#to separate from text posts here (which should be pretty rare

[everyroshutoeveryday]

[ID: A panel from the Reigen manga. Roshuto's back is pictured, facing Hoshino and Tome, as he enters the frame, accompanied with a "fwsh" sound effect. Hoshino exclaims, "Sensei! What are you doing here!?" End ID.]

Ch4 p14

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results -- Hreksong

Slightly awkward timing on this one: the animal in question happened to come up on a recent episode of our podcast (We literally quoted a line from the Bodley MS 764 entry, because it was relevant to the story we were reading). So any of the artists who listen may have gotten spoilers. (I say "may", but I've already seen one art post that references the episode.) Sorry about that, artists. Kind of a bizarre coincidence, actually -- it's pretty rare that we happen across bestiary material in a narrative text, and the fact that we did so shortly before the relevant entry came up in the rotation... well, the odds are against it.

Anyway, anyone who doesn't know what this is about should check out https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. You can also check the "maniculum bestiaryposting" tag to see what beast is the current prompt. The entry for this week's drawings can be found here:

Art below the cut, roughly chronological, as always.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) decided that the best interpretation of the information given was that this was a sort of arboreal mongoose that practiced mouthbrooding. If you want to know what the reasoning was there, you should read the linked post -- it all makes sense there. I absolutely love that the one in the picture is opening its mouth to show the baby riding inside. Silverhart indicates that this is a quicker sketch than usual, but frankly their animal-drawing skills are so good that even a quick sketch is impressive from my perspective.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) did separate drawings for the large outdoor version (upper image, carrying its young) and the small indoor version (lower image, stealing someone's food). The linked post, which explains the design in some detail, indicates that CheapSweets was thinking along similar lines as Silverhart -- i.e., what kind of animal is known for hunting snakes? I like the pose in the first image, and I really like the scene depicted in the second one. On one hand, I'm sure having little creatures live in your roof and steal food literally out of your hands is quite frustrating, but on the other hand, it's very funny. Look at that little guy just brazenly stealing some chicken (or whatever type of bird). The idea of them using their back legs to grip rafters for exactly this purpose is excellent.

@strixcattus (link to post here) decided these could be birds, and has drawn these owl-like creatures for us. They look a bit surly, but that could just be the feather pattern on their faces. As always, I strongly recommend checking out that linked post, as Strixcattus writes brilliant interpretations of these entries in the register of a modern naturalist to accompany the illustrations.

@pomrania (link to post here) has noted that cats live in houses and eat mice, and given us this charming domestic scene. They also note the issues with this interpretation in the linked post, which of course you should read. I think the poses of the cats are very well done here; one of those kittens looks like it wants to paw at the monk's belt but can very much not reach.

And now for the Aberdeen Bestiary:

I'm not sure about the head proportions -- I'd suggest that the flattened snout is because the artist ran out of space, if it weren't for the fact that they were fine letting the back foot extend into the border -- but that is recognizably a weasel.

A few things to note from this:

1. Medieval people apparently had not only mice in their homes, but weasels, which I'd never really thought about. I'm not sure what the distinction they're drawing between the type you find in your home and the type you find in the woods is about, though.

2. The weasel's healing magic crops up in multiple texts, including the Lais of Marie de France and Volsungasaga. It's less common than you might think to find overlap between bestiary-weirdness and narrative-weirdness, so that's pretty notable.

3. I have no friggin' idea why anyone thought they gave birth through their ears. Baffling.

[purplekoop]

(@daylightcommand3 once again responding in a separate post to keep things tidy with the original)

First off, thanks! I wrote the bulk of that story log a while back, only touching up a few minor details that I wanted to add, change, or clarify, and I'm still pretty proud of it. It felt important to properly establish the world and how it works before I could really figure out how these characters work as more than just gameplay functions. There were a lot of things I didn't feel right just shrugging off as "don't worry about it", like how they made more robots and what makes a new sentient bot different from a person-shaped pile of metal and circuitry. There's still a few gaps in the logic, like "how did they repopulate and rebuild if humans depleted all the natural resources", but like. I'll get there. probably.

I haven't talked much about the plants (or to use the official and also very temporary term "Plantoids"), and while they deserve their own posts soon, I'll say for now that their intelligence and capacity for strategy is comparable to ants or other eusocial insects more than anything else. This is actually based (very loosely) on behaviors some real plants can do! While not to an extremely apparent effects to us, plants can communicate through roots or chemical signals, warning each other about environmental dangers so their systems can prepare accordingly. This is an extension of that, where most individual Plantoids have evolved a capacity to communicate and cooperate similar to eusocial insects. The main unique advancement is that separate species can cooperate seamlessly, both to increase their odds of taking out opposition that could take on one species but not another, and also to increase enemy variety within missions. That said, it's rare to see an ant colony without a queen, so expect some even more advanced plantoids to be responsible for coordinating their attacks...

The comparisons to Overwatch are very much fair and intended, which should make sense considering... *vaguely gestures around everything here.* While the whole "rag-tag team of heroes stepping up against a sudden threat" angle is very much Overwatch inspired, the rest of the backstory is actually much more directly based on Splatoon, particularly the logs from Splatoon 3, in both structure and content. I wanted this log to feel like something that could semi-convincingly be a historical text in-universe, hence why the knowledge is limited to what could be common knowledge to the bots themselves.

That's also a big reason why I included dates, to add to that historical record feeling. Admittedly I was pretty scared to add them at first, since I wanted to avoid a time scale so absolutely incomprehensible to us (zelda timeline ever since the BotW trilogy my detested), but still long enough to explain the state of the world. I actually just recently added a whole extra millennium to the timeline, with the awakening originally taking place in 4000 CE/AD instead of 5000. 2,000 years is probably still a little short to explain how the plantoids came to be, but again, I'll get to that. This cast in particular also has some interesting things to consider when it comes to character ages (every Overwatch fan's favorite subject), since there can very realistically be characters who've been around since the dawn of their civilization, so it's gonna be interesting trying to decide who'd make sense to be a new blood bot and who'd make more sense being around since the awakening. Ages are weird for these guys since they don't really need to age like we do from childs to adults, and with proper maintenance are theoretically immortal, so the main difference between a 1 year old and a 500 year old in this world is experience and knowledge past basic innate functions. Again, dates and years are the part of the story I have the most caution tape around right now, it's a hazardous construction zone.

Another thing I wanted to note with that last paragraph though is that I wanted there to be a solid start point where every character could theoretically be there from the start of the main action. While I think a story where characters are more scattered in factions we follow and when they join those sides, I want something plain and simple for the sake of the mission mode feeling like "the canon" while also letting players pick the characters they want from the start. It's like a DnD party: the campaign starts with everybody in the same place, though their backstories differ on how they get there. And while the whole cast is fighting the same fight, their thoughts on the mission and each other can differ greatly as well. Velenna for instance isn't exactly the friendliest member of the crew, and she especially isn't happy working with Arber, but she'll tough it out so she can get what she wants out of the mission. Every job has people you do and don't get along with, including fighting off hordes of mutant plants.

Lastly in this overly long session of tooting my own horn, I'm also pretty content with the state of the mysteries I've laid out already. While I don't think literally everything needs an explanation, some things are better left unanswered, I don't wanna have the big questions be JJ Abrams unopened boxes. Some things I still need to figure out, but there's one big mystery in particular I already have a very fun answer for. At least I think it's fun, opinions exist, but like. I hope it's cool anyways.

So yeah, thanks again! I'm at least assuming you don't mind me taking this chance to mention a few more meta things that wouldn't've fit with the story log and would be more convenient to say now rather than later.

I think next up I'll introduce just a taste of what the plantoids are like, with some rough concepts I have lying around and some info on how the hordes operate on a gameplay level. Stay tuned!

[p3rry-pi3]

Pin pooooost!

Updated: 9/17/2024 :3

I cannot believe I didn’t bother making a proper one sooner

Anyways, info under the cut cause this thing is long as heck, and I didn’t mean to make it that way.

Uh. I shall give a gold star to whoever reads the whole thing, but DO NOT SKIP the DNI part.

I also want to clarify that I have a section with Palestine content, I know people aren’t willing to always look under the cut to actually look for that kind of stuff (I’m saying this as, most people not generally, but sometimes I do the same thing, as shitty as our attention spans are, I think it’s still important that you check these posts out and reblog them. I have been DEATHLY terrified to reblog and post on this account but that shouldn’t stop anyone from at least reblogging this stuff seeing as this stuff is 1000x more important.)

I’ve copy linked posts where you can find: journalists to support and follow, how you can help Palestine donations or not, what you can do to prevent the voting for more weapons in Israel <- this could be outdated!!, and what to boycott.

Do not, and I mean DO NOT skip that part. I can’t control your actions but YOU can control YOUR OWN. I trust you to reblog, like, and share the posts I link.

Let me know if I should make this a separate post for you to reblog, but I hope this makes it GLARINGLY CLEAR on where I stand.

TW; teeth as header in the start and end :]

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Main info

Hey! I’m Perry! Short for Peregrine :)!

I’m a minor (above 10+, I wanna keep this a 13+ space cause of the cussing and my interests in horror art and other scary games. You kind of have to be 13+ to be on here anyway.)

I’m pretty spiritual

I’m a 4w5 intp. Idk what this says about me to others but uhhhh yeah.

I study the Paranormal and psychology

I like making headcanons and theories :]

I genuinely enjoy character analyses and overall enjoy video essays on media like indie horror and video games

I love hardcore horror and gore arts of all sorts. So beware of some of that. Ofc I’ll put warnings, just lemme know if I missed something. I also cuss a lot on here! So beware of that :)!

It’s come to my attention people have been posting real life gore of stuff like hyenas and actual victims so…That’s not the gore I meant. Fictional gore; FICTIONAL!

I’m new to the tagging system even now, so figuring stuff out is hard, but I’m equipped with enough knowledge on it and will put warnings in tags and captions since I recently learned you can block tags. Which helps loads.

Please be patient with me!^^

I’m trans, transmasc, and genderfluid. My pronouns are he/they.

I’m also working on getting a career or two in film :)!

💫🧇💫🧇💫🧇💫🧇💫🧇💫

Extra info

My favorite colors are purple, red, black, white, and neon pink.

I’m multifandom

Reblogs are much more appreciated but I’m grateful for likes.

I like mixed media.

Pls use tone tags :]

Please reblog artwork! Shitposts are fine for just likes. Text posts to.

I usually stick to canon ships because certain fandoms make it weird, but I haven’t seen anything in the main fandom I’m in, so I like to ship some.

I’m a multishipper. (Again, this applies to certain fandoms.)

I’m generally inactive here and there, but I like posting most of my fanart here when I can or remember I also post stuff on here.

I cuss on here so beware of that ig

I am half Samoan :]!!

I speak fluent English but I am learning some German.

I have social anxiety and anxiety so posts can sometimes be slower than usual since I’m almost always on my own toes. And because I have anxiety, if I’m being awkward, it’s nothing you did or said, I’m just like that in general.

I have horrible memory so if I post twice on the same day or hour it’s prolly because I forgot about it.

I reference lots of lemon demon and jack stauber.

I blame the jack stauber fanbase for my lemon demon obsession.

I’m the oldest of two brothers so you might hear about them here and there but rarely so.

I’m kind of an idiot, so please be patient if I ask you a third time to repeat what you said.

I have ADHD took a lot out of me to confirm I do. So posts may come later or at the same time due to this.

Biiiggggg undertale and fnaf nerd.

I’m an over analyzer who loves theories. Did you know I’m also an overthinker? (<- sarcasm.)

I don’t dream. I have nightmares instead. That’s where I get most of my OCs.

None of my stuff has age ratings unless it’s like tough topics to touch on or something horrifying.

I ramble lots and ramble even more in tags, so there’ll be lots of tags of just me rambling

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Free Palestine! 🇵🇸🍉

DO NOT SKIP THIS PART!!!!!!!!!

It’s a genocide not a war!!! Z//onists FUCK OFF!!!!!!

I tried to make little watermelon emoji borders so they wouldn’t be confusing, but idk lmk if the borders help section it

I will also continuously update it if needed, and I take constructive criticism if I need to change anything, and no, ‘the only criticism I have is the fact you support Palestine’, or something, isn’t valid criticism. I’ll block you, and it’s not even a funny thing to joke about.

Links I have so far (I wanna remind ppl that if you don’t like seeing your link here just lmk and I’ll take it down, I’m just tryna share the word and I’ll soon make a post on its own abt this cause I think it’d be really important to make a separate post on this)

🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

Help Heba!!!

https://gofund.me/7a794018

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(This one is sort of just based off someone else answering an ask but I wanted to copy link this one anyways since by the looks of it, they have a lot of pro-Palestine posts)

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How YOU can help Palestine.

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Palestinian journalists.

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No more weapons for isntreal, ceasefire now.

This could be outdated or time sensitive.

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What to boycott.

