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bonefall · 8 months

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How do you feel about "character joins bloodclan" aus? Im curious about ur thoughts since youre really in tune with the themes of the series but personally i just hate them bc its ALWAYS aimed at 'unfortunate' characters and always ALWAYS ignores the fact that bloodclan is a horrible place in-canon and that they're just reflavoring the abuse and trauma the characters qent through to be more emo or goth themed.

Ravenpaw is ALWAYS a prime target for this and its like. Great. You took the character being abused by their mentor figure and is being harmed from the violent culture the clan has generated... and giving them an EMO mentor figure who will inevitably abuse them and harm them as a result of the violent culture the emo clan has generated. Sasha is another one I've noticed- you've put the woman who lost her kit and is struggling to survive with the others while being controlled and abused by someone who sees her as an outsider (aka alone and easy to isolate), and are gonna put her in a faction who specifically separates kin from one another to easily control them and who have canonically tried murdering those who stick with their family. What was gained here.

Like i know bloodclan is revamped in ur au (thank god for it) but in canon bloodclan is HORRIBLE. People ignore that in favor of putting their favs into bloodclan bc bloodclan is cool and killed tigerstar that one time bc of revenge. Ravenpaw becomes Scourge AUS are SO SO SO much worse bc of this too- sure you manage to point out how scourge and raven has roughly similar stories in their youth but you could also do something interesting and make an au where raven and scourge are FOILS and do a firestar/scourge thing, while pointing this comparison out!! Instead you just went "Ravenpaw emo now and is sad about beating up Firestar his friend" and basically kept everything the same.

Sorry im basically venting here but i just dont like how people forget that scourge in canon does NOT look out for the 'little guy', he's a murderer and abuser who wants to keep his subjects afraid and separated so that he alone has power over them. Bloodclan is not the cool strong goth group, its the group where two cats slaughter eachother over a piece of twoleg scraps, only for the survivor to die bc the food was poisonous to cats and no one knew bc theres no cohesive group that can pass that knowledge around. its a fucking horrible place to live. Im not saying that you cant do interesting "character in bloodclan" aus (a Rusty who lives in bloodclan who STILL wants to do good but is shaped by the horrid reality of bloodclan would be fun imo) but its so often used with already traumatized characters as a 'solution' or 'fix-it with some emotional issues involved' that i just foam at the mouth and howl like a rabid animal on principle at this point.

Hmm... I think for me, it doesn't tend to read that way for me when the fandom makes AUs for it. I'm coming at BloodClan from a point of really deep critique and frustration.

BloodClan's not a REAL place, and what that means is, every speck of how horrible it was is a choice the writers made to justify its treatment. It was something they actively decided, because, BloodClan was a tool to suddenly invalidate the previous 5 books of TPB so that the series could comfortably conclude there was no need to upset the status quo.

If you haven't read it before, I recommend this post I made on how Darkest Hour Is A Personal Disappointment, but anyway;

We spend a whole series on how Fireheart challenges a broken society, because he is different. Their xenophobia, how isolationism and glory get people killed, the way that Tigerstar's greatest asset is how respected he is... these are bad things. They're things that Fireheart fights for several books.

But then, in the LAST book, in the 11th inning, they introduce BloodClan. They're just evil. They have no nuance. The narrative bends over backwards to stress that this group of evil foreigners LOVES murder, hates friendship, and doesn't believe in our good god.

Suddenly, the Clan cats have to be EXTRA xenophobic and glorious to kill these filthy, murderous foreign hordes. Clan cat belief in their good god makes them stronger than the bloodthirsty barbarians. Firestar kills Scourge and we can feel happy and triumphant about it, when Tigerstar was killed a few chapters ago and given a tragic sendoff.

So, I encourage you to step back from an emotional response to how Filthy and Murderous this group was portrayed, and look at it as a writing choice.

When Tigerstar, known cat-racist and murderer of mixed-race people, is killed by Scourge in self-defense, he is grieved by Firestar and commended for his "good qualities". (and then they retconned in that it was actually secretly revenge all along, not just self defense, so this killing is extra evil)

When Scourge is killed, Firestar just thinks about how it's cool he's not going to heaven, and how all of the previously ferocious BloodClan warriors look so inferior to the forest Clans.

And so, with all that said,

I'm 100% in favor of how the fandom widely looks at this, says, "fuck that" and just makes them the Cool Goth Group. I'd argue pretty strongly that the least nuanced idea of that is still infinitely better than canon.

There was nothing there. It was literally just Xenophobia-Is-JustifiedClan. They literally hated love and friendship and banned families so that Clan cats would look good in comparison. Banned families. You don't get this level of stupid evil from anything else but an 80s cartoon.

Maybe I just don't see the AUs you tend to see (I curate my Tumblr experience very well and generally hang out in more adult-oriented spaces, I can imagine a place like Amino being mostly kids who tend to be immature. Edgelord Angstpiddle is just a normal part of growing up), but every project I see that gives me a glimpse of BloodClan Ravenpaws and Sashas come with such tweaks already assumed.

Like, these are examples I've seen,

They'll have Raven be involved with the formation of BloodClan

Scourge will actually be a character with some pity and mercy, like how he was in Rise of Scourge when his abusive siblings begged him for food, and he fed them before sending them away.

no ban on love and friendship. Lol. Lmao, even.

More of the social structure will be based around acquiring food for people in a 'harsh' environment, leading to that battle, instead of just Evil Foreign Greed (which canon!scourge only had after being almost killed by tigerstar, because he said "actually, in light of new information that you are a murderer, i need to reconsider our deal.")

BloodClan will be overhauled completely. I've seen this a few ways. Connecting them to SkyClan, or the Oakstar raids on Chelford, or even as a positive entity; a surprise ally. (VERY common with BloodClan Ravenpaw AUs I've seen).

Anyways... (Shrug), I dunno dude, it doesn't bother me that much.

#and remember. BloodClan is 1 of 3 actively hostile evil foreigner groups with no nuance.#4 if you also count Slash's rogues as their own entity and not just a continuation of One's.#This is NOT a treatment ever EVER given to Clanborn cat factions.#Berryh's hate crime club is being treated with more kindness than this.#None of Mud's supporters were punished for attempted murder or treason. Or anything.#And there is only ONE DF trainee who was Dark Forested after his death.#So anon I'm so sorry but I am your worst enemy u_u #We will fight at dawn #I think that one barley map is super awesome and it's the only time I ever really liked canon BloodClan #I like to imagine my own version in my head when I watch BloodClan-related art because canon BloodClan bugs me so bad #The xenophobia in this series is so blatant and yet so overlooked

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marrogerson · 2 months

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Hi Margaret,

I absolutely adore Sorcery of Thorns. As an aspiring writer, I wanted to ask you how you started worldbuilding? The world just seemed so lively and detailed, just as if it was real. While reading I imagined it like in the Victorian era, were there special things you researched? Worldbuilding just seems so daunting to me.

Sending you all the best wishes, and I‘m waiting patiently and excited for new stories from you :)

Hi anon,

Thank you for the lovely ask. I was also daunted by worldbuilding when I started trying to write books. (Key word, trying... my attempts didn't work out too well for the first few years.) Since this is turning out to be a longer post, I'll put the rest under a cut.

Initially, the thing I struggled with the most was having a great idea for a world, fleshing it out, and then trying to populate it with characters and an interesting plot. This worldbuilding-first strategy works for some writers I think, but it didn't for me. I personally had a breakthrough when I started instead focusing on creating the main characters/their central conflict first, and then constructing the worldbuilding around them to support the story's needs. For example, the premise of the magic system in Sorcery of Thorns (sorcerers who summon demon servants at great personal cost) was one that I created specifically to facilitate the angst between Nathaniel and Silas.

I always say that I don't consider myself much of a researcher, but then I glance across my desk and see the stack of books that I ordered secondhand from Ebay because they're no longer in print. If you're writing in a similar time period, I highly recommend The Victorian City by Judith Flanders (this one is still in print and easy to find). The most curious one (to me at least) is probably The Victorian Bathroom Catalogue which is a book full of historical advertisements including illustrations of old bathroom fixtures.

