#5 - the most important reason of them all: i have a gut feeling

[mari-lair]

wha wha wha wha wha wha wha

what is this Mar-Chan??? what what what

I SAID I DON'T HAVE PROOF, KITTY.

I CAN NOT EXPLAIN MYSELF, WHY MUST YOU EXPOSE MY HOT TAKES?

#Don't get me wrong #regardless if he end up having a crush or not #i am a firm believer he loves and cheerish akane #and that akane is EXTREMELY important for teru #i stand by all the analyses i made on them #is just that?? #in my head at least #he is an absolute social dissaster #it would make way more sense if he didn't have a crush #he just mentioned that and it snowballed cause 1- he adore messing with akane #2- akane is his only friend and the guy is SURROUNDED by romance I'm sure it rubbed off #3 - just the sheer awkwardness or smugness he have when he talks about 'liking' aoi is suspicious considering how open he is with love #4 - he is absolutely planning something with aoi #and this give somewhat of an excuse (??) to hang out with her #5 - the most important reason of them all: i have a gut feeling #(which i know is not an explanation so i never did an analysis on it uygughu) #BUT if he does actually have a crush #which i wouldn't mind #i think akane would be the only option that made sense? #i never cared if terukane is canon #i love them regardless #and i'll still ship them if teru ain't got a crush in canon #cause i looove the interpretation that Teru is hopelessly gay for akane #i am a simple woman

[saudadeko]

ADHD tips from a girlie who was diagnosed in her late twenties and has had little to no support since and is being so brave about it:

1) Make it easy, make it accessible, and make it appealing. If anything this is the most important thing, all tips going forward are based around this concept.

2) That thing you think would help you but you haven’t bought/done it yet because you’re technically surviving without it? Buy it, you need it. It doesn’t matter if people around you might think it’s wasteful or that you’re lazy, you’re not, just do it, trust me.

3) Expanding on tip #2, if you’re like me and eggs are your main source of protein because they’re quick and easy and feeding yourself is a near insurmountable task- buy yourself an electric egg cooker, make a bunch of hard boiled eggs and keep them in your fridge for quick and easy protein to add to any meal (handful of crackers, a hard boiled egg and a banana? 5 star meal right there. Or mash them up with some mayo for egg salad sandwiches). Other easy proteins include: potstickers (put them in instant ramen), edamame (they have microwaveable snack packs), chickpeas (put in salads!), beans (can of beans microwaved with shredded cheese and some tortilla chips), peanut butter (with crackers, apple and cheese, adult lunchable style), and tofu (cut into cubes, throw them into a ziplock with some seasoning and potato starch, shake that shit up and bake it until crispy).

4) Spend a little extra (if you are able) on daily use items that excite you, it will make you more likely to remember/want to do said daily task. For example: the only reason I remember to use sunscreen is because I bought some fancy japanese sunscreen that smells like roses so I get excited to use it, same for laundry detergent and body wash! there’s a gajillion different body wash scents out there, switch it up!

5) If there’s a task you continuously struggle with take a moment to think about which part of the task is making it difficult, it could be something even as small as “I don’t put my dirty clothes in the hamper because my hamper has a lid on it and lifting the lid is one step too many-”, sounds a little stupid huh? But trust your gut, it’s not stupid if it works. See tip #2 and BUY A HAMPER WITHOUT A LID.

6) If you are having trouble starting a task, break the task down further, sometimes the way I start a task is just by going “Ok step 1) stand up-“ and so forth. Don’t worry about the task as a whole just take it one step at a time.

7) If you’re halfway through a task and have to stop, leave it out. All this, “Put things away when you’re done with them.” is bullshit. you will be much more likely to finish the task if restarting it is easier because you left it out plus it’s a visual reminder. You can also create faux deadlines like “I gotta finish this project before my friend comes over on tuesday because after I finish it I can clean off the dinner table.” etc.

8) It’s okay to outsource tasks and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, humans are designed to ask for, and to require help (what do babies do when they’re first born?? cry for help!!) ask for help and receive help without shame, if it makes your life better, you are WINNING.

9) If you have one big overwhelming task that you think you need to get done before anything else, but you feel motivated to do other tasks, do those other tasks first, it’s okay. Otherwise in all likelihood (at least in my case) you’ll put everything off until the last minute and then have to do said overwhelming task and those other tasks won’t get done at all. Doing those smaller tasks also lowers the mental load and you can use them as a motivation launch pad to tackle bigger things.

10) If you notice you tend to not put something away/forget to do something, perhaps consider moving and storing the item closer to where it ultimately ends up or where you are more likely to see it. For example, my makeup, pills, and mail are all stored on my desk because that’s where I tend to do my makeup, take my pills and deal with my mail. I used to store my pills in my bathroom medicine cabinet but all too often I would forget because they weren’t in my line of sight. Now that they’re on my desk, I have multiple chances per day to pass by them, go “oh I gotta take those.” and take them.

11) Open storage, open storage, OPEN STORAGE.

12) Motivation can look like all kinds of things. sometimes the only reason I get out of bed is because I remember I have a fun snack and I get to go eat it if I get up. It’s okay to lean into those simple “animal-brain” type motivators, you’ll eat because then you can use that fun new kitchen gadget you got a daiso? Neat. you’ll shower because then you can paint your nails that fun new color you got? Fantastic. You’ll go to the dmv and do that annoying thing because you’ll take yourself out for boba after? Superb. Lean-IN to those small motivators, they aren’t stupid or childish, they are VITAL.

13) Don’t buy into the cult of “if it’s worth doing, do it properly” it’s guaranteed to set you up for failure. If it’s worth doing, do it in whatever capacity you are able to. I put sunscreen on once a day because that’s fucking better than not doing it at all and I sure as all hell will fail at reapplying it multiple times a day. If it’s worth doing, do it half-assed babieeee.

Go forth and prosper!!! xoxo ✌️🩵

#adhd #actually adhd #living with adhd #adhd tips #felt like writing these out for reference as needed

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hello I was wondering if you had advice on how to continue writing a story I start writing books but can't seem to finish them

Starting Stories But Not Finishing Them

There are a few reasons why you might be struggling to finish the stories you start. We'll count them down, because the biggest one is the most important one...

#5 - You're Getting Distracted

Writer brains get very excited by new ideas. Even when we're in the middle of a story we love and are excited about, we can lose all of our focus and motivation when the right idea comes along. But there are other things that can distract us, too... anything you like to do for fun or relaxation, other projects, school and work stuff, social stuff... anything you might be thinking about or spending time on that isn't your story can derail your forward motion. And sometimes it can't be helped, so you have to do some prioritizing and see where your mental energy and effort needs to be going. If there's nothing more important than your story going on, get your mind back on your story. And if new ideas pop up, write them down in a notebook or an "idea" file to save for later. Would Rather Be Doing Other Things

#4 - You're Getting Tripped Up on Quality

The more we write, and the more we read, the more we start to realize that what we're writing isn't quite where we want it to be quality-wise, and that can be really discouraging, especially if you feel like your story has to be perfect in the first draft. But the thing to remember is that quality is the result of two things: polishing and practice. Whatever level your writing is at, no amount of polishing is going to get you above that level. Only practice can do that, and practice means starting and finishing as many stories as you can. But... whatever level you're at, your first draft isn't necessarily going to reflect that level of quality because it's a rough draft. This is why we edit and polish. So, focus on finishing the story, then worry about polishing it up. And don't give yourself a hard time because you're not writing at a higher level than you're at.

Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality #3 - You've Lost Motivation/Inspiration

Sometimes you just lose the spark of inspiration that made you want to write the story in the first place. Maybe you're just bored. Maybe you've forgotten what first excited you about the story. Maybe you're just not in a writing mood. Sometimes, doing exercises to rekindle your interest in the story can help. Try:

Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists #2 - You're stuck on Something That Isn't Working

Stories are like a house of cards in that one misplaced “card” can bring the whole thing crashing down. Sometimes you get stuck because an element or event didn’t quite work, and you can feel in your gut that something’s not right, so the wind completely leaves your sails. It's not that there's a problem with the story, it's just that there's a problem with the path it's on. Try going back through what you've already written and look for the element that isn't pulling its weight. Can you identify the moment where the story loses its fizz? Maybe the addition of a character that's not pulling their weight and is dragging the story down. Maybe a subplot that is cluttering up the story or drawing attention away from the main plot. Or maybe a scene (or several) that don't really add to the story. If you can figure out what's draining your story's energy, you can usually start writing forward again. #1 - You Don't Know Where Your Story is Going

This is the BIG ONE. This is the one that is the culprit 99% of the time for newer writers, and the reason it happens is because newer writers are less familiar with plot and story structure. Your story's plot is the sequence of events that makes up the narrative, and this sequence of events is driven by a conflict. That conflict could be an external conflict (like having to defeat an evil sorceress... aka plot-driven), an internal conflict (like being conflicted between what you want and what someone else wants for you... aka character-driven), or a combination of both. Your story's structure is the order and placement of your story's events.

The type of story you're telling and the way you want to tell it will decide what kind of plot points fill out this framework. The rising action will be kicked off by a catalyst/inciting incident. The climax may be preceded by a dark moment. The denouement may be followed by a final image. It's up to you to plot that out.

Basic Story Structure Plot Driven vs Character Driven Stories Understanding Goals and Conflict Fleshing Out Plot Ideas Creating a Detailed Story Outline

*** However, if you do choose to plot out your story using a known story structure guide, like Save the Cat! or the Snowflake Method, just remember you don't have to stick to it exactly. Always do what works best for your story.

Also: even accomplished writers who long ago mastered plot and story structure can still struggle with knowing where their story is going. That's because stories can change dramatically as you write them, and sometimes you get to the middle of your story and realize it's not going where you thought it was. That can lead to a "back to square one" moment that can be frustrating for any writer, but sitting down to do a little bit of plotting almost always helps you get back on track.

I hope this helps!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

Visit my FAQ

Find answers fast on my Master List of Top Posts

Go to ko-fi.com/wqa to buy me coffee or see my commissions

#writing tips #writeblr #writing community #writers of tumblr #writing help #writing advice #wqaadvice

[pleaseeeimjustagirl]

Your Physical Glow Up 

Most of us when trying to level up are very excited to work on the physical aspect. I know I am. I'm excited about finally getting my dream body, skin, and hair. I have been working so hard this month on being intentional with my habits so I can attain my goals. So in today's blog post, I want to break down the things you should focus on to enhance your physical appearance I will be making more in-detail blog posts about each point<3.

Diet 

This is the most important thing to me that we should all focus on whether you are trying to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain. Your diet can affect a lot. Having a bad diet can affect your gut health causing uncomfortable bloating it can affect your skin giving you bad acne and so many other issues. Depending on your goal try to find a diet that best fits what you're going for that can be intuitive eating, vegan, paleo, keto, or whatever other diets you might want to follow. Watch YouTube videos do your research on the diets also find out how many calories you should be eating daily. Always consult your doctor especially if you have medical issues. WATER I know some girlies aren’t big fans of water lol but you need water! I wish I could put a bigger emphasis on the need for water it's a must especially when it comes to your skin and overall body health. If you don't like drinking water you can put lemons or other fruits in your water. My favorite item to use to give my water a boost of flavor is flavored packets they sell them every where and they are very low in calories ranging from 0-10 Cals. Finally, your gut health I know you have been hearing about this all over tik tok this topic is so deep ill be making a separate post for it but yes gut health is so important it can affect our physical appearance causing us to look bloated or inflamed. So do your research on how to improve your gut health and expect a post soon <3.

Exercise 

Get your body moving babe! Exercise can be fun find a form of exercise that makes you feel good and that you enjoy. I think the reason why a lot of us do not enjoy working out is because we are doing what everyone else is doing instead of doing what makes us happy. Some people might love HIIT workouts and you might like something more low-impact like pilates and the next girl could like walking 5 miles every day. Figure out what best suits you dibble and dabble in different forms of exercise. And yes I know sometimes we will have to do exercise we don’t like to get a certain look I recently started weight training at first I did not like it but now I love ittt! It makes me feel so good and I have been seeing results and the more results I see the harder I want to go in the gym. Also, you do not have to pay for memberships to be able to do pilates and yoga YouTube has a lot of amazing women who will get you right. So look at your goals figure out what aligns with them and be consistent.

Rest

Sleep is very important and the most overlooked. You need to get at least 7 hours of sleep every night. Start training your body to sleep more no more late nights. Of course, staying up here and there is understandable but you shouldn’t be staying up and going to sleep by 3 am every single day. Take it easy allow yourself to rest! Do not overwork yourself to achieve your goals. With patience, you will reach your goals in the blink of an eye, and you’ll be where you want to be.

Skincare 

First figure out what skincare type you have and the type of products that are best for your skin. I have hyperpigmentation and dark spots it's not extremely bad but I do not like it and would like my skin to be one color and clear. So I did some research on what I could try to get the skin that I wanted. I recently started using Kojic acid, Cosrx, MediCube, and Neutrogena. Also, sunscreen is important for all of us to use. I'm a black girl if you haven't realized yet lol but growing up I heard black people do not need sunscreen yesss we do! I recently started getting into anti-aging skin care as well still doing my research. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be youthful you can't stop aging but you can slow it down.

These were the basic things to focus on when trying to physically level up if you want me to go more in-depth let me know. I'll be making posts on each separately over the next couple of weeks.

I'm open to any comments or private messages if you can relate and please let me know any further topics you want me to cover<3

#becoming that girl #becoming her #healthy living #healthy diet #healthy eating #wellness #health and wellness #wellness era #wellbeing #green juice girl #clean girl #that girl #pink pilates princess #pink pilates girl #wonyoungism #that girl lifestyle #that girl energy #that girl routine #diet #dream girl #it girl energy #self love #self care #glow up #it girl

[sholmeser]

another thing that bugs me is how people consistently portray kazuma as fucking hating baroks guts post-canon which he just? wouldn’t? and i feel like this is kind of obvious after this scene following court.

obviously barok’s actions have hurt kazuma in an irreversible way. they hurt him so deeply that it fundamentally changed his life alongside him as a person, and that isn’t something that just goes away in one afternoon. but kazuma is mature enough to accept the fact that when genshin was convicted barok was in an incredibly emotional, state that was easily-exploitable, and that is just what stronghart did: he twisted barok’s actions to fall in like exactly like he wanted them to while barok was none the wiser. he can’t be blamed for that, but his actions did result in the death of the most important person in kazuma’s life. and while he can’t blame barok for rashness during an understandably very turbulent time for him (this would be so fucking hypocritical because 2-5 trial was. you know. [gestures vaguely] That), he is allowed to be angry at the fact that barok’s conviction led to his father’s death. that’s completely fair. but it doesn’t mean he still hates barok the way that he used to.