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Places you should go

My unvale

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/ratt3nkonig__?igsh=NzA1NGpxYjZ1bGF2&utm_source=qr

Yapping account that won’t let me link for some reason

🎪💌🎪💌🎪💌🎪💌🎪💌🎪

Pfp creds:

https://pin.it/1Jt3pb5eS on Pinterest :3

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Tags I think u should check out on here!^^ /nf

Some doodles :) (doodles that are 9 times out of ten fandom related)

Bugsnax ramblings (I ramble about headcanons, theories, characters, in game stuff, etc.)

Mind rambles (theories, it’s a new tag I’m working on updating soon.)

Rambling about shit (shits and giggles at 3 AM)

Bugsnax shitpost (mother load of idiocy from yours truly)

Some doodles (not aware this existed prolly isn’t even from this blog, not used as much. At least I don’t think I dunno.)

🎸💤🎸💤🎸💤🎸💤🎸💤🎸

Hyperfixations

Bugsnax

Lemon demon

Jack stauber

Mother Mother

Indie horror art

Analog horror

Spiderverse ITSV & ATSV

Franbow

Sallyface

Undertale

Undertale AUs

DHMIS

Mr. Plant (from Ashur Gharavi)

CoD MW2, Cold War Black ops (18+ content CoD blogs DNI)

Venom (Mostly the movies, but I also enjoy the comics.)

TF2/Team Fortress 2

Death Note (anime) (pray for me…)

Attack on Titan (anime) (I’m revisiting my anime phase, clearly…)

🦷🍓🦷🍓🦷🍓🦷🍓🦷🍓🦷

DNI!!!

LGBTphobes

Furry haters/anti-furrys

Proshippers/comshippers.

Ableists

MAP (not the art collab meaning, but the other meaning)

Anti-antis

Racists

Z00ph1les

Zi0nists

Anti-microlabels (it is extremely important to me that you understand this is something that’s part of me to a spiritual level. I will fight you.)

In terms of the fandoms Death Note and CoD, I’d like it if you’re not a 18+ CoD blog. I am a minor and since 18+ is unwelcoming to minors - pls do not interact. Mello x Near shippers are thin ice but it’s not like you can’t interact. They just make me uncomfortable when shipped together cause I view them as brothers more than anything and I see them as L’s little honorary brothers (or his kids as canon was originally gonna be) too. So any Meronia shippers are not unwelcomed but I am hesitant to accept any interaction from them. Matt and Mello shippers are fine. Same with Matt and Near.

If you’re anything of the above, please get off my page/blog.

I don’t have much of a DNI, just be respectful and mindful.

Might expand if needed.

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Did you read it?

Did you read the whole thing or at least the “DNI” parts?

Here’s a gold star, as promised: ⭐️

Alright. Go nuts. Be respectful.

[doodlesfromthebird]

Hi, Canary! It's really nice to see you back. You've been one of my favorite internet artists since I found your work a few years ago, and I really admire your sense of character and costume design! I found you through KH, but I've since fallen in love with your original characters and story ideas, which are lovely. I was wondering if you had any advice for someone hoping to develop their own original characters and worlds. I've been trying to for a few years, but it still feels pretty daunting.

Hello!! Oh my goodness, thank you so much. I'm so glad! ^u^ I absolutely can give some pointers!

Here's a little guide with a few methods I've used to creating characters and developing the world they live in. I'm by no means a writer of any kind (I rarely create stories, and struggle with plot) but I am passionate about developing funky little dudes who live in your brain.

Designing a Character - Make a list. I somewhat recently compiled a document full of design elements, tropes, personality types, aesthetics I generally really liked to help build a small cast of characters I knew I’d have fun designing for. Think about your favorite characters in media and what you like about them! It could be a great jumping point to creating an OC you’re passionate about. That goes for relationship dynamics, too! 

Grab a handful of things from that list, 5 or 6 maybe, and there ya go!

- Make a moodboard. I’ve used this method to create characters based on A VIBE and building off that.

I’ve even figured out personalities just based on the “aesthetic text” I found associated with a color. Part of Cherri’s backstory and personality came forth simply because I kept finding Marina lyrics in pink. - Try using online dress up games! I used to use Dolldivine all the time to get creative. -  In addition to mood boarding, pinterest can also be a good resource for design inspiration with official concept art for movies/games and assets of those sort of dress-up games readily available. CocoPPa is a good example! [Let’s please respect the wishes of individual artists and either give credit when posting for inspiration or respect their wishes if they state not to repost their work at all.]  - In depth character creators in video games! Or simple ones! I’ve built up such an affection for even a few of my stardew valley farmers with their own personal bits of lore, they could probably be stand alone characters separate from the game at this point. Sometimes developing a character from an established setting can be a good base. Dig some of your old fan characters out of the closet, even!

Get to know your character

Getting to know your OC is one of my favorite parts of the process, and is something I find really important if you want to get attached to them. And you should!! The more these guys are on your brain, the more you start asking questions about them, and the more bigger details start to fall into place. - Go broad. Say you have the base concept of a character with their situation, their goal in life, their goal in the present moment, and the past/future that will effect them. What lies do they believe as truth? How has their childhood effected their habits and views? What's one secret they keep to no one but themselves? Who are the most influential people in their past and in their day to day life? - Go detailed. They're practically a roommate living rent free in your mind, so think about what a day in their life is like. Observe how they do small things. What are they eating for breakfast? How do they carry themselves when they walk? Nervous habits? What are they wearing to go to get quinoa from trader joes??? Detail what a few hours of what it'd be like to observe them, doing what they do every day and how they'd do it. - Give them an interview. Here's a blank bio sheet with a detailed list of questions that could be fun to fill out at your leisure! A lot of good questions to chew on. - Or quite literally give them an interview. Pretend they're sat down to answer some questions and think about how multiple characters would answer the same question. Do they overshare? Are they curt and to the point? Do they frequently lie and contradict themselves? What questions take them off guard? - Write about your own experiences. Giving characters traits and experiences you can speak from in a detailed  can really flesh them out as people and gives them that relatability. Even if they’re decidedly different from you as a whole, there’s that point of connection that anchors them to you.

Worldbuilding...ish

Developing a world is a little less easy for me to give advice on, as I’m very character oriented, so my worldbuilding is more of starting with the bigger picture and then filling in details that would affect the character directly, while some other things aren’t as fleshed out and water tight. (I’m working on it!) Some universes have more to them than others simply due to how much time I’ve spent with them over the years. But it’s important, a lot of fun, and gives all the more weight to the universe you’re developing.

- Research. If you’re like me and either have no writing experience or have difficulty pulling key world-building aspects from imagination, there’s a PLETHORA of resources to learn from, a lot of it free and on youtube, even. Make yourself a playlist, grab a notepad and sit yourself down to gather info, and map things out. If you’re, say, creating a country from scratch, look into places with a similar climate and how it affects what species live there. I’ve been researching dining etiquette and shipbuilding lately! It would be of great help to learn from writers as well, if you aren’t one yourself. There's A Lot of advice out there. - Ask cause and effect questions. I create a lot for the fantasy genre, so I get to ask questions like...”What does a world being shaped by the gods/guardians look like? How has their presence influenced the mortals they look after? Their culture, their customs, the way they communicate?  What’s the actual truth of ancient happenings and what has been passed down through a long, long game of telephone? What is the truth current day people believe about magic, technology and historical events? What kind of questions could you ask from the world you’re creating? -Appease your inner child. Think back on what captured your attention as a kid and how you experienced them through your eyes at the time. What sort of things did you feel experiencing your favorite games, movies or books that you can still tap into through a nostalgic lens? I feel incredibly attached to my The Spiral OC universe when I’m playing Legend of Zelda games, especially Wind Waker. The mood, the sense of adventure. The feeling of sailing the seas, the quietness of Windfall at night, the reverent silence when arriving at Hyrule frozen in time.  Those feelings have lent an atmosphere to the world I’d go on to create for myself, and still illicit a strong emotional response when I visualize aspects of it. the adventure, the monsters, the sweet and emotional tone, and the heaviness of ancient legend lost to time. - Immerse yourself in other people’s worlds. Get into a tabletop game podcast of your preferred genre! You’ve got high fantasy dnd, but there’s also plenty of sci-fi, modern fantasy, post-apocalyptic, and more. Listening to multiple people work together to build their world (sometimes as they go a long!) can really get that creative juice a-flowing.  Critical Role and The Adventure Zone are big ones, but I also recommend SkyJacks, Friends at the Table, Dimension 20, Dungeons and Daddies and JemJammer! Worldbuilding prompts/generators!  X X X I hope ANY of this was helpful, I’m happy to answer specific questions as well. 

[revenge-of-the-shit]

Writing Tips - Chinese Names!

If you want to read this elsewhere, read this on medium or go check out my IG at @annessarose_writes! On that account, I’m writing book reviews of AAPI fiction, posting quotes, and I’m hoping to post more tips and tricks to boost Chinese representation in fiction.

Okie. I see a lot of posts with “name suggestions” going around, and they’re pretty neat! But they’re also almost exclusively Eurocentric and I rarely come across one that includes any non-white names.

Which, well, I do admit they’re helpful. But also, when it’s the only thing that keeps showing up, that’s not very good. When I tried my hand at creative writing when I was 7/8/9 years old, those were the only lists I ever saw online.

I’m Chinese. I tried to give my ocs a Chinese name. I took a look at those lists, and saw not one non-Eurocentric name. So I turned all my ocs white as a small beginning writer because as a child, I didn’t know better, and I thought names like mine were weird and that white was the only normal.

And... jeez. If writers can’t even get our names right - if they can’t even look at our names without going “that’s weird/out of place” - well, no wonder we’re so alienated. Look. We’re human. We’re here. We belong in this world and we deserve to be seen in fiction, too.

So here’s a list of Chinese family names. To my sci-fi writer friends or to my fantasy-writer friends who wish to draw from eastern cultures to inspire their worlds, if you wish to do so, go right ahead! But do it respectfully and don’t appropriate/completely whitewash it (see: how George Lucas did a lot of his stuff in Star Wars…)

They’ll be formatted [Mando]/[canto]. This is not a comprehensive list by any means. This is just a quick shortlist with some of the most popular family names so you can use this for your Chinese characters.

Wang/Wong

Li/Lee

Liu/Lau

Chen/Chan

Huang/Wong

Yang/Yeung

Wu/Ng

Zhao/Chiu

Zhou/Chow

Xu/Tsui

Ma

Zhu/Chu

Hu/Wu

Gao/Ko

Lin/Lam

Zheng/Chen

Liang/Leung

Xie/Tse

Examples of full Chinese names (or names inspired by Chinese culture), pulled straight from The Poppy War Trilogy by R. F. Kuang (seriously, go read it, I think it’s the best trilogy I’ve ever read):

Fang Runin

Chen Kitay

Yin Nezha

Sring Venka

Other examples from famous figures, historical or modern:

Yen Ji-Dan (Donnie Yen)

Jāu Sīngchìh (Stephen Chow)

Sun Yat Sen

Chiang Kai Shek/Jiang Jie Shi

Mao Zedong/Mao Tse Tung

Zhou Enlai

Some notes about personal names:

Personal names can vary immensely. In large families, all the daughters will be granted one character and all the sons another character and the only thing that will vary is the last character. Here’s an example:

Let’s say you’re writing about a family with the name of Chow set in like the 1900s. If they have lots of children, all the sons could be named “Chow Hok ____” and all the daughters “Chow Yuk _____.” So you could totally have a Chow Yuk-Dang and Chow Yuk-Tung and Chow Yuk-Kei in one family.

Why do they do that? It’s because in these families, it is very possible to meet someone and have no idea that you’re related. The naming system is, in a way, a method of figuring out how to identify each other.

Some old/traditional families pull the middle character of the full name from an ancient poem or text. It’s a way of identifying generations — one generation will have one character in the poem, then the next generation, the next character, and so on. It’s a family legacy tradition. The names would be something like [Family name] [Poem word] [Other word]

As for new families — some of whom have moved/adapted to the western world but still have a hold on their Chinese roots — their method of naming could be a lot simpler. Some parents just choose a name because it sounds nice. They might not even know what the name means. Source: This was how I’m named.

Smaller families who are not so entrenched in tradition but live in China could very well choose their children’s names based on sayings, poems, and the like. Their child’s name could mean something like “hard-working” or “prosperous.”

Some other things to consider:

Some people use hyphens between the two characters of their personal name. Some do not, and combine it into one word when romanizing it. Some leave them as two separate words. It varies per person’s preference — all of these are valid.

When I say “family name,” I mean last name (I think this is fairly obvious).

Chinese names are formatted [family name] [personal name]. Family name is one character — personal name is usually two.

There are many other dialects that I have not listed here. I stuck to Mandarin and Cantonese as they’re the ones I’m most familiar with. It should be noted that I’m using Hong Kong Cantonese here.

