sacparadis

[mydollsaregay]

i picked some stuff up from fb marketplace today! I actually got more than I planned for, as some items were marked as sold online, but the seller said they were actually still available, so i was able to get them as well!

the overview (plus bonus doggy).

sam’s bed frame was the original draw for me with this lot - i actually got just the bedding in a lot a while back, and have since been keeping an eye out for just the bed frame at a reasonable price. i’m so excited to have found it! it’s definitely seen some play, but it is still super cute and totally good for my purposes.

the desk is going to end up being sold or given away, as i don’t have the space for a school setup in the dollhouse. i told the seller she could keep it and sell it to someone else, but she wanted to sell it as a set with some of the other stuff that i wanted so oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

i’m super pumped to have sam’s nightstand (even missing a handle) alongside her bed frame! it means i’ll be able to reuse her current bed frame and side table in another room.

in the accessories box, i got kanani’s beach outfit and paddleboard set! (+bonus random sunglasses) before i got the stuff today, i actually had no idea this was kanani’s, i just thought it was cute. when I found the map though, i was very excited, and immediately knew at least some of this stuff had to be hers. to my excitement, this all was! (other than the bonus random sunglasses haha)

next, some super cute pieces from a costco sleepover set and a petite place settings set. I’m most excited about the book, magazine, and game!

there was also some super cute christmas stuff! there’s a santa hat, a santa themed apron, a whole gingerbread house decorating set, and some totally adorable tiny ornaments. i don’t believe the ornaments are ag branded, but they’re super detailed and high quality, and i LOVE them. this year, i’m totally gonna set them up on a mini tree.

next up, kit’s school bag, school supplies, lunch, and lunchbox! I totally wasn’t expecting these and was really excited 😄 kit+claudie’s room is one of the most complete rooms in the dollhouse, and am always excited to add some more little details.

I already had some of kits school supplies and her backpack, but it’s awesome to have more. the lunchbox is totally new for me, and I’m super hyped about it! ive always loved the look of metal lunchboxes, especially in miniature!! the seller also had kit’s bed, but i had to pass, as I’ve already got one.

finally, the classic “other miscellaneous items” group haha. the dog, music stand, and hair brush are very normal items to find in a lot. felicity’s noah’s ark toy (sadly sans most figures, though there is one that i miscategorized as a ginger bread person while i was taking pictures), and a cute statue of liberty outfit for coconut are much cooler to me!

overall, this was a really cool collection of items! i had a ton of fun going through them. i also had a ton of fun picking them up, as my friend graciously joined me on my journey to keep me company while i drove, and we stopped for ice cream on the way back!

[lasabarcassims]

LasAbarcas Base Game Save File 1.0

My Base Game Save File is complete!!! Download it here!

UPDATED VERSION AS OF 3/18:

OLD VERSION:

My goal with this save was to make the base game feel super ALIVE and full of personality - basically what we all wanted the base game to be originally. This save is full of lore: each household has a story (some inspired by iconic Sims lore, others original), each Sim has relationships outside their home, each world has a description and each neighborhood within each world is built with a very specific vibe that draws particular Sims to live there, all community lots (and some residential lots) have descriptions, and even the graves (and ghosts) at the Willow Creek church graveyard tell a story. There are TONS of community lots in this save that all feel different from one another and are designed with different kinds of Sims (personalities, career types, ages, etc.) in mind to give everyone multiple things to do outside the house.

All lots were built using only the base game (disclaimer: occasionally my game adds pack-specific items, like a kind of food, during playtesting, so it might say there is a pack-specific item on a lot but it's not meant to be there!), but many lots were built with other packs in mind. For example, the save has restaurants, a boba shop/thrift story, a cafe/retail space, a community garden, a high school, and so on that are base game only. So, if you only have the base game or limited packs, it should feel like you have more to do than the base game provides and open up your gameplay with a little imagination.

If you do have more packs, the lots should easily convert to their intended lot type to allow more functionality. You should also find things that come in other packs available in the save. For example, many Sims have university degrees, all Sims have cold/hot weather clothes, there are loads of clubs for Sims to be in (each with a description - MORE LORE hah!), and the calendar is filled with holidays/events.

Here's a little tour of the Save:

WILLOW CREEK:

Most families in Willow Creek have lived here for generations. These families strongly value their roots and create such a strong sense of Willow Creek identity that the transplant families have taken on this identity as well, leaving the town full of people who proudly work to preserve and celebrate the town’s vibrant history and traditions. Families in Willow Creek tend to have a more traditional approach to family life/dynamics and care about the family’s image/status within Willow Creek.

OASIS SPRINGS:

Oasis Springs had its heyday several decades ago when its space exploration industry was booming, but when the industry fizzled out, the town lost a lot of business, wealth, and residents. However, those that remain take pride in their retro desert town and clearly see what remains: a beautiful, unique, special place to call home. Families in Oasis Springs tend to be a bit quirkier, care little about what other people think about them, and focus more everyday happiness than career success.

NEWCREST:

Newcrest is a very family-friendly neighborhood filled with fun for all ages. Families here tend to be a bit more laidback – they are willing to go with the flow and enjoy the messiness that comes with growing up. The Newcrest residents are a supportive bunch of people who enjoy each other’s company and have a healthy balance between careers/school, hobbies, and spending time with family and friends.

I will also be releasing a Limited Packs Save with version one containing updates to Copperdale and Strangerville coming soon, as well as a No Limits Save down the line.

I hope you all download and enjoy!! Please let me know what you think and if you notice anything that needs updating.

Thanks!

[xanasaurusrex]

Ohh I see! I’ve just read the Athena one and it’s awesome! Uhmmm could u do the ephestus one next? Is he a main one? Idk tbh. Cause i don’t wanna like request Eros who’s minor cause yk ur order and sum but ephestus would be fun! (Sorry if the name’s wrong… I ain’t English native an dim not sure about the spelling, sorry). Have a lovely day and again: love the Athena cabin!❤️‍🔥

⇢ ˗ˏˋ hephaestus cabin headcanons ࿐ྂ

hi!! i think you meant hephaestus, and of course i can do that! if you want to request eros or any other minor god, go for it! and thank you so much for the love on the athena cabin hcs, they were so much fun! have a great day, and thank you for the request love! <333

so hephaestus kids are cool but kinda chaotic

their minds run a mile a minute

they always have new ideas for things to make on their mind, and things to invent

they just always have a lot of ideas

hephaestus kids do very good in prank wars, because they're very good at rigging up things like buckets of water falling on you when you open a door

another one of their favorite pranks is putting a mento in the cap of a coke and then attaching a string, so that when you open it, the mento falls into the coke and does the foamy thing

so moral of the story, if you can, avoid getting into a prank war with a hephaestus kid

hephaestus kids also come up with the best nicknames for people

a hephaestus kid will spend some time with you, gauge your personality and the things you do, and then they give you a nickname

it's rarely ever a malicious one (or you're a mean person, then you get a bad nickname), it's usually one that fits you that you actually really like

so in my athena cabin hcs i said that they expanded the arts and crafts area, and yes, athena kids are the ones who frequent this area the most, but you'd better believe hephaestus kids are hanging around there as well

they love making things with their hands, and even though they specialize when it comes to mechanical things and working with metal, every one in a while they want to make a pipe cleaner butterfly

beckendorf was really good at origami butterflies

so after they died, everyone made an origami butterfly, and they put a framed picture of him up on the wall, and then surrounded it with origami butterflies (rip)

anyways, moving on

the hephaestus cabin is always just about a bajillion degrees

IT IS ALWAYS SO HOT IN THERE

and even though not all hephaestus kids have the fire power that leo does, they are all less susceptible to heat

i mean, they have to be around heat a lot when they're forging weapons, so naturally, it doesn't affect them as much as it affects others

literally, if you have a friend and the two of you want to hangout, you will literally never be hanging out in the hephaestus cabin, because you will literally melt

(not literally, but you'll just be sweating like a pig the whole time)

hephaestus kids also always make the best marshmallows at the campfire

i mean, come on

they forge amazing weapons, and work with fire on practically a daily basis, of course they roast the perfect marshmallow

if you have a very specific amount of roasted-ness in mind, just tell a hephaestus kid, and there you go, your perfect mallow

the hephaestus cabin also has quite a few retro items, such as cd players and record players

but they're not... exactly like they should be

hephaestus kids like to take these older items and make them more usable and modern

so there are some funky looking record players in the hephaestus cabin

they just like experimenting on things like that

the hephaestus kids also set up a sort of PA system for the camp

this was sanctioned by chiron, but they don't really listen to what he says about it

they play a lot of music, and yes, they do announce things, but there's often some comedy thrown in there

hephaestus kids are actually really funny

like they could honestly be full on comedians

they just have a sort of dry sense of humor, and really good timing, which is like half of being funny

hephaestus kids are also all really close

like when you're a hephaestus kid, your best friends are your siblings that you live with in your cabin

there are always a few typical older siblings that are the oldest in the cabin, usually the head camper of that cabin and a few others that you always know you can go to when you need it

hephaestus kids are also have the least drama

i mean, camp half-blood is filled with teenagers going through puberty, having first crushes and first relationships, that kinda stuff

of course there's gonna be drama

the hephaestus kids just somehow have less

this is partially because they always find themselves focused on things other than who kissed who and who cheated on who and why they did what

they have armor and weapons to make, dude, they can't be focused on that

that's not to say that there isn't drama with hephaestus kids, it's just a lot less common

and whenever you hear something regarding a hephaestus kid in drama, you kinda are taken aback and are like... wait what?

most hephaestus kids' love language is gift giving, and that mostly consists of things made by said hephaestus kid

like, oh you mentioned you wanted to start wearing rings more?

for your birthday, you find a package of like fifty, all different and interesting and unique, with perfect craftsmanship with the name of a hephaestus kid on it

sometimes they collaborate with the hecate kids to put crystals in the jewelry they make (because of course they make jewelry

hephaestus kids are almost never seen not wearing at least one piece of jewelry, made by themselves or their siblings

one head camper of hephaestus cabin like a decade ago taught themselves how to give piercings, and now every head hephaestus camper knows how to give piercings

obviously no hephaestus kid is forced to get a piercing, but most of them are

most of them have their ears pierced at the very least, but it's not uncommon to see a few people with snake bites floating around

chiron, the most innocent ever, has no idea where people are getting pierced, and has asked around, but nobody wants to rat out hephaestus cabin, because it's really convenient

idk i kinda imagine hephaestus kids as a little bit alt

that's all i have for hephaestus cabin headcanons! this was honestly a little bit difficult for me, and honestly i cannot tell you why. i do think these are all pretty good headcanons though, and just because it was kinda hard doesn't mean i didn't love it! (that's what she said) these were really fun, and i can't wait to get to work on the other cabin hcs i have sitting in my requests! thanks so much for reading, i love you all!! <3333

[nyx-v1]

TWST boys at your funeral tw- meantians of death and funerals

[Heartslabyul],[Savanaclaw], [Octavinelle][Scarabia]

Kalim

 Kalim covers the cost of the funeral. As soon as he heard you passed he told everyone that he would pay for everything, no matter how much it costs, and of course Crowley didn't stop him.

He decides to throw a big party  in your honor. He holds it at his dorm and invites pretty much the whole school. (at this point he has spent way to much money Jamil is not having fun keeping track of his spendings.)

Kalim is very honest about his feeling and won't hide the fact that he's sad about you dying, that he miss you, but he thinks funerals should be used to celebrate the person who passed, so he tries his best to be happy around everyone else. The only time he'll allow himself to show his sadness is when he is alone.

 He Goes around trying to cheer every one up with gifts, or by offering to do things for them. Kalim just wants everyone to feel better.

Despite his energetic and loud personlity Kalim is somehow the most respectful person during the funeral. He absolutely does not bother with any one else, he wants he attention to just be on you. If others are talking poorly about you he doesn't even notice, because he is only really focused on the service.

 He was going to wear brighter colors to your funeral but he was told by Jamil not to because it might be offensive from where you some from, and kalim doesn't even want to think about somehow disrespecting you so he ask Jamil to double check everything he's done for setting up the funeral.

Although Kalim is not the smartest person he is very emotionally intelligent.

He is very good with understanding how other people feel,and why they feel that way, so he works his hardest to cheer others up when he sees how much everyone is struggling after your death.

Kalim tries his best to cheer Jamil up, but his attempts end up causing more problems for Jamil to deal with.

Kalim understands whats its like to lose someone, even if it might not specifically be by death, so he spoils Grim even worse than everyone else, if Jamil wasn't there he probably would have given Grim some really important items(probably some national treasure).

He spends a lot of time at your grave, just talking to you, just like when you were alive. Doing this helps Kalim feel more at ease.

 He has custom jewelry made for you and him, in time for your funeral. He makes you and him matching bracelets.

Kalim is by far the most emotionally stable person, and he knows that losing you has effected him deep down,and he deiced to go to counseling for a little, just so he could have someone to talk to without having to burden Jamil with his feelings. 

After your death Jamil is a little emotionally unstable,and sometimes takes it out on others, including Kalim,and Kalim is very understanding towards Jamil. He always make sure to never be upset at Jamil unless his action cross the line, other than that he makes sure to respect Jamil and give him the space he needs to properly deal with his feelings.

Kalim probably tries to contact your spirt but with ghost hunting equipment but nothing ends up happening, so he gives up trying to your ghost.

Bonus: What kind of flower they would leave you+ what they would say

 Blue Hydrangea- gratitude, honesty, deep understanding

"I hope you have a fun time where ever you are, I'll miss you [name]!"

