as a nanyin royalty - I resent having to bring up nanyin like it should hold any weight to the narrative as far as I'm concerned, but the point being that he had a completely different (familial-based) life before that still stands. then he had a rebirth as li xiangyi, disciple and swordsman to his shifu and shiniang, and later died again when li xiangyi the sigu sect leader took over. lxy the sigu sect leader died at sea in the battle 10 years ago and came back as li lianhua. (just like nezha, died after battling at east sea and rebirthed from the lotus) li lianhua then dies by the end of the drama.

there can be a myriad of interpretations as to what exactly happened to him, including the possibility that he's still alive. regardless, we can agree that li lianhua as an identity has ran its course, and he had to evolve again. but into what form?

in the line of thought of yin and femininity, and how his transformation has been in an increasing degree of presentation of femininity - even way back when I was watching the show, I had the idea of him living socially as a woman post-li lianhua. I don't know what he would be realistically doing or what could be practical for him in such an identity. but conceptually it was sensible and compelling to me before diving deeper into the details. (I have more elaboration to do on this that I won't be talking about here publicly but it is in the same strain of idea as this other comparative meta I wrote.)

I think the next possible identity lxy can assume - alive in the material realm or not - is one that will be beyond a material being. a nameless entity. once you've gone through the phases of life - from not knowing to knowing, and perfecting knowledge, then to the surpassing of knowledge - you surpass all worldly existence, and become one with the cosmos.

I end this off with an excerpt from Tao Te Ching's Chapter 41 (I'm not pretending to have read the whole book ok but I couldn't resist including this):

明道若昧，进道若退，夷道若纇 [...] 道隐无名 The bright path seems dim; Going forward seems like retreat; The easy way seems hard [...] The Tao is hidden and without name. (x)

the character translated into "easy" is the same 夷 yi of li xiangyi's name. somehow this seems to encapsulate the journey of his life: one that seems blessed and smooth-sailing but ending up to be rocky and turbulent. but at the end of the day, after all that he had been through, he will become hidden and without name.

[portmantofu]

Imagining a scenario for a fart contest scene in a show where the plot of an episode revolves around a group of people are trying to set up a party, but keep running into obstacles that prevent them from doing so. After overcoming all of these issues, the last thing they need to do is full up a bunch of balloons, but despite the number of people they have blowing, they quickly get exhausted because of how many are needed due to the size of the venue.

Luckily, the two best friends of the group, a pair of loveable himbos are here to help. Throughout the episode, the joke is made that as everyone else is putting in all their effort to make sure everything goes according to plan, they have to continuously be reminded to pay attention and stop drinking their protein shakes from cartoonishly large bottles. However, this comes in handy in the midst of the group's struggle with filling up the balloons when one of the two accidentally lets one rip, prompting the other to let another rip in response which they start laughing about and claiming that "Maybe I should've gone a little easier on the whey powder".

This exchange goes on for a little longer to the rest of the group's annoyance and disgust until someone realizes that they may be able to fill up the balloons using their farts. This outlandish idea of course, sparks confusion in everyone, with one person making the point that it would take too many farts, and another saying that the pressure wouldn't be high enough.

Hearing this doubt be cast would spark motivation in the pair who would then have a desire to prove these claims wrong. They would remark that not only do they think their diet would provide the appropriate amount of flatulence, but that they do other exercises outside the gym like Kegels that allow them to control their sphincters.

What would then ensue would be a montage of the two going back and forth filling up the rest of the balloons that they need just in time for the start of the party. Once they're done one person from the group would say "I can't believe they actually did it!" and another would say "I can't believe they didn't soil themselves doing it."

It would then cut to later on right as the party is ending when the group is going to start cleaning up. Upon hearing them say this out loud, a background character(s) would overhear them and say "I/We can help! Let's start with popping the balloons!" The characters would start frantically going "No, no, no!" as the episode fades out.

[makingspiritualityreal]

https://www.tumblr.com/makingspiritualityreal/655268025460752384/hi-in-vedic-when-people-say-association-of-either

I was looking through your masterposts and I wanted to say that I really resonated with your experience of mercury in anuradha.

I have mercury in pushya myself and although ideas have always come very quickly to me, the process is always very laborious and time consuming. I find it impossible to halfass something and still end up with an even half decent result.

To be honest I’m struggling to maintain the discipline and patience that this demands in order to create content and express my ideas.

My sun and rahu are also in Saturn nakshatras, and my D1 Saturn itself is uncomfortably placed in ashelsha. Not to mention my debilitated D9 Saturn in punarvasu.

My D1 and D9 are both extremely nodal (mostly rahu but ketu is also very present) which seems to amplify this problem as I live mostly in my head, I’m primarily motivated by short term gratification and I struggle to connect with and feel emotionally fulfilled by my own work.

Of course I can only assume that our charts are very different and you may be managing your Saturnian energy far more efficiently than I am, but do you have any advice/experience on how to overcome this?