i think this interpretation stems from kazuma’s attitude during the trial, because a lot of people will immediately equate emotional instability to outright immaturity. the trial was obviously incredibly difficult for…basically everyone involved, in many different ways (barok, yuujin, daley, and even ryuunosuke), but it very clearly affected kazuma the hardest. he was a fucking mess during the proceedings. which, again, is completely understandable: his entire worldview has quite literally been flipped on its head. his entire reason for living was destroying barok and avenging his father and he suddenly doesn’t have that anymore and he has to deal with the fact that this man who he hates so much never did anything wrong. he has to accept the fact that his father was supposed to make it home and just barely didn’t. and he understandably flips out because! again! this is an incredible amount of information to process! and he does act very immaturely more than once during the trial! and ryuunsouke calls him out on this! because he is quite literally having a mental breakdown! but after the fact! when all is said and done! HE DOES NOT HATE BAROK THE WAY SOME OF YOU THINK HE DOES!!!! because while he showed immaturity during the trial that does not mean he really is like that, and that’s why ryuunosuke’s final line here is so important: he’s immediately able to recognize this change in kazuma because he’s been changed so fundamentally over the course of just a few short hours. but he remains a rational person at his core

#likr i get that its haha funny to have kazuma dunk on the big bad racist man but i do think that that interpretation kind of. um. #ignores every shred of his character development in 2-5 #maybe just me though ! eye dee kay ! #ace attorney #dgs spoilers #kazuma asougi #barok van zieks #02 #baroaso #asobaro #< i guess not shippy this is mostly just meta #myne

[ecargmura]

Pokemon Horizons Episode 25 Review - The Grand Finale Of The First Chapter

Wow, they went all out for the grand finale of the first chapter. Everything’s so action-packed, fast-paced and there are some satisfactory conclusions mixed in as well. Nothing feels too rushed and the build up for future events is present as well. I cannot decide which episode of the Liko and Roy’s Departure chapter was the best, but I cannot deny that this episode was amazing.

Right from the get-go, everyone’s moving around and battling. Friede gets a battle. Liko and Roy gets a battle. Sango and Onyx gets some spotlight. I can’t believe OLM actually had guts to be able to fit everything into one episode without the need to gloss over important detail like what they did with Episode 23. The Friede vs. Amethio battle finally got a conclusion after four rounds of teasing around. Friede was basically holding back all this time because he’s clearly a very strong and strategic battler. He looked as if he was going to lose to Amethio, but decides to use Terastalizing to essentially get the type advantage and beat Amethio since Ceruledge is part Ghost-type. It’s weird how Terastal can be used in Galar, but I think Terapagos might be the biggest reason for that.

Speaking of battles, Liko and Roy battle Amethio’s goons once again and Liko finally gets an on-screen win against Onia; man, she should’ve gotten that on-screen win back in Episode 5—THAT WAS TWENTY EPISODES AGO. It’s too bad that they could only knock out Golduck as the battle against Zirc’s Rhydon was postponed due to Sango and Onyx’s arrival. Had they stayed a bit longer, Roy could’ve gotten his first win against Zirc too. Oh well, at least the kids are finally improving. Also, I’m surprised that Liko knows how to use a Pokeball as she finally returned Hatenna back to her Pokeball four episodes after her capture.

Sango and Onyx are very formidable enemies. They were not clowning around at all, despite them getting beaten by Captain Pikachu of all Pokemon. Cap shows that even if Friede isn’t with him, he can still move around independently, as shown back in Episode 22 and now this episode. Onyx shows that he does not seem to care about the safety of wild Pokemon as his Garganacl’s Salt Cure had gotten to them; his Garganacl is also the first Pokemon to use Wide Guard in the anime. In contrast to Sango, Onyx is very composed and only lashed out at her when she was getting reckless. On the other hand, Sango is a gremlin. She can be very impatient and hot-tempered. The faces she make easily stole the show, especially since she was yelling at Captain Pikachu—they share the same voice actress, so it’s basically Ikue Otani screaming at herself. The fact that she makes her Glalie use Self-Destruct was clearly something I wasn’t expecting and I commend the writers for being a bit creative with the move choices for the villains’ Pokemon.

Other than the amazing action scenes, world building is also implemented here as Diana reveals three important things in this episode:

She is shown to have Lucius’s diary and an ancient belt in her possession, most likely belonging to Lucius.

She reveals that the Explorers were once Lucius’s companions, meaning he had human companions during his travels. If Terapagos was angry at Amethio, that means the Explorers had betrayed him or they turned over a bad leaf later on? This really intrigues me.

She reveals the identities of the remaining Hero Pokemon. Lucius companions are: the black Rayquaza, Arboliva, Galarian Moltres, Lapras, Kleavor, and Entei. These are very interesting choices, especially Kleavor. How will Kleavor and Hisuian Pokemon be implemented into the story? Will they implement what the Teal Mask DLC introduced to the universe and have it so that the Hisuian Pokemon aren’t extinct but off in distant lands to preserve their species? I’m very curious to see how the last three Hero Pokemon will be introduced and which regions it will take place in.

The way everything played out here really makes me hyped for the next chapter in the Rising Volt Tacklers’ adventure. I want to unravel these mysteries as much as they do! I’m super excited for what future episodes will show! What are your thoughts to the grande finale of the first chapter?

#anipoke #pokemon horizons #liko #sprigatito #terapagos #roy #fuecoco #friede #charizard #captain pikachu #diana #arcanine #lucius #amethio #ceruledge #zir #rhydon #conia #golduck #hamber #dusknoir #sango #glalie #onyx #garganacl #review #anime #anime review #ecargmura #arum journal

[bloomboxygo]

This witch is a problem.

"Diabellze of the Original Sin" is generally a contested pick in the meta in general because of belonging to the new lore archetype, thus expected to be supported. And I've heard lots thrown at her already, but... I believe this is the worst Card for the Melodious to face, and feels like a mean gut punch especially after Melodious got its new support IN THE SAME SET.

Since I specialize in them, I would like to go over just how bad this is for them.

First off, how would the Melodious plays be disrupted when facing this Card ALONE. (Emphasis on alone)

Ostinato, 1st Movement Solo and Melodious Concerto, power players in Melodious Combos, have to be set first. Considering Diabellze can decide, once per turn, to destroy that set Card, that potentially leaves them in the dust.

Refrain and Couplet cannot be set from the Hand to the Pendulum Zone. However, they can set themselves from the Extra Deck if a Melodious is Fusion Summoned. Now, for Refrain, this isn't so bad. Her on-field effect is more important early on than her Pendulum Effect. FOR COUPLET, IT'S A BIG PROBLEM. She is mostly set early on as a Scale to grab Melodious Concerto, and she just can't do that under Diabellze's anti-spell effect. Not only that, but it's a pain in the neck to get her to the Pendulum Zone via her effect in the first place, because she has to get in the Field as a Monster, which is the worst place for her to be and really clunky considering she's a level 5. With Ostinato (Assuming it doesn't get destroyed beforehand) it's not impossible, but Refrain alone cannot add Couplet to hand unless there's another level 4 or lower Melodious, even still, you have to opt for the vulnerable Harmonist line. If she gets disrupted... Tough luck, welcome to Melodious pre-2023.

