#this makes no sense I am giving no specifics 😂

[itspileofgoodthings]

had a moment today with my seniors that was so tense, I made myself stop, breathe, and say three hail Mary’s under my breath. the moment teetered and then the tension broke. I was so relieved.

[strawberryicedcookies]

Girl I wanna manifest my ideal body, any tips? 😭😭

i actually manifested my dream body so i think im pretty qualified to give tips 😭😭 manifesting appearance change seems to be complicated for so many people because it becomes hard to ignore the 3D when you see it every single day. You have to remember that your subconscious mind does NOT have eyes! so say you wanna manifest a fat ass, but everytime you look in the mirror its flat, THAT IS JUST THE 3D, tell yourself that your ass is fat and your subconscious will believe that your seeing a fat ass 😂 (does that make any sense 😭). i manifested weight gain because i used to be so skinny, and it was one of the more difficult things to manifest because i would affirm for hours, then look and the mirror and see a twig, and then i reacted negatively and fed my subconscious mind negativity. DONT BE LIKE ME, your are constantly manifesting, YOUR DOMINANT THOUGHTS MANIFEST. thats why robotic affirming works so well, because you having a fatass becomes your dominant thought because thats what your affirming 24/7. i know i talk about her alot but ‘high frequency guru’ has a desired appearance affirmation tape and i couldn’t recommend it enough. Also i recommend finding an influencer that has your ideal body and as your watching them, be affirming, thats what i do to keep me motivated 😭 You’re gonna have to really persist! persist persist persist, i cant stress it enough. Also please remember your not “manifesting your ideal body” Your affirming the body you already have. Yes, im saying you have it! its done! Idk if you seen my post about the 3D, but if you have, you would remember i said “everything you see in this reality is a reflection of the spiritual” meaning everything you see already happened before, that is whats happening with your body. You already have your desire in the spiritual, persist until you see it with your physical eyeballs.

say it with me “i am perfect, i look exactly how i want to look, i have the body ive always desired, i an complete, i am content”.

i hope this was helpful, if you have any other specific questions, PLEASE ask me!! i am open to any asks (i actually love answering them!!)

bye happy manifesting babes!!

[cuubism]

Can I pressure you to work on the 'having a job sucks ass' math AU fic?

yeah 😂 i started working on it when i was annoyed with my job. which is always

here's a snippet from earlier in the fic, because i think the later part i'm working on won't make a ton of sense out of context

[ make me work on one of my fics if you want ]

-

Dream shuts his laptop as Hob approaches. Oh, yeah. He was definitely waiting for Hob, specifically. Hob is getting the sense that he’s in trouble. And he’s not stupid. It’s not hard to guess what has Dream upset.

“Look,” he starts, “don’t even—”

“Hob Gadling,” Dream interrupts. Yep, that’s the trouble tone, the one Hob used to get when he did shit like giving himself a concussion playing pick up football on the quad. “It is ten p.m.”

“I own a watch too, Dream,” Hob says tiredly. Does Dream think he wants to be working this late? He’s just trying to stay employed.

Dream’s lips press into a thin line. And Hob knows him well enough, can read him well enough to recognize that what’s underneath the annoyance is concern. But what exactly does Dream expect him to do about it?

Hob sits down—more like collapses—into the armchair diagonal to where Dream is on the couch. God, what he really wants is to just fucking face plant into bed, not deal with this.

Christ. When did he start thinking about talking to Dream as dealing with?

Then again, this is less talking to Dream and more arguing with Dream, and he fucking hates doing that.

He scrubs his hands over his face. “It’s far away, alright?” he argues, though it sounds more like a whine. “It’s not like I can teleport.”

“It is not acceptable that they keep you so late,” Dream says. Then his tone softens. “I worry over your level of exhaustion. That is not even mentioning the commute.”

“Honestly, the commute’s not the worst part,” Hob says. “Gives me more time to get stuff done. Or fall asleep.”

Dream gives him a flat look. “Precisely.”

“I don’t want to hear judgment about work ethic from you of all people,” Hob snaps. God, he hates arguing with Dream, he hates it. It’s not like when they bicker. And it’s not like arguing with anyone else. The thought that Dream is upset with him is genuinely distressing.

“I think I of all people am uniquely qualified to give it,” Dream says.

He’s not wrong. Dream is a workaholic if ever there was one. It’s something Hob’s had to talk to him about in the past. Frequently, in the past, Hob was the one who was better about it.

It’s just that having this job is a level of relentless he couldn’t possibly have anticipated.

Hob can’t just quit though, even if he is overworked. It’s a good job, career-wise, and it pays really well, and he wants Dream to be able to keep his post-doc position without worrying about the salary because Dream is just quite frankly not cut out for anything where he isn’t able to work independently at least ninety percent of the time and Hob doesn’t want to see him suffer, and he wants them to be able to buy a house someday—

“Look,” he says, before Dream can suggest that he actually quit or something, “Dream, we’re making fucking bank, okay?”

Dream raises an eyebrow. “We are?”

“Yeah, we’re married, or did you forget?”

“It’s your money.”

“The joint bank account says otherwise. Half of it is yours.”

Dream frowns, then gets a wicked look in his eye. Oh no. “Does that entitle me to half of your suffering as well? Do I get half a say in whether it continues?”

“That’s not the point—”

“Are you going to watch me suffer half your exhaustion and do nothing about it?” Dream challenges, steamrolling right over him. He’s impossible to argue with when he really gets going. And great, now he’s employing that look. That pleading look that he knows Hob can’t say no to, eyes wide and helpless. “Will you leave me to my agonies?”

“Alright,” Hob says, pressing his hands to his eyes. “Enough. Stop joking around.”

“I’m quite serious. I don’t wish to see you suffer.” He crosses the room, kneels in front of Hob’s chair, and takes Hob’s hands, bringing them down from his face. “Your unintended comparison was more apt than you realize. When you prosper, I prosper. When you suffer, so equally do I.”

“Should have been a fucking poet instead of a mathematician, Dream,” Hob says. It shouldn’t come out as bitter as it does.

Except— “Maths is poetry,” he says, echoing it just as Dream says it, too. Hob had known he would.

It makes him smile, that he can predict Dream like that.

[sailorscout93]

Scout watches Cynthia and Ariana’s Wicked commentary part 4! Starts right after Popular up until Elphie gets the letter from the Wizard. Warning, I go on tangents again in this one. I info dump one of my favorite shipping headcanons and I infodump about one of the 10 deleted scenes that we get 😂

1. I love that Cynthia requested the hairstyle for this part being “something that Galinda would’ve given Elphaba to do!” Such a cute little Easter egg!

2. “WOOWWWW okay Fiyero! You didn’t have to say it like that! I don’t like it.” 😂😂😂 Ari being Galinda again

3. “Do you want a lolly?” omg they would have snacks while doing this

3. I don’t know which of them said “He’s so good.” Talking about Johnny Bailey’s Fiyero in the forest scene but at first I heard “He’s so gay” and I was like “I mean… true, but odd thing to say?” Listen…. I have auditory processing issues because of my autism so it takes me a little longer to process what I’ve heard 😂

4. The way they both agree that Galinda is jealous that Elphie took Fiyero with to rescue the cub instead of her but it wouldn’t have even crossed Galinda’s mind that something could have happened between Elphaba and Fiyero at that moment. Galinda being Elphie’s jealous GF, not Fiyero’s confirmed!