Having a weak Saturn sucks in general, having it weak when you have Saturn Nakshatras sucks even more.

Sadly I can’t relate on the Saturn issue because my Saturn is strong in Aquarius, decent in D9 in Cap and backed up by a vargottama Cap Venus. Discipline is my middle name, if I want something I’ll do it. I’m the kind of person that makes her bed and does her dishes every day without fail unless I’m extremely ill. The only time in my life when that wasn’t the case were bouts of extreme depression and I was trying to preserve some level even then. So my Saturn Nakshatras have excellent backing and I pretty much just do naturally what you struggle with.

However, I can somehow transfer the feeling you deal with to my Jupiter, which is in Libra, one of the hard placements for it. Spiritual practice and Astrology (which is actually more of a Venusian expression of Spirituality) are one thing, having that Jupiterian optimistic spark is another, and I honestly struggled to pull myself forward because of the trouble it brings me. I can chalk it up to having a very difficult life and an unfriendly environment that almost killed me, and yes, it was true, but people with strong Jupiters tend to get up and go and try even if everything seems to fail. It took me a while to even want to build that up. But it also gave me experience on how to deal with a weaker planet.

Here is where the physical element of Astrology shows up. Our chart is literally a description of our frequency. If our planet is weak, we radiate a weaker frequency in that department. If you want to change the frequency of something you don’t naturally generate, you need external input.

This is where remedies come in handy. Chant mantras (Saturn for you). Wear gemstones. Spend A LOT of time around people that have a strong frequency of a planet you struggle with.

My husband has Jupiter in Sagittarius strongly positioned by house, and despite his other flaws and struggles, he ultimately bounces back and gets up every day to do something he loves. Granted, I support him too so it works mutually, which is what marriage is about, it makes both partners feel more alive even if it’s subtle, but honestly I have learned to draw on his energy in this department. I came into our marriage from years of various kinds of abuse and while I survived it (strong Saturn) it has largely affected my ability to feel any hope for healing. Being around a person who has a drive to do something despite the negativity has acted as a remedy for my own struggling Jupiter energy.

People are like walking gemstones, eventually you will get magnetized by their influence and it will carry you along. You will expand into the energetic pattern. It will not change your struggling planet, nothing can, but it can create a pattern that you can use to boost it for the rest of your life.

[gliyerabaa]

Hello. I was wondering if you would spare me some thoughts about Fanfiction writing techniques you have. Thank you :)

Oh wow, I've never been asked to give writing advice before....

Ultimately everyone's writing style and writing process varies but here are some of the most important things I've learned in the years of writing fanfic.

Write down EVERYTHING. Every idea you have. Even the "dumb" ones. Even the borderline-nonsensical ones. Even if the idea is not enough to become a fic in and of itself, it can serve as inspiration for other things further down the line. (this also ties into my other rules KEEP EVERYTHING and DON'T BE AFRAID TO SUCK)

KEEP EVERYTHING. Like rule 1, keep every idea you have. You never know when it might come in handy. Also, keep the works you publish on Ao3. If, in the future, you want to remove your connection from a fic, please orphan it instead of deleting it. It's important to keep fanworks available for all, even if their author is no longer associated with it.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO SUCK. Think of your writing ability as a muscle. You wouldn't go to the gym and expect to lift 200 pounds on your very first day. Similarly, you can't expect to write flawlessly and perfectly on your first try. Keep working at it, and over the years you WILL notice improvement.

Find a writing buddy or two. This person doesn't necessarily have to be a formal beta reader or anything, but can be someone you bounce ideas off of, or someone who can generally hype you up. (mega huge shoutout to @a-fast-rebloger for being my writing buddy as of late). Writing is a deeply personal process but honestly if you try to go it alone, you'll wind up losing your mind. A lot of times, when you are writing and editing your own work, you start to find it less impressive. A second set of eyes, whether as a friend or a formal editor or both, can do wonders for self-esteem and motivation when writing.

Remember the Cakes. There's a popular comic that goes around every now and then

The above comic is the beginning of what I talk about in my mind as "The Cake Analogy". If you write a 500 word oneshot and try to compare yourself to someone's 150k multichapter epic, you may feel like the artist in the first panel. But remember, from the audience perspective, we're all just here to eat cake! Another part of the cake analogy... Sometimes I get too worried about characterization or dynamics in my writing. I worry "what if this isn't a believable interaction" or "what if this dialogue sounds stupid" but then I remember I am making a cake to bring to the cake party where people go specifically to eat cake. I am not going to have to convince anyone to eat my cake, because that is what they came here to eat!

Write for YOURSELF. Ultimately, what you write should bring you joy! Yes, you are writing and posting and sharing your creation with others but ultimately this should be for YOU.

I hope this was decent advice! Feel free to ask for more writing tips anytime :)

[demonslayedher]

Seeing that Hantengu has a kanji tattoo on each of his emotion clones, do they have a deeper meaning? Are they considered to be “primary” emotions? Also, does that connect to the colors they represent?