Doesn't look like many problems thus far, but they're pretty big ones considering the plays become much more vulnerable without access to early Couplet and Concerto. Also, she's a Monster that can be removed or at least disrupted. Yet for Melodious, it's a bigger issue to remove her than with most archetypes. This due to a few reasons:

A lack of in-archetype removal outside of Etoile. With the Spells so easily disrupted, all that remains for her Summoning is Soprano. At least there's her. But it'll require a Maestra on the Field. Again, hindered by the witch, because all 4 playmakers that are the new support are affected in some way.

Imperm and EVENLY not working. The Normal traps which can be activated from the hand to disrupt are not an option when it comes to her. Because of the archetype's xenolocks other types of Monster disruptions aren't as common, so Impermanence works as a staple just fine. Not anymore, with this worse Anti-Spell.

The Forbidden Quick-plays not working. Not as common as Impermanence, but searchable off of a Fairy in Condemned Witch, and Droplet is used because of its costly, yet extremely good disruption. You gotta wait a turn now.

Dark Ruler no More being disruptible. Seriously, how does a face-up Card counter the counter to face-up Cards?

Outside from the first problem, the other three are generic issues she presents. However, because of an infamous aspect of Melodious, there are some more answers which are more problematic for them to resolve than most other archetypes.

Kaijus. Usually, a Kaiju would be a fine and dandy way to say "see ya!" to a troublesome Monster. However, for Melodious, it presents some problems... Of the xenolock variety. 1st Movement Solo and Harmonist are integral to Melodious and... If you so much as activate them, you are only allowed to Special Summon Melodious for the turn. And by that, I don't mean that it's worded like "you cannot Special Summon Monsters, except "Melodious" Monsters, for the rest of this turn", rather like "you cannot Special Summon Monsters, except "Melodious" Monsters the turn you activate this card/effect". So that means if you use Harmonist or 1st Movement, you cannot Kaiju AT ALL, and if you Kaiju someone first, you cannot use these two playmakers AT ALL for the turn. That's why they're clunky to use in Melodious, because they make the boards way less consistent.

Triple Tactics Talent's "take control" effect. That's another used way to take control of a troublesome Monster and effectively remove it. However, you won't keep it for the turn. So not only do you have to set even THAT first, you also cannot easily link Diabellze away because, again, the xenolocks. Also the Melodious Fusions can't use her as Material, as they can only use Melodious Monsters. The only way to dispose of her without interfering with Harmonist and 1st Movement is... Tribute Summoning Couplet or Elegy over her.

Nibiru. Already a fairly contentious pick for Melodious, as if you use Nibiru yourself then you have it on your side of the board, and need to use specific Cards if you want to free up your Field for Ostinato or 1st Movement (Donner and Azalea are good for this in Melodious). Even still, you have to deal with the same xenolock problems.

So... There it is. This card alone I believe will cause so many problems. And the worst part is, she's searchable, Special Summonable from the Deck and... She's a card in the current lore that Yu-Gi-Oh is so keen on promoting. She's going to get more support down the line.

Konami, don't make me say that, despite having received support in the same set, Melodious is STILL cursed. I know it's a crazy thought to have, but I can't help it with this.

#yugioh arc v #arc v #melodious #yugioh #yugioh tcg #diabellze of the original sin

[saints-who-never-existed]

Episode Eight: Random Rewatch Observations

1. I don’t think it’s ever really 100% certain is it, how deliberate Hodgson’s actions are at the beginning of this episode or how closely in cahoots he might already be with Hickey? I notice right after they all leave the tent that the first person he seems to go to is Le Vesconte though, so I have to wonder if he is just looking for comfort and advice or if he’s peddling the same scaremongering story he does later to Little…?

2. I also wonder if Hickey mispronouncing the word ‘Netsilik’ is deliberate too? Like, is it just a random slip of the tongue or could it be saying more about how Hickey’s just bullshitting his way along while still not really knowing what he’s talking about?

3. He also pointedly doesn’t refer to Jopson as Lieutenant, disrespectful little knobhead…

4. Speaking of disrespectful knobheads, I’ll still never get over how horribly Crozier treats Little in this episode, threatening him with a flogging just for asking a simple question! The fact of the matter is that at that stage, no one but Hickey has any real idea of what’s actually happened, not even Crozier himself. He can’t possibly know for sure until he goes to see the whole sorry scene for himself and in the meantime, bolstering the perimeter is a perfectly reasonable plan.

Surely it would be better to give a timely, controlled order to strengthen that perimeter with your most trustworthy guys in order to make the rest of the men feel calmer, more secure, and less inclined to go off the rails, than to leave the whole camp in panic and confusion, not knowing what the hell is happening, and so jumping at the chance to feel like they’re doing something about it all?

That’s what it’s all about really – timing! Yes, it is a mistake for Little to give the order to arm the men when he does but it’s only a mistake because by that time they’re all too riled up to give up their arms or listen to reason. Again, if they had armed some trustworthy men in a calm and controlled way back when Little first suggested it, if Crozier has only bloody listened to him, then I firmly believe the situation could have been improved massively.  

5. That’s not a comforting arm-pat Blanky gives Little, btw, that’s actually a full-on tit-grab and I am here for it.

6. Oh God you can see how fucked Fitzjames is already in that tent and how he just about manages to hide it until he’s alone. As soon as Little passes him you can see him finally allow himself a grimace of pain when he knows no one can see.

7. Just noticed the neat little detail of a pair of crutches hanging from a beam in the medical tent – shows again the importance of efficiency and preparedness and using ever available inch of space.

8. Oh fuck, the wee Netsilik girl has Irving’s telescope/spyglass right by her side! Can’t you just imagine her having a whale of a time with it right before all the horror kicked off? Gut-wrenching!

9. Also, cannot emphasise enough that Irving would’ve been their friend. Like, none of them are really in their right minds at this stage but those like Little and Hodgson who would have been closest to him would of course be feeling the loss most, and you can see how it influences their decision-making.

Just imagine if your own best friend and co-worker was brutally murdered one day and not only did you have to carry on with your day and carry on working, but you were also berated publicly by your shitty boss then forced to watch as your pal’s already-defiled body was dissected further right in front of you. You’d be a mess too!

10. “Choose men we can trust…” – Aye, you could have done that a few hours ago, Franky-boy, and potentially avoided a whole mess of bullshit!

11. Oh God don’t put De Voeux in charge of anything!

12. Shout out to the Triumvirate of Toms! Jopson taking charge straight away and getting shit done like the brilliant Lieutenant he is. Blanky outrunning Tuunbaq on a wooden leg and continuing not to give a single fuck. And Hartnell, once again ready to step up and help, to defend his mates without a single second thought, even if he has to face down a charging Tuunbaq to do it. Big fan of that little concentrating blinky face he does too – top notch stuff.

13. Good Christ Fitzjames with the rockets is just incredible. That look on his face! The focus and fury and determination in that little snarl! Outstanding! And it also strikes me that this is a perfect instance of him doing an amazing thing without the intention of being seen. He’s invisible in the fog, just like everyone else, and he’s still going all out doing what needs to be done. We know it’s not just vanity with him, that he’s a genuinely good and heroic man, even if he doesn’t realise it himself, but we see more clearly than ever that that’s really not what it’s about here specifically. There just can’t be any vanity in the face of something like Tuunbaq.

14. Pretty sure that’s a diving helmet patch on Collin’s jumper right before Tuunbaq gets him which is just a whole other level of heart-breaking. I wonder if he sewed it on there himself back when he was still excited about being a pilgrim to the deeps…

#The Terror #The Terror AMC #S01E08 #Terror Camp Clear #Observations #George Hodgson #Henry Le Vesconte #Cornelius Hickey #Thomas Jopson #James Fitzjames #Francis Crozier #Edward Little #John Irving #Thomas Blanky #Tom Hartnell #Henry Foster Collins #Tuunbaq #Gee I really am just tagging everyone again aren't I?