5. And then Immediately confirmed that Elphie ALSO didn’t think of anything happening between her and Fiyero, but Fiyero might have….. Fiyero holds the brain cell of the poly Thropple also confirmed! (Yes I primarily ship Gelphie, but I do also ship the trio as a polycule) Specifically I ship it in the sense of Act II Glinda and Fiyero being in a ‘lavender marriage’ (where one or both partners in a straight appearing relationship is actually gay and the public “relationship” between them is a cover up for the gay person, usually for political/social reasons) but they both agree that they’re missing Elphaba. Fiyero eventually leaves to go find Elphie, brings her back through some means, they defeat the wizard and Morrible, the events of the Wizard of Oz never necessarily happen maybe? Idk. I’d have to write more details if I wanted to flesh it out. One thing leads to another (as it so often does) and they end up as a trio with Lesbian Glinda with her Elphie and in a QPR with Fiyero because he’s like her best friend but she doesn’t want him like that (maybe she’s also a little ace-spec? Am I projecting? Maybe!) and Elphie and Fiyero are also together. Okay moving on….. lol

6. I should’ve kept a tally of how many times Ariana fangirls over Cynthia’s singing 😂

7. OMG they’re mentioning the Elphaba’s Promise deleted scene and how they get why it was deleted. Okay I’m gonna go on a tangent of info dumping again lol so I saw an interview of Jon Chu where he explained WHY he ultimately chose not to put that scene in the final movie and as much as I WISH that scene was in the film, his reasoning makes sense. It gets the story a little ahead of itself and kinda gives continuity issues with Elphaba asking Glinda to come with her to the Emerald City if before they find out about her going to meet the Wizard she tells Glinda “I won’t leave you behind again.” Then it sets up this narrative that we would EXPECT Glinda to go to the Emerald City with her and it kinda jumbles up the “come with me!” At the train station. That’s why it was left out in the end.

8. Last one for now: The Easter egg of Elphie’s hair getting looser and less uptight over the course of the movie as she grows into who she is…. 😭 and then they fangirl over each other’s outfit again!

I’ll be back for part 5 soon! Idk if it’ll be the last one but we are within less than an hour left of the movie!!!

[luffyvace]

Hello again brook! I am the one who asked for the luffy x heroic reader! Thanks for it I liked it a lot! I wanna ask for another headcanons now, a Platonic garp x young fem reader that really look up to him and that work really really hard to achieve her dream to become an admiral and work to change how the marine work (being okay with slavery, allowing some pirates to hurt ppl and do whatever they want while chasing some for doing nothing...) And she manage to become one of the strongest and the barevest marines in such a short time

HIII AGAIN ANON!! :)

yay I’m so happy you were satisfied!!! ❤️‍🩹

AWWW your concepts are the cutest!!! I think garp with young apprentice who admires him a lot is absolutely adorable!!

Idk whether to make this old or young garp really so you choose :P

ENJOY!! You have such good ideas~

😋

You look up to garp so much!!

he’s the hero of the marines who doesn’t?!

you’ve admired him for a long time now and he motivates you even more to achieve your goal!

as soon as you get as good as him, you’ll put an end to all the corrupt things the marines let slide!!

your gonna be a hero in your own way!! 🦸‍♀️

and make things right in the way the government does things!!

to make this true justice!!!

you’ve read all about garp’s past a million times

to the point where you could probably tell it backwards and upside down without reading it 😅

you subconsciously ramble and talk about him a lot

not in a creepy way

in a cute puppy like way where you just like to talk about the one you admire!

you always think “what would garp do?!” in tough situations!

and it works too

he’s the type that comes up with simple yet effective plans that mostly involve brute force

but hey I mean sometimes that works 🤷‍♀️

Garp honestly doesn’t mind one bit that you look up to him so heavily

he wouldn’t care so much if you weren’t his apprentice but you are

And while he doesn’t mind, he does want you to carve your own path, not or just limit yourself to his if you can surpass him

he stooped to one knee, put a hand on your shoulder and told you that one day as you were training

you’ve gotta admit it was the coolest day of your life and you’ll never forget it

you’ve engraved into your mind and make sure never to obsess over becoming like him, but strive to be as good as him

you couldn’t stop thinking about that moment for a solid week

garp could tell because you kept spacing out way more often than usual 😂💗

Ngl you kinda view garp as like a uncle or second father maybe, or even your grandfather (but of course you don’t dismiss that your not actually family)

garp’s training is honestly- REALLY INTENSE 😃

like he does you how he does koby, helmeppo and younger luffy

but WORSE 😆

why? Because he has high expectations for you <3

and while he might come off as too harsh at first, as you soon as you found that out you stop complaining 😂

It’s honestly a good thing your a natural hard worker cuz garp was gonna make you one anyway 😂🤷‍♀️

now he doesn’t have to worry about you slacking or being lazy

but he does warn you about overworking and that rest is just as important as working, as odd as it may seem

your dream to become an admiral seems totally in reach for you to him

your like the perfect specimen to do so in his eyes

You have a moral sense of justice, your strong and hard working

you’d be an ideal admiral!

and the first female one at that!

he honestly hopes you do become an admiral

its time for a change of pace as far as the governmental rules anyway

you’d bring that about perfectly

and give regular people a hope that there is good in the marines, specifically uncorrupted ones they could trust

And you’d teach a good lesson to those darned pirates too!

-according to garp

He’s given you all the training and has set you up to become a successful admiral—just like you wanted!

Now you’d better become one and achieve your dream! Or he’s gonna beat you!

(Fist of love 🤜💥)

literally 😋

he cares so much about you, he doesn’t want you to fail!

so he’ll force you to not to 😊

one way or the other :P

and besides, your practically his successor!!

he ain’t getting any younger (not that you like when he says that) so your gonna have to take over a lot of responsibility from his shoulders when he leaves!! >:(…. (❤️‍🩹)

And if he leaves this earth and you embarrass him by being weak he’s gonna come BACK down here and teach you a lesson!

”understood?!”

”YES SIR.” (｀_´)ゞ

He’s also straight forward about warning you of the dangers that comes with this job

number one is strong pirates and two is breaking the rules!

don’t be afraid to break the rules because you’ll loose your job, but because HE’S gonna get you >:/

That aside there’s also the grand line in general but the marines have the advantage of special travel routes and technology

So to put it short as long as you ain’t doing nothin you ain’t got no business you’ll be fine :)

the whole slavery thing is beyond garp

Not in the sense that he doesn’t know about it

but that he just can’t believe others are doing that??

like what’s the purpose

if you were gonna do illegal things anyway might as well become a pirate so he can beat you for it

but because they’re in a position of power too it makes it harder

you have to gather solid evidence and go to court and blah blah blah……*tunes out*

(bro just wants to eat his crackers)

but not to worry for the slaves!

you’ve got a plan!

what it is? don’t ask, garp wasn’t listening 🧍‍♀️

but just know you’ll be saved soon! 👋

He understands your want to save others in general

now idk what garp’s drive is

but even though your goals may be different

he totally sees where your coming from

but take some advice from a guy who gets called a hero all the time—don’t get ahead of yourself.

(he knows you won’t he just wants to make sure he tells you in case you do, then he can say he warned you)

lots of people loose they’re way on they’re path to power

but your so headstrong he knows you won’t

as far as the whole thing were some of the marines attack pirates who have barely just started calling themselves so but won’t take down the ones causing REAL chaos

is real phony and bogus to him

and to you too

(it low key makes you giddy when you and garp have the same opinions because you admire him so much 😂💖)

but yeah he personally beats any pirates he comes across, big or small

but he will prioritize the bigger ones

he’s a big shot himself, so he ain’t scared 😎

his missions is never to chase around roaches anyway

he only gets the real deal 💪

garp was so proud when you became one of the strongest and bravest marines

he had no doubt in his mind you could do it

But so soon? He’s impressed!

”guess you worked harder than I thought you did, sport.”

that was your first ever sense of praise from him and from that very second on you never forgot

you think about it every night before bed and during every battle

You let it drive you and push you further towards your goal

which is also when you may have realized his soft spot for you

At first he never really displayed it, but ever since then you knew it was already always there <3

you felt so honored and grateful in that moment

he treats you to some crackers to celebrate 🍻

koby and helmeppo love to train with you!!

they think your so strong

and that it’s cool that your basically garp’s successor

they definitely believe in you, especially since all the times you beat them in training

In fact, they look up to you

btw you, garp and Sengoku are also like a silly little family 💗

your family bond between you, garp, Sengoku, Koby and Helmeppo is adorable, goofy and inseparable all at the same time

he’s proud, you’ll never hear him say it, but he doesn’t have to. ❤️‍🩹🤝

This is my first time writing for garp and it was my pleasure! This was so heartwarming and I’m honored to have done the job <3

I hope you enjoyed these hcs as well dearest anon!