Sekido- Red

Karaku- Green

Aizetsu- Blue

Urogi- Yellow

Yes! Although Hantengu himself has "怯" (fear) and his final self-protecting form has "恨" (resentment), and Zouhakuten has "憎" (hatred), these four are a set, collectively known as "喜怒哀楽" (Ki-do-ai-raku), which is indeed shorthand for what are considered the primary emotions, but feelings and emotions in general. This idea comes from Confucianism, as the four basic motivations for people's actions and behaviors.

Some things to note, the character used for sadness (Aizetsu's 哀) is more about the emotion of sadness as opposed to a situation being sad, and the difference between Urogi's "happiness" (喜) and Karaku's "pleasure" (楽) is that things that make you happy aren't necessarily fun, like how playing a game is fun, but passing a big test you studied for may make you happy but isn't necessarily fun. Sekido's "anger" (怒) is more straightforward.

喜怒哀楽 can be used in everything from "he shows his emotions easily" to "she doesn't show her emotions much" to "they get really emotional, watch out for mood swings" and such. While 喜怒哀楽 is a neutral phrase in and of itself, it lends itself to both positive and negative nuance. On the whole, perhaps more negative ones, as there's a lot of phrases that imply one's emotions (and how they express them) being out of control and causing trouble. KnY seems to lean more towards the idea that 喜怒哀楽 need to be kept in check, lest you run away with your passions or obsessions (demon-like behavior), but if you're as strong-willed as a Pillar, you can also keep them focused on a goal (killing all demons). There are a few characters who don't show much of their 喜怒哀楽 are are treated like good characters (Ruka, Amane, for instance), but also characters who let their 喜怒哀楽 run amok and cause trouble for others, even if they are essentially good at their core (Zenitsu, Inosuke). Tanjiro shows us a whole range of 喜怒哀楽, but he generally is keeping them in check or righteous when he lets them loose, in a way that powers himself for some goal.

As for colors, it seems there's no set colors to represent the primary emotions, and it really is up to interpretation! Blue for sadness and read for anger seem pretty consistent, but I've seen yellow and green used interchangeably for pleasure and happiness. That sad, I found this webpage handy from an artistic/design perspective on choosing different shades and hues of a variety of colors to express those emotions.

[sneakers-and-shakes]

3 Easy Methods to Start Journaling

If you’ve always wanted to start journaling (or just try something new) but don’t know where to start or find it all overwhelming, this blog post is sure to help!

This month I’ll be outlining 3 simple and easy ways you can start journaling and kick off the new year!

To begin let me break down what I believe are the basic concepts of journaling: documentation, goal-setting, and self-reflection.

In this post I’ll be outlining 3 simple ways you can accomplish these basic concepts, with each method covering a different concept.

Let’s start with the easiest and my favorite method to start journaling: buying a calendar.

This method is to tackle the documentation aspect of journaling. If you find that writing things down in a traditional journal is hard, then the calendar method, as I call it, is a much easier way to document your life.

1. Expo Calendar (Exhibition Calendar)

This is exactly what it sounds like, it exhibits your life. Basically you get a calendar (I get mine from the dollar store but you can also print cute templates for free online) and fill it out after you’ve done something. And so you essentially get an archive of your month.

As for what you put on the calendar, it can be anything you consider notable. Whether it’s completing a goal like finishing a book or working out, or fun plans or activities like dinner with friends or painting, just write them down on the calendar the day you did them.

This not only helps you keep track of everything but also makes you feel accomplished when you look back and see just how much you have actually done. Often times we don’t remember the things we do and when we think back it seems like much less than it actually is.

This calendar gives you an at a glance view of everything. It can also motivate you to do something noteworthy, so to speak, if you notice a week looking particularly empty.

Below is an example of how you could fill out an Expo Calendar. (If you want to take it a step further you can color-coordinate by choosing a color for goals or plans/activities.

This is something I’ve been doing since 2019 and I’ve really enjoyed going back through the calendar (especially at the end of the year) and realizing how much I’ve actually done.

-.-

The second method is to address the goal-setting concept of journaling.

2. Monthly Notes

I’ve talked about this on my blog multiple times because it’s something I truly stand by and implement in my life for years now. Basically, the idea is to write down 3 goals you hope to accomplish in a given month.

(I’ve dived deeper into this in these blog posts and I highly recommend checking them out for more information: Different Kinds of Goals and Organization and Goals)

If you’re not sure where to start on the 3 goals then the easiest way is to make one of each type: Fun, Achievable, and Challenging. Essentially, make one goal that is fun for you to do, another goal that you’ve been meaning to do that’s achievable and one goal slightly more challenging.

You can write these in an actual journal, on a post-it note, or even digitally, whatever works best for you. A month, I find, is a good amount of time to try to get things done, not too long and not too short, but it’s good to check in midway to make sure you’re on track to accomplishing these goals.