[partynoobvanii]

Small Important Update :

Hello there! It's Ethanvanii here, posting a small update cause I've been inactive on Tumblr lately, and I wanted to clean stuff up.

I will be on a break now, I won't be online so much and I'll be working on homework, and other art projects/series.

Where i have been in life 📣

So far, i have been behind on homework, so much that the homework line on my computer is RED. And not completed, behind even. But yeah, aside from that.. Life has been a bit boring and honestly sad. I've been worried for my online son, Ryker since they have been going through a lot of mood swings, terrible shit happening to them and all. I hope they'll try to stay safe and healthy while I'm gone for a bit.

About Sickpants Lullaby ☎

As you can see, Sickpants Lullaby has been on hiatus for like... I dunno... SINCE LIKE OCTOBER... But the question is, WHY was it on hiatus?

Homework aside, the reason why i haven't worked on it was because of my motivation dying down for the series, without Cobalt/Natt here... I feel very unmotivated to work on it at the moment, he is my beautiful and silly online son, he is like a whole ray of sunshine even. It was fun to hang out with him, before he left to China... I'm honestly lucky to have him in my horrible ass life. Not having him here can be really lonely honestly, even he had that problem while working on Parodies College House (A Spongebob Parodies Fangame he made) To the point he had to put it on hiatus till Benjamin and Juan were back. (Since they are needed, cause they're voice actors in that. And also cause of the fact Cobalt misses them.)

HOWEVER....

Not to worry, cause Sickpants Lullaby will continue once he comes back! Hopefully, if I don't get art block...

ALSO...

Please do NOT slide into my DMS just to ask me when I'm gonna work on Sickpants Lullaby, or if im working on a drawing of your character. It just makes it annoying and makes me not wanna complete it anymore, I hope you understand that.

Another mention though, I have a second reason for having no motivation for working on Sickpants Lullaby as i used to.

The second reason why Sickpants Lullaby is on Hiatus ☎

The SECOND reason why the series is on hiatus, is just because I've been working on another series which is called "Ethan's Void Life (EVL for short)" more. I've lost some interest in working on Sickpants Lullaby now that Cobalt/Natt is gone, it just doesn't feel the same anymore without him... I don't feel the same joy i get while drawing Sickpants Lullaby frames for my audience as i used to.........

....But besides that, look at the bright side. At least i get a break from the Internet for a bit..? Yes, I'll be checking my Tumblr Inbox in a while, just in case to answer questions.

Anyways, time for more fun stuff.

NEW INTERESTS!! YIPPEEE- 📣

So far, I've gotten around.... Well I don't know, 3 INTERESTS?? MAYBE EVEN 5???

But yeah, I'll try my best to remember most despite my poor memory.

1. PHIGHTING! (Roblox Game)

2. Item Asylum (Also Roblox Game)

3. Guts & Blackpowder. Again, another roblox game. But this time Cobalt got me into it in the first place. I don't regret playing it.

4. Regretevator.... HOLSLSYY FUCKKKK I LOVE THIS GAME 😭😭 IT'S THE WHOLE REASON WHY MY TUMBLR USER IS NAMED AFTER PARTYNOOB NOW 💔💔💔

Stimming aside, it's a pretty cool and fun game. I liked the voice acting, fun stages, and the characters are pretty creative to be honest!

5. Dayshift At Freddy's. Despite the... Ahem... Problematic parts due to it being made in like 2018.... It's a really goofy and silly game! I honestly love it despite me still trying to get all the way to DSAF 3... DSAF 1 was a pain in the ass to play, hopefully I'll skip it and just see if DSAF 2 is easier. (Because my dumbass can't press the springlocks fast enough in the first game lmao, but don't worry i still love the game anyways)

6. Dialtown. Made by the same creator of DSAF. I really enjoyed Dialtown honestly, the dialogue, the story, and the characters! They even added some phone guy characters from DSAF into it. Maybe as a Easter egg? I don't know. Either way Dialtown was still fun. Not to mention the creator is really nice, bless their heart. :)

Interests i MIGHT stream 📣

1. PHIGHTING

NO. As much as i love it, i am ass at playing on computer, I'll most likely make a video of me playing it on phone instead of streaming.

2. Item Asylum

Possible? I haven't tested it on computer for lag, so it's a maybe for now....

3. Guts & Blackpowd-

NO. I've tested it on my laptop before, believe me. It's laggy for my small ass laptop. I'll be posting videos of me playing it on mobile instead, thank you very much... It may be less laggy on your laptop, but mine? Nah.

4. Regretevator

Yes. It's still fun either way if i die to lag, one death isn't gonna hurt my soul. ^_^

5. Dayshift at Freddy's

Maybe?? It's if I DON'T GET SPRINGLOCKED A BUNCH OF TIMES DUE TO FAILING... but yeah, it is possible, I'll be streaming myself watching DSAF 1 gameplay on youtube, and then the next streams will be me playing DSAF 2 and DSAF 3 (that's IF they don't springlock me again... It sucks tbh but it's still a loveable game)

6. Dialtown

Yes! Though I'll have to add some warnings before people watch it, since i don't want my viewers getting uncomfortable due to the themes in it.

Thats all for now, I hope the news up there was useful.

No, not the interests, the Sickpants Lullaby part.

Anyways, bye for real! :3

#fnfspongebobparodies #fnfsickpantslullabyau #fnfspongebobparodiesau #fnf spongebob parodies #fnf sickpants lullaby au

[gender-trash]

wait your posts about beeminder are so cool should i get into it or will i regret it

well, not knowing anything about you, it's wicked hard to say! sorry anon :(

more seriously, the basic logic of beeminder is that you 1) set a bunch of goals for yourself (mine are all of the form "do the thing at a specific frequency") 2) if you fail to do the thing, they charge you money, and 3) you get a brief grace period and then you have to keep doing the thing or the next time you fail to do the thing you get charged *more* money. this works way way better for me than systems where there is no tangible consequence (and like, all of my goals are at $5 or $10 rn, and i would think NOTHING of randomly spending $10 on boba but somehow this Faint Whiff Of A Consequence is effective at motivating me to do all manner of things) and also systems where there is a "streak" that you are exhorted to not break (which mostly wind up with me failing-with-abandon). and 4) you can change or cancel these goals or do anything you want (and you have a LOT of flexibility with how you set them up) but you can only do it a week in advance (so there is NO canceling your commitment just before it charges you money).

also the only reason why this works for me is because i really really value the Purity of my Data and so i do not as a matter of principle lie to beeminder; they encourage you to set up automatic data intake integrations where possible (e.g. with your fitbit to get a stepcount, or with your gmail account to get a count of unread emails, or whatever) so you don't have an opportunity to lie in the first place, but i don't do this because 1) most of my goals are for stuff it's hard to automate data intake for and 2) i value needing to open the beeminder app a lot to enter data so i can also check what goals are at an Imminent Beemergency level before they surprise me (it also sends you notifications but like....... eventually all notifications become background noise, if you feel me)

so one of the crucial things about setting up beeminder for yourself is to carefully tune size of monetary consequence vs. your personal propensity to lie to The Bee. like it's partly *because* i would think nothing of spending $10 on boba that i also am reasonably okay with being charged $10 by The Bee for not texting my friends enough or whatever; it's not THAT much of a sting that i would lie to beeminder to get it to go away

(one reason why i value Data Purity is because i base some of the stuff i track in my bullet journal off of beeminder entries -- for example, if i fell behind on planner trackers and need to fill in a "felt sense of daily productivity" box for two weeks ago, i check my work notebook, bash history, and beeminder chores goals -- and THAT feels really important on a gut level because it helps me make decisions about tweaking my medications. but also i feel very strongly on a gut level that data falsification is Wrong And Bad in much the same squicky way as destroying a musical instrument makes me cringe.)

anyway i have a lot of thoughts about beeminder setup, but most of them boil down to "you need to do it very carefully and with close attention to your own personal brain quirks". i think the beeminder blog has a lot of really useful tips (especially the post about truck-sized loopholes!!) so i would recommend going on a beeminder blog archive binge before you make a decision one way or another, and then if you DO decide to take the plunge, for the love of fuck, start with just one tiny manageable commitment and sloooooowly crank the dial higher once you're in the habit of it. don't just make ten goals and jump into all of them on day 1. i am so so serious about this.