[minamorsart]

🌌✨The Empyreal Within character designs of Lotor, Allura, and Ven'tar! I might do Honerva and Zarkon next, we'll see! This is part of an upcoming project that I am super excited about and will reveal in time!!! 💜

Explanations of the outfits below! I thought about them a LOT hehe.

18 year old Lotor: these designs I am the most pleased with! Lotor's official design in the show is very different from the rest of the Galra, which I believe is significant to him venturing further away from the precedents established by his father and cementing his own individuality. However, as an adolescent it makes sense that he would still wear Galra attire, hence the bulky armor (to make him look bigger since he is smaller than the average Galra) and red and gold colors which appear to only be worn by the royal family. I like to think that the insignia on his chest is a symbol for royalty, but is also exclusive to Lotor's identity, as no one else wears that particular insignia in the show. And despite wearing clothes specifically chosen to represent the Galra Empire, I can also picture him wanting to incorporate his own personal tastes, so there are accents of purplish-blue (as blue is part of Lotor's color scheme) and the addition of his waist cape, both of which represent his growing desire for change and independence.

Mid-20's Lotor: this is during the many years of his banishment. I imagine him hopping from planet to planet, concealing his identity as much as possible while adopting a more humble lifestyle and pursuing his passion for exploring. It is during this isolated pilgrimage that he does a lot of introspection, self-actualization, and gains self-confidence both as a man and as the Galra prince. But before that happens, the lack of identity really shows in his clothes -- lots of neutral colors (with a hint of desaturated blue), absence of any insignias or designs that would connect him to any culture, whether Galra or Altean. These clothes in particular were inspired by Jedi ponchos and Sasuke from Naruto: The Last, and perhaps are worn while Lotor is on a desert planet for a short time! And just like with his armor as seen in the show, he has started to wear gloves to cover himself up almost completely, indicating his avoidance of vulnerability and getting close to others.

Ven'tar: for her fortunately I didn't have to change much about her character design! She is Lotor's age when they meet and the only other change I made to her was to take away her big cape so that she appears younger. Since her planet and species name is not revealed in the show, I want to come up with one myself. Caelifera is the scientific name for grasshopper, so I'm thinking I could do something with that!

11 year old Lotor: this design is also taken directly from the show, so I didn't have to do much there :P The cloak he wears in the little doodle is inspired by the one adult Lotor wears in S6E4. In this case, however, it is several sizes too big for young Lotor and drags on the ground.

Allura: sadly we don't know much about Allura's life on Altea, however in S1E9 we get to see tiny snippets of different stages throughout her life and her good relationship with her father, so I used those as references! I gave her braids, short puffy sleeves, and a slightly shorter skirt to give her that innocent little princess look, and then used the colors from her dress in the show to create a cuter and more childlike aesthetic!

If you read all of that you're the best 😆🙏 I'm definitely by no means an expert in character design and have lots more to learn, but I had a lot of fun coming up with the original designs! Especially Lotor's, but no surprise there hehe. I studied many different Galra armor and clothing featured in the show worn by Lotor, Zarkon, Honerva, and Galra commanders. More than anything I just really wanted to see Lotor wearing something different for a change 😂 and then everything else took off from there!

[riley-coyotl]

Hello - I'm a big dalmatian-fan looking to adopt my first puppy soon. I've been following you and Kelpie's training journey, and I wanted to know if you had any training methods/tips for a first-time dog owner? (I had a dog growing up, but outside a few tricks, I didn't fully train him myself.) All your dogs are beautiful and well taken care of! I enjoy seeing them cross my dash. Thank you for your time!

Hi! Thank you so much, I love my doggies and I'm glad you enjoy them too!! 🥰

The topic of training is so huge and covers a lot of things so I am not sure if there's anything specific you want to hear about, but to talk about it universally: I am a big advocate of reward-based (positive reinforcement) training methods involving giving as much choice as reasonably possible to your dog. This is the most effective way to train animals as well as the most ethical way to train, and will result in the healthiest bond and relationship you can build with your dog.

I avoid training using punishment, force, or coercion. Stay far, far away from the advice of anyone who recommends the use of aversives and punishment tools/techniques, or talks about dog training as if it were a power struggle for dominance (it's NOT, and thinking about it that way is not only inaccurate but simply just a SAD way of viewing the dog-human relationship.) This is important for ALL dogs but sensitive breeds (like herders or Dalmatians) especially.

The absolute most important thing I can tell you to internalize is to always, always try your best to set your puppy or dog up for success. This means managing and arranging the environment and conditions to make the behaviors you want to see more likely to occur, as well as being aware what your dog is/isn't capable of--if something isn't working, lower your criteria (expectations of what counts as "success") and try again. The more you can create opportunities for your dog to get things right, the more you can reward (reinforce) those successes. The more you can reward those successes, the more your dog will continue to do the things you want. The more you build a repertoire of success and communication with your dog, the more you can ask of them, and you can continue building off of this to do more and more with them. Always start simple and easy, and use those foundations to build up gradually to more difficult conditions or more complex behaviors you want to see, etc. This goes for literally any training subject, be it housetraining, recall, leash manners, or any other behavior you want to teach.

I recommend checking out Kikopup on youtube, she is an excellent trainer and has videos on training just about any topic you can possibly think of. I have learned a lot from her and always recommend her to anyone looking for training advice. She is my #1 resource I recommend to people. Whether you're a noobie or an old hat, her videos are honestly a goldmine.

Eileen and Dogs is also an excellent blog that covers a lot of training and dog behavioral education.

As for other tips...

For Dalmatians specifically, one tip I can give is to expect A LOT OF MISCHIEF! I swear to Dog this puppy has a sense of humor; Kelpie thinks it's funny to "prank" me... (to give an example, I point at her when she's acting crazy and say "don't bite me!" and her response is to air-snap at my finger with a twinkle in her eye! 😂) So it helps a lot to have a sense of humor about this stuff yourself, too.

And just for puppies in general...they can be a handful! I am not afraid to admit I have cried dozens of times while raising Kelpie (and Juniper, and Maple...) It helps to remind yourself that puppies are babies. They are new to the world, and they are learning. They'll get there. Try not to take things too seriously, don't get hung up on training milestones or comparing yourself/your puppy to others' progress. Try your best to focus mostly on building a bond, building trust, and letting your puppy just Be A Dog and learn that the world, and you, are fun and safe, and that you will always, always have their back no matter what. That relationship is the most important thing here. The rest will follow. (and yes, this is advice for me to remember too lol.)

Best of luck on your journey and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer or at least point you in the right direction. Dogspeed, friend!

[studentbyday]

{ 08.11.24 } · { 50 days of routine } · { day 10 }

I don't get the first exercise from week 2 of the CBT workbook. It's a “values and activities” form where you have to put in at least 2 values for each of the six life areas (relationships, education/career, recreation/relaxation, faith/meaning/expansion, domestic responsibilities, and physical health) and then come up with at least 3 activities that can fall under each value. And they define values as anything that has no end point AND that is something you enjoy, love, or get satisfaction from doing (e.g. brings pleasure or enjoyment, gives us a sense of mastery or accomplishment, and feels like it’s worthwhile) whereas “activities, in contrast, are specific and have a beginning and an end, though they can be repeated as many times as we wish.” Then they proceeded to give some examples of values which included things like “beautifying my living space”, “spending time with friends”, “enjoying good food”, and “feeling fit and strong.” I suppose I get the last two as “values” but aren't the first two more like activities??? I am confused™. And I'm pretty sure “completing all my schoolwork” would be an activity because it has an end point...BUT IT SURE ISN'T SPECIFIC!!! 😂 I guess a good chunk of this is just semantics. I also skipped ahead and read week 5 last night. The chapter was called “time and task management” and I'm stealing some activities from there 😈

Here's everything else I got up to today! I don't know why I'm using exclamation points!!!