Jamil

 Jamil is the one to keep Kalims spending on your funeral with in reason and he makes sure that Kalim doesn't try to do anything to out there.

 Jamil shows up to the funeral all dressed up, suit and tie. Your funral is one of the only time he would change his hair style.He also adds little hair accessory that have your favourite color on them.

During the funeral he doesn't speak all the much, he's mainly keeping an eye on Kalim, making sure that Kalim doesn't try anything.

When other students talk negative about you he just rolls his eyes, they're not worth his time. He already knows that other students are going to take care of the rude students.

 Jamil is not very expressive so it looks like he is carrying on like normal. It's really hard to tell that he's actually struggling.

 He refuses to talk to kalim about your death, when ever kalim brings up the topic he either changes the topic or will find some excuse to leave.

With out you there every thing feels quite to him, and Jamil now finds himself falling behind in school work for a little, and he loses motivation for club. He ends up feeling really burned out for a while, not feeling like he can do anything.

When Jamil just needs to get away from everything he vists ramshackle, talking a quick walk in the area around the dorm. Being at the dorm reminds him of when he felt like he has someone who truly understood him.

begrudgingly goes along with kalim to visit your grave, but he actually doesn't mind. If for some reason your grave gets messed up or the area around it is Jamil will clean it up .

Keeps a photo of you on him normally in the pocket of his school blazer.

The first week is the roughest Jamil tries to be normal, but he just finds that everything gets on his nerves a lot easier. Anything that annoys his makes him snap. Most of the other dorm members  try to stay clear of Jamil. Once Jamil calms down his dorm mates start to avoid him less but still make sure to stay on his good side, making sure they doing everything right.

Jamil will never explicitly say that he's sad about your death and that he miss you. He'll NEVER let kalim think he's even remotely upset about your death, he would rather die than let Kalim have a reason to pity him.

 He stops kalim from spending lots of money on ghost hunting equipment.As much as he would love to talk to you one last time he knows it's probably not possible, so instead he makes sure to stop Kamil from wasting a lot of money trying to talk with you spirit.

Bonus: What kind of flower they would leave you+ what they would say

Red Spider Lily- meaning: death, sad memory, last goodbyes

Not one to speak his feelings for you out loud, so I can't see him saying much to you. Instead Jamils actions are much more subtle, he leaves a small note with you, and on that note are his true feelings towards you , he's never letting anyone read it.

[tarotnoob]

BTS group reading 6/18/24

This is the full BTS reading I did around the Jin discharge/reunion. I think that's important to note since I caught the vibe around that event as opposed to everyone being at their respective bases.

Disclaimer: Tarot readings are not fact; please don't let anyone make you feel they are. Using tarot readings as proof of anything related to BTS or the members is, frankly, silly.

You can also check out the reading I just did for Jimin. There were things that I noticed in Tae/Jimin's readings here that seemed connected. What does that mean? Nothing other than their energies crossed, so I interpreted it as having a convo about some stuff.

Essentially while there's a process to tarot, there's also a bit of guesswork trying to work out the pieces. Not to mention readers operate with their own biases.

RM - Even before I looked at the guidebook for the Oracle cards I got the sense that this is his time to not really give a s*** about anything. I feel like he's working on trying to take things less seriously so much to the point that he might be trying to go out of his comfort zone. I feel like he's trying to simplify things in his life, whether this means literally getting rid of clutter or getting rid of the BS. There's a lot of energy focused on the self. Whether this is more self-help books or working out or even pampering himself in some ways. The spirit card also makes me think that maybe he could be reading more philosophy books or even diving into different religions or spiritualities. If he has time off, I still think that he likes to spend it in nature. 

I really think that there's a lot of energy being put into physical fitness and health. He might even be eating better and simplifying his diet. I think that in terms of clarity he's definitely seeing things about what he wants to do in the future. He might be thinking a lot ahead to the next steps that they could take as a group or just him himself on projects. The candle and spirit definitely gives me Ace of wands vibes. So he might actually be working on a collaboration with somebody. I guess that could be a romantic spark as well. It kind of has a romantic vibe there. But it could just be vibing with people who are on his same wavelength. Talking about life and all kinds of things related to that. I see a greater sense of understanding his purpose and what he wants to do and where he wants to go and how he wants to be perceived. I just really get a no-nonsense don't give s*** kind of vibe. I think people do that when they need to shed something. They need to just start over because he was getting too frustrated and worked up and realized that he just had to go back to the basics or throw it all away. But I mean he's not doing it by being a hermit. Even with the number nine popping up lol. There could be some of that but I still see him being rather a social with other people who think similarly or interesting that way to him. I definitely see him talking to somebody about the future though. Having two figures in each card's could mean again like a partner or one specific friend or could stand in for a group of people but he's definitely making plans with someone besides himself. If not specific plans together then just a person that he likes to talk to about the future. 

I'm also feeling like he's more in a very sensitive and feminine type of energy where he's more open to receiving possibly. Like so more interested in learning and gaining knowledge and getting in touch with taking care of himself both mentally and physically. I feel like you probably also bought something really nice recently. Like some type of luxury item. From a car to a house to like a really nice watch or a piece of art. But I definitely feel like he's spending if it makes him feel better. I know that's getting away from decluttering but I think he's like I don't give a f*** I'm just going to buy things that make me happy and look aesthetic. 

Jin

Jin has strength and nature. This could be specific to a trip coming up in Leo season for him. So very soon. Where he might take a vacation to someplace where you would think of nature. It could be anywhere from Jeju to the mountains to getting away from Korea but I get a sense of somebody probably taking a trip to a location that's not necessarily a busy city. It could be to go camping probably. I think also it means like a sense of wonder. In the book it says something like and every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. And the keywords are gifts wonders and home. I just feel like this is going to be a time of relief for him to do things that are fun and carefree. I wonder if he's able if he goes on the trip will he like do a live or share a diary about it. It could involve music or gathering with people from the music industry as in friends or it could just be a situation where they go to camp and they have a campfire and it's very chill. It could even be like something I don't want to say spiritual but like a retreat where you have events that make you relax like yoga or sound baths. 

That doesn't really sound like him but that's kind of the vibe I'm getting. Or like a get together where people play music but it's not like loud music. It would be like you know if you get by campfire on somebody has an acoustic guitar. So they play folk or soft music together and just sing acapella. I see him having a good and relaxing time. Just trying to get back into the groove of things not trying to rush into something. Not to say that he might not start working on music right away. But I just see him even if he's doing that he's kind of playing around and trying to have fun and relax. Also maybe a lot of appreciation for what it means to have your own time and to not be stuck in the military anymore. I'm sure that sounds obvious but when I did a reading for him right before all the guys met the other day, I actually cried because of the cards that came out. Because it was just such a lovely energy. 

This is somebody who like has really figured out how not to let external things affect him and to just live in the now and like to approach things with such a wondrous and joyous type of energy. I think he is a person of strong character. If there's anything that he wants to do he has the willpower to do it. I don't think he lets anybody step over his boundaries. I think they've already said this but there's an energy of being a kid. I'm not saying he's immature. You could look at him and say the pranks or the things he says are silly and that's immature but it's not from that. It's from someone who just has decided not to let negative things affect him or even if they do because he's human, he won't let them beat him down I guess? Because life is too short? I feel like there's a lot of wisdom people could get from him if they sat and had a chat with him. And you could get him to be a bit serious. I think he doesn't want to be serious. Not because he's avoiding anything but just like he doesn't want to be lol. That's not his vibe. But yeah I think he's ready to rest and relax and recharge right now and so I would definitely expect him to take a trip very shortly to a location where he can feel relaxed. 

Yoongi

I'm a little surprised to see joyous especially given the tarot cards. But joyous here the keywords are appreciation, overflowing choice. The intention phrase for it is choose to spread your joy contagiously. You will keep your spirit healthy. Your joy will make others happy. The quote that goes with it is from Carlos Santana and it says if you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment. 

On the one hand I can't tell if I'm being biased especially given his tarot cards but then how I feel he probably feels about his military service. So part of me is wondering if this joyous card is a bit sarcastic. But when you read the description it's a lot like gratitude or being optimistic. Which I do think he is. It's living and practicing an existence of being joyful needs to come within. Celebrate being alive and having the freedom to make your own choices. Follow the path leading upwards and see the candy jar as half full rather than half empty. Positive thoughts and actions will attract higher vibration surrounding you, granting you pure joy. I have wondered from things he's said for years now if he has not necessarily a spiritual practice but more like a mental practice of letting things go and not having attachments. 

So I think he has adapted some of that to life. The tarot cards kind of indicate I don't want to say bitterness. But we have the nine of wands which is a little bit defensive or having seen some s*** or being determined and the devil tends to have those like negative self thoughts. The joyous part could be advice for him for how he feels right now. I can only imagine how someone like that feels when they have to do something that they don't believe in. I don't think he gives a s*** about military service. He probably doesn't think that he should be doing it. He probably doesn't believe in anything that has to do with authority or nationality or patriotism. I'm not saying he would be a critic or anything although there's much to criticize so it wouldn't surprise me. So I think this is kind of a difficult thing for him to wrap his head around so he's just trying to see the silver lining. Which is probably that eventually it will be over. I think he's trying to find things to be grateful for. I think he's looking forward to the end. 

I have always wondered if he has a companion or like a partner of some kind. I don't think it's a friend. I do lean toward a companion, I feel like they've been together for a while, and I feel like this person provides comfort as much as possible and could be the joy that he finds in what is probably an annoying experience for him right now. I think probably this person is the only one kind of keeping him grounded. I think the relationship could be a little codependent in that regard. I also feel like there's something hidden. Something sneaky or secret. This could be anything like something he's doing in secret. That could be the relationship. Or somebody involved is doing something that he's not aware of or he's doing something that other people aren't aware of. It's interesting that in all the cards there is this little extra animal. Which is part of why I'm leaning toward there is somebody significant in his life that provides comfort. That or he just got a dog lol. 

15, 9 and 6 could be relevant so maybe something happening in September between September 6th and 15th. Something that could be a secret being revealed. I'm not like super confident in that I'm just guessing what the numbers could mean if anything. I'm kind of seeing five of wands as well within this nine of wands, so there could be other types of conflicts happening. These sticks are burning and this is a snowman and that dog is also made of flames so technically the snowman could melt under the heat. And the devil obviously hell. Kind of silly but like literally he could be somewhere right now that is extremely hot lol. He could feel under pressure or feel the heat. There could be some type of temptation. It could be that he is involved with someone or something that could potentially cause harm to him. Of either a slight degree or more than that. Something that he's doing or indulging and might be kind of iffy but at the moment it seems to be bringing him joy or happiness or a way to get through stuff. I don't really know what that could be. 

Besides indulging in a relationship that's codependent, it's not like he could really be doing drugs or abusing substances. I think it's something else it's like tempting but at the same time it's harmful. I don't know what that could be given him not being able to do much. It could also be that like he's in a situation where he can't react the way he wants and feels confined. But that's me just like assuming things. I'm not really feeling anything. The devil is also a card about restriction so again maybe feeling restrained and kind of at his limit. I mean that sounds really dramatic, this is obviously somebody who can handle anything but like I just can only imagine him being incredibly irritated that he has to do this stuff. I just hear him being really sarcastic in my head about the idea of joyous. Like yeah what a joy this is. But he knows he's going to stick through it so what can he do. I mean he can't go into it completely like I hate this because he'd be miserable. 

Even though I think he's miserable but he's trying his best to find the things that make it endurable. I also wonder if with this person whether it's a new person or like I felt like an old person that maybe this person has like melted him in some ways and made him softer. Maybe because this person has seen him through good and bad. But I would definitely guess that if it's a person it's a bit codependent. Like they don't want to go out with everybody they would rather just stay in by themselves and only interact with each other. Kind of like when you invite a friend and no matter how many times you invite the friend they always want to ask if they can bring their partner. Which some people might be like what's wrong with that well that's weird. Okay it's weird. You can separate for a night to hang out with friends. And often your friends don't necessarily want to hang out with your partner. But yeah I'm not really getting much other than like irritation and sarcasm and just dealing with it and probably a person involved in his life that's pretty serious and is sticking close to him. But something about it is a little maybe toxic. Because again the snowman wants to take care of the little flame dog but the flame dog does end up melting him. But he seems to really like this person and I would guess it's a woman Yes. She might be older than him. I know all the little animals and stuff look younger but like I feel like she could be older 

It could even be that he's actually the little pet in every single card because of how much he seems to look up to her or be like obsessed with her. And if in her eyes that she's rather powerful and like caring and taking care of him. That's why I kind of think she's probably older by at least 5 years it could be more than that. Anyway. I think I said that last time I did a reading about him where I felt like he was talking to somebody about creative projects. And I think it's the same person probably so. Don't ask him to marry you because I'm pretty sure he's already got somebody in mind and it's pretty serious and probably long-term. But it's just a guess and a feeling. I don't feel 100% about anything going on with him. 

But I do probably think he's taken. However I feel like it's a non-traditional type of relationship. As in like they don't like labels or it could be open. But it just doesn't feel traditional hetero dynamics. I think they would call it like a companionship or even like one's a superpower and one's a familiar. She might also be kind of spiritual or has that same type of interest in those philosophical ideas without being spiritual. She could even be a little witchy. She could be into Japanese religions or spirituality or be Japanese I say that because of the fox. And they have legends about foxes being able to change shape. And this animal seems to keep changing shape in the different cards from being a dog to a fox to whatever is with the devil. So in that way in terms of non-traditional this woman is just not into labels. Maybe they're even non-binary? I don't really feel like that though I feel like they're quite feminine in nature but it's more not believing in labels and thinking everything is a social construct with a bit of scientific spirituality thrown in lol. I just don't see them as into incense and tarot yet they apply certain philosophies like that to things. Anyway interesting. 