If you follow the method of setting one of each type of goal, you will likely have at least one or two of them checked off by the end of the month when you re-evaluate. This method is an easy way to make sure you’re staying on top of the things you want to accomplish.

-.-

The last method is to cover the last concept of journaling which is self-reflection.

3. Journal Prompts

I know this may seem obvious, but a bottleneck for a lot of people with journaling is they don’t know what to write. This is where just choosing from a list of journal prompts comes in handy.

If you’re just starting out, I recommend making some time once or twice a week to go through one or two journal prompts and answer them. Doing it daily can be a lot for people who haven’t adjusted but by doing it weekly you can slowly build up the habit. Once you answer a few journal prompts, coming up with what to write might even become easier.

Below is a list of Journal questions I came up with a while ago (also posted on my Instagram highlights).

-.-

I hope these 3 easy and simple journaling methods assist you on your journey! These are all things hat I personally do and work for me and I’d love to hear about your experience with them, so feel free to leave a comment!

Thank you for reading!

[mysticbeaver]

After a post I made the other day I had some sudden brainrot at work about Kevin and Nazz's dynamic in the Big Picture Show 👀 Analysis time! This sounded like a great idea until I wrote it down 🥴 Disclaimer: not necessarily my headcanons set in stone, this is all food for thought and discussion is welcome.

So basically, Kevin and Nazz's established dynamic throughout the show is this: Kevin acting cool and trying to impress Nazz, while she goes back and forth between happily hanging out with him as a friend, and being bored/annoyed by his showing-off or even disapproving of his meaner antics. Alot of people often point out the strange reversal of roles in the movie - Nazz blatantly flirts with an unexplicably oblivious Kevin, who is suddenly more interested in his bike than the rad chick he's been pining for for a good while (especially assuming the flashback scene implied he already had a crush on her). I have a headcanon that perhaps Kevin starts losing some interest in Nazz after May I Have This Ed - Edd dancing with her made Kevin realize she's not as into him as he would have wished, and he loses the motivation to grab her attention. Nazz's sudden change in the movie could be explained as her being distressed and upset by the Big Scam damage and destruction, and needing someone to comfort her, not to mention she strikes me as the only character (apart from Jimmy and Sarah) not willing to take the journey alone. Rolf and Jonny's sideplots seem to focus on their lone wolf/loner attitudes, so Nazz's choice of companion is inevitable. Unfortunately, Kevin himself is not in a clear frame of mind (like anyone else really lol) - he's absolutely pissed off and hell-bent on chasing the Eds more than ever. His bike, which he loves riding and mantaining, comes very handy in reaching the Eds before they get to Eddy's Bro, so making sure it keeps running is the only other preoccupation in his head apart from catching up with the dorks.

So, you have these two 12-year olds going out in the wild overnight - a boy with anger issues whose only wish at the moment is to beat the living daylights out of the neighbor he's despised for at least a year, and a girl who maybe likes aforementioned boy, maybe not, but is currently really stressed from the day's mis-Ed-ventures, and just wants someone to hold her close as they sit in front of the fire... a match made in heaven.

And since we're at it, the fireplace scene... it looks like Kevin almost exchanges the flirting, they're clearly about to kiss... and then he just walks off cause he left his bike in the cold. Great job 👌💥 I think when you consider Kevin is type to keep others at arm's length, maybe he wasn't prepared for the moment Nazz actually gets more intimate. Maybe it caught him off-guard and he froze up? They're only kids, after all.

I already hate writing all of this, but if it gets anyone's ideas going, you're welcome 😅 I'm gonna go eat some lasagna for dinner now...

[justathoughtfulangel]

Story Writing Tips

Hello lovelies! I had a friend ask me for some story writing tips IRL and figured I could share them here as well for whomever they may benefit :) These are not organized in any particular order and are really just practices I follow. Your writing is wonderful and beautifully unique, whether these practices resonate with you or not. 1) Let your characters decide ~ This is one of my best tips for dealing with writer's blocks. Suppose you're reaching a climactic point in your story and feel like it could go in five directions from that point on. Don't force yourself to make a decision and stick with it. When you get to that pivotal moment, rather than pre-determining what happens to your characters, let them take the lead. How they will react and what they will say will come to you as you immerse them and yourself in the moment.

2) Don't feel pressured to write chronologically ~ Again, something to help with writer's block. If you're having trouble getting through a plot point, don't write it next. Jump to a part you feel you can write for and go back to the one that's got you stuck.

3) Do not delete anything you write ~ Some of my most successful stories have come to life because I was planning to write something else entirely but incorporated a different plot point because I wanted to use a previously written paragraph. Even if you don't love how a paragraph turned out, have a half-baked idea you couldn't complete, or any other reasons for miscellaneous paragraphs, don't delete them!! You don't know when they may come in handy later. 4) Synonyms are one of your best friends ~ I love using synonyms for potentially commonplace words. They add a layer of richness and deeper meaning beyond what you would initially deliver.