If you’re writing a diaspora character, they’ll likely stick to the traditional western format of writing names — as in, they’ll probably use [first name] [middle name] [last name]. It is very, very realistic to have a character named “Dennis Heen Gwong Lee” or something.

Sources:

Having lived this.

My parents, from Hong Kong.

My grandmother, who comes from China and was a Chinese History/Culture teacher for decades.

[mammss]

domestic life with the bros headcannons!! (GN MC)

a/n: thank you for all the likes and reposts on my mammon headcannon posts I LOVE ALL OF YOU GUYS SO MUCH MWAH MWAH MWAH!!!

i was imagining doing headcannon posts for the others but could really only think of like one thing for each so i scratched the idea and wanted to make this!!!

also i thought abt it and i feel like most of the brothers would live with you in the human world if you wanted to live there so expect that

IM ALSO SORRY FOR NOT INCLUDING ASMO AND BELPHIE I REALLY HAD A HARD TIME THINKING OF HEADCANNONS FOR THEM

but i hope you still enjoy my luvs<3

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

lucifer:

this is lucifer we’re talking about you know which on wakes up first

but sometimes he’ll surprise you and sleep in a little bit cuddling you and just admiring your pretty sleeping face

that image puts a smile on his face every time

this relationship is basically lucifer works you stay home and look pretty

(unless you have a job, he’ll understand but he’ll make sure you come home before him so he can open the door to you welcoming him and giving him a big hug)

since he’s a busy man he doesn’t have time for breakfast unless you make him but he never leaves the house without his lunch you make him and a kiss

he’s a little child but you love him so you don’t mind

he’s thinking about you all day expect texts from him just checking in on you or asking what you and his brothers are up to

(he may be ok on the outside but on the inside he’s jealous that he doesn’t get to be around you all the time like his brothers. texting you is just his way of virtually being with you)

on rare occasions after work he’ll bring home a bouquet of your favorite flowers and say some cheesy line that never fails to bring a smile to both of your faces

after dinner you both sit in his office talking about each other’s day and make small talk

this makes lucifer do his work faster because he wants to spend real time with you so after finishing it he plays a new record he got the other day and you hold each other tightly dancing the night away

mammon:

you two can never get up in the morning because mammon adores cuddling you

he’s like a mama bear protecting his baby cub so take that as a warning you will be late for all morning activities/work

but on the off chance you wake up early mammon either is making breakfast for you to eat in bed, coming back with coffee/tea or is taking a shower

sometimes he’s cooking hint sometimes only because his cooking is kinda bad. i also wanna think that human world cooking is slightly different than devildom cooking

(in the human world mammon is a househusband it’s my headcannon)

if mammon doesn’t have a job he’ll stay home and think of ways to make money while also trying his best to clean the house

and totally not missing you and thinking about you and possibly stealing you stuff to pretend you’re still at home with him

when you get home mammon can be seen acting like a puppy reacting to his owner coming home hugging and kissing you(he just loves you<3)

as tradition you guys spend the night eating dinner, watching a movie cuddling and talking about your day

levi:

the only reason levi wakes up before you is for livestreams, mobile game rewards and to sometimes surprise you like making you coffee/tea or making breakfast for the both of you

his idea of breakfast is either sugary cereal or some sort of pop tart/toaster strudel you know?

that’s why you always have to make breakfast lunch and dinner unless you wanna eat takeout and junk food for the rest of your life

because levi is an otaku he would have a lot of careers he could focus on the most popular one being a streamer

when levi tells you he wants to live in the human world expect a LOT of requests for living arrangements

like for example he needs extra rooms for his figurines, possible streaming room, if you think henry and lotan aren’t moving in with you then guess again massive pool anyone??? he also wouldn’t mind a movie theater in the house as well :)

just like mammon when you get home he’s excited to see you again because he feels like a decade passed since he last saw you

you decide to order takeout again and levi tells you about this new anime he discovered (you know living in the human world and such) so with your takeout in one hand and levi’s hand in the other you both cuddle watching anime until you inevitably fall asleep on the couch

satan:

you both wake up at the same time i wanna say but satan might beat you to the punch because he may or may not have been reading the entire night or woke up early and started reading

always expect tea on your nightstand every morning and kisses from satan waking you from your slumber

you both make breakfast together everyday listening to jazz music or classical and sometimes dancing around the kitchen just laughing satan spinning you around both of you truly enjoying each other’s company

satan wants a fresh start living in the human world and such

even though is name is a dead giveaway

so he works at a bookstore maybe like barnes and nobles but i wanna say he works at a little library not known and enjoys the piece and quite while reading a new shipment of books they just got

when you come home from work you see satan sitting in his usual chair reading welcoming you home

you make tea for the both of you and sit on his lap resting your head on his/his shoulders while you talk about each other’s day or you sit there in silence soaking up each other’s presence

beel:

i know i basically said for all of these that the brothers wake up first but when it comes to beel he really only wakes up first for two reasons one to eat and two to go to the gym

you know beel’s gone because your personal heater is gone and without him in bed with your basically freezing your butt off sorry mc

you both cook meals together it not only makes beel happy that he’s eating but food is basically his love language so both of you cooking together giggling and talking makes him happy more than you’ll ever know

speaking of food beel will always do the chores especially grocery shopping

the only way beel is moving to the human world is if belphie is coming to. no if, ands, or buts about it. he doesn’t have to live in the same home as you guys but the twins are a package deal mc you should of known that from the start

if you do decide to move to the human world i feel like beel would work as a florist or a baker or that’s what i want to believe anyways

i feel like it would be something nice and relaxing for him and he would definitely come home with tons of flowers and be like “here mc i got these for you 🥺🤲” or he would come home and be like “mc i made these today at the bakery and i made extra so you and belphie could have some🥺🤲”

like i said before the twins are a packaged deal so the three of you definitely have meals together everyday

you don’t understand mc the idea of you, him, and belphie together eating it makes his whole heart swell with happiness this is something he only thought could happen in his dreams he never thought it would happen in real life

and if you decide to have kids... he could just cry right then and there HE CANT HANDLE THE CUTENESS AND THE FAMILY DINNERS WITH UNCLE BELPHIE AND YOU MC YOU’RE KILLING HIM

have a wonderful mother’s day y’all if you celebrate it and i hope you like this post!!! i probably won’t do asmo and belphie separately just because i really couldn’t think of headcannons for them lolz

[sukiglycerin]

birds (not) of a feather || keigo takami.

* pairing: hawks x fem pro-hero!reader

* genre: canonverse(???), terribly indulgent smut, pwp, enemies w benefits

* words: 3,111

* warnings: i just packed a shitload of kinks into this, dom!hawks, sub!reader, daddy kink, dirty talk, semi-public sex (a bathroom), quirk play aka feather play (not tickling), reader is kiNda a brat, fingering, orgasm denial, cum eating, penetrative sex, unprotected sex (pls.,., wrap it before you tap it irl), degradation, breeding kink, humiliation, dumbification, creampie, aftercare (duh), i’m so sorry for this i’ll finish my sfw angst thing now

* a/n: inspired by this text post... oh god, this is filthy. apologies for the slightly late update, but here it finally is!! @toishi is an absolute angel for proofreading this at like 1 in the morning. i hope you enjoy this! if you liked this, feel free to request anything you’d like to see from me <3

there was something about hawks that was infuriating. you couldn't tell exactly what was the breaking point; his messy hair, his plush smirk, or his eyes. his eyes, typically glazed over with a mixture of cockiness and devil-may-care hawtiness, were perhaps the most charming part to him, if you asked any fangirl. the markings around them only made him prettier, but infuriatingly so; and when you put together the entire package of 'hawks,' you got an extremely punchable person. 

yet sometimes, during extremely rare instances - perhaps when the light hits him just right or when one of his feathers is placed just perfectly - the word 'punchable' is replaced with 'fuckable.' and when you say fuckable, you mean him fucking you. it only aggravates you more.

you can't recall exactly when you started hating him or exactly when you became fuckbuddies (well, more like fuckenemies), but what you can recall is that the closets at hawks' agency are unreasonably large. not that they can't be used to your advantage, on multiple occasions (especially when hawks ruts). you're sitting next to hawks as some entrepreneur attempts to sell his ideas to market heroes and gain more profit. none of the pro-heroes sitting in the room seem particularly engaged. you're practically falling asleep; hawks' doodles on your notepad keeping you awake. you can't exactly complain, though the doodles take up space on an otherwise blank page, it's entertaining. you're far past gone being alert, however; your eyelids droop one last time before you see an oddly phallic shaped doodle behind your eyelashes. goddamn hawks.

"really?" you hiss at him, pushing his hand away.

he shrugged, lazily smiling. "you like it."

"like what? lewd imagery in my work notepad?"

"no." his voice drops an octave, fatally gravelly, "my cock."

you flush at his obscene language. "don't-" you whisper, but you're cut off by hawks' muffled giggles as he points to another one of his doodles. a rooster. you purse your lips. ever-so immature, hawks.

"yeah, but i bet you like the first one a lot more, don'tcha, chickadee?" his pet name has your brain stuttering. "you like my cock so much, hm?"

"fuck you, hawks," you breathe.

"you can try, feather." his voice is dripping with cockiness. "i bet, even in professional times like these, you think about my cock. in business meetings, you look so professional, so serious, but little does everyone know - you're dreaming about my cock stretching your tight little cunt out, making you scream my goddamn name. i bet you salivate just thinking about my cock fucking you good, hm? isn't that right, chickadee?"

you huff, not meeting his eyes as you search for a witty comeback. your silence gives hawks' ego a boost; he smirks wider.

"you know it's true, huh?" he purrs. "you think of me wherever you go. in public, filing paperwork, when you touch yourself in bed... you just like it so much, you're my slut. who knew the nation's favorite pro-hero would drop to her knees to the sight of anyone's cock?"

"yeah, i touch myself whenever i think of you," you mutter saltily under your breath. you ignore the growing arousal in your panties at his provocative words. hawks goes quiet, eyes wide.

"more specifically, i rub my temples because i get a headache because you're so damn awful."

"well fuck, dove," he chuckles. he leans in close to your ear. "maybe i'll give you something to think about."

a shiver curls itself down your spine. "hawks-"

he hushes you, jotting something in your notepad. he excuses himself from the room, leaving a feather laying on his seat in place of him. you read the note. "women's bathroom, down the hall to the left. no one uses it."

a pump of adrenaline fills you; your heart skips a beat.

once you slip out, your heart plays a game of jump rope, the rhythm filling your ears. down the hall, to the left... you wonder what hawks has in store for you. your brain recreates images of past escapades you engaged in with the man; a quickie in his office, another in an alley, and once, him fucking you just before a meeting. your panties grow damper, unable to mask the anticipation you feel within yourself.

"hi, sweetpea," hawks cooes as soon as you enter the restroom. "fancy seeing you here."

"you invited-"

"hush, i didn't give you permission to speak, did i?" he snaps. "good girls who behave are rewarded."

a whimper slips out of you, and you nod.

"safeword, birdie?"

"sunflower."

"good girl." he hums. "so obedient, once disciplined... maybe i should do this more. i bet you'd like that... being such a slut when anyone could walk in." "hawks..." you start, but he doesn't have it.

the hero stalks toward you. if eyes could kill, you'd be murdered within seconds; his irises are dark, pupils blown, and a shadow has fallen over his face. he looks predatory like this - truly living up to his name. it's graceful, the self-control he assumes whence walking toward you. 

said self-control is completely abandoned as soon as your bodies meet. you're completely enraptured in his shadow as the man loomed over you, his wings contributing greatly to the effect. he's the predator, and you're the prey. 

his arm separates your neck from the wall, his hand clutching the back of your head. the free hand moves itself to caress your jaw in a strangely gentle manner, while his knee pushes its way in between your legs, making your upper thighs into a home. his hand nudges your head forward towards his, and then you're kissing him with such ferocity it's animalistic. tongues clash and you're no longer sure whose spit is whose; it dribbles down your chin the way blood drips from the thirsty lips of a vampire.

hawks growls - he actually growls - while he hastily unbuttons your top and slips his tongue into your mouth. you shamelessly grind down against his clothed pant leg, careless that your wetness will leave a stain. 

he pulls away, a string of saliva snapping between you and leaving you two gasping for breath. 

"fuck, fuck, baby bird," hawks wipes his mouth with his sleeve. his lips are swollen, their colour resembling a cherry lollipop with a sheen of gloss. damn, he's pretty. you never realized how good-looking a guy in a suit could be. his eyes are darker than a raven's, and it looks as though he'll devour you whole. 

"come." hawks gestures for you, walking towards the sinks and large mirror above them. as soon as you near a foot from hawks, he grabs you, one hand on your waist and the other on your throat. 

"look at you..." he tsks, his eyes meeting yours in the mirror. you're completely disheveled, hair a mess and eyes blown dark. your top is wrinkled slightly, your breasts peaking out through the unbuttoned gap and your skirt pushed up.