J-Hope

I am not surprised that he would somehow pull the focus card out of a lot of really like spiritual worded Oracle cards lol. I am always thinking of him as being high focused and a little not uptight but like wound a little bit tight yeah. Very respectful and kind of serious. But deeply charming. As for the photo we have somebody who is in a white gown with flowers. And we have the four of wands, so it's almost giving like a wedding vibe. I think I said this in a past reading about him too where I thought there was some kind of wedding so I don't know why that keeps coming up with him. If you look at the four of wands as well that guy has like white hair and it reminds me of J-Hope when he had that white blonde hair before he enlisted. So there's definitely I mean I would look at it and be like okay well somebody is putting their attention into like an event that looks like a wedding and there's a little bit of anxiousness and anxiety about it. I don't know is he going to get married, is he going to a wedding, is he going to be in a wedding? The other thing could be there's some type of celebration or contest coming up where he would perform and there's some anxiety and he's just focused on that event right now. 

Reading the book for focus also sounds a lot like somebody and the steps you would take to manifest something and make something happen. Especially like achievements or things that you want to accomplish. So it's putting in the effort toward that and being aware of what you want. So there is a moment of celebration that he's working toward and focused on. This could be like any of them where it's a focus on being discharged and celebrating that moment afterward. And maybe he's like super highly anxious and focused on that specific countdown day. So I think he's really looking forward to the end. And at the end there could be some kind of celebration that would include a wedding. I don't know if it's he's seeing somebody I don't know. There are lots of people in our lives who could get married but it's just interesting that he got four of wands and this card looks so much like a bride carrying flowers. They're both carrying flowers. So there's nervousness here. I mean we won't know until he gets out but maybe he has promised somebody that at the end of his discharge they could celebrate something. It could be anybody else throwing a wedding or party but I'm just saying it's looking like I want to imagine a situation where he is with a woman Yes a woman probably very likely and they're both looking forward to this moment and there's a celebration and there are flowers and there is somebody in a white dress so I'm just saying. 

It's interesting that the focus card talks about manifestation and creating things when the character on the four of wands is the person who created BMO and a lot of robots. So there's this idea of creating a dream reality. Creating his own happiness. Highly focused on what's going to make him happy and what's coming up in the future. There's also an interesting take on flowers. It could be that being with Jin now he has flowers in mind and that's how he associates the end. It could be a focus on beauty and happiness and things that are good. Also to have flowers you have to put in the dedication to grow them. And when you do that something really beautiful comes out and you've created something.they are white roses so it could signify like a friend getting married. 

Of course I like don't see anything in the cards to indicates to me a person that he's seeing now or whatever. I'm just like literally this is exactly what it looks like on the cards. But like I said it could be a friend's wedding. Once he gets out and he's looking forward to that. Or it could be way in the distant future that there's some type of marriage. We have the numbers four and the numbers 9. So this could be something for next April or it could be something in September or the event could take place on the 4th or 9th of a month. I don't think he's getting out until early October maybe. I'm not sure of the specific date. But maybe he's getting out on like the 9th or the 4th I don't know. But there is no way a guy as amazing as he is is not dating somebody. Like I don't know if any of them were dating and they took a break because obviously it'd be difficult to keep a relationship while you're enlisted. Especially for JK and JM who are like in the middle of nowhere and mountains and apparently it's hard for them to get a lot of time off. 

I'm not sure what to totally make of the nine of swords beyond being like a generally anxious as a person always he seems to be. But this character has a harp and the swords kind of make me think of communication and writing. So I think when he gets anxious he might be writing and working on things like at night you know when he's in bed and about to go to sleep. I also think this just indicates dreams. I'm really focused on the wavy one the second one from the bottom. I don't know why. Although it does kind of remind me when you like put a song together and you see the waves of the sounds. Also in the nine of swords on the bed there's another woman who looks like she has a bridal dress on lol. It's clearly princess bubble gum but it looks like yeah so I'm sorry but I definitely think there's a wedding coming up for him. It would be weird to be that focused on a friend's wedding unless it's like your best friend or you're going to be in it or you're worried about whether you're going to get out in time to make it to the wedding. But somebody's getting married 

Jimin

Okay for Jimin. We have the sun which can indicate Leo timing or Leo signs and we have Divinity. Kind of interesting already because flame princess is a royal person and people used to think that being royal was a divine right or divinely given. Despite there being a moon in the divinity card I also get the sense that it could just as easily be the Sun instead of the moon here. Or it's just a mix of the sun and the moon meaning feminine and masculine energies happening at the same time. Because the divinity card would definitely make me think of high priestess right which is a very feminine energy and in the sun is that powerful masculine energy. So there's like a balance theme happening here. 

More about the divinity card. So the intention says embrace your soul and true self. You are filled with the ability, strength, and knowledge you need to navigate your life's path. It's interesting that it says strength which is the other leo card. So I think clarity and bravery and being bold and getting out there or bringing something into the light could be a part of this. This could be more about the balance of those energies. If we're talking about the high priestess which usually means secret and we have a card about clarity, there could be a revelation of some sort that's happening for him or about him or will happen to him. It's such a nice balance of energy lol. Because there's such a softness and empress vibe and high priestess vibe rolled into this divinity card. It's very soft and elegant and then you have this powerful loud sun card. And flame princess is focusing on this crown and this particular red jewel but she's also not wearing it on her head. We see that there is red prominent on both cards. There's also a little bit of yellow and then a bit of green but I'm mostly seeing red which is the root chakra. Yellow would be solar plexus green would be heart.

I'm also wondering if he's kind of in the mood to dye his hair red lol. Or like he was just talking about what color will I dye my hair when I see you again and I'm wondering if right now he has an idea in his head that it will be red. Or is he like I'm between red and blonde because we see yellow here too. Another line associated with the divinity card is never forget that you have the spark of divine in you. Whatever you do or don't do won't change this fact. And the keywords are wise, sacred, deity. I kind of feel like both cards are talking about a deity or a god or the divine or fate or whatever you want to call it. Spiritual wisdom. He always has very spiritual cards and more often than not I typically get cards for him that are like the sun, the moon, death. Like with other members I tend to also get a seven card with him at some point. 

The number for the Sun card is 19 or 1 and 9 or 10. So any of those numbers could be significant in some way. More about the card it says you are quite surely a goddess with extraordinary powers and in other worldly realm. Hold yourself to the highest standard of exquisite excellence. You are walking on this earth to make the difference that was intended for you to achieve. Stand tall on the highest mountain. This line is interesting. Once you reach the apex, you will discover the entire spectrum of the rainbow waiting just for you. It's weird because I think that the universe has special intentions for him which can probably create a lot of tough burdens and challenges and lessons for that type of person. There's a lot of focus on embracing who you are and you know embracing the feminine aspects and the beautiful aspects and the graceful aspects. So the card is really encouraging the feminine traits or skills or talents of his personality and even of his physical looks. 

But then like you see this other card that definitely represents all those masculine traits. I'm not necessarily seeing a conflict. I'm pretty sure that he's mostly resolved a lot of the issues he used to have about what it means to be masculine versus can I accept these feminine aspects of myself and how will these be perceived. I kind of thought that would come up again going into a place like the military where you can't paint your nails, you can't wear makeup, you can't dye your hair, and I thought he was maybe worried about what he would look like without his hair and not being able to present himself as an idol. I don't see conflict here maybe if I clarified. I see someone embracing both sides. I feel like sometimes the fandom misrepresents him and it's interesting because everything he stands for is in contradiction with what the fandom likes to do to him. 

Because he is sometimes seen as “slighter” physically or because he did contemporary or ballet or because he has that feminine type of face that's very beautiful and artistic or he wears jewelry. But sometimes the fandom likes to treat him in this very heteronormative type of way where it's like okay well he's a little bit more “fem” than the other guys so that must mean that maybe he's gay or somewhere within that LGBT spectrum which is none of anybody's f****** business but anyway. But like what he has always said is that labels can be silly. There's a moment in maybe it was bon voyage the first one where he said you know what does it mean to be a man. He's always saying let men cry. 

And that's not to say he's always been that way because I remember this moment in an interview and JK was being asked what do you think about bikinis and he said something like I know all I need to know about bikinis and then jm says something like they don't even see us as men do they. And we know that at the beginning he thought he (Jm) had to be a muscle pig and ironically he's kind of switched roles with JK and JK became the muscle pig (but he doesn't seem put off by showing a fem side these days). So I don't know what's going on there with the flipping of the roles… or that both of them have kind of learned from each other about embracing both sides because I don't know if you saw the Calvin Klein cropped shirt photo but it's one of my favorite photos of jk and I think he looks amazing. Just as amazing as when he dresses in all leather and masculine fashion. But anyway my point was going to be you can't put people in a box because of your conceived notions of what you think people could be based on looks or how they act. 

So I can understand why he's also interested in both sides and you know how do I balance this and where do I fit. And I think you can have those qualities and be extremely powerful and still quite masculine in that energy. I just think he conveys both and he always has to me. I find him very beautiful in his dance and then when he puts on makeup and dresses up it's just beautiful. I don't think oh well he looks girly. And then you see him in in the soop wearing a baggy shirt and some shorts and chopping wood. Or he's got a baseball cap and a jacket and he's just like looking like any other well-dressed guy. 

What's my point? I just think it's probably always going to be a part of his life or the earlier part of his life to figure out the balance of those traits and what society tells him they mean but what he feels they mean could be completely different to that and then just balancing that within himself. I also just think he has spiritual powers lol. There's always something so sexy about him and that's probably the wrong word but it's because I just think the moon really fits him so well. But then yet it's clear that Sun is another aspect of his personality. This is a person that's meant to shine and can be bold but is quite like on the other side of it quiet and soft and elegant. Because you could look at these two figures and these cards and look at divinity with the cloak and then you look at the flame princess and it looks like that figure could be cloaked in flames but also it could be that flame princess is wearing this cloak and then she's taking it off. Maybe red is also his favorite color lol. 

So it's like somebody who is a feminine being or body or embraces that feminine energy being cloaked in a color that is a masculine energy. I also see it as somebody who's extremely passionate but it's like a quiet passion. Not that you'll never physically see his passion but it's such a strange thing to have to describe. But I'll just say it reminds me of dancing. Like specifically contemporary dancing. You have to make these fairly simple movements and portray them just using your body and emotions. And you have to do that in an elegant and sleek and slow way. And you have to contain it. It's like a contained passion right. And flame princess is also a very passionate character. And she probably had a moment too where she didn't know if she wanted to wear the crown and take over from her dad and so there has to be this choice of you know am I going to wear this crown and do this. And that could be about: do I want to wear this label do I want to openly wear a label of how I describe or see myself. But in Divinity there's a bit like it is hidden by this cloak right but then looking at this crown maybe I'm looking at the day where I don't have to hide in this cloak. I'm not trying to make this a metaphor, I'm not assuming anything about him because hiding things about yourself makes sense as a celebrity. you can hide all kinds of things especially when you have this complex about if people see parts of you that they don't like especially when you're a person you're a Libra of course and you don't want anybody to dislike you so you're afraid to show certain parts for fear of turning people away from you. 

Even if you're confident in yourself so I feel like one side of him wants to be able to show everything that he is but then there's this other part that wants to keep it hidden right to keep it secret for whatever reason. But there is hope here I think and looking at this crown keep feeling like this is somebody who's looking at something and dreaming of what could be and since it's a card about clarity it also feels like being able to live in the light and do this and be bold about it and like wear that crown. I still don't feel any conflict between the cards like I'm either this or that or I'm ashamed to live in the cloak. I just think they're two parts of him and I think he wants clarity and wants success as well. There's like quiet hungry passion for success. Yes I mean like physical success and awards and validation. Being the best, and having it to do with performance for sure. Like he gets super excited about the idea of performance and super excited about the idea of awards and winning things and being acknowledged in that way. I can also see the love of roleplay and even of costumes. Because look at how dramatic that is to be wearing that cloak and then her little warrior outfit. It almost looks like a kendo outfit though doesn't it too. 

Maybe he'll win a martial arts award while he's in the military. I also feel like maybe he'll win an award. I think I said that in his longer reading but like maybe he gets an award for a job well done for something. Oh you know and now that I look at the sun I'm starting to see Jack skellington's face in the Sun with like the stitches as the mouth and the little eyes. Anyway. There's a lot I could look at for in his cards and I feel like his cards always convey this type of feminine masculine energy with the moon and the sun. How he can be this quiet person walking through the woods but at the same time he could be this regal royal hot-blooded all in red flame princess right out in the sunlight for everyone to see. So it would make me think you know yeah he might perform wildly on stage and be very loud about it but he's also a very private person. I also wonder if there's a place he can go by the base. 

I personally think and have seen in the cards that there are a lot of mountains and I think I've already heard people say that but I wonder if there's a spot with trees that he can go to to take a walk. Even in the Sun card it looks like a barren rocky mountainous place and you have to put on this uniform. But then there's this very peaceful woods area with trees. If he doesn't have that then maybe there's some way that he can find this type of peace even at the base. Like looking at this little object like the crown can help transport him. So this could also be him on his phone when he gets to read it at night he's reading stories. Like manga or fantasy fiction novels. Or maybe putting on these costumes and going into this role as performer is also kind of like a safe space that he dreams about. 