So for the daily activities worksheets, besides listing out everything you do and when, you have to state how enjoyable each activity was on a scale of 0-10, the same for how important each activity was, and an overall mood rating for the day also on a scale of 0-10 and they didn't say how you were supposed to come to a single mood rating for an entire day, so i just took the average of my enjoyment column lol. Anyway, I noticed two things so far: (1) a lot of things that are important are not very enjoyable (ok, i kinda knew this one but seeing it so starkly confirmed my suspicions lol) and (2) shorter study sessions (under 90 mins-2h) tend to increase enjoyment just a bit unless I'm researching smth or writing/making a presentation which are the most likely activities to put me in a flow state. So to help me not feel sad about doing shorter sessions (i.e. not being able to focus that long and that happily most of the time), I need to get Forest plants that look pretty much the same whether I get 1 plant per session or the max of 4 lol. Also, today's overall mood rating was the highest it's been all week (4.7 as opposed to ~4 since I started tracking all this...i think it's because i had more study sessions that were shorter today than in the last few days)! 🥳 I'm so glad this (extremely) tedious activity was not entirely useless!!! 😌

[chdarling]

Hii i love love your works they are truly inspiring! I had a few questions if you don’t mind sharing a bit :)

The way your characters „speak“ and what words they use seems so real and i always wondered how you pinpoint their „personalities“? I love you characterization of Lily especially, she always came across like a real person.

Another question i had how you think of these plots and subplots. Do you have a strategy or any inspiration?

Hi! Thank you so much!

Hmmmm. This is always a hard question for me to answer because most of the time it’s just “idk my brain just did the thing and now I have this imaginary person talking at me” lol.

But there are definitely strategies and techniques I’ve employed over the years to figure out voice and (hopefully) get it right. A big one is to give your characters a defining linguistic trait or habit. For Sirius, it’s cursing. None of the other characters curse as much as Sirius, and on the whole I try to use it somewhat sparingly with other characters so it’s more impactful when they do. Remus curses near the full moon when he’s exhausted and annoyed. James curses in serious scenarios, when he’s upset or scared or whatever. But Sirius curses fluently, happily, and with gusto haha.

For James, he’s a bit more lighthearted/frivolous in his language choices. Lots of play on words and always ending things sort of trailing off with “and all that.”

Lily I genuinely don’t have a good answer, I’m sure I did character work on her at some point but these days she just exists in my head as a fully-formed person so I have no idea how to tease that apart 🙈

Ummmm I’m drawing a blank on the others but i know they have specific tells, I’m just sleepy. 😂

Plots and subplots are I think just the result of my brain constantly playing a game of “yes and” with itself. (By which I am referring to the improv technique and not the Ariana grande song lmao.) Pretty much the entire plot of TLE was born from me having a handful of completely unrelated scenes/headcanons that had lived in my head since my teen years, then putting those random scenes in a timeline and trying to make sense of how one could lead to the other etc. And just like…allowing myself to go a little crazy and be like “ok I want a scene where Lily dresses in a Muggle mini-dress in front of James, why would this happen” and then extrapolating from there. Ok so the scene in which she’s wearing a mini-dress needs to be at least somewhat scandalous to warrant the kind of attention I want it to get from James and others? Why is it scandalous? Maybe it’s scandalous because wizards are super conservative. Ok if wizards are super conservative what does that means in terms of how they view Muggles, specifically Muggle girls? It means they’re constantly slut-shaming them. If they’re constantly slut-shaming Muggle girls, how does that show up in Lily’s plot? She gets accused of being a boyfriend stealer. Etc etc etc. So much of the plot so far has been me working backwards from ideas that won’t happen for many thousands of words yet to come 😂😂😂

I guess my biggest tip is just to make time to be very bored and let your brain roam free. Walking is great for this 😂

[overlymetaromantic]

hi! im not quite sure my question will make sense, but how do you determine which scene to draw in correlation with the dialogue? For example, if there are multiple text bubbles on a page with only one accompanied drawing which dialogue to do choose to represent the characters saying?

I hope that makes sense, I am currently working on my own comic which is pretty dialogue heavy and noticed your comic flows very smoothly with the dialogue! Just looking for some advice^^

Oooh that's a fun question!! I can definitely try to give some advice—I can fully admit I'm by no means a professional and make a lot of my own mistakes, but I'm happy to hear that my dialogue usually flows well, especially considering how wordy I can get!! 😂

I have to admit, a lot of my choices in scenes relies heavily on instinct, but my primary goal with everything is to be as economical as possible. There are SEVERAL instances where I could have drawn more panels per dialogue, but since my personal priority is keeping my panel counts under control, I end up with more dialogue per panel instead. Based on that, I tend to look for compositions or expressions that can match with multiple lines of dialogue; so for instance, if there's a conversation in which a character's emotional state remains steady throughout, I don't need as many panels to show their face, since there's no new information to be gained.

It might be helpful to remember that people are specifically reading your drawings in a comic! It's therefore similar advice to writing in that sense—if something is redundant or unnecessary in that it doesn't add anything to the text, cut it. Otherwise, it tends to be a matter of answering the question of what's most important for the reader to see. Does the character's expression matter, or does just the dialogue convey enough? Who is the most important character or detail in this scene? Can the reader tell who's speaking without a new panel to show the speaker? What needs to be conveyed so that the reader isn't confused? Or the flip side—what can be cut without disrupting the reader's comprehension of the scene?

Aside from that, my biggest piece of advice is page flow! I can freely admit I cram a LOT per page for MBNSSB, and I know it doesn't always flow as well as I hoped it would, but I promise page flow is always at the forefront of my mind 😂 The idea is to lay out your art/dialogue in a way that naturally draws the reader's eye in the direction you want them to read the page—in Western comics, that's usually left to right, in manga it's right to left, and in Webtoons it's top to bottom, etc. I usually rely on the height of the speech bubbles and the direction of the tails to help guide the flow of the page, but there's a lot of fiddling that can be done with this. Here are a couple of different comic pages I've drawn and my intended reading flow of them, if the visual examples helps at all!

In each instance, the goal is the use both the art and the speech bubbles to guide how the reader is looking at the page—a speech bubble leads to the art, which leads to the next speech bubble, which moves back to the art, etc. There are a lot more theories that have to do with composition that I am NOT qualified to lecture about lol, but for me it's a similar instinct to deciding what needs to be drawn in the first place. Every panel is doing double duty in that sense: first, it's answering the questions of who/what/where/why/how, aka information the reader needs to know for the story; and second, it's pointing them in the direction of where to read next through visual cues, like a character looking in that direction, a speech bubble placed so that you look at it right after the art, the flow of the lines in your art that curve your eye towards the next panel, etc.

I hope that rambling made sense and at least answered part of your question! And sorry if I misunderstood anything you were asking for—I can admit I get very excited about these kind of technical details and am definitely prone to spiraling off into them as seen here lolol 😂

[lestappenforever]

Hello my lovely, your social-psychological anon haunting your inbox once more- can you tell I have such awful lestappen and f1 brain rot? 🤭

I have some thoughts on rbr lestappen but I first want to comment on the wonderful ask from anon who referenced the Max reacting to Charles’ comment on him video. That’s exactly right- every small comment from Charles is most likely obsessively internalised and dissected to the extreme- and what Mona speaks about in response of how max and Charles have been tied together from childhood with even Jos verstappen saying they will fight forever - it makes me wonder, and this is pure speculation- but there is a method to my madness - if there was an element of Jos setting Charles on a pedestal (you know im that annoying way that parents go “look at this [insert achieved acquaintance] they are such a good example you ought to learn from them” which breeds resentment but once again I speak from experience in an athletically competitive environment, it also breeds admiration because here is this other person who is amazing at this sport). We know that Jos has a specific way of disciplining max in racing (saying he will never achieve anything , that he will be a truck or taxi driver) which makes me wonder if Jos used Charles as a marker of success (“Charles is so good/ you won’t be like Charles he will go onto f1 and you won’t”) to encourage and cultivate Max’s competitive spirit. And that’s why max hated charles but also admired him and because charles had Jos’ approval, by extension charles is automatically in a position to give that approval to max. I’ve never really thought of it this way but it really would make sense why max is so eager to please Charles and cares so much about what he thinks of him because throughout maxs childhood Charles was the benchmark, he was the golden boy (still is), he was what max sought to reach.