"so messy already..." the hand on your waist moves up and squeezes your breast, tweaking a nipple through your bra.

"you just fucking melt for me, like a good whore," he says.

oh, how you hate how easily hawks can win you over.

"fuck you," you scoff half-heartedly. "are you gonna fuck me, or not? we don't have all day."

"won't be a problem, lovebird," he says breezily. "judging by how much you fucking soaked my pant leg, i could have you coming undone without my cock even touching your dirty cunt.

you glance at his thigh, which has a blatant dark spot on it, and feel your heart race in humiliation. you can only stay silent, knowing he's right. the sensation in your core is painfully obvious to you, as if taunting you more.

"obeying now?" he teases, a wicked smile gracing his face. "bend over the counter, sweetpea."

you huff, obliging. hawks deftly moves his fingers, unbuttoning your shirt. you shiver, your hot skin colliding with the cold, unforgiving marble. 

"spread your legs - good, good, like that..." his breath tickles your ear, "you like how the air touches your sopping pussy? how exposed you fucking feel, all spread out for me when anyone could walk in? me, the number 2 pro-hero..." god, he was so cocky it was infuriating.

"shut up," you grumble.

"what?" his voice is sharp, cutting clean through the air. "is that anyway to treat your daddy?"

you fucking hate the title. you hate how hawks harnesses it as his own, how he so personifies the word - how good it fits him, sounding like sugar off his lips.

two of his fingers meet your clothed folds. "answer me, birdie."

"n-no," you squeak out. 

"no, who?" he spits.

"no, daddy." 

you inch your head up to look in the mirror, and hawks is smiling. 

"what to do with you, what to do with you..." he sounds gleeful, sadistic undertones tinting his words with a faded rose red. so pretty, yet so painful. your head goes back down onto the counter, your cheek pressed against it.

"naughty birds deserve punishment, don'tcha think?" 

you can't find it in yourself to form a coherent word; instead, a clumsy moan falls from your lips. hawks' fingers press harder against your cunt; you're sure they've gotten at least a little damp.

compromised in such a position, your senses make you suddenly aware of your surroundings; the way the counter digs into your hips, how the coolness is starting to fade under your body. you're aware of your every breath, the fluttering in your stomach every time hawks presses your clit. you're aware of the inherent eroticism of your acts, and how you don't really hate hawks; no, no, no - how he just infuriates you.

he's the ideal hero, in your eyes - laidback, charming, and yet so skilled at his work. it amazes you. one can only strive to be so multifaceted, and it explains his status as number 2 hero. you work so hard, yet he can achieve all the things you dream in half a heartbeat.

"let's get these out of the way." hawks, hooking a digit into the band of your panties, forces them down in an instant. you instinctively clench at the air which meets your nether lips, your juices leaking out of them like a honeyed nectar.

"so messy," hawks comments. "can't even control yourself without your panties. you like being such a slut for daddy, huh?"

you grumble in protest.

"huh?" his index and ring finger plunge into your pussy, making a loud squelching sound.

"d-daddy," you blurt a moan out, falling apart on his fingers.

"that's more like it, feather." hawks sets a moderate pace on your pussy, curling to hit your sweet spot. the noises from your cunt and mouth fail to cease, and you throw a hand over the latter to muffle your whimpers.

you start to feel a burning sensation rise in your stomach; a toe-curling, warm feeling like sunlight shining in the morning.

"daddy, daddy, hngg- i'm so close."

you're so close to the sunlight, to being showered in the blissful heat. just one more stroke and-

you're suddenly empty, and the light starts to slowly recede.

"daddy!" you complain, shifting your legs and rubbing your thighs together. "bad birds get punishment," he shrugs. "though i must say... you like it when i bend you over the counter, huh? your little pussy is dripping all over it for me, and i've barely touched you... i bet you're getting off to this right now; when anyone could walk in, huh? filthy slut. you're already begging for more... hm, maybe i should make you lick up the mess you've made..."

"d-addy, no, i've taken my punishment, please let me cum..."

hawks sounded indifferent, as if he were merely studying his nails. "beg for it."

"wh-" you clench your hands in your skirt. you do not particularly enjoy begging - for anything or anyone. despite the pulsing in your cunt, and how hard it is not to give in, you don't want to give hawks the satisfaction of winning. "p-psh, didn't really need your cock anyway..." you grumble. you exhale quietly, calming the adrenaline pumping in your blood from the loss of your orgasm.

something in him changes, and a scarlet feather tickles your lips. you're confused; what does hawks want you to do?

"suck."

you exhale in confusion, blowing the feather away. "suck?"

you crane your neck up at the mirror to catch a glimpse of hawks. he looks deadly - there's no other way to put it. his eyes are sharply trained on you, his wings buff and towering over him. you think you see a bulge in his pants, straining for freedom.

"well?" the feather dusts your lips once again, teasing you to trap it in between your lips. your head drops, falling against the counter. you open your mouth, and the tip of the feather rests on your tongue. your lips close around it, and you hesitantly suck. you're not sure what you were expecting; it's a feather, soft and flimsy in your mouth.

you jolt at an indistinct tickling feeling against your clit. you look back, feather hanging out of your mouth, to see hawks leaning back on a stall. he's not within reach to touch you, so...

"hng!" the foreign object presses your clit. the pressure strengthens against your tight bundle of nerves, and you can feel your slick drip out of you even more. a feather; though hawks made the consistency a bit more solid. the feather pushes against your pussy like a seesaw, making you reach for your high. you shut your eyes tight, lost in the feeling and desperate for release. the feather drags up and down your cunt, eliciting lewd noises, while your lips are clamped shut around the feather in your mouth. saliva pools in your mouth the more the feather teases your wet sex, and the familiar build of tension starts in your stomach. you yearn for the heat returned in full, to be so fulfilled in pleasure, and you rut against the feather in an attempt to reach your climax faster. the stimulation is suddenly gone, leaving you crying out.

"look at this," hawks sneers. a single, wet feather, dripping in a substance far thicker than water hovers in front of you. "open your mouth."

the feather slips out, and is replaced with a salty tasting one.

the taste of your arousal fills your tongue, and before you're given time to dwell on it, you feel warmth pressing against the back of your thighs. there's a clanking of metal, a shuffle of fabric, and you feel the tip of hawks' cock pressing against you.

"look at you, baby, so desperate for a fuckin' feather," he rasps in your ear. "should i show you how much better my cock is? hmm?"

you nod dumbly, the feather bobbing with you. 

"fuck," he groans, pushing himself into your depths. "so wet, so- slick- goddamn baby bird, you like it when i stuff you full of this cock?"

you hum a noise against the feather in your mouth, agreeing. he slipped into your pussy smoothly, lubricated by the abundance of your slick. once in, snuggled in deep, something in the man's composure snaps; he thrusts mercilessly, pounding deep in you. his fingers hold your hips, bruising them, you're sure - and the pain is sweet, a sick lolly against your tongue. 

"fuck, fuck, daddy's gonna fuck his babies into you, betcha'd like that, huh?"  you can't articulate your words properly with the feather in your mouth, but you attempt to agree. he doesn't care, continuing with his degradation.

"you're gonna give me my chicks, huh? be my bitch," he pants heavily. god, you can just imagine how he looks; hair falling onto his sweat-matted forehead, his eyes completely lascivious. a wanton moan spills from your mouth, and the feather falls, but hawks doesn't make notice of this. he continues to slam into you, pace unforgiving, burying himself to the hilt inside of you. squelching noises fill the bathroom, echoing off the walls.

you can only moan and clench around him unintelligently. 

"look at you... all fuckin' stupid and obedient, all for daddy, hm? so willing to let daddy use you as a cumdump, daddy's personal- fucking- cumslut- but you like that, huh? your pretty pussy's clenching around me. you like being talked down to, don'tcha? such a dirty slut. look at that, you're drooling."

two of hawks' fingers shove themselves into your mouth, and you salivate around them. it's messy, you know, and spit trails down your chin.

"look at me, chickadee," he commands. you crane your neck to look at him, eyes wide. "fuck, so slutty," he grunts. "you really like this, don't you? fuck- exposing your fucking cunt to every guy, huh? being used as nothing but a filthy fucktoy?"

you shake your head rapidly in disagreement, cheeks heating up. 

"no?" he chuckles darkly. "just my fucktoy, then?"

you reluctantly nod. 

"my stupid lil baby... so pretty with daddy's fingers shoved in her mouth..." he coos, and a surprising, fuzzy feeling emerges from the praise.

his unoccupied hand reaches down in between your thighs to stimulate your clit, rubbing fast circles against the bud. warmth pools and ties a knot in your stomach. the sugared indulgence of release that you'd so craved comes into view; the knot tightening and tightening and you feel fit to burst.

"c-cum for me, baby bird, cum for me, y/n," he stutters, making a guttural sound in the back of his throat. the fingers in your mouth pull out, falling onto your hips. the tight knot bursts into violent fireworks of ecstasy; your cunt gushes around hawks' cock, convulsing madly. the pleasure shatters you, and everything becomes a haze. you go limp against the counter, thighs shaking. you're not sure how much time has passed - hawks had been fucking you through orgasm, and, at one point, came as well.

"hey, feather," he whispers gently to you. "you did so well for me..." he strokes your back, making a plethora of calming coos and humming sounds

"did so well," you mumble. 

"don't worry about anything, dove, i've got it all handled."

your thoughts are all fog, and you allow yourself to lean into hawks. this is one of the rare times you're vulnerable completely to him; at his mercy, after a particularly hard session. rather, it's one of the rare moments that your true feelings are revealed; how your hatred is baseless, built on jealousy and attraction you deny.

not that you'll admit it.

[faorism]

@lookatallthefandoms #*leans forward with my chin in my hands* tell me more op [eliot crawls back verse. sequel to this post]

eventually, nate and sophie and quinn (yeah, lets do this, its quinn, yall got me on this train, hope you're happy) find out the extent to which parker and hardison have fallen into it with that weird fucking hitter guy that was supposed to be a scary lieutenant to the big bad but who is now nerfed into redemption arc prospect stalker aka zuko 2.0. eliot is in town but seeing how small a space the wyatt funeral home is he just chills around across the street and idk hes doing morally corrupt hr training via 2011 era zoom so he isnt monitoring the comms closely/at all.

then he gets a call. its a strange number, but he's kinda used to that around the leverage targets but a call is rare. usually only because his darling wants to really sell a grift. eliot picks it up.

hey, what's—

eliot? and oh, hardison's voice is so so small.

hey, hey what's wrong?

inside the wrist holster. hollowed out—hardison?—thickest part of leather. press the earbud once. don't yell.

and then hardison hangs up. eliot immediately calls back. hardison (because its hard to press them little buttons when the phone is vibrating in his hand) picks up.

the fuck is going on, man.

please, eliot. i need... i need fsskskk. i need her, please—sssfkkks, i need...

oh and hardison is panicking and eliot goes to soothing because that's all he can do, but he's so out of practice he doesnt pull a caretaking voice. he is a fucking scumbag that knows killing and fucking so he just pulls that voice he uses when he's got a Nice Normal Girl underneath him who needs to be cooed into the surprise of her orgasm. okay, okay sweetheart. and there, in that moment, hardison gets His Nickname. im sorry. get you our girl.

holster.

got it.

please.

okay. okay, goodbye.

and eliot kinda just... appears in the dinner bathroom in the span of a blink and he's tearing off his jacket and he's ripping at his knife holster on his forearm, not even wanting to free the knife from the release mechanism because that would take longer than his bare hands and his teeth. he releases the bud and he sticks it into his ear and he's hears a cacophony.

and there's ford who says: —have wanted you to contact us to arrange a trade. Did you get his number?

he can barely hear the reply, but he knows that terror. hardison: yeah, yeah. texting it right now.

sophie: could he be just hidden?

quinn: no. actually more suspicious that way unless they got the hearse, but they might abandon that. but i wouldnt bothering burying a guy too deep.

and oh. oh god.

a casket's got 30 minutes of air, eliot says into the void of the bathroom stall, but this time there's a response. several. angry and confused and hostile but, two voices fed relief into the mix.

blondie: stop. he's ours. eliot, what would you do?

eliot: darling, he's a loose end. no trade is worth it. whatever they're telling you is a lie. hardison hiccups his distress (i cant hear him, is he talking?). we have to find him.

and its pretty much the same after that but with nate biting out We Will Talk About This and quinn being super overprotective like These People Are Mine And You Are Dangerous and sophie oh sophie! sophie heard hardison's little sorry about the holster and the hitter's no youre not and parker repeating his words to hardison before adding ill steal you a nicer one and the hitter saying my tack guy made this special [eliot's tack guy credit to old dog & new tricks, which are canon to me] and parker repeating it and hardison's wet and desperate laugh.

and eliot leaves the beating up guys to quinn like He Leaves That To Quinn before he Needs to get to hardison. and it should be weird that this random stalker guy is the one to pull hardison up out the grave but he does and he holds him tight and tells him what he always does, dont do that again. it should be and it kinda it but god, it fits it fits it fits.

and there's definitely fallout eventually but nate (by way of sophie) actually gives hardison and blondie some space, and also eliot is there? and i think that the stalking back of eliot sped up their pretzels because they are United In The Plan To Steal Eliot so they live together (though they have separate rooms rn because they are still figuring each other out) and eliot is just. there.

and blondie has put on wraith of khan for hardison but he quickly falls asleep on eliot's shoulder with his hand in blondie's. and eliot is just sitting there like, darling... i dont know what im doing here.

and blondie laughs and skips over the bulk of his confession to be like, did you not hear my name?

and he's like, i did. but i dont steal intimacy.

and blondie is like. oh. its parker. but darling is still good.

and eliot nods and he is Utterly Over His Head.