You know since I thought his album was very cinematic in the way that the songs told stories or how visual it was or how concrete the video concepts were. I'm also seeing like okay this divinity card represents his imagination and flame princess is looking at this crown and imagining scenarios. Like if you are a writer sometimes you can imagine scenes like movies in your head so it could be him imagining himself in these different roles like being this cloaked figure and playing RPGs but also that feels tied to how he imagines songs or his love of movies. It feels very creative. Or maybe he can imagine things like paintings. Maybe he's inspired by art. There's probably just a lot of stuff about him that we don't know. I would love to have a chat with him because I find him pretty relatable. I think he's a tough cookie, I think people often underestimate him and treat him like s*** especially people in our own fandom, but this is a really strong and caring and creative and talented person that seems to also have some type of blessing from the universe. Like if he actually took up tarot and tried spiritual practices I think he would be able to do it intuitively or his power/gifts comes from his ability to interact with people and heal them oh well.

Anyway, I know that wasn't specific but I just think it's a bit of a time for him to figure out some things about himself and who he is and what he wants to show. Again, I'm not saying that the cards say he is XYZ. But the cards just say that he hides some aspects of himself, which we all do. And I think that that can be a struggle for him. But I think he has an ability to visualize very strongly and that might be why he is able to manifest certain things. I think he sees songs or scenes for songs or videos very concretely. But that also tells me that he probably visualizes things that he wants or things he hopes for the future very clearly as well. 

Do I think that any external debate from the fandom or anywhere else reaches him and still affects him in terms of that feminine versus masculine energy? I don't really think so. I doubt he pays that much attention to comments anymore or at least I hope he doesn't. Besides that aspect of feminine versus masculine, there also seems to be a layer of public versus private. However, this has gotten pretty long so cut it off here especially since they already did a longer reading for him. 

Taehyung - 

I took a couple days break before I did the last two. So tae has some interesting cards. For the tarot, there is high priestess and death. Uniquely spiritual cards, about wisdom, also about things that are somewhat secret. That's a little bit interesting because I feel like it's slightly tied into some things with Jimin. But putting that aside let's just talk about the tarot, high priestess can indicate knowledge, or secret knowledge, intuition, having to do with the moon, feminine energy. While death represents Pluto, cycles of death and rebirth, what they have in common is both cards indicate something being hidden or subconscious. So we definitely know that there is something pointing here to things that are hidden or covered or secret or quiet. So we have to look at the oracle cards, one says goddess. The other says serenity. Goddess gives me the vibes of going back to high priestess or empress even but looking at it you might also think about three of cups or even three of pentacles. Serenity kind of makes me think of hanged man. What also comes to mind is the serenity prayer, which ironically has the same sort of message about letting go of things that you can't control.

I put the Oracle box away and just kept the pictures but now I need to look up what the oracles are. Honestly I wasn't really going to post the group readings but I kind of feel inclined to after seeing that Jimin has a new album coming out. So I feel a bit excited about talking about some of these things coming up in the readings. 

To talk about serenity, the keywords are acceptance, peace, choice. The intention says make peace with your situation, unless you can and want to make a change for a better outcome. Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance. 

So before we move on to the next Oracle I'm again getting the same thing as the tarot which is I feel like he's totally embracing military life and what's happening wholeheartedly. It doesn't surprise me that this matches the energy of his letter. It's different than jins outlook about him going into the military or his general state of mind which is often you know live in the moment. But even when Jin lives in the moment It's as if he is having a reaction to the world and it's not like a genuinely carefree attitude. It's something that is practice by him and is almost like a meditation or when you have to practice a certain mindset. Whereas with Tae this feels like organically I don't give a f*** That's not putting it right because it's not like there's this rebellious thing. It's just like excitement for the unknown and what is to come and just like completely having his arms open to it and going with the flow. Which is probably something he's always done throughout life. And I think that explains some aspects of what's going on here. The secret stuff or the hidden stuff is a little bit something else. Which we might find in the last Oracle so let's see. 

Also sometimes when you get multiple secret cards it's also possible that someone doesn't want to show you something or it's unknown. So with goddess, the keywords are sacred, light, warrior. it says every stage of life lays the foundation for the next stage of life. Treasure each stage of life. And the intention says magic runs deeply through your veins, be wild and free. Awaken your soul and embrace all of your journeys around the Sun, whether they are traditional or all your own shining uniqueness. We are all warrior woman. 

Mentioning the sun when Jimin got that, I'm again maybe drawn to something connecting jm and tae in this reading. I'm not sure what that is and maybe it plays into the secret. Definitely since the goddess tends to look like three of cups and one of the women seems to be pregnant, which could be kind of like an empress vibe, you have to wonder if lol he's full of secrets. That might have to do with Jimin. There's also more moon energy because the goddess card talks about triple moon goddess. Which again makes me think of high priestess and empress. Then it says fundamentally, she is the same person entwined and wrapped into one being. Each life stage is associated with a phase of the moon. That's fascinating because literally we have death which is about life cycles and he got besides the moon card the other Moon card. The death card is a card I associate with Jimin. So again there's like some tie here in this current energy in this current reading that seems to be connecting tae and JM. I'm not entirely sure what that is or how it connects to what I said about Jimin in this reading. It could be that the things that Jm is hiding within himself or cloaking or however you want to call it, that these are things that he has recently shared with Tae. Over the phone or through a message or whatever. So that might be why they are connected a little bit. Or a lot, hard to say. I do see in the goddess card we have three people discussing things amongst themselves. I think it's like a deep conversation because we have the moon. I'm not getting three of pentacles unless there's some practicality to it but I see three people discussing something deep and important. 

The middle person seems to have a lot to say it could be because she's pregnant. They might be talking about something not just deep and emotional but having to do with the cycles like life and death or what are we going to do next in the future. My guess is they probably did have a deep conversation in the last couple of weeks. Because I'm definitely feeling strong ties at least on taes side where we're talking about secrets and cycles and maybe a little bit of abundance but that's kind of vague. We have elements of letting go of control and kind of accepting what's coming. So I think they probably shared some thoughts about life and who knows. Like I said you know with Jimin, it felt like he was reflecting on his place in the universe so it's very likely these two had some type of deep, emotional, extraordinary conversation lol. Like the kind where you are on the phone or your FaceTiming and possibly staying late into the night. I don't know how that would be possible with military or maybe they had it in the time that they were together. I think I pulled the cards for the group after the reunion. That doesn't mean I know when the timing is I'm just saying they spent time together so maybe that's possible. 

I think it also means that tae has been fairly sociable in the military. I think he is connecting easily with other people. I think that even so, I don't think he is getting super close to these people. It might be a very superficial type of relationship. I'm not sure on what deep type of level he's connecting with the people that he's meeting. But he's probably having fun. I almost wonder if he's purposely like not opening up. It might seem very much that he's being social and like talking to people but it almost feel like there's some barrier he's put up with new people that he's meeting where he presents as having fun and letting go but like inside I'm getting this feeling that he can't open up to just anybody. Unlike say a conversation he could have with Jimin. Where they have very deep conversations obviously based on years of trust and being okay to be vulnerable with each other. And I find I'm getting emotional lol that they are so deeply trusting of each other. That they probably know all kinds of secrets about one another. And definitely ride or die. I know that's very probably obvious to people. It's just interesting that I'm feeling this bond when those two are separated right now. But I don't think that that matters much when they come together. And I think that Jimin still reaches out to tae when he needs to talk and vice versa. 

I mean it also in the goddess card there is a sense of gossip as well. Like news being shared amongst the three women. Almost like you know besides having deep conversations there's this sense of urgency like oh hey I heard this thing by the way and then you call up your friend and you're like hey I heard this have you heard this is it true. I don't know what it would be about. It could be related to those deep conversations. Or it could be something separate. 

I think a lot of the feminine energy that's coming through really has to do with receiving. I think this ties in to being open to accepting whatever is coming his way. But I also think literally he's receiving things like secrets and information. This could be from people around him or it could be specifically other friends or members. Again I feel like a tie to Jimin. Jimin has shared something with him that's a secret. Probably. Again not necessarily gossip but information and secrets. Which can be hopes and dreams or fears or all kinds of things. 

I also wonder if he's a bit lonelier than he gives off. I don't doubt that he's probably making the best of what's happening and is probably genuinely enjoying these things. But I get the sense of somebody who's a bit alone. You don't get the moon coming up constantly to not have like some little bit of you that's lonesome. Do I want to say feeling misunderstood? Sort of. Not as in oh I feel so sorry for myself but more as in not always feeling like he belongs. Feeling out of place describes it better. Like imagine if you were an alien. And you looked like a human. You came to this world. You look like everybody else. But you just don't belong or that's how you interpret it anyway. I mean Tata is coming to mind but that's just how I feel right now. He might say all these fun things in a letter and it might be very convincing but I just feel like he's a little bit alone. Alone might be different than lonely. I mean it is different. 

So I feel more like the word is alone. Not lonely. Again I just keep getting more Jimin and how they must have had some conversation about life and cycles and what's next. Everything I said about Jimin and those things that he's reflecting on I just feel somehow it's tied to tae. And when I did the longer reading for Jimin, when I was talking about a friend from the past, I almost wanted to tie it to tae but it didn't make sense so I just deleted it and then I ignored it. But I wonder if some of that actually is connected to tae. If you end up reading that longer reading, it's about somebody from jimin's past coming back. I optimistically said it was about closure for both of them but given any situation it could just be somebody who feels unsettled about something that happened between themselves and Jimin. And has come back. I'm not saying if that encounter that I was reading about is either positive and harmless or like a little bit negative and concerning. I didn't look into that. I just knew that the person who felt left behind in that scenario was holding on to some negativity about being abandoned. 

So this could be somebody they both know. And there could be things going on with this person showing up again already maybe. I thought maybe they would show up in the future but it's possible that this person has already showed up. It's a person that these two know. It's just the possibility. As for whether these are the secrets being exchanged between the two. I don't know. I was feeling more like it was more about conversations regarding life. But this would also make sense for the hey did you hear about this. Maybe they had a conversation that was like hey do you remember this person from back XYZ. I heard from them and it's a little weird. I don't know. Or they're talking about rumors not sure. That would probably be a waste of their time though. But I definitely feel an exchange of some type of secret information. Only between them. Or a small group. I don't feel like it's serious or anything but I just don't really know there. 

That might go back to the serenity and conversations about you know there's nothing you can do about it. 

However looking at serenity again it says you know make peace with your situation unless you can and want to make a change for a better outcome. This reminds me of the idea of a two of wands… and you can choose a path where you don't do anything and maybe nothing happens or you can expect it to go away. Or you can take action. It says a better outcome. It does go back to reminding me of if you had an issue with somebody in the past and you can choose to ignore them or ignore it. Or if they're doing something weird with you you can actually take action and confront them and do something about it. I'm not saying that's what's happening here I'm just offering something. In the art for the serenity card it looks like a witch but she's actually a mermaid and she's sitting on the cliff with a cat familiar. When we think of this position and a mermaid usually it's somebody maybe considering well I guess in case of the Little mermaid it would be pondering if she wants to give up her tail to join the human world. So this could be about an unfulfilled wish or desire. It could be that this desire is already here and now you have a choice to make. 

The art is a little lonely or is giving me that vibe. I get the idea of again back to this conversation they're having… talking about feeling alone. And it's like I want to be able to feel like I am a part of that world lol. It's weird we're talking about this and I literally was talking about aliens. So definitely this is probably on to something. But we have somebody contemplating how they want to be part of something, but they feel kind of alienated from that even when surrounded by people or even somebody who is very good at drawing people to them. Or seeming like they are perfectly extroverted or sociable. But it's kind of like an act. I don't want to say that I think he's fake. It's coming across like somebody who's trying to find that feeling of belonging. But just can't seem to make it click. My guess is there are probably few people that tae feels absolutely himself around and I do think one of them is Jimin. 

As for his other friends that's a possibility too. I don't know enough about them to dig deep into what I'm seeing. But even in this picture we have one lonely person talking to a cat. So the cat could be one particular person like Jimin or the cat isn't anybody. Like it could be you know a dog. As in this person is feeling alone and doesn't have anybody in particular they're speaking too. I get that from the art like this is someone who is just alone and the cat isn't necessarily anybody that we know of. I also think maybe there is some acceptance and peace. Not just about being in the military. Now I'm sitting this more as someone who is accepted a feeling inside of themselves. Maybe he has accepted that he's always going to feel this way at times. Like he's always going to feel a little bit lonely or sad in any situation. I think he contemplates it more than we probably realize. I guess I want to say he might not come off seriously in content. At least that's even my perception of him. But I'm seeing somebody who does a lot of deep thinking about life. And then he has these conversations with someone like Jimin. I'm sure there are plenty of other members he converses with. But I'm just seeing Jimin at the moment. 

Let me look at the tarot cards again I have to scroll all the way to the top to see if there's any imagery I want to focus in on… I just see more of someone who is told certain information and then is left contemplating about things. And the information is shared or gathered or received among multiple people and then one person is left alone thinking. I see that with the high priestess card as well. Somebody who seems to be holding on to something. And then a death card that also signifies things that are hidden or secret and being resolute. I think he is probably a lot of people go to him to tell secrets to him because they know he won't ever say anything. So I think he knows a lot of things about a lot of people. From being directly told or other people go to him to tell him about things. I don't think he particularly gossips himself. At least not anymore unless it's still like someone like Jimin lol. As for digging into whether it has any relations to a romantic situation. I don't see anything. I remember reading for him previously and feeling strongly that there was someone. There is feminine energy around here but I really think that's about receiving things. Receiving information and being open to new experiences. Almost in an experimental way. The only relationship I see clearly has to do with Jimin. And I'm not saying that's romantic lol. I'm just saying they are closer than you will probably ever know when we already think that they're close. 