My best advice when it comes to research—if it's something you struggle with—is to try reading things that are fun, which you would enjoy reading anyway even if you didn't have a reason. The most useful research I've ever done was just-for-fun reading that I did not realize was important research until much later. Forgive my weird analogy, but all that reading turns into sort of a yeast culture in the fridge of your brain, which you can draw from when needed instead of having to go searching for yeast every time you need it. And the yeast culture will also creep into your bedroom at four in the morning, and whisper tantalizing ideas into your ear... ok, let's stop there.

The nice thing about writing fantasy is that you don't need to sweat the small stuff. Just worry about writing a fun story first.

Some of my favorite specific topics that I've researched online lately include elevators in the first half of the 1800s, and whether gunpowder would have been used to demolish a large building just prior to the invention of dynamite.

Best of luck!

#writing #ask

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maniculum · 4 months

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Bestiaryposting Results: Kengliwa

So, as it seems everyone made note of, this week's creature was exceptionally easy to guess. (To the point that a couple people did actually go ahead and name it, which I can't be that annoyed about because I don't think anyone missed this one.) I actually thought about not including it -- I cut a few that were particularly obvious like this one, but this entry was just so beautifully written that I didn't want to not post it. Maybe I should have done a separate post like with the dogs... live and learn, I suppose.

Anyway, previous entries and results can be found here: https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. And the entry everybody is working from is at the link below:

Art below the cut in rough chronological order, as per usual.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) decided to go a bit Beatrix Potter, and produced some frankly adorable shrew-like critters. (And her own alt-text, thank you.) They're dressed in these nice black coats and bowler hats so they can look like the "black column across the fields" described in the entry. I love everything about this. Also, if you want to see a version of this without the linework, check the link above.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) decided to work off of the assertion that Kengliwas prefer wheat to barley because "barley is food for beasts". Naturally this means the Kengliwa must not itself be a beast, and Silverhart reflects that by medieval definition that excludes pretty much everything but birds and fish. So here we have a very small mouse-bird (the results of this one are all very cute, I have to say). And of course it's a flightless bird, because the entry describes them as walking. I'm really struck by the general composition of this one; the tiny bird clinging to the top of a wheat stalk is so well depicted. The colors are great too.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) followed the same "not a beast" logic as Silverhart, though they also name "serpent" and "worm" as potential non-beast categories. They also picked "bird", because the Kengliwa brings grain back to its nest, and birds have nests, so there you go. I appreciate that they've continued with that connection by having the interior of the Kengliwa burrow lined in a manner reminiscent of birds' nests. (And also that they provided alt-text, thank you.) Speaking of which, check it out, burrowing birds! With a cross-section of their burrow! Delightful. They further speculate that the symbolism attached to this one must be pretty weird given the mixed feelings the author seems to have, so I went and checked...

... there's actually not a lot of symbolism on this one. The highlights are that the divided grain supply represents the division between the Old and New Testaments, and barley represents heresy which is why it is scorned. (Pretty sure lots of people in the Middle Ages ate barley, but I suppose they preferred wheat.) The symbolism is all "things we learn from the good example of this industrious creature", and the entry quotes Proverbs 6:6 -- I'm not copying it here, because even though I'm pretty sure everyone knows what the animal is, the verse in question does name it, and we have a procedure here.

Anyway, as always, I recommend clicking on the link to CheapSweets's post to see their detailed explanation of their design decisions.

@theforceisstronginthegirl (link to post here) has drawn some ants in their agenda book. I have to admit, I'm not fully sure whether this was meant to be an entry, but you know, there's a picture (with alt-text and everything!) and it's tagged "kengliwa", so in it goes. Honestly I think the highlight here is that they described the creatures in the picture as "scribbles with jobs" which I think is a fun way to describe bugs generally. Very dynamically drawn scribbles too; they're quite expressive.

@pomrania (link to post here) has drawn a strange and adorable critter. It's giving... lizard-squirrel. Squizard. Particularly delighted by the fact that multiple people decided that such an industrious fellow should be wearing tiny clothing. I think the bag with one (1) grain of wheat in it is a nice touch. You just want to root for this little guy, you know? Also it's worth checking out Pomrania's linked post and associated progress post for some interesting steps in the design process for this one.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) continues to deliver beautifully stylized art. They note that they considered rodents, but figured medieval authors would not be nearly this positive about rodents stealing grain, so instead they're lizards. Very good lizards, too! I love the patterning on them and the expressions on their faces. The one on the left scorning the barley is particularly delightful. Coolest-capybara also wonders what the original animal is classified under, if not "beast" -- to which I must say, oddly enough, this one is in with the beasts. I think. Right after this entry is the start of the "birds" section, and right before it is are some various mammals. So either this is the end of the beast section or it's, like, a palate-cleanser in between.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has also given their Kengliwa clothing, but for a very specific reason: as others have noted, the Kengliwa scorning barley because it's "food for beasts" implies that the Kengliwa are not beasts. Therefore, in Strixcattus's interpretation, they're people. Which is indeed the only non-"beast" category of animal that nobody else has mentioned, as far as I can figure. They're darling. Love the one on the right that appears to be chewing on a straw like your stereotypical farmer, except of course the straw is a single seed with like a bit of stalk attached. And I know I always say it, but you need to go read the linked post for this one. Maybe it's just because worldbuilding is my jam, but I'd happily read a lengthy TTRPG supplement about how Kengliwa society operates. They're like... medieval Borrowers who farm lichen and domesticate ants. I want to know everything about this.

Anyway, here's the Aberdeen Bestiary version:

That's right, they're scribbles with jobs!

Seriously, it turns out Theforceisstronginthegirl drew basically a dead ringer for the medieval version. Compare the two; the biggest differences are the medium and the fact that the Aberdeen Bestiary includes a nest.

But yes, they're ants. We all know they're ants.

Which should, as CheapSweets alluded to, be classed in with the worms! (Remember, that's a flexible term in the medieval era... especially since this is a Latin text, so it's vermis, like Modern English vermin.) There is a section labelled De vermibus, and these guys aren't in it! It could have really used them, too; I think the Ant entry by itself is the same length as the whole "worm" section.

Anyway. Hopefully next week's will be less obvious... okay, I just checked, it's barely less obvious. But I would put money on nobody guessing the one that posts on the 19th (though that's a pretty short entry, unfortunately).

#maniculum bestiaryposting #kengliwa

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skynapple · 5 days

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Madi Caught Slipping: aka "How Jeremiah falls for every character in the book"

Scroll to find your favorite characters. Some are kinda crack ships. Have fun.

The girls:

Tara: This one's easy. They caught each other's eyes through MC and Xavier. He's at Xavier's place, they met in a common area. Jeremiah is trying to be a good wingman but he knows better than to use old tactics of flirting with MC on purpose to make Xavier act out in jealousy, he can do that when the trio is alone. That day he directed his attention to Tara, some small talk and flirting, maybe slung an arm around her shoulder to drag her to get a bucket of ice or anything for the other two to be alone. But she's adorable and he thinks, what the heck, a date won't hurt. She's pretty, and again, it's a good excuse for causing more circumstances to fall into place. The last thing he expects is to fall in love but it doesn't take much. She's earnest, tightness, selfless, and sweet. And look, who else is he going to gossip about Xavier and MC with? Good luck, Jer. Crystals in his pockets. He doesn't believe in any of her witchy stuff but doesn't mind it if it helps her feel like she's connecting to him or keeping him safe somehow. His religion he feels doesn't really affect it, he's only semi religious anyway. Cute planned dates. Flowers on her desk. Starts carrying some things of her recommendations in the shop. It's an easy, refreshing, comforting, and syrupy sweet relationship. Like two kids giggling in a pillow fort.

Jenna: This one's not easy. But, she's Xavier's "Captain" which, ok, Xavier is Jeremiah's "Captain" so there's the good soldier dynamic. There's a chance -depending on how Infold wants to play it- that Jenna and Jeremiah have a already met. It may be through Backtracker work, anti-Onychinus logistics, Jeremiah's research, something. If they have, it's an easier door. Either way, all they do is talk logistics and mission stuff to begin with. Then it's random small talk. Jenna is fun, and always thinking of others. There's a sense of "we're in this together" that bridges a gap. Maybe he senses that she's overworked. Maybe he hears from Xavier that they lost a hunter on their team. He sends her flowers. Then just keeps sending her flowers so she always has something to brighten her day, because he feels some compassion for the stress she's under, and secretly he's grateful that someone else is looking over Xavier. It's a slow burn. It's dependable, and sweet, and then it's a strong. They're a candle that keep others going, just trying to make it another day, but they keep that candle burning together.