[dreamsurvivormultiplayer]

ive heard a lot of folks are moving from MCYTtwt to tumblr, so hello! Welcome! I am a tumblr boomer so let me teach you some things

number one: If you’re on browser, get the xkit extension. right now. literally first thing you should do it improves your experience on this website tenfold. [Here’s the xkit tumblr.] Do yourself a favor it has so many wonderful features, including blacklisting specific terms, blocking ads/recommended posts, or making tag groups. It’s a lifesaver. (Also definitely block terms related to your triggers/squicks/common gross things or anything you might be sensitive to. And NSFW, probably.)

Number two: Mobile tumblr and browser tumblr are very different in functionality. They have separate learning curves in terms of UI. You’ll get the hang of it, don’t worry, but know that both are kinda glitchy. Mobile tends to lag more and have more difficulty loading images (to the point where it’s a meme). Also on mobile you can’t see custom pages on people’s blogs.

Three: Tumblr has a very different comments language than other sites. Most people don’t actually comment on posts, but instead leave commentary in tags. You can’t put commas in tags but you can separate words and fill ‘em up a ton. You can also read tags on posts, so you can see what people are quietly saying or how they’re reacting to posts. There’s also a comments option, which doesn’t add on to the post but can be read as well. Actually adding an additional comment to reblogs is pretty uncommon unless you have something to add to the post. It’s highly recommended to read tags of posts on your dashboard.

Four: Tumblr is weird. If you’re making an original post that you want to be seen, the first five tags will be what your post shows under. Use those tags wisely. Also if you include any non-tumblr links in your post, your post won’t show up in tags, so be careful. Reblogs and additions to reblogs don’t show up in tags at all. Tags on reblogs or aside from the first five tags are mostly for personal blog organization or commentary. Also, you can add a maximum of 10 images to a post using the image function, and then paste as many more images as you want in the text portion. Images in photo posts can also be scooted around or reorganized (i.e. rows of four, two-by-five, etc etc. however you please). Tumblr won’t crop images images unless you put two images of different sizes in the same row/column. It also rarely cuts quality, and you can click on images to expand them. Also the search function is always broken literally everywhere all the time. if you’re looking for tags, just add “/tagged/[words]” to the end of the blog url and you should find it. put a - or + where any spaces should be. Also try to avoid using apostrophes in tags if you’re using them for categorization cause sometimes it breaks it. Also, don’t tag triggers/etc in the format of “tw: [x]”/“trigger warning: [x]” or “cw: [x]”/”content warning: [x]” - instead, tag it like “[x] //” or the word alone or similar. The tw:/cw: can glitch out tag blocks sometimes and render it useless. Putting the // after or just the word alone works better. Content warnings don’t need to be in the first five tags - tag/post blockers look at the post’s tags or the post itself as a whole, so it’ll just hide the entire post based on what you block. And for the love of fuck, don’t cross-tag.  [See #10 & “Cross-tagging”] The folks who use the Minecraft tag aren’t super fond of the tag being filled with only DSMP/MCYT content so be considerate of tagging MCYT content with just “Minecraft” as well.

Five: Tumblr is old. It has a lot of jokes and popular posts. You can acquaint yourself with a lot of them here: https://heritageposts.tumblr.com/

Six: You don’t need a carrd or whatever it is. Really. Trust me. Nobody will read it. All you need in your bio is like, what you want people to refer to you as (i dont suggest making this your actual name, but i can’t stop you i guess), your pronouns, maybe your fandoms, and maybe if you’re an adult or minor. Don’t put your exact age for the love of fuck. don’t do it. and don’t make your username anything including your real name. be dilfza69 or whatever, trust me, no one will care. just dont use your real name. trust us on this one. and probably not your discord tag. it’s not that tumblr is inherently any more dangerous than the rest of the internet, just that it’s one of the few places left where you can remain very private. utilize that. it’s very nice. Lots of people make an about page on their blog though, so you can include any other fun stuff you want to include there, like your zodiac signs or fandoms or other social media or whatever.

Seven: Don’t worry about how old posts are. nobody gives a shit nor can anyone tell. Also, you will find most people’s main blogs consist of mostly reblogged content unless they are specifically a content creator (usually an artist, musician, or voice actor). This is normal. Reblog a lot. ‘Tis our way. Also, you can’t see how many followers other people have unless they post it/tell you. Follower count is meaningless here. It doesn’t impact your posts at all even. Don’t worry about it. Everybody’s the same level here.

Eight: Go to your blog profile (top right icon of a lil person. it’ll open a drop-down menu. From there, click on the name of your blog.) Select “edit appearance” and scroll down. There is a section titled “Advertising” that says “On-blog advertising” with a little switch. Turn that off. You’re welcome.

Nine: You can make side-blogs. These are like normal blogs except you can co-own them with other people, you can’t like posts from it, and you can’t follow people from it. They’re connected to your main blog. You can make a lot of them. I legitimately have like 30 blogs.

Ten: Lil bit of tumblr lingo for ya. Not even close to the full list, but a good start.

Nightblogging - when someone is blogging a lot when they clearly should be asleep. Tends to include lots of existential/”shower” thoughts.

Shitposting - General memery and silliness. Usually to an absurdist amount.

Liveblogging - Just like livetweeting. Live reaction posts to something happening, be it watching a show or stream or anything really.

Askblog - A blog focused around a character or multiple characters who respond to questions asked to them. Usually art/comic-based, but also sometimes text or even audio based. If you find one of these, shoot them an ask or two. It’s nice and they’re fun and a dying breed. 

Mishapocolypse / Dashcon - Some highly iconic tumblr historical moments. You will learn of them in time.

Tumblr User [x] - How we politely refer to each other. You may hear about some very popular bloggers, many from days of olde - legends such as Pizza (rip) or Sixpenceee (don’t look there) or maybe even smaller known bloggers like Glumshoe (that one’s safe, unless you don’t like bugs or traditionally “gross” animals).

Bone Stealing Witches - There have been like three separate instances of this. This isn’t even a joke. Like, literal actual real people who practice witchcraft who stole or did something involving human skeletal remains. This is not the weirdest thing that has happened on this site. You will get used to that.

Inbox - If someone sends you an ask, this is where that will end up. This too tends to be broken, usually in the form of tumblr “eating” asks (they never appear in the inbox). Most common cause for this is allegedly links or things that tumblr thinks are links (basically anything in a [x].[x] format. Make sure to put spaces after your periods or your ask may be eaten.)

Cross-tagging - Tagging posts with tags that don’t or barely apply (i.e. tagging art of Bee Duo with “Bench trio”/”Tommyinnit” when Tommy isn’t in the image or referenced at all || tagging as many members of the dsmp as you can when the post is only about one singular content creator).

Hope this helps some of y’all new folks. If you have any questions, my inbox is open.

[evilvarric666-archive]

This is gonna be long, so sorry in advance, but as someone who enjoys long fics here are my two cents:

I get why some ppl may not want 75 tags in fics, but this is gonna hurt long fic writers. On a long fic there are probably gonna be more relationships that are central to the plot that aren't the main ship. And side pairings that may be a squick to some ppl. Not to mention trigger warnings and tone tags.

For example: a long fic with the pairing Y x Z. Z had an abusive relationship, and that's gonna be explored. So the author tags abusive relationship, bc that's a trigger, but an explanation next tag saying "not current ship" or smth.

Then Y has very important friendships with some of the cast. These are central to the plot so they're tagged too.

Turns out, character W is controversial in the fandom, but they're central to the fic too. The author is gonna tag after the character tag W positive/negative; so ppl who don't wanna see positive/negative things about W can skip this.

And guess what? Ship A x B appears in this fic too. Maybe it's not that central, but this ship is also disliked by some people, so the author will tag it, so ppl can filter through.

Another problem is with media that has different mediums, like, the media Y, Z, etc are from has movies, and books, and games and a tv show. All these things actually have different stories, different enough at least that ppl may only want to see fics written for the movies! But the author wants to take plot from the movies and the books. So instead of just tagging the all media tag for that media, they also tag media (movies) and media (books)

These tags end up accumulating. And especially in long fics. The author could make the first chapter a list of tws and stuff that they keep updating, but that destroys the purpose of ao3 tags: you can't filter content like that, you can only filter tags.

I honestly think they should just find a way to delete the fics with the trolling tags, or make a readmore thing so it doesn't hurt the browsing. At the very least make the tag limit longer.

sorry in advance that this is going to be rambly and weird. I have a lot of thoughts.

I get where you're coming from but I also still disagree. Like it's definitely going to change the way longfic writers tag, but I really don't think it's going to hurt them. I think it's going to encourage more effective tagging and that that's going to be better for everybody in the long run. If anything, I think that overtagging is what's hurting longfic writers, it makes their works look unappealing, and actually important information gets buried in a wall of text.

i will admit though that I do understand better now why less room for trigger tagging is going to be an issue. My preferred tagging style is "General/umbrella warnings in the tags, with whatever elaboration/specifics the author deems necessary in an author's note/author's notes at the beginning of each chapter" (example: "animal death" in the tags, so that the filters catch it + people who can't handle the subject At All know to keep scrolling, and then the author's note specifying that its in the context of game hunting & not a pet death, so that people who were uncertain and needed more info could click in and get the specifics.) and I thought that preference was pretty universal? But apparently a lot of people use the tags as an exhaustive list of warnings, which I didn't know because when I see a work with more than, well with more than 75 tags, I just start scrolling until it's gone.

(this is a tangent and I get that my experiences are not universal. but I genuinely dislike full warning lists in the tags because, for me at least, it makes it harder for me to figure out if the story is something I can/want to read. The things I Really Do Not Want To Read about are rare, and rarely tagged the same way twice, so the exclusion filter isn't really helpful for me. I have to actually read the full list of warnings and if the things I'm looking for are sandwiched inbetween a bunch of trope/character tags in a big wall o text I am going to miss it. This has happened to me multiple times.)

I think that that's an ineffective tagging style, basically. Lots of tags is kind of the opposite of useful tags, imo. Short, to the point and consistently worded warnings are better and I think having less space will encourage people to do that. I understand why people do this other style, though, and also why it would frustrate them that they can no longer do that. I think it really sucks that ao3 let everyone wild west their website for so long that it managed to spawn like three distinct groups of people who all use the website in completely incompatible ways, and now it's at the point where any new rule implemented is going to screw a lot of people over no matter what. But I digress.

Anyways, as long as someone isn't putting Revolutionary Girl Utena levels of warnings in their tags (and if your fic needs that much... maybe you should just put yur top 10 biggest warnings on there and slap a Dead Dove Do Not Eat on the end there, yknow?), I think that 75 tags will fully accommodate them. I get that tags start adding up, but also I think a lot of people are underestimating how many tags 75 tags is.

Like to just add up how many tags are used in your example: three / pairing tags, lets go crazy and say three more & pairing tags, tag every character tag in those pairings that's twelve, #abusive relationship + #not main pairing tags, three fandom tags bc multiple source mediums, a #[controversial character] positive tag... that's 24 tags. Like all the necessary character & pairing tags are handled in less than a third of the space given (and personally I consider this slightly over tagged. I think the only character tags you should put on a fic are the very mainest/pov characters, but yknow) and honestly if you can't then figure out a way to communicate the rest of the necessary information about your fic in 51 tags and a 1250 character summary then I really don't know how to help you. I personally would have to really push myself to figure out how to put more than 75 tags on one fic, regardless of the length of the fic. And I can't help but notice that a lot of the fics I could find with over 75 tags while searching last night had a lot of... unnecessary duplicate tags, often for information that could've been easily otherwise intuited (tagging #mandolorian #mandolore #mandolorian character and #mandolorian culture on a Jango Fett pre-series fic, for example)

I do have some criticisms about the current change though. I think it would've been better to have individual tag number limits for each individual field (x number of fandom tags, x number of character tags, etc.) instead of a 75 tags over all limit (or make a "warning tags" field that's separate from "additional tags" but that's a separate essay and would... probably mean overhauling the whole site. so not very practical.) A readmore option would be good too, and I'm not sure why they didn't go for that? I also think that this change will be most effective if done in combination with other changes. Like posting very loosely or not at all enforced official tagging/style guides for the site. I really think that even a tepid attempt at standardization will increase the site's usability like, A Lot.