But even then there is something about tae that feels like devastatingly alone in this universe. I think some people just feel that way. If they're an old soul or they haven't found that perfect match outside of like maybe a platonic soul mate. Which is great too but like not that one single person that you would expect to be a romantic match. That might just like make you feel like oh I'm not alone. I think that sounding a lot bleaker than it is but I do I just get the sense of feeling like an alien. All the time. Everywhere. And then brief times of closeness with people close to him. He might have also come across some life wisdom. To me it feels more self-developed and not somebody came and told him some advice on how to live life. I mean I guess that's possible given that somebody in the cards looks like they're talking about information amongst each other and then somebody's contemplating right. but overall it still feels like it's self-made wisdom. But yeah it almost feels like somebody came and told him something and then you had to go have a think about it. 

Granted it could be vice versa and it's like contemplating about something and then going to talk to friends about it. But it's a secret lol. It's a secret in the sense that sure maybe it's not meant for us. If it wasn't meant for me to read it wouldn't show up in the cards. So I'm saying the information is meant to stay only among the couple of people that he's speaking to about it. It could be that he's actually depressed. I'm not seeing tons of that. But it could be like you know I'm a little sad. I'm a little lonely sometimes even when I'm around people. This could be a theme that he's felt throughout his life. It is a little sad. It actually reminds me of the little Prince. I know we associate that with Jimin. But I am getting somebody who's dressed up like the little Prince and sitting on the planet and maybe he has the little rose to talk to. But even when he's talking to the Rose it's like the rose doesn't really get it. Like the rose just can't human. So it's still really lonely. 

I mean beyond that it seems like he's okay. Given times. Well you could say something like oh between cancer season and Scorpio season perhaps this information or this feeling of being alone could be happening then. I'm more inclined to read something related to the moon in Scorpio. That definitely would be a time about feeling things deeply or being deeply introspective. It could be about a timing thing. I'm not sure when the next moon in Scorpio is. I'm not sure what his moon is. But there's a lot of deep reflecting and receiving information. This information could be coming from people or it could be coming like from the universe. In terms of like sudden thoughts and moods coming to him to contemplate about life and cycles and stages of life. But there's definitely secrets in hidden things involved. That might be the barrier for me not to see exactly what is being talked about and that's fine. Oh lol apparently the moon is in Scorpio right now. That's weird. So again this is a conversation that probably recently happened or just happened is happening now. Again they were together recently so that's probably a good time to have a longer deeper conversation. 

I mean it would also just reflect that I'm doing the reading right now lol. So this is about current energy. 

What else can I say. Both cards are about water energy. There's the moon and there's Pluto. I mean both bodies here represent cycles and phases. Things that are hidden, emotions. So definitely a lot of strong emotions that are either buried underneath or hopefully something that he talked about recently to somebody. I do feel that that has to be the case given what the one card looks like. But that card is also a lot about phases. It just seems interesting that he and Jimin both have similar things on their mind at the moment. Which maybe they always exist on each other's wavelengths somehow. Just like how women sometimes cycle up on their periods who knows. So yeah I think you know if they could talk and have a live in the next few weeks they would say something like oh when we met up for the reunion Tae and Jimin had a long conversation about life and changes. 

Again secret feelings or sharing secrets with one another. But I think a lot of that is also about the things that he hides. From a lot of people. And maybe it's simply about how lonely he feels. I don't know what to do about that. I kind of feel for him. I don't think he gets depressed when he is away from the people he can talk to. I think he just endures. You know how some people feel lonely and they just feel so sorry for themselves or they think they just can't find a match. But he just…can't seem to find people to relate to and doesn't try to fake it. And I'm saying this isn't always surface stuff this is something he probably hides but it's not like he's not aware. He just hides it and this is a lot how he feels on the inside. 

I felt a bit focused on the flag on the death card but I don't really know what that means. Plus I can't see it very well in the photo because I'm pretty blind. 

So I think that pretty much covers everything I see for right now. It could change in a month you know. So let's move on 

Jungkook 

10 of cups and abundance. I mean what can you say. On the surface that certainly looks like emotional happiness and abundance of love. Being around family. This could be at this particular moment when I did the cards which was around the reunion they could have been celebrating and having a great time. And he could have just been vibing. Not that there's anything wrong with being happy lol. There are times when I have read his cards in the last 6 months and it looked like he was having a good time. Ironically it was around the time when there was like a military game that they were doing. And I got the sense that he was enjoying himself during that? Or at least that time. I don't know if he participated in the games but there was like cards I had that involved fun or playtime and being in the mountains and it just felt fine. So let me look up that Oracle card for abundance. He's just happy or he's something else. Like there's not a lot of thought happening there. That didn't sound right lol. So again 10 of cups, this is as good as you can get. If it were a relationship it would be super happy and ecstatic. It can also be a card about family. Blood or otherwise. I mean if I wasn't trying to look too deeply I'd be like yep looks happy. Looks like he has an abundance of happiness. Why question? 

So looking at the abundance card you have a witch and two cats. It almost looks like one cat has its nipples pierced lol. That's just kind of funny. The witch is holding a basket of again I can't see anything but maybe it's like a basket of the moon and stars. If that's not it then it's just apples but that would make sense since they're growing on the trees. I don't know. So we have a sense of stars and moons. There's another phase connection here. Stars usually represent wishes or goals. There seems to be two other cats. So again maybe there was a conversation among the three youngest of BTS recently. I am not sure on that so it's just interesting there are three and I keep getting this idea of phases. So it says abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into. The key words are harvest, grateful, overflowing. The intention says count your blessings, goodness prevails. Your life is full and you have all you need. 

I didn't do this for the others but I'm going to go ahead and read the whole page for this. Delve deeply into your life…past, present, and future. Take into account even the smallest gifts that have been bestowed on you. As humans, we sometimes forget that the simplest blessings are often the most important and meaningful. We think we will always have them. Life is fragile and can change in one second. Begin this very moment showing the universe appreciation. The sun has risen another day. Again the sun being mentioned here. Continuing on it's warm rays offer you comfort as they wrap around you. The moon hovers above, glowing in the night sky. Her dim light casts dancing shadows allowing you to dream. That sounds like stars and goals and stuff. These are just two examples of miracles in themselves. Simply say thank you to the universe.

We can talk about the tarot. We have Jake and Lady rainicorn. This certainly would indicate potentially romantic love. I mean they are husband and wife so it could also be a familial love. It could be that he was literally meeting up with family as well. This could be BTS or literal family and just having a good time. There's the potential that there was also a romantic meetup of some kind or an abundance of a romantic type of love happening. The rainbow kind of makes me lean toward love actually. It could mean other things lol like celebrating pride month. A rainbow has seven colors. So I think maybe it was just a real appreciation for that moment that he got to spend with BTS. 

I don't think there's much to read into his cards. Like I'd love to read in and maybe it had some insight into the military life. I don't think from his letter that he's having a super amazing blast all the time. So I think in this one moment that I shuffled his cards, he was having a good time. It could also be the universe's way of saying you know you don't really have anything to complain about. That you have everything you need, that you have a lot right now. That might be something he realizes that he doesn't want for anything. I just see the card saying this is somebody with a lot to be thankful for. Especially when it comes to people who care about him. I wonder if he got spoiled a little bit during this reunion. Let me just like since I actually have the Oracle cards around shuffle one more. And just get an extra vibe check for him not like I'm trying to be like okay it's suspicious that he's this happy and fulfilled. If I were in the military would I feel that way? But it doesn't matter because it's about in the moment what was he feeling when I shuffled the cards. So I got three cards. 

We have unity so again I'm kind of sensing a reunion there. We have nurture which has a picture of somebody by the fire with all of these little pet companions. And we have soulful that has an owl that looks like a baby owl on the branches and then there's a little be above it or wasp not sure. The owl makes me think of him. Lol it has these big eyes and it looks like a baby owl. I don't know what the b or wasp represents. This owl is so cute lol. It really does look just like him. I kind of feel like this baby owl is maybe watching the witches in this unity circle. It's 8 which is joined hands in a circle under the moon. And then you have this lovely cozy image of the witch reading a book around the fireplace. So yeah it feels like a family or cozy together and the little owl is kind of taking it in with wonder and appreciating it. And I think that makes sense for the tarot cards right. Around all these people and having a good time and feeling comforted and loved and cared for. So whatever was happening in that moment for him it was a very good feeling. I should probably take a picture so you can see how f****** cute this owl is

So I don't know where he was. But it looks like there was a party, there was this feeling that reminds me of in bon voyage 4. When they played the card games and they were listening to their old music and started dancing around. Like when they listened to their old songs and then JK heard his part with his young self rapping and then he like danced around out of embarrassment and it was so cute…. Yeah so probably not in the military at this moment. Probably just taking it in. Trying to ingrain the image of whatever happened into his mind so that when he's alone he can remember it. I'm still really curious about this little wasp/beathing. A hornet? Maybe I should look up what that means as a spirit animal. Well a hornet is about tenacity and determination. That doesn't really fit the image so maybe it's just a bee. And it's about honey and something sweet. It could be about being stung about something. It could be that he was buzzed at the moment lol. It could represent somebody on his mind in particular. Now I have to look it up to see what the hell this card says about the bee. Okay creepy I turned right to the page. It says happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. That's interesting since he had the ten of cups. 

It says feeling, depth, journey is the keywords. The intention is let your magical light glow around you. Soft stardust will dance like fireflies and the wondrous Twilight sky. Interesting again because that's what looks like is happening in the unity card. So maybe they got together and they were singing and dancing. Movie there was a fireplace or they were in somebody's house or had rented a house that was very cozy and maybe even near the woods. It just feels like a really cozy and nice atmosphere. And it was like kind of like balm to the soul maybe. Like a honey. I want to also read this card for you. 

Since I obviously feel most drawn to this card. Your soul is the spiritual part of your being. Look closely into the mirror of your innermost existence and you will find your deepest, Ross, most authentic thoughts and feelings. Each memory and experience that is part of your soul is safely tucked away inside of you. Light the sparks in your soul. Be carefree. Let your colors dance wildly around you. This kind of looks like the ten of cups card by the way. As in like dancing around and being carefree. Let your colors dance wildly around you. Dig deep and your garden will flourish and bloom and Leslie. Your own sole journey is very personal. Protect your internal soulful powers. You are the keeper of them. Remember, you are a wondrous soulful being who knows you best of all

And almost immediately the one song started playing in my head. Like who are you You're not the girl I fell in love with. Anyway yeah. 

I'm just so curious about this stupid little bee it didn't get explained in the car did it. Let me pull one more card and be like okay what is the deal with this b. 

Ironically I got the card balance. Isn't that crazy how you're like what's the deal with this b which voice to text refuses to say b e e. So we're definitely going to rebalance. It's just a card with trees at the bottom and then the moon and there's like this branch coming in that looks like it's covering the moon. So let's look at balance real quick especially since we have a confirmed b.

Of course be is also an album. So I think we are again confirming that maybe when BTS got together they were singing some of their old songs. Or even watching old videos where they sing or whatever. 

Okay so keywords for balance, then, being, namaste. The intention says find your happy medium, take care of your mind, body and spirit. Find yours in explore your being strive to create balance. The other part says self-care is, fundamentally, about bringing balance back to a life that has grown imbalance from too many commitments or responsibilities. Well that's interesting right. So I think he must have had this moment during the reunion probably where he spent time with the group and it was a very healing moment. They probably danced and shared stories and had a good old time and it made him feel like he was having fun and it was a really nice cozy warm feeling for him. That's it. I don't think there's more to read in that moment other than we have put to catch a glimpse of him having really nice time with the group of people. And it made him feel in balance after moments of probably not feeling quite like himself or feeling out of balance. And I still don't fully know what to bee was about besides leading us to another card. I guess it also looks like a shrimp lol. Maybe he was just really hungry for shrimp at but the time.

I don't really see anything else for him. You can't argue with abundance in 10 of cups. 

It's not much to go on but in terms of dates, the 10th could be a significant date for JK. That doesn't really narrow it down. Or the month of October can be significant for him as well. We just have in terms of numbers 1 or 10 to go on. So something about the self or something about completion or something about a cycle. That's sort of vague so I would just assume that we're close to the end of a cycle. Is it time for a full moon? Did we just have one. I don't remember but usually you start saying tens around the time that it would be a full moon. But again 10 of cups emotional abundance, literal abundance Oracle card. Yeah. Pretty good cards to get. Maybe he'll receive something in October in terms of abundance. Like whether it's emotional abundance or like a ten of pentacles abundance. 

Or something about the number 10 it will be significant in terms of abundance. I don't know but like for example putting out a song or album called 10 or getting 10 on the billboard or releasing something on the 10th or releasing something in October.. if it were a song, it would be a dance track I think. Like electronic dance music or trap music Wait is that the right thing I want to say. So maybe after jm releases music in July you might see more music from JK in October. That's just a guess. I guess besides having some electronic music happening, there could be like soulful music or slower music. Something that would be comforting and quiet. Maybe you'll see like a b or a hornet or something on the jacket cover I don't know. Or maybe the album title will start with b. Or song that starts with b. Or he's wearing a yellow jacket lol. Or it's about the 10th track on an album. Which would be surprising since none of them seem to have more than a handful of tracks. Or maybe if you go back and look at Golden whatever the 10th track was.

In case you're wondering, it's shot glass of tears so maybe that's relevant. Maybe that's a mood. There you go!