MC: See Budding Romance. Anyways. This one really only works if like, MC has eyes interacts with him a lot more than Xavier. Because Jeremiah is always realistically going to be putting Xavier's needs first? And he really has shipped those two for centuries. He's probably absolutely had it up to here with them (imagine I am gesturing to something really tall for the metaphor.) But it also only works if he realizes he's loved her, because he has to get past a sense of 'She's Xavier's but I want her too.' It also only works if Xavier's holding back a bit, like he senses there may already be something going on between them? If he's confusing MC and she gets comfortable with Jer enough, then maybe, maybe. OR, she is just a version of MC who just doesn't have interest in pursuing Xavier at all, similarly to the MC's that end up with literally any other love interest, this MC would just... be particularly inclined towards Jeremiah to begin with, regardless of meeting Xavier first. Which, Jer would still have to get past whatever he's going to deal with, but once they're together, God. The manic things I've thought.

The way he's loved her for centuries, even if platonically before, to stay at her side in unwavering devotion for centuries, to abandon everything he knows on a chance of saving her, being her second-in-command, probably being the one to hold her tears when she could've easily felt very alone. He knows MC inside and out, TOO. And I think it would be very easy for him to want to slip back into a sense of companionship and want to by her side in any capacity of her life. Jer needs to feel attentive and needed, and I think it would be easy to want to stay by "his commanders" and "his Queens" side purely out of loyalty, and maybe... there's a sense of: It's always been me, I don't want it to be anyone else.

Yvonne: This one's funny. It definitely has to be a coincidental meeting. Jer's not going to any hospitals anytime soon. They have to meet outside work before, either on accident or she's a patron of his store, something like that. But the energy, please. She's beautiful, snarky. He can get behind that. She's also probably overworked. It's easy for him to be a sounding board, listen to all the gossip, or the frustration of incompetent patients. It's easy for him to be a comfort, patients get under your skin sometimes no matter how high the walls. Losing patients is never easy but god if Jeremiah hasn't been used to losing people all the time. It's easy for him to go along with antics. Prank bouquets to unwitting hospital members. And maybe if he's comfortable, he's appreciating that he actually knows a nurse. He teaches her how to care for Philosian differences in physiology, because there's probably things that are different and things he's had to DIY. Oh she'd absolutely shred him an earful if she finds out he's doing something stupid post-Wanderer hunting excursions. He absolutely makes her vision of beautiful custom scrubs come true.

Talia: Lord, Jeremiah as her nth husband? Sure. She's definitely ordering a lot of flowers to pester at Rafayel. Or she's getting flowers for her nth wedding. Maybe Wedding Planner style, it doesn't work out, but hey that florist is kinda--. And honestly, Jer probably picks up on some things. She's not from around here, neither is he. There's a certain vernacular Lemurians use, and there's a vernacular Philosians use. Maybe it's easier to tell earlier on. Kinda like Hispanics and Filipinos can immediately just pick each other out of a crowd. (Source: Is Hispanic). So there may be some companionship in, hey we're not here by choice, something drastic happened. And she's,,, way older century-wise probably, but he's not actually young, and they both have the bodies of a twenty-something. It's fine. They probably can find things to relate to. Old stories, old myths, old movies, old music. It's nostalgic and sweet. Maybe she likes the fact that he's not going to die, unlike her previous human boyfriends.

---------------

the boys:

Xavier: I could write a book but. Just the constant companions and devotion. The loyalty. The "I'm with you to the end" and the fact that Jeremiah was someone he immediately told everything about MC. How, despite Xavier's jealousy, he still depending on him to look after MC and still needed him. Honestly, Xavier needs Jeremiah a lot more than I think he lets on. Vice versa. Xavier wasn't there for him when Jer lost the love of his life, and unlike Xavier's who reincarnates, he's never getting her back. It's a very permanent grief that Philosians seldom had to deal with. I'm sure Xavier feels a sense of regret. At the same time, it just makes Jer more fiercely loyal. I said it above, he deeply needs to have a sense of duty. He desperately needs to be needed by Xavier, to be ordered around and feel like he's contributing. He doesn't want to let him down, and he desperately doesn't want him to ever go through what he has. They know mostly everything about each other. They do love each other, already, so much. It doesn't take much. One or both could've already questioned things. Or they're in a universe where MC already chose someone else, so it's a matter of comfort and redemption and trying to let Xavier heal and grow into someone independent of MC. Also. I think about the fact that in CANON Jeremiah specifically made sure that he brought Xavier's favorite flowers with them from Philos and if that's not love I don't know what is. In this essay I will---

Zayne: This one is the most crack to me because again. Jer and medical staff? Probably not going to mix. They must meet at an outside time and place. Jer can't know Zayne's a doctor until later. It definitely has to be a universe where MC is pursuing someone else, but that may not stop Zayne from buying her flowers? Especially if she's not dating other guy yet, and on her birthday, something like that. So they could meet at the flower shop. It's not love at first sight, it can't be. Jer gets him with sweets. He uses one of Bella's old recipes maybe when he's mourning her death's anniversary? Zayne has plenty of loss experience. He's just a customer that day but he takes comfort in letting out the story a little bit. Zayne makes a recommendation. Jer makes him something else to thank him for his patronage. Its just sweet sharing back and forth until they actually decide to go somewhere after work. Not a date. They're too manly for that. Both assume the other is friend zoned. The crowd is banging through the floorboards at these two. Jer baking a lot, Zayne eating and tending to Wanderer wounds. Very slow but, comforting and sweet. Pun intended. Cause that's what it would be. They heal each other in more ways than one.

Rafayel: If I speak- ok. Listen. Talia or fans still is ordering a lot of flowers for Rafayel. Jer gets used to dropping them off. He knows Rafayel is probably hiding something, again, vernacular, however I've seen Rafayel tends to hide his better. But those muscles are way too toned for Rafayel to be some random painter. Pls. I know too many art majors. Jeremiah making Rafayel clothes. Because he's talented (hello Lumiere costume) and can definitely do some cool stuff (fireproof, effect stuff). Also, Jeremiah like,,, is on the dark web scouring for content for stuff to build ship parts and also keep an eye on wayward Backtrackers. There's no way he doesn't know Rafayel's wanted. Maybe he helps take care of it. You know Lemurians and debts. Idk. Just lots of snark. Lots of trying to take care of each other. Cooking together. Maybe even fighting together. Jeremiah being weirdly assertive with Thomas, a la "He said no pickles" style. Again, very easy to slip into a loyal companion mode. Very easy. Plus like. It's a very, very acts of service relationship. They squabble a bit but only cause they care. Also, same dynamic as Talia, they've been around a long time, they'll be around a long time from now. There's comfort in that.

Caleb: If Maverick himself is alive somehow, it either comes through mutual connection like MC wanting to introduce her "brother" or Caleb maybe stalking out people in "his sister's" life. So honestly he may have met him at a party. Its a work party. Everyone gets a plus one. MC brings Caleb, Xavier brings Jer. I have a hc Jer is a hopeless drunk, but nothing happens at this party cause earth beverages from what we've seen with Xavier don't honestly have much effect. Unless... Caleb himself gets.. yeah. Maybe he retaliates that MC is showing Xavier a lot of attention when he's s'posed to be the date. Fine. Two can play at this game. He goes after Jer. Sloppy kiss. Jer would be... admittedly weirded out, and probably more concerned about the guy. Next day some kind of humiliated apology at the flower shop spurred on by MC. But Jer's soft, and sweet, and kinda teasing. Oh no god help Caleb. They might bicker a lot, but they both care about MC and later on each other deeply. They might just start hanging out for the sake of it. But they both have soldier's hearts, and are protective people. They become protective of each other. Jer starts watching the sky scanners, keeping up to date on any relevant threats. Secret information passed along through a channel Jer engineers. Caleb frantically watching his watch that's connected to Jer's when he assumes Jer goes wanderer hunting. Fishing trips, cooking. Arcades. Nostalgic movies. Somehow they have synergy. Somehow.