This theory would support and give greater contextual depth to what I said previously about max ignoring interviews because he is just so happy to have Charles’ attention and is afraid of losing it; he just values it so highly. Also pay attention to when Charles is talking, max almost always demonstrates active listening by nodding but he does so much more to show he is involved with adding hand signs and affirmatives of “yeah me too, I had the same thing, on turn 1 right?” To really show how engaged he is and also to keep Charles’ attention too by engaging him in literally every way possible during a conversation.

So thank you so much for such interesting thoughts I value them so highly and am so happy that people actually like these takes and understand/ see what I see not just from a shipping perspective because I find their interactions and relationship just so fascinating and full of nuance.

Anyway, back on track; some brain thoughts on rbr Charles and Lestappen teammates. There are a series of concerns and complaints I will go over like the whole 1-2 driver strategy and how they’re both WC contenders and it would be unfair for Charles to be a second driver/ how Charles polished personality does not fit the red bull vibe/ and how he would be entering a team that literally orbits max plus the infamous second red bull seat curse.

Well my two cents on this is that all of these concerns are wrong because:

- red bull have stated, very dramatically, during the initial rumours of talks held with Lando and Charles that they are abandoning the traditional 1-2 driver format and they want two championship contenders. This has been said I am sure but I have to reiterate the point that F1 is not just a sport in the way that Olympic events are about the sport. F1 is a show, you’re there for the races but also for the drama for the content for the interactions and the entertainment. And red bull pride themselves in being “shit stirrers” and just an out of pocket team (which I think is beautiful 😂🫡) and if any team would take risks like that in abandoning the traditional format it will be red bull and they will absolutely throw themselves into providing this. It is also likely that they decided on this very early in the season (before they started talks w either Charles or Lando) because that is also when Max changed the tune of his horn by saying he would like to have Charles as a teammate whereas last year he was like absolutely not because Charles doesn’t deserve to be second driver. So technically max revealed their departure from 1-2 strategy before red bull made it clear (around mid season). I feel like someone literally switched a mental gear in max’s head where he was like “Charles is my rival he could never be a second driver” and someone went “what about we let you be teammates and rivals at the same time” and max’s brain just short circuited

- As for Charles coming into this equation - into a team so heavily focused on max- I don’t think that’s an issue. We have seen -especially in recent weeks- that Charles seems to really get on with the rb team and has a good relationship with them so he isn’t like a complete outsider coming into a team that is resistant to having him on board. I think the most incriminating thing from lestappen gate so far (there is so much omg) is the interactions with the red bull team. Not the drivers but the rb representative in Mexico and Brad this weekend. We have been speculating on the rb Charles rumours since the start of the season and not once have we seen this happen that other teams mechanics are congratulating and interacting with another teams drivers (it’s even more incriminating because it’s red bull, like the most aggressively competitive team on the grid). Plus it just doesn’t happen, I really don’t remember ever seeing this except when an ex driver was congratulated by their previous team (checo w racing point after move to rbr and Seb w red bull after move to Ferrari). Huge bonus is that very fascinating interaction w Christian and Christian’s general tendency toward defending Charles and praising him. He really does act at times as if Charles is an rbr golden boy, I have noticed this year more than ever Christian and even GP saying “Charles” rather than “Leclerc” on the radio and it just conveys a degree of familiarity that we haven’t really seen before. It is extremely obvious to me that they want him there and have de facto adopted him.

- the rbr second seat curse literally stems from the fact that rbr, up to now, have had a 1-2 strategy where the second driver simply cannot keep up the max. They are nowhere near maxs level nor do their driving styles compliment maxs. Though checo’s defending is a really good compliment to maxs “attacking” though he just cannot keep up and with the capabilities of the rb19 and Maxs ability to absolutely send it, there is no real use in defending, also check just can’t keep up like he can’t even defend himself in midfield let alone max. He will pull one or two absolute bangers out of the bag but he cannot keep up with the pace, the intensity and the pressure especially when it comes with actually extracting everything that absolute rocket ship has to offer. I think rbr recognised this and this is another reason for them wanting two contenders 1) for showmanship and entertainment and living up to their brand as unorthodox risk takers and 2) 1-2 strategy has thus far led to a string of inadequate second drivers. Obviously Charles is a great option for a second contender driver but more so than just being able to keep up with max, he has almost the same exact driving style and car preference. Every time they talk about racing each other they always say they especially enjoy their fights because it’s always on the limit they’re always pushing each other always attacking and we know that max is aggressive in his driving style but I don’t think people really pay attention to how aggressive Charles is, he is just a bit more calculated about it (like overtaking Lewis then braking into him so tsunoda can catch up to Lewis and pick at him before speeding off whereas max would have just done a clean overtake and sped away) when there is a chance of overtake he always goes for it and does so aggressively (he just has a tendency to get bogged down when he qualifies in the mid field because he does not have the right car that is suited to his preferences enough for extraordinary overtakes). The way he drives the car also is so fascinating because it’s the same as max (look at Baku qualifying lap and look at their racing lines), they both literally throw their cars and push them to the absolute limit which is why Charles is such a quali beast because he knows how to wrench every ounce of pace out of an uncooperative tractor. Both he and max have a preference for borderline un-drivable cars that heavily lean into oversteer with a light back making the car extremely sensitive. If they were both teammates I actually believe that they would be grid terrorists- if their car would look anything like the rb19 they would take off with a 10sec gap to p3 and be battling each other for p1. If they find themselves more tightly squeezed by others (or somehow end up in midfield) they would almost intuitively work together because they know how the other drives and they most likely can predict the others moves

- About tensions on the team between two competitors, I think that is an inevitability but I really don’t think it would ever reach the type of explosiveness we have seen previously because of everything else that these analysis type of asks have said- the respect is there, tiptoeing around each other is there- wanting to please the other is there- if anything, there would be a greater inclination toward cooperation and fighting together against the others because of that special relationship between max and Charles, the performative aspect of the relationship- to prove that max and Charles are the same and that they (as a duo) are different than the rest of the grid and that it is them against the others except it would be much intensified if they were teammates by proximity and having so many opportunities to interact. It would strengthen their bond but as I have previously said, it will not remove that special aspect of their relationship.

- Also just a side note: you cannot convince me that Christian Horner, red bull and max wouldn’t be bending over backwards to ensure Charles wins in Monaco. Max wouldn’t give it to him because that wouldn’t be a win but he absolutely would punt anyone trying to challenge Charles into the bay and I just know that Christian Horner would treat his golden boys right, it would genuinely be a dream come true for him and helmut and just amazing for red bull and their image of “literally unstoppable team that snagged Ferraris star driver and have bagged the inevitable and the predestined, F1’s literal future, in one team and gave them an intercontinental ballistic missile to drive, one that would cause any other driver to bottle it into the wall because it is an otherwise un-drivable oversteery piece of work.”

In conclusion, I think teammate lestappen would be absolutely extraordinary. They would fight each other and push each other up to the edge and when one of them is about to fall the other pulls him back. Absolutely unstoppable duo and I hope that Charles has come to his sense even slightly about Ferrari that, like most dreams, it does not live up to expectations. There are clearly very ugly team politics involved and a healthy does of nepotism, complacency and riding the historical prestige wave and the unfailing loyalty of their fans.

Fingers crossed for lestappen podium today 🫶✨

Social-psychological anon coming into my inbox claiming they are haunting my inbox, and then proceeding to provide yet another excellent take on Lestappen, including the potential Lestappen RBR teammates.

Babe, love, darling, if this is you haunting my inbox, then I would like to be haunted for the rest of my life, please and thank you.