Okay wait I went to look at the song lyrics. And besides mentioning the Sun, I was drawn to the 42 and body because first of all I was like what the hell does that mean. I didn't listen to Golden a lot. I love standing next to you but the rest of the songs I couldn't really relate to I'll say. Though I think I remember shot glass full of tears and it was fine. So I found this I don't know if that song was written by somebody British or not 

I love interesting since we were actually talking about 10. But supposedly yeah okay someone on Twitter was like oh it's about hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy. I'm reading more like this is probably what it meant but like slang that most of us don't know. I'm American. I have never heard anybody say this. And I don't watch Love Island. 

So it's saying that yeah whatever her body is perfect or something. A 10. But also I think it's still stands about the number 42, which the other side of it is yes related to hitchhikers. And then there's this thing about how 42 is the ultimate answer to whatever ultimate question but nobody knows what the actual question is. This has been like a running thing through a lot of entertainment stuff. If you ever watched the old show X-Files. Mulders apartment number was 42 based on this. Point being that yes it does represent the mysteries of the universe. So I think it's a mix of all of that. You're probably like WTF but I mean related to his cars there's something about an ideal or something feeling or saving perfect in this moment. There's also a sense of maybe serendipity. Something coming together. Something the universe has put together serendipitously that feels perfect, that feels like a 10. 

[larsnicklas]

when you think oilers fans can't get worse now I saw one of the people that were acting like they were being oppressed for liking hyman reblogging one (1) pro palestine post after being silent during all these months and right after celebrating his goal and sad about him possibly being injured. how they can be so perverse even after everything that happened yesterday. it disgusts me.

yeah like. as i've kind of said previously, i don't think this is an o.ilers fan-specific problem at all, but there is certainly some cognitive dissonance going on with anyone who is celebrating h.yman while reblogging pro-palestinian rhetoric!

but at the same time, it's kind of like.... i just do not care about zach h.yman and what he thinks. what he thinks is objectively morally reprehensible and it's upsetting if not surprising that he's staunchly pro-israel, and at this point, he is not someone i support or spend time thinking about beyond that. i'll re-evaluate if he ever takes the steps to deconstruct his beliefs. when it comes to fans celebrating him for his hockey... idk it's like, your mileage may vary but i have to operate in good faith here. maybe this person and others just genuinely don't know that h.yman has spoken out in support of israel. if i asked a random o.ilers fan on the street i honestly doubt they'd know anything about his stance on this. i don't mean to make excuses for people who are deliberately looking away from the heinous things being done to palestinians by israel but cheering for some hockey player with terrible opinions isn't quite the same as that, either.

if you spend any time working in mutual aid/activism/etc., one of the things you learn is that while it often feels good momentarily to sit on a high horse and feel righteous, the more important thing to do is to bring people into the fold. call in, not call out. one of these is more fun and feels better in the moment, but one of these does FAR more for the given group of people you are trying to assist.

this got very long so i am dropping the rest under a cut but pleaaase check out these links, and especially operation olive branch, which is FULL of resources, info, and ways for you to make a difference!!

operation olive branch / world central kitchen / 5 calls (for usamericans!)

my brain is soup so i don't think i am articulating this well, but at the end of the day it's not super productive to watch people on the internet to see whether or not they are virtue signalling or being hypocritical or whatever. this does not help the families being systematically massacred and driven from their homes, and it's also soul draining. you will feel miserable and hopeless and fruitlessly angry the more you do this. i know because i also fall into this trap despite my best efforts! and it gets genuinely paralyzing because you start feeling like nothing you or others can do can possibly stack up to the callousness of the world. this is not a sustainable way to live.

i'm by no means an expert on any of this, but i have some small experience working in mutual aid and have close friends who do a lot of activism work, and here are some things i have picked up and am trying to do in my own life.

i know it's hard but try to call people in and not call them out like i mentioned earlier. berating them and getting preachy or accusatory usually results in defensiveness on the part of the other party, and even if it feels unfair that you have to cater to THEIR feelings, planting any doubt in their minds about the way they think will help. chip away at them. it won't happen in a single conversation. keep trying anyway.

many times people do care, but don't know how to help. give them direct, actionable items if you can. even better, give them a framework, like: "if you have ten free minutes at any point in your day, please contact your representative using this website/at this number" or "if you have [X amount of dollars] in your checking account right now, please donate $1/$5/$10 to [specific g.ofundme or organization]"

take time to celebrate the wins, even the small ones. it really keeps you going lol. i'm serious. the work is NEVER finished, ever. there's no way to keep it up without taking time to acknowledge the good that has been accomplished, bit by bit

stop and listen. in this particular case and often many others, community leaders of the marginalized and persecuted group get spoken over by louder (and often white) voices, even when those voices are well-meaning. of course no group is a monolith, and there are going to be conflicting opinions and courses and ideas, but it is CRUCIAL to be able to have an open ears and an open mind. i think a good example of this happening is people boycotting random businesses instead of focusing on the bds targets that were strategically selected by organizers for the most impact lol

social media can be a force for good! but it is not the be all, end all. make your posts, call for awareness, spread the word about what you need to. and then go out in the real world, too, whether that's putting your money where your mouth is literally by donating, or offering your time/labor phone banking/buying esims/etc.

[epitomereally]

You’re so talented. Every time your fan binding pictures cross my dash I stare at them for *hours*. The amount of care and detail you put into your books blows my mind. I know you talk about the process for each individual book on your fic binding posts but I wanted to ask: how do you plan your fic binds? Do you visualize what the fic would look like if it were a book while you read it? Do the colors and illustrations you choose come to you as you read the fic, or after? How does your approach to fic binding differ from your approach to writing? Etc. I’m curious about your creative process, though the technical part is also super interesting!

Ps: I love all the fics you chose to bind but I was so excited when you picked GallaPlacidia’s Ship of Theseus - probably my favorite of theirs. You have great taste 😁💚

Eek Elise THANK YOU! I’m so flattered & honored. Also always happy to talk fanbinding, especially binding design (my one true love)!

I would say planning takes the vast majority of my binding time—it’s something I love and I agonize over and I struggle with—while the actual binding often goes quite quickly! I often start with one element that I’m excited about & feel fits the the specific fic: a color or spine stitching pattern or a chapter title concept or title page (like the hand-dyed cover + birds for You Open Always or the blooming morning glories for Meet Me at Midnight) and then, because I have no chill or a single subtle bone in my body, I just roll with that element through the whole book until it’s totally exhausted (wish I could spoil some of my upcoming binds here, but you will SEE VERY SHORTLY what I mean). Every single time I make a book, around the time where I’m printing out the typeset, I feel that I’ve made a grievous error in including one more item than I should have, like it’s way too much. An example is the blackletter ornate font I ended up using for the title of You Open Always—you can see in my draft Illustrator document where I was trying out tons of concepts using stock images that most of my title page concepts were with a much simpler, more modern font that I used for the chapter numbers. However, in the end, I’ve always been happy that I’ve gone completely 100% on my vision, even if it’s a lot. In that way, I feel like it’s like writing—I may be incorporating all the elements I want to see imperfectly and have doubts about them, but I’m still putting everything I want in there & I’m proud and happy for that, even if I still have more things to learn.

One last design element I want to highlight: BODY FONT! This is something I am still learning so much about and the Renegade Discord has been incredibly helpful (a recent message I sent: what font would you find in a pulpy 60s mystery paperback?). A gorgeous title page or chapter header or cover is great for setting the mood when you open a book, but the body font is 90%+ of what you see when reading, so I spend a TON of time trying different fonts to fit the vibe of the fic. I have no thoughts or advice or guidelines though—it’s like porn & you just know it when you see it.

I also get a ton of inspiration from fellow fanbinders, both on the Renegade Discord server & here on tumblr. A lot of time, I see a technique or cover or typeset and think that that would look incredible for XYZ fic. An extremely abbreviated list of people who inspire me daily: @a-gay-old-time (Emma, you're a BLESSING), @queercore-curriculum, @bindsbymunchkin, @pleasantboatpress (one of the most welcoming members of the Renegade server, in addition to being an incredibly inspiring binder), @chubsonthemoon, @no-name-publishing, @zhalfirin-binds, @dontcallmebree, @amywaterwings & @runawaymarbles. Sorry for all the tags, but want this as a resource for others! I would absolutely love to know how all of you come up with your artistic vision for the binds that you do (and please tag me if you post!). 

P.s. Ship of Theseus was a request from QC but I am SO HAPPY they requested it, because it’s one of my favorites too :)

[roadandruingame]

RaR Musings #22: Tested

I took the opportunity offered by a few friends to run a Road and Ruin playtest. It single-handedly renewed my loathing of ttrpgs: players are the single biggest vulnerability in a tabletop roleplaying game, and between forgetting what day it was, double booking their free time by mistake, double booking their free time ON PURPOSE, and lacking the energy, the creativity, or the enthusiasm to play for long, I was reminded why I wanted to make Road and Ruin capable of single-player play.

Such designs ended up working out for the better, though. Despite attempting to play pretend as three separate players (not characters; that would have been easy enough), I stripped the rules explanation down to the most bare bones needed to play the game. Surprising myself, that turned out to not include character creation, the play element I had spent the largest amount of time designing and reworking over the years. When all you need is the situational recognition of "a rogue, a paladin, and a washed-up oracle walk into a bar", it doesn't so much matter what all the stats of everyone are, and content-generation tools were predictable enough that they could be used to generate character stats when, and if, they ended up being relevant. Each character only had 1/9 attributes defined by the end of a rickety 40-minute intro session, made all the slower by me having to play the game essentially solo, but not in any way delayed by having to do character creation, or made more rocky by the fact character creation hadn't really occurred.

If I'd wanted to improv an entire on-rails fantasy themepark by myself for the amusement of people who'll blow off the event altogether, I'd have bit the bullet and DM'd a game of Dungeons and Dragons.

___________________

So, what else did we learn.

Firstly, that I should probably take my own [repeated] advice and simplify the character creation/progression elements of the game. If the game can run purely on generative elements, "It Does/Does Not" confirmation of theory, and extremely loose character definitions, then doing the legwork for attributes and subattributes, 60+ dual-proficiencies and skill specializations, and using xp to buy spells and abilities up a chain of ranks doesn't really seem as important.

Second, that despite how easily content could be hallucinated by random prompt and adjusted via +/- 1 of any stat, I really do need to get started on a catalogue of content that can be quickly and readily accessed by players who aren't as attuned to the game's themes and balancing.

Being able to easily grab hold of some example creatures, like a fox or an elephant, to +/- my way to a fantastical monster statblock, was part of what gave me the confidence to try to fly the story into that of a monster fight (even if it wasn't in the cards. Literally, the cards deconfirmed my theory). But characters of other races, or more specific class builds? Generating environments, like a cave network? A system for magic items, or artifacts of indeterminate narrative importance? Any amount I hesitated in coming up with random results for such things would be multiplied five, ten, a hundredfold for players unfamiliar with the system, or unfamiliar with ttrpgs or creativity in the first place. Granted, this "GM responsibility" is often handled by ttrpg players and game masters, but I wanted to smooth that out as much as possible.

______________

As an additional note to the above: I see a lot of ttrpg designers in forums and on reddit bandy about the notion of how martial classes are meant to be able to compete with spellcasters (spellcasters were never supposed to compete with martials, the fact they can is a design flaw), and how to make things feel more impactful, more rewarding tactically, and less prone to rng failure.

I'm feeling that when I go over the character creation/skills section of the game, that there needs to have more 'big' moments: that you have multiple expensive features to spend a limited resource on, but that said resource isn't so limited that you couldn't use it more than once. Players should feel rewarded and cool for spending those resources, but it shouldn't simply be "press button to win" type designs, either. It's something I'm going to have to think about some more.

[newsie-collective]

Lesley Jacobs 🥰

Another two parter! I love this lil guy!! He's such a skrunkly lil man

Quickfire Favorites

Food: “Taffy! I love taffy! ‘Speshully the salt ones!”

Color: “Green! No blue! !!!!! A mix o’ green an’ blue!!!”

Season: “Root beer!” after a confused look “We learned ‘bout Sassafras in school! And how it’s a season that gets turned to root beer!” more confused staring “You meant season like… like spring an’ summer, din’cha?”

Weather: “I like when it’s rainin’! Then we get to hang out with Cowboy at Miss Medda’s! We get to see him paintin’!”

Hobby: “Sword fightin’! I’s gettin’ real good! You wanna see?”

Animal: “Pigeons! They real smart! They can find their way from a hundred miles away!”

Memory: “Meetin’ Miss Medda! Cowboy brought us to her theater an’ we got to see the Bowery Beauties an’ see Miss Medda perform for the first time!”

Comfort Item: “My sword! It keeps me safe when I’s hawkin’!”

His birth name was Lior, but his parents Americanized it when they settled. 

They hadn’t lived in another country, they’d lived in a different state that was far more forgiving toward the Jewish community

Les doesn’t know where exactly his family lived before, he was born right before they moved, so he doesn’t remember it

He also doesn’t have room in his brain for things he doesn’t think is interesting

So he couldn’t tell you what city or state

He knows it was further inland than New York

Is very excited to live near the ocean

Is also filled with giddy terror at the thought of going anywhere near the ocean

Lior (changed to Lesley, and later shortened to Les) Miron Jacobs 

He’s baby

There’s not much else to say 😌

But I will anyway

Les Jacobs had a pretty good childhood. He was the youngest of three siblings, and was the baby of the family. He was doted on for most of his younger years. 

His family shielded and protected him from discrimination. They would take the brunt of any snide remarks sent their way, leaving Les oblivious to others’ hatred. For a while. 