5) Vary sentence length to increase the readability of your works ~ Just as high school English teaches us, sometimes it can be tough to read multi-line sentences back to back. Varying your sentence length and going between long, mid-length, and short sentences will create a flow for your reader.

6) Nothing is really original ~ I know, controversial opinion. I just believe so much has been done; coming up with new plot twists and character arcs and story tropes is next to impossible. Let this idea motivate you, not deter you! Even if something's been done, your unique take on it will make all the difference and give your readers something amazing to encounter. Maybe something seems obvious to you because you've spent hours mulling over a detail/plot point. I promise you, your reader will be in for the ride of their life. I hope these are helpful for you! Always remember that you have an unbelievable capacity to be a phenomenal writer, and if you need a reminder, I'm here to give that to you at anytime. Lots of love, JustAThoughtfulAngel

[running-with-kn1ves]

Awwwe I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed writing it! It was insanely gratifying to read after a hard day, so thank you for post

💞 I'm not sure how your writing proces is or if these will spark any ideas in you but if you don't mind my little additions because these characters are really too good

For masked intruder: reader brings home her boyfriend for the first time and for Photographer: maybe something like a chase? Reader finally got away and goes back to her home country where she's settled down and has a job since her school schedule was messed up for her and our lovely OC finds her again

Or if you just want to write something cute, they both react to fem!reader who's having a hard time because of her period? I was having excruciating cramps and dyspepsia when i found you blog and it helped distract me from the pain 😊 i feel like all your ocs have their own charm to them but all still are very different. I have to say, these two and two others are really my favorites. When i found your blog i think i binge read and then took a much needed nap and woke up to finish off the rest 😂 I can't remember the names off the top of my head but I liked the one shot with the oc who confesses to reader on the rooftop and pushes her down as well as the sexy bf oc who had sex with reader while she was facetiming a friend (i think the link to that one is broken so i have it bookmarked instead, as embarrassing as it is 😅)

Also can i reserve an anon name of 🙈 anon please?

ooh the masked intruder one is really gettin to me 👀 I think our boy Leo would have a very hard time coming to terms with such an issue, showing his less than friendly and more worrying features, ones that reader may not have realized until now. The chance of risk was always there; I mean, how likely is it that the desperate man in your walls wasn't going to go completely berserk over you?

For photographer I could totally see reader try to begin their life again in a new college after escaping, only to find that him one morning at one of their lectures, now a teaching assistant to one of readers professors.

I've always wanted to do a period comfort fic and I don't know if I'll do it with these boys but you've definitely piqued my interest anon😭thanks for these unique ideas! They were definitely fun to bounce around and now I'm a little motivated to flesh them out more. I'm so glad you liked those fics, I was especially worried abt the smut fic since I'm not real handy with writing them yet. And sure thing 🙈 anon!

[te-amo0907]

♥︎ Basic Gym Starter Pack

♥︎ Hello everyone welcome to my blog, my blog will consist of random tips that are based on positive advice and a beginner's gym lifestyle!

Deciding to go to the gym can raise many questions to one’s self. Questions could include the following:  What should I work on? What are my fitness goals? What should I bring?  A bunch of questions that are completely valid and normal! Taking the first step is to be proud of one’s self of starting their fitness journey and it is something worth trying. 

♥︎ Fitness goals

Before entering a gym some people may wonder what they should work on well it is important to ask yourself some questions whether your goal is to build muscle, lose weight, tone out, build endurance, etc. to get a sense of where to start. Once the idea is formed do some research on what exercises to do and use YouTube as a source to ensure learning the proper form for different exercises. If there is still uncertainty, that's okay! At gyms, there are always trainers or coaches available to offer aid.

♥︎ Cute gym outfit you feel good in

Getting ready in a gym fit you feel good in and confident can, in a way, give you more motivation to go. It may sound funny and unbelievable at times but the saying “look good, feel good” rings some truth. 

♥︎ Wearing proper shoes

Wearing a good set of shoes is worth investing in due to the amount of benefits it can bring. The benefits are to improve performance and endurance, prevent injury, be more comfortable, and give you more stability!

♥︎ Headphones 

Headphones in my book are a must! Personally, gym music is not my taste so listening to the music I like puts me in the zone and gets me pumped up to either finish my set or to push myself to do more!

♥︎ Gym equipment if needed 

If your gym doesn’t provide small workout equipment like jump ropes or bands having them (if needed in your workout) can be helpful.

♥︎ Gallon of water 

This is essential! Water is such a necessity when working out because we dehydrate ourselves as we sweat and from the heat we produce so drinking water rehydrates us to maintain normal body function.

♥︎ Fun energy drink

If you feel down in the dumps and don’t have the energy to work out, having an energy drink provides a boost of energy, making you feel awake, alert, and productive. 

♥︎ Personal care mini products (feminine products, deodorant, hand sanitizer, etc.)