Social-psychological anon, I adore you more than words can say. Crossing everything I have for a Lestappen podium today. 🤞🫶

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

It is that blessed time when the wonderful and talented Miss Maggie, @inthedayswhenlandswerefew, gives us some behind-the-scenes insight to her latest brilliant narration. [Feel free to check out the Spotify playlist of all the songs mentioned and let me know if I forgot one!]

Here is masterlist to my Interview With a Writer series and the other talented individuals who allow me to continue this self-indulgent series! 💜 Picture(s) source.

Name: inthedayswhenlandswerefew

Story: 1968

Paring: modern Aemond Targaryen x female!reader, modern Aegon Targaryen x female!reader

Warnings: 18+ mature themes. Be mindful of chapter warnings.

Where did the idea for 1968 come from?

I am a high school social studies teacher by trade, and my absolute favorite class to teach is American History. The 1960s and 70s were actually one of my weak spots when I got my first teaching job back in 2020, so I ended up researching a lot about that period of time and got absolutely obsessed with it. In my American History class, I spend a whole lesson on JUST 1968, because so many important events happened in that year that are emblematic of broader trends and tensions.

One day I was re-reading one of my favorite books, The Other Mrs. Kennedy by Jerry Oppenheimer, which is specifically about Bobby Kennedy’s wife Ethel, but also gives a lot of insight into the Kennedy family generally and what it was like to live through that era. The idea of using this setting as a fic AU occurred to me, and I ruminated on it for a few weeks while finishing up Napoleonville.

Eventually, I had a revelation of the ending of 1968 (true to my usual pattern), and then knew I’d have to write the fic! I was actually really worried about all the political and historical details being too boring and/or confusing (especially for non-U.S. readers), so I was relieved that so many people gave it a chance. 🥰

Honestly, it was brilliant with the similarities to the Kennedys and Targaryens in the story. Were there any historical cameos in 1968 that you enjoyed channeling? Or perhaps struggled with?

I find LBJ super fascinating, and I feel that because of the Vietnam War he really doesn’t get a fair assessment when people look back on his presidency. His work for civil rights and the Great Society (SNAP, Medicaid, Head Start, Job Corps, PBS, etc.) was truly revolutionary, and as someone who grew up in poverty and benefitted from a lot of those programs, I don’t think LBJ’s contributions get the recognition and praise they deserve. I perceive him as a haunted sort of figure, and I really enjoyed his cameos. (To be clear, he was also super problematic and bizarre personally, and I don’t mean to excuse any of that 😂).

As for someone who was difficult to write about…honestly, the George Wallace research I did was super depressing, so while he was necessary to include, I didn’t really enjoy working on those parts!

Was there anything in specific that inspired your Reader portrayal?

Io is a bit of a composite sketch. Ethel Kennedy was known as doggedly committed to her husband’s career above all else (despite eventually being the mother of 11 children!!), and I think that inspired Io’s single-minded determination to help Aemond win the election in the first few chapters. Ethel was traditional in the sense that her husband was the center of her world and made all the important decisions, as was expected of women of her social class in that time period. But Io is also a manifestation of the counterculture of the late-60s. She is young, educated, genuinely progressive politically, and likes to party. She tries to reconcile the expectations of her family/time period and her actual personality by intentionally choosing a husband with whom she can have an equal partnership making the world a better place. And…we all know how that worked out.

[Photo Ethel and Bobby Kennedy, m. 1950]

Can you explain your interpretation of Aegon? How does he compare and contrast to Aemond? What drives them? Why are they the way that they are?

In 1968, Aegon is 40 years old, and so his role in the Targaryen political dynasty is very well-established: once his family realized he couldn’t be weaponized for their purposes, he was largely disposed of, and lives this aimless, uninspired, self-loathing sort of existence. He does have some genuine love for his family—missing Daeron and feeling guilt over him being sent to Vietnam, a vague sort of fondness for Mimi and the kids, distress when Aemond is shot in Palm Beach, an apology of sorts to Alicent by performing “Mama Tried” at her birthday party—but Aegon exists on the periphery, and he knows this, and while he doesn’t want to be a politician the rejection still stings.

At first, he perceives Io as yet another person who makes him feel inadequate and unloved; and in fairness, she is cruel to him, in fact more so than Aegon is to Io in return. It is noteworthy that in Chapter 1, she viciously criticizes Aegon in front of everyone in the waiting room (“if someone had to get killed tonight it should have been you”), but he doesn’t return fire until they are alone (the infamous cow comment), and even then he seems to regret it immediately.

Aegon, fundamentally, is more sad than mean. When in Chapters 2 and 3 Io abruptly reveals herself to be someone who is vulnerable, wounded, abandoned, and kind of a hippie lowkey, Aegon begins to perceive her differently, and she becomes an opportunity for him to be truly understood, protected, and loved for the first time in his life.

I think we would all describe Aemond as ambitious and ruthless, determined to prove that he is the best to compensate for deep, lifelong insecurities. He is a progressive politically because he sees a path to build a winning coalition, and perhaps in small part because of the whole Greeks-being-despised immigrants thing. But in 1968 there is a sense that you never fully understand who he is as a person. This is intentional! 1968 is Io’s story, and she never gets to see the whole Aemond. She sees parts of the picture, but never the full image. As awful as he is to Io, there is also a side of Aemond that truly (even if in an…unorthodox way 😂) loves Alys and their child, and there are clues that Alys understands him like no one else can (that Ouija board message… 👀). He’s by no means a good guy, but he is multifaceted. I think the stress of the presidency, and his long separation from Alys, ends up softening Aemond a bit, hence him defending Io’s reputation and ultimately letting her go.

Did anything inspire your other OCs? Specifically "The Ones Who Married In" club?

I didn’t sit down and plan what sorts of characters would be in the “The Ones Who Married In” club. I was possessed by these random visions of them: a perpetually drunk Mimi, a perhaps not too bright but very sweet Fosco, and Malibu Barbie but make her Polish Ludwika, and I was thinking: “These people are ridiculous, this will never work!” But then when I thought about it more, I realized that Mimi, Fosco, Ludwika, and Io all serve strategic roles to help advance Aemond’s career, and so it would make sense that Otto and Aemond cobbled them together and shoved them into the family portraits. I ended up really loving them, but they weren’t a big part of my original outline for 1968. 🙂

How would Io rate them based on her friendship with each of them?

Fosco is definitely #1; they connect on an emotional level that is deep but also largely unspoken. Ludwika is a close #2; she’s Io’s shopping buddy but also witty, supportive, and very feminist in her own way. And then Mimi is a distant #3. Io pities Mimi and feels loyalty to her as a fellow Targaryen, and goes out of her way to try to protect Mimi from her own self-destructive tendencies. But Io, as a collected and self-reliant person, also has difficulty understanding and dealing with someone as messy as Mimi. And of course, once Io realizes she is super into Aegon, that creates some one-sided resentment of Mimi!

Do you have a feeling of what happened after chapter 12? What is the ending you vaguely see with Aegon and Io? What about Aemond and Alys?

Where I end a fic is really the last clear image I see of the characters, so I sadly don’t have a lot of specifics to offer. What I do feel is that Io and Aegon have children of their own (like, several children, maybe even 5+ children) and Aegon is present for their early years in a way he wasn’t able to be for his kids with Mimi. Io is a stepmom to Aegon’s OG kids and has a good relationship with them, but she’s only really close with Cosmo.

I also sense that Aemond has basically no contact with Io or Aegon, which makes sense considering his abuse of Io and the lifelong fury Aegon would therefore have towards him. Aemond is happy with Alys and their son (as happy as someone like him is capable of being); he does the ex-president thing and settles into a largely ceremonial role and advises Democratic politicians, although he is not very friendly with President Reagan.

And then my wild theory is that a Daeron/John McCain ticket ends up winning the 2000 election and the War On Terror plays out completely differently!

And finally... 1968 seemed to pour from you like a fever dream. Does this mean something else might be coming to continue the Maggie's Suffering Sunday tradition?

1968 did seem to fly by, despite it being a longer fic at 12 chapters! I do have something planned for this Sunday... 😉 All I can say for now is that it is very weird, totally unexpected, and tonally a mashup of Comet Donati and When The World Is Crashing Down.