With Davey as his big brother and Sarah as his big sister, he grew up with mega big brains. School, for the most part, came easy to him. He would tell his siblings what they were going to learn that week, and they’d show him how to do it. 

He got in trouble a lot for talking and fidgeting during class

It only got worse after the strike. 

Because he’d been out of school for so long he didn’t really remember how to sit still

Definitely has Gifted Kid Syndrome when he gets older. He tries so hard when he’s young, but after the strike and being around the newsies, school was kind of… boring. 

He cared less and less about schoolwork and more and more about hawking and being around the newsies. He wanted to learn less about school subjects and more about life.

Anything he wasn’t good at, he didn’t want to do. He wanted to be good at the things he did as soon as he tried them (Like hawking papes)

Les is neurodivergent 

I know everyone usually says ADHD, or something similar

But hear me out

Hyperlexia. More specifically Hyperlexia II.

There wasn’t a name for it back then, I think the name only came about less than a hundred years ago. 

Hyperlexia II occurs in children with autism. They are captivated by letters and words and numbers. 

He’s very good with dates, and loves learning new things. He loves spending time with Elmer and Davey. They can teach him math and reading, new words, new ways to see the world.

On that note, I believe Les has autism

Definitely has echolalia. He can and will repeat the phrases spoken by the people nearby. It happens most often with the newsies, which has gotten him into far more trouble than anything else

Says fuck at least once a day, just echoing Crutchie the newsies

Once they get settled back into a routine with the newsies, he refuses to let anything come between him and that routine (including, but not limited to: his mom finding out that the newsies smoked around him, Jack and Davey’s first and only fight, him asking his dad to teach him how to play poker so he could play the next time the newsies play)

Their routine, for anyone who was curious:

Davey wakes up with the first light of day. Les wakes as soon as his brother stirs

They both get up, and get ready. Socks first. Les can’t stand the feeling of the floor on his bare feet. He dresses up from there. Pants, shirt, suspenders, hat. 

Mama calls them for breakfast as soon as the sunlight touches the roof of the next building.

After breakfast, during the school year, they go to school, and during the summer they go to the Lodge.

Their shoes stay by the door. That’s the last thing he puts on before they leave. 

He stays out hawking for the same amount of time that he would’ve been in school

Afterward, they go to the theater to see Miss Medda.

Then, back to the Lodge to hang out with the newsies for a bit

The newsies fight over who gets to give him a piggyback ride

He picked Jack every time

Until he found out that Albert and Finch would run with him on their back

He picks Albert usually, because he’s easier to get on, but will pick Finch without too much fuss if Albert is busy

They get back home at dusk, doing homework by the light of the sun (or a candle once the sun had set)

Once finished with homework, they bathe, and get into bed

Has to repeatedly be told that there are certain things he can’t say certain places

He can’t speak what little Yiddish he knows in public, for fear of retaliation by the masses

He can’t say anything about the strike or the union, had to stop going to meetings and rallies because he would just talk and talk and talk to people, and would unknowingly jeopardize the entire operation

He can’t tell anyone about when he sees Davey and Jack huddled together on the fire escape, looking a little too close to be just friends

Looks up to Jack, and Jack does his best to be the role model he needed growing up. He doesn’t want Les selling papes, doesn’t want Les to be near their side of town (it’s dangerous, even with the newsies having his back), much less actually being a newsie and hawking.

“Davey said if I don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. So I’m not gonna say anything to you :) “ -Les

Alternatively: “Davey said if I don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. But Davey ain’t here and you’re a little BI-” -Les, right before Jack remembers that he prefers life

Is the bicon everyone wants Jack Kelly to be

Is a pastel boyo

Everyone expects him to be a neon guy, to complete the trifecta (Davey having an e-boy aesthetic is everything to me. Sarah is 10000% pastel princess (and def has an alt edge to it) but he’s def stolen at least 3 of Sarah’s sweaters, and tried on 4 of her skirts (has told no one) because he likes how flowy they are

Can and will fall asleep anywhere and everywhere

Is an absolute god at Clue(do). Davey and Katherine get so frustrated on game night because Les can look at the people around him, make one suggestion to get an idea of what everyone thinks, watch cards exchange hands, and make his final guess the next round.

He wins every single time

He’s terrifying when it comes to April Fools Day.

Like to the point that he isn’t allowed to pull pranks anymore

Not because anyone gets hurt

But because everyone else gets butthurt that they can’t outdo Les’s absolute EXTRAVAGANZA

Gets a lot of his self worth from others. He looks to the others for approval after he says or does anything, because if they don’t approve or think he’s doing a good job then how can he possibly think he’s doing a good job?

Says beep instead of excuse me

Trusts everyone

That being said, if someone wrecks that trust it’s next to impossible to earn it back

He can and will hold a grudge for ages

His longest streak has been six months

And it was because Sarah brought him regular taffy instead of salted taffy

He didn’t trust her to bring him candy until one day she showed up with several bags of saltwater taffy

Loves listening to the others talk about the things they like, and is really good at retaining that information

He has a vague idea of what he’s supposed to do as a good Jewish boy, but doesn’t always remember specifics

[winterrose527]

Do you have any more general work advice/tips and tricks like your inbox system?

Sounds so nice for my brain!

Ooh yes, I have tons from years of trial and error. Some of these will be very obviously, but they are the ones that help me:

Prep for every meeting. That doesn't mean spend hours (unless you're presenting), but make sure before each meeting you go into you ask yourself what do I hope to leave this meeting knowing? Particularly meetings with lots of domineering personalities can get very swept away in bluster and politics. Having a set of questions that you feel need to be resolved is helpful. They won't all be able to be answered in the meeting, but can help guide follow ups.

Follow up!! Follow up on everything. If there is a weekly meeting, follow up halfway in between to make sure that action points from the last one are in progress. If you have a meeting with senior leaders and outside parties, send a note afterwards to your manager or higher up and say: these were my takeaways for items I should run to ground, is there anything else from that meeting that you'd like on my radar specifically?

Trust no one! Not in the GoT kind of way but in the logistical every person is fallible and likely doing ten other things they deem more important at any given time. Do not assume that someone took something as an action point for them! If you send an email with three requests, don't assume that the document you're presented with addresses them all.

Read. Read as much as you can. So often we hear things about leaving things to the lawyers, and that's great. Lawyers are there to protect us (the ones we hire anyway). But the best chance they have of protecting us is having all the info that you just can't assume that they have. I read all of our agreements, tedious as they are so that I can say: Hey I don't think this project would have xyz, can we remove that as a closing precedent? Not all suggestions are taken and that's fine, but people get very set in their own roles and are often focused on the bigger parts of thing. Having guidance on some of the nitty-gritty is a huge asset because it allows people in charge to make more informed decisions.

Never complain to a senior person without presenting at the very least a suggestion. Never let the solution be fully on someone else's plate.

Set recurring invites for monthly/quarterly deliverables. Depending on the task, set them 7-10 days in advance of the due date. Invite responsible parties. This is very useful in avoiding comments about last minute requests.

Always - and I mean ALWAYS - operate as though a senior person will forward your email without reading it. This will save you and your company a lot of grief.

Utilize subject lines. If I want the president of the company to sign something, I will use this format: "Signature Required: [Project] [Associated Transaction/Counterparty] [Document]". People get SO many emails. Having a clear subject can make a huge difference in whether it gets opened or not.

Another tip for calls: understand your role. Are you there to listen? Are you there to lead it? Are you there to provide factual/administrative support?

If you are leading a call, always be able to introduce each person and their title (at least those on your team), summarize at the top what the purpose of it is, and ensure that everyone leaves it understanding their go-dos. If you are having a meeting where there are no tangible go-dos for anyone, then it was a waste of a meeting. Examine why that is! Was it premature? Did people come unprepared?

I'm going to stop myself but as you can see I have a lot of thoughts, none revolutionary but all developed under duress lol.

[forkaround]

i don’t know if you would have an answer but do you have any clue why only friends seems to have so little budget but dangerous romance seems to have a lot? with 2 huge pairs that have a lot of fans and make a lot of money for gmmtv and 2 other actors (mark and neo) that ppl love + a respected director i’m surprised it doesn’t have a lot of budget compared to dangerous romance that’s introducing a new pair (yes they were in nlmg but it’s still their first time leading a show together) and is a high school bl (even though the plot seems intense). then again i’m not sure who exactly worked on dangerous romance and if the budget has anything to do with that.

Hey anon! sorry for the late reply but I wanted to see more of Dangerous Romance before saying anything.

So the Director of DR is Lit Phadung Samajarn who is also the director and screenwriter for a lot of other BLs. Love in Translation, Love Mechanics, My Engineer and SOTUS. [There is a theme of enemies to lovers here.]

And the Screenwriters are Pratchaya Thavornthummarut and Bee Pongsate Lucksameepong. They are both BIG names in the BL world and specifically in GMMTV. Some of GMMTV's biggest shows were written by them. Bee also co-wrote Kinnporsche and Bad Buddy. For Pratchaya I can see literally every famous GMMTV work in his resume.

Also Perth has been around in the BL world for a long time.

P'Aof is the producer.

So the Behind the Scenes talent is huge in this show.

The Only Friends team is very strong as well. I just wanted to mention the DR team by name.

Now for the most part I can only speculate and it all seems to come down to Product Placement. DR has it. OF doesn't. Why? I don't know. It could be executives didn't want to have their product in OF or they didn't trust the show would get people to buy their product because it would attract that type of audience or it won't be able to convince the viewer, which I do find absurd tbh. Another theory could be the creators didn't want it. It could be GMMTV didn't want it. It could be they blew through the budget on the 90s music Ray likes and such things but it could also be the artist was/is a GMMTV artist. But at the end of the day, unless someone comes out with what the reason is, I doubt we will find out. It's all about money and who can convince people to spend the most and that's not a bad thing. Money is important, it's how we live. In a perfect would it would be different but it's not a perfect world.

I won't go off of actors to judge the budget of a show since actors seem to be the cheapest item. That sounded bad but I don't mean it like that. Renting places, the equipment, marketing and many other things take much more budget than the actors. Unless they are like RDJ or SRK level, at which point you can and should judge the budget of a product from it's stars. I think the only Thai equivalent I know is MileApo. But even that doesn't feel right. Like they don't compare to the stardom of RDJ or SRK.

[paintedscales]

Who or what could cheer up your OC/WoL after a rough week?

Hi, pinxli! Thank you so much for the ask! I feel like you know one of the obvious answers to this one. Hehe. > w < ♥

WoL Questions

If we started from an earlier point, Nomin's go-tos for someone to help cheer her up, or make her feel better would default to Bayarmaa. Esenaij was usually too busy to actually talk to often (and she actually did start to get frustrated with him, because he never really cracked all that often from his stoic demeanor!). Within the Sagahl tribe, she has Jajiradai and Odchigen at first, but then there's also Chotan -- just as peers who were / are closer around her age.

Within the Jhungid, Turakina became Nomin's overall stand-in for Bayarmaa. Someone who offered a gentle touch, kind words, and the support she needed in order to press on as well as slow down and plan more efficiently her method of revolt against their captors. Alongside Turakina, the others that Nomin had were Chotan and Checheyigen as fellow Jhungid peers that were her age that allowed her to have friends in a shitty situation.

When it comes to items, Nomin just likes having a good handful of hours in a nice scenic place with a canvas and some paints -- usually oil-based. She'll lose herself in the tranquillity and beauty of being able to commit something to canvas, capturing it for an eternity. Painting is such a soothing release for her that she savors any and all times she can sit down and indulge.

Some expansion specifics below the cut, though! :D

ARR, Nomin actually liked talking to Minfilia. She liked knowing she wasn't alone with this Echo business, and getting to spend time with someone who surely had more of an understanding of it. Likewise, she also really liked spending time with Tataru, as she was really upbeat and fun to talk to. A good bit of fun before going out to take care of whatever it was Minfilia wanted her to lend a hand with.

HW, it was really only Tataru that allowed her to cheer up and have a moment to reassess the situation she and everyone else were in. Alphinaud as well, but Nomin felt more like a shoulder for him rather than vice versa. Tataru seemed to have her wits more about her whenever they spoke, and the hope she had was infectious.

StB... Hm. You know. Nomin turned to even less people because she felt she had a lot to think about going back to the Far East. Especially returning to the Azim Steppe, feeling uncertain about her presence there. She was reunited with many of her Xaela friends and family there. Getting to celebrate with them before the Naadam was good for her. Cathartic even. She likes that she has reconnected with Bayarmaa and her newly formed family (she's an aunt!? That was surprising!).

ShB Nomin actually found some solace in being able to speak with Ardbert more amicably. Maybe not about some of the things that were plaguing her mind (she felt those emotions were irrelevant and thus kept them to herself). But yeah, her time at the Pendants, getting to rest and have a breather from how insane some things just get was always appreciated.

EW Nomin had way too much going on to really pay too much attention to the things that brought her joy. Though...a good cup of chai, moments to breathe and see everyone around her -- all the people who support her because she supported them... It's overwhelming in a good way. And then...there's the bedroom scene, and she finally voices her feelings, and Estinien becomes her more firm go-to in order to feel love, solace, comfort, and warmth.

[doctorguilty]

Nice things!