Making sure you have “backups or “emergency” products will save your life! Even when you think you might not need something it comes in handy the moment you do. 

[pocketbelt]

Bayonetta 3 (Switch)

Bayonetta 3 comes far closer than I expected to glancing the face of Devil May Cry V that it's kind of nuts. The sheer amount of original, inventive weapons with a diverse spread of fairly unique styles, each with its own unique demon transformation, it's fucking nuts to behold. It's actually no wonder Bayo 3 took so long to complete when it has so many toys, and on top of that has a unique second playable character and the giant demon summon mechanic and lots of one-off setpiece mechanics and a whole No More Heroes-esque minigame mode.

It has a lot of really fun ideas, fucking funny cutscenes, and its introduction of its own Nero in Viola is pulled off really well and she's a delight. It's a really good action game.

Kind of.

Problem is I think its entire new roster of enemies (the green-and-white toothpaste of the damned creatures) not only suck to look at but they're not very fun to engage with. Singular big enemies are common in Bayonetta, but 3 relies on them more than its predecessors and they don't react to Bayo's attacks and moves and their own movesets are often boring or bad. They are leaned on to really force you to use the Demon Slave mechanic, where you hold ZL to pass control to a giant demon with a really simple moveset to break guards and weaken foes, but those aren't fun to use. The camera is mounted to Bayonetta, they're fiddly to control, enemies often just stun or grapple them and many bosses automatically one-shot them if they're out for more than 3 seconds, so you just don't have any good use for your magic meter where it used to be really handy.

So much of Bayo 3 just isn't fun to play despite all the fun ideas. This is really made worse by the game performing really quite badly a lot of the time, which was agonising coming off of the basically flawless performance of the Switch ports of 1 and 2. I guess we need the Switch 2 to fix that.

Also, the Bayonetta games were never the best about plot, but Bayo 3 really takes the cake. Every cool idea or fun idea is deflated heavily, the villain isn't set up at all, has no motivation given, he's just printed from the Comic Book Movie Villain Template (nebulously sci-fi/magic blurring god-like entity that has an endless army of bug/goo/demon men and monsters to siege infinite worlds, seeks the MacGuffins to make Big Sky Laser happen to gain Infinite Power) and slapped onto a tepid Multiverse plot.

The ending badly tries to copy DMCV's ending pretty directly, but also wants to do it while ending on a "tragic" and "shocking" note with a hope-spot after the credits, so it ends up fumbling every bit of it and missing really obvious better ways to do it. You don't really come to Bayonetta for plot, but it does kill a lot of interest in the series when the surrounding context for the content is so fucking badly done.

I guess with Kamiya driven out by management's commitment to financial suicide, we won't see Bayonetta continue anyway, but even if it does I can't say I care to see where it goes. Alas and alack, may Kamiya's next work hit like Bayo 1 did.

[dei360]

Seven Practical Tips For Increasing Empathy

We have something in common with rats that may surprise you. Those scurrying little (sometimes large) rodents ruling garbage cans across the world are actually capable of empathy, just like humans.

Many species display empathy in some form or another, but primates—especially us humans—have a more sophisticated capacity for empathy due to our large working memory and more developed neocortex. Have you ever winced when you saw another person take a hard fall? That is the result of mirror neurons, the discovery of which fundamentally altered our understanding of empathy. Since then, neuroscientists have identified what they call an “empathy circuit” in our brains. If this circuit is damaged in any way, it can curtail our ability to understand what others are feeling, all the while leaving our capacity for logic intact.

You Naturally Have the Ability to be Empathetic

Empathy is not a “you either have it, or you don’t” quality in human beings. Unless you’ve experienced a particular brain trauma, you have the ability to be empathetic. And so does that rude team member of yours!

On a personal level, empathetic people tend to be more generous and concerned with people’s welfare and tend to have happier relationships and greater wellbeing. But what exactly is it? Empathy is the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.

Empathy is Important at Work

Yet empathy doesn’t only come in handy when listening to your best friend explain his woes. It’s actually very important for work, both for leaders and team members alike. The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations reports a correlation between empathy and increased sales, high performing managers of product development teams, and increased performance in highly diverse teams. Studies have also shown that empathy improves leadership ability and facilitates effective communication.

How could this be? Well, if you think about how fundamental relationship building is to almost every aspect of business and life, it’s easy to see why. It’s been proven that empathy is an important part of effective relationships. In studies by Dr. Antonio Damasio, “medical patients who had damage to part of the brain associated with empathy showed significant deficits in relationship skills, even though their reasoning and learning abilities remained intact.

The benefits of empathy at work are many. Here is a partial list to give you an idea of how increased empathy can greatly impact your working life.

Five Benefits of Empathy at Work

1.    You will better understand the needs of your co-workers and customers.

2.    When communicating, you will better understand what is unspoken, and see more clearly the perception you create in others with your words and actions.