Nero: Jer's an alien so that's cool. Honestly, I wonder if they already know each other. Not in person? But online? If Jeremiah's ever submitted anything for private analysis and Nero's the wanderer expert. He might've been connected just through accessing Xavier's portal to the deepspace organization. They start meeting in person to trade stuff. It's very secretive. Nero catches him out and about. Doesn't recognize him, couldn't possibly begin to, but he knows that voice anywhere. And oh no Jer's beautiful. He starts doing his own investigation. Shows up at the flower shop once he's sure, and slides him something only they would know. Jer's incredibly impressed. Wants to hang out more. They talk nerdy, and honestly it's probably worse the more Nero knows. Like, you mean there's alternate timelines and dimensions? You mean you can pull a sword out of your arm, too? You mean this metal is from another planet? You mean there's even more wanderers? You fell through a black hole?? Just on and on. Jer doesn't mind the obsession, it's nice to be open and talk about home. It starts as just kinda friendly besties but they grow to actually care about each other. Maybe they worry about each other somehow. They definitely try to outdo who does more for who. It's very relaxed, and not constrained. They don't have to be together all the time, it's comfortable.

Thomas: Again, something to do with deliveries to Rafayel. He starts being around. Maybe Thomas contacts him to do an event and Jer is just? Helpful? A nice guy? Hey Thomas looks like he needs a drink, that's all. Or maybe Thomas forgot something, requires Jer to back and like. They just?? Talk? For a long time. That kind of comfort bond builds first. Jer is easy to talk to. Jer's also like, nice and insistent enough if he finds out Thomas is an artist like, insists he wants something from Thomas specifically and wants to trade for some kind of arrangement. Well how about a drink? It's just relaxed and comfortable. This is a relationship Jer might withhold some of the aliens from outer space stuff a little longer, just until he's more sure of things and outcomes. But it's easy, and he likes hearing the stories. Thomas tries to paint what he thinks Philos looks like based on his descriptions. Jer cries. Jer cultivates a specific type of rose after Thomas. It's very luxurious type of relationship. Doesn't have to be money consuming but. Museums. Botanical gardens. Whiskey nights. Private lounges. Jeremiah makes him a custom suit. Just a lot of gift giving back and forth.

Greyson: Like Zayne, there has to be some circumstance outside of work. But Madi you wrote that for Yvonne too. AND I'M SAYING IT HAS TO. But if it doesn't for some reason, let's say Jer overdoes it, gets kinda beat up, some citizen finds him and he gets dragged to a hospital. You know how Philosian heart beats are slower? God, imagine? Oh they think he's on his way out. Rushed to the ER. Jer just like, coming to cause maybe the sedatives don't work the same, grabbing Greyson by the wrist like, begging, desperate, Don't hurt me. And oh no. Deepest shade of blue eyes on pools of hazel that are desperate. He might break. He doesn't want to become a science experiment. Ok that's dramatic. YEAH. Like does he break out of the hospital? Does Greyson flip out and have A Moment™️ with the other surgeons in the room? This is literally what Jer's been dreading for 200 years he's shaking he's terrified inside but he's also a soldier. He bites down that fear and idk maybe gets out of there. He thinks he's safe. Freaking runs into Greyson at a cafe or something super what-are-the-chances. And before Jer can run Greyson grabs him like, hol' on a second. ANYWAY. I'm just saying. It has to be dramatic or super mundane, for it to work. But if it does work out (somehow) then its. Cowboy and Alien. Jer is very doting, he can get to Greyson's cheesiness level. Who can outfluster who? who will survive? Dad jokes. Tormenting friends. Prank wars. Teaching Greyson to bake. He thinks he'll teach Jer how to ride a horse, surprise he was a Knight and already rides bareback. It's a fun dynamic.

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lobotomizedlady · 1 month

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maybe a stupid question but where did you learn so much about ufooos.. i feel like all the youtubers aside from like. maybe Think Anamolous are clickbait trash. and theres only so much from wikipedia articles 😭 im sure theres some good books out there about em

It isn't a stupid question! I know it can be daunting to get into such a massive topic where everyone involved already seems like an expert. For me it's honestly as simple as years & years of accumulated knowledge from watching docs, reading articles, & staying up to date with news/discussions that happen within the community (via r*ddit, mostly r/UFO lol). lots of independent research on cases that stuck out to me! though I can't say I always am a Facts & Logic ufohead bc I also will happily watch shit like ancient aliens even though I'm well aware 95% of it (being generous w/that percentage) is nonsense. it's still a lot of fun lol

Anyways idk if you're completely new to the ufo/uap stuff (sorry I'm gonna end up using the terms interchangeably as always bc I can never decide, uap is the updated more accurate term but ufo is the Classic & much more widely recognized) or not but if you need a crash course on what's been happening the past few years here's a useful site! the link below is a timeline of the partial disclosure that's been happening in bits and pieces since 2017 here (aka, the US government admitting that there are strange objects constantly darting in & out of our airspace that they can't explain the origin or mechanics of despite having been studying the phenomenon in secret for decades even as they were constantly denying it-and while there's no doubt that they know more than they're admitting to, I am most definitely not one of those "the aliens & government are already in contact and working together!!1" tinfoils types lol, too ridiculously implausible to seriously consider imo). it's very well organized & easy to read, I would definitely recommend looking through it!

also wanna link to a short documentary on youtube that solely focuses on what I consider to be the most plausible encounter with UAP ever recorded. to me this is as close to bulletproof evidence as the public currently has access to, though it's worth noting that despite releasing these few clips that you'll see in the doc (once they couldn't keep it a secret anymore), the military is still withholding the full, extended, clear videos for reasons they won't really say, not that they need to. we know why. it's bc the full video shows incontrovertible proof that this craft is not of human origin, the type that causes a legitimate mass paradigm shift.

youtube

#i had to cut myself off bc i realized Adderall was kicking in & this was about to be out of my control but yeah i honestly have very few #specific places to point to bc its just all over. tons of yt vids tons of docs tons of articles a few books.#im not a very organized person i wish id keep all my ufo links conveniently stored in a folder on the comp for times like this #instead theyre just in my brain mostly lol #asks

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vivi-the-goblin · 2 years

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5e Mechanic Variant

I'll admit I don't have every book, nor have I played a ton of systems (6 in total), so I might've just reinvented something that exists. I haven't heard of it though, and its been successful in the sessions I tried it in. It's a variant on 5e's group skill checks. When the group is trying to do something together, instead of a DC 15 four times, you'd do a DC 15 times four, so DC 60. The players add their results together and see if they can beat the DC. What this does is let the players who specialized in a skill help the others out, instead of rolling a 25 and it being functionally the same as a 15. In my opinion there are two primary types of skill checks that can benefit from this. The first is "everyone succeeds or we fail" For instance stealth, the paladin clanking behind might not get YOU caught but it will kill the stealth section. Doesn't matter if you got double the DC, you can either go it alone (killing session pacing and abandoning the party) or you can end stealth. Plus everyone is actively looking for you now, so you might suddenly get found anyway. Now the rogue is showing them the proper path or making small distractions to cover the barbarian's stumble. You don't have party members who feel like they failed everyone, and it gives benefit for specializing because you can help the party. The second is in team checks. Lets say the barbarian wants to topple a stone pillar or push a giant boulder down a hill. He could get advantage from the help action 10 times over, it's not going to make him able to move 4000 lbs of stone. This lets you say "It's like a DC 80, this thing's huge. Then the party gets together and keeps trying (I set a limit on times you can try a strength check before exhaustion) before finally getting that 26+18+14+22 and succeeding. It also lets them know something's technically possible without letting it be within easy reach, giving them a sort of puzzle on how to reach that goal (getting help, using pulleys for advantage, etc) The closest thing I know of this in 5e is "If half the people make it everyone does", but I find this works better. The basic reason is "You work together and overcome the DC 80 skill check" sounds impressive and feels like everyone contributed to a difficult goal nobody could accomplish on their own. "ok cool, the two specialists passed so we'll just call it a win" makes me feel like you shouldn't have bothered asking everyone to roll, just make it a single person check if my roll is just meaningless.