(relatedly: in my planner i schedule some time once a month for me to sit down and reevaluate my beeminder setup, dial things up or down, add and remove goals, etc. highly recommend doing this -- actually, with *any* productivity system you should do a periodic tune-up, but i find the feedback loop is especially important with beeminder because writing goal criteria for myself is actually kind of hard and this lets me e.g. detect when goals are being Goodharted and adjust.)

uh if you give me a better idea of what exactly you want beeminder to help you with i can provide more concrete advice?

#the trashcan speaks #live by the bee. die by the bee. #adhdblogging #when i was in school i would do a 'weekly post mortem' of all my Life Systems #sort of like rubber ducking but i wrote it down in my planner #the monthly beeminder eval serves much the same purpose i just dont need it as frequently because my life is less of a disaster zone

[0shewrites0]

This is how Lucas looks like he was written to me:

FB: "I ship it like FedEX"

ALSO FB: "He's a bombshell though. Are people going to like him? I'm not sure about that."

*Simultaneously messes him up at the same time while making him one of their most layered characters in a list. (I love Gary for that reason too). While also wanting to write him but then not because they already looked like they had an original path and didn't want to stray*

Whenever I'm on his route. I'm always like "What was FB even doing with you" and same goes for the unexplained "Big Daddy" connection like💀

Did they set you up for success or failure my darling? But he still excelled, and I can tell they probably regretted it for that moolah($). Notice how he's the only male non OG who interacts with MC in spinoffs. But at the same time...it kinda makes sense and not just because of his popularity, but because of HOW his attraction to MC was written?

Okay, I have a loooot of opinions right now so buckle up:

1) They really said "let's make him so hot it hurts and tease the players, pretend we're giving them a flawless route" and then they went "oopsie, guess not 😈😈" That's the only way to explain this weird amnesia, right? Sure, it affects other characters too (like the love triangle between Lottie, Gary and MC, when you tell Lottie you won't choose Gary and if you don’t choose him at the recoupling, she will act like she's totally surprised and vice versa). But it doesn't affect anyone as much as Henrik and Lucas. And since Lucas is the only one of the two who almost always says MC's name on day 5, while you really have to put in the work to hear Henrik say your name (you need to basically reject Lucas at every opportunity), I agree and I also think they really didn't know how they wanted to play it. There are so many loose ends and it feels like they never intended to tie them together...

2) The complexity of his character, YES! OMG! Lucas and Gary are by far the only two male characters that have any real character development.

Bobby - no, the same old people pleaser to the end, not really ready for love (which he would realise if he were a little more honest with himself)

Noah - uhm, no. Okay, maybe a little bit, because when you are on his route, he realises that he can't always avoid conflict and that he needs to put himself and what he wants first. But he still needs so much reassurance from MC, while we don't get that. Nada, nothing, zilch. And let's face it, we need to keep the money to ourselves for Noah to have the guts to break up with Hope, and that's sad.

Ibrahim - nope, no character development detected.

Henrik - no but he’s perfect just the way he is (and I’m saying this as a non-Henrik-stan tbf!)

3) SAME! I'm so confused as to what happened to him there. Like why drop the "Big Daddy" line and then just leave it at that? That doesn't make any sense at all. I feel like they had really good ideas and maybe a rough outline, but then they didn't bother with it and just messed him up.

4) There are many things that are completely ooc for Lucas - the most important of which is the proposal. Never would he ever welcome his girlfriend to spring it on him like that, even more so at a Love Island reunion. Secondly, he would be the one to propose because he needs to be in control, and fb forcing us to propose is really cruel (especially because at least Noah - and Marisol, I think? - were like, "Oh, sweet! I wanted to propose too"). Then there's the "Alright, let's start planning the wedding right away," where I was like, bitch what? You've got to be kidding me! So much wasted potential, so much lazy writing, and frankly I'm disappointed that they managed to ruin him for so many players - just think of the way they had him act so pushy and "can't take no for an answer" as the r!Lucas. 💀

5) YOU'RE RIGHT AND I CAN'T BELIEVE I NEVER SAW THAT! At the reunion both Henrik and Lucas are seen BUT at the wedding - and I played it again to check: I married Bobby and chose Chelsea and Gary as best person - there was no trace of Henrik. Lucas was literally the only male OG islander, you're absolutely right! And I’m so baffled by that but then again I’m not, because he is special. In so many ways. The banter between MC and Lucas is just 🤌🏽 and then in the CMM spin-off we had a Lucas that was completely true to his character again. I feel like every time Lucas and MC interact, you feel the electricity between them, even if MC is married to someone else or in a partnership.

This is the proof btw. I didn't give Lucas any special role during the wedding ceremony and he was still there while Henrik was not. Or any of the Casa guys for that matter, lol.

Dang, just thinking about him and how fb could have made him the best written character along with Gary really makes me sad....

#lucas koh supremacy #lucas koh missing hours #I’m so upset they messed him up in so many ways #he could’ve been the non plus ultra romance fr fr #asks and replies #rae answers #asks are always appreciated #litg #litg s2 #litg lucas koh

[chaoticgremlinwholikescheese]

Today was my first day at the National Military Archives to research my veterans for my book. It was an incredible experience. It was holy, spiritual, I don't know how to explain it. It was just... powerful.

Here are some of the things from today that stuck out to me:

Russel Braga's item list

This stuck out to me because it was so simple. There was no military jargon. It's simply a list of what he had with him when he died. There are two ways of looking at it; in one way, this is almost cruel. He's been relegated to a list. No longer a person, only left over objects.

But to me, it didn't feel like that. Most of what I know about him is army related. This, this gave me an idea of who he was. He smoked a pipe. He wore sunglasses. He wore a watch. He had a religious medallion. Letters from family and friends.

When I read this, I started to cry. It was both out of joy, joy that I'd found information about him. But also grief. Grief for a man I'd never met, who died long before I was born. But now, I can keep him alive in some way.

This is why I do this research. Not for the military aspect; in fact, I have a deep hatred for the military industrial complex. It's for the stories. For the memories. For the people I have gotten to know.

2. Phillip Doty's death form

All the death certificates were impactful. Phillip Doty's hit even more than the others. I knew he died in a plane crash. I didn't know the exact details of his death. Reading about the burns, the way he suffered, and eventually died, struck me in the gut.

I asked my dad about the medical stuff, and the clarification helped me to understand what he went through. He suffered. I had to take a moment to process what I was reading before I could move on. These people have come to mean a lot to me. They're more than just names on paper.