I'm not sure how cohesive that was. TL;DR I appreciate hearing your thoughts, mine are that I still think this is a step in the right direction. And that cutting back on overtagging will lead to more concise, effective tagging which will make browsing and filtering easier in the long run.

[tickle-bugs]

I had two people ask for some advice on starting up/running a blog, so I thought I’d make a little post for anyone else looking for advice! There’s no one right way to run a blog and I am by no means an expert. This is just a compilation of some of the things I’ve learned :) 

Feel free to add advice to this!

- The first thing is something I cannot stress enough. Write for yourself first. You will be absolutely miserable if you’re only writing for attention. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s so incredibly important. If you don’t like a prompt, fandom, or scenario? You don’t have to write for it! A personal example: I’m a theatre kid and total musical nerd. I could probably write some compelling Dear Evan Hansen or Hamilton headcanons if I wanted to, but I don’t. That’s fine! I’m allowed to say I won’t write for it and deny prompts/requests for those fandoms. 

- Set boundaries. This is a very mixed community with all sorts of creators and participants with hands in different baskets. Don’t want minors to interact? Put minors DNI in your bio. SFW only? Put it in the bio. No RP? Bio. This goes for private conversations/askbox/other interactions as well. If someone comes into your askbox/dms and says something that makes you uncomfy, shut it down. 

- My advice is more geared towards writing than art or video, but I suppose you could apply this advice as well. Make what makes you happy! If you’re only in one fandom, feel free to stay there and make content for it. Multi-fandom? Excellent! Completely non-fandom? Epic! Make the content that you want to see and the content that makes you happy to create, especially if you’re in a more niche fandom/area. 

- Organization. ...I’ll admit this one is more of a personal pet peeve than something urgent, but it is something that people positively respond to. If you have some sort of consistency/organization to your blog, it’ll make it easier and more enjoyable for people to navigate. Make a fandom list/indicate your fandoms somehow (mostly for prompt purposes. people can’t read your mind, so it’s important to tell them what you will write for and what you won’t, however you want to do that)! 

Make a masterpost/link your fic tag! Use a fic tag of some kind. Give your fics summaries and leave a little bit of the fic above the ‘read more’ to intrigue folks (look at #my fics and my masterpost for basic examples of how I do this, if you need!). Use read mores. Please use read mores (if you can, idk if they’re on mobile. regardless no one wants to encounter a three thousand word block of text on their dash). (No seriously though, organize your blog, even if it’s super simple. literally just a ‘mine’ or ‘my fics’ or ‘[pseud] writes’ and a fandom tag. It’ll make it easier for people to find your stuff and support you)

- Practice general internetiquette. Please remember that the people in this community are real people with feelings, boundaries, and lives outside of the blog that they run. Be genuine and people will respond to you! Don’t manipulate people into likes/reblogs/attention. No one wants to be on the other end of that. Being in this community isn’t a transaction or a mosh pit, it’s an experience.  

- Be ever-so-liberal with the block button. Someone’s user makes you uncomfortable? They give you bad vibes? They’re a minor/older than you and you don’t want them interacting with your content? You don’t wanna see their blog for some reason? Block em. This goes for anons too. That’s what the button is for. Don’t feel guilty for using it. Use it. 

- How you write is 100% a personal choice and not really something that I can give advice on, but embrace your style! take prompts if you want, or don’t. Write oneshots, series, drabbles, or novels. Write romantic, or don’t. Etc. Change things up if you feel like it. Do what you want. Your blog, your style, your rules. 

- Numbers matter. Don’t let them define you. This is a bit of a harder one to explain, but I will try. I often say that I don’t care about numbers, and I really don’t, but that’s not to say that I don’t see them and they have zero effect on me. I absolutely notice and am bummed if a fic doesn’t get notes, or at least the notes that I was expecting. That is entirely normal and okay to experience. What isn’t okay, though, is creating for the sake of getting notes/numbers/attention (re: write for yourself first, internetiquette). If you find yourself relying on tumblr for gratification and a reward, I implore you to take a break. I’m not your therapist or your parent, I’m not gonna tell you what to do, but when you make things only for the sake of notes, people notice. Celebrate your milestones. Know that it’s okay to be bummed about low notes/celebrate getting plenty. Just make sure that you don’t depend on the numbers for your happiness, or you will be miserable.

- You’re (probably) doing this for free. You are providing people content: a service. Produce as much or as little as you’re comfy with, but always remember that. No one is entitled to what you make. If someone asks you for headcanons, sends a prompt when prompts are closed, etc, and you don’t feel like fulfilling it? You have no obligation to do that. Getting commissioned is another story entirely, but as long as you’re making free content, you have zero obligation to do anything for anyone and certainly no time constraints. It can take me months to finish prompts, and that’s okay. I do them when I do them and I fill them how I want to. If my prompts are closed, I deny new ones until I’m ready to accept them. Make yourself happy first.

- How you interact with others is up to you! It’s generally considered good practice to like/reblog your mutuals fics/art, but this is not necessarily a hard and fast rule. I veeeeeery rarely reblog fics for fandoms that I’m not in, even from my mutuals. What you can do to show your support (and you should try and show support somehow. No one is in competition. Everyone’s in your boat, whether they have no followers or 1k) is send an ask/reply to the post/leave tags to let the author know you liked it. Like the fic and don’t reblog it, if you don’t want to. Just make sure you show your mutuals (and others in general!) roughly the same support they show you, however you decide to do that. Treat others how you want to be treated, as cheesy as it sounds :)

- Don’t repost content that isn’t yours without express permission from the original creator, and credit them appropriately. If you see a cute piece of tickle art and the artist doesn’t want it reposted? Don’t repost it. Don’t post fics/videos/gifs that aren’t yours (obviously if it’s like a scene from a movie/a clip on youtube that’s different, but don’t take credit for things you didn’t make, including ideas). Can’t tell you how frustrating it is to have work stolen from you. Don’t be that person. ‘Credit to original artist’ and ‘credit unknown’ is total bullshit btw. Link/tag the creator in the original post and make it clear you don’t own the content. Best practice is to ask the original creator if they’re okay with reposting, work inspired by or connected to theirs, etc. This goes doubly for saving/downloading someone’s fics. 

- It is not illegal for a minor to have normal, nonsexual, healthy friendships with people older than them. There’s a weird attitude that minors have nothing of value to offer adults besides a relationship/sex, which is...not true? Minors are thinking, living human beings with feelings, thoughts, and opinions. You can talk to them like normal people, because they are. Just obviously don’t talk about/introduce sex or endanger them. Minors don’t bring up sex/activities you’re underage for with an adult. IDK this isn’t a seminar just...don’t be weird. Adults can offer great life experience, support systems, and the basic joys and needs of human connection. Minors can too. Mind your business unless someone’s actually in danger. The next point is a caveat, though: 

- If you’re a minor, don’t interact with NSFW blogs/blogs with ‘Minors DNI’, NSFW blogs don’t interact with minors, etc etc. Not your parent or whatever but this is pretty common sense and it’s for everyone’s safety, but especially the NSFW person. internettiquette!

- If you use your TK blog as a side blog (meaning you have another blog as your main blog, not two separate accounts) and don’t want your main exposed, that is up to you. I recommend not liking posts. Also, follow people that you trust. These actions route through your main blog and your main will show up in the notes. You can reblog from a sideblog. If you want to send an ask “as your tk blog”, send an anon and sign it somehow, like ‘hey :) // @/tickle-bugs’. It should tag you in the post so you get a notification when it’s answered!

- Find your people! As an anxious person this one has been hard for me, so I know it’s hard for a lot of people. Fandom is literally a community of shared interest. Peachy and I have an iron bond almost two years later and we met talking over shared interests. You can absolutely find your people here. If someone makes you happy, strike up a conversation! Send an ask! You never know what doors it might open or whose day you might improve :)

- If you were an anon/lurker on someone’s blog and they inspired you to write/submit/start your own, sign your messages!! the common form that I see is either an emoji or [noun/context of the ask]!anon (prodigal!anon (i miss u every day), butterfly!anon, etc.) Let us know how to find and support you!! Those messages produce good brain juice. 

- The big finale: Have fun. If you’re not having fun here, maybe you could tweak something to make things enjoyable. Running a blog is like driving a car. Keep your hands on the wheel, respectfully indicate your intentions (flashing lights optional), and be safe. Poebody’s nerfect, y’know. If you make a mistake, course correct. I’m by no means perfect. Your favs aren’t either. Just do your best and have a good time :)

@rosytickles and the anon in my inbox, I hope this helps! Thank you for asking me, I’m very honored that you value my opinon/experience/advice. I apologize if I come off as preachy or aggressive, I envisioned grabbing my younger self by the lapels and shaking me vigorously while I wrote this. Probably a bad idea. 

Anywho, hope it helps. Anyone with questions, additions, or comments, my askbox is open! Just be constructive, is all I ask. 

[resinatingbeauty]

I’ve had a lot of requests from various people at different times who are just learning how to use resin to create with and wanted some tips and tricks. I have wanted to make this post for a while, but I wanted to acquire more experience myself before giving others help. This first post is just going to go over some really basic tips and tricks and subsequent posts (if they’re found helpful) will elaborate. This is for all of you who are like me and get the least amount of benefit from watching Youtube tutorials these days because EVERYONE has one, and half the time they’re drawn out for ad revenue so an hour long video will only contain 20 mins worth of information with the kicker being you can’t even fast forward through what you know or rewind through ads to get back to where you need to be. So, for those of you who hate that like me, this text post is for you.

If you’re just starting, choosing which resin you want to purchase is intimidating. Craft stores like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby rarely offer more than one or two brands, typically over priced due to the fact that they’re labeled “art resins”.

Epoxy resin is by far the easiest to start with for beginners. It is the most forgiving, has the most consistent results, most brands use the same 1:1 ratio and the overall technique is the same. I am not affiliated with these brands/companies in any way other than I have used their products and have written reviews for several on Amazon.

Start with small packages (4oz-8oz kits / 8oz & 16oz hardener + resin). A quick Amazon search for epoxy resin will give you many results. This is one of those cases where you really don’t get what you pay for- boat, tabletop, etc. epoxy will yield the same results at more reasonable prices per fluid ounce than art resins. I recommend going with brands like FanAut, Puduo, Let’s Resin, Craft Daddy, etc. which often offer kits with gloves, craft sticks / stir sticks, measuring cups, and even additives at reasonable prices. All these items are things you’ll need to start off, so any extras are appreciated. I recommend Puduo, as it is relatively inexpensive compared to similar brands, yields consistent , crystal clear results, and has a somewhat faster curing time than other epoxy resins for the price. If none of these brands ring your bell, here are the qualifiers for a “good” epoxy resin:

Self Degassing- This is pretty much the standard expectation of epoxy resin and one of the reasons it is considered forgiving for beginners. When resin and hardener are combined, gases are trapped and form air bubbles which have a tendency to multiply as you stir your mixture and the combination heats up. But it shouldn’t be taken for granted that all epoxy resin does this, so try to look for “self degassing” in the item description / label.

Self Leveling vs. Doming : Doming resin is great for the magnified look on pendants and other flat projects, but self leveling resin is where you should be starting as doming requires the build up of surface tension to achieve. While “doming “ resin may achieve this easier than others without this feature, it is pretty irrelevant if you don’t know to dome resin in the first place.

Art Resin vs Other Epoxy: Art resins make claims of being ideal or a better choice for arts & crafts, but the reality is that you can achieve the same effects from table top or boat resins such as Mas- are just as capable of casting, coating, doming etc. as art resins especially if you’re looking to take on a larger project you will pay less and get more with these brands than smaller quantities of art resins. Make sure they are crystal clear, hard type, self degassing, and self leveling. Keep in mind that cure time relates to the size of your project and the ambient temperature of the environment, so don’t waste money on products that charge more for touting faster curing time.

What about 2 part epoxy in syringes? (Ice Resin, Gorilla Glue) Personally, these pre prepared epoxy resins are more complicated than they look. You can’t save combined resin and hardener, so once you mix the two or pop the seals to both you have to use the lot of it in one shot. Ice Resin in particular is quite expensive and doesn’t offer the clear, glossy results I expected it to when I used it, so I would avoid these if you are just starting out.

Additives & Extras- Don’t waste a lot of money at the start funding your would be creations until you have at least seen one entire project through from start to finish. I made the mistake of investing in silicone molds, glitters, additives like rhinestones, craft papers, transparency films etc before I really found my niche and what I was really using epoxy for the most. There are some great deals for 100+ piece silicone mold kits that include gloves, stir sticks, silicone measuring cups, and the like available cheaply for those looking to make smaller things like jewelry, keychains, figurines etc. the one I have just linked to even includes the epoxy for under $20. These kits are offered by Amazon and even Etsy and are a great place to start as they provide you with everything you would need to create at least one full project. They are also a great activity to do with your kids (ages 10+ would probably be ideal) as you can add pretty much anything that isn’t silicone, wax, unsealed paper, alcohol, or water based into resin, which opens up a world of possibilities!