The more complicated reason- it gives the specialized players a reason to continue their specialization. Think of the Rogue, for an easy example. They chose the sneak class to be good at sneaking, right? well now they're level 11, and they don't get to play anymore. They can't roll lower than a 10 and even a CR 30 can't find them without proficiency in perception. The fun minigame they built a character around becomes "I'd like to-" "Don't bother, you're in the next room now, moving on." Future stealth bonuses don't functionally do much. Also your ranger's still angry because they have high stealth too but don't get to use it. With this model, keep buffing your stealth, disguise, whatever, it still helps! It lets you lower the effective DC for your friends. And other people who are proud of their score but don't get to use it because you're better? Well they're really useful now too! Use a group deception to infiltrate, the bard patching holes in the fighter's story. Group acrobatics to make that leap, the others benefitting from having a perfect example to copy and someone to correct their form. Sure, in some cases it's not that functionally different from base rule, but it just feels better to me. I recommend at least trying out something like this. It has worked great for me so far.

#dnd 5e #dnd 5e homebrew #5e homebrew #5e #homebrew #5e variant rules

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bloodgulchblog · 3 months

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I started reading Halo books after you recommended Legacy of Onyx to me not too long ago. I started with Fractures, which was a good first taste. Really liked Into the Fire. Next up was Legacy of Onyx, which was REALLY GOOD WOW and I chewed through the whole thing in two days. There's SO much left about Onyx, I hope we get more of it in novels or gameplay in the future. Now I'm onto Rubicon Protocol, which is pretty good so far (ch3) but not holding my attention as hard as Legacy of Onyx did

Ooh, Fractures is an interesting place to start imo. I'm glad you enjoyed it! It honestly gives you a lot of directions you could jump off in if you're looking for more book recs. I think getting into stuff with big lore like Halo is, unless you're doing something wild like just reading all of it like I did, mostly about figuring out what your handholds are and what you're interested in and where to go to follow those interests.

Rubicon Protocol is definitely a heavier, slower book than Legacy I think. It's a lot grimmer. I thought it was good overall but there were definitely points where I had to take a break because that gets dark. Really loved what the author did with Stone in particular, though.

If you are looking for more things to add to your list for later, based on what you've said here...

(Big post of tumblr user bloodgulchblog rambling about different Halo novels below the jump)

Ghosts of Onyx is the one I'm most confident about. I typically wouldn't recommend Ghosts as someone's first go at Eric Nylund's Halo novels because they're kind of a trilogy and having The Fall of Reach and First Strike read first makes it better, but if you had a good time diving right in the deep end at Fractures I think you'll be completely fine. (...The other two have Master Chief though and he's my special guy.)

Anyway, the reason I'd say Ghosts of Onyx is the stories you've already read are very heavy on the Spartan-IIIs, and that one is their origin story. You've met Tom-B292 and Lucy-B091 twice, you know Chief Mendez, you've seen the Ferrets, you've seen what Onyx turns into. Then if you like what Nylund was doing, Ghosts has you meet the surviving Spartan-IIs and Halsey and that's a big handhold to dig back further toward tFoR and FS if you feel like it.

Into the Fire is also an easy one to pull a rec off of, because it's actually the first section of a novella called Smoke and Shadow about Rion Forge. I liked it! It's short, but it was refreshing to see a book completely focused on civilian characters (...which is another reason that Legacy was fun for me.) It's also the start of a trilogy. The other two books are Renegades and Point of Light, both of those are full length and are circling back to Forerunner lore that hadn't been touched on in a while.

...Actually, speaking of Forerunners, man I feel like it has to have been wild to go right off with Promises to Keep without the context of the Forerunner trilogy. If you're curious based on that, try Cryptum. The Forerunner Trilogy is some true old-fashioned world-buildy weird scifi, Greg Bear was a master, and Cryptum is pretty accessible because it's about Bornstellar the idiot Forerunner teenager who knows just as little about what's going on as you do.

If you like it and go forward there, I'd say the middle book, Primordium, is much slower paced because it's focused on one guy (Chakas) in particular walking around with some other characters on a spooky Halo, but the third book Silentium is this great apocalyptic log of the whole of Forerunner civilization coming the fuck apart and the Didact losing his goddamn mind. 10/10

....What else.

Oh fuck, I know what else.

Alright, so. I don't like the Kilo Five trilogy, which is the series Glasslands is the first book of. The writing is engaging, but it has... it's hard to say it in a short way without starting to pull out my red string conspiracy board of insanity live on camera, but 1) this book in particular severely mishandles the characters from Ghosts of Onyx and 2) it has this really uncomfortable vibe about ONI and "necessary evil" that I think it doesn't quite stick it in a way I'm cool with. tl;dr the fictional characters don't need to be good people doing good things and fiction isn't real and the author doesn't have to come out on stage and tell you BAD PEOPLE DOING BAD THINGS IS BAD in order for a book to be okay, but I just do not trust the way this author handles ONI for real-world reasons that have a lot to do with real-world military imperialism.

...Also if you disagree with her on anything, especially Halsey, prepare to get hit with a sledgehammer telling you that you shouldn't be having fun. But I'll try to be the bigger person here.

The main reason I would say Glasslands at all is mostly Jul 'Mdama, who really does not get any emotional weight anywhere else in Halo. He's just kind of a ragdoll they throw around to have a bad guy in Spartan Ops and the Escalation comics until killing him off in the first 2 seconds of Halo 5. But if you cared about his sons in Legacy, I think you will find the origin story of Jul and how he wound up in an extremist Sangheili sect (and how badly the UNSC treated him as a POW) interesting. (He's also in The Thursday War, which gets him to where he is when he goes to find the Didact. Up to you if you decide to continue for that.)

It also deals with getting characters out of the dyson sphere at Onyx right after that's been discovered. I'd say if you're interested in this one, definitely read Ghosts of Onyx first.

........OKAY I THINK THAT'S EVERYTH-

This is just to say that if you really liked the Halo But It's High School vibe of Legacy of Onyx, you might enjoy the actual Halo YA novel Battle Born where four scared high school kids and one (1) wounded Spartan-III who's only a little older them try to rescue a whole town from the Covenant. It's slow at the start, but it's short and I had a lot of fun.

DONE FOR REAL THIS TIME THANKS FOR READING HAVE FUN OUT THERE BYYYYYYE

#asks #god i love talking about halo novels #aaaaaaaaa

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invisibletoothpasteman · 9 months

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Batman Day Comic Recommendation List

In honour of this day, I've compiled a list of 9 batman, or batman adjacent comics that I think everyone should check out (specifically fans who aren't super familiar with the comics yet). They're my "Batman Necessities" so to speak:

Batman by Grant Morrison: While there are certain some interesting things in this book that aren't really my favourite (a consequence of Morrison writing it), overall it captures such, for lack of a better word, camp. It's has the kind of creativity that makes silver age comics so fun while still remaining modern and serious. There are some great stories, it introduces Damian, and overall is just such a compelling run. In the same vein we get to...

Batman and Robin by Grant Morrison: Ok yeah this pretty similar to the above but I had to include both. I actual prefer this short series to Morrison's run on the main Batman book. It features Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin and is a great role reversal of the traditional Batman and Robin. The two of them have such a great dynamic and it takes place during such an interesting time in the Batman mythos with Bruces "death" (which I'll admit I wished lasted for longer. Honestly, any book from this era is a blast because of the brief change in the status quo.

Batman Vol. 1 #408-416, #421-425: If you're new to comics don't be intimidated by all the numbers! Batman 408 introduces Jason Todd's Post Crisis backstory and then the issues roll right up to his death. It's a pretty self contained story, and super easy to fly through. I think these are some of the most painfully underrated batman issues. Speaking of Jason's death, my next recommendation is...

Death in the Family + A Lonely Place of Dying: I won't say much because these are just classics and probably the most impactful comics for the Batman mythos ever. Read them.

Batman: Year One: If you want a good ol' Bruce Wayne Batman comic, this is the one. Beautiful art, timeless story, what's not to enjoy? It's also very influential for other Batman media(like The Batman movie) so if you liked that and want a good entrance into comics, this is a great place to start. It's a contained story too, which is really nice if you don't want to have to piece together stuff you missed from other comics. Definitly my favourite Frank Miller Batman story.

Nightwing Vol. 4 #78-: Sure, it's not Batman, but like it or not, Dick Grayson will always be an essential Batman character. Tom Taylor's and Bruno Redondo's run is a big hit for a reason. It's simultaneously fun, heartfelt, and impactful and the writing and art work so well together. It's such a treat to read every month and while it starts great, I feel like as it goes along it starts ironing out and issues I had with it. Great if you want to get into something ongoing (or even if you don't, read it anyways)!