Does that seem impossible?? Think again 😏 I will be reblogging hints until Sunday! I hope you enjoy this new journey 🥰🐍

[yersina]

a linguist plays chants of sennaar (pt 5)

[pt 1] [pt 2] [pt 3] [pt 4]

the home stretch!!

disclaimer: can't promise that i'll have any insights that a layperson wouldn't have, this is kinda just me thinking through the grammar of the language out loud haha.

this post covers the fifth and last language in chants of sennaar and will contain spoilers for both the language and the endgame! it also assumes you know what the symbols mean already.

i.... to be completely honest with you, i did not enjoy this language 😂 i think the experience of deciphering it got lost in favor of the storyline, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for everyone, but hey, i am the one going through each of these languages like a linguistic bloodhound here lol. because of that, i'm not as familiar with these words as i am with the other languages.

before we get into anything else, and also because i imagine that this will be a shorter post because the game itself tells you what patterns to look for, i do want to say that this language strikes me as being incredibly artificial. which is a good thing! it emulates the digital apocalypse vibe that exile gives. but a language that leans so heavily into being constructed and recombined and modulated so easily really gives me the impression that it was created and not organically developed. the only other irl example that comes to mind at the moment is korean hangeul, which was purposefully created by king sejong and is an alphabet, not a logography. like, this is a language that i would make for fun in high school (which is to say, it gives a kind of overly grammatically strict, awkwardly too regular vibe?).

it's kind of funny that this language is where i'm starting to get reminded of conlangs, especially when, well, everything in this game is a conlang. but if we take each of the radicals in this language as affixes/morphemes when they're being combined into one character, then this actually reminds me of a specific conlang (ithkuil, i think?) where you can convey incredibly complex ideas through very few words.

the language of the anchorites isn't quite this complex, but hopefully the comparison gets my point across?

i’m curious if only certain elements can be combined with each other or if there’s a certain order to them, but it’s hard to tell when there’s such limited evidence in the game. interestingly, i believe the anchorites’ language is the only one in this game that makes a distinction between “die” and “death/dead” by combining the noun with the verb “go”. not sure why the developers suddenly made that decision haha.

this language, like most in the game, is an SVO language, which we can see below:

but i think also they (the developers) were trying to convey more complex sentence structures than their language was designed to communicate??? so then you end up w smth like below:

which, if you translated literally, would actually be “you man i wait”. again, super interesting bc i think an actual, more accurate anchorite sentence should be “i wait you man”. they have a more complex sentence here bc of the predicate (“you’re the one”) and the dative (“for”), but really the sense that they’re trying to go for is “i was awaiting the one [who is you]”. i guess it’s possible that different grammatical cases are treated differently in this language, or that, like english, word order is occasionally variable (even tho that option seems iffy bc we haven’t really seen evidence of it before), but tbh i suspect that really it’s that the developers wrote the dialogue and then brute forced it into the anchorite language haha. no shade! (and also impossible to confirm either way lol) just kinda amusing and also it makes sense when it’s p obvious their focus shifted from the language to the story.

this trend continues throughout all of the anchorite dialogue (imo) and makes it kinda slow and awkward to read if you don’t have all of the characters translated. in my opinion, the way that the language functions in the last part of this game makes it pretty clear that the developers meant for you to rely on the given translations during this potion of the game, especially when the translation mechanic is mostly through the matching terminals in exile, rather than speaking with people.

annoyingly, the anchorites’ language is also the only one in the game that doesn’t have words for the other people/cultures in the game (demonyms), which also doesn’t give much to work off of in terms of cultural context, relationships, etc.

again, i’ve decided not to get into an in-depth orthographic analysis of this particular language bc the game itself introduces you to them. one that i noticed that wasn’t specifically addressed in-game is the similarity between “open” and “key”, which is something that i actually also noted before in the devotees’ language. i’m sure there are others, but i’m also sure you can find them yourself!

all in all, a strange ending to this game. if you’ve made it this far in all of my posts—thanks for hanging around! hope you were able to learn smth new :)

[myobsessionsspace]

Hello!!!

It's great that you're open to Jikook questions 😊

There's something that's been hunting me since I first saw it.

What's your interpretation of Jimin's reaction during the Vminkook live in Dec 2021- I'm referring specifically to Jimin's reaction after V said he was going to release a song with Jungkook? His reaction was super interesting, and so was Jungkook's.

We now know that V was playing around, and his statement wasn't true. Nevertheless, I think it caught Jimin by surprise, and my take is that he was a tiny bit jealous 😅 bless Jungkook, I think he was in a little bit of trouble there 🫣

Youtube link here:

https://youtu.be/5ufxVvjNbL4?si=UCbXNJxUfkz0c7i6

The moment I'm talking about starts around minute 45:00.

Thanks 💜

Hi Lovely!

This is a great ask, it’s something I’ve had convos with my friends about before! I’ve always found it highly entertaining when any variation of vminkook are together and get into skit mode or when Tae & Jungkook tease Jimin just to get him to go into super cute mode!

It’s what they do and have been doing for years.

This live was so chaotic VMinKook style from the jump. If anyone hasn’t watched it please do **everyone please watch original content**

It was chaotic because it was initially Tae’s solo live but he said how nervous he felt doing it alone and asked for staff to get Jungkook to join him.

NB: all image are gifs unless stated otherwise, please watch as they are there to support statements made. Original links to lives are at the end 💜

Jimin then came as he heard Tae needed company and Jimin had been with Jungkook. Jungkook eventually joined later.

Due to nerves on Tae’s part and it being an unplanned live that Jimin & Jungkook didn’t intend to be having there were many times where they didn’t know what to do or the purpose of the live and would defer to Tae for direction. Tae had a running skit with Jimin about being the host of a show (the vlive) and Jimin and later Jungkook being his guests.

Not a gif. Still picture

They also had funny moments where Tae would name drop different brands (this was funny as the group had contractual obligations with brands and they know in their profession they can’t name drop brands without consequence).

TMIs, games and more skits.

credit: onlyluvkpop. Some of the fun and teasing they were having

As I said the live was fun, chaotic but also at times stilted due to its unplanned nature of it becoming a trio live and nerves.

There was a point where Tae whilst trying to engage Jungkook tried (in my opinion) to run a joke with JK on army? I’m thinking he was hoping Jungkook and Jimin would catch onto it with him?

But cutie Minie Jagi was losssstttt 😭

Jimin’s face in the live side by side with confused Jimin face from post Hobipalooza live

VMinkook love their role playing and teasing and even if Jimin hadn’t caught on, I do think nothing was done to intentionally exclude any of the three. All three tease each other in different combinations

So no, not jealousy in my opinion, Jimin has absolutely nothing to be jealous about. But confused and slightly lost, as to if it was another skit or really work related that he didn’t know about.

Maybe a tad annoyed with it being live and no hints that he was catching on to, to work with, giving a look to Jungkook like ‘are you guys serious? Why aren’t you giving me a hint on the joke’ or ‘why am I hearing about a song for the first time in a live? You guys aren’t making sense’ and Jungkook’s kinda like ‘I’m as lost as you are’ or ‘what did I do? I’m just going along too!’

Maybe he was probably also thinking to himself when did Jungkook have a chance in between eating chicken together, working out together, Jungkook coming to his room all the time?? 😂

Not a gif. Still picture

Also Tae literally talked about a Christmas song earlier on in the live when it was just Jimin and Tae

Normally though, when V & JK are teasing Jimin, he knows it, and loves it 😂

But Minie was lost that time and he told us so

Tae & JK sometimes find a lost Jiminie, to be a cute Jiminie

Original Source: Weverse

Ultimately (in my opinion) Tae was mixing some facts together, which had JK quicker to the draw in playing along, but JK too was also confused at the beginning of their skit. When Jungkook caught on, he too teased Tae a bit and tried to get an expensive gift promise from Tae

Reached my media limit so ss the transcript instead, but like always, please watch the original lives for yourself

I’m assuming that the two had been vibing together and having fun making little play songs and singing, which is why JK said “what is it?” And “How can we release that?”