Tips & Tricks That Will Save You $

If you’re itching for purchasing pigments to add color to your resin projects, try purchasing or reusing some old or cheap mineral eye shadows. Not sure if your eye shadow is mineral based? I’m willing to bet it is, though some colors may not look the same when mixed in resin as they do on the pallets, they will color it nonetheless, just pick a small amount up on a popsicle stick or toothpick and stir it into a small batch of resin to see how it turns out. Dollar Tree eye shadows will work just as well as expensive pigments, so consider this before investing in expensive mica pigment sets!

While silicone molds are probably the easiest and are reusable, you can also use plastic molds, carve your resin block with carpentry tools or by hand-or even make your own molds! There are simple recipes utilizing dish soap and corn starch out there, or you can use silicone or even hot glue! Flexible silicone molds won’t require a mold release, but plastic and other molds will or you may end up cutting your project out. You don’t have to purchase a mold release product for this, either- olive or vegetable oil spray on a paper towel will suffice, just remember to let your mold sit for a few hours to demoisturize.

Can’t find gloves because of COVID19 hype? Finger cots are even better than gloves as they allow for more dexterity even when they get sticky, are cheaper, and readily available in bulk online!

Pretty much anything compatible with homemade “slime” can be mixed into or embedded in resin, so there is that. However, be careful how much glitter, pigment, etc you add as you can throw off the chemical balance that allows your project to cure properly. Refer to the directions included with your specific resin kit as most will tell you what ratios must be maintained for proper curing.

Everyone that works with resin knows the arch nemesis that is the bubbles. There are times where it seems like, no matter what you do, your perfect clear cast of a dandelion goes to shit because of some stray air bubbles. There are a few tricks to avoid this from the start:

Use a separate cup to measure resin and hardener. Pour the combined mixture into a fourth cup after the first 3-4 mins of stirring (half time) scraping the sides and bottom. This helps what was on the bottom get integrated into what was mixed on top. Always make sure to pour resin first when mixing and mix slowly, scraping the sides and bottom, for the time listed on your instructions. You want your mixture to be almost water consistency, clear, fluid, with little viscosity, and no streaks visible. Allow it to sit for a few minutes to natural degas and get rid of the bubbles.

Use a torch or grill lighter to pop surface bubbles. You can also do each one individually (as the grill lighter suggestion may not always be a good idea- be careful using this on large projects and molds that may ignite) with a tooth pick. Using a blow dryer or heat gun will also help bubbles rise to the surface to be popped.

Make sure that you keep contact with the bottom of your mixing cup with your stir stick-try not to lift it too much as this can introduce air into the mixture (“whipping the resin”) this can also occur if you are stirring too quickly. If you notice a lot of bubbles, let your mixture sit for a few minutes and resume stirring at a slower pace.

Make sure you start your project at a temperature of 74 degrees +, if your bottles are cold to touch, place them in a plastic bag and let them sit in hot water to warm up. You can also roll them (slowly) on a counter top.

You know, if all else fails you could always make ocean or nautical themed projects :)

That’s all for now- let me know if this helped you or someone you know working with resin or experimenting. Feel free to comment with any questions you would like answered in my next post! I also recommend the Resin Obssesion blog- they have a lot of useful information and tutorials with photos that were really helpful for me starting out!

Xo Samantha

[dogtoling]

Update Post!

hi fellow splatoons, this is a little update post concerning the blog and some other stuff that really doesn't NEED an update post in the first place, but I love writing and pretending that the things I do are super important to people so I will take every opportunity I can get.

So if you care about some of the things that happen here, boy if this isn't the post for you (but i'll save those of you that dont by putting a read more here...)

First things first; I am back! (I hope.) If anyone noticed I was Literally Gone pretty much for the whole summer, I was stuck in 5am->4pm work limbo and spent my free time decomposing, but now that things are a little bit less Like That i may be able to do more here...

Updates in tagging a few minor tag updates are incoming, for anyone that cares about them. Asks will now be under #mailbox from now on because yeah i could not think of a better name. But that's cool, because now (or from now on, I should say) they will all be under the same tag

All art (including mine and other people's art) will be under #gallery, but i'll be tagging my own as #dodo art on top of it all, so it also serves as somewhat of a fresh start. #friend art is going to become #friend list which is only a reference to the iconic chirpy chips song, and as usual, its only purpose is to make my friends and some mutuals go happy face.

My text posts (including this one) will still be sorted under #rambles as they have been in the past, I don't really see a reason to change that one. The same goes for headcanons, specifically bigger Splatoon headcanon/biology posts, which will still be going under #squidthoughts as they have been in the past. This tag has usually included not only my bigger posts but also smaller posts and food for thought that escalates...

with that being said, I do have some bigger posts that I sometimes spend hours formatting (including things such as the Kraken post which is a comic form, and things like the specials post which is just basically an essay). These are currently sorted with the smaller posts in squidthoughts, because to my knowledge there's not so many smaller posts that it makes finding the big ones a chore - but what do you guys think? let me know if you'd like a separate tag for bigger posts.

Other Stuff, mostly about art

I post art here so rarely at this point that people don't even know that this is PRIMARILY an art account, and I don't know whether that's depressing or actually hilarious. It's a little bit of both. And just as that is a little bit of both, it is also true that this blog is BOTH an art blog and a headcanon- or speculation blog. Bear in mind for the hundredth time that this is not a theory blog, nor is this one of those blogs that sticks to canon like glue (and that's also why this is not a theory blog). If anything, I swerve as far away from canon as possible if need be, because this blog's purpose has pretty much always been to translate Splatoon into something that could actually happen as it's (supposedly) meant to be occurring in the real world. think of it more in the sense of "splatoon but real".

which means that as long as canon events and other things in the games are able to stretch far enough out, my squids are not literally going to be metamorphizing liquid entities (as they canonically are). i just feel the need to periodically echo that... but depending on how far the gameplay and the developers are going to take that canon and how deep they can go with that mechanic, I may eventually have to take that plunge too and that is essentially when this blog dies. LOL (Or rather, probably just changes lanes. Who knows.) Speaking of art and my squids, even though I don't post here very often (MUCH much less than what i actually draw), yes my way of drawing Cephalings changes all the time. and i'm not even sorry but if anyone needed any clarification of how inconsistent i am, there we go! this is because I am pretty much always reassessing my headcanons on inklings and how they work, trying to find that perfect balance between squid and like, Splatoon, and also just trying to have fun drawing. It's an endless cycle really.

SPEAKING OF headcanons (final segway i promise is that even the word for that?), I really haven't even been putting those in here huh. yeah i sure haven't. Well, there is a partial reason for that... i've been working on a proper splatoon headcanon document masterpost for myself since some time in April? Yeah, there's been somewhat of a cog thrown in the wheels of that throughout summer, but either way it does have 130 pages and 40,000 words. I still haven't made up my mind on whether I'm going to publish it anywhere or not (it's an ever-changing document, so that's a 50/50), but that's where my rambles have been going, and honestly I would recommend something like that for anyone because it does help massively to get all of your squid lore in one place!

that's pretty much it i think. if reading this made you think thoughts be sure to let me know those thoughts, thx for reading love u.

[gryfon-spanish-werewolf]

Spirit

@jabs-wocks​ made a comment about being in the mood for some angst and @justlookatthosesausages​ was talking about some post F2 ending/altered canon stuff the other day so I was inspired. I also wanted to make it October prompt-esque, so this one was about the word ‘Spirit’, which eventually just became the title

Edit: Also tumblr mobile? Hate you my guy, you literally deleted the entire text as I posted it, I saw you do it, so I’m here on my desktop. [Sigh] So here’s take 2.

-----

Perhaps life would never go back to normal in Arendelle. Though, how could it? The discovery of a decades long secret? The realization that the country they loved so dearly was capable of cruelty? And what to do with the Northuldra? Unite in shared blood despite history? Make reparations but go separate ways?

These are the questions that loom over Elsa and Anna in the weeks after their adventure to the Enchanted Forest.

Despite requests to stay, Elsa did return to Arendelle. Considering the circumstances, the Northuldra didn’t take offense, and welcomed her whenever she could take time away to visit and learn. But Anna sees how the days wore on her sister, rushing this way and that, rarely ever pausing to rest.

Which isn’t new, Anna sighs, watching as Elsa sets down her quill and leaves the office, closing the door behind her. A small squeak comes from the floor and Anna sees poor Bruni plop back down after launching himself towards the gap in the doorway. He’d been a second too late.

“Aww, are you okay?” Anna kneels down to check on him. “You’ll have to forgive her, she’s got a lot on her mind.”

Bruni chirps again, giving Anna a smile and an excited pitter-patter of feet. “Oh, of course,” Anna nods, “I should have known you’d already forgiven her. A wise and powerful spirit.”

The little salamander sparks magenta flame at the praise and darts away, wiggling himself under the door and scampering after Elsa.

Though the Enchanted Forest was many miles away, the spirits are often around, and have complete freedom to roam Arendelle castle. When they visit they spend the most time around the two Fifth Spirits, acknowledging Anna as one of their own. Some are more confined than others however: the Nokk could not leave the water without Elsa’s help, but it was a pleasant enough companion to sit with by the fjord.

Anna finds the Nokk there now, observing the ships coming and going.

“It’s nice isn’t it?” Anna asks. The Nokk turns it’s watery head her way, snorting a greeting. “I used to watch them from my window all the time.” Anna takes a seat next to the horse who is lounging on the sand, where the surf laps at the shore. “I’ll bet you used to watch ships come and go near Ahtohallan, before the Forest closed up.” She brings her chin to her knees. The sea washes against the spirit’s body, absorbed at regular intervals to swirl around it’s flank and belly. “Maybe without the Mist you would have seen my parents’.”

The Nokk glances up at her, attentive. Anna gazes back, trying to find answers in it’s bright blue eyes. “Would you have saved them?” The Nokk’s ear flicks but it’s expression doesn’t change. Anna chuckles to herself. “From the stories Elsa told, perhaps you wouldn’t have. You were trapped and angry and scared in the Forest. Maybe you would have seen them as just one more threat.”

A whiny is her reply, and while Anna may still be learning about the Nokk, she’s been around flesh and blood horses enough to know that the creature in front of her does look a little remorseful.

“It’s alright, I don’t blame you.” Anna leans back and looks skyward, at the clouds racing overhead. “And I know that you would now, even if we’re both uncertain of back then. Elsa may have been at the reins, but from what I heard, it was you that sped faster than a tidal wave to make it back here before Arendelle was destroyed. And your power that helped her hold the water back. I will always be grateful to you for saving my… our home.”

The Nokk lowers it’s head and rests it near her knee, letting out a long sigh that sends ripples across the shallow waves and scatters sand towards her hands. This time, it’s eyes search hers.

Anna takes pity on the spirit. “It’s okay. You couldn’t be in two places at once. Besides,” she emphasized, “you hadn’t met me yet and the dam was in the opposite direction of Arendelle. How were you to know?”

A raising of voices sounds over the wall, a commotion in the courtyard.

“Kristoff must be back,” Anna says, rising. “I should make sure everything’s alright.” The Nokk blinks slowly in farewell and dissolves back into the sea.

She was right - Kristoff had returned. As Anna enters the gates she spies Sven already being fed and watered by an enthusiastic Olaf. The reindeer looks tired, no doubt riding hard to get back before sundown. Even the proximity of Olaf’s carrot nose doesn’t seem to perk him up.

And though it was Sven who’d done all the running, Kristoff is the one who looks the most weary. He and Elsa are deep in conversation as Anna approaches, and while she’s not yet close enough to hear, she can see by the slump in his shoulders that he’s not happy.

Ever since they returned from the Forest, Kristoff has volunteered his time connecting with the Northuldra, helping them however they needed as they adjusted to life free of the Mist. Additionally, he began serving as Arendelle’s unofficial ambassador when Elsa couldn’t be around herself. At first Elsa had tried to dissuade him, saying he needed to recover from his own experiences in the Forest, that he didn’t need to serve Arendelle in a capacity he wasn’t comfortable with. He just laughed and tugged on his sash, saying, “Well you never know, Elsa. They might just be my family too.”

The travels were clearly wearing on him, but Kristoff seemed to want to keep moving, keep occupied, always doing something with his feet and his hands.

But Anna doesn’t miss the way he sinks gratefully into Elsa’s warm embrace. Doesn’t miss the way they hug tight. How Elsa disappears behind his broad shoulder, taking a moment to hide in it’s shadow. How Kristoff’s hands pull her close, as though to remind him of something.