Scott Snyder's Batman (specifically Batman vol 2. #1-12): New 52 was a tumultuous time in DC comics. On the bright side we got the court of owls out of it! Another really good Bruce Wayne Batman story that doesn't need any outside knowledge. I'm in love with Greg Capullo's art, it suits the series so well. The court of owls is such an interesting addition to batman, and honestly it feels like it's a much older part of the batman mythos it was added so seamlessly. If you want a taste of just a solid, simply batman story, this is it.

Batman and Robin by Peter J. Tomasi: This is some of the best New 52 has to offer. I love how Tomasi writes Damian, and I'm a sucker for his dynamic with Bruce. It's a just gives off the best, action packed comic fun vibes. When it's written well it's written WELL and even when it's not quite as perfect it's still solid. Lots of sweet moments too, which I am such a sucker for. And finally we get to the last rec on my list...

Robin: Son of Batman by Gleason (especially issues 1-6): Ok, yes yes I know it's not really a batman book. But just like Nightwing, Robin is an essential part of Batman and how could I leave out my favourite comic ever. Seriously, this book fundamentally changed me when I first read it. Gleason writing, Gray's art, and Kalisz's colouring all combine and complement each other so well. Honestly it's such a joy to look at, and get's even better when you read it. They get Damian, and he shines in this book. The story is tight and impactful and after only 6 issues you'll have such a deep appreciation for the character (and feel like you've been punched in the gut). I recommend everyone take a little bit of time to sit down and give this a read.

And so concludes my great batman recommendation post! Honestly, there's so many more that could be on here that aren't that the best piece of advice I have is pick up any Batman comic that looks interesting to you and give it a go. In all his years, Batman has had such range in his books that there really is something for everyone. Please feel free to add any necessities of your own!

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rigelmejo · 4 months

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Things Read 2023

I thought it'd be kind of fun to do a little collage of some of the things read in 2023. Because pictures entice and maybe one of these will look interesting to you, and maybe I'll just feel slightly more motivated the next time I try to read something.

First row: Easiest novels to read, I highly recommend if you're a beginner. 秃秃大王, 大林和小林, and 笑猫日记 (any book in this series).

Second row: also fairly easy, though maybe not for total beginners? (Unless you want). 小王子 (which was the first non-graded reader novel I read in chinese, and in retrospect I wish I'd started with the books above instead... but this was still readable as a beginner, I read it in paper form to stop myself from looking words up and it was still a doable read), 盗墓笔记重启（幽默漫画）a very cute domestic side stories for dmbj set during chongqi, extremely easy to read if you know the character names. 他们的故事/Their Story by Tan Jiu, a cute slice of life girls falling in love story, it's setting makes it quite easy to read.

Third row: manhua that are a bit harder, but still probably very readable if you're not looking to work hard and sink into a novel. 19天, bl and funny af, set in school so common vocab but the jokes land better as u understand more, I also love the art. 破云 1 and 2, they're kind of hard to read in that this manhua has a page just for niche word definitions in the front, but it's easier to read than the novel it's based on. I thought it was a fun way to enjoy the story while I waded much more slowly through the novel version. Similarly, I've been reading the 烈火浇愁 manhua (not pictured) on and off since I can get further in the manhua than the novel before running out of steam. There's a lot of manhua on the Bilibili Comics app, and that's definitely an option if you're into manhua too if you like a novel premise but aren't quite ready to tackle the novel (or want to check out the manhua too). Also, sometimes on bilibili.com you can find videos of manhua with voice acting and music, which can be nice.

Fourth row: some novels I'm still in progress with lol. I read 盗墓笔记 books 1, 2, and half of 3 in 2023. I'm continuing along, and maybe eventually I'll get to sha hai. If you plan to read/watch more in the tomb raiding or supernatural genre anyway, I highly recommend reading. dmbj is not that hard to read, new words usually pop up early and then are repeated enough that you learn them within a few chapters, which makes the following chapters easier and easier. By the time I was through book 1, I switched from looking up unknown words to looking up no words and just guessing from context and it went fine. npss also writes in an easy style to read once you get used to a few wordings/slang. A lot of the words I learned from dmbj were helpful with other supernatural genre stuff I read, since I like to read that kind of stuff. 撒野, both harder than I thought it'd be and easier. It is very doable of a read as far as following the main idea of the plot, after you've read a few other novels (like row 1) or gotten comfortable with daily life words. It does some beautiful stuff though with the writing style, and detail, that's more noticeable upon re-reads. I've restarted this novel like 4 times because each time I picked it up again my reading skill had improved, and the writing felt different upon reading. If you can watch chinese shows with chinese subtitles you can read this without looking words up, but if you do encounter unknown words this was a novel I found the unknown words were frequently useful and worth learning. I'd say it's very approachable, it's just the chapters are quite long so it's always a painful reminder of how slow my reading speed is. It's about two teenage guys who meet and fall for each other, and it's also about their families and personal struggles and very character focused which I love. After this novel, I plan to check out the other novels by this author. And of course, still, 镇魂. Look, I keep reading the whole first arc, then taking a break, then re-reading the whole first arc. I need to stop being a perfectionist about understanding and catching every detail, and just move forward. I've read my print version about 2 times to the end of the sundial arc, and the web version about 2 times. I've yet again reached the end of the sundial arc as of December 2023, and hopefully I just move forward at this point. I wont say it's an 'easy' read, but I will say I picked up so much of my initial reading vocabulary from this and Tian Ya Ke, that priest's preferred writing vocabulary and particular way of phrasing sentences is more familiar to me than any other author's. So now I have a much easier time reading priest's other novels. And in the case of Zhen Hun, I know 98% of the words more or less on any given page. So yes, it's a bit silly I keep combing over to try and understand more details. (In my defense, I've been combing over the AUDIO my last read through, to try and get my listening vocabulary comprehension closer to my reading vocabulary level - I figured it was a good novel to do this with since I know nearly every word reading-wise in the sundial arc at this point). Anyway... when will I finish reading Zhen hun? Ask me when the last official english translation book is published. Because I'm waiting to read the english until I finish it in chinese first. So no doubt when the english is totally out I'll probably rush through anything I didn't finish so it's easier for me to compare. (You'd think I'd do that for Sha Po Lang and... lol you're not wrong... that's why I haven't started reading SPLs official english translation yet... I want to dig out my chinese print book and compare). Tldr: Zhen hun is one of the easier priest books to start with, all things considered. Or Tian Ya Ke. I started with both, and they're still easier reads to me than Dage and Sha Po Lang and Can Ci Pin.

Special mention:

I also read 2 pingxie fanfictions, 半夜衣寒 and 寒舍 by 夏灬安兰. The first story is shorter by far, both are around as easy to read as dmbj or a bit easier, and they're supernatural au in everyday life so a lot of the words are applicable to either the real world, or to books in genres like dmbj.

I also read/watched many a voice-acted manhua video on bilibili over the last year. Bilibili algorithm recommends me tons of bl, and supernatural mystery stuff, so I'd click on manhua compilation videos when bored and use the voice acting speed to get myself to read faster than I would if I were just reading the manhua in silence. I found a pretty cool horror manhua, but upon making this post I checked bilibili and the compilation I saved was deleted. If I find it again I'll post a link. It was a college student who just moved to the city, and he meets this ancient guy who may be a demon/guardian sort of thing, and the city is just full of haunting and awful deaths and misfortune going on. It was both scary and full of comedy, which was fun.

#reading list #my reading list #my reading list 2023 #chinese reading list #2023 #rant

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rainbowstargazerlilies · 21 hours

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Mechs Doll Pattern Notes

At least one person asked in the comments on the raffle form, so here's some quick notes on making the Mechs dolls under the cut!

These are based on a pattern in Mini Knitted Farmyard by Sachiyo Ishii (isbn 978-1782215387). Usually, I use US size 2 knitting needles and DK yarn in the various shades required for each of them. I like having three needles on hand for this pattern. The pattern base is "farmer", but I do pull from other patterns. The author appears to use this same base pattern across several of the books in this series, so if you can't find a copy of this book, the Mini Knitted Cosmos book has variants of this pattern (look at "Ground Staff"), as does Mini Knitted Ocean (look at "Fisherman" patterns).