Just got home a bit ago after doing my lunar new year shopping, I'm glad I didn't bother trying yesterday and then being rushed because of all the other errands because like while I had a general list of food ideas, I was also improving as I went based on what was there. There was tons of fruits front and center!! I got tangerines, a pomello, persimmons, and some little lady apples, some other snacking foods and a dried fruit tray, lotssss of veggies and mushrooms, also some tofu and quail eggs because I decided I'm gonna do a hotpot, since I conveniently had bought that single burner for my own use I was like huh. This is very convenient. AND they had a really great price on a big great quality stainless steel divided pot, like I was just gonna use whatever but I was like OH!!! I put aside some of my Christmas money SPECIFICALLY for this party and decorations were almost cleaned out aside from a couple things I grabbed so it was like well spend the rest on this pot and then I have it forever for my own future kitchen ;0; ♡ so I got a spicy broth and miso for the other, and all that is gonna be vegetarian since my brother is vegetarian and also has a shellfish allergy, decided to avoid any seafood, and I know my friends love veggies and stuff anyway! And then I got some uhh frozen buns, pancakes, spring rolls, and dumplings (one veggies one chicken so that's the one meat item), I'm gonna like kinda cook things as I go? It's a lot of people but idk how much everyone is actually gonna be hungry but everything I bought is also stuff I like to eat so it kinda doubles as a shopping trip for myself anyway like even if I have tons of frozen stuff left that's just food stocked up for me! We have plenty of soda and water in the house, so I just got like solo cups and paper plates from the dollar store (and some red steamers to tie the decor I could get together)

A lot of the typical LNY foods were on sale also! And it was busy ahaha like everyone was in there loading up on all the same kinds of things! I felt bad when I was checking out cause I was confusing the cashier a bit with my like multiple forms of payment I needed to use (food has to go on one card, the rest I wanted to do part cash part debit but was unable to communicate that so I just put it all on debit which is nbd I'll just deposit the cash in the bank later) ;;;; since I don't know Chinese and she didn't know English it took a little bit of gesturing and her typing numbers on her phone for me to read orz I felt like anxious after I was finishing boxing my stuff I was like oh I hope I didn't stress her too much she's obviously so busy today and there's a line behind me (that "everyone in the grocery store hates me" feeling snjfmsnfns) but right before I left she grabbed a pack of pretty red cards from under the register and held them up so I can see and then put them in my box 😭❤

(The struggle is so on me though like usually when I'm there the cashiers are some amount of bilingual but I can't always expect it, and I do usually need to use multiple forms of payment so I should really try learning some words and phrases so make it easier ;;; hopefully she knew I was very thankful to her though! That really made my day 🥺)

Anyway yeah that was my trip so! I'm excited, tomorrow I'll likely start prepping things like cutting veggies and stuff. On the day of, I'll take photos of everything to share! Last year I was solo and my family had some decor up to welcome me back from Oregon but it wasn't a whole party or anything, so I'm excited to host a proper gathering (and have friends with me instead of being alone and sad)

[negative-speedforce]

for your married OCs 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 19, 21 :)

Gonna do this for Jay and Cassandra lol (since they are very much engaged and will be married soon)

2: Which one proposed? Was it grand and public? Discreet and private? Was it expected?

Jay proposed to Cassandra, and he did it in private, in their kitchen at home. They had already discussed it beforehand to make sure she was okay with it.

3: Show us their engagement and/or wedding rings!

Cassandra:

Jay

6: Who were the first people to find out about the engagement? How did they react?

Jay told Siv about his engagement first. She was extremely excited for him, though somewhat concerned that they weren't invited to the wedding because Cassandra didn't like them.

Cassandra told her dads first. They liked Jay a lot, so they were very happy for her, and they immediately began offering to fly out from Brooklyn for the wedding.

7: Who are the maids of honor and/or best men? Why and how were they chosen?

Hailey was Cassandra's maid of honor. She chose Hailey because she trusted her to be the most competent and be able to make sure her big day went off without a hitch.

Gina's brother, Jose, was Jay's best man. He chose him because he knew that Gina would have wanted to be there for the wedding, and her older brother was the next best thing.

10: Do they get married through court? Church? Third secret option?

Jay and Cassandra get married at a winery near Seattle, officiated by one of Cassandra's dads, who technically counts as an ordained minister due to him being the head of the Akintola-Stevens coven.

11: When do they get married? Night or day? Any specific reason for either?

Cassandra and Jay get married in the the afternoon, since that's when the vast majority of their guests are available. Additionally, their wedding was in February, so they could immediately leave to fulfill one of Cassandra's bucket list items while on honeymoon- going to Carnival in Rio De Janeiro

12: Do either of them play music while walking down the aisle (if they do at all)? If yes, show us their song.

While Cassandra is walking up the aisle:

13: Show us their outfits!

Cassandra: Hair and outfit

Jay: Suit and tie

17: Show us their vows. Did either of them tear up at them?

Cassandra: Jason, you know I'm a woman of few words, so I'm going to keep this short- you changed. Ever since I met you, it was like my boring world of protocol and duty opened up, and I was finally able to see the world how you do- a bright place, full of possibilities, and connections to make. You've been with me through the good and the bad, from angry speedsters to other angry speedsters who you somehow managed to befriend. In this partnership, I pledge to love you, support you, and fight for and with you, as long as our love remains. You are a light, Jay, and I can't wait to spend forever with you.

Jay: For once, Cassandra, I don't know what to say. I love you more than I, or any metaphor, could express, and that just makes me adore you even more. I pledge to be there with you for as long as our love remains, through every trial, as your partner in crime, and fighting said crime. You mean everything to me, and being with you made me a better man.

19: What was the ceremony like? Any highlights?

The highlight of the ceremony was when Arya decided to pretend to object to the wedding, in order to stir up chaos, only to shrug their shoulders and say "Just kidding. You two are adorable together."

21: Do they have a honeymoon? Where to? How soon after?

Immediately after the wedding, Jay and Cassandra packed up for their honeymoon- Rio De Janeiro, just in time for Carnival.

[entropic-prince]

ffxvi thoughts and things

gonna do my best to avoid spoilers or discussion about anything specific to plot and mostly just talk about the vibe and feel of the game and my thoughts on it so far, but i did include an out-of-context early screenshot of the game bc it's just such a fucking cool screenshot moment

so i wanna start out by saying i definitely don't like final fantasy games by default. so when it comes to judging final fantasy games, keep my opinion with a grain of salt.

the thing i like most about this game is it's more or less an interactive movie. you do some combat and running around, a few quests, but the gameplay is relatively linear (at least up to where i'm at so far) and mostly you're being shuttled along the msq and being told the story with interactive moments. my impression is that this isn't a 200-hour game where you have to grind and suffer just to get through everything - i've actually almost been a little disappointed at how easy the first major boss and associated eikon were.

big fights against things such as eikons or proper mini-bosses have what are called cinematic action scenes, which are these really fucking cool action-packed scenes that you wouldn't be able to do in combat otherwise. it's probably the only time i've run into a quick time event and haven't had a heart attack or just wanted to bite someone. the actions are very well telegraphed and the actual quick time event is very forgiving, and the reward is this fucking sick as hell combat cut scene that is 200% something you'd see in a movie.

the combat in this game feels very, very good, and yoshi-p took a page from the yoko taro book and there are items in the game to help with accessibility. you don't want to control torgal (the dog) in combat? there's an accessory to automate that for you so that you don't have to worry about it. you're like me and grinding is the ultimate death knell for you in a game? there's an exp booster item you can equip.

even without the accessibility, though, combat itself just feels very good. it's dynamic, there's enough buttons to push i am entertained, you flip between two different styles of combat (so far anyway) and can use them to play off of each other and seamlessly combo into each other. it's very responsive, the hit boxes and snapshots are honest (unlike another yoshi-p game we all know of).

so far i'm generally liking the story. it's pretty dark, but it's not the darkest thing i've seen come out of sqex. i'm a little irritated by the way the writing is kicking at the whole racism piece of this nonstop, but i also understand the significance to the story and i appreciate them going all the way with it to really drive the point home because as i was getting annoyed i realized: this is the reality for some people. this is their life. they don't get to turn off their ps5 and walk away from it and chill.

all in all this game 100% feels like a movie that we get to play parts of, and i am fucking here for it. it's a lot more interactive than games such as heavy rain, but it has that same sort of limited scope of gameplay (so far) and so you don't really stray down a rabbit hole for 30 hours (so far) or have to spend the next 3 days grinding just so you can have a chance at a boss (so far).

i really just wanna share this screenshot i got because it's just so fucking cool and it's what i mean when i say this game is incredibly cinematic:

image is completely unedited, just a screenshot i took in that moment. it was just so fucking cool ok i still love it

[notebookmusical]

can you recommend sites where to get special edition books, please, with links? i'm a bit new to this and i saw some bad reviews about illumicrate and i trust your judgement 🩷

hi hi!! happy to do so — i want to preface this by saying that i've never subscribed to any book boxes long term (aside from a book box that my local bookstore was doing, but that wasn't any special editions and i stopped once my six months were up) but i do have a lot of friends who have, and i have done quite a bit of research into book boxes, etc and can tell you my experiences + what i know of them!

this ask got pretty long-winded, so please feel free to send any follow up asks if at any point i stopped making sense 🤍 answer is under the cut! x

also, if anyone else has opinions/thoughts/etc, feel free to weigh in!

okay! so to better answer your question, i'm going to assume you are trying to grow your book collection and just get more special editions! if you're looking for specific special editions, however, let me know, and i'll amend this ask 🤍

first, you have your big book box companies — illumicrate (including their romance spin off — afterlight), owlcrate, fairyloot are the ones that often come to mind when i think of special editions. most people i know who do subscribe to a book box are subscribed to one of those; they've been around forever, they usually have some fun covers. the downside to those is that unless you get a book-only sub (all of them do offer book only, i believe) you are stuck with a lot of ... stuff ... that you may not want. unless you're big on looking up spoilers for book boxes, you will have a chance of ending up with a book that you have no interest in / do not want / may have already preordered — you can always email to pause your subscription, miss a month, etc (a couple of my friends did that when a specific book came out that they didn't want to support). book box subscriptions can also get pretty pricey, especially once you factor in shipping costs, but like most things, are cheaper in the moment than during resale later. book boxes are a good way for growing your collection and being introduced to a lot of new books, as long as it's a book box in a genre you like. for example, i am not the biggest fan of fantasy, so there's no incentive for me to have a fantasy book box subscription despite their covers always being phenomenal. i think that book boxes can be great for a lot of people, but i personally do not have the space for book boxes, and would rather spend my money on books i know i'll want + book merch i want. if i really do want a specific illumicrate set, i'll usually wait for it to go on sale, or ask around to see if any of my friends have a subscription + do not want it and buy it from them! (more on this later)

then there are some other, smaller book box companies — fox & wit is one that i really like, although they take a really long time to ship (or they did, in the past, when i shopped from them — but they were also going through some stuff back then, i think something about a warehouse issue? it's been a while since i ordered from them). fox & wit specifically has some really beautiful dust jackets as well; i ordered their raven cycle/dreamer trilogy covers back then (through their mister impossible box). if i recall correctly, fox & wit's "alt covers" are just dust jackets that come with a copy of the book. there's also once upon a book club which i believe is mostly romance focused; i ordered a book from them once for a friend.

most book box companies have their own "shop", where you can purchase any leftover items (sometimes they have the full box, sometimes just the book, and sometimes the trinkets/merch/etc that comes with a book). some book box companies will also do special releases for books, which is outside of the monthly subscription but current subscribers will get early access — for example: illumicrate has done an emily henry set, the night circus, bridgerton, etc. owlcrate has done the raven cycle, etc. <;- i would recommend keeping an eye out on leftover stock & getting book-specific boxes over a subscription, but that is my personal opinion.

specific bookstores will also have their own special editions of books — barnes and nobles in the US, and waterstones in the UK are two big ones! sometimes this will mean sprayed edges, usually alt. covers, sometimes they'll come with an extra short story at the back.

a lot of authors tend to post about any special editions they've got coming — whether that's with illumicrate, or a smaller book box, or a bookstore! if you follow them on social media, you'll most likely be able to find out special editions that way — it's how i've found out about smaller book boxes. i'm still getting emails from illumicrate / fox & wit / etc., even though i've stepped away from book collecting unless it's a book i really really love (space, money, etc) — you could also sign up for their mailing lists if you want too!

there are also other special edition books, that are really just: collector's editions. these would include: seasons edition, books illustrated, easton press, etc. some of these are pricier than others, and are really just collector's editions.

i will also say that some special editions of books that i have that are truly just display items / collectables — my illumicrate bridgerton set is one of them; it's beautiful, the sprayed edges are gorgeous, but i hate the font on the interior, and the paper just feels weird to me. the same can be said for my seasons edition copies: it's so pretty, but i don't like the font on the interior, i don't think it's really meant for reading (if that makes sense), and it's pretty fragile. that's not to say that all illumicrate books are printed weirdly though — my night circus illumicrate is just fine! i am also just a bit particular about fonts, and layouts and such, which doesn't help. my friend just got me the sense & sensibility luxury hardback edition with gold-edged pages, and it's gorgeous! but i also think it is a book that i will never read because i have my own reading copy (which i want to annotate) and because the pages inside are very glossy! but that's okay, because all the books i have for display purposes (seasons edition classics, bridgerton, etc.) are books i usually have another copy of — or books i liked a lot, but may not see myself rereading again (for example: bridgerton series). will also add a note and say that sometimes sprayed edges (or stenciled edges) have a weird feel to them — it's a little thicker, pages can be a little stiffer, which makes sense because: paint.

i would honestly encourage you to shy away from ebay and other resale sites unless you are after something very, very specific, (in which case — tell me! because i may know someone trying to get rid of a copy/i can keep an eye out for you) because people do mark things up and there is a weird resale market for book collecting!