3. Letters from Wagner's mother

The letters from family members asking for information about their kids were powerful. You could feel the pain, the fear, in their words. They still held out hope. But reading these now, I know the outcome. I know that the hope was in vain. I felt like an intruder. I was never meant to read these, yet I did anyway.

What struck me as well was the way the government responded. It was the same letter each time. It was from a template, the names and basic information filling in the formatted blanks. It was so bureaucratic. It made me feel angry. There was no empathy.

There is so much emotion in these letters. It's intense. Holding them in my hands, it was almost like I could feel their emotions flowing through me. They're long dead now. But their words live on.

4. Bassett's recommendation letters

Bassett was a theater nerd, just like me (and undoubtedly many of you). He even had a patent for a dolly system. Reading about his accomplishments, and how highly everyone thought of him, was a fun experience. I found myself smiling at the kind words people had written.

Bassett received multiple promotions. He was highly respected and well liked by both his commanding officers and fellow soldiers. One officer put him up for a promotion, but Bassett was refused the promotion due to him not knowing shorthand well enough yet. In my opinion, that's a stupid reason to deny a clearly qualified candidate a well deserved promotion. But, thus is the army.

I loved getting to know Bassett through these letters. I'd like to think we would have gotten along as fellow theater nerds. He was a good guy. He seems like a kind soul.

5. Their signatures

There was something so fucking incredible about seeing their signatures in person. I could trace the ink they wrote with. Their handwriting was unique, a view into who they were.

I touched a piece of paper they touched. It was a sort of connection across time. It was a powerful experience. I can't really put it into words. It was just... it pierced my soul in a beautiful way.

I don't think there's any way to explain what I've experienced today. This was one of the most important, life-changing experiences of my life. I can't put into words what it has meant to me.

In a way, I finally got to meet the people I've been researching all these years.

#I'll post more like this tomorrow #God this has been fucking amazing #I can't believe I'm getting to do this

[peniswizard69]

The arc of Torchwood as a series is something that's sooo interesting to me so enjoy reading this post if you care.

Seasons 1 and 2, which I like to call Torchwood Who between me and myself, are very simple. It started off as a Doctor Who spinoff, but horror drama instead of scifi adventure. It tries to mix in some worldbuilding, some character work, mystery driven plots, and deeply explored themes, and there's just no room for that; solid bones but kinda boring all around. It's furtile for fandomwork, inkeeping with Tumblr's fine tradition of making up half of their favorite show, but the tone is on the grim and gray side for those purposes. It's ultimately British fast food tv, for everything you'd expect of that.

They didn't expect to get a season 3. They killed off two of the main cast, and gave the rest an ending in the Doctor Who season 4 finale. Then they got a season 3

Season 3 is called Children of Earth and it's a gut wrenching, stomach churning, horror tour de force. The total runtime is down 54%, from thirteen 50-minute episodes (per season) to five of an hour each, but Torchwood Who was monster-of-the-week but Children of Earth is fully serialized, so the premise has 6 times as much room for all the things the series wanted. To a more discerning viewer this is an oasis of pure light in a dim desert; to the humble Tumblrina, this is a betrayal. Children of Earth is not fun; it has fewer gaps to fill with little scenarios and interpretation; and it leaves you broken, hesitant to come back. Honestly CoE being stapled to the end of Who is one of the wilder things in television.

They didn't expect to get a season 4. They killed off another of the main cast and blew up the secret base and almost all of the gadgets; and they gave the rest a sort of biter-sweet ending. Then they got a season 4

Season 4, whose name is Miracle Day, was mostly produced in the US and it shows. The season mostly takes place in the US, but there's a definite change to the writing that's hard to pin down. It's faster paced and more plot-driven, lighter in tone. The runtime was brought back up to ten 50ish-minute episodes, which feels like bloat given how tight CoE was om 60% of that, and the lower budget/screentime ratio is more important with the American style. It also has Bill Pullman? What is he doing here? It would be rich ground for a fandom, if not for the rest of Torchwood. Fans of Who that didn't bounce off CoE are probably gonna mostly spend it missing Who, and to the discerning CoE enthusiast it is AWFULLLLL. My brother hates it so much, which does fill me with power. At the end of the day, when you hear "American sequel to high budget British mini series" you make a series of assumptions and they're all correct.

They thought they were gonna get a season 5. They set up a recurring antagonist, only killed characters that debuted this season and made one of them immortal. They didn't get a season 5, which gives me ample opportunity to pretend to speculate on season 5. Jathesson is endgame

The arc of all of this is soooo delicious to me. They legitimately went "I'm dying let's party!!!" and then "I survived let's just sorta sit here". Hard to sit through for three different reasons. Campy to classy to cheesy. Ultimately I have to give Torchwood 1 out of ten children, because that's a CoE reference. Trying to actually rate the show is tricky, it's three different shows amd deserves three different shadows. I give it 1, 7 and 3 out of 10 on my little pet scale where 0 is neutral. You probably don't need to watch Torchwood Who to get Children of Earth, but you do need Children of Earth to get Miracle Day.

Also, Bill Pullman in Miracle Day is actually so fucking good??? He brings this powerful and spcific energy where he's the most wretched and disgusting thing in history but also still charming and charismatic. How did he do it

#torchwood miracle day #torchwood #torchwood children of earth #original broth #long post

[unofficialoxtimeline]

Some Lingering Questions, Part 1

I have a number of these kinds of unsolved mysteries; I cleared off several of them with the Barricade post, but here we go. First off: a lingering mystery of Foundry No. 12!

Was the grenade Edvard threatened the Brighteners with at Foundry No. 12 a real grenade?

Here's what we know for sure: Edvard ticked two separate boxes of load for two flashbangs and one fragmentation grenade. At least one of the flashbangs was detonated, blinding Zillah; neither of them were returned to Edvard during the course of the episode.

There's a couple of reasons to think the frag grenade wasn't real. Edvard has access to flashbang grenades; it would also be very easy to build a dummy grenade; it's a batshit thing to do even for Edvard, for two people who are really just his coworkers. There's also the fact that Blades is a retroactive game, and the CRB directly states in its best practices section that it is "not a no takebacks game".

Here are the reasons I suspect that it was in fact a real grenade. First is the fuse length. Grenades used to be less stable, and Edvard does say he built the frag grenade, but I decided to go off modern weapons. A frag grenade can have a fuse of between 3 and 5 seconds, but a flash grenade typically has a fuse of around 1.5 seconds, for reasons I think are obvious.

I counted up all the time Edvard said he had his finger off the lever. If he didn't give a time, I counted it as half a second. By this accounting, Edvard burned at least two seconds off the fuse of the grenade he was holding. It could have been a dummy, but if it were a flash grenade, it would have gone off in his hand.

It was a wild thing to do and over the top even for Edvard. But, if Edvard were going to do it for anyone, the groundwork was already laid for Zillah and Kasimir to be the people he'd do it for. As early as The Gut-Cutter Bargain, Kasimir says outright that he and Edvard have become close, and Edvard spends a whole phase building the electroplasmic cane for him. Edvard has a great admiration for Zillah; he takes a moment just to appreciate how cool she is in the same fight, despite the fact they're about to die. Kasimir and Zillah get a mechanical benefit for going to the fighting pit. Edvard doesn't, but he comes along and makes a little sign just to cheer her on. He doesn't do these things for other people, and coupled with his confidence in his own abilities, it ultimately makes sense that this is a bet he'd take.