Specifically, the pattern for doll coats is a modified version of the "vest" pattern under the shepherd doll instructions in the same book (Farmyard). I usually make it slightly longer than listed, and if it's a coat, I'll match the sleeve color. I use the same pattern for vests, just not matching the sleeve color. Once again, there's a version of this under the "Fisherman" pattern in Ocean as well.

The shepherd doll also has the instructions on how to make boots, rather than shoes. I've found that useful for different dolls, and I don't seem to see it in any other places in the series.

TS's hat comes from Mini Knitted Ocean, and is used for one of the fishermen in that book. I've also made TS without, but I like the way it looks with the hat, don't you?

For dolls that have pointed ears, I've pulled from the animal ear patterns in the Mini Knitted Safari book, and somewhat adapted it. It's really, really simple-- cast on two stitches, knit one row, bind off. The bind-off should be pointy. If you want longer ears, knit an extra row or two.

Finally, Raphaella's wings are initially from a different book in the series, Mini Knitted Toys, and I've adapted them from the "fairy" pattern. (Those adaptations are just doing half-double crochet in brown yarn around the outside edge, and then sewing down a crochet chain for the middle brown lines. I also do attach them differently than how the pattern suggests-- flipping them around so that they curve downwards.) This is the only pattern for the Mechs that uses a different size knitting needle (US size 6). I've also done them for other dolls, and I highly recommend doing a fun stitch for texture-- remember that both the back and front of the wings could be visible. Last time, I ended up doing moss stitch on them with some fun colors, and that ended up looking really cool.

Another tip: these will require a yarn needle. I've done the hair by knotting it on or by doing backstitch and loops, and while the backstitch and loops takes more time, the extra time's worth it. Doing that with a crochet hook instead of a yarn needle sounds incredibly time consuming and painful.

As well, while there are instructions for a "farmer's wife" variant with a skirt, I've found it just as easy to either pick up and crochet a skirt around a completed doll, or to increase through the back loop and set aside all increased stitches for later during that second row of the shirt color, and then use that to knit the skirt later. Either way, make sure that you increase appropriately as you make the skirt-- too many, and it'll ruffle.

If you're interested in the series, I'd highly recommend Woodland and Safari if you want to make animals, and Farmyard if you're interested in people of various sizes. I've made a lot of the patterns in these books, and they're fun to make and to experiment with. Ocean also has a good variety of fish and similar creatures, which could be fun depending on your interests.

If you end up trying to make any of these dolls, feel free to ask me questions! I'm sure I've got more tips, but I can't think of them, and they'd probably not make much sense out of context anyway. In short, have fun!

#stargazer crafts #stargazer's four inch friends #mechs dolls raffle

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zgvlt · 2 years

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Hello again, this is the same anon from here

Honestly any fanfic would do, a series or one shot that seems to have really good writing. I've been trying to look for well written one shots for awhile on tumblr. My friend on here actually introduced me to your blog, they speak very highly of you. But other than your blog I did find people who write in detail but they're from another fandom sadly:(

A questio, do you know the self aware twisted wonderland AU? It's a very interesting AU. You should see the one shots made for the AU although they don't write in detail as much but their ideas for said AU is very interesting, nowadays most of the things being posted about the AU is all about writing letters to your favorite characters instead of one shots so that's why I was hoping you could give me a few recommendations:)

ohhhh i think i understand better now yes. and yes, i know about the self-aware AU! it was popular in the mysmes fandom too haha, it's a fun au for any game. i think a couple of writers have done their take on it so i don't really know who you're referring to or who did it first haha

regardless i guess i'll recommend fics (and honestly? just writers) i personally enjoy, and you can see if they're to your taste as well! or you can scroll through their masterlists yourself! and also this is my opportunity to talk about my talented mutuals oopsies

sorry for the tags pls forgive me hehe 🤗

i already talked about this in a post a few months ago, but i love anything written by @traumxrei-archive !! one of trau's leona fics titled "the shape of one's heart" is an easy new favorite of mine, i love character studies so much and screams and falls into a pit. and speaking of series! trau has a mini series based on fairy gala, fittingly named "the fairy gala collection"... and then and then just... trau's fics <3 heart eyes only!!

these are short but intimate... which makes sense because "fondness found amongst fleeting intimacy" [part 1 w/ idia, vil, mal, crewel] [part 2 w/ savanaclaw boys] by @twsthearts i just think about them every so often, the title itself enraptured me and i was just compelled to read and i had no regrets knox if u see this i adore ur writing sm i always feel like i'm reading one of my poetry books or the diaries of novelists excerpts from your works feel like they belong on a book, and then a pinterest girlie will be so in love they'll scan it and post it on their board

@twstedstoryshop hi okay so i'm going to admit i haven't finished shopkeep's full catalogue yet but i'm going to say "convenient marriage" (deuce historical AU) is probably my favorite bc i just... historical AUs, but i also enjoy "funny thing called fate" (azul soulmate AU) because i'm predictable and I think soulmate AUs are the best!!

@kaiijo ying...!!! such charming writing...! "magnetic" (azul frenemies to lovers) might be to your taste! although i am a simple human and the love triangle [part 1] [part 2] ones are my favorites dreamy sighing

i haven't actually read any of these yet (bc i want to binge all of them in one day oops) but since you mentioned series of one shots i thought of "the who does the prefect like" collab bc some of my (again, talented!) mutuals are participating in it i think it's worth checking out!

these are all i can think of right now off the top of my head that you might enjoy but if i think of more i'll reblog this!

anyway to whoever else is reading this feel free to recommend me some fics as well because i have not been reading a lot of fanfic lately hjsjsjsd i haven't had the time to finish my mutuals masterlists cries +++

i would love to follow more people ahhhh give me your recs <3

#—nathyask #—anonnie #and if you do enjoy those writers you can scroll through their blog for fics theyve reblogged as well!

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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 11 months

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Hello! I really like your analyses and you’re kind of making me want to watch trigun now?? I have several other series on the brain rn but I’m tempted to add another… anyways I just think you’re very cool!

Yessss.... YESSSS... join me... *evil laughter* (So, if I get the bsd fans into trigun, and I manage to get trigun fans into bsd... then all that remains is for me to get both of them into hatoful boyfriend... yes... yesssss...my plan is working...)

Lol I'm just kidding. Ehehe I'm not that cool really, just excited to share my excitement about things we enjoy. :)

But seriously, I highly recommend Trigun; it's got a fun, in-depth cast of characters who are astonishingly easy to get attached to, it's got the right mix of comedy and soul-crushing heartbreak, and the thematic elements are really interesting to analyze, since there's frequently no "right" answer.

I assume you're talking about watching the new cgi anime, Trigun Stampede, which is excellent - the animation is absolutely stunning. They're also reworking some plotlines in really interesting ways, so I'm very curious to see where they go with it. There's also the 98 Trigun series, which I haven't seen yet, but I know is beloved for a reason - I think this one started a lot more lighthearted then took a sharp veer into darkness, if I heard right. And lastly, there's the manga, Trigun and Trigun Maximum, which I'm reading right now, which imo has its characters be a bit... messier, I want to say? It's a new heartbreak every volume. There's something interesting to analyze in every chapter. I'm having so much fun. There's a book club ongoing here for it, if you're at all interested btw!

Anyways, it's all this little guy's fault. He's so sweet. He has joined the blorbo collection and I want only happiness for him that the narrative will not allow.

Watch/read Trigun! Love & Peace!!! :D

#hehe i hope if you do decide to watch it that you enjoy :)#trigun #trimax #tristamp #vash the stampede #storyrambles #my art #thanks for the ask!