Tae did have a Christmas song in the works, just not with JK.

But for anyone that wanted a Christmas song from Jungkook, that’s ok, don't worry, him and Jimin have already done one together!

Not a gif. Still picture from Dynamite Christmas remix MV

Original source: BANGTANTV

I really appreciate your ask @irmi3454, I had fun!

💜

Original Weverse Links for Live

Live Part 1

Live Part 2

Live Part 3

[thedragonagebigbang]

Bang Creator Interview: Tumblr: @mortalitasdeeznuts 

The Collaboration period has begun! In these quiet months before works are due, we want to foster a sense of excitement, camaraderie, and celebration among our participants. To that end, all participants were given the option of a formal interview by our mod, Dema, or an informal “ask-game” survey. We hope you enjoy getting to know our phenomenal creators as much as we have!

Interview with Ascindio

Ascindio and Dema talk symbolism in art, the collaboration process, and strategies for constant improvement 

Dema: So first: welcome to the bang! We're about a week into the collaboration period – how is that going?

Ascindio: It's going great! I have a very clear image of what I want to do, just waiting to see if my writer is cool with the idea. The story they've written is wonderful.

Dema: Without spoiling too much, can you describe your idea using 3 words or less?

Ascindio: Disappointment, hurt, chasm. [EDIT: there has since been a pivot! The new words are: almost, chance, tentative. But since we were angsty before we're rolling with it. -Dema out.-]

Dema: MMMMM delicious.

Ascindio: I do so love angst.

Dema: I am reminded of that very gorgeous Lavellan piece you did. What is the strategy you use for conveying that angst?

Ascindio: Ooowh thank you! I loved doing that one. For angst, I wait until I have an idea/feeling that just grips me and I kind of churn it over and over in my brain until I can start to form a visual. I am very much in love with symbolism, so pretty much every emotional piece I do is bursting with it, hahaha. I have to have a very clear idea of what I want to get across.

Dema: Where do you draw your symbolism from? Is it all from the DA lore itself, or are you incorporating symbols from other sources?

Ascindio: Mostly the symbolism is from artistic choices. For example, in the one that you mentioned, she is the focal point, but the frame is much larger than her. I'm trying to show her loneliness and how sometimes she feels small, regardless of how Grand she is. She's an unwilling religious figure, hence the halo.

Dema: The orb halo is SO cool. 

Ascindio: There's more, obviously, but just to give an idea of what I mean. Pretty much every choice I make in the composition is deliberate.

Dema: I love that! And so exciting that you already have an idea for your Bang piece. Do you do many collaborations?

Ascindio: I don't, but I'd LOVE to do more, I looove collaborating and making art with/for others!

Dema: Is this your first Bang?

Ascindio: Yes!

Dema: What about the collaboration process is appealing, as an artist?

Ascindio: One of my favorite things is the challenge of trying to bring to life something from someone else's brain, and then put my own spin on it. I just find a lot of satisfaction in it. It's like one of the best ways I know how to connect with people.

Dema: That's one of my favorite parts of this kind of event, too. It's so fun to relate to the specific visuals of the fic!

Ascindio: Yes!

Dema: Does the timeline feel intimidating at all, or are you pretty comfortable?

Ascindio: The only thing that's intimidating me is that I need to keep it secret for so long 😂 I usually work on a piece for like 10 ish hours over one or two days and then immediately post it because I have No patience lol!

Dema: Oh yes, the secret-keeping is so hard. I understand! But the reveals are SO exciting when they do happen.

Ascindio: I cannot WAIT to see what everyone does.

Dema: When you work on pieces for yourself, especially in long stretches like that, do you have a particular environment you prefer? Any creative rituals?

Ascindio: I just recently set up a new little work station, with a couple monitors and I love it. So I have a rainy fireplace ambience on YouTube going, then I have a spread of inspiration/reference collage app I use called PureRef and I either listen to music or have some tutorials going from an art patreon I subscribe to, and I try to put a new skill into every piece I do. And I paint on a huion using ibis paint.

Dema: That is such a great idea to incorporate a specific new skill or technique into each new piece. Does that keep it fresh for you? Or is the goal just to keep improving?

Ascindio: It is my idea of fun haha, also I am always completely unsatisfied with just about everything I paint. So yes, it's definitely also to try to improve little by little without overwhelming myself.

Dema: I am very sympathetic to that feeling, haha. What was the latest new skill you tried out?

Ascindio: Owh okay so the latest has been working on creating a more harmonious color palette! I've always had a hard time with color theory as I'm self taught and the colors I choose often seem to stick out and draw attention to themselves when the focus is supposed to be something else. So for example choosing a murky white for a white shirt, when in reality a lavender may be better for a specific piece and it will still translate to white without being so Look At Me.

Dema: Ah, yes! I find that color is so much harder in digital art, as well. Maybe because you have access to All Of Them. At least, that has been my experience 😂

Ascindio: Yes, so tempting to say oh a blue shirt, I shall choose a Pure Blue. It is very rewarding to see little bits of progress here and there.

Dema: Yes! Do you have any go-to color schemes, or palettes you gravitate to?

Ascindio: Oowhoho yesss. It's funny you can see my main color palette shift over time when you look at all my pieces in chronological order. Right now I'm very into nature sunset color schemes. For example:

I actually have a Coolors chrome extension, so when I open a new tab it goes to a randomly selected color palette.

Dema: Oooh so very saturated, very warm?

Ascindio: Lots of purple, blue, pink, and green, with a bit of gold.

Dema: Lovely! Thank you for sharing so many great tips and rec's, as well as for taking the time to talk to me today!

Ascindio: Thank You! It was very fun!

[darklinaforever]

I always wonder what exactly the accusation about me liking ships or men abusing women is based on ?

Like... like I have some sort of fetish about female suffering caused by men ? I don't know ?

I'm trying to find meaning in this accusation that I often make of myself, when in reality, generally these haters are just talking to me about the super popular enemies to lovers trope or ships with twisted / toxic dynamics without necessarily this particular trope, even if it's rather rare and the people who follow me know very well that this type of ship is not reserved for heterosexual couples, that I ship LGBTQ+ characters with this kind of dynamic.

So how does it work from this accusation of loving relationships where men specifically abuse women ?

Although, knowing their stupidity, I imagine they would say that liking this kind of dynamic on LGBTQ+ couples would simply be proof of my so-called homophobia / queerphobia ? 😂 After all the bullshit I've been through, we're not ready for that.

Especially since sometimes it’s women in the role of the villainous crush that I like, so what would that mean ? That I'm sexist for wanting women to be portrayed as villains perhaps ? 😂

Once again, the whole principle of often coming to tell me that I am problematic because I apparently like ships where men abuse women, makes no sense since sometimes it is the opposite, sometimes it is LGBTQ+ couples.

I just like, like many other people, seeing dark twisted complex and toxic relationships often in the enemy-to-lover trope.

Loving this type of relationship is not surprising. It has existed and been represented in the media for as long as it has existed simply because it is a fascinating concept to look at.

I mean, are you going to tell someone they're weird because they love watching movies about serial killers ? No, I do not think so.

And that for me is because liking to see this kind of relationship on screen is more often women who will appreciate seeing that, so immediately when a woman likes something in the media it is often demonized and we are going to point this out as one of the worst perverse things that can exist even though it is completely ridiculous.

How does loving fictional relationships give you an objective portrait of the person I am in real life ? This is really completely stupid.

Well, I went far, but all this to say that the accusation that I like ships where the man abuses the woman is really stupid.

I just like a trope no matter what type of couple is involved. Let it be the woman who is morally doubtful. Let the dynamic be there on a queer couple etc.

I imagine that this type of accusation is intended to give the impression that you are standing on the side of women and defending them, but the reality is quite different since you are allowing yourself to judge and moralize a trope very popular with women.

You are nothing but hypocrites trying to give yourselves the right moral role, and it is tiring.