“It will be dark soon,” Anna hears Kristoff say as they separate. Elsa turns her head to the west, then up into the hills.

“I’ll be back before dinner,” Elsa says without looking back. Kristoff nods and steps back.

A horse, already prepared, is brought to Elsa which she mounts and steers towards the gates. She’s about to leave when Kristoff calls her name softly from the ground. “Elsa?” Anna is nearly level with them now, but pauses at his tone. “It’s okay if you’re late. We… we understand. Just,” he shuffles on his feet before laying a hand on the horse’s side and meeting her eye. “Take care of yourself, promise?”

Elsa’s eyes glisten for a moment before she nods. “I’ve made a lot of promises recently,” she replies, her voice strained. “But I’ll keep this one.”

She flicks the reins and departs. Kristoff doesn’t linger either, heading back into the castle with Olaf and Sven.

Anna looks between the two groups: at the rapidly disappearing back of her sister and at the somber march of the three heading home. She puts her hands on her hips.

“Honestly,” she huffs, “no one around here knows how to take a break!”

She hears a chittering whistle above her head. Laughter, strange for certain, but a sound Anna has come to love.

“Glad you agree, Gale,” Anna smiles as Gale weaves around her clothes in greeting. Another glance tells Anna that Kristoff and the others were nearly inside. Elsa on the other hand had vanished as soon as she left town. Anna bites her lip as Gale swirls pensively around her. “I know I should probably check on Kristoff but… he does have Sven and Olaf. He- he’ll be alright, for now.” She points a finger at Gale, “But remind me, okay? If I forget that’s on you.”

Gale titters in a way that can only be sarcastic, but it only makes Anna grin wider. “Sure, sure, if I really do forget then I’ll let you toss me up and down in a whirlwind until I remember. But I think you forget that I’ve gotten pretty good at coasting your wind. It won’t be like the first time.”

At this Gale slows, almost bashful, and presses into Anna’s cheek like a cat. “It’s alright! You were just being cautious! Protecting the Forest and all. Geez,” she blew a little air of her own at the wind spirit, making it chitter that laugh again. “What’s with you spirits? So sentimental.”

She sizes up the rest of the courtyard. The horsekeeper is heading in now that his job is over, and the rest of the animals were locked away. Gale races forward, toying with a latch to one of the horse stables.

“No!” Anna reprimands. “I don’t need to take a horse. And especially since-,” she falters. “Just… walk with me? It’ll be good to have someone to talk to.”

Gale floats for a moment, then heads back to tug on Anna’s sleeve, urging her forward. “Alright, alright!” Anna laughs breathlessly, letting herself be led. “I’m coming! Aren’t I the one who invited you?”

They don’t have to travel far, Anna knows where Elsa was heading.

The sun is a golden wedge on the mountain’s rocky sides, sending deep purple shadows towards the east. There’s a clearing in the forest up ahead, one Anna knows well. She passes Elsa’s horse, giving it a wide berth so as not to spook the timid creature.

She hears the sobs she expected, but the sound still cuts her, deeper than any sword.

Elsa is on her knees before the towering headstones of their parents. She hunches over herself, arms crossed against her chest, trying to contain, still, after all these years, the grief and sorrow that live inside her ribs. Her pale hair hangs over her face, which is only a few inches from the ground.

Today has been hard.

Anna knows that Elsa had likely started standing, likely started with talking. Talking until the emotions welled up like the tide, sloshing back and forth and knocking her off balance until something tipped and it all spilled out, scattering her words and knocking her legs out from underneath her.

Anna knows because she’s seen it before: the first, second, and third time Anna took Elsa to see their parent’s grave after the Thaw.

But Anna also knows that that isn’t why Elsa is here this time.

Anna approaches and gazes at the earth before her. It’s been well kept, but of course it has. Just enough time has passed for new grass to grow, despite the soft nip of winter at the end of the night. Gifts and decorations still adorn the site, fresh flowers, a stuffed reindeer, a whittled sunflower, and many, many Arendelle flags.

A sound comes Elsa then. Raw. Agonized. Keening.

Inhuman.

Inhuman in that no human being should ever sound like the weight of their despair is crushing them, breaking them, hollowing them out.

Anna is at her side immediately, and she knows, she knows what will happen but she can’t stop herself. The sight of her sister’s suffering sends trills through her very soul, un-ignorable.

She places a hand on Elsa’s shoulder, in comfort, and watches it go right through. Ethereal. Translucent.

Ghostly.

Elsa grieves in front of a third headstone in the clearing, one that bears Anna’s name, and continues to weep.

Anna finds no purchase on her sister’s form. She hasn’t since the first day she got back from the Forest. She walked those miles by herself, alone, the spirits gone or busy with the living. When she finally returned to Arendelle --after the damn, after the flood, after… the dark, dark waters-- she saw Elsa and Kristoff and ran forward. Forgetting herself, wanting only to greet them and love them.

They walked right through her embrace, like she wasn’t even there.

Because she wasn’t.

Bruni found her two days later, on the roof above Elsa’s room. Unwilling to stay too close but unable to tear herself away from her friends, her family.

Her life.

That the spirits could see her was a small comfort. Very, very small. But at least she wasn’t alone anymore. She’d had plenty of that.

Anna recoils as Elsa shudders through an exhale, her next breath wet and clogged and shallow. Snowflakes start to fall from the sky though there are no clouds, swirling and sticking to grass and fallen leaves. Elsa’s control is slipping, and Anna can’t take it anymore.

“Gale-,” Anna’s voice breaks. “Please...”

The wind spirit knows what she is asking.

It takes a few seconds, but soon leaves and soft grass stems swirl gently around Elsa’s body, dancing in air, pressing gently against her hands to coax them free of their white knuckled grieving. “Gale?” Elsa asks breathlessly, and Anna feels the need to cry herself. Her sister’s voice is hoarse and fragile. Weak like a fractured eggshell. Flower petals wipe away the tears that soak Elsa’s cheeks. Gale tips Elsa’s head up as more objects join the bobbing air current, drawn from the forest and hills beyond.

“What are you...?” Elsa begins, but as a shape takes form she gasps, fresh tears brimming in her eyes.

A simple crown weaves itself into creation before her. Sunflower petals interlace with stalks of wheat and flashes of red maple leaves, bound together with precision and care. The purple head of a crocus flower, the last of the year, or perhaps the first of the new, is the final piece added before the adornment floats toward Elsa’s head and settles atop her hair, as gentle as a mother’s hand.

Or a sister’s.

Recognition widens Elsa’s eyes and she whirls around, staggering upright on unsteady feet.

“Anna!?”

The desperation, the hope, rings out like glass on the brink of shattering. Anna feels her breath catch in her throat as her sister looks at her for the first time since the ice boat ferried her away down the side of a cliff. She reaches out like she did before, even takes a step forward.

Until she realizes Elsa’s eyes are still searching. Looking past her.

After a few moments where Elsa’s heart hammers in her chest and Anna’s tries to recall what that might be like, Elsa’s shoulders drop and it’s a folding, a shrinking, an inward sinking. She is smaller than Anna has ever seen her.

But...

Elsa takes the crocus flower from the crown, plucks a sunflower petal and a soft head of wheat, and with a careful weaving of her own she protects them in ice. Smaller, but no less special than the frozen star atop the Christmas tree years ago, and cradled with just as much care.

Elsa holds the creation to her chest and Anna feels Gale nestle around her shoulders.

Both sisters speak at the same time.

“Thank you. I love you. I miss you.”

[skaldish]

(Discerning Dubious Heathen Resources: A Guide by Skaldish)

Not all Heathens are academics, but we all want to develop a fulfilling practice. For most, that means learning from books, articles, and groups. But how can we be sure a resource is credible? And how can we separate the useful from the dubious?

Fortunately, discernment is pretty easy once you know what to look for. Here are some signs that your Heathen resource may be dubious:

It Lacks Source Transparency

Some Heathen resources will dive into “How to be a Heathen” without mentioning where their information comes from, which can dupe you into believing it’s something it’s not. A transparent resource will acknowledge its information’s origins, whether it’s from a person’s personal practice, a living folk tradition, reconstructed from old texts, etc. This can be done through citations or disclaimers.

Should you throw out resources that aren’t open about their origins? Not necessarily. But it does means you can’t fully trust what that resource is leading you to believe.

It Frames Heathenry as a High-Demand Religion

@north-of-annwn introduced me to the concept of a High-Demand Religion. To quote:

A religion can be considered “high demand” if it involves any or all of the following:

Intense demands of time and resources

Emphasis on leadership

Orthodox belief

Scriptural inerrancy or literalism

Strict behavioral codes including rules of diet, dress, tithing, education, sexual practices, media and technology use, language, social involvement, and marriage.

(Myers, Summer Anne, “Visualizing the Transition Out of High-Demand Religions” (2017). LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations. 321)

Not all religions act like high-demand Christianity. Heathenry, with its origins in folkloric practice, isn’t inherently a High-Demand Religion and is not required to look like one.

It Conflates Healing from Christian Trauma as Heathen Practice

Trauma caused by Christianity is very real and deserves proper attention and space. However, it’s not a cultural staple of Heathenry, nor is it even an experience shared by all Heathens. A good resource will help you foster an identity wholly separate from Christianity, not in direct opposition to it.

It Suggests Heathenry has a Certain “Look”

I’ve rarely seen a resource state it’s the “one true way”, but some will definitely talk as though they define what all of Heathenry is, or at least their sect of it. In reality, Heathenry varies between groups and has pretty much always done so...and the values of one group do not define the values of all Heathenry. This is why pulling from multiple sources and authors builds a stronger foundation for your practice than using just one.

It Contains Morally Questionable Content

A part of me is baffled I’m even writing this, but you’d be surprised the kind of bullshit authors will parade around. Prime example: Galina Krasskova portrays Loki as a pedophile in one of her devotionals because she has UPG that his wife Sigyn is a child bride.

This goes for all paganism: Mystical experiences are not a “Get out of Jail Free” card for accountability. You’re allowed to hold authors accountable if their content is questionable.

It Overstates Academic and Historical Merit

The opposite of lacking source transparency is the idea that a valid Heathen practice is one built ONLY upon historical or “pre-Christian” evidence, applying even to UPGs. It makes academic prowess the proof of faith, rather than practice or even belief itself. It also discredits modern Heathen practices and lineaged Heathen practices that were passed down from historical ones.

Academia itself isn’t bad, and academic papers are some of the most reliable sources on Heathenry out there. But anyone treating academia as the source of legitimacy for a Heathen practice is operating off of a standard not required in Heathenry.

It Contains White Supremacist Dogwhistles and Virtues

We knew this one was coming. Let’s take a few examples for a speed run:

Emphasis on bloodlines/heritage/race

The Nine Noble Virtues

Claiming Heathenry is a closed religion

Implies a shared experience of whiteness

Emphasis on War Culture

Glorification of Ragnarok

Glorification of Valhalla

Obsession with Vikings

Idealization of Odin, demonization or pointed absence of Loki

Chosen vs. Unchosen, Us vs.Them narratives

Innangard and Utangard (requires context)

Odinism/Odinist

Tribalism/Tribalist

Folkish, Volkische, “the Folk”

“Metagenetics”, “Blood and Soil”, “Heritage not Hate”

Nordicism

Social issues are “politics” and “politics don’t belong in Heathenry”

The Black Sun

SS Symbol

The Triple Horn (logo of the Asatru Folk Assembly, a hate group.)

“Anti-Immigration”

Racialism

White supremacy is a real issue in Heathenry, and dogwhistles have become so subtle that many can be written off as harmless or unrelated to white supremacy...which is exactly the point.

Ask yourself this: Does the book, group, or resource state or imply that white people have lost their pre-Christian roots, and that they can reclaim them through the brotherhood of Heathenry? If so, then you have found the introductory narrative of white supremacy.*

Remember that a trustworthy resource on Heathenry will not prey on bitter feelings you may have coming into Heathenry. Instead it’ll give you the room and tools to build your practice regardless of where your come from or the religion you were previously in. Your inherent worth and wellbeing are important and should not be leveraged against you.

The front-line defense against white supremacist sources is Googling the author of your resource. A few popular and easily-found authors out there like Edred Thorrson/Stephen Flowers are active white supremacists, and even if a book of theirs doesn’t talk about race, their ideals bleed through their works.

*As a side note, many pagans turn to family origins to inform their path, including people with ancestry in Nordic countries. Just because someone comes to Heathenry this way doesn’t automatically make them a white supremacist or a sympathizer. The narrative only begins to darken when bloodlines are used to measure the legitimacy of someone’s Heathen practice.

That being said, this post is not suggesting you should point out the white supremacist red flags in other people when you see them. Rather, this post is meant to help you identify when the narrative tries to prey on YOU. Regular people aren’t equipped to reverse radicalization in other people, no matter what point it’s at, and trying to do so will do more harm than good. Please exercise good personal discernment in all situations.