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the7thcrow · 1 year

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CORYNN HI

belated merry christmas if u celebrate!!! wow im so late but let's pretend im not 🙂

i hope that you're doing well and enjoying the rest of this year!

also a question that has been on my mind lately, what is the inspiration of your username? i'd guess it's because of that book, 6 of crows? maybe i got the title wrong woops hehe but yeah!! feel free to explain it or not :) and also, if you'd like to, recommend us some books!! i'm not a native english speaker so i'm looking for a few books to read in english :^)

take care of yourself! and have a good day <3

so I had just finished typing a giant response to this when my laptop died and deleted the whole thing💀 so here we are for round two.

if you were late for christmas wishes, then I am like, horribly horribly late. so instead.. happy new year! hope it treats you well ash <3

as for my username, yes it is inspired by six of crows hehe. I made this account way back in 2017 and didn't rlly use it, but when I came back to write fanfic I thought it was kinda cool and kept it even though the blog has nothing to do with the series lol.

but as for book recs, ofc I have some! admittedly I haven't read much in the last year or two, so some of these I read a while ago and am not sure if they still live up to how much I loved them years ago, but I figured i'd include them anyway:

all time favs:

the secret history by donna tartt: this is like, my all time favourite book, when people ask this is what i say. it's the only book i've bothered to read twice. admittedly I know it isn't for everyone, as it's highly satirical and slow-paced, but if you're alright with that I can't recommend it enough. i'm low-key an avid hater of first person narration 99% of the time, but richard's perspective in this book is so deliciously horrible I can't help but love it. honestly i could talk about it forever. highly recommend.

the way of kings by brandon sanderson. this book is literally everything I could ever hope to achieve with my writing. so complex. such amazing characters and development. insane world building. and so massive. it's like 1200 pages, and there's four more with the same amount that are already out, of what will become ten. it is a commitment, but I think it's so worth it (I'm currently almost done book 2, and will be immediately picking up book 3). if you like fantasy this is my number one rec.

the grishaverse by leigh bardugo. given my username i'm sure this isn't a surprise lolol. this series includes some of my favourite characters across any form of media. it includes the shadow and bone trilogy, the six of crows duology, and the king of scars duology. personally while I think the shadow and bone trilogy is the weakest instalment (mostly bc I don't like first person narrative) it's where I would start. fun story, great cast, and a good way to settle into the world. they're also YA so they read pretty easy.

some other books/series I recommend (with variety for your reading preferences):

an ember in the ashes quartet by sabaa tahir

the raven cycle by maggie stiefvater

1984 by george orwell

turtles all the way down by john green

they both die at the end by adam silvera

the troop by nick cutter

illuminae by jay kristoff and amie kaufman.

#hope that helps <33 #mutual pals🕺🏼#asks #peachy-yabbay

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honey-deerling-reads · 2 months

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Scary Stories For Young Foxes

tw for this book: rabies, abuse, manipulation, animal death, animal cruelty, mild gore, parental abuse, ableism, narcissism, child death, incorrect animal dynamics

rating: ☆☆☆☆

so i just recently finished 'Scary Stories For Young Foxes' by Christian McKay Heidicker and i just gotta say, i love kid's horror. i think the genre is so fun and so important, and this book is great example of why. the story is completely told through the pov of various fox characters, and for that it is extremely immersive. several times while reading this book, i became so immersed in the world that these characters live in, that i lowkey forgot that i myself am not a fox. the characters are relatable and very easy to empathise with, making the emotional beats of the story hit even harder.

the story begins with a group of fox kits, all unnamed, asking their mother to tell them a scary story. she can't provide one scary enough for the kits, but warns them not to visit an older fox who lives deep in the forest, known for telling stories that are too scary for kits. the kits, of course, sneak out to visit the storyteller anyways. when they find her, the storyteller advises that, while stories may be scary, you can find lessons in them if you stay to the end. and that begins the real plot. the book is broken into different segments, almost like mini arcs, and each is a different scary story. they start off seeming like they're separate stories, but by the third or fourth section, they begin to meld into one long epic. each segment is interspersed with snippets of the kits from the beginning of the novel, as they react to the horror of the story they're being told. one by one they flee, until only one is left. will the littlest one flee or stay to the end?

i really enjoyed this book, so much so that i will be purchasing the sequel when i get a chance. this book does deal with heavy subject matter, as is referenced in the tw list above, so understand that this book is not for extremely young or sensistive readers. i definitely recommend it for kids about 8-9+, as well as adults because honestly this book was so fun. the characters slap, the plot slaps, and even as a veteran horror fan, it had me STRESSED at times because i truly did not know whether the characters would make it out alive or not. reading about rabies from the persepective of a fox was truly haunting and i don't think i'll ever be able to truly look at Beatrix Potter the same way ever again. i do absolutely recommend this book for kids though. kid's horror is such an important genre, imo, because it allows kids to experience fear and empathy in a safe, controlled environment. i strongly believe that all kids should experience consensual, supervised fear. it's a good way for them to identify, gauge, and learn from their instincts before they're thrust into a world that is truly and unpredictably terrifying. it also allows the opportunity for parents/guardians/adults to step in and have discussions about how to handle fear in a healthy way.

all in all, the biggest beef i have with this book is the improper animal dynamics. as far as i'm aware, foxes do not follow the alpha/beta hierarchy, but this book does include that hierarchy. that's an easily ignorable ick though. it was a fun, light read with some legitimately upsetting moments, and i highly recommend it to all horror buffs, no matter the age range.

#scary stories for young foxes #kids horror #horror #kids horror books #horror books #kids books #book review #bookblr

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phantaloon-books · 3 years

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things the foxes have done in college somewhat inspired by my endless exhaustion because the semester is almost over and idk how to survive the next three weeks

neil josten does not care about having good grades. his priorities are andrew, exy, his foxes, sleep, and his studies, ni matter how much he enjoys math. he falls asleep in class, turns in assignments late, doesn't participate in discussions... how is he passing you ask? no one knows to be honest, not even him, all that matters is he can play exy and occasionally do fun math things

aaron once went an entire school week with only 7 hours of sleep because he had too many things to study plus exy practices (-450/10 would NOT recommend), how he managed to play that friday without collapsing is a wonder and an awe to all the foxes

the girls do study dates, in which they all agree to be at the dorm or library at the same time to do homework or study, which almost always turn into a night out having dinner or doing something fun instead of studying

nicky tends to procrastinate and suddenly he has to read an entire 200 page book in one night for a test he's had in his schedule for two weeks, when this happens and he has to stay up late, he takes little naps between chapters, as a treat <3 but he does finish doing whatever he needs because he's a good student

kevin has an... unorthodox method of doing his homework, and the thing is he'd rather die on the weekend doing absolutely everything that needs to be done the following week than having to finish any assignment or having to study for a test in the middle of the week so he can dedicate his time to exy

matt may be a sociable guy, but if there's one thing he can NOT do is study in groups, which sucks because he likes being around people, but he gets too distracted and falls in the ropes of helping others study instead of studying himself, so there's a rule that matt must study alone 90% of the time

related to this, once things settle down between the upperclassmen and the monsters, they once made the mistake of leaving nicky and matt to study together... let's just say it was a mistake

andrew is also a procrastinator at heart, no one is sure they have ever seen him study or do homework, but he does everything at night because he doesn't sleep anyway, and it's easy to write papers and study when you remember everything you've read and heard before

dan is the kind of student to put her all into her notes, they're organized and pretty and color coded

allison shows up in class with her notebook and a black and a blue pen exclusively, she may be THE allison reynolds, but her notes are a fucking mess with scribbles in the sides, smudged pen ink, weird little diagrams no one understands but her, because she's done trying to be anything but her most chaotic self

similarly, kevin's notes are a fucking mess of english, french and the occasional japanese because he may be receiving his classes in english, but he tries to synthesize his lectures in his own words and ends up writing a multilingual puzzle

look i don't know a single med student who doesn't have a love/hate relationship with their choices, so it's the week before finals, aaron has a thousand projects and papers to give in but he just doesn't know how anymore, and he's just so tired he could cry, and he's just 'can i really do medicine? is this really worth it?' and it's like 4 am and he's just so tired he feels the craving of the drugs again, but andrew never sleeps anyway, so he's just there in the living room reading a book next to his exhausted twin in silent support. aaron may still feel tired and hesitant when he's done an hour or two later, but knowing that andrew was there made things better

in contrast, neil gives a look to all the things he has to do that same week and pulls everything off in one night, no one knows how he does this, but he does it and he fucking nails it

#aftg #all for the game #the foxhole court #the raven king #the king's men #tfc #trk #tkm #andrew minyard #neil josten #aaron minyard #kevin day #renee walker #nicky hemmick #dan wilds #matt boyd #allison reynolds #can you tell I'm at my limit i don't know how to keep going guys

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