Then, maybe the most important part: no takebacks.

Some newer RPGs, like Blades and the It Came From series, take what's called a cinematic perspective (explicitly in some rulesets). D&D, Pathfinder, VtM, and many other popular games are about improvisation and skill efficiency. If you don't have something, you just don't have it. They are no takebacks games. If you step in the trap, if you offend the Prince of New York, that's the ballgame.

Blades and It Came From are meant to be collaborative storytelling where tropes are welcome. If you don't want to do something in Blades, you can just not do it. If you step in a trap, flashback: you cased the place earlier and wedged a shim into it. If you offend the director of your spy agency in They Came From [CLASSIFIED], you buy a do-over with your points pool. They are meant to produce a world where the PCs are the heroes of their own stories, and feeling like a badass is the whole point.

Why do I go off on this? Because I think the choice of whether the grenade was real was made by both Luke and Andy, and by not making the grenade fake, they wrote it into canon as real. If something had gone wrong, if Edvard had fumbled it, if a Red Sash had tackled him, by the rules, it could have been fake at any time. The chance remained; the chance was never taken. If he walked in with a dummy grenade, he walked out leaving a real one.

In summary, I have a lot of feelings about Edvard Lumière.

#oxventure in the dark #foundry no 12 #edvard lumiere #ox timeline

[desertfangs]

Who are your top 3 (or 5 if you can't narrow it down) VC characters?

Thank you for the ask! (Send me asks to stem the boredom at work!)

Daniel Molloy - This will surprise no one, but I really love him. I think he's fascinating. The way as a young journalist he's just enraptured and fascinated by Louis in the interview and the way he hears Louis' story as one of possibility. Also the fact that he even does the whole 'meet and interview strangers for their stories' thing is just so interesting! And then of course, everything with Armand, and how he's just the right kind of weird and unhinged to really click with him. I also really relate to his desperate desire to live forever and experience the world for centuries, and I love how being with Armand is like a blessing and a curse for him: he genuinely loves Armand and wants to be with him forever, but it also makes him feel time ticking like a bomb until he finally becomes a vampire. And vampire Daniel is so giddy and high on being immortal, it makes me happy. I'm so bummed we didn't more of him in later books beyond a few little bits in B&G and PL. We even get told he's back with Armand at the end but we don't get a single paragraph of them together, and he just sort of vanishes. I know Anne was pretty much done with him after QotD and the only reason we even got the bits we did in later books is because people kept asking where and how he was but still. C'mon! Anyhow, I love him.

Armand - He's easily the most complex and fascinating character in the series to me. And I think he gets the most character growth, too. He starts as a villain but even then as the 'bad guy' you feel bad for him because he just wants love and passion and something to live for and he can't even have that. And then it's heartbreaking all over again when you learn his history with Lestat. And then finally with Daniel he gets what he wanted, only to have it ripped away (and probably he pushed it away himself because he does that!) and again it happens in scenes we never see on the page (you're killing me, Anne!). But then he finds happiness with Louis finally finally after decades and gets Daniel back as well. He just has such a fascinating dynamic with literally everyone else in the series, I love how he thinks and how he reacts to things and he's amazing. He's never done anything wrong in his life.

Louis de Pointe du Lac - Louis was my first favorite VC character and I've always loved him. He also has some good character growth and also sort of gets lost in later books, though not as much as Daniel because he's too important to Lestat for Anne to totally shunt to the side. We meet him when he's totally dejected and lost and isolated in IwtV and willing to spill his guts to Daniel, and I think that, too, is fascinating. Was he watching Daniel for a while? Did he put himself in position to meet him and be interviewed? Or was it really just a crazy random happenstance? Regardless, I love his guilt and that he thinks he deserves nothing, and that as the series goes on he finally comes to accept himself and also love (from Lestat, and also from Armand). Louis and Armand are that couple who marry young and divorce because they're just not ready or in the right place, but years later reconnect and it finally works because they've both matured and learned more about themselves but also they have both accepted that they DESERVE love (and I credit Daniel with some of that on Armand's end.) Anyway, I'm going to cry. Louis also has zero desire to be some overpowered vampire. He's content to live forever wearing moth-eaten sweaters (at least until Armand starts throwing them out and buying him better clothes) and reading books, and I'm here for it. I know you said I could pick 5 but I have rambled a lot already! Honorable mentions go to Jesse Reeves and Gabrielle, whom we also didn't get enough of in canon IMO, and of course I love Lestat.

#answers in the desert #vc #daniel molloy #armand #louis de pointe du lac #i feel like this is so predictable but it's true #thank you so much for the ask!!!! #nodominion

[em-dash-press]

Hey there,

love your writing tips! 🖤

So, from one unpublished author to another, what's hardest for you: starting a novel, writing the middle or finishing a novel? And do you have any tips regarding that?

TBH I'm asking because I'm currently struggling with finishing my first novel... and have always struggled to finish writing projects.

Aw, thank you! It's interesting, I find that my books fluctuate in terms of where/how I struggle with them.

Most started off well because I was excited to get into the world of my characters or build up to a particular scene. But sometimes it feels like I'm slogging through mud in between the more exciting points that I'm looking forward to.

I'm currently writing my fourth book, which is the last in my trilogy. I've had to write this one slower for a variety of reasons in my personal life, but a big factor has also been a reluctance to say goodbye to those characters. I want them to have their earned endings without having to also move on, LOL.

Here are a few things I go back to when I'm struggling at different stages:

The beginning: you might get more into your world by spending more time developing your plot, making a world map, or fleshing out your characters. You could also be starting in the wrong point in your plot! Rewriting the first chapter a few times from different points of view or scenes can be a great writing exercise and defeat this problem.

The middle: sometimes it's less interesting to write scenes that are more about character development/conversations/inner dialogues. That's normal! If that feeling stretches over an uncomfortably long period, I'd ask how necessary that scene is to your plot. Tweaking or removing it could remove that mental block.

Also the middle: I always get excited about my stories again once I've talked with someone about them! Even if it's just talking/blogging about character details or themes, it's a great reminder of why you wanted to spend time with your story in the first place. Go back to why it matters. You'll get a good gut feeling whether you should keep working on it or set it aside (while making peace with potentially not returning to it, because you may find your next big idea instead).

The end: does the end of your book excite you? Does it feel like it ties up all the loose ends for your protagonist's development? Does it finish demonstrating your themes? Sometimes the end of stories feel flat, dull, or not worth our time when they're missing a key factor like these.

Also the end: when you're struggling to return to the end of a manuscript, do you feel an emptiness or sadness? It took me so long to realize that I was grieving the future loss of my characters because the end of my time with them gets closer with each paragraph. Recognizing and sitting with those feelings is important, but I find peace in the idea that if those characters never reach the end of their journeys, they'll be stuck in a limbo that no one deserves.

Here are a few resources about finishing stories specifically:

6 Reasons Why You Still Can’t Finish Your Story

Struggling to Finish Your Novel? 5 Tips to Refocus and Get It Done

Why You Can’t Finish Your Story

I also have a few resources for environmental distractions that may help you focus, if you find that distractions are the most frequent reason it's hard to write. Listening to background noise with headphones on is my favorite trick for that, especially if the room is totally dark.

Best of luck with this particular and totally normal writing challenge! 💛 It takes time to get to know yourself and your routine as a writer. Plus, every manuscript will affect you differently. It's all a journey!

#writing help #writing resources #writers of tumblr #writeblr #writing community #writing tips