3.    Dealing with conflict will become easier and with the increased understanding of other’s motivations and fears, you will find it easier to deal with any negativity that comes your way.

4.    You’ll be able to better predict actions and reactions of others, which will help motivate the people you work with.

5.    It will become easier to convince others of your point of view.

Empathy is Essential for Leaders

For leaders of the current workforce, empathy is essential. Dr. Daniel Goleman cites three key reasons why empathy is so important for leaders: 1) the increase in the use of teams 2) the rapid pace of globalization with increased cross-cultural communication and 3) the growing need to retain talent. Empathy also enables leaders to create environments of open communication and feedback, understand and navigate the problems employees face, validate what their employees are going through, and anticipate the needs of teams.

Empathy Can Be Exercised

Now that you’ve seen just how much empathy can benefit you at work, you’re probably wondering if you’re an empathetic person. As I mentioned, we all have the capacity for empathy. However, it is a skill that takes practice for most people. As Dr. Mohammadreza Hojat states, “Empathy is a cognitive attribute, not a personality trait.” Lucky for us, cognitive attributes can be exercised.

So how do we exercise and strengthen our empathy muscle? Here are seven practical tips for increasing empathy.

Seven Practical Tips For Increasing Empathy

1. LISTEN AND DON’T INTERRUPT

Truly listening can be a challenge. Sometimes we are just waiting to give our own opinion. Read here for tips on improving your listening skills.

2. BE FULLY PRESENT WHEN YOU ARE WITH PEOPLE AND TUNE IN TO NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

You can start being fully present by putting away your phone, not checking your email, and not accepting calls while you are interacting with someone. A study by Professor Emeritus, Albert Mehrabian of UCLA, reports that the things we say account for only 7% of what we are trying to communicate. “The other 93% of the message that we communicate when we speak is contained in our tone of voice and body language.” If all you’re doing while you speak with someone is listening to what they are saying while you scroll through your upcoming appointments, you’ll miss the bulk of what is being communicated.

3. SMILE AT PEOPLE

Smiles are literally contagious. The part of your brain responsible for this facial expression is the cingulate cortex, which is an unconscious automatic response area. Since smiling releases feel good chemicals in the brain, activates reward centers, and increases health, you’ll truly be doing yourself and your colleague a favor when you show those pearly whites.

4. USE PEOPLE’S NAMES AND ENCOURAGE THEM

Encouraging people can be as simple as nodding at them while they talk in a meeting. This simple gesture, along with using their name, can make great impact on relationship building.

5. TRY TO EMPATHIZE WITH PEOPLE WHOSE BELIEFS YOU DON’T SHARE

This tip might particularly come in handy during election year! One good way to approach differing beliefs in conversation is to say, “That’s interesting, how did you develop that idea?” or “Tell me more.”

6. GIVE GENUINE RECOGNITION

Move beyond “great job” and give specific compliments like, “Your research on this difficult topic is thorough” or “Thank you. I would have missed that information if you hadn’t pointed it out.”

7. CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO HAVE A DEEPER CONVERSATION WITH A COLLEAGUE

Understanding a person’s point of view or personal challenges requires conversation that moves past the weather. This doesn’t mean you should ask your colleague about highly personal matters. Start by sharing a little more of your own experiences and perspectives and see if your colleague follows suit.

Tip number seven is what I want you to do this week. It’s an excellent way to jump in the waters of improving empathy. While you speak to this person, think about using their name, smiling, encouraging them, listening, without interrupting. This singular conversation won’t just be practice; it will lay the foundation for a better working relationship with your colleague. You also might enjoy yourself!

Who is the most empathetic person you know? In what ways do they show their empathy? I’d love to hear about it. Let us share experiences.

Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter

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[selfdebtrelief]

How To Achieve Financial Freedom In 48 Hours Or Less

Introduction

The First Step: Determine Your Why

The first step in hours or less to achieve financial freedom is to determine your “why.” Why do you want to be financially free? Is it to retire early? To never have to worry about money again? To live a life of luxury and ease?

Your “why” will be different than anyone else’s, but it’s important that you have a strong why because it will be your motivation when the going gets tough. Once you know your why, write it down and put it somewhere you can see it every day.

The Second Step: Create a Plan

The next step to achieving financial freedom is creating a plan. This may seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.

Start by taking a look at your current finances and figure out where you can cut back on expenses. Perhaps you can save money by eating out less often or cutting back on unnecessary expenses like cable TV or subscriptions.

Once you have an idea of where you can save money, start setting some goals. How much do you want to save each month? What are your long-term financial goals? Once you have a plan in place, it will be much easier to stay on track and achieve your goals.

The Third Step: Take Action

If you want to achieve financial freedom, you have to take action. This means making a plan and sticking to it.

The first step is to work out what your goals are. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to be debt free? Do you want to save up for a deposit on a house? Do you want to retire early?

Once you know what your goals are, you need to work out how much money you will need to achieve them. This is where a budget comes in handy. Work out your income and your expenses and see how much money you have leftover each month. This is the money that you can use to reach your goals.

Start by setting up a savings account and Automated Clearing House (ACH) so that you can automatically transfer money into it each month. Then, make a plan for how you will use this money. For example, if your goal is to save up for a deposit on a house, divide the amount of money that you need by the number of months until you hope to buy the house. This will tell you how much money you need to save each month.

Finally, stick to your plan! It’s easy to get side tracked, but if you stay focused on your goal, you will be ableto achieve financial freedom in no time.

The Fourth Step: Evaluate and Adjust Your Plan

As you go through your day-to-day life, it’s important to check in with your financial plan and make sure that it’s still on track. Are you sticking to your budget? Are you saving enough money? Are you investing wisely?

If you find that you’re off track, don’t be discouraged. Simply take a step back and evaluate what went wrong. Was there an unexpected expense? Did you overspend on something? Did your income change?

Once you’ve identified the problem, it’s time to adjust your plan accordingly. Maybe you need to cut back on your spending in order to save more money. Or maybe you need to find a new investment that will help you reach your goals faster. Whatever the case may be, make the necessary changes and then get back on track.

Conclusion

I hope this article has given you a better understanding of how to achieve financial freedom in 48 hours or less. With the right strategies, you can use time-sensitive methods such as investing and budgeting to quickly turn your finances around. By making smart decisions now, you can secure yourself financial peace of mind for years to come. So get started today and take steps towards achieving your own financial freedom!

Self Debt Relief is one of the best debt relief agencies in the United States(since 2017). We offer services including debt consolidation in US, Interest rate reduction, and Debt restructuring services in US or more. Our services can help you manage your debts and get back on your feet. We have a team of experienced professionals who can help you develop a plan to get out of debt and make your payments more manageable. We understand that each situation is unique and we will tailor our services to meet your specific needs.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you get out of debt and start fresh.

Call us at +1 888–615–0171 and get free debt consultation today, and start a better debt-free tomorrow.

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[yanderes-galore]

Omg I miss some Handy (HTF) concept ☹️ could you make one? He’s so underrated.

This'll be quick as... I'm not entirely sure what direction to go with this one. You're both either humans/hybrids or animals. Also, I saw fan art of him with robot arms, we might as well give him that.

Yandere! Handy Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Manipulation, Obsession, Jealousy, Murder, Amputation mention.

- Well, compared to other characters, I'd say he's pretty tame.

- He's easily irritated but is incredibly skilled in building.

- Then there's, of course, the whole hand situation.

- In this concept he has prosthetics to help him out.

- Many of the characters in HTF are surprisingly tame unless it's someone like Fliqpy.

- Even then, Flippy himself is pretty tame.

- Handy may have a short temper but overall he seems like a domestic type who takes joy in building.

- When he isn't dying in some horrid way which seems like a concerningly normal occurrence.

- He does not seem like the type to stalk.

- He seems more like one to daydream while on the job about you and gets all excited when he sees you.

- He may have blueprints set up of houses he'd like to live in with you.

- You're unaware of his feelings but Handy thinks of you often enough to have a decently sized stack of ideas hidden away.

- Even though he doesn't seem to be the type for murder, he is unaffected by the deaths of his fellow friends.

- Which means, when it comes to you, he may not entirely mind embracing a more violent side.

- Handy also seems like he'd get jealous but hide it easily.

- He tries to distract himself with work yet wouldn't mind whoever made him jealous getting into a work-related accident-

- Oh no, a panel fell and crushed someone? Whoops!

- He doesn't mean it to be cold, he's just... used to all the gore and murder?

- Handy would be affectionate, too.

- Maybe even a bit frustrated and insecure about his lack of hands.

- Handy may fall for someone who helps him and encourages him to get over his frustration.

- He expresses his affection with hugs, as he can still attempt those.

- He may even like small kisses on the cheek or something, nothing all that intimate.

- He is so sweet.

- Rarely even the malicious type unless he really doesn't like someone.

- Handy could manipulate you into the life he wants for both of you but it's small things.

- Like motivating certain choices or challenging a decision you made to make you second guess yourself.

- It's all small things so you'll barely notice him guiding your thought process around.

- He probably also needs you to reassure him you enjoy his company, due to the previously mentioned insecurity.

- Would offer to build you a house.

- It's what he's good at and he wants to show you he really loves you!

- He'll tune everything to your tastes.

- Then once it's finished he is ecstatic when you pull him in for a hug and thank him.

- He'll remember moments like that forever.

- To end this on a darker note, there's indeed a dark side to Handy.

- He may not kidnap... but he'd amputate your limbs-

- You'd have to really break him to get him to do something like that, yet he'd do it.

- Then you two would be perfect for each other!

- How could you not love him if you're just like him?

- Handy overall is pretty tame and sweet.

- Just as long as you don't uncover anything